It's Springtime and that means a whole new look in Fashion, Décor and on the High Street. With the help of our trusty HelpHounders we have identified the places for you to pick up the latest looks. Check out the listings on HelpHound, it's a great excuse to go shopping!
Colours in FASHION
Four key themes this Spring are, Ethnic, hitting the shops now and bringing with it an array of complementary colours, mainly from the pastel palettes. Blue, white, red and black are sailing back into town due to the Nautical theme that is sweeping our high streets. There are also a lot of contrasting colours out there at the moment in Bold Prints. Pastels, creams and off-whites are also playing a starring role in the Floaty - light look that is dominating the catwalks this spring with sheer and chiffon floaty fabrics creating the look. For men, purple in all its hues, black and white stripes and neon, namely yellows and blues.Search HelpHound for clothes or fashion
Patterns & shapes in FASHION
The big patterns and shapes that are popping up this spring are: stars (they're everywhere), 'Nautical' stripes, deck trousers and A-line dresses, the tie-dye, loose-fitting ethnic look, and flowers, flowers, flowers! The Shapes are almost as varied as the patterns, the main categories seem to be, the tailored look, which is huge this season, Ruffles - the more material the better, puffed sleeves, balloon hems and the empire line with a loose material fit as seen in the season's must-have Maxi dress. Key themes for men are body-hugging tailoring and more sheer fabrics.Search HelpHound for clothes or fashion
Colours in DÉCOR
The colours in the world of decoration this Spring are as varied as they are in fashion. Channelfour.com has a great insight into the 'colour trends of 2008' just waiting to inspire you. Wallpaper is hugely fashionable with bold contrasts playing a large part in their designs, blacks on whites and vice-versa. Graham & Green are displaying a lovely selection of coloured ceramics this season in pastels and monotones. Cath Kidston has a great new vivid range of ceramics out, available in blue, red, green or pink,Visit Channelfour.com; Graham & Green; Cath Kidston
Patterns & shapes in DÉCOR
Wallpapers are all about ornamental floral designs this season, intricately designed with a feature wall in mind rather than all over application. Regency crests feature quite a lot, and flocking is raising its pretty head frequently. The season's textiles are all very luxurious and heavy looking with rich and detailed floral motifs. Ceramics are all very simple this season, minimal lines with an emphasis on folding and creased designs. Lighting seems to be similar to ceramic design, very simple, very crisp with off-whites taking the centre stage.Search HelpHound for wallpaper, lighting or ceramics
Colours on the HIGH STREET
The High Street is a pretty colourful place to be this Spring, with the return of Electric Blue and luminous yellow. H&M and Zara are all featuring coloured jeans, Kate Moss at Topshop has a new spring collection featuring lots of ruffles, stars, nautical stripes and tailoring. It's also all about accessorizing this year and bags are massive, and I mean massive! The bigger the better and it seems the brighter the better when it comes to accessorizing. The more is more rule goes for sunglasses too, with Accessorize showing a fantastic array of shades.Visit Topshop; Zara; H&M; Accessorize
Patterns & shapes on the HIGH STREET
Ikea has a great selection of home accessories to cheer up your home with little shots of colour here and there. They too are focusing on soft colours, lots of whites and pinks with some lovely crisp limes to freshen things up. Habitat have also got an irresistible Spring-Summer 2008 range of home ware including some stunning new light fixtures and vases, all very simple with a focus on folding and creasing this season, blacks and whites also seem dominant. Cargo have also got a fresh new range of home ware in this season, again, following simple and clean design detailing, with a rustic influence in their ceramics.Visit Ikea; Habitat; Cargo
Styles... so don't forget
Shoes: Electric blue and yellow peep toe platforms, preferably with a wooden heel. Gladiator sandals are also huge this season. Faith and Schuh are popular with our HelpHounders and a great place to get your Spring shoes.
Makeup: At the Bodyshop it's all about the Nude look, blusher and coloured eyes, without eyeliner. Boots: Have also got a great range of branded makeup to help complete your look.
Trousers: Flared trousers and jeans are in again with the high waisted style becoming popular due to the more tailored styles on offer.
And remember... Nautical is really in so focus on those stripes, buttons and braiding details.
Visit: Faith; Schuh; The Body Shop; Boots
Great websites to look at for Springtime style tips
Promod has a great Spring/Summer 2008 fashion page
ASOS with its 'blogs' and 'fashion alerts' pages.
Improvability and beyond has a great men's fashion section for Spring/Summer 2008.
Mango has a great dedicated section for Spring for men and women.
Makeup: At the Bodyshop it's all about the Nude look, blusher and coloured eyes, without eyeliner. Boots: Have also got a great range of branded makeup to help complete your look.
Trousers: Flared trousers and jeans are in again with the high waisted style becoming popular due to the more tailored styles on offer.
And remember... Nautical is really in so focus on those stripes, buttons and braiding details.
Visit: Faith; Schuh; The Body Shop; Boots
Great websites to look at for Springtime style tips
Promod has a great Spring/Summer 2008 fashion page
ASOS with its 'blogs' and 'fashion alerts' pages.
Improvability and beyond has a great men's fashion section for Spring/Summer 2008.
Mango has a great dedicated section for Spring for men and women.
