Top Fashion Trends To Shop Now

As the fashion world begins to prepare for the start of the new season, You may be wondering what trends to shop to keep your wardrobe updated, especially after our recent decluttering,  right?

If you are wondering what’s trending right now?  or what is considered cool now? then you in luck. Since most trends are a reflection of what we see on the runways, they would serve as our guide as to what to shop this season.

Here’s your essential guide for the upcoming season.

Highly Ornate Pieces

Expect an influx  of highly ornamental luxe details, remember how this trend was all over falls runway à la the highly ornate pieces from  McQueen and the ornamental tiaras from  D&G. This season, its all about the big details, expect luxury embroidery on pretty dresses, sophisticated accessories with stand out detailing that easily transform outfits from “just there” to “fab”. Look out for flashy belts in gold finishes,  chain details as accent for bags and shoes, stacked necklaces and bracelet for that statement look, highly ornate chokers,  elegant pumps with gold capped toe.

Suit Up
The suits comes in all forms and styles, sporty, three piece, cropped pant suits, 40s inspired, 70s inspired, dressy skirt suit, and the best part is you can wear them as separates and pair with other pieces which can make for endless possibilities. The silhouette to watch out for is uber feminine yet structured.

Classic Patterns

In the coming season, the trend will be gradually moving away from over the top prints to classic basic patterns like Pin stripes, Prince of Wales checks, plaids, Animal prints , and hounds tooth. There is a myriad of styles to choose from, whatever you do just ditch complicated patterns in favour of classic simple patterns.

Statement Coats

The coming season will see a lot of attention grabbing coats that are very attractive, this nicely ties in with the  whole detail oriented season we are looking forward to. Look out for bright coloured coats, colour blocked coats, printed coats anything but the norm is acceptable here.

Colour wheel

In terms of colour, expect Pinks, Oxblood , Blues and  Greens which is no surprise, remember green was named the official colour of 2013. Choose from emerald , army green and even jewel tones like amethyst and sapphire there is a shade for every skin tone and personal style. Look for creative ways to incorporate these colours in various shades into your wardrobe.

The new colour blocked white and black, and grey which is looking like the new black for the season, would also be quite popular. I like when neutral colours are are used for an outfit,  with neutrals,  the focus is on the cut, quality and shape of the outfit  rather than the colour, you can  add a colourful statement acessories here if you are not one for bland colours.

Winter whites 

Wearing head to toe white is a no brainer, classic and so on trend yet without looking like its a trend, get what I mean? J, you can make a big impression with this trend without looking like a trend follower. Nothing quite says “chic” like the colour white in my opinion. Try mixing variations of the shade such as ivory which is quite popular now. 

Block Away

This season see’s the use of blocks of colours styled graphically. The new colour block is toned down to mostly  bi- colour blocking which is a paired downed version and a lot more chic.

Ankle Strap sandals and Thigh high boots

Depending on wear you live in the world, either of these two is a must have,  thigh high boots  are in and super chic for colder regions and for my warm weather friends  ankle strap sandals are the rage,  and would go with everything in your wardrobe.

Military Inspired

Military inspired outfit are also in, this look can be styled to look edgy, sporty or accents of soft fabrics like lace added to give it an elegant feminine luxe vibe.

Slouchy  Pants

The seasons must have pants are looser and a lot more relaxed.  The new cut is slightly narrow at the ankle and sits higher on the waist, pair yours with a fitted top or jacket and a pair of heels and you be a picture of chic perfection.

Leather

Leather infused pieces are still making a showing, leather can be edgy, sporty or feminine depending on how you style it. Try on coloured leather pieces, avoid an all leather outfit unless you are going for an edgy biker chick look.

Hope this gives an idea of what to look out for?

Have a fab week!

Xoxo

Photo credit

thefashionspot.com

http://www.ladylux.com

http://www.glamour.com

http://www.harpersbazaar.com

http://www.swide.com

Baroque Inspired

Baroque clothing and accessories are heavily ornate and dramatic in some cases, it is full on luxury at its best case.  I love how this blouse mimics this trend with its elaborate  prints. Check here for a previous post on elements of this trend. I believe with a blazer thrown on, this blouse can go for formal functions in spite of its elaborate prints, wearing neutral colours everywhere else helps to tone down its effect.

Same Blouse two ways

What I'm wearing :  Top - Asos  || Pants - Jones New York || Belt - Anne Klein || Bags - kohls

  || Shoes -  Pumps Available @ Dressed  and Nine West Wedge || Necklace - Available @ Dressed

Hope you are all having a great week guys! What's your take on the Baroque trend? How do you like the blogs new look? I'm constantly working on getting the right feel to it. Thanks for always reading.

Have a fab weekend ahead!


Xoxo

How To Declutter An Old Wardrobe And Reorganize The New

Most of us are not blessed with a separate closet room where we can have one wardrobe for each category of clothing item. As a result, right when you are dressing up for the Friday gig or Sunday church, there’s a tendency to struggle with finding your favourite handbag or how to match your outfit  since everything  is not in full view so you probably do not see the full content of your wardrobe.  For most of us, de-cluttering or getting rid of old stuff is perhaps the most difficult and most important step in the process of reorganizing. This step of getting things organised doesn't always leave you having a lot of things, but in my opinion would leave you with a fab wardrobe comprising only of items carefully chosen and cherished. We all buy clothes both online and off line, but keeping things stylish and organized is something we frequently ignore, here is a close take on how you can keep your wardrobe looking like a true fashion diva.

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Get rid of the old items: In every closet, there is a range of clothes, accessories and shoes that have hardly been used in years  and probably will never be used again. Most fashion lovers keep changing their likes and preferences as per trends and runway hits, and it is good to get rid of stuff that is out of vogue if you are trend follower or items that you would never wear.  

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So how do you sort your wardrobe into items you want to Give away/ Throw away/ Donate / Sell Or even Keep?

Here are a few tips to help with this all important stage, 

Firstly, You need to try On every single item in you wardrobe for Fit and wearability  and sort them based on the following

1        

       1. I may wear this one day -  

This is simply an excuse to just keep loads of space sapping stuff!, this day may never come and if it does come you would probably  want to buy a new outfit for that occasion. Most often than none these items should go in the Throw away, Give away, Donate Or sell category. If you have not worn this items in the last One year for whatever reason, you are most likely never going to wear it again!.  Most times we choose not to wear items because they are either worn out, ill fitting, badly tailored or simply doesn’t conform to our current style. If these items cannot be put to good use again then this is a good time to be a little generous to your sister, friend or give to charity. It will help you get rid of the basic clutter and have a better idea of you true wardrobe size, content and how it fits to your current style.

2. Can I Mix and Match them well-

Another way to de-clutter your wardrobe is to think of your current style and take a very critical look at the pieces you have left in your wardrobe. Do they fit well into your lifestyle, the Image you try to portray, and can they be easily matched with other items in your wardrobe?. With the style and lifestyle question only you can truly answer that, with the mixing and matching, take a piece in your wardrobe and try to visualize how many outfit you can make out of it with other pieces in your wardrobe. If you can successfully match an item with other pieces in your wardrobe to produce five different outfits then it’s a keeper for

me.

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3. May Be Someday -

Now if you have carried out the two steps above you will find that there are still items you are on the fence about, may be because you have not worn them in over a year but you really really like them or they were very expensive and you are not ready to let go or maybe they are just a bit tight and you plan to lose some weight. With these items you can pack them away in a box and store away somewhere outside the wardrobe until you have the need for them, that way you can have more space for the things you wear on a regular basis. These lot are also keepers but not in the wardrobe. They come out when you think of what to match them with or after they become perfect fit, if after say another year they still do not come out from the box then you probably need to let go of them.

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Separate the essentials: After trimming down your wardrobe this is the next step, think of the number of items you have before trying to put things in place. You need to create a separate section for dresses, pants, skirts, leggings and shorts, lingerie, jewellery and shoes in any wardrobe. Get everything on the bed and make a good numbering from the heap, get each piece properly cleaned and  ironed in readiness to be kept in its section. Check the largest sections, like you may have more jeans than dresses or so on, and compare the closet to find which space can be allotted to each section.

Find the small solutions: The smallest things such as your small accessories, handbags and jewellery don’t need to be kept under the clothes, but look for more appropriate investments. Buy a few boxes and wicker baskets as per the items you own and keep them on the lowest rack of the wardrobe to find them easily. If the space is a constraint, look for more additional options in ottomans and chests. Also, invest in shoes racks to help organize your shoes, that way you have more space in your closet.

A box for lingerie: The lingerie section of the closet is often the most ignored one, and you need to see if you have every camisole and panty in place. This is mainly because many times your dresses give a quick peek in what you are wearing underneath. Add a small section in the closet for the same, or use the locker or other boxed section of the wardrobe for the same.

This Post was done in collaboration  with Suzy Walsh a fashion blogger and style expert for many magazines and websites and is well known as the editor in chief for The Houseof Elegance Fashion. Her stint in fashion comes from experiences in real life, which makes her a true expert in her niche.

Image Credit:  thefashionista.com

Wedding Saturday - Elizabeth and Ifeanyi

The past Saturday was a dear friends wedding, I went on a photo overload test running my new camera. It was a fun day hanging out with old friends, these are some photos from the ceremony. 

Tess my kid sis  and I doing the boogey

The Lovely couple Elizabeth and Ifeanyi

Tess and my hubby

Ring available @ dressed

What I'm wearing: Dress - Trina Turk (old)  || Bag - Aldo || Shoes - Sam Edelman  (old)

Hot hot bride

Wishing the bride and groom a wonderful, joyous and blessing filled marriage,  Amen!

Its been a long  week for me, sorry guys  for the lack of posts, looking forward to the weekend already!

Have a fab week guys!

Food I Love - Homemade Nut Cookies

Today I would be featuring our first guest food post!

The post was sent in by a dear friend of mine Tray, she’s currently taking  baking classes and would like to  share some of the things she has learnt with us, since this blog is all about sharing and sharing and more sharing to inspire others,  why not!

Take it away babe!

Ok so we all live incredibly busy lives! God help, but we still find the time to do those things that we love! Amazing right?  *smiley face*.

Thanks to my darling friend and sister Dressed *hugs* who by the way is truly inspiring with all the fashion tips etc. I decided to do a guest post on the food section because I'm also a food lover, Please tell me who does not like food!.

Today I’ll be sharing the recipe I learnt on how to make scrumptious homemade cookies, very easy trust me.

These are the Ingredients you would need

225g/ 8oz soft butter, 

50-100g / 5 oz caster sugar

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2tsp almond or vanilla extract!

225g / 8oz plain flour

55g/ 2oz pistachio nuts or any nuts you like in cookies

Salt

Method

Put butter and sugar in a mixing bowl

Mix well

Beat in egg yolk and almond extract. Stir together and add a pinch of salt

Add the flour

Halve the dough, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30-60mins.

Unwrap dough and roll between sheets of baking sheets. This is ideal to improve the texture and appearance of the cookies. In the absence of baking sheets, you can use hands to flatten the dough, do not use dust work surface with flour. Sprinkle nuts and roll lightly.

Stamp out cookies with cutter in any shape of your choice and place on baking sheet spaced apart.

Bake in a pre heated oven at 190 degrees,  gas mark 5 for 10-13 mins, then leave to cool on baking sheet for 5- 10mins before serving

Voila homemade nut cookies!

Tried it?  let me know what you did differently and how it came out.