Express opens its first outlet store, Susie Bubble is working on a book, Primark is coming to US shores. Here’s our roundup of style-related news that made the headlines this week.

• Have you seen the Advanced Style film trailer yet? The documentary premieres on May, 3 in the US.
• Jimmy Choo has created six pairs of shoes made from local materials, such as Aizu cotton and Kawamata silk, to benefit Fukushima.
• Last week Express opened its first outlet store outside of Washington, D.C., 29 more stores are to follow later this year. 
• What do you think of the 13-piece collection British footwear designer Sophia Webster has created for J.Crew?
• Susanna Lau, aka Susie Bubble of fashion blog Style Bubble, has announced she is working on a book.
• Primark, the British budget retailer that’s been working hard on its European expansion, is coming to the US.
• Have a peek at the three sandals — two for the ladies, one for the blokes — Steven Alan has created for Dr. Scholl’s.
• “Savage Beauty”, the Alexander McQueen retrospective first mounted in 2011 at the New York Metropolitan Museum of art, is coming to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in March 2015.

Fun Fashion Fact

Have you ever wondered why women’s and men’s shirts button on different sides? This apparently stems from times when most men dressed themselves, while women in the upper classes were dressed by servants. Because most people were right-handed, and it is easier to button clothing if the opening faces your dominant hand, tailors created women’s garments with buttons on the left side — which would be the right side for the person standing in front of you.

We talked about upscale silk sweatshirts earlier this week, and how they can work as a blouse. Your enthusiasm for the style was my inspiration for this ensemble. I’ve divided it into three looks, each with a different mood and style of bottom. 

The outfits on the left and in the middle are business casual and sans denim. The outfit on the right is denim friendly. The (almost) all black outfit is neutral with a harder edge. The pretty outfit in the middle is feminine, dressy and incorporates a dash of colour. And the outfit on the right is casually crisp with a boho touch. All renditions are modern.

Here are the components. Choose any colour palette.

Top: You’ll need an upscale silk sweatshirt, or silk front sweater as some retailers call them. Remember that the silky part of the sweatshirt can be polyester or a silk blend. Choose solids or patterns, and scrunch the sleeves for structure. Wider necklines, like an open scoop or boat neck, look good on broader shoulders, shorter necks and larger bustlines. 

Bottoms: You have several options, but I stuck to three that are very wearable: 

1. Cropped Ankle Pants: Great for the office. Choose a flattering length. 
2. Pencil Skirt: Take a break from shirts and blouses and pair the pull-on-and-go upscale sweatshirt with a pencil skirt instead. On trend, comfortable and more forgiving than a stiff structured tucked top. 
3. Flared Jeans: Try the look with bootcuts or a more dramatic flare, just for fun. 

Of course, skinnies and straight leg jeans will work too, as will pedal pushers and shorts. Boyfriend jeans are trickier if you need to wear a belt. The faux tuck is a little off when the sweatshirt is too long, creating a weird silky pouf on the midsection. It’s fine if you wear slim-fit boyfriends that do not require a belt, and leave the sweatshirt untucked. 

Flared skirts can work, although you have to be at peace with the amount of volume on both the top and the bottom. Bootcut trousers instead of jeans are another option. 

Footwear: Choose footwear to suit the style of bottom. I chose a high-vamped cage sandal in the same colour as the ankle pants to elongate the leg line. I chose a pointy toe d’Orsay pump in white for the pencil skirt, although ankle strap pumps would be just as fab. And casual heeled booties for the flared jeans. 

Accessories: Choose a bag to suit the mood of the outfit. I chose a work tote for the dressier business casual outfits and an angular clutch for the denim look because I like the juxtaposition of the strict straight lines of the clutch with the more whimsical flare of the jeans. Finish off the look with jewellery, watch and eyewear as desired. 

I left off the topper because it’s not necessary unless you need extra insulation. The point of this outfit is that you don’t need that third piece to make it look fabulous. The upscale silk sweatshirt is sufficiently covered and interesting to stand on its own. 

While browsing the internet for Link Love each week I come across so many well-written and interesting articles, but of course, I can only use a few at a time. Some of the “leftovers”, however, are just too good not to share. So today I’d like to do exactly that. Here’s my selection of eleven “extras” that I’ve very much enjoyed reading.

• The Wall Street Journal’s Why Online Retailers Mail So Many Catalogs.
• An article in The Guardian about Bea Marshall, a woman who decided to stop wearing shoes.
• The Gatekeepers Who Hold the Keys to Japanese Fashion.
• For the bookworms among us: Shoes in Literature.
• BOF interviews Penny Martin, editor-in-chief of The Gentlewoman, hands down my favourite fashion magazine.
• Kate from the blog For Me, For You on smiling big in photographs.
• Why Fashion Needs to Pay More Attention to Emerging Female Designers.
• The New York Times’ Molly Fischer explains why she loves Eileen Fisher.
• Two articles in The Genteel: A piece on Madeleine Vionnet, who was called “the architect among dressmakers”, and Shoemaking in America.
• Fashion designer Margaret Howell on Why Good-Quality Clothes Matter.

Fab Links from Our Members

Janet reports that Barbell Denim is making jeans for athletic builds, and adds “As a runner, swimmer, cyclist, and the owner of a sturdy set of legs, the idea intrigues me, although I’m always skeptical about whether the style quotient will be there in these efforts.”

Fashion designer Emma Berg created a collection of one-of-a-kind prom dresses for a group of Minneapolis high school seniors who subsequently modelled the unique creations during a fashion show. Laurinda is especially impressed by her attitude and spirit: What she cares about is that the girls feel cool, confident and unique.

Angie liked the tips in Corporette’s post on how to wear heels when you’re used to wearing flats.

Imogen’s post on The Yin and Yang of Clothing helped Vildy to clarify how she wants to dress. Vildy decided she is “thoroughly yang in personality” and the post “enabled her to see why she can’t wear blended and muted prints even though she finds them visually appealing. She feels papered over in them, and they end up being purged.”

We are halfway through the season, and truly, it’s been one of the best Spring retail seasons I’ve seen. A large variety of wearable clothing and footwear silhouettes across different colours and lifestyles means that there is something for everyone. My clients, both dressy and casual, are extremely happy with their purchases. And I’m having the best Spring shopping season ever. 

The Best

Let’s start with the positives.

• An Abundance of Spring Knitwear & Toppers: Retailers have finally taken into account that it’s cold in the Spring. Spring knitwear has been brilliant in cashmere, wool and cotton blends. The variety of toppers — from long Spring coats to short leather motos, blazers and boxy jackets — has been equally good. Fashion has kept us warm and covered for longer instead of heading straight to flimsy naked clothing at the beginning of February. Hallelujah. 
• Large Colour Assortment: There’s just about every colour available at the moment. Pastels, brights, jewel tones, neon, earth tones, mid-tones, and muted mid-tones are pretty easy to find. There’s also a huge assortment of neutrals, especially in shades of white. 
• Ink Blue: It’s great to see this dark shade of blue make a trendy comeback. Many people resort to black and grey because that’s all there is. Now we have ink blue as the softer and, for some, more flattering option. That’s how it should be. 
• More Tops with Sleeves: Retailers have heard our pleas. A greater proportion of tops this season have sleeves, and different style sleeves at that. A few years ago, a larger portion of tops were sleeveless, which wasn’t a good idea at all. 
• Longer Length Skirts: At last, there’s a larger assortment of knee-covering skirts thanks to the midi trend. 
• Forgiving Silhouettes: Fashionable fits are fluid and oversized. Oversized fits can be hard to get right, but I’m thrilled with the abundance of fluid fits. It’s been so much easier to shop for tops and bottoms with clients now that there is life after body con fits. 
• Lower Heel Heights: Although flats and heels over three inches are still the most popular fashionable shoe, availability of heels in the one to two inch range has improved. Long may it last. 
• Fabulous Non-Premium Denim: Non-premium denim has never looked as good. More of my clients are shopping cost-saving non-premium denim these days because the fits can be better, the sizes more consistent, and the quality just as good. 

The Worst

Of course, no retail season is without its shortcomings.

• Bad Dress Season: Retail is still full of dresses that are too short, too casual and too juvenile to wear to work. And please give us something other than a sleeveless sheath dress. Mini and maxi dresses to wear to the beach or in extremely casual settings are aplenty. But finding a slightly more sophisticated frock in a sturdy fabrication with sleeves is a tall order. Especially in solid woven fabrics. 
• Lack of Tailored Pieces: Items that are more fitted than fluid, but not as fitted as body con, have become a rarity. This is problematic because most people like to wear tailored fits. They are conventionally flattering and always in style. We need more tailored top options. 
• Premium Denim Sizing: Sizing is all over the place, and in most cases one to two sizes smaller than it used to run. Many of my clients are sizing up when purchasing new premium denim, while their measurements have stayed the same. This means that people who wear the larger premium denim sizes are being sized out. It also means that people who were sized out on the smaller side of the size curve can wear premium denim. So it’s a plus for the super small framed lady. 
• Cropped Pants Overload: It’s hard to find trousers that are full length at the moment because the market is saturated with cropped pants for the third season in a row. Hopefully this will not continue into Autumn and Winter. 

I haven’t noticed Radiant Orchid, which Pantone named the colour for 2014, gain momentum at all. That’s a pity because it’s a colour that works well across a variety of complexions. Perhaps it will surface over the next few months. 

Finally, the biggest gap in the market is the size between Regular and Plus size departments. Size US14 and 16 gals often find that the largest size in Missy is too small, but the smallest size in Plus is too large. Intuitively, you’d expect that the smallest size in Plus would be cut a size up from the largest size in Missy. But it’s actually cut wider and larger everywhere, and is not just an even size up. So things don’t end up fitting at all. The retail world needs to either cut one size smaller in Plus, or adjust their size specifications for sizes 14 and 16 in Missy. 

Over to you. What’s your take on the best and the worst of Spring 2014 fashion?