College Days - Part 2

The preppy style is a style long associated with a sort of lifestyle that referred to the more wealthy of the population. It was synonymous with country club members, yacht owners, and croquet players.
The typical preppy look consists of lighter colored clothing, mainly khaki and pastels. A typical male preppy outfit would normally consist of khaki colored pleated pants and a polo shirt. In the preppy style, it's normal for men to embrace shades of pink, lime and yellow. For women, the look was quite similar.
Women would wear khaki colored bermuda shorts, or skirts, fitted polos or short sleeved blouse tops, and a light cardigan tied over the shoulders. Footwear consisted mostly of white tennis shoes for men, and delicate sandals for women. The overall preppy look has one rule: clean.

Every looks is clean, fitted and has a hint of athleticism to it.

MODERN PREPPY

While the preppy look is usually associated with country clubs and polo games, mass market took hold of the look and made it something that became popular with the general public. Companies like Abercrombie, American Eagle, as well as certain designers such as Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger take the preppy look and make it modern.
A more modern preppy look takes the classic look and tones it down a bit. Polo shorts for women are more fitted, and have stripes. Jeans were paired with polos to create a more casual preppy look. More recently, the preppy look began to include slogan tees and sash belts.

HOLLYWOOD PREPPY
You don't have to think far to see which show has the most preppy style - The OC of course.



Get Blazers:

MARC by Marc Jacobs Stretch Blazer & Denim Skirt, Iisli Short-Sleeve Blazer & Lace Tee

Get Polos:

Lilly Pulitzer Polo Dress, Lacoste Pique Polo

Get Argyle:

Burberry Argyle Sweater & Denim Mini, Juicy Couture Cashmere Argyle Sweater & Wide-Leg

Get Shoes:

Lacoste Multi-Strap Sneaker, Christian Louboutin Ribbon Espadrille

College Days - Part 1

This school’s-out look takes its inspiration from preppy active-wear, combining bold block colours and go-faster stripes with funky retro designs.

It’s a vibrant trend that spells vitality and steals the coolest aspects of sports styling – smart cricket-style sweaters teamed with utility drill shorts; polo shirts with slouchy combats; Seventies-style satin blouson jackets or fitted zip-up tracksuit tops worn over team slogan T-shirts; and revival rubber sneakers worn with your favourite worn denims. This is a casual, confident, off-duty look that will send you to the top of your class.

Summer fashion for her
By Hatty Oliver

The foundation of a preppy outfit is a polo shirt, preferably of the candy coloured fitted variety. The label to chose is Lacoste. This brand has been revitalised by Lacroix-trained Christopher Lemaire, and is now sported by droves of American teenagers, as well as hip-hop luminaries such as Kayne West, Andre 3000 and Usher. So popular is the look that whole websites are devoted to the contentious issue of whether or not to "pop your collar" (flip up the collar on your polo shirt). Not content with polo shirt domination, Lacoste have launched a new fragrance, Touch of Pink, for a fresh smell to complete the image.

It's not just college kids who are championing preppy perfection - Marc Jacobs has singlehandedly revived the fortunes of the blazer and now Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson, Mulberry and Chloe have all followed suit. This season's version is neat, shrunken and colourful with bold stripes or prints. Team the blazer with a fifties circle skirt, cropped trousers or fitted jeans for a sleek sophisticated silhouette. Although the beads and bangles that are everywhere this summer don't work with this look, the season's other favourite accessory - the Alice Band - is perfect.

Don't go mad - there's no need to become a neo-Conservative and start dressing like Desperate Housewife's Bree. Preppy can easily cross over into uptight, so give the look a modern twist. The relaxed Californian look used with such dazzling effect by the cast of the OC is the best to aim for. Never do up your blazer and use quirky accessories such as oversize sun glasses, chunky mules and flowery scarves to keep the look young unless that is you've secretly been yearning to join the women's institute and learn to play bridge.

One of the advantages to adopting a preppy style is that its standard items have a timeless appeal, and while they may be updated they never really change. So the polo shirts, tennis styles, Breton stripes and trench coats you buy this year can become the wardrobe classics you can turn to again and again. Avoiding the more extreme vagaries of fashion and remaining true to an effortless sense of 1950's inspired chic also means that in ten years time when you come to look at photographs of summer 2005 you won't have to cringe and wonder what made you think a kaftan was a good idea.


The Preppy Must Have - Blazers
In the colour of the moment - Blue.


Alexander McQueen and Chloe


Matthew Williamson, Marc Jacobs

Preppy Labels:



Lacoste


Tommy Hilfiger

Gowns from Cannes

The Black Numbers

Brittany Murphy, Jessica Alba

The Whites

Natalia Vodianova, Paz Vega

Grecian

Maria Bello, Diane Kruger

Midas Touch

Sharon Stone

Blues

Eva Longoria, Adriana Karembeu

And a wardrobe malfunction.

Toile de Jouy

A fabric printed in toile de Jouy, namely an 18th century French scenic pattern usually printed on cotton, linen, or silk in one color on a light ground



Toile Gets a Makeover
The traditional pattern shakes its fussy image as designers give it a new look
BY KATE NOVACK

Toile De Jouy, that pretty print strewn with idyllic scenes of the French countryside, may seem best suited for upholstering a sofa that's covered (permanently) in plastic. But designers are dusting off traditional patterns like toile and splashing them on wallpaper and trench coats.

For his spring 2005 collection for Burberry, designer Christopher Bailey drew inspiration from an English classic: blue-and-white Wedgwood ceramics. The French fabric company Pierre Frey recently introduced Hong Kong, a toile depicting its namesake city, including skyscrapers and traffic jams. And the Glasgow-based design firm Timorous Beasties' toile honors the company's hometown with a tableau of familiar local spots.

"I thought it would be great to do a toile that showed scenes of now—what people are doing in an urban environment, what they look like—but to do it as beautifully as possible," says Paul Simmons, 37, one of Timorous Beasties' designers. From afar, Glasgow Toile is a lovely wash of red on white. But step closer, and it's not so pretty. In one scene, a junkie uses drugs in a graveyard—"the moral tale being if you shoot up, you will literally end up in a graveyard," says Simmons.

Not all the new creations are as charged or provocative as those of Timorous Beasties (whose fabrics cost about $120 a meter from timorousbeasties.com). Designer Manuel Canovas rolled out wallpapers with traditional pastoral scenes in funky color combinations like mauve on mustard and rose on lime.

You never know, though: Timorous Beasties' toile may be cutting edge now, but it could become a classic like Wedgwood someday. Simmons reports that in November he was slated to go off to Buckingham Palace—at the invitation of the Queen.

From TIME Asia Magazine, issue dated December 13, 2004 / Vol. 164, No. 24

Runway


Burberry , Paul Smith


Christian Lacriox , Clements Ribero

Shop


Valentino Floral Print Pump , Gucci Ankle-Wrap Wedge

Summer Evening Dresses

Summer is the best time to wear dresses, even at night. Fabrics are floaty and light, colours are bright and one can accessorize liberally.

Runway


Matthew Williamson


Missoni

Shop


Carolina Herrera Silk organza dress


Odabash Cotton caftans


Plenty by Tracy Reese Silk dress


Banana Republic Goddess medallion dress


Banana Republic Exotic-print halter dress

Mercedes Benz - Australia Fashion Week

A little late.
Collections were extremely wearable. Only a few daring ones made bolder statements with radical backdrops or clothes.
Australia is probably the most fashion forward country in this region. I see much more to come in the future.
A lot of noise has been made about the Singapore fashion scene and how Singapore will never get there. I agree.
Unlike Australia, Singapore brands and designers do not have strong local support. And the textiles available here are pathetic. On top of that, the designers aren't that great themselves. The recent fashion festival was a terrible flop, with lots of unnecessary theatrics and wannabes (Triumph International staged a Victoria Secrets-wannabe show which reeked immaturity).

Back to Melbourne, the designers did well in swimwear and dresses, which I believe are what Aussie labels have been excelling in for the past few years.

A few picks:


Stephanie by Conley+Cranford


camilla and marc


Bettina Liano


Tim O'Connor


Scanlan & Theodore


Cohen et Sabine