Rihanna in Max Azria at the 2011 Billboard music Awards in Las Vegas
Rihanna was without doubt the best dressed celebrity at yesterday's Billboard Music awards, she taps into this summer's White and sleek tailoring trend in her Max Azria pants Suit. While I'm not a big fan of copying everything a celebrity wears or how other public figures dress, It would be naive to think they don't in some way affect the everyday style choices of the average Laura (or insert other suitable name here) or the items stocked in your favourite clothes store, and as I am keen on building my number of readers as well as followers, I know many Rihanna fans (I know there are lots of you out there) might wonder how to create such a look at very reasonable prices, that's where I shall employ my shopping editor expertise
For an Item like a Pant Suit which I'd view as a Key investment as they're quite versatile, plus if you invest wisely in a nice pair, you can wear the pieces separately with other key items in your wardrobe. When buying a pant's suit the most important things to look for are neat tailoring and versatility. While doing my search on what's out there in the shops the best Pants suit that jumped at me were this neat pair from Mango which I've styled below
Every fashionista worth their salt knows its all about the fruit this summer, today's hobo showdown is between Moschino's Cheap & Chic Lemon print dress versus Primark's Orange print Fruit dress which has been selling out faster than Ice creams on a hot summer day (very lame I know)
Now God forbid I compare the workmanship and the quality of fabric Moschino Cheap & Chic have used in their dress to that of Primark but at about 97% off the price of the Moschino Cheap & Chic Lemon fruit dress this Orange Print fruit Primark dress won't took too shabby* (well not for long) in your wardrobe
*depending on how well you maintain your clothes - this in my opinion determines the durability of your clothes, I have had high street items in my wardrobe that have lasted for over 3 years and counting, and they're still in great condition regardless of how cheap the fabric might have been
Today's edition of Hobo Vs. Snob is between the cool American 'Haute Hippie' fashion line and British high street store Oasis. This Haute Hippie Dress is one of the signature 'Haute Hippie looks' with its Ruffle Trims, it is also currently available in 3 colours plus I'm inclined to believe it must be one of their top sellers as the same dress was seen about a year ago on Gossip Girl star Blake Lively while filming the Gossip Girl TV series last summer
Blake Lively wearing the Haute Hippie 'take me Now' Ruffle dress in July 2010
I love the way she styled the dress with a slim tan belt, floppy hat and Flat sandals
Both dresses are similar but I prefer the longer length on the Oasis dress, although I'm more in love with the Cobalt Blue hue on the Haute Hippie dress than the Teal colour on the Oasis. That being said at a pocket friendly £65 the Oasis dress is kind to the eyes as it is on the pocket, have your say people will you be a Hobo and go the Oasis way or be a snob and go the Haute Hippie Way, cast your votes below
From Left to Right: D&G Spring '11, Dolce & Gabbana Fall '11
Dolce and Gabbana's shows are always favourites for me season after season, rarely do those guys disappoint me, and seems I am not the only one who falls head over heels for the D&G looks as the D&G looks, are often a go to source of inspiration for many a high street store. A great case in point is this season's Icon t- shirt craze at the D&G shows
Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2011
The Icon T shirt seems to be a recurring theme in a lot of their collections (see examples below)
Left: Madonna icon T-Shirt at the D&G Fall 2006 show
Centre: Oscar Wilde Icon T-shirt at the D&G Fall 2009 show
Right: Retro Pepsi Advert Icon T-shirt at the Spring '06 Dolce and Gabbana show
However its not until this summer that there's been a wild explosion in the popularity of these Icon t-shirts, which seems to be a major seller for D&G this season, even though they are priced at a quite ridiculous £150 they seem to be selling out fast
But of course thank heavens for the High street, always there to ensure Hobo's like me won't be left behind on the latest fashion trends, just about every High street store is stocking them in a wide variety of style, colour and Icons, below are some great ones
Zara's range of Icon T shirts are so on point and could even almost be mistaken for D&G, this trend of Album sleeve art on T shirts as seen on the Zara T-shirts above, continues at Dolce & Gabbana this Fall with Bryan Ferry LP sleeves featuring heavily on T-Shirts
Now lets do a designer/ High street comparison on the Album art sleeve T shirts
Better yet still I'd recommend buying yourself a White or coloured T-shirt and creating your own Icon or album art sleeve T-shirt, I'm sure there should be no copyright battles as long as said t-Shirts aren't mass produced for sale
Also trendy this winter as seen on the Dolce & Gabbana Fall shows are Mickey Mouse motifs on T-shirts, Jumpers etc. and seems the high street as usual has caught on early
After writing so much about Bryan Ferry I feel like going through his discography but till then his version of 'Jealous Guy' with Roxy Music will always be a favourite, I prefer it to the original by John Lennon
Fendi's Colour blocked heels which is a favourite amongst many fashionista's shopping list gets the High street treatment in this edition of Hobo vs. Snob.
Fendi's block sandals are clearly the inspiration behind Reiss's Amanda sandals, of course they've made a few changes by adding some animal print detail to the straps but the similarities are simply too large to ignore
Next up is Mango and their colour blocked heels, gotta love Mango for spoiling customers with choices. They have the best range and they're the cheapest ones too
I'd love to be a snob and go with Fendi but at £575 , that's a lot of money to pay for a pair of heels, especially since an all too similar version is available on the High street so i'd recommend being a Hobo leave Fendi to the celebrities and super rich folks
Now this isn't a copycat allegation on the part of River Island by any means, I just simply can't help but wonder from a consumer's point of view on what would make a customer buy Chloé's silk vest at a whopping £345 (well apart from being immensely rich or being a fan of the Chloé label) and not River Island's vest for a much more pocket friendly £20 or £30 depending on your choice. While I'm sure Chloé probably sourced out the finest silk and their vest is tailored to perfection, the River Island version is by no means shabby and in this case as it shall be a lot of times on this blog, I think I'd rather be a Hobo
How about you readers would you be a Hobo or Snob on this one
And in other Fashion news Chloé's creative director Hannah MacGibbon has been replaced by Clare Wright Keller who used to be a creative director at Pringle (Read more about this here )
Part of the mission of this blog is to find smart high street fashion buys alongside High street versions of designer goods. Let's face it, not everyone can afford to drop £400 on a pair of shoes, T-shirts, jeans or whatever the said designer item may cost.
No arguments about who copied who here, but this Topshop version of Pierre Hardy's canvas wedge is just as easy on the eyes as it is on the pocket, in fact I prefer Topshop's version. So over to you readers, followers, By stoppers etc. will you be a Hobo or A Snob on this one
