Fashion in Spain, from sunglasses to shoes to accessories

Well, it never hurts to prepare early :-)

http://en.designerseven.com/VivienneWestwwoodSunglasses-VW550_info/6969/index.htm

What a great idea, we just took delivery.

It may not matter actually. We take a step back and look at Zara's history. The success story of the brand is based on good management, who had the foresight to encourage their designers to travel and "borrow" ideas from other brands, fuse them, mix them, and develop their own distinctive style. Well, Zara has always been accused of copying designer brands fashion creations, and this time is no exception.

You might remember I mentioned the latest Zara bikinis in an earlier post? Well, you get only one try to guess what design house's Spring 2011 collection they look like ... Prada of course. According to http://fashionista.com/2011/04/adventures-in-copyright-zaras-sweet-on-prada-entire-spring-collection/ in London's Zara shop there is already a too-obvious connection between the 2 collections.

I'll let you be the judge. (and race you to the shops to grab all the Prada look-alike clothes I can get!! )

... like me, then maybe you'd be interested in these trendy Carreras. The box arrived yesterday. Again, be warned that this is a link to my employer so I'll keep the sales pitch sparse! :-)

http://en.designerseven.com/Sunglasses/Carrera/22_121/index.htm

"Carrera" means racing in Spanish, and apparently this was the inspiration behind the Austrian brand in the 50's. According to Wikipedia their material is upto 20% lighter than normal acetate sunglasses. More info here.

A new trend on the web lately is for people to "save" their combinations and favourite fashion choices, and allow others to vie and comment. Like this, we all get ideas about what might look good on us. I personally try to imagine myself wearing something before even taking it to the mirror, so when I see someone who might look like me or have similar stature, it makes it that much easier!

Here's a blog that I've been following for a while - the links are divided into the fashion brands you are likely to find in Spain, that's how I find it easier to browse:

Outfits with Mango ->

Outfits with Zara ->

Outfits with Gap ->

Outfits with Bershka ->

and many others. It's already a popular website and a constant source of inspiration. I'm always on the lookout for useful sites like that, watch this space!

Just wanted to let you know of an offer my employer is organising: boots and shoes sale here http://en.designerseven.com/Shoes/All/139/index.htm . We are refocusing our product range into sunglasses anbd frames, so a wholesaler is coming next week to buy the remainder of our shoes collection. So the prices are ridiculously low now. Obviously I work for this website, so don't take my word for it, see if there's anything you like, shipping to Spain is 8 euros. If it's your first time on the website you get an automatic discount too.

I'll update you if there's anything else coming up.

With the recent improvement in the weather it's appropriate to start talking about bikinis. I know, a tongue-in-cheek subject, but it's the only motivation that works with me to get me to drag my feet to the gym!

I personally like most the Zara bikini collection for 2011. You can see the bikini list on their website here. The most convenient aspect of Zara's new stock is that you can buy the bikini pieces separately so you can combine them easily with each other, and with jeans or skirts when walking the paseo maritimo, if you are feeling daring. Bright colours, conventional cut, clear lines, and bikinis are probably the only clothing item you can get away with wearing horizontal stripes! You can see this year's tendencies are spreading, as Pull & Bear is also moving along similar lines http://www.demujer.es/bikinis-pull-and-bear-2011/

Reasonable prices too at Zara, watch this space as I am looking for discount coupons for other shops too. 

Paris fashion week this March was overshadowed by the notable absence of John Galliano, designer for Dior. The news that you may be aware of is that Galliano made racist remarks (while under the influence of alcohol) and that cost him his job after it was caught on video. The remarks were made on the 12th of December 2010. The video was made public by none other than The Sun, here is a report from You Tube:

The main result was that more is coming out of the woodwork, as another woman has accused Galliano since then of also making racist comments to her in October last year. The Dior house clearly had to be seen to act drastically on these news, and Sidney Toledano, the firm's president declared: We absolutely condemn the remarks made by Galliano sine they stand to complete contradiction with the values aspoused by the Dior company. 

The court case will take place on the 12th May, until then Dior has some damage limitation to take care of. 

I think you've all seen them, the most popular beach shoes that can double up as evening outing attire.

Just joking ... I mean the straw heel ones below:

In Spanish they are called "espadrillas" in case you want to ask for them at the shop, it's actually an international word so you could see them referred to as such anywhere. It seems like they are still in fashion in Spain this year, all shops have restocked them again and I see them worn all over Spain. Not just at the beaches but inland too, Madrid etc. They are cheap and they still manage to look elegant after you come out of the sand!

The first week of March saw the Celine line created by Phebe Philo in Paris. The theme was in praise of the woman at the wheel of a car. The connection between the inspiration and the resulting garment is not exactly obvious, but both are interesting. Unlike previous seasons, this is an arid and experimental point which makes it less immediately attractive. The splendid trousers and clean silhouettes are still there, but there are also prints and coats that, frankly, are not as easy to accept.

For more fotos and comments see this fashion report from El Pais here. As the author also points out, the Spanish woman has had enough years of being forced to wear straight lines and asexual clothes, especially at the work place. This new line by Celine is more in place in a northern country perhaps, but not Madrid or Barcelona, and definitely not the south of the country. The austere look is somehow not worn in Spain and is best avoided.

Next up, some positive observations from the fashion show, watch this space.

Rose