British Style
Plus Size Models Take On the London Runway
What: Canadian designer Mark Fast has created a stir at London Fashion Week, but the controversy has nothing to do with his clothes. The designer chose to use size 10 to 12 models on his runway this week, prompting two of his staffers to quit the fashion label just days before the show.
What They Say:
“The decision to use fuller girls is something we have been talking about,” said Amanda May, a creative director for Mark Fast. “There’s an idea that only thin and slender women are able to wear Mark’s dresses and he wanted to combat that. We wanted women to know they didn’t have to be a size zero to wear a Mark Fast dress - curvier women can look even better in them.”
What We Say: Good for Mark for sticking to his guns, despite his employees’ walkout. The end result of his Fashion Week show was fantastic, and the models looked gorgeous. So will hiring larger models be a trend that’ll catch on here in the States? There’s no way to tell, but we sure hope so.
The Dirndl Skirt: British Style on a Budget
Who’d have thought that an item worn by Alpine peasants in the nineteenth century could make such a mark in the fashion world? The Dirndl, a full skirt that hangs just below the knee, traditionally worn by Austrian and German peasants, has surprised us all, and replaced the pencil skirt in the fashion stakes.
Models at Donna Karan were on safari, in full, caramel-coloured Dirndls and Panama hats, whilst Marni offered up a bountiful selection of flowing linen skirts, which were paired, in classic Marni style, with chunky wooden bangles piled high on the arm and super-high wedges. At Prada, the real show-pieces were the diaphanous Dirndls painted with whimsical, fairytale images. If wearing a work of art is a bit OTT for you, take inspiration from Karl Lagerfeld’s collection, where simple black skirts looked chic with Mary Janes and super-wide, patent belts.
Warehouse do a beige, Donna Karan-lookalike skirt for £35 ($70), which is great for the office, and right on trend, with safari style being big this season. For a more casual look, try this flippy skater skirt from Topshop, £22 ($44), or make a statement with this tribal print version, £20 ($40) from New Look. Polka dot lovers will go dotty for this spotty Dirndl, a steal at £14.99 ($30), from H&M.
Bows: British Style on a Budget
If you thought bows were just for little girls, think again. Bows are the new, must-have accessory, and British fashion-followers are all wearing comically oversized hair bows in their carefully coiffured manes – just take a look at Face Hunter for proof.
This season, designers reworked the bow: they enlarged it, stuck it to prom dresses, pinned it into renaissance-style hair and even turned it into clutch purses. Aquascutum updated their classic coats by adding a giant bow to a swing coat and looping a trench coat belt into a bow shape. Designers at Gucci also favoured a more grown-up vibe: an off-centre, humbug-striped bow was added to a sporty swimsuit. The look at Moschino was playful, with oversized bows adorning ‘cloud’ hair and prissy cardigans: think a grown-up Wednesday Adams. The must-have accessories? Chanel’s bow-shaped purse and Christian Louboutin’s ‘Very Noeud’ peep-toe platforms.
Most of us don’t have the £1255 ($2477) to blow on a Chanel purse and Louboutin heels, but the British high street has a veritable feast of bow-adorned treats at a snip of the price. Topshop has come over all Chanel with their black and white cardigan (£28/$55), complete with oversized bow. For Parisian chic, pair with a simple black dress and this faux pearl necklace, £12 ($24) from Oasis, which is a dead ringer for the Chanel original. The more daring among us will go crazy for Boo Hoo’s ruby red, Miu Miu-inspired micro-mini dress (£25/$49), which comes with a huge tartan bow.
Images courtesy of Face Hunter, Style Finder and Elle.
One-Shoulder Dresses: British Style on a Budget
Remember the eighties resurgence of last Spring? It seems like things have gone a bit asymmetrical again, with one-shouldered dresses and blouses being back on the fashion agenda for this season.
This time around, the look is less eighties-glam and more Grecian goddess, as at Lanvin, where a toga-like cocktail dress complete with drapey sleeve, was belted at the waist and accessorised with vampy lips and scraped-back hair. Over at Rodarte, the queens of ethereal elegance – sisters and creators of the label, Kate and Laura Mulleavy - did what they did best and magicked up a delicate wisp of a dress in a creamy chiffon fabric, fit for a fairy. Other designers took a more rock n’ roll approach: Proenza Schouler’s LBD was bodycon, constructed of a sheeny, leather-look chiffon, and paired with punky accessories, and at Gucci, Frida Giannini presented an asymmetrical dress splashed with black and white paint flicks.
Every girl needs a trusty LBD, and Topshop’s one-shouldered version is on-trend and on budget, at £38 ($75). Bring out the Grecian goddess within and reference the dip-die trend by donning ASOS’s fabulously feminine chiffon number, £38 ($75). Peacock’s asymmetrical cocktail dresses come in emerald green and black, but at only £14 ($28) each, you might be tempted to get both! If you’re more of a pants and blouse kinda gal, Miss Selfridge’s one-shouldered top in a rich indigo (£25/$49) might be more your style.
The Clutch: British Style on a Budget
It seems like anyone who’s anyone on the London scene is clutching a clutch. Brit starlet Emma Watson (soon to be the face of Coco Mademoiselle) was recently seen with one in tow, and everyone from Pixie Geldof to Jamelia is following suit. Whether it’s oversized, patent, raffia or mock-croc, the clutch is a chic, if a little impractical, addition to a cocktail dress, or, for the Carrie Bradshaws among us, a purse to be carried in daylight hours.
Everyone is talking about Chloé’s supersized, bright purple croc clutch, an accessory not for shrinking violets. Models on the runways of Alexander McQueen and Chanel toted silver metal purses – think Audrey Hepburn goes space travelling. Always known for its covetable ‘It’ bags, Prada didn’t disappoint, with stripy fold-over clutches in candy colours to match the label’s larger Harlequin bags. At the fashion house’s sister label, Miu Miu, small purses with butterfly prints were clutched, rather than held by their handles: Miuccia certainly knows how to design purses that will have fashionistas in a flutter.
Faux snakeskin is big this season: Miss Selfridge stocks a great clutch in a mock snakeskin finish for £20 ($39), or opt for Warehouse’s glimmery pewter version (£20/$39), and save on CPW (cost per wear), since metallics really do go with every outfit. Bring a tired dress into this season, by working a clutch in a bright, block colour, like this fuschia one, £25 ($49) from Topshop, or save your pennies and seek one out in a charity shop.
Images courtesy of The Fashion Spot, Style.com and Style Finder
Jumpsuits: British Style on a Budget
Whilst some are jumping for joy (geddit?) at the return of the jumpsuit, others are wondering exactly how one is supposed to go about making bathroom breaks in this rather impractical (but fabulous) item. As usual, British fashion icon Kate Moss was ahead of the fashion pack when she stepped out in her full-length, star-print playsuit by Chanel at her birthday bash a few months ago, complete with seventies-style wavy hair. A chiffon or silk jumpsuit is a great way to make a statement at a party this summer: a fitted waist shows off your hourglass figure if you’re blessed with curves, and gives the effect of one if you’re not, and a wide, full-length pant with super-high wedges gives the illusion of legs that go on forever.
Stella McCartney ticked all the boxes for Spring/Summer with her floral jumpsuit in flowy chiffon – we hear that Rihanna’s a fan. A lemon playsuit at Paul & Joe was less swinging sixties, and more eighties sleek, underneath an oversized blazer and giant, brass belt. If hippie-chic and eighties power-dressing are not for you, then why not take a leaf out of Alexander McQueen’s book? His skin-tight, structured, grey playsuit gave a nod to the seventies (think Farah Fawcett strolling down the promenade at St. Tropez) whilst capturing the high-octane glamour of the forties.
Make like Ms. Moss and go all starry-eyed in this Chanel-lookalike halter-neck jumpsuit, £55 ($109) by Topshop – perfect for drinking cocktails under/with the stars. For a night out on the town, curvy girls will love Motel’s silk onesie, available in bright turquoise or bottle green, complete with waist-cinching belt, for £35 ($69). American Apparel’s simple, lightweight playsuit (£19/$38) is casual for daytime and can be punked up with black, patent gladiator sandals. Two words of warning: belt at the waist to avoid looking like you’re wearing a shapeless sack. A tricky trend perhaps, but one that can look stunning with an injection of confidence.
Images courtesy of elleuk.com.
Flower Power - British Style on a Budget
THESE PRODUCTS ARE NO LONGER BEING SOLD
Natalie gives us her take on the latest British style trends and how to get them on a budget
I can’t wait for summer to begin so I can throw on a pretty floral tea dress and go picnicking with my friends in the gorgeous British countryside. The Spring/Summer shows offered a whole bouquet for us to feast our eyes on. Pansies and poppies bloomed on sculpted jackets and pelmet skirts at Balenciaga, and Prada embraced romance in their Cruise collection, with dramatic dirndl skirts bedecked with blossoms. Go full-skirted yourself with New Look’s flowery recreation, at only £25 ($49). And the utterly fabulous British designer Luella Bartley returned to our shores with prom dresses, pleated skirts, and secretary blouses in floral prints, punked up with spiky skater boots. I saved my pennies and splashed out on one of her fun Batman t-shirts, but have been wearing it with Topshop’s very ‘Luella’ flower-print ra-ra skirt, for an affordable £30 ($59), and a little birdie tells me that you can pick up a button-up shirt very similar to Lu’s, for only £12 ($24), at Matalan.
Summertime means parties, parties and more parties. But what to wear… Try H&M’s strapless prom dress, patterned with a flurry of florals – at £24.99 ($49) you’ll still have money left over to buy yourself a Pimm’s. If you want to be part of the petal parade but fear that you’ll end up looking like your Great Aunt Betty, pick flower power accessories, such as Topshop’s £6 ($12) carved rose ring, or pay homage to Carrie Bradshaw in anticipation of the SATC movie by pinning an oversized corsage onto your blouse – Johnny and Rosie’s giant rose pin (£25/$49) is my absolute favourite, but H&M offer thriftier versions. One day I’ll save enough to own an Hermes scarf, but until then, New Look’s flowery alternative at £8 ($16) will do nicely. Until the sun comes out here, I’ll fight the unrelenting English rain with a rosy umbrella from the Princess of the Posies, Cath Kidston. Blooming marvellous.
Runway pictures courtesy of style.com.
Background image: Paris Rose linen fabric from Cath Kidston.
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