How much clothing is too much? The maths behind having a sustainable wardrobe

 

Ron Lach/Pexels, CC BY 

Alicja Kuźmycz, Torrens University Australia

Most people suspect they own too many clothes, but they aren’t sure exactly what the “right amount” is. Recent wardrobe studies, in which researchers literally peek inside peoples’ closets, show the scale of the problem is far greater than most of us imagine.

Sixty years ago, the average person owned about 40 garments.

Today, that number has more than quadrupled, with a recent study revealing these numbers continue to trend upwards. The typical wardrobe now contains an average of 199 major pieces. Even more striking: 25%–50% of these items are languishing in the back of drawers and rails.

Our hidden clothing footprint

Research tells us this is not just a clutter issue — it’s a carbon one. Every garment carries a sizeable environmental footprint long before it reaches a hanger, including from fibre production, spinning, weaving, dyeing, cutting, sewing, packaging and global transport.

A jacket that ends up as fashion waste is more than a label and price tag. It’s the sum of all the resources and emissions that brought it into being.

At the same time, donating excess garments to charities is rarely a solution.

Before you channel your inner Marie Kondo and bag up half your wardrobe, it’s worth knowing that most charities are overwhelmed, and only a small fraction of donated clothing is resold. The rest often ends up in landfill or exported overseas, shifting the problem, rather than solving it.

The real issue isn’t simply how much we buy, but how little we wear what we already own.

Wear counts change everything

One of the clearest findings emerging from sustainability research is that the environmental impact of a garment often depends on how many times it’s worn. In a sense, every additional wear helps “offset” the garment’s carbon footprint.

The European Union has calculated the minimum number of wears needed for different clothing types:

• shirts and blouses: 40 wears

• T shirts: 45 wears

• pants, shorts, dresses, skirts, jumpsuits, leggings: 70 wears

• jumpers, cardigans, hoodies: 85 wears

• jackets and coats: 100 wears.

For many people, these numbers may be far higher than expected – and they shift the sustainability conversation from “buying better” to “wearing more”.

The wardrobe equation

My own recent research has gone further by offering a simple mathematical model to calculate how long it takes to reach these minimum wear counts. The formula is straightforward: wearing frequency × wardrobe volume. The results are eye opening.

Take dresses. The average participant in the study owned 23. So if they wore a dress once a week, it would take nearly 31 years to wear each one 70 times. If they wear dresses five times a week, the timeline drops to six and a half years.

The maths makes the issue clear: there is no universal “right” number of clothes. A sustainable wardrobe depends entirely on how often a person wears what they own, which is influenced by factors such as seasonality, climate, lifestyle, laundry habits and personal style.

The maths also becomes more complicated when you look at the entire wardrobe, rather than a single garment type.

Why a tailored approach is needed

Because of this complexity, it’s difficult to declare a fixed number of garments that constitutes a sustainable wardrobe.

As such, the next phase of my project is the development of an interactive wardrobe calculator – a tool designed to help individuals understand their own clothing use patterns and calculate a personalised sustainable wardrobe size.

The Paris 2030 Agreement to stay below 1.5°C of global warming recommends 85 garments or less would be a responsible target – although imposing strict limits does not take individual wearing patterns into account. People need a practical, tailored approach that reflects their real lives.

What the research makes clear is that sustainability isn’t about owning the perfect number of clothes, or purging half your wardrobe. It’s about understanding the maths behind what you own, how often you wear it, and how those choices shape your environmental impact.

Alicja Kuźmycz, Lecturer, Torrens University Australia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Read More........→June 18, 2026

Your ‘recycled polyester’ leggings are not as sustainable as you think

Austin/Unsplash Caroline Swee Lin Tan, RMIT University and Saniyat Islam, RMIT University

Recycled polyester activewear and swimwear are now everywhere. Major global brands sell leggings, swimsuits and puffer jackets with labels that claim they’re “made from recycled plastic bottles”. Millions of people buy these products believing they’re making a more sustainable choice.

The logic seems straightforward. Turning existing plastic waste into clothing is better than landfill.

However, the story is more complicated. What looks like circular recycling is often a one-way trip to landfill, revealing how recycled fabrics can mask environmental problems rather than solve them.

Where the plastic really comes from

Despite images of ocean clean-ups in glossy marketing, most recycled polyester used in fashion doesn’t come from marine waste or even old clothing. Instead, it comes from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) drink bottles.

The most recent Materials Market Report shows that about 98% of recycled polyester comes from plastic bottles. Textile-to-textile recycling accounts for less than 1% of the supply. And activewear is the single largest apparel use of recycled polyester in fashion supply chains.

Consequently, many garments marketed as “sustainable” rely on plastic taken from an effective recycling system, rather than addressing fashion’s own textile waste.

How PET bottle recycling works

PET, the plastic used to make drink bottles, is one of the most successfully recycled plastics. Decades of investment in collection, sorting and reprocessing have made bottle-to-bottle recycling possible in many countries.

This works because PET bottles are uniform and collected in large volumes. There is also strong demand for recycled, food-grade material. Research shows PET can be recycled many times without losing quality, as long as it stays within the bottle system.

When PET stays a bottle, it remains a high-value material.

What happens when bottles become clothes

That recycling loop breaks when PET becomes textile fibre. To make clothing, bottles are shredded and melted into polyester yarn, then dyed, blended and sewn into garments. Fibre blends, especially polyester mixed with elastane, make textile-to-textile recycling difficult.

Most textile recycling systems are mechanical and limited in scale. They struggle with blended fabrics. As a result, most polyester clothing can’t be recycled and ends up in landfill or incineration.

In circular economy terms, bottle-to-garment recycling is downcycling. Material quality drops, and future use is limited.

There’s also another environmental cost consumers rarely hear about. Mechanical recycling shortens polymer chains, resulting in more fragile, “hairy” fibres that snap easily during domestic washing. Studies show synthetic clothing sheds microplastic fibres, making it a major source of marine pollution.

Research suggests recycled polyester may shed more microfibres than virgin polyester (made new from fossil fuels rather than recycled from plastic).

Testing by Çukurova University in Turkey found recycled polyester shed 55% more microfibres than virgin polyester. These fibres were smaller and more brittle, increasing the likelihood they travel further in aquatic environments and enter our food chain.

Are there any benefits to recycled polyester?

Compared with virgin polyester, recycled polyester usually uses less energy and produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions during manufacturing. This is why initiatives like the 2025 Recycled Polyester Challenge have pushed brands to commit to sourcing 45% to 100% of their polyester from recycled sources.

However, these schemes have hit a major roadblock: the lack of technology to recycle old clothes. Because the infrastructure for textile-to-textile recycling doesn’t yet exist at scale, brands have been forced to “borrow” bottles to meet their targets.

This highlights the tension between immediate technical needs and genuine sustainability. The next step is building the actual technology for circularity, so brands can move past the trap of greenwashing.

A recycling ‘dead end’

When bottles become garments, they leave one of the few recycling systems that works well and enter another that can’t yet recycle most clothing. This shift is becoming a major legal flashpoint. The European Union’s 2030 Vision for Textiles mandates that by 2030, all textile products on the market must be durable, repairable, and made largely of recycled fibres.

As brands scramble to meet these targets, a global supply crunch is emerging. With new EU packaging regulations coming into effect from August 12 2026, companies will be required to make packaging recyclable and prepare for future recycled content requirements.

As a result, the beverage industry is fighting to keep its own plastic. They argue fashion is “leaking” high-quality recycled PET out of a closed loop to mask its own lack of infrastructure.

This highlights the core problem: recycling should reduce waste overall, not simply move it between industries.

Recycled polyester only works when clothes become new clothes. While investment is growing, the fashion industry’s reliance on bottles is a distraction. Until the fashion industry solves its own waste crisis rather than borrowing from the beverage sector, turning bottles into clothing remains a one-way path to waste.

Currently, the most sustainable outcome for a plastic bottle is to remain a bottle.

Caroline Swee Lin Tan, Associate Professor in Fashion Entrepreneurship, RMIT University and Saniyat Islam, Associate Professor, Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Read More........→May 06, 2026

A brief history of denim – and why the ‘perfect pair’ of jeans remains elusive

Rose Marroncelli, Nottingham Trent University

Denim is present in practically every country in the world and is widely adopted as one of the most common forms of everyday attire. Its appeal spans generations and social groups: jeans are worn worldwide by those who follow fashion and those who do not, by people seeking to stand out and by those who prefer to blend in. However, many of us have never found the perfect pair.

Although denim has been produced since the 16th century, its association with American culture and durable workwear emerged during the Californian gold rush of the 1850s. It was during this time that Levi’s – now arguably the most recognisable denim brand – was established.

Levi Strauss, an immigrant entrepreneur who arrived in California from Bavaria in the 1850s, opened a dry goods business catering to miners. One of his customers, the tailor Jacob Davis, developed the innovative use of metal rivets to reinforce stress points in work trousers, making them more durable. Strauss and Davis jointly patented this technique, and the Levi’s brand was born.

Blue jeans were originally a seen as symbol of labourers (like the miners) and they also gained a strong association with cowboys. In the decades that followed, denim jeans evolved from practical workwear into one of the most iconic and enduring symbols of global fashion and culture. Film stars such as Marlon Brando and James Dean popularised the jeans and t-shirt look to a young generation in the 1950s. These films personified motorcycle-loving nonconformists, and 1950s Hollywood embraced denim as the garment of rebellion.

Today, the cultural significance of denim jeans has moved beyond early associations with workwear, the cowboy and the teenage rebel, to become a staple worn by people of all ages and backgrounds.

Finding the perfect pair

Denim jeans are often seen as a problematic fashion product in terms of sustainability, because their production leaves a considerable environmental footprint.

Cheap prices on the high street can encourage consumers to treat denim products as short-term items, reducing their lifespan. Cotton, which is commonly the main fabric for denim, is incredibly water intensive; the production of one pair of jeans uses approximately 7,500 litres of water.

Different components involved in the making of a single pair of jeans, such as denim, thread, cotton and buttons, can originate from different countries all over the world. This raises questions regarding the environmental costs involved in the production process. Further issues include that jeans are often not made from single fibre materials and therefore cannot be recycled.

Adding to sustainability concerns, at the consumer level, the perfect pair of jeans remains an elusive concept. But in a recently published book chapter, I explain that the perfect pair of jeans is elusive for a reason. Jeans have to be correct for the individual wearer in terms of comfort, social and personal identity, and also the complexity of fit.

Previous reports have focused on women’s struggle to find jeans that fit and are flattering. The inability to find the perfect pair of jeans may encourage overconsumption, due to repeated purchasing based on poor fit.

My research shows that this is an issue which applies to all genders. The men I spoke to noted how they resented paying a higher price for brands like Levi’s, so spent less by purchasing cheap, high street alternatives. This attitude can lead to overconsumption, as low price points achieved through low-quality production often compromise product longevity.

This demonstrates the perpetuating cycle of fast fashion, driven by cheap, low-quality production, and contradicts the original purpose of jeans of being highly durable and having longevity. The combination of highly environmentally damaging production processes with overconsumption results in even greater environmental harm.

Retailers can make efforts to reduce the trend of overconsumption with better fitting garments. However, fit is a complex issue for retailers as well as consumers. For the retailer, producing jeans in a wide range of sizes and styles is often not cost effective, and complex sizing systems can also confuse the consumer.

Technology could provide future solutions to improving the accuracy of fit. Personalised virtual fitting, made possible through improvements in 3D human shape recognition, could ensure improved fit for the consumer. This would benefit online shoppers, although the technology does remain in its infancy, and is yet to be adopted by major online fashion retailers. Virtual fitting rooms also cannot replicate the feeling of denim next to the skin, so although the fit may be perfect, comfort could be compromised.

Ultimately, the enduring challenge of finding the “perfect pair” of jeans highlights not only the garment’s cultural significance but also the opportunity for the fashion industry – and consumers – to move toward more sustainable, better-fitting and more thoughtfully designed denim for the future.

Rose Marroncelli, Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Read More........→April 07, 2026

Linen or cotton: Which fabric keeps you cooler in sticky summer heat?

A white cotton T-shirt and a linen button-down are both classic summer looks. But which of these fabrics will keep you cooler on a hot, humid day?

We spoke to three textile scientists who study fabrics and fibers on a molecular level to get a definitive, scientific answer about the most comfortable clothing material for hanging out on a summer afternoon. Their unanimous verdict: Linen will keep you cooler.

All three scientists agreed that if you’re working or exercising in the sun, you’d be better off in synthetic fabrics such as polyester that have been chemically treated to wick sweat away from your skin as fast as possible. But if athletic wear isn’t an option, linen offers the best combination of moisture removal and airflow.

“Linen is much better in terms of providing comfort,” said Sundaresan Jayaraman, a professor of material science and engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “People worry about perfect storms. Linen is what I would call a positive storm because everything is nicely coming together.”

– – –

Moisture

When it’s hot out, your body’s main tool for cooling itself down is sweating. As sweat evaporates from your skin, it carries away heat. So in the summer, it’s important to wear a fabric that helps your body get rid of moisture.

“Your comfort is determined by how much body moisture is being released,” said Yiqi Yang, a professor of textile science at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

You want a fabric that’s absorbent enough to pull moisture away from your skin, but also allows the water to evaporate into the air. Cotton and linen are both very absorbent – but cotton retains water while linen lets it go, according to Jayaraman.

“If you happen to be walking on a hot, humid day wearing a cotton undershirt, by the time you get home, the undershirt is completely wet because it is capturing all the sweat from you, but it does not have the ability to transport the moisture vapor from your garment to the outside world,” he said. “That’s why you feel clammy.”

You can see why cotton and linen behave differently when you put their fibers under a microscope, said Larissa Marie Shepherd, an assistant professor of fiber science at Cornell University. Cotton fibers, which come from the fuzzy bolls that swaddle cotton seeds, look like ribbon and tend to be full of kinks, twists and bends. Linen fibers, which come from the stems of long, tall flax stalks, look more like bamboo rods and tend to be straighter and stiffer.

“The ribbon shape of cotton can trap water more,” Shepherd said. “Flax is straight, so there’s not as many places for the water to be trapped inside.”

– – –

Airflow

Your body also sheds heat when cool air flows over your skin – so on a hot day, you want to wear a fabric that breathes.

Linen also has an advantage here, Jayaraman says. Its fibers are thicker than cotton’s, so linen fabrics tend to have a lower thread count and more openings between fibers. “That means air can more easily pass through,” he said.

But thread counts can vary widely from garment to garment. Shepherd said you should judge the fabric for yourself. “If you can see light through it, then water and air can penetrate through it,” she said.

Linen’s other big advantage is its stiffness. Rigid linen fibers tend to hold their shape better than cotton, causing linen clothing to hang away from your body while cotton clothing tends to cling to your skin. Leaving more space for air to flow between your clothes and your skin cools you down and helps sweat evaporate.

– – –

The bottom line

While linen is, scientifically, a cooler fabric than cotton, that’s not the only factor you have to consider when picking out clothes.

For instance, linen’s stiffness – which is so helpful for letting air flow over your skin – might rub some people the wrong way. “Someone might be more comfortable with cotton because it feels nicer. It’s a bit softer,” Shepherd said. “So that comes down to personal preference.”

Linen’s stiffness also makes it prone to wrinkles, requiring more ironing – unless you want to go for a rumpled look. “The wrinkles can make a fashion statement about being a cool guy, pun intended,” Jayaraman said.

“Sometimes the stylish selection goes against comfort. It’s just about what is more important to you,” Yang said. “But I’m a chemical engineer, so unfortunately I know nothing about fashion.” Linen or cotton: Which fabric keeps you cooler in sticky summer heat?

Read More........→July 05, 2024

Ways to make your jewelry sparkle

The beauty of jewelry lies upon its sparkle. At present, the fashion of jewelry is keeping pace with the clothes. Various types of jewelry include gold, silver, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds.

Proper care must be taken for long-term use of any kind of jewelry and to maintain its beauty. Each type of jewelry needs different treatment. The sparkle of jewelry will sustain if it is taken care of properly.

> Do not spray perfume directly on the jewelry.

> Keep diamond jewelry in a soft cotton-lined plastic box so that there is no possibility of breaking it.

> Emerald is a very soft and delicate stone. Always wear emerald jewelry while sitting so that it does not break even if it falls from the hand.

> Always keep pearls wrapped in cloth. It is better not to wear it during hot weather because if you sweat, the brightness of the pearls may lose.

> Do not keep all jewelry together. Keep it in different boxes or in different compartments of the same box. If the jewelry is kept in the same box, it may get entangled and torn or it may lose its shine due to rubbing.> Do not use soap or water on any jewelry except diamond. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/

Read More........→December 08, 2020

Ways to make your jewelry sparkle

The beauty of jewelry lies upon its sparkle. At present, the fashion of jewelry is keeping pace with the clothes. Various types of jewelry include gold, silver, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds.

Proper care must be taken for long-term use of any kind of jewelry and to maintain its beauty. Each type of jewelry needs different treatment. The sparkle of jewelry will sustain if it is taken care of properly.

> Do not spray perfume directly on the jewelry.

> Keep diamond jewelry in a soft cotton-lined plastic box so that there is no possibility of breaking it.

> Emerald is a very soft and delicate stone. Always wear emerald jewelry while sitting so that it does not break even if it falls from the hand.

> Always keep pearls wrapped in cloth. It is better not to wear it during hot weather because if you sweat, the brightness of the pearls may lose.

> Do not keep all jewelry together. Keep it in different boxes or in different compartments of the same box. If the jewelry is kept in the same box, it may get entangled and torn or it may lose its shine due to rubbing.

> Do not use soap or water on any jewelry except diamond. Source: https://www.daily-bangladesh.com/

Read More........→September 29, 2020

Dress to impress

Age Correspondent: Stepping into the big bad world not just demands a change in attitude, but also a fashion makeover. Too many young men start their professional lives without a clue on how to dress. Yet, as future leaders and decision makers of the society, dressing smart is the first step towards becoming a professional. Apart from boosting your own confidence, it can also help you influence others. Irrespective of where you work, crisp, clean, and well-fitted clothing encourages others to take you more seriously. Making the transition from college to work wardrobe can be tricky. So stylist Nikhil Joshi lists out some essential tips to help you make the right impression: 

• Classic footwear: The old adage that goes ‘you can judge a man by his shoes’ holds relevance till date. Appropriate-fitting footwear is the first step to dressing sharp. Invest a significant amount of money for well-made, classic footwear. The price of well-crafted shoes may come as a shocker, but the quality and comfort are enough compensation. A good pair of leather dress shoes will last you years and stay good-looking with nothing more than some light cleaning and the occasional shine.
• Dress to look mature: If you’re still wearing clothes that shout ‘college boy’, you’re going to be treated like one. Tweak your look a little and get the respect you deserve from older people. Try and replace the majority of your ultra-casual clothes: T-shirts, cargo pants, jean shorts, sweatshirts and sweatpants, with clothes that announce your maturity. Look beyond denim and go for well cut and classically styled trousers that will make you look a little sharper at social occasions than jeans. They’re less common in a young crowd, so you’ll already be standing out. You can also get wool or cotton trousers much lighter than blue jeans, which is a blessing in any kind of warm weather. Good polos in simple, dark colours are always presentable and flattering as compared to baggy T shirts that make you look sloppy. You can also opt for buttoned short-sleeved shirts in the summer.
• Build from white and blue shirts: White and light blue cotton dress shirts are irreplaceable essentials in a sharp wardrobe. Both the colours look good on most complexions and body types. Patterns can liven up the basic white and blue colour palette, and there’s nothing wrong with branching out into other colours once you’ve got a hang of your style.
• Suit up: No matter what your job is, you’re going to need a decent suit at some point. If your job requires you to wear one regularly you should look for a variety of hues and styles; if you just need a single suit for rare dress occasions stick to a classic single-breasted, two-button suit in charcoal gray or navy blue. Also, make it a point to have your suit well-fitted. Source: The Asian Age

Read More........→November 28, 2015

Eco-friendly Fashion is in trend

In these days, youth are crazy to try the eco-friendly fashion either they are going to shop fabrics or accessories. It becomes a new fashion trend if we carefully watch the shopping trends of youths. The fashion designers are also designing the eco friendly products as they know the trend is becoming popular in the market. The young girls prefer to purchase jewelry of bamboo, fabrics, joot and stone. These are not only inexpensive but also give a stylish look. In these days, bamboo, fabrics, joot and stone formed necklaces, ear-rings, bangles, hairclips and ring are becoming popular in the market. This jewelry can be used with any dress. Such types of jewelry can be designed by women at home also. No only eco-friendly dresses and jewelry but eco friendly accessories are also becoming popular in the market. The wooden bracelets, ear-rings, necklace are becoming the first preference of youth. The footwear of joot is also liked by the youth most. To protect the environment from the harm of polythene, youths have started to use paper bags that are more eco-friendly than polythene. Although the government also has banned the use of polythene bags, but youths and common people helped a lot to make this mission successful. What is green fashion: Green fashion is not a trend of green colors but it means a trend of eco-friendly or organic fashion. Today it is very necessary to use such a fashion, if we want to protect our environment. ‘Going back to nature’ is demand of today’s environment and to lead in this way everyone is trying to find the new ideas and concept to implement eco-friendly trend. Eco fashion fiber yarn, textile, printing, drawing, finishing all these process are bonded with nature in some way. The people have started to use natural fiber, cotton fiber, linen, joot and flex instead of artificial fiber. Jewelry Accessories: In these days, you can find huge varieties of joot, paper, natural fibers, silk and wood formed dresses and accessories in the market. So many experiments are going to design these natural color fashion trends. Youth are crazy about this eco-friendly trend. These are not only comfortable but also give a feeling of style statement. Feeling of environment protection: According to fashion designer Swati Soni, there are so many concepts in eco-friendly. The main concept of using eco-friendly fashion is to make people aware against the harms of polythene and other harmful elements. To protect environment and for Global Warming, the messages like ‘Save Environment’, ‘Grow Trees’, ‘Save Water’, ‘Save Earth’ etc. are printed by using a vegetable print technology. The main advantage of this technology is that this is not harmful for body thus we can say that vegetable print technology is also a part of ecofriendly fashion. Many of the fabrics are available in natural stuff. Pure cosa and pure cotton are the best examples of natural fabrics. We can implement the eco-friendly concept by choosing the eco-friendly colors. To wear green colors cloths, floral prints etc. are the good tools to implement the eco-friendly concept.  Source: Medley News, Image: flickr.com

Read More........→August 14, 2015

Would you wear a giant animal tail in the name of fashion?

If you happen to spot a giant squirrel tail coming out of someone's jeans in the near future, fear not. She isn't a mutant. She's a trendsetter. Japanese street wear retailer “Kigu” is bringing life-sized animal and dinosaur tails to the masses. TellTails are a new line of wearable animal tails sold in the U.K. and by Kigu. Adventurous dressers can choose from a variety of hyper-realistic tails in models such as Lizard, Squirrel, Dinosaur, Lion, Lemur and Fox. Or rather, they could, before many of the models sold out. "We believe that everyone has a tail in them just waiting to be wagged, a residual longing not quite expelled from the evolutionary process," referencing the theories of Charles Darwin in their explanation” and become purveyors of the finest handmade tails for Bipeds."Source: Sam Daily Times

Read More........→May 22, 2014

Bollywood Marathi Brides

Genelia Dsouza Marathi wedding

Bollywood is truly an inspiration for all Indian weddings. We always look upto movies as an inspiration for our Indian weddings, be it wedding jewellery, bridal sarees or bollywood songs for sangeet functions. Take a look at how favourite bollywood belles dressed up as marathi brides for movies or for their traditional maharashtrian weddings & other Marathi Brides.

Urmila Matondkar in Traditional Marathi Paithani Saree

Kajol Marathi wedding

Priyanka Chopra Marathi bride

Read More........→November 23, 2013

Prince George in public for the first time in three months

Smiling and happy: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge grinned at their family as they held their young prince

He was on his best behaviour. With the eyes of the world on him, His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge put on a perfect display of royal etiquette. In an historic ceremony which brought together four generations of the Royal Family, the three-month-old future king was christened by
Sweet child: The public got the chance to see three-month-old Prince George as he was taken into St James Palace for his christening yesterday

the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace yesterday. Dressed in a handmade replica of Queen Victoria’s daughter’s christening robe, George bore a striking resemblance to his father at a similar age. 

LIZ JONES FASHION VERDICT: The Duchess of Cambridge wore a cream Alexander McQueen jacket with a fluted lapel over a matching dress, and a jaunty Jane Taylor hat. I love the narrow sleeves of the jacket, while the hair is gorgeously sleek and restrained, denoting her new grown-up status. Her shoes were off-white LK Bennetts, her favourite brand. At least it’s a change from her usual nude court shoe, Source: Travelfwd+, open images in new tab or window to find its source of sharing

Read More........→October 24, 2013

Donna Karan knows what women want

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Donna Karan knows what women want—functional fashion that fits their fast-paced lives! Cool urban girls everywhere will covet the over-sized coats, sleek separates, and figure-flattering frocks in the Fall 2013 DKNY lineup. Donna Karan began her career as an assistant designer with Anne Klein in the late 1960s, where she was eventually promoted to associate designer in 1971. As Klein's assistant, Karan was a participant in The Battle of Versailles Fashion Show on November 28, 1973. When Anne Klein herself died in 1974, Takihyo Corporation of Japan became the new owner and Karan, together with her former classmate and friend Louis Dell'Ollio, became head designer of the house. In 1984, Karan left Anne Klein and, together with her then husband Stephan Weiss and Takihyo Corporation, started her own business "to design modern clothes for modern people". She showed her first women's clothing collection in 1985.[citation needed]. Karan became well known for her 'Essentials' line, initially offering seven easy pieces which could all be mixed and matched, and created a fully integrated wardrobe. Karan
always insisted that she would only design clothes, like jersey dresses and opaque Lycra tights, that she would also wear herself.[citation needed] She was once described in the early 1990s by the New York Times as “Ed Koch in a stretchy black dress”.[1] In 1988, Karan, nicknamed The Queen Of Seventh Avenue, extended her women's 'Donna Karan New York' line by creating a less expensive clothing line for younger women, called DKNY. Two years later, she created DKNY Jeans, a denim-inspired collection. DKNY for men was launched in 1992, one year after the 'Signature' line for men had been presented.[2] Karan left her CEO position in 1997, but continued as chairwoman and designer for the Donna Karan line. After 2002 Karan's designer contributions became less and less.[3] In August 2008, Karan relaunched her discontinued fragrance lines from the 1990s.[citation needed] DKNY Spring 2012, In 2008, the animal rights group PETA initiated a campaign against Karan for her company's use of fur in products and her contracted fur farmers' alleged inhumane treatment of animals..[4] , Donna Karan won several awards details are as below: (1) Karan won the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award in 1977 and once again in 1982 (together with Louis Dell’Ollio for Anne Klein). (2) She was inducted into the Coty Hall Of Fame in 1984.[citation needed] (3) The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) named her Menswear Designer of the Year 1992 and Womenswear Designer of the Year 1990 and 1996. She was a nominee for the latter again in 2003 and was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the CFDA in 2004. She won special CFDA awards in 1985, 1986 and 1987, Sorurce:Wiki, Image: flickr.com

Read More........→May 27, 2013

Illincic wrap up London Fashion Week

LONDON (AP) — The models have packed up, the temporary runways taken down. London Fashion Week on Tuesday wrapped up five hectic days of women's wear shows, a whirlwind display of new colors and textures for next spring from big name designers and newcomers alike. London hosts a more eclectic collection of designers and labels than fashion weeks in New York, Milan and Paris, and the latest crop of spring and summer designs seen this week has been a big mish-mash: Futuristic metallic leathers at Burberry, sweet '50s pastels at Temperley, '70s disco fever at Jonathan Saunders, and '90s minimalism at quite a few other shows. While there was no overriding theme, there were micro-trends set to make their way to high street stores come spring. All-white and monochrome outfits were seen everywhere, as were pretty confectionery shades of mint and lemon. Futuristic, shiny materials like plastic or fabrics with a foil-like, iridescent or even holographic sheen were popular, as was the use of sheer, feminine layers in organza, chiffon or mesh. On Tuesday, things kicked off with '70s-inspired florals, wide-leg trousers and mannish suits at luxury label Mulberry, best-known for its leather handbags. The collection, delivered with a humorous British flair, nodded to several of the season's popular trends: Sleek trouser suits, all-season leather, metallic jacquard, and head-to-toe ice-cream pastel shades. Model-turned-designer Roksanda Illincic followed with a collection of dresses with simple feminine shapes and minimal detailing, leaving her use of beautiful color combinations and glossy fabrics to do the talking. Day Five also saw collections by a handful of younger and adventurous designers. Simone Rocha, the daughter of British fashion institution John Rocha, deftly combined schoolgirl innocence and tough attitude, while maverick duo Meadham Kirchoff sent the party home with a spectacularly whimsical show of Marie Antoinette fashion gone mad. Tuesday's shows ended a week that saw models and celebrities like Kate Moss and One Direction's Harry Styles flocking to the catwalks' front row. Lady Gaga stole the limelight Sunday with a starring turn at milliner Philip Treacy's comeback show. The fashion brigade moves on to Milan for more shows that begin Wednesday. Paris Fashion Week begins next Tuesday. MULBERRY Luxury brand: Mulberry has ditched most of the playfulness in its recent seasons, showcasing a spring collection that's still quirky but definitely grown-up. Mulberry's show at London's swanky Claridge's hotel was decorated with dozens of garden gnomes and fake geckos crawling on rose bushes - a typically wacky atmosphere of pretty English garden meets exotic creatures. But appearances were deceptive, and the clothes themselves were more sophisticated than the setting suggested. Creative director Emma Hill sent models down the catwalk in oversized leather biker jackets and mannish tuxedos in navy, black and white. The 1970s-inspired collection had floral embroidery, floor-length skirts, flower buttons and high-waisted wide legs, updated with metallic jacquard printed with mini-flowers and geckos. Leather separates and trouser suits balanced flirty pleated skirts. There were muted brown ensembles along with head-to-toe sweet pastels in mint and peach - including pastel-colored shoes and handbags, the brand's bestselling item. ROKSANDA ILLINCIC: Taking her inspiration from artists, Roksanda Illincic's catwalk show had plenty of ensembles for the woman who wants to look stylish without trying too hard. Simple, streamlined shapes like tailored shifts and breezy A-line dresses came in high-impact color combinations that really popped: Tangerine with cobalt, mango, dirty pink or white. Sometimes all the colors came together on one dress, like a modern abstract painting. Models cradled oversized satin clutch bags and wore patent courts with multi-colored block heels. The show, staged in the Savoy Hotel's glamorous ballroom, ended with a series of ensembles made in a glossy, laminated organza. Illincic counts U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and Britain's Kate Middleton among fans of her sleek style. Her show had many of her popular signature elements: Beautiful colors, high-waisted silhouettes, feminine bell sleeves and modest mid-calf or ankle-grazing hemlines. But this season the designer said she wanted to shake up the elegance with casual wear - like taking an evening dress shape and making it out of T-shirt or jersey materials. "It gives an element of fun, something unexpected," she said. SIMONE ROCHA: Budding talent Simone Rocha has her designer dad's giant shoes to fill, but she seems to be taking it all in her stride. The 26-year-old showcased her latest spring collection at London Fashion Week Tuesday, a collection of all-white outfits, sheer cut-out panels, neons and leather that mixed schoolgirl innocence with cool attitude. The collection started with dazzling white button-up shirts and boyish shapes in Broderie Anglaise, but the prim look was soon undercut by thigh-revealing, irregular shaped sheer panels on the front or back of skirts. High-collared, neat shapes in muted shades of butter and toffee followed, but soon things were shaken up with a pale sundress overlaid with a high-shine neon yellow PVC plastic, all-over metallic gold foil vests and skirts, and floral-crocheted skirts and oversized jackets in fluorescent yellow and neon coral. Models wore mannish brogues with clear plastic soles and heels, a design that has been worn by celebrities including Rihanna and proved to be Rocha's best-selling product. Rocha debuted at London Fashion Week in 2010. MEADHAM KIRCHOFF: English-French design duo Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff are known for staging riotously fun and different shows, and this season they met expectations with a collection piled high with over-the-top, Marie Antoinette style corsets, bodices, bows and frills. Although the invitation and the opening track told of a humorous "damsel in distress" theme, the models were more like fairy godmothers with an enchanted wardrobe. Acting sleepy or deep in thought in their theatrical outfits, models drifted around stands set up on the catwalk and plucking roses and cupcakes from them. There were big puffy sleeves, thigh-high boots, feather gloves and big skirts layered over skinny trousers, all embellished with lashings of bows and jewels. Not very practical, but certainly shows the fun and entertaining face of London fashion. Source: SAM Daily Times

Read More........→November 15, 2012

Leather trousers ‘fashion faux pas women regret most’

Tight leather trousers, which are just too unflattering to step out in, are the fashion item most women regret buying, researchers say. Almost half of the women surveyed, who had purchased a pair, said they shouldn’t have done it, with many soon realising that wearing them looked ‘tacky’ and as if they were trying too hard to impress. Shell suits were second in the list of regretted purchases, followed by velour tracksuits like the one worn by The X Factor’s Tulisa Contostavlos, and anything fluorescent. Risque see-through tops, crop tops and thigh-boots also made it to the top ten. A third of women said a fear of showing too much flesh was one of the main reasons for binning an outfit, while other key factors were the realisation that an item looks ‘cheap’ or it having drifted out of fashion. More than a quarter of women admitted being “so upset” at how they looked in offending clothing that they destroyed incriminating photographs. According to the survey of 2,000 women by drinks brand Lambrini, 79 per cent confessed to having bought ‘embarrassing’ clothes but some only realised their faux pas when it was brought to their attention. 21 per cent said they stopped repeating their fashion error only when it was pointed out by a friend, while 19 per cent said they had their partner to thank. “It seems all of us have a few items lurking in the wardrobe that we’d be embarrassed about wearing,” the Daily Mail quoted Lambrini brand manager Lorna Tweed as saying. “Trying to copy celebrity style is often the reason for our style dilemmas and the rationale behind our dodgy purchases. “Although celebs may look good in leather trousers, realistically most of us don’t and should steer well away from the trend. “It’s wise to shop with female friends and get advice from them before buying – there’s no point wasting money on something you’re never going to wear,” Tweed added. Source: Indian Express

Read More........→October 26, 2012

Popular Women Wears for Various Festival Celebration

The Indian culture and festival celebrations have a special place for colorful ethic clothes. Keeping in mind the modern tastes and preferences of women, the fashion designers in the country blend the traditional styles with the modern elements. The result is that women have some wonderful options to choose for the most popular festivals. Diwali is undoubtedly the most popular festival celebrated in different ways in various Indian states. High society women prefer to wear fashionable sarees that usually lack heavy work. Sarees with thread work, embroidery and a variety of motif designs are chosen by women participating in traditional poojas during the festival. Apart from Diwali, Navratri Pooja is another festival when women are highly enthusiastic in wearing colorful clothes. Chaniya choli is various impressive designs are the popular clothes for this festival. Lehanga cholis in all possible colors and styles are quite famous as well. Special dresses are designed for the women who wish to take part in the famous dance celebrations called dandiya. The significance of colors in the Indian festivals can also be experienced in festive clothes. Saffron and yellow colored clothes are popular for the festivals like teej and basant panchami. Interestingly, the exciting festival of colors called Holi requires the women to wear white clothes. White churidar suits, salwar kameez and kurtis are exceedingly fashionable clothes that women love to wear while playing with colors. The temple festivals of South India are the occasions for the women to wear heavy silk sarees with astonishing embroidery work. Ganesh Chaturthi is another festival of South where women can be seen dressed up in silk sarees and suits. On the other hand, women in Punjab and Haryana prefer to wear designer salwaar kameez with colorful dupattas to celebrate festivals like lohri and baisakhi. White and mustard yellow sarees with red borders are popular dresses for women while celebrating Durga Pooja in West Bengal. Another popular festival is Karvachauth for which women choose sarees and designer suits in bridal colors like red, maroon and pink. It is indeed amazing to see how the traditional and modern styles and designs are blended together to match the mood of grand festive celebrations. Source: B2B Market

Read More........→October 13, 2012

Blake Lively designed her own wedding dress

'Gossip Girl' star Blake Lively collaborated with designers at Marchesa and helped to design her own wedding dress. The 25-year-old actress, who married actor Ryan Reynolds in a surprise ceremony in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, last month, collaborated directly with Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman to ensure she walked down the aisle in her dream dress, reported Us magazine. "Blake has such an innate style. I've worked with her so many times and know her so well," Georgina said. The blonde star, who is well known for her love of fashion, wore a custom-made beaded gown featuring a silk tulle bodice and rose-gold embroidery. The Marchesa designer praised Lively's sense of style. "She has a very clean sense of fashion. She was very involved. She was a creative bride with a clear vision of what she wanted," Georgina added. Source: Indian Express, Image: flickr.com

Read More........→October 07, 2012

Actress Bhavana latest Picture in silk Saree

 

Actress Bhavana latest Picture in silk Saree at Photo Shoot , Source: Actress And Models, Source: Daily Protein Live

Read More........→October 02, 2012

Victoria Beckham Spring 2013 RTW Collection

Victoria Beckham has long Term relation with her customers Because she knows that Women cant live on super-fitted sheath dresses.Recently She introduced Spring 2013 RTW collection with solid colors No prints

simple plain fabric,athletic cuts with crisp feel in every attire .Victoria Beckham used Georgette,Chiffon, fabrics and enriched with laces,she also introduces silk blouse and mid length skirits,offered button down

with graphic lace sleeves,A-line mini skirts in her signature dresses paired with high waisted stovepipe,Skinny trousers and matching single breasted jacket look awesome.More tailoring art is added in this collection.Source: Izandrew

Read More........→September 17, 2012

Boutine puts you front and center in a virtual fashion collection (exclusive)

You know that feeling when you’re in the fitting room, you try on that perfect item, and your friends’ jaws just drop? Boutine wants to capture that feeling, and bring it online. On Boutine, you can ask a friend for advice, get style tips from the experts, view trending collections (see may favorite below, “The Modern Bohemian Spirit), and purchase items all in one place. Anyone with a strong aesthetic can be a stylist and launch a virtual boutique — once you’ve compiled your collection, you can earn a cut of the revenues for all the items sold. Today, the San Francisco-based company is launching a nifty new feature: an integration with Filepicker.io that lets you upload pictures of yourself and integrate them into fashion collections. You can pull an image from Facebook, Dropbox, Instagram, Box or straight from your desktop to glimpse how a pair of earrings would set off your eyes, or a color would highlight your skin tone. The Internet is crawling with e-commerce sites, but there may be a gap in the market for Boutine. While Pinterest has mastered the social elements, you can’t buy and sell directly on the site yet. Meanwhile, online boutique stores and e-commerce giants haven’t fully engaged their user-base on Facebook and Twitter. Boutine isn’t the only site that offers a fun, collaborative shopping experience — it competes with Polyvore, a mecca for budding stylists; and Style Owner, a New York-based startup that lets you build a store and earn a cut of the sale. On all these sites, shoppers can interact with designers and self-made stylists, which feels more personal than a one-click purchase of a pair of socks on Amazon or eBay. Pramod Dabir, the site’s CEO and founder, told me he had the idea for Boutine when his wife attended graduate school at Stanford. Dabir, formerly a investor at Goldman Sachs, suddenly found himself living in a glorified dorm with six girls. “Before an event, they would run into each other’s rooms to ask for fashion advice,” he said. “When I realized that this was the basis for their purchasing decisions, I hit on the idea.” A year ago, he left the finance world to form the site and raised a small amount of funding from family and friends. In just nine months, the site’s staff had grown to a team of seven. Dabir told me they are already generating significant revenue, an increasingly rare feat for an early-stage startup. Boutine charges a 20 percent commission on products sold, and stylists (that could be you) receive a 10 percent commission for styling the look. At first, it wasn’t easy convincing boutique and independent designers to sign-up, but Dabir said they are starting to approach him directly, as the site has proven to be a strong distribution platform. There are 80 designers featured on the site, and they have a wait-list of about 300. Next up for Boutine is the iPad app, which is Dabir’s top priority — the first version will let you browse collections and make purchases. With this release, Boutine will be looking to raise its first round of funding. Source: VentureBeat, Reference-Image: flickr.com

Read More........→September 16, 2012

A Victor Steibel Day Dress, 1947

Day Dress, Victor Steibel, 1947, This and all related images from: The Victoria & Albert Museum

With this theatrical day dress, designer Victor Steibel nods to Victorian fashions by attaching an oversized bustle-like bow to the rear of the dress. The dress was made in 1947 as a response to Christian Dior’s “New Look” of pinched waists and full skirts. Steibel wasn’t out to make practical dresses. He wasn’t interested in 

the continuation of war time rationing. Both of these concepts are evident with this dress and it’s almost comic bow which was so heavy with material that it had to be supported by a hidden horsehair frill beneath the skirts. South Africa-born Steibel studied fashion at Cambridge and apprenticed with the House of Reville and 

Rossiter before opening his own couture house in 1932. He became especially known for his use of striped fabrics and his dramatic, yet, feminine evening and day wear. This very-Steibel striped dress is constructed of silk grosgrain and is given body with net petticoats. It was made for and worn by Lady Cornwallis. Source: Stalking the Belle Époque

Read More........→September 13, 2012