Posts filed under 'fashion'
I love a bit of glitz and glamour and this time of year is a fantastic time for it. The warmer weather always seems to bring the more daring side of us out as we dare to bare a bit more flesh and wear bolder, brighter colours.
Ladies day at Ascot is one of those events that you can be as outlandish and daring as you possibly can - at least as far as hats and colours are concerned as you can see from the picture above. But I wonder just how much betting takes place at this event. Do people have much money to gamble away?
We all know about the growing cost of petrol and the decreasing value of property but now Malcom Wicks, Energy Minister, has warned that a significant increase in gas and electricity prices is ‘very likely’. He blames the increased cost of oil, gas and coal, and estimated that the increase could be as much as 40%.
The one area that seemed to buck the trend was that retail sales in May unexpectedly surged with sales up by 3.5%. According to The Times this is the fastest pace of growth since the 1986. However, this may prompt The Bank of England to raise the UK interest rate in an attempt to control inflation.
So it looks like we all need to continue to keep those belts well and truly tight, but it doesn’t mean we can’t try and enjoy ourselves at the same time. As long as we plan and budget how to spend our money carefully we should all be able to enjoy a little flutter on the horses.
June 19th, 2008
As a parent I am all to aware of the problem parents have in helping their children to be happy with who they are and how they look. The perfect image portrayed in magazines, newspapers and online of the Celebrity often makes children feel very insecure about themselves. I was shocked to read over the weekend that a new ‘virtual fashion game’ had been launched targeting girls between the ages of 9 and 16 called Miss Bimbo. The aim of the website is for girls to create a Bimbo that is ‘the coolest, richest and most famous bimbo in the world’.
Players can choose where to live, what job to do, shop for the latest fashions, become a socialite, date a famous hottie and even resort to plastic surgery and diet pills. It is free to register but apparently you buy ‘dollars’ to spend on your character by texting at £1.50 a text.
It amazes me that such a website can be launched. It clearly plays on the desire of young girls to be famous and encourages them to take diet pills and have plastic surgery in order to be the best. As adults we can differentiate between what’s online and the real world but children can’t do this so easily. Dee Dawson, the medical director of Rhodes Farm Clinic, treats girls from the tender age of 8 who are suffering from eating disorders. He was commented in The Times Online as saying “This is as lethal as pro-anorexia websites. A lot of children will get caught up with the extremely damaging and appalling messages.”
Mr Dawson isn’t the only one to be outraged. Many of the national newspapers has picked up on this new website and I am sure that there will be lots of debates on this over the next couple of weeks but in the meantime, this is definitely one of those websites that I will be blocking on my home PC. Will you?
March 25th, 2008
I, like many women I know have for many years struggled when trying to find a balance between shoes that look stylish and shoes that are comfortable. I love wearing high heels but if I know I am going to be walking some distance I always take a pair of comfortable shoes with me to change into.
Driving too can be a bit of a problem. Lots of women change their high heels for flatter shoes when they get into their cars so that they can drive with more control and limit the chance of accidents and having to claim on their car insurance.
I only realised a few days ago that a solution to this problem had been invented. I don’t know exactly who was the first to come up with the idea but back in 2004 a lady called Ella Kilgour, a 23 year old design graduate, was reported on the CNN website as having designed a shoe with a collapsible heel called the Declic, shown in the picture below. The Declic’s heel can be folded away into a recess under the shoe or can be extended to create a four inch heel.
Another student called Marte den Hollander designed a similar shoe naming her project ‘Footloose’ and there is an American company on the website called CAMiLEON Heels which offers customers the chance to buy heel adjustable shoes.
Wherever it originated, I think it is a great idea and one that I would definitely be interested in. As long as the shoes still look stylish then I can see these being a big hit and a wardrobe must for many women.
Is it something that you would wear? Do you think that there is a demand for ‘convertible shoes’? We would love to know your views.
March 20th, 2008
They say you should never judge a book by its cover. I don’t know about never, though. I mean, what happens if you find yourself judging a book-cover contest?
Anyway, less tricky might be judging people by the car they drive - especially if you are armed with new research from from Swiftcover.com. The ‘Rich Car List 2007′-picks out the cars that high-earners are more - and also less - likely to drive.
Whilst it is no surprise perhaps to see that top of the Rich Car List are the likes of Porsche, Jaguar and Mercedes, what is interesting is that rich people are more likely to drive a Skoda than an MG or a Volvo. What’s more the wee Smart car has broken into the Top 10 for the first time, perhaps showing that - for some people at least - a big wallet doesn’t necessarily dictate having a big flashy car.
At the other end of the scale, the data - which was based on 2.7m recent car insurance quotes issued by Swiftcover.com last year - showed that a Proton was the least likely marque to be driven by the rich, with Daewoo, a close second bottom of the list. Somewhat surprisingly, Mini finished third bottom of the ‘least likely’ on the Rich List 2007, below marques such as Kia and Nissan and representing a dramatic reversal in fortunes from last year when it was sixth ‘most likely’ to be chosen by the rich. With green issues becoming a lifestyle choice for many - it will be interesting to see the gas-guzzlers get on next year, and whether more modest green-machines might make it on to the list of must-haves for the have-it-all generation.
September 3rd, 2007
News reaches me that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office has issued the WAG’s Guide to Travel. Yep, in addition to advising UK citiizens on which countries to avoid due to outbreaks of civil unrest, terrorism, disease, natural disaster, they now see fit to warn football players’ wifes and girlfriends about the risk they face when travelling abroad.
Charlotte Meares (fiancée of footballer Jermain Defoe) has been recruited to offer her pearls of wisdom - and alongside, dare I say, such obvious tips as ensuring you have travel insurance comes her own unique rationale: “One tumble off a bar table in your Jimmy Choos without insurance could cost you £20,000 worth of shopping money on your hospital bill”, she warns.
Okay, so travel insurance is a good tip, but how about this Government-approved gem from the mouth of Meares?
“It might sound trivial but you never know when you might break a nail or your extensions turn green in the pool. To stay looking your best even if you are not taking a personal stylist with you, get a number of good local beauticians or check if the hotel has one before you go!”
And who could be immune to the charms of this call-to-action?
“Get your jabs - and not just the botox!”
I suppose the point of the exercise is clear enough - it’s just another way of warning people to be well- prepared before travelling. It will be interesting how much fuss might be made over taxpayers’ money being spent on paying Meares to front the campaign and whether this dumbed-down approach to geting the message across is what it takes these days. Hmm…maybe s. It certainly caught my attention - and now yours too!
August 22nd, 2007
