Street Style | Floral and pastels at Graduate Fashion Week 2012

Not only did Graduate Fashion Week deliver a whole heap of talent on the catwalks (check out our round up of the best graduate collections) but there was plenty of style savvy on display in between the shows too. While perusing the pathways of the Earl’s Court exhibition centre we found many an attendee nodding to the two of the biggest spring 2012 trends – pastels and florals. Was it deliberate? We stopped a handful of very well dressed visitors to find out.

Who: Marissa Owen, who won last year’s graduate womenswear designer of the year award. Marissa is now a designer at Marks and Spencer.

What are you wearing? Cos dress, PPQ shoes, Topshop socks and bag.

Do the seasonal trends influence what you wear? Not consciously, but because I’m always researching trends for my work I think there is a certain influence.

What have you seen at GFW so far? I saw the UCLan show, that’s the uni I went to, it was brilliant. I loved the collection with the jack-in-a-box theme [it was by Xiaoping Fiona Hwang].

Who: Lucy Nicholls, recent fashion promotion graduate of Middlesex University and blogger on Shiny Thoughts.

What are you wearing? Topshop shirt, trousers and brogues, Lazy Oaf backpack, Me and Zina jewellery.

Are you influenced by seasonal trends? Not really. I like florals and pastels anyway so I’m glad they’re in the shops right now.

What are you looking forward to seeing at GFW? I want to look at other graduate fashion promotion potfolios and see what they’ve done.

Who? Mehbuda Uddin, studying fashion at Bournemouth.

What are you wearing? Warehouse blouse, New Look skirt, Dorothy Perkins bag and accessories.

Are you influenced by seasonal trends? I picked this outfit many because I like the petrol blue colour of the skirt and because it has a retro feel. I flip through magazines so I’m aware of trends but for me it’s more about what suits me.

Who? Charis Younger, Northumbria graduate now designing menswear at All Saints.

What are you wearing? Asos dress, Primark bag, All Saints jewellery.

Are you influenced by seasonal trends? I’m definitely aware of the trends but I usually wear a lot of black and grey, like the All Saints clothes. There’s just so much pastel in the shops at the moment, but I try to wear it with my own twist.

Who should we look out for from Northumbria at GFW? Look out for Charlotte Sowerby and Emily Edge, they’re both great.

Who: Elis, from Bulgaria, studying business and management at Exeter university, currently on a sandwich placement doing marketing at IBM.

What are you wearing? All by  Zara apart from shoes which were bought from a shop called Renkel in Berlin, Germany.

What have you seen that you’ve liked at GFW? I really liked the University of Edinburgh show as they did interesting things with the business suit – it’s something I wear everyday.

Are you influenced by seasonal trends? I’m limited with my work clothes but I likes to wear flowers and colours outside of work.

Five Signs You’re Getting Too Old for Heels

1. You keep your Jimmy Choos/ Kurt Geigers in the box.
If all your purchases end up in a shoe shrine, never to see the light of day, you know you’re too old for heels. Any self-respecting teenager buying their first statement shoe would scuff those bad boys within hours of handing over the money.

2. You’d rather eat the latest issue of Vogue than trade shoe collections with Daphne Guinness
Heels can turn you into a power woman but flats are the best way to play it cool – dress down trend-heavy outfits with flats and you’ll feel a lot less self-conscious making your big entrance.

And you get to tsk tsk at Daphne Guinness for clinging to banisters as she teeters around in ever more ridiculous shoes. Just think what that poor woman’s feet must look like.

3. Your toes are a wreck from wearing “simple” black Havianas to parties when everyone else is in stilettos
Summer’s a great time to give up heels – or maybe just vow to stick to wedges wherever possible. I’m also a big fan of wearing black raffia sandals on nights out.

OK, they’re basically little better than flip flops but you can wear them with everything. Good for: the beach, the park and running across cobbles looking smug.

4. Those Sunday morning knee grazes are starting to annoy you
It used to be funny wobbling into gutters and twisting ankles on the stairs. But according to some (no doubt) pretty unscientific research quoted in Avril Mair’s latest Beauty Extremist in Elle magazine, 40% of women admit to having had accidents because of their heels.

What does the ordinary fashion ed do then? Simple, wear heels when you know you’re getting a cab to and from wherever you’re going and sit down a lot when you’re in them.

Blue brocade pool flats, Christopher Kane SS12

5. You like ‘haute casual’ footwear like these Christopher Kane abominations
If a talented British designer combines comfort with well, flowers it must be fashionable right? Wrong – but do use this kind of design to your advantage when you’re championing the merits of flats to the Amazon in the 5 inchers towering above you. Acceptably stylish flat shoes include ballet pumps, brogues, leather sandals and even plastic jelly shoes when combined with high fashion underwater-themed outfits. But not these.

Main image: Faraz Pourreza-Jorshari

Ted Baker SS12 Preview Show

Last Wednesday, Style & Then Some were invited to attend Ted Baker’s SS12 preview catwalk show.  This affair is usually only witnessed by the company’s sales staff as a way of familiarising them with the next season’s collection before it hits the shop floor.  However, this season the invitation was opened up to press, and Style & Then Some’s good friend Jessica Chan was on hand to photograph the key items which will no doubt be falling into the pages of every SS12 magazine trend report as well as in to our wardrobes.

Trends…

1.  Now, I may get annihilated for admitting this, but I have never seen an episode of Mad Men.  Despite this, it being such a popular point of reference for the high street and designers alike in recent years, I am still aware of all the characters and their styles through reading numerous catwalk reports citing it as ‘the big trend’.  A trend that supposedly will still be in attendance in SS12.  This may have something to do with Men’s fashions taking longer to evolve, or perhaps everyone just isn’t ready to let go of their Don Draper look just yet.  Either way, boys, you are looking dapper…

2.  With regards to the ladies key looks, it seems the label has pushed for an eclectic mix of styles which each, in turn, compliment the Men’s line.  So whether your man appreciates the androgynous look, or you prefer full-on feminine, there is something for everyone.  I’m talking Bow Ties, waistcoats, loose, tailored city shorts,  to fun, floaty and even Marilyn Monroe-esque outfits (THAT yellow dress), the catwalk was awash with peplums, peter pan collars and nipped in waists.  So if you aren’t a fan of androgyny, don’t worry, Ted hasn’t left you out.