CUFF AND CROWNS: THE NEW JEWELLERY

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

Reinvention. Fashion wouldn't be the same without it. Until recently, jewellery had been bobbing along pretty nicely for a long time, minding its own business. There were still trends but they pretty much stuck to the traditional necklace/ earrings/ rings/ bracelets shapes and expectations. Of late though there's been a shift with designers and jewellers pushing the boundaries with new kinds of lovely things to adorn our bodies with. Here are the four big new thing things in jewellery...

1. EAR CUFFS

These are possibly the best established of the new jewellery vanguard, having broken onto the fashion scene in a big way following their appearance in Rodarte's SS13 show. Here, they looked like miniature intricate dragons crouching down the wearers' ears. They were back on the catwalk too for Autumn/ Winter at Dries Van Noten is huge, chunky rock form. Australian jeweller Ryan Storer is also winning lots of fans with his beautifully delicate ear cuffs.

Dries Van Noten ear cuff for AW13 (vi catwalking.com)

A gorgeous Ryan Storer ear cuff (via vogue.com/au) You can buy them here 

2. CROWNS

Sick of the Hen-Party-isation of the tiara, head jewellery thoughts have turned to its even more regal alternative, the crown. Dolce and Gabbana really, really sold this to us in AW13 show by topping off many of the collection's looks with chintzy Byzantine crowns.

Dolce and Gabbana catwalk crown (via allure.com)

Katy Perry does crown as punk at Met Ball (via www.professionaljeweller.com)

3. NAIL RINGS

I first came across these ingenious new finger-location rings at Browns press day, where I had to hold myself back from walking out with a completely beautiful Asherali Knopfer nail ring. They slot over your nail so that even if you can't remember the last time you had a manicure, your nails will look beautiful.

Asherali Knopfer nail rings at Browns

ASOS nail rings £6

4. ROW RINGS

Why buy one ring, when you can buy 3 all bonded together in a row? Lots of designers were creating this impression this season, although the effect can be created from, y'know, just wearing a ring on every finger. Delfina Delettrez definitely did a row of 3 though. Expect many imitations.

Delfina Delettrez rings  (via dazeddigital.com)

Row Rings at McQueen AW13 (via style.com)

Outfit | À la Dries Van Noten

EN

Here an outfit different than the usual monochromatic look that you are used to seeing on my blog. Yes! I am wearing colours and prints, even a clash of them, but I wanted to vary a bit and try something different this time.

Let me be clear, my love for leather and black and white ensembles continues, so this is an exception, mainly because the Spring/Summer 2013 collection from Dries Van Noten deserves everyone's attention and a little homage to it.

Of course, Zara had to offer so many things to be able to put the look together. I would have never bought floral trousers, but these silk kimono ones are just so comfty and I was sold by the cropped fit. And the shirt? This was love at first sight. I have never been a fan of plaid (except for a short time during the 90's), but this shirt, the cut is so special, that I just had to get it.

ES

Hoy os muestro un outfit muy diferente a los looks monocromáticos a los que os tengo acostumbradas. Sí, llevo color y estampados, incluso una mezcla de ellos! Quise hacer algo diferente, pero es una excepción hoy, porque como sabéis mi corazón le pertenece al cuero y a los outfits en blanco y negro. La excepción es debido a que la colección primavera verano 2013 de Dries Van Noten merece vuestra atención y un pequeno homenaje.
Por supuesto que Zara tenía todo lo que necesitaba para hacer este look posible. Eso sí, jamás hubiese pensado que me compraría algo con estampado floral, pero este pantalón floral de seda me enamoró! Y la blusa? Ni se diga. Creo que no me gusta las camisas a cuadros desde la década noventera, pero es que esta blusa tiene un corte muy especial que simplemente tenía que comprármela! Un beso a todas x

DE

Heute zeige ich euch ein Outfit, das anders als meine üblichen monochromatischen Looks ist. Ja! Ich trage Farben und Prints, sogar verschiedene zusammen. Ich wollte dieses Mal einfach etwas anders machen, aber ihr solltet wissen, dass meine Liebe für Leder und Outfits in Schwarz und Weiß weitergeht. Also, das ist eine Ausnahme, nur weil die Frühling/Sommer 2013 Kollektion von Dries Van Noten eure Aufmerksamkeit braucht.

Natürlich hatte Zara alles Notwendige um dieses Outfit zusammen zu stellen. Jedoch hätte ich nie gedacht, dass ich jemals eine  Hose mit Blumen-Print tragen würde, aber diese Kimono-Hose aus Seide hat mich total bezaubert. Und wie cool ist dieses Karo-Hemd? Der Schnitt ist einfach perfekt. 

I am wearing sunnies from Mango, a plaid shirt and kimono silk trousers from Zara, and heels from J.W. Anderson for Aldo Rise

                                                

THREE'S A TREND: SKROUSERS? SKIRTS OVER TROUSERS

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

They were made from scratchy nylon. I wore them with an embellished lilac top and sparkly hair clips from Claire's accessories. I felt good. I was 11 years old and they were skrousers, or whatever you call a skirt/ trouser hybrid. Mine came from New Look and were properly attached together so there was no making them just separate pieces. I felt awesome at the time, but soon afterwards consigned my skrousers to the "Regrettable/ Embarrassing" category in my own personal fashion history.

And yet, a glance at Dries Van Noten AW13 gives a newly glamourous slant to the item I thought would never see the fashion light of day again. Dries' jacquards, drop waists and feathers are worlds away from my young self's cheapo skirt over trousers styling but the idea is, in many ways, the same. A skirt is girlish while trousers, especially in an evening context, are cool and a bit unexpected. When the two combine, they form a silhouette which makes you not sure what to think. I think we like that, being a bit undecided. Dries's skrousers are very chic and lady like, as were the option shown by Alexander Wang as part of his debut Balenciaga collection. Then, thinking back to London, Marques' Alemeida did little pelmet denim skirts over super baggy frayed jeans. And there you have it, three's a trend. I know that other designers have done this too by now ( ACNE, Clements Ribeiro) but these three feel like the strongest anchors for the look. Whether we'll be brave enough to actually wear them again is another matter entirely. One thing's for sure, I'm still glad I haven't kept my old New Look jobbies but I would be more than happy to roadtest the Dries Van Noten version...

Dries Van Noten AW13

Marques'Almeida AW13

Balenciaga AW13

WHAT TO BUY FOR FASHION NOW

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

A highly self-indulgent, fantasy shopping post today. After some obsessive web browsing, these are the designer pieces which would be making their way into my wardrobe right now if funds sufficed...

1. VICTORIA BECKHAM A-LINE SKIRT

Not only is this skirt clean, bright and amazingly versatile but it's also a-line- very right for now.

Victoria Beckham tangerine skirt £625

2. HORROR HANDBAG

Christopher Kane's Frankenstein obsession is catching. And what better way to update a tired old clutch bag than with a giant plastic bolt?

Christopher Kane at Matches £1,500

3. SOMETHING KENZO

Because you're practically a nobody right now if you don't own something Kenzo. Obviously the logo tiger jumpers are the most obvious thing to go for, but these A. Aren't sold out and B. Have a bit more longevity in them.

Kenzo trousers £315 at Matches

4. SAY "YES" TO MEADHAM

There was something so utterly perfect about this slogan tee styled with a delicately beautiful split bell skirt and cocktail trousers, like the ultimate mix of old and new. So much lovelier than a slogan tee with jeans and hi-tops, yawn. £745 is, admittedly, a little steep for a sweater.

Meadham Kirchhoff sweater £745 at Browns

5. VALENTINO'S LITTLE HEELS

Not quite so obvious as their all over studded relatives but fabulous and easy wearing in equal measure.

Valentino at My Theresa £621

6. DRIES VAN NOTEN

These are from one of my favourite SS13 collections but also play into the continuing pyjama thing. I love the idea of whitewashed tartan for Summer.

Dries van Noten at My Theresa £441

7. LEATHER DUNGAREES

We love Whistles, especially their new website. They've created the most perfect version of Spring's dungaree trend. I reckon these would become a keep-forever wardrobe classic.

Whistles dungarees £395

8. PATCHWORK DENIM

An update on the denim shirt to add to your collection which, if it's anything like mine, is rather vast already.

Maison Scotch at Atterley Road £118

9.  A VERY DECORATIVE NECKLACE

MyJ Crew obsession shows no signs of abating. If I were being really Jenna Lyons-y, I might wear the above shirt with this necklace from the J Crew/ Lulu Frost collaboration.

Lulu Frost for J Crew necklace £192.52

10. STRIPES!

Ubiquitous? Yes. The easiest way to being on trend? Yes, that's a yes too. These stripes are nice and wide which is the most now stripe to do.

Joseph at Net-a-Porter £295

MEET THE NEW WEDGE HI-TOP: THE WEDGE TRAINER

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Way back in 2007, Victoria Beckham strode onto the field at a baseball game between the New York Mets and the LA Dodgers to do the ceremonial first pitch. At the time, if my memory serves me correctly, the press had a lovely time talking about how VB was so dedicated to her heels that she couldn't even bring herself to wear flat trainers for her sporting appearance. Fast forward over five years and Mrs Beckham has come a long way since those peroxide crop days. I can't remember the last time we saw her in anything approaching a hot pant and there have even been forays into ballet shoes, biker boots and gladiator sandals. The Victoria Beckham in the photo above is almost unrecognisable from the chic designer we see today, even if the footwear was by Dries Van Noten . 

British Vogue, January 2013

And yet, I have a sneaking suspicion that those bright white wedges might have crept onto the mood boards sketching out fashion for 2013. In case you hadn't noticed, last year was dominated by the wedge trainer; Isabel Marant's Bekket and Ash's Bea sparked thousands of imitations and some even said that these were "new Uggs". The evolution of the sporting wedge has now taken a seriously high end swerve, much like Posh Spice herself. In a colour blasted, Paul Weller inspired Patrick Demarchelier shoot starring Karen Elson in January's Vogue, Lucinda Chambers was clearly so taken with Jil Sander Navy's wedges that she used them in every single full-length shot of the 12 page shoot. Yesterday, Celine's pre-fall collection was unveiled complete with several rifs on the wedge trainer. Unlike their high top relations, the new wedge sport shoe is clean and rather smart with tight laces best worn in a neat bow. The curve of the wedge is in full view, instead of muffled under padding, and they are seriously high. Certainly no contender for Ugg replacement. Get yours at Saks or Solestruck, white hot pants not advisable. 

Celine Pre-Fall 2013 (style.com)

Celine pre-fall 2013 (style.com)

WHAT I WORE TO THE BAFTAS

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

Here are a couple of outfits you will NOT be seeing in the BAFTA fashion round-ups in the red-tops this week. Not enough fake tan and flesh for the tabloids. Which is exactly as it should be.  For my first stumble up a red carpet with Mary the objective was to work a high fashion look while remaining very firmly within my style comfort zone. There was always going to be a trouser-y skew to my look.

I was thinking of a cool skinny Balenciaga trouser suit, but my friend Sarah Mower suggested thinking about a coloured trouser with a white jacket, "to break up the suity-ness of it". I seized on her thought and visited net-a-porter for ideas. White jackets were not a problem. In central London I tried on a brilliant Maison Martin Margiela white tuxedo jacket, and ooh-ed and aaahed over the cut of Balmain's white tuxedo jacket, but at £1650 it was a fantasy too far. In Selfridges I found the perfect white jacket by Dries Van Noten.

Coloured trousers were less easy to source. Jeans were not an option for a black tie event, but when I saw that Maje the classy French label making a splash in London, had red crepe high-waist cigarette leg trousers, I went hunting. It seemed every Maje I called had just sold the last pair in my size. In the South Molten Street store I saw a girl buying them as I walked in. Grrrr. Eventually I tracked down what seemed to be the last size 10 pair in London. Success!

To pull the jacket and trousers together I wore a body with a double deep-v and long sleeves. To garnish, my pieces de resistance  -  totally fabulous and amazing wooden platform sandals with gold peep-toe tips - were put into play. The shoes are the result of a collaboration between Roland Mouret and Christian Louboutin and created for Roland's SS11 show in Paris where they were used to accessorise every single catwalk look. My reasoning for buying the shoes from Matches was that if they could work for every single outfit in a fashion show - from day time trouser looks through to red carpet gowns - they could work for me. I was right. I'm proper delighted with my outfit, and unlike a one-wear dress all of the elements have an afterlife.  And of course I love Mary's outfit too. Her jumpsuit (from by Malene Birger at my-wardrobe.com) is as fashionable as it gets right now. Trust me when I say jumpsuits are set to be the biggest fashion sensation of the latter half of 2011. 

The shoes.....buy them here

Photo: REX FEATURES