Showing posts with label trends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trends. Show all posts

Tuesday, 22 July 2014

Liz Lisa A/W 2014 : New Fancy Girl

Off the back of Swankiss' A/W Collection, Liz Lisa have offered a preview of their own collection. Liz Lisa is one of the leaders in sweet and roma gyaru styles and appeals to the non-gyaru market through the use of their sweet and girlish approach to fashion. As always, this has carried over to their A/W collection.


The name of their A/W 2014 collection is 'New Fancy Girl' and envelops the retro girly look that's set to be a big trend in the upcoming season whilst staying with their recognisable Liz Lisa brand. Tartan, floral prints, flared skirts and muted colours are the main points of this collection. It's not overly girly and sweet compared to Swankiss' collection which is a nice surprise!

The key colour trends of this collection are:

♥ Red
♥ Rose Pink
♥ Dusty Green
♥ Brilliant Blue
♥ Bordeaux
♥ Navy

The collection also includes the classic A/W fabric choices such as tweed, corduroy, knitwear, quilting, etc. which is perfect for the cooler weather!

Looking at the 60s trend that is sweeping the current collections there are definitely a few pieces inspired by this time period in the Liz Lisa collection. However, I feel like Liz Lisa didn't quite hit the mark with these. They were close but no dice.




I really feel like the last one is hideous as it's so frumpy! It's definitely 60s but not glam; it feels like something my gran would have worn!

This collection will be available from 26th July instore with further pieces to be added.

Stay sweet! ♥

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Monday, 21 July 2014

Swankiss A/W 2014 : Poo Doll

It's a fact that I've never been fond of summer fashion. It's so boring and every year it's the same trends that come in and out. Sometimes a girl just wants to wear something with cute sleeves without burning up whenever the great British sunshine decides to come out and play! I'm growing bored of the same old floral summer S/S prints so I'm deadly excited to see that stores are slowly but surely bringing out their A/W collections.

First up is Swankiss.


The name of their A/W 2014 is Poo Doll. As in 'poodle' but it's a very questionable name in English! I don't think it quite gives off the cute and kitsch retro gal theme that they're looking for! A+ for effort Swankiss, you tried! It just didn't quite work.

60s and retro styles are set to be huge in Autumn & Winter and Swankiss takes this and adds their own girly flair to it. Pearls? Check. Lace? Check. Flared skirts? Check. The collection also includes muted versions of our favourite pastel colours and has a variety of prints.

In some ways, this collection reminds me of a cross between Liz Lisa and KOKOkim. Shibuhara and sweet/roma gyaru can both take pieces from this collection so it'd be interesting to see how both subcultures choose to style these pieces. It's something to keep a watch on and to take inspiration from for sure!

It's very interesting how they've chosen to interpret the 60s. Instead of the bold reds and polka dots I often see from Western designers choosing to emulate this style it's refreshing. Mauve is nicer on the eyes.







The collection is available to preorder from the Swankiss website.

Stay sweet! ♥

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Thursday, 26 June 2014

Trend: NeoGal

NeoGal.

NeoGyaru.

Whichever term you prefer to call it by, there's no denying that it's been firing up the J-Fashion community recently and lead to all sorts of discussion. Some people love the style and others loathe it and believe it's ruining gyaru and everything it stands for. To some people gyaru is still the tanned skin, the over dramatic eye make-up and big hair.

To me, that is the gyaru style that I first saw online a few years ago and developed a crush on.

The current gyaru is weird to me.


Ever since NeoGal first made a mention in ViVi last year, the popularity of the style is increasing and starting to make more of an impact. With the recent demise of Ageha, etc. the magazines that fashionable girls have in Japan is narrowing down, leading toe extra exposure of styles such as NeoGal.

The 'rules' of NeoGyaru as stated by ViVi are:

1 A girl who models her fashion after Western trends.
2 Gal who uses Instagram and other social media to catch overseas trends.
3 One who bleaches her hair to white blond or purple.
4 Isn't trying to impress boys with fashion but a popular yet stoic type of gyaru.


Alisa Ueno, producer and designer of FIG&VIPER, is one of the biggest NeoGal leaders out there. Other brands inspiring the trend are SLY, Murua, Emoda, etc. Basically a lot of the old mode gyaru leaders!



Some of the current gyaru trends such as chokers, etc. have snuck their way into NeoGal but it feels oh so toned down. There's no big hair and over dramatic eye make-up leading to bigger looking eyes.

My personal opinion on NeoGal?

B o r i n g !

What attracted me to idolising and admiring gyaru in the first place was the sense of fun their outfits had, their hair and make-up. Slapping on a pair of false eyelashes and circle lenses doesn't make you gyaru - if that really was the case then you could argue that Kyarypamyupamyu is gyaru. Spoiler: she isn't.

If anything, NeoGal is the lovechild of the 90s and Shibuhara fashion. It's soft grunge and Tumblr incarnate and with the recent exposure of online fashions I can see why some people would love this. The toned down hair and make-up make NeoGal feel a lot more accessible than Hime, Agejo, Rokku... even loli! It feels like some people crave a J-Fashion substyle to fit in and with this being inspired by Western clothes it's easier than ever.

In the past, gyaru brands seemed to pick up on trends before the Western scene (trust me; I remember desperately trying to get my hands on an usamimi and a year later they popped up everywhere in the UK). Recently they've been coming out at the same time. With NeoGal taking hints from the Western scene it feels like the tables have turned and I personally dislike it. In my opinion, Western fashion is boring.


A lot of Western gyaru are unhappy at the rise of NeoGal and are wanting to 'Gyaru' it up; wearing the clothes but with over the top hair and the top and lower lashes that previously graced the pages of Ageha (Rest in Peace). It seems a little extreme. NeoGal might be the 'next big thing' but there's no use in biting at it.

Let it happen. Let it go.

I predict NeoGal won't have a long life span, even with the most natural look of gyaru.

What's your thoughts on NeoGal? Yay or nay?

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Monday, 5 March 2012

Tokyo Girls Collection S/S12 - Sherbet Garden

On March 3rd, Tokyo Girls Collection 2012 was held at the Yokohama Arena. The theme for this particular collection was 'Sherbet Garden' which took its name from the recent pastel trend that is sweeping gyaru and starting to seep into the rest of the fashion concious world.

If you're unfamiliar with Tokyo Girls Collection (TGC), it's a fashion event which showcases fashionable streetwear, often by domestic brands. The clothes are often modelled by celebrities instead of professional models. It's open to the public and not just to journalists and the fashion elite and its almost unique in the sense that it there are often music performances, auctions and the famous Miss TGC Contest.

Musical performances this time came from Kyarypamyupamyu, Milky Bunny, Kana Nishino, IU and KARA.

Brands which attended are:
Abbey DAWN
BEAMS
bonica dot
CECIL McBEE
chesty
Double focus
DURAS
Khaju
LANDS OF Eden.
LIZ LISA
Lovedrose&Co.
Nina mew
NINE
one way
phebely
RYZA
SERENE Dept.
TWNROOM
VENCE EXHANGE
YEVS

TGC is useful as it can help to pinpoint what the upcoming trends can be in the upcoming months, so you can stay one step ahead of the fashion pack. Noteable trends from ths TGC are:

Sensational Skirts



This year at TGC statement skirts were all the rage. Liz Lisa, phebely, chesty and DURAS were just some of the brands which showcased this upcoming trend. It's a fun, and girly, feature that could be added to all of our wardrobes.

The skirts don't need to be as over the top as the catwork outfits. You can wear these a little more toned down for the same sort of girly flair. DURAS' offering shows a more evening way to wear these skirts whereas Liz Lisa's offering shows the skirt in a more day-to-day option.

Pair these skirts with a minimalist outfit. Keep the top half fitted and let the skirt do the talking for the rest of the outfit.

Which Brand Wore This Well: I like DURAS over the top offering as it showcases just how these skirts should be worn.
Which Brand Didn't Wear This Well: I wasn't a fan of chesty's presentation of this trend as the floral top swamped the skirt completely.

Brave Bolds



Bold prints are making their way into our wardrobe and many, many brands showcased this upcoming trend. Liz Lisa, BEAMS, DURAS, tokyo girls collection and a fair few other brands showcased this in their collections. It's a daring move which will certainly brighten everywhere in the summer!

With bold prints, the bolder the better. Just don't go for clashing colours as you'll stand out and not in a good way at all. BEAMS shows us how to wear the trend in a bright and eyecatching way.

With these bold prints, let the prints do the talking. You don't need to over-accessorise and wear another half a dozen prints with these. Liz Lisa's offering shows us exactly how these prints should be worn.

Which Brand Wore This Well: Although I adore BEAMS' offering, DURAS shows us how to look classy and sophisticated wearing a bold print.
Which Brand Didn't Wear This Well: I wasn't too fond of the tokyo girls collection special collection's offerings; I thought all of the other collections managed to out-bold them.

Wonderful Warms



With the arrival of summer, we'll be leaving be leaving behind the pretty pastels of spring and seeing warm colours creep into our wardrobe. Yellows and oranges are wonderful additions to our wardrobes. Lovedrose&Co., Double focus, BEAMS, Cecil McBee and TWNROOM were just few of the brands which showcased this trend. RYZA also had a lovely orange dress; check it out if you already haven't!

This trend can be easily worked into evening dresses which will brighten you up, or worked into your daily wardrobe. CECIL McBEE's lovely raincoat will even brighten you up on a cold, rainy day!

The key to working these pale warm colours is to not wear an outfit consisting of them. Work one key piece into your outfit and leave it at that. It'll brighten you up and make you look super awake. If you don't want to wear this, use an accent like Lovedrose&Co. did; the yellow belt brightened up the white dress more than a brown belt ever could!

Which Brand Wore This Well: I'm in love with the coat CECIL McBee put on its catwalk. It's perfect for those long, rainy summer days!
Which Brand Didn't Wear This Well: I thought everyone wore this well, but I found TWNROOM's use of this colour a little boring.

Ravishing Reds



If there was one colour that dominated the TGC, it was red. Nearly every collection had red somewhere in its collection, and if it didn't it had another flame colour. Red is set to be this summers hottest colour so prepare to see this everywhere.

If you're a pale girl, red will probably drain you of all colour to beware wearing this colour. If you're pale maybe wear this colour as an accent to your outfit, or if you're feeling braver wear red on its own.

You can wear red on its own or team it with a plethora of other colours for a fresh look. It's a bold colour to wear but if you wear it with confidence you can definitely pull it off.

Which Brand Wore This Well: Most! Most of the brands worked this in without making it look too bold.
Which Brand Didn't Wear This Well: Barely any. Take a look through the collection for inspiration and tips on how to wear this colour.

Funky Florals



Are we surprised to see this trend pop up? No? Didn't think so!

Florals have now appeared so many times for the S/S period they're now considered to be a staple piece. I wasn't surprised to see these pop up in TGC! One Way, bonica dot, chesty, TWNROOM, LIZ LISA and Khaju were just some of the brands to feature this summer staple item.

To be honest, you can't go wrong with florals! They're girly and sweet and will always crop back up year after year. My only recommendation is to ensure that the floral pattern itself doesn't look as though it came off your granny's curtains!

Which Brand Wore This Well: I loved TWNROOM's combonation of trends : it worked really well and looked bright and fresh!
Which Brand Didn't Wear This Well: I was a little disappointed by LIZ LISA's contribution. The pattern looked unsettingly similar to my granny's pyjamas!


Other trends I noticed were maxi dresses (which are now becoming a summer staple), short front and long back skirts (a carry over from the current trend but will it stand the test of time) and pastels which may fade out as spring ends.


The next Tokyo Girls Collection A/W Collection will be held on October 13th at the Saitama Super Arena. See the report for this Tokyo Girl's Collection here!

Which trend are you looking forward to seeing this summer?

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Saturday, 3 March 2012

Liz Lisa: Love Pasterine

Hey all!

These are my favourite picks of Liz Lisa's Spring Collection which is named 'Love Pasterine'.

I promise you, they're really nice!

Liz Lisa are keeping up with the pastel trends that is currently sweeping gyaru at the moment and have identified mint, pink, orange, white and blue as the colours to be wearing. I've attempted to pick something from each colour as my picks of the season.

Mint Green



I absolutely adore Mint Green and I'm so glad it's coming back into fashion. It's been difficult to find anything with that colour green over here in the UK though!

This green dress really stood out to me as soon as I opened the page for this colour. It's really sweet and can be combined with a plethora of other colours on season (i.e. white) in order to stop the green overwhelming the piece.

Pink



Pink is practically a staple colour for Liz Lisa. I'm pretty sure I've seen this same dress in blue but it's nice to see a maxi dress in pink. I suppose this is where the 'ethnic' part of the collection name comes into it?

There's one or two maxi dresses in this collection so definitely keep your eyes peeled for them.

Orange



I really liked these two! I prefer the outfit on the left; the little bows and the frills make the other outfit too young looking and two sweet for me. Perhaps if I was younger I could pull these off!

I'm not quite sure how orange this is supposed to be as they've filtered the page's colours. I'm hoping it'll be a peachy or pale orange. Who looks good in bright orange any way/

White



On the 'White' pages this really stood out to me. Maybe it's just me but brown and white just seems to be a Liz Lisa staple and I'm always very happy to see it pop up in any collection.

Last year there was a playsuit in Liz Lisa's S/S collection that looked really similar to this. Good news if you bought that, you can wear it again without any worries!

Blue



I love, love, love this outfit! Liz Lisa is known for being very sweet and girly and I found this refreshing.

The blue definitely stops this outfit from being too OTT sweet which I'm glad for. It's also showing that not all Liz Lisa co-ordinates need to be sickly sweet.


I'm interested in hearing what you guys thought of this collection: yay or nay?

Thursday, 1 March 2012

Gyaru Spring Colour Trends

I thought it'd be interesting to see if I could come up with co-ordinates from UK stores that would incorporate most of spring's colour trends, as per Sara's post on this at Moments Like Diamonds.

These were done just to pass the time and to see if I could actually pull something like this off!

Lipsy



Lipsy Tape Pocket Jumper in Oyster. - Pales/Pastels
Lipsy Belted Pleat Mini Skirt - Monochrome
Lipsy Patent Chain Pump - Pales (also available in black: monochrome)
Lipsy Swallow Stud Earrings - Pastels
Lipsy Pearl Bow Pendant

I concentrated on the pale/pastel trends for spring in this co-ordinate. I added the polka dotted skirt to bring in the monochrome theme and stop the outfit from being too overly girly and Liz Lisa-esque. It's really cute!

Topshop



Hieroglyphic Silk Jersey Tee - Monochrome
Black Ponyskin Skinny Belt - Monochrome
BowBelted Shorts - Monochrome
Cats Eye Sunglasses - Monochrome
ALBI Mid Ankle Boots - Monochrome
Aztec Mesh Stretch Bracelet

Monochrome is still popular as ever with Mode. A big misconception about monochrome is that it has to be smart, so I thought I'd attempt to put a co-ordinate together that's a lot more casual than it is smart!

New Look



Striped Roll Sleeve Top
Coloured Skinny Jeans - Pales/Pastels
Crochet Flower Elastic Headband - Pales/Pastels
Flower Pendant Necklace - Pales/Pastels
Oversized Oval Ring - Pales/Pastels
Mel Apple Bow Shoes - Pales/Pastels
Pastel Across Body Bag - Pales/Pastels

This is a more feminine and Liz Lisa-ish take on the pales and pastels trend. I included the jeans because Spring time isn't neccessarily warm! I absolutely adore the shoes I used in this, they're so pretty!

River Island



Beige Chelsea Girl Long Sleeve Blouse
Light Beige Chino Shorts - Pales
Light Brown Peeop Toe Brogue Books - Pales
Beige Croc Satchel - Pales
Gold Tone Eiffel Tower Necklace - Pales
Cream Pearl Heart Bracelet
Beige Chunky Cable Socks - Pales

I went straight for the pales trend for this one! I think it looks quite smart; River Island also has a beige pair of trousers that could be substituted instead of using the shorts. The colour scheme is pretty basic but I quite like this.

So there we have it; four co-ordinates using stores on the British High Street using the gyaru spring trends colour palette. How about we make this five? Show me yours!