FLORENCE THE BEAUT

WOAH! prettylicious.

Bringing back the UNION jack

PRETTY ACE jacket, nice tat & Fred Perry polo too.

SS/10 Smith & Unique article for MFN

Ready to wear it like a man?

Spring is here, the weather is starting to warm up ever so slightly and we are finally getting some much needed glimpses of the sunshine. You’d expect me, to say here, start un-packing your cotton summer dresses and florals, nah…think again and outside the box! It appears that this season many designers have taken a somewhat masculine approach to womens wear and have essentially ditched the clichéd girlie look.

Outfits with a colourful attitude and boyish charm we seen on the runway for Paul Smith’s Ready-To-Wear Spring/Summer 2010 collection. Models were strikingly suited and booted, with masculine twists on feminine style tailoring. A modestly warm palette with sunshine yellows, navy, dusky pinks and oranges, cooled down by the occasional neutral cream and icy blue. Tapered leg trousers were cleverly mismatched with three button blazers, pastel shirts and contrasting leather brogues.

Stripy ties complete with tie-pins, waistcoats, bowler hats and even the occasional top pocket handkerchief were present in Smith’s collection. Every piece was effortlessly tailored in block contrasting colours that screamed English eccentric meets businesswoman meets spunky town city girl.

A youthful approach to make-up was also considered on the runway with a natural complexion heightened by a statement vivid lip

From suited and booted to a new take on our old fave the baggy jean. I bet it’s so refreshing for you to hear that this season you can actually steer away from the sexy slimline skinny jean and veer towards something a little more comfortable?!! Yes! I am speaking the truth! It’s back!! The baggy boyfriend jean is here again and hopefully to stay. No more squeezing your calves, thighs and bum into denim and having to jump up and down in the changing room to fix the zip and fasten the damn top button.

Seen on another Ready-To-Wear runway for Spring/Summer 2010, Topshop Unique showcased a fantastic selection of denim with a very playful fashion forward approach to a grungier more lived in looking jean. Tousled haired models stomped in patched, scratched, ripped, rolled and the stitched, Topshop denims have never looked so distressed!

Worn on the hips and styled with tight rubber leggings and cycling shorts, this stylistic look gives a new take on a boyish silhouette for a sexier slouchier jean this spring.

Off the catwalk and onto the street, have fun experimenting with masculine styling, mixing up looks with bold layers and contrasting fabrics to give an individual look.

Similar pieces in the catwalk shows can be found in all good second hand shops in Manchester. Oxfam Originals is particularly good for jackets, basics and original one off hats. Vintage jeans can be picked up in places like Cow and Blue rinse. For swanky style brogue shoes high street retailers Miss Selfridge, Office and Kurt Geiger have great ranges of styles and colours.

K A R E N O --->HOW I LOVE THEE ♥

This photo is a bit fit. I want her hair, the Christian Joy outfit and that remote too.

Pretty In Pink for MFN

I now write fashion related articles/blog entries for The Manchester Fashion Network!! Good times! Put on your reading glasses and take a look! :)

♥ ♥ ♥

This is a really volcanic ensemble you're wearing, it's really marvelous! Sound familiar to you? It will do if you’ve seen the teen cult classic Pretty in Pink circa 1986. In the charismatic words of Duckie, he is bigging up the original get up worn by none other than Molly Ringwald’s character aka Andie. I would indeed echo the compliment back to her, gladly, what she wears is just cutting edge cool.

Clad in floral jeans, waistcoats, lacey layers and trilby hats, Andie’s character epitomizes the capsule look that every girl right now is aspiring to have. Her style is as sweet as Coco Chanel, with pearls, pastels galore and a little added spunk that makes her a street style swaggering gem.

Jackets with shoulder-pads worn over silky print waistcoats and peasant styles dresses give a refreshing take on the preppy and conventional decadence of the late eighties.

Fabulous hats, take a fashion forward approach to feminine styling, through customization with sheer scarves, brooches and pins.

The fashion appeal of Andie’s character, stems from being a poor student, which initially forces her to make use of her own creative skills to adapt outfits, hence DIY fashion, which is something that many of ourselves try to do.

After attending a trends forecasting SS/11 seminar earlier this week, it was brought to my attention how heightened the DIY ethos is becoming in fashion, amongst surprisingly most catwalk designers. Which is something that is quite refreshing to hear! Customizations well as hand rendered methods such as hand-stitch and patchwork are going be on the up for fashion embellishment techniques.

All of which these elements, complement the rawness and flamboyance of the iconic eighties look. Andie’s image is really easy to achieve, and she wears it well as simple as. It’s all about embracing creativity within styling and being confident about layering up fabrics, prints and accessories. And with the longevity of eighties styles, all of these pieces can be found in the most obvious places.

Where to get yours! Topshop is one of the most obvious choices with a great selection of basics and special pieces inspired by this capsule style. Vintage shops Blue Rinse and Cow have fantastic selections of original pieces that are more often than not, guaranteed from past decades. Great for high-wasted jeans, waistcoats and particularly cute pixie leather bootees. Retro Rehab has a great fashion selection too with great affordable costume jewelry pieces and pretty sheer scarves.

A modern day polished take on Andie’s stylistic look can be seen in last years Spring/Summer 2009 collection by Luella. Inspiration can be taken from the layering and juxtaposition of fabrics and pieces. The requirement for quirky accessories makes a bold statement with brooches, hair fascinators and gloves.

By Kate Alexandra McLeish

TOO KOOL FOR SKOOL

I love this picture everything is right about it. The weird looking Lambretta thats innocent, the model with her crazy kate bush-esque static pose and her amazing outfit that looks like it belongs to Zhandra Rhodes. Haha Love it! This makes me want a scooter even more :)

Ordinary FOLK with love this

AMAZING....especially when Morrissey talks about socks.

POOR Viv