Say Hello Wave Goodbye Part 2

HELLO FRENCH EXCHANGE, GOODBYE RULE BRITANNIA
Bib-front tops, Peter Pan collars, berets and duffle coats. This sweet exchange-student look is one part nerd, one part preppie and one part girly so have fun mixing it up. Where to start? Check out the designs of Charles Anastase, Sonia Rykiel and APC.



HELLO PRINTED DENIM, GOODBYE COLOURED DENIM
OK, coloured denim hasn’t totally run its course but if you want to get ahead of the curve check out printed denim as seen at People’s Market and Jeremy Scott for Ksubi.



HELLO DR MARTENS, GOODBYE VANS
It pains us to say it but those ugly stompy boots are gonna be everywhere for autumn. Chloe showed fugly boots on the runway while Agynes Deyn has been wearing nothing else all summer. Still loving your Vans? Keep hold of them, the Dr Martens trend will burn out faster than Lindsay Lohan’s career.


HELLO TIGHTS, GOODBYE LEGGINGS
Thick woolly tights are set to be the most wearable trend of the coming months. Practical and cool? Yes please! Take your cue from Kirsten Dunst and team bold mustard tights with high heeled brogues or play safe with grey school tights (bulk-buy kids ones from Woolworths).


HELLO JODHPURS, GOODBYE ROMPERS
If rompersuits were the surprise trend of the summer then jodhpurs are surely the main contender for the ‘who knew?’ trend of the coming season. All it took is one designer – Nicholas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga - to show them on his catwalk and everyone’s gone bananas for them. Get the affordable version at Gap, Full Circle and Warehouse.



HELLO ASOS, GOODBYE TOPSHOP
With a raft of top execs abandoning TopShop, attention is now on Asos to steal the limelight. Not only is it addressing petites and plus sizes, it’s selling premium brands like Chloe and Balenciaga and linking up with Patricia Fields (take that Kate Moss)!



HELLO FUCHSIA, GOODBYE FLUORO
Hot punchy pink is the colour we’ll all be wearing and not a moment too soon. Fluoro was fun while it lasted but hey, its time to move on. Find your fuchsia sheath dress at Preen or if you’re on a budget hit the high street for a fuchsia fix at Zara, Oasis or Warehouse.

More Festival Fun

While getting our bearings at Mile End station we ran into David, singer with Tiger Dancers. He was waiting for his bandmate and let us hang out and chat with him groupie-style. Going by the Underage Festival MySpace page, yesterday’s event was a roaring success. Next year, we’re coming in with you…

Underage Festival

Yesterday dawned bright and beautiful for The Underage Festival in Victoria Park. Sadly, our press passes weren’t forthcoming but did we let that beat us? Hell no, we persevered down to Vicky Park to get what snaps we could outside the venue. (The age restriction was strictly 14-19 and fair enough, they were doing it for the kids ‘n’ all.) Getting there was a right palaver, we were sent on something of a wild goosechase betwixt Mile End and Bethnal Green but managed to snap three eighties-tastic fourteen year olds who showed us the way. Outside we accosted three too-cool-for-school guys – Jamie, Joe and Ali - who were a tad camera-shy but we soon got them posing like badass MFs. Seventeen year old Jack tried to play hard to get but like true paparazzis, we wouldn't rest until we got his photo. Well done us. Meanwhile, sixteen year old Roxanne worked her magic in head to toe monochrome - lovin' that hair!!

How gorgeous are Char and Tamlin? They were there to check out Crystal Castles and were ‘rocking a Sid n Nancy look’. Good work guys.

Three fluoro-teens


Jamie, Joe and Ali


Jack in black


Roxanne


Sin n Nancy stylee

Festival fever

We're looking forward to Underage Festival at Victoria Park tomorrow. It's for 14-19 year olds and there's a host of fab bands on the agenda including Patrick Wolf, The Teenagers and Kitty, Daisy and Lewis. We'll be wandering around with a photographer to snap cool-looking rock chicks for this blog so if you're going, be nice to us!

Guest Blogger #2: Make-up Artist Nadira Persaud

Sienna Miller's favourite make-up artist (and our mate) Nadira tells us which products we should be packing in our summer suitcases...



Palmers Cocoa Butter Bronze Sunless Tanner & Instant Bronzer SPF 15
Get a head start by using an instant tanner. It looks natural, protects skin and smells gorgeous too!







Glo Minerals Glo Reflection Cream Shadow in Golden Pearl
Won't crease in the heat and gives eyes a subtle shimmer.










Nivea CareGloss & Shine for Lips
Keep lips pouty with this pearlised gloss.








Biotherm UV protect spf 23+
Use this on your face and neck night or day, it has reflective particles which will enhance you summer glow.









Bobbi Brown No Smudge Mascara
If you can't live without mascara, this is a musthave poolside or on the beach!









Label M protein spray
This will strengthen and nourish you hair as well as protect it against UV and colour fade.

Guest Blogger #1: Stylist Bella Binns

Our pal super-stylist Bella Binns picks her top summer fashion buys especially for you!

Channel Paul Smith in Abercrombie’s cool cotton shirt. A summer in the city essential.
Kerry stripe shirt, £70, Abercrombie & Fitch


I’m shunning the statement bag and embracing original seventies style with Topshop’s patchwork pouch.
Patchwork leather bag, £60, Topshop


This is easy dressing. You can’t fail to look stylish in a simple stripe shift.
Lux stripe dress, £35, Urban Outfitters


Mango’s classic black frames give Ray-Ban’s Wayfarer a run for its money.
Sunglasses, now £9, Mango


‘Cause 07’s the next summer of LOVE! If it would only stop raining…
'Love is' necklace, £6, www.ladyluckrulesok.com


Thanks Bella! Coming soon...celebrity make-up artist Nadira Persaud gives us some insider beauty tips. WATCH THIS SPACE!

Say Hello Wave Goodbye Part One

So the summer that never was is almost behind us and new autumn stock is starting to trickle into the stores (yay!). Here’s our pick of the new trends to try (and the ones to wave goodbye to):

HELLO NEW GRAVE, GOODBYE NU RAVE
As the last of the neon slogan tees hits the bargain bins in comes New Grave, a glamorous take on gruesome goth. Think black latex leggings, Victoriana blouses and high patent heels in black, black, black.




HELLO HATS, GOODBYE TURBANS
So the Prada turban didn’t quite hit its stride but not to worry, there’s a new bad-hair-day solution in town and that’s the humble hat. Chunky knit berets are great for throwing in a bag for just-in-case weather, while Marc Jacobs showed the ultimate in sophisticated headwear. Too dressy? Brace yourself for the baseball cap revival. Yes indeedy, New Era, the Rolls Royce of baseball caps has just opened a UK flagship store in the heart of Soho.




HELLO SCRUFFY-CHIC, GOODBYE WAG STYLE
It’s all about the high-low mix so make like an off duty model and pair your high street shirt-dress with a thrown on Chanel bag and low-key Keds.




HELLO COCKTAIL FROCKS, GOODBYE PROM DRESSES
It’s the sexy Amy Winehouse version of the Lily Allen frock. Ditch those sweet as pie frou-frou frocks and zip yourself into a short sharp sheath. (But give it your own stamp with woolly tights or biker boots.)




HELLO RUDE BOY, GOODBYE PUNK
Braces? Check. Pork pie hat? Check. Polo shirt? Check. Lace up shoes? Check. Take a tip from old school boys’ brands like Ben Sherman and Fred Perry and smarten up in a boy-meets-girl get-up. Make sure you add some girly touches with a shiny clutch or tousled hair.







Photo credits: Vogue.co.uk

We Love Lady Luck

Our favourite accessory emporium Superette is having a makeover so is out of action for a couple of weeks. We popped in to have a nose but owner Leona was quick to usher us out pronto. We managed to get a snap of her oh-so-cute office area though. If only our office looked so fun! The shop reopens in August so we'll have to appease ourselves with some choice picks from her website www.ladyluckrulesok.com in the meantime. We're loving the Paris bangle, super-sweet socks and good-enough-to-eat muffin cards...


Pics: From Superette, 66a Sclater Street, E1 (CLOSED UNTIL AUGUST.)

Madonna's Multi-Purpose Must-Have

When we heard that Mrs Madge likes to zap her beauty bad bits with this no-frills gel we had to try it out...A months usage of Eyptian Magic fixed lots of our problems including spots, sunburn and stretch marks to frizz, flakes and shaving nicks. We found it an ideal gloss for lips ane eyes too! Check it out at www.hqhair.com.

Give me Freedom

Ooh exciting news! Iconic 60s fashion label Mr Freedom has been revived for the noughties. If you love bright colours and pop-art graphics (this guy was doing star-prints, cartoon graphics and stretch mini dresses, ooh a zillion years before TopShop and H & M) then this is a label you'll love. Check it out here: http://www.secretingredientltd.co.uk/html/mrfreedom2.html

THE BEST BEACH BEAUTY BUY

Us fashion and beauty girls are normally a tad sceptical when it comes to slimming body creams but Rodial Tummy Tuck really works! Okay, we didn’t exactly drop a dress size but it tightened our jelly belly just enough to celebrate with a naughty Missoni bikini purchase! Be quick to buy though - the first delivery sold out in under an hour at Harvey Nicks, and as one sells every five minutes on its website, its advisable to get your order in now.

Oh, yes, and did we mention - it cost £100!!! Er, ebay here we come...

Cute Or Tacky?

So the Juicy Couture tracksuit trend died like, years ago but the Juicy girls continue to woo the LA party posse with their bags and trinkets. Who knows if these charms (from www.eluxury.com) are sweet or sickly, we just want to pile them on and make like Paris (yeah, she's going through a good-girl phase but we reckon that will last oh... all of ten seconds).

And breathe…

Phew, what a relief. Our spy at TopShop revealed recently that high-waisted jeans are nowhere to be seen in their autumn/winter collection. No kidding. If Kylie and Mischa can’t pull them off what hope is there for the rest of us? Well, worry not, after all the fanfare about them it looks like the public haven’t embraced them so that -thankfully – is that.

This Summer's New Accessory

There seems to be a new trend on the block and no it’s not the Ray-Ban Wayfarer, the YSL Downtown bag or the Prada turban. No people, we're talking about the fashion-forward rock-star boyfriend. As per usual, Lady Kate of Moss started the trend, oh yonks ago, with her scruffy-chic beau Pete Doherty. Look beyond the icky fingernails and boil-ridden skin and there is an iota of style lurking. His look is a street-dandyish mish-mash of skinny jeans, pork pie hat and polo shirts, topped off with a natty pair of Dior Homme (I’m guessing) boots and the occasional Crombie coat.

Exhibit B is Blake Fielder-Civil, husband of Amy Winehouse. This modern-day rude-boy sports an unchanging uniform of skinny jeans, pork pie hat and skimpy polo shirts…oh hang on a minute…these seem rather similar to the aforementioned Doherty. Oh well, Fielder-Civil is actually more pleasing to the eye so we’ll let the similarities pass.

Exhibit C is Mr Jamie Burke, sometime partner of Sienna Miller. This impossibly pretty boy tries to play his looks down with shaggy, shabby hair but really he’s a posh boy in (wannabe) rock star clothing. His signature look? Unwashed jeans, rocker rings and ‘check me out, paparazzis’ dark shades.

And finally, the car crash that is Kirsten Dunst’s rollercoaster romance, Johnny Borrell. Actually we may be being a bit harsh. The Razorlight lads are well styled at times, they wear Nudie jeans after all, but we simply cannot erase the image of Borrell’s MET Ball attire of black jeans tucked into cowboy boots from our bruised retinas. So, so wrong, however good your music is and however A-list your date.

Crazy colour

Neon colours have been such a big hit this season, they're carrying on to autumn/winter. We checked out the new cheap n chic Matalan collection which as well as the most amazing patent shoes and bags has some tres gorgeous plastic bangles and skinny belts to pile on in multiples. Now we just have to patiently hold our breath til they hit the stores in July.

Tasty tees

Yay, the sun's out and it's 23 degrees. AT LAST! Cue stripping off of umpteen layers and throwing on of sundresses, shorts and T-shirts. Actually, this really is the season of the T-shirt. Louis Vuitton's Love T-shirt, Henry Holland's slogan tees and Luella's GEEK tee are the big hitters from the catwalk shows but we're not earning mega bucks so we've got our eye on this cute slogan tee by Junk Food instead. Delicious, no?