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Archive for September, 2011

The Barbie doll, which will be 50 years old in 2009, has what seems to be an infinite number of lines, including American Idol Barbie, Barbie Magic of Pegasus, and Happy Birthday Barbie. It’s incredible to believe that Ruth Handler created the doll in the early 1950s simply to satisfy her daughter’s desire to play with an adult-looking doll as opposed to a baby. Her husband and Mattel, his employer at the time, did not initially like the idea, but after Handler’s redesign of a German doll, introduced it at a New York City toy fair in 1959. Today, Mattel sells 1.5 million Barbie dolls each week. With the remarkable popularity of Barbie, a party themed after her can be a great afternoon shindig for a young girl.

A Barbie theme party is actually very common. If your daughter wants to have a Barbie party with her friends, but wants to do something unique, an afternoon tea party and fashion show is an idea. The tea party doesn’t have to be extravagant. Whether you use real dishes or not is up to you. However, you might not want to use your best china if the girls are very young. There are plenty of inexpensive tea sets on the market. Your daughter could play host and serve her guests or you could do the honors. Instead of cake and cookies, offering the guests scones, which are perfect with tea, or some other light confection is a good plan. Check with parents to see if there are any special diets that you need to take into consideration.

Young girls (and many grown up ones), love to dress up. The Barbie tea party and fashion show invitations should request that each girl dress up and bring their favorite Barbie. The highlight of the party will be the fashion show. There are two ways to do this. Each girl can describe their own wardrobe and accessories along with what their Barbie is wearing, or you could write something up fun and humorous while the girls are drinking tea and eating. Either way, the girls are sure to have a smashing good time!

Fashion week gave us lots to look forward to in 2011 and for a moment everyone just enjoyed visions of classy minimal whites and cheerful bold prints. It’s never too early to prepare for future fashion so if you’d like to be in the know why not check out our spring 2011 fashion forecast top five?

Bold colour

If you like to get noticed you’re going to love some of the brights set to hit the high street next year. Whether tailored or feminine, eye catching hues from neons to citrus will liven up your clothing and really put a spring in your step.

Pretty prints

From geometric to flowery patterns, and not forgetting snake skin for the bold, mixed prints are set to adorn any self respecting trendsetter during 2011.

Minimal lines

Instant class comes in the shape of minimal lines in spring 2011. Many designs appeared in white on the catwalk but if you have the commitment to embrace this style the impact is worth the dry cleaning bills.

Draping

Spring and summer look set to be full of romantic flowing dresses so we can all feel free to express our feminine sides in some irresistible designs that both cling and cover in all the right places.

Seventies fashion

Seventies fashion is back. Marc Jacobs, Derek Lam and Elie Tahari are just a few designers seen to embrace wide legs, 70s palettes, high waists and imaginative denim items on the catwalks during fashion week.

Bonus tips

-Invest in some neon eye colours, brights won’t just be for your wardrobe in the spring.
-Buy a new belt, it’s all about cinching in that waist and instantly transforming your look.
-Stack jewelled rings together for a really dramatic look.

Summer is nearly here. The days are getting longer, the air warming up, and within no time at all, we will all be bathing in the wonderful light of the summer sun. With summer comes all the usual activities: cocktail parties, trips to the beach, BBQs, picnics, strolls through the park. And, the usual problems: what to wear, how to tame hair affected by the humidity, how to prevent white marks on clothes, and how to stay cool.

If you live in the UK, you will appreciate how difficult it is to know how the weather will be on any given day. Indeed, this April, we seemed to have a mini heat wave, and as you know, many of us have been left thinking, ‘was that our summer?’ – As has been the case in recent years. Hopefully, however, there will be many more sunny summer days to come yet, and now we turn our attention to the most important facet of summer: what styles are fashionable for 2011.

Ok, so we cannot make any predictions about the weather, but one thing we know: there will be many fashionable items this season and the shopping malls will be full of wonderful designer clothing, from Great Plains Clothing to Prada, the fashionista amongst us are certainly spoiled for choice this season.

There are several key trends this year, and the trends that you opt for should depend on your own personality and sense of style. With so many fashionable ranges from which to choose, even the most avoidant followers of fashion will find something suitable to wear.

So then, let us turn our attention to some of the leading fashion trends for summer and spring in 2011:

Summer is certainly the time for parties. In summer everybody wants to boogie on down at the local nightclub and shake of the dust of winter. Gone are the winter colours, the browns, the clacks and the greys, and in are the flamboyant summer colours: red, green, blue, yellow, pink, and gold (although avoid wearing all at once!).

Designers, such as Great Plains Clothing (who are, incidentally, part of the French Connection family) have created a wonderful array of fashionable dresses for the party season. Expect to see many bold and beautiful creations in a variety of colours. For instance, their linen tunic dress in nautical ties in perfectly the nautical theme popular at the moment, and creates a wonderful cocktail dress, which is perfect for both formal and informal occasions alike.

As well as the nautical theme for 2011, citrus shades are feature heavily in many fashion ranges this spring and summer, particularly pinks and oranges. Be careful when choosing colours, as too many different colours increase your chances of a clash. If in doubt, look to the catwalk for inspiration, if you see a common theme between designers, then this is a good sign that the colours go well together and that they will reach the high street in a few weeks time.