Lace comes in many styles, for
example: Chantilly, Broderie Anglaise, Brussels or Guipure; furthermore
each type of lace supports in an infinite range of textures, but
whichever lace fashion you choose for the summer of 2011, the
most popular colour has to be white. Read more about
lace types here
on my collecting vintage pages.
Broderie Anglaise white and summer whites in crusty
lace dominated the Dolce & Gabbana Spring Summer 2011 shows.
There were also matching crunchy white guipure lace bags. White lace featured hugely not just in apparel, but
also in accessories such as bags, which you can in the pictures
below.
Dolce & Gabbana excelled at producing a new take on white
lace where the sweetness and innocence meant that such luscious
crunchy crusty lace fabrics needed little more than a simple
shape to show off the designs to perfection. This makes the
simple tunic a great choice for lace placement.
Above Left - Monsoon Ivory Lace Tunic £250 S/S
2011- Monsoon Stockist Number: 08448110068.
This white lace tunic dress garment is perfect relaxed occasion
wear for the bride at a beach wedding.
Centre - New Look Crochet Trim White Kaftan Tunic Top £24.99/€32.99, White Rose
Necklace £3.99/€4.99.
Here are a gaggle of girls each wearing a different design of
white lace underwear as outerwear. Above - Summer Whites From Dolce
&
Gabbana Catwalk Show.
Above left and centre left illustrate the
Dolce&Gabbana underwear outerwear approach to some summer white
pieces.
Centre Right - New Look Cutwork Camisole £29.99/€39.99, Cutwork
Shorts £32.99/€44.99
Left - New Look Lace Blouse Top With Lace Inserts £29.99/€39.99,
Patchwork Boyfriend Shorts £25.99/€32.99, Sunglasses
£4.99/€6.99, Gold Earring Hoops £0.99/€1.99. New Look Stockist:
www.newlook.com.
Maxi-dress fashion has grown in strength in the
summer of 2011. These
summer white lace dresses are reminiscent of fine cotton dresses
the
Edwardians wore. The advantage of buying a long lacy summer
white maxi dress 100 years on is the more carefree attitude
today. No woman today is forced to wear an underslip petticoat
when the temperature soars; if she wears one its her choice -
same with tights or pantyhose - some loathe them others hate being bare
legged. Today we are fortunate to be able to buy open toe bare
cooling tights. Check out your local Marks and Spencer for
this legwear. Edwardians would certainly have approved of the hats the
models are wearing, because they knew that a protective hat helped to
keep the complexion unlined and the delicate dermis undamaged by
the harsh sun. So get yourself a 1970s floppy hat - help your
skin and be on trend.
Above Left - White Lace Dress Dolce Gabbana Catwalk Show.
Centre Left - White Lace Dress Dolce Gabbana Catwalk Fashion.
Centre Right - New Look Lace Insert Maxi Dress £44.99/€59.99,
Straw Hat £9.99/€12.99, Brown Lace-up Wedges £22.99/€29.99.
Right - Matalan SS11 Womens Papaya White Strappy Tiered Maxi
Dress £18, Floppy Straw Sun Hat £8.
Lace was very popular last year especially over contrast
linings. Lace continues as a prominent fabric trend for
2011 however, the trend is for the surface to become crustier and crustier. Think delicate, but
the
texture can range from Chantilly lace through to thick crunchy Guipure and
Austrian lace.
Designers currently have a fascination with
texture and contrast, smooth and shiny, rough and raised
textiles. Hems in particular get lots of focus through embellishment
with appliqué and feathers,
like this dress from Monsoon. Both Monsoon and River Island have
had no difficulty tackling this hot fashion trend for white
pieces with crusty raised surface texture.
Above Right - Monsoon Textural White Orchid
Dress, £150/€254 - Monsoon Womenswear Clothing SS11 Stockist
Number: 08448110068.
Left - A beautiful lace tunic dress from River Island. This lace
creation is spot on in capturing the 1970s mood.
»
The one easy way to adopt this trend quickly and bring it
to many outfits is with accessories.
Dolce &
Gabbana featured lace in their bags
for Summer 2011.
Get a bag or some shoes that utilise
lace or lacy texture. Macramé bags offer a heavier chunkier
contrast than finer lace, yet shows openwork with a similar
texture to lace.
These gorgeous guipure lace shoes are from River
Island.
Right - Lace Platform Shoes - Jemima Platform £100 - River Island SS11 WW
Accessories - Stockist Number: 0208 991 4904.
The Dolce & Gabbana hard frame white handbag below
has been softened up a little with the addition of guipure lace
motif appliqué. Guipure lace is thick and one of the strongest lace types, which
makes it ideal for footwear too. Those White lace platform sling
back shoes might be all you need to lift a simple dress and of
course they are great for weddings.
Guipure is a large patterned heavy lace usually of Swiss
cotton or French made. Thus guipure is a very textural lace as
both the lace shoe and the bag above show.
Dolce and Gabbana may have shown an abundance of Broderie
Anglaise and guipure lace in their summer whites, but Phoebe Philo at Céline gorged
too on crusty lace and
highlighted the importance of contrasting textures. The
inclusion of woven texturally interesting hand loomed pieces,
knotting, feather and fringe adds further to this texture feast.
This rich lace dress below is an occasion shift
ideal for a special occasion, the races, a wedding or a party.
Celebrate with lace. Read more about
lace types here
on my collecting vintage pages.
Early 90s minimalist white uses clean
lines and crisp white lines that make a white shirt and white
body a must have again in 2011. Hobbs always does minimal white garments
really well, each year I buy a few linen pieces there and they
never seem to go out of fashion enabling one to wear them on for
several years. Take my tip and you will have wear out of basic
minimalist linen items for 5 years until 2016.
Take your pick from white trouser styles in 2011. Choose
from crop leg, 1970s wide leg flares, boot cut or narrow leg
paper bag top trousers. Add a white jacket of a different texture if
you are unsure of going so far as the full on top to toe
matching all one colour white trouser suit.
Above Left - New Look White Net V-neck Vest
£16.99/€21.99, White Ribbed Vest £3.99/€4.99, White Hooded
Summer Parka £34.99/€44.99, White Capri Jeans £24.99/€32.99, Black Shoes
£29.99/€39.99 - Stockist www.newlook.com.
Centre - Marks & Spencer Fluid Form Jacket
£89/€120, Trousers £59/€80, Shirt £35/€47.50, Shoes £55/€75.
Right -
Warehouse Jumpsuit. Luxe by Warehouse Open Back Wide Leg
Jumpsuit £160. Warehouse Luxe by Warehouse Stockist Number: 0845
122 2251.
Cropped trousers and summery shorts with linen
jackets or a blouse are good basics for many events. These
casual smart white clothes just need the addition of a well groomed
woman. They can all be easily adapted for holiday wear dependant
on your own personal style. Smarten them up with red and blue
accessories to give them a nautical or Kate & Will 'Royal Wedding'
touch.
Above Left - White Linen Jacket £249, Stripe
Floral T-Shirt £69, White Cropped Linen Trousers £149, Red
Wedges £159, Clutch £259, Trilby £25, Corsage £35 All available
in sizes 10-22, Shoes available in sizes 3-8. Elégance
Spring/Summer 2011 Stockist Number: 0844 557 5507.
Centre - Summer White Shorts by NEXT.
Right - M&Co Top £28, Cropped Trousers £25, Necklace £12,
Bracelet £6, Sandals £15. M&Co SS11 Womenswear. M&Co Stockist
Number: 0800 0317 200.
A basic white blouse, shirt or dress can take on
another dimension when you add a black belt or a bright coloured
belt. These white lace dresses come with their own belts, but you can
easily change a belt for a wider or narrower one dependant on
your figure.
Above Left - Phase Eight Shift Dress £99 - SS11 Stockist
www.phase-eight.co.uk
.
Centre - White Dress Black Waistband - Marks & Spencer.
Right - Debenhams Red Herring White Lace Prom Dress £45 €68 -
Debenhams Women's Fashion Stockist
Number: 08445616161.
When a black, white, navy or denim jacket is
combined with a simple white summer dress it can double as great
business wear when you need to look formal, but want to feel
summery.
Summer whites make great easy beach wear and can
be as informal or formal as you like. In great sunshine you can
get away with white.
This white lace dress (centre) has a wavering hem
which is always in fashion when the hemline is indecisive and about to
fall dramatically or rise suddenly. Great for women who like to
hedge their bets and can't cope with an ever imprecise hemline!
Above Left - Debenhams Lovely White Circle
Pattern Broderie Anglaise Lace Dress -
Perfect for the woman who wants to feel feminine, cool and pretty.
Centre - New Look Mix Match Broderie Dress
£49.99/€64.99, White Sun Hat £7.99/€9.99.
Right - Casual and relaxed - A long white gypsy skirt that
would look wonderful with a
peasant blouse top too.
Rocha John Rocha at Debenhams - Jumper £40, Skirt £45, Sandals
£50 - Stockist Number: 08445616161.
Many prints are graphic, focusing on bold looks and striking
positive negative pattern repeats. Black and white fabric prints
are timeless.
Calligraphic script patterns and doodle scribbles
worked in black and white/ivory/cream have an abstract
appearance. So these dresses work really well in the city where flowers sometimes
strike the wrong note. This graphic fashion trend always hits
the right spot for business wear and if too lively can be toned
down with a black jacket or cover up. In certain business
environments the white element works well on a summer day,
lightening up the wearer without sacrificing professional
appearance over much.
The Versace collection used a Greek key motif to highlight bands on op-art red
and white bags. Search out intense digital patterns for this on
trend fashion. This classic look of black teamed with white in blocks or
graphic black and white prints is always a winner. Everyone
finds it easy to incorporate this neutral scheme into their
existing wardrobe and use it trans-seasonally.
Left - J by Jasper Conran - Graphic Print Dress £60,
Dame Bag £75 at Debenhams - Stockist Tel: 08445616161.
Near Centre - Newspaper Print Halter Neck Dress £65 - Graphic
Fashion From Jasmine Guinness at Very.co.uk SS11.
The tuxedo jacket is a classic look that both Chanel and Jaeger have done really
well for Spring fashions 2011. Look for lots of tuxedo
variations and to update them team them with high waistline wide
leg trousers or palazzo pants. Never throw away a black or white tuxedo jacket -
sometime, sooner than you think it will sway back into mainstream fashion.
GRAPHIC PRINTS. Calligraphic script patterns and
doodle scribbles worked in black and white/ivory/cream are
abstract in nature and make a good buy now as the font form
motif has been featured by designers for Fall/Winter
2011.
Right -
Black and white monochrome below knee skirt that
could become a classic winner for your wardrobe. Stripes and
black and white colour schemes are never far from the catwalk
and return season after season.
Right - Principles By Ben De Lisi - Monochrome Black & White
Stripe Cotton Sateen Horizontal Stripe Skirt £40 - Debenhams.
MINIMALISM is relaxed chic which can be as casual or formal
as you desire and plain white blouse or plain white shirt is one
of the simplest ways to work the minimal trend.
The blouse is back and truly is one of the great new must-have
pieces for Spring
2011. With its long sleeves, the blouse is the ideal
trans-seasonal piece and perfect on days where the temperature
dips. Look for batwing blouses and very full
sleeve blouses. Wear your extra long and ruffled blouson sleeved
blouse beneath a three quarter sleeved cropped jacket.
Collars and Cuffs -
Big volume ballooning sleeves finished by bold cuffs from Viktor
& Rolf brought fashion drama, all the more emphasised by the use of the
crustiest of lace - guipure. The finest of permanent fine pleats
and a raw look with raw rustic lace is typical decoration for an
embellished blouse in 2011. Expect to see floral piping/
appliqué and ribbon trim on the newest blouses.
There were designers such as designer Riccardo Tisci at
Givenchy who sent out crisp white shirts. Classic shirts are part
of any glamorous woman's timeless capsule wardrobe. Variations
include cropped silk shirts. Classic well cut shirts are
forever
fashion and the British master of shirt dressing is designer
Paul Smith.
Above Left - Animal print toned down with a white shirt and blouse
at Dolce&Gabbana SS2011.
Near Right - Marks & Spencer Blouse £49.50/€67, Shorts
£39.50/€54, Shoes £55/€75.
Far Right - Marks & Spencer Shirt £39.50/€54, Shoes £55/€75.
Blouses and shirts are both hot fashion trend must-haves in
2011.
You may wonder what the difference is between a blouse and a
shirt, here are my definitions.
The key features to look for are open front, back opening,
looseness and neckline details.
Definition - A Blouse
Blouses can have back or
front openings, or be without obvious opening if the width of
the neckline is loose enough to slip the garment over the head.
The buttons on a blouse can be at the front, back or
side of the garment. There may also be an alternative zip, press stud or hook/eye closure or even no closure at all if
the neck opening is big enough. Mostly a blouse has some
looseness and can be worn outside or tucked into a bottom
garment. The looseness flows and so blouses over when tucked into a
skirt or pants. A blouse can be semi-fitted too and in
this form sometimes may double up as little jackets. One specific
style that lends itself to a blouse without any fastening
involved, is the easier wider neckline provided by a cowl
neckline.
»
Right - White Peasant Blouse With Broderie Anglaise
Trim Hem.
Above Right - SM&Co S11 Womenswear Boutique Peasant Top £35,
Denim Shorts £24, Necklaces Both £10, Clogs £35. All M&Co SS11
Womenswear Stockist Number: 0800 0317 200.
Right - M&Co Chiffon & Lace1970s Batwing Blouse £35 - SS11
Womenswear Stockist Number: 0800 0317 200. The chiffon kimono
sleeve blouse and peasant top also nod back towards the 70s
look, encompassing two hot trends this season in just one
wearable item.
Definition - A Shirt
A shirt does not open in the
back. It always opens in the
front either with buttons and a button band, or a simple fabric
facing. A shirt can also have a short faced front neck opening
or side neck button opening with stand (Russian Cossack style). Unless it's
tailored to the body contours, a shirt is usually loose-cut for comfort
and ease of wearing. It may also become looser and called
oversized or be more closely fitted
and darted or seamed according to the whims of fashion. Shirts mostly have collars,
stand granddad collars, but may also be collarless according to
fashion trends.
Above Left - Great Plains Spring/Summer'11 Sky Linen Shirt
Dress £66 - Great Plains SS11 Stockist -
www.greatplains.co.uk
.
Centre - Limited Collection Oversized Shirt £39.50 Marks &
Spencer Clothing
Right - Marks & Spencer Limited Collection Women's White Shirt
£35.
A poet shirt has a faced or bound open front neck and can
have a more blouse like quality; often it has neckline front
ruffle frills, Dandy bows and very voluminous sleeves. It fits the 1970s
retro mould of fashion styles very well. Think of D'Arcy from
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice or Patrick Lichfield in
his Dandy outfit shown right.
For classic shirts Paul Smith is the designer to beat
Kimogami is a slight nod to ethnic where East meets west. This
look has Asian influences including obi belts, cheongsams and
kimono sleeves. But some of the most defining features are
origami like folds. This shirt is an excellent example of a
Kimogami styling.
Left - SS2011 Yogo Ego Bell Sleeve Womens Fashion Hitch
Up Origami Shirt £25 -Stockist www.Yogoego.com.
This page has been about the huge fashion trend for summer
white women's fashion.
Summer whites make great forever fashion pieces
that will not date and will look just as good in your fashion
wardrobe in 2012 and 2013. Summer white lace blouses, tops,
dresses and maxi dresses are ideal for those on limited budgets
as you can add items to you white collection every year. Fashion
trends that really take off generally last 3 or 4 years, so buy
into both the quirky and classic or basic white fashion trends
now and you will get value from these clothes until the trend
peaks in 2014.
Think forever fashion and buy eco friendly
cotton and linen that will see you right through the twentens
decade.
Copyright of images courtesy of Prshots.com,
Dolce&Gabbana, Marks & Spencer, Hobbs, House of Fraser, Great
Plains, Warehouse, Penneys, Oasis, Debenhams,
River Island, Monsoon, Matalan,
New Look, Jane Norman,
ASOS, NEXT, Yogoego.co.uk,
very.co.uk, French Connection, Phase Eight,
Matalan, Tamaris, Elégance.
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The key features to look for are open front, back opening,
looseness and neckline details.
