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Fashion Trends 2004-2005Part 4 - Plan Your WardrobeBy Pauline Weston Thomas for Fashion-Era.com
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Plan Your Wardrobe
Good Colours for Autumn Winter Fashion Trends 2004 and 2005So this autumn will see the welcome return of jewel colours. Some are around already, but for every bold strong colour currently in favour there will always be a mass retailer who knows that many consumers will be unwilling to purchase loud colours and so have no difficulty ensuring that a range of safe neutrals is always at hand. Labels like Hobbs, Max Mara, Karen Millen, Jasper Conran and Phase Eight have plenty of safe colour schemes. If you haven't yet bought into green, scour the stores for a few green items. Green is back in fashion and will be seen even more this autumn and winter. Pick something that will tone with the next big colour the jewel tone of emerald green. Sage green, chartreuse and olive will still be good green tones for autumn, and as they are summer 2004 colours you are sure to find some of it in the summer 2004 sales. Reminders for Updating LooksWhat Do You Need Now for Autumn 2004 Winter 2005?Only you can really know what you personally need to suit your lifestyle. But as usual and as discussed in my web pages how to assess a fashion look, check out and clear out your wardrobe and put it into apple pie colour order this week. Make a note of the new colours and see how they would team with existing items you already have. What glaring gaps do you see? Start at the top with your hairstyle or headwear and move down the body so that you include in your thinking anything from a new haircut to a fresh look at hosiery to the newest lines in footwear. If you are still wearing black and more black, reassess how much colour is around you and how 90s the 'I only wear black or black' look has become. Black will always be a great choice to have in your wardrobe, but it is no longer the only choice. If you cannot bear to move totally away from it, add some strong jewel colours as tops or wear trousers with luscious textured tweed jackets as colour and texture burst contrasts. If even that is too much for you, look to the near neutral tones mentioned above like ice blue, ecru, powder pink and cream to lighten the look whilst keeping it subdued. Casual dress will become less casual as grooming returns. If you want to live in sweat pants and sportswear that is up to you, but I can guarantee that in 10 years time you will have no fond memories of those slouchy jogging pants in the same way you might a bias slip dress that made you feel very special. Revamp your image by taking control with a new hairstyle and be ruthless about discarding to a charity shop what you never wear and which would look hopelessly passé if you did. If you buy only a few items in the sales this summer whilst waiting for cooler days to wear autumnal styles, go for classics that you can wear into 2005. The summer advice was to invest in a pair of the sexiest, latest hip hugging denim jeans such as Rogans. That advice is still good for autumn 2004. Whatever the brand you prefer, look for the latest trouser styles soon arriving in the shops. Skinny drainpipe jeans and trousers will soon be the next pants style to adopt, so think carefully when making future new trouser purchases. So you may like to look for a pair that is skinny tight on the legs if you want them to move into 2005. However think twice if you have thunder thighs. Note well that low rise is on the wane. Note any feature on the wane and avoid it as a new purchase. Get a great tweed shaped short just below waist jacket with a bit of self fringing evident on the collar edges or cuffs and that can be mixed and matched with jeans, trousers or other contrasting plain fabric bottoms. New jacket styles to come, will by next year be longer in the front than the back. Avoid buying into last year's passing fads as you observe what you really want in your perfect autumn closet. Browse the jewellery counters for attractive accessories. Checkout the bags and handbags and any new ways of wearing them. Note the volume of metal hardware on bags and opt for some with hardware styling. Finally make a note of the colours and fabrics to look out for and detailed in these web page articles. Carry this with you and keep it as a checklist to work around the fine details. You are reading an original fashion article written by Pauline Weston Thomas© at www.fashion-era.com © This autumn 2004/winter 2005 will see even more colour and pattern with plenty of textured fabrics, fur and knits. There are many, many looks for you, a very special individual to choose from. Don't be lazy - go shopping knowing you will need to try on many garments to buy just a few that feel like you were born wearing them. I hope I have made your task easier in these 4 autumn 2004 and winter 2005 general fashion trend pages by helping you absorb what is likely to be a fashion force for autumn 2004 and winter 2005. Think colour and texture. Think groomed and graceful. ~ Colours Spring Summer 2005When planning ahead bear in mind these colours for spring/summer 2005. Colours for spring summer 2005 include rich jewel tones and variations on these tones below. There is a trend to name colours after foods, especially spices, vegetables or fruits of the forest. This makes it easy for individuals globally to assess what a colour trend truly might be like without resorting to expensive shade cards. Anyone who has eaten a green olive knows exactly what that colour is like. With vastly changing eating habits most of us really do know the colour of saffron or a cranberry or a mango when it is used as a description. Standard colours like navy blue stay the same. But variations do exist in the more exotic tones. Is apricot really much different than mango. Does mango mean the flesh or the skin? For spring and summer 2005 choose from this palette below. Notice how nicely it leads on from autumn winter 2004/05 colours. lemon, hot yellow, golden saffron, sultana, mango, carrot, pumpkin, tangerine, ginger, spice, cinnamon, date, toast, jade, lichen, lime, mint, apple green, mauve, light purple, lilac, lavender, purple and more purple, periwinkle blue, cloud blue, teal, turquoise, aquamarine, crystal white, electric blue, sky blue, grey, slate, coral, pink, shell pink, cerise pink, hot pink, raspberry, chilli red, claret, ruby red, burnt paprika, Fashions to DropFrench manicures. Now so overdone, overlong and very passé. Fake tans. If you have to go fake, go very subtle fake and make it just a summer fashion. Avoid the mahogany wood or man tan look especially in autumn/winter. You can dilute your fake tan by opting for lighter toned fakes or adding moisturiser to make it go further. Kiss goodbye to velour tracksuits. So passé...... Shredding has been done to death in the name of deconstructionist fashion and you may wish to choose very carefully when thinking of buying a garment that is somewhat raw in finish. Whilst I love the creativity shown in some of these crinkled wrinkled and shredded items and have recently bought two new tweedy knobbly jackets with fringing, I know I'm not alone in being very tired of some of these looks where raw edges combine with cheap nylon knit fabrics in random dyed materials are meant to indicate a fashion edge, but instead in some cases have begun to indicate very poorly finished clothes, unsatisfactory dyeing and roughly applied appliqué, all on occasion coming over as an excuse for shoddy workmanship. Try to discriminate between the edgy deconstructionist aspects in garments and the frankly badly manufactured ones. Whilst many do not want items to last ad infinitum, if you do want a classic item to last look for quality stitching and about 12 to 14 stitches to the inch. Retro and Vintage Items to ReviveIf you have a 1960s cape like elbow sleeve mink jacket hiding away, or have an aunt or mother or even grandmother who has one or can pick one up in a thrift shop, get ready to don it this winter. Fashion history shows that such empire above waist mink jackets were all the rage worn with baby doll empire line evening gowns in the late fifties to sixties. Short cropped, short sleeved mink or fur jackets will be a 2004/5 fashion when worn with narrow trousers that seem sprayed on drainpipe style. Tweed, tulle and chiffon will continue to show the textural variations we have become familiar with in recent times. You may also consider looking out for 1930s inspired dresses in salmon coral pink, black or silver. Worn with a feather shrug you will ooze elegance and style. High Vivienne Westwood style platform shoes will be winners and become all the rage, as footwear literally reaches new heights. You are reading an original fashion article written by Pauline Weston Thomas© at www.fashion-era.com © MorphingMorphing is fashionable with designers. They like to show new ways of wearing garments whether it be a fashion to roll up sleeves or trouser legs, when in practical terms it would be just as simple to make the jacket with shorter sleeves or the trousers cropped from the start. Morphing is the process of transforming one image into another. Most have us have been doing it for year without knowing when we slung a sweater around our hips or shoulders. Morphing is a modern fashion trend that allows the wearer to use a garment in more than one way. A jacket or cape moved from its original use and buttoned on the hips becomes a skirt, a scarf become a belt, a sarong a halter top. Yesterday whilst out perusing the sales (yes again) I saw a man who at first glance appeared to be wearing some kind of kilt or skirt. When I moved ahead of him I noticed he was not wearing a kilt, but a very bold red tartan shirt, but the sleeves were tied at the front waist over shorts as one ties sweaters sometimes. The shirt was long because he was a big man and so it had plenty of shirt tail length. It was a chill summer day, so maybe his shorts were a bit optimistic as he set out. Somehow though I think it was a deliberate fashion act to show off his rather nice tanned muscular pins! Brand Shopping From the InternetSome fashion problems have been solved for those who have felt bereft and hunted for name brands and been unable to access them easily. Gucci recently launched a shopping website and soon you will be able to get those latest and very desirable items directly from gucci.com by adding your name to a waiting list for the hottest items in town. So if you need jewelled heels or other desirable item get that mouse moving and do some internet shopping. If you need sportswear or just replacement shopping of undies use the internet. Figleaves are highly reliable internet fashion lingerie sellers as are Marks and Spencer. Try Marks too for high performance sportswear for fitness, golf, outdoor sports and running all available to buy with ease online. Be selective and you really will find the latest high street styles at prices you can afford. Happy shopping on or offline. You can read more about general image planning in these two existing web pages in the image and wardrobe planning section. You are reading an original fashion article written by Pauline Weston Thomas© at www.fashion-era.com © For more information on women's and teens fashion trends go to:-
For related fashion information go to:-
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