Hi girls,
Happy Saturday morning! I hope you’ve all had a good week.
My week was pretty knackering and stressful due to huge meetings at work this week. Part of my job as a fashion buyer is to present to the directors and the CEO the product I have been developing and designing with my suppliers. I have been working on my range for AW19 for the last 4 or 5 months and this week was the first time said directors had seen it. I can happily say that the meeting went fantastically and the product was well received which is great! It’s nerve racking when you’ve put your heart and soul into something you have designed to have other people see it differently or not agree with your opinion on it. Any job in the creative industry can be tough as it’s almost all subjective. There’s no right or wrong answer like there is with say something figures related. That’s not to say that other jobs and industries like banking are not tough as well! Every job has its ups and downs.
Anyway, last week we saw Spring make an appearance, finally! We’re seeing the days longer and lighter and the best feeling is leaving the office at 5:30pm and its still light! We’re seeing the temperatures slowly climb as well; 17 degrees in London on Friday! With this change comes the excitement I have and I’m sure you do too, of getting out your Spring/Summer wardrobe. Say goodbye to your dark wintery heavy knit jumpers. Say goodbye to your tights and your faux fur coats. Bring out the denim jackets, the sunglasses, the slide on flats and even the bare legs! It won’t be long until we’re in full on sandals and backless floaty dresses mode, I can’t wait!
With this in mind, I thought I’d talk about the Spring trends we’re seeing this season. Part of my job is to pay close attention to the trends coming through for the season ahead. It trickles down to the high-street from the high end designers with their catwalks shows last September. That is the same time I am designing my range for next season. I need to make sure my range in stores reflects the trends seen on those catwalks. It would be a complete fail if a huge trend came through and every one of my competitors has it in their shops and I didn’t pick up on it. I’d be losing out on a lot of potential sales from my customers.
Once in season, like we are now, I also have to keep an eye on how the high-street has portrayed those trends from the catwalks into their collections and how the general public are reacting to those trends.
So with that all in mind, here is my round up of the biggest SS19 trends to either vibe or not vibe. Some of these trends are in stores now and some are yet to come so keep a look out if you’re feeling any of these…
1). GO WILD WITH ANIMAL PRINT
Animal print made a come back bigger than ever in AW18. As buyers, we were debating last year whether it was going to carry on in SS19 and boy did it. I’m not a lover of animal print per-say but I can get on board with a bright animal print headband (featured a lot on my Instagram page – check it out for inspo). What’s great about animal print this season is you can take it to a new level. It’s not just about the classic brown animal print like you used to see in H&M back in 2005, it’s got some new friends with zebra print, snake print and leopard joining the watering hole too (Dad joke! Apologies). Below is some of my favourite animal print looks from designer to high-street.
2). BOOK YOUR SPIN CLASS GIRL, IT’S CYLING PANTS!
Yep that’s right, cycling pants are having a moment. Seen on Gigi Hadid last year, the catwalks were feeling it and the high-street is feeling it too. It’s only just starting to appear, with & Other Stories recently launching their cycling shorts online and in select stores. This can be a tricky trend if you’re not a supermodel but it doesn’t have to be skin tight, every body fold or ‘wobbly bits’ (thank you Bridget Jones) on show. Team it with a long oversized shirt or tee and NOT a crop top, please!
3). JUST CHILL MAN, IT’S ONLY TIE DYE (are these getting quite cringe now? haha)
Think Byron Bay, Free People, hippie California vibes. Tie Dye is yet to make much of an appearance on the high-street (Urban Outfitters being the exception) but it was everywhere on the catwalk. So if it’s your kind of look then get hunting for your old tie dye t-shirt from the year 2000 (yeah, think Busted) you may have even made it in textiles class at school?
4). I SEE YOU GIRL, BIG AND BOLD
Now this is my kind of trend; bold colours. I love a bright colour and this season they are really making an impact. If going bright scares you then opt for an accessory to start with, again a headband perhaps or some bright shoes? You can really have fun with this trend. Make it your own with either clashing colours (I love a clash) or head to toe on colour – both would look incredible and you’ll totally be feeling like Andy from Devil Wears Prada after her makeover by Stanley Tucci – yes girl!
5). HEY 90’S CHICK, BUCKET HATS ARE BACK
The classic 90’s look is returning and bucket hats are leading the charge. Seen all over the catwalks on shows you wouldn’t have thought, they’re no longer something a 10 year old girl wears on the beach in bright pink flowers, they’ve gone chic. My bucket hats in stores at the moment are doing really well, it’s the dark horse trend of the season. So far, again Urban are the only ones really going for this but watch this space as I bet you we are going to seeing more and more bucket hats popping up over the next few months. It’s quite a particular look so if you’re thinking the world has gone mad then perhaps the below looks will give you a bit of inspiration and insight…
So those are just a select few big trends for this season but there are plenty of other trends out there and more to come – i.e delicious sorbet colours, bohemian is here to stay, orange is having a moment and spots are doing their thing too.
So have fun this season! Shake things up in your wardrobe, re-discover items you forgot you owned or didn’t know how to wear and don’t be afraid to try something different. Orange and lilac? Go for it girl! Yellow head to toe? Why not! Tie die bucket hat? You’ll rock whatever look you’re feeling for, like I said, it’s all subjective!
Lots of love my style queens xxxx
It’s A Girl Thing 