-
Coats steal the show at London Fashion Week
London has been awash with the fashion elite for the last few days, being a truly A-list affair with designers and fashion-conscious celebs all clamouring to see what Autumn/Winter 2012 will have in store. Us mere mortals may have to look on from the rafters but there’s one thing that’s definitely caught our eye—the coats. Of course, coats will always play a huge part in any A/W collection but this year it seems that designers have gone all-out to make some truly statement pieces, with coats stealing the limelight at every show.
Burberry, which always attracts throngs of A-listers (watching stars arrive on the red carpet was almost as much of a highlight as the show itself), showed that outerwear is as important as ever. Jackets, trenches and coats all took centre stage and tweed was a big part of it, with long styles as well as cropped, fitted designs being equally desirable. The new collection by Topshop Unique had a definite military feel to it with coats featuring the cocoon shape, with long wool designs and even a cocoon-shaped biker jacket all being showcased. House of Holland showed that tailoring and houndstooth can work well together with statement coats that will really turn heads, but we can’t discuss outerwear without mentioning Mulberry.
The luxe British label took inspiration from Where the Wild Things Are to create their truly unique line, and once again it was the coats that stole the show. Models were seen wearing oversize, shaggy fur coats and gilets, creating a whimsical collection that’s been the highlight of the week. We love the fact that coats are well and truly on the map and it’s great to see that so many new designs are coming forward, and we can’t wait to see what the final couple of days have in store.
-
Layer up
Whether you’re bracing yourself for the big thaw or have managed to escape the worst of the arctic conditions, it’s pretty fair to say that winter is well and truly upon us. But, that doesn’t mean you have to stay stuck indoors—it may be cold but when the sun’s out it can be truly beautiful, and with the right preparations you’ll be able to get out there and enjoy it without a thing to worry about.
The main thing you need to do is make sure you’re suitably attired. That means plenty of layers should be worn at all times, and hats, scarves and gloves will be a given. It’s all about staying warm and cosy at this time of year, and if you really want to go for it why not invest in thermals? You may balk at the idea but they can be the perfect solution, and if David Beckham can get out a pair of long johns from time to time then so can we.
As for footwear think sturdy and waterproof, and ladies, give the heels a miss. Yes, we’ve seen you tottering around out there—there’s a time and a place for fashion but sliding along ice-covered streets certainly isn’t one of them! Of course, it doesn’t mean you can’t stick with the trends, and if you want to follow in the footsteps of celebs then Hunter wellies would be ideal.
Then, to top it all off, the coat. Again, warm and cosy is the order of the day and if you want to add a bit of style into the mix then our duffle coats would be perfect, so as long as you make sure to layer up you’ll be able to get out there and enjoy the winter weather to your heart’s content.
-
Tailoring to the Royals
Years ago, Katherine Hooker found a boys Hasidic coat in a junk shop in Israel. She loved the coat so much and it fitted her so beautifully, that she found a tailor to replicate the exact coat. When returning to London, Katherine found her friends were in awe of her new beautiful garments and soon orders were flooding in for replicas of this stunning coat. Hooker opened her London Store in 2003 and since then has been visited on numerous occasions from royalty such as Kate and Pippa Middleton and Princess Beatrice.
Kate Middleton has been seen in a number of stunning coats and pieces. Katherine Hooker had the honorable task of dressing 15 people for the royal wedding. Due to her label boost by Middleton alone, Hooker has expanded her company and her staff into the USA, where royal fever has boomed.
This year the Royals have decided to put a stricter dress policy on Ascot which means no more fleshy pictures of women tottering around, we need to take a leaf from the Middleton’s book, looking suave and sophisticated. Rules such as straps can be no thinner than 1 inch and many people have been asking about what to wear, as they are going into the Royal Enclosure, which is fantastic business for Hooker.
One of Katherine Hookers most expensive coats is the Tori coat which goes for $1750, this is due to the style and design, double-sided cashmere fabric and the fact the coat is made up from 6 panels which you tend not to find on the high street as more panels result in a lot more wastage. The fact is, the Hooker Tory coat is beautifully elegant and mobiles with an exquisite sense of luxury, this coat is mobile and dressed the body to elongate and slim the torso.
Katherine Hooker is a choice designer of the Royal Females.
-
Good old clear out
One of the Duffle coat team members is moving house this week which is rather exciting, new town, new home and a new life. Despite the excitement it seems the process of moving can be rather time-consuming and frustrating, especially if like our colleague, you have numerous wardrobes, thousands of garments and hundreds of pairs of shoes.
It’s always great at this time of year to have a clear out, whether you are moving house or not. You tend to find a lot of items you totally forgot about and haven’t used for months, even years. Our rules for having a clear out is that if you haven’t used or worn it in 6 months to a year get rid of it. Harsh as it sounds, you have to, because otherwise you will end up hoarding tonnes of stuff and eventually never be able to leave your house.
Clothing can be either sent to charity shops, or if you have some decent brand stuff, you can make a pretty penny on auction or fashion sites.If you have sentimental pieces, it is best to keep these, like your first ever cardigan or duffle coat, these are very cute items and remind you of years ago, when you didn’t have such a huge wardrobe.
Shoes and handbags, you have to be ruthless, yes you love them, yes they are so comfortable, but let’s be honest, the heel is falling off and they look tatty. GET RID!
It’s a great excuse to do something good, have a clean out and make some more room in the wardrobe for new clothes and shoes! If you are moving house to a smaller place, you may have to keep a reign on the new clothes purchasing.
Believe us, having a clear out is a great thing, for mind, body and wallet.
Duffle Coat Team
-
David Hockney is an artist born in 1937 and has been hailed as one of the most stylish men, despite being on the line between scruffy and iconic!
This month Hockney has actually declined a knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen and instead accepted an Order of Merit.
Hockney, not only hailed as a great artist but as a bit of a style icon, has influenced many students who studied arts. He used colour and texture in a way that only an artist could, not only on canvas but with his clothes.
There are many fine pictures of Hockney in a range of clothing, spanning through the ages. With bleached yellow hair and thick rimmed circular glasses, no one could not notice this man of many colours. You can find a range of pictures of Hockney, in a delightful array of clothing, from bright pastel cable knit jumpers to a variety of coats. There is a picture of Hockney is a duffle coat, he was an icon and trail blazed the way for bright colours and mismatching clothes, right from the word go.
His combinations of rugby shirts, braces and plimsoles made him an adorable nerd, despite this, many fashion designers have taken inspiration from Hockney the man and Hockney the artist.
He creates a sense of abstract using clothing, finishing off trench coats with a polka dot necktie. It’s also feminine, but this man is not afraid to grab and mix up a range of different clothing, using layering and colours as his palette.
So, if you are wondering how to compile a new outfit from the coats and accessories in your wardrobe, take inspiration from David Hockney, a style hero and an incredible artist. He wasn’t afraid to put his fashion out in the public eye, and he has created an abstract fashion of his own, which has inspired thousands.
-
Can’t get enough of coats
For some an obsession with shoes is quite a common pastime, which could extend to handbags- of course they need to match, for others their passion lies in collecting items for the home or antiques. There are, however a growing number of people who can not get enough of coats. One of those people is celebrity daughter of Lionel Richie- Nicole Richie.
In a recent news report Nicole quoted “I would always choose accessories because they can really change-up an outfit. You can wear jeans and a t-shirt and throw on a different pair of shoes and it really changes the entire outfit.” “I love to buy jackets. I love to buy coats. I bought a great designer black blazer and I wore it, you know, I wore it every day.”
Actually it is not such a strange obsession, as in most countries the climate dictates what you wear from day-to-day and events and social occasions also dictate they style of clothing you wear. Because of the nature of the garment, there are so many different styles of coat, from traditional and classic to more modern and mainstream, all available in a range of colours and fabrics.
You could be the purveyor of a collection of duffle coats, from the traditional tailoring- right through to a designer piece that may have cost you a months wages, but at the end of the day, if that is your muse, let it be! Obviously the team at Duffle Coats UK love coats, especially those that look fantastic and keep you warm and dry, which is exactly what we need in the UK during the winter months.
Hat’s off to Nicole Richie, we think her coat obsession is a healthy one, after all you can create so many different looks with a range of different accessories.
-
Choosing colour correctly
We must admit, some of the Duffle Coats UK team have work items into the office which are real shockers, or drain the colour from the person wearing them. With a season full of rich bright colours and a catalogue of an amazing array of different coats, we thought it would be great to find out which colours suit different types of skin tone.
Firstly we have to determine the colour of your skin tone. Unlike what we may have thought when we were younger, we are not all pink. Skin has hues of yellow, peach, orange, pink, olive and brown and matching colours can be a task but we can make it simple. Firstly you can divide your skin colouring into seasons, spring, summer autumn and winter.
Spring offer a creamy complexion, maybe with freckles and strawberry blonde hair with green or blue eyes.
Summer covers blonde or brunettes with pale eyes and skin
Autumn skin tones include red heads and brunettes with brown eyes and golden skin
Winter covers those with Brunette air and pale yellowish skin, with deep coloured eyes, Asian and Oriental skin usually falls into this category.
Now lets look at the clothing
Spring skin should choose clothing which offers warm colours such as peaches, camels, yellows and golds, Spring should avoid dark dull colours
Summer can show off in neutrals and pastels with pink and blue undertones
Autumns again should strut their stuff in golden colours and avoid any colours with blue undertones such as Navy.
Finally Winters can wear sharp block colours such as red, navy, white and black, for lighter versions choose icy colours rather than pastels!
Dufflecoatsuk.co.uk has a range of coloured Duffle coats that will suit every skin colouring. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter skin tones will be flattered with our incredible coats.
-
The Best Xmas Present
It comes to Christmas day and most men are eager to rip of the wrapping from their presents. They want to find an xbox or a playstation that come with many games, but sometimes they may get the shock surprise of opening up their present to find a Christmas jumper.
At Dufflecoatsuk.co.uk we love Christmas Jumpers and wear ours with pride!
But Christmas jumpers are a great way to keep the men you care about warm during this winter. Even though some may have funny designs imprinted into their wool, they are a fun item to wear to go Christmas gatherings and parties.
The style of designs you can get on a Christmas jumper may range from something that you could get away with wearing even after Christmas day and new year is over, to the outright ridiculous that only can be worn a few days leading up towards Christmas.
But these jumpers are a great way to get yourself into the Christmas spirit and spread cheer and joyousness around to everyone you come in contact with.
They should be taken with a pinch of salt, people usually wear them just to get themselves in the mood for the season of good will and love, it’s not supposed to be a fashion statement when people wear them.
Jumpers which were only noticed on people of the older generation have now been spotted on people in their younger years. It once used to be a jumper that only older people were spotted in, but as fashion dictates they sometimes take the most unconventional piece of clothing and make it into a big issue for people to go out and buy. Giving the reason to more prolific designs and styles that people can go out and buy for either them or for a loved one.
So get into Christmas cheer and wear a xmas style jumper, more importantly hone up on your acting skills just in case you open your present and you have been given one. “Ohh I’ve always wanted one of these!”
-
Its all in the name
Ever wondered where Duffle Coats got their name or why a Bikini is called so? Today the Duffle Coats UK will enlighten you.
Firstly and most importantly lets start with the Duffle Coat. Named after the town Duffel in Belgium where the heavy woollen cloth was originally produced to make overcoats for the military. The town spells its name Duffel although it is sometimes changed to Duffle when it comes to coats and bags.
Other products that lend their names to the places they were created and produced include Bayonet, from the French town Bayonne, where the sharp knives were originally made.
The Bikini is an interesting one, launched a few days after the testing of atomic bombs, it was aptly named due to the fact it looked like it had “been split like an atom”.
Another quirky name comes from a surfer who would regularly drink a mix of vodka, Galliano and orange juice, when he’d had quite enough he would go around banging on the walls of the bar in LA, hence a Harvey Wall Banger cocktail.
We love all these incredible facts and the great thing is you can find out more with a fantastic book that has been released just in time for the Festive Season. It’s called Harvey Wallbangers and Tam O’Shanters and lists all the products, places and facts about why name things a certain way and what the origins of the name are.
So if you are curious why Mount Everest is named so and how Bluetooth came about, invest in this fantastic book.
-
The Muppets Revival
Recently, an influx of The Muppets and Sesame Street has influenced fashion designers to make coats, jackets, shoes and dresses, which have been paraded on the cat walk.
Many of the fur coats have been re-styled in the fashion of the cookie monster, along with Kermit the frog and many other popular characters.
Lady Gaga was actually interview whilst wearing a Kermit the Frog styled dress, that had the interviewer and camera men bewildered, although it’s the kind of this you expect when Lady Gaga is about.
With this little rush of designer clothes based on characters and puppets from these kids TV shows, you have to feel that the models are taking it with a pinch of salt. It seems cute and funny that they are usually fashioning the best dresses in Milan, but now they have been spotted wearing something that looks like the cookie monster. It makes you feel that they don’t take themselves too seriously and if they can pull the look off, you should be able to as well.
Currently the weather seems cold, I believe it could get colder the deeper we go into December and when the New Year comes around. I would love to be wearing the cookie monster coat around London and then just pop into a coffee shop, get a nice cup of hot coco and buy and cookie to eat. I’m sure people will appreciate what I was doing and possibly find it funny.
With the new Muppet movie soon to be released, I’m sure this will give a fashion boom to these styles of coats, jackets, hats, shoes and many other clothing items and accessories. Who knows, people might start turning up to movie premier in Leicester Square with an authentic Kermit dress on with a Miss Piggy styled handbag.