Packing for your Summer Holidays

I have to say I'm tired of waiting for British summertime to begin, I have been in winter for far too long and as I write this I am on my holidays abroad, taking in some much needed sun and indulging in a time out from my business. Well not totally time out or you wouldn't be reading my blog today :-)

As a personal stylist I normally find it really easy to help a client with their holiday wardrobe, but when I need to pack for myself I always find my emotions and love of my clothes gets in the way of packing.


Even though I do have an ideal packing list for a 2 week holiday, I always find that I start out with far too many clothes, because I always have so many nice summer outfits to wear and never enough time especially in Britain to wear them.

It then becomes a battle of which outfit to wear and what to leave behind, this can go on for some time until I remind myself I do this for a living and should find this no bother whatsoever.

So I take out my list of what to take and why I'm taking it, I answer my own questions, such as:
Where am I going?
Who am I going with?
What is the weather going to be like?
Will I be laying on the beach or doing lots of activities?

All of these questions are important and helps to cut my pile of clothes to take by half. Then I always apply the rules of only taking two neutral colours and three other colours that go with them, so then that cuts down my wardrobe a lot more.

However it is still not easy especially when you’re only going for a week somewhere so many outfits so little time!  On this occasion I had to admit defeat and leave behind a couple of maxi dresses just because I am on a one week beach holiday by myself, which doesn't really require me to dress up. So I can leave the high heels, party dresses at home this time.



As I intend to lie on the beach, read a book and maybe do a tiny bit of work, I came to my senses and packed some swimsuits, beachwear and a couple of light trousers and maxi dresses for the evening and my kindle and my trusty laptop and away I went, what a relief.

However I know so many of you, don’t have the luxury of a personal shopper or stylist to pack your suitcase for you, so here are my Reluctant Goddess tips for holiday packing…

Remember to limit your wardrobe to two neutral colours for me as a winter colouring I took black and white as my neutral colours and added bright blue, pink and navy to my wardrobe, so all of my outfits would match and be easy to put together.

Ask the questions I posed above, if you’re not clubbing or on a wild holiday with friends you can safely leave those party outfits behind. If you’re going trekking, or doing lots of activity, there is no point in taking loads of frilly dresses if a wind-breaker, walking shoes and cargo pants are more practical. If you’re going with your boyfriend on a romantic holiday, then remember to pack the frilly dresses, heels bikinis etc.

Here is my list for a 2 week holiday basic capsule wardrobe:

2 TROUSERS, JEANS, COTTON, LINEN ETC

2 SHORTS

2 SKIRTS

2 GOING OUT TOPS

7 TOPS (a selection)

1 DRESS

1/2 CARDIGANS

1 JACKET

2 BIKINIS / SWIMSUITS

1 SARONG / KAFTAN

1 BEACH TOWEL

2 FLIP FLOPS

2 WALKING SHOES, TRAINERS, SANDALS, PUMPS, ETC

1 HEELS

1/2   PASHMINA’S

1 SUNGLASSES

1 ACCESSORIES, (beach hat, hair bands, belts, etc.)

PYJAMAS AND UNDERWEAR

Asos.com
http://fashionfinder.asos.com/

As we all know however no matter how great we are at packing a suitcase, we always end up wearing the same thing, so I always say as long as you have detergent to wash your clothes, underwear,
passport and money, don’t worry about anything else but enjoying your holiday.

Dressing for a day at the Races

Well summer has finally arrived in the UK, which means the round of summer events can begin, as summer doesn’t last long here, we like to make the most of the time by attending, picnics, fete’s, polo, boating events, weddings and days out at the races, primarily we love Ladies Day at Ascot.

As Ascot is just in a couple of weeks’ time, I thought it was a good time to start thinking about what you’re going to wear, so hear is a quick race-goers guide to looking good at the races.

I always think that a hat can make or break an outfit when I look through the magazines at pictures of the races every year. So take some time to invest in a great hat.

For those of you who are lucky to be invited into the Royal Circle at Ascot, take your cue from the royals who do formal wear like no one else.

 Formal wear is a requirement for the Royal Enclosure which means:

•   Dresses and skirts should be a modest length defined as falling just above the knee or longer.
• Dresses and tops should have straps of one inch or greater
• Jackets and pashmina’s may be worn but the dresses should still follow the above guidelines.
• Trousers suits are acceptable as long as they are full length and are of matching materials and colour.
• Hats should be worn at all times, if wearing a headpiece, it should have a base of t least 10cm in diameter. Fascinators are no longer allowed in the Royal Enclosure and grandstand arrears. 

Those of you who are in the Grandstand enclosure, the dress code is still formal as above, here are a few extra things to avoid.

• Strapless or sheer strap dress are not to be worn.
• Midriffs should be covered.
• Fascinators are not permitted.
• Shorts are a definite no, no.

Here are some outfits to avoid:

In the Silver ring and Heath enclosures, there is no formal dress code applies, however it is encourages that you wear smart clothing. Remember that fancy dress is never allowed!

A quick note for the men in the Royal Enclosure, you should be wearing a morning suit in grey or black with a black or grey top hat. All suits must have a waistcoat and tie. Otherwise in all other enclosures a suit and tie is a must.

 If you can invest in a great outfit for the races, the outfit can be used again on other occasions such as a wedding, christening etc. So here are some outfits that can be mixed and matched and used again.

  

If you’re going to the races this year, drop us a line on Facebook and let us know what you’re wearing or even better post a picture of your outfit.

Summer here we come!

Are women most beautiful at 30?

I was reading the Evening Standard recently and I read an article that said women are most beautiful at 30. It stated that in a a study of 2000 people,it suggested that women are most beautiful at 30 and men most beautiful at 34.  


The study said women reached their peak at 30 and start to show signs of ageing at 41, stopped looking sexy at 53 and are old at 55.  Men however look their best at 34, show signs of ageing at 43, stop looking good at 58 and are old at 59.





Jillian Mackenzie deputy editor of Allure magazine, which carried out the survey told the Daily Telegraph, 

"In the past the ideal age may have been a bit younger.  Anti ageing is a big topic at the moment , people want to look younger for longer, we see celebrities, looking amazingly well in their 50's"







Asked which high profile individuals aged well, actor George Clooney was at the top of the list of both sexes.  The top choices for women were Meryl Streep, Jamie Lee Curtis and Julia Roberts.


























The research showed that the average age people started using anti - ageing creams was 37 for both men and women, which is far to late ageing starts in women at the age of 25. 

This article got me thinking about how beautiful we are at certain ages, undoubtedly youth has a part to play in this number but I think for many women, looking beautiful and feeling beautiful comes to us a lot later than 30 when we finally learn to accept ourselves as we are. I for one feel more beautiful at 40 then I ever did at 30, I have a lot more confidence in who I am, and I believe it attracts a lot more of the opposite sex to me now then it did in my thirties. 




What do you think? Are you looking better now then you ever did or are you missing your youth?

Let me know your comments here or on my  Facebook page 

T-Shirts Gone Mad!

I do love fashion with so many different trends and colours from so many designers, there is always something to fit everyone's taste and budget.

I sometimes think that  we spend too much money and go overboard on buying fashion items we don't really need. Even if I was a millionaire, I still wouldn't spend money for certain things, like cat-ear headbands for £660.00 (Maison Michel).

Hermes Crocodile T-shirt $91,500.00

I was reading an article recently that reminded me just how frivolous the fashion industry can be.  Hermes is selling a crocodile skin men's T-shirt for $91,500.00 or £59,784! Yes 91 thousand dollars! it's not a typing error but the cost of a t-shirt.

Gucci blk leather t-shirt

No one would think we are in a double dip recession, clearly the fashion industry clearly thinks there are still people out there who can afford and want to pay such a huge some of money for t-shirt. Fashion industry insiders think that Hermes are aiming their crocodile t-shirt at the middle eastern market

Maison Martin Margiela t-shirt

Who pays nearly £60,000.00 on a t-shirt? in certain parts of the country I can buy a house for that. I thought when I saw the black leather t-shirts being sold by Gucci and Maison Martin Margiela for around £1000.00 that was pushing the boat out a bit but £91,000 grand! I personally would want it to be made from Platinum for that price...

Lanvin White t-shirt

It would seem the humble t-shirt has indeed been turned into haute couture in 2013 with many fashion houses embracing the trend. Lanvin has embellished white t-shirts on sale from £450.00 - £1485.00. Although I can imagine people saving for rising star Simone Rocha luxurious sheer daisy print t-shirts for £695.00. 

But are shoppers really willing to spend this kind of money on a wardrobe staple?

Simone Rocha daisy print £695.00

Michael Van Der Ham £1705

After asking friends and acquaintances no one I know would spend that much on a t-shirt. I hope this is a time when common sense prevails over crazy fashion prices in 2013.


Would you buy a crocodile t-shirt for £59,784?  

Let me know what you think, post a comment below.

Buy My Wardrobe event

As a personal stylist, I love looking through people’s wardrobe, so imagine my delight to be invited to spend a very pleasant afternoon at the Kensington Roof Gardens in South London, looking at all the yummy designer clothes and accessories that were for sale at the fraction of the retail cost. The clothes are technically secondhand but a majority of the items have barely been worn and a lot of them still had the original tags on them.

 Back in 2008 Buy My Wardrobe opened the door to the very first designer fashion recycling event the country had ever seen.  It started with a champagne preview hour which saw 17 stylish ladies gather to sell the contents of their desirable wardrobes to invited members of the public!

 

Fast forward 5 years on and they now have a brand new online marketplace and they held their 20^th event on Saturday. There were 30 wardrobes of London’s most stylish women.  There was everything from pre-loved designer accessories, to vintage, boutique and much loved by big designers,  I found so many bargains, my purse couldn’t handle it and the ladies had to pry a particular blue  handbag from my fingers.

The Kensington Roof Gardens was the perfect location for this great fashion event, to add to all the glitz and glamour and women frantically searching through the rails of clothes, there was an express makeover station, a live DJ, Champagne, treats and goody bags for the VIP’s.

I had a thoroughly nice afternoon, I could have done with some girlfriends to share the excitement with but I will definitely make sure that the girls are coming with me for the next one.  I had to receive some phone counselling from my best friend, for having to leave behind, a Burberry coat down from £2200 to £549.00, even though I couldn’t afford it.  If you’re like me and above a size 12 be prepared to concentrate the accessories rather than the, size 4-10 designer outfits but definitely is a good incentive to slim down for.

 

A lot of clothes and accessories were in great condition some of even still had the original tags on the outfits.  If you ever looked in Vogue magazine at all the designer clothes, bags, shoes, accessories that you thought you would never be able to afford them, then this is the place for you. So check them out online now at www.buymywardrobe.com to see the latest updated stock. Or pop along to their boutique at 17 Seymour Place, London.

Have fun shopping in someone else’s wardrobes!