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.
Glamorous tops with elegantly tapered trousers of today were also considered highly fashionable in the 1950’s but with one crucial difference - high, narrow stiletto heels were never worn to complete the outfit as this was deemed vulgar. This seems regrettable because stilettos and heeled mules looked absolutely fabulous in this era, worn with a couture sheath dress, renowned for its small waist and tight skirt. This is also a great look for the modern office.
Another style of ladies’ trousers, pedal pushers, was popular with teenagers in the 1950’s but it was the close fitting tapered trousers with short tops & a matching bra that had a universal appeal. The trousers could be full length, mid-calf or just below the knee. It became a cool, sophisticated style, capitalised on by the likes of model and film star Grace Kelly.
The eminent fashion house of Christian Dior was more interested in ultra-feminine styles which he called his ‘New Look’. A wool coat with sloping shoulders for example, revealing full billowing skirts falling to mid-calf length was this look. His feminine hour-glass figure was complete with a pair of stiletto heeled shoes.
This ‘New Look’ was condemned by thrifty post-war dignitaries who thought it frivolous and wasteful in a time of austerity measures. This is a fair point because one wartime dress required three metres of fabric, whilst Dior’s dresses needed much more.
The New Zealand Fashion Week already started showing next season’s collections, particularly winter fashion pieces.
From whimsical colour blocking to traditional winter colours, winter fashion pieces filled the runway during the New Zealand Fashion Week. Several designers, models, fashionistas, buyers, media practitioners and even regular fashion mavens feasted on various winter fashion collections that were shown on and off the catwalk. Some of the winter fashion items included brightly coloured anoraks as well as jumpers for women, pants, tops, winter dresses and winter fashion shoes for both men and women.
This year’s New Zealand Fashion Week did not only feature professional models but bloggers who wrote about fashion, trends and lifestyle as well. They were donned in salmon pink, lime green, mustard, yellow, chambray and even blank winter fashion pieces.
Now in its 11th year, New Zealand’s main fashion trade event featured labels such as Lonely Hearts, Stolen Girlfriends’ Club, World and Trelise Cooper, along with newcomer label Coop.
This year’s organizers hope to continue the fashion fever this month with the staging of the Rugby World Cup. There will be various fashion pieces that will be showcased at boutiques in Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin as well as Auckland.
Plus size fashion is in vogue at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week
Melbourne Spring Fashion Week is turning out to be a “friendly” showcase of not only the latest fashion trends but of women of practically every color, shape and size! Brunettes, blondes, red heads and auburn lovelies were not the only ones spotted at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. Even the tall, lanky and yes, plus size, were there and they all emphasized one common trait - self confidence!
Plus sized models took to the runway and showcased plus size fashion pieces. The plus size models showed that bigger is not just beautiful but something that needs to be embraced and celebrated.
“This should not be about plus-size, this is the average size now,” said Jo Newman, the general manager of retail operations for fashion label TS14+. Newman says that the average-size Australian woman is a size 16.
“We should be celebrating this every day so that all women feel like they can look good and feel good and celebrate their curves. We absolutely think there should be a lot more of it,” Newman said.
The Melbourne Spring Fashion Week kicked off Monday. Apart from plus size fashion pieces, there will also be collections for pregnant mothers-to-be and even for kids. The organizers of the said event accordingly wanted to boost retail sales by selling various pieces that appealed to different demographics.
Victoria Beckham’s love for fashion is definitely obvious these days as she’s gathering more supporters by signing up to popular social networking site Twitter. In just a span of few days, the fashion icon managed to get more than a hundred thousand followers.
The news that the former Spice Girl has joined the Twitter bandwagon spread like wildfire after actress Eva Longoria tweeted “Hey everyone, my dear friend Victoria Beckham is finally on twitter! Give her a warm welcome!”
The friends were seen recently dining out in London with Longoria wearing one of Beckham’s newest designs. The wife of football star David Beckham is hard at work in trumpeting her latest designs which will be seen by public for the first time at the New York Fashion Week this month.
Both Beckham and Longoria are featured in the new American advert for LG Fashion Touch phones, adding more glamour to the business fashion world.
Men’s fashion has taken the backseat all these years due to the increasing interest in the women’s side with clothing lines offering the most diverse and colourful products. Classically, mens fashion has revolved around basic suits, shirts, ties, etc, and with not much imagination invested in more casual wear. However, men are increasingly expressing an interest in the desire to look good when they go out, so the male fashion industry has seen a surge of designers branching out in this line of business to meet the growing demand.
Islamic Design House Managing Director Harun Rashid said that even though they are creating a larger number of male fashion lines these days, they are still creating these products that would still target the female population. Rashid said that men rarely buys for themselves and their wives or girlfriends will end up to be the ones to do this rather daunting task, and this is despite online-shopping become much more common-place.
Islamic Design House has been designing products that have both the East and Western culture embedded in every item. The company hopes that their initiatives will bear fruit in the near future.
Fashion lingerie model Noemie Lenoir, who’s working for retail giant Marks & Spencer, grabbed headlines this week after she was found unconscious in her Paris home. Initial reports revealed that the model made a suicide attempt by taking several drugs with alcohol.
Lenoir is the current girlfriend of ex-Chelsea football player Claude Makelele. Mekelele called the emergency services after he found her unconscious girlfriend last Sunday. This was revealed by a source from the police department.
The thirty year-old model, who also modeled for Gap, Next and Victoria’s Secret, became conscious minutes later after the call and the ambulance service was cancelled.
However, she was found unconscious once more after she left the house by herself several hours later. She was immediately rushed to the hospital where medical officials discovered she consumed large quantities of alcohol and drugs. The officials said that she’s in good condition.
Actress Lindsay Lohan confirmed that she has ended her partnership with fashion designer Emanuel Ungaro and his fashion house.
This ended several months of speculation that the “Mean Girls” actress is no longer a part of the French fashion house. She personally announced that she no longer works as “artistic advisor” of the company.
Lohan was asked recently why she was not present at the Ungaro show at the Paris Fashion Week, Lohan said that she doesn’t work for the company anymore. When prodded to add more information, she said that there’s a lot of legal processes going on which prevents her from talking about the matter further.
Ungaro’s former CEO Mounir Moufarrige denied rumors last year that they are letting go of the actress after her first collection for the company did not meet expectations.
At that time Moufarrige said that the controversy brought by Lohan’s appointment increased the interest of the public to their collection.
