Saturday 14 December 2013

December 2013

December 2013


This month's must haves! Prices ranging from £10 - £1900. Items to keep you ready and warm for the upcoming Winter, and also perfect gift ideas or treats for yourself ;).


1 - Topman Sibling Cream Skull Antler Jumper, 2 - Polaroid SX-70, 3 - Uniqlo Unisex HEATTECH Knit Scarf, 4 - Burberry Showerproof Cashmere Chesterfield, 5 - Burberry Stripe Detail Silk Cardigan, 6 - Casio GW-3000m-4AER  G-Shock Chronograph Watch Orange, 7 - Gucci Men's G-Chrono Stainless Steel Chronograph Watch Black, 8 - Alexa Chung "It"

Finding your own Personal Style

Finding your own Personal Style

My style

I can't really describe my own personal style, but I would say that there is a pattern in the way I dress, whether it is because of a subconscious influence or not.

As a poor student, I don't have access to designer brands like Giorgio Armani or Gucci, I shop from brands like Topman, H&M, Uniqlo and Superdry. I found that my style developed as I aged, at 12-15 I was stuck in an Anime craze. My entire wardrobe consisted of tees with Naruto, Pokemon and One Piece prints. As awesome as I thought I was, I got hit but sudden realisation of how out my style was compared to the norm. I found this out when I picked up my first issue of GQ. I still remember the issue, British GQ May 2012 with Candice Swanepoel on the cover, photographed by Terry Richardson.

British GQ May 2012

As soon as I opened the issue I was blown away with the style of clothing. It was so gentlemanly (ironic I know, but I didn't realise the GQ stood for Gentleman's Quarter). I tried to mimic the styles in the magazine, I quickly switched my style to slim fitted shirts and dark, richer tone pants. As someone who had completely no sense in fashion, switching styles this dramatically felt like taking off a hoodie and putting on a fringed jacket.

My current style for fall/winter this year is lots of layers. This is a common look I have; a tee (I get my tees from Super Superficial, I made a post about it check it out!), a hoodie, and my bomber jacket. For me it's super comfy and I just love lots of layers to protect me from the wind and snow.




Finding your own Personal Style

Finding your own style isn't as hard as it seems. Here's a few things you should definitely keep in mind.

Finding out the trends

It's always important to keep in mind what the latest trends are. Vogue.co.uk has a good section on current trends. Example being; Moody Blooms is really in right now. 

Ralph Lauren Fall 2013 

Oscar de la Renta f/w 2013

This style with rich dark colours mixed with the gothic style floral prints captures a darker perception of Fall fashion. 

This doesn't mean you should swap out your entire wardrobe for dandelion prints, but you should try and buy a few items that are in that season. Trends like Monochromatic, Square prints and overly large coats are almost always popular.

Fit

Fit is so key to looking your best. I'm not the best example for this because my body is quite weird. In the Reddit subreddit 'malefashionadvice' they always stress about fit, making sure each article of clothing works for you. Here's a comprehensive article they have about how clothes should fit.



In my previous post about Tees, the pictures showed how wide the sleeves were compared to my arms. There is a way to hide that by wearing a jacket or a hoodie on top. That is another reason why I wear so many layers, it hides the fact that some clothes might be a bit too big, or too small. I've been to a few stores the ones that I think perfectly fit my skinny body shape are Uniqlo, H&M and Superdry. Uniqlo is my favourite place to get jeans and pants, because I'm quite small my legs don't really fill the length of jeans properly, but Uniqlo have an alteration service that takes care of that, and the service takes less than an hour. Topman sometimes works well for me, but make sure you check the label whether it says skinny, regular, etc.

It's your choice

In the end the clothes that you buy and what you decide to wear is up to you. Fashion is an art form, it can be interpreted in anyway, make sure the clothes are right for you and your personality. Clothes usually look better at the store; if you're uncomfortable with it in the store, don't get it! Three things you should take away from this is; FIT, COMFORT and PERSONALITY.  

Michael Kors Pre-Fall 2014

Michael Kors Pre-Fall 2014


Michael Kors Pre-Fall 2014 Collection was unveiled today. He described this collection as 'sexy and slouchy at once'. The opening look is my favourite; a perfect combination with a blue shirt, tailored camel coat and grey pants. It captures the laid-back look with the I don't give a fuck that my coat is on my shoulders look while turning heads with the visually pleasing soft baby blue shirt complimented with the camel coat. The collection has a perfect balance between casual and chic.


From the collection, these two are my favourite looks from the show.


Look 1

Look 16

Friday 13 December 2013

Tees

Tees

T-shirts are the most universal part of anyone's wardrobe. I've found several stores that sell really unique tees, but my favourite has to be Super Superficial. The artists they feature are mostly independent artists, with a freedom to create anything they want on a t-shirt. The ones I've bought in the past are; Grizzly by Tom Baxter, Boat by Mike Perry, and Disguise by Nina Bunjevac.

Excuse the quality of them (I can't wash my clothes properly!)
 Boat by Mike Perry
Disguise by Nina Bunjevac

What is also awesome about Super Superficial (aside from its name), is the stamp system they have in place. Every time you purchase a shirt, they give you a stamp (they also give you a free stamp from signing up!). If you get 10 stamps you get a free shirt. 

These are some of the shirts I'm currently drooling over.
t-shirt
Deer Oh Deer by Tom Baxter

t-shirt
I are Walrus by Patrick Seymour

t-shirt
Crash by Jasper Rietman
t-shirt
Parrot by LNY

There's just something about the artists Super Superficial work with. Their work is very witty, and fuckin' creative! If you are planning on getting a shirt, make sure you don't mix your whites and your colours!

Thursday 12 December 2013

Chapped lips

Chapped lips
Chapped lips, everyone suffers from it. Yes, even models. Take a look at paparazzi photos or behind the scenes of any fashion show. I would say that I probably suffer from the worst case of chapped lips. As a guy, dry, cracked lips is as attractive as it is on a girl. With the winter season among us, my skin is at it's worse. I've come up with a solution to make the worst lips look amazing. A lot of products don't seem to work as well as you think. Vaseline which is commonly used for cracked and chapped lips, but the main component of it is Petroleum Jelly. Petroleum Jelly is as good for you as it sounds. It's a by product from crude oil. It's only used in cosmetics and beauty products because it's cheap and economically ideal to use. The way Petroleum Jelly products 'protects' and 'moisturises' your skin is by pretending to. The jelly forms a barrier atop of your chapped skin, the Petroleum isn't very natural (unless you count it coming from a shellfish from over 10 million years ago as natural) so your skin doesn't absorb anything to help it heal the layer of skin. This advice doesn't just apply to chapsticks and lip balm, always look at the ingredients before buying things like beauty products.


What I use to protect my lips is NIVEA Lip Butter. The ingredients in it are natural, and they don't include cheap ingredients like Petroleum Butter. It has Shea Butter, which contains vitamin A, E and F. Vitamin A and E help to maintain and keep your skin clear and healthy. While vitamin acts as a skin protector and rejuvenates the skin. The exact lip butter I use is NIVEA Lip Butter Original. What can I say, I'm a simple guy. I've tried different flavour chapsticks in the past (not NIVEAs) but I found that the flavours made me chew my lips more, and plus nobody wants green lips froma watermelon flavoured chapstick! From what I've read from reviews, the flavoured Lip Butter from NIVEA don't actually show up as much, the Raspberry Rose Kiss and the other flavours are in a natural shade. The Rasberry Rose Kiss has a very soft pink shade, which isn't visible on your lips and even enhances the natural tone of your skin.

Other ways to fight chapped lips is to stay hydrated. Vita Coco coconut water is a great daily drink to stay hydrated. When I drink it, a few days later I feel my skin become smoother and softer (not quite sure if that's what a girls like in a guy) and I had fewer issues with my lips.

Remember to stay hydrated this winter and protect your skin.

Wednesday 11 December 2013

le début

le début

Hi, I guess? I don't really know how to start this blog, but I think these words will do. My name's Kit, I'm an 18 year old photography student aspiring to work in the Fashion industry. I've never really felt like I'd thoroughly explored my interest in fashion, what draws me to the industry is the atmosphere, the freedom of creativity. I'm aiming to use this blog as way of developing my understanding of fashion and how to photograph clothing. I'll try and post some outfits and maybe some beauty tips (I'm a bloke, so I don't think I can teach you any make up tricks!). 

Here are just a few examples of photographers and fashion campaigns that really intrigues me.

Cara Delevingne for Luxure Magazine. I'm a huge fan of Cara, from her perfect power brows to her unfiltered, genuine personality. I look forward to getting this cover, but I can't find it anywhere!

This was announced recently, Karlie Kloss as new face for Lancaster Paris. I personally love both the brand and Karlie Kloss. I absolutely adore the Karlie Bob, there's something natural and genuine about it that makes it stand out to other styles. Lancaster Paris' ads are very candid, they present the bags in a -I know I said it before- a genuine, everyday scenario. I think that's what worked for both Karlie and the Lancaster Paris.


To describe Lara Jade, I would say she is a pure bundle of awesomeness and talent. She's one of the main photographers I look up to. The way she captures an intimacy between her models is so original compared to other photographers. Also her shooting style which brings out these unnatural, ethereal like colours that are so visually pleasing.

I included these images as a way for the readers to understand or base a judgement on how I look at Photography and Fashion.