How You Can Get Your S/S Wardrobe Out of the January Sales!

Firstly, I must wish you a very Merry Christmas! I was going to post a quick video yesterday, but since I've been dying of the common cold for the past few days, I decided against it. Plus, there were way to many presents to be opened, parsnips to eat and movies to watch, so I'll admit in my 'One-Cold-Curing-Hot-Toddy-Too-Many' state, I put my health first and my blog second... I apologize.

Anyways, moving on.

With first day of the 'January' sales being nearly over, I figured now was as good a time as any to share with you my top three trends for Spring/Summer 2012 in the hope that you'll be able to find some suitable items at a lower price. I could have posted this sooner, but frankly, the first day of the sales is utter carnage, and I couldn't possibly make myself responsible for sending my readers into that...

So, what qualifies me to share with you the trends? Well, nothing officially. But I was lucky enough to be invited to a bloggers event hosted by the mighty Selfridges in the first half of December where all of the latest collections were unveiled so I definitely picked up a tip or two whilst I was there!

Without much further ado, let's get started...

UNDERWATER TREND

  

CHANEL S/S 2012

  

SARAH BURTON for ALEXANDER MCQUEEN S/S 2012

   

VERSACE S/S 2012

First up is the Underwater trend, spotted at the runways of Chanel, Versace and Sarah Burton for McQueen. This generally means that we'll be sporting lots of blues, corals, greens and frothy white colors in quite floaty fabrics reminiscent of the movement a piece of thin material might make in the water. For those of us feeling a little more bold with the look, we can expect to tamper with mermaid skirts, 'weed-shaped' strips of hanging material and bikini-style tops. So how (and where) can we find items suitable for this look on the sales?

 MISS SELFRIDGE: £17 from £35

 NEW LOOK: £22 from £34.99

 DOROTHY PERKINS: £15 from £32

 H&M: £999 from £29.99

 URBAN OUTFITTERS: £40 from £60

  TOPSHOP: £8 from £18

GLOBE TROTTER

BLESSUS by GARETH A HOPKINS S/S 2012

 

BURBERRY PRORSUM S/S 2012

DONNA KARAN S/S 2012

As seen at the likes of Blessus by Gareth A Hopkins, Burberry Prorsum and Donna Karan. This means everything from Hindu, sari-inspired draping, Oriental flower prints and kimono shapes, distressed denim (like you've just got back from your Gap Yah), African-inspired tribal bangles stacked one on top of the other, and the return of the Navajo print that we all know and love from this A/W 2011, but this time we will see it on pleated and structures mini-skirts rather than over-sized ponchos. Here are some ways you can rock these looks on a budget...

  LEVIS: £68 from £85

 DOROTHY PERKINS: £36 from £45

 H&M: £9.99 from £29.99

 RIVER ISLAND: £25 from £50

 ZARA: ££29.99 from £39.99

 ASOS: £12 from £25

FILM BLANCHE

  

JOHN ROCHA S/S 2012

  

J.JS LEE S/S 2012

  

ACNE S/S 2012

John Rocha, J. JS Lee and ACNE all seem to have leapt on the 50's inspired muted palette bandwagon for this coming Spring Summer. Keeping things fresh and cool with pieces as white-as-white-can-be, occasional pastels pared right down and crisp materials in stiffer shapes, this is a look which virtually anyone can wear! It's also not to hard to find pieces suitable in the current sales either, so what are you waiting for? 

 LIPSY:  £37.50 from £75

 MISS SELFRIDGE: £12 from £22

 TOPSHOP: £50 from £100

 TOPSHOP: £12 from £26

 MISS SELFRIDGE: £25 from £49

 NEW LOOK: £10 from £19.99

So there you have it! Now you're armed with the knowledge of some of the major trends to look out for, you are ready to launch yourself into the madness of the sales... if you dare :) I'm definitely going to be purchasing some of the pieces I've mentioned in this post. Other things I'll be looking out for are mini-rucksacks, feather hair extensions and mink-coloured nail varnish as I think it would look great with the Film Blanche look!

Anyways, thanks for reading, and that you to Selfridges for letting me in on all the new collections... more on this to be posted at a later date including a goodie bag haul and event review also.

What are you looking out for in the sales? Do you know of any epic fashion bargains at the moment? What are your favourite trends for Spring/Summer 2012?

Until next time

Love

gabriellasofia 

x

Denim Dos and Don'ts for Spring/Summer 2011

I have been compelled to write this blog as a public duty to discourage epic crimes against fashion. Our community is over-run with Denim Amateurs and quite frankly, it makes me sick. Ok, so I'm being melodramatic, but still! Come on people, it's been one of the most commonly worn materials for decades, and yet some people still haven't gotten to grips with the rules, and yes, there are rules, to making this fashion staple work for them, never mind been able to follow the current trends ruling the fashion roost this season. So, here I go... my dos and don'ts for apprehensive denim wearers everywhere!

DO find the right shade for you. Denim is not the sort of thing where you can just say, 'Oh denim doesn't look good on me.' MAN UP. Denim looks good on everyone if you find the right cut and color for you! Topshop alone offer more than 45 different shades in their MOTO range (I went on the website earlier on and counted them myself... yes, I do have too much time on my hands, but I do it all for you :-)) Darker colors on the bottom will slim you down, whilst too light a color up top runs the risk of washing out a pale complexion. The only way you can find your shade is to try a few out, the blues offer everything from turquoise and teal to azure and midnight hues, and with the amount of variety creating healthy competition between the conventional color and this season's pastels in peaches, yellows and lilacs, there really is something for everyone. So you have no excuse.

DON'T touch prints if you're not used to them. If you are a Denim Amateur and also a Print Amateur, please don't take your first foray into both at the same time. There are too many rules that you will have to follow, too much to be aware of all at once... just trust me.

DON'T sport denim with denim if you aren't sure how it looks. I know this might be a bit of a controversial issue as the SS11 runways and ad campaigns by the like of Guess, Marc Jacobs and naturally, Levi display this double-denim trend, but it is really very difficult to pull the double-D off. My top tip for attempting to work this look is to make sure that the colors are contrasting enough that it doesn't look like you were trying to get the same shade, as unless the items are sold in the same place as part of a set, it is unlikely that you will ace it. Try to keep accessories and shoes as feminine as possible, rolling up the sleeves of shirts in order to expose tiny wrists with pretty bracelets, and long fingers with rings. Minimalist lace camisoles look cute under a stone-wash denim shirt untucked with a dark pair of jeggings, gold gladiator sandals, gold bangles, gold rings, gold... well everything else gold. Again, keep make-up as soft as possible in order to take the harsh edge off this risky fashion, but as I said, if in doubt, just DON'T.

DO pick a good cut for you. If you would never bare your legs in a mini cocktail dress, don't do it in denim either! If you are self-conscious about a voluptuous butt, why buy a pair of denim hot-pants in which you'll be uncomfortable all day *cue 'Does-my-butt look-big-in-this' style questions.* Seriously, I can't emphasize enough the importance of trying the items on before you buy them, and try them on with things you would wear them with. Even take a picture in the changing rooms, leave and return at a later date, because denim can be expensive and the last thing you want is to find yourself regretting the calf-baring culottes which cost a week's wages which you bought just because they are 'in at the moment...' I could sit here and write a list of 'Petites suit high-waisted jeans' type tips, but at the end of the day it's all down to what you are comfortable in, so set aside an afternoon and get to grips with all the cuts denim has to offer!

DO wear the right size. This is one of my ultimate Denim-Related Pet-Hates. Hint: If your ass cheeks begin to escape your short shorts and the blood flow can't be felt below your inner-thighs, the shorts are probably too short. If your skinny drain-pipe jeans begin to slide down your ass no longer sculpting it like it deserves, they are probably too big... Thanks for the offer, but I don't do crack. Muffin-tops, love-handles, flabby thighs, cellulite deriere and a none-existent waist can all be remedied by a well-chosen lower-half good-fit denim item. Why would you ever deprive your hot body of its full potential just for the sake of vanity associated with sizes? Get the right one and no-one will ever guess that you swapped your size 10 hip-squishing denim skirt from last summer for a comfier size 12 alternative which hugs all the RIGHT places and skims over the 'wrong'. Actually, strike that. They will notice. Because you'll look about a million times better!

DON'T just stick to jeans. Spring/Summer 2011 is the first time in ages that we can get away with effectively wearing denim knickers whilst claiming that they are part of the trendy 70's hot-pant revival as seen all over the high street. Denim jackets are (and always will be) cute, especially in the shrunken-look style which River Island in particular has embraced for the warmer months. But don't rule out throwing on a light-weight denim shirt over a pretty summer dress, or rocking a cut-off waistcoat with a floral maxi for a bit of boho-chic as a suitable alternative. Playsuits represent another trend which has carried over since last summer (for which my bank balance is eternally thankful...) Try to mix it up a bit with a pretty top underneath with the buttons undone, or a checked shirt with the collar peeping over the top for a preppy-rockabilly mash-up. Even denim-look wedges, brogues and loafers have been cropping up in the likes of Office and Oasis in the past couple of months, so be daring and give them the 'Ole College Try'; you're sure to catch some eyes and gain points for originality, and who knows you might be the one to lead the trend!

DO keep it simple with effects. Cut-off denim shorts and skirts are one thing, but wearing a slashed-up pair of skinnies exposing more flesh than necessary will have people thinking you belong at a Big Fat event rather than in the pages of a glossy mag. Other cheap-looking extreme effects include the insides of pockets showing due to the length of a mini, glitter on any area and studs, chains, decals etcetera are just not cool, particularly for the relaxed feel which dominated the SS11 runways in preparation for this time of year.

So that's really all I can think of right now, and I really hope this has been helpful for those of you out there who aren't really sure how to work the current denim styles... To be honest I wrote this because just today I tried on about five pairs of denim shorts in Topshop before I found that the pair I least expected to work for me (a pair of turquoise-tinted blue hot-pants, just about waist-high with the bottoms rolled up a tad, firmly clutching my butt yet comfy enough to dance in) actually looked and felt awesome! There really is a lot going on with denim at the moment, which can be quite overwhelming for those who've reserved the idea of this material for jeans and nothing else. However, there is so much to be gained from the different pieces out there right now, it would be a shame not to make the most of them purely because of uncertainty as to where to start...

Let me know about your most recent denim finds and any denim-wearing tips which could help me and my readers to rock the look :-)

Speak soon

gabriellasofia