Category Archives: Life & Style

MEN’S ROTARY WHITE DIAL CHRONOGRAPH LAUNCHES EXCLUSIVELY TO WATCHSHOP.COM

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I have came across an amazing website. My father is obsessed with watches. Making him amazingly easy to buy presents for. If you, likewise, want to go watch shopping, I recommend the following site and the beautiful new Rotary watch.

WatchShop.com (www.watchshop.com), the UK’s leading online independent watch retailer, is adding another UK exclusive to its online showroom this week with the White Dial Chronograph Watch from Rotary.

After the success of previous exclusives, WatchShop.com is now offering this performance oriented men’s watch with a highly stylish design.

The watch, officially priced at £185 will be available until 31st August at £92.50.

Complimenting the classic lines of the stainless steel case and bracelet, and showcasing the high performance chronograph movement, an easy to read and stylish white face with silver details now adorns this stylish but feature loaded watch.

The case is waterproof, with screw down crown and caseback to ensure the watch is always ready no matter what conditions.

The polished and brushed finish bracelet has a deployment clasp for security and style on your wrist at all times.

Coupled with Rotary’s lifetime guarantee, this is a solid and dependable performer, and a great watch for the man who wants the style, but doesn’t want to trade durability.

Product code: GB00004/02

Features:

· Rotary Packaging/ Official Rotary presentation box

· Official Rotary lifetime guarantee

· Case width: 40mm

· Case depth: 12mm

· Dial Colour: White

· Metal: Stainless Steel

· Strap type: Metal bracelet – free sizing available

· Strap colour: Silver

· Water resistant: Waterproof

· Clasp type: Deployment

· Movement: Quartz

· Chronograph: Yes

· 24 hour dial: Yes

· Glass: Mineral

· Highly visible dial: Yes

· Hour markers: Batons

· Tachymeter: Yes

A great addition for any stylish man.

JEMMA KIDD FRONTS NEW CAMPAIGN FOR NEWBURY RACECOURSE LADIES DAY SATURDAY 14 AUGUST 2010

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Today, Newbury Racecourse announced international celebrity make-up artist Jemma Kidd as ambassador for its annual Ladies Day featuring Party in the Paddock, 14 August 2010.

With ticket sales fuelled by Westlife’s performance after racing, the Racecourse is expecting to break last year’s Ladies Day record of 26,000 racegoers, meaning the 2010 event will result in the largest attendance in the racecourse’s recent history.

Racegoers from Edinburgh to Exeter and Newport to Newcastle are signing up to attend the August Ladies Day celebration, which includes seven top race fixtures, an evening performance from Westlife, ‘New Racegoer Masterclasses’ and a prize for the most stylish dresser in a Fashions in the Field competition – with the winner being crowned the style queen of Ladies Day.

Jemma Kidd says, “I have a lifelong passion for horses and I am calling all ladies to come to Ladies Day and experience the buzz you can only get from being at the races. For first-timers or those who have yet to be bitten by the bug, Newbury Racecourse’s onsite new racegoer sessions will really allow ladies to engage in racing and help them feel how I do about the sport! In return for a great day out I hope to see ladies giving generously in support of a great cause – The Eve Appeal.”

Newbury Racecourse has also pledged its support of The Eve Appeal as the Official Charity of Ladies Day and is aiming to raise thousands of pounds for the cause in donations. In celebration of this partnership and to raise further funds for gynaecological cancers on the day, Newbury Racecourse has launched the “Eve Salad” – a light, crunchy seafood salad, perfect for an afternoon at the races in the mid-August heat.

For the first time ever, Newbury will be offering onsite masterclasses, which will also be broadcast on screens around the racecourse. Whether it’s their 1st or 100th time at the races, these sessions will give ladies the skills to walk the walk and talk the talk on Ladies Day. Tips will include where and when to be seen, how to get close to the horses, how to bet, and learn the racing lingo – impressing even the most knowledgeable racegoer.

Stephen Higgins, joint Managing Director of Newbury Racecourse says “This year we are launching onsite masterclasses as part of our new racegoer campaign and will have experts available during the day to offer handy hints and tips to help ladies to get the most out of their day. Involving Jemma and the Eve Appeal can only complement this drive and confirm our position at the forefront of the campaign to ignite people’s passion for racing.”

Jemma will be joined on the day by Chanelle McCoy wife of Grand National winning Jockey Tony McCoy and Channel 4 Racing presenter Emma Spencer, who will form the key members of the Fashions in the Field judging panel.

To book tickets to this star-studded day out and for further information please visit www.newbury-racecourse.co.uk

Photo credit: Catherine Balavage

Blackberry Torch and OS 6 {Gadgets}

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Possibly one of the most humourous things in life is watching a friend repeatedly jab an ordinary phone screen with a perplexed look on their face. This simple joy has now been stolen from me as Blackberry have announced their first phone which has both a touchscreen and a keyboard.

Blackberry Torch

Named the BlackBerry Torch, it will come with Blackberry 6 Operating System which was previewed earlier this year. Add to that a 5mp camera, web-kit browser and a track pad incase you can’t get used to the idea not having one (like a vesigial organ of mobile phone evolution).

Blackberry have also announced that Blackberry 6 OS will be will be available in the months ahead (depending  on carrier) on some of their range, including the Pearl 3G 9100, Bold 9650 and Bold 9700.

Printed Clothing {Style}

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Film’s going three dimention happy at the moment so it’s no excuse for fashion not to follow suit. The uses of 3d printing are still being explored and designer-researchers are producing 3d printed textiles and clothing.

The emerging technology, which uses ultraviolet beams to fuse layers of powdered, recyclable thermoplastic into shape, leaves behind virtually no waste. Its localized production and one-size-fits-all approach also racks up fewer travel miles, requires less labor, and compresses fabrication time to a matter of hours, rather than weeks or months.

Designer Jiri Evenhuis, in collaboration with Janne Kyttanen of Freedom of Creation, were among the first to toy with the idea of using 3D printers to create textiles. “Instead of producing textiles by the meter, then cutting and sewing them into final products, this concept has the ability to make needle and thread obsolete,” Evenhuis has said.

3D printing has the “ability to make needle and thread obsolete,” says designer Jiri Evenhuis. 

A decade later, designer-researchers like Freedom of Creation in Amsterdam and Philip Delamore at the London College of Fashion are cranking out seamless, flexible textile structures using software that converts three-dimensional body data into skin-conforming fabric structures. The potential for bespoke clothing, tailored to the specific individual, are as abundant as the patterns that can be created, from interlocking Mobius motifs to tightly woven meshes.

Freedom of Creation’s 3D textiles are currently display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

3D Printing Process: ‘The FOC Punch Bag’ from Freedom Of Creation on Vimeo.

[via ecouterre]

Musical Style {Style}

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With new artists continuously emerging from all walks of life there is constantly something fresh on the music scene however when an artist comes to the forefront of the public eye, it’s not just their music that makes them famous. It is their personality, their style and of course their fashion.

Fashion and music are inexplicably linked.

This idea is of course, is not a new phenomenon, think back to ‘The Beatles’ and their iconic suits, ‘Kiss’ and their unmistakable face paint, as well as Run DMC and their Adidas. In the case of Run DMC, fashion even influenced their music with the song ‘My Adidas’ which was a result of the group “rockin” their “superstars/shelltoes” with the tongue sticking out and no laces, making a huge impact on both hiphop and future generation styles.

More recently, Lilly Allen started the idea of wearing prom style dresses accompanied by trainers and Oasis set an example which Manchunians especially still emulate to a certain extent, with the casual-smart way of dressing.

Even hair styles are copied, this is seen again with the Oasis style; they are more dated now but even back in the 1980’s the long curls on men were copied from artists such as Brian May from Queen, amongst others.

A lot of these music producing fashion trends emerge and continue to appear for years to come. For example, Run DMC’s style; the fashionable street/sports wear, this is still very obviously apparent within the hip-hop music scene, take a look at Jay-Z or Justin Timberlake, but new versions are constantly evolving as well such as the N-Dubz, ‘Dappy-hat’ is a particularly obvious and surprisingly popular one of these.

An infamous trend which emerged some time ago is the Punk Music scene, which although materialized up to thirty five years ago, remnants of it are still constantly surfacing.

Vivienne Westwood is a prime and noted example of this but these characteristics are seen across the board with even high street stores using qualities of the style. For example tartan dresses and ripped jeans.

Fashion will always be influenced by music, the only question is, whose is your favourite artist?

Foot Phobia – Dressing our Feet for Summer! {Style}

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It’s an everyday scenario that when the sun comes out, so too do our feet. Our feet which have been locked away in the chastity belt encasements of lace-up shoes, trainers, and brogues have spent most of their time being battered through the winter months; toes are stubbed on bed steads , objects are kicked, and some have walked the distance from earth to the moon to the requirements of the lunch-break dash for the shops, lost car keys, housework, and trips to the supermarket (amongst other things).

As we look forward to our summer holidays away in Benidorm, Scarborough and the like, us girls especially, will almost certainly have a fit of panic (duration of a personal choice) when we look to our footwear, and hence contemplate the exposure (god forbid) of our feet. One must assess the situation with calmness and rationale and then organise the mandatory pedicure of the year pronto. If on a budget then a home kit will be satisfactory, but a speed read through the instructions shouldn’t go amiss.

Personal foot issues are not rare, the odd protruding fourth toe, or a ‘stumpy’ shape (always over exaggerated by the foot’s owner) for example, will have some walking around Ibiza in wetsuit boots. But this phobia can be overcome with some gentle persuasion and a friendly open door into the magic world of shoe engineering and design.

The seasons’ trend of gladiator sandals, along with a strong nail colour, have enabled us to really make a fuss of our feet. And whether we like it or not, those feet will be exposed sometime during the summer, even if it’s only to a household pet. So the only thing to do is to embrace this opportunity; get to Superdrug straight away and start buying out a range of incandescent nail varnishes. Then elaborately paint those toenails to one’s desires. Its carte blanche baby, rainbow colours all the way!

One can complement their foot shape, be it short, long, wide, narrow, etc, with a sandal. However, this is not just any sandal. With so many on the market, especially gladiator sandals, one can really pick and choose one that will show, or hide, the foot appropriately. For example, chunky ankles may require sandals with an ankle cuff like these from Dorothy Perkins £28. 

Alternatively, a long elegant foot may require little embellishment, hence a sandal with just a minimalist thong will do, such as these from ASOS.com.

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A sandal which encases the entire foot, almost like a shoe, would suit a wider foot as the lines will create the illusion of a more slender form, try these from Schuh for size. £39.99.

If walking around a lot, it’s worth investing in some rubber soled sandals. Hideous as this may sound, one can always fall back on a lifelong pair of Birkenstocks. This may well save you the humiliation of walking around in trainers for the forthcoming weeks on your return. But above all, ‘tis the season to have fun with your feet!!

By Katie Fremantle

Rainbow Stripes {Style}

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Stripes have been around for decades but this summer they are hitting the shops hard and in their masses. Whether your guilty pleasure is jackets, shirts, skirts, shorts or trousers, there will be no struggles in finding something suitable within this trend. If you find bold or subtle stripes, bright or muted colours appealing, there is plenty on offer. The best part about this trend is that you can work it into any outfit because if the clothing isn’t your thing, there is even a huge range of accessories readily available.

John Lewis Stripe Shoulder Bag, Plaited Handle

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John Lewis has some nice women’s bags like this women’s fabric bag shoulder bag with plaited handle. £20, John Lewis.

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Paul Smith Strips BagPaul Smith has a stunning range for you gents, plus Paul Smith also has a great range for this look overall with their signature stripe flaunting the style.

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Fendi Nautical Striped Dress

The current stripes have heavy nautical influences encouraging the boundaries between stripe directions to become blurred with some diagonal stripes emerging.

The varied nature of stripes means that every person will be able to find something appropriate and complimentary to them. Those who wish to make a statement might go for a full outfit, more on the girl side with a dress perhaps; Fendi has an interesting and unusual nautical striped shift dress currently available.

If you wanted to be a little more reserved perhaps a scarf would do this trick, LemLem has a nice nazret cotton striped scarf which is available from www.net-a-porter.com, £65.

There are some great trousers and shirts which fit in with this trend, Kitsune has my personal favourite in both these with a decent selection of stripy wear.

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The great thing about stripes is that the garments you buy can be easily layered in to your other favourite trends such as with your shorts or blazers and can be mixed and matched with other easily for a more unique and outgoing look. This fabulous trend can even be carried over into your interiors,  striped wall paper or sofa even striped bedding from Lulu Guinness are all readily available and are there to bring that added extra to your love of fashion.

Partying for a Purpose to Host Its Annual Lucky 7 Fundraiser at Playboy Mansion.

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Partying for a Purpose to Host Its Annual Lucky 7 Fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion

Hugh Hefner will be honored with the ‘Taking Care of Business Award’ for his generosity to the cause.

Partying for a Purpose is hosting its 7th annual fundraising event Lucky 7 at the Playboy Mansion on August 21 benefiting It’s All About The Kids Foundation, a cause dedicated to enhancing the lives of less fortunate children. Playboy Playmate 2004 Pilar Lastra and Playboy Cyber Girl Melissa Dawn Taylor will be the weekend hosts, which will include three parties from Friday August 20 through Sunday August 22.

During the Lucky 7 party festivities at the Playboy Mansion, Mr. Hugh Hefner will be honored with the “Taking Care of Business Award.” The award is in memory of Scott Brannon, who was murdered in 2006.

“We have had the privilege of having six successful annual events at the Playboy Mansion,” said Angela Brannon, Co-Founder and Executive Director of It’s All About The Kids. “Because of Mr. Hefner’s generosity, our high profile events have helped us build awareness with new audiences, and the funds raised will enable us to continue to assist under privileged children in San Diego and around the world. We are so excited to honor him! To date, we have served over 10,000 children. At this year’s party, are also supporting the Seeing Stars Foundation and Global H2O.”

Lucky 7 guests will be partying for a purpose at The Hyatt Century Plaza for three days, including a Friday Casino Night with a hosted VIP cocktail party, Saturday pool party and a “RECOVERY” pool party on Sunday. Casino Night guests will enjoy roulette, blackjack and a live auction for the chance to body paint models. Winning bidders will arrive at to the Mansion early on Saturday evening to help paint their beauties.

Only Four Hundred tickets are available for the weekend-long event, with 100% of the proceeds going to It’s All About The Kids. All donations are 50% tax deductible. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit www.PartyingForaPurposeMansionParty.com. For media inquiries, contact Richie Matthews of DIALOGO at richie@prdialogo.com