Issue 5

Letter From The Editor

This week we are straying away from the interview section and introducing a outfit of the week as a kind of reward for our staff. It's their opportunity to shine and be a style inspiration to the nation. This week we will talk about football shirts to the battle of the cities.

Men's Wear

Football Kit

The premiership open weekend was a goal packed one, with ten goals in just two of the games. If the season carries on this way it will make for a very exciting season. Transfers still ongoing it will be interesting to see who else will be departing their old club and moving to another. Robin Van Persie’s move from Arsenal to Manchester United was a great move for the Dutchman and also for the manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Hopefully he will be able to score many goals for the team and snatch the title away from the other half of Manchester.

Along with transfers to bring good fortune to the team, sports men and fans are the most superstitious people around (especially our writer Gareth Davies as he believes I jinx everything for him). From rituals to lucky pants, luck is an essential part to win the game. Lucky clothing is a major one especially lucky kit. Manchester United once had a very unlucky kit when they were 3-0 down at half time to Aston Villa. The players and Ferguson both passed the blame on to the awful colour of the kit. They said that ‘the kit blended into the crowd and we cannot see each other’. Once they changed the kit their luck had changed and they clawed a goal back. Umbro was who made the kit obviously got slated for awful choice of kit colour.

The 2012-13 season has some brilliant kits whether it’s the colour of the pattern that make it stand out. Manchester United’s kit is made by Nike and has a chequered pattern in celebration of 25 years under Fergusons management. This is because the great Alex Ferguson is Scottish and the kit resembles the tartan worn traditionally by the Scottish. This kit has had mixed reviews but personally I like it, for it is new and different also not to mention a great dedication to the Scott.

Annie Oakes says: ‘I like it, it’s not obvious from far away but the history behind it is great.’

Manchester City has opted for a different colour than usual for their away strip. The clubs kit is made by Umbro and they opted for a kit colour that will defiantly stand out from the crowd. Burgundy is the choice... and a great choice I personally like the kit colour, but only really works with few colours for the shorts.

Swansea has a new red away kit that I find strange as traditionally Swansea was always been white and black. Plus they have changed their badge which has red in it which may explain the choice of colour, but I stand by the traditional colours.

Gareth Davies says: ‘It’s their away kit at the end of the day, it’s not that big of a deal but I suppose it is very welsh a red kit.’

But please do not wear football tops unless you are participating in sport or going/watching a game.

By Sean Taylorson

 

 

 

 

Woman's Wear

City Style

LDN Vs. MCR

Different Cities. Different Fashions. This definitely applies to our UK ‘fashion capitals’ like London and Manchester.

I have resided in both and can truly see the differences. Fashion is inspired by all things around…the people, the history, the weather, culture, even transport. London has a business based population, so the fashion is very couture & smart. There are also many arty areas & fashion colleges, so the creative dressers are vast. This street style is inspirational and many people that have moved from elsewhere to London have felt encouraged to dress more eclectic due to this awarded bravery.

Mark Fast’s Collection showing at London Fashion Week

Manchester also has its own Fashion Week and is home to many creative types. Such the likes of Matthew Williamson & recently established Holly Fulton are successful examples of these.

A Selection of Matthew Williamson’s Designs…which also represent Manchester’s going out vibe!

Manchester has two very different sides to it…people that dress for the weather & people that dress up whatever the weather. This city has a wide student population, so party dresses & going-out wear are popular. Manchester is also known for its WAGs, due to its rich football history, which reinforces this theory…

Footballer’s ‘Wives And Girlfriends’ Out on the Town…

I must admit this style is a bit dated now though!

However, also due to the high studious percentage, practicality is key to those who want to get to lectures on time [especially after a night out!] and fashionably! As many know, Manchester is known for its weather…its extremely wet weather.

Not A Great Example Of Dressing for the weather!

I appreciate both cities’ for their fashion & style, as I admire their diversity & interests. Street Style is where the true city’s fashion is represented, so get out on those streets & soak up the inspiration!

By Annie Oakes

Our Own Designer Annie Oakes & Fashion Photography

Annie Oakes Designs

Everyone Has To Start Somewhere 

How do you even start making clothes? Well a pattern is the answer.

Many beginners start with a simple pattern, which provides readily cut paper pattern pieces needed to comprise a garment. This is how I also started.

I have always had a passion for design & have been creating all my life. So when I decided it was time to make my first proper dress, not just a ‘guestimate’, I bought a pattern piece. A good selection of these are avaliable from any good haberdashery or craft store. I was looking to make a dress for one of my best friend’s 18^th birthday! And I wanted to do this in style…

This is when I turned to Vogue. I selected a Vogue pattern to get me started, as it is relitively easy to follow, and generally more fashionable than the other, maybe older companies. I wanted a simple yet flattering shape, but a show-stopping material. I think the result of this dress is a great example of how important the right materail choice when designing is.

By Annie Oakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outfit Of The Week

Our first ever outfit of the week goes to Annie Oakes with a double denim combonation. Her denim jacket is the right colour to go with her Denim skirt. Similar colours do not go although black demin does go with light denim pretty well. Double denim used to frowned upon but recently with a right attitude it looks great.

Vintage denim jacket
Denim skirt from Levi
Satain top from Topshop boutique collection

Fashion Philosophy With Gareth Davies

Fit Fabrics

Keeping trim is a big part of life for the average member of society, therefore in this section I have decided to give a gift to the average member of society, this gift is the cheapskate gift of advice on what to wear in order to keep fit in everyday life as an average member of society.

Any fitness coach will tell you to set limits and goals in order to make progress in any health regime, I will also suggest this. Skinny jeans are a natural target, wearing them comfortably, will suggest that you are at an ideal weight and you can focus on remaining at this level. However if your skinny jeans are too small one will soon find oneself ridiculously uncomfortable in even the comfiest recliner. This being the case the uncontrollable need to wriggle and fidget for hours on end will see your waist line plummet until said jeans no longer seem like a cruel form of torture.

Some garments seem to be fitted with unnecessary cup holders for pockets, these will allow for extreme snacking throughout the day. When wearing clothing with pockets try to have the pockets as small as possible, when leaving the house it is ever so tempting to pop a Twix in your pocket- this will lead to two possible scenarios, embarrassing melted chocolate stains or unhealthy snacking. Small pockets however will not allow this irresponsible snack smuggling. An easy way to ensure your pockets aren’t too big is to stitch up the main pockets on your jeans and only use the tiny ones located just above your new cool stitchy line, you might be able to fit in a cheeky Haribo but then you’ll have no room to fit your phone, wallet and keys.

A further fashion accessory that can help against gorging on unhealthy food is gloves. It is a well known fact that food in wrappers is unhealthy and food that isn’t is healthy. Wearing gloves will give two possible benefits. The first is they will force you to resort to not as delicious healthy snacks; the second is putting great effort into gaining the delicious cholesterol filled fruits of a wrapper. This extra effort will generally burn the exact same amount of calories as are about to be gained. For these reasons gloves are a win win garment, also in winter they will keep your fingers warm.

It is logical to think that by wearing sports gear the average Joe will be motivated to exercise and participate in the affiliated sports, therefore exercising and subsequently losing weight. However, surprisingly most sports clothes wearers’ aren’t actually very healthy, just big. My thought on this conundrum is that sports gear gives the wearer the illusion they are exercising. The gear might be worn with good intentions of going for a run etc at first, however most sports gear ends up watching more sport than it participates in and this will not help shed the pounds ( apart from the numerous ones spent in the shop). Like having a pet greyhound it is unfair to not give sports gear the correct amount of exercise and so only buy it if you know you can provide it a healthy lifestyle.

Thank you. Stay fit, love gareth. xoxo