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In an era where endless scrolling has become my form of daily exercise and checking likes is my only interaction with solving a maths problem- I’m not alone when sharing that social media becomes a rabbit hole for self comparisons and body envy. Yet in the wake of this, there has been an increasing rise in inspirational posts from models and celebrities alike sharing the reality of their lives beyond the glamour of the red carpet. So I want to share with you my top 5 inspiring women who embrace individuality, are unapologetically confident and show off how their imperfections are perfect.

Winnie Harlow

With only 2% of the population worldwide affected with vitiligo, the 24 year old model and spokes person on the skin condition is redefining beauty standards. Having suffered from bullying throughout her life, due to the appearance of her skin, Winnie has bounced back from haters by stating it’s her own self-belief she finds most empowering and not the uniqueness of her skin. From numerous campaigns with Diesel, to being blessed with her Victoria’s Secret wings, Winnie shows time and time again that confidence comes from within and how to utilise your individuality as your super-power.

Jameela Jamil

If there was ever to be a a gold medal for best use of social media, Jameela would have them all! Actress, presenter and activist, Jameela Jamil has launched @i_weigh, a brand new social platform that encourages its followers to value your worth internally, instead of externally. Not only is this an amazing mental exercise but an important reminder “To feel valuable and see how amazing we are, and look beyond the flesh on our bones.” Both @i_weigh and her personal account are an amazing follow for a confidence boost, relatability and a laugh, trust me. 

Chrissy Teigen

Queen of twitter and Mother of two, Chrissy Teigen’s honesty has proven a recipe for success amongst her fans as she navigates through motherhood and a full-time career. Both fiercely unapologetic and witty, Teigen’s sense of humour and transparency online from her breast feeding posts to showing off her stretch marks, are fantastically real and inspiring. Proving once again, confidence is a true form of beauty.

Halima Aden

As the world’s first hijabi wearing model, Halima Aden is crushing it when it comes to redefining beauty standards and is therefore, a true modern icon. Halima has established herself as a fantastic role model, in particular for Muslim women, as she advocates for modest fashion and conforms to her own ideas and standards of beauty, instead of what the Western modelling industry wanted her to abide by. Yet, what Halima’s status has really taught myself, women and girls around the world is to not conform to other people’s standards. Most importantly, follow what you believe in. 

Ashley Graham My own personal girl crush, Ashley Graham, has been making waves in both the fashion and modelling industry with her preaching of self-love and beautiful curves. As the first plus-size model to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated, Ashley stated it wasn’t only just an achievement for curvy girls, but for every woman everywhere. Her contagious positive outlook is redefining what it means to be a model in a modern day world teaching us it’s beyond a face or a body, but a fierce state of mind. From her inspirational talks to young girls with Glamour magazine and her own Barbie doll (who FYI will never have a thigh gap), Ashley is an icon in the realms of confidence - so I’ll be stealing a page, or a chapter, out of her book. Hopefully these 5 fantastic woman can be as inspiring to you, as they have been for me. May they make you smile, encourage you to brag about your achievements, show off your stretch marks and most importantly - own your confidence.  

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‘A Brief History In Women’s Workwear’

When you think of women’s workwear, it’s obvious to immediately think of classic pieces such as a suit or a dress. However, that has not always been the case! We have come very far in terms of what women are able to wear during work and daily life, to the point where we can have such a diverse wardrobe of garments right at their finger tips! In the Mellaris office we have been talking about the history of women’s workwear as well as how the trouser, which was once seen as something that only men could wear, has become a staple in everyone’s wardrobe.

During WWII, as men went off to fight, women became the forefront of manual labour. As new job opportunities grew, such as working in weapon factories, so did the demand for new uniforms tailored to the needs of a new customer - the woman. The traditional wear for a woman, including dresses and skirts, was no longer appropriate for manual activities and so their new found wardrobe included pants.  Women during the war were able to wear overalls or separates and women working in the office were able to wear the utility suit (victory suit in the US.) It also became the fashion where women were also able to ‘dress-up’ their suits if they were going out to dinner or to the theatre.

The Chanel Suit:

One of the most iconic designer of all time was considerably inspired by men’s clothing and therefore championed a more androgynous look was, Gabrielle Chanel. The notable Chanel suit was crafted in 1925, allowing more movement the suit catered to ‘daring’ women who no longer wishes to be constrained by the traditional garments of the time and so suited their more active and lavish lifestyles. Even though women weren’t necessarily wearing this particular suit to work, it was still vastly different from the attire that had been so popular before and starting point for masculine/tailoring inspired garments becoming fashionable for women.

Women like Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn and Josephine Baker were some of the most well-known women who were wearing trousers as a bold statement. Suits for women was so different for its time that these stars were often viewed as daring and shocking for favouring such attire. Marlene Dietrick, in particular, was infamous for her masculine style and noted now completely ahead of her time for appreciating the iconic power a woman in a suit possesses.

'Le Smoking'

In 1966, the designer Yves Saint Laurent created the ‘Le Smoking’ look; a tuxedo that is typically associated with masculinity. The striking affect of the ‘Le Smoking' tuxedo style continues to have a timeless impact on fashion designers, as even today collections still pull reference from it. Although, originally the suit was not a hit, it became more popular during the 70’s when power dressing evolved into a trendy staple look.

Power Dressing:

During the 1970/80’s, women began wearing trousers as a not only a fashion statement but a statement for equality.  As power dressing became the ‘it’ look of the time, as more and more women were entering working environments, suits and pant suits really became a staple within every woman’s wardrobe. The suits that were available for women were designed to incorporate masculine elements to them, such as a boxy fit and shoulder pads to mimic the male silhouette, allowed women to enhance their assertiveness and authority in the work place and enabled men to accept them as equals. This trend was particularly fed to the masses through media outlets and in particular on TV shows like Dallas and Dynasty.

In today’s society, it’s more likely you’ll see the working woman choosing to wear what she wants! As the modern woman’s style continues to grow and welcome our individuality, the new dress code equals confidence. We’re all out here dressing for ourselves, whether that means comfort shoe Wednesday’s or wearing your brand new self-confidence boosting blazer, we love that we are all doing our own thing!

https://mellaris.com/collections/autumn-winter-dresses/aw19

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Florals are a fantastic, timeless classic for this season, swipe to see an array of our floral favourites available now at Mellaris!

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BLOG POST: Part Three Of Fashion In Film And TV 📺🎥

The Final Part...

In the office we often talk about the TV shows, films or books that we have been reading recently or can’t wait to start. This week is the final part of our discussion about fashion in some of our favorite series or films.

RuPaul’s drag race:

Becoming more popular as each new season comes out, RuPaul’s Drag Race is a great show for all things fashion. My favourite part in each of the episodes is the runway because you get to see some amazing things from the Drag Queens participating in the show. There is the chance for these Queens to show off their sewing and construction skills and present some looks that look like they’ve come off an actual brands runway. I feel like some Queens, over the years, have really pushed the boat out with their designs and presented things that are totally new and out of the box.

The image below shows four different outfits from four of my favourite Drag Queens (Manila Luzon, Violet Chachki, Sasha Velour & Kim Chi) that have been on the show. These are some of the looks that I also love the most because of how incredible they are and you can see the designer references in them. For example, on the right, Kim Chi is wearing a look that is directly inspired by Galliano but it also reminds me of a dress by Alexander McQueen from 2008. I also love the second dress that is being worn by Violet Chachki because of how mesmerising she looks and you can see an example of how she is famous for the way she cinches her waist in drag.

Dynasty:

One of the shows that Amy and I have been watching is Dynasty which is on Netflix and currently on its second season. The show is a reboot of the original version of Dynasty which aired during 1981-1989. The topic of reboot’s in TV and Film is pretty popular at the moment as all kinds of shows and movies have been given a makeover and more updated version of their original selves. I have never watched the original Dynasty but I was so intrigued by the cast of the show I couldn’t help but check the latest version out.

It has now become one of my favourite shows ever as I have come to love and root for the characters, plot and of course most importantly, the fashion. I absolutely love the fashion and styling that is used for the Carrington and Colby families and when a new episode airs, I always look forward to spotting the designer clothes. One of my favourite characters is Fallon Carrington who is played by Pamela Sue Martin in the original version and Elizabeth Gilies in the current version. She is one of the protagonists and also one of the most stylish too.

When I was researching the outfits in order to compare the two different versions of Fallon, I actually found that their outfits were quite similar, you can see how Liz’s version wears outfits that are definitely inspired by Pamela’s Fallon but of course with more modern twists. There is also references to 80’s fashion in the reboot too. Some brands that have been used in the current version of Dynasty are: Emilia Wickstead, Gucci, Balmain, Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Preen, Stella McCartney, Isabel Marant and many more.