4 key fashion trends for the fellas.

This week my weekly column looks at 4 key trends for the fellas, for the coming season….

Some guys love shopping, whilst others absolutely loathe it. But at the end of the day, we’ve all got to wear something. So to make your next shopping adventure a little easier consider these four hot-to-trot tends.

 Military magic

Military inspired fashions have marched from the catwalks and into a retail store near you. Prepare to salute sharply tailored jackets with military style buttons and details, such as shoulder epaulettes and lapels. When it comes to colour, earthy tones dominate with shades of green, khaki, brown and various shades of grey. Accessorise with aviator style sunglasses, military style watches, silver ‘dog tag’ inspired jewellery pieces, oversized duffle bags and chunky black boots. The best strategy to win this style battle, is choose one military inspired item, and mix it in with your basic wardrobe staples such as jeans. Don’t go overboard with the trend, or you may get drafted for service.

 Mad Men

Thanks to the hit US television sitcom Mad Men, there’s been a major resurgence in late 1950’s and early 1960’s style. The sartorially perfect male cast members including the lead character Don Draper, wear impeccably tailored three piece suits, double breasted style suits, brogue shoes and bowties.  The suits are slim cut, matched with slim ties and accessorised with tie pins, pocket squares and trilby style hats.  Outside of the corporate boardroom, their dapper preppy style consists of cardigans, polo tops, velvet jackets, v-neck jumpers, argyle prints and leather loafers.

A second skin

Leather jackets are back, with some styles paying homage to the 1980’s such as the biker style leather jacket. The current biker style jacket is much more relaxed, made from incredibly soft leathers and without the strong eighties power shoulder. The biker style jacket generally features lots of zips and handy pockets. Leather bomber jackets, with or without a hood are also a popular style. For a more classic style of jacket, consider a leather trench coat. Leather jackets are extremely versatile, team them with a t-shirt and jeans, or dress them up with pants and a shirt.

 Double up your denim

Jeans can be hard to shop for; the trick is to try on loads of different styles from straight leg, to bootleg and even the skinny style. Once you find the right style for your shape, you then have a plethora of colours, finishes and details you can choose from. Dark indigo coloured jeans look the most flattering on, and the most versatile colour that can easily be dressed up or down. One of the biggest trends for jeans, are styles that are finished with a waxy coated surface.  Also big for the coming season are jeans with an extremely ‘worn in’ look complete with frayed edges and distressed holes. Another trend resurrected from the eighties archive is the ‘denim on denim’, rebadged as ‘double denim’. Wearing a denim shirt or chambray shirt with denim jeans has again received approval from the fashion gods. If you decide to dabble in the double denim trend, go for a really light colour denim shirt or chambray shirt, and pair it with a much darker shade of jeans.

How to get the SATC fashions on a budget.

Did you love the clothes in the new Sex and the City 2 movie?  But like me, you probably don’t have a spare $5,000 lying around  to spend on one outfit?  Well never fear, Westfield is near and you can get the SATC looks on a tight budget. First up, I re-create Carrie’s opening scene outfit which is valued at over $6,000. I re-create the same look for less than $300 dollars.

Click on the link to watch my fashion segment about getting the SATC fashion on a budget (as seen on the TODAY show).

http://today.ninemsn.com.au/videoindex.aspx?videoid=8b775512-228e-49ef-b3c8-39fec1c3d4db

Below are some handy styling hints and tips, along with a full list of where you can buy all the clothes from… be warned there are laods of bargain 😉

 

Carrie’s style is:

• Carrie is best known for taking risks and mixing vintage with designer pieces.
• Her designer sky-high heels (in this movie Louboutin’s rather than Manolos)
• Statement necklaces are her thing – think of the ‘Carrie’ necklace, the horseshoe pendant, a gold clover, and moon with a star. She’s always wearing some kind of necklace.
• Wears lots of pastels, whites, creams, blue and orange.

 

The first time we see her, she is wearing …

• White Halston dress
• Metallic Chanel clutch
• Louboutin gold heels
• Mykita and Bernhard reflector aviator glasses
• Azagury-Patridge gemstone necklace (total look worth over $6,000)

For about $300, you can have Carries’s look thanks to Westfield…

• White JeansWest dress $69.95
• Colette gold clutch $24.95
• Wittner gold sparkly heels $149
• Forever New reflector aviators $29.99
• Diva ‘Carrie’ necklace $8.95

 

Miranda’s style is:

• Miranda’s look is a little more corporate.
• We usually see her in nice tailoring, soft draped style dresses and pant suits.
• Because of her lovely red hair, Miranda always wears mustards, reds, purples and crimsons.
• You will notice she always wears a belt. Her body shape is quite column like, up and down. So wearing a belt is a great way to create the illusion of having a smaller waist line.
• Miranda wears lots of belts, to emphasise her waistline.

 The first time we see Miranda wearing…..

• Bottega Veneta mustard dress
• Christian Laboutin Nude colour
• Brown belt vintage

 For about $255, you can get Miranda’s look:

• Purple shift dress from Target $69 (on sale)
• Brown studded belt from Collette $19.95
• Purple trench coat from Target $71 (on sale)
• Nude heels from Novo (Nude heels are a must, huge trend) $69.95
• Animal print clutch from Collette $24.95

 Samantha’s style is:

• Sexy, seductive, sassy style, bold likes to make a statement
•  Femme Fatale – lots of fitted dresses, power suits and open necklines.
• Statement earrings – huge statement earrings, chandelier styles.
• Belts – Kim Catral is a brick shape, quite up and down. So a belt helps create the illusion of a more narrow waist.
• Colours – reds, blues, metallics,  lots of black and bold prints (animal prints)
• In this movie she wears a couple of black dresses

The first time we see Samantha, she is wearing….

• Herve Leger Black fitted dress with cut out details
• Victoria Beckham Snake skin bag
• Heels
• Black Ray Ban sunglasses

 Get Samantha’s look for approx $260:

• Glassons LBD $39.95
• Collete Animal print bag $49.95
• Glassons chain belt $19.95
• Novo – Black satin heels with silver heel and diamonte $99.95
• Ice animal print jacket $49.95

 Charlotte’s style is:

• The classic ‘Girly girl’, very feminine styles.
•  Lots of pinks, pastels floral prints
• Frills, delicate laces, sheer fabrics and bows.
• Statement bracelets and designer watches. Colourful gemstones.
• Bags – are very ladylike and girly.

 When we first see Charlotte in the film she is wearing….

• Christian Dior Pink ruffle dress
• Dior Large pink tote
• Christian Laboutin Python skin heels
• Total outfit worth over approx $5,000

Get Charlotte’s look from Westfield for about $310

• Forever new pink lace dress $79.95
• Forever new scarf $24.95
• Forever new pink ruffle trench coat $99
• Forever new beret $34.99
• Novo mock python skin heels $79.95

 Visit http://westfield.com.au/aucentres/ to find a Westfield near you to get your SATC looks. Happy Shopping! 🙂

 

  

Valentino is coming to Brisbane.

I think I just heard the best 5 words ever “Valentino is coming to Brisbane”. Well not the man himself , but 100 of his most incredible creations will be showcased in a retrospective titled ‘Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future’. The exhibition of the House of Valentino will show exclusively at the Gallery of Modern Art(GoMA), Brisbane from August 7 until November 14, 2010. Go Brisvegas! I’ll be there with bells on and my Valentino red of course.

Queensland Art Gallery Director Tony Ellwood said ‘Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future’ incorporated a stunning array of Valentino Garavani’s haute couture designs from the late 1950s through to his final collection in January 2008, as well as recent creations by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli– appointed in October 2008 Creative Directors for Valentino – highlighting the future direction of this most esteemed fashion house.

Garments worn by Hollywood stars and high society figures such as Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman,Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor and others will be displayed along with the stunning black and white gown Julia Roberts wore to the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001.In addition to a number of ensembles from Valentino’s noted ‘White Collection’ from 1968, the exhibition features a selection of signature ‘Valentino red’ dresses, including one from the couturier’s first collection —‘Fiesta’, a strapless cocktail dress in draped tulle from Spring/Summer 1959.

Visit http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/coming_soon/valentino_retrospective for more information.

Viva Valentino!!

 

 

Lady Gaga’s Alejandro

Lady Gaga has served up another great film clip for her new single ‘Alejandro’. Directed by the über talented Steven Klein, we see Gaga with a short blond do and bleached out eyebrows. Prepare for a latex nun outfit, muscular men in high heels, rosary beads and check out her white sky-high heel-less platforms. There is definitely a little Madonna Vogue flavor to the clip. Especially when Gaga is wearing the Dolce and Gabbana black pants and vest.

Steven Klein is a famous fashion photographer  famous for his W Magazine shoots featuring Madonna, Tom Ford and Brad Pitt. If you are not familiar with his work, do yourself a favour and Google him.

Enjoy….

Sarah Jessica Parker rocks Valentino & McQueen.

Sarah Jessica Parker wore a fabulous neon yellow Valentino gown to the New York red carpet premiere of Sex and the City 2. Then the following night at the London premiere she paid homage to Alexander McQueen, by wearing a black  lace corset gown (from his Spring/Summer 2008 collection) and matching armband (complete with Fred Leighton diamond clips). She topped off her look with a black cloud like creation from milliner extrodinare Philip Treacy.

Which look do you prefer? Neon yellow or the black?

By Andrew H. Walker, Getty Images, for Mercedes-Benz

Sex and the City 2: the fashion.

With only a few more sleeps until Sex and the City 2 hits our screens << insert squel of excitement here.>>  The anticipation is building and ticket sales are going bhhhannnannas. We can’t wait to see where the story will take us, but equally (if not more) important is what will they be wearing?  With über stylist Patricia Field in charge, we know the costumes will be nothing but fabulous.

At an upcoming movie premiere of SATC2 I’ll be showing ladies how to recreate these looks for less than $400 (more details on this coming soon) . But for now , here is a sneak peek at some of the outfits the main characters will be wearing in the movie. Enjoy.

Note – to get a closer look at this delicious couture, simply click on the picture.

Who is your favourite character? and which outfit do you like best? please leave your comments.

Images from the SATC2 trailor, and from www.sexandthecitymovie.com/closet

Miranda Kerr makes tan lines sexy.

It’s absolutely freeeeeeezzing outside today, my frozen toes are numb. So I have decided to turn up the heat a tad, with some hot n’ steamy pics of Miranda Kerr on the cover of my favourite men’s mag GQ (USA). 

Please take note, she is NOT wearing lil’ white panties, she is only wearing white tan lines. Who knew tan lines could be so sexy? Suddenly my toes are no longer cold 🙂

Hit prediction: Acapella by Kelis

Remember that song ‘Milkshake’ … my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard….

Well Kelis is back, all grown up, looking fabulousl and with an incredibly catchy tune called ‘Acapella’ – sure to pack dancefloors around the globe. The film clip is great, I love the opening African tribal look and check out the cute Husky dogs. Her new album ‘Flesh Tone’ is out July 6th.

Real curves on a cover

You may know I am obsessed with Sophia Loren and Mad Men, so if the 2 had a love child they would end up with the sexy, curvaceous, red-headed siren Christina Hendricks, who stars in the 60’s themed TV series Mad Men. This month she graces the cover of New York Magazine. It’s so refreshing to see a woman with such stunning, voluptuous curves on a cover. Hopefully the huge success of Mad Men, will see more real women grace magazine covers. Bring on the curves.

Covergirl Dannii looking fab in McQueen.

Pregnancy certainly agrees with yummy mummy to be, Dannii Minogue. She is on the cover of UK’s Glamour magazine looking ravishing in Alexander McQueen (I’m still wiping away the tears away). Stunning!!!