The Fashions of Liverpool.....boys

I have to say, as a resident of Liverpool, and also a frequent visitor to Dublin, the Liverpool lads have it hands down on the fashion front. Our boys are not afraid to keep up with the latest looks, and they really do. If you go out in Liverpool on a saturday night you will see all kinds of looks that the boys are going for. The big trends seem to be preppy, vintage/retro looks at the moment, and the boys even take this down to accessories. They're not afraid to rock a pair of retro specs or a bow tie to enhance their looks. Trainers are a big part of their fashion choices too, be it Vans, Converse, Nike High Tops, and the more you own the merrier -they are nearly as bad as us girls. Most have definitely stepped out of the 'shirt and jeans' combo that seemed to be the staple mens 'going out uniform' for years. Of course there are still the ones who do go for the shirt and jeans, or a polo and jeans. These are often the ones who also dont really have a hair style. the boys who's hair is just there. Length ranging from a #1 at the barber, circa 1990 scouse; to an inch, brushed forward. This will often be accompanied by a curb chain around the neck or wrist. The trendy types, though, will always keep up with the latest celeb and even catwalk trends. The latest role models seem to be David Beckham, Gary Barlow, (good taste boys), and the lads from TOWIE randomly enough! Often you will find there is a bit of friendly banter to be found between the shirt brigade and the fashion fronters, the shirt brigade will say the fashion fronters look gay, they arent, theyre simply moving forward with the times and following trends, it looks great and long may it continue!
Some of our boys, like the girls, are of the opinion it is essential to be tanned, so you will find them at the sunbed salon. They are also not afraid of a bit of male grooming, and its not uncommon for them to get their brows tidied as much as the girls. Not scouse brows, but no monobrows in sight either, which surely is a good thing?

I mentioned Dublin at the start of this entry. What a difference over there. The boys there, as lovely as they are, do fall into the shirt brigade catgory mostly. This doesnt mean they arent looking good, but it would be rare to go out and see the boys wearing specs and bow ties over there purely for the purposes of fashion.  The shoe collection will be trainers, for the gym. Shoes, 1 black pair, 1 brown pair, for going out/more formal occasions. And probably a pair of casual pumps.trainers for the weekend. I have to admit I dont claim to be a complete expert here, my Dublin experience is based on what I've seen there so far. And there is this to back up my theory.....(sorry guys).....

So there you have it, in summary, Liverpool lads wear it well....

The fashions of Liverpool...Girls

Well, where do I begin.

Thanks to Desperate Scousewives, Brookside and Hollyoaks, and most scouse girls who have ever appeared on TV; as well as our lovely collection of WAGs; the world has formed its opinion of the fashion in Liverpool, and it is pretty much this....

Unfortunately, this does apply to a small selection of our Liverpool 'Ladies'. You see them walking, bold as brass, through Liverpool One, PJs/tracksuits on, tucked in to imitation Uggs, Rollers in, arm-at-right-angle-with-handbag-in-crook-of- elbow, also if in the months falling from March to October...sunglasses. They will also either be Mahogany in colour from a roasting on the sunbed, or Copper coloured from the use of Rimmel Sun Shimmer fake tan products. The more expert scouse girl will have upgraded to St Moritz (available at Home and Bargain, no less). They will also have eyelashes that Lily Savage would kill for (created by 3 sets per eye, complete with permanent conjunctivitis). Fast forward a few hours and welcome to saturday night. These girls are in town, wearing platforms giving a height of at least 6ft. Their dresses are floursecent and sprayed on. Their boobs are fake. Their hair, tan and lashes are fake. They are like an army of beautiful, but fake, clones. The lads must love it, their pick of these girls, they all look the same so it doesnt matter which one you get. Fast forward to closing time and boy do we have a different story. Extensions could be intact, or on the floor of the toilets in Moniques. Tan could have drip marks from the many-a-spilled drink, lashes are likely to have fallen out from at least one eye. Ankles may be broken from the shoes. Dress will still be on (contrary to the repuation, most arent actually slags); but may well be ripped. All that effort for a few hours on the town; cost....who knows?!

As a Liverpool girl myself, I feel like I am allowed to make these comments, I own my own bottle of St Moritz -I'm a pasty coloured girl and I cant deny the St Tropez like glow it gives you at a fraction of the cost. I have a set of extensions -I bought them as I was a bridesmaid and needed thicker hair to put up (and have used them twice since). I have even been known to use false lashes, and all credit to the experts, I dont know how you wear them for longer than ten minutes. But I dont comform to the scousebot clone fashion on a night out. I wear nice clothes, often with a vintage influence. I dont curl my hair, and have never worn my extensions with my hair down. Its just not me. If I go out as 'me'; rather than 'scousewife me' on a night out, I feel much more confident, and comfortable in my own skin. I find that if I go to scousewife haunts as 'me' you do get looks from the scousewifealikes as if to say 'whats she doin in ere like that', but I dont care. I consider myself and my girls to be normal girls who go to normal bars and clubs. The lads we meet are after normal girls and are intimidated by the wifealikes. We never see fights or get snarled, and we dont get swilled with drinks. I just dont see the need for the extent of fakeness, they all really do start looking the same!
So girls, leave the rollers and lashes one night and see what happens....you might relax!

ebay

Ebay can be a wonderful thing. Whether buying or selling, if you know how to use it, it can be of great benefit. In the fashion world, its like having the world's biggest clothes shop in your home, that you can peruse at your leisure. Be it old, new, designer, home made, tailor made, for clothes and accessories. If you're selling, if you list your item well, it can be a real money spinner.
I have found some real gems on there. One is a topshop cropped black leather biker jacket, in mint condition, for  £25. In my opinion this is a timeless item that I will wear again and again, and it goes with everything! Its also something I can probably sell on again if I keep it in good condition. The original price of this is likely to be £100 or over, so to pay £25 for something I wear all the time is no hardship!
Another great find was a pair of genuine chanel sunglasses. rrp £277, mine for £90. These were complete with case, cloth, box, authentication card and fabric case. They were brand new, the seller says she bought them but lost receipt and so was unable to return them. She allowed for returns so there was nothng to lose. They arrived and were clearly brand new, so I believed her story. A bargain for me, and some cashback for the seller. Pity the sun hasnt been out for me to use them!!

For the seller, if you get your description right, you can make some good money back on things you have bought. I usually sell dresses I have bought for weddings etc that I have worn once or twice.....I usually get at least £25 for these. Brands like All Saints Spitalfields, Coast, French Connection, Topshop will nearly always attract a buyer.
Beware the non payers though. Why somebody would bid for, win and then not pay for an item is beyond me. Do these people think you are actually going to post it out before youve recieved payment? Its good that there are non-payment procedures that you can follow, but if you relist the item I find that watchers are wary that the item has been listed and then shy away.
But this aside, I think its a great resource for both buying and selling in the fashion world!!

The Crop (crap) top....

I have noticed something of late, when buying tops. Why are they all cropped? There are many lovely tops out there at the moment, depending on what you fancy from the current trends. I particularly love the floral stuff, especially if embellished, applique or crochet. There are so many influenced by Louis Vuitton's s/s 2012 range.
Theres also plenty of Aztec out there, as well as logo tees, and vintage inspired festival wear. But my main problem is the fact that the majority of them are really short!
They are either sitting on the waist or even higher, or asymmetric rising up around the middle. This is fine if you're a model, they look great on boyish frames. But I think anyone with any curves will struggle to make the majority of these work.
There are solutions though. Brave it and show your tum off, wear a tope underneath, wear with higher waisted garments, but a lot of this can take away from the look of the top.

http://www.asos.com/Women/Tops/Crop-Tops/Cat/pgecategory.aspx?cid=15196

If you look at this page, no matter what style the top is, all are worn with a bare midriff. Fine if you look like those models, but really not suitable for a lot of us!
Its a trend thats been around for a while, and it amazes me that the big retailers have so many tops in this shape, as it does only cater for a small section of their customers surely?
Topshop have a beautiful selection of going out tops, but lots of these will sit high up. I would love to wear one of these with a skirt to a big summer event like a wedding or christening, but am yet to find one that looks right. All seem to be designed for their shape to be worn slightly loose with a low-mid rise skinny fit trouser/jeans and heels. This is a lovely look, but difficult to achieve inless you are a skinny minny, and pretty confident about your midriff.

This is the Louis Vuitton Look, very elegant and pretty.


I think this look is beautiful, but most things I have seen imitating this on the high street is in the form of a top, and most of them are too short.
So High Street, I have a request, bring us more length! Get over the crop top!
The Aztec trend is another big one. This can be quite an edgy look, and is great, but then its not so edgy if worn with a vest underneath is it!!
Like this one:
Not wearable unless like this. She looks great, but how many girls really look like this!!

I have come to one conclusion, I need to get to the gym, 500 sit ups a day anyone?!

Whether the weather be fine....

.....Or whether the weather be NOT. I need to know who controls our weather here in blighty. (I know its not controlled by a person, but allocating blame helps). It is July. Today I went for tea with a friend. This involved 4 periods of outdoor exposure lasting approx 30 seconds each -getting from house to car, car to restaurant, restaurant to car, car to house. I chose to wear a cropped leather biker jacket, and in this minimal exposure to the outdoors, I got soaked, and it was freezing! This is not on. Earlier today, I was crossing the car park in work in a cardi, and it was too warm, yet overcast with the sky about to burst. In-car travelling in the heat is no fun, cardi on, off, on, off, blah blah.
I bought some summer clothes in March, when we had a week of relatively warm weather. I remember it consisted of a beautiful H&M paisley maxi skirt, a couple of primark tops, and a Warehouse dress. All bar the dress are still in my wardrobe with tags on, we just havent had the weather for me to wear them, rubbish. I also made another summer purchase, slightly more reckless. I bought a pair of barely worn, BEAUTIFUL Chanel sunglasses from eBay. This is one of my best ever eBay finds (the other being the above leather jacket). They are tweed patterned brown, large squoval shaped, genuine, complete with case, cloth and authenticity card. It was a risk that payed off, I paid £94 for them, they are £277 on average in the shops. I bought them 4 weeks ago. They havent left the case! Again, this is not on.
It is not only these redundant purchases that are the problem. It is too windy for umbrellas, and the only coast suitable for this weather are anoraks, rain macs, and jackets. Anoraks and jackets are not good for work, they dont look smart enough, but have hoods. Macs are fabulos for work, but dont have hoods. Whats a girl to do? There are no coats available.
Going out for a few drinks is a pain too. I am now of an age where I take a brolly out with me, I know, its old. I can see the girls with false hair looking at me with disgust in their spray on dresses as I stand their with wet brolly in one hand, cocktail in the other and coat over my arm. I know its not a good look, i do. Their hair doesnt get affected by the rain because i) it is not real; ii) it is coated in hairspray; iii) they are from a superbreed of body beautiful, invincible eternal youths who repel rain, wind, and ageing and remain beautiful at all times.
So that is why I need to speak to this dude who controls the weather, sort it out! Bring us some sun!

A New Blog...

This is my attempt at a fashion blog...I have no professional experience or qualifications in writing or fashion but here I am combining the two! It will basically involve my musings and obervations on fashion past and present, who's wearing what and my thoughts on these things. Enjoy!