"Does The Queen Do Fashion?"

The BBC recently posted this article on their news site and I thought it was intriguing. Titled "Does The Queen Do Fashion?", the article explains what an influence the Queen has had on fashion, what trends she's personally worn and goes into detail about the stories of the production of some of her most famous dresses.

The article goes into depth about her fashion rules and how designers go about creating pieces for her - not only for international, national and local occasions but for her day-to-day encounters too - she must have an epic wardrobe!

"The Queen always wears a two-inch heel, hemlines must be well below the knee, and she always carries a handbag. "She has to wear strong colours, she's very tiny, and in a block colour with a wonderful hat, she stands out - she's a real focal point," he (Stewart Parvin) adds."

Although she she doesn't have a style which I would personally imitate, I can definately see how older women could be inspired by the outfits which she wears - everything is suitable to the occasion, whilst being in keeping with colours and seasonal trends. She's a great icon for women across the world and so has to look suitably attired for the occasion - I think she does a marvellous job!

Check out the full article HERE and keep checking back as I'll be posting fashion and beauty related posts relating to the Queen regularly in the run up to the official Diamond Jubilee celebration day on Tuesday.

Are thin women the enemy?

I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this recent BBC article - "Are Thin Women The Enemy?" which debates the representation of skinny women in the media and discusses legislation changes that are being brought in across various countries to stop this from occuring.

When the UK average dress size is a 16, why do girls feel the need to be a size zero to feel beautiful? In this day and age, women are bombarded with images that portray the idea that thin women are beautiful, successful and desirable to men and so they see their bodies as a form of image construction and self expression.

Its a uniform construction of beauty with all the models looking the same - standardized - and  I think women feel a level of judgement cast upon them when they can't maintain that skinny is beautiful ideal which puts a huge pressure on women to maintain their figures.

Some countries have introduced laws which restrict advertising, model size and eating disorder in the fashion industry but do you think it should go further? Do you think the control and rationalism of body images is something that should be brought into law? Let me know in the comments below!

How Jeans Conquered The World

The BBC recently posted this article on their news site and I thought it was intriguing. Titled "How Jeans Conquered The World", the article explains the history of denim, the cultural significance of jeans and provides loads of interesting facts that got me thinking!

Jeans are definately a wardrobe staple for me and for people worldwide because they are so versatile. You can wear them dressed up with a blouse and heels out for dinner or pull out those worn old favourites with a baggy tee for a chilled out day at home. Jeans can be haute couture and can also be an item of comfy clothing that you rock when you just want to bum around. And its not just jeans but denim shirts, denim skirts, denim shorts, denim jewelry, denim shoes - I'm pretty sure that you can buy almost any piece of clothing or accessory in denim! It just never seems to go out of fashion and the styles are trends are constantly evolving.

Personally, I have two pairs of jeans that my day-to-day go-to jeans - a cheap pair of H&M dark wash skinnies (which are fab for dressing up with heels) and a pair of Joe's Jeans Chelsea Jeans in Jamie Wash (a slightly baggy but in a skinny style, light wash pair of jeans with distressing). One pair cost £20, one pair cost  £150 but there's nothing between them in terms of how much I wear them and love them!

What is your favourite thing about jeans and which pair are your wardrobe staple? I'd love to hear your thoughts! I think the line that sums up my love of denim is "Cowboys may wear them but so do supermodels, farmers, presidents and housewives" - the full article is available HERE and is well worth a read!

Image Source: BBC