More from Paris!

I was unsure whether to publish the following photos with the main article yesterday. Then I had another look. The following three images perfectly capture the effortless nature of Paris, don't you agree?

The only way to get around Paris! They were just crying out for a photo to be taken, unfortunately you can't see that all three riders had helmets matching their respective Vespa.

This picture doesn't give the scene the justice it deserves. Wearing an all black suit with fabulously pink socks and a scarf with gentle pink running through. He looks so relaxed, I had to take a sneaky snap.

This man was fascinated by the abandoned scooter just left of the shot. It was the three different check prints that caught our eye; along with his wife's check jacket too (just seen on left).

Street style in Paris

You can spot a Brit anywhere. It’s our charming awkwardness; our delicate self-awareness; our orderly queuing; and, when in Paris, we are the ones trying to outshine the locals.

Catching the Metro you are constantly glancing around to spot that effortless Parisian style. But don’t. As soon as you begin scrutinising every Pierre et Lucie you will lose sight of the very thing you are looking for.

Parisian style is in the nonchalance, in the swagger and the distracted way they put themselves together. Not just that though, it’s the gentle details that give their outfits finesse; the French respect good tailoring as we Brits respect a bargain. If there is one secret to take from the French capital’s inhabitants, it’s to only ever buy for quality, not your purse.

Don’t let me try to explain their mystery, let them do it themselves. Here is a collection of my favourite fille et garcon I found whilst perusing the streets of Paris.

Poor girl was trying to cross the road but I grabbed her.

Christened by a friend as 'Olivier' (and her "perfect man ever, ever") he seemed confused as to why he should be blogged, "I'm just going to work!". But, oh Olivier, it's your jacket and the pristine tailoring.

Here is Alix, it was the grey and dark sand shades that grabbed me. How the coat and boots match but slightly off-colour together, and the separation by the grey.

We named this chap 'Laurent'. I loved his genuine surprise when asked if I could photograph him; then again, maybe it was just shock of seeing an English girl run at him.

Here is my poor first victim. Sat in a cafe after exploring Montmartre sans map, she sauntered past. Cue my sprint down the road trying to find her, followed by some dithering French attempt on my part. But it was worth it, for the jacket if nothing else.

Fall in line as fashion takes a heavy handed beating

If you’re sick of the non-colours that this season promises to throw around then you’ll give a sigh of relief to know that juxtaposing the barely there fleshy neutrals are hard hitting combats. It seems that winter’s military boot trend was testing the water for a full blown explosion of khakis and earthy tones led by the must-have spring coat.

This thing caught my eye yesterday when I was perusing the racks in the Lancaster Topshop and I spent a good 10 minutes working out whether it was worthy of me ‘investing’ £65 of my [loaned] English pounds and weighing up how many of my physiological needs I could get away with sacrificing for a couple of weeks. I settled for a sensible conclusion (for the first time in a while) that splurging on that coat would give me no satisfaction at all and I’d find it more soul-enriching and morally invigorating (yeah I know, but it did take a hell of a lot of internal conflict to get there) searching high and low for a thriftier, more aged replica.

That’s really what this trend’s all about… the more authentic, the better. Stick to the age-old trick and team old with new and vintage with high street, it’s the best way of pulling it off and maintaining the bank balance. And it’s worth it when you put in the searching effort to find the needle in the haystack! But if the idea of donning something that something may have died in sends shivers down your spine then the second feisty trend is centred around warrior-chic.

Ripped, figure-hugging leather is a daunting prospect to even the exhibitionists amongst us, so before you get ahead of yourself and look to Princess Xena as a muse take the trend’s key points into consideration. It’s all about attitude and adventure, with open toed shoe-boots, more masculine lines (shoulder pads are yet to be shunned from the catwalk) and plenty of armour-mimicking metallics set against classic black. One thing I’m definitely going to have to start getting used to is this idea of the leather skirt being a wardrobe staple… apparently owning one will help you in times of fashion crises as it’s versatility is (so I’m led to believe) endless. Although honestly, I think that the only thing it’ll be good for is making the embarrassing wet patch a thing of the past, and quick sit down during an interlude in the April showers that little bit more bearable.

Through the (grey tinted) looking glass

Tim Burton takes on Lewis Carroll in next year’s cinematic curiosity – Alice in Wonderland, resulting in a portrayal of Alice in a mysterious flickering light. This month, Lily Cole also showed the power of the imagination in a wonderland-esque modern fairytale – The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, which depicts London in all its Dickensian allure. The theme of the imagination and make believe is taking off in most aspects of culture at the moment, and fashion houses (naturally) caught on and mirrored themes, offsetting geometric shapes with flowing curves and intricately detailed abstract head pieces feature as a major talking point. It’s all about weird and wonderful mismatch. Think Edward Scissorhands meets a Midsummer Night’s Dream – eyes are sinister and smoky but textures remain quintessentially feminine (lace, velvet and hoards of sequins.) Although, it might be an idea to think about how you’d deal with the strange looks you get when you start doing the weekly shop in a feather headdress and look like you’ve been dragged backwards kicking and screaming through Wonderland. We were thinking more along the lines of leather boots, lace, florals and a pearl embellished bolero. (Feather headdress optional)
http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=19551&storeId=12556&categoryId=126989&parent_category_rn=42351&productId=1490322&langId=-1
http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=40&viewAllFlag=false&catalogId=19551&storeId=12556&categoryId=126989&parent_category_rn=42351&productId=1397321&langId=-1

Jimmy Choo has arrived!!

November the 14th saw the launch of the much anticipated Jimmy Choo collaboration with (one of my favourite shops)H&M.Jimmy Choo was first thrust into my conscience through Carrie's obsession with Tamara Mellon's accessories in Sex and the city.(thats not a shocker i know)Shoppers lust after the brand but us normal people can't generally afford the £300-£1,000 pricetag.So it immediatly got the hearts racing of fashion savvy shoppers upon hearing that Jimmy Choo was following in the footsteps of Madonna and Matthew Williamson by collaborating with the high street chain.Celebrities have qued up to gush about their excitement at the line and proclaimed they were bursting to buy up the whole line when it launched.Which doesn't seem fair when they can actually afford the real deal does it.Either way the line has been released and of course sold like hot cakes, the newspapers are even saying that some connviving customers are selling their treasures for double on ebay already.The line is lust worthy let me tell you, its aim was to create affordable party wear with prices for jewellery from £14.99 for both men and women whilst branching out into clothing aswell as the norm of shoes and handbags.The clothing and the accessories have a bit of edge about them with alot of studding, black and pvc throughout and have also tapped into the current obsession with sequins obviously.If you've been living under a rock and aren't up to speed on the collection,you'll also be pleased to know that the glamour assosiated with Jimmy Choo hasn't been downgraded likes the prices of the clothes and accessories.One of my fave items in the collection is ironically one of the few brightly coloured dresses.
It gives off a bit of an 80's vibe without looking too retro with the studded belt included.

Studs are a bit of a theme as is the rocky vibe.The studded beauties above in particular are gorgeous!

But if your like me and the bargain of £79.99 still isn't really a student bargain the costume jewellery is also pretty lust worthy if you just want to be able to say you have something by Jimmy Choo.

Feel free to nick my idea cos i think i know what i'll be asking for this Christmas!

If fashion ever puzzled you before...

Topshop makes sure it does now as they hop in their plush-lined time machine and bring yet more of the 80’s into their Autumn Freedom for Topshop line. They must have had end of term blues in mind when creating the Rubik’s-inspired jewellery which is set to while away hours (and if you’re anything like us with those things - weeks) of lectures. And to silence the seasonal inner-child breaking out, Space Invaders (with full movement!) feature heavily in the line up. Geek chic anyone?

Welcome fashionista's!

Welcome to Lancaster Uni's fashion society blog. Think of this blog as the eyes and ears of fashion at Lancaster Uni.
Our aim is to pretty much keep you up to date with everything happening in the world of fashion, or anything we think is worth you knowing. Also as we live on a uni campus on a student budget we'll be giving you the latest on fashion on a budget. :) Watch out for us out out and about on campus cos students are our inspiration and you might find yourselves and other fashion forward students featured in our weekly style watch.
Stay tuned for the latest and as Paris Hilton puts it well (oddly) ''Life is too short to blend in.'

The British Fashion Council

This is the 25th anniversary of the British Fashion Council, the people responsible for the international recognition of British fashion genius that has been stocking our wardrobes for the past two and a half decades. The council is currently chaired by Harold Tillman who, when not freely donating his time to the work of the council, owns and chairs Jaegar – the label catapulting onto the catwalk the kind of classic chic synonymous with the more mature woman and in the process, completely changing the face of the middle-aged female Brit!

Accommodating changing trends and times has become second nature to the BFC, making it a priority of theirs to coax the emerging young designers from the woodwork with mentoring and sponsorship schemes in place alongside competitions and awards. They have an impressive record of winners to boot, plucking from obscurity such household names as Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson and Julian McDonald. November 2008 saw Luella Bartley claim the ‘Designer of the year’ award with her dainty kitsch florals becoming a recurring theme this year, celebrating the essence of spring and summer in old Blighty.

The council, despite being responsible for the wealth of talent hot-footing it down the runways of global fashion weeks, haven't forgotten their heads. Estethica was formed with the sole view to keep fashion ethical and with Monsoon being their sponsor their main aims are the sustainability of resources and promoting the importance of fair-trade wherever it can, such as Topshop-endorsed label – People tree.

With 25 years already under its leather, stud-spangled belt, let’s hope that its got more than a few left in it.