Stella McCartney

I have to admit that I am a bit predictable. I hold my hands up and say as a woman I prefer to wear clothes designed by a woman. I’m fed up of looking at stick thin supermodels wearing clothes designed by stick thin men. I don’t really have anything against these male designers however feel that it is quite obvious that they do not appreciate the female form. Whether it is because they do not find it attractive or because they cannot empathise with the areas that women want to accentuate and those that they want to cover at all costs.

My favourite designer is in fact Stella McCartney. The reason being that she is a woman therefore understands the female form. She doesn’t have the stick thin, almost masculine body that most models have. Most importantly though is that she is quite short and carries weight in a similar way to many women who have had children. But she always looks good. She knows what suits her. She also knows how to incorporate flattering cuts into her designs. Not all of her clothes are aimed at women with a similar body shape though. She seems to be able to design empathetically in order to help women feel confident (therefore look good) in her clothes.

Another designer that I really love is Diane von Furstenberg, and in particular, her wrap dresses. She also has the understanding of the female form and the female mind. Her dresses manage to create curves on those who need a little bit of assistance. At the other end of the scale the dresses enhance the more voluptuous figure, whilst flattering the flaws. Skimming over a pot belly or muffin top and accentuating a nipped in waist.  

I do have to admit though that I do love the look of many of the designer items designed by men. If I had the money to waste I would probably buy them and hang them on fancy hangers as works of art. After all, many of these clothes do actually look best on the hanger. Appreciating designer clothes doesn’t always mean that you have to wear them – indeed much more pleasure may come from them if you don’t put them on.

There are also the designers for high street brands. I think the most famous of these must be the Kate Moss for Topshop (although technically she is not a fashion designer, more of a fashionista). These ranges to me just seem to be a money making scheme on behalf of both the designer and the shop. The clothes are made in the same way as the shops other ranges, often from the same material, however for an inflated price. The input from the designer is in no way as involved as for their own personal range and there is not the same attention to detail. To me the purchasers of such ranges seem to be a bit blinded by the big name designer. You can get designer copies of clothes so quickly these days on the high street that unless you are going for the real thing then there is not much point paying over the odds. I have yet to purchase an item from any of these ranges, purely because they do not represent the quality or impact of truly designer clothes.

Until I can afford to buy exclusively Stella and Diane, I think I will buy the most flattering items from these ranges and supplement them with bog standard high street with anonymous designers. Why settle for the clothes in the middle that are more affordable than designer clothing but not of a substantially higher quality than high street. Mediocre does not make my wardrobe.