Business Attire

This spring’s fashion season will be going ahead with pastel colours taking centre stage.  Even a trendy printed dress featuring disorganised maps of the United States is designed with a plentiful amount of this season’s yellow dotted over it.

Another winning colour will be white.  Instead of the ‘little black dress’, a ‘little white dress’ should be packed when going away.  Dresses in white may look stark and cold in the fashion store but when worn can look pure, clean and fresh, especially with large jewellery to soften the image.  To really grab the attention however, a woman can do no better than to wear a complete outfit in white, for instance, a white crepe tunic and trousers or white trouser suit.  In a smaller dose, any white top with black velvet tuxedo trousers will create a strong contrast.

However, snowy white ski jackets on a skiing holiday are not usually recommended.  Victoria Beckham has been photographed on the slopes wearing a red jacket and red ski-pants.  The general consensus for fashionable ski trousers is that they should be skinny.  Jackets for skiing, by their very nature, will inevitably be baggy which will make skinny trousers look slimmer than ever.  Fur trims around jacket hoods and cuffs are best avoided because as with an animal’s fur, they can trap icicles.

How difficult it is to make it as a top-notch model in today’s magazines and newspapers.  These models are sometimes referred to as an ‘editorial’ model, in other words, one who meets the requirements of the editors or publishers of a particular genre of magazine.  A girl may be beautiful looking but lack the ethereal figure or exotic ‘fantastic’ facial features so favoured by designers and editors.

On the other hand, well-known personalities such as Carol Vorderman, former ‘Countdown’ hostess, will always attract media attention for what they are wearing.   Whilst attending events and functions they are sure to be photographed accordingly.  At a National TV Awards recently, we were informed Carol Vorderman donned a figure-hugging dress and was thus photographed.

For such house-hold names as these who expect to be snapped by newspaper photographers whilst out and about, it must help to be mostly seen looking fashionable and up-market.  Therefore to don a dress with a scalloped hem-line; shorts with scalloped edge bottoms or a top with a scalloped shape of collar will be a sensible choice because these are apparently the latest fashionable look. 

Furthermore, any item of knitwear decorated with small curves along the edges of its neck, cuffs or hem-line are highly rated as the latest fashion necessity.

According to a recent article in the ‘Style’ section of a broad sheet newspaper, the 3-piece suit is returning to grace ladies’ fashions.  

Owning a 3-piece suit does not mean having to wear all three pieces together.  The waistcoat is versatile and can be worn with effect under a coat without the bulk of a jacket.  In the daytime, a waistcoat will look charming with an item of knitwear such as a thin jumper, or a stark white shirt. 

A high street 3-piece suit will vary in quality according to the tailoring.  For women who do not possess angular, ‘androgynous’ figures it is worth visiting fashion stores that specialize in making jackets and waistcoats for more curvy figures.  In this instance, the customer is professionally measured by a trained style adviser.  A made-to-measure jacket or waistcoat may need a few adjustments at the final fitting but the shop will then be able to keep those measurements on file to be used at a future date. 

We need only to think back to 1971 and the wedding of Mick Jagger, to agree that the white maxi skirt and jacket that Bianca wore, designed by Tommy Nuttall, was a chic outfit in which to be married.

T-shirts and jeans are the mainstay of Rihanna when off stage.  A point of interest is that she has now joined forces with Emporio Armani to help create and promote a collection of casual outfits, in other words, skinny jeans, biker jackets and T-shirts.

For those of us who have not got the super slim legs intended for skinny jeans then there are plenty of alternatives in which to feel comfortable in, for instance with a 2-way stretch.  The stretch is accomplished with a blend of wool and crepe.  The trousers are tapered so the wearer feels she is not only being pampered in sumptuous fabrics, but beautiful tailoring too.  Extremely flattering pairs of trousers are those that are artfully made to keep unwanted curves under control.

For the on-coming party season, trousers are quite acceptable, especially with a luxurious jacket, perhaps of sheepskin.  Sheepskin is very light in weight to wear; there is nothing burdensome or heavy about it.  The ‘hippie’ image of sheepskin is outmoded because the jackets of today have a shapely waist and are beautifully tailored.  Darker colours, such as chocolate brown look ravishing when worn with luxurious gold earrings.

If a more elegant look is required for a party, any soft tailored jacket such as a jacquard will perfectly complement any trousers.

The attendees of the fashion show organized by Nicola Formichetti, the stylist of popular artist Lady Gaga, were treated with a performance by none other than the pop star herself.
According to reports, the show was conducted to launch the new line of menswear for label Thierry Mugler. The line was designed by Formichetti, who’s now the new creative director for the fashion brand.
Via her Twitter account, Lady Gaga revealed that she’s the musical director of the fashion show. Aside from that, she previewed the crowd of her new single “Born This Way.” The song perfectly matched with the garments that were paraded during the fashion show.

The show received positive reviews. Past Lady Gaga hits such as “Poker Face” and “Just Dance” have been played numerously in past fashion shows. Thus, it is not a wonder that her new single is expected to be a hit as well.

The fashion designer behind the outrageous yet very appreciated outfits of talented and award-winning artist Lady Gaga launches his very first collection as creative director for French label Thierry Mugler.
Aside from helping the pop artist from her outfits, Nicola Formichetti is also behind Lady Gaga’s outrageous hairstyles. Just recently, they both grabbed headlines after the MTV Awards after Lady Gaga wore the controversial meat dress.
The trend in the transitioning of stylists to fashion designers has gotten stronger the past few years, thanks to the celebrities who give credit to their stylists for having created their unique and dazzling looks.
This is a highly anticipated debut of Formichetti’s line will take place very soon. She replaced Rosemary Rodriguez for the job. Rodriguez was credited to have re-ignited the interest on the label three years ago.
Formichetti is still the fashion director of the magazine Vogue Hommes Japan.

The organizers of the recently concluded Fashion for the Brave dinner were reportedly disappointed that the girlfriend of Prince William, Kate Middleton, did not attend the dinner for a cause. What made them even more dismayed was the fact that she did not even send any reply to the invitation that was given to her.

The Fashion for the Brave dinner intends to raise funds for Help for Heroes and the Army Benevolent Fund.

There were more than 320 invitations sent out and Middleton was one of the four who did not give any response at all. Her boyfriend sent a reply via his private secretary. According to reports, both Princes William and Harry were unable to take part in the fundraising because they could not easily get leave of absences from their military duties.

The event raised more than £250,000 and was hosted by television personality Angela Rippon. Rippon waived her talent fees for the event.

Entrepreneurial singer Kelly Rowland has found a new niche, that is, to go for the latest fashion trends as designed by some of the aspiring designers in her reality television show.

The Destiny Child member is currently a co-host of Bravo Network’s “The Fashion Show” and the singer has realized that it’s as easy to become a fashion designer through just hosting a show. To make your mark in the fashion work involves a lot of hard work and passion. In an interview, Rowland said that coming up with the latest fashion trends is a hit and miss because the colours and designs may and may not appeal to the public.

Rowland hosts the show together with fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and IMG Fashion Senior Vice President Fern Mallis. The latter is currently one of the major producers of the Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week in New York.

“The Fashion Show” was a huge hit last year and has been renewed.

Multitalented television celebrity Martha Stewart announced that one of her newest shows will make a grand debut next month on the Hallmark Channel. Aside from that, she’s expected to bring her other top shows in the channel as well including the hour-long “Whatever” satellite radio show hosted by her daughter, Alexis Stewart, and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt.

Stewart will also launch “Martha Stewart Presents,” a new series of primetime interview specials that will debut on September 13. Her premiere show will celebrate the American women who dress for success. Her guests include fashion designers Donna Karan, Jenna Lyons, Diane Von Furstenberg and Tory Burch.

These events seemed to jive with the upcoming New York Fashion Week. Stewart was quoted as saying that she’s looking forward to a long-lasting relationship with the Hallmark Channel. The channel has a larger female demographic which is fitting with Stewart’s shows.

Maroon 5 lead vocalist Adam Levine is venturing into the world of fashion by launching his very own celebrity fashion line.

It has become a trend these days that leading personalities in showbusiness are now venturing to other businesses such as creating a fashion line among others. Thus, for industry experts, it is not much of a surprise to hear Levine jumping on this trend.

Other artist that have gone this path are Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z and P-Diddy. Levine’s clothing line is called 222 and will make a grand launch at Las Vegas later this week.

Levine has been known for having good taste on clothes and he has seen wearing designer clothes made by Yves Saint Laurent and other high profile fashion houses.

The initial line of items that will be launched are jeans, leather jackets and t-shirts.
Levine is currently on tour this month and won’t be able to make it at the launch.