s/s 15 menswear style guide

It's seems to be rare to find people discussing men's fashion online and when they do, it seems to focus more on high-end fashion as opposed to high-street. Where are all the high-street fashion blogs for men? Anyway, I've been desperate to discuss menswear ever since I started my blog in 2010 so I decided I'd start by creating my first spring/summer style guide. I've done lots of style guides for women's fashion over the years but I've decided to try my hand at men's fashion and, luckily, I managed to rope my brother into helping me create a mini lookbook. His outfit was inspired by the upcoming trends for spring and summer, focusing on the French Riviera vibe that seems to be in at the moment.

Sourced from Google (Left: Christopher Kane, Right: Cavalera)  

Trend one: accessories

The great thing about accessories is that they enable outfits to be more versatile and, I always think, have the ability to make a plain outfit a bit more fashionable

Think:

Pocket squares, summer scarves, braces and sunglasses. All seeming to have a retro vibe to them, particularly the 70s which is on trend right across the board at the moment. There seems to be a lot of quirky and garish prints being styled up with tonal or quite simple outfits (see the accessories used in the images above).

Sourced from Google (Kate Eary)

Trend two: the seventies

I briefly touched upon this in the trend above but 70s fashion is everywhere at the moment. In the last few years, 90s fashion made a huge come back but as it's very inspired by 70s, it was only logical for the 70s to get the spotlight.  

Think: 

Large open collared shirts, vivid hallucinatory patterns, large patterned silk scarves and over-sized garments for a laid-back hippy style.

Sourced from Google

Trend three: sporty vibe

The sports vibe for s/ is to menswear, what floral prints and pastel colours are to women's. It's a standard trend for that season and although it isn't ground breaking but this trend will have always been, somewhat, reinvented. The term 'sporty vibe' is inclusive of almost every sport from sailing to polo to skating so this trend is extremely versatile. The skater look we saw in Bobby Abley's collection for s/s works well with the 70s trend, whereas the polo look is more suited to a preppy vibe and could fit in well with the accessories trend and the stripes. I decided to use this trend (combining the polo and sailing look for a French Riviera look - scroll down to see more) for my lookbook. 

Think:

Anything from rolled up chinos, deck shoes, skater shoes to board shorts.

Sourced from Google (L: Craig Green, R: E.Tautz)

Trend four: outerwear

Whether it's men's fashion or women's, the spring/summer coat is going to be very popular this season. More so for the spring because it's unlikely many people will take a coat with them on their beach getaway. There is an abundance of lightweight jackets and coats on the high-street at the moment that are perfect for chucking over a pair of shorts and a shirt to keep you warm as well as in style. From a practical viewpoint, the s/s coat will also be a fantastic transition piece from Summer into Autumn so don't be worried that you'll only get one seasons worth out of it!

Think:

Over-sized, drapey, long, tonal.

Sourced from Google (L: J Crew, R: E.Tautz)

Trend five: stripes

Stripes are a big trend for the upcoming season and I'm not just talking about Breton tops. The great thing about this trend is that it's versatile so everyone should be able to find a way to make it work for them.

Think:

Pinstripes, colourful stripes, wide/thin stripes, striped suits, tops, trousers, jackets and pretty much whatever else you can think of that has stripes.

Mini Lookbook

As mentioned at the start of this post, I got my brother to create a mini lookbook with me and we chose to go with a French Riviera theme. This included some of the trends that are mentioned above (turned up chinos, sporty/sailing vibe with the deck shoes, striped shirt). 

As you'll notice in the pictures, the outfit wasn't shot on the most beautiful French Rivera-esque day. Instead it was chilly, overcast and the sea was rough (so just a normal British day in March really!) but strangely I think the weather added something to photos. However, I'd advise that until the weather picks upm you should probably think about wearing a coat if you venture out on a day like this, Maybe a nice navy duffle coat would have complimented this outfit well!

What he wore:

Chinos - Polistas @ House of Fraser  (find them here)

Shirt - H&M (see similar here)

Deck shoes - Clarks (see similar here)

Let me know what you think of the look above!

Would you like to see more menswear features here?

What's your favourite menswear trend for Spring/Summer'15?

*

that 70s style

The 70s are a massive trend this s/s and was even quite prominent during the a/w except swap deep hues for colourful floral and paisley patterns. I am really into this trend and plan to mix it up with a bit of worn distressed denim (I don't think I could pull off flares!). I love outfits that take inspiration from certain era trends but I'm not a fan of outfits that look more like costumes, cause there's a difference, right?

Think

 floppy over-sized hats 

+

dainty flowers woven into braids

+

 hair scarves tied into messy up-dos

+

chunky platforms

+ 

floaty bell sleeves

+

messy waves and low ponytails

+

earthy eye-shadows

+

dewy skin

+

layered up jewellery 

(rings, bracelets, necklaces, chokers, earrings, ear cuffs etc)

+

everything and anything that has fringing

Happy Spring!

purple jeans

Two posts in one week. Who knew I had it in me.

I decided to make the most out of being home, having a photographer and, for a change, actually having some new additions to my wardrobe to show you. In these pictures are the jeans I mentioned in my last post. They are purple acid wash they have a big rip in one of the knees and are the comfiest jeans I've owned. Because I am not particularly tall, everything from ASOS is usually too long so I have to roll these jeans up but I like the length of ankle grazers on me so it works out quite well. Yesterday I decided to team them with a tucked in cami vest and my long grey cardigan that is perfect for the in between seasons. Spring has started to appear in the last week or so and in a couple of weeks, I will hopefully be ditching my coat in favour of cardigans, jumpers and the odd scarf. As much as I've loved my parka, I am ready to put it away for a bit. 

In these pictures I am holding my ASOS magazine, This isn't sponsored by them (I wish!), I just happen to be a little in love. The magazine is great for upcoming trends, inspiration and is actually a good read. The cover girl is usually a bit out there compared to other more popular fashion magazines and I love how the fashion varies. Also, they include a lot of fashion bloggers which I think is great cause it gives me the chance to find new blogs to read. I also included the magazine cause I'm  wearing a fair bit of ASOS in this post. My jeans are from the ASOS January sale, my vest is from last summer and my bag is brand new. I've been looking for a plain black day bag with gold detailing for a few weeks now. I wanted one that was a good size, sits on my shoulder/across my body and isn't too expensive. After searching around the high-street (Newlook, River Island, H&M) I found this bag online. I wasn't sure if I'd like it but surprisingly, it ticked every box (the gold has a lovely rosey colouring!) and will now accompany me to uni, to town, on train journeys, in outfit posts - you name it?

 

Jeans, cami vest, bag ASOS

Cardigan and flats Newlook

Watch Olivia Burton

Sunglasses Dorothy Perkins

Lipstick (Lady Danger) MAC

any old day

I am alive! Yes, despite the absence of activity on my blog I am very much alive. I just happened to be busy and the more I thought about my blog, and my lack of posts, the more I had no idea how to bring it back. Despite this, I have, in fact, been updating my Instagram (follow me @hheartsfashion) a lot so if you follow me on there, my aliveness wont be much of a shock to you. 

Anyway, I decided to finally do a post. Catch you up. What have I been doing with my time? I hear you ask. Working on assignments and reading for lectures, being a bit ill on and off, day dreaming, watching a lot of Doctor Who and doing research into my post-uni life. I've excitingly had a few revelations this week and have decided to really start working towards getting a good job afterward. I know I want to write and I'd love combine that with fashion. If I only got paid for my blog! But, anyway, onto my outfit...

Recently I have been loving jeans. I bought two pairs over Christmas in the ASOS sale and both pairs fit me really well and also came to about £35. I've only just got around to wearing the blue pair in these photos but the other pair (purple acid wash ripped jeans) I have somewhat lived out of.  They are really comfortable but more importantly they are different for me. It's strange because I seem to go through small spurts of evolution with my style. Once upon a time, I lived only out of leggings, dresses and I always wore a cardigan and now, well I don't. I still wear leggings a lot but not because I have to. It's usually because they are so comfortable and I'm all about the comfort. 

The outfit in this post is standard for me. Something I'd wear any old day. The kind of thing I go to uni in or  meet a friend for coffee or catch a train in. Jeans, top, jumper, pumps and rucksack. The only different is that I haven't been wearing lipstick casually recently and also, I curled my hair this morning which rarely happens. Strangely it went well and seems to be holding however, I usually just wear my hair natural/messy in a bun, high pony or just down but other than that, this is me on a very normal day.

Jeans Newlook (from ASOS)

Cami vest ASOS

Jumper H&M

Pumps and rucksack Newlook

Watch Olivia Burton

Lipstick MAC (Lady Danger)