It’s August already. How the hell did that happen?
As we said goodbye to July, we also kissed goodbye to our second female Prime Minister, Theresa May, to make way for that ‘bumbling buffoon’ and ‘charlatan’, Boris Johnson.
Call me weird, but I have a slightly bizarre crush on the new PM. I think I just love his madness. I know that may not win me many fans, so I’ll move swiftly on.
Let’s opt for a fashion take on this historical chapter, namely the new ‘lady’ of No.10. Not only is she only 31 to his 55 years, she’s his GIRLFRIEND. Whilst he leaves a long-suffering wife and four (grown-up) kids behind.
It would appear that Boris Johnson’s girlfriendCarrie Symonds has been channelling her inner Kate Middleton. She looked pretty as she watched her man enter their new ‘pad’.
Britain’s 31-year-old ‘first girlfriend’ wowed in this £120 Ghost dress as boyfriend Boris took the keys. She paired the red midi dress with a pair of nude heels by Gianvito Rossi, loved by Holly Willoughby, Kourtney Kardashian, Karlie Kloss and… Kate Middleton.
In fact, with her immaculate blow dries and new love of a floral midi frock, Carrie appears to be taking a lot of inspiration from the Duchess of Cambridge.
Let’s hope she’s a little more charismatic though. I’m looking forward to Carrie causing a stir and gracing the pages of the glossies in the next year. Remember, she shares her name with the ultimate fashionista herself, Carrie Bradshaw.
Onto this week, and I solve heat related problems like under-boob sweat and inner thigh chaffing, Plus, Korean mega boy band BTS team up with Fila and now that Love Island is over, who and what were the Island’s fashion influencers and influences.
Such a Marmite thing. Either you love it or hate it. I’m talking Love Island, and if you’re unaware of LI, then where the hell have you been? Even my long-suffering other half has had to endure the past two months of nightly instalments, with the remote control monopolised in the custody of our teen daughter, who adores the show.
So Amber and Greg won but when it comes to Love Island 2019 fashion trends, Ovie and Molly-Mae came out on top.
Love Island has led the way for fashion trends this summer, with thousands searching for the featured outfits. Although the series has now come to an end, it looks like it’s made a lasting impression on our fashion choices.
Molly-Mae Hague came out on top as the villa’s top influencer, which probably isn’t that big of a surprise since she arrived on the show in as an influencer by trade. Her hair bun was popular on the outside, with thousands viewing her tutorial. However, her biggest influence on shoppers was the green snake print bikini with a V-bar design, which she wore in episode seven. 11,000 people searched the internet in search of said bikini in the days after the episode aired.
For the lads, Ovie Sokohas been their biggest influence and it’s reported that ASOS and BoohooManare both fighting for him to model their clothes.
His go-to items were bucket hats, rounded sunglasses and colourful printed shirts. But it was his collection of vintage shirts that really got people talking, with searches rising by 68% in the first two weeks he was in the villa.
Everything neon
The biggest trend of the series was neon, with the Islanders choosing neon colours for their swimwear, bodysuits, dresses and mini skirts, as well as nails.
There was even a neon-themed episode and shoppers appeared to love it. Searches for the trend skyrocketed by 221% over eight weeks and the most popular colours were yellow and lime green.
Amber has been the biggest fan of neon, having worn luminous garments 29 times over the series, which is considerably more than any other islander.
She even sported neon green nails when she won.
Snake print
Animal print has been around for a while now but snake print seems to have really taken the lead as the Love Island contestants made it a ‘thing’.
Searches for the trend increased by 121% over the course of the show with snake print bikinis being the most wanted styles.
Anna and Amber regularly paired both neon and snake print and it’s been a hit with the viewers – so expect to see a lot of people modelling the style by the pool and on the beach.
Cowl neck dresses
In terms of evening wear, cowl neck satin dresses have been a hit with the Islanders and it looks like the people at home are big fans too. Since June, searches have increased by over 75% and the most in demand styles are mini dresses, a favourite for Amber and Elma.
Perspex heels
Demand for perspex high heeled shoes has increased by almost 50% over the course of this series, and the footwear has been loved by the Islanders and viewers alike.
Discreet and versatile, the girls wore the shoes with pretty much every outfit and shoppers hunted out the trend on Missguided , Nasty Gal and ASOS .
Top five Love Island influencers
Over the last 2 months, a data team has tracked UK fashion searches, sales trends and page views on popular products and they’ve monitored increases in demand for fashion styles that matched the Islanders’ style.
Here are the top five Love Island influencers.
1. Molly-Mae Hague
Instagram influence: 2.3 million followers.
Her signature style was the hair bun and green snake print bikini with a V-bar design.
2. Francesca Allen
Instagram influence: 206,000 followers.
Her signature style was matching headbands with oversized earrings.
3. Ovie Soko
Instagram influence – 1.2 million followers.
His signature style was vintage shirts and bucket hats.
4. Amber Gill
Instagram influence – 1.6 million followers.
Her signature style was neon and the lace bodysuit, which quickly caught on with the other Islanders.
5. Anna Vakili
Instagram influence – 1.1 million followers.
Her signature style was fitted outfits but she also wowed audiences in a sparkly two-piece bikini with a fishnet mini skirt.
Wherever you might be in Europe right now, it’s hot. OK, so I’m not sure about Lapland, but even there is probably sweltering too.
And whilst that means a “whoop” for many, it also spells aggro for a large proportion of the female population, who will be welcoming back the old, familiar nemesis that is thigh chafing.
Chafing thighs and underboob sweat are perhaps the two most annoying things to come out of a hot summer. And whilst most aren’t complaining about warm weather, it is known to get so bad for some people that they will avoid leaving the safety of an air-conditioned room at all costs.
But what can we do about it? How can we put a stop to those days of thigh-rubbing, boob-sweating misery? I have the answer. This 87p wonder-cream from Asda may just end up revolutionising your summer.
‘Liquid Talc’ (which, as you might imagine, is a talcum powder alternative in liquid form) is part of Asda’s ‘Little Angels’ baby skincare range. And while it might be designed to enhance the softness of a new-born’s skin, all reports suggest that it can work wonders in preventing thigh chafing and underboob sweating.
The Liquid Talc works in a similar way to another anti-thigh chafing trick, which is rolling deodorant onto the insides of your thighs. The slick layer allows them to easily slip past each other, as opposed to causing painful friction every time your thighs rub together.
Maybe it’s worth a try. And at 87p, it’s got to be worth a gamble.
Here’s some other remedies for chubbing or chaffing.
If the idea of your lady bits overheating in shorts worries you, try these anti chafing bands instead. A bit like the top of stockings, they stay in place all day and provide an all-important barrier for your thighs. Pretty Little Thing £8
Want a value pack option? Why not check out Boohoo’santi chafing thigh band two-pack for £14:
I LOVE this beauty hack. When you run out of anti-chafe balm, try makeup primer instead. Even though primer is for the face, apparently it is amazing at preventing thigh-rub. Who knew?
Any kind of elasticated shorts, be it cycling shorts or Spanx, will keep your thighs protected from friction AND prevent any cringe pant-flashing moments if the summer breeze catches you unawares. Double win.
Here’s another, slightly more affordable, pair that switch from anti chafing shorts into stockings part-way down, for added comfort.
BTS cut ties with PUMA after five years as they ‘sign new FILA deal’
BTS. The biggest boy-band in the world. If you know, you know. If you don’t, you don’t.
Not only are they global superstars – almost in Beatles territory of fandom – they’re utterly dripping in designer clobber during sell-out stadium appearances around the word. When BTS wear something, millions of fans will follow.
The K-pop superstars have just signed-up as the official endorsement models for FILA, the currently hot sportswear brand, founded in Italy. The new alliance would mean BTS have ended their long-standing relationship with mega-brand, PUMA, who they represented for the last five years.
An industry insider leaked the secrets behind BTS’s new deal: ‘At the news that BTS would not be renewing their contracts with the sportswear brand which they worked with for the past 5-years, [FILA] stepped up and played every single one of their best networking cards available in order to obtain the endorsement deal. Word is that the group signed with the jaw-dropping conditions and treatment deserving of top global stars.’
What on earth have they managed to negotiate? Industry experts estimate the contract fee to sign BTS as FILA models to be worth between three and five KRW. That’s over £2 million. The band, consisting of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook must be smiling.
My daughter is probably their number one fan and yes, she walks around in a pair of FILAs every day.
Welcome to another Balearic summer edition of Amanda Zips It Up.
It’s hot out there right now, so there are no prizes for guessing that this instalment is all about summer fashion and lifestyle.
Observing the youth “masses” this year, a couple of trends stand out in men’s summer fashion. It’s all about the double floral shorts and shirt combo, plus white socks and Gucci trainers. The ‘Ace Bee’ design, to be precise. But at almost £455 per pair, they don’t come cheap.
But hear this! Poundland is selling a £9 lookalike of Gucci’s £445 iconic bee trainers, and when it comes to designer dupes, this could be the cheapest double we’ve ever seen.
Loved by the likes of Kourtney Kardashian and Taylor Swift, the Gucci pair are hugely popular among celebrities and influencers.
However, you can now get your hands on an almost identical version from Poundland. Complete with a (similar but not the same) little gold bee and iconic stripes, the £9 pair of shoes bear the hallmark of Gucci’s designer style.
Both shoes are low top, with a white lace-up style and a leather panel at the ankle. In fact, at first glance, the only feature setting the two pairs apart is a slight difference in colour.
While Gucci’s signature “Ace” trainers feature green and red stripes, the bargain Poundland version features black and red, instead.
So how fussy are you? Gucci or Poundland? I’ll leave you to ponder.
This week we check out the new procedures to make you beach body perfect, Duct Tape Bikinis at Miami Swimwear Week and Converse launch a new magical UV shoe perfect for summer.
Summer is literally melting us all right now, and it’s time for the annual journey into the unknown of stripping off and stepping out in a swimsuit. Showing every lump and bump.
Watching Love Island doesn’t help confidence levels either.
Diet and exercise seem to take forever, but you can always PAY for that quick fix if you want to look your best on the beach – at any cost! With the UK’s body confidence presumably at an all-time low, it’s not surprising that there’s so much interest in professional treatments, promising to help overcome those bikini hang-ups.
Here are some of the biggest trends in beach body “fixes”, dealing with every issue from excessive sweat to veins and saggy skin
Permanent sweat fix
The Internet throws up some interesting stats – for instance, who would have guessed that searches for ‘excessive sweating’ are up by a third compared to last year?
Dr Tapan Patel of The Phi Clinic in London’s Harley Street reports a surge of interest in MiraDry,the only FDA-cleared treatment for underarm sweat.
“It’s not just from people with clinical hyperhidrosis, it’s also from those who suffer from social sweating, even on a mild level” he comments. “Others simply don’t want to wear deodorant, whether it’s for confidence, convenience, or reducing the chemicals they put on their skin.”
MiraDry uses a hand-held device that delivers thermal energy to the underarms, which are numbed before treatment.
The energy permanently destroys the sweat glands, with an 82% reduction in sweating after one treatment.
Sweating is, of course, a vital bodily function, but the armpits only account for 2% of the body’s sweat glands so the body will still be able to cool itself normally afterwards
MiraDry is available at The Phi Clinicin London and centres nationwide, from £1,495.
Vein issues
Varicose veins don’t exactly fill you with beach body confidence, and as well as being ugly they can be painful precursors to leg ulcers.
This summer, the country’s leading vein centre, The Whiteley Clinic has launched not one but two treatments to help you get lovely vein-free legs.
Professor Mark Whiteleyis the first surgeon in the UK to introduce a walk-in, walk-out treatment that microwaves that varicose vein into oblivion.
The new microwave ablation technique claims to have fewer risks and less cost than traditional radiofrequency or laser, costing around £1.5k per leg.
The clinic has also introduced a unique laser treatment to zap the bruise-like brown stains that often build up around ankles in patients with circulatory problems.
After laser treatment, the mottled skin scabs over and falls off, revealing prettier, healthier skin within a month. The cost of treating these hemosiderin stains is around £300 a session.
The blended boob job
If anyone’s the master of a natural-looking boob job, it’s cosmetic surgeon Patrick Mallucci who has previously scientifically calculated the mathematical proportions of the perfect breast.
His hot trend prediction for bikini bods this year is the ‘blended boob job’, designed to optimise breast quality as well as shape and size. The blended boob job combines implant surgery with non-invasive treatments, such as radiofrequency and Profhilo (hylaluronic acid injections), to recondition an ageing or sun-damaged decollétage.
It doesn’t come cheap though – don’t expect any change from £6,000.
The saggy skin tightener
There’s a lot of interest in Profound, a new skin-tightening treatment that’s just arrived from the States.
It uses radio frequency – delivered deep into the dermis using tiny needles hooked up to a machine – to trick the skin into cranking up its collagen production.
It’s as big news as a non-surgical facelift, and Dr Tatiana is the first to offer it in the UK. She says it’s also effective on any area that needs to be smoothed and tightened, from bingo wings and slack tummies to dimply bums.
The cost of your freshly-ironed body?
From £2,750 for a large area, although the effects of this one-off treatment are meant to be long-lasting.
CONVERSE is launching a magical, UV-activated shoe.
Pairing up with US-based Chinatown Market, Converse’s creation changes colour when exposed to sunlight.
They change from white to multi coloured. Chinatown market posted a video of the incredible transformation on Instagram earlier this week – and fans were mega impressed.In the clip, the trainers transform from off-white to rainbow-coloured in a matter of seconds as they are moved into the light.
Another clip shows the transformation occur when placed under a UV torch, with the Converses rainbowing into a combination of blue, orange and pink.
It makes the shoe more than just a shoe. It’s a conversation piece – something that’s unique the wearer.
The hues change in their own way. Some colours will last longer, while others will remain for a shorter time period.
The colour changes with you. If you go to a music festival, the shoes are bright and crazy in the sunlight, and the moment you step inside a tent, they go back to their pastel base.
The collection launches on the Chinatown Market website this weekend. There are two styles available – the Chuck 70 Hi model, which you can snap up for £81and the Chuck 70s, which retail for £77.
Nearly nude models have unveiled the raciest new duct tape bikini trends at Miami Swim Week.
I hate it, but duct tape swimwear is a trend that shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
The bizarre “bikinis” (if you can even call them that) are made up of several layers of strategically placed duct tape across the front and back.
Leaving extremely little to the imagination, these ridiculous pieces of swimwear are effectively made up of a strip of tape covering the nipple and crotch area.
But this isn’t just your run-of-the-mill tape to be found in a home toolkit. Instead, the models’ torsos and chests were decorated with an array of metallic gold and bronze squares.
We’ve seen this before but 2019 designers seem to have taken things one step further with their latest collections, which leaves the models’ bums more or less completely exposed.
If you have the figure and the confidence (and the time) then this may be for you. But beware. You can’t go to the loo whilst wearing one of these get-ups, apparently.
The Black Tape Project isn’t the only designer to push boundaries at this year’s Miami Swim Week. Think extreme underboob and sky high bottoms as your inspiration.
Anyone planning on a duct tape one piece this summer – pics to Zips It Up please.
Welcome to this week’s roundup of lifestyle and fashion, bought to you from the Balearics.
We’re slap bang in the middle of another roasting summer, and for most of July and August we’re coming to you from a combination of the Love Island and the White Isle.
We reside not too far from Magaluf in Mallorca and San Antonio in Ibiza, and have witnessed our fair share of holidaymakers passed out on benches at 9am in 30-degree heat, or (even worse) lifeless on beaches, looking like they’ll never wake up again. For some, hangovers are an integral part of summer and only pizza can drag them out of the “morning after the night before”.
(Vaguely) on the same theme, have you ever been in a situation where you want two slices of pizza but only have the capacity to hold one? Well, the folks over at Stupidiotic have got you covered.
The Portable Pizza Pouch is a triangular ziplock bag on a string that stores an extra slice of pizza to wear around your neck. It keeps the pizza warm and fresh.
Genius. But if you take a look at this photo, it appears that the actual pouch might be too small to hold, say, a decent slice. The bag looks like it can house a smallish slice of Dominos. But what about deep dish, Sicilian squares, etc? They really should make a different pizza pouch for each style of pie, then sell the lot of them in a box set. Perfect for Xmas.
Hey presto! Introducing the pizza fanny pack which holds the perfect amount of pizza slices. As usual, Amazon and Etsy are to blame, but we all know that in the height of summer, anything goes.
This week, we check out the voluptuous Demi Rose modelling big butts, hips and thongs, The Ikea Bucket Hat and The Must Have Headbands for all you fashionistas out there.
The bucket hat has long been a wardrobe staple of seemingly every rapper, 90s raver or Liam Gallagher wannabe.
Those in the know will be aware of its return to fashion in 2019 – mostly in Gucci or “retro” incarnations.
The humble head-topper could be the sleeper hit of this summer and if you can’t get your hands on a retro version, then turn to IKEA.
Yes, IKEA has nudged its way into the fashion scene thanks to its collaboration with designer Virgil Abloh.
In fairness to the Swedish brand, it’s been quietly crypto-cool ever since its inception in 1942, but Abloh’s seal of approval has officially elevated IKEA into the “hype” stratosphere.
The Ikea Bucket Hat is made from its signature blue bags. The hat quickly sold out online, leading to a surge in pricing – it’s now around £12.99 on various websites. I would advise you to click “purchase” right now, before prices skyrocket even further and the IKEA-bucket-hat bubble bursts.
If you remember last summer, it was all about the Ikea blue carrier bags being the “must-have” summer accessory. This year it’s the Ikea Bucket Hat. Who knows what’s coming next year – blue bag jeans and yellow belt?
