Why Did We Ever Wear the Poncho?

 We never learn...

OH THE PONCHO..

Out of all the traditional cultural outfits to emulate in fashion form, why in the early Noughties did we select that of the Mexican? I mean, Mexico as a place is gorgeous and they have nice food and drink tequila: all’s good in the hood. Their traditional attire? Not so stunning… A massive square of knitted material with a head hole in the middle; otherwise known as the poncho.

Not only did the poncho make us look like we couldn’t afford a coat and had instead draped a blanket around our shoulders (leading to embarrassing “donation” incidents whilst sitting on doorsteps) it also made one’s shadow look like a giant triangular sandwich with the filling dripping out. Try it and see. 

They didn’t have arm holes, making it impossible to manoeuvre without hitting someone in the face as you flicked the poncho over your shoulder, and you could see none of a person's figure when they were wearing them. If you are going to wear an impractical item, at least wear one that flatters you.

Apparently ponchos are going to become cool again this season, but I doubt anyone still owns one. Well, anyone other than confused old ladies who pick them up in a charity shops and are gutted to find a massive hole in their new rug when they get home.

Written by Kate Lloyd.

Please Stop Wearing Bear Face Hats.

When guilty pleasures go wrong.

  YOU ARE NOT A TODDLER, DON'T DRESS LIKE ONE.

Panda Face Hat, River Island. 
 

With the recent snowfall and arctic temperatures I have enjoyed keeping my ‘money-maker’ warm with a nice woolly hat as I only get thrills from self-induced brain-freeze when it is courtesy of a Slush Puppy . 

This year, however, many innocent bystanders have been horrified by the sight of a new trend on the hat scene, one that is so sickly sweet it makes your eyes water (and then freeze over in these conditions). On babies they are acceptable, on young children they are tolerable, but unfortunately, there is no excuse for anybody above the age of five to be wearing them: hats with bear faces stitched onto them and woollen ears stuck on the top - it’s the stuff of nightmares! 

 

This cutesy facade is dangerous. If you are going to have a bear's face on your head, why stop at the bear hat? Why not go the whole hog and let out your inner grizzly bear in an all-in-one costume?  The temptation to become overly cute is too great.

I think a hat should be all about warmth and so if these creations do actually fit the bill and keep your head toasty then by all means go ahead and wear them.  Although I think many will agree that a trusted woolly beret or beanie is the way forward, especially if you live in the countryside and want to go for walks without being shot by farmers protecting their land from rogue animals.

Woolly Beret, handknitted by Lizzie's mum.

I tend to go for a plain navy or grey woollen beanies as these basic colours will go with practically everything. But if eccentricity is what you’re after I say pom-poms all the way!  With a slight ski-theme these make you look acceptably quirky; something that the bear hat doesn’t quite allow you to pull off.  Alternatively, if hats aren’t quite your style, earmuffs or woollen “headwarmers” are always a way to keep your Britney Spears’ warm. 

Wool Pom-Pom Beanie,  Topshop

Furry Cossack?!? Hat, H&M Men.

Furry Pillbox Hat, Vintage.

Same hat, a treat for the ladies.

Written by Sophie Harrison.

Pictures of Lizzie Lewis and Perry Higgins.

Review of the Year.

The good, the bad and the crazy.. 

2009 IN FASHION.

I think we can all agree that 2009 was a year that some may call crazy. Blame Gaga, blame Beyonce, blame the mad cap designers of the world, but I’m sure that by the time we reach 2019 we’ll be looking back on our clothing choices last year and having a little giggle. Hell, I’m giggling now and I’m still wearing 2009’s fashions! Not that this is a bad thing, years of Victoria Beckham and Rachel Zoe had taken the integral fun out of fashion and it was the eccentric playfulness of 2009’s fashions that made it an exciting year for clothes lovers.

The major influence on fashion this year was the ‘80s. We all knew it was coming, the leggings and the slogan t-shirts of ’06, ’07 and ‘08 were building to a maximum impact Dynasty fest in ‘09, with a sprinkling of ‘80s Madonna.

Balmain reintroduced us to the shoulder pad in their 09/10 Fall Collection, Beyonce single handedly brought back the leotard in her ‘Single Ladies’ video and Gaga rocked underwear as outerwear even in a chilly British January. Pattern tights and PVC leggings popped up and denim jackets, Ray Bans, crop tops and body con skirts were the staple items in fashionistas’ wardrobes.

Perhaps it was the credit crunch that sent us running towards stylish comfort, but the year also introduced us to the holy grails of comfortable leg wear; the hareem and the, now student essential, jegging. A hybrid of the legging and the trouser of the decade, the skinny jean. The streets were full of people with full flexibility, their legs no longer restricted by their tight denim cage. The streets were also full of camel toes, but we’ll skip over that little issue.

Now that we were all wearing underwear as outerwear, mainly due to Christopher Kane at Topshop, we needed some layers to cover up under when we got chilly. What was better than a vest top/dress with arm holes down to the midriff to show off our floral bra-let, possibly with a black and white print of an obscure rock star on, or Kate Moss? (Thank you Ark.) Perhaps a translucent lace number to show off your leather bra and tuck into your sequin hot pants?

2009 was also the year that we all fell in love with the wolf motif, once only worn by people who bought their clothes from QVC and Bret from ‘Flight of the Conchords.’ We all wanted a wolf t-shirt in the summer, preferably a vintage wolf, and as we headed into autumn, we all wanted a vintage wolf sweatshirt.

Chezza Cole tried to keep up her fashion icon status on ‘X Factor’ but often ended up just looking weird. You must remember the weird mini dress/floor length cape combination. However, I think we must thank her for the longevity of the one-shoulder dress. Other fashion icons included Alexa Chung, who, after landing a US MTV chat show, was now a worldwide icon. American youths finally cottoned on to her sailor, tomboy style and winged eyeliner. As well as Cheryl and Alexa, Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni, first ladies of the USA and France, reintroduced us to Chanel and classic style.

The ‘It’ bag was seen as a thing of the past and we all fell in love with ‘It’ footwear. Stacked heels, lots of colour, lots of strap detail. Sometimes it was a shoe, sometimes a boot, more often than not a shoe-boot, but all of them were amazing. Whether it was the hoof like footwear in Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ video or the invisible mirrored shoe, they were all ‘fierce.’

 Not only did clothes become extreme in 2009, but make up did too. People fell in love with false lashes, dark berry black lips and matte grey nails. Hair was scraped back into high buns or decorated with designer bunny ears. Often it seemed that designers were designing for non human muses and sometimes they were. Marc Jacobs designed clothes for Miss Piggy and Christian Louboutin’s muse for part of the year was Barbie.

Like the outrageous Aunt that I only see at Christmas; 2009 was mad but lovable and I already miss it. I really hope that 2010 is equally wild.

Written by Kate Lloyd.

Why Did We Ever Wear the 'Gypsy Skirt'?

 Oh how foolish we were!

BOHO- OH NO!

We were all loving a bit of Sienna Miller and her ‘boho’ ways back in the summer of 2004. The billowy long, brown, gypsy skirt and disc wrestler belt were swooshing on every girls’ hips, including mine. Even the city girls were a hay bail away from becoming country bumpkins.

Every year such an ensemble emerges from the depths of closets, clinging onto a long forgotten furry gilet. They slyly arise from the back room of charity shops like an annual unwanted cold sore.

The hot weather does not condone these god-awful brown tents. They may well be breezy in the summer air as you stroll through the meadows in your wee cowboy boots- but they should never see the light of even a sunny day again!

It was Jude Law who binned Sienna and her boho ways in favour of a whole new type of nanny ‘free love.’ I’m glad we did the same with the gypsy skirt.

 Written by Marleena Cronvall.

Why Did We Ever Wear The 'Skouser'?

Oh how foolish we were!

We all enjoy a trouser. We all enjoy a skirt. So why not go mad and slam the two together? NO, don't do it. Do not succumb to the ‘skouser’! But we did, didn't we! Back in the day.

I myself latched on to this fad like the Tammy Girl fashion victim I was. It seemed like the perfect ensemble; a little curtain to dress up a lonely trouser, whilst being TOTALLY on trend at the same time. Was I blind? Maybe I thought I’d cracked the art of layering? Or maybe I had just had enough of swooshing around town with my tent like poncho? This was a skirt trouser revolution!

You can imagine my shock when my post '90s self came upon these delights once more in a far corner of Topshop Boutique? What does this mean?! Are the higher powers of fashion really telling us to embrace this hideous ‘trend’ once more? Fair enough, this updated creation was no longer in bootcut school-uniform style, rather a tight little bodycon skirt skimming a skinny trouser. Fashion seems so go round in circles so maybe the era of skouser is set to have its huge Christmas number one! Yet, being so soon after Halloween I personally don’t want to risk being accused of getting dressed in the dark, would you?

Written by Marleena Cronvall