Style into Action

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Nina Proudman - evolving style

Ever wondered how many printed maxi skirts a girl doctor can own?

Or how many tank/cardi/skinny scarf combinations can a girl do?

Sounds like Nina Proudman, eh?

Well, what if she tries something different?

After all, she has been wearing the same look for what? 3 seasons.....maybe its time to change...

I am not thinking of trying to change her feminine bohemian style, but perhaps we can tweak what she actually wears to make her more, well, fashion forward, & a tad outside her (very) comfortable comfort zone.

Lets analyse a few elements of the tweaks....

#1. Denim

Currently Nina wears basic jeans & standard shaped denim jackets...B-O-R-I-N-G.....

Would we consider giving her:

a pair of floral jeans -

These are so 2012 & not 3 seasons old.....

or bleached jeans -

Please ignore the upper half of this picture - its way to edgy for Nina - but she can definitely wear the jeans and stay true to her style.

how about metallic jeans -

These are Just Cavalli SS 2012

Granted a little "out there" on the runway - but if Nina keeps the other elements of her style true, then these would be a super pop for going out! Do you agree?

or patchwork jeans -

These are Dolce & Gabbana SS 2012.

I can totally see Nina in a 70s flair. Totally.

or lets give her denim pieces that have been dip dyed -

These are from Dries Van Noten SS2011.

Nina could even dip dye her current denim jacket.

& the new piece da resistance - SS 2012 that says: "I am totally current but still boho" is -

the chambray maxi skirt -

& they are Balmain SS 2012

I can definitely see Nina in the chambray version.

But what if she turned up to dinner with Patrick in the black chiffon version? Wowza!

2. Stronger colours/ tougher look

I'd like Nina to try bolder colours and tougher looks, but still staying true to her bohemian & feminine style.

So far, her shades are muted, soft, with only small pops of colour. These are classic Nina pieces.......

Johnny Was "Jessica" silk top $279

Johnny Was silk "Miller Lined" maxi with silk slip $339

lets amp up the colour & the contrast -

This is a Colette by Collette Dinnigan dress (in David Jones) in navy silk with red peasant embroidery. Its not "classic" Nina but the boho elements are there in the softness and the red embroidery.

& here is a Sportsgirl $50 sale skirt that could give some extra pop to Nina's look.

I used this in my previous post.....

http://www.styleintoaction.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/nina-proudman-shops-at-sportsgirl.html

How about a khaki military style jacket?

This jacket and the maxi skirt came from Myer Miss shop. The jacket was $70, the skirt was $50.

This kind of jacket has a tougher edge than Nina's cardigans, yet it works as long as the rest of the look remains "Nina".

Worked back with a strong floral, it gives extra flexibility. The top was $30 from Myer Miss.

3. Accessories

Dont fret, dont have a heart attack.

No major overhauls here either....I would however suggest two things:

floral sunglasses -

Lets make her sunglasses more floral, same look, less tortoise shell and but more floral.....

Liberty of London has put their florals on sunglasses...great idea, IMO.

http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/categorylist/dept/accessories_sunglasses?resetFilters=true

an environmentally friendly bag -

Instead of only having the types of bags on the left, how about she gets a Feed bag (options on the right)?

Lauren Bush started the whole Feed bag thing - as a way of getting food to children in third world countries. Lauren married the son of Ralph Lauren, David Lauren.

How do you feel about Nina getting more environmentally aware though her clothes?

& dont forget - you dont need to replicate Nina's look down to the last item - use her as inspiration but let the real you show through.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Nina Proudman shops at Sportsgirl

Everyone is Nina crazy. Everyone. I had never watched the show until last week & now I am hooked....on her style.

Mind you, her style is a million miles away from my style, but I love how the producers have identified a definite look for her and are sticking to it. I adore it when people & characters are consistent (read: authentic & read: "know thyself").

We are in Season 3 and everyone is whinging that they cant find the clothes Nina is wearing because the show was filmed 6 months ago and the pieces have sold out.

Imagination, people.

Imagination.

I decided to find an affordable "Nina would shop here" store in Sydney & grab everything they would let me take in the change room in one hit & photograph it - the photos being "Nina" style outfits.

The choice of store was pretty easy - I chose .....drum roll.....Sportsgirl.....

Would you have chosen a different store?

If so, tell me which one....

Here are some of the Nina outfits I created & every piece was cheap as chips - nothing was over $50, most of it was $15 - $20 per item.....

#1. White tank, coral loose tank layered (she loves layering) over it with a paisley print maxi skirt and a soft grey long scarf.

# 2. Change the scarf to a bottle green & the softness reduces by a touch in an instant.

#3. Then swap the dark skirt for a light coloured pastel maxi skirt & the soft factor amps up even more.

In case you havent noticed, the beauty of Nina's print skirts is that they have enough colours in them that you can wear many colours with them. This increases versatility.

In this case, a number of different shades of pinks/peaches with it (but probably not all at the same time)...

#4. Now pick the grey in the skirt & get a scarf in that colour....and you have another look.

#5. Look at this version: I can see Nina in the lace tank & the glittery scarf. They are bohemian and soft & that's her style. Like?

# 6. How about a white shirt half buttoned, with a coloured tank under it & a complementary scarf?

The scarf!

Probably the most used word when it comes to Nina fashion is skinny scarf.
She wears them in muted soft pale colours, sometimes with a bit of colour. Nothing dark or too bright.

# 7. I can also see Nina schlepping around in this tee & scarf combo....again, its all soft in colour, in fabric & even in the raglan sleeve....

#8. Another pretty Nina top - with jeans & a cardi. Notice the off white background, small soft (bird) print and small ruffles around the neck - classic Nina. Yes?

#9. Finally a floral kimono jacket - the softness here is in the loose style & the flowers. Of course we have to add a scarf which picks up one of the colours from the kimono.

#10. A softly beaded evening top.

Another thing to note: Quite a few of these pieces have been picked up from the Sportsgirl Vintage collection. If you are not familiar with this, the large Sportsgirl stores in the main cities sell vintage clothes from the 70s & 80s that they have picked up on their buying trips - unique & environmentally friendly.

The soft pink patterned skirt is a vintage item. I will show more vintage items in a later post.

Memo to you: YOU ARE UNIQUE

I hope this has inspired you to create Nina outfits without feeling the need to get the identical pieces she wears in the show. After all, she is a fictional character - do you really want to mimic a TV character? However, by adopting a "Nina style" you get to dress it in your own unique way - after all you ARE unique.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Business hoodies & other interesting clothes

You may have heard about the listing of facebook this week, but did you know Mark Zuckerberg also go married?

Some of us were worried - not about the listing, but about his attire on his wedding day.

Don't forget, we've all seen Mark in his hoodies....

Well, the bride was Priscilla Chan and she wore a $4700 Claire Pettibone dress (no, I havent heard of this brand either), but he probably stole the limelight from her with people worried he was going to show up in a hoodie! After all, the guy goes to serious business meetings with investors in hoodies. Anything goes!

Thankfully he showed up in a suit - not the best fit & look, but a matched suit....

They got married in his back yard which I think is quite lovely.

Thinking about hoodies and how Mark would wear one even to the most important business meetings - I did some looking around for hoodie type garments and found some executive versions - yup, executive hoodies!

in a grey pinstriped.....

in a glen plaid....

in a navy pin stripe....

Would you wear these to work on an ordinary business day?

How about a casual Friday?

Or are they too stiff for a casual Friday?

What about women? Why should they be left out? Well they arent. The company making the executive hoodies also makes them for women. Lucky us.

They dont have a proper photo - does that mean they havent actually made/sold any?
Hhmmm....

I actually remember about 10 years ago I owned a Covers (Australian brand, no longer in existence) tailored jacket in navy 100% wool crepe with a hoodie. It was cut beautifully & lined & I would have worn it in all but the most conservative of meetings, despite the hoodie. The hoodie was a single layer of crepe (no lining) - it wasnt the lined version in the above men's photos, which I think make it look more casual with the contrast fabric.

Maybe you'd prefer to wear a USA pant on casual Friday? Wonder if there is an Australia pant?......

or maybe a seersucker pant for high summer.....

finally there is the horizontal cordurory which is made by a US company & called the Cordaround!

The company states that the advantages of the cordaround are that it materially lowers crotch heat index as well as drag coefficient (ie: chaffing) compared to traditional vertically striped cords. Hhhmmmm.

There you have it.

The brand that sells these interesting clothes is:

http://www.betabrand.com/women/womens-executive-hoodie.html

So would you wear an executive hoodie to work?

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Balmain, Vanessa Bruno, Givenchy, Roland Mouret - its all here...

I popped my head into the Myer Sydney international designer pre sell for SS 2012 (southern hemisphere 2012/2013) yesterday.

Here is the invitation, together with the names of the showcased designers and the contact details:

The goodies on display will be open for public view and sale after 10 June. Until then, the viewing and sales occur by appointment only.

Whilst I did not take any photos when I was there, I did subsequently track down some of the items for your view

In some cases I have shown similar (not identical) items (& I have indicated where this is the case) & prices are my estimates in some cases (my brain can only hold so much...hehehe).

Interestingly, it appears that all of the pieces were from the designers resort collections - not from the main spring/summer lines. I think this is because resort is available earlier and is a bit more transeasonal (better for Down Under weather)

Donna Karan New York,

spliced red, cream & black skirt,
I drooled over this. It was $2,000 & I remember this price because it was my fave piece in the whole room. The work in the seams and the cut was worth every penny

Donna Karan New York,

off white zip, scuba look jacket.

Philosophy by Alberta Ferretti,

stretch navy/white nautical maxi with lace band inserts.
I didnt check the price, but would imagine in the vicinity of $1,300

Philosophy by Alberta Ferretti,
This is a dress, but Myer had the skirt, possibly with one more tier at the bottom.
I'd imagine this on Nina Proudman of Offspring, although she would probably not approve of paying the price. Once again, too much to absorb, but I'd imagine the skirt price would be around $1,100.

Philosophy by Alberta Ferretti,

halter top, really cute, probably priced at $800

Philosophy by Alberta Ferretti,

Navy cotton broderie long jacket
(The bow was not included)
Probably priced at around $1,800

Moschino Cheap & Chic,

strappy summer frock with border print

probably around $1K

Moschino Cheap & Chic,

too cute, black A line shift with apple sewn on top, classic & fun at the same time.

Notice the photo is shot at a fruit stand...hehehe

Moschino Cheap & Chic,

I tried this black lace over blush pink lining pencil skirt. It was too small. I think the price was $1,200.

The lace was a guipure cotton lace - divine!
They also had little jackets in this lace.

Moschino Cheap & Chic,

trench with flared gores inserted in the princess seams, girlie yet classic.

Vanesssa Bruno,

cream acetate a line vest (also in black)....

approx $600

Vanessa Bruno,

cream blanket style cardi with blanket ends

Very boho, very festival

Vanessa Bruno,

off white applique top &

off white patchwork loose cardi (with silver fabric patches on it)

They may have even had the pants - info overload for me to remember...

Vanessa Bruno,

print loose cardi

Vanessa Bruno,

olive textured synthetic mix dress

Vanessa Bruno,

They had a fes pieces in this paisley type print....soft but boho.

Sonia by Sonia Rykiel,

a stretch knit dress that isnt as short as this photo implies (model = long legs!)

Sonia by Sonia Rykiel,

The skirt is an 100% linen sewn in bands of orange and navy. They had it in a pea-coat that was only $800 & it was divine. They also had it in another piece - a pant (I think). Dont recall the skirt....

Sonia by Sonia Rykiel,

The fabric here is a silk shantung (shantung = with the natural slubs of the silk showing on the surface). Whilst I dont recall this two piece, I do recall the same fabric but in the same varying width stripes of orange & hot pink in a very wide A line sleeveless dress. It was yummy.

Sonia by Sonia Rykiel,

Pretty sure they had a navy wide leg cropped pant - like the sky blue version shown here.

Sonia by Sonia Rykiel,

They had a few colourways of this cotton cardi - a navy/white stripe with white band, a red/white stripe with a navy band....very practical, very cute.