The thought of the colour nude used to make us think of granny underwear. It’s time to dispel that thought and welcome nude as it is proving to be the colour of the season.

Here are some tips on how to so start incorporating it into your wardrobe. It should be easy because the colour is not only limited to tops. We’ve seen it worn on skirts, dresses, shoes and bags. In fact the Chloe, Stella McCartney and Givenchy catwalk shows were full of countless ways to wear natural hues.

WSW style tip #1: If you have Irish colouring, limit nude to accessories only

If you have typical Irish colouring like us, it is hard to wear this colour near your face (and therefore we suggest that you don’t!), instead, we suggest that you wear nude as an accessory like shoes or a clutch bag.

WSW style tip #2: Neutral shoes elongate legs and keep all eyes on your dress

Eva Longoria Parker, pictured here at the Critics Choice awards 2009, wears a turquoise and gold dress, with beautiful detail around her neckline and waist. Teamed with a yellow clutch, her nude shoes mean that the emphasis is kept on the dress.

WSW style tip # 3: Punctuate a single nude item with contrasting black pieces

Off the runways, we’ve noticed that celebs and trendsetters are wearing a single nude item with contrasting black pieces. Claudia Shiffer wears black, white, and nude when she attended the 2009 Fashion Fringe launch party in London. Her choice of cropped trousers look very chic with her animal print blouse, again all emphasized by her nude suede sandals - check out her nude coloured clutch bag too.

If you have fair colouring like Kate Bosworth, you can wear nude in any shape or form. If you’re not brave enough for total nude (see Topshop for a great selection), there are a plethora of nude and black tops out there. Pictured here Kate is dressed in head to toe Chloe at a Blackberry Bold launch party in Beverly Hills.  Kate’s scalloped shorts are chic and simple, but we especially love her Chloe open toe sandals (€550).

It seems like only yesterday I was writing my first post on WhatSheWears.ie and what a manic time to launch the site it was, slap bang in the middle of awards season last year! The year has flown by and here I am in 2010, excited as ever to be bringing you today’s installment of What She Wears: Golden Globes.

Dominated by nude colours (I wasn’t a fan) and fish tail or figure hugging shapes (yes please, let’s see some more of these at the Oscars); here are some of my favourites from the 2010 Golden Globes Awards:

What: Nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series in True Blood

She: Kiwi actor Anna Paquin

Wears: Stella McCartney dress and shoes, Alexander McQueen skull clutch (€844, Netaporter), diamond and nnamel snake bracelet and diamond drop Earrings by Stephen Russell vintage jewels. I really loved the body skimming, column shaped gown (sooo sparkly!) but didn’t think the black shoes matched (not visble in this pic, but otherwise very visible as there’s a huge slit in the skirt of the dress)– Anna must really like Stella McCartney to wear her shoes AND dress.

What: Nominee for Best Supporting Actress

She: Penelope Cruz

Wears: a figure-hugging, off-the-shoulder lace Giorgio Armani Privé mermaid dress, Chopard diamond earrings and ring.

Borrowed bling from Chopard is nothing strange for such red carpet events, but it was the lace detail and flattering mermaid shape that I loved most on “Pe” on Sunday night, catapulting her into my favourite look from the Golden Globes.

What: Nominee for Best Actress in a TV series Comedy or Musical

She: Courtney Cox

Wears: Black strapless column Victoria Beckham dress (€3799, Netaporter) with diamante detail on the waist.

Streamlined silhouettes were commonplace at this year’s Golden Globes (hardly a “big” dress in sight except for Glee actress Lea Michele in Oscar de la Renta) and Cox looked well in Posh’s design. Although Victoria wasn’t in attendance herself, she must be chuffed with such a massive seal of approval for her designs in Hollywood.

What: For her fine performance in Avatar

She: Zoe Saldana

Wears: Louis Vuitton cranberry coloured dress with ruffles and pleats, Brian Atwood Wagner black satin shoes, Lorraine Schwartz jewels and Salvatore Ferragamo black clutch handbag.

On paper this sounds like a complicated dress but the colour against Zoe’s skin was such a perfect match that she pulled off the feminine details on the dress perfectly.

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By Siobhan Lam

This is always a tricky time of year for fashion. After a month of spending on others we’re more than eager to spend on ourselves but most shops are in sale mode. Do we really want to buy last season’s styles which may only be relevant for a couple more weeks? Having said that, most shops don’t even have their Spring Collection in yet and even then – is this really the weather to be frolicking the streets in flimsy spring wear?

After many caffeine-fuelled scouting trips and sleepless nights aplenty, the solution made itself clear. In order to dress appropriately for this time of year we can combine winter’s warm wardrobe with a few key new pieces from the new Spring trends, I’ve picked two of the strongest trends to get us started. The chosen catwalk trends are not unfamiliar – lace and trench coats.

Trench Coat

Granted Mr. Bailey always includes ‘the trench’ in his Burberry Prosum Collection – it would be almost blasphemous not to – but other designers included it in their designs too, making it a key piece for any self -respecting fashionista this season.

Dior kept its trench short and sexy as did upcoming designer Erin Fetherston, whereas Burberry infused the classic coat with gathered shoulders and cool pastel shades.

If Bailey’s amalgamation has your heart all a flutter, Awear has a sweet parka alternative in store now. The sugary pink of the frill funnel parka (€60) is completely on trend and the frills add a gorgeous element of femininity to a coat usually associated with men.

For a more ironic nod to this look, check out the Oasis Trench Coat Trompe L’Oeil Print Tee (see above centre). This fun oversized t-shirt (€46) works fantastically with skinny jeans, ankle boots and a heavy boyfriend cardigan or long waistcoat – and voila! you have an outrageously up-to-date uniform for any discerning style queen.

Lace

Lace is another trend that does not want to go away. Of course this is not necessarily a negative thing. When a trend creeps from one season to the next, it means that we continue to wear clothes that we bought the previous season. At this time of the year we can take advantage of the sales and buy the lace leftovers and wear them well into next winter.

Not one to deviate from its classic Parisian look, Chanel featured lace heavily in its S/S 2010 collection. As did British designer Christopher Kane who mixed lace effectively with gingham dresses while vegan extraordinaire Stella McCartney introduced the fabric with her lace bodysuits – expertly demonstrated by the ever chic Alexa Chung in V Magazine (above).

One of my favourites, Modcloth.com, has some stunning lace pieces in stock and with the dollar’s lacklustre performance at the moment means that it’s a good time to buy from America. The Strangers on a Train Dress with its floral lace overlay is just as adorable as its whimsical name suggests and works out at a very reasonable €47.15.

For those of you who prefer to keep your purchases closer to home, Urban Outfitters have a stunning lace tier skirt by Kimchi & Blue (€59) in store. The skirt is the perfect tone of cream, ticking another trend for this season – neutral shades.

It may be slightly more wearable than the dress – wear it with your favourite band tee and biker boots or embrace the romantic trend totally and wear with classic mary-janes and a Yumi knitted cardigan from Topshop.
Or better still; wear your lace peeping out from the bottom of your new trench – the perfect outfit for a very fashionable new year!

We recently discovered hot new Irish label Kate and Ava when looking for some glamorous occasion wear. The design duo consists of Kate Reilly and Ava Cassidy who design with a feminine, elegant touch using rich, luxuriant fabrics including wools, silks and jerseys.

Pictured here are our favourite pieces from Kate and Ava’s Autumn Winter 09 collection; a bow collar top and gold paisley skirt,  a nude coloured layered skirt,  and a purple paper bag waistband dress. The a/w collection is built around cocktail dresses in a rich palette of colours – purples, blacks and a touch of gold.

Other pieces include a cream cashmere knee length coat, smart belted wool jacket and tailored pencil skirts.

The above pictured nude coloured layered skirt is this week’s fab prize from our Giftbag. It retails at €199 and is available in sizes 10-12.

To enter to win, email giftbag@whatshewears.ie with “Kate and Ava” in the subject line by Wednesday 18 November. You must be subscribed to our free weekly newsletter to enter. Sign up to it here.

Here at WhatSheWears.ie, we are huge fans of the colour nude, having raved about it back in March. Read our tips on how to incorporate this colour into your wardrobe here.

More info and stockists on Kate and Ava. Prices range from €200-€400.

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