Masculine Coats For Her

Oversized features have always been a show stealing function on Garments at Fall shows. This year it is the Coats. The coats have stollen the show for being  the feature that is noticed the most on the catwalk.   I have noticed the huge coats made from   a number of different materials, and being shown by designs such as , Stella McCartney , Alexander Wang, and not to forget Jil Sander have been put with an underlying pencil skirt, or loosely fitted trousers. Surprisingly the coat has not been put with a thin trouser that would emphasis the oversized coat. However it has been seen to be put with the bear leg from designers such as Chloe.
I think this style will rock the streets of London, New York, Milan and Paris all winter long. The way the coats flow, and smother the body is what makes them the most successful garment I believe this Winter. It smothers the body, which then emphasises other sections of the body    resulting in them looking more defined , as they are being compared to the size of the coat;.
I think the oversized coat is also a perfect garment to have for casual wear, and for work wear. The double breasted and single breasted selection means that you have those two options to help you realise what you suit best. The single buttoned coat will look better un done and will flow in a more athletically pleasing way. However the double breasted coat will draw the waist inwards.
Mixing a belt with the coat in a contrasting colour will also draw attention to the buckling of the waist. Your eye is more attracted to the contrasting colour, there for royal blues, and dark reds will be the perfect shades to go against the dark outfits you may be wearing this A/W.

Asos, £70, Oversized Malt Grey Coat

Topshop,
£95.00
Camel Double breasted Pea Coat

Zara, £89.99, Oversized Light Grey Double buttoned coat

Best Catwalk Example, Stella McCartney

Punk Era Is Back

DURING the mid 1970s punk rock hit the world, with rock taking the lead role, and fashion soon following,     with the wacky sense of layering and the obscure layering of all different shades of... reds, black, greens and more. Not to forget the use of studs bolted on to the clothing, swell as the spikes and metal chains, and big shoes.
This Fall 13' has seen the introduction of the punk look again. Looking at recent catwalks most designers are designing some of there garments to fit into the punk category . Designers such as Junya Watanabe to Donattela Versace .  Whilst looking at the catwalks from the Fall I have noticed more than anything the use of tartan, another element of punk. Leather blackjackets are also a concept very much in at the moment. Obviously with the added stud on the leather too.
From what I have noticed it is the way the clothing is placed onto the model that catches my eye. The way that the clothing is not fitted, and it almost slumps across the body with an added geometric shape to it. I think this adds a casual, but recent and contemporary style to wear daily in the street.
The shoes are another big feature. The boot is obviously making another appearance this Winter. The thick leather soles of the punk era make a reappearance showing us that it is not all about the colourfully presented stilettos . The leather soles of boots old school black leather boots have been spotted in a number of shows  . Rodarte , Moschino, and Chanel being the best examples for the old school Punk boot.
Not only is the boot a stylish feature for the junk look you could be going for but it is also practical in the harsh London weather.

Best Catwalk Example, Suno

HIGH STREET EXAMPLES:

BooHoo, £18
Studed collar , Black Blouse

Zara, £35.99
Tartan Pencil Skirt

Russel & Bromley, £375.00
Heavy Metal Gaucho Boot

Striped Clothing Is Back In For High Demand

Striped clothing is a broad statement , a lot of patterns in shops, and in every seasons stock have stripes including in at least one of the pieces of clothing.
However it is the predominant stripes that are thick and vertical that are catching the eyes of many people in the fashion world. The stripes also working with a contrasting but successful colour collection of black and white.
Stripes as I have noted have been seen around the shops for a long period of time, to be honest I notice at least one pattern every time I walk into a high street shop. However what those patterns are missing out on, and a point that you need to pick up on so that you can pick the best piece to fit fashion trends is the thickness of the stripe. You need to have a pattern that is thick enough to catch the eye of everyone around you and not just a piece where the stripes are so small that they indulge into your eyes and are small enough to make them ache .
Stripes are a pattern on clothing that have a powerful background from them being worn as an outfit that the people in the concentration camps had to abide by wearing.  Apart from the stunning but shocking later history today we see them as a fashion pattern that helps the body to look better. The thicker stripes that are in at the moment make the body look longer and can also help such the hips of your body in. With stripes going across the body than directly down, the body almost gets hugged by them, as they help show your lumps and bumps, and are a useful strategy for the bigger women.
At this moment of time try to look for a stripe that sticks with the colour code of black and white, when choosing remembering that monochrome is also in fashion trends all round the world right now.

Topshop maxi dress is perfect
for elongating the whole body
showing off the hips,
and the mix of thick and thin stripes going
along the body helps to hug the body and resultantly
makes the body look thinner. The length of the dress helps make the
body longer to the eye as well.
(£29.00)

Primark have come up with this
skater dress dress. This is a perfect
example of the big stripes, aswell as being
black and white. With how
this dress is cut
in a way that sucks in the hips for that
owl-glass frame. The stripes going along the way also help to make the breasts bigger.
(£5.00)

Gap have always had a good selection of stripes , this t-shirt is cute, relaxed and cool, and with
the addition of the scooped neck line being yellow. The yellow help drawing attention to the
upper torso of the body. The long sleeves will make your arms longer, or look it at least,
aswell as the long stripes helping to hug the body in once again.
(£14.95)

Men and Shoes

Men have to get their shoes right. It is necessary . It has to be. 'You judge a man by the shoes that he wears'. This saying should be remembered in all of the minds of men. Shoes are what outfits are held by. The shoes are the foundations , although because we normally whip them on last we don't think about the colours that combine with the colours of your outfit that day, and that results in a selection of shoes that are incorrect, or you have a collection of shoes that are not very nice and that need to be replaced.

Tips that you need to take into consideration when wearing shoes :
-Don't wear running trainers, that you work out in , they are running trainers for a reason, you run in them, not slip them on with a dodgy cut of jean.

-Look at the colour combinations that the shoes have in comparison to the lovely outfit you'll be wearing.

- Look in at overall what do all your shoes look like lined up, have you got a good selection of colour?

-RE-SOLE your shoes, they maybe wearing out but they still have a life, you need to replace the bottom of the shoe which can be up to £15.00. Not much ayy.

My pet hate is when guys wear horrible worn  out shoes when they probably have more money than I do to buy shoes. It is amazing the amount of men wearing horrible running, or broken shoes that have not fashionable look. Shoes should be worn with pride and not be chucked on as if they are worthless . They are made for one reason only in my mind, for health an style.
Use the style aspect to make yourself look good.

Yes you could walk around in your comfy shoes that you have had for 10 years or you could get a new stylish pair that would make you look 10 x better .

Men are too lazy sometimes in how they dress, they need to dress with pride, and they need to dress to look good in the streets.

Instead of those run down running trainers that so many of you suspects wear try these nikes out. You can customise
them yourself as well.

Leather shoes from Topman are very fashionable at the moment and should be first selection for your smart
shoe collection .

For the more casual shoe that you can slip on easily but still look fashionable in it, try the trusty loafer, brown leather is the best, and this is a lovely model from Asos.

Daisy pattern is the pattern

Daisy's made a small introduction about 2 years ago, but really did not pounce on the trend train, however this S/S 13 its made a huge introduction it has actually caught the eye of a lot of us and has ended up in the high street shops near to you.

Daisy's/ or flowers, or floral patterns, what ever you like to call the pattern has made its way through to the top brands, and is being noticed slowly. It is been shown that big floral prints are there for the grasp to put into our wardrobes. The daisy print holds many colours sometimes (however not shown in examples) , so will be hard to wear, but when you get it right, it looks good. I think the key is buying a piece that holds an obvious main colour in it, when you take that main colour you can use it to base your other pieces of clothing around the main colour on the daisy print piece.

A lot of shops have latched onto the daisy chain and have produced many pieces of clothing that are fitting for the warm summer we all hope to enjoy around the world.

Each year there is some sort of print that brings out summer in the fashion world. As well as bright colours I believe that the next one of 2013 summer will be daisy clothing.

Although examples are expensive below keep on looking at other high street shops during the next season change of cloths and you will find you piece of clothing with daisy's on it.

Womans Yellow sleeveless dress.
Net-A-Porter , £995

Mens t-shirt
Selfridges , £ 675.00

Asos,  Jaeger Mini skirt,
£99.00

Orange Suits

Orange is a colour that for many years has been ignored. However Orange suits are being worn by a few iconic male solo artists which I feel could set a trend for the Orange suit.
Modelling a  turtle neck lined t shirt, and gold chains the orange suit was almost washed out. Kanye West  did not wear it  correctly , he wore it as if he was trying to mimic the idea, and turn the historic body of clothing , 'the suit' into a disgusting feature of fashion .
Apart from the bad example you have the colour of orange that has made its way to the fashion world first through blazers , for women, that were created with tape work or through the method of laser cut clothing. Then the bright coloured suit has washed out any accuses of the way that men dress being 'easy'. If you wear a bright colou it is hard to get right as we have seen already.

You can already buy orange suits at Mens USA, WHICH HAS A GREAT SELECTION IN THE RANGE OF UNDER $200.

Vintage Umbrella

Umbrella are extremely understated and I feel should be modelled more by all of us. Derived from the latin  word, Umbrel meaning Shade, they have been used since 11th century BC In most probably China. Today we see them used to create a dry globe around our body, and use them as a practical use more than a fashion statement, something that I would not mind see changing.

Yesterday I thought I would chose a different umbrella to take out to "brighten" up what would be seen by most as a dull and dreary day. However I picked a vintage styled Chinese umbrella, whilst modelling the purples on the patter, on the cover of the umbrella. The handle being a bamboo cane.  We need more umbrellas in shops that are not made from horrible flammable plastics that rip in the slightest bit of wind... come on now the weather is not too good in Britain. We need to see more hand made object appear in shops, or at leads make them look like they are. Now fair enough men you may not want to walk around in an umbrella that looks like you should be a lady from the 1930's, like I probably modelled perfectly yesterday unfortunately, however you have no excuses, look on ebay, bid your hearts content out for a vintage male umbrella. The handle should be wood, or another material based from a plant as these last you the longest. Men you should be looking for a black/blue umbrella with a wooden handle. The umbrella should not fold up and should be walked by your side.
For women I want to see no folding up umbrellas, they have to have a nice pattern on the top of the umbrella, and should too have a plant based handle and walked along side you.

Show me all your vintage umbrellas if you would like on my twitter page @cdukeofficial