Posts tagged ‘fashion blog’
MARIE HELVIN – LINGERIE SHOOT
Bra, £25, Briefs, £16, by Always Aliza at J D Williams
You have to love Marie Helvin. Here she is looking inspirational at 62 years old doing a lingerie shoot for the Always Aliza range at J D Williams.
In fact, Marie Helvin has always been an inspiration to me. She was modelling in the first fashion show I ever went to as a teenager. Fashion designer, Anthony Price was doing a huge ‘Fashion Extravaganza” at the Camden Palace and my BFF’s and I travelled from Bristol for this monumental occasion. I like to think it was more like a pilgrimage. My friend Sophie had mastered the art of ‘ragging’ where you coil about a hundred sections of your hair in rag strips, leave them in for about 4 hours and once removed you have the biggest hair ever. So we all drove from the West Country in my friend Charlotte’s tiny hatchback car sporting our hair rags, the car hardly big enough to accommodate our heads. Fellow drivers up the M4 must have been fairly bemused at such a sight.
Bra, £25, Briefs, £14, by Always Aliza at J D Williams
Anyhow, it was with perfect ‘big hair’ that I saw Marie Helvin and her chum Jerry Hall on that dazzling catwalk and as corny as it sounds now, I had that Eureka moment and decided my destiny was in fashion. So Marie, I thank you! From then on I avidly followed her career pouring over all those amazing pictures her then husband David Bailey shot of her. Some of them seemed quite ‘out there’ to me as a teenager, especially the one where she wore her stiletto in her knickers!
Decades later and Marie Helvin is still is looking fantastic in lingerie. She says she has to work really hard at looking this toned now. She goes to the gym four times a week – doing 45mins to an hour of weights, rowing machine, bike and floor exercises. Well it’s definitely paid off.
Bra, £25, Briefs, £16, by Always Aliza at J D Williams
Modelling for Aliza Reger’s “Always Aliza’ range was particularly significant to Marie.
“Janet Reger was such an iconic brand throughout my modelling career,” she says, “and it feels great to now be modelling her daughter’s range for J D Williams almost forty years on.”
I love this collection with its pretty pastel shades and floral prints. The size range is really impressive too – it’s available in bra sizes 34B to 50G and knickers sizes 12-32 – hooray!
Marie says after 47 years of modelling lingerie this is definitely her last shoot. Oh no! Why stop now?
“Why?” She laughs, “I’d rather eat pizza…”
Bra, £25, Brief, £14 by Always Aliza at J D Williams
ABBEY CLANCY’S NEW FASHION RANGE
Lace-up front ,floral mini dress, £25
It’s been all go with Abbey Clancy. Just weeks after giving birth to her second daughter she has launched a fab new summer collection for Matalan.
Model and ‘Strictly’ champion Abbey looks amazing modelling this very 70’s inspired range. I love the strong floral prints and floaty maxi dresses – perfect for the festival season. But my favourite piece is the red wrap dress with its plunge neckline and thigh high split – oh yes!
Red wrap, plunge neck dress, £40
Abbey who is married to footballer Peter Crouch has a busy summer ahead looking after new baby Liberty Rose and 4 year-old Sophia Ruby. But she still has time to talk fashion!
“The 70’s are still a huge inspiration for the collection.” Says Abbey. “ I love the whole 70’s vibe and it’s big on all the catwalks – the entire collection is a great way to throw some glamour into summer holidays or festivals.”
Floaty, floral maxi, £40
She went on to say,
“ I’ve included some classic shapes including bell sleeves and lace-up front minis, with bold prints, which are ideal to brighten up your summer wardrobe.”
Ruffle front dress, £35
It’s definitely a winning collection, I might just pick up a few pieces for Camp Bestival this year. The prices are incredible, ranging from just £16 to £40.
High neck, side button mini dress, £30
The ‘Abbey by Abbey Clancy’ collection is available online and in selected Matalan stores nationwide.
MOONWALK 2015 – BARING THE BRA!
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Moonwalkers a la Fruity Couture!
I’m SO excited. It’s just over a week before I do my first Moonwalk! At midnight next Saturday 16th May, myself and 15,000 other magnificent bra-wearing walkers will be marching a half or full marathon through the streets of London. I’ve always wanted to do it, but this year so many of my dear friends have been affected by breast cancer that I’ve felt I have to take action and Walk The Walk!
This amazing event is now in it’s eighteenth year! I feel so inspired by Nina Barough CBE, Founder of Walk The Walk. Originally, Nina was also a fashion stylist (proving that all the best people are!) before a series of events made her change her path. She is now Chief Executive of a grant-making breast cancer charity that has collected nearly £100 million of fundraising – wow!
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Founder & Chief Executive Nina Barough CBE of Walk The Walk with a very saucy man
So how did it all start? Well nearly twenty years ago, 13 women decided to power walk the New York Marathon in their bras to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. One of these ladies was Nina who ironically 2 months later discovered she actually had breast cancer and an aggressive tumour too. Nina’s life was thrown upside down, embarking on a programme of treatment that included a mastectomy and radiotherapy. Her girlfriends felt they desperately wanted to do something to help and spurred on by the ‘Girl Power’ era of the Spice Girls, they banded together, bra emblazoned and power walked the London Marathon. Fashion designers like Paul Smith and Mary Quant as well as other notables like Richard Branson were keen to get involved too. They designed the girls’ bras and these were then auctioned off at the first Walk The Walk Auction.
The following year a second team entered the London Marathon, half of them got places but the other half weren’t so lucky. Nina not wanting to disappoint and waste the girls’ hard work, fund raising and training, that she decided to organise a midnight marathon for these ladies. These bra clad night walkers would hand over the ‘baton’ in the morning in Trafalgar Square to the other official Marathon walkers. Nina and a girlfriend actually completed the night and day marathon in 24 hours and the Moonwalk was born!
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Moonwalkers – Flower Power style
The rest is history and The Moonwalk has grown from strength to strength. Over 350,00 people have taken on a walk challenge, such as The Moonwalk New York City, now in its second year and The Arctic Marathon – a backcountry skiing challenge in deepest Lapland! The success of this charity is amazing. Walk The Walk has made grants to Breakthrough Breast Cancer and to Breast Cancer Campaign for its ground breaking Breast Cancer Tissue Bank. It is also committed to providing funding to hospitals across the UK to purchase Scalp Cooling Systems – special machines that help people retain their hair when undergoing chemotherapy. My lovely friend Sue had brilliant results with this treatment and said it was such a relief not to lose her hair. She felt she could still go out and socialise and most importantly it wasn’t such a scary experience for her 2 little girls as although they knew their Mum wasn’t very well they were reassured that she still looked the same!
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Moonwalk Fashion – True Brit style
So all in all a brilliant charity…. I’m fundraising for my Moonwalk so please, please do sponsor me –
https://moonwalklondon2015.everydayhero.com/uk/becky-john
Now it’s all down to the outfit. Ever the fashion stylist I feel the pressure is on! As you can see, there have been some fabulously decorated bras over the years. The theme for Moonwalk 2015 is ”Saturday Night at The Movies”. So, rhinestone encrusted bra at the ready, I promise to bare all (well nearly all) in a post Moonwalk blogpost soon………
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Myself and fellow walker Catherine Sloman aka blogger Battenburg Belle
KIDSWEAR – ROYAL BLOOD
On a crisp Winter’s day we travelled down to Hever Castle in Kent. We wanted to create a majestic look as might befit such a glorious castle as well as highlighting the theme of the land and nature. So I styled the kids very opulently in rich velvets and silks and added leaf crowns and foliage to mix the two looks. Here are the results..
Photographer – Dan Pangbourne Fashion Stylist – Becky John Hair & Make-up – Claire Portman
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Clothes by I Love Gorgeous
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Dresses by Bonpoint. Crowns by Atticus and Gilda
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Sweater and breeches by Rachel Riley. Sheepskin gilet by New Look
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Girl wears sweater and breeches by Rachel Riley. Boy wears sweater and trousers by Bon Point. Both wear faux fur gilets by Angel & Rocket. Crowns hand made by Stylist
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Dress by Mini Raxevsky. Feather shrug by No1 by Jenny Packham at Debenhams
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Crown print dress by Rachel Riley. Faux fur coat by John Lewis
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Clothes by I love Gorgeous
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Behind the scenes with photographer Dan Pangbourne and Hair & make-up artist Claire Portman
ROBBIE WILLIAMS – NEW MENSWEAR RANGE
Whilst at Primark’s press show last week I couldn’t resist having a little peek at the new Robbie Williams range Farrell. There has been a real hoo ha about the collection. So I wanted to know more.
Originally Robbie founded Farrell in 2011, he employed former Burberry Design Director, Ben Dickens but sadly the company ceased trading last October when it filed for voluntary bankruptcy. Luckily for Williams along came Primark declaring that they would ‘Take That’ (ha ha) and have rescued the brand!
Robbie’s grandfather, Jack “The Giant Killer” Farrell was the inspiration for this 30-piece collection – evidently not a family of timid personalities! Williams speaks proudly of Jack’s strong values, alluring character and timeless style. Jack’s life as a Stoke-on-Trent gentleman is reflected in the clean, tailored lines and British heritage design – the Trench, the Harrington and the Oxford shirt are all accounted for.
Boxing was apparently Jack’s guilty pleasure and he spent a lot of time training his grandson how to pack a punch. This ringside passion is seen in the Farrell range with its heavy weight T-shirts, textured sweatshirts and thickly knitted cable jumpers.
Primark are delighted about their new menswear collection. Ben Smith, Director of Menswear said. “We’ve absolutely loved working with the Farrell brand. The product looks superb, fastidious detail, amazing value and has remained true to its origin.”
Robbie, obviously not a personality to hold back models his own collection for Primark. This 40-year old ex Take That singer has the most amazing energy, fitting in working with his Farrell brand whilst recently becoming a new father to second child with wife Ayda and about to go on tour. What a busy boy!
When asked about his new retail venture Williams said. “I’m delighted that Farrell has been invited into Primark. What a great collaboration – let’s have it!”
Well I thought it looked very stylish and great value too. Prices start from £8 for a T-shirt to £45 for a pea coat. The range is available from 22 stores across the UK and Europe. Might even snap up a few pieces for my hubby this Christmas!
T-SHIRT £8. CHECK SHIRT £12. CHINOS £12. TWEED BLAZER £38
KIDSWEAR – AUTUMN SHOOT
Dress by Rachel Riley, Crown headband by H&M
I’ve always loved a redhead. It’s the nearest hair colour to gold or fire. But after my daughter was born with her Titian crowning glory it has almost become an obsession.
Photographer Katy McDonnell and I had talked ages ago about doing a redhead shoot and it wasn’t until this autumn that all the conditions seemed right. It has been a late glorious autumn with the trees not wanting to relinquish their leaves. The colour palette has been spectacular – gold, russet, burnt orange and saffron. So with this in mind I scurried around the fashion PR’s and collected a fabulous selection of rich Autumnal toned clothes for our shoot.
We decided The Downs in Bristol would be the perfect location with it’s leafy, rambling woods. The models were chosen from the aptly named Gingersnap Agency in the West Country and here are the results…
Sweater by John Lewis, Headress, Stylist’s own.
Art clothes (left) John Lewis, Finn clothes (right) Ralph Lauren
Clothes by Rachel Riley
Dress by Marie Chantal
Clothes by Marie-Chantal
Dress by Rachel Riley
Wrap by Selfridges
Behind the scenes…….
Photography, Katy McDonnell, Stylist, Becky John, Models, Gingersnap Agency
THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS
The Diana Dress
There’s only one thing I like more than a LBD and that is a bit of red carpet glamour. So imagine my total fashion frenzy at the launch of the brand The Little Black Dress ‘inspired by icons’ collection.
The dresses, all 20 of them, play tribute to fabulous women from the silver screen era right up to modern day. I flicked through the rails in the glamorous Café Royal – a venue befitting any film star. The Marilyn, The Jackie O, The Carrie and The Kristen LBDs were soon sending me into a stylist’s spin!
The Audrey Dress
Each dress plays a part in the LBD’s history. From The Coco, named after Chanel, the original creator of the Little Black Dress, to The Audrey, obviously called after Miss Hepburn, the ultimate LBD muse in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
The Kate Dress
Being a complete drama queen, my favourite dresses are the ones that caused the most fuss and scandal over the years. I have heart palpitations just thinking of The Kate dress. Ms Moss clad in LBD in the arms of the gorgeous Johnny Depp in Cannes back in the nineties.
The Rita Dress
But the dress that gets me all of a quiver is The Diana. That infamous dress that the late princess wore out on the town the night a documentary about her husband’s infidelities was being aired on TV. This figure hugging LBD caused a real stir in the media being on the front page of every tabloid the next morning.
I tried and tested this Diana dress out partying with my best girls. I didn’t make the papers but I believe it went down really well – so to speak!
Cafe Royal Launch
Anyhow, I think the Little Black Dress Collection is a brilliant idea – I only wish I thought of it myself. With research showing that a quarter of British women buy a new LBD every year I think they’re onto a winner!
STYLING KIDS ON FASHION SHOOTS
They say never work with children and animals, I didn’t listen. I have always loved doing photo shoots with kids. It can be challenging but mostly great fun and so rewarding. My favourite game as a child was dressing up and I suppose I’ve never wanted this fun to stop.
So what happens on these shoots? Well in the stylist’s case so much happens before you even get to the shoot. First of all, the client briefs me by phone or email. Then I’m out in all weathers sourcing the clothes, accessories and props. Most days I’m staggering up and down Oxford Street laden with clothes like a glorified bag lady. Kids clothes vary so much in sizes so I tend to get 3 different sizes per child – so all those bags weigh a ton. Well at least I get a free daily workout!
Dress DKNY
Just before the shoot a meeting with the client and photographer happens. I always think it’s the stylist’s version of the primary school “Show and Tell.” I take everything into the offices for approval and we thoroughly go through the clothes and props. Everyone then knows what we are doing and a shot list can be compiled.
Clothes Their Nibs and Ralph Lauren
Then comes the shoot day! The crew – photographer, assistant, make-up artist and stylist arrive at least an hour before the kids. Preparation is everything. I hang up all the clothes on rails and lay out all the accessories and props. As any parent know kids get bored very easily. So as soon as the little ones breeze into the studio, they are whisked into make-up, quickly dressed and on the set before they can say er, ‘cheese’. I love styling kids because of their playful nature you can get away with dressing them up as theatrically as you wish! I usually choose one hero piece like a mad hat, vintage spectacles or eccentric prop and style the look around it.
Clothes Ralph Lauren
To get the best shots it’s vital to have a good natured, patient team that can really engage with the kids. The photographer takes the lead, either directing the children or setting up little games for them and then capturing that magical moment when the kids are engrossed in play. The stylist is also expected to be the entertainer. I have a Mary Poppins style bag packed with balloons, party blowers and bubbles. I’m a wow with my feather tickling stick – Ken Dodd would be proud. Over the years I have learnt every dance move by The Spice Girls, The Macarena, every flipping verse of ‘The Wheels Of The Bus’ and my knowledge of One Direction is legendary!
But what about the tantrums you ask? What tantrums? We leave those to the supermodels.
photography Richard Burns, Hair & Make-up Sally Kvalheim, Styling Becky John, Location www.wingfieldcollege.com