Style Tips For Your Summer Get A Away.

By Coral Turner, Couture Fashion Designer

As we spring into summer, it is the time when most of us, hopefully, will be jetting off to some exotic, romantic, or adventurous land to relax, rejuvenate, and even a learn a thing or two about a different culture. However, packing for our adventures has become more difficult, with tight controls on luggage weight, additional and expensive baggage fees, and increased airport security. That is why my one-of- kind jersey couture designs are ideal for your travel needs.

It is great to look stylish while in transit, but avoid wearing jewelry and heavy accessories. Keeping accessories to a minimum will make going through the airport security checkpoints much easier. Moreover, keep your clothing options limited to fabrics that will breathe and move with your body and that won’t become a wrinkled mess after you sit for a few hours like a jersey fabric (that I happen to use).

When selecting your wardrobe for your trip, you will need to ensure that they are suitable to the type of trip which is obvious. If you are doing an African safari, you are going to want clothes that are light, and airy. If you are doing a museum tour through the South of France, you will want your look to be more sophisticated and tailored. If you are taking a cruise on a cruise line like Silver Seas, you are going to need to need a formal attire. Silver Seas’ dinners are formal and require formal attire for dinner. In the case of Silver Sea where there are no more than 250 people on the ship, you will need a dress for every evening. If you are traveling on a guided tour, you should expect at least one evening of formal dressing for dinner.

Rosetta

This is why I love jersey fabrics. You can create formal dresses like Rosetta or Russian Doll that can be worn to any formal dinner. And what makes them ideal  is they are easy to pack. Further, if you need to wear the garment twice, they can be hand washed in a basin and hung to dry. I am would love to assist you in developing your wardrobe. 

Russian Doll

Then there is the bathing suit—usually torture for most women when it comes to buying one. If this is the case, I strongly recommend that you go to a place that sells bathing suits and understands body shapes. For the rest of you, my quick style tips are as follows:

• If you are curvy, you want to look at bathing suits that have subtle ruching that will accentuate your curves.

• If you are petite, you want to see high-cut bottoms to give your legs length. 

• A bikini is appropriate for a tall girl, to break up the long torso. Don’t forget to get that perfect cover up. 

I personally like sheer, large, rectangular scarves in complementing colours to a bathing suit. They can be tied at the bust line and draped or folded in half and then tied around your hips to cover your buttocks and upper thighs. All you need after that is a great pair of sandals, a marvelous hat, and effective sunscreen to be ready for your beach or poolside vacation.

Whether you spend your holidays at home or traveling abroad, I would love to help you in your wardrobe planning and make you fall in love with the versatility of jersey fabrics and couture design. Don't forget to shop at my online store.

Have a safe and wonderful summer! 

Fashion, Television - Dressing the Celebrity in 'YOU'

Day to Evening Wear

There is a lot to be said for dressing up, standing out from the crowd, being the special individual you are born to be.

At the moment, I am in love with the unique glamour dresses as worn by the characters in the television series 'Suits' 

The Cast from Suits

For those not familiar with the series it's all about the power struggles, and lawsuits at a high profile law firm, composed of secrets, intrigue, and cliff hangers, all set to the background of men's tailored sharp fitting suits; hot dresses that speak of luxury, high end designer looks!

With the added bonus that a lot of the garments are in one of my favourite fabrics  'jersey', I am a very happy lady!  You have the cling, fit, shaping and the pertness of the derriere, that gives you a knock-out look, the view is great from all directions, and all of this set in an office environment for our female characters.

The character of Jessica Managing Partner

The character of Donna Harvey's PA

Dressing the celebrity in you, boils down to a) how you see yourself, and b) the message you want your clothes to convey about you.  For example how do you feel about a little cleavage exposure?  The above image of the character Donna, you know will achieve admiring looks from your male counterparts, however, what about your female colleagues, and more importantly, do you care?

Your day to day environment does play a part, and you may prefer the subtly of Jessica's style,  however, both garments are great for day to evening dressing. There is also the question of jewellery, big statement pieces or soft and delicate.  Personally, I would say the simplicity of a fine delicate necklace with a very low cleavage in the case of Donna's dress, and a bold unusual design where there is nothing on show, as with Jessica's dress.

If you've been wearing a jacket in the office all day, then for the evening, this is the perfect opportunity to show off that dynamic silk or wool patterned scarf, draping it elegantly around the shoulders.

Celebrities exude an air of sophistication that many of us would like to emulate, some of it is acting, but mostly it's confidence.  As with children when they play 'dressing up' it's about play acting (do you remember those times)?  Having fun is the key, if your didn't play dress up, now is your chance to embrace a bit of that childhood spirit, added to that a pinch of acting skills, authenticity of character, great looking and feeling clothes; camera, action... it's now your turn to be in the spotlight!

Rosetta day to evening chic dinner dress by Coral Turner

    

Dressy Dresses for Women

What is Jersey?

It is basically a knitted fabric also known as stretch knit, and comes in a variety of textures, weights, fibres and colours.

There are various types of knits, however two basic types of machine knitted fabrics, are weft and warp knits; weft knits are similar to hand-knitting and warp knits are made by a machine called a chain loom.  Fundamentally, they are formed by the same principle, interlocking loops of yarn from one or more points of origin.

If you think of an everyday cotton t-shirt, round neck, short or long sleeves, this is considered to be part of many a staple wardrobe, the quality of this t-shirt, does it shrink in the wash, lose its colour after one wash - all of these factors are determined by the yarn used, construction methods and the amount of stretch in the knitted fabric.

The beauty of the stretch that this fabric retains, is what allows it to stretch over your body and return to its original shape and size.  It should also be noted that some knits will stretch more than others and as with all things; quality is always a major factor.

Jersey cocktail dresses, to sexy going out tops, can be made in a variety of blends: rayon, silk, cotton, mohair, wool, acrylic, polyester each have their own allure, coupled with their stretch and recovery, they are not only comfortable to wear but resist wrinkles better than some woven fabrics, which makes them great for travelling, and be can washable or dry clean only.

Couture clothing in knitted fabrics can be made to fit every occasion which is one of the reasons they are so popular in the world of fashion.

Zoe Belucci models 'Velvet' the Little Black Dress as featured on http://www.coralturner.co.uk , photography by Minna Rossi.