Thursday 30 January 2014

Fashion Icon Paloma Faith: Steal Her Style


Paloma Faith's style is glamorous and embraces her curves, taking inspiration from Marilyn Monroe. She likes to be quite experimental with her look with a vintage influence. Often spotted on the FROW, she always looks highly fashionable and stands out from the crowd. Read on for ideas on how to dress like Paloma.



Left: Matthew Williamson Right: Vivienne Westwood




Above: Burberry Prorsum




Left: Ashish Right: Dolce and Gabbana


Steal Her Style


Bowler Hat: River Island
Knit Top: New Look
Knit Skirt, Socks: Topshop
Shoes: Shoeper Woman





Headband, Coat, Dress: New Look
Shoes: Office



Beret: Paul Smith
Dress: Oasis
Gloves: Asos
Shoes: Topshop




Blazer: Pinko Black
Blouse: Miss Selfridge
Leggings: New Look
Shoes: Lucy Choi





Hat, Floral Top, Shorts: Topshop
Shirt: New Look
Bag: Gwen Pyramid
Shoes: ModCloth




Hat, Sunglasses: Topshop
Shirt: New Look
Coat: Oasis
Trousers: Mango
Trainers: Superga



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Wednesday 29 January 2014

How to Trace Patterns from Clothing

Ever wanted a piece of clothing to fit like your favourite item? Why not trace the pattern and make it yourself! This post will show you a quick introduction to how you can copy a pattern straight from a piece of clothing.

Lay out your garment as flat as possible where you want to trace. I am tracing the right leg below:



Place the garment flat along the side seams. As you can see in the picture, the front trouser leg is smaller than the back. The shaded area in the picture on the right is the extra fabric. You need to follow the shape of the unshaded area so fold any extra fabric out of the way when tracing.



Once you've traced around the basic shape of the front, add in any details such as waistbands and pockets. You can do this easily by measuring the size on the garment and drawing it into place on the pattern. With these trousers, I was also able to pull out the pocket to trace around the pocket bag shape:



Next trace the back. As before, place along a side seam and trace. After tracing the inside leg, I had to carefully pull the fabric along to find the seam on the other side. An easier way to do this is to measure the width of the back piece on the garment then draw onto the pattern:



As with the front, measure on the garment and draw on any details.



Once front and back are drawn, you can place another sheet on top of the first and trace each separate pattern off of the drawing. Add seam allowance and construct!

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Friday 24 January 2014

A-Z of Couture Spring/Summer 2014

A is for... Artisinal

This was the name of the collection at Maison Martin Margiela which celebrated handcrafting and finding preciousness in the overlooked. Wallpaper-type prints were patchworked together, old fabrics and garments were reworked, creating new from the old.




B is for... Bride

Model, Cara Delevingne, closed the show at Chanel in a stunning sheer, white gown and feathered headdress as Karl Lagerfeld's bride, complete with page boy.




C if for... Confetti

Continuing the bridal theme, Alexis Mabille presented frills and confetti butterflies at his couture show. A bride-to-be's fairytale.





D is for... Diagonal Lines

There were bold stripes everywhere at this season's couture shows. Wear them in every direction.
Top: Oscar Carvallo Bottom: Ulyana Sergeenko




E is for... Elegance

Pure elegance and sophistication was demonstrated across many of the shows. 
Top: Giorgio Armani Prive, Ralph & Russo Bottom: Valentino, Elie Saab



F is for... Floral Fairytale

One of my favourite couture collections this year comes from Elie Saab and his dreamy, fairytale designs in floral embellishments, feminine palette and luxurious fabrics.





G is for... Glow

Extreme hairdresser, Charlie Le Mindu, was inspired by the seapunk and spacepunk movement - a new world where man has not been yet. Extravagant headpieces glowed under neon lights and models were dressed in latex catsuits.



H is for... Hooded

Versace models were dressed in jersey silk dresses with hoods - much like Kylie Minogue's infamous outfit in Can't Get You Out of my Head. 



I is for... Iridescence

Fabrics this season were more luxurious than ever in iridescent shades and silvery tones.
Top: Giorgio Armani Prive Bottom: Versace




J is for... Jewel Encrusted

Opulent jewel embellishment was another lavish theme across many of the shows with panelling at Alexandre Vauthier, embellished jackets at Bouchra Jarrar, beads, buttons and chains at Margiela and tattoos at Versace.




K is for... Kerchief

Giorgio Armani Prive's collection, entitled Nomade was inspired by all things Eastern with headscarves, genie pants and embroidered motifs.




L is for... Latex

Viktor & Rolf's latex collection was modelled by cast members of the Duch National Ballet. Blurring the line between skin and clothing, they presented draped, fluid ballet dresses, skater skirts and wrap dresses. The latex was as light as chiffon, transforming a untraditional fabric into a delicate one suitable for couture.




M is for... Modern Technology

Hussein Chalayan brings modern technology to the house of Vionnet with winding electrical wires around waists and necks.




N is for... Newcomer

New to the couture scene is Bouchra Jarrar, becoming the first woman grand couturiere in thirty years! Her collection featured tailored trousers, embellished jackets and feathers.



O is for... Opera

The theme for Valentino this season was Opera. Every dress embodied a character from an Opera in a magical, woodland themed, imaginary world. Snakes and birds wound around short ballerina dresses whilst lace robes and cashmere coats featured butterflies and flowers. The opening outfit introduced the theme with a tulle dress decorated in musical notes.






P is for... Pop of Colour

Giambattista Valli was bright, fun and bold in colour.



Q is for... Queen Bee

This season celebrates the womanly figure with hourglass silhouettes seen at Ralph & Russo, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Stephane Rolland.




R is for... Ruffles

Ruffles, frills, flounces, whatever you want to call them, they were everywhere.
Top: Stephane Rolland, Oscar Carvallo Bottom: Alexandre Vauthier, Jean Paul Gaultier




S is for... Sporty

Sportswear is a big theme this season with Chanel leading the way and Dior featuring some trainers.
Top: Chanel Bottom: Chanel, Christian Dior




T is for... Theatrical

Theatrical shows from Jean Paul Gaultier featuring Dita Von Teese, and Schiaperelli. Would you expect any less?




U is for... Underwear

Bra top detailing is a big hit this season.



V is for... Vivid Prints

Prints were graphic and bold at Schiaperelli and Margiela.



W is for... Windsurf

This was the theme at Alexandre Vauthier with beachy attitude and ambient music.



X is for... X-ray

See through clothes in sheer fabrics were popular amongst many designers.
Top: Chanel, Elie Saab Bottom: Stephane Rolland, Valentino




Y is for... Yellow

Stephane Rolland's show was bright and summery in yellow.



Z is for... Ziad Ghanem

Ziad Ghanem's collection features plus sized models and took inspiration from Disney villains. The silhouettes were dramatic, bold and majestic. His styles are available in sizes 8-24.


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