CUFF AND CROWNS: THE NEW JEWELLERY

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

Reinvention. Fashion wouldn't be the same without it. Until recently, jewellery had been bobbing along pretty nicely for a long time, minding its own business. There were still trends but they pretty much stuck to the traditional necklace/ earrings/ rings/ bracelets shapes and expectations. Of late though there's been a shift with designers and jewellers pushing the boundaries with new kinds of lovely things to adorn our bodies with. Here are the four big new thing things in jewellery...

1. EAR CUFFS

These are possibly the best established of the new jewellery vanguard, having broken onto the fashion scene in a big way following their appearance in Rodarte's SS13 show. Here, they looked like miniature intricate dragons crouching down the wearers' ears. They were back on the catwalk too for Autumn/ Winter at Dries Van Noten is huge, chunky rock form. Australian jeweller Ryan Storer is also winning lots of fans with his beautifully delicate ear cuffs.

Dries Van Noten ear cuff for AW13 (vi catwalking.com)

A gorgeous Ryan Storer ear cuff (via vogue.com/au) You can buy them here 

2. CROWNS

Sick of the Hen-Party-isation of the tiara, head jewellery thoughts have turned to its even more regal alternative, the crown. Dolce and Gabbana really, really sold this to us in AW13 show by topping off many of the collection's looks with chintzy Byzantine crowns.

Dolce and Gabbana catwalk crown (via allure.com)

Katy Perry does crown as punk at Met Ball (via www.professionaljeweller.com)

3. NAIL RINGS

I first came across these ingenious new finger-location rings at Browns press day, where I had to hold myself back from walking out with a completely beautiful Asherali Knopfer nail ring. They slot over your nail so that even if you can't remember the last time you had a manicure, your nails will look beautiful.

Asherali Knopfer nail rings at Browns

ASOS nail rings £6

4. ROW RINGS

Why buy one ring, when you can buy 3 all bonded together in a row? Lots of designers were creating this impression this season, although the effect can be created from, y'know, just wearing a ring on every finger. Delfina Delettrez definitely did a row of 3 though. Expect many imitations.

Delfina Delettrez rings  (via dazeddigital.com)

Row Rings at McQueen AW13 (via style.com)

THREE'S A TREND: SKROUSERS? SKIRTS OVER TROUSERS

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

They were made from scratchy nylon. I wore them with an embellished lilac top and sparkly hair clips from Claire's accessories. I felt good. I was 11 years old and they were skrousers, or whatever you call a skirt/ trouser hybrid. Mine came from New Look and were properly attached together so there was no making them just separate pieces. I felt awesome at the time, but soon afterwards consigned my skrousers to the "Regrettable/ Embarrassing" category in my own personal fashion history.

And yet, a glance at Dries Van Noten AW13 gives a newly glamourous slant to the item I thought would never see the fashion light of day again. Dries' jacquards, drop waists and feathers are worlds away from my young self's cheapo skirt over trousers styling but the idea is, in many ways, the same. A skirt is girlish while trousers, especially in an evening context, are cool and a bit unexpected. When the two combine, they form a silhouette which makes you not sure what to think. I think we like that, being a bit undecided. Dries's skrousers are very chic and lady like, as were the option shown by Alexander Wang as part of his debut Balenciaga collection. Then, thinking back to London, Marques' Alemeida did little pelmet denim skirts over super baggy frayed jeans. And there you have it, three's a trend. I know that other designers have done this too by now ( ACNE, Clements Ribeiro) but these three feel like the strongest anchors for the look. Whether we'll be brave enough to actually wear them again is another matter entirely. One thing's for sure, I'm still glad I haven't kept my old New Look jobbies but I would be more than happy to roadtest the Dries Van Noten version...

Dries Van Noten AW13

Marques'Almeida AW13

Balenciaga AW13

WHAT TO BUY FOR FASHION NOW

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

A highly self-indulgent, fantasy shopping post today. After some obsessive web browsing, these are the designer pieces which would be making their way into my wardrobe right now if funds sufficed...

1. VICTORIA BECKHAM A-LINE SKIRT

Not only is this skirt clean, bright and amazingly versatile but it's also a-line- very right for now.

Victoria Beckham tangerine skirt £625

2. HORROR HANDBAG

Christopher Kane's Frankenstein obsession is catching. And what better way to update a tired old clutch bag than with a giant plastic bolt?

Christopher Kane at Matches £1,500

3. SOMETHING KENZO

Because you're practically a nobody right now if you don't own something Kenzo. Obviously the logo tiger jumpers are the most obvious thing to go for, but these A. Aren't sold out and B. Have a bit more longevity in them.

Kenzo trousers £315 at Matches

4. SAY "YES" TO MEADHAM

There was something so utterly perfect about this slogan tee styled with a delicately beautiful split bell skirt and cocktail trousers, like the ultimate mix of old and new. So much lovelier than a slogan tee with jeans and hi-tops, yawn. £745 is, admittedly, a little steep for a sweater.

Meadham Kirchhoff sweater £745 at Browns

5. VALENTINO'S LITTLE HEELS

Not quite so obvious as their all over studded relatives but fabulous and easy wearing in equal measure.

Valentino at My Theresa £621

6. DRIES VAN NOTEN

These are from one of my favourite SS13 collections but also play into the continuing pyjama thing. I love the idea of whitewashed tartan for Summer.

Dries van Noten at My Theresa £441

7. LEATHER DUNGAREES

We love Whistles, especially their new website. They've created the most perfect version of Spring's dungaree trend. I reckon these would become a keep-forever wardrobe classic.

Whistles dungarees £395

8. PATCHWORK DENIM

An update on the denim shirt to add to your collection which, if it's anything like mine, is rather vast already.

Maison Scotch at Atterley Road £118

9.  A VERY DECORATIVE NECKLACE

MyJ Crew obsession shows no signs of abating. If I were being really Jenna Lyons-y, I might wear the above shirt with this necklace from the J Crew/ Lulu Frost collaboration.

Lulu Frost for J Crew necklace £192.52

10. STRIPES!

Ubiquitous? Yes. The easiest way to being on trend? Yes, that's a yes too. These stripes are nice and wide which is the most now stripe to do.

Joseph at Net-a-Porter £295

MEET THE NEW WEDGE HI-TOP: THE WEDGE TRAINER

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Way back in 2007, Victoria Beckham strode onto the field at a baseball game between the New York Mets and the LA Dodgers to do the ceremonial first pitch. At the time, if my memory serves me correctly, the press had a lovely time talking about how VB was so dedicated to her heels that she couldn't even bring herself to wear flat trainers for her sporting appearance. Fast forward over five years and Mrs Beckham has come a long way since those peroxide crop days. I can't remember the last time we saw her in anything approaching a hot pant and there have even been forays into ballet shoes, biker boots and gladiator sandals. The Victoria Beckham in the photo above is almost unrecognisable from the chic designer we see today, even if the footwear was by Dries Van Noten . 

British Vogue, January 2013

And yet, I have a sneaking suspicion that those bright white wedges might have crept onto the mood boards sketching out fashion for 2013. In case you hadn't noticed, last year was dominated by the wedge trainer; Isabel Marant's Bekket and Ash's Bea sparked thousands of imitations and some even said that these were "new Uggs". The evolution of the sporting wedge has now taken a seriously high end swerve, much like Posh Spice herself. In a colour blasted, Paul Weller inspired Patrick Demarchelier shoot starring Karen Elson in January's Vogue, Lucinda Chambers was clearly so taken with Jil Sander Navy's wedges that she used them in every single full-length shot of the 12 page shoot. Yesterday, Celine's pre-fall collection was unveiled complete with several rifs on the wedge trainer. Unlike their high top relations, the new wedge sport shoe is clean and rather smart with tight laces best worn in a neat bow. The curve of the wedge is in full view, instead of muffled under padding, and they are seriously high. Certainly no contender for Ugg replacement. Get yours at Saks or Solestruck, white hot pants not advisable. 

Celine Pre-Fall 2013 (style.com)

Celine pre-fall 2013 (style.com)