Warehouse Blog

Work it!

We look to 3 style icons with a fondness for workwear to prove that on duty and after hours, sharp tailoring with a feminine flourish spells serious glamour.

 

You gotta hand it to Ms Teese. She works a Phd in strict 40’s glamour thanks to nipped waist suits and power pencil dresses aplenty. The good news is it’s an easy look to pull off as the cuts flatter a womanly shape like no other. Plus, the transition from office to bar is as easy as a slash of red lippy. 

Dita Von Teese @ Rex Features

This young lady is soooo having her moment, especially when it comes to fashion. Rejecting the usual red carpet froth at the premiere of her recent film, Bride Wars, she instead plumped for a razor sharp tux with skyscraper gold heels. She looked sharp, sophisticated and modern; 3 great attributes to any career girl. To work for day, choose a mid-heel black court.

   

                                                         Anne Hathaway @ Rex Features

Who doesn’t have a bit of a soft spot for Kelly Brook? Gorgeous, sweet-natured, commendably resilient and with a tailored, retro dress sense that suits both her curves and her character, she’s a darn fine woman to aspire to (Britain’s got no talent without her, we say!) To emulate her style think pussy-bow blouses, soft line pencil skirts, chic clutch bags and heeled courts.

     

Kelly Brook @ Rex Features

The New Hipsters

From left to right: Liv Tyler, Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow. All pictures @ Rex Features

Hips are back. No, we’re not talking jeans slung so low you can see your smalls, but skirts, dresses and trousers that deliberately puff out at the hips. Sound a bit daring? Well, the good news is that the ‘new hipsters’ also boast nipped waists and tapered skirts, making them ultra flattering – the number of body conscious 'slebs' taking a wide view on hips right now is testament to that!  

                     

Join the hareem

 

 

This may take a moment to get your head round, but the coolest trouser shape is no longer a curve-clinging second skin. Yep, the spring/summer 09 catwalks revealed that the new shape for trews is fluid, drapey and tapered at the ankle or knee: the hareem pant.

“It’s a new movement,” says Warehouse Design Director, Lisa Byrne, “that reflects a desire to be more experimental, but at the same time relaxed. Hareem pants encapsulate this vibe exquisitely as they’re sexy without ever trying too hard.” 

So does this mean we should be ditching our faithful skinnies? “No! Skinny is still very much in, it’s just that now we have another point of view.”

Her tip for avoiding MC Hammer (80’s rapster with a fondness for drop-crotch Ali Baba pants) style ridicule is? “For evening, go glam with statement heels and a backless jersey top; for day, it’s a case of a simple tee, shoe-boots and a cosy belted knit and when summer finally hits, gladiator sandals. ”

Colour Crush: Blue & Black

Natasha Bedingfield, Nicole Ritchie and Ugly Betty’s Becki Newton are black, blue and beautiful. All images @ Rex Features.

Er, like how hot is this dress from our new Odyssey collection? It’s got the new season’s ultra cool blue-black colour combo down as well as the whole space agey wide shoulder thing. We’re positively drooling…

                                   

                                        

Click here or on the mannequin to shop this dress

2009 style honours: mistresses of wet-look leggings

All photos @ Rex Features: models Rosie Huntingdon-Whitely, Chanel Iman & Daisy Lowe

And the 2009 honours for absolute A-star mastery of the trickiest trend, like, ever, goes to models of the moment, Daisy Lowe, Chanel Iman and Rosie Huntingdon-Whitely! All three worked fashion’s latest style obsession, wet-look leggings, with aplomb, achieving a fine balance of rockstar edginess and high chic.

Their trick, aside from being improbably gorgeous? Keeping the treacherous crotch area disguised by, in Miss Iman’s case, layering hers under an evening dress (a seriously fashion forward move) and Miss Huntingdon-Whiteley’s, by shrewdly choosing a longer line t-shirt and tuxedo jacket. The delectable Daisy Lowe is a near exception to the rule, but her extra long scarf does provide considerable distraction from said danger zone.

So, remember, while wet-look leggings do mean luscious legs and give a now vibe to any look, VPLs are out, out, out!