Get Set for Winter

Guest fashionista Laurinda Sutcliffe, director of popular fashion label Catalyst, sheds some light on the upcoming season trends.

As the weather cools down, update your look with these nine hot trends for Winter 2008.

1. Bold / block colour, hot pink, citrus, cobalt, teal and purple back to grey black and ink.
2. Black on black in matt and shine and texture / texture combinations.
3. Tunics and skinny pants will be hot this year.
4. Smock and shift styling in tops and dresses can update your look.
5. Detail in necklines especially gathering, pleating and drawstrings, square necklines.
6. Sport/ luxe styling i.e. trench coats and anoraks in luxurious fabrics.
7. Black and white graphic print esp. brush stroke checks and oversized floral prints.
8. Layering is a great way to stay warm and still look fashionable. Try dresses over skivvies and cropped cardigans over long tunics over skinny pants.
9. Chunky knitwear worn over fine silks and jersey dresses and tunics.

Winter Must-haves

As the weather gets colder I will be reaching for my Catalyst Lamb Shank chunky cropped cardi. It works over everything from silk dresses to skinny jeans as the perfect warm cover up that finishes at a length that doesn’t add too much bulk.
I will also be replacing my leggings with our Catalyst Mod skinny black pant which I will wear with all my beautiful, colourful silk tunics and shift dresses. This is a great way to wear the shorter lengths at my age and adds warmth without bulk.

Style tips for the less than perfect figure

Curvy fuller-figured women can look fabulous and enjoy the latest fashions – though sometimes you might doubt that if you shop in popular fashion chain stores. The golden rule is to never wear a fashion trend if it doesn’t work for your body type. Remember you don’t have to swamp yourself in lots of fabric to look good if you are a bit bigger.

Fortunately this season has a lot of looks that do work really well for curvy figures. The key look is the slim pant worn with a soft tunic or shift shape. Dresses can be incredibly flattering for a larger girl and this season’s styles aren’t focused on the waist, which really makes them so flattering and comfortable. A lightweight dressy anorak worn to the knees is a great cover-up option that doesn’t need to be bulky and can be dressed up or down. Leggings worn to the ankle are a great way to wear the knee length dresses and avoid the problem of larger calves that are sometimes hard to fit into boots.

Larger women often like to wear black but this season they can add a splash of colour in a shoe or bag which will immediately update the look. Long sleeve tops in bright colours layered under sheer black will achieve the same thing or alternatively buy that anorak or trench in a bright colour to layer over slimming black jersey basics.

For more information on the Catalyst range visit www.catalyst-nz.com or call 1800 005 201.