ShopStyle Christmas Giveaway

Image from Shopstyle

Image from Shopstyle

With party season officially here, ShopStyle is on the hunt for someone who can create sparkle and shine with the ultimate festive party outfit.

Enter the ShopStyle Christmas Giveaway and you’ll be in with a chance of winning £1,000 worth of retail vouchers of your choice. The winner will also be invited to make an exclusive Editor’s Pick collection on ShopStyle based on your party style!

All you need to do is browse ShopStyle in order to produce a visual representation of your best Christmas party outfit, using products from the site. Whether you go for prim and proper or fun and flirty, we’re looking for a show stopper of an outfit. Your visual representation must be published within a blog post on your own blog. All of the outfits entered will be judged by POPSUGAR’s Fashion Editor, Gemma Cartwright, and the winner will be announced on the StyleNotes blog.

To enter simply email shopstyle@shopstyle.com with your name, email address, full postal address, phone number and a link back to your entry blog post. Entries must be received by midnight on 16th December 2013. Read further information about the competition here.

Don’t forget to share your Christmas party outfit on Twitter and ShopStyle’s Pinterest Board with the hashtag #ShopStyleParty.

In Pursuit of the Perfect Winter Coat

coat, shopping, winter coat. Finding the perfect winter coat is a time consuming and stressful business. So Frost has gotten ShopStyle to unearth the definitive trends for you, revealing the must-have items for the month

Each month ShopStyle, the web’s premier fashion search engine, will reveal a trend that has featured high up, or has made a surprise jump on the search term list. Gemma Cartwright POPSUGAR Fashion and Beauty Editor, will also offer a lesson in fashion terminology with a glossary of monthly ‘it’ words to help you hone in on that trend.

It may come as no surprise that the 90’s inspired parka, fur collar pea coat or pink wool coat fall in the top search terms this month. Whether it’s magenta mohair or pastel winter wool, the pink coat is the most coveted item for autumn/winter 2013.

Gemma says “When hunting online for your pink coat try not to see everything through rose-tinted glasses and ensure you consider the style, fabric and hue to ensure you don’t end up looking like a giant marshmallow. With so much variety on the market there is something to suit everyone, so if you’re not a girly girl, try a masculine tailored silhouette in a blush pink shade.”

In order to track down the right pink coat for you, Gemma Cartwright has developed a list of terms that will make your fashion shopping experience a whole lot simpler.

“Fashion vernacular is something of a minefield for most of us. Unless your name is Anna Wintour how can you be expected to know what an ‘ovoid mohair boyfriend coat’ is supposed to look like? When we analyse search terms we can see that entering a variety of terms can give fashion hunters the best results. Here are some words that will help you think pink and hone in on the trend of the month.”

Boyfriend coats have an androgynous fit that will glide over your waist and hips, and can be designed in any length. This classic style will take you from one season to next, and can look great with both work wear and skinny jeans and a blouse for a more casual feel.

Oversized styles are fairly obvious, enlarged and masculine; an ideal style to wear over chunky knitwear and extra layers. Try adding a belt for a waist-cinching effect.

Maxi coats are longer length, gender neutral and scantly fitted usually.


Wrap coats
are universally flattering on all body types and sizes – think Diane von Furstenburg’s iconic wrap dress. They are unlikely to have buttons, just a wrap around with a belt perhaps.

Cocoon is a style ‘it word’ that’s been thrown around frequently of late, but the cocoon shape coat does exactly that; it envelops you in a cosy, comfortable clinch.

Ovoid meaning egg-shaped, is a new term to the fashion industry this year. Essentially ovoid encompasses all of the above, so if your search isn’t locating exactly what you want, try ovoid.

Coatigan is equally on-trend in fashion slang this season; part wrap, part boyfriend and part oversized. Give this a go and hopefully you’ll find ‘the one’.

Are you inspired? What do you think you will buy?