Debs Ideas.

So, I know it's a little early but sales are everywhere at the moment and I wanted to put together some pieces from high street stores to show how a good Debs/Prom look does not need to cost a fortune. Here are some outfits I styled in different ways for different girls.

1. Romantic Elegance.

This look is pretty timeless and classic but without being typical Debswear. I feel like it's a somewhat safe but rather reliable option. The lace on the dress is quite fun and young and stops the outfit from looking too old or overdone.

Debs - Romantic Elegance by fitzpac featuring diamond earrings

2. Restrained Ease. 

I'm in love with this dress and feel like the whole look is very modern and unexpected without being showy or flamboyant. While the pieces are grown up, the playful pop of colour in the bag and lip keep it young and appropriate.

Debs - Restrained ease by fitzpac featuring asos

3. One dress - two girls.

This dress from Topshop is very versatile so I've styled it for two girls - one who is a bit of a punk (as I was) and another who is interested in being a little more demure.

Debs - Lace Prom Dress - Elegant vs. Rock and Roll by fitzpac featuring black handbags

4. The Suit - two ways.

I've never quite managed to do a suit for a formal event but I love the idea. Here's two ways to style a suit - one is more playful and the other is a little sexier. I admire any girl greatly who would do this for the Debs and pull it off.

Debs - A Suitable option -Playful by fitzpac featuring topshop

Debs - A Suitable Option - Adult by fitzpac featuring river island

5. The Cutesy Kooky Look.

This outfit is super cute and just a wee bit eccentric. I imagine it on a character in High School played by Zooey Deschanel. 

Debs - Cutesy Colour by fitzpac featuring topshop

6. The Natural Babe.

This, I imagine on a natural beauty or someone with charisma and charm who doesn't need to try very hard. It's all about confidence and ease.

Debs - Natural Babe by fitzpac featuring asos

7. Simple Sex Appeal.

This look is about sex but not overtly. It's the classic sex appeal of a red dress without showing too much or trying too hard. The colourful and playful accessories keep it youthful and age appropriate.

Debs - Simple Sex Appeal by fitzpac featuring topshop

And those are my ideas!

JW Anderson - S/S 2014

The new JW man has more of a wiggle and a flow. The designs are rather minimalistic and perhaps less fussy than women's garments but they move like women's clothes. The sculptural pieces are kinda divine and transcend gender barriers in some ways. They seem somewhat more wearable to me but, then, this is coming from a female perspective with a greater sense of fashion freedom. The mesh tops with a single coloured circle also appealed but the weird plastic patch really threw me. Maybe I just don't get it (as I've mentioned can happen before) but they look like bags with spare undies in them clipped to the models' crotches - not the greatest connotation ever.

 If we go back to the question of wearability, however, there are some damn well-tailored pants that as singular pieces would fit in to most wardrobes. The halter-necks for men, however, are really a garment for the truly brave. The bands across the arm, a preoccupation we've seen before, are back in several pieces and so is the flashing of flesh. The a-symmetry at play and the use of bows in a few pieces as well as the folding seem to speak of Asian influence. The word "origami" was one of the first I wrote down upon viewing the collection. Once again, the collection pushed boundaries, explored and had a sense of humour.

Whether Joe Bloggs would wear the collection is irrelevant but the questions asked by the clothes - or, rather, the questions they made us ask - are important ones. The "Is fashion art?" debate seems relevant as I often think that JW's pieces are more message or statement than clothing.

(Images from vogue.co.uk)

The Fourth Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist.

Summer, summer, summer!...and I'm listening to sad songs...hrmmmm. You know when you just feel like being self-indulgent? Yeah, that's what this is about. Enjoy. Heh.

Confusion = derision?

(JW Anderson Mens SS14 - via vogue.co.uk)

It is a sad truth that confusion or lack of understanding is often followed by derision. This is particularly true in the world of fashion. It is perhaps more likely that it is the intellectualisation of fashion which promotes elitism rather than financial divisions. Often it appears to me that much of the most avant-garde comes from those who were once misunderstood until someone noticed them and got it. “Getting it” is really important. Not everyone does. And it is this lack of understanding that causes a rift. Those who don't get it label collections as “ugly” or “unwearable” or “self-indulgent”. Those who do, feel defensive and scoff at others for being too narrow-minded or short-sighted to understand. Few things create such a divide as fashion. It as if it is a world parallel to teenage feuds over music genres. No one is truly right or wrong but merely unwilling to bend to the other's way of viewing things. Or too afraid of hurt feelings. It's all a case of miscommunication.

Of course, I am speaking largely in a general sense and about extreme opinions. It is not always so black and white as this. Examples, perhaps, are the best way of explaining the connection between confusion and derision in the fashion world. Fashion is one of the arts most engaged with by the general public and on a very regular basis. We are all aware of the fashion world and familiar with it but we are not all insiders or truly part of it. It is often those who are not in the business or the “know” that meet new ideas with confusion and derision. But this is not something that is limited to fashion. The “isions” are common reactions to the new and unknown. It is an easy reaction. The lazy reaction. Few of us are innocent of it. Take JW Anderson's A/W collection for men this year - dresses and skirts a-plenty for men. While the fashion world at large labels him a wunderkind, male friends of mine laughed off his clothes upon spying me looking at them. I'm sure most people in the street would do the same. Similarly, Chloe Norgaard was regularly lambasted last month as Vogue's Today I'm Wearing guest. Designers love her for her kooky, colourful look but many readers posted rude comments which were unnecessarily hurtful and cruel.

We do not all have to agree on matters of taste and everyone is entitled to their opinions. However, I do think it is sad that more of us (myself included) cannot accept these differences in opinion and embrace the crazy, beautiful, diverse world we live in as improved by them. Perhaps we all need to reconsider how we react to things that we don't understand and learn to give new things a chance. New perspectives are fun, not threatening! And something that we do not like or understand is not ugly. Judgement is an easy shield to fall behind but it does not promote a forum for growth or nuturing.

Weekend packing

So, last weekend I was away in the West of Ireland with friends. High maintenance is neither my style nor an option when sharing a house with 12 other people so it was necessary to pack easy, wearable, interchangeable options. As per, I packed wayyy too much yet managed to fit it all easily in a backpack. I largely stuck to a tank, boyfriend jean and light knitwear formula but also had dresses on hand in case dining got fancy (it didn't).