How to make a Plain Outfit Look Awesome

If you are tired of wearing the same old clothes over and over again and are plain bored with the monotony then all you need is to spice up your wardrobe a little bit. If picking out a good outfit is giving you a hard time then we have some easy breezy techniques for you through which you can add a little zing to your attire. These techniques will help you turn your clothes into a fabulous looking outfit. All you need for this is some fashion magazines, general observation of the fashion scene around you, your own clothes and some accessories to finish the look.

The first thing you need to do is go through some fashion magazines to ascertain the latest trends in the fashion market. This will help you immensely in deciding what kind of look you want to adorn. It is important to pay attention to what the celebrities are wearing and then deciding which look works best for you. Also, an effective way is to observe the people on the street and the ones around you. That way, you get an insight into the fashion whims and help you imitate the styles that you like.

The next effective step is coordinating your outfit. This is a helpful way of making your outfit look awesome. Coordinating in the way that you need to observe which look suits you best, such as whether you want to go for vertical stripes because they make you appear slimmer. Similarly, you can accentuate on your outfit by mixing and matching two different colours of the same family. Two shades of one colour are easy to put together and give a very slimming effect to the entire body. In addition to this, you can also coordinate your outfit with a good pair of shoes because sometimes all you really need is the right pair of shoes to get the outfit going for you.

Choosing the right shade of colour is essential for a good outfit. You need to ascertain what colour works best for your skin tone; such as brunettes look ravishing in red and redheads turn heads in emerald. Similarly, the skin tone can also determine the right colour for you. Light skin tones should opt for green or blue whereas darker complexions should go for pastels. Black is always the new black; works wonders for everyone.

Layering is also an effective way to make your outfit stand out. Mix and match your fabric with another one to get the look working for you. In addition to that, one must have is to add fabric to your outfit. You can add a scarf to your hair or neckline, or lace ruffles to your shirt, or a fabric belt with dangling beads. All work wonders for your look. 

Last but not least, the key is to accessorize skillfully. But wear one item at a time, don’t overdo the accessories. Dangling earrings can accentuate your face, necklaces of different lengths add sophistication, wrists or ankle bracelets work wonders too. It is up to you to decide which look works best for you. You’ll be ready to wreak havoc on the fashion scenario if you follow these simple guidelines and add a little bling of your own by experimenting different hairstyles to compliment your look.

Six ways Alexander McQueen changed fashion

Lauded in the style industry and among those who keep a close eye on emerging trends, Alexander McQueen's contribution to fashion could, nevertheless, be lost on many others. But many High Street favourites of the past two decades bear his influence. So how did McQueen shape the things we've worn?

LOW-SLUNG JEANS

The bumster... worn low - very low

Alexander McQueen was the man who made the builder's bum fashionable. His "bumsters", which appeared in 1996, spawned the trend in perilously low-rise, crevice-revealing jeans.
"The bumster for me is what defined McQueen," says Michael Oliveira-Salac, the director of Blow PR and a friend of McQueen's from his early days in the fashion industry. "For me it was the look that put him on the map because it was controversial."
"Those little bumsters were in his first shows. It was like 20 people in England were wearing them back then."
It was a look that spread and spread, although few dared go as low as McQueen's signature buttock-baring style. As hipster jeans became ubiquitous throughout the 1990s and 2000s, a new term, "muffin top", was coined to describe the resulting over-hang of hip flesh caused by low-riding waistbands.
Today the sight of muffin tops over jeans or a sneaky flash of bottom cleavage might not seem too shocking - unfashionable, perhaps, now women's waistbands have edged closer to the waist once more - but when McQueen first sent out his models in bumsters, it was a radical departure and attracted many column inches of comment and debate.
Mr Oliveira-Salac says the style achieved what McQueen set out to do. "It wasn't about it being frivolous, it was about being different."

SKULL PRINTS

Skulls on bags, scarves, dresses...

One enduring motif which McQueen transported from catwalk to the High Street was the skull. His trademark scarf bearing the design has become a celebrity must-have. Johnny Depp, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Ritchie and Cameron Diaz are among the stars who have been snapped wearing it.
"It is a trademark heritage scarf which is being copied by the world and his wife," explains Faye Sawyer, a stylist and fashion editor of 125 magazine. "You can go into any High Street store and buy one," she adds.
The McQueen skull clutch bag is another sought-after accessory that has sparked many a counterfeit.

TAILORING

McQueen trained on Savile Row, then moved to theatre costumiers Angels

McQueen started as an apprentice on Savile Row - the spiritual home of bespoke British men's tailoring. It was grounding that helped earn him a reputation in the fashion world as an expert at creating an impeccably tailored look.
As Alexandra Shulman, the editor of British Vogue explains: "He was incredibly clever at cutting clothes."
In cutting his teeth at Anderson & Sheppard, and Gieves and Hawkes, McQueen learned the disciplines of shape and proportion in traditional tailoring. During this time he even made a suit for Prince Charles.
As Eilidh Macaskill, the editor of InStyle magazine explains, McQueen wasn't just about crazy looks on the catwalk.
"He also created beautiful, beautiful wearable clothes… the razor-sharp suit, the pencil skirts, the beautiful prints in the spring and summer collection."
Sawyer believes the way McQueen's clothes were tailored had an impact beyond the catwalk. "The cut is everything. It affected fashion and it filtered on to the High Street."

THEATRICAL CATWALK SHOWS

He had a taste for drama and shock

Birdcages, butterflies, feathered wings, towering heels and even a catwalk filled with water - McQueen is credited with bringing theatrical drama to the catwalk.
"His shows were often very theatrical… I seem to remember one show where there were antlers," says the designer Sir Paul Smith.
McQueen used new technology and innovation to add a twist to proceedings. In 2006 he projected a holographic 3D image of model Kate Moss on to the runway. He also experimented with streaming his catwalk shows live on the internet. Earlier shows featured a volcanic catwalk that erupted in flames, and a giant Plexiglass snowstorm.
"His shows were always ahead of their time, it was like a full-on production," says Sawyer. "He made people think it's not just the hair and make-up. He was making something for people to witness."
And his extravagant and colourful shows were always a hot ticket in the fashion world. "I've seen people fighting in the queues at his shows to get in," she says.

MOULD-BREAKING MODELS

Theatrical in every way

McQueen liked to shock and surprise people at his catwalk shows, and wasn't a designer who liked to conform to fashion industry norms.
In 1998 he caused controversy when double amputee Aimee Mullins, a former Paralympian, modelled on the catwalk wearing a pair of hand-carved wooden prosthetic legs.
"You always expected the unexpected with Alexander McQueen," says Helen Boyle a fashion stylist and presenter. "Everyone was waiting to see who was on the catwalk, and what they were wearing.
"By putting disabled people on he was taking people out of their comfort zones, making people think, making people sit up in their chairs."

He took Aimee Mullins from the Paralympics to the catwalk

Michael Oliveira-Salac says McQueen "turned fashion upside down", by being different.
"Supermodels were never treated like royalty. He was one of the designers who didn't care about that social standing," he says. "When he worked with top models he loved to get them out of their comfort zone."
Mr Oliveira-Salac also cites the fact McQueen was one of the first designers to use Indian models in London.

EXTREME SILHOUETTES

Making the beautiful ugly, or the ugly beautiful?

Some of McQueen's most memorable designs were outlandish, unconventional and plain bizarre.
"He didn't just create fashion, he created spectacles," says the fashion designer Scott Henshall. "He had Sophie Dahl encased with butterflies, he had models sprayed with paint to enter his finale catwalk shows and he really elevated fashion to what it should be."
For McQueen the creative palette extended further than just clothes, says Mr Oliveira-Salac.
"It wasn't just about the clothes - it was the whole look. The lipstick and the make-up was very prominent."
Some of his gothic inspired make-up creations had fashion editors divided. The heavy eyes, and clownishly defined lips were inspired by McQueen's theatrical side. He even collaborated with the cosmetics company MAC to devise make-up ranges.
"He was a creator. He wasn't just a fashion designer," says Helen Boyle. "He just upped the tempo in the way that he designed."
No mention of Alexander McQueen's influence would be complete without reference to the towering high-heeled footwear he was responsible for.
Pop star Lady Gaga managed to get through an entire music video wearing a pair of McQueen's Armadillo Shoes, which are 12cm high and resemble a lobster claw. And he was never one to simply make a hat when he could turn it into part snood, part gimp-mask, part taxidermy installation.
His silhouettes have been credited for adding a sense of fantasy, rebellion and edge to fashion.

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Below are a selection of your comments.
I am absolutely mortified. During my fashion degree he inspired me and the fashion world has lost a truly great, innovative, original designer. We have lost out on so much that could of been from this brilliant creator
Caz, Hinckley, Leics
Still in a little bit of a shock about his death it's good to read an article like this remembering his work as it was. What a shame that such achievement is abruptly ended.
Sar, Northants, UK
A true design genius in every sense... daring to do what others are too afraid to. He will be missed.
K Man, London
I personally think he was an artistic genius. Probably his most famous design (of which people don't really know) is the outfit worn by Janet Jackson during the controversial super bowl performance. RIP.
Abe, England
I'm so sad that Alexander has passed he was such a good role model R.I.P xx
Jemima Bland, Bridlington
What a waste of talent. So very sad. On a level with Ozzie Clarke and our very still alive Vivienne Westwood.
Janie, Lancashire
I know little about fashion but his designs were always compelling, magical. The guy was a genius.
Tim Briggs, London
Alexander's fashion was accessible to the masses. It was wearable in the high street and nightclubs which cannot be said for many of his peers. Tragic end to a promising life.
Billy, Belfast
This world is that little more plain now that he has gone. I was working at Vivienne Westwood when I found out and we have all been shocked.
Ash Smallwood , Brighton
Shocking. Trendsetter. Since I lived in London in the 90s I used to follow his uniqueness.
Shirley Shalaby, Cairo, Egypt
Whenever I see anything of his I feel like the boy in the Hans Anderson story watching the king going by naked. Why hasn't someone the guts to say this guy was having a laugh, at all our expense.
Mike Hildrew, Newcastle
I've always loved Alexander McQueen's fashion BUT always hated the low-slung-jeans look. They're all very well on a svelte model but I really resent having someone's hideous belly or bum-crack exposed.
Emma Salter, London
I have never had the pleasure in wearing any of his creations but in my eyes he was not just inspirational but eccentric and lovable this news is so terrible and it is such a loss at an early age the fashion world will never be able to replace such a true genius RIP McQ XXXXXX
Claire, Essex
The world has really lost the biggest star in fashion and I was a big fan of him. As a model it was always my dream to work to find a way/chance the the biggest runway shows and catwalk for a star like Mr. Mc Queen. He will always be in our hearts and he shall be remembered by many who knew his works. A star has fallen. The name lives forever
Agyeman Hampel, Accra, Ghana
Some fashion dressing make you look like a masquerade or a wizard, is that fashion again?
Shao, Abuja, Nigeria
RIP. I'll miss him.
Swetha, India
Why no mention of the enormous amount of satanic symbolism in his designs?
Alex Brodie, London, UK
It's of course very sad that he has died, but if we concentrate on the clothes for a minute - he was not revolutionary other than having new ways to garner attention and get press coverage. What he did in shows and on the catwalk had little to do with clothing, much as what Tracy Emin does has little to do with art.
Dave S, Barnsley, Yorkshire

Women’s Laptop Bag

The women’s laptop bag is designed to fit in not only the laptop but all other essential elements such as loose change, a change of clothes, zipper and pen pockets and compartments for lipsticks etc. They also come with a back pocket that can easily accommodate all the files that the working women need. The women’s laptop bags usually come with inner and outer water repellant finish so that your laptop is well-protected against water. Some of the laptop bags are even quilted and have embedded sequins to make a great fashion statement. You need to determine the size of your laptop before you go out to a mall to buy the women’s laptop bag.

Another variation for the women’s laptop bag is the laptop tote. This is designed just like the tote bag and has separate shoulder straps too. It has a full zipper compartment and can accommodate your laptop, files and other miscellaneous things easily. They also have comfort padded handles and drawstrings. They look just like tote bags that many women like to carry.

Leather women’s laptop bag is of course used by most women who go to work. They are sturdy and they come in a number of finishes and colors and these can also be used by men. Given the vibrant color preferences that women have, these laptop bags are found in a wide variety of options including tartan and quilted finishes.

Those who do not like to carry their laptops on their back or shoulders can also use the rolling women’s laptop bag. Essentially they come with wheels and handles to pull along as they make their way from one destination to another. They are very convenient and are a great though for those aching and sore shoulder and back muscles. They are more expensive than the regular laptop bags and the price usually starts at $200. They have a huge amount of space and have enough pockets for carrying stuff for the daytrip.

Finally, there are women’s laptop bags that are airport security friendly. These laptop bags have been tested and approved for TSA guidelines for onboard luggage. They have a number of pockets to keep all the files, PDA, cell phones, knick knacks and are usually made of durable polyester. This makes them less susceptible to wear and tear.