Mark Fast Strikes Again!

London Fashion Week is always an eventful occasion and the latest London fashion event was certainly no different.  Some may have branded it as controversial whilst others may have said it was simply a breath of fresh of air.  However, whichever way you look at it London Fashion Week has certainly left a lasting impression.

Last week saw Mark Fast and his knitwear range come under scrutiny again as a direct result of his choice to use plus size models for the second consecutive time at London Fashion Week.  Back in September 2009 Mark Fast caused a huge stir by including three plus size models within the show case of his Spring Summer 2010 range.  This was seen as an extremely controversial move by some and sparked a nationwide debate.  Whilst some supported the move by Mark Fast others were absolutely appalled by this decision, in fact this feeling of distain was felt widely amongst those within Mark Fast’s team as 2 members, including the creative director, quit just days before the Spring/Summer show.  Furthermore, there was much speculation at the time as to whether Mark Fast had simply egotistical motives when he made the decision to include plus size models within his show as it resulted in the brand receiving a great deal of publicity.

Despite his motives Mark Fast has remained defiant as for his show last week at London Fashion Week he again used plus size models.  The Canadian designer used size 14 or 16 models last week and all plus size models looked healthy rather than the gaunt look we are all so used to at such shows.  Mark Fat said that the reason he decided to use more curvaceous models is that he thinks it is important that women of all shapes and sizes can wear his designs and they are not in fact exclusive to extremely slight women.

However, it is important to point out that the average British woman is in fact a size 14-16 so the use of models of this size should not be considered as something unusual.  These fashion models represent the average women and show that plus size fashion does not have to be different, that in fact the same fashion designs can be worn by all women.

‘Every Little Helps’

It is my boyfriend’s birthday later this month. Men are always very difficult to buy for. It is either something technical, in which case I buy the wrong technical thing. Failing which good old socks, shirts or aftershave.

Well, I bought him aftershave and socks for Christmas so it is back to the search for a nice shirt for him. Where do you start when you want to buy a nice shirt for your other half. Most men will not allow much free rein when it comes to choosing the colour of a shirt, they will only wear conservative colours. It is as if they fear they will be sending out the wrong message if they dress in anything more daring than blue, black, green or grey.

So I’m half way to choosing the shirt, but which end of the shirt market do I browse. I thought I’d have a look on the internet to see if there is anything new in men’s shirts. Shirts are so dreadfully dull and functional that I wasn’t holding my breath in the hope of finding anything special on offer. Whilst as far as I could see, all shirts just looked the same, I was dumbfounded to see the price of shirts at the top end of the market.

For instance a casual shirt long sleeved shirt from Thomas Pink costs in the region of £80 – £90. In fact if you really want to splash out on your partner you can buy a Personally Pink gift voucher starting at a price of £135. For this amount, they will give you brass collar-bones with your own personal message and a voucher for your man to go along and get fitted for a Thomas Pink shirt.

Well, the Thomas Pink web-site is very inviting and I’m sure their shirts are well made and of good quality. However, for that amount of money you would expect there to be a large logo showing how much you have spoiled your beloved. As far as I can see the only distinguishing feature is the Thomas Pink name on the label. This is not seen by anyone except the wearer and ironer of the shirt. To show everyone how much you had spent on your man, you would have to strip his shirt off him and parade him about topless, with his shirt hung over his shoulder displaying the label. Taking into consideration the price, I have decided to purchase a Tesco casual shirt. For under £20 I can purchase a lovely conservative grey shirt.

Of course, style gurus may chastise me for making this purchase. I’m sure I have made a wise choice as there will be enough money left over to take him out for a special birthday meal; and I won’t have to strip him off to show off his shirt label. On the practical side, what happens in the life of a shirt? Firstly they get worn around the collars and cuffs, whiffy around the underarms and pen stains in the pockets. It doesn’t make any difference the pedigree of the shirt, it will befall the same fate. That is why I am sticking with my ‘Every little helps’ Tesco casual shirt as opposed to my Personally Pink Thomas Pink shirt.

It doesn’t matter what size you wear but how you look in what you wear

I think that so much is made of size in today’s society which makes women more conscious of their size. This mean that the vicious circle can never be broken unless we accept that all women are of different sizes. I think that although being thin has received a lot of bad press in the last few years, there are people out there who are genuinely naturally thin. Likewise with curvier, heavier women. I don’t believe there is a ‘too thin’ as long as the person in question is healthy.

Our obsession with weight and size means women now squeeze themselves into clothes they cant fit into or beat themselves up if they have to go a size bigger. The fact of the matter is that you look better in clothes that fit you and if you have confidence, you look amazing. As for sizes, I believe that there is too much difference between sizes in different brands to be able to say anything constructive about which are ‘too big’ and which are ‘too small’. Someone who is a size 10 in one store may be a size 14 in another so sizes are irrelevant. Only the person wearing the clothes knows what size they are, it is just the way you look when you wear them that translates to others.

It is true that women’s body shape is varied, more so than men, and I think that although our society is so set in its views about ‘plus size’ and smaller sizes, all women have the potential to look amazing as long as they dress correctly and true to their size. And also if they have the confidence to break the mold and go against the grain of acceptance in society.

A classic shirt is always in fashion

Any item of clothing that will never go out of fashion is a classic piece of clothing, for women this is often that old faithful little black dress and for men this is often a shirt. A classic shirt is a shirt which will go with anything, a crisp white well tailored shirt is a classic. It can be worn for business meetings during the day with a well fitting suit and a tie and by night it can be worn with jeans and smart shoes.

Of course it doesn’t have to be white, that is only what springs to my own mind, it could be blue, black or even pink! (The right pink though, so no garish colours.) The important thing is that it fits perfectly, that it can be transformed from day wear to night wear and that it is a timeless classic that will never go out of fashion. In the context of a shirt prints will never remain classics as prints are at the mercy of the latest fashions, but which ever shop you go into that crisp white shirt will always be sitting there at any time of year. A true classic for all time!