Grandma Chic...Tokyo

The streets of Tokyo have come over a

bit Granny ( with a twist) of late.

Spotted: thick ribbed tights, faded pink

textured cardies , loads of burgundy and

teal green smocks and knee length skirts.

I am sure they have knitting needles in

their handbags right next to there ipads!

Red

Back to Black

Black was off the radar for a while, surpassed

by every other shade of the rainbow .

Shades of blue, green, purple and crimson

were all dubbed the 'new black'.

Returning in all its dignified glory,

black is so definitely an option again.

I don't think it will be as prominent

as it was in the 80's early 90's

when the Japanese designers like Yamamoto,

Rei Kawakaba, Matsuda and Miyake ruled,

and Maclaren chanted 'he wore black,

she wore black';

but BLACK IS BACK and that is that!

Belt up

Belts are big news in fashion at the

moment. Wear them with anything.

Think unexpected and don't hold back.

A flash of gold, the sparkle of sequins or

even a splash of red patent can add a bit

of personality to any look.

Boardies

Hanging loose is the way to go this

summer on the beach.

Here are a few options for boys and girls

who want to take the street to the beach

with some fresh board shorts.

Borat style G- strings, Beckham speedos and

anything pulled up above the hips could run the

risk of a lifeguard mission to remove you

from the beach. Boardies are the go.

Don't change but wear them in the city

with a tee and jacket on the way home.

Tights are alright!

Men in ..

tights.

Girls in ..

tights.

You have to have noticed that tights are

the new lower-half staple for most inner

city girls.

They have been for some time now and

don't seem to be going any time soon.

In Japan I noticed that boys are getting in on

the black tight action. Under shorts as seen here.

They make them look very sporty cool I think,

especially with the day-glo white trainers.

How come in Japan, they look great in most

things that probably wouldn't translate as

well anywhere else?

Lace, Lace, Lace

Lace is going to be huge for a while. Why..

1 Alexander McQueen would have wanted it that way.

2 It is cheeky and exposes while covering up simultaneously which suits the mood of now for some reason.

3 It is very 80s ( Prince wants his catsuit back).

4 It goes with leather and Lycra..also huge.

5 It has that Spanish flamenco thing about it that is always going to be on fire.

6 It has that Jane Austin thing about it that is always going to be like a fresh English breeze.

7 Lady Ga Ga says so.

8 Madonna says.."I said so first. "

9 Beyonce says.."yeah , but I say so last."

10 The girls in these photographs look great in it so you will too.

Green

The colour we are now embracing

as positive and fresh.

It wasn't so long ago, that green had

evil connotations.

Just look at old Batman comics...

Poison Ivy or The Riddler in their green

lycra.

Now it is the colour of the canopy of our

rainforests or those beautiful trees that line

our streets that we think of, and how

important it is to keep our planet green

with efficient power and recycling among

other things.

Go green has become our catch cry,

and many design elements of our cities

are reflecting just that.