Hanne Gaby Odiele: Street Style Icon

Models look great: that's pretty much a fact. On the runway, on the street, putting the recycling out; the old adage applies that they would look amazing in a bin bag. However, few understand fashion as innately as Belgian-born model Hanne Gaby Odiele.

Adored by designers and street style bloggers alike, her delightful mélange of designer and vintage look effortlessly chic completed with a dash of humour. Attempting to create a formula for Hanne's dressing ethos proved to be near impossible - imagine if we could simply follow a few steps to look as polished as that every day! - though I did try to put together a few guidelines for creating Odiele-like outfits..


No guarantees of success, but fashion is about having fun and expressing yourself: Hanne's bag exactly. Try out different combinations from your own wardrobe, and most of all, enjoy it!

Images: altamiranyc.tumblr.com, blog.stylesight.com, streetpeeper.com, candicelake.com.
Two from Pinterest - please inform me of credit required!

Dotty's Styling Factory

The fashion industry in the UK is worth approximately £21 billion to the economy, and employs 816,000 people; however I think young people are unaware of the scope for different careers the fashion industry holds. As a teenager I thought that designing was the beginning and end of fashion - how I thought those magazines I worshipped dropped on my doormat every month, how clothes arrived in stores, or how window displays were made, I don't know; the designers obviously magicked everything there with the power of their minds. Even now I am frequently astounded by the jobs available, with thoughts along the lines of "you get to do that for a living?!" - starting with the buyers, merchandisers, and marketers, and stretching all the way to stylists, photographers, and editors. I especially love all the new media and etail job titles - Social Media Managers, Corporate Social Responsibility Assistants, User Assistance Architects, et al. Mindblowing..!

So when The Style Factory gave me the opportunity to run fashion workshops for teens I was delighted to pass on my fashion career-related knowledge. The Style Factory makes the fashion industry accessible for young people, running pattern making, recycled fashion, and even "create your own fashion label" workshops in the North West, and for two days this week took over an (enormous!) empty unit in Runcorn's Halton Lea shopping centre for Fashion In The City. As well as the t-shirt printing, headband making, massages and make-up tutorials already running, yesterday I held styling and visual merchandising workshops using clothing from Room31.co.uk and a couple of props I'd brought along myself. No prizes for spotting the difference I'm afraid.









It was inspiring to find that kids are enthusiastic about window dressing and working in the fashion industry. They were incredibly creative, using scraps of fabric and rubber gloves to make ingenious displays. By far my favourite moment of the day was asking an 11-year-old girl what they would like to do as a job one day. "This", she said. I hope that I helped inspire her to pursue a career in the industry I love so much!

Make Florals Groundbreaking

Topshop Oxford Circus, Jan 2012

Look what I managed to get for you! I got right through the store before a security guard approached me and asked if I was from head office. Puzzled, I of course said no, but was then asked to put my camera away. Whoops! Can't really get away with it when you have a whopping DSLR.

Anyway, enjoy these pictures of the Topshop Oxford Circus interior. I really think the Topshop team outdo themselves each season.. the styling, props, and windows are absolutely awesome.





(You can find cracking pictures of the window display at Boy Meets Fashion)













Please give me a job in the VM team one day, Uncle Phil!

Spring Forward

The transitional period always sends me into a bit of a tizz; we remain in the thick of winter, getting rained and hailed upon, but all the glossies are full of spring editorials and adverts. I accept that every January and August my mojo will be totally out of line, and I simply have to throw myself into it wearing new trends until something clicks into place. Sometimes it can be one new piece that completes the season's wardrobe, but often I style something from a previous year in a different way and the outfit is bang on. Moodboards are always helpful, too! Make your own by cutting and sticking inspirational pictures from magazines, and adding any patterns or textures you are currently feeling.

Here I've stolen my boyfriend's French Connection shirt in an attempt to emulate the Preen show I love so much - brightly coloured checks with pencil skirts. This would've worked a lot better with a lighter shoe (see above - the Aldo Rise Preen shoes or ASOS kitten heeled slippers) but there was no stopping me wearing my boxfresh Miista Hildas that day. 

Pastel jeans! Hard to pull off even if you are feeling superstylin'. I was reminded just how difficult it is to wear pale trousers when I had a coffee-and-berry-compote incident in Starbucks, though I do still enjoy the mix of ASOS grungy jumper (boyfriend's again - what is it with him having better clothes than I this season?) with sherbet lemon Oasis pants, dolly mixture ASOS shoes and Parma Violet hair. I refuse to stop using my enormous Zara bag - it fits in the near-A3 style.com/print magazine plus my DSLR - but perhaps this frosted bowler bag from ASOS may be more season-appropriate.

My stab at spring continues with more bright jeans - this time pink. Very pink. These are from some years ago, but I did have a whirlwind trip around Primark last night and picked up this cream with neon trim blouse; very useful to pull some springtime looks together (how cute will it look with the Topshop pink shorts suit - pieces here and here - come the warmer months?). The tweed jacket, black leather belt and black Miista boots ground the look and stop it from looking too wacky. I didn't realise quite how masculine this was until seeing the picture, though I do love how striking the look is. 

Slowly, slowly, my outfits progress into the new season. It's all trial and error at this time of year. Which new trends will you be trying in the coming months?

Tuesday Shoesday: Dress Up or Down?

On New Year's Eve I was discussing with a friend her outfit choices. That night she was going on a second date with a man who - God forbid! - was the same height as her. Now, don't get me wrong, this girl is not height-ist in any way, nor has she any problem with dating a man smaller than her, let alone the same size. But I do understand the conundrum: on a second date you don't want to be towering over a man, perhaps intimidating him.. but it IS New Year's Eve..! It took a while to convince her that it was not just okay, but very chic indeed to wear flat shoes for the biggest party night of the year.

I firmly believe that it is fully acceptable to wear flats day or night. If Nicholas Kirkwood can create ornate, detailed flats like these, they should be utilised for smart nights out and meals in restaurants.




Here, I'm wearing a COS dress and H&M kimono with a pair of Office heels; extremely high for me, I am more likely to go for "low-but-interesting". This is a very dressed-up look that I would most likely wear to a cocktail bar or evening networking event.







However, take away the heels and add Office studded brogues (another mum & dad Christmas special.. very Comme, don't you think?) and this look becomes quirkier, without losing any of its impact. I'd wear this to go see my favourite DJs play or watch a friend's band.







It's interesting how shoes can change the tone of an outfit, but I do encourage you to try wearing flats on your next night out - your feet and back will thank you for it!

I Want Candy!

Although we are only nine days into spring/summer 2012 (if the glossy magazine's advertising is anything to go by) I am already crazy about candy-coloured outfits.

For me, it began with the delicious Louis Vuitton campaign; Kati Nescher and Daria Strokous in their Sundae best.




Then I found model heavyweights Frida Gustavsson and Lindsay Wixson hanging about on Brighton beach for Mulberry, with some pretty awesome oversized Brighton Rock.




Finally, as if that wasn't enough to send me into a sugar coma, this season's Vogue Collections features a double page spread of lovely, Loveheart-shaded goodness..




I was craving to create a moodboard that looked good enough to eat!






One valiant fashionista attempted to style the look using items of her own, which proved difficult as her summer wardrobe was bursting with last summer's brights. One part Parma Violet to another part Refresher, it's a good start.. but maybe for now stick to Rainbow Drop nails.

Wearing Resort 2012 Trends

Over the past couple of days the weather has changed drastically in Manchester; there's been sleet, snow, hail, and, of course, buckets of rain. Stuck inside in my dressing gown with the heating on, my mind wandered to warmer, balmier climes, ones where I don't have to wear ten layers just to leave the house.

Just as well, then, the Resort collections have hit the shops this week, most notably at net-a-porter. Resort (or Cruise) collections used to be only for the wealthy who needed summery clothing for their January-long jaunts in the Carribbean. No longer just the "bit inbetween", in recent years Resort has taken on an importance of its own - helped, I'm sure, by the rise of social media, blogging, and the ridiculous pace the fashion industry now moves at.

A whopping 200 designers created Resort collections this year, including newbies-but-goodies Prabal Gurung, Erdem, Preen, and Proenza Schouler.

I like to try a couple of these trends out to ease myself into the new season, so I picked out a few of my favourite Resort 2012 trends and styled them as winter-ready daywear.

Tailored pale yellow was shown at Thakoon, Stella McCartney, and Pucci as strong tailoring mixed with white shirts and neutral accessories. For winter just wear one yellow element and team with black or neutrals for a striking look.

All-over prints were at 3.1 Philip Lim, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci. These pyjama-like looks are styled very simply, the print being the focus of the outfit. Wear in this winter's colours and prints.

White lace was popular with Alexander McQueen, Lanvin and Alberta Ferretti. These houses all showed frothy, maxi-length confections, which would be impossible to wear in rainy Manchester. Style it out with a shorter-length tunic with warm leather trousers.

These looks were all styled with items from my existing wardrobe. The one trend that evades me is the boxy waistcoat, shown here at Balenciaga (I'm missing the visor too, but I'll pick one of those up on my next visit to Blackpool beach).

If I were to add any piece to my wardrobe to style this trend, it would definitely be the Barneys Vintage asymmetric vintage gilet from IL2L.com; the perfect cover-up for Resort and beyond.

It's also a Vogue's Online Fashion Week pick; check the coverage for this online event here to find out about special offers and competitions. You can even win a Lanvin bag, just by tweeting your #todayimwearing!

If you're in need of more of a fashion fix, the pre-Fall collections are being shown this week. Lap it up, you trend-hungry fashionistas!

All runway images from style.com