Your Fashion Fix

With London Fashion Week and the Bafta awards both in the same week, you’d be forgiven for wondering why the two had never crossed paths before.

Next week London will be the epicentre of the fashion world as well as the movie industry as countless celebs, designers, models and pretty much anyone in the industry heads for the UK Capital for what promises to be the most stylish awards ceremony the city has ever seen.

The British Fashion Council have now announced that they will be joining forces with Bafta organisers to “create and ¬develop links between London’s fashion and film industries”

There will be actresses looking for that perfect red carpet dress and a wealth of designers – old and new – looking for celebrities to showcase their designs along the red carpet catwalk so it sounds like a perfect partnership.

The collaboration is the brainchild of Lucy Yeomans, the editor of British Harper’s Bazaar magazine and chair of the ¬British Fashion Council’s press ¬committee. She said: “We’ve got this extraordinary -coincidence of timing, with the Baftas happening during London fashion week, so it seems so obvious to use it to everyone’s advantage.”

British beauty Kate Winslet will help host a mixer party where designers can meet celebs and hopefully convince them to showcase their designs on the big awards night. Bafta in return are inviting select celebs to their official nominee’s party, the night before the awards, so potential matches have plenty of opportunities to blossom.

Yeomans added: “If we can put together a young actress with an up-and-coming designer, and they get to know and understand each other, that could be a relationship that lasts 20 years. That’s what’s exciting, to me.”

Yummy mummy Denise Van Outen has teamed up with fashion site Very.co.uk to launch a range of stylish maternity wear.

TV presenter Denise is following the most recent trend of celeb-turned-designer and the DvO collection at Very.co.uk is going to be a collection of casual yet stylish maternity-wear for the modern mum.

The DvO collection will include 16 key pieces including a black jumpsuit, yoga inspired pieces such as jersey cropped harem pants, a stretch tube dress, an empire bow dress and asymmetric hoodies.

Gareth Jones, Brand Director of Shop Direct Group comments “We are very pleased to have Denise on board. Our customers have been asking for an accessible, easy to wear maternity range and we feel that they will be very pleased with Denise’s collection”

The collection will be available from fashion site Very.co.uk from March 2010 where you can also find celebrity designed fashion as well as fashion advice on their interactive forums.

After months of admiring Dannii Minogue’s fantastic wardrobe and ever changing hairstyles on the X-Factor, it’s no surprise that she has announced that she’s trying her hand in the world of fashion design.

Dannii has teamed up with handbag designer Tabitha Somerset Webb and has reportedly designed a fashion collection which will be released in summer 2010 and if her stylish wardrobe is anything to go by, we can’t wait to see the results.

The X-Factor star recently wrote on twitter her about her new dress collection, tweeting: I’m so excited. Having the best day. I’m selling my new collection of dresses – pinching myself that the dream has come true!’
Miss. Minogue has also just become the newest M&S girl. The star will join British modelling legend Twiggy, TV presenter Lisa Snowdon, the Brazilian supermodel Ana Beatiz Barros and also singer VV Brown as the new face of the M&S fashion campaigns.

The X-Factor judge tweeted her news to the world saying: “I’m so excited to be a Marks and Spencer girl!”
Marks and Spencer launched their new fashion adverts, featuring famous celebrities, as part of a campaign to get rid of their fusty, outdated image.

With Dannii on board we’re sure that budding fashionistas everywhere will be more than willing to venture into their local M&S for a look around and will be hoping for some inspired collections from the high street store.
With her ventures into the fashion world, it looks like 2010 will be a busy year for the mum-to-be who is due to give birth to her first child in July.

Supermodel Kate Moss has revealed that she has been asked to exhibit her designs in an upcoming exhibition taking place at Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs next spring.

The 36 year old has been dabbling in the fashion industry for a while, even launching her Topshop collection back in 2007, bringing fashion icon style to the high street.

Kate is still modelling and will appear on March’s cover of Harper’s Bazaar and is said to be shocked about being asked to exhibit her collection.

People magazine reported Moss as saying: “I just didn’t believe it” adding “I’m not really a fashion designer. I just love clothes. I’ve never been to design school. I can’t sketch. I can’t cut patterns and things. I can shorten things. I can make a dress out of a scarf.”

Good to know that even supermodels have fears about how their work will be received and it goes to show that an eye for design can be far more important than courses or qualifications.

Although Kate doesn’t see herself as a “proper” designer, her designs for Topshop have been extremely popular and no doubt budding fashionistas the world over will be eager to see her designs for the Paris exhibition.

This month, the UK’s biggest fashion shows is here to celebrate its 25th anniversary. That’s right; London Fashion week is back and better than ever. The exhibition starts on the 19th February right through till the 23rd. The essential fashion and shopping event of the year is taking place at Somerset house in London to show off top designers Autumn/Winter collections for 2010. This major event is sponsored by big high street names such as Topshop and Monsoon.

This year also Topshop have come up with a special collaboration for fashion week, also available to buy in stores around the country. Topshop’s Ann-Sofie Black has designed a 7 piece collection of gothic inspired slashed cotton dresses to hit the catwalk and the streets this February. This particular collection ranges from between £45-£60 in price and will be a must-have addition to any girls wardrobe.

This year London fashion week has been described as a digital phenomenon. This year it is now possible for fashion fanatics to get a front row seat to the fashion event of the year from their own home. All catwalk shows this season are been streamed live from the London Fashion week official website, making the show truly un-missable. The website also offers exclusive videos from designers such as Danielle Scutt and Hussein Chalayan.

One fashion icon of last year was the R and B singer Rihanna. So for fashion lovers who want to steal her style, Ashish has designed a Rihanna inspired collection including a biker jacket, embellished with sharp stud decorated shoulders. This talented designer has also provided a track suit inspired collection, which may provide us with a motive to use that gym-membership once in a while.

For the more daring individual on offer is the eclectic eccentricity, courtesy of House of Holland and The fashion East runway show. This particular event promises only the best of the boldest and bravest of this years emerging designers.

For those of us who like to add a bit of glamour into our lives. Sunday is the ultimate chill out day for you with pieces being shown from designers such as Betty Jackson and Vivienne Westwood.

The 3D phenomenon has firmly established itself in the movie world and never one to miss a trend, it was only so long before the fashion industry followed suit.

British fashion giant Burberry has announced that they will be streaming their London Fashion week show in 3D. The 3D presentation will be streamed across the world to fashion enthusiasts in Tokyo, Paris, Dubai and New York.

The Burberry 3D presentation will be the first of its kind and fashionistas across the globe will be able to don 3D specs at special events and watch the show in all its 3D glory.

Burberry’s chief creative officer said: “3D technology will bring our global audience into the London show space allowing them to see the colours and fabrics, to hear the music and to be a part of that moment when it all finally comes together”

It’s the first event of its kind but with Burberry heading into new 3D territory we’re sure that it won’t be long until other fashion brands follow suit and hopefully the future will see more 3D shows being streamed live across the world.

If you’re in one of the major cities mentioned or if you don’t have an invite to the private event then you will be pleased to know that you can still watch the show on the Burberry site, but you’ll have to settle for retro 2D.

Woman’s fashion is always changing and shoes are no exception, shoe styles have changed dramatically over the last 100 years, the shoes we think are fashionable now are in some cases just a rebirth of earlier fashion with a unique new twist.

During the 1920s women’s shoes consisted of Oxfords, ballet shoes, flats or fairly high and wide loafer-style shoes were fairly high and wide these lightly heeled shoes were even worn with women’s swimming costumes during this time, as a sign of femininity.

In the 1930s although traditional styles of high heeled loafers were still worn, strapped heels and pumps were becoming increasingly popular.

During the war shoes and clothing became more practical and conservative, for this reason women’s work shoes were frequently made with flatter heels, and often made with cork or wooden soles.

In the 1950’s women continued wearing flat shoes and solid heels and sandals and pumps become accepted.

In the 1960s leather, slip on boots and thin heeled pumps became popular.

In the 1970s, vinyl boots become very popular alongside moccasin-style loafers with wide heel and the trendy platform.

In the 1980s pumps with extremely high, thin heels became more of a hit, during this decade there was a desire amongst woman to achieve the more expensive, celebrity look. High fashion lovers also dabbled with lace up boots and spiked heel boots during this decade.

In the 1990s style has became much safer, during this decade leather substitutes became much more popular, Cork-soled sandals styles as well as walking shoes made with bulk heels were extremely fashionable during this time.

From the late 1990s until now several retro styles have been rebirthed. For instance, in 2008 vintage wide-heeled shoes that were popular during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s can often be seen on the red carpets.

More recently in 2009 high thin heeled shoes came back in to fashion with a unique suede or vinyl finish, with straps and peep toes.

Early this year laced boots which were extremely popular in the 1980’s made a dramatic come back after being slightly restyled to give off a worn, authentic, biker look.

Jeans can be found in nearly everyone’s wardrobe – and it’s no surprise considering the range of styles, cuts and colours that are on offer. Whether it’s skinny, high waist, low waist, bootleg, boyfriend, straight cut, flared, bell bottomed, baggy, carpenter, cropped, drain pipe, blue, red, yellow, smart, casual and ripped; where do you start? There are several main body types and below are a few pointers to help you find the perfect pair of jeans, whatever your shape.

If you have an hourglass figure then your hips and shoulders are in proportion, your waist is nicely defined and you have a medium to large bust size. The best jeans for you are straight leg jeans, which are flattering to most body shapes. You might also like to try bootleg , wide leg and skinny jeans because these cuts all skim your body, creating a slimming effect and so show off your curves in a flattering manner. Avoid baggy jeans because these will only hide your curves and make you appear larger than you are.

If your hips are wider than your shoulders, a long torso and smaller bust size you will probably be a pear-shape. If this sounds like you then you’ll want more room in the hips and thighs. The best jeans for you are bootleg because they will balance out your lower half with your top half. Depending on how tall you are – the taller the better in this case – try wide leg styles as this will pull your hips into better proportions with your shoulders. Darker colours are recommended as lighter jeans attract unwanted attention to the thigh area and make your legs seem wider. Avoid wearing skinny jeans and high waisted styles – skinny jeans will make your thighs and hips appear a lot bigger and high waisted jeans will accentuate your hips even further.
Are you more of a rectangular body where you don’t have an obvious waste or particularly obvious curves? If so the best jeans for you are ones that help define your curves; by wearing high-waisted jeans you create shape and definition at your waist. Also look out for jeans that are faded at the front as this gives the illusion of curves. You’re lucky enough to be able to wear skinny, straight and bootleg cuts as well. The jeans that wouldn’t be recommended are baggy versions because you’ll lose all sight of your curves and femininity.
If you find that your shoulders are wider than your hips you will have a triangular body shape, which is the opposite to the pear shape. Boyfriend jeans, bootleg and wide legs are all jeans that can help to balance out your bottom half with your top half. We already know that lighter colours have a visually widening effect on the eye so if you opt for skinny jeans, try going for a lighter pair – again addressing the balance between your top and bottom half.

A few final tips; if your tummy is an issue, find a waistband that sits on the widest part of your tummy. This way the area is cut in half and so broken up. Having high waistbands will accentuate your tummy where as low waistbands may result in a little too much flesh on show – both in front and behind. Try having different lengths of jeans – some for flat shoes and some for heels. And finally high waists and long legs both have lengthening effects so if you already have a long torso opt for a mid to low waist.

No matter what your shape or size there will be a pair of jeans out there that make you look and feel great! It’s just a matter of getting to know your own body and what does and doesn’t work. So start by working out what kind of shape you are and then what kind of jeans you are after. Remember, wearing the most fashionable jeans of the moment doesn’t mean that they’re the best pair for you.

No matter what body shape you are, learning what styles suit your shape and what colours flatter your complexion, will mean that you will always look gorgeous. Whether you’re an hourglass or pear, getting to grips with what clothes look good on you will make you feel great on the inside as well as the outside.
If your hip-line and bust-line are the same but your waist is defined with a balanced body shape then you have a hourglass-shaped body. This body shape is seen as the ideal body shape and because of your shapely, balanced figure, with hips and shoulders about the same width, you have plenty of options for dressing your shape. The key thing is to make the most of your curves, particularly your waist, by wearing fitted or semi-fitted clothing, soft, flowing fabrics, low to medium necklines, dresses that are defined at the waist and straight or gently flared trousers. Be careful not to wear stiff or bulky fabrics, baggy clothes, high necklines, skirts with open pleats or very tapered trousers – these things will all hide your curves and make you appear larger than you are.

If you’ve got an inverted triangle body shape where you have a larger bust or broader shoulders, possibly both, this is considered the second best body shape. The key to flatter this body shape is to create the illusion of a balanced upper body and lower body – like the hour glass figure. You should try to wear items that have flowing fabrics, low to medium neck lines, three-quarter length sleeves, tops and dresses that flow through the waist, a-line skirts and flared trousers. Avoid wearing stiff or bulky fabrics (the same as the hourglass -shaped body), styles that emphasize your shoulders, high neck lines, big collars and tapered skirts or trousers.

You have a pear-shaped body if your bust-line is proportionally smaller than your full hip-line and your waist is well defined. Your shoulders are narrow but your thighs and bottom are full. So because your shape is ‘bottom heavy’ try to balance your top half with your bottom half. Wear accessories or prints that draw attention to your top half, as well as short sleeved tops, shoulder pads, medium to high neck lines, skirts and dresses that are straight or slightly flared, low rise trousers and either bootleg or straight trousers. These all bring the eye’s attention to the top half, resulting in a balancing effect. Don’t wear baggy clothes, stiff materials, clothes that add bulk to your hips, open pleats on skirts or tapered trousers. These are things that would draw attention to your lower half and so prevent a balance.

If your bust line and hip line are about the width but your waist isn’t particularly defined you are a rectangular shape. You probably look shorter or heavier than you really are so it’s important to add curves by defining your shoulders or waist. The ways to do this are by wearing shoulder pads, semi-fitted clothes, short or sleeve-less tops if you have firm upper arms, medium to high neck lines, dresses that flow or wrap around the waistline, gently flared trousers and a-line shirts. Definitely avoid things like clingy fabrics, fitted clothes, low necklines, baggy clothing or narrow skirts.

If you have an apple body shape there are two variations- the oval and the diamond. Both variations have an overall appearance of being round, particularly across the waist line, a large tummy, wide hips and full thighs. The difference between the two is that the oval shape tends to have low belly where as the diamond tends to have a high belly. For the apple shape in general the main aims are to create an illusion of a longer body shape and to draw attention to the face and shoulders. Focal points such as earrings or necklaces are a good way to draw attention up to your face and shoulder pads are good for drawing attention to your shoulders. Also, try semi-fitted clothing, good fitting bras, support underwear, tops and bottoms in the same colours, low necklines, tops and dresses that flow around the waist line, straight trousers in soft fabrics and straight or slightly flared skirts. Don’t wear fitted clothes, clingy fabrics, high necklines, large lapels, belts, tucked in tops, pleats, and narrow or tapered skirts or trousers.

Get to know your body shape and that way you can get to know what cuts and styles work best for your individual shape. The better you look on the outside, the more confident you’ll feel on the inside and this positive thinking will shine through.

We all know Miley Cyrus; the pop sensation keeps surprising everyone and keeps fans across the globe entertained. Max Azria is no stranger to fashion lovers either, since he is known to be the man behind brands like BCBG and Herve Leger. What would happen if they work together? The Miley Cyrus & Max Azria fashion line.

Miley Cyrus & Max Azria can be categorized as a pop collection, with fashion items and accessories designed to make you look chic and sporty. The fashion line is surprisingly affordable, even for those of you on a strictly tight budget. The collection works best — and mostly designed — for teens, but fashion lovers of different ages can also use the collection to mix and match with other fashion items to create different looks.

My personal favorite is the tunics. There are different models of tunics and tanks available in the Miley Cyrus & Max Azria collection. The crisscross ruffle tunic is simply amazing; combine it with a nice pair of skinny jeans and you have one solid look for the day. You can also opt for the one-shoulder fringe tunic or even the racerback tunic and combine the fashion item with blazers or jackets.

The boyfriend vest may seem a bit ordinary at first, but you can easily wear it with a nice t-shirt or western shirt to look beautiful for the day. Don’t forget to check out Miley Cyrus & Max Azria bottoms as well, since they are offering some of the best leggings and denims available.