Friday 24 June 2011

2 Catwalk Observations from SA Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2011

Vesselina Pentcheva

I'm a lace lover so that's why I chose this designer. Most impressive is the embroidery made on one hook, which is sampled from the beautiful mesh that grandmothers of Vesselina gave her for her wedding. In the outfits from her summer collection, the designer continues to be very feminine, using soft materials – cotton and silk, and a lot of lace, which bear the taste of traditional ethnic costumes, but with modern sound. Additional summer mood add the accessories from real flowers in the models’ hair, that are deliberately makeup with blue shadows and bright lipstick. As in any collection of the designer, the feminine forms are strongly emphasized. Corsets and belts create well-formed shapes, typical for the work of Vesselina Pencheva. According to diary of a fashionista from Top Billing, there was no disappointment in her latest Mexican inspired collection; which encapsulated the strong yet sensual elements of Hispanic femininity. Expertly finished, crochet and lace details accented the entire collection of superbly tailored silhouettes; in subtle colours: cream, black and blue. (http://www.vesselina.co.za/)



















                
Rubicon

The colours designer Rubicon used made me fall in love with this collection. Every now and then a woman needs to get decked out to the nines and celebrate just being able to wear a dress…and all the glamour that comes with that. The Rubicon collection included just the kind of gowns a girl needs to get noticed: from matric dance – to wedding isle, including bridesmaids dresses. Luxurious fabrics and attention to the details which make a woman feel outstanding; marked a well-rounded evening wear collection.  The dress in the middle with the mesh netting, was inspired by the movie Black Swan, I think this dress is so cute. This style was also see in various designers collections at the fashion week. The details on the garments wasn't too much which makes it perfect. The fabric used is also soft and  flowing fabric. It was expertly finished and superbly well tailored.  (http://www.rubiconclothing.co.za/)






Thursday 23 June 2011

Trend observation - Hats is back!

A hat is a stylistic full stop, the line between looking good and looking your best. As you see in these images below people are definitely having a moment with hats! Hats seems to be the accessory to add to your outfit  this winter. A lot of people tend to say that hats don’t look good on them, but I believe its not always true, at least try different hats before you make up your mind.  If you have not found your topper, try a fedora hat, they flatter every face. When adding a hat to your outfit, just make sure to make your hat the focus point and keep the rest of your look simple yet stylish, by not adding too much jewellery etc. You can personalise it with a trim that suits your style, like floral ribbon or a feather,  or whatever you wish to add to it, as long as it flatters your outfit . Knitted hats is also a huge trend because knits are IT for this winter, it is seen in almost every magazine. A vintage-style hat adds charm to a sleek silhouette. You can also use a hat to draw the attention away from your body, to the top and to give balance to an outfit. I think a hat adds a twist of cuteness to a outfit but yet it can also be a bit sexy or mysterious, it  just depends what you wear with it.

So...I guess this trend means you and I don't have to worry too much about bad hair days, we can just throw on a hat!!  As you can see in the last two pictures, adding bright lips with your hat works quite well.  A black hat – is a fashion accessory, which should be in the wardrobe of any fashionista. Try to mix your clothes and hats made of different materials,you will look very original when you wear a leather jacket and a tweed hat. Men’s hats go well with unisex clothes. For more trendy hats here is a link to style.com, check it out:  http://www.style.com/fashionshows/powersearch?trend=trend13&event=show2082.


 Photographed by Candice Lake
 Photographed by Candice Lake

 Image from Face Hunter
 Image from Face Hunter


ME! Photographed by Jonice de Villiers

Wednesday 22 June 2011

MisSue's style & identity

I documented what I was wearing twice a week for the past 4 weeks. I selected the top 5 looks I liked the most, to share with you! My style is constantly changing but here is my latest styles...


When I got up in the morning, I picked this outfit because I was in such a happy mood.  I think this outfit is pretty and  cute. I love the colours grey and cream together; it makes a good combination and is suitable for the winter. The hat is from Woolworths, a cute hat is the perfect accessory to any outfit for this winter in my opinion. I absolutely LOVE hats; it is definitely something that I will add most of the time to any of my outfits. The cream long sleeve shirt under the dress is also from Woolworths. The cream dress is from Vertigo and is perfect for day to night wear with the right accessories. The scarf and the light grey jean are from Woolworths.  The boots is from Foschini, I like to choose a shoe or boots with a little heel for extra height.


This outfit of mine is quite plain. I always try to make a statement with one garment piece.  As you see I was wearing full on black except for the brown shoes and sling bag. The coat is from Foschini, the leggings from Daisy Island in Cape Town. The sling bag is from Forever New, which I believe was a great investment because it almost fits with every outfit, if you don’t have one get one, you won’t regret it! The boots has got a lot of detail on them with the studs and straps that’s why I like the boots, it already adds detail to the outfit do it is not necessary for any other accessories.  This outfit is also more style based than fashion based, meaning its not something out of the ordinary. LESS IS MORE!! Leggings is also a great buy for the winter!!



This outfit is overall very casual and an easy wearing look. The jacket makes this outfit! I chose this jacket from Vertigo, because it is very comfortable, light weighted and the puff quarter sleeves makes it stylish. The jacket also gives an over-sized feel to the look. The jacket is perfect for windy weather and for when it is not too hot or too cold. Underneath the jacket I’m wearing a plain black long sleeve t-shirt from Woolworths made of pure cotton. The jean is also from Woolworths which fits my body type perfectly. The black ankle boots is from Edgars, ankle boots are very trendy right now and I just love wearing these ankle boots, because it is not too high and it gives me the perfect added height. This outfit can be worn from day to night by adding the right accessories and maybe a scarf if preferred.  


Girly or feminine is what I call this look. It is almost the same as the other picture with the cream dress. I just changed a view things, but it amazed me how different the two pictures look just by adding a scarf and wearing pumps both from Woolworths. In this outfit I wanted to show how well the colours work together and how the outfit is lighten up just by adding the peach scarf. This would also look great with a waist belt and accessories. What I like about this dress is that it is a neutral colour, so you can always wear another colour shirt underneath it, it will always look different from the previous outfit, even when you wear different accessories with it. The dress can be worn in winter and summer, so it is a timeless dress.


I chose this outfit because it has a funky and fun feel to it and it is something different to what I usually wear. I think the striped sunglasses and shirt makes this outfit, without the glasses  and shirt with stripes, it would have been just a normal outfit but the stripes gives it that something extra. The glasses and the waist belt is from Mr. Price,  and makes quite a statement.  The jacket, shirt  and my favourite shoes is from Woolworths. The leggings is from a boutique called Daisy Island in Cape Town, Canal Walk. I think this outfit reflects a bit of my personality. The jacket is the right length for me, longer  jackets tend to make me look shorter than I am, so that is why I chose this jacket. Also if I decided to wear a white jacket it wouldn’t had the same effect on the outfit as this black jacket. The glasses, shirt and shoes draws the attention in this outfit.