Crop Tops

They're back! 

Yes, it's true, Fashion has a way of reappearing and re-injecting itself into our wardrobes. 

The Crop Top is back and is being donned by the brave. This look was a huge hit in the 80's. Back then it was a case of anything goes. This attitude was firmly stamped out during the 90's and the early 00's. Slowly but surely we are, however, getting back that relaxed liberal outlook on fashion. 

The key to this look is to keep it simple, and try to keep it as masculine as possible. If you start mixing this trend with a pair of short shorts and gladiator sandals, the danger is you've gone too far are people are going start asking you 'how much?' 

Get it right, and you have the most on trend look for the season. 

(Jeans: Topman, Tee: Handmade, Accessories: H&M and Topman)

Donatella takes YouTube

So I have started a brand new YouTube Channel in conjunction with the blog. 

I will be reviewing fashions, interviewing artists, models, designers etc. 

Make sure you head over and click the subscribe button so you don't miss a trick 

See you there.

More posts coming soon

BRB

Art by Matt Skingsley

Please bare with me. 

The blog is going through some technically difficulties after my hard drive crashed and burned.

I will be back soon. 

Hold Tight

xxx

Water Water Everywhere But Not A Drop To Drink

 I love the ocean. 

There is nothing I find more enticing, fascinating and mysterious all at the same time.

In all honesty, I am a bit of a geek when it comes to science and nature. I get so excited by the natural world and what it can create. 

The ocean really forces me to stop and take a look at the world. Its so big, but yet so small. The fact I can drive 30mins and be dipping my toes in the Atlantic Ocean blows my mind entirely. 

Fashion comes from all over the world and with it brings its own individual cultures and trends across the oceans. 

A lot of people get so distracted with everyday living and fashions within the confines of their life that they forget that the world has so much to offer. Sometimes you just need to go and sit by the ocean, take a deep breath and open your mind to what the rest of the world could offer you. 

Dive in! What have you got to lose?

(Shirt: Topman Designs, Jeans: Topman Accessories: H&M) 

Lost

Sometimes, life throws you a curve ball and you don't know how to react.

My life over the past year has thrown about 20 curveballs, someone in the universes gym class really must have it in for me. Maybe its my karma for not taking PE at school.

During this sudden upheaval all I have to cling to fashion for stability. 

Although fashion is ever changing and sometimes can be very unpredictable. It's always there. It can change, evolve and grow but it bends to your will. You control your style and your fashion so it changes with you rather than against you.

It provides an escape for me, as long as I can look good the day is going to be OK. No matter what happens in the day I can handle it knowing that I look good. Fashion becomes confidence, a security blanket to deflect any drama.

You can lose yourself in fashion and not feel lost. 

Top Topman, Trousers Zara, Shoes Jeffery Campbell, Hat Nike. 

Double Exposure

I have recently come to terms with wearing an item more than once.

I used to hate doing this, once I bought an item and wore it once, that was it, gone. However, unless I'm about to win the EuroMillions it is an highly unrealistic outlook. So, because I still stand by my never wear the same thing twice precept, I have had to find a way of giving an item a new life.

Fashion, is a way of life yes, but life is about having fun. Therefore we can afford to have some fun with fashion. Don't be so strict on ourselves when it comes to what is right and wrong.

These new sandals for example, I love them and you will struggle to get me out of them. So I have had to find a way of making them different with each outfit. An outfit is head to toe, so the combination of everything you are wearing truly defines that look.

Giving an item double exposure isn't the end of the world. Its a reinvention. 

The Selfie

Artwork by Matt Skingsley 

We have entered a new phase of the human race. A new generation.

The Selfie Generation.

I for one must say that I am been sucked into this phenomenon.

The Selfie is a fad that has been amplified by the surge of social media that has hit us over the past few years. Now every moment of our lives can be documented at any given time, and what better way to document a moment that with a selfie.

It’s said that ‘A picture says a thousand words.’ Well if this is true then the selfie generation will have endless memories to reminisce over in the years to come. The downside however, which was lovingly pointed out to me by my sister as I was taking selfies in the garden just last week, is that these memories that we are creating are no longer of places and of things but of just your face. We have stopped documenting our lives and now only document ourselves. Not to mention that it has been reported that The Selfie is causing body dysmorphia and other forms of depression as people strive to take the ‘perfect’ selfie.

The Selfie has evolved. Pictures of people standing in front of a mirror with their iPhone are really very ‘old school’. With the amount of photography apps on phones and tablets these days, the options really are endless.

The Selfie has taken over the Internet so heavily that we are now able to categorize them.

OOTD:  A quick snap of the outfit you are wearing. Used mainly by fashionista and followers of fashion.

#NOFILTER: Now this is either a hot mess and should never be allowed or a completely lie and whoever it is has spent an hour in Face Tune, and has used about 6 different filters outside of Instagram.

The Topless Selfie: Because sex sells.

The Classic: A standard head and shoulders portrait.

The Arty Selfie: Where we all think we are shooting for Vogue on a Canon 5D. The Self Timer comes out and things get serious.

And many more.

I’m all for the Selfie and for all the problems that it has I just cant bring myself to hate it. 

Socks and Sandals

I have come to Spain for the weekend.

It has been three years since I was last on holiday and that is far too long.

I am a summer baby, I live for the sun and heat. I cannot bare being cold. It is one of the only things that can really ruin my day.

Fashion comes alive in summer and this year I am in a new chapter of my fashion story.

This will be the first year I wear socks and sandals.

It’s honestly something I never thought I would do, I was always adverse to the idea and never thought in a million years I would be craving for it. Prada walked it down the runway back in S/S '13 and slowly but surely us fashion lovers have picked it up.

My belief is that an outfit isn’t just a top and some trousers. It’s so much more than that. Accessories play a massive part in an outfits construction. A fedora can make or break an outfit. The wrong earrings can turn something chic into an absolute disaster.

Sock and Sandals are just an extension on the accessory. It has to be matched with the right look, but it has the potential to turn an outfit from high street to high fashion.

Shirt and Shorts Topman, Socks Marks & Spenser, Shoes Topshop, Hat H&M

My War With Beige

Artwork by Matt Skingsley 
http://www.artbyskings.com

BEIGE. Beige, beillluurrrghh! 

I detest beige. It's vacant, dismal, insipid and bland. 

Beige is the colour that you get in art class when your palate slips out your hand, hits the floor and creates a huge hideous mess from the mix of the colours you had carefully spent time creating.

I think its time we fashionistas take action and declare war. Beige isn't just a colour, it's a way of life. Its a way of fitting in by blending into the sombre society. A way of staying hidden within a small box of comfort and shying away from the extravagance that the world can bring when you allow colour to jump onboard. 

People are so scared of colour. Scared of anything outside, what is considered, normal. You could argue and say, 'what's the difference between a beige wardrobe and a black one?' The answer? A LOT! Black is full of colour, its the combination of every colour in the spectrum, its living, vivacious, animated. Beige just exists. 

I went for a job interview last week for a little menswear boutique, I wore a very simple monochromatic outfit. The manager of the store, who dressed in beige, turned to me and proceeded to tell me that I didn't "look right" for the store. My outfit wasn't very 'them'. She signalled to one of her male sales assistants who was also dressed head to toe in beige. I had never been more angry. I left the store with my blood boiling. I refuse to conform for anyone, especially if it means becoming beige. This woman was so threatened by a simple white tee, a leather trouser, some minimal gold jewellery and a fedora, that she practically ran away and hid behind her beige comfort blanket in front of my eyes. When I went to calm myself down with a little retail therapy, things only got worse. I walked into a store past a selection of gloves in an array of colours, when I heard a woman practically scream "Oh wow, what a gorgeous colour". I turned around expecting to see the exquisite teal gloves in the lady's hands, but of course this would be too good to be true. Beige gloves. She had the option of so many gorgeous teals, mauves, fucias and yellows and she picked up beige gloves.

The time has come to defeat this nationwide obsession with this lacklustre colour, and inject some life into the wardrobes of Britain. I am not saying I suddenly want every man, woman and child to be walking around draped in Moschino. However the beige craze has gone too far, its infecting peoples minds and with it making the people as beige as the colour itself.

We must find a cure. Join Me.

London: An Urban Jungle

Do you know what I love about London? Its uniqueness. There isn't any city on Earth that looks and feels like London. I love its rich, deep history alongside the contrasting contemporary new builds. I never get over the fact you can be in the most beautiful, quiet, scenic garden, look up and you can see the busy towering structures soaring into the clouds.

It's the juxtaposition of the city that really gives me the freedom to experiment with fashion. I hate conformity. I have never been one to be part of a crowd and London is the perfect city to give the finger to 'the norm' an just do you. Don't get me wrong, I still follow trends and I like to stay on, if not ahead, of fashion. However, my point is, I never feel like I can't wear whatever I want, whenever I want. I love the diversity and the ability to play with fashion, have fun with it and really experiment with different trends and styles to find where you sit on the fashion spectrum. 

In London, anything goes. Whether you love high street or high fashion, history or futurology, London will capture your heart and find a home deep within your desires.

London is ever changing, ever growing, an urban jungle of life, death and fashion. 

London is my Home.

Horace Leggings and Jacket, Topman T-Shirt, Topshop Accessories, Topshop Trainers.

A Diamond In The Rough

I love spring. It means summer is on its way. 

I may be a little premature, but in my optimism, I have decided the rain has stopped, the sun is out, spring is here. 

I love London in the Spring and Summer. Just like a flower it blossoms and comes to life. We start to see all those shy and retiring fashionistas who have been hiding under their winter coats, shred their outer layers and say "Hello World!"

At the start of each season I go through the same mini breakdown where I have a complete style overhaul which ends in a personal fashion evolution, each time finding myself in the new prints, colours and fabrics that I engorge myself with. However being a young 24 year old fashionista, with a shopping addiction, in London has its financial difficulties. Just like 'The Girl In The Green Scarf' I see each new item as an investment, something I truly need, something I would die for. Fashion is an investment into you as an individual, it gives you a sense of self and an individuality that can only be yours.

So with the financial strains that the ever developing world of fashion brings, I try to stay on trend, but in budget. As much as I would love to take a credit card and go on a shopping spree in Versace,(honestly, I have had to stop myself from doing this on numerous occasions) it is just not a feasible option. Therefore I find myself on the high street, searching for glimmers of hope. Many high street stores have really stepped up there game over the past few years and now Topshop is walking at LFW, Zara is being featured in Vogue and Donatella is collaborating with H&M.

 I used to be mortified to say that I had stepped through the gates of hell and actually left with a brown paper bag in my hand. However, I don't feel like I have ever worn a pair of trousers so much in my life and I think that it important to address that we can achieve high fashion looks at high street prices. Just because money is tight does not give us the excuse to throw on a dirty t-shirt and some tracksuit bottoms and think that it is ok! 

Yes, the tailoring is poor and the quality isn't high, but what do you expect for £7. Teamed with the right combination it is possible to find a diamond in the rough.

H&M Go Gold Tshirt, H&M Fedora, AAA for Topman Shirt, Monki Clutch, Primark Leather Look Trousers, Tresore Paris Bracelet, Topshop rings, Schuh Platform Pumps

The Beard: A Modern Accessory

This is one for all you beard lovers out there.

Just like a set of midi rings, a golden chain or a kilt I have come to the conclusion that a beard is the most fashionable accessory a man can have this season. The Beard holds the same power as a perfectly tailored suit or a pair of Prada brogues. 

I read an article recently that said, a man with a beard is, scientifically, at his most attractive, where as a man with a moustache is considered to be creepy. That aside, it has come to my attention that if you had two men in the exact same outfit, one with a beard and one without, the guy sporting the trendy facial hair would be deemed the trend setter of the pair. 

This got me thinking about hair in general and how much our image is a complete look, literally from head to toe. When we watch a 'Live From The Red Carpet' we now have ManiCam's and 360º Cam's, which at first seems a little invasive but if you take into consideration the theory that a beard can change your entire look, then this new obsession with detail is just the evolution of people awareness with fashion.

As I sit here and write this article, I'm looking out onto the street and a man, dressed as I can only describe as a homeless farmer, walked past me, with a chin sprouting wonderfully thick ginger locks. This, and I do not lie, made him look good on impact. It's only when I took a second to fully address what he was wearing I realised he was in a gingham shirt and cargo pants, which is a look not even David Gandy could get away with. 

A beard is a gift, which only a few men are blessed with. I, for example, have the potential to grow a beard but I do not posses the bone structure to pull it off, my face is too short and a beard makes me look like a furry tennis ball. Others, cannot grow a beard at all, their follicles run and hide at the mention of the word. So to all the men out there that are lucky enough to have a face that can support The Beard, go for it! It's the most current trend for a man, the most sought after accessory, but get growing it quick, because all trends fade with time and soon The Beard will make you look like a lumberjack that has lost his way.