The NYFW Fall 2014 Report

Two days in and I think it's safe to say that I am becoming increasingly impatient for Fall 2014. I know, I know; "don't wish your life away!", but have you seen these collections? Seriously. The coats are to die for, the shoes are even better and for once, I'm actually looking at collections and thinking "I'd wear that entire outfit - not just parts of it". I mean, as if!

Rachel Roy Close Up

Usually when it comes to Fashion Month, I round up the best collections, talk about them in some platonic and tedious way and then eventually, get bored with my own words. So I'm not going to do that this time. What I am going to do, is every couple days during this fashionable time, evaluate the collections seen as a whole (in my head) and then tell you what I'm getting from things in general. I.e; what coat shapes I'm liking, what/who I can't wait to see more of etc etc. Do you catch my drift? People like Vita di Moda for its opinion. If you want a collection review, there's Vogue and Style.com for that - I'm going a different route.

The first thing I've noticed for Fall 2014, is the colour palette. It's black, grey, occasionally white and every other dark shade that you can get from black and grey. This obviously isn't too much of a shock; I mean, designers use these dull colours every fall season, but theres usually a lot of burgundies, navy and warm nectar colours injected in there as well. For Fall 2014, so far, we've seen designers such as Jason Wu, Nicholas K and BCBG Max Azria using a lot of black - leather; matt and  high shine - in their collections. BCBG Max Azria though - this is a collection that you need to check out if you haven't already.

VFiles Close Up

The next thing catching my attention is the shapes. A selection of designers have decided on a more exaggerated, oversized and flamboyant way of living for the Fall season. Triangles, boxy squares - these are making the basis for collections from the likes of VFiles and Lisa Perry. Lisa Perry in particular, does the oversized shape in such an elegant way, it actually makes it commercial. It's clean cut, cute and in no way gimmicky.

Like I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I'm seeing collections and finding that I'd wear an entire look; rather than just individual pieces. This rings most true from Rachel Roy's collection. The combination of textured fabrics, royally deep colours and sleek, high-shine contrast is just ticking all the boxes for me. Fire red, cobalt blue, black and deep purple are the four main notes and just sing together in unison incredibly. I don't think I've seen a collection from Rachel Roy in the past few years and thought "YES!" quite like this.

Marissa Webb Close Up

And lastly, a surprise for me as much as it will be for every other regular at Vita di Moda. I've fallen in love with a colour. But not just any colour. Pink. A slightly warmer baby pink to be precise. How in God's name that happened, I will never know. It's a mystery, but a brilliant one. Marissa Webb has created three particular looks using the colour, pairing it with patent leather, and one coat/look has just had me wishing it were Fall already. Perhaps Cupid has come seven days too early.

Rather than doing a second #NYFW post with the rest of the shows, I felt that it would just make more sense to continue on at the end of this one; keeps everything together and means that i'll just make one post for each fashion week city for easier viewing. 

Helmut Lang Close Up

I last mentioned some shows and my general opinion from the first two days in New York, so let's fill in the rest. First up is a mention of another colour making a statement in the big Apple; red. Fiery, tomato red. Some designers used a lot, whereas labels such as Helmut Lang, stuck with four statement red looks, and included another four with red featuring in the shoes, bags and trousers. I'm not really one for the colour in particular, but it has been seen on various celebrities recently and to me, has a nod to Balmain. Which can never be a bad thing. 

Victoria Beckham Close Up

Next is more of a statement, rather than a trend as such. Victoria Beckham's main line was one of surprise and delight, all due to the fact that it was so laid back and nonchalant, it could almost be mistaken for a Celine collection. The shapes were so clean cut, in a monochromatic colour palette (there were little to no patterns, a little blush pink and one red dress - see, there it is again) that I immediately felt a connection as soon as I laid eyes on it. We've seen a lot of androgynous looks from the designer in recent seasons, but it seems that for Fall 2014, she was feeling extra masculine.

Jeremy Scott Close Up

Shoes. Well, sneakers actually, made an impression on me at the Jeremy Scott show. The legendary collaborations between both brands always tend to turn heads, but for Fall, the designs are now thigh-high. It's kinda reminiscent to the past gladiator sandal trend, but so much better. The boots/sneakers come in a variety of colour ways and matched JS's locker-inspired Fall 2014 collection to a T.

Ralph Lauren Close Up

There has to be a mention to fur and layering. And layering with fur. It's obvious that both were going to be seen not only in NYC, but on the catwalks everywhere else. But Ralph Lauren just did something extra special with it; mixing the neutral/sightly pastel colour palette with delicate furs and cosy knitwear - not the mention some absolutely gorgeous wide leg white trousers - was always going to produce some pretty decent looks.

Donna Karan Close Up

And on a final note for NYFW, there has to be a mention to that red dress. Donna Karan gave us a range of flowing, sexy plunge neck dresses, but the one which seemed to have the media and Twitter in a complete frenzy, was the one worn by no other than Karlie Kloss. It was a no brainer to put such a to die for dress on a Victoria's Secret model - if every buyer in that room doesn't make an order on this dress, I'll give up on fashion forever.

I'm really upset that NYFW has finished and we're onto the three other cities now. I know that since I live in the UK, I should be excited about LDN, but it doesn't have the same effect on me. There have been some things worth mentioning about the city, but you'll read all about that when I do my #LFW report in a few days!

Photo Credit: Images found on Vogue.co.uk, zoomed in and then recaptured. 

Sport Luxe | Pastel Leather

Bit of a random act with this post, but I've just purchased myself a little Valentine's Day present and I want to share it with you all. The gift in question is the Zara pastel blue faux leather biker jacket. Retailing at £69.99, it's one of my bigger (and unfortunately, less frequent) purchases being a student and all, so I'm bound to be feeling a little excited - and slightly nervous to check my bank balance after this weeks spending.

As it stands, there isn't a Zara store in the centre of Newcastle, so I usually get most of my basics from them online and have it delivered. This does mean however, that I can't really inspect the jacket to see what sort of quality the faux leather is like, and therefore judge whether or not a penny short of £70 is worth it or not; but we shall see. I am pleased with how beautiful it looks in the editorial shots and indeed on its listing online. The shade of blue is a first for me - well, any shade of any colour is a first for me - so i'm excited to see what it's like on. I have blue eyes and dark hair, so the colour tends to agree with me more often than not anyway.

Recently I've found myself styling pieces in a more 'sport luxe' manner; with slouchy fit bottoms and either plain T's or silk vests up top. So I've gone and styled the jacket in a similar way.

I've chosen a white track pant because I felt like the jacket warrented a clean finish, and this style and colour of pant is bang on trend for the Spring/Summer season. Up top is a basic white T with Celine print on front, and finishing with black, chunky ankle strap courts and classic Chanel J12 watch - oh how I've dreamt about one day owning that beauty. Sigh..

Maybe it's the fact that the pastel is a baby blue hue and therefore rings annotations of being delicate in my head; whatever the reason, I'm happy having a fresh and light styling take for the jacket and feel that I'm going to get a lot of wear out of it this year.

How would you style this piece?

Biker Jacket: Zara | White Pants: Revolve | Celine Tshirt: Etsy

Salmon Fishing With ten30

I don't know the reasoning behind it, but lately I have found myself missing my bonnie Scotland more and more. It's probably due to the fact that I haven't been home for longer than three days in months, so I'm definitely feeling a sense of loss at the minute. Before I moved to England, I wouldn't exactly say that I was overtly patriotic to Scotland, but I did appreciate its beauty and how great it can be. Nowadays however, I find myself wearing a tartan scarf with outfits more often, and even searching the #Glasgow tag on Instagram just to see what people are doing in the city these days. 

So, it is a combination of homesickness, complete admiration for this brand and the fact that I like to support Scottish designers whenever possible, that I am writing this post.

If you haven't already heard of this brand, then now is your chance to sit up and take notice; created by Alan Moore, winner in the Stoli UK #ORGNL fashion category in 2013, the label prides itself on using quality Scottish fabrics and branding each garment with the "Made In Scotland" label. 

"Specialising in surface textured classic silhouettes, ten30 women’s wear incorporates the city’s unique ethos, with bold prints and intense embroidery making a poignant fashion statement.

Ready to wear collections are proudly 100% made in Scotland using some of the finest Scottish materials, from soft pure new wools to luxuriously rich natural leather.

All ten30 pieces are designed to be wearable, with different materials delivering an eclectic mix of themes and styles for stunning collections."

- www.ten30.co.uk

 Each collection is different from anything you'll have seen from other designers and radiates quality. What inspired me in particular to write this post however, was a piece from the menswear section. The Salmon Coat to be precise.

"The Scottish fishing industry is the life blood of the country. It’s in industry that has a history more colourful than that of Harris Tweed, and a pastime enjoyed by millions. Scotland boasts a wealth of iconic exports, Scottish salmon being one of the major players.

The Salmon coat is inspired by the fishermen, the old fishermen, who wore wool and tweed when out fishing. This coat is as functional as it is aesthetically pleasing; it has to keep people warm. Quilted lining provided extra warmth on the cold mornings out on the boat, and a secret whiskey pocket hides a dram to warm the insides. Waxed cotton lines the huge side pocket vents, providing strength to the pocket as well as a contrast in textures on the coat. A pewter orb button shows that this garment is 100% made in Scotland.

A quote, from Lord John Buchan perfectly sums up the aspirational idea of the coat:

“The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope” - www.ten30.co.uk

Although it is classed as menswear, I would be lying if I said that I didn't want to wear it myself. It is a classic, yet practical piece that is simply stunning to look at. The brand certainly exceeds expectations when it comes to their menswear looks, and then some. 

If you're interested in the coat for yourself, then you can contact ten30 for pricing and more information by visiting their website at www.ten30.co.uk/contact/

You can also check them out on Facebook, Vimeo and Twitter through the link above as well.

Bobby Abley | It's Childs Play For Spring/Summer 2014

BOBBY ABLEY SS'14

As you may already be aware, today kicked off with the start of #LCM and although I don't normally take much notice of menswear looks, I had to do a double take when I saw a tweet with the final run-through for the Bobby Abley FW'14 show. I'll be honest here and say that I hadn't heard much from the designer in the past (after doing some quick research, I think he's a relatively new designer to the scene under his own name), however after being intrigued by what I saw on Twiter, I had to find out what sort of looks he had planned for this coming Spring/Summer season.

Bobby Abley reminds me of younger JCDC, circa 2009. His seemingly signature mascot teddy bear and love of Disney combine together to create a fun, playful and fresh take on an androgynous style. It really does take a male with no inhibitions or confusion in himself to pull off these looks, however, I would absolutely adore any man who could do it. Androgyny is an up and coming trend which gained a lot of backing in 2013 from designers such as Veer NYC and Victoria Beckham. It makes sense to produce garments for both sexes to wear, considering we all 'cross-dress' in some way or another and I think that Bobby Abley did that well in his menswear collection for Spring Summer 2014.

What seems to be the 'in' thing for designers these days, is to have transfer tattoos on their models. Bobby Abley was no exception to this and created bird and bear designs for his show. What I particularly loved about the tattoos, was more their placement rather than the design; they were all in visible places to the public. Necks, hands and faces were all adorned with the designs and tied each individual look in well.

The collection was a grown up tale of fantasy, adventure and royalty with those fabulous leather (and slightly fetish) King crowns. I would certainly have no qualms in wearing a few select pieces, as Abley has done something that not many designers seem to be doing for me these days - it excited me and renewed my faith in the fact that maybe fashion isn't always so repetitive and, dare I say it, predictable.

What did you think of the collection?

Image Credit: Found via Tumblr and HERO Magazine

Back To Black

So there I am, sitting in front of my laptop, green tea to my right hand side, stash of magazines to my left; yet nothing seems to be compelling me to write. Then I have a flash back to NYE and my sister stating that she 'preferred' the way I looked when I wore my best friend's dress for a change. Said dress was a strappy, white and gold stripe sequin number - potentially consisting of everything that I have never ever wore in my twenty something years of existence. Why did she prefer this look you may ask? Well, it wasn't black.

Anyone who knows me will know that colour isn't exactly something that I particularly warm to. Perhaps it's the fact that as a teenager, I went through the typical goth/emo phase and chose to wear nothing but head to toe black. Whatever the reason, I have just always loved it. It's like my favourite colour (it is a colour, I don't care what anyone says), clothes-wise anyway. I love that it's mysterious, 'slimming', generally inoffensive, but most of all, it's unassuming and modest. I recently saw a tweet from one of my favourite Scottish fashion girls Cara Eve Dunlop, stating that "Modesty breeds happiness" and to be honest, I thought that it was a fantastic little mantra to live by. It also made me think about my decisions to wear black and how I genuinely feel happier and more secure in myself whenever I do so. There was definitely something to go by in that quote.

Another connotation that I immediately think of with black, is power. It's undeniable that some of the words most powerful and influential leaders - not just in fashion - have been seen in an all black ensemble. Chanel created her signature dress around the colour, Kelly cut throat Cutrone is pretty much always seen in it and even Simon Cowell, Johnny Cash, Joan Jet and Batman to name but a few, love(d) the dark side. A woman recently came into my work (ironically I work at The White Company) and told me that her New Year's resolution was to wear less black, so she was purchasing a few navy and white dresses to kick start the year. I immediately had the response to ask her why. Why do people think that wearing all black is a crime? Some of the best designers in the world like Rick Owens create collections with nothing but black. 

Over the years, it's has proved a defining feature for myself and I wouldn't have it any other way. I can understand that if everyone were to think the same as me, the world would just be a sea of black, but for the minority of us who prefer to dress this way, do not think of it as something that you need to change or amend. Wearing black is classic, empowering and can be styled in any way that you wish; so please, respect it, own it and make it your own.

Pretty In Pink: Kaley Cuoco

When the news came out of Kaley Cuoco's engagement to tennis player Ryan Sweeting last Sepember, we automatically knew that the wedding gown had to be something worth the anticipation - that's if her $65,000 engagement ring and general good looks were anything to go by!

On New Years Eve, the Big Bang Theory star married her sweetheart (after only three months of dating ... hmm) at a ranch in California. Pretty cute actually, if we just bypass the knowledge of how well Hollywood's married couples last - especially when they've only been an item for 12 short weeks before getting hitched. Oh well, each to their own and if it works out, all the better for them.

Anyway, let's get down to what you really want to know - what she wore. The dress was significantly different to the regular wedding gowns that we're used to seeing; designed by Vera Wang, the dress was a pink ball of fairy confection from the designers S/S 2014 collection and looked stunning on Kaley. Not many people could pull off a dress like it, but I think she just has one of those cool looks and personalities that can do it well. 

I did think in some photographs that Cuoco could've worn something a little more ... elegant, maybe? It's just that she has such flawless looks, that maybe another one of VW's wedding gown templates would have looked better. Regardless though, she was stunning and I don't think her groom was too disappointed either. Have a look at some shots of the day and let me know what you think of her choice!

Images from: Hello Magazine here & here