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Once again, lots of catwalks featured nautical style clothing – for women in particular this took the form of white trousers. When you’ve got your trousers, and they can be wide-leg, chino or skinny fit, team them with a striped T-shirt, Breton style, in navy and or black and white. For men, this look is turning up as striped long-sleeved tops combined with distressed jeans and boat shoes.
Also, for women, the safari look is still strong – Paul Smith had leopard print clothing worn with brown and black striped accessories and Marc Jacobs went for a more Native American theme, complete with face-paint like Adam Ant. To make this look work, it’s best to pick a colour and then combine prints and stripes in that shade, so tiger stripes work well with black trousers and a lightweight jacket in orange or yellow.
Orange and yellow turned up strongly in menswear: Dolce & Gabbana were offering dayglo orange hoodies and Louis Vuitton took egg yolk yellow and put it in everything from polo-shirts to socks. Summer shorts were much in evidence, and they were much more tailored than in previous years – worn with citrus coloured polo-shirts and crumpled blazers and those deck shoes again.
High fashion that it will be hard work to pull off this summer includes the harem trousers on offer for both men and women – while it’s a bit tempting to think that these loose waist, low crutch garments will hide a multitude of sins, what they actually do is suggest you have something (a big belly, a low-slung bum) to conceal, without actually hiding it. Wear them with care, and make sure they are darker than the top you choose, so that they offer something of a slimming effect.
The 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver have revealed a new, sporty but coordinated, sassy yet streamlined, sense of winter fashion. Whether it’s the sportswear disguised as denim worn by Shaun White or the kooky headband of Chemmy Alcott, winter fashion is big!
It’s also cost-effective, because while the USA Olympic team has been dressed by Ralph Lauren, you can create the same vibe at home for a fraction of the price, by shopping around for casual clothing and a few key sporty items to make the outfit work for you.
To get the look for yourself …
1. Go for primary colours – red, white, blue and green are favourites. Nothing should be pale or faded, apart from denims. Bright winter jackets in yellow and green are likely to be big sellers in the next couple of weeks, as are skinny fit ringer T-shirts with contrast trims.
2. Polo shirts need to fit perfectly – too tight looks silly and too loose looks like a hockey player who’s forgotten his pads.
3. Hats are big – but their size is small – tiny beanie hats and close-fitting billed caps should be worn with winter jackets to get the look right.
4. Tight T-shirts are likely to be spring’s big hit for women: wear a skin-tight red or pink round-necked T-shirt under a white or yellow jacket to get the look that’s been turning up on the Olympic medal podiums all week.
Two things are making the rugby shirt this summer’s most exciting casual clothing item:
1. Clint Eastwood’s film Invictus, showing South Africa’s World Cup quest has won critical acclaim; it’s the ‘Best Movie for Grownups’ according to AARP The Magazine catering for the 50+ audience in the USA, as well as being popular with rugby players themselves. Starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, the film is likely to be one of the most popular historical dramas of the year.
2. The Six Nations Rugby, ahead of the 2011 World Cup, promises to be a more equal, and therefore more exciting, European tournament than for many recent years. And for England fans, Jonny Wilkinson is back in the frame for both the Six Nations and the World Cup.
So how should you wear your rugby shirt to be in with the latest fashion?
• This item of sportswear is likely to be more popular in a solid colour than in the traditional hoops of colour in 2010.
• Never, ever, tuck it in.
• While rugby shirts have been worn a lot with jeans in the past, this year – because of the links to the film, Invictus – they will be most fashionable worn with sports shorts especially white ones.
As recently reported across the UK, a pressure group is asking parents not to buy their little girls pink presents for Christmas, and of course, little boys see pink as the most horrible colour in the world, associated with frills, playhouses and kissy games.
But if you’re not so little, pink is the new black. For several decades, City bankers and other financial types have worn pink shirts and pink ties, and even read the ‘pink pages’ which contained the finance news. Pink polo-shirts and golf shirts have been popularised by the world’s sporting stars and next year’s 2010 English cricket opener between county champions Durham and the MCC will be played in Abu Dhabi …using pink balls
Pink is the colour of choice in high fashion and the High Street, according to Robert Johnston, associate editor of GQ magazine and it’s not just fashion, 5% of shirts sold by the English shirtmaker Turnbull & Asser, are pink.
To wear pink well, pick a shirt or polo-shirt with a strong colour, a pink that’s too pale can make a man look as if he’s just washed a white top with something red and had the colour run. Team a pink T-shirt with black trousers or with jeans, but not white, brown or red which look a bit Starsky and Hutch, and if you’re not entirely comfortable about starting with pink clothing, choose a T-shirt or rugby shirt that is striped pink and other colours to ease you into this flattering colour.
There’s nothing more comfortable, more practical or more welcome as a Christmas present for both sexes and all ages than a rugby shirt. With Johnny Wilkinson’s return to the England squad and return to winning form, retailers everywhere are expecting a run on the eponymous rugby –shirt for gifts this year to rugby mad boys, and Wilkinson-mad girls!
So why is the rugby shirt so popular? Well it’s made to be both durable and eminently wearable – unlike some sturdy clothing which is hard-wearing but hard to wear, it’s designed for maximum movement and comfort, so whatever you’re doing, it feels great against your skin and allows you to bend and stretch if you’re working out, or simply to slob out on the sofa.
A rugby shirt’s cotton, or cotton-blend, material, means it transfers moisture out, so you don’t get clammy but keeps warmth in so you don’t get chilled and it’s easy to wash and wear so that you don’t have to look after with excessive care. And the colourways that are traditional for rugby-shirts are winter bright and positive, unlike the drab grey that is usual for clothing like jog pants, so you look good wearing a rugby shirt for casual events.
Today’s jogging clothing is designed to be worn as separates or as coordinates, this means you can combine T-shirts or sweatshirts with pants or just use them as garments to lounge around in.
This versatility means you can mix up combinations of jogging clothes and produce coordinated or contrasting outfits to match the activities you have planned.
Usually, jogging pants or bottoms come in plain colours which can be layered with other similar colours to make a matching ensemble on contrasted with bright prints and patterns to make a design statement.
If you’re actually going out for a jog, you can choose a short or long sleeved top depending on the weather and your personal comfort. Many runners prefer longer trousers or jog pants for several reasons:
1. They stop the big muscles at the front of the leg getting cold – because they are always exposed to the weather you’re running into, these muscles can chill very easily, impairing your performance.
2. Jogging pants stop you getting wet when you run. A little drizzle is nothing but if it makes your legs cold your temperature can drop dramatically.
3. Jogging trousers keep brambles, nettles and other nasties off your legs if you’re running cross country.
Classic jogging pants will offer you elasticated waists and often also have cuffed or zipped leg openings. There is often a drawstring at the waist so that you can make sure you have a perfect fit.
Cotton garments can hold the sweat more but are absorbent so they are ideal for chilly days. Make sure that your jogging pants have good deep pockets or anything you carry will tend to bounce out as you run.
In August, Dennis the Menace, beloved of generations of children and a nightmare to teachers and parents nearly ended up in hoodie. There was a cunning plan to dress him as a graffiti artist complete with spray can and hoodie as part of the Beano makeover and for his appearances as a BBC cartoon. The design agency makeovers didn’t quite get their way. The new Dennis will still have his stripey top and shorts, but a more up-to-date hairstyle. No hoodie, sadly.
And David Cameron seems to have lived down his hug-a-hoodie speech in which he infamously suggested that young criminals needed love rather than punishment.
New Hoody popularity
What’s brought about the rehabilitation of the hoodie? Partly, it’s a gender thing. More women are now wearing hoodys than ever before, and they are being seen on some top girls, like Kate Moss and Prince William’s girlfriend Kate Middleton who wears them to polo-matches. Partly it’s new styling that has made this year’s hoodies tighter and sleeker, less like crime-hoods and more like the sportswear they actually are. And partly it’s colour. Hoodies used to be grey, black and navy, but now they turn up in pink, yellow and this year’s top shade: chocolate brown, and that makes them look like a completely different garment.
How to wear a hoodie
To wear a hoody proudly, make sure that what you have on under it is not too bulky, as that spoils the new clear line of the tighter hoodies, and try to have a contrasting garment so you get two colours where the hoodie neck meets the T-shirt or vest underneath it. That adds interest to the ensemble and makes it clear you’re not wearing a hoodie as camouflage trying to avoid getting caught on CCTV.
Women have come to love the simple, classic, polo shirt as much as men, but for women there are ways to wear the polo that really make it into a fashion statement – here’s a brief round up of what you can do to turn a simple polo shirt into a show stopping outfit:
• Use a scarf: scarves are big this summer, especially floaty, hippy type scarves, so use a couple to dress up your polo shirt by wearing the shirt with a long skirt and then twisting one scarf to make a rope belt that you tie round the waist of the shirt, while the other you twist and wear round your hair like a headband.
• Wear a waistcoat: this is a great way to give a polo shirt some pizzazz – just add a contrasting waistcoat over the top to give a more formal impression.
• Wear a vest T-shirt on top: low cut vests in contrasting colours can make a polo shirt look very boho – just put the T-shirt on over the polo shirt and make sure you leave the polo neck completely unbuttoned, it looks very casual and cute.
• Wear it under cashmere: for instant style, pair a soft-toned women’s polo-shirt with a v-neck cashmere sweater or a button-up cashmere cardigan. It’s a bit like a twin-set but more modern.
All of these add a twist to the classic polo shirt.
Stedman by Hanes is one of the world’s leading brands in quality sportswear and casualwear. It produces the kind of clothing that is both relaxed and wearable every day, while being durable and this isn’t surprising, given the history of the Hanes brand.
In 1901 the first Hanes underwear was produced and when it became two piece underwear instead of the all-in-one that men had worn until that time, men quickly began wearing it as outerwear, so perhaps the first T-shirt was born from this behaviour?
Anyway there’s now a vast range of T-shirts, polo-shirts, and sweatshirts designed to be as comfortable as underwear but as stylish as the most fashion aware consumer could demand.
Look out for fantastic budget casual wear in the Stedman range, in particular long-sleeved T-shirts that hark back to the simple, cosy comfort of the very first Hanes brand but carry all the durability and style of this international brand. Stedman is one of the world’s best selling cost-conscious T-shirts for three good reasons: comfort, price and hard-wearing design.
A hoodie also spelt hoody, is a mysterious thing. If you’ve never owned one, you view them with deep suspicion, especially if the hoodie wearer is following you up the street on a dark night. On the other hand, once you’ve experienced the comfort, warmth and general usefulness of a hoodie, especially if you work outside or are an athlete, you cannot ever imagine living without one.
While it developed as a piece of warm up gear in the 1930s, it wasn’t until Hip-Hop took hold in New York in the 1970s that the hoodie became a fashion item, helped by the first Rocky film, where Sylvester Stallone single-handedly made the hoodie into the garment de jour. And by the 1990s, the skater or surfer hoodie was ubiquitous. However, in the UK, the hoodie was associated with chavs, criminal activity and out of control youth. It was banned from certain shopping centres and the term hoodie culture was viewed as marking out all that was bad in urban, disenfranchised, delinquent young men.
But since the Millennium, the hoodie has begun a process of rehabilitation, and now that London will host the Olympics 2012, hoodies are becoming not just acceptable but downright popular.
A great hoodie, like those produced by Fruit of the Loom, has a number of features: it will be comfortable, it will be heavy enough to feel warm but loose enough to allow easy movement and it will be soft and comfortable to wear. It may have a drawstring hood and a front pocket, or a zipper and two side pockets, but it will always fit snugly around the face to prevent earache or loss of heat through the head. And it will be easy to wash and wear. Given all its benefits, it’s good that the hoodie, or hoody is undergoing a renaissance, because as far as casual clothing goes, it’s definitely in the top ten for wearability.
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