THE SECRETS OF DENIM

Everyone owns a pair of denim jeans. They are a staple in our wardrobes. An everyday essential. But have you ever wondered where they were made? Even, how they were made? Like the majority, this isn't something that would cross your mind. You buy something because you like it, and that is it. Nothing else. No thought given to how the garment has been manufactured You've spent your money you eared on it, so it doesn't matter. With denim being an in demand fabric, and jeans an in demand garment; the production of this item is vast. It needs to be quick.

This is where a province in China comes in, an industry town called Xintang. This is most known for being the "Jeans Capital of the World", producing over 230 million pairs of jeans each year. This is an outstanding amount, counteracting for 60% of China's total jean production. 

Everything from spinning, dyeing and weaving, to cutting, printing, washing, sewing and bleaching- Both children and the elderly fill the streets full of factories, all participating in at least one of these roles to produce the same product day in, day out, by hand. 

The dyes used to create our favourite jeans are extremely toxic. Heavy metals are present throughout the whole process. Cadmium, Chromium, Mercury, Copper and Lead, all extremely dangerous; which can cause problems within the central nervous system and vital organs. Not only is this worrying, but worse, the people surrounded by these toxins are more likely to die from cancer than anywhere else in the world, according to the World Bank study.

Chromium is extremely harmful. Chromium 6 used to be used in furniture production, but they soon realised how this dye used on cottons and leather, could be absorbed into peoples skin over time, causing dangerous after affects. Meaning they stopped using this chemical. So why is it OK for the people in China to be exposed to this? They are putting their lives at risk for the sake of a pair of jeans.

These people can never escape these circumstances. Being at work is no different to being at home. The town is plastered with dye, both on the streets and in the air. This is evident through the protection masks they wear. As you can see below in the images, what would have once been a plain white mask, has now turned blue due to the dye in the air sticking to everything. 

All of the waste-water used during production isn't reserved elsewhere and filtered either- it is just let loose into the rivers, leaving a sea of indigo. This water is used to wash with, cook from and drink from. This is allowing every harmful chemical from the dyes into their bodies. Again, causing severe health issues. 

                                             








It is important for people to realise the impact that a simple, everyday item can affect someone else's life. To the point it causes death. This can change with the help of people supporting the toxic-free fashion campaign over on Greenpeace. The campaigners are challenging some of the world's most popular clothing brands to work with their suppliers to help eliminate all releases of hazardous chemicals into the water, improving conditions for the workers.

Read more about the campaign here: http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/news/stories/toxics/2010/textile-pollution-xintang-gurao/

STREET STYLE FINDINGS - KEY PIECES

As a follow on from a few posts ago- We put our retail analysis into practice this week by doing a street style task. This task meant we had to go onto the streets of Nottingham, and find examples of the trends we had identified at the start. The most successful pieces of street style we found, came under the Key Pieces section.

One of the main trends under the Key Pieces category was the wrap coat. We were expecting to find a lot more of this style - however their were only two examples, with the exception of another jacket which was a hybrid of trends:

(image on the right)-
This is a hybrid between a wrap and a trench coat. This is due to the fact it has the neckline of a wrap coat alongside the tie detail in the middle which indicates this. Furthermore, it has a double breasted effect, which again, is a nod to the trench coat trend. The texture of this coat is also interesting as it is marl/grain-like, again something that seems to be popular with consumers.We didn't get round to asking her where the coat was from or when she brought it- this would have been interesting to know as we could of judged whether this was brought specifically for this years trend or for practicality. To make a judgement, I would suspect the latter; as by the rest of her outfit, I feel that she is dressing for comfort and to be warm- not to make a conscious fashion statement.

Similarly to the wrap coat, we were expecting to see a lot of the Trench Coat on the street. However, we also only found two - but were both for very different purposes.

(image on left)

This was a more practical take on the Trench Coat. The lady wearing this trench told us that she had had this garment for 5 years. This shows how much of a classic piece this really is.

It originated in World War 1 for the use of the soldiers. Before the trench coat, they used to wear heavy greatcoats, which were made from wool. This was clearly impractical due to the conditions. In contrast to this coat, the trench was much more practical. It was lightweight, shorter and waterproof. It was far easier to clean, and easier to be able to camouflage due to its beige colour- this meant that the soldiers would not stand out or draw attention to themselves. Since this era, the trench coat has slowly changed its nature and become a fashion staple that is both stylish and practical. This shows how much of a staple piece this has been since 1914.

(image on the right)
We can see that this is a much more modern take on the trend. This is mainly because it is oversized and much looser in comparison to the fitted ones that we've seen before. This trench coat has clearly been worn as a deliberate fashion choice. We know this to be true through what else she is wearing- the girl has kept it minimal by only wearing black yet added a bit of colour through the scarf. The fact that this coat wasn't lined or overly classic suggests how it hasn't been worn for practical use. The flowy an thin nature of the material suggests it is used as a fashion statement and the girl is clearly much more trend aware.

THE BEST OF CHRISTMAS - BEAUTY

When going to events, I sometimes find that many people forget that it isn't just about what you're wearing that counts; it is also about your make-up as well. Christmas always reminds me of red or berry lips, with a classic eye and a hint of gold. Whilst looking for inspiration- this image alongside the video are very season appropriate and work well for any event this time of year, as they can easily be played down or glammed up:

I love trying out new things and looks this time of year as many brands put together mini collections that can be used for gifts! It's an excuse to buy yourself a gift, that may be a bit besides the point but any excuse is a good enough excuse to treat yourself! To try out some of the looks featured above, I have put together a variety of items that are suitable and versatile enough to be used daily- for daytime wear alongside a night-time look. These are some of the items that I am currently lusting over from my favourite cosmetics brands:

   Urban Decay                                                  Charlotte Tilbury                                        Sleek Highlighter

 27/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set                   Six Shades of Love-Ecstacy                     Eye Palette in Solstice

 £25.00                                                              £49.00                                                           £9.99

  

Nars Cosmetics                                             Benefit                                                        Bobbi Brown  

One Shocking Moment Palette                'Get Your Party On Set'                          Secret to Stand Out Eyes

£49.00                                                              £39.50                                                        £69.00

  Mac Cosmetics                                               Hourglass                                                     Nars Cosmetics

  Enchanted Eve: Face Palette                    Ambient Lighting Edit                             Killer Heels

  £42.00                                                              £65.00                                                            £29.00

I hope you enjoyed my beauty gift guide edit! There's plenty of options here for all ages ranges and budgets; and they all make great Christmas gifts too (...for yourself!)

THE BEST OF CHRISTMAS - SHOES & ACCESSORIES

Following on from the previous post, I am now doing a post about all of my favourite shoes and accessories that I'm loving at the moment, that you can bring into the party season!

Zara £22.99                                   Zara £29.99                                    Zara £29.99                                 Zara £12.99

Missguided £15.00                   Missguided £8.00                    Topshop £29.00                      Missguided £15.00

Topshop £22.00                           Missguided £45.00                 River Island £10.00            Topshop £22.00

Reiss £50.00                               River Island £20.00               Reiss £85.00                             New Look £24.99

THE BEST OF CHRISTMAS - DRESSES

With the Christmas party season starting any time now, it's always nice to have something new and sparkly to wear to any event you have coming up. I am going to be doing a series called 'The Best Of Christmas' over the next week, in which I will be sharing my favourite finds of dresses, accessories and shoes, and make-up and hair. To kick start, I am starting with the main item- the dress. With a few alternatives if a dress isn't for you.

Whether its a staff party or New Year's Eve, all of these dresses are appropriate and add a little Christmas sparkle to any occasion. These dresses range round £25.00 to £220.00- so there is something here for everyone. Hope you enjoy looking through some of my favourite dresses in store right now.

         Topshop £80.00                                           Topshop £60.00                                    Topshop £55.00

 French Connection £110.00                                 Zara £39.99                                 French Connection £165.00

       Missguided £28.00                                    Whistles £220.00                                   Missguided £25.00

ROUSTEING ON THE PARIS ATTACKS

After the shocking and terrible news of the attacks in Paris last Friday; I came across this article on Vogue, which talks about the scene in the perspective of Olivier Rousteing. I feel that it is so lovely for such an inspirational person to keep up the moral of those around them both in and out of Paris. Rousteing himself lives in Paris, so can relate to the scenes happening. But for him to be able to spread the message and send his love worldwide is encouraging as it allows us as a community to be able to come together and support those amongst the tragedy.

Read more about what Rousteing had to say here

AW15 MATERIAL TRENDS

Following on from last weeks post about AW15 outwear trends- For the past week or so, I have been researching alongside my group into material, key pieces and pattern trends. The PowerPoint presentation we had to create had to include information about market levels (Value- Primark/F&F etc, Mass-Topshop, Zara, New Look etc, Middle- Reiss, Whistles etc and High-luxury brands such as Tom Ford and YSL) as well as looking at the '7 Ps'. The 7 P's is something that we refer to on our course: They mean product, price, promotion, place, process, people and physical evidence. I chose to look into the material trends. Below are some screenshots of the work I did for the PowerPoint-

This is a slide reiterating the key trend categories-

This slide talks about where we found inspiration and how we noticed the trend-

This slide is full of examples online at middle and mass market level. 

The first store that we went into to find examples of fur was Primark. This is a value market level, alongside the other store we went into, Select. Underneath shows our findings using the 7 P's-

These are examples of the clothing at a middle market level

When going into a middle market level store, such as Reiss, we only found one example of the fur coat. It appears that it is much more popular online, compared to in store. 

Shearling is another key trend. Here, we can see examples of a shearing texture at high, middle and mass market levels. 

In store, this trend translated at a value market level also. 

At mass market level also, there were examples of this trend. They were all similar in colour, yet varied in styles depending on the store.

I found doing the task and putting together the PowerPoint really fun. It was interesting to see how the different market levels portray the garments and trends online and in store. I found that for fur, all of the market levels had at least one item of fur instore and more online. This suggests that this trend is popular at all levels and is available to everybody. Whereas with shearling, there was more available online with high-end retailers such as Acne. In stores, it was much harder to find this exact material, yet instead it was more a variation of shearling at both value and mass levels.. At middle market, we didn't find any shearling material coats in store at all. This shows how the demand for this trend is not as high as others, and is only something that would be available online, instead of in store.

AW15 WOMENSWEAR TRENDS - OUTERWEAR

At the end of last week, we were put into groups and we started a new trend project. We were given the task to look at the AW15 trends for womenswear. We chose to look at the sub category of outerwear. Through research and looking at a selection of different images, we had to find evidence of at least four of the following trends within outwear- colour, material, trims, print/pattern, graphic, silouhettes/cut and key styles/pieces to then be able to collate our findings as a group and piece the key trends together. In the seminar we put together our images on the wall and sectioned off each sub trend:

One of our silhouette trends included the trench coat. We noticed that brands were beginning to have a new take on the classic double breasted style trench. As instead of keeping it classic in simple colours such as camel, navy and beige. Brands were beginning to use more innovative materials such as a snake print coated effect and metallic finishes.

After looking at some of the trends, we were asked to quickly come up with a potential story for our sub trend. Due to new take on the classic trench coat, we decided that 'mac gone mad' would be an appropriate way to describe our trend story, as the classic has taken a drastic turn into something much more wild and crazy, hence the use of the adjective 'mad'. 

Our next challenge is to do a retail analysis of our findings. We are going to go into stores and find examples of how the trends we have found have been adopted and communicated to the consumers, as well as looking at how this has been done online.

£2 MANICURE

I have always been into nails and making sure mine look clean and tidy. For me, there is nothing worse than unkempt nails. I have tried and testing so many different brands of nail polish from cheap to expensive. One of my favourite brands is Nails Inc. - They offer a wide variety of colours and formulas which last for days before chipping. Every now and then, Nails Inc collaborate with various magazines, in particular Glamour; offering their readers a free nail polish with the magazine.

In this months Glamour magazine (November 2015 edition), you get a free nail varnish by Nails Inc in a choice of four colours. I chose this pale colour in the shade 'Colville Mews'. I find a nude colour is perfect for every occasion. It is simple yet elegant and matches everything. For the cost of the magazine, which is £2- you can't go wrong as these polishes retail price starts at £11!

Find more shades from Nails Inc here

Get a copy of Glamour now, before the next edition comes out on November 6.