Kate's dress

If you’ve had a look at my website, you will have seen that I also work as a bridal stylist, styling brides and their bridal party for their big day.  When I first meet with my bridal clients, I instantly have a vision in my head of the perfect dress and style for them, so when Kate and William announced their engagement I had an instant flash of the gown, the shoes, etc.

Styling brides for their wedding day isn’t as simple as that of course.  Before I get to work creating the outfit for them, I always meet with the bride to consult on her ideas and expectations, the wedding date, the venue, the ceremony type, etc.  With Ms Middleton, this would have been quite the consultation;

So, tell me about the groom? ….The Prince of England? Good choice!

What about the ceremony, where’s that going to be?.... Westminister Abbey? Fab!

And the venue, was it where you always imagined it would be?..... Buckingham Palace? That would be my choice too.

This wedding is a pretty big deal, whether you’re interested in it or not, after all, this is the future King and Queen of England.  But if I’m truly honest about it, and I guess this may not come as a surprise, I’m most excited about seeing ‘the dress’! 

This dress is going to be the most talked about wedding dress of the decade, it’s going to set future bridal fashion trends around the world and most importantly it’s going to give us the biggest insight into Kate’s personal style.  A woman’s wedding dress is the one dress she will pour their heart and soul into shopping for, designing, buying, etc, so this will be the best representation of her style that we have seen to date.

So how would it have looked if I’d been asked to style Kate?

I would have chosen a dress fit for a princess and this Angel Rivera would have been my first choice.  Kate usually goes for a slim fit in her dresses which is perfect for her lean silhouette, however, I would have chosen something grand and out of the ordinary for this occasion.  She’s getting married in Westminister Abbey, and you want the dress to make an impact in such a huge venue.

The sweetheart neckline, perhaps this one is a little too low for the occasion, is perfect for Kate’s décolletage and will show off her fantastic bone structure. 

The twist on the neckline brings a modern element to the dress too, which I think would be a must for Kate and the fitted bodice is still going to show off Kate’s slim figure.


A longer train is another must, again you want to make an impact, although I’ve read she’s going to have to do a little bit of walking during the ceremony, so I wouldn’t recommend a Diana style train.

I imagine she’ll have to cover her arms and shoulders, so I’d recommend organza sleeves to compliment the fabric choice seen here, the sheer organza sleeves would reveal Kate’s toned and slender arms.  I think lace is too old for Kate, but I have a feeling she will go for a Grace Kelly style gown. 

                                               

I’d also have a look for a modern day glass slipper and choose something similar to these custom and handmade shoes by Emmy Shoes.  Aren’t they amazing?  Instead of a pink highlight and gold embellishments, Kate’s colouring would demand silver, perhaps blue highlights if she was feeling bold.

The excitement has taken over, I’m off to stick myself infront of Sky News and wait for the big moment when Kate arrives in her dress.  To keep up with my thoughts on her dress, you can read my tweets @NE_Styling.

If you’re watching the wedding today or simply enjoying a day off, have a good one!

Noreen xx

The fine line

So here we are with another big trend for SS ’11…..Stripes!  And I thought I’d share with you a few of my top styling tips for wearing them.

If used correctly, stripes can create miracles for any body shape.  As a stylist, I often use stripes for my clients as part of what I like to call ‘Illusion Dressing’.  It’s a way of dressing to enhance your best bits, whilst distracting from those less favourable areas. 

The secret behind wearing stripes effectively is understanding what it is stripes are doing when you wear them.  Once you understand this, you’ll be able to use stripes in your outfits to create any illusion you want.  Whether you want to disguise a fuller bust, create the illusion of curves or distract attention from broader hips, stripes are the perfect styling tool!

What do you need to know about stripes? Well, it's very simple...

·     Horizontal stripes draw the eye across your body from left to right; this adds width to your figure.  This may not be ideal for all, but if you have a boyish frame and want to create the illusion of curves, horizontal stripes are the perfect styling tool for you!

·    Vertical stripes draw the eye up and down your body creating the illusion of height; this also has a slimming effect.  So if your body shape is top heavy, wearing horizontal stripes on top will make your torso seem longer and slimmer and will help to balance your broader torso with your slimmer lower half.

Images courtesy of ASOS.com




Designers and the high street have been focusing on bigger, bolder and wild-coloured stripes for this trend, but before you invest in any new stripes for your wardrobe, think about what you want stripes to do for your body shape, follow my tips and you’re guaranteed to avoid any unnecessary and unflattering outfit mishaps.

To give you a head start, and encourage you to make the most of the glorious weather, I’ve found the best striped dresses that are available in the shops now and matched them according to each of the different body shapes.  There’s no better way to be on-trend this spring than saying goodbye to predictable florals and hello to bold and beautiful stripes!

Alice Dress, Hobbs at John Lewis £229.00
This dress is perfect for top heavy ladies.  The vertical lines on top will slim down your fuller bust and the horizontal lines on the bottom will add width to your noarrow hips, helping to balance your frame.  Wearing two different stripes together is also bang on trend for SS ’11.

Prom Dress, Oasis at ASOS.com, £65.00

Ideal for pear shapes.  The darker area of horizontal lines on the neckline will draw the eye up to your petite upper body, the thick waistband will emphasise your tiny waist and the darker area on the hem of the skirt will draw the eye to your well defined calves.  Your broad hips will go completely unnoticed.

Vila at ASOS.com, £22.00

Ideal for apple shapes. The vertical lines will add height and create a slimming illusion for you on top.  The shorter length means you’ll get to show off you’re slim legs and the tie at the waist will create the illusion of a defined waist.

Boutique by Jaeger at ASOS.com, £180.00

A perfect little number for straight up and down or boyish frames.  The broad, horizontal stripes will create the illusion of hourglass curves, while the sleeveless design lets you show off your well-toned arms.

Dorothy Perkins, £52.00

Hourglass ladies will get to show off their perfect figure with this LRD.  The evenly spaced stripes throughout the dress will emphasise your well-balanced frame and the pleats at the waistband will add definition to your petite waist.






If you're curious to find out more about my styling tips, would like to read about a certain styling topic or have a styling question you're itching to ask, please feel free to leave your comments, suggestions or questions below.


Next Blog post.....How I would have styled Kate for the big day!




Noreen x

Ellie

Introducing Ellie

So I know I promised my next blog post would be about wearing stripes and my favourite shoot of the moment, but first I just had to share with you some pictures of a shoot I styled yesterday. 

It was a model portfolio shoot for a young aspiring model called Ellie.  At only 14, Ellie is already on her way to being signed by a North East modelling agency and there’s no wondering why. A natural beauty with that Topshop-model edge, she has the diversity to be ‘quirky cool’ as well as ‘cutesy pretty’ and the potential to go very far.

Ellie’s Mother contacted me earlier in the week asking if I would come along to give Ellie a hand and style her outfits for her first modelling shoot.  They wanted to create outfits that were going to impress instantly and help Ellie stand out from the crowd.  At the same time they wanted to avoid “those posed Lipsy style images”.  So we discussed a few ideas and it turned out we were both thinking along the same line of ‘festival-quirky’.

Using the clothes Ellie and her Mother brought along and a few pieces from my own collection I created the ‘festival-quirky’ look we discussed whilst making a conscious effort to keep it young and girly.

My favourite look was Ellie’s snakeskin jumpsuit from Topshop.  It was very ‘Kate Moss does festival’.  To give it a younger, quirky edge we put Ellie’s long hair in a messy side-plait and I chose to weave a suede hair band around it for a touch of 1960s hippy cool.  A bowler hat and a pair of ankle boots added the finishing touches.

Best part of it all? Ellie was a complete natural in-front of the camera, making it pretty darn easy for me to pick up a few excellent pictures for my own portfolio! Thanks Ellie!

I’ve added a few of my amateur behind the scenes images below…the professional images from the genius photographer http://www.annavphoto.com/ will follow soon!

Noreen x