The '70s Are Back.

...Again.  Except this time they're really back.  This can mean several things for S/S 2011. 



Emilio Pucci. 
Sponsored by Colman's.



1)  Camel and mustard items will probably be re-appearing on the high-street.  Be warned:  utmost care is required when plumping for 'mustard', as one wrong jacket/skirt/dress can leave you looking... well, like a jar of Colman's.  Unfortunately, 'mustard' is the colour that most resembles the food it was actually named for. 

(For a slightly safer bet, you could go for the easier shade of 'camel'.  I've yet to see someone in a camel jacket that actually looked like a camel.)





Chanel Resort
2011 Collection



2)  Maxi dresses will be resurfacing.  Done well, they look like this, as at Chanel's S/S show in St Tropez.  The 'catwalk' is a promenade, the models arrived by speedboat, and no-one looks like a parachute their maxi dress.

Shoes in hand, neon toe-nails, floaty flowery goodness and wind-ruffled hair.  Like I said, that's when it's done well.  When it's done badly... think back to walking down Buchanan Street the year maxi dresses really hit the high street. 

There's plenty more of that to come this year. Sorry.

Marc Jacobs Spring 2011

3)  Big hats are where it's at.  Forget trilbies, cloches, pork pie hats and *gasp* turbans (Never!), this summer is all about the floppy, wide-brimmed hat.  If you've a wedding to go in summer, remember: more is more, and a big hat can never be too big.  I have a black floppy hat that was a late Xmas present from the ever-styletastic KM, so now is the summer it comes into it's own!



Christopher Kane
Spring 2011



4)  The times of neutrals and nudes has run it's course, and - from one extreme to another - we've moved onto neons.  If you're not brave enough (stupid enough?) to try a full outfit of neon, this one is easily done by painting your nails a fluoro colour, or by choosing bags, belts, and tights that give it a fashion-savvy nod without looking like this (right).  A look that was Christened 'Princess Margaret on acid', by the designer. 

Enough said.

Colour-blocking is my favourite fashion trend...

I've been doing it for years, but it's only recently that it's been given a name by the powers that dress.  For anyone who's unsure, 'colour-blocking' is where you wear items of clothes in any bright colours you want. The colours are usually unpatterned and always bright. 

If you're minted, demented, or on a catwalk you can look like this:

Or, in the real world, you can calm it down a touch and throw on your clothes that you sometimes fear are too bright (not possible), or don't match(that's the whole point, this time)...  And that's exactly what I did this morning.  

In defiance of the January ming, the grey skies, the ever-present threat of rain and then general dreichness of a Scottish winter, I pranced out the door in my mint bowler-style hat, and teamed it up with a lovely jewel blue jacket (a winner of a present from my mum) and a skirt-that's-really-a-top bought many moons ago in Primark.  The skirt also happens to be printed with a cutesy flower design, which is going to be all the rage for the Spring/Summer 2011.  You heard it here first.

Anyone ever hear of that girl who wore a different outfit every day for a year and posted pics on her blog?  I think it was called whatkatyworenext or something like that, and, I'm sure she ended up making some money out of it! 

Now, I'm not saying that I'm expecting the money to start flowing in, after I post a few pics on my blog, but I do like the idea of taking snaps of my outfits and sticking them up.  I have loads and loads of clothes in all kinds of colours, fabrics and patterns, and yet I find myself sticking to the tried-and-tested favourites all the time, rather than pulling something out the back of the wardrobe and thinking about how to style it up. 

Well not any more!  From now on, I'm going to have much more fun in picking out what to wear, and going for the dress I haven't worn in ages, or the jacket I never know how to wear.

Clashing patterns, coloured tights, funky shoes?  Bring it on.