trends | Vanity Claire

I have a wee confession to make (nothing to do with port-a-loos, don’t worry). I’m not actually going to a proper camping/I-haven’t-washed-for-five-days festival this year. I’m traditionally a HUGE Glastonbury goer and I’ve been going since the tender age of 15. However, this year has been mega expensive from getting the crib with Claire and generally being a mad person (budget, WHAT BUDGET), so I simply couldn’t afford to fork out £200 for a fezzie.

Nevertheless, I am going to the Friday at Wireless Festival (and staying at a hotel in Shoreditch, so not quite true to the festival roots) and I feel like this is still a great excuse to get a new outfit. The grand thing with any festival, even one in the middle of London, is that you can go a bit wild in terms of what to wear. Fun headwear, cute day dresses, a bit of glitter and even a bit of naughty fringing never go amiss, so it really is time for me to start planning properly. But what festival outfits are appropriate this year and what trends should we be thinking about?

I meant to do this as more of a ‘wishlist’ post but then got a bit carried away as usual, so for your viewing pleasure I have put together a few outfit options for every festival scenario. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, here are some ideas of what to wear to festivals this year.

For the perfect weather festival:

Ever the optimist, I put this one at the top of the list. This is for the festival we all dream of; perfect weather, pints of cider and dancing about in the sunshine. For those of us who are lucky to get a weekend with good weather, the festival fashion world is your oyster. This is what I would wear for a warm and sunny weekend. Some might say that a light blue summer dress is the last thing you’d want at a festival (grass stains, anyone?) but to you I say WHERE IS YOUR SENSE OF ADVENTURE AND/OR BOTTLE OF VANISH.

1. Swing Dress from Missguided. 2. Wayfarer Sunglasses from Topshop. 3. Tangerine Nail Paint from Barry M. 4. Floral Garland Headband from Asos. 5. Converse from Asos.

For when things get muddy:

Let’s be honest. The likelihood of getting a weekend of blue skies here in Ye Olde England is pretty much nothing so it’s better to be prepared than caught unawares. Rain ruins EVERYTHING, so these are my essentials to keep everything in tact when the weather turns sour. The absolute worst is when it’s rainy, humid and we all end up looking like Monica on Friends so hair serum is at the top of the list! I’m also absolutely in love with this neon mac. LOVE.

1. Neon Mac from Topshop. 2. Dungarees from Boohoo.com. 3. Long Sleeve Crop Top from Topshop. 4. Hunter Wellies from Asos. 5. John Frieda Frizz-Ease from Boots.

For the festival in the city:

This is perhaps my biggest conundrum. What on earth do you wear to a festival where there is little or no grass involved? WHERE ARE THE COWS? WILL THERE BE MUD? DO I NEED WELLINGTON BOOTS? After a lot of thinking and lying down after all the fashion exertion, this is the outfit I have come up with. I think that you can get away with being a bit dressier if you’re not rolling around in a field and you don’t need to think about inappropriate festival shoes if you’re in a city. I’m loving the contrast between pastels and darker colours at the mo!

1. High Neck Skater Dress from Missguided. 2. Pork Pie Hat from Topshop. 3. Black Sandals from Zara. 4. Statement Necklace from Asos. 5. Plum Lipstick from Superdrug.

For the festival abroad:

YOU LUCKY THANGS. For anyone heading to Benicàssim, Tomorrowland and other genuinely exciting festival abroad, I hate you and we are no longer best pals. Thinking about what to wear to a festival abroad can sometimes mean taking into account long bus journeys, plane limits and what you can comfortably carry. But you also have to be aware that it is going to be HOT and fuelled with cheap alcohol, so this is my take on what to wear to a festival abroad. Expect maxi dresses and bikinis!

1. Neon Bikini from Missguided. 2. Round Sunglasses from Topshop. 3. Sandals from River Island. 4. Denim Skater Skirt from Miss Selfridge. 5. Hand Harness from Boohoo.com.

So, this are just a few of my festival favourites on the highstreet at the moment! What do you all think?

It’s all about having friends in high places, right? Well, me and Lauren don’t have any of those, but we do have our friend James.

I jest, of course; James is a person of huge importance and fashion knowledge. Part-time stud muffin and full-time Visual Merchandiser for the Coventry branch of Outfit, he’s in charge of pulling trends together to create the key looks that you see as you walk around the store. Luckily, I knew him back when he was 15 and would spend his weekends getting drunk in the park, so if I ask him to help me with stuff then he basically has to oblige.

Last night, then, I roped him into talking me through all of the latest trends that they’re currently promoting in store, and in particularly what boys should be wearing this summer. So, if you have a boyf who’s a bit of a Screech Powers and you want a Zack Morris, you can just print this out and give it to him. Useful, right?!

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What does a Visual Merchandiser do?

A Visual Merchandiser (VM if you want to be fancyHUH) is an important job in retail. James describes it as ‘dressing mannequins and living the gay dream’, but it requires a little more thought than that. What the customer sees from the moment they enter the store to when they leave is basically the responsibility of the VM. James receives a ‘trend pack’ at the start of each season and then has to pull together key looks from the stock that he’s given, and display these around the store.

James says the key is to make looks that are wearable for the customers. It’s his aim that if you walk into the Topshop section of your local Outfit and see a look on a mannequin that isn’t your style, then the next look you see will be one which definitely is. It’s all about being accessible and not alienating any customers’ styles, but still building imaginative outfits that can inspire consumers.

Key trends this summer

As me and James sat in my living room eating McFluries, he explained to me it’s currently an exciting time for both menswear and womenswear as it’s one of the first seasons where the key trends have been completely wearable for both genders. As he said, “gone are the days of disty floral tea dresses for girls and humour motif tees for the boys”. Now, trends are crossing the sex divide and there’s no reason why both parts of a couple can’t rock the same trend (though please, for the love of god, don’t do it at the same time and look like total planks).

Here are the key looks that James says are strong in store right now:

Varsity

Jacket: H&M
Vest: Topman
Jeans: Topman
Trainers: Nike

Tip: modernise this 1980s, ‘Breakfast Club’-inspired trend with iconic pieces such as skinny jeans

Tie-Dye

Hat: H&M
T-shirt: Urban Outfitters ‘Urban Renewal’ range
Jeans & trainers: as before

Tip: wear with snapbacks, skater shorts and high-tops to give tie-dye a more urban edge than its traditional hippy vibe. Play with different shades – incorporate acid brights to create an exciting look, or tone down with pastel shades.

Pastels

Hat: H&M
Jumper: Asos
Shorts: All Saints (cut-off jeans)
Trainers: as before

Tip: this was seen last year, but has finally come through strongly in male fashion as well as female. Team with bright colours for interesting tonal looks: think watermelon red with mint ice cream.

Prediction: Airtex

Airtex T-Shirt: Aqua by Aqua
Shorts: as before
Trainers: as before

Tip: Airtex is set to become big news in fashion. An extension of the sports luxe trend, you can expect to see Airtex paneling and also full Airtex pieces such as this tee from Aqua by Aqua. Bright, acid colours are going to be key to keeping this look young and fun, as opposed to bringing up memories of PE in school.

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We hope you enjoyed this slightly different post on male fashion! Huge thanks to James, who you can find at @Juh_ames on Twitter. What do you all think about men’s fashion this season?

Topshop ‘86’ Jersey / eBay ‘85’ Jersey

I featured this jersey in my varsity trend post a couple of weeks ago, where I commented that I really liked it but was umming and ahhing over it because I had noticed so many girls wearing it. At £20, I think it’s pretty reasonably priced for Topshop (who, it has to be said, can sometimes be the lords and masters of over-pricing); but I was still interested in looking around for a cheaper alternative.

And HELLO, alternative! This eBay dupe is less than half the price of the Topshop version, at only £6.99 (plus £1.99 delivery). You have to admit that they’ve done a pretty good job of replicating it, even down to the stripes. As well as the difference in number, I’m sure there are probably some differences in the quality of the material. I will soon be able to let you know, as I couldn’t resist ordering the dupe and am expecting it any day now.

Mango lion head chain / eBay lion head chain

Rihanna has been photographed numerous times wearing her Versace lion head gold chain:

and since then a number of high street dupes have popped up. Compared to a Versace necklace (one day, one day…) (okay, more realistically: never, never…), the Mango one featured above is still a snip at £17.99. But once again, eBay comes in at even more of a snip. The link above goes to what I think is the chepest seller in the UK, as it comes in at under a tenner, including postage. You can get them for half that price if you order from Hong Kong and don’t mind waiting around 3 weeks, but if you share the ‘I WANT IT AND WANT IT NOW’ mentality of us Stylingo broads then the extra couple of quid isn’t too bad.

Jeffrey Campbell Lita platform / eBay Wooden Heel Lace-Ups Platforms

I’m sure we would all love a pair of genuine Jeffrey Campbells in our shoe cupboard – my 5’2 frame would particularly enjoy that delicious platform. However, at around £120, they’re not really something that a lot of us can just buy on a whim. Luckily, quite plain styles like this are pretty easy to duplicate, and these ones from eBay are a much more affordable £32.99.

What do you all think of cheaper dupes from shops such as eBay? Do you love them, or prefer the real thing?

Up until approximately two weeks ago, I was a staunch hater of neon. I pretty much thought it looked horrible on everyone, I vowed never to buy anything flourescent ever and I strongly believed that it was the worst trend to come from the fashion wizards since they allowed corduroy to happen. In fact, it almost got to the point of shouting ‘GO HOME NEON, YOU ARE DRUNK’ every time I saw a bit of bright clothing on the high street. View Full Post

That time has come again for the Great Fashion Controversy.* Post the Daily Mail’s outcry over LC:M ̶ where models accessorised with broken grates over their faces ̶ and while the socks and sandals trend that we’re seeing over at Prada and Agi & Sam is still comfortingly niche enough to be avoided by anyone not able to pull off it off with aplomb, it’s been a while since we had anything really shake us up and make us cling to everything we know and hold dear**.

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What To Wear To Festivals This Year.

Men’s Fashion: How the Boys Can Wear This Season’s Trends Too

3 of the Best eBay Dupes Available Right Now

Neons and Brights

Double Denim: Do You Dare?