Doncaster Fashionistas

Here are a few fashion ideas for each hostess type so that you can spend these hectic, yet marvelous days of the year in style!

“In the Mix”
Between stuffing the bird, sautéing the green beans, whipping the potatoes and glazing the pies, you are one busy hostess! You spend most of your time in the heart of the house during the season. Your look needs to be polished, yet functional with practicality in mind. You need something that can be easily wiped off and moves with you while you are rushing about making everything look “effortless”.  Focus of fabrics that are easy in their shape and drape. Also, select loosely fitted or shorter sleeves to avoid accidentally dipping fabric into the food preparations!

Look to our Ponte two piece knit dressing with diamond cutout detail at the neckline traced in black patent leather; easy and chic! A fabulous blouse or jacket with interesting details such as the sleeve treatment on our blue silk jacket offers interest and allows for a simple black bottom.

“The Season’s Supervisor”
Your home hosts a bevy of guests and your presence is critical as they enter. You are the belle of the ball bringing friends and family together during the most important days of the year. You may supervise in the kitchen but you leave the cooking preparations to the professionals. Your hands need to be free for the hugs and handshakes, so the serving is best left to those that can best navigate a room without interruption. Your look needs to reflect your personality, sparkling and fabulous!

Color and shine are what you have in mind during the Holidays! It could be head-to-toe or just a pop, whichever you choose!

“Have Turkey, Will Travel!”
Home for the Holidays is not in your vocabulary this year. You are on the move. This season is about relaxation and spending time with those nearest and dearest, in a new setting for creating treasured memories – whether swooshing down the slopes or sitting by the fire.  Your look is casual chic to easy elegance.

You are keeping it simple, fun and fabulous! One way to go is a great knit with subtle detail and a paisley tonal jacquard pant that can be slipped into a boot or worn with a sparkly flat. The other, travel worthy and easy on the eyes, is a simple black dress in viscose jersey with pleating detail at the waist!

Wear it with Confidence! – Fall Shape Solutions

Girlfriends, we have you covered with shapewear solutions that really work and build your wardrobe to another level.  Shapewear has grown up.  Grandmother’s girdle has left the building.  It is now the essential  wardrobe item that can create a new you instantly!  The goal of shapewear is to provide shape, fit, solutions and most importantly comfort.  Here are a few suggestions to address your fall wardrobe challenges:

Trend – Slim Pants
Solution – Sheer Pant Liner

Who can forget John Travolta discoing the night away in his white polyester suit? Do you remember how thin he was? Well part of that was due to the fact that the early polyester didn’t breathe which meant just wearing it was like being in a sauna so you can only imagine dancing for hours on end!? No wonder it was called “Saturday Night Fever”. But hey, he looked good in that suit and it never wrinkled!

Like everything else, time marched on and with it came an entire generation of synthetics that have many of the biggest names in fashion singing their praises. So important are these fabrics that even the esteemed Wall Street Journal saw fit to write an article entitled “Gasp! Polyester Is The New Name In Paris Fashion” in which designers such as Narciso Rodriquez, Nina Ricci, Olivier Theyskens and Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz extolled the properties of the synthetic fabric with such words as silky, light and delicate.

Technological innovation has bolstered an influx of new synthetics. Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani began blending microfiber with cottons and wools to endow them with water/wrinkle resistant properties in the mid 90’s and they have not looked back since. Armani enjoys blends of synthetics with cashmere and linens because it provides better fit and elasticity without losing the hand of the natural fiber. A small percentage of synthetic in your clothing, especially wools and cottons,  helps extend the life of the garment by retaining its shape while reinforcing the natural fibers.

Help unravel the synthetic mystery by testing your knowledge matching the fabric with its definition.  Don’t worry, you won’t have to go to the dictionary if you aren’t sure. The answers are below.

Stop bra abuse!

Admit it, you just throw your bras in the washing machine and hope they don’t get too tangled in with everything else. Who has the time for hand washing? You may think that hand washing care tag was put there because the bra companies used cheap material or dye and are trying to cover their butts in case the bra falls apart. Well, actually there is a good scientific reason for those directions.

Elastic in the fabric, straps, and back is the magical component in bras that fights gravity’s pull. Just like certain body parts, elastic stretches and droops with age. Heat speeds up this process by breaking down the elastic fibers, which in turn drives your breasts groundward. The two ways that bras are exposed to heat is from being next to your body and from washing/drying. Since you aren’t going to stop wearing your bras just to make them last longer, we thought we’d tell you how to be nicer to them during cleaning.

1. Hand wash

Washing machines and hot water are a big no-no!

Hand washing in cold water for ten minutes cleans out all the dirt without stressing the elastic that is key to the lifting and separating that bras do. A light soap will do the job without leaving residue behind and making you a slave to the sink while you rinse your bras.

For those of you who think we’re insane for recommending this, gentle cleaning without all that twisting and turning that comes in the washing machine will make your bras last significantly longer.   Just think of all that bra shopping you’re avoiding with a few minutes of work.

2. Drip dry

The dryer is the biggest enemy your bra has. Not only does it speed the decay of the elastic in your bra, but it can warp the underwires that provide the structure. If there is only one thing that you will do to take better care of your bras, make it this one.

3. Give your bras a break

Between body heat and being stretched to wrap around you, the materials in your bra undergo a lot of stress over the course of a day. So, give them some time to relax and recover in between wearings. Give your bra at least a 24-hour break before you wear it again.

These steps will make your bras last longer and that keeps you looking good for longer. Of course, you still need to get re-measured every six months or five pounds of weight change to make sure that you are wearing a bra that still fits. For the bras you wear daily, consider them to have a six-month expiration date before the fabric and elastic stop doing their job. Your bras work hard everyday and six months of frequent use is about the limit of how long they can keep you up.

* There is a cool technical reason for this having to do with the chemical structure of elastics, but I won’t bore you with it. If you want to learn more, I recommend a textile textbook such as Textiles by Sara J. Kadolph

~ Article Source: Zyrra Custom Bras website; Image Source: Mirror.co.uk website