Ginger's style guide: Winter

Hey girls, have a seat.

We need to have a chat because I'm worried about you. Ok we don't live in the UK and it doesn't snow, but ladies its chilly! Your going to catch your death running from pub to club in your saucy mini dress and heels. Sure we all get nice and warm rocking out on the dance floor, but what happens when its time to leave and the taxi's are few and far between.

So here is my public service announcement - rug up sweeties. Here are some tips on how to stay stylish and sexy while keeping the chills at bay.

Take a cardigan, wear a blazer or just throw on an over sized sweater. Better yet wear a gorgeous coat and just leave it in the coat check.

Stockings! There is no need to freeze just to show off your stems. Your look may even look that little more polished with a set of chic black stockings. Here is the important part, look out for the denier (that's the thickness) If you want a really warm set of stockings then a higher denier is better. I wear at least 70 but I have seen them go up to 200 denier.

Boots! Oh so in right now AND you can sneak a pair of socks under them to keep your tootsies real cosy like.

Lastly, for that extra little bit of warmth you cant go past a street cuddle with the boy you took out (or just found ;)

Ginger's Style Guide: Turbans

Love them or hate them turbans are back! A bold piece for a confident gal, these 1940's style creations are a great alternative to the winter standard beanies. I suggest we all take a moment and work out just how to wear these tricky little things.


acommonthread

Closet Obsessions

Yours Truly Mag

Stereo Drugs

My tip for trying the turban: keep it casual and fun. Wear it like a beanie on the back of your head with hair falling free. Fringes and bangs help a great deal to integrate and soften the look.

I am not a fan of a turan wrapped tightly round the head with your hair tucked under. It's so harsh, all emphasis is on the face which needs to be flawless. Even Jessica Stam looks strange in this get-up, and if something can make that girl look less than perfect then thats something Im going to stay waaaay away from.

Blog advertising: Nuffnang ads

You may have noticed that I have recently placed an ad spot in my sidebar. Now I hope this doesn't deter you fine readers. I needed the blog to earn a little extra pocket money so that I could justify to myself the time I invest in it. Being self employed you really have to manage your time so carefully to further your business, have a healthy lifestyle and perhaps even have a social life. My answer - this baby needed to make some MON-AY (oh dear haha). I went with Nuffnang ads : it seemed a lot of fashion bloggers recommended them as you can be extremely selective about the ads you want shown. I'm happy with the results: I have a fashion related, nice little picture in my sidebar that doesn't seem to obtrusive. It certainly doesn't pop-up, spiral and flash all over the screen which is always a plus.

Now perhaps I'm taking my role as advertiser too far, but I had to check out the Yesstyle site - there are some really cute things on there! I got stuck trawling through their shorts range and found a few unbearably cute little numbers that really reflect the underwear as outerwear trend from the 2009/2010 runways.

I love this last picture! I was looking to buy some crinoline petticoats for some of my 50's style vintage dresses, which I will probably still get. However, these little petticoat bloomers are so adorable , wouldn't you just feel amazing having these peep out from under your skirts, and they are a little less dressy than the full crinoline. I may have to give them a try. Oooh I wonder if they come in black?

Ginger's Style Guide: Socks and Stockings

Continuing on from my post on ankle socks, I thought I would post on another hosiery trend - Socks and Stockings. I love this look, its so chic and sexy. It is especially suited to those that are on the fence with the over the knees boots look. If you wear all black shades and a set of heels then WAAALLAH you have a softer version of this look.


Honey I stole your jumper

Stylorectic

This little lady, Eszter from Vienna, is a literal queen of hosiery. If your after a bit of inspiration you should definitely check out this fashionista's pages. She also has a firm grasp on angelic shades with most of her outfits in whites, greys and pastels. Gorgeous!


Adeline Rapon

This is my favourite version of the look with its geek-chic charm.

Ginger's Style Guide: Ankle socks trend

With all style guides, there will be exceptions to thses rules. However, to play it safe and rock this revolving, age old trend - Ankle socks- here's my tips.

DO

• wear them with chunky, strappy heels, ankle boots and flats
• wear lace, whether it be a cute trim or dainty lace socks
• scrunch them down a little
  
• wear them in neutral shades, this has been huge on all the latest catwalks i.e tan, camel, grey and nude.
• Try out a soft, feminine print.
  

Sandra Esther

Instyle


Tea.Toast.Fashion

DON'T

• wear them with flat sandals
• roll them down
• wear loud, gaudy prints, you'll look clownish
• wear closed shoes with socks in a stark contrasting shade, i.e black and white, red and green. It may looks like you belong in 'Grease'.
• Try and get away with using your sports socks. Thin and light socks are key for this trend.
  

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The Ginger Fox does Futuremusic 2010

What a lovely week I've just had in Sydney, but I'm home now and it's back to business as the style snaps are mounting up in my camera's memory. There should be quite a few posts coming your way in the next few days as I attempt to play catch up, so if you're one of the people I have accosted in the street, your pic is coming :) To get started here are a few I took at Futuremusic just before I made the dash to the airport.




Chris from Bagraiders


Loving the 'Mandles' I'm seeing appearing in the stores. No longer will guys be confined to pluggers and vans, lets see them get strappy.



The tie dye festival fad seems to be diminishing rapidly as the summer wears on with only a handful of baggy singlets and the odd maxi making an appearance. Ready to step up in its place was LACE! Lace, lace, everywhere lace.



You have to applaud these lovely ladies, you couldn't be more wonderfully co-ordinated if you tried. I didn't even ask if it was intentional, I would rather believe the style gods saw too it that this occurred simply to make us smile. Whats more, the dresses are really gorgeous! Loving the one shoulder number... too cute.



Where lace ended, stripes began. There was nautical numbers as far as the eye could see.

As you can probably tell, I am fascinated by the the style trends that emerge when you fence in 30,000 music loving people, out to look good and have a great time. There is no better gauge for whats in, whats out; whats coming and what should never, ever have been. I probably watch the people more than I do the acts.



Do you recognise this darling red head? Its Rusty Gates' more genetically fortunate sister Dusty Gates, otherwise known as Yolande. She's a sweetie.



Me with Empire of the Sun in the background there. This is my comfy country road dress, perfect for a dirty day at a music festival, then a stuffy four hour flight across the country.

Ginger's style guide: How to wear High Waisted Hot Pants

Howdy from Sydney guys! The Boy and I arrived here bleary eyed at 7am having spent the previous day rocking out in the sweltering heat at Futuremusic, then dashing from Ascot to the airport to catch the Redeye: you gotta do what you gotta do. The first thing I found out when I arrived, as many silly people have done before me I am sure, is that I completed underestimated the difference in climate. Its hard to imagine you will need anything with sleeves when the days are basically hitting 40 in good ole Perth. I did pack a few warmer things, but not enough people, not enough! Its been drizzly and cold for the past couple of days, but do you know what, I am not complaining as I am a child of winter. Yep give me breeze, give me rain (when I'm safely indoors) and I will happily respond with layering and boots. Didn't bring boots though, meh all the more reason to hit the Sydney shops and start building up my warmer wardrobe.

While I am here I didn't want to neglect my blog so I thought I would have another style guide post. I huge trend emerging on all the recent runways and street style blogs is all those leggy ladies getting their undies out. We're seeing detailed underwear becoming more and more visible in the outfits, from ruffled bras, studded cropped bodices, suspender tights and, the focus of this particular post, hot pants.

Now you need to ask yourself a few questions when contemplating wearing hotpants;

Am I about to go on stage?

Dailymail

Am I going to the beach?


Clothing Fashion Trend

Am I about to step onto a runway?

If you answered yes to any of those questions then go nuts, all bets are off. Flash tonnes of leg, get your mid out and lets add studs, lots and lots of studs.

If you are about to step out for some mid day shopping in the city you may need to re-think. The tini-tiny hotpants are a difficult trend and are not for everyone, actually they're not for most (certainly not me and my thighs). If you are up to the challenge then this is what I suggest;

Wear them with stockings: Its the simplest way to downplay the risque nature of these little garments.


Tahti from Tahti Syrjala

Go a little corporate: A structured blazer or a long sleeve blouse adds that refined element you need to assure people that, no, I didn't forget to put on my trousers.

Voi


POPSUGAR

Cover em up: Put on a longer coat or even a long sheer top that extends past the shorts and your all sorted.

I'm going to have to dash now, sorry if this post seems a little rushed but Phoenix is waiting and I wouldn't want to disappoint the boys, they have come such a long way :)

The Ginger Fox handy hints: bike shorts beauties

It has been a very trying week for me this week and I worry that perhaps all the bad luck from my many broken market stall mirrors has finally converged to create a swirling vortex of unlikely and highly irritating situations, The Perfect Storm. One of these eddy currents of misery was the crashing of my much relied upon laptop. As many of you will know, there are no words to describe the sheer frustration as you frantically try to power up to no avail. I will elaborate more on this situation tomorrow ( I have pretty pictures to try and sum up my experience) when the hard drive has been replaced.

In the meantime I thought i would try out a style tip blog post. I have noticed recently a number of fine young lassies sporting floral bike shorts. The bike short does appear to be the next logical progression in the form fitting, legging trend as highly patterned leggings become more and more common.


Perth girl Shi from Buffalo Parade knows how to wear a pair of tights!

Now the wearing of bike shorts is not for the faint of heart. You only have to look at the 6am Lycra clad bike nuts cycling madly round our street to know that it is perhaps not always the most flattering look. So here are my tips for making the bike short work for you;
Hands down the most important point, wear a long top that covers your bum

Kelly from Lions, tigers & fashion OH MY!

Bike shorts, leggings, tights and, god forbid, stockings should never be confused with pants. They are one layer of thin stretchy material that show every curve, crease and crack of your derriere no matter how fine a specimen it may be. The general public does not need to see this much anyone so just cover it up slightly. It only takes an oversized tee just to cover up to the top of your thighs. Less is definitely more in this case ladies.

Avoid fluoro bike shorts, the fluoro fad is well and truly dead, stick it in its coffin, nail it down and bury it. However, if your going to wear the bike short as a statement piece go for a colourful fun print or standout material like lace. Skip your plain black and go for something that will leave an impression.


Krystal from This time tomorrow

Dress them up! Your going to look like you belong in a trailer park if your teaming them with thongs and an everyday tee. Get out your heels, festooned gladiators (studs, straps and buckles)or ankle boots, throw on some long pendants and your all set.
Lastly, if your not confident to wear them by themselves, try them under a pair of denim cutoffs.


Frida from Searching Gold