And the winner is... @natalie_wright_pilates 
Congratulations you have won our FD Halloween goodie bag
Wednesday, 26 October 2016
ICYMI
Previously we told you all about the lastest slang words that have taken over the fashion world, including our faves slay and lit, but now we've come across something else that has got us somewhat confused... Acronyms. We're all far too familiar with the struggle of typing out a tweet and trying to stay within that 140 character limit. So it would seem that everyone is now shortening everything so they can have the perfect tweet. But what do these acronyms mean?!
IRL - In Real Life
Pretty self explanatory
NSFW - Not Safe for Work
Not quite sure what this means but we're down
MFW - My Face When... finding out these meanings
ICYMI - In Case You Missed It
Yeah, we missed it too..
SMH - Shaking My Head
Shaking my head at the fact we don't know anything
TIL - Today I Learned
Today I learned a lot
Struggling for ideas?
With Halloween just around the corner, if you haven't thought about a costume yet, you probably should. But how do you come up with an original idea that hasn't been done before? Well to help, we thought that we would tell you the costumes best to avoid. Yes, avoid! Because guaranteed you will see these outfits EVERYWHERE.
1. Harley Quinn - according to Google Trends, the Suicide Squad siren will be one of the most popular outfits this year
2. Eleven, Stranger Things - the star of Netflix latest phenomenon
3. The Presidential Candidates - with the election just round the corner, Trump costumes are sure to be a favourite amongst some
4. Pokemon - after the short success of Pokemon Go, we wouldn't be surprised to see a few Pikachus running around come Halloween
5. Deadpool - the anti-hero of all anti-heroes. 2016 was his year
6. Ghostbusters - always a classic with groups, but after this years all female revival, the outfits have been given a modern day revamp
7. The Joker - done every year without fail, this is a classic. But after Suicide Squad and Jared Leto's new Joker look, expect to see #couplegoals with Harley Quinn and Jokers everywhere!
8. The Conjuring Nun - not our favourite, for obvious reasons. But for those who are up for scaring the living daylights out of people, this is the one for you
9. Snapchat Filters - simple, easy and guaranteed lols
10. Any Superhero & Villian - everybody loves a good Marvel vs. DC costume. With so many movies coming out every year, there's an outfit for everyone and you'll be sure to see someone dressed as their idol
Monday, 24 October 2016
COMPETITION
🎃 LAST CHANCE 🎃
It's the last day to enter our Halloween competition! To be in it to win it, all you have to do is like our picture and make sure you're following us over on Instagram 👻
We shall be annoucing the winner this week. Good luck!
PETA pens letter to CSM
Fur - one of the most controversial topics in the fashion industry - is making headlines once again as anti-animal cruelty charity PETA - along with young London designers, including Molly Goddard and Shrimps designer, Hannah Weiland - have penned a letter to Central Saint Martins, urging them to not use fur.
"As future designers, students at Central Saint Martins have a unique opportunity to influence the next generation of consumers by embracing the trend towards cruelty-free fashion. Already, many consumers are turning their backs on wearing fur, and the dying fur industry is desperately trying to keep itself visible by pushing pelts on up-and-coming designers. We, the undersigned, urge you not to give in to industry bribes and incentives."
A rather 'tame' tactic compared to their previous ones in order to stop the use of fur; their famous, 'I'd rather go naked than wear fur', has seen the likes of Eva Mendes, P!nk and Olivia Munn strip off to campaign against the use of fur.
"Whether you consider yourself an animal advocate or just someone who loves to create stylish, cutting-edge clothing, we urge you to make a powerful style statement by being part of the trend towards compassion in fashion."
Armani, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren have all ditched the use of the material within their designs this year. Does it look like the industry is finally moving on from fur?
Friday, 21 October 2016
Knees are overrated anyway
Yesterday W magazine revealed the cover - along with images of the cover story - of their special tenth anniversary edition with supermodels and best friends Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid, and it's got people talking. Talking for the wrong reasons that is.
The cover started to gain attention when people had a closer look at the image and noticed one small problem... where are their knees? Their knees seem to have been so heavily photoshopped that they have simple disappeared. And once you spot it, you can't unsee it, especially when you take a look at Kendall's other knee, which hasn't been touched in the slightest.
(Is Gigi's arm really like that?)
People have even started to compare the models to beloved child's toy, Barbie. With some going as far as saying that Barbie looks more real than the models.
So how did this blunder manage to happen? The editing and publishing process of putting together a magazine is pretty extenstive and all about attention to detail, so how did the magazine miss this? Well a spokesperson for the magazine said: "The images of Kendall and Gigi are part of a project by artists Lizzie Fitch and Ryan Trecartin, who are known for their deliberate use of digital technology, combining distortions with make-up and prosthetics."
Maybe the magazine should have thought to tell us this before all this controversy? But then again, maybe that was the point - after all it has got everyone talking about it.
Thursday, 20 October 2016
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
FIT OR TREAT
*IT'S COMPETITION TIME*
Yes, we're back with a Halloween themed goodie bag where you could win all these treats. To be in a chance of winning, all you have to do is follow our Instagram and make sure you like the picture.
The winner shall be announced soon.
GOOD LUCK
Skin
Last week we told you about Naja - the lingerie brand that brought out a collection available in seven different shades available for every skin tone - and now blogger, Habiba Da Silva has created Skin, a collection of all inclusive hijabs for women from varying backgrounds and cultures.
Writing on her blog, Da Silva said the collection was "inspired by togetherness amongst different types of people," and that she hoped it would "break up the trend of having brands with clothing dressed on only lighter skinned models."
Da Silva, who is of Brazilian and Lebanese descent, said the collection was inspired by the idea of marriage, with each piece named after words relating to marriage in different languages: the darkest colour is called 'Aure,' the Hausa word for marriage; followed by 'Aroosadda,' the Somalian word for bride; 'Rukhasti' meaning 'sending off' in Urdu; and the liggest shade, 'Zaffeh' which is Arabic for wedding march.
"The word marriage, is all about bringing entities together. This is what Skin is about."
Although the collection is already sold out, Da Silva plans on restocking and hopes to add more colours to the collection - a step in the right direction.
Hayley
#Repost @hayleysteele10 getting some well deserved down time
・・・
5 minutes to kill! A behing the scenes shot at my fit session today for @fittingsdivision
Kat
#REPOST
The lovely Kat in our 'Born to Fit' t-shirt when she came to our office the other day
@fittingsdivision
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
Model runs realistic Instagram account
We're all aware of the glitz and glam that we're presented with everyday on social media - from stalking our favourite celebrities leading envious lifestyles to what our closest friends are getting up to. But when it comes to our own Instagram accounts, are we guilty of making it out to be better than what it actually is... pick the perfect filter for your latest selfie and you'll be guaranteed likes within double figures.
Stina Sanders, a model who is used to posting pictures of her on photoshoots at some of the worlds most exotic locations has decided to switch it up and post images that show a more realistic view of her life.
After just one week of Instagramming images of typical things girls get up to on a daily basis, such as bleaching moustaches, slobbing out and unflattering camera angles, she saw her followers drop dramatically. Not only did she choose to post her day-to-day goings about, she also chose to make her followers aware of the mental health problems she faces - something that isn't really discussed on social media.
One of her posts shows the model attending therapy sessions to help with her anxiety at a Harley Street clinic. The caption; "Harley Street isn't just to fix your nose or your boobs - You can also fix your mind!"
When asked by Stylist why she decided to expose things she usually "wouldn't share with my friends or family let alone social media." She said:
"Working in the industry, it's tiring to see how fake it's become. Social media is very clever at portraying someones life as something else. Lots of people are always quick to tell me how glam my life is, but what they don't see is my battle with anxiety and what it's like to grow up with a disabled sibling. I wanted to not only reveal what is behind my mask but also the truth behind social media."
Taking part in the experiment for The Daily Mail, she hoped to gauge exactly how people would react to her capturing a more realistic view of her life.
"Social media is very clever at portraying someones life as something else. I've found it's quite poisonous, especially for young girls, who aspire to be like their idol, yet their idol isn't even as perfect as they claim. That's a dangerous recipe to play with and I wanted to prove that," said Sanders.
Fashion Month's Diversity Report
(Image: Getty Images - Ashish SS17)
This season has been declared the most diverse, according to The Fashion Spot's bi-annual in-depth Diversity Report. The report examined the 8,832 model appearances featured in the 299 fashion shows from New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks this September, and found more than 25.4 per cent of the model castings were non-white.
For the "first time in recent history" more than 25 per cent of the castings included colour. New York had the highest diversity rate, which was evident at Yeezy Season 4 show with models of colour making up 97 per cent of the casting - then followed Paris, London and Milan. London had the most significant rise in models of diversity, growing from 19.9 per cent to 23.5 per cent from AW16, with Ashish's Indian-themed show the third most diverse of the entire season.
This season also saw the most women over 50 on the catwalk ever - 13 women over 50 walked in the SS17 shows. Eight of these appearances came from New York and the main talking point came from Milan, when 72 year-old model Lauren Hutton closed Bottega Veneta arm-in-arm with Gigi Hadid.
These figures show that there have been some improvements over the last few seasons but the figures are still low, with some key shows - The Row and Junya Watanabe - having all-white castings - but they are moving in the right direction. Hopefully in a few seasons time we will see over half of the models vary in diversity and we're not just taking about race, we want to see all sizes, shapes, ages, everything. Fashion should be all inclusive and not just for certain people.
Monday, 17 October 2016
Latest Instagram Craze
#OOTD or most commonly known as 'outfit of the day' posts have been around for some time but now it's time to step up your game with the latest Instagram trend... the outfit selfie. Yes, you read right, the outfit selfie. Now, you're probably thinking, what the heck is an outfit selfie? We're all well too familiar with a selfie but now we have to take ones of what we're wearing? What does that even mean? Well, chances are you've probably already come across these posts and 'the pose' when scrolling through your feed.
So, what is the pose that we're referring to? To start, it's all about the angle and an effortless vibe. Sit some-what relaxed with your legs casually crossed with the camera angled at an overhead view whilst in your best outfit, then just like that, you've got the shot! Like a birds-eye view but obviously way more stylistic.
You can say toodaloo to the mirror selfie and try your hand at the freshest way to snapshot your latest #OOTD. Remember it's all for the gram...
The History of Red Lipstick
(Image: The Everygirl)
A statement; an iconic look of beauty; a look that you know will be a showstopper the moment you paint your lips. Yes, we're talking about the classic red lipstick. From blood-orange to purple undertones, the red lipstick is an absolute must and a staple piece. But where did it come from?
The origins of red lipstick is thought to be during Mesopotamian times, where both women and men crushed gems to create a variety of colours, favouring red. Ancient Egypt soon caught wind of the craze as Cleopatra was well-known to crush insects and use their blood for that perfect shade of scarlet.
From that point on until the sixteenth century, lipstick was not a sort after item as many people considered it to be suitable for low-class women and prostitution. Yet, paired with her signature pale ivory face, Queen Elizabeth I brought the look back.
During the eighteenth century, lipstick was to be avoided at all costs. A law was passed stating that women who wore make-up were in fact witches and that make-up was a form of decpetion. There were allegations that make-up was used to entice men into marrying them.
After the whole 'you're a witch if you're wearing make-up' thing, the Industrial Revolution of the late nineteenth century brought back commerical lipsticks into fashion. The modern swivel-up tube was invented by Maurice Levy in 1915 bringing about the ease of manufacturing and low prices. The rise of photography and popularisation by film actresses such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor also brought lipstick back on trend.
By the sixties, innovators and chemists managed to create glossy recipes and the beauty industry started to pick out lipstick trends and new and exciting colours. Lipsticks and high heels were one of the biggest examples of femininity during this time. It was considered that if you didn't wear lipstick in the 1960's you were associated with mental illnesses and lesbianism.
Fast-forward to today and lipsticks - especially red - are the basis of modern fashion. We now have access to all types of lipstick; matte, gloss, liner, satin, cream, long-lasting, a type for everyone. And the red lipstick is still and always will be a go-to item that every woman, or man, should have within their beauty arsenal.
Unretouched lingerie campaign
You're probably all aware from reading our previous blog posts that we're all about body confidence and postivity and the real definition of 'perfect'. So when we came across New Zealand-based lingerie brand Lonley and their recent campaign of unretouched images, we just had to share!
The AW16 campaign featuring "nine female powerhouses" - from designers and stylists to models and photographers, as well as the photographers own mother - shows us exactly what it means to be real as they haven't been Photoshopped in the slightest.
"Our campaign serves to celebrate individuality," Lonely's founder and designer said in their press release. "Through intimate portraits of nine, inspiring women, we celebrate our differences, our different ages, our different bodies, our different stories and the differences that make us who we are."
"I just want women to accept who they are and appreciate what they bring to this world and very importantly be proud of what they look like - any size or skin colour," says Zara Mirkin, who styled the shoot.
Friday, 14 October 2016
Will boyfriends replace the professional photographer?
(Image: @beyonce)
It's the image that sent the Internet into a frenzy. A candid shot of Beyoncé looking effortlesly in her best Gucci, leant against an elevator wall whilst her husband, Jay-Z get's the shot. To some, it just looks like a husband taking a picture of his wife, but to other's it's an image that we could all relate to: turning to our significant others as our personal photographers all for the 'gram.
This so-called 'phenomenon', according to Vogue, first became a 'thing' when fashion bloggers would call upon their other half's to get the shot for their latest blog post. And now celebs have started to do just that. Bloggers don't tend to show that their boyfriends or husbands are taking the shot but when you've got an other half with the same status at you why not let them get in on the action. From Kimmy K and Yeezus to Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo and both the Hadid sisters with their superstar boyfriends, ZAYN and The Weeknd; they've all got their own personal photographer and they're not afraid to show it.
Does this mean the boyfriend will replace the professional photographer? Probably not, but it will always help in today's modern dating world.
#couplegoals
Thursday, 13 October 2016
#WomenNotObjects
A campaign has been launched to call upon the advertising industry to stop objectifying women to sell their products.
The campaign #WomenNotObjects, came about after ad executive Madonna Badger searched "objectification of women" into Google and was shocked by the results. After hitting enter, she was met with "numerous adverts from the food, fashion and alcohol industries which utilised women's bodies to sell their products."
From a series of short films - including one where children were shown imagery objectifying women where responses such as "I don't like that, see that is disgusting" to "It makes me feel bad for my body,"- the campaign wants to prevent the ad industry sending damaging messages to young women and girls that could potentially harm their self-esteem and confidence.
With four missions, Badger hopes to end objectification in advertising: to stop the harm it causes, to teach girls that their worth is not their weight, their looks or their body parts, but who they are, what they have to say and what they can do, to support brands that empower women and to inspire the world to find a better way.
So what exactly is objectification? #WomenNotObjects has classified it into four filters:
1. Props - the use of women as props. Do women have a choice or a voice? Are they reduced to anything?
2. Plastic - have the women been retouched beyond human achieveability?
3. Parts - are they reduced to provocative body parts only?
4. What if - what if this woman was your mother/daughter/wife etc.
The powerful films and campaign are hoping to "redefine narratives" within the industry, and it's gaining momentum. For more information take a look at their website below.
Nude for All
(Image: Naja 'Nude for All' campaign)
The beauty and fashion industry has finally listened to our cries! The two industries have started to make moves to tackle the white bias in their products and campaigns. First, Christian Louboutin released a range of nude pumps - for all skin tones, from porcelain to deep chocolate.
Now, lingerie brand, Naja, has brought out a collection of underwear available in seven different shades. The 'Nude for All' range was created when Naja CEO, Catalina Girald, was watching the 2012 London Olympcs and saw black gymnast Gaby Douglas wearing nude pumps that didn't match her skin tone.
To create the collection, Girald turned to make-up as an inspiration for the base tones. From there they created 23 shades and then brought in real women to help narrow it down to the seven shades.
The campaign stars 10 ethnically diverse women modelling the styles. The women featured all have varying body shapes and careers - real women.
"Our criteria was 'women breaking the mould,'" says Girald, "It's time fore people to have shoes in different colours. And leotards. And lingerie."
Are models the new photographers?
(Image: W Magazine)
The Insta-girl squad that we have previoulsy told you about; the Hadid's, Kendall and all their bessies have decided to take a step behind the camera and try their hand at photography. But is Instagram to blame?
This summer, the youngest of the Hadid's sisters, Bella shot her first major editorial with W magazine, when she volunteered to photograph her best friend, Jesso Jo and her mother Laurie Lynn.
A few weeks later, it was Gigi's turn. Assigned by V magazine, the model shot polaroids wherever she went for a series of shots and behind the scenes look at fashion week. And now, as it was announced on Monday, Kendall Jenner is trying her hand at the role of photographer. Teaming up with Katie Grand, editor-in-chief of Love magazine, the pair are looking to find a Spring/Summer 2017 issue cover star via social media.
Where has this sudden desire to switch roles come from? Some are blaming Instagram. With there huge following and their well-curated photographers, perhaps they've decided that if they can take a picture that'll get at least a million likes, why wouldn't they be able to take pictures of someone else?
Now, we're not saying that they can't get the perfect shot but to do an editorial for a magazine - images that will be published - it is a lot different that taking a selfie on your iPhone. You have to take the model into consideration, the lighting, the styling, the artistic direction, and a whole lot of planning.
Either way, it will be interesting to see the imagery that they produce because at the end of the day they have that knowledge of what goes on. And if - we say if, because we all know it won't - their modelling careers fail then they always have a back-up plan.
CoverGirl's first-ever Cover Boy
James Charles has made history by becoming the first male embassador for one of the make-up industry's largest brand, CoverGirl.
It was announced rather fittingly on Instagram that the 17 year-old, New York beauty blogger and make-up artist would not only be their first-ever male embassador but also be the face of the brands 'So Lashy' mascara - a mascara that is all inclusive and open to everyone.
The brand said in a statement: "All of our CoverGirls are role models and boundary-breakers, fearlessly expressing themselves, standing up for what they believe, and redefining what it means to be beautiful."
If you're thinking his face looks familiar it's because this isn't Charles' first brush with the limelight. Back in September of this year, a tweet of his senior prom photos - where his highlighter was on point and brought his own lighting - was favourited over 96,000 times and retweeted by almost 38,000 users.
With this new role, the blogger is looking to"inspire others" and show that "anyone and everyone can wear make-up and can do anything if you work hard".
Gone are the days of brands relying on big-name celebrities and models, as more and more brands are turning to self-made beauty bloggers to front their campaigns. A move that is celebrated not only by the industry but its followers too.
Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Is the UGG boot making a comeback?
(Image: UGG/Ben Rayner)
Our favourite Winter accessory of the early noughties is making a comeback thanks to none other than style icon, Alexa Chung. The Australian brand has called upon Chung as art director for the brand's first-ever creative partnership.
To celebrate the launch of the new and improved, Classic 2.0 boot, Chung and UGG have teamed up to for the latest campaign to produce a series of portraits of women who work within the creative industry. Going for a more modern take on the boot, the campaign offers an "inspirational vibe that celebrates individual style and a modern-day wardrobe."
(Image: UGG/Ben Rayner)
"I've always appreciated classic items of clothing, and always been drawn to things that have a perennial appeal and I would say the UGG boot possesses that quality," says Chung.
But there is some bad news that comes with this announcement. You can say bye bye to the original, as UGG has decided to completely stop production of the original boot. The new UGG boot will have the classic design but will come with a new waterproof finish. All Classic 2.0 boots have been treated with a special waterproof finish to protect from stains, snow, rain, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, the list is endless.
Will this bring UGG boots back to the mainstream? Will our guilty pleasure finally be acceptable to wear outside the house? Only time will tell...
The New Normal
(Image: Alphr)
Last month we saw the release of the latest offering from Apple with the iPhone 7. The "best iPhone yet" with crisp camera quality, longer battery life and a whole new software update, the new gadget is comparable to carrying around a high-tech computer in your hand.
But with new phones and new softwares, we see more and more apps being developed every day for every purpose. There's apps for travel, with Uber and Citymapper, apps for food, with JustEat and Uber Eats, apps for love, apps for everything, the list is literally endless. We can now pay for things at the touch of our fingers with Apple Pay and even be able to board planes with the wallet app which allows you to download boarding passes. These little gadgets have become our very own shortcut to life. But are we becoming too reliant on them?
As our lives become busier and busier, the demands of our time are ever pressing, these developments have made life exceedingly more convenient. We put our whole lives into these little gadgets and resulting in us being constantly glued to our phones, decreasing face-to-face interactions. If the Internet goes down, we can't function and everything comes to a hault.
Society has integrated technology into every aspect. We no longer need to go on dates when we can get to know someone by swiping left or right on Tinder. If we want to catch up with family, we can simply scroll through their Facebook to see what they're up too. And if we want to go to our favourite restaurant, there'll be an app for that too. Your phone is running out of battery whilst you're out and about? Don't worry, we now have access to portable chargers, that'll give your phone some juice and you can continue with your day without the fear of your phone dying.
The argument could be made that this is the norm. Whenever a new technology is created, people become obsessed - it was probably the same when the mobile phone was first created or the first computer/laptop. New advancements are always going to happen, especially in this day and age, where technological developments are happening every day. Yes, we can embrace these developments, but we must remember to take a step back from our phones and gadgets every once in a while. Enjoy what's going on in the world, and Instagram it later.
Tuesday, 11 October 2016
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)