Trend Alert: Peter Pan Collars

I've noticed a new trend lately that happens to be in all the stores I peruse: Peter Pan Collars. How do you define this trend, really? Wikipedia refers to it as 'a small, flat, round-cornered collar without a stand' and mentions that it is popular in children's and women's fashion as of the early and mid-20th century. A good accent to this look is either a brooch in the middle, a bow, or a dainty tie. I'm going to say that this definition should be expanded to include collars that are not necessarily round-edged, but can also be hard-edged because I found this particular dress which I believe suits the 'Peter Pan Collar' trend but isn't particularly rounded. I believe the main descriptive in the trend to be the fact that the collar doesn't have a stand and is slightly more gaped than in traditional collars, which gives it a feminine appeal.



Lately, this look has appeared in shirts, outerwear coats and sweaters, and most prominently in dresses. I particularly think it looks cute and conservative in a quirky, doll-like way. I'm a fan of this look, particularly if you're going to be showing a lot of leg in your outfit, keep the risque down below and cover up on top with this whimsical collar to draw attention one of your assets. Many times this collar comes with below-the-knee dresses, but that can look a little too much like nun-fashion, especially for a younger lady. Sleveless or cap-sleeved fashions with this collar are quite adorable and fun. I wouldn't wear this collar with completely long sleeves that go past your wrists because, again, you don't want to look too covered up, so unless the fabric is sheer, I would stick with three-quarter sleeves at the most. This fashion has even gone so far as to transfer onto shoes! That's right, they now have peter pan collars on shoes as well!


I don't know that this look would be so great on busty girls because it might make you look too top-heavy and out of balance with the rest of your body. However, I do know that petite and slim girls look tres chic in this fashion. This is an acceptable fashion for interviews if you're going for a job in fashion or really anywhere the dress code isn't too strict. Here are some more photos for your viewing pleasure:

You can purchase this style here:

Festive Holiday Look - Emerald Green Peacock

For the holidays this year, many people will be tempted to pair red and green together for a merry and festive ensemble. However, I urge you not to simply combine those two extremely different colors together, without incorporating a neutral: brown, for example. If you add brown to red you would get burgundy and this color is far more complementary to emerald or pine green than a simple fire-truck red will ever be.I've created this inexpensive outfit for the holiday season. This beautiful Dorothy Perkins dress can be found for only $27 on her website. I added a touch of peacock accent with this super cheap shawl ($19 from bootlegger.com) and Lucky Brand earrings for $42. I love the way the Luisa Viaroma high heeled booties look with the rest of the peacock-themed accessories, but I absolutely loathe their price. So for those of us who don't have pockets that deep, I recommend the burgundy boots by Roberto Vianni for $110, or any boots you can find in a burgundy color. I would pair this with some simple brown fish net stockings that flatter your legs and a cute $7 H&M hat (which I personally own) to shield you from snow and rain, but also to make you look cool like Indiana Jones. The hat doesn't come with a peacock feather, as shown, but you can put any craft-store peacock feather inside the bow yourself and spruce up your hat!

Emerald Green Peacock by lethalglam featuring a pencil dress

Dorothy Perkins pencil dress
$27 - dorothyperkins.com

Roberto Vianni burgundy boots
£71 - debenhams.com

High heel boots
€739 - luisaviaroma.com

Lucky Brand drop earrings
$42 - piperlime.gap.com

Glitter Lurex Fishnet Stockings - ACCESSORIES A'GACI
$5.50 - agacistore.com

H M feather hat
£6.49 - hm.com

Kismet peacock shawl
$19 - bootlegger.com

Jessica Simpson Collection Review

What can you say about Jessica Simpson? People have plenty of opinions about her weight, singing and acting talent, and the things she says. But one thing nobody can debate is her business acumen. Her fashion empire has an estimated value of upwards of $1 billion, yes that's right, you read that number correctly. She started in hair extensions with Ken Paves (her celebrity hairstylist friend) and her company Hairdo skyrocketed to the top of the faux-hair industry. Due to her loyal following and quality products at reasonable prices, she admirably decided to begin her own fashion line. The first thing I purchased from her line (which was still in its infancy 5 years ago or so and producing only handbags and shoes) was the black 'Kaptiva' leather riding boots. These are absolutely stunning in person, the heel is the perfect length (not insanely high, perfectly wearable) they stretch in the calf right where I need it most and have a touch of trend with two silver buckle details.

For my birthday last year, I received this dress as a gift from my mother and her best friend and I am thrilled with the quality and style of it. It's a black and white color-block dress like none I've seen before, which has a slimming effect and futuristic appeal. The fabric is soft, it is properly lined and the overall quality is very high, I was pleasantly surprised with every one of the dresses I tried on by her (another one was a black sequined tunic that felt like a dream). At the mall, I was also enamored by her quality, interesting purses and fashion corsets which had beautiful bodices but were not over-the-top revealing. Either Jessica Simpson has impeccable taste or she has a wonderful team of designers working alongside her, or both. I think I would love to own any piece of jewelry from her collection, I haven't seen anything I wouldn't wear and I'm even completely amazed by the chain-wrapped jewelry collection she made consisting  of a necklace, earrings and bracelet.

Many of her pieces appear to be of superior product quality, the line doesn't cheap out on fabric or leave the hems with lackluster finishing. The selection of handbags and shoes is sure to please everybody, she seems to try to cater to a wide market. Her clothing is also made with her body figure in mind and I'm very thankful for that. It's very difficult to find clothes as a curvy woman, but she makes searching for the perfect ensemble very easy for all shapes and sizes. Her clothing comes in a wide range of sizes and shapes which are always classically fitting and flattering, even though she plays with color and patterns in the right way. The Jessica Simpson collection takes risks in all the right places, and it pays off in spades.  Unlike other celebrity lines, such as K-Dash by the Kardashians, her taste and style level does not disappoint, neither does the attention to detail and craftsmanship. So whatever her critics may have to say about her, they can not deny that she has proven herself to be a style icon, not because of the way she dresses herself but because of the way she is able to dress women of all shapes and sizes. It's refreshing to finally see a designer that is concerned with the way we all look, as opposed to ones that are only interested in dressing size 0 models. I'm going to keep purchasing from her collection, from the fabulous fashion tights she creates, to the shoes, and overall clothing collection, the price point is right and the quality is far superior to anything else in that price range. It reflects a style that is enduring and can be worn many years in the future, as opposed to the disposable clothing from many stores nowadays. 

Happy shopping!

www.jessicasimpsoncollection.com