Summer Hats: Take Good Care Of Them

Summer hats are chic and an excellent and practical accessory.

Summer is the season for hats and quality hats have a high price tag. So how do you take care of your hats to make them last longer, stay cleaner and look newer?

1. Wipe/ brush them regularly

Even if your hat doesn’t look dirty it helps to wipe it regularly. This will clear the dust, which otherwise tends to stick to the texture and with time gives the hat a worn look.

Regularly brush your hats to take off the dust and dirt

2. Wash by hand with a brush and mild soap

If your hat is visibly dirty, you’d better wash it manually with a brush and preferably only where it is dirty. If you can’t spare the time use a washing machine on a hand wash program.

Gentle washing methods are crucial for preserving the natural shape of the hat and its material

3. Dry to return the initial form

When your hat is washed and wet, tuck some towels, which can be wrapped in a clear plastic bag to prevent soaking. Dry your hat naturally – dryig machine is an absolute No. Ironing is not recommended, not to mention that you’d find it really hard to iron a hat given its shape. Direct sunlight is OK if your hat is of light color but might bleach darker hats.

Tuck towels to allow the hat return its previous shape while drying

4. Store carefully

At the end of the season store your hat in a way that preserves its shape. Hang it on a hanger, place it upside down or tuck some old unnecessary clothes in a baseball-type of hat. Anyway, make sure your hat preserves its natural form through the months. Cramps that stay for a prolonged period are hard to mend.

How you store your hats determines what you’ll get at the start of the next season

UByDesign offers a selection of summer hats and of course you are welcome to join in and upload your unneeded summer hats for sale.

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Photography Tips: Taking Better Fashion Pictures

Since you are in the blogosphere chances are you deal with photography – as a model, as a photographer or both. UByDesign is happy to share with you the following tips, which will make your photos better.

Important: The Light

Lightening is so important that many photographers would tell you taking great pictures boils down to having a great ability to use light in general and the light available at the moment. Light is no doubt crucial for making proper pictures. So, in a pre-organized photo session how to decide which light is best?

Outdoor light is better than indoor light and surely more natural than indoor light with a flash. Whenever conditions permit – go outside! The best outdoor light is on a cloudy day that offers plenty of lightening but no direct sun rays. Sun light makes shadows deeper, brightly covered areas pale and as a result – harsh contrast with fewer details. If you always have sun, opt for morning or afternoon shots, when the sun at least comes from an angle. If you can, wait a few days or hours until the sun is covered by a cloud and rush to capture the moment.

Bright sunlight is difficult for taking pictures

Change The Background

Any camera calculates colors and contrast (exposure) by evaluating the whole scene. If you are lucky enough to have a professional DSLR camera you can change this settings but the rule still holds true. So, experiment with the background and choose what works best. The same outfit would come different on gray or green background – at the street or in front of a green garden. Just take some little time to experiment. A contrasting background, but not to the extreme, usually works best.

Experiment with different backgrounds

Make Plenty of Shots

With the cost of each additional digital shot down to almost zero, you have no reason to finish with just a few shots. You would be surprised to learn that a professional model shot is chosen among hundreds of what seem equivalent shots. Make small changes in face look, position, shooting angle etc. and come up with abundance of photos to choose from. You never know beforehand when the camera has captured the right moment.

Quantity lets you choose the quality shot

Equip Well

No matter how much modern smart phones are praised, if you have serious ambitions in making good pictures you’d better invest in a good camera that is equipped to make just that – brilliant professional pictures. There are plenty of options to choose from and if you go for a second-hand older model then the investment wouldn’t be that big as money paid but will surely be rewarding as quality of the final photos.

A proper DSLR camera does make a difference

The Main Idea

Whenever you go out/in for a photo session always ask yourself “What is the single idea behind today’s photos? Is it to show a youthful modern outfit for spring? A practical work outfit? How stylish I am? How comfortable are those new boots?” Define the main idea and work out the details from that point – they will come surprisingly easy when you know what you want to achieve.

Concentrate on what you want to achieve with the photo session

Good luck and success!

If you have further questions you can always ask at info@ubydesign.net

The Choker Has Made a Comeback

Chokers were indispensable jewellery for every Victorian lady.

Ever since Princess Diana brought the choker into light, it has caught the public attention as a symbol of elegance, sophisticated style and aristocracy. Nice to welcome it back on the fashion catwalk.

http://www.dianasjewels.net/pearlnecklaces.htm

Royals apart, how can a contemporary fashion princess fit the choker trend into her everyday school/home/work life? Here are some ideas:

1. Choose a bow.
You can make a bow from a satin or other suitable material and just tie it high on your neck – you can wear that with all type of day-wear, including a t-shirt.

A beautiful ribbon made from a suitable material is both easy and chic.

2. Pearls
The pearl choker is more fussy to wear but if it’s not the typical wedding jewellery you can still manage to include it into a daily outfit without witnessing raised eyebrows around you. Here a colour matching can do you plenty of good – dark colours will emphasize the pearls while neutral, skinny tones will blend with them and look more casual.

Jumbo pearl choker worn with a shirt

Pearl strings let you unleash your creativity

A pearl choker speaks of dignity and grandeur

3. Combine them with another necklace.
A choker must not necessarily be worn on its own. It goes quite well with a traditional necklace. Another idea is to use a long necklace and wrap it a few times tightly around your neck leaving the rest hang on your chest.

Chokers should not necessarily be worn alone

4. Lace
Lace and skin are made to go together. No wonder Kate Middleton chose lace for her wedding day. And while lace is still the preferred choice for evening dresses and the one, which you’ll wear to say “I do”, it surely deserve to decorate your neck as well. A thin lace choker, preferably in black, would complement any outfit and any colour. For an evening sparkle you can add a broche or one of your shiny clipped earrings.

Lace loves the skin

A broche can transform a choker

We hope you’ve gathered inspiration on some new ways to wear a choker. Stay fashionable and never let go the best thing that makes a woman beautiful – the smile!

Fashion Trends: Statement Earrings

Statement earrings are hot

Statement earrings are fashionable this summer – you can have a look at the latest designer creations published in Elle magazine here:
http://www.elle.com/fashion/trend-reports/news/g26777/spring-2015-accessory-trends/?slide=1

Statement earrings, as their name suggests, make a statement that’s why we offer some tips on how to combine them with the rest of your clothing for a perfect vision.

I. Bare shoulders.

Statement earrings go great with the current trend of off the shoulder tops. In fact they go great with bare skin – so wear them with bathing suits, thin straps, off the shoulder gowns and all other clothes that reveal your perfect top line.

Off the shoulder top and statement earrings

II. Single color clothes.

If you wear them in colder days make sure your top layer of clothing does not expose too much details, ornaments or colours. If it does, it has to match perfectly the color and style of the statement earrings.

White dress and statement earrings

III. Hairstyle

Statement earrings go great with any hair style, here the rule is simple: the less of the hair is visible,the more the earrings grab the attention. So, if you wear loose, long waves, your earrings will be less visible. If you tie your hair or have short hair the attention falls on the earrings.

Short hair emphasizes the statement earrings

As always, we finish with a selection of the statement earrings we have at UByDesign:

Long Metal Strings Earrings

Black Stones Earrings

Silver Plated Earrings

The UByDesign team hopes we’ve been useful. Thank you for reading!

Jeans! How To Make Them Last Longer?

It’s certain – jeans are the most widely worn piece of clothing nowadays. Definitely you’ll have a favourite pair of blue (or other colour) jeans. You love them so much that you want to wear them forever. But do you know how to care for them?

Don’t wash them (often).

Jeans don’t like washing, in fact any piece of clothing would worn out faster when washed more frequently. Try to wash your jeans as little as possible.

When you do wash your jeans, do that by hand or in the washing machine at “hand wash” program. The temperature must be lukewarm, the detergent – mild. When you place your jeans in the washing machine turn them inside out.

Dry cleaning your jeans is a bad idea. It’s far better to wash them with water and mild soap than to expose them to all chemicals of a dry cleaning. If you have a stain at your jeans, try to remove it carefully – first by brushing the residual if it’s food, mud etc. and then cleaning the very spot rather than the whole piece of clothing.

Air dry your jeans – better inside than in bright sunshine. Drying them in a machine won’t do them a favour. At first your jeans might be a little hard but in a few hours after you’ve worn them they will get to their usual mild state.

So, handle your jeans with care and wear them with joy!

And here is a selection of UByDesign jeans:

Dark Blue Skinny Jeans

Light Gray Skinny Jeans

Blue Skinny Jeans

There’s plenty more for you to see and like at ubydesign.net

Classic Outfit: Blue Jeans and a White Shirt

Could you think of something more classic to wear?

Here are the parts:

Black watch

Shamballa Bracelet

White Business Shirt

Blue Washed Out Jeans

Visit UByDesign.net for more.

Amethyst

Amethyst is a type of quartz with purple colour. It is a semi-precious stone and is used in jewellery with gold, platinum, silver to create jewels of all type and price range.

Amethyst has been known since centuries, actually the Greek believed it prevented intoxication and decorated their drinking cups with amethysts. Its name comes from the ancient Greek word of “not intoxicated.”
The best reserves of amethysts are in Siberia, Sri Lanka and Brazil. Ideally, it is with a purple hue of about 80%, mixed with blue of up to 20% and red. Synthetic amethyst is also produced from a clear quartz, which gets coloured to purple via several technologies like gamma rays, X-rays or electron beam irradiation.

Amethyst is the birthstone of February. It is believed to develop intuition and intellect. It brings prosperity to those, who deal with business. They say it shields from bad karma and affects positively the nervous system – amethyst brings calmness and security. Do you need more reasons to get an amethyst jewel?

Amethyst Earrings

Natural Amethyst Pendant

More jewellery at UByDesign jewels section.

The Joys and Perils Of Online [Used] Clothes Shopping

A guide on how to maximise the successful purchases and minimise the bad luck.

Online clothes shopping could be a risky business from a regular store, let alone from a thrift virtual store. Or so the saying goes. Yes and no. There’s nothing that different buying between buying new and used clothes online. The difference between buying used clothes online and offline even tilts in favour of online shopping. Here is why:

I. Joy: Choice is great in an average thrift shop than in the average department store.

Yes, it is. You can see in a single thrift shop more variety than in a huge department store of items. The same holds true for an online used clothes marketplace.

II. Joy: Hidden Treasures

Searching for a given item that is not among current fashion trends is a lost cause in a standard online or offline store. Say you’ve fallen in love with a white top on black dots that you’ve seen on an add for washing soap? Chances are much greater you’ll find something similar and much faster in a thrift online/offline shop.

The second point is obvious – thrift shops are full of items that cost a fraction of the price because their previous owners just want to see them out of the house. That is even more frequent in online thrift shops because they are typically used by busy people, who value time over money and are ready to sell an item cheaply just to do it fast.

III. Peril: Thrifting takes time.

Well, online thrifting is much faster and efficient. A good website will provide quality search and filters for size, color, condition. Usually you can see all items of a given seller and even follow them if they have taste similar to yours. Show us a physical thrift shop which can boast that!

IV. Joy of physical shopping: You can try on clothes.

Well, here whether you are buying new or used clothes online it doesn’t make a difference – you are still left to wonder if the size is ok. Well, buying online from a proper thrift shop would provide you with a way to contact the seller – a huge advantage compared to physical thrifting. They can not only answer questions and provide measures. You can see their seller review and other items, which they sell so you can get an idea what kind of wardrobe the person has. A clever seller would most probably have taken pictures of the item on them and you can judge their body shape and compare to yours.

V. Peril: You dont get the item immediately.

Yes, true. But patience is a huge virtue and waiting for a treasured item to arrive makes the joy of the purchase last longer. Besides, as frequent online shoppers, we can share you that you get used to the waiting and your mind adjusts to the thought that it will take some time before the purchase arrives. Recently, sellers have been really fast to sell items, postal services are quite cheap and reliable and usually quite fast.

At the bottom line we can say that online thrifting can be even more successful, faster and full of bargains that its offline counterpart and surely more than both online and offline purchases from regular stores. Enjoy it!

Colours of Spring 2016: Lavender Gray

Lavender gray is one of the trendy colours this season. Since it is not a conventional colour, we want to present you a few ideas how to combine it.

Lavender gray

I. The classic – black and white.

It goes without saying that with black and white, as well with jeans, you can wear anything.

Lavender with black and white: a classic combination.

II. Pastel mint.

A beautiful combination, soft and trendy. Lila, gray and mint go well together and this one complements ladies with any skin colour.

III. Beige.

Choose beige with caution – it has to be the cold beige tone, rather than the sunny variety that mixes red and orange.

IV. Light gray.

They go together lovely, since they are both a variety of gray.

V. Dark purple.

A dramatic color combination for mature looks. Here you bring more colour than with any of the above suggestions. Dark purple is a strong colour and in combination with lavender gray creates an outfit that can make a lasting impression.

Some of our items that go well with lavender green:

Light Gray Skinny Jeans

Silk Napapijri Shirt

Beige Trousers

Stay stylish, happy and never forget the best thing you can wear is a smile!

UByDesign

Dressing According to Your Body Shape

Most of us plan an outfit on what we like rather than on what we should. And so we should 🙂 Dressing must be pleasurable, after all. Still, being  aware of your body shape and knowing just a few simple guidelines will help you look better (if there’s room for improvement 😉

The general guideline is to create a proportional silhouette by hiding what should be hidden (excess curves, wider parts e.g. bride shoulders, thick legs)  and trying to create volume where it lacks.

Let’s start – head to toes 🙂

1. Shoulders.

Too wide shoulders – hide them with simple, elegant tops, a single color is best. If they are too muscular avoid French-line (boat) décolletés or deep  cut tops, which will only bring the attention to where it’s not welcome. Shirts are a good choice, vertical stripes as well.

Too narrow shoulders – compliment them with scarves, thrills, business jackets – every piece that creates volume where it lacks. Avoid exposing them  in open line tops that will only earn you sympathetic gazes. Horizontal stripes create the illusion of width so you can make use of them. T-shirts  with collar and shape are a good choice as well.

2. Chest

Too large breasts – wear a good bra, no pads and make clever use of loose, yet well-cut, elegant clothing. Free falling tops, straight shirts, flower  or colour patterns, romantic, free-falling dresses.

Small breasts – use a padded or push-up bra and choose tops, which does not stick to your body. Generally avoid clothes with prints or decorations at  the front, which gather the attention. Simple, even nude colors or uniform patterns are preferable. Thrills create volume.

3. Waist

If you have a wide waist, use thin belts to make it look smaller. If your waist is small, on the other hand – emphasize it with large tight belts,  high-waist trousers and skirts, tight dresses.

If you carry more weight around the waist than you should, hide it with jackets, cardigans, straight-cut dresses, pencil skirts, especially long  ones. Emphasize your other assets like beautiful shoulders or thin legs.

4. Legs

Needles to say, if you are a lucky owner of thin and long legs you should show them to the world in shorts, skirts, mini dresses etc. For the rest of us, here are some tricks:

Sporty, muscular legs – straight or even skinny jeans that stress the line but not the bare details are great. Don’t opt for short skirts/ dresses,  and if you do use dark hosiery and heels, especially thin ones. Maxi skirts and dresses on the other hand are great.

Too well developed calves, yet thin and elegant hips – hide the lower part in tall boots – now you can do that all season long with summer boots as  well. Maxi skirts of mesh or other concealing material are a good choice. Pencil skirts and straight-leg jeans should have a place in your wardrobe!

Thick legs – your preferred clothing are pencil skirts, long dresses, broad trousers. Wear heels, if possible.

Below we offer you a selection of our items, which may well be used in creating your perfect image:

White & Light Blue Scarf

White Leather Belt

Black Business Jacket

Of course, you are welcome to join UBYDesign and add your own fashion items for sale, swap or give away.