Fall Fashion Trend: Peplums, A Brief History

Ahh! Oh no!!!! I just realized I'd never published this post, which was originally supposed to go out early last week. Well lucky you guys just got two fashion posts in one day! Congrats!

Hello again!
 I'm here to talk about a trend we've all seen throughout the year: peplums*!
I don't know about you guys but I absolutely loooove peplums. I even love saying the word (though I never know if I'm pronouncing it right). I think they make a woman's silhouette more feminine and sultry, though you have to know what to wear for your body shape (see link at end of article). For me, peplums (the ones that are currently in style at least) are the perfect blend of the overly abundant, almost dominating use of feminine figures of the past and the sleek and sexy styles that pervade today's fashion markets . But enough about my feelings, let's talk a bit about what peplums are.

*For those of you who don't know- peplums are sections of fabric added to dresses, skirts, and blouses/jackets (usually around waist/hip region) that can expand just beyond the silhouette of the clothes and create a curvier effect. They can be flared, gathered, or pleated. 

Statue of Goddess Artemis

Statue of goddess Athena

So what can be said about them? First, I think a bit of history is needed; the word "peplum" actually originates from the ancient Greek work peplos which was actually an article of female clothing with a style/decorative aspect similar to what we see today. Though, in ancient Greece, peplums weren't added to clothes, but were in fact the extra fabric from a long tunic/shawl that had been gathered or tied above the hemline. In fact, if you've ever seen images of ancient Greek goddesses, you'll notice that many of them are wearing dresses with peplums, though they're considerably looser than what we're seeing today.


  

40s peplum dress.

80s peplum dress. What a difference!

 VS

So this trend is considerably older than we'd thought. Now for those of you who are saying "who cares? That was thousands of years ago" here's a little more back story: peplums were all the rage back in the 40s, though they were rather straight and downplayed and didn't call much attention to the hips. They fell out of the public for a while and reemerged in the 80s as a different style altogether. Gone were the straight, plain jane peplums of the 40s; now there were dramatic cuts and flowing fabric that grabbed a man's eyes and glued them to a woman's hips. But, alas, even those could not stay in style forever and peplums were once again packed up and tucked away in the very backs of American closets.

And so...we've returned to today where the peplums have once again made a drastic revival in 2012, starting off with light fabric and cute patterns for spring and gradually moving into heavier, more textured ones for the cooler weather. And, of course, the bigger the better ;)

Etro F/W 2012 Leather peplum Belt

Question of the Day:
Which style of peplum do you prefer? Are you more of a retro gal or do you love the more modern peplums?

Until tomorrow,
xxxTwistedxxx

Fall 2012: Makeup Trends

Hey all!
As promised, I am here and ready to give you a post that will change your lives. Well...maybe not. But I am here to entertain and perhaps inform you with my own personal brand of straight forward fashion advice (is it really advice? Seems more like a discussion blog). The subject of today? Makeup.

Makeup is, arguably, the most essential fashion accessory any woman can have. Change the way you apply your makeup, the colors you use, or even do none altogether, and you can look like a completely different person! And so, today's blog will focus on that important, but less often talked about, aspect of fashion. With that said, let's begin!

Taupe Shadow Trend 2012

It's difficult to discuss makeup trends without talking about the trending colors, since the two are intrinsically tied. So I'm going to give you just a small blurb of the more popular colors this fall, which will be expanded on in a later post. So a few of the colors we'll see more of during the upcoming months are taupe (pictured above), burgundy (very popular for a splash of attention to the eyes or lips), metallics, and earthy tones. Keep in mind that certain items may fall into more than one of these categories, but that just means you're twice as fashionable ;)

Now on to some of the trends:
Rather than describing them, I'm going to try something new and just show images with slight descriptions in the captions. More visual usually means more enjoyable, right? Let me know how you like it!

Mixed metallics trend. Add an extra oomph to that metallic smoky eye by mixing your steels with champagnes, bronzes with silvers and golds, and throwing a bit of platinum into the mix

Barefaced Trend. Make your makeup pop by wearing less. For this look, neutrals are key- beiges, taupes, soft golds, etc. Keep your lips a soft, neutral color and add just a hint of color to the cheeks. You want to go for that "emerging crush" rosiness. But...don't forget to go big on the lashes! That's one thing that's super popular this fall!

Nail fashion trends for this fall. This fall, the nails are all about the key colors listed above: anything kind of earthy and dark will work (I'll be trying a look soon and might post a couple pics ;)) but the trend is very stuck on metallics and red shades ranging from chartreuse to deep plums. Bordeaux is included, of course.

Red lip trend. I may have done a little blurb on this in a previous post, but the main feature for this fall is redish purples. Putting a bit of a darker spin on the classic red lips, this trend plays with colors like plum, chartreuse (I just really love that word), and burgundy to play up a more gothic, sexy look. Also popular, neutral lips-anything from your skin tone to a just kissed pink.

And so, that's the end of my little picture show. Hope you guys learned something, or at least enjoyed it! Now go make yourselves up!

Question of the Day:
What's your favorite makeup trends this fall? Is there anything you've been seeing that I've missed? What did you think about my new format for showcasing trends? Do you like it more/less than the previous conversation-like format?

Byes!
xxxTwistedxxx

Busy Busy Busy- Short Notice

Hey guys,
It's been a real long time, I know, but my life has been hell since last Monday. I also know that that's no excuse but...I've had exam after exam and paper after paper and it's just been a veritable cluster fuck of school life and extra-curriculars. I even had to give up my raw food diet because I just didn't have enough energy to keep me going from 8am to 2am every day.

But...I'm kind of sort of back now and am looking to get back on track with my diet and my blogging (I've found that, without the blog, the diet is much harder to maintain) and trying to get my life in order. It's not going to be that easy, mind you; I have two more exams in the next week, and fully booked weekends between now and...mid-November. Sounds fun, right?

Anyway, this was just a short post to give you an idea of where my life is, plus I felt that I owed you all an explanation for not being around for a week and a half (or was it two weeks?). I'll be posting again tomorrow with material that's actually related to the blog title. I might do something related to makeup since it's been a while since I covered that. And, as always, if you have any topic suggestions, leave it as a message and I'll see what I can do.

Question of the Day:
Am I the only one who's been bombarded with obligations out the ass in the past and upcoming few weeks? How do you deal with super stressful/busy times? Any tips on maintaining a diet when everything seems to go to shit?

Mata ashita,
xxxTwistedxxx

Fall Fashion Trends: Hairdos

Bonsoir!!!

I thought I'd shake things up just a bit today and veer away from clothes for a moment. What's one area of fashion that, while its trends change just as often as the seasons do, isn't as noticeable? That's right- hair. The reason for this is pretty simple: if you try out a new clothing trend and it doesn't work, you just change clothes. But if you get a jacked-up hairdo, it's there to stay for much longer than it takes you to open your closet and find a new outfit. Plus, so many of us have a favorite haitstyle/ a look that works for us, and it's hard to think of taking that away. Nowadays, the ponytails are lower, bangs are stringier, and the layers are cut edgier than we've seen in a while.I guess we just have to face it people; the times are always changing and what was on top last winter isn't necessarily still there. So let's take a look at one of the more popular hairstyles to emerge for this season.

I'd like to take this time to discuss a hairstyle that we've seen donned by many women, famous and infamous. That hairstyle is this:

The Dreaded Topknot

That's right, ladies- the topknot. I have a feeling I'm the minority when I say this, but I abhor this season's topknot. That's not to say I dislike topknots in general: when done correctly, they can add either a sleek touch of elegance or a cute burst of casual freshness to your look. My problem, however, is when people sport looks like the one above. I mean, it's an appropriate hairstyle if you're just getting out of the gym, but doesn't really work otherwise.

Vanessa Hudgens with braided topknot

And that's where the problem lies: it seems people only do the messy topknot look at the least inappropriate times. DO NOT, under any circumstances, wear that hairstyle to a conference, or any occasion where the dress code doesn't specify t-shirts and basketball shorts. Even if you're doing a casual topknot, you can still put in a little effort to make it look a little more organized. Look at V.H. in this pic. Even though she's clearly going for a casual/cutesy look, she's still took the time out to braid it, tuck most of those wispy little strands in, and even gave herself some cute bangs to complete the look. Cute, simple, but doesn't scream "I got into a fight with my comb this morning and the comb won"







Question of the Day:
How do you feel about topknots? Do you love them, hate them, or not really care? Are there any other hair trends you've seen recently that caught your eye (in a good or bad way)? Let me know!


Bonne journée
Twisted

More Fall Denim Trends/Layout of the Future Posts

First, I'd like to start off by apologizing to all of you for being so far behind. This summer was horrible and hectic and I didn't post anywhere near as much as I should have, so I'd like to apologize for that as well.

Giorgio Armani at MFW 2012. Love the hair!

For those of you who are more aware of what's going on in the world of high-fashion, I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't cover NYFW that ended nearly two weeks ago or LFW/MFW which are both currently underway. And the reason for that is that all of these events are showcasing spring/summer fashion for 2013. While it's important to know the trend before seasons change, I still haven't had a chance to discuss the trends for this autumn/winter. And, since we're currently in those seasons, I'd like to take a chance and run through those before I jump on the spring/summer trends for next year. To prove that my apology is sincere, I'm giving you guys a little preview of MFW:

I'm going to try and get everything done as fast as possible so I can move on but I don't want to do FW's until January or so. I do intend to take my time with the fashion week coverages, however, I think doing a different event each week should be a good time frame to go over everything. And, of course, I'll be touching on other little fun/fashion-y things I come across in my daily life, or someone might suggest to me.

So...now that that's out of the way, I want to quickly touch on another fall trend that's been emerging for months now: denim. And, I don't mean just jeans. I mean all denim EVERYTHING. Denim shoes, shirts, jackets, and other clothing items are everywhere at the moment. And I'm not really sure how I feel about it.

Yikes! No wonder they broke up!

 I love the concept- it gives more depth to denim as a fabric since there are so many different textures and styles to play with. The only problem is, some people don't know when to stop. I mean, jeans, a cute top, and a denim jacket (different wash/texture fro jeans please) is a cute outfit; not too over the top, and showcases the trend without being too...couture. The problem is when someone dons denim from head to toe IN THE SAME WASH (use this pic of JT and Brit as reference). Can you say one-toning*? It brings the 80s back, but not in a cute-cause-it's-retro way, more like a which-musty-closet-did-you-pull-that-outfit-from kind of way.




Though I guess this is the problem with all fashion trends; there are always those people who overdo it and scare you away. I think, though, that denim is something that is more easily overdone than a lot of other trends we've seen in the past some odd years. It's just the basic rule of life: too much of anything is never a good thing.


*one-toning: slang term used for someone who is wearing only one color or colors similar enough to be seen as the same color.



Questions of the Day:
How do you feel about the all over denim trend? Have you ever seen it misused in a way that made you cringe? Would you prefer to talk about the spring/summer trends now, or during the New Year?

Besos!

Raw Food (Kind of) Diet Days 1 and 2!!!

Tag! Wie geht's?

I know, I know; you're probably wondering why I didn't post yesterday, right? Well, I'll tell you why: I was so hungry that looking at a computer screen gave me a headache and so I ended up going to bed at 9pm. For those of you who don't know, I didn't wake up till about 1 o'clock. Yeah, now it's scary, huh? My meals yesterday consisted of a large amount of sunflower seeds, thermos upon thermosfulls of green tea, and a large salad consisting of lettuce, spinach, several handfuls of craisins, and a boiled egg. It was fantastic! Though I don't know whether it's my own opinion or just induced by the insane hunger I was feeling yesterday evening. That's how my first day went.

Today wasn't much better to be honest- I woke up half an hour earlier than yesterday, but I've only been drinking tea all day (though it's only been about 5 hours since I woke). I am currently munching on a gigantic salad much like the one from yesterday, but with less craisins, more eggs, and chicken. And I gotta say, I am really loving this salad! I also packed some carrot sticks for later tonight when I really get into studying. I might stop by the market and pick up some fruit too. I'm sure I can get through today incident free, but still cheer me on. You never know when I might crack!

And for those of you who are worried I'm starving myself/not consuming enough calories, I assure you, I'm pretty worried myself. Yesterday was an exception to this rule, but I'm trying to use juice/drinks to supply whatever calories I may be missing. And I know that it's healthier to just eat large quantities of healthy food, but this diet isn't really about being healthy. This diet is really about two things: 1. shocking my system away from processed food (which is why I try to stick to natural juice and tea but sometimes sweeter drinks are unavoidable) and 2. Forcing my stomach to become smaller by reducing the amount I eat at one time and in general. Well, I guess there's a secret third reason for doing this diet and that's to kick my addiction to carby sweets/breads (I'm not including fruit in this), though this ties into the second reason pretty easily. I'm hoping that, but avoiding them in general, I won't want them as much + my stomach will shrink since those foods expand in the stomach and I eat them way too much.

Well, that's basically a rundown of everything I'm doing and how it's all been going so far. I've never been able to make it past the first 3 days of a diet, so I feel that tomorrow will determine whether this is something I ride through to the end, or if I'll just quit and try something else.

Question of the Day:
Do you fail with diets like me? Is there a magic number of days you can't seem to get past? Or do you have enough willpower to stick to a diet for long periods of time? What are your feelings on my diet/diets in general?

Raw Food Diet

So...this post isn't so much fashion centric as it is me-centric. I was taking a quiz online about eating habits, when I stumbled across a question asking my weight. Now I'd weighed myself about two weeks ago and was shocked to see the numbers 1, 7, and 6 (in that order) flashing on my scale. Today, however, I stepped back on the scale and almost fell off in shock when I saw 179 sliding across my display. I'm so depressed right now :(...

And so, I've decided it's time to make a change. A drastic one. Which leads me to the subject of this blog post: I am starting a raw food diet from here on. That's right! As of 33 minutes ago, I am only allowed to eat foods that are uncooked -basically fruits and vegetables until I've shed 25 pounds. I've also decided to include lean protein like chicken breast and fish, but absolutely no carbs or fats. Now I'm hoping I won't have to keep this up for more than 2 weeks, because I don't think I'll be able to handle it for much longer. Don't get me wrong, I love salads and fruit and everything but...it's not 3 meals worth of love. By the end of the first day, I'll probably look like this ^ lol. I'll also be drinking copious amounts of green tea (which I love) to help curb my hunger.

The hardest part of all this will definitely be overcoming my intense sugar cravings. But, I've already devised a plan to deal with that; anytime I feel like I need sugar to live, I'll go buy a bottle of peach mango fuse and chug it until I feel better. I hope it works!

This is going to be a difficult journey but I hope you guys can cheer me on! Or join me!!!!

Question of the Day:
Have you ever imposed an super strict diet on yourself? Did it work out well? Or was it just too impossible? Do you think I could do it?