Archive for the ‘womens underwear’ Category
Whilst some would argue that underwear belongs underneath your clothes and not on show, there has, over the last decade, been a constant theme of underwear inspired clothes that are both delicate, feminine and sexy. Back in the nineties, Jean Paul Gaultier designer that cone bra for Madonna for her Blond Ambition tour. There were various other designs by Jean Paul Gaultier and many others which were inspired by lingerie including Calvin Klein’s delicate and minimalist slip dresses. Since 2008, these underwear inspired pieces have been beginning to make a come back with corsets, big knickers (worn as shorts) and delicate lacy camisole dresses being key features.
For spring summer 2010, there were plenty of catwalk collections joining in with this trend. At Bottega Veneta, a cream bustier with white edging along the seams, worn with cream cropped trousers and a cardigan. At John Paul Gaultier, Dolce & Gabbana and Dior corsets were all teamed with silky and Lacy lingerie pieces. At Chistopher Kane sheer layers revealed white bras and at Just Cavalli a pink satin bra was layered over a mesh vest. At Marc Jacobs a blue satin bra worn over the top of a jacket with a pair of knicker like shorts and a Loewe, a bright orange bra was worn with a neutral skirt and coat. Vintage lingerie was also a key inspiration at many of the shows with plenty of lace and nude, neutral tones.
There is no doubt about it the underwear trend is a bit risque and is designed to catch peoples attention and push boundaries. It is also very desirable in many ways including the way that it can enhance the shape and is very delicate and feminine. There are two main threads to this trend, the very fitted corset and bra style of clothes and the looser more romantic camisole and slip styles.
Whilst you may be thinking to yourself, there is no way that I would go outside the house with my undies on show, there are ways to wear this trend that don’t look trashy or cheap. Evening wear for example often has some corset shape to it. You can sometimes find very gorgeous camisole tops that are just too beautiful to wear underneath your clothes and would look great as everyday tops worn with jeans or under a suit jacket. There are also plenty of lace embellished camisole and vest tops that have the feel of a beautiful piece of lingerie but are not too revealing.
A few simple pieces of advice when wearing underwear as outerwear or underwear inspired pieces:
- Avoid see through clothes. This does not leave anything to the imagination!
- If a piece looks too much (or too little) on its own, try layering it under a shirt, jacket or over blouse.
- select what you wear carefully, it should be subtle, pretty and feminine rather than full on sexy.
- If in doubt, have a good look in the mirror or ask a friend to assess if it is suitable and tasteful.
- You can often get away with underwear inspired pieces more in the evening than daytime.
So you have been invited to that all important event and you can’t wait to go. You have spent hours trying on and shopping for evening dresses and have finally found the perfect dress. All that is left to do is to decide on the accessories to wear. No matter how gorgeous the dress, the right accessories can make or break the outfit. Accessorising an evening dress is key to looking amazing, so pick your accessories carefully and don’t forget to try on the whole outfit in advance to check that it looks as good as you hope.
This beautiful satin gown (pictured above) is really striking and a feature in its own right. It therefore needs subtle and stylish accessories that do not detract from its beauty. A simple pair of black heels and black cover up is all that is required, perhaps a simple and plain black clutch bag. The detailed neckline would look best without a necklace or with a very simple pendant necklace and small hair accessory perfectly balances the pattern on the lower half of the dress.
Each type of accessory should be considered carefully and chosen to balance and compliment the dress. You should also consider the outfit as a whole to ensure that you are achieving the right balance of accessories and dress. Often with evening wear accessories less is more and the most stylish look is achieved with just a few simple pieces.
Here are some of the key accessories to consider when putting together your evening outfit.
Jewellery -as mentioned before, less is often more. Think about the colour, sparkle, length and shape of your jewellery. A complicated neckline will need a very simple necklace that hangs at just the right height. A small diamond (or similar) pendant is very elegant and looks great with almost any type of evening wear. Before you select earrings decide how you will have your hair. A pair of long earrings will usually look better with short hair or an up do.
Cover up -when travelling to and from an evening party or during the evening, you may feel slightly chilly and want to cover up. You may also feel slightly self conscious of showing your shoulders and prefer to cover them. Boleros are the most practical and stylish type of evening cover up but wraps also look really good and formal with an evening gown.
Underwear -whilst not strictly speaking an accessory, underwear is an important part of your outfit and contributes towards its overall success. Make sure you choose underwear that does not show at all and streamlines your shape.
Handbag - A small clutch bag is the perfect handbag to carry when wearing an evening dress. For a simple dress pick out a beautiful beaded clutch, for a more elaborate dress a simple black clutch will be perfect. Â
Hair -If you have medium length or long hair, an up do will look really formal and compliment your evening dress. You could choose a feather or sparkly hair accessory which will draw peoples eyes towards your face. Remember to balance and co ordinate with any jewellery that you are wearing.
Shoes -black high heels (if you can walk in them) are the best option for evening wear. Other alternatives include gold or silver heels or embellished ballet pumps for those that cannot wear heels.
This spring and summer there will be two very strong but contrasting trends. Bold, bright and busy including all of those tribal, floral and abstract prints sometimes all mixed together in clashing eclectic outfits. On the other hand there is an abundance of minimalist, neutral and pastel shades for spring. Which ever camp you fall into there is plenty of choice in all sorts of different styles to suit all shapes and sizes. Perhaps you will follow both trends by mixing some of the seasons neutrals with some full on patterns.
This seasons neutrals come in a variety of hues ranging from white, cream and beige to warmer pink, peach and rose tones. There is also a great palette of cool pastels to choose from. Ice Cream, sherbet or candy colours are all great descriptions of these colours. They are sweet but not sickly sweet. Cute but not too cute. Perfect for those who want to look feminine but in a sophisticated way.
You can take inspiration from how these neutral and pastel tones were worn on the catwalk. There were plenty of both military and safari influences with crisply tailored jacketsin shades of beige, camel and stone. From Celine to Oscar De La Renta safari shorts, utility trousers and tailored jackets were all hot looks.
At Jil Sander, the master of minimalism clean lines and tailoring in unbleached shades of hessian and hemp had unfinished edges for a raw, earthy feel. At Chanel the neutral colours were balanced by textured fabrics in classic Chanel style.
From Calvin Klein to Dior, Versace and Tommy Hilfiger to name but a few there were sheer and floaty creations in sugary pastel shades. Baby blues, pastel pinks, pale yellow, spearmint and lilacs all gave a very sweet and feminine feel which was balance by thigh skimming skirts and splits. There were also plenty of frothy and frou frou dresses in shades of cream, white and rose. The swirls of ruffle and tiers of pleats seen at the catwalk shows of Valentino, Gianfranco Ferre, Roksanda Ilincic, Roberto Cavalli, Chanel, Fendi and Chloe (the list goes on) were as romantic and feminine as it gets but carefully balanced by their neutral colours for a fairytale frock heaven.
Then there were the underwear inspirations. Flesh coloured and cream corsets were very visible at Bottega Veneta, Dolce and Gabbana, John Paul Gaultier, Louise Goldin and Just Cavalli. Wearing ones underwear on the outside seems to be all the rage. But if this look is too much for you a delicate satin camisole or corset top worn with a jacket is a far more wearable way to work this trend.
Finally, we couldn’t talk about neutrals without mentioning the ever popular trench or rain coatsas seen on the catwalks for spring and summer at Charles Anastase, Pringle, Burberry Prorsum, Sportsmax, Dior and Marc by Marc Jacobs. Each version had its own slightly different features. The Burberry Prorsum mini trench worn with a short skirt and socks and sandals may well be one of the biggest looks for the summer.
A great way to wear this trend for a really relaxed look is to combine neutral stone and beige tones with pastel and baby blues and tan leather accessories. Most of us will look good in some sort of neutral, but you may need to try a few before finding the perfect shade to suit your skin tone.
Building an outfit is a bit like building a house. You need to start with the right foundations before adding any more layers. If you don’t put down the right foundations the house may end up wonky and lopsided. With  an outfit the foundations are your underwear, Trinny and Susannah pants will give you a slim shape, just the right base for your outfit. Choosing the right underwear is key to the final look of your overall outfit. At best the right underwear can streamline your appearance, make you look slimmer and highlight your best ‘assets’ at worst the wrong underwear can be very uncomfortable, even causing back problems and make you look lumpy and a strange shape.
Body con dresses have become really fashionable in recent years and with tight fitting dress it is absolutely essential to wear underwear to give you a smooth and streamlined shape. But with looser fitting clothes underwear is also important, a smooth slimline shape will help your clothes to hang just right and cling in the right places. You will also want underwear that is not visible at all once you are dressed.
For a special occasion or evening event, you will probably want to make that little extra effort to ensure that your outfit looks 100% perfect. This is where shape wear like the Tinny and Susannah pants come in. They will allow you to feel slim and confident in your chosen outfit so that you can really enjoy yourself.
The Trinny and Susannah high waister pants and magic bum, tum and thigh reducer pants can make you drop a dress size (without dieting or visiting the gym). They also slim the tummy, bottom and thighs creating a smooth and streamlined silhouette. They are the result of over a decade of research and testing and the reviews of this product speak for themselves with comments like “very happy”, “does what it says”, “looks good, does the trick” and ” I believe in miracles”.
This shape wear is ideal for those of us who just don’t have time to get to the gym and tone up their stomachs, bottom and legs. They are great if you are self conscious about any of these areas of the body and will give you confidence in your appearance.
Trinny and Susannah became famous as presenters and stylists of the hit TV makeover show ‘ What not to wear’. Their no nonsense and brutally honest approach won them many followers and enemies as they helped women to work through their “appearance issues” and look more stylish. On the shows one of their top recommendations for women, as they pulled and pushed them into shape, was that underwear was a really important part of any outfit and the right pants can work wonders. Although quite bullish, Trinny and Susannh are passionate about making women feel happy and confident in what they wear. The Trinny and Susannah pants are a great way for women that are worried about their body shape or wobbly bits to do this.
All too often women neglect to consider their choice of underwear as part of their overall outfit, which is ultimately a huge mistake. It is extremely important that when deciding upon what to wear at any given time that careful consideration is given to the choice of underwear which is also to be worn.
Nowadays there is a growing abundance of options when it comes to womens underwear and this should be kept in mind at all times. In the not too distant past there was little choice when it came to shopping for underwear and women settled for what they could find. Although this situation has changed dramatically in recent times in the respect that women are no longer faced with a limited choice of underwear some things still remain unchanged. For instance a large majority of women continue to simply settle for the first type of underwear that they can get their hands on. However, this is thought to be a big mistake as nowadays a personâ??s choice of womenâ??s underwear can simply make or break an outfit.
When attending a formal event where evening wear is the norm it is important that an adequate amount of time is dedicated to considering which underwear to team with the chosen ensemble. For example if the chosen piece of evening wear is meant to huge oneâ??s curves then it might be advisable to opt for shapewear underwear.
The range of shapewear available nowadays is extremely vast and can help women with a whole host of problems. Whether the women in question is worried that her stomach is not flat enough or whether she feels her bottom needs a lift to carry off her choice of dress then there is certainly shapewear to solve each of these problems. Moreover shapewear should be given much consideration if the dress to be worn is made of chiffon or other similar clingy materials as such materials can be quite unforgiving.
At such formal events women to want to look their very best so it is consequently important that all women consider the underwear they intend to wear.  It is surprising the difference that such a choice can make and how much a womanâ??s confidence can be affected.