Menswear Trends S/S 2011

To add a bit of diversity to my blog, I thought I'd take a little bit of time to talk about men's trends for S/S 2011.

BLUE

Issey Miyake, Dries Van Noten, D&G

Trailing through the catwalk reports I noticed a definite pattern of blue emerging. If you are already a religious jean-wearer then this trend is ideal but if you are feeling a little more daring, the bright blue shirt below would be perfect with long shorts or those trusty denims.

Selected at ASOS

DOUBLE-BREASTED

Jean Paul Gaultier, Kenzo, Lanvin. Note: I am definitely NOT feeling the Jesus sandals...

This is such a classic look that the smarter gentleman may already have a double-breasted piece in their wardrobe. Usually just for dressier occasions but the cardigan below makes the trend casual.

ASOS

A CLASSIC JACKET

Burberry, Lanvin, Paul Smith

Trench, blazer, mac, whatever your choice, make sure it's well cut and well made. And if it's double-breasted too, then all the better. Colour wise, aim for muted navy, charcoal and black, fabric wise, mattes and satins work well.

Cheap Monday at ASOS

GREY

Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Dior

A no-brainer. Mix with navy, burgundy, denim, black, tan or even more grey and you're on to a winner. I'd play with textures here - knits, tailoring, jersey - it's all good. Keep it simple with this t-shirt and pair it with some chinos.

ASOS

TURNED HEM SHORTS

Louis Vuitton, D&G, Marni

A little tailored, possibly with a crease down the front. I'd go for a matte navy, camel or even khaki to keep them neutral and versatile and both a shorter or longer style work. Wear with a t-shirt for day and loose untucked shirt for evening.

Polo Ralph Lauren. Note: Beware knobbly knees.

Photos: Style.com and ASOS

Parachute Silk

The inspiration for this post actually came from the daily net-a-porter.com email I subscribe to but I thought I would take the idea and show you exactly how you can wear it.

PARACHUTE SILK
From Mathew Williamson to Chloé, billowing silk has been shown all over the catwalks for Spring/Summer. An elegant, feminine trend which always looks beautiful but is not always practical (or cheap!). I've created 3 looks - day, evening and occasion - to show you that you can wear it from day-to-day.

DAY

Rolled-sleeve t-shirt - Splendid @ fashionbeans.com, pleated silk maxi skirt - Tibi @ net-a-porter.com, black leather clutch - Alexander Wang, suede sandals - Prada, black and gold watch - Michael Kors

EVENING

Silk organza dress - Valentino, patent wedges - Lanvin, black leather clutch - YSL, knotted bracelet - Lanvin

OCCASION
Iris-print silk-chiffon gown - net-a-porter.com, skull diamonte embellished clutch - Alexander McQueen, Palais pump - YSL, gold and blue agate cuff - maxandchloe.com

Ok, I know, they're all stunning pieces but not exactly accessible for the recessionista. But I'm now going to show you with just a few tricks, you can create these looks on a budget.

DAY
Take that canary yellow maxi skirt. I know for sure that with a little bit of rummaging, you can find one similar in a charity shop. It may not be the exact colour but if you spend a few pounds on the skirt and another few on some dye, it's hardly breaking the bank, is it?

And the Prada suede, black platforms. They look fairly similar to these Topshop heels.

EVENING
Now I would agree that the Valentino dress is a little harder (if not impossible) to emulate but a dress similar to these will still create the mood you want.

Left: J.Crew @ net-a-porter.com (£120). Centre: French Connection (£150). Right: French Connection at John Lewis (£135).

And if you layer a black lace body underneath, it adds a little more uniqueness.

Lace body - Topshop (£30)

And as for the Lanvin shoes, a simple pair of black stacked wedges will do the same job. Adding some cheap satin ribbon and tying it in a bow around your ankles will make them look extra sweet.

Wedges - ASOS (£40), scissors - totally my own creation. I would take off that boring ankle strap and instead thread a length of ribbon through.

OCCASION
This look is just that little bit more special/eye-poppingly expensive so it takes some creativity.

The McQueen clutch could be emmulated by starting off with this cheap box clutch and decorating with glue-on diamontes from a haberdashery. Now it would take patience and time but ultimately look glittering at the end of it.

Clutch - Kurt Geiger (£19)

ASOS is a great place to shop for occasion/evening dresses and I found this one for £60. Not too dissimilar, I don't think.



So that's it. My attempt at trying to show you that you can wear what you see on the catwalk and in designer shops, you just need to be a bit smart about it.

Images - Polyvore.com

Work Wear

I am lucky enough to be working with three companies over London fashion week - Anya Hindmarch, Burberry and Amanda Wakely. None of these companies are super strict about clothes but I want to make a good impression. I felt totally unprepared outfit wise as I do have a few smarter pieces - a blazor, a pencil skirt etc - but putting together more than one or two appropriate outfits from my existing wardrobe proved a little difficult. I bought a couple of things from Zara, an ivory chiffon blouse (which you can also see here) and a black cross-over dress.

.................THE DRESS......................................THE BLOUSE................


I have done a little bit of playing around on Polyvore to try to find a few versatile looks and these are what I came up with...


Jeans - Lee, boots - Dune at ASOS, bag - Anya Hindmarch, jacket - Topshop


Skirt - Harvery Nichols, bag - Chloé, shoes - Guiseppe Zanotti, blazer - Alexander McQueen


Trousers - Zara, shoes - veryeickhoff.com, trench coat - Burberry, bag - Jimmy Choo


Ribbed tights - Debenhams, shoes - Christian Louboutin, bag - Yves Saint Laurent, trench coat - Burberry, belt - Topshop


Bag - Loren Taylor Kalli at John Lewis, shoes - Kurt Geiger, blazer - Chloé, necklace - vintage


Belt - ASOS, bag - Jerome Dreyfuss, pumps - Topshop, cape - Topshop





Maria

Chichester

A while ago, I recieved an email about contributing to The Chichester News' fashion page. One month later and this is the finished article which Megan kindly sent to me.

Maria