One fashion conscious computer programmer has decided to do something about the disparity seen in different fashion brands.

Anna Powell-Smith became frustrated at how the clothes sizes were different and decided to create an application for the iPhone that will allow users to find their best fit at various different high street locations including, Marks & Spencer, Whistles, Next and Topshop.

The application allows users to enter their measurements and it will then map the statistics into its system which will compare your size to the different sizes of clothes at some leading stores. It also suggests which store is going to have the best fit for you.

The application is called What Size Am I? and the reviews so far have suggested that it is a very accurate way for women to match their size with the clothing in the stores. Many women have said that it removes the trial and error problems that waste a lot of time when shopping. It also suggests which shops women should avoid because they have the worst fit for them.

In an article for The Guardian newspaper, the programmer wrote, “Once the size data was collected from the different stores it was really shocking how different everything was. To see a four inch difference in the clothing was not uncommon.

It is really baffling to me how the clothing companies can’t get the sizing right and how we need to remember what size we are in each different store. Everything should be standardised in the same way that technology is, this would make everything much simpler.”

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Vintage Spring Summer 2012 from Lyle and Scott

Spring 2012 will sees Lyle & Scott making strides towards a bright and bold season with a modern and contemporary collection that is moving ever forward whilst also managing to successfully maintain a strong element of traditional styling. Three separate stories; Surf, Utility and Classic provide a youthful, cohesive range for today’s modern man. All three have their own unique take on the classic Golden Eagle logo.

With a preppy mix of new and old, the first delivery will be Classic, which provides a iconic and clean pieces in a palette of summer colours that include Deep Grass Green, Riviera Blue, mint, English Mustard and Strawberry Shake pink. Key pieces include a lightweight jersey t-shirt in grey marl and button down shirt in ice cream stripes and a collegiate sweater with an 1874 logo, the year the brand was created.

Colour is a big feature of the collection and with a contrasting collar and pocket and sleeve details on their t-shirts and polos, and the confectionery stripes on their shirts this collection looks good enough to eat.

Pullovers and cardigans with shawl necks come in soft neutral tones of navy, green, grey and white whilst bolder knits come in the shape of bright cables and colour blocked v necked jumpers and cardigans. All of these also display the famous eagle logo in its best known Golden form.

 Work wear from a bygone era provides us with our second story – Utility. Heavy jersey, cargo and cotton marl are adorned with functional detailing including lobster clasps, elbow patches and gusseting. An olive hooded parka in heavy durable stitching with raindrop camouflage embodies the theme whilst a miniature floral print in light blue appears on a rugged blazer, the delicate pattern juxtaposing brilliantly with the robust fabric.

 Both patterns are carried through to cargo shorts, polos, shawl neck pullovers, v-necks and button up pima cotton vests. Adding a splash of colour to the muted tones are grass green and Rococco red cagoules and a daring check hunting jacket. Further options of outerwear include a military style cotton twill Harrington. Branding comes in the form of a woven circular patch, appearing on either the left arm or chest.

The Surf story provides a celebration of colour, represented by a square, woven logo. Soft and bright pastel hues reminiscent of childhood British holidays and influences of beach skate legends from the late 70s create a thoroughly fun, covetable summer wardrobe. Horizontal stripes and bold check in ice-cream colours invigorate polos, t-shirts, shirts and shorts whilst a retro nod comes via a Parma violet dip-dye cotton pique polo. Light outerwear including a chambray fisherman’s jacket, a nautical Riviera zip-through hoody and a grey marl jacquard button up complete the seaside scenario.

Chinos in light chambray, light brown, hunter green and navy compliment each theme. Footwear is expanded upon with a meticulously comprehensive assortment; canvas pumps, espadrilles, boat shoes, moccasins, pumps and flip-flops set against more durable chukka boots, suede shoes and desert boots. An extensive accessory offer includes barrel bags, rucksacks, shoulder bags, flight bags, block and multi-colour woven belts, cotton chambray scarves, baseball hats and an even larger assortment of socks.

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Zalando offers a wide range of clothing for both women and men, and also exports clothing for kids too. With all the different categories, you can find the perfect prom dress or other outfit too!

Now is a perfect time for you to consider that new wardrobe. Instead of running to your high street store why not give zalando.co.uk a try first? It works out cheaper in the long run. Cheap material used by places such as; Primark is cheap because it does not cope with a lot of wear and tear, costing you more in the long-term to replace them. If you are willing to stretch your cash, even if it is just as a one-time treat, you’ll find out that it is likely to last you a lot longer.

The website has periodic sales, so you can always browse through the sales items, so you could always throw something extra, like quality handbags, in too!

Going back to treating yourself; Zalando also offers an extensive range of dresses that Ladies may want to investigate, these can come in the form of either elegant maxi dresses or for those of you who are having trouble about what to wear for your upcoming dance, a range of prom dresses, that are actually better priced than some of the other leading sellers.

Or, maybe you’re a guy looking for a nice, slick, suit to wear to your prom to impress that special girl in your life!

As Chino’s appear to be very much in fashion with guys these days, they even offer various different styles and colours of this jeans brand too at good prices, so it’s not all about formal.

So with Zalando you really are practically spoiled for choice, whether you be man or woman, girl or boy.

Courtesy of Zalando

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Rossella Jardini, the creative director of Moschino has commented, “The debut of our diffusion line in London is something that I have been considering for some time. We want the line to have a younger feel and be separate from our main brand. Therefore, we feel that London is the perfect location as it is a new city for us.

“London is going to give us a platform for this new brand to grow and develop its own personality, but it will also be able to maintain its roots within our main brand. London’s reputation for style is well known and therefore we think it is a perfect place to exhibit these clothes for the first time.”

Many people still think it is quite a surprise for the company to decide to bring the range to London. It is good news, however, for the British Fashion Council who are responsible for organising London Fashion Week. They have, in recent months, been facing an ongoing struggle over scheduling of the event as it is overlapping with fashion shows that are taking place in New York and Milan.

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The event is being headed by the editor of GQ, Dylan Jones, and is said to involve other notable people from the fashion world including Christopher Bailey, Tom Ford, David Furnish and Tim Blanks. The event is going to show off the latest menswear collections through presentations and there is also going to be a cultural programme.

There is little information available about what the cultural programme will include but it is expected that the entire event is going to be much better than the current situation. Currently, men’s fashions are shown at London Fashion Week but are only shown on the final day of the show. It also does not receive very much attention because this is also the first day that women’s clothing starts being shown on the catwalk in Milan.

London falls behind the other major fashion capitals of Paris and Milan when it comes to men’s fashion, as these other two leading cities have two special events throughout the year dedicated just to men’s collections. It is expected that if London starts running the show that is going to be very popular.

The design director of Top Man, Gordon Richardson has commented, “It is fantastic news that men’s fashion is no longer going to be crammed into one day at the end of the fashion week. Now there is much more space for men’s fashions to expand and this brings London onto a much better standing when compared with Paris as well as Milan.”

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Register online for a fashionable karaoke event at Source Below in Soho on February 13. Come up with an original fashion-themed choice for a song and get your chance on stage between 6 and 11pm. Another Soho event is being held on February 17 at The House of St Barnabus on Greek Street. For a £5 donation you can gain access to the Upstyler Barnabus Bazaar, an all-day vintage clothing sale.

Find out how to be style conscious with a conscience by heading to London House in Mecklenburg Square on February 18 for the Good Fashion Show. For a £5 entry fee, shoppers can browse ethical, green and fair-trade clothing lines, while the catwalk show in the evening is a bargain £30 – and the closest many London Fashion Week attendees will get to a catwalk.

There are several second-hand clothes sales taking place across the city, including the Clerkenwell Vintage Fashion Fair at Urdang on February 19 and the Designer Jumble Sale on February 21 at the Church of the Annunciation, Marble Arch. All profits from this latter event are going to charity and items for sale can be previewed by following @designerjumble on Twitter.

Finally, two more chances to enjoy a London catwalk show; London Fashion Weekend at Somerset House, where cut-price designer outfits will be being modelled and on sale, and Fusion@London, a fashion show and dance music event all-in-one, hosted by the “stars” of Made in Chelsea.

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There has been a buzz in the fashion industry for quite a while now, and the eager anticipation has finally come to fruition. The latest collection from iconic designer Karl Lagerfeld for Net-A-Porter has finally arrived, and it is well worth the wait. Simply entitled ‘Karl’ this exclusive range is typically Lagerfeld, and the great man’s touches can be seen throughout the spring/summer collection.

They showcase these new designs with the most effectiveness, Lagerfeld has selected five of his favourite models to appear wearing them on the Net-A-Porter website. Also on the site is a full interview with the prolific designer; an interview of which we are given a tantalising glimpse in a 42 second video seen online. The video sees two Lagerfeld’s facing each other and asking intriguing questions, to which we are all longing to know the answers; it cuts off just when it starts to get interesting, leaving us to shoot straight to the site.

Click on the ‘designer’ tab and select Karl to be taken to the page dedicated to this new collection of covetable and downtown classics, and a sponsored video featuring the full interview is at the bottom of this screen. From here you can also view the entire collection and purchase those must have items that are set to fly. Biker vests, blazers, little black dresses, embellished collars, every new piece shows of Lagerfeld’s thinking and attitude to perfection.

Why not but a classy ensemble together of a sweatshirt emblazoned with the Karl logo, a pair of silver jeans and leather sneakers. This is a major coup for Net-A-Porter to get Karl Lagerfeld on board to join their already illustrious list of designers, and both the company and the designer himself have gone all out to let the world now about this fabulous new collection, and its success is already assured.

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The award is in its third year now, having been originally established in order to enhance the reputation of the rising stars in London’s fashion industry, and to assist their development in terms of business.

Saunders will receive a tailored programme from the British Fashion Council over the next 12 months in order to make the transition from being just a developing business into a global brand. The money and the support network will allow Jonathan Saunders and his team to fulfil all their dreams.

There were eight other designers shortlisted for the Fashion Fund and each had to present both their current collections and outline their future plan to the judging panel. The CEO of the British Fashion Council, Caroline Rush, said that the panel had found Saunders to be exceptional and truly deserved to win the prize.

The editor of Vogue in Britain, Alexandra Shulman, was delighted with Saunders in recent years and is pleased that he won the award. Her view was that he is able to design beautiful clothes which women enjoy wearing. This award will help him to build on his recent success and turn global.

In 2006, Saunders won the Fashion Enterprise Award from the British Fashion Council, which he followed up with Designer of the Year award from Elle Style in 2007. Clearly Saunders is destined for big things.

Currently he designs for his own label, stocked across the world. He used to work for Pollini in Milan, but went with his own direction in 2010. You can find his clothes in Net-a-Porter, Printemps, Hudson Bay and Liberty’s amongst others.

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Moscow style comes to the V&A During London Fashion Week - as part of Russian Maslenitsa Festival

The Raphael Gallery at the Victoria and Albert museum in Cromwell Road, London SW7 is the place you want to be on the 22^nd February between 8pm-10.30pm if you are a lover of Russian fashion. As part of the Maslenitsa Festival, which is the largest ever celebration of Russian art, culture, food and art ever held outside of the country.

There will be an exclusive fashion show that is supported by both London Fashion Week and Fashion TV that will showcase the internationally acclaimed Russian designer Natasha Zinko  and the Rohmir UK label. The confirmed VIP guest list includes Nancy Dell’olio, David Koma, Natalia Vodinova and Elizabeth Emmanuel.

This exclusive fashion show will be the chance for many to see the new pieces from some of the most in demand designers from Russia, and tickets starting at £75 are available from http://bit.ly/MaslenitsaFashionShow.

The show will showcase established and up and coming Russian design talents and labels who will be arriving in London fresh from Moscow Fashion Week including:

• Olga Roh (Rohmir UK) - descended from Russian nobility, her popular savoir-vivre designs have been worn by the likes of Liv Tyler and featured in OK Magazine.
• Natalia Kolykhalova – an ex-graduate from Central St. Martin’s College and one of Russia’s most exciting young design talents, with several catwalk shows under her belt, including Moscow Fashion Week and Volvo Fashion week.
• Alexandra Kazakova –one of the leading Moscow designers for the younger generation with her trendy, bright concepts mixed with a strong traditional Russian vibe.
• Ksenia Magel - made her name  at the “Mrs Moscovia 2011” festival competition
• Maroussia Zaitseva – up-coming star of Russian design and grand-daughter of famous Vyacheslav  Zaitsev.
• Natasha Zinko (Abrakadabra UK) – London-based Russian designer in demand for her popular jewellery designs.
• Masha Tsigal - Voted Woman Journal’s Designer of the Year, her fun designs have been worn by many Russian celebrities, including pop duo TATU.

The show is set to be attended by a star-studded guest list including world-renowned fashion designers David Koma and Elizabeth Emmanuel as well as supermodel Natalia Vodinova and Arsenal mid-fielder Andrey Arshavin.Nancy dell’Ollio and jewellery designer Stephen Webster and his wife Alyssa are also expected to attend.

The show is part of London’s Maslenitsa Festival – – the biggest celebration of Russian Culture outside of the country itself, which will be marked by a special week-long programme of events across London building up to a huge celebration in Trafalgar Square on 26 February – the day of Maslenitsa itself.  Trafalgar Square will be transformed into a bustling bazaar offering traditional Russian delicacies, collectables, work by contemporary Russian artists and performances from some of Russia’s most acclaimed dance, theatre, pop and jazz artists.

Maslenitsa is a traditional Russian celebration marking the end of winter and celebrating the arrival of spring.

A live video link will connect Trafalgar Square with Red Square in Moscow enabling Maslenitsa reverllers in both countires to exchange traditional greetings.

Full listings of all Maslenitsa events at: http://maslenitsa.co.uk/

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Fortunately, the public you are not going to be at the event, many designers are making it possible for those at home to get involved. For the first time, Burberry is going to be showing its menswear collection live on Twitter just before it hits the catwalk. Interestingly this means that those who are actually attending the event are going to be some of the last people to see the collection.

Before Christmas there was a lot of talk around the fashion company Dior as there were rumours about Raf Simons changing who is in charge and swapping John Galliano for Jil Sander. These rumours have somewhat died down but with the approach of these new fashion shows it is likely people are going to start paying attention to these rumours again. The clothes being shown by Dior are going to be displayed on 21 January at the Paris show.

One of the most notable debuts at last year’s Paris fashion show was Mr Jones who is designing for Louis Vuitton. His collection was so loved that he won the award for best menswear prize at Britain’s fashion awards. The designs that he won awards for are about to hit the stores for the spring and summer collection and many people already excited to get their hands on them. The Serengeti sandal is one of the most anticipated items he has designed as it is wonderfully stylish but is also able to flatpack into luggage. His second collection which won’t go on sale until the winter is being highly anticipated.

In Milan, Jonathan Saunders is going to be showing a large menswear collection on 16 January. His clothes that are already on the market have proved very popular and he is one of the most loved British designers today. After the Paris fashion show there is going to be an event in the city supporting labels from Britain including many of the people who are going to be showing their collections at London fashion week.

It is not just the new fashions that people are interested in at these catwalk shows. Another interest is in what the guests are wearing, especially those famous ones who are sitting in the front row. Many people are expecting a heavy showing of clothes from Prada.

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