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