What to Wear for Autumn/Winter 2014 - part one

Although summer finally seems to have arrived in New Zealand I am already thinking about the next fashion season which for the Southern hemisphere means Autumn/Winter.

Fashion really gets dictated by the Northern Hemisphere and although many of our great designers (Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, Miss Crabb and Zambesi - to name a few) give us individual trends and direction the average high street store will be selling trends that are just beginning to fizzle out on the other side of the world.

However, now that everything is so global and many people are doing more internet shopping we can end up with a mix of trends from Autumn/Winter 13/14 from the Northern Hemisphere (as shown this time last year on the catwalks) as well as intermixing the odd new trend for Spring/Summer 14 (because it is nearly summer on the other side of the world) as in filters down through the chain stores (which are producing at rapid rates to keep up with what's new).  This is especially true if you buy online from retailers on the other side of the world such as Topshop, ASOS or River Island.

So in this article I want to cover what we can expect to see trending for Autumn/Winter 14 in the Southern Hemisphere as well as a few of the trends that are only just starting to be worn on the other side of the world.

I am going to do the article in three parts - 1. what's worth investing in 2. which trends to sample, and 3. what to keep and pull back out from previous seasons. 

Part one of this series - What to invest in this season:

The Sweater - well that seems fairly obvious when you are entering into winter months but the sweater (or jumper as we call it in NZ) was a huge trend on the catwalks for AW14.   Especially chunky styles, turtlenecks and cropped options.   The crop worn over shirts or under a long coat, the chunky tucked into skirts (especially the pencil) and turtlenecks layered under shirts or jackets.
Bold colours, patterns or monochrome are great options (I say go for classic stripes to always look stylish) and invest the most in great basic colours such as winter white, grey, black, navy and beige.   Interesting styles will be a must like the one below from Cue. 

Here are some examples of sweater looks for this season:  

 Burberry Winter 13

 CUE - Faux Fur Marbled Sweater

ASOS Sweater with fur detail (on sale now for $40.68 NZ) 

Leather Sleeve Knit from Witchery - $199.90 NZ 

 

Sweater from Country Road $169 NZ 

The Fancy Sweatshirt - following on from its close relation the sweater is the trusty sweatshirt.  The sweatshirt is still going strong as a fashion favourite and there are plenty to choose from! Also opt for a plain sweatshirt and add a great scarf or statement necklace. 

Kenzo Winter 13  

Country Road Herringbone Sweatshirt $89.90 NZ 

Topshop Bunny Sweatshirt

 Warehouse Floral Sweatshirt from ASOS $79.10 NZ 

The Shift Dress - the shift is back in monochrome, abstract patterns and bold colours.  Wear it with tights and ankle boots as it gets colder and add a fabulous coat (or coatigan) of a similar or longer length.  

 Country Road Patterned Shift- $259 NZ

 Asos Monochrome Shift- $107.02 NZ

Blair Eadie from Atlantic-Pacific Blog wearing black Asos Shift - $100.33 NZ

 Karen Walker Dress

 Portmans Nicole Shift Dress $89.95 AUD

The skirt - still going strong this season the midi skirt and pencil skirt are still going strong with a few mini's and trumpet skirts thrown in for good measure. Unlike seasons past there are now so many looks around to suit a variety of figures.  Bold colours, lace, abstract patterns, winter white, animal/snake print and floral are all going to big looks. 

 Country Road Frill Skirt - $229 NZ 

Topshop Scenic Print Skirt - Approx $96 NZ

 Asos Leather Pencil Skirt on sale - $63.54 NZ

 Asos Stripe Pencil Skirt - $78.03 NZ

Witchery Winter White Trumpet Skirt - $129 NZ

The Coloured Bag and the Clutch Bag -  both of these have been trending for the past couple of seasons but are still going strong.  Look out for tartan, fur and abstract patterns (most of which are on sale now on international websites!)  Nothing adds more zing to an outfit than a quirky clutch or a pop of colour.  Here are some of my favourites. 

 Asos Satchel Bag on sale - $60.20 NZ

Country Road Check Tote - $109 NZ

 Marc By Marc Jacobs Yellow Tote from Shopbop - $374.42 NZ

 Deadly Ponies Fur bag - $840 NZ

 

Mimco Cat Clutch -  $99 NZ

Deadly Ponies Mr Chain Gang Bag in Iodine - $630 NZ

Boxy Shapes - Over sized shapes are a big theme this season and will flow through into the Summer.  Think Wide leg pants, full skirts (especially midi ones), ovoid shaped coats, boxy cropped tops, shell tops, sweatshirts and jumpers.  Many of these looks were seen worn top and bottom but for real life (rather than runway) find a balance - if you are wearing a wide top then balance with a skinny pant or pencil skirt, an ovoid coat over a fitted dress or a wide leg pant with a fitter jumper or top. 

Street Style look - full skirt

 Street Style Look big coat with belt

 Street Style look with over sized coat and skinny pant 

 Street Style look with wide leg pant 

 Asos Boxy Tartan Top - $71.34 NZ

 Topshop skirt and matching crop top 

 Topshop Iris Over sized shirt

It is also worth investing in monochromatic looks, pastels and cropped jeans as these are going strong and  will be around still next Summer.  

Happy Styling 

Melissa x

How to Look Stylish - Part 3

This is part 3 of my series on tips for looking stylish.

• Introduce colour into your wardrobe!  Invest in coloured items that will slot in with your current wardrobe and colours such as reds and blues are a safe bet as they tend to be consistently in fashion.  Pastels, neons and other 'colours of the moment' are not worth spending big money on if you will feel outdated in them the following season.  T-shirts, scarves, jumpers and shirts in colour are good options as they can be added to neutral stapes such as beige, grey, black, white and navy.  If you love colour then don't be afraid to use it.

• Use patterns wisely.  I believe in being thoughtful when it comes to investing in patterned garments.  Currently they are a huge trend and especially pattern mixing.  If you do not know what you are doing then this might be a good option to avoid, there is a fine art to mixing patterns to make it look deliberate rather than seeming like you got dressed in the dark!   If you are on a budget then it is better to spend your big money on plainer items and add pattern rather than buying an expensive jacket or dress that will be recognised every time you wear as 'that jacket' or 'that dress' and may be quite limiting for mixing and matching.  Patterns are something you can spend a little less on if you choose because it can be harder to recognise the quality of the fabric (this is not always the case) and you can add them to existing better quality garments. A general rule of thumb is that smaller patterns are more slimming whilst larger patterns add curves.  Also if they have a direction, horizonal adds the illusion of width and vertical the illusion of height.

• Clean your wardrobe out at the end of each season (Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer).  If you have not worn in (apart from in the case of being post baby in those 6 months!) during that season then sell, gift or donate it.  Things that need fixing, jumpers which are piled and anything with a stain should be addressed and again if they cannot be remedied then off they go.

• Keep things well pressed, cleaned and organised so they can be easily seen.  It can be easy to forget what you have sometimes.  It is also important to use good coat hangers that keep clothes in good condition (such as velvet non-slip ones that don't leave marks) and to fold clothes nicely if they are not suitable for hanging.  Tip: When clothes come with spare buttons have a safe place to keep them all and it is good to check the security of all the buttons when you first buy something (especially if it was cheap) and then continue to check them frequently to avoid them coming loose.  

• If you invest in good things you want to keep them nice so wash delicate items in a wash bag, use gentle and earth friendly detergents and either hand wash or if machine washable then wash on the most delicate wash cycle.  Hang clothes carefully for drying and avoid direct sunlight.  If something is dry clean only then dry clean it!  Iron clothing with a cloth on top for protection and wash printed t-shirts and jeans inside out.

• Get things tailored to fit.  Ill fitting garments can look really bad so make sure you take things to get tailored.  A little nip tuck can make all the difference!

Till next time, Happy Dressing

Melissa x


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