Luxurious Lace

I am very sorry for the very late Blog post. But i have had a million and one things on this week. So lets get the post under-way.

Lace has been around for centuries, and the first true lace was first made in the 15th and early 16th century. 

Lace was often seen as a picture of wealth and beauty. But until recently, lace was often only seen on table cloths and curtains. I think that lace can be so wonderfully detailed and gorgeous. From dresses to purses, lace is back with a bang.

Lace can be used in any textile garment, from bags and purses, to necklaces and shoes. Adding a glint of glamour to any outfit teamed with these items.

Lace goes with practically anything, and can be worn out for a lunch, or out to a party. dresses and drapes can help you look gorgeous in lace. Get down to Topshop or even charity shops, because everywhere is selling lace this season!

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Designers in detail - October

For the Second edition of Designers in detail, I have decided to look out side of Europe. October's Designer is from New Delhi, India.

Rohit Bal himself

I came across him when reading about Non-European Fashion Designers. After Googling and Yahooing Mr Bal I only had a small amount of information on him (the reason for the late post). To me, the 53 year old Bal manages to entwine traditional Indian dress, with modern and contemporary cuts.

His use of colour is formidable and really capture the movement, texture and shape of the garments. For example, the dress below, in florescent pink, has a certain flowing movement, that extenuate the models figure, but in an un obvious way. Also the use of the wiring for the skirt shape reminds me of Victorian under skirts (underwear as outerwear).

But it's not always happy pink and red ensembles, below in some of his more recent shows, he shows that he can use less bright colours. But he manages to create the same jaw-dropping effect by using texture and shapes to his advantage.

His 2010/2011 collection

Not only does Rohit Bal use his talents on women's gowns. But on menswear too! Using traditional Indian dress to his advantage yet again, he creates some inspiring pieces that any fashion concious man would be proud to wear.

So when looking for your next big fashion buy don't just think inside Europe, think about India. Harem pants may in, but think outside the box next time you pick up some rich coloured garments. I think Rohit Bal should be commend for his excellent talent, a side from a few magazine features (Elle), I think that Bal needs more media attention outside of India. His gowns maybe cost $15,000 upwards, but i think the world has yet to see the full extent to his amazing use of colour, texture, layering and pattern.

No Knitwear?

Everyone owns at least one item of knitwear in their wardrobe. From cable knit to basket weave, knitwear will always to be in fashion in some shape or form. But lets take a fresh look at knitwear this autumn.

When some people think of knitting they think of an old women, sat on a rocking chair, knitting away. But this is no longer the case, knitting is making a comeback.

From bow ties to teddy bears, you can buy knitting patterns for almost anything now-a-days. And once your tired of your creation, you can UN-thread it all and make something new! Meaning there is no need to throw away the yarn.

Simone Shailes

One designer (Sarah Backlund) has not only embraced knitwear, but has also entwined femininity into her pieces.  Her unique take on knits and uses for them is inspiring, and also beautiful to look at.

Sarah Backland

Sarah Backlund

Capes have made a big comeback this season, so what could be better than a floral, knitted & crocheted cape? Prudence Mapstone has created a gorgeous cape called "From Midnight to First Light." this beautiful cape would not only look fabulous on a autumn day, but would look great in summer! Note the detail in the cape, beautiful.

"From Midnight to First Light" cape

Close up on the detail

It's not just women who can pull of a knitted treasure this autumn, but men can too! Designers like Cozette McCreery have created jaw dropping pieces for men this season!

Cozette McCreery

So get your knitting needles out and prepare for the cold! Wether it's a knit dress or just a simple scarf, make sure your seen in knit this autumn/winter.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, comment below or follow me on here and twitter.

Thank you for reading x

Heroic Hats

The definition of a hat is "A shaped covering for the head." Whether it's keeping your head warm, or shading you from the sun's rays, hats have been around for thousands of years. One of the first hats appeared in the early Egyptian times.

In fashion, hats aren't always about practicality, but about their aesthetic.
One of my favourite hat designers is the fabulous Philip Treacy. Treacy has been designing head-wear for a number of years, and celebs such as Lady Gaga and Sarah Jessica Parker have worn his ensembles, making hats more of a fashion statement.

Sarah Jessica Parker in Flower and
Butterfly ensemble

Lady Gaga in Lobster Hat

Hats are now an art form, and to create a mind blowing bonnet in the 21St century you have to have a unique style and concept. 

Jodie Kidd in a Louis Mariette Hat

A Jo Gordan Bonnet

Aside from the avant-garde headgear above, hats we can wear out to the shops include straw trilby's, tweed flat caps and old classic knitted hats. You could even attempt to knit your own hat for the coming winter, which is fast approaching!

Marc Jacobs Straw Hat

Chanel Knitted Hat

So whether it's an abstract fascinator at some ones wedding, or a thick woolly beanie in the snow, make sure you get your hands on a lovely hat soon!

No matter what style, shape, colour, texture or height of hat, hat's will never be out of fashion. So yet another key item that will forever be in our hearts.

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Thank you for reading my late Blog, keep posted by following me.

Fabulous 50's

50's fashion has been on it's way back for a while now, but not till recently did I know the extent of how in-fashion the 50's is.

From Skirts to Suitcases, the 50's is defiantly in style. Some of the era's icons are well known in the fashion world, from Grace Kelly and Marlon Brando to Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe (the lyrics to Madonna's Vogue?).

It's now stylish to wear thick rimmed glasses. But these are normally "geek" style glasses, but what about 50's ones? As you can see below "Grandma's" glasses are now in vogue. You can wear them with practically anything!

50's Glasses Advertisement

Also, with out realising it, we have adopted 50's hosiery to our modern day needs. Tights with seams are now deemed sexy and classy. So wearing them to posh restaurants or out in the office, these tights are a wonderful way to give yourself confidence, and keep you warm this winter. 

50's Hosiery Advertisement

Speaking of class, one of the most classy ladies of the 1950's was Grace Kelly. Taking beauty to another level, this lady wore some of the most amazing dresses. Maybe not so practical to wear out with the girls, but Dior's shimmering silver dresses remind us of some of her gowns.

Grace Kelly

Dior 2010

Skirts - an easy way to style up an outfit, and from pleated skirts to poodle skirts, they are defiantly back.

A simple, pleated skirt or dress can look wonderful in plain black/white or can look gorgeous in pinks, greens and blues. See House of Holland's 2011 Spring/Summer collection.

HoH 2011 S/S

HoH 2011 S/S

But in Contrast you could be bold and wear a bright Poodle Skirt. 

In addition you could always have a go at making your own skirt or dress. Making your own clothing was a big hit in the 50's, often it was cheaper to do. But making your own clothing means you know exactly how it's been made, what it's been made from, and also you can adjust it to fit you like a glove.

To round of this post I would like to finish with Suitcases. Often a way to show your style in Airports, Suitcases can say alot about you. Personally I have fallen in love with vintage suitcases, and here is my ever-growing collection below. I have either acquired them from a kind family member, or I have bought them for under £10!

So, get down to a vintage shop, charity shop or raid the loft, you never know what hidden treasure you might find. 

Let me know your ideas and opinions by commenting below, you don't even have to be a member! 

Also follow me on twitter (So_Stilvoll) to keep posted on all the new posts.

Religious Fashion

Since the Pope is on his state visit in Britain this week, I thought it would be interesting to look at how religious dress has influenced current fashion and which designers are featuring religious inspired collections.

I start with a controversial piece of religious costume, the Burka. In the UK they are considering banning this item of clothing to be worn by Muslim women. But some brave designers have created some colourful Burkas.

Marked Moskva

Louise Golden

To add to the controversy of the Burka, Hussein Chalayan decided to de construct the Burka into a literally bare form, you can see below that Burkas can hide any shape, size, or coloured women underneath all that cloth.

Hussein Chalayan spring/summer 1998

Givenchy Haute Couture fall 2009

Although Moskva and Chalayan contradict the whole reason why Muslim women wear Burkas, it's still nice to see that people are willing to challenge strict religious costume. 

Religion has been around for so long that it must be time for religious costume to come back into fashion. Religious dress in the past has always been long skirts embroidered with avant-garde stitching.

Alexander Mcqueen gold leaf embroidered dress

Alexander Mcqueen

The last thing that i think is coming back is religious jewellery. Apart from the religious reasons for wearing crucifix's, there could be a big market appearing for kooky and unique Christian jewellery, if Tiffany have such wonderful crucifix's as below, then who wouldn't want to be wearing crosses.

I hope that religion and fashion can flourish together, but many people might not understand the reasons for religions having specific clothes to wear. Which perhaps needs to be explained.

Any thoughts, I would love to hear them, and thank you to all my twitter followers for helping me to reach my 100 hits mark!

Beautiful Beige

The colour to own this summer is Beige. Often it is seen as boring, plain and unimaginative. But depending on the way you wear this earthy colour, you could look amazing!

This fall Beige has been injected into silk shirts, wonderful woollen coats and cascading capes. Chloe, Aquascutum, Marc Jacobs and Gucci, to name but a few, have all used different shades of Beige in their Fall collections.

Using the same tone of Beige you can create a fantastic, jaw dropping, outfits to wear on a chilly autumnal day. For example a Beige blouse and a brown skirt, with a thick coat tied together with a knotted leather belt.
 Another way you could wear Beige this season is in the form of long, high waisted trousers with a silk blouse and a thin tanned leather belt as Chloe shows below.

Faux fur and feathers have also been given the Beige treatment. Perhaps not so practical for all you office workers, but for a classy night out, a vintage, floor length dress with a beige cable knitted jumper could be a practical, yet elegant twist on a classic (see Marc Jacobs above).

To round off a all Beige outfit you're going to need shoes and a bag. From Boots to Wedges, Clutches to Wristlets. Every Designer is showing off there wonderfully simplistic bags to accompany any outfit. I like the touch from Kurt Geiger who are selling socks to wear with heels. as you can see above they have paired a pair of pastel pink socks with some Beige heels. Adding a hint of flavour to any outfit.

To me Beige represents quality, comfort and style. And any colour that oozes these characteristics must be worth spending money on this season. So get out to vintage stores, designers and high street shops this instant to get your hands on this everlasting classic colour.