Autumn/Winter 2011 Trends you can Wear Now

With New York Fashion week over, we now have a good six months to plan out our autumn/winter 2011 wardrobes, but for some of us, that wait is far too long. We are already dying for jade dresses and floor length coats, polka dots and bold stripes. Never fear, with the still-chilly weather there are plenty of opportunities to incorporate Autumn/Winter 2011 trends into our Autumn 2010-cum-Spring 2011 wardrobes. Many of the trends that are big for the spring season repeat themselves for the winter season, so investment pieces now could last you all the way into next year.

Trends for autumn/winter were unusual for winter, with bold colours, patterns and combinations. The runways didn't feel heavy or drab, but full of life and excitement. They were full of new and unexpected pairings, new evolutions on our favourite trends and fun, exciting new colours and prints.
Here are five of my favourite Autumn/Winter 2011 trends that you can wear right now...

1. Midi skirts
Midi skirts are a huge trend for the Spring season and don't seem to be going anywhere for Winter. They usually extend mid-calf, or just below the knee, and were paired on the catwalks with belted chunky knits. For extra style credit, chose sheer styles.

2. Lace
Yep, lace is still not going anywhere for seasons to come. If you don't already own some lace pieces, this is a great investment. Lace dresses can be girly and feminine in white, or sleek and sexy in black. Layer underneath if you don't want to go bare.

3. Capes and ponchos
As much as we all want to be parading around in tea dresses at this time of the year, the fact is that we have another couple of months of layering to be had first. If your winter coat is starting to look a little dated, rest assured that this season's fancy capes are still set to be popular for the winter season.

4. Leather skirts and shorts
Perfect for winter with chunky knits for a perfect volume contrast, or for summer contrasted with something super-girly for a bad-girl edge.

5. Stripes and polka dots
Something about stripes and polka dots just screams youthful fun. Spots came in all different sizes and patterns on the catwalks, and striped ranged from horizontal to vertical and diagonal on the catwalks. Play outside of the black-and-white box for a fresh, new take on simple, easy-to-wear prints.

image credit

The best of London Fashion Week 2011

The most prestigious event in the UK fashion calendar has been under way this week, and what a week it has been!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to London for Fashion Week, but I made full use of the live streaming that was available and I was extremely impressed by the shows and collections that I witnessed. The ceremony was opened by Samantha Cameron who is not only the most stylish lady in Politics, but she is also the Ambassador for the British Fashion Council.

She wore a black Mulberry dress, black Sykes blazer and black LK Bennett heels as she announced that “fashion is one of the most important industries, full stop. I’m passionate about fashion, I love it, but it’s not just about how it makes people feel about themselves, it’s because of what it can do for our country."

Day 1 paved the way for the entire week as some gorgeous collections were showcased. Paul Costelloe's Autumn/Winter collection consisted of colourful tweeds, metallics, plaid and herrington worked into casual skirts, dresses and coats. The end products resulted in completely wearable pieces that are bound to be imitated by the British high street come this Autumn.

Paul Costelloe

Paul Costelloe

Paul Costelloe

Sass & Bide brought some colour and fun to the runway with their outlandish carnival-esque capes and feather lined shift dresses. Tribal patterns and bold colour popping really reflected the Autumnal colours and multi-layer wraps, trailing skirts and maxi dresses are great alternative to usually boring Autumn/Winter wear.

PPQ's collection was one of the talking points of the day as the models looked utterly purr-fect in their feline inspired head gear alongside tulle trimmed shoes, dark pencil skirts, blouses and sophisticated tailoring in jackets and dresses.

Sass & Bide

Sass & Bide

PPQ

PPQ

Issa London and House of Holland were two must see shows, both full of colour and vibrancy. Issa London showcased earthy prints alongside bright and rustic colouring. Many sheer skirts and dresses in bold scale patterns made their way down the runway as colour pop hats and tights accessorized A-line skirts and maxi dresses.

House of Holland was a kaleidoscope of clashing patterns and prints, with wide legged trousers, crocheted skirts and dresses and fun stripy socks being just some of the highlights of the show. It was also a pleasure to see new themes emerging in the House of Holland signature tights, this time being bingo ball and alphabet patterns.

Issa London

Issa London

House of Holland

House of Holland

Day 3 saw some of the big guns coming out to play. Mulberry was one of the most popular shows of the day as they transformed the swanky Claridges into a Woodland Wonderland, where they showcased their quintessentially English inspired collection, complete with tan boots, trench coats, leather biker jacktets and floral print dresses.

Dame Vivienne Westwood's Red Label really wowed the crowds with it's zany and eccentric pieces in animal print, colourful stripes and the designers traditional check and tartan print. The models looked like something out of a horror film with most having sprayed and dyed hair as well as what looked like a weeks worth of make-up smudged down their faces. Cardigans, check shirts, mid-length skirts and shift dresses were all completely wearable pieces which I would gladly have in my own wardrobe.

Mulberry

Mulberry

Vivienne Westwood Red Label

Vivienne Westwood Red Label

The real talking point of the day was the Topshop Unique show which oozed a Cruella De Vil vibe, as models took to the runway covered in Dalmation print. Faux Fur coats and trim was hugely popular alongside blouses, shorts and many different prints. The models all sported animal print chunky heels and 'dog ear' hairstyles.

Topshop Unique

Topshop Unique

Of course there are a whole lot more shows to choose from London Fashion Week but these are my personal highlights and shows that really stood out to me. The pieces within the collections are all extremely wearable, yes, even Viv Westwood's creations when they are stripped down. I have no doubt that many of the pieces will be making their way into the British highstreet this year and I personally cannot wait to see which pieces from Topshop's Unique collection make it into my own Autumn/Winter wardrobe.

The Shopping Forecast Weekly Fashion And Trends Round Up

This week we have lots more fashion inspiration from some of our favourite fashion bloggers. There is so much going on in the fashion industry at the moment from the Fashion Weeks to the amazing celebrity dresses that are featuring on the red carpet during the awards season. Of course, we can' t wait to see which of these looks are going to become the biggest trends for the season ahead.

The Shopping Forecast - Classic new fashions and trends for summer 2011 - looking at one of the most popular themes on the site at the moment.
Watch This Place - Hell Yeah, Goth Lipstick - How to wear the dark statement lip - without it looking like overkill.
Jen Danczak - End of Fashion Week FW 2011 - A review of the last day of NYFW
FreyaHillTalkin - Hello London Fashion Week -A post updating all fashion followers on London Fashion Week, with catwalk reviews to follow.
Style Meets Story - From Runways to Retailers - Lady-like, polished trends are noticed by retailers as wearable trends to sell in stores this fall
The Fashion Buzz - Red Carpet Fashion - A look at some of the dresses worn for this years red carpet events.
Style Eyes Fashion Blog - Tailored Jackets For Spring - the pick of the classic tailored jackets for the season ahead.

Which of these styles are you loving? Vote now on TheShoppingForecast.com.

Weekly Shopping And Goodies

A Few Goody Gumdrops loves the neutral palette from Doo.Ri and Nars 2011 Collection!
Fashion Hipposwoons over the wide leg trousers 2011 spring trend seen on the runway.
Handbag du Jour has the runway roundup: check out the bags at Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2011!
RedPoppy Fashion is absolutely besotted with Burberry Prorsum's Fall 2011 collection!
The Curvy Fashionista spends a day as the Fashion Cruzearati with Althea Harper as she prepares for her Fall 2011 Fashion Presentation for NYFW!
The Fashion Buzz expresses its Online Lust for Modcloth with some amazing clothes for sickenly stylish girls
The Well-Heeled Society shows how everything is blossoming in shoes for spring!
TheFind shows you how to achieve the stunning Navy and Gold eye makeup look shown on the runway of Jason Wu's Fall 2011 RTW collection.
What's Haute is giving away a brand-new HTC HD7 Windows Mobile Phone valued at $499!

image from The Find

Online Lust: Modcloth

We've all been there; you finally muster up the guts to approach that sickeningly-stylish girl and ask her where her dress is from, and with a girlish giggle she responds, "oh this? it's vintage."
So, a few days later, you abandon your usually Top Shop- Urban Outfitters- New Look shopping trip and head to your local charity shops, vintage boutiques and independent stores. You are armed with ambition and excitement. But after hours upon hours of trawling through racks of other people's unwanted clothes, you begin to feel hopeless. Isn't there any easier way to find unique, vintage pieces without having to rely on luck and a good eye?

This is where Modcloth comes in. Started by high school sweethearts, Eric Koger and Susan Gregg Koger, the idea behind the website came from Susan's overwhelming collection of vintage, thrifted clothes. Susan had found herself increasingly unable to resist beautiful vintage pieces, even if they weren't her size or her style. The couple decided to begin an online store to sell Susan's collections. Today, the site continues to sell unique, vintage pieces, but also features retro-inspired pieced by indie designers.

The Be the Buyer program launched in 2009 was another innovation. The idea is that shopper can vote on their favourite pieces to be sold on Modcloth. The site prides itself on its interactive nature, wanting to be "the fashion company you're friends with!"

One of the most appealing aspects of Modcloth is its lack of pretention. They do a lot of work with bloggers and real girls just like us. Happy shoppers can upload pictures of themselves in Modcloth items which are added to the item description to give the browser an idea of what the item really looks like. To make the process even easier they include measurements of all items on the site, and even let you know if the pieces run larger or smaller than standard.

While a US site, they do ship internationally, so even us girls in the UK can get a piece of the magic! Their clothes range from around $50 (£30) for a dress, to a few hundred dollars for designer pieces (they stock designers such as Betsey Johnson, Jeffrey Campbell and Irregular Choice).

If flirty, fun, feminine clothes, with a vintage twist are your thing, then this is definitely a site to check out. Here are some of my top picks..

Playground Reminiscence Dress 

($49.99/£30)

Foxy Lady bag

($114.00/£89)

Beach Blanket Bingo One-Piece

($89.99/£56)

Tasteful in Tumeric Dress

($49.99/£30)

Pleasantly Precocious Top

($42.99/£27)

The Eliza Dress

($109.99/£68)

Red Carpet Fashion

For the past two weeks there has been a whole host of award ceremony's taking place on both sides of the Atlantic. Our friends in the US recently hosted the Golden Globes and Grammy awards and are due to host The Oscars next week, while here in the UK, we've played host to the BAFTAs, and the BRIT awards. So it's safe to say that there has been a LOT of red carpet action going on lately and although it's nice to see who won what, secretly we prefer to see who wore what so we can freely criticise or praise them and add them to our worst and best dressed lists.

Golden Globes
The first big event to take place in awards season were the Golden GLobes. Some like to think of it as the run up to The Oscars, not only when it comes to the awards but also when it comes to the red carpet outfits. The fashion hungry wolves were lying in wait to pounce on any A-listers that got it wrong this year (yes that's you Leighton Meester, Heidi Klum and Christina Aguilera), but luckily, the majority got it right. Natalie Portman, Angelina Jolie and Olivia Wilde were just a few of the stars that were heading in the right direction.

Angelina was the head of the 'emerald green dress' tribe at the awards ceremony as she graced the red carpet in a floor length, long sleeved Versace gown. Other celebs wearing emerald green on the night were Catherine Zeta Jobes in a Monique Lhuiller emerald green ball gown, Mila Kunis in a one shouldered Vera Wang creation and Elisabeth Moss who dazzled in a custom made Donna Karen dress.

Angelina Jolie and Mila Kunis

Catherina Zeta Jones and Elisabeth Moss

The Grammys
The Grammy awards are possibly America's most prestigious music awards, with mega-stars appearing all over the place. Rihanna was on top form in a Jean Paul Gaultier dress which was recently seen on the runway at Paris Fashion Week. There was a big metallic dress trend occuring thanks to the likes of Heidi Klum, Selena Gomez and Kim Kardashian but Katy Perry wowed everyone in an angelic creation by Georgio Armani.

Rihanna and Katy Perry

The BAFTAs
Although much more reserved than any American award show, the BAFTAs are still the UK's biggest film and television awards. Much like the Golden Globes, any films that win big here are likely to go on to do well at The Oscars.

British film stars graced the red carpet in the pouring rain in a variety of designer creations. Gemma Arterton and Helena Bonham Carter both looked elegant and sophisticated in Yves St Laurent and Vivienne Westwood, while Emma Watson was crowned 'best dressed' of the night thanks to her gorgeous one-shouldered, nude Valentino gown. British TV star Emilia Fox looked suitably stunning in a shimmering gown by Kate Halfpenny while one fifth of Girls Aloud, Kimberly Walsh looked glowing in a fabulous dress by Ashish.

Gemma Arterton in Yves St Laurent and
Helena Bonham Carter in Vivienne Westwood

Emma Watson, Emilia Fox and Kimberly Walsh

The BRIT Awards
Every year the people of Britain settle down to watch some of their favourite artists take over the big screen. This years ceremony was bigger than ever with performances by Take That, Plan B, Adele and Rihanna.

The red carpet was packed full of superstars in different dazzling creations. Rebellious Canadian singer Avril Lavigne kept things simple in a vintage Julien Macdonald feather dress while Rihanna went all out in a Christian Dior Haute Couture gown in shocking turquoise and purple.

Avril Lavigne and Rihanna

Cheryl Cole, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Fearne Cotton

Although a British award ceremony, Rihanna stole the show with her performance and many costume changes. She took to the stage in a silky red cape dress with corsage detailing, which she quickly stripped away to reveal a racy black all-in-one suit. The pop-star also received an award for 'Best International Female' and accepted it in a gorgeous rose print gown by Oscar de la Renta.

Rihanna

2011's awards season has seen some of the best dresses around, by some of the world's biggest designers. Award ceremonies are no longer just about the winners and losers as it's nearly always overshadowed by the winners and losers in the fashion stakes.

As the biggest ceremony of the award season looms, we can't wait to see who will be wearing what. We'll be waiting, ready to cast our critical eye over the outfit choices of some of the worlds biggest celebrities.








*Images courtesy of InRumour.com, Cosmopolitan, Temptalia, StyleFrizz, Holy Moly, Gossip Center, Faded Youth Blog, Marie Claire, Style.UK.MSN Beauty Is Diverse and Just Jared

The Shopping Forecast Weekly Fashion and Trends Round Up

Today is the start of our brand new weekly link round up in which we share with you a variety of blog posts on fashions and trends for the season from some great fashion and style blogs. Today we have plenty of style fixes to inspire you for the spring and summer from minimalism to shorts, colourful prints and ethical fashion. Enjoy!

The Shopping Forecast - Fashion Trends in Evening Wear SS11- The BAFTA's - A review of the celebrity fashion and trends at this years BAFTA's
FreyaHillTalkin -H&M Are On Cloud Nine - An introductory post to H&M's new 'Conscious Collection' with lookbook images.
Jen Danczak - Newest Minimalism - predicting a new fashion trend for the SS11
Watch This Place - Donning Daisy Dukes. Do It. Differently - This season's runways were filled with summer shorts. Here's how to wear the upcoming trend...
Style meets story - Love is in the air - Soft, feminine and romantic looks are seen on the runways for the Fall 2011 season
Style Eyes - Patterned cardigans for SS11 - checking out the trendiest way to cover up this spring and summer.
The Fashion Buzz - Top 10 floral shift dresses for SS11- a round up of 10 of the best of the summers most versatile item.

Of course, you can have you say on these and other fashions and trends for Summer 2011 by voting on The Shopping Forecast

Image from Style Meets Story

Weekly Shopping And Goodies 17/2/11

With NYFW in full swing and London next, there is plenty to talk and post about. Here are some great posts from my Shopping and Goodies friends.

A Few Goody Gumdrops just bought the silver star studded Jimmy Choo Uggs on Sale!
Fashion Hippo adores these bell bottom jeans, a favorite 2011 spring trend.
Shopping and Info loves the neutral nude designer shoes for Spring 2011! Just in time for Fashion Week.
Spork Beauty gives the SwirliDo hair accessory a try. It's a winner!
StyleMaven gets measured for the perfect-fitting Levi's Curve skinny jean, courtesy of Levi's Shape What's to Come at the Independent Fashion Blogger's Conference held at Mac & Milk! Studios.
The Fashion Buzz checks out the Top 10 floral shift dresses for SS11 bring on the warmer weather!
The Well-Heeled Society is one happy chick, thanks to her book review on Chicklit Club!
TheFind has a crush on the See By Chloé Poya Satchel, and we gave one away at last week's NYFW Independent Fashion Blogger Conference, "Evolving Influence"!

Image from Fashion Hippo

Top 10 Floral Shift Dresses For SS11

Everyone women loves a floral shift dress, no? A shift dress is such a classic and flattering style. From botanical prints to border prints and ditsy prints to oriental prints, there are floral shift dresses for everyone this summer. The beauty of a floral shift dress is that it can work for so many different occasions. For a wedding or day at the races add heels, a clutch and maybe a hat. For lunch with the girls, a pair of ballet pumps and neat cardigan and for work a blazer or tailored jacket and court shoes. Here are our top 10 favourite floral shift dresses for the season ahead.

Botanical Print Shift Dress By Oasis

Mimosa Shift Dress by D & G at My Wardrobe

Coppola Oriental Print Dress By Oasis

Milly Slim Pocket Floral Dress At My Wardrobe 

Botanical Print Shift Dress By Oasis

Painted Floral Dress By Love Moschino

Rose Print Cap Sleeved Dress By Oasis

Kew Floral Shift Dress By Oasis

Poppy Border Print Dress By Oasis

Graceful Flower Print Shift Dress by Oasis
If you can't find anything you like here then check out these summer floral dresses

Valentines Outfits for All Occasions

Well the big day is upon on, the Marmite holiday- you either love it or you hate it. Many people are treating tomorrow like any other day, but if you're doing something special tomorrow night we have all bases covered, no matter what your plans.
Valentines Day no longer means simply a candlelit dinner and a bouquet of roses- these days many couple are doing an array of different things for Valentines Day; from skydiving to weekend spa treatments. And if you're single, there are lots of fun things for you to do too, whether it's a girly night in with cheesy movies and popcorn or a night on the town.
Here are five outfit ideas for five popular Valentines dates- fancy dinner, Valentines night in, day-time date, night out with the girls, or girly night in.


Fancy Dinner

dress/shoes/clutch/necklace/stole

If someone is taking you somewhere fancy this Valentines day, then this outfit is sure to get you both in the mood!! I know it's cheesy, but for me, Valentines day equals red!! Plus red has been a huge trend the last few seasons so you will definitely get plenty of wear out of a LRD. The stole would be fun for somewhere really special, but this would look just as great with a leather jacket, blazer or coat.

Valentines Night In

blouse/skort/ankle socks/shoes/necklace

If you're staying in on Valentines Day you can still look cute without looking too casual. Again, I've incorporated red into this outfit with the red blouse, and then cute ankle socks and sky scraper heels. The beauty of being home is you can kick these babies off when your feet start to hurt!!

Day-time Date

dress/cardigan/pumps/clutch

This outfit is very Zooey Deschanel in (500) Days of Summer. I really love this feminine, polka dot dress and I thought it would be fun to pair with an unexpected blue clutch. This outfit would be perfect for a lunch or, if you live somewhere warmer, a lovely romantic stroll.

Night Out with the Girls

dress/aviator jacket/wedges/satchel

Who needs a man when you can look this fabulous? Save the money you would have spent on his present and spend it on a fabulous new outfit. I purposefully avoided red here, but leopard print is always super-sexy. And these heels are absolutely to die for- go get them!!

Girls' Night In

hoodie/pajamas bottoms/vest/ugg slippers

While it's perfectly fine to dress up for a night in with the girls, there's nothing better than to get cosy in your pajamas and an over-sized hoodie. This would be the perfect outfit for hosting a girly sleepover!! Choose cosy, comfy pieces for a girly night in, and splash out on gorgeous loungewear instead of on expensive cologne.

Whatever your plans are for tomorrow night, have a lovely day!!