What's New in Men's Tailoring?

I've been spending the last week as an Editorial Assistant on The Financial Times's supplement How To Spend It mostly sub-editing and fact-checking new pieces of copy. One of the articles I worked on was about men's shirts, and it was really interesting - there is some really cool stuff out there!

As a female, I don't spend an awful lot of time thinking about men's clothing (unless it's arguing with my boyfriend over his tirelessly standard uniform of dark jeans and a jumper) so I decided to do a bit of research into tailoring, but not your standard boxy white shirt and navy tie - tailoring, dare I say it, with a twist.

Now I'm not going to lie, this stuff doesn't come cheap. This post is not for the bargain tailoring buyer or the vanilla dresser, but if you're looking for something a bit different but still completely wearable for the office - look no further.

From £630, Available from the Angelo Galasso store on Hans St, London

Angelo Galasso is a brand I've been introduced to in the past week but that I feel I should have been aware of before. In 1990 he launched his Polso Orologio Shirt (pictured) with signature exposed cuff which consists of an internally lined shirt cuff with a cut away panel to reveal the wearer's wrist watch. It was designed for the former Fiat's President, Gianni Agnelli, who had an allergy dictating that he wear his watch on top of his cuff.

Technicolor trousers optional
Shirt available from Issey Miyake MEN on Conduit St, London

Issey Miyake always designs brilliant, cutting-edge menswear but this time I'm drawn to a decidedly subtler garment. His plain white shirt with asymmetrical button-up front is genius. Worn folded back with a tie like in the show, this is the kind of shirt that looks equally good on the catwalk or under a Hugo Boss suit for the 9-5.

£1085, Hostem.co.uk

I was vaguely aware of Rick Owens before but more for his slouchy, men's casual wear rather than his tailoring. This blazer is again, fairly classic in silhouette and function but is a fun alternative to the standard central two-button fastening.

£320, MrPorter.com

At first glance, these Dolce & Gabanna trousers look like any other pair of smart trousers but with closer inspection, they have a slightly gathered waste and "paper bag" style crotch. I think you'd have to have a pretty specific style and body-type to carry them off but I just think they'd look great with some mahogany brogues and a pair of braces.

£245, MrPorter.com

Last in the apparel department is this white shirt from Valentino. Although classic in shape, it has very subtle, fabric covered studs on the  collars which add a little bit more interest to the eye.

Photo c/o HeartofLight.com
$120, NikolaiRose.com

This last piece is for the more budget-friendly but no less style-conscious suit-wearer. This sweet tie bar by American brand Nikolai Rose can add a little extra detail to your existing wardrobe rather than forking out for new clothes.

I'm flying to Spain on Monday for my final two weeks abroad during this summer holiday and plan to spend most of my time in a horizontal position by my pool and not staring at a computer screen - I'll be doing plenty of that when uni commences again in October. So forgive me if I'm a little absent.

Strawberries and Cream

After lunch today, in the spirit of Wimbledon and this warm weather we are having, I indulged myself and had fresh strawberries and raspberries with double cream and honey. With that in mind, I had a browse through some of the S/S 12 Cruise/Resort collections and picked out a few strawberry and cream hued pieces.

Marchesa. Beautiful pleating, sumptuous colour, perfect for a wedding or garden party.

Valentino. I'm a bit of a sucker for bows so I fell in love with the detail on the back of this dress. I'd wear it bare foot for long walks on the beach or with strappy sandals to lunch with friends.

Mulberry. Structured enough for the office worn with simple courts but fun with the little socks for evening. If it gets a little chilly, make like a fifties house wife and throw a cardigan over your shoulders.

Alberta Ferretti. A tailored suit is a must for any woman's wardrobe and this one is bang on trend with the cropped trouser and textured jacket.

Erdem. Lace, tick. Fitted shape, tick. Stand-out colour, tick. What more could you want for a dinner date on a balmy evening?

Temperley. This outfit could be worn time and again mix and matched with the rest of your wardrobe. The trousers can be worn with thin knit sweaters, simple t-shirts and neutral coloured blouses and shirts. The delicate blouse would look equally good with a high-waisted skirt or jeans on the weekend.

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

How-to Make-Up - Inspired by A/W 2011 Catwalk

The last how-to make-up post I wrote has had well over 1000 hits - so I figured it was popular. Since I wrote that post, what seems like, a decade ago, I thought I'd do another one.

I looked at a few make-up styles from next season and picked a few different ones. Comment below if there are any you'd like me to cover.


YSL
This is the purple lip that never was. Although backstage photos show a coloured lip, last minute, Pat McGrath (make-up artist for YSL) decided it didn't suit with the variety of hair colours of all the models and instead opted for a pale peach lip.

This look is very simple to achieve. Flawless skin is the key so use plenty of foundation and concealer to even the skin tone. Keep it matte with finishing powder. Only apply one layer of mascara to top and bottom lashes. Shade eye brows with a brow pencil and use an eye brow brush to smooth the hairs upwards. Skip blusher and apply a lip liner, followed by a matte lipstick in a deep indigo shade (for the daring) or use a pale peach lipstick and apply clear lip gloss on top.


Chanel
This look is again, simple but there is a little bit of extra work to be done around the eyes. Start off with foundation and concealer, making sure to concentrate on the under eye and finish with a translucent powder all over. Use a shimmery silver eye shadow cream (it will make the colour look more dewy than if you use a powder shadow) on the whole eye lid, working it up to the brow bone and into the inner corner and along the bottom lash line. Use a white eye shadow on top to further highlight the inner corner. Use a black kohl pencil to line the top and bottom lash line making sure it meets at the out corners - this helps to define the eyes - and use plenty of mascara on top and bottom lashes. Finish off with a pale matte nude lipstick.


Chloé
This is the new beach babe-style look. Use a foundation in a slightly warmer shade than your natural colour and use a bronzer to define the areas normally hit by the sun (forehead, nose, cheeks, chin). Shade eye brows with a grey/brown brow pencil. Use a shimmery gold cream eye shadow to cover the eye lid and smudge a light brown/orange eye shadow powder up to the brow bone. Smudge a grey/brown eye pencil a long the lower lid and finish with a few coats of black mascara. Dab a little concealer onto the lips and press a nude, matte lipstick on with your finger.


Lanvin
At Lanvin, Alber Elbaz wanted the make-up to look like it was done my the models themselves.

Start, as always, with foundation and concealer and use a translucent powder to fix them on. Shade eye brows with a brow pencil. Use a black eye shadow powder and using your little finger, dab it onto the outer corners of your eye and flick out towards your temples. This may be a little tricky so use a cotton bud to clean up any mistakes. Use lashings of mascara and finally dab a little concealer onto your lips.


Valentino
Like most of these looks, it requires a (as close as possible) flawless complexion so use foundation, concealer and a finishing powder to fix the make-up. Use a highlighter on the cupid's bow. Use a light grey eye shadow powder and sweep across your eye lid and out towards your temples. Then apply it under your bottom lashes and smudge. Apply a couple of coats of mascara and dab a little pale pink lipstick (ideally a creamy one) onto your lips.
All photos are from Style.com





Maria