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Bag breaking

It’s no news to anyone that carrying around a massive bag can damage your back and shoulders. The recent trend for hugely oversized handbags has seen a massive increase in young women visiting chiropractors with chronic back pain.

The trend started when Hollywood stars started carting massive bags around to make themselves look petite in comparison. Which is slightly mental.

If you are going to carry a huge bag, and by all mean, do, then put as little as possible in it. The temptation is to fill the space with everything you could ever need! Keep it at a minimum and don’t be tempted to overload. Back pain never suited anyone.

Click Style

With perhaps the exception of the Next Directory it seems that catalogue shopping in Britain has become an archaic practice. We are now clicking our way to style online, using the online versions of our favourite stores to stock up on the latest trends and styles.

I am an absolute sucker for internet shopping and it wouldn’t be the first time I woke up after too many drinks with disturbing memories of eBay and Topshop.com and the dread of finding out how much damage I’ve done to my bank account!

On the good side, however, the internet is fantastic for keeping you absolutely up to date with what’s new in your favourite stores; no need to go out and battle the elements on the High Street, just go online. And they make it so easy for you. Free delivery on orders over £70, sale offers online without fighting people for the bargains, it’s all most helpful!

If you haven’t done much online shopping, give it a go. Here are some of my favourite online shops:

www.asos.com
www.net-a-porter.com
www.topshop.com
www.thecorner.com
www.yoox.com

There are literally thousands.
Go and have a look for yourself.

She's at it again!

Holly in a beaded, backless extravaganza on Dancing on Ice

Holly Willoughby is at it again; outraging the prime-time TV watchers with another va-va-voom gown. I think she looks sensational. Who wouldn’t want to look like that? Not for a trip down the shops, granted, but for an event her Dancing on Ice wardrobe is spot on.

She dresses perfectly for her shape and her colouring; she sits on the boundary between sexy and sophisticated and pretty much always gets it right. If you have a big event coming up there are some rules to follow which should make your night memorable for all the right reasons and ensure that you won’t be cringing at the photos in years to come!

The key is to dress for yourself in something that boosts your confidence and makes you walk with a bit of wiggle and posture.

So, if you’re tall and want to emphasize your height, something floor-length with sleek lines will show off your statuesque frame.

If you have a classic hourglass frame take inspiration from Holly and delve into the archives of old Hollywood glamour for something that will display your figure to it’s best. Be conscious of too much embellishment or garish colours; anything too ‘on-trend’ will ruin the photo ops.

If you’re short follow the lead of someone like Sarah Jessica Parker or Kylie Minogue, both of whom are small but never look overpowered by their clothes on the red carpet.

Basically, wear something that makes you feel amazing. No one ever had a good night while running to the toilet to adjust their clothes, tugging at hemlines or sitting holding in tummys all night!

A Rolling Stone gathers no Moss and all that…

There are two bits of news which I think merit comment today, both pretty revolutionary in fashion terms.

Firstly, wrinkly rocker, and bastion of the ageing rocker school of dress, ‘Keef’ Richards has just been photographed by Annie Liebowitz for the new Louis Vuitton campaign. Personally, I think it is utterly brilliant. That a man in his sixties, a man with a face like a pickled walnut, can become the latest model for one of the world’s most exclusively luxurious brands is fantastic. What people tend to forget is that people who are now in their sixties aren’t the stereotypical pensioners we tend to identify with that age group, shuffling about in tea-cosy hats muttering about the buses and bemoaning the youth.

This is the very generation who changed the face of fashion and music forever. These are the children of the 60s, the decade that made Britain and indeed, most of the rest of the world, wake up to the creativity and exuberance of youth. Mods and Rockers and all the rest of it. Those in their sixties still have that spirit and are still eager to dress well and look their best. Just look at Twiggy modelling for Marks & Spencer; she’s magnificent and in no way overshadowed by the younger models.

The point is that fashion isn’t just for young people; the older renegade generation in their sixties are setting trends just as much now as they did forty years ago, and really, we should respect them for it!

Keef does Louis Vuitton

Secondly. Poor Kate Moss has been toppled from the top of the Best Dressed list. New supermodel, Agyness Deyn is now the top fashion inspiration in the country. Now, Deyn may be beautiful, but as a style icon? I find her somewhat lacking. Sure, Moss’ style has been a bit staid of late, but she still inspires dramatic shifts in the wardrobes of women world wide. The day I go out and buy myself a tartan blazer in neon colours and pair it with a brown Louis Vuitton bag with be the day I…the terror is too much to contemplate.

Mossy vs Deyn

the FIRST EVER blog

Welcome to The Dresser’s first ever blog! This blog will be your weekly guide to what's happening in fashion-from emerging trends and styles through to where to buy on a budget or where to blow the budget!

Every week I’ll also post a style surgery where you can send in your fashion dilemmas and queries and I’ll give some optional solutions to suit your lifestyle and budget.

This really is style made easy.

One the up!

This week's best emerging trends.

SKIRTING THE ISSUE

Not the full skirts of Grease or any other Fifties cliché film you can think of. The new silhouette is more luxe. Bales of very fine silk chiffon perhaps beaded or embellished with a smattering of sequins or jewels. The most important thing to remember about this new shape of skirt that the sheer volume of fabric of the skirt must be balanced out by a very sleek, simple top half; for example, a delicate knit in a very neutral shade which allows the skirt to take the focus of the attention. Too much detail will inevitably kill this and you could end up looking more Helena Bottom Carter than is perhaps sensible.

Below from left: Topshop £75, Oscar de la Renta £1900, Coast £115

IN THE FRAME

Now before you simply scroll right by this entry, hear me out! I, as much as anyone, am slightly jaded and desensitised to the phenomenon of the ‘statement’ coloured frames of last summer. I felt they were a fad destined to be part of the ‘what were you thinking?’ bin within a month of their emergence last year. They are back, however, with an absolute vengeance. More grown up this season and less Lily Allen like, the statement frame is more fun and less elitist cool. With new shapes, more muted colours and a distinctly Seventies flavour, the statement frame comes into its own.

Below from left: Pepe £45, Christian Dior £110, Chloe £165

FRENCH DRESSING

This year’s winner of the Best Actress Oscar, Marion Cotillard is at the very forefront of celebrity style. Her experimental French style has been the fashion talking point of the recent awards ceremony and her Jean Paul Gaultier couture gown which she wore at the Oscars was a perfect example of relaxed French perfection. Her look is easily distilled by adding some waist length, jewel encrusted chains, fresh make-up, a striped nautical style top and a Chanel-esque quilted handbag. Maqnifique.

Below from left: Bag, Paul's Boutique £55, top, Topshop £30, multi long lenghth chain, £5 ASOS.com

COCKTAILS FOR TWO

It seems they have been all over the place for ages now; however, the allure of the ostentatious cocktail ring is as strong as ever. As the perfect foil for a simple daytime outfit, a cocktail ring adds sophistication and glamour to clean, chic separates. Some of the best examples can be seen on the high street, so keep your eyes peeled, particularly in Dorothy Perkins and Topshop who have some of the best this season.

Below from left: ASOS luxe £12, Topshop £6, Ted Baker £45, ASOS luxe £21

Keep checking back or subscibe to this blog for more style updates, also, don't forget, if you have a style dilemma send it to style@the-dresser.com for inclusion in the next style surgery!

Thanks!