Sampleboard.com, Pinterest & Fashion: How to look like Kate the world’s best dressed women

If you are a student fashion designer, fashion designer or personal stylist then using SampleBoard and Pinterest is a great way to gather, develop and present your design ideas. The wonderful Pinterest and the excellent functionality of the brilliant SampleBoard work amazingly well together.

Fashion concept board created on SampleBoard with Pinterest pins

I have created some fashion mood boards featuring Kate the Duchess of Cambridge using pins from Pinterest and the editor functions of the SampleBoard.com site. The boards can be used to help you ‘Get the look’ of Kate the best dressed women in the world. You can also have some fun playing around with SampleBoard and Pinterest. But be warned they are addictive. If you click on the boards you can find the links to the images used.

Fashion Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard with Pinterest pins

In this week’s Melbourne Sunday Herald Sun there was a two page spread featuring Katherine Duchess of Cambridge. She has been named the world’s best dressed women. Kate has quickly become a global style icon. Her rise on the best dressed list has been amazing and much quicker than William’s mother Princess Diana.

Fashion concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard with Pinterest pins

The article interestingly highlights the colors she has chosen for her outfits over the past year. She refuses to use a personal stylist yet she has created an excellent range of well put together outfits creating her own unique style. Many of her outfits have been recycled.

Fashion concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard with Pinterest pins

Kate has chosen light nude tones, white, champagne, blush, beige and grey neutrals for 32 percent of her wardrobe. Her next favorite hue is blue which has made up of about 21%. Kate wears black and white or green about 9% of the time, pink 8% of the time, red 7% of the time, black or purple 4% of the time and brown 3% of the time. Kate is not afraid to buy outfits off the rack on the high street.

Fashion concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard with Pinterest pins

If you check out Kate’s choices; she tends to go for plain bold colors, she has added a few patterned outfits to her wardrobe, selects mainly nude, black and grey shoes and often does not wear a hat. During the day she lets her hair hang naturally. Occasionally Kate wears her hair in a simple sleek swept back style caught behind her ears and pinned. Kate like the style icon Princess Grace wears very little jewelry and her handbags tend to be small and discreet.

Kate does seem to also favor lace. I am laughing as I write thinking; she would win the approval of the vicar’s wife in the Jane Austin novel Emma. This snobby character stated Emma’s wedding to Mr. Knightly was not all it should be due to a lack of lace used in the bride’s gown. Love Jane Austin and remember comments like this. Back to Kate who really in my opinion deserves to be at the top of the best dressed list. I love her understated elegant look.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

How 2 capture some Grace Kelly style

Grace a great name for the graceful elegant woman Grace Kelly was. If you are too young to know who this icon of style was; Grace was an Oscar winning American actress in the 1950s. She gave up her career as a movie star to become a princess when she was 26. She had an understated glamour and was never flashy or provocative always the lady. We can learn so much from her quiet dignity and beautifully poised demeanor. She has always been on my most admired women list

Fashion mood board created by Rosena  on SampleBoard.com

So I was really excited to finally pay a visit to the Grace Kelly Style Icon Exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery with a dear friend of mine. We had a wonderful time and were so in agreement about the styles we liked best. Our favorite designs were the tailored 1950/60 dresses, suits and coats. We preferred the delicate soft green, beige, light grays and pink colors of the clothes she worn in this era. We felt the styles and colors enhanced her delicate blond, blue eyed slender beauty.

Image via http://www.bendigoweekly.com

The key to Grace’s style was simplicity and elegance. Vintage dressing is so in vogue at the moment and a few tips from the graceful Grace would I am sure help the eco friendly dresser to create her own elegant style.

She wore beautifully tailored suits and dresses with nipped in waists with straight but mostly flared skirts and few accessories; such as a string of pearls. Christian Dior was one of her favorite designers he is considered one of the most influential designers of the 1950s. His wasp-waisted, widely flared skirt designs suited Grace so well. Long elegant well fitted evening dresses like the one pictured in this blog were also a hallmark of her style.

Image via vavoomvintageblogspot.com

At the Grace Kelly Style Icon exhibition haute couture gowns, hats, sunglasses and jewelry worn by Grace are on display. I must admit I did not like the hats very much. They reminded me of the sort of hats my granny wore. I’m not too fond of petal or floral hats. There were also some dresses from the 1970s I disliked, but then I would notice an image of Grace in the dress or some of the hats on display and had to change my mind. She transformed the clothing with her beauty and elegance.

Image via fahionismymuse.blog

To get the Grace Kelly look aim for simple elegant lines and few accessories. Discreet designs in delicate soft pastels teamed with pearls or no jewelry at all. Check out her favorite designers; Balenciaga, Givenchy, Yves St Laurent, Helen Rose and Channel particularly their designs during Grace’s era. Everything about Grace was understated.

Image via blog.tempu.com

Here are a number of words used to describe Grace immaculate taste, classic, luminous, sophisticated, beautiful, prefect, enchanting, serene, poised, effortlessly elegance and mysterious. The director Alfred Hitchcock said she had sexual elegance. Maybe it is the poised elegant mystic of Grace that still captures the imagination today.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

12 favorite tips from InStyle’s 50 best fashion tips of all time

InStyle posted an excellent article on the 50 best fashion tips of all time. Here are my 12 favorites from the list.

Fashion Concept Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

1. Hem your pants to a specific shoe height. This is one of the biggest mistakes women make according to stylist Kate Young. In most cases the hems of the pants should just graze the top of the shoes and be about 1.5cm (½ inch) to 2cm (¾ inch) off the floor.

2. Embrace your shape. Designer Shoshanna Gruss is quoted in the post as saying “Once you know which silhouettes flatter; you should filter trends ruthlessly”. For example if you are petite and shapely avoid tall columns and billowy maxis. Go for a defined waist and just above the knee hems. When I look back at some photos of my younger days I think what was I thinking. 

3. Layer your necklaces Coco Chanel did this with numerous strings of pearls at different lengths placed over a beaded necklace. You can do multiples of the same material or create contrasts with different materials chains, feathers with beads or pearls with diamantes. I have a favorite one pearl necklace and I now team it with two strings of pearls left to me by mother in law

4. Edit your wardrobe. This is a brilliant idea I often give away items I have not worn for a few years. I kind of made a wee rule for myself if I buy something new I have to give something way. But I must admit I don’t always follow my own rule. Well they do say rules are made to be broken

5. Upgrade with buttons. This is a wonderful tip. You can update an out of date item and can also make a less expensive piece of clothing look more expensive simply by replacing buttons

Fashion Concept Board created by Andrea Kennedy on SampleBoard.com

6. Show limited skin Jen Rade advises her clients to choose only one body part to show off; if it’s cleavage don’t show your legs, if it’s your legs then stay covered up on top. This is similar to decorating a room with two focal points. They fight with each other for attention

7. Own at least one thing that has a Leopard pattern. Instyle states it is a timeless and always glamorous choice. I have a Leopard patterned scarf and when I think an outfit needs just a little something I add this scarf

8. Mix your prints. A basic trick is to wear two prints that repeat the same colors or mix a large scale pattern with a smaller one. Although I think; this needs to be done with caution large scale patterns can overwhelm  slender or petite figures. Another trick is repeat a second motif from the fabric as an accent

9. Conquer your fear of color. You can do this and still play it safe by combining a neutral with a bolder color like yellow. It’s kind of similar to painting a room in a neutral; then adding colored accessories. Black teamed with a bold color can now look dated. Try colors that are close to each other on the color wheel for example coral and orange

10. Add an element of surprise. For example a motorcycle jacket over a formal dress, an over sized choker with a simple white t shirt, or a vivid belt as a touch of contrast. Just like following the interior design principle of adding a discordant item to a room to add impact

11. If you have a limited budget; spend it on accessories. Cool shoes, interesting jewelry, scarves, belts and hats can all bring an outfit up to date

12. Don’t buy a bargain if you don’t love it. Resist the urge to buy an item because it is on sale or you are scared you will miss out on it if you do not buy it now. I have been guilty of doing just that and have lived to regret the purchase. But I console myself with the fact I make this mistake rarely. And no one’s perfect right, well I’m not although I’d like to be

Fashion Concept Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Oh I can’t resist one more and make it a baker’s dozen 13 instead of 12 by adding

13. Wear nude shoes match your skin tone and make your legs look longer. I’ve decided to treat myself to some new nude colored shoes or maybe boots for the winter (it’s autumn here in Aussie land)

Fashion Concept Board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

A few of my favorite things in fashion trends and interior design

What do Grace Kelly, hats, a Penelope Cruz dress, fashion and a TV show all have in common? They are a few of my favorite things.

My favorite show on TV is the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries on the ABC. It is set in 1920s Melbourne. The fashions worn by Miss Fisher are divine and the interior design simply delicious both a real treat for the eyes. 1920s fashion tended to be fun and funky. The interior design of the 1920s could be dramatic; Art Deco style was king.

The 1920 hats are magnificent. I started to wear hats as often as possible a few years ago. I love quirky designs although I do not always have the courage to wear anything too outrageous. Today I was complemented on my hat a number of times. As I returned home in my car I had got such a buzz out of wearing my hat I started to sing ‘These are a few of my favorite things’ and thought I would share my favorite things of the moment in a blog. Let others enjoy.

Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

I have always loved hats. I am so glad they are back in fashion. When we were young we had new Easter bonnets and new winter hats each year. My sister always complained saying I always looked good in hats and she looked awful. I never agreed with her I always thought she was much prettier. Since then I have often been told hats suit me. I think it’s because I have a cheeky face.

This week I noted some interesting trends in an Instyle Australia article ‘Oscar Winning Trends’. One of trends they suggested was a return to Old Hollywood. Natalie Portman and Penelope Cruz were both praised for their retro Grace Kelly esque curls. Milla Jovovich and Bernice Bejo were complemented on their 1920s Great Gatsby inspired dresses. It is amazing how things can overlap.

Concept board created by Moira Mannen on SampleBoard.com

Bendigo had a royal visitor this week to open ‘Grace Kelly: Style Icon’ a world renowned fashion exhibition hosted exclusively in Australia by the Bendigo Art Gallery. I can’t wait to see the exhibition. Grace Kelly and her elegant style one of all time favorite things.

Now back to what I discovered in the Instyle article. Besides a return to old Hollywood, the other trends include cream white and ivory gowns; for example the Tom Ford creation worn by Gwyneth Paltrow (my Oscar favorite) and the Valentino worn by Shailene Woodley. Full length gowns with long sleeves like those worn by Glen Close and Meryl Streep are also on trend.

Image via http://www.instylemag.com.au

Strapless dresses with a structured bodice floating from the waist for example the Alexander McQueen worn by Jessica Chastain and the Vera Wang worn by Viola Davis are also considered a winning style. Michelle Williams in a Louis Vuitton and Tina Fey in a Carolina Herrera; short structured over skirt were styles that shone.

But I must admit my favorite red carpet dress for 2012 is the Armni Prive worn by Penelope Cruz at the BAFFA’s. I think it is absolutely stunning. What do you think?

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com – concept creation online

How to get the 1960s look now back in fashion

The swinging 60s fashion styles are swinging into the 2012 fashion scene.  The designers Calvin Klein, Jeremy Scott, Geoffrey Mac and Tommy Hilfiger all gave a nod to 60s style in New York fashion week. Klein created 60s style swing coats, Scott gave a nod to 60s pop art and Mac created giant backcombed 60s hair styles.

Twiggy’s 60s fashion style influenced Aussie label Romance Was Born’s new bold owl swift dress. In the Saturday’s Herald Sun Andy Burns quoted Anna Plukett as saying “….. The fabric silhouette and popping bright solid color palette reflects the mod era which we love”

When I went shopping yesterday I had a walk down memory lane when I spotted some Twiggy style shift dress’ in solid bold geometric designs. Giving my age away here, but I can’t help but be proud of the fact I was in England (a school girl) during the swinging 60s. What an exciting time it was. The new season of 2012 embraces a solid color palette in sleek paneled highlights accessorized with bold accessories.

Fashion concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Celebrity stylist Franco Scifilliti shared some words of wisdom in the same article. He suggested 5 ways on ‘How to get the Twiggy look’. So here they are in my own words.

1. Find a shift dress in an A-line or slightly fitted style. Solid colors or black and white (I have created the fashion concept board above to give you an idea)
2. Short capes instead of coats will add to your swinging 60s style (Oh I remember my last winter in England my best friend’s Mum made me a grey wool cape with a bright red lining I worn this over a matching short slim fitting skirt. I thought I was lovely) Large buttons or toggles are the recommended trim.
3. It is so important to choose the right accessories; opaque pantyhose (tights) in 70 or 100 denier. The best colors are bold for example red with a black outfit, midnight blue with red or white. Find some big pendants, enamel hoops; chunky jewellery is very much in fashion. For your head select a cap in the mod style. Large handbags in bold colors and geometric patterns similar to the dress styles would be right on song.
4. For your feet knee-high boots in black or in a colored suede, patent or suede platform pumps. (Don’t you just love shoes?)
5. Keep the whole look crisp and clean. Straight lines geometric shapes work best

Well that’s it I look forward to seeing how long the 60s styles stay in fashion. The great thing is they are often reinvented so even if they don’t last long they should be back soon.

SampleBoard.com has a whole new look, has been improved and rebranded

The sampleboard.com team is buzzing with excitement SampleBoard has a cool new website. All of the best original features have been retained. But it just got a whole lot easier, faster and it is still the greenest way of creating great professional looking design concept boards.

Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

The original SampleBoard.com site was launched in 2010. The aim of the creation; designed by designers for designers was to digitize the process of making sample boards. The traditional way of creating sample boards took a lot of running around, time and energy. I remember days of driving around for hours in and out of the car in the Queensland heat.  I love SampleBoard because it is eco-friendly and time efficient.

              Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Interior designers, decorators, landscape designers, fashion designers and wedding planners can create design concept boards using the extensive library of images and/or easily upload their own images. SampleBoard is also a great place to interact with other designers and share ideas.

Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

In this blog I have included examples of my first adventures on the new sampleboard.com site. The best way to really view the changes is to have ago. Please let us know what you think we welcome your comments and suggestions.

Concept board created by Rosena on SampleBoard.com

Designers | How to make your job application stand out from the rest

Designers some tips on how to make your job application stand out from the rest

Designers the tips offered in this article could help you to get your dream job. There is a real art to creating the perfect application. There are some basic fundamentals if forgotten can cost you dearly. Find out the five easy steps you can take to achieve success.

Interior designers, decorators, graphic and fashion designers sometimes forget to create interesting, sparkling, exciting applications to reflection their creative flair. I have seen it happen. Over many years I have successfully applied for jobs, have helped others to achieve success and selected for interview people applying for positions with companies I have worked for.

Time spent creating sparkling exciting applications pays dividends

Some of the things I will mention may be common sense but you only get one chance the slightest mistake could cause your application to be placed in the bin. It happens. Often hundreds of people are applying for the job. If you want to stand out your application must have impact.

Stand out from the crowd by delivering an impacting cover letter.

Step 1

Read the job advertisement carefully

This may sound silly but you would be amazed how many people completely miss an all important part of the job description or some other vital piece of information. Make notes as you go. For example for an interior decorator position posted on the MyCareer website by the Laura Ashley’s company I noted they wanted a highly motivated person with a passion for people and an understanding of retail and the list goes on. What they mention first is usually what they consider to be most important.

Step 2

Find out about the company

Visit the website check out the colours, patterns and motifs used. Try to find out about the people who work in the company. If possible find a telephone number. You can then call the company and find out the person to send the application to. It always looks better if you have gone the extra mile and put a name instead of sir or madam.

Get a name much better than plain sir or madam

Step 3

Work out a colour scheme for your application

You can use the information gleaned from the website to help you choose colours for the paper, folders and/or cardboard you are using in the application. Instead of plain A4 sized pages get creative. Select some colours from the website or company colours. Or you may want to go down the recycling route. The ideas are endless. As designers you should find this easy to do.

Using a different colour instead of black or blue for the text is a good idea. For example the Laura Ashley Company is known for soft delicate hues. So maybe a light beige paper with a toned beige text colour would appeal to the reader of your application.

Step 4

Compose the cover letter 

Word the letter carefully use positive words. Address the job criteria spelt out in the advertisement. Try to give evident of how you meet the criteria. It is best to use short carefully constructed paragraphs. Start each paragraph with a different word. Take care not to use ‘I’ too many times. Keep working on the letter until you are able to express yourself in one A4 size page.

Keep the cover letter to one page

It is important to make sure the letter is easy to read. Use only one or two different fonts. One font for the heading; one for the body of the text. The size of the lettering is also vital. If you make it too small and difficult to read it could end up in the bin. You will find examples and more details on http://creativebuzzing.wordpress.com  the notes will give you an idea of how to word your application.

Make it easy for the reader to read

Step 5

Coordinate your application package

Use the same colours for your curriculum vitae (or resume), skills audit, educational and reference pages as used in the cover letter. It is wise to have your name and contact details on each page. This keeps bringing your name before the person reading the application.

Create an interesting folio for your application

Present the application in a coloured folder or envelope. Make sure the colour works with the colours of the pages you have selected. Pure white, beige, grey or black usually work with most colours. I do offer a word of caution check out the company carefully. A conservative company would be looking for someone who can fit in with the company image. Where as a contemporary company will be looking for someone who is trendy and up to date.

So there you have it five easy steps to design success. Happy job hunting.

Author: Rosena MacFadzean for SampleBoard.com

Client Presentations | Create Color Schemes in various Design Disciplines

SampleBoard created by Pixy Louise Smith on sampleboard.com

Create a Color Scheme with your initial design presentation

The easiest way to start designing a look and feel for a client is by getting the color scheme right from the beginning. By presenting various color schemes when pitching to a client it will give you a good indication of the feeling your client wants to create, be it an interior space, fashion collection, graphic brochure or website layout…

Most creative design disciplines require some sort of color scheme when creating an initial design – may it be by using paint swatches, fabric samples, HEX or RGB color codes. Color schemes are useful in any design presentation.

SampleBoard created by Pixy Louise Smith on sampleboard.com

Designers in various design disciplines can easily create their own color palette on www.sampleboard.com by following these steps.

Check out SampleBoard.com’s Creative Community for more inspirational ideas on how to create beautiful sampleboard presentations.

Inspirational SampleBoard | Use nature as inspiration for design projects

Sampleboard created by Eileen Reiner on sampleboard.com

‘Designers Block’ | Using nature to portray visual ideas

We all use design in our everyday life, we just don’t always realise its impact on us! We also know how important it is to get clients and colleagues on the same creative page quickly when working on a project.

Nothing does this better than an inspirational concept/mood or sampleboard. Whether designing interiors, capturing trends or creating colour schemes or themes – sampleboards capture visual ideas.

All of us sometimes suffer from ‘designers block’, on these days try using nature to stimulate your creative process, you’ll be amazed how fast a beautiful old tree trunk turns into the inspiration for your look and feel concept like the Inspirational SampleBoard created by Eileen.

SampleBoard.com allows you to save time, energy, money and the environment by creating digital sampleboards, from the comfort of your own creative space…

Fashion Design | Inspirational moodboard

SampleBoard created by Pixy Louise Smith on sampleboard.com

Do you wish to express your creative ideas visually?

SampleBoard offers a simple, powerful design tool for creatives from all fields that helps you produce better work more quickly and effectively.

Boasting an image library of over 30,000 images, as well as being able to import your own images, you can then export your moodboards into a variety of formats.

Plus it’s a social networking community exclusive to the creative industries that will enable you to feed off each other’s ideas and inspirations and get a feel for design in other countries!

SampleBoard.com serves many different mediums of creative expression!

Check out www.sampleboard.com for other inspirational moodboards in the Creative Community, plus sign up for free to give it a go!