Article by Ceri Wheeldon
Although I seem to be known through Fab after Fifty for my dresses with sleeves, as most of my friends will tell you they hardly ever see me wear dresses – I mostly wear jeans ( of various colours) and trousers and am a huge fan of layering. When I was asked by Marisota if I would take part in a style project for fashion week as part of Marisota Shapeology Fashion Week and create some looks around one of the key trends – I just had to choose layering ….and I chose the most dramatic of the items on the list to layer with – a monochrome kimono. Why play it safe? !!
The only difference for me was rather than style a mannequin (as I do on my ‘little black dress’ videos , I was asked to style the clothes on me ! So here we go.
The 4 items I chose to mix and match with those already in my own wardrobe were:
Mark Heyes had already created a video (see below) to show how he though the kimono could be worn – I wonder what he would think of my take!
Nightingales Jacquard Kimono Jacket £55 see here
Fedora hat £25 See here
Black Obi Belt £12 See here
Sole Diva Caged Shoes See here
Starting with my basic black trousers and white shirt I draped a black jersey scarf over my shoulder and added the obi belt over the top to create a defined waist. I added the fedora hat and some chunky boots to balance the whole look. A dramatic daytime look.
Taking away the hat and scarf for a more relaxed look!
Wearing the kimono ‘loose’ but belted underneath
A shell top and chunky necklace make the kimono more indoors than outdoors – the caged shoes give a ‘lighter’ look.
Over a simple black dress for evening. I love the Grace Kelly off the shoulder look for evenings …and with clever draping and help from the obi belt you can create an evening look very easily .
A great look for work. Again the kimono is belted and the cage shoes give the look a more contemporary feel.
I love playing ‘dress up’ and could have carried on mixing and matching he kimono for hours. How would you wear it?
If you want see Mark Heyes ‘layering’ tips here’s the video!
If you want to see other style ideas from Marisota during London fashion week – look out for the hashtag #MSFW on social media.
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