Do you love shopping?
The weekend is coming. What are your plans? It may surprise you that half of all UK women and one in four men consider shopping to be fun. Let’s recap the “Ready to Wear” experience Go to town wander around … Continued
Colour for Men
There are three sorts of men. Those that don’t do colour at all. Those that do it too much, and badly. And the ones who know how to use colour and wear it well. When I met my husband I … Continued
Matisse Cut-outs – amazing inspiration for screen, block and digital printing
If you are in London, or England, and have the opportunity to see the Matisse cut outs exhibition, do go. It is on until 7 September 2014. It is astounding and beautiful. If you love colour you will explode with … Continued
The fabric illusionist – how different fabrics create different effects
The fabrics you choose for your garments have a huge impact. Let’s look at a range of similarly-shaped dresses and skirts in plain fabrics. (All images from Hobbs.co.uk). 1. Colour Light v Deep Many people believe that black makes you … Continued
Do you like how you look?
Some recent research has shown how most of us dislike how we look, leading in some more extreme cases to a number of serious mental health problems. Yet our body and facial features are more or less givens, and all … Continued
Women in politics
I can’t stop thinking about Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton. Why do they wear the same, rather unusual clothes? What’s with the frumpy “pant suit”? And why get one made in every colour under the sun, including yellow and orange? … Continued
Under or Over dressed?
I often see seriously underdressed people walking around. I am not talking about seeing too much flesh (a woman on the tube the other day had a pleat in her cleavage!) No, “underdressed” describes a woman in a purple jumper and … Continued
How can I stop my clothes looking home made?
The basics (applicable to shopping for clothes too) Style – choose the right style to flatter or disguise your body shape Colour – choose a colour that complements your colouring In addition, if you are making your own clothes, you … Continued
Sporty shorties
I go to the gym most days. I wear running shorts and a sports bra, socks and trainers. All of these items are bought, not made. It’s the shorts I have a problem with. I like wearing shorts, but not … Continued
Reflections on SWAP 2014
Between Christmas and the end of April at least 30 women from all over the world worked on the same sewing project. Their mission? To create between nine and 11 garments which to some extent “worked together”. If we were famous designers … Continued