Summer fashions / new issue

The new issue should be with you shortly - if you're a subscriber, and if not a click on the cover image to the right will set you on your way to a few cheeky freebies in the form of PDFs of some of the articles in the issue.

In one article we talk to people about dealing with changes to dress code staff often take upon themselves to stay cool in the summer heat; and this weekend looks to be a "Phew what a scorcher!"

Does anybody have any good tips to beat the heat? Let us know, we're melttiiiinnnnnggggg.....

Hoodwinked

Not one to go seeking controversy, but we were also slightly disappointed to see a PR company use the misfortune of Danielle Lloyd as a cheap way to get some promotion for their hoody range that she was seen wearing on leaving the hospital.

Shop floor

We've been very busy lately, especially with a lovely bank holiday cropping up, so the blog got a little neglected. Sorry blog.

As a peace offering we bring you this link to the experiences one Guardian writer had working on the shop floor of a M&S store. Her line about the uniform being 'black nylon two piece' has that air of the dismissive fashionista assuming all uniforms are of such bland, lifeless design - when we know of course nothing could be further from the truth. Is the M&S uniform nylon? If you know let us know below.

Back tomorow, we promise.

Word of mouth

The trouble with letting people write their own opinions on things online is that they can abuse the system for the purposes of comedy. This can lead to some odd occurences, perhaps none odder than the story that a T-shirt on Amazon has risen 2,300% through the Amazon rankings in the last few days.

This happened after users started to read endless positive, 5-star, tongue in cheek reviews of the T-shirt, in a collective joke that has had unforseen consequences. This is not the first time this has happened on Amazon - a photo of Paul Ross has equally positive reviews, although we don't think the reviews have increased sales. People still have some sense.

Pants Man!

Ah Tuesday...lovely lovely Tuesd...what? It's Wednesday? That must mean we missed yesterday entirely and forgot to blog...oh dear, so we did, no blog. Doh.

Anyways...pants, they've been everywhere lately. Even the most ardent anti-Apprentice person surely heard about the infamous Pantsman - the world's worst idea - and now we hear that a footballer has been told by police not to run through a seaside resort in his underwear - after hearing he was planning to do so after losing a bet.

The footballer's defence is quite a good one actually. It's a seaside resort, people see that much all the time on the seafront...but the police are concerned it could lead to more trouble. We're surprised the footballer in question is so keen to go through with his bet. Surely any excuse to not have to humiliate yourself is a good thing?

Why Wood you?

The message is clear: don't print images of Woody Allen without permission. We've all learnt this for free, but American Apparel have had to pay $5 million for the priviledge.

Printing iconic images of people on t-shirts has long been a popular way to make retro or even ironic clothing - there's a great bit in popular comedy show Peep Show in which protagonist Mark decries the 'veneration' of Chairman Mao on a T-shirt - but as today's outcome shows, it doesn't always pay off.

Euro Vision

So Eurovision is upon us. Company Clothing has little interest in the music on offer, but the costumes, well they are something else. Often garish, rarely stylish, and almost always outlandish, it's fun to see how a nation chooses to represent itself through music and fashion.

It's unlikely anyone will ever top Lordi from Finland though - look at them in this picture with their flowers. Ridiculous! However, if you know / remember a more OTT outfit please let us know in the comments form below. Nice how that rhymes. Have a good weekend!

Gone to the head

We've covered bullet proof jackets and so forth before in the magazine - and as a result spent the day at a firing range, which was very interesting - so we were intrigued to see this story about Sikh police wanting a bullet-proof turban so they could take part in firearm deployments.

It's great that this section of the police force is keen to be involved in all areas, and we hope that the geniuses at the Home Office Scientific Development Branch and manufacturers worldwide, will be able to come up with something that solves this problem.

It just goes to show that the world of clothing is forever changing, forever being demanded more of, and forever getting talented designers and manufacturers to think of new and innovative ways around unique challenges.

What's acceptable?

With the onset of summer the wardrobes of office staff across the land will soon be changing. Out go the overcoats and scarves, and in come the...well, what? Aside from losing items of clothing to cool down, what can office staff to do to stay cool?

It depends on each organisation, but most professional, office based workers still wear a suit, shirt and tie, or just a smart shirt with trousers and shoes. There seems little scope for change. But what about flip-flops? Should they be allowed on hot days? Or caps, or sun hats. Shorts even? How laid back does an office have to be to make shorts permissible? Or is it much safer to stick to those black trousers and smart shirt?

Perhaps now it doesn't even matter. Casual dress is such a part of so many places that many places probably won't even notice the gradually exposure of flesh over the coming months. What do you think? We'd love to hear your thoughts, opinions, stories and so on this topic as it's something we're putting together for our next print issue.

Star Trek: reviewed

Space, the final frontier. Etc.

With the Design Innovation Award at our awards being based on the release of the new Star Trek film we thought today we would bring you our opinions on the new film, just released, and take a look at the uniforms on show.

First off it's fair to say the film is fantastic. Warp speed pacing, fantastic set pieces, good characterisation and a clever, intricate plot that teeters on the edge of ludicrious but just keeps its balance. The costumes too are fantastic. The aliens, of course, are eye-catching, but even the red, blue and yellow shirts of the crew look dynamic and funky, rather than simple and plain. No doubt given it's 2,300 they have some fantastic wicking properties too. Although if you ask us, the blue should be the top colour, not the yellow / mustard number.

All in all then we feel particularly pleased that the film / cultural reference point we choose for our awards has delivered with as much verve and aplomb as the enteries we received. Certainly well worth a trip to the cinema.

Busted

Bras have been in the news quite a lot lately, what with the furore over M&S charging more for larger sizes, due to the increase material they require. They've backed down now.

Not only that, but female police officers are being told their bras could be potentially life threatening as the wire inside could cause injury if they were shot at. Ouch.

Julia Roper-Smith, the Sergeants' National Police Women's representative of the Police Federation, gave the warning in the organisation's magazine, called Police, saying 'there is no such thing as a bullet proof bra. Body armour has to be close fitting and you should wear a bra that does not contain metal objects.'

Quite. Although stories like this, in which the bra saves the life, add a certain confusion to the situation, wouldn't you agree?

Horsing around

We could probably do a 'cute animal' story every day, perhaps we should limit ourselves to one a week; but we've had no calls to stop, so probably won't.

Anyways, today's is an especially good one as it involves numerous creatures wearing traditional German dress (shrug), mostly notably a horse, but also dogs too.

Where these people suddenly get their brainwaves from is beyond us. It's enough of a challenge to look stylish and sophisticated everyday, let alone worrying about animals - and they have their own clothes anyway. Bizarre.

Jackets and knives

Yet again, the idea of offenders wearing jackets as part of their punishment has risen it's fluorescent head. This time, an offender who was made to wear a jacket has been told he doesn't have to as the ruling to wear them came in after he was convicted.

A thorny issue, and one that draws emotive responses on both sides. Ironically the young lad in question said he didn't want to wear it as it's "embarrassing and humilitating" and "you don't want the whole world to know". By protesting against the decision he has ended up with his faces plastered across papers and websites across the land. So you'd think a lot more people will now know then before. Ho hum.

What do you think anyway? Is it right to make people wear such jackets if they have committed a crime? Or is it unnecessary and degrading?

Alpaca Mac

A cute animal story to ease us all back into the working week after the joys of bank holiday Monday. A baby alpaca has been given a little high-vis coat help keep it warm in the inclement spring weather. Bless.

Running in heels (with eggs)

One thing that women often claim about high-heels is that they are 'impossible' to walk in. Well, men in China have been proving that's not quite the case, by taking part in a series of sprinting events wearing high heels - see.

A fantastic idea - take unusual or awkward clothing and see how fast you can run in it. The sack race only takes place at school and you never see it after that - but why? It's a fantastic race, testing a multitude of skills, mainly jumping, but also balance and, er, speed.

The egg and spoon race - another great race. Why do we do it? When else in life do you need that skills? Do children have an inherent love of running with delicate food? Odd world.