Lotions and potions for summer skin

Daily Microfoliant, £29.40, from Dermalogica’s skincare range is a long-standing favourite of beauty editors. Why? Because it is gentle on the skin. When mixed with water, the formula releases papain, salicylic acid and rice enzymes to exfoliate dead skin cells. Dermalogica has also started masterclasses at its salon off High Street Kensington in West London, where you can learn the tricks of the skincare trade. Call 0800 3457546 for further details.

Shu Uemura has a fantastic array of spring colours, but for brunettes with either pale or olive skin, orange is the one to go for. The powders are very fine and the strong pigment delivers a flash of citrus. Blend over the whole lid or use wet and apply along the lash line to keep things subtle. Pressed Eye Shadow, £13 (020-7235 2375).
Lancôme’s latest body treatment, Magistrale, will get you beach-ready. It claims to tackle problems such as loss of firmness in the skin, wrinkles and weight gain, specifically on the arms, stomach and decolletage. The gel-cream is designed to stimulate fibre and collagen production to improve cell structure and discourage the storage of fats around the waist. Magistrale Anti-Ageing Redefining Treatment, £30.

Natura Bissé pots of nourishment are the perfect pick-me-up. Designed to reverse the ageing effects of free radicals, C+C Complex delivers a shot of vitamin C to the skin, helping to shield skin cells and increase elasticity. C+C Complex, £105 for six applications, available from Harrods (020-7730 1234).
Mavala’s nail polishes are available in more than 120 colours and come in stylish 5ml bottles, great for carrying in your handbag. For those worried about chipping, Mavala also has a fantastic range of products for strengthening nails. Nail Color Cream, £3.75, and Double Action Treatment Base, £5.20 (01732 459412).

A sunscreen that works with make-up

I react to sunshine in the same way most people react to rain: get out of it, now. It’s not just that I dislike having all my flaws spotlit; it’s also that I spent my formative years in a hot country. Most Italians over the age of 45 have complexions like dried figs: wrinkled, uneven landscapes. There is even a saying for this: “Di dietro liceo, d’avanti museo.” Crudely, it means this: high school from behind, museum at the front.

For this reason, many manufacturers now put sunscreens in their moisturisers; but with SPF guidelines still confusing, it is hard to know what’s what. In addition, there are still concerns surrounding the potential side effects of chemical filters (which absorb radiation) versus mineral filters (which deflect it).

The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) is adamant that chemical sunscreens are not harmful; however, it does say that because of bad labelling, consumers are not always aware of how long the protection lasts, which in itself may present a risk. People put on sunscreen in the morning and assume they’re sorted for the day – when in fact some filters may only last a few hours.

It is important also to understand that SPF numbering only refers to a product’s ability to protect from UVB rays (which cause sunburn and skin cancer). It is not an indicator of protection against UVA rays, which affect the elastin in the skin and induce sun-induced ageing. You must find something that can take care of both.

New EU regulations covering all of this come into force this summer. Meanwhile, how to harness those first rays of spring? When it comes to SPF in moisturisers, BAD says: “A moisturiser with an SPF will protect against small amounts of UV exposure, such as when you walk to the car… but sunscreen is better for longer exposure, such as spending your lunch hour outside.” Hmm. This is a worry.

Trouble is, the reason these SPF moisturisers are so attractive is that proper sunscreens are often horrid to use: greasy, smelly, impossible to wear with make-up. If they’re mineral-based, they give you a white pallor; the chemical ones can cause an allergic reaction. What you want is something genuinely effective that doesn’t irritate and won’t clog up your pores.

Hurrah, then, for Dr Sebagh (available from Space NK or Selfridges). The super-smooth sultan of skincare has invented a colourless, fragrance and paraben-free cream with an SPF of 30: Sun-City Protection (£50). Designed for use over your usual moisturiser, it delivers up to 97 per cent protection from both UVA and UVB rays. Thanks to the micronized mineral filters in it, the texture is truly lovely, surprisingly matt and perfect under make-up. It doesn’t go on sale until April. So until then, keep your (sun) hats on.

Bronze have more fun

Self-tanning phobes are too willing to blame bronzing products for the creosote-like streaks that develop on hands and feet. The reality is, however, that they probably haven’t spent enough time applying it. You can’t expect to slap on the fake tan in 30 seconds (or, worse, after a round of mojitos) and expect to wake up with Gisele-like, honey-coloured skin.
Self-tanning products have come on leaps and bounds since the first whiffy, orange potions of the 1980s – some, such as St Tropez, are so good, they can put a real tan in the shade – but even the most expensive tanning products will streak if they are not applied carefully.
The key to a flawless fake tan is an artful application, being meticulous about the areas where the product tends to stick. Our guide is put together from years of professional tanning advice, and while it may look laborious, any girl worth her Eres bikini will tell you that it’s time well spent.

TANNING TOOLS

— To prevent your hands getting stained, you will need latex gloves, £2.50 for five, by St Tropez.
— A back applicator for hard-to-reach areas – try Au Courant Sponge on a Stick, £3, from www.hqhair.com.
— A body exfoliator to remove dead skin cells and soften hard skin – try Clinique Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliator, £12.50.
— Wipes for removing self-tan from telltale areas – try Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes, £3.
— A simple moisturiser to dilute the self-tan and soften dry areas. A good option is L’Occitane Shea Butter Body Lotion, £17.50.

BEFORE YOU START

Nichola Joss, the celebrity beauty therapist and self-tanning expert, suggests starting the process the night before, by exfoliating well from the feet right up to the face. “Really spend time massaging it in,” Joss says. She then suggests applying moisturiser to the entire body, then double moisturising the toes, ankles, knees, elbows, knuckles, armpits and ears. The next day, after showering, moisturise these areas again before applying any self-tanner.

TANNING FACTS

The key ingredient in self-tan is dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a natural sugar molecule that, when it comes into contact with amino acids in the skin, turns the skin bronze. The more DHA used, the deeper the bronze and the stronger the biscuit-like smell. As yet, there is no better ingredient, so the smell is the price you pay for beautifully bronzed skin.
Some companies, such as Clarins, also use erythrulose, another natural sugar that adds a reddish-brown tone to the more yellowish colour that DHA creates, providing a more natural-looking tan.

Face and neck

A really brown face can look trashy, so make sure you use a product specifically designed for the face. Alternatively, dilute the self-tanner you use on the body with some moisturiser, before applying it over the face and down the neck. Using a facial wipe wrapped around a finger, remove any product from the eyebrows, hairline and nostrils.

Breasts and stomach

Using big, sweeping strokes, apply the self-tanner over the collarbone, breasts, under the breasts and all the way down past the knicker line, blending it out across the hips and round to the back. Don’t forget to apply it to the area to the side of the breasts and around to the back, too. Remove any self-tan from the belly button with a wipe, as it has a tendency to collect there.

Back

Depending on how flexible you are, apply the self-tanner by taking each hand to the opposite shoulder and the opposite side of the lower back. For that hard-to-reach area in the middle of the back, use a back applicator (see tanning tools).

Hands

Do these last. Remove the gloves and rub the backs of your hands on your bottom – this gives just the right amount to cover them. Then, using the forefinger of each hand, blend the product down the fingers, before using a wipe to removed any self-tanner that’s left between your fingers or on the palms and inner wrists. Wait 10 minutes before dressing.

Arms and underarms

Dilute the self-tanner with moisturiser, and apply it to the elbows, armpits and underside of the arms. Also apply this diluted version to the feet, ankles, toes, knees and bikini-line. Then apply the concentrated self-tan to the outer arms.

Legs and thighs

Apply the self-tanner with big, sweeping motions from the ankles up to the bikini line and over the bottom. Using a wipe, remove any excess from between toes and from toenails.

Good fake tan requires groundwork

The month of May has a distinctive smell to it. Not the scent of flowers, or the explosion of new summer fragrances, or the lazy odour of suntan lotion; but the unmistakable, overpowering, cloying whiff of self-tan.
I have always been rather stubborn about self-tanners. I once had a humiliating experience in a tanning booth, and ever since then I have avoided them like the plague. Even last year, when Johnson’s Holiday Skin topped all the sales charts, I was too chicken to try it on myself, just in case I ended up stinky and streaky.

This year, however, assailed by early sunshine and buoyed by the fact that for the first time in years I am, if not exactly slim, then not covered in a thick layer of blubber, I decided to give it a go. I opted for St Tropez Everyday (£12.95, 0115-983 6363), purely on the basis that seasoned self-tanning friends all recommended it: not too strong, not too smelly and with slow, manageable results.

I began by exfoliating, at length, twice. This may seem paranoid, and indeed I was. If there is one thing self-tanner is fatally attracted to, it’s rough skin. So I scrubbed and scrubbed, paying particular attention to elbows, knees and ankles. I then applied the thick, white St Tropez lotion from my feet up, working in sweeping, circular movements. Since there is rather a lot of me, this took some time – but was easier than I had anticipated thanks to the texture of the cream, which is rich and very spreadable.

It absorbed surprisingly fast, so I was able to get dressed after just a few minutes. Before, though, I grabbed a packet of baby wipes and went around the front of the ankles, my toes, knees, elbows, underarms and wrists. Then I got dressed as normal.

To begin with, I noticed nothing. Around 4pm, a very faint whiff of self-tan began to emerge – but it was easily contained with a quick spritz of cologne. That night, however, I realised my schoolgirl error: the cream had accumulated around the inside of my shoes, leaving me with a unpleasant orangey rim on lily white feet: more vigorous exfoliation.

The next day I repeated the process, this time wearing my old Birkenstocks. At school, one of the mums commented on how well I looked. By day three I was starting to feel – and look – distinctly St Tropez. I even dug out an ancient pair of gold sandals and wore them, rather racily and inappropriately, to work. I had forgotten what a tan could do to the old confidence.

I have now settled into a pattern of using it three times a week in place of my normal body cream, which seems to give the perfect subtle glow. The smell is still a problem, but faint enough to mask with perfume or scented moisturiser. Otherwise, I’d say I was a complete convert.

How to get dressed: wearing colour

One of the most interesting – and maddening – aspects of style is its utter elusiveness. It is terribly difficult to define. It could be Lauren Hutton in her sleek, minimalist layers and blowy, streaky blonde hair, or it could be Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in what, even on her, came dangerously close to a parody of Sixties First Lady chic. It could be Daphne Guinness in a medley of couture, ethnic and sex shop treasures. It is nearly always inimitable.

But if I have uncovered anything, it is that to be truly stylish, as distinct from the more conventional chic, or the much less elevated “well-dressed” or the even more humble “smart”, there needs to be an element of surprise. Presumably this is what Diana Vreeland, the opinionated (and, it must be said, stylish) one time editor of both Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, meant when she said that all successful outfits contain an element of vulgarity. I could spend hours happily exploring the many ways in which jewellery can add the just right degree of surprise or vulgarity. But that’s for another time.

This is a summer of colour – or it’s meant to be. What I think that means is that if you’re not one for monochrome, now is your time. From cobalt to midnight blue, lemon to jade, coral to purple, there is so much lovely colour around, as opposed to the times when everything is fuchsia or sewage coloured. I don’t think any of it should be worn head to toe, and probably, for most of us, it shouldn’t be worn in the clashing combinations that look so dramatic on the catwalk but look like a multiple pile-up of Hello! shoots in real life.

If you want to use colour to enhance your shape, then the most effective plan is to keep dark colours to your bottom half – or whichever areas you want to diminish. Fabric is another consideration – satin is one of those catwalk delusions that doesn’t generally translate into reality, especially in emerald green. If you absolutely can’t help yourself as far as satin is concerned, don’t even think about eating, drinking or perspiring for the duration. And choose a darkish colour. Pale and bright satins always end up looking a bit beauty queen pageant or Rio carnival.
The canny approach is to go for jolts of colour – a lining, a belt, a print. As for the best colour – the more unusual the better, as long as it suits you. Layering T-shirts is a good plan – a startling colour beneath a toning or contrasting one so that an intriguing flash

is all that’s seen is an easy way to experiment. Clashing colours can be fabulous, but unless you’re tall, ensure that the colour breaks are vertical rather than horizontal.

Moderation also applies to accessories. If an orange dress makes you look like a corpse, chances are that orange sandals will too. Sorry, but life’s tough like that. Otherwise, where colour is concerned, rules are for wimps. Almost every stylish woman I’ve met takes risks with colour. Surprise is the name of the game.

How to get dressed: Why grey is the new noir

Is anyone else perplexed by nail varnish? I know it’s not right to give too much headroom to these things. But then, grey nail varnish isn’t right. Like blue food, it defies all the laws of nature. It looks downright unhealthy, like a body gently rotting from within.

Admittedly, people levelled the same kind of accusation at Rouge Noir when it first became a hit back in the Nineties, although the principal case against the defendant rested on its knack of making fingers look as though they’d been involved in some kind of bloody car accident – three days ago. A decade on, Rouge Noir is a classic, which goes to show that while Morgue Chic is chilling, it has a certain Gothic impact.

The same could happen with grey nail varnish although, brutally speaking, it lacks the car-crash drama of Rouge Noir and looks more like a case of depleted silica stores. Then again, grey has become the default colour setting in many wardrobes, giving black a run for its money. Why, in an age of washing machines and non-iron modal, have we become a civilisation that seems to feel most comfortable in darkish monochrome that doesn’t need washing too often? Maybe it’s the chameleon effect of urbanisation on the human soul: surround yourself in concrete; dress like concrete. Grey nail polish could just be the final, cockroachy touch.

Except I note that in the past few weeks, blue, emerald and yellow nail polishes are mounting a challenge to grey’s supremacy. Not on my toes they won’t be, but that’s because I remember them from last time round, in the late Nineties, when the aptly named Urban Decay brought out a range of pus-inspired colours that took the morgue theme to its outer limits. I always thought wacky nail varnish, especially on toes, was the rebellion of choice for goody two-shoes and the middle-aged, who wanted to look totally crazee but liked to spread-bet the risk.

That doesn’t alter the fact that, although there have been some pretty extreme fashion moments throughout history, from codpieces to crinolines, it’s the chandelier-scraping, catchy-on-fire hair and arsenic-and-lead make-up that invariably supply the truly transcendent freak factor to subsequent generations. We may be there already, with the current trend for immobile, orange faces, which will cause bafflement and revulsion in our great-grandchildren.

In the meantime, perhaps grey polish is a pale harbinger of a new era at the beauty counter. Bags, heels, skinny jeans, full skirts have all gone about as far as they can go. Next winter, clotheswise, there isn’t that much to scare, or even mildly antagonise, the horses. So maybe for a season or two it will be down to weird-coloured toes and Amy Winehouse’s hair to keep up the momentum that fashion needs to exist.

How to get dressed: dressing for the British summer

Last week in New York brought home a shocking and sobering truth: those skimpy little dresses, spindly little straps, knee-high gladiator sandal-shoot-boot-thingies and bronzed bodies that one sees endlessly splayed across magazines aren’t just a catwalk and Sex and the City fantasy.

They are an actual dress code in some pretty seriously urbanised areas. I mean, obviously I knew they got proper summers, with sun and all that, in places like St Tropez or Buenos Aires. But now I know they get proper summers with sun in some major, north of the Equator cities. And it’s prompted a bit of soul-searching.

Because, to be honest, until last week I never really understood why designers produced quite such extensive summer collections with floaty, skimpy bits of chiffon in them, when all you really need, as any Brit knows, is a cunning repertoire of coats in varying weights. I assumed that everyone who bought these wisps was either of hardy, chilblain-resistant stock, or a WAG.

But now I’ve had this revelation about New York summers, which, so my friends there smugly tell me, commence dazzling, like clockwork, on Memorial Day in May and last, pretty much uninterrupted, until September 15, and it makes our own deluded attempts to join in the frantic buying of summery-type stuff all the more senseless and a little pathetic. We just don’t have the weather for it, and now I know that other places do and that the denizens of these places actually enjoy wearing these skimpy, summery pieces, I’m convinced we’d all feel happier (and look less like New York wannabes) if we accepted the fact that no amount of global warming is going to turn us into Nice and adopted a wardrobe actually designed for our climate, as opposed to somewhere else’s.

Admittedly, a gorgeous summer dress is hard to resist, but perhaps you only need one or two as opposed to four or five. And perhaps one of those two should be the kind that works well over a pair of trousers (Gap’s Liberty-print shirt dresses, around £40, are just the trick). And perhaps, instead of zillions of shoestring strap vests, it might be more chic to invest in some nicely cut, cap-sleeved cotton blouses. In fact, wouldn’t it be more chic altogether to leave such vests to those for whom they were originally intended – athletes, children, teenagers and construction workers?

Other shifts in our weather-wardrobe acclimatisation should include a batch of thin, long-sleeved T-shirts for layering under T-shirts and all those summer dresses from previous years, and a jacket, instead of just relying on it always being warm enough not to need a jacket. Amazingly, white is very useful, almost if not more so than black, especially if you’re wearing dark bottoms but want to lighten your look. If you buy linen or cotton, you should be able to pop it in a 30C wash.

Fruit punch: how to wear exotic shades

Spotted! The Queen in raspberry. Style alert! Baroness Thatcher in fuchsia. Are the two most seminal female figures of the past 50 years trying to tell us something? Affirmative: the iron ladies say yes to colour. And good on them, too, because admit it, you're bored with black.

Both in their eighties, Lizzie and Maggie defiantly avoid drifting to the sidelines with neutral shades. By embracing colour, these two national forces put two fingers up at a third, the weather. When the skies are peppered with drizzle, colours from the bright side of the tracks are the only way to put a smile back on their - and our - faces.

Given our growing taste for exotic fruit, it's no surprise that the fashion world has followed suit. Trousers now come in papaya, pumps in patent lime, trims on hems and belts on skirts in every shade from the orange family. Tangerine, blood orange, Tropicana minus the bits - you name it, the designers have tasted it and copied it, none more effectively than Sonia Rykiel, whose espousal of banana and Golden Delicious green on the catwalk left a very pleasant taste in the mouth. And, if she's a chic Frenchwoman and can get away with it, then there's hope for the rest of us.

So what to avoid? Head-to-toe explosions of colour, à la Andy Warhol print, are likely to have others fumbling around in the bottom of their bags for dark glasses. Therefore, break up brights with white, taupe and dove grey. Keep the stronger colour near the face to reflect the light rather than swallow it, as darker shades are wont to do.
And finally, be confident. It can be daunting, particularly if you find a safe haven in wintry shades, but colour - as HRH and the Baroness can vouch - will always bring with it a smile. Enjoy it.

The return of the maxi dress

Less than a century ago, women wore long dresses every day. It might have been the done thing, but imagine all those dirty hems! It certainly puts a new spin on the phrase “sweeping the floor”. Today billowing fabric can still help us through the summer. Just make sure that you’re clear about the maxi rules.
First up: shoes. I know it sounds ridiculous, considering we are discussing a dress that hits the floor, but shoes are crucial to the maxi mix. You have two options: flats, for lofty types; or wedges for everyone else. Why? Because the maxi has its spiritual roots in the Seventies, and stilettos with a long dress is a short cut to Come Dancing.
Now the weather. Long colourful dresses are the style embodiment of hot days and steamy nights, so save the maxi until the mercury rises. Flowing fabric and tropical beaches are good friends, but if you don’t live near Copacabana at least avoid the rain. The art equivalent of a long dress is a colossal canvas: both give a free rein to colour and print. Take the rainbow dress by Alexander McQueen below: its colour blend technique relies on the extra fabric, so don’t be afraid to use it.
Don’t accessorise such a dramatic dress with itsy-bitsy jewellery. Pick enormous cocktail rings, an elbow-scratching stack of bangles or a necklace the Maasai would be proud of. And when your dress is visible from several miles, your hair and make-up don’t need to do the talking. The best accessories are a slick bun and lip shine.

How to be a living canvas

If it sounds crude to say that Yves Saint Laurent's recent death was well timed, then please excuse me. It's just that he was the man who famously united fashion with modern art, and now the two are back on the catwalks. His Mondrian dress perfectly embodied the bold geometry of the Sixties, and with it, Saint Laurent set a trend for eyeing up the art galleries.

Actually, 30 years earlier Elsa Schiaparelli combined couture fashion with surrealism, but it was Saint Laurent who gave this idea to the masses. Today, Dolce & Gabbana have upped the ante again. To be fair, at €30,000 (£23,960) each, their limited edition painted dresses, each numbered like an artist's canvas, aren't exactly accessible to those who count Marks & Spencer as their favourite shop. But their idea of getting art students to paint the fabrics has captivated the high street. There are now kindergarten brushstrokes at Topshop, Monet flowers at H&M and a splattering of abstract expressionism at Jigsaw. Focus is on the schools of art that have come since the Second World War.

What's nice about this trend is that the clothes have personality. Forget Mona Lisa's non-smile, these clothes are all about having fun and embracing colour and print. This blue and mauve Chloé dress, is so striking, it looks as if it has been lifted straight off the easel. It works because the shape is simple, which makes it easy to wear at any age. Alternatively, try keeping the artistic references contained. The cubism print doesn't dominate the front of this Sportmax dress, so you won't feel as if you should be hanging in the Tate.

It is worth remembering that successful artists don't always use print. Andy Warhol was a master at mixing block colour and detail. Which is certainly easier than wearing head-to-toe sunflowers.

Fashion Designers

Have you ever heard of the name Calvin Klein? Well, if you have, you should know he is a famous fashion designer that has been designing for many years. He has a clothing line, and also distributes cologne and many different clothes. Calvin Klein is one of the fashion's biggest names and brands. He taught himself how to sketch and sew as a boy. He went on to win a place at New York's High School of Art and Design, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and finally launched his own label, in partnership with Barry Schwartz, in 1968. He received many awards including The Council of Fashion Designers of America. He was recently divorced from a photographer, Kelly Klein. He has one daughter named Marci. He presents his collections in New York.

Where To Shop

You're probably wondering where you can get the coolest clothes in style today. Well, you came to the right place! Here you will find out which stores are the best to shop at and what they have! First of all, Mervyn's is a great place to shop. They have everything from hair clips to diamond rings! They carry almost all types of clothing for all ages, too!

Some clothes they have are jeans, bell bottoms, long shorts (for boys), sweaters, Lee Pipes, e-girl, and so much more! They also have other accessories like back-packs and hats. Another great store to shop is Macy's. Even though Macy's prices are sky high, their clothes are worth wearing! Unlike Mervyn's, Macy's has a bigger choice of clothing to choose from. Some of the clothes they have are overalls, jeans, dresses, shirts (long or short sleeves), bell bottoms, etc. Macy's also carries accessories like shoes and jewelry. Old Navy is a nice place to shop. Like the stores above, Old Navy has clothes like bell bottoms, jeans, overalls, dresses, shorts, and much more. Old Navy also has all kinds of spring, winter, summer, and fall clothes that fit comfortably. Some other stores that were not mentioned above are Limited, Too, The Gap, Surf Shop, JC Penney's, Ross, and Sears. Hopefully, all your questions about where to shop have been answered.

Just For Boys

Lots of boys these days like to wear sport clothing , and accessories like skateboarding shoes, and board shorts. They not only like to wear sport stuff but they also like to wear other things such as baggy pants, long shorts, sweatshirts, or anything they thing that is cool and comfortable. Ryan Solomon (Jill's older brother) says, "The three most most popular brands for boys are Hurly (a new surfing and skateboarding company), Quiksilver (an old surfing company), and Volcom (a new skateboarding company).

Some stores that boys like to shop at are Old Navy, Surf Shop, band web sites, and basically any stores that has the kinds of clothes he likes to wear. Sometimes, boys will even wear suits for special occasions, but that hardly ever happens!!

Like girls, boys are very picky about what kinds of shoes they wear. They wouldn't want to go to school wearing moccasins (but yet I don't think anybody would!) Some of the types of shoes they like to wear are Osiriss, Globes, Vans, and Etnies. Unfortunately, these types of shoes are very expensive being between $25.00 to $75.00, maybe even more.

Well, I hope you know the right way a boy should dress.

Just For Girls

Girls want to wear what's only in style. Bellbottoms, capri pants, 3 and 1-4 shirts, and more are all in style now. Girls only want to wear what is cool. Sometimes girls want to well "show off", but still don't want to look like a geek.

Some stores that girls like to shop at are: Limited, Too, Claire's, Mervyn's, Surf Shop, and any other stores that have clothes they will like. If certain colors look good on you, you're characteristics could be a summer, spring, winter, or fall. I am a summer and part winter.

Accessories

What do people want to wear nowadays? Do they want to carry a purse or wear perfume, make up, jewelry, and more? Sure they do!

Do accessories have to match your clothes?....Well, no, not exactly. Really only if you want them to. Accessories are only to make you look like a model. These accessories are made for all people. They sell accessories everywhere. Some of the stores they sell accessories in are: Limited, Too, Mervyn's, Claire's, and the Surf Shop. Accessories are totally cool.

CHILDREN'S CLOTHING

Children like to wear stuff that they see on older kids. They wear stuff they see on T.V shows or when they go into stores. A little list of the types of clothing girls wear is: bell bottoms, spaghetti strap shirts, short shorts, etc. Most of the clothing they wear is very colorful. Some of the clothing the boys like to wear are: baggy pants, long shorts, surf shirts, lee pipes, and hats. As for shoes: Vans, Osiriss, Globes, and Etnies.

Some of the designs on the clothing are probably a flower, or maybe a happy face. Some have sparkles of gold or silver. Some of the clothing is just plain or blank.

Teen Clothing

Teens are very picky about what they like to wear. They look for stuff that is in style. Teens want to either stand out in a crowd or blend in. They are sometimes judged by what they look like and not what they say or do.

A little list of what teens like to wear is baggy pants, short shorts, long shorts, capri pants, T shirts, short skirts, and boardshorts. Some of the stores that teen girls might shop at are: Limited Too, Claire's , Mervyn's, JC Penny, Target, and surf shops. Some of the stores teen boys might like to shop at are: The Gap, Old Navy, surf shops, band web sites, and maybe even Mervyn's.

Teens like to act "cool", so they try to dress in something that fits their personality. They also usually try to wear something that will "Show Off". Some people wear stuff that most famous people wear just trying to be cool.

Adult Clothing

Adults are not as picky about clothing as kids and teens are. Adults prefer to be comfortable. Women usually wear dresses or jeans and a shirt. Men usually dress in suits or jeans and a shirt.

Something that both men and women like to wear are sweaters. Women usually wear a shirt underneath and leave the sweater unbuttoned. This gives them a great look anywhere they go. Men usually wear plain sweaters with no pockets, buttons, or lame designs of any kind.

Some stores that adults like to shop at are: The Gap, Mervyn's, and Nordstrom's.

What's Hot and What's Not

One question everyone is asking themselves is "What's Hot and What's Not?" Trust me no one wants to come to school looking like a geek or a person who looks "All That". You want to fit in with the crowd. If you ask yourself this question, you came to the right place.

First let talk about What's Not Hot, because, of course, you don't want to be unpopular.

What's Not Hot Why It's Not Hot
moccasins They are just plain ugly and unattractive.
suspenders They make you look silly and foolish.
leather skirts They are uncomfortable and ugly.

Next we will tell you about what is hot. If you follow this list (We highly suggest you do) you will fit into the crowd very easily.

What's Hot Why it's Hot
surf clothes Everyone has to love the beach.
bellbottoms They are casual and cool.
tanktops They could be casual and nice.
baggy pants They look good on both boys and girls.

What's your fashion

What is fashion?

Fashion is something we deal with everyday. Even people who say they don't care what they wear choose clothes every morning that say a lot about them and how they feel that day.
One certain thing in the fashion world is change. We are constantly being bombarded with new fashion ideas from music, videos, books, and television. Movies also have a big impact on what people wear. Ray-Ban sold more sunglasses after the movie Men In Black. Sometimes a trend is world-wide. Back in the 1950s, teenagers everywhere dressed like Elvis Presley.

Who dictates fashion?

Musicians and other cultural icons have always influenced what we're wearing, but so have political figures and royalty. Newspapers and magazines report on what Hillary Clinton wears. The recent death of Diana, the Princess of Wales, was a severe blow to the high fashion world, where her clothes were daily news.
Even folks in the 1700s pored over fashion magazines to see the latest styles. Women and dressmakers outside the French court relied on sketches to see what was going on. The famous French King Louis XIV said that fashion is a mirror. Louis himself was renowned for his style, which tended towards extravagant laces and velvets.

Clothes separate people into groups.

Fashion is revealing. Clothes reveal what groups people are in. In high school, groups have names: "goths, skaters, preps, herbs." Styles show who you are, but they also create stereotypes and distance between groups. For instance, a businessman might look at a boy with green hair and multiple piercings as a freak and outsider. But to another person, the boy is a strict conformist. He dresses a certain way to deliver the message of rebellion and separation, but within that group, the look is uniform. Acceptance or rejection of a style is a reaction to the society we live in.

Fashion is a language which tells a story about the person who wears it. "Clothes create a wordless means of communication that we all understand," according to Katherine Hamnett, a top British fashion designer. Hamnett became popular when her t-shirts with large messages like "Choose Life" were worn by several rock bands.
There are many reasons we wear what we wear.

Protection from cold, rain and snow: mountain climbers wear high-tech outerwear to avoid frostbite and over-exposure.
Physical attraction: many styles are worn to inspire "chemistry."
Emotions: we dress "up" when we're happy and "down" when we're upset.
Religious expression: Orthodox Jewish men wear long black suits and Islamic women cover every part of their body except their eyes.

Identification and tradition: judges wear robes, people in the military wear uniforms, brides wear long white dresses. Fashion is big business. More people are involved in the buying, selling and production of clothing than any other business in the world. Everyday, millions of workers design, sew, glue, dye, and transport clothing to stores. Ads on buses, billboards and magazines give us ideas about what to wear, consciously, or subconsciously.
Clothing can be used as a political weapon. In nineteenth century England, laws prohibited people from wearing clothes produced in France. During twentieth century communist revolutions, uniforms were used to abolish class and race distinctions.

Fashion is an endless popularity contest.

High fashion is the style of a small group of men and women with a certain taste and authority in the fashion world. People of wealth and position, buyers for major department stores, editors and writers for fashion magazines are all part of Haute Couture ("High Fashion" in French). Some of these expensive and often artistic fashions may triumph and become the fashion for the larger majority. Most stay on the runway.
Popular fashions are close to impossible to trace. No one can tell how the short skirts and boots worn by teenagers in England in 1960 made it to the runways of Paris, or how blue jeans became so popular in the U.S., or how hip-hop made it from the streets of the Bronx to the Haute Couture fashion shows of London and Milan.
It's easy to see what's popular by watching sit-coms on television: the bare mid-riffs and athletic clothes of 90210, the baggy pants of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. But the direction of fashion relies on "plugged-in" individuals to react to events, and trends in music, art and books.
"In the perspective of costume history, it is plain that the dress of any given period is exactly suited to the actual climate of the time." according to James Laver, a noted English costume historian. How did bell-bottom jeans fade into the designer jeans and boots look of the 1980s into the baggy look of the 1990s? Nobody really knows.
Once identified, fashions begin to change.

Fashion Through the Ages

Fashion Is popular all over the world. Fashion around the world is all different. Like in America, fashions come and go, called a Fad. Here are some examples of some of the countries and what they wore.

500 B.C.- Persian people were wearing long robes with patterns or designs on them. They wore not shoes, but socks with patterns and stripes. They wore many other clothing materials and other clothes.
550 B.C.- The Grecian women wore long robes often like the Persians. The men from Greece wore long robes with part of the robe draped over a shoulder.
50 B.C.- The children from Rome usually wore long robes with part of the robe draped over their shoulder, while on the other shoulder they wore a sleeve. They wore their hair up in a net with a clip right in the middle of their head. The men of Rome usually wore long robes (usually colored) with socks, and pieces of rope hanging around their head.

Brazil- Many women from Brazil wore long dresses with many necklaces, and a fruit basket on their head. They also wore many bracelets along their wrists.
Here are some interesting facts about fashion throughout the ages.

Thousands of years ago, men did not have to decide what to wear like we do now. They probably wore the same thing everyday- an animal skin draped around their shoulders and hips. It was a long time before they thought of cutting animal hide into sleeves or trouser legs. The earliest people were the Nomads who roamed the the countrysides looking for food and shelter. When people began raising crops they began to stay more and more in one place. Soon they had made two discoveries: they had learned how to make thread and how to weave thread into fabric. Felt is wool that has been dampened, pressed together, and has been allowed to be shrunk until it forms a dense, flat mass. One of the earliest plant fibers was linen (lihn-nin). Linen thread is made of long fibers from the stalk of a flax plant. Linen is still considered one of the most finest and most durable materials.