This country girl is fashioning her way to the bank and to her Texas roots as she prepares for the launch of her first sportswear collection–with cut off.
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Jessica Simpson Launches Sportswear Collection | FASHIONREPORTERS
Movie star speaks up for British fashion
9:10am Thursday 31st March 2011
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HOLLYWOOD actress Thandie Newton had a fairly easy mission yesterday when she visited Bicester Village to support rising fashion designers.
The Mission Impossible star opened a new pop-up shop at the outlet centre.
The store, called the British Designers’ Collective, will host a range of clothing, shoes and accessories designed by some of the hottest names in British fashion.
Designers include multi-award-winning Jonathan Saunders, Felicity Brown, Holly Fulton and Markus Lupfer.
The shop, run by the British Fashion Council, will be open until mid-May.
Ms Newton said: “I am delighted to be working with Bicester Village supporting young British designers.
“The British Designers’ Collective is such an innovative way of giving new talent such an important window.”
Bafta-winning Ms Newton’s other movies include The Pursuit of Happyness, Run Fatboy Run and Oscar-winner Crash. She also appeared in the hit US TV medical drama ER.
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Article source: http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/8943214.Movie_star_speaks_up_for_British_fashion/
Pia Toscano, Naima Adedapo and Lauren Alaina. Courtesy: Fox
With the evening’s Elton John song theme, the ladies costume designer for “American Idol,” Soyon An, could have easily taken off with “Rocket Man” inspirations.
But she kept the mohair suits and electric boots out of her repertoire, and instead went heavy on the glitter and glam.
Such was the case with performer of the night Haley Reinhart, who wore a really keen Ema Savahl dress with a glittering, floral pattern and a plunging neckline to sing a husky-voiced, foot-stomping version of John’s “Benny and the Jets.” (An image of Haley was not immediately available, but you can check out her performance on YouTube here.)
“We were going to do boots,” An says. “Then it didn’t matter anymore what the lyrics were saying when we tried on the dress. The inspiration was Elton John’s loud colors and style but worn in a sexy, modern Haley kind of way. I think Elton would have appreciated that Haley started off that song on a piano wearing a hand-painted dress.”
An spoke exclusively with StyleList about the “Idol” ladies’ performance looks from New York City, after she flew in to serve as guest stylist for the Baby Phat label.
Pia Toscano: Her sexy, glittering minidress with a sheer midriff came from the Mint Collection in Los Angeles. The costume designer paired it up with Christian Louboutin heels, which — no surprise — Toscano loved. “The shoes really made the dress, although the dress had a lot to say on its own,” says An.
Lauren Alaina: Judge Steven Tyler teased the country crooner that, soon, her music career would provide enough money to buy “the rest of” her short-in-the-front, long-in-the-back Jovani dress. An picked it out (also at the Mint Collection) for her first ballad. “It was the right time for that dress,” says An, who kept it young and fresh with Chinese Laundry shoes and “just enough” Martine Wester jewelery.
Thia Megia. Courtesy: Fox
Thia Megia: Her hip, yet ethereal Leyendecker flattered the 16-year-old singer, who sang John’s “Daniel,” because “it’s a true reflection of her style element,” says An. The stylist added wedge sandals, bird rings and coordinating necklace by CC Skye to polish the one-shoulder dress and its ruffle bodice.
Naima Adedapo: An’s own design label, Kizmit Inc., added the reggae-themed colors of the Jamaican flag to the eclectic performer’s tailored vest and pants from Bebe. The costume designer also customized her red, green and yellow shoes. (An was a little disappointed the cameras only caught the peep of red on the towering heels.) All of Adedapo’s funky jewels were the custom creations of Bijou Tresor at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles.
Reinhart: An notes that fans who love her hand-painted Savahl dress can rent it from lendingluxury.com.
For more fashion dish on the “Idol” ladies, read last week’s costume recap.
Article source: http://www.stylelist.com/2011/03/31/american-idol-fashion-elton-john-glamour/
EDMONTON — Yoga pants, those form-fitting bottoms designed for the stretch and bend of the yoga studio or the gym, have been not-so-slowly creeping into the wider world of the grocery store, the casual restaurant and yes, even the office.
While lovers of comfort and yoga pant manufacturers might embrace this evolution, lovers of fashion tend to cringe at the sight of an army of women clad uniformly in lululemon, or one of its competitors.
“They’re fine for the gym, and that’s about it,� says Annella Wasserman, who organizes a mobile clothing sale called The Fashion Event several times a year, offering fashion lines not available at local retailers.
“I’m so tired of people walking around in their lululemons or whatever and thinking they look good, but they just look boring, like every other person,� she says. “The problem is everyone looks like clones … there’s no personality in their clothes and that’s what drives me nuts. Why would you want to look like everybody else?�
Leggings paired with a great tunic and boots, or a soft, simple wrap dress are just as comfortable and look far more stylish, she adds. “If you’re walking around in sweats or yoga pants, it gives people the impression that you don’t care or you’ve given up.�
The image women project in yoga pants, particularly the traditional, tight, “bum-showing, cup-under-the-butt-cheek� ones, is of concern to local image consultant Shirley Borrelli.
“It’s too sexy and it’s too casual. Those send messages that steal credibility and steal the authority somewhat, because that’s what people wear to the gym … How could it possibly be the same piece of clothing that belongs in the office?�
Still, the more generous the fit of the pant, the more generous is Borrelli’s assessment. Straighter, less-fitted yoga pants, when worn with a belted cardigan, a trench and a ballet flat, are perfectly fine for shopping or going out to lunch, she adds.
Most companies now make several looser alternatives to the traditional yoga pant, recognizing that people are wearing them for much more than just yoga, says Borrelli.
One Tooth, the Vancouver-made yoga wear that has two franchises in Edmonton owned by Oui3, now stocks 11 different styles of pant, from leggings to “yoga fit� to looser pants that fall straight from the hip, says Lori Lamer, one of Oui3’s owners. Lamer regularly wear them to work herself as a kindergarten teacher.
“I see them at the office, I see them at the school — it’s not just workout wear. Our research before we opened our store found that 80 per cent of this kind of clothing is worn as streetwear, not exercise wear,� she says.
One of her customers, who works for a local TV station, also wears them for work, Lamer adds. “She calls them her ‘cheater’ pants. A straight pair of black pants she can wear dressed up with a blazer and they look like black dress pants.�
Cathy Carlson, owner of Seriously Green, an eco-friendly store in St. Albert, wears her One Tooth black yoga pants to work because her days are spent stocking shelves, moving boxes and dealing with customers. “They’re comfortable; I can move around in them and they still look dressy,� she says. She pairs them with a simple top and polishes the look with a scarf or vest and boots or dressier shoes.
Deb Ryan, a retired teaching assistant who still works occasionally with her husband’s construction company, says she wears her yoga pants “for everything and anything.�
“You can wear them with whatever you have on,� she adds during a recent shopping trip at a local mall, wearing black, loose-fit yoga pants, blacks sneakers and a black wool jacket. “You can be dressed up or not dressed up. They don’t look like a sweatpant.�
The key to wearing them outside the yoga studio or gym is in combining them with the right top and shoes, says Cori Windsor of Sherwood Park, who, with sister Bobbi, designs and sells a line of Canadian-made athletic wear called TerraFrog.
“If you’re going casual on the bottom, you can go casual on the top, but not messy-casual,� she says. “It has to be cute-casual — a little fitted top, maybe with a bit of silk in it; in the summer, a little tank, but not your boyfriend’s big, ugly sweatshirt.�
Windsor agrees that conventional, tighter-fitting yoga pants don’t belong in the office or in an elegant restaurant. But some styles, like the “boat capris� TerraFrog makes — a looser, cropped pant — are great paired with pretty sandals and a summery top for drinks on the patio. Customers love to wear yoga pants on plane rides, too, because they’re so comfortable, she adds.
Our penchant for yoga pants may well be a reflection of how busy our lives are — moving from the office to the gym to kids’ soccer practices before finally heading home at night, says Borrelli. “Who wants to be in pantyhose and high heels for that?�
Sara Maxwell, a 29-year-old pharmacist, say she chooses yoga pants and jeans for her off-hours because she has to wear dress pants all week at work. In fact, her workplace banned yoga pants after staff tried to pass them off as dress pants in the past. “There’s a time and a place to wear them, and work is not a great place to wear yoga pants,� she says. “If you work at lululemon, hey great. If you work in an office and you’re supposed to be business professional, I would say not.�
mgold@edmontonjournal.com
What do you think? Are yoga pants outside the gym a fashion calamity? Would you wear them in your workplace? Please add your comments and we’ll include some in the Style section of the newspaper on Saturday.
Article source: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Save+your+yoga+pants+ladies/4536821/story.html
At first glance, Whitney Morris’ second-floor walk-up resembles most bachelor pads. An office has been converted into a “man cave” filled with a keyboard, a couple of guitars and a computer. The kitchen looks virtually untouched. It isn’t until you walk into his bedroom that you realize Morris has a serious addiction to shoes — Nike Dunk SBs to be exact.
“One hundred sixty-something [pairs] the last time I checked,” the 28-year-old Charles Village resident said. “It’s absurd.”
Morris’ bedroom has turned into a shrine to Nike Dunk SBs. Empty shoe boxes — they’re needed when he resells a pair — are stacked to the ceiling in no apparent order. The collection of shoes includes nearly every color and design imaginable, from the cobalt-hued sneakers with a blue-checkered interior (“The Blue Lobster”) to the light pink, yellow and black pair called the “Miss Piggy.” All of them are arranged side by side on a mix of metal shelves, wooden planks and converted bookcases. Tape is used in certain areas to reinforce the weighted-down surfaces.
“I’ve had some friends come in and say: ‘Oh, God!’ Some people think they are cool,” Morris said. “My aunt and uncle came over, and I didn’t take them in my room. I told them that they would be disgusted.”
Morris is just one of a growing number of sneaker fans — referred to as “sneaker heads” — with hundreds of pairs of shoes.
Sean Conway has a number of friends who have hundreds of pairs of Nike Dunks, and his own collection is around 500 pairs.
The Annapolis resident has devoted his life to footwear. In fact, his main source of income is buying shoes and reselling them once they have appreciated in value. Conway has so many of the shoes that he converted his second bedroom into a storage room.
“I love the shoes — the material, colorways and collaborations,” he said. “Some people think I’m crazy until I show them that there are shoes that sell online for $4,000. I think of it as a collection and an investment. The shoes are always going to be collectibles.”
Morris, Conway and the cult culture of collectors like them buck the stereotype that extensive shoe-collecting is a women’s pastime, according to Vasilios Christofilakos, chairman of the accessories design department at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
“There aren’t that many of them, but they exist,” Christofilakos said.
“Men who have an obsession with shoes are a totally different animal than the average man,” he said. “The average man will have up to four pairs of shoes in their closet — a black oxford shoe, a brown shoe and an athletic shoe. They’ll wear them until heels wear off.”
While women tend to go for variety in their shoe collections (picture the heels, boots, sandals, flats and more filling the closets of the notorious Imelda Marcos and the fictitious Carrie Bradshaw from “Sex and the City”), men tend to collect a certain type, according to Christofilakos.
“He’ll be on the pulse on what is coming out and will be at the door waiting,” Christofilakos said.
Conway sees a distinct difference between his sneaker-purchasing habits and a woman buying a new pair of designer peep-toe platforms to go with a new outfit.
“Those shoes those women buy have no story behind them,” he said. “Women buying shoes and shoe collectors are much different. If I was buying Prada, Gucci and Louboutins, that would be one thing, but I’m buying Nikes and Jordans. I don’t think those other shoes have a retail value.”
Men with large shoe collections fall under two categories: the obsessive fashionisto or the athletic footwear beast, according to Christofilakos. Nike Dunk SB collectors are considered the latter.
“They can have hundreds in their closet,” Christofilakos explained. “Will they wear them? Maybe once or twice.”
Morris and Conway acknowledge having shoes that they have never donned.
“My New Year’s resolution was to sell some off that I haven’t worn,” Morris said with a chuckle.
Morris will also take extra precautions when wearing certain shoes.
Article source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/fashion/bs-st-mens-shoes-20110330,0,1353365.story
The clothes on the LG Fashion Week runway are a look-ahead to fall 2011. The front row, meanwhile, is bursting with bright spring fashions. Despite the shivery temperatures outside, editors and industry heavy-hitters were dressed lightly, with bare legs strapped into the season’s precipitous heeled wedgies.
Shoes are all-important ringside as the cameras catch all the best toes as they shoot the strutting models. National Post fashion editor Nathalie Atkinson once gave in and wore Blundstones to cope with a 12-hour day of shows. The fashion-blogger cadre proceeded to let her have it for not living up to the fashion footwear code. Monday night for the opening ceremonies, Atkinson went for avant-garde red velvet platforms with chrysanthemum bows.
A good number of attendees brought out the best of their homegrown finery: Jeremy Laing was the label of choice on a number of Holt Renfrew divas, including both VP of fashion direction Barbara Atkin and PR chief Moira Wright. We also loved sales associate Gloria Sharp who topped a spring-bold Prada dress with a teensy Smythe leather bomber shrug and a little Chanel to boot.
The standout of the night was designer Kimberley Newport-Mimran, whose goodies were in the Holts’ show, in her own Pink Tartan electric-blue ensemble for this spring: a floaty chiffon blouse over pegged skinny pants and matching pumps: exactly the right proportion of colour and skin.
The country’s perennially best-dressed diva, Zoomer editrix-in-chief Suzanne Boyd, showed how it is done in a slim-legged matching khaki ensemble by Alexander McQueen, finished with precipitous snakeskin heels. Socialite Sylvia Mantella wore a red-and-gold Alexander McQueen kimono with thigh-high, black, Louis Vuitton boots.
Article source: http://www.thestar.com/living/fashionweek/article/965791--the-style-heavyhitters-turn-out-in-their-springtime-best-at-lg-fashion-week
By
Rachel Fanconi
Last updated at 11:32 PM on 30th March 2011
If you’ve ever tried to tug a poorly fitting pair of size 16 jeans over your hips in a changing room before collapsing in a dejected heap on the floor, you are not alone. One in four British women is now wearing a size 18 or above.
But as Radio 4 presenter Jenni Murray admitted in this paper last week, it is almost impossible to find clothes that are both big and beautiful. So is hiding away in shapeless sacks the only solution? It most certainly is not.
As a fashion stylist who has dressed celebrities of all shapes and sizes, I’ve discovered that every – and I mean every – woman can look good. If you know where to look, there are some fantastic companies, both on the High Street and on the internet, that have finally woken up to the fact that curvier women don’t just want to crawl away and hide.
My number one rule is to ditch the
hard-wired belief that plus-size means frumpy. Brave the High Street and
(politely, of course) demand to be noticed. There are plenty of chains
that go up to your size, from Marks Spencer and Evans to
Debenhams, New Look and Monsoon.
If you can’t face the tyranny of
badly lit dressing rooms, there are countless online stores that you can
peruse from the comfort of your living room. Simply Be, Marisota, Duo,
Anna Scholz, Beige Plus and Ann Harvey are a few of the best – and even
trendy boutique ASOS.com has launched a fashion-forward plus-size label,
ASOS Curve. So here’s my pick of what’s on offer, as worn by our gorgeous model Nina (bust 36DD, waist 36in, hips 46in).
USE LIGHT AND SHADE: Highlight your body as you would your
face. Put the darkest colour on your heaviest area, or use colour to
create a slim panel down the centre of your outfit.
This can be done
with a dark cardigan over a lighter shift dress – but this flattering
frock does the work for you.
Camel and black dress £60, Star by Julien
MacDonald at Debenhams; jacket £40, Dorothy Perkins; ring stack £7.50,
Daisy Eve at Evans; shoes £105, duoboots.com
DON’T BE AFRAID OF TRENDS: You can wear stripes, capes and
slim-fitting trousers – it’s just about wearing them well. All stripes
work, whatever your dress size, if they’re broken up with layering. Team
them with darker trousers and try a cardigan on top. Or wear under a
fun and playful cape like this one, which hides larger hips.
Cape £70
and jeans £30, both Asos Curve; striped top £8.99, New Look; necklace
£125, Bulatti.co.uk; sunglasses £123, Miu Miu at David Clulow; shoes
£120, Ted Baker; bag £60, vivaladiva.com
PLAY WITH PRINTS: This season’s catwalk featured a lot of
print – and there’s no reason for plus-size girls to be left out. Prints
are a nifty way to disguise lumps and bumps. Tall girls can pull off
large, bold prints, but something subtler like this suits everyone.
Break up the print with jackets or cardigans in plain colours.
China
print long dress £75, Evans Collection at Evans; white shrug £19.50,
Evans; necklace £10, Daisy Eve at Evans; sandals £19.99, New Look
LAYER, LAYER, LAYER: Do you have slim legs, but worry about
your hips and thighs? You can still do fitted trousers like these
combats – simply layer longer pieces over the top to disguise problem
areas. This lightweight parka is thin enough to wear in summer and
completes the combat look. Parka
£42, simplybe.co.uk; trousers £28,
Indigo Collection at Marks Spencer; yellow sleeveless shirt
£19.99, New Look; belt £6, Dorothy Perkins; scarf £89, Epice at Fenwick;
earrings £6.50 (part of a multipack), Daisy Eve at Evans; ring
£69, Lola Rose; shoe boots £120, duoboots.com
GET OUT OF THE LEGGINGS RUT: Harem pants are a super-comfortable
alternative to leggings. You have to be fearless to wear them as there
will still be volume around your hips and bum – that’s part of the
silhouette. But if you keep the top half short, you’ll emphasise your
waist. If you’re concerned about the jersey fabric revealing wobbly
bits, wear control tights to smooth them out. White jacket £139, Anna
Scholz; blush lace top £39.50, Limited Collection at Marks
Spencer; trousers £50, Monsoon; necklace £118, Lola Rose; earrings (part
of a multipack) £6.50, Daisy Eve at Evans; shoes £120,
duoboots.com
GO RETRO: This is a fantastic shape if you’ve got a
big bum, and it’s everywhere at the moment thanks to Mad Men. This
dress has a lovely V-shape neckline which helps slim a big bust, and
volume in the skirt to skim over your hips and thighs. With a dress this
perfect, you can get away with a daring pattern like these thick
stripes on the bottom half.
Red dress £59, Per Una at Marks
Spencer; cardigan £48, Monsoon; shoes £89.95, modainelle.com
Pictures: Joel Anderson. Model: Nina Hartley/excel. Hair and make-up: Katie Reedman
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Hmm – I wonder if that model’s a size 18? I think not.
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Looks like you’ve got a size 12 model wearing size 18 clothes there…
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I’m a size 18 and I HATE it…am on a diet at the moment. Despite what some overweight people say, big is not beautiful…I hope to be a size 12 again soon!
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You CAN look stylish at a size 18? Like it was previously thought to be impossible because what, size 18 is so massive and unattractive and shops stop at size 16? This patronising article smacks of trying to hide your size as if not being a size 10 is something to be ashamed of. Cop on to yourself DM, it’s possible to look stylish at any size! Jenni Murray is only one woman, she might not be able to find clothes she likes but that doesn’t mean no one else the same size can’t.
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I never knew you couldn’t look stylish at size 18?
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If everyone had a gorgeous face like hers I don’t think size would matter! Lovely face, lovely shape, I’ll eat my feet if she’s really a size 18 by the way she looks like a 16! No tummy buldge and legs aren’t that big…There’s a big difference between 16 and 18…..
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Article source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1371646/Plus-size-fashion-Size-18-clothes-CAN-look-stylish.html
This day has been in complete anticipation for quite some time.
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Alexander Wang's First Ever Menswear Collection | FASHIONREPORTERS
Catwalk show comes to Swindon for spring fashions
3:30pm Wednesday 30th March 2011
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THE LATEST Spring collections and trends were on display for fashionistas at a major fashion show in the town centre.
Five catwalk shows took place throughout the day on Saturday at the Brunel Shopping Centre where all the best looks for the coming season were unveiled.
The shows, lasting around 30 minutes each, featured a team of professional models showing off the upcoming trends and was the third fashion show to be staged at the Brunel over the past year.
Stylist and compere Jo Wilson said she was pleased with the success of the weekend’s show.
“It’s gone really well,” she said. “It is all the Spring Summer wear which we are modelling, which is a mixture of ladies’ and men’s wear, and we have also shown a lot of shoes and accessories.
“Every time we come here to Swindon we always have a good audience.”
The afternoon show also featured independent retailers including Blue Banana, Lillies, Trinket Box and The Square.
Your Say YourSwindon
<!–Captain Sensible, Nowhere says… //–>
Captain Sensible, Nowhere says…
3:41pm Wed 30 Mar 11
Lets face it, in a town where the majority seem to regard JJB sports as a high class clothing retailer there’s not much call for fashion. Shellsuits and muffin tops all round!
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Article source: http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/8941950.Fashion_show_has_the_best_of_spring_looks/
Jenna Marie Wakani
Remember Crocs? The maker of stubby foam sandals is bouncing back from the fashion abyss. To investors, Crocs’ recent climb from penny-stock territory, where it dipped in 2008, to the roughly $16 a share it trades at today, is a true miracle resurrection. To fashionistas, on the other hand, the revamp of Crocs—after the fad for its plastic sandals finally died out 3½ years ago—probably sounds like the footwear equivalent of a zombie attack.
It was only five years ago that the company’s famous clogs could be spotted virtually anywhere, from suburban shopping malls through Hollywood circles to the White House, as even then-president George W. Bush was seen donning the ultimate fashion aberration: Crocs with socks. Crocs debuted as a public company in 2006, raising US$223 million, at about $14 a share. By mid-2007, it hit US$75 a share. But that was the peak—and then came the crash.
By 2009 the obituaries were being penned. The fad had faded; the stock plummeted to a low of US$0.79 a share, and the company was drowning in high inventories and debt. There was talk of bankruptcy, and investors wrote off Crocs as another one-hit wonder, like mood rings and those children’s shoes with built-in wheels.
A couple of years later, though, the shoemaker has not only survived, it is thriving. “This is not the same business that was out there in 2007,” says Brian Sozzi, an analyst at Wall Street Strategies, a stock market research company. Key to the rebirth, says Sozzi, was diversification. The company is going strong in both Europe and Asia, which now account for 36 per cent of revenues. Crocs has also stepped up direct sales to consumers, shifting the focus from mall kiosks to online sales and stand-alone stores. And, crucially, it has moved beyond the clogs.
“Crocs at one point was synonymous with one specific style of shoe,” says Doug Hayes, vice-president and general manager of Americas at Crocs. It now boasts over 250 new styles, from sneakers to winter boots and even women’s flats. That has also allowed the company to broaden its pricing range, says Hayes—Crocs boat shoes, for example, sell for US$89.99 on the Internet, compared to US$29.99 for a pair of classic Crocs.
The non-clog models still incorporate the company’s trademark material: Croslite, a proprietary resin that absorbs odours and adapts to the shape of feet. The rubber was patented by Foam Creations, a Quebec company that Crocs bought in 2004. The difference now is that Crocs shoes are “a little bit more fashion-centric rather than eccentric,” says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD, a retail market research group. It’s part of a three-pronged approach, he explains. The Colorado-based shoemaker, he says, is using its new styles to offer more variety to Crocs fans, and woo the holdouts who shunned it at first. But Crocs will also continue to rely on its traditional sandals, which are popular among kids, and professionals like chefs and nurses who spend the day on their feet. The plastic sandals market, says Hayes, remains “very, very healthy.” Despite the new look, it seems, there will never be a Crocs without clogs.
Article source: http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/03/30/178944/
