Christmas party fashion - some thoughts

Selecting an outfit for a Christmas party can be more problematic than you would imagine . We have seen some pretty horrific styles over the years (and no doubt worn a few ourselves), to know that there are certain rules that should be obeyed when it comes to dressing up this season. Anyway, here are some of our top tips that you may wish to bear in mind:

Dresses

Be frugal – Spending too much is never a good idea as Xmas party nights can get messy - no need to indulge your hard-earned on designer wear when you can achive a glamourous look direct from the high street. As we've mentioned previously, the Pearl Lowe dresses range at Peacocks is along the lines of what we would go for.

Be simple - a lesson we have learned to our cost in the past: avoid long, single-coloured cotton dresses - we have lost count of the number of dresses ruined by food and drink related incidents.

Be glam – this is the one time of year that you can truly let your hair down and shoe your colleagues your true personality – blow them away with a black sequin dress or mini skirt.

Other Xmas Party Considerations

Wear comfortable footwear – jumping around the dancefloor can become an agonising experience if your shoes are giving you blisters.

Coats are essential – chances are that you will be wandering the streets at a late hour trying to flag down a taxi home, dont get caught without a warm coat or you’ll have more than a hangover the next day.

ENJOY YOURSELF! :)

Ok thanks for reading, these are a few rules that we follow. What are you wearing to the Christmas do this year?

Celebrity fashion UK

Celebrity fashion. No, not fashion worn by celebrities but fashion designed by celebrities. Kate Moss did a range a while back that was successful not only in terms of the way it looked, but by choosing to make it widely available on the High Street she managed to eschew the kind of exclusivity vibe that high fashion had latterly become synonymous with.

Then over the past few years Pearl Lowe has started a successful career in clothing design and has produced extremely successful collections for Peacocks clothes. Pearl is probably better known now for her clothes designs than for her Britpop-era music with band Powder. In a genius move, Pearl employs the talents of daughter Daisy Lowe to model the collections. And there's a name to watch: Daisy Lowe. At the start of what is bound to be a successful career.

Other celebrities doing fashion include Fearne Cotton and Liam Gallagher. The success of a clothing line depends not upon the celebrity status of the designer but on the quality of the designs.

Fashion in extreme winter

A lot of snow about lately. A lot of sub zero temperatures. So, easy to feel decidedly cool, but how to look cool?

The first thing to do is forget about anything other than practicality. You might want to go to the army and navy stores and pick up a heavy military coat. Go for boots rather than shoes. And when the snow turns to ice, make sure that whatever footwear you're wearing has a good grip on its soles. Cos it's going to be slippy time soon.

Other than that, heavy wool jumpers are big anyway right now, so stock up on them.

The siberian weather isn't going to disappear any time soon, say the newspapers. So make like you're from Novisibirsk (Russia's third-largest city, located in Siberia) and wrap up well, whatever it takes.

High heels hit new heights

Interesting report in the Daily Mail today about the rise in sales of high heeled shoes, which is, possibly, says the paper, down to the influence of famous fashionistas like Cheryl Cole and lady Gaga going for this style.

The article quotes a Peacocks spokesman, who says that: Customers are attracted to a shoe boot’s dual purpose. You can wear them for Christmas and beyond, as they look just as great with a party dress as they do with jeans and a jumper in January.

The Peacocks party shoe boot looks likely to be a festive smash hit this year.

The Guardian also features the story, with the dramatic headline 'sales of killer heels quadruple'.

So, if all the women you see suddenly look taller, there may well be a shoe related reason for this.

Clothes design software

Gone are the days of sketches, perhaps:

Best Dressed 2010

GQ Magazine is doing its vote for best dressed 2010 right now - so why not get your vote in for this year. Voting closes at the end of November. Email address is

gqbestdressed@condenast.co.uk

Who to vote for? How about Paul Weller, Noel Gallagher, Boris Johnson or ... err... hmm, dunno. Gordon Ramsay?

Party season clothing

Now that Halloween and Bonfire Night are out of the way, the party season stretches before us like one long shiny street full of Christmas trees.

Everyone will have their own list of stuff to get - make sure you've got a spare hat and set of gloves - you don't want hypothermia kicking in while you wait for a taxi home after a great night out.

Other things that will be high on the list of stuff to get will be shoes - whether it's womens shoes or mens shoes, this is a very shoey time of year since people get stuff for the dancefloor or the dinner restaurant, but they also need shoes to kick around in the snow with.

Fashion changes

It's fair to say that the world of fashion has changed more in the last ten years than in any preceding decade. Where once fashionistas waited for quarterly magazine special editions showing the new season's look, there is now much faster media information being disseminated and consumed electronically. And it's speeding up even more. Those with their finger on the ever-quickening pulse now don't even have to wait to get home and fire up the computing machine - smartphones mean that people can get their fashion fix while sitting in a coffee shop or even walking down the street.

Whole armies of bloggers cover each area of fashion - there are blogs devoted to the avante-garde, blogs for people who want to get the best deals on clothes, and blogs for the otaku-level obsessives about esoteric sartorial matters such as how to care for vintage denim.

The speed-up of information has also had an effect on the retailing of clothes. One hot item being featured in the cool blogs cane have the effect of thousands suddenly clamouring for that piece. It's a world away from when people read about an article in a magazine and hoped to see it in the shops next time they ventured in to town. Now the shop itself is a click away, and the actual purchase not much further on.

So where will all this end up? Strange to think that the clunky Boo.com of the late 90s once seemed modern. Will we one day be able to design our own trainers, have them built by a robot and delivered to the home within 24 hours? it's not unlikely. The future is here to stay, whatever.

Peacocks Value Fashion Range - hitting the headlines

With great coverage in some of the highest profile newspaper and magazine titles this week, Peacocks’ great clothes range continues to be a big hit with the nation’s fashion editors as well the fashion-buying public.
Peacocks’ excellent week in the fashion limelight was given a boost with an some eye-catching item from Pearl Lowe featuring in The Sun’s popular ‘wish list’ regular column.
The widely read Real people magazine carries a feature this week on how to smarten up, with an appearance by Peacocks stylish and understated court shoes – perfect for any occasion where a little ‘shoe sobriety’ is required, or just for the fun of putting real style in your step.
Young fashion conscious weekly magazine Style has a big recommend this week in the shape of Peacocks patterned leggings, signalled as a must have of the season. And some great coverage in Wales and the North West of England, with the Wigan Evening Post and the South Wales echo clearly feeling the Pearl Lowe effect : the headlines Impressed By Budget Dress and Pearl’s Dress Is A Real Gem pretty much say it all! This item has swept the board since its launch just over a week ago at the London Connaught – and caught the imagination of everyone in the UK and even, reportedly, a famous name from across the Atlantic – rock goddess Courtney Love.
And finally Peacocks military inspired coat got a big salute from the Halifax Evening Courier in its fashion pages, with the item shown to its maximum gorgeous effect.
A bumper week in the magazines and fashion pages from Peacocks, and with the party season just about to begin, we can expect more great coverage to appear in the coming weeks.

60s/ 70s fashion

The pastis a different country:

Peacocks in the pink!

Leading UK value fashion retailer Peacocks’ participation in Cancer Research UK’s Breast cancer Awareness Month raises awareness and money for a good cause.

Cancer Research UK’s well-received campaign for Breast Cancer Awareness Month continues its success this week with some great coverage in the national press, as the public snap up ranges of goods on sale with the iconic Breast Cancer Awareness logo and colourways.

The Sun newspaper today runs a feature entitled ‘Buy it in PINK for a good cause’ showing off some of the interesting items available in the Cancer Research Breast Cancer Awareness ranges including Peacocks’ cute and unusual black and pink nail files among a selectin of other must-have beauty and cosmetics items.

In Mizz magazine, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is also featured, with the latest edition carrying a whole page devoted to the Cancer Research UK initiative, awash with the near ubiquitous pink of products launched for Breast cancer Awareness this month, including Peacocks’ beautiful charm bracelet.

Telegraph & Argus hails Peacocks role as an awareness raiser in their roundup of the best retailers who are involved in campaigns such as CRUK’s Breast Cancer Awareness.

Every year almost forty six thousand people are diagnosed with breast cancer. Cancer Research UK is the largest single funder of breast cancer research in the United Kingdom. Cancer Research UK promote a range of their own breast cancer awareness products and in partnership with selected companies, including Peacocks.

Pearl Lowe - clothes designer and more

Britpop rennaisance woman Pearl Lowe looks like a woman who's got it all - she's had a career in music, she's a writer, a clothes designer, mother to daughter and model Daisy. But as this video shows, she's had her fair share of challenges along the way.

We loves ya, Pearl!

Winter boots time

We've been taking a look at the ladies shoes from Peacocks range and are pleased to report that there's a lot there at good prices for winter boots.

What with the winter predictions now saying 'whiteout' we thought it best to be prepared and get a pair of warm boots before the snow inevitably starts a-fallin'.


In other news, we've been checking out some of the spring 2011 ranges and it looks like - so far anyway - that next year could be another bumper 12 months for all you shoe-a-holics out there. A stylish 12 months at that...

Autumn clothes

The sun is shining and the sky is blue. But summer's gone, as the temperature drops and the night falls ever earler each evening.

For clothes enthusiasts, this is a good thing - time for layers, coats, boots, jerseys. It's much more fun than flip flops and shorts. The shops this time of year stock the new season's clothes, and it's time to think about replacing last year's stuff, and maybe assembling a new look.

Luckily here in the UK we have what's known as a mild climate - that's not to say it doesn't sometimes get too cold, but thankfully we don't experience the sub-zero all that often. And Autumn in the UK is generally the perfect weather for wearing a few layers of clothing - it's a cool season, but not too cool, and also never too warm. There's little chance that you'll opt for a heavier jersey or coat then find yourself sweltering on the way to work in the morning.

Please drop us a comment with any Autumn recommendations for us to check out.

Buying shirts -

Buying shirts is back in, it seems. In ye olde days of old the only time people would wear stylish mens shirts was to work, or something formal. That was back in the days when it was cool to appear to be "rebellious" or something. But the shirt is back with a vengeance - and long may it continue. While t-shirts are perfectly reasonable, nothing speaks of style quite like a shirt.

Digg

We want style icons #2 Dappy

N-Dubz burst on to the UK music scene in about 2006 with their infectious blend of attitude and cool tunes. Band mamber Dappy (left) has a refreshingly eclectic fashion direction, and stands out from the hoardes of ordinary-dressed people in the urban music scene.

How to shop for evening dresses online

1. Make sure you have a computer and an internet connection.

2. Start browsing the sites you love. And go further afield too, seek out new places of worship (sorry, I meant retail...!). You can do this by entering the relevant words for your search into a search engine. Say you wanted green dungarees (which I know you don't it's just for example's sake) you type in those very words and abracadabra a list of sites that sell these will appear.

3. You can narrow down your search by including a place name as well, plus other words like 'cheap' or 'party', or whatever's appropriate to your enquiry.

4. Making your choice. You'd think that t'internet would be the place for impulse buys, wouldn't you? And that we'd all be broke by now, having spent all our spare cash on impulse purchases. Well, strangely, internet shopping generally doesn't work like that. Knowing that you don't have to buy on the spot like you would in a shop, and having the freedom to pop back anytime to the site means that in fact impulse buying is rare. It also minimises mispurchases. I have - not yet anyway - ever got something online and thought wait, it has to go back. Not once.

5. Once you've perused the available evening dresses online, and made your choice, it's a simple matter of filling in a few details, making the payment, and then waiting for the postie. Simple as anything.

We want style icons #1

First in an occasional series. We're going for as eclectic a bunch as possible here, in order to reflect the general british public.

And our first style icon at the blog is none other than John Lydon.

It's in the attitude, the colour, the anger and the clothes. As a daily jeans wearer, I can only marvel at John Lydon's determination to continue his decades-long jeans embargo.

Oh I do like to be beside the sales sign...!

The UK summer seems to be holding up. Bit of rain here and there, but temperatures still fairly warm. So that's some good news. It's that summer heading into late-summer point that we're now getting to. There may be a 'scorcher' or two down the line, but it's probably safe to say that the main part of the summer is more than halfway through.

And sad though that may seem, it harbpurs some sweet news in that now's the time for mid-season sales. The high street is up to its astragals in sales right now, as is the online world.

So go pick yourself up a bargain while the summer's still here, and think of the rich Autumn harvest only six weeks away!

You could either try an online clothes store or take a trip into town - either way, there's savings in them thar clothing outlets...

dress4success

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to look mega-smart, like *all* the time?

Well... one way they do it isn't by spending over the odds (although some undoubtedly will), it's by spending smart.

We all have expensive garments in our wardrobe, but these can be mixed with other garments to create that smart look. There are a lot of websites out there where you can assemble a full outfit for not a lot of money, which is good to hear in these crunched months.

So get smart and get on the web - it's where a lot of mid-season sale action is happening, and you don't have to leave your living room!

Me, I'm looking for bargains from now until the Autumn season stuff gets released. It's only going to get cheaper from here on in. Hopefully ;)

Jeans world!

Denim's been around since the 1800s - who'd have thunk it would stick around, in fashion, all this time?

Some go for your real-deal cowboy western jeans, some go for high-end fashionista jeans, and some go for inexpensive yet cool denims, as seen on this excellent blog called Uptown Denim.

With so many types and styles of jeans going around, it's difficult to keep up with all the stuff that's available. Just as well there's the internet - checking out all the stuff available by physically going round all the retailers would be one heck of a trek!

<-- We like these workwear style jeans, just the thing for the summer round of barbecues and general fun!




Of course, with the brilliant amount of choice around at the moment, style-wise you'll have your own favourite type of jeans. Let us know in the comments which jeans-type you are. Or if you're into multiole styles, just send us a list of them...

The Pearl Lowe Spring Summer 2010 Range

Last Autumn/Winter ex-Indie Goddess Pearl Lowe released a hugely successful range of clothing for UK retailer Peacocks. Well, thankfully Pearl is back with an entire new collection for Spring/Summer 2010 - here is a nice Polyvore set featuring the range, which is available to buy online and in-store at Peacocks.

Pearl Lowe for Peacocks SS2010 on Polyvore.com

Funny T-Shirts

My New Six Pack

If there is one thing I enjoy about shopping and to be honest probably the only thing then it's finding comical t-shirts. Since I'm not exactly Gok Wan when it comes to shopping I tend to go for the cheesy funny tops.

I found this one on the peacocks website it's exactly what I go looking for and probably the closest I'll ever get to having a six pack! What do you think of it? Lets face it for a fiver you can't go wrong!

The "Hoody"

I know the reputation the “hoody” has these days but surely that can’t stop people from wearing them because there associated with young people in British gangs to be honest I think the publicity it gets from this is a bit harsh.

For instance men’s hoodies can be fashionable and either worn for sports, casual or fashionable purposes like the one pictured below, so is it right to slag it off so much and distance ourselves from wearing because the youngsters or Britain have chosen it as a mark of their gang or whatever.

let me know what you think on this matter and if it is right to label it a gangs top or wither you yourself like wearing hoodys and get stick for it.

Bargain on Fashion Jeans

Cheap Trendy Jeans

Most guys out there probably have the same probably as me when it comes to shopping. You go out looking for some men’s jeans and they cost an absolute fortune, for a decent pair in a designer shop your talking at least £100 and in some shops that’s CHEAP!

Usually I go for the trendy ripped looking jeans and when I decided to try different stores I came across this bargain (pictured below) £20 for a pair of jeans that look the same as ones you buy in River Island or Hugo Boss. I don’t know about you but next time I know where I’ll be heading first.

Skinny Jeans Stronger Than Ever

One thing that’s hot in the fashion market just now is skinny jeans. With most of us (myself included) owning a few pairs of these jeans it’s no wonder most high street chains have them hung up all over their shelves just waiting for you to pick them up.

Chances are next time you’re out shopping every second shop you pass will have these on sale. With places like Diesel, River Island, Peacocks and Primark all selling them at speed. Prices can range from £10 all the way up to £300 so the options there for you whether you’re a bargain hunter or a “spendaholic”.

The revival of skinny jeans was probably mostly down to come back of rock bands and lots more celebrity’s slipping on the skinny jeans. Celebs like Madonna, Victoria Beckham and the likes of Cheryl Cole have all been spotted with these must have fashionable jeans so it’s no wonder most shoppers are jumping at the chance to jump on the band wagon.

Five Very Cool Fashion Websites In Our Opinion

Initially, when we had the idea for this post we thought that it would be relatively easy to find a whole bunch of shoes websites that were really cool - sadly, we couldn't have been more wrong - the whole thing has proved rather difficult.

What we have discovered is that many of the top names in shoes actually have very poor websites. We are no experts on web design ourselves but many of them (including Prada and Gucci) have sites that are very hard to decipher. There doesnt actually appear to be any purpose to these sites except to publish pictures of models - you can get stockist information (this can be rather irrelevant sometimes for those of us in the UK), browse the current collection (but not buy) and the like - however, much of the time you actually have to guess what to click!

Anyway, moaning aside there are some shoe websites which are excellent. Here are five of our favourites:

Dr Martens

Good old Doc Martens - this is how you do it. Simple, easy to follow navigation - and the entire collection available to buy online - very cool.


Birkenstock

Perhaps not the most aesthetially pleasing website, but practical and comprehensive nonetheless. Birkenstock sandals and shoes are a great quality option - we would have no hesitation buying from the website.



Office

Office Shoes have a wide range of shoes from many different brands. A nice, easy to use website.



Camper

We like the use of imagery on the Camper website.



Swear London

If you're looking for some cutting edge styles then check out Swear London - the website is pretty sharp too!



If you have any fave shoe websites then please let us know - cheers!

Sales, Sales, Sales

How is everyone fairing in the January clothes sales?

Is there any store in particular that would be worth a visit!?

Let us know your thoughts!