Milan Fashion Week - day 3

I'm off to Milan in two months time for 3-months of maxed-up stress for my MA final project. Two months late for Milan fashion week. 

Bummer.

However, I am enjoying perusing from afar this week's offerings. 

Blumarine. Thank you. Autumn/winter 2012/13 and there shall be colour. The Italian label's collection for the solemn winter months began with a cascade of bright fluffy coats over virginal white trousers and stark polo necks.

We as a nation, nay, as lovers of fashion, seem only too keen to shun colour as soon as the first leaves begin to fall. This is silly. 

Now who knows how I'm to feel when summer has ended and the winter months start to draw in. But I can bet I shall be thankful for the small glimmer of sugar-coated, e-number filled colours Bluemarine have just shown as part of their autumn/winter collection 2012/13.

Screw black. Forget khaki, grey and brown. If it would be hideous as an interior paint choice, I'm wearing it.

Oh and don't forget about trusty old metallics. They're still around in a big way it seems for next autumn/winter. Blumarine, Anya Hindmarch, Maria Grachvogel, Matthew Williamson have all shown metallics during the recent big four fws.

So, zesty colour for unzesty autumn and winter... yep, I'm with the Italians on this one.

TREND UPDATE: Dreamy pastels...

Oh I'm so pleased about the pastel trend and no more so because at the time of writing this I'm standing, peering through the window at a snow-covered garden. 

Pastels - ok, so its definitely a spring trend and obviously winter still has its icy white hold on us, yet pastels would look so divine in the snow:

Pale orchid purples, the creamiest of milky whites, mellow hibiscus yellows and blush pinks - the pastel trend is so dreamy.

Remember the Louis Vuitton spring/summer show? Heavens, it made me melt.

Pastels at Louis Vuitton Paris Fashion Week 2011

Philip Lim - pastels done simply

LV showed the uptmost ladylike of shapes in boxy jackets and full midi-skirts with delicate cut-out collars and princess up-dos. For an extra flounce, the French fashion house also showed full-fifties skirts made of dandelion-light marabou feathers. 

If, like me, you prefer wearing trends a little understated, take some inspiration from Philip Lim. In his spring/summer 2012 collection, pastels were boxed into soft shapes; a no-nonsense, divine in its simplicity, alternative to Louis Vuitton's fairytale yet everybit as dreamy. 

My tip - let the pastels do the talking. Mix them up but keep it simple. Like pearls, pastels are so feminine that adornment and embellishment just aren't necessary.

Lovely.

TREND UPDATE: shimmer+shine+sparkle... Christmas 2011

If Christmas is anything, it is sparkly. That is why I am so pleased the fashion gods have created a plethora of glittery, gleaming and glamorous outfits for this most shimmery of seasons.

If you dare to wear all out metallic in curious, Christmas card cut-out shapes a la Stella McCartney, I applaud you. Here, coats and jumpers are objects placed onto to models, not haphazedly draped or wrapped. These items of beauty are art, the wearer, the canvas.

Gareth Pugh

Stella McCartney

I cannot encourage this look enough. It is otherworldly, stunning in the most organic sense. Gareth Pugh's morphed robotic metallics are for the more adventurous but are equally divine.

Balmain

And it doesn't have to be gold. Balmain, one of my favourite favourites also worked the metallic, shiny trend in tones of pewter and icy cold ocean blue.
There is no time better than Christmas to try out this trend.

You have permission to sparkle unashamedly.

v

A quick little survey...

If any of you lovely people have a spare 5 minutes and would like to do a good deed, would you please fill out my quick survey:

http://kwiksurveys.com?u=fashionblog

It really won't take more than 5 minutes and will help me out a lot!

Thank you 

v

Happy Halloween!

It seems a funny thing to say, Happy Halloween, but I'm jumping on the bandwagon and embracing all things dark and spooky today.

I'm thinking of wearing black lipstick today, all day - you know, to pop to the shops, whilst studying, walking the dog etc. I wonder what the response will be in my quaint English village when a figure resembling a half-hearted Lady Gaga pops down to the shop for a morning paper and pint of milk?

I'll let you know.


v

ACCESSORIES UPDATE: Chokers

If like me, chokers throw up images of the gothic side of the populous, it's time to think again.

Not that I have anything against gothic dressers might I say. There is certainly something very bracing and courageous about wearing whatever the heck one darn well likes and being proud of it.

Anyhow, I digress. Chokers.

Bottega Veneta

Valentino

Valentino

Undercover at FarFetch.com

The chokers that have been gracing the slender necks of Valentino and Bottega Veneta models are softer and more ethereal than the slick tight black velvet versions we may associate with the accessory of the early nineties.

Beading, delicate, feather-light fabrics and muted tones make chokers a very modern and ultra feminine alternative to necklaces, and the accessory of this Autumn/Winter.

v

TREND UPDATE: Ladylike

I'm writing this as riots continue to mark heavily on the UK's city communities. The rampaging fires, smashed-in shop windows and countless acts of violence are a far-cry from the escapism of fashion and even more far removed from the ladylike trend I wish to write about. Love and peace to the families, business owners and communities affected by the senseless rioting in the capital and elsewhere.

Onto brighter things, I mentioned in my last tweet the summer Ladylike trend that began in the spring/early summer months. I'm hoping the trend for elegant style and grace manages to eek it out a little longer...

Ever since the handsome Prince William married his belle Catherine Middleton in April this year, an air of ladylike elegance has perfumed the summer air in all its sweetness and gentility. And about time too I say.

What with the Saturday’s Royal wedding between Zara Philips and Mike Tindall, and numerous other weddings and romantic garden parties either in the public eye or for friends and family, dressing like a lady would has certainly been soup de jour.

Pretty florals, ivory lace and elegant cuts of summer dresses – skimming the silhouette and hemlines just above the knee and no more – have proved perfectly apt for the current feeling of political and financial austerity as well as the renewed interest in all things Royal.

Dolce & Gabbana

  

And, as the austerity climate continues, calf-length or mid-length skirts and dresses will still be the order of the day.  Loose-pleated midi skirts or a new shape of pencil skirts worn with soft silk blouses in neutral, warm shades will continue with the sense of Ladylike demure that has wonderfully filled the summer wedding parties and formal occasions of the past few months. Here's to femininity, grace and style.