ASOS Blog

What's Hot, What's Not - Your Weekly Guide to Cool

1 - London Fashion Week

It's here! And it's set to be bigger and better than ever! With Luella opening a new store, Camilla Morton launching her follow-up to How To Walk In High Heels, Christopher Kane attending the opening of Amy Sacco's new London club, Bungalow, Agyness Deyn due to DJ at the hippest night in town - the Mac/Boombox party in Hoxton - and Matthew Williamson returning to the Big Smoke, you could be forgiven for forgetting that it's actually all about the new Spring/Summer '08 collections. Don't worry though - we'll be keeping an eye on proceedings for you and reporting back.

2 - Fashion's New Face

Having been scouted in the humble surroundings of Primark in Hammersmith just one year ago, Jourdan Dunn is taking the fashion world by storm. The 17-year old had never even left the country before she signed to Storm modelling agency, but last week she made waves in New York as she walked for Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Gwen Stefani's LAMB range, to name but a few. And with a splattering of London shows booked, you're sure to see a lot more of her...

3 - The Return of Strictly

Have you seen the ads on TV for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing?? We get palpitations every time we see it, we love it so - coupled with The X Factor it makes for perfect Saturday night pre-going out entertainment. And this year's line up is a corker. Penny Lancaster Sharon and Deano from Eastenders. Tricky Dicky from Coronation Street. And, can we just say, that whoever paired Kelly Brook with the snake-hipped Brendan Cole is a tabloid-frenzy-whipping genius.

1 - Celeb Fall Outs

Word reaches us from LA that, despite originally becoming NBFs, all is not well between Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Lopez. When Posh first landed Stateside, the woman formerly known as J-Lo welcomed her with open arms, with Posh returning the favour by helping Jen pick a frock for an awards party. But then things started to go wrong - first Jen failed to turn up to the Beckhams' "Welcome to America" party, hosted by the Cruises and the Smiths, which prompted Vic to pass on Jennifer's New York Fashion Week show, stating that she was "too tied up in LA" - despite the fact that she was repeatedly snapped front row at other shows. Whoops...

2 - Waiting Around

The fash pack are up in arms after their darling du jour, Marc Jacobs, kept the crowd waiting for two hours before the start of his New York Fashion Week show. Such a fuss has been kicked up that the designer is threatening not to show in the city next year. Seriously guys, this is fashion - nothing worth waiting for runs on time...

3 - Sienna and Rhys

Sienna Miller and Rhys Ifans, we just have one thing to say - are you or bloomin' aren't you!?

What's Hot, What's Not - Your Weekly Guide to Cool

1 - Shoes, Glorious Shoes

Yesterday's Sunday Times Style magazine declared this to be a season of accessories, with none more important than the ever-glorious shoe - do you need any more excuse to invest in a new pair or three? From patent to studded to shoe boots and more, there are an abundance of styles to choose from. And those that do still need convincing of the Reign of the Shoe should hot-foot it to New York, where we hear that Saks have moved their shoe department from the 4th to the 8th floor, in doing so increasing their shoe-pacitiy to 8,500 square feet and earning the department its own zip code. Shoe heaven.

2 - Diesel

Diesel has long been a favourite brand of ours - with hot Italian design and some of the very finest jeans around, what's not to love? And they're definitely back at the top of our style radar, with a new fragrance launching this week (you've probably seen the ads on TV - hot, hot man!) and a store relaunch on the King's Road in London to boot.

3 - Autumn

There's a distinct nip in the air (without it being too cold), the trees are beginning to change colour and the first leaf fell on us this weekend, which makes it official - autumn is here! And that means one thing and one thing alone - we can finally start wearing all those new season pieces we've been investing in for the past few weeks (call us fashion obsessives, but we needed something to distract us from the terribly depressing weather...). Time to switch style gears, ladies.

1 - Arrivederci, Valentino

Having just two months ago celebrated 45 years in the fashion industry, we were saddened to hear that Valentino has announced that he will be standing down as the label's designer after two more collections. The Italian founded the fashion house in 1962 and earned himself the title "Master of the Dress" with his sophisticated designs, as well as celebrity friends in the form of  Liz Hurley and Elle MacPherson to name but a few. "It's the perfect moment to say farewell to the fashion world," he said in a statement.

2 - Sour Grapes

Kanye West is evidently not a Britney Spears fan. Speaking at last night's MTV Video Music Awards about Britney being scheduled to kick-off the proceedings, Kanye fumed "I can't believe she would perform. She hasn't had a hit record in years! Maybe my money's not right". Insiders tell us that the rap superstar was more than a little offended that he wasn't asked to open the show. Can't quite imagine him in a glittery bikini, can you?

3 - This Week's OK! Cover Story

Big Brother contestants Chanelle and Ziggy "re-enact" the extravaganza that was Victoria and David Beckham's wedding - just without the celebrity friends, the same level of extravagance...or an actual wedding ceremony taking place. We sense their 15 minutes may be just about up...

What's Hot, What's Not - Your Weekly Guide to Cool

1 - Going for the Chop

First Posh did it. Then her pal Katie Holmes did it. Soon Renee Zellweger followed suit. And now Paris Hilton is the latest in a long line of celebs to take a deep breath and chop off their hair (or in Paris' case, remove their hair extensions). And with autumn fast approaching, we have to say it's not seeming like such a bad idea - a windswept bob is soo much chicer than a long mane of hair wrapped round your neck following a brush with a gale.

2 - Premium Brands

Two days and counting until the ASOS.com premium brand range launches on site! With names including Pinko, Paul & Joe Sister and Twenty8Twelve, Sienna and Savannah Miller's range, set to go live, we're predicting an almighty surge of shopping activity from the online fashionistas of the world. Make sure you're one of them and log-on first thing Wednesday morning...

3 - New York, New York

New York Fashion Week kicks off in the Big Apple on Wednesday of this week, marking the beginning of the "Big 4" - London, Milan and Paris will follow swiftly behind. Highlights are sure to include Alice Temperley's fourth show in NYC and Gwen Stefani's next collection from her L.A.M.B range. And, of course, scowering the front rows to see who's there. Oh, the excitement!

1 - Summer Colds

The oh-so-unpredictable weather of late has left us sneezing, red nosed and barely able to talk - sooo not a good look.

2 - Break-ups

Much as we hate to be the bearer of bad news, word has literally just reached us that one of our favourite Hollywood couples have reportedly split. Brace yourself...it's Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams. The couple, who met on the set of Brokeback Mountain, had renewed our faith in "LaLa Land Love", appearing on red carpet after red carpet looking completely besotted with one another, and the birth of their daughter Matilda back in 2003 seemed to cement their relationship. But alas - if reports are to believed, it wasn't meant to be. We're sobbing into our soya latte as we type...

3 - Suffering for your Art

Apparently, doctors have come up with the term "WAG Elbow" to refer to the injuries caused by lugging around oversized bags...oh, the things we subject ourselves to in the name of fashion! Good news is that big clutch bags are set to be huge (pardon the pun) this season, so you can achieve the oversized look without needing to call in sick with WAG Elbow. Really, they could have thought of a more scientific name - no boss is ever going to sympathise with us over this ailment...

What's Hot, What's Not - Your Weekly Guide to Cool

1 - Keira for Chanel

Have you seen the latest ads for the Chanel perfume Coco Mademoiselle? Starring Keira Knightly stripped bare with nothing but a bowler hat (going to be big next season, along with top hats - we swear!), a necklace and a discarded shirt to protect her modesty, the ads are sure to cause a stir - not least amongst the men of the population.

2 - Heath Ledger

As if we didn't love this hottie enough already - now news reaches us that Heath Ledger saved Maggie Gyllenhaal from going up in a blaze of flames. The pair were filming the new Batman movie, Dark Knight, together when a special effects generator fell over, setting Maggie's skirt on fire - thankfully Heath was on hand to put the fire out which, according to a eye-witness, was incredibly lucky as the actress could have been "seriously injured". Ooh, we've come over all funny imagining Heath in a fireman's uniform...

3 - ASOS Magazine

It's arrived! The September issue of the ASOS Magazine is now available - and featuring exclusive interviews with Cameron Diaz, Sienna and Savannah Miller and our very own Head of Creative, it's an absolute must-read. The new issue is free with any order from ASOS.com - so get clicking!

1 - The Return of the Football Season

Football has been back in the hearts of our men-folk for just over a week now, and that means less room in there for us. Suddenly we find ourselves alone on Saturday afternoon shopping trips and unable to get anywhere near the remote on whilst Match of the Day is on. But hang on - that means shopping in peace, with no one moaning that their feet hurt or exclaiming that we can't possibly be considering spending that much money on a pair of shoes. And an excuse to vacate the house and hit the town with our friends every Saturday night. Hell, we've got this all wrong - this should be in the "Hot" list!

2 - Stiletto Fun Run

Yes, you read that right - the first German Glamour magazine stiletto 100m dash took place in Berlin over the weekend, with 100 Glamour readers taking part. The rules stated that heels height must be at least 7cm and heels could be no thicker than 1.5cm. Hmm - glamorous women dashing here, there and everywhere in killer heels? Sounds like an average day in the office to us...

3 - New Season Panic

Now, we can't help feel that fashion's been a tad unfair to us. Having let us spend practically an entire year hiding every last lump and bump under an ever so forgiving smock  top or sack dress, all of a sudden it springs a incredibly body-con season upon us, full of fitted tailoring, cinched in waists and teeny-weeny dresses. Cue panic - we've hit the gym, maintained a diet similar to that of a rabbit and measured our waist on almost an hourly basis. One inch down, only about, oh we don't know, TWENTY MILLION to go. We're exhausted - pass us the pizza...

What's Hot, What's Not - Your Weekly Guide To Cool

1 - The X Factor

No, we don't mean that somethin' somethin' that certain celebs have, others are sadly lacking - we literally mean ITV's The X Factor. It's back on our screens again this Saturday and we absolutely can't wait - it's our guilty pleasure. You may call us sad now, but once the dark, cold nights start to draw in (approx. one month, we reckon) then we have no doubt you'll love nothing more than a cosy night in watching it. And what's not to love - Simon's wicked tongue. Louis' consistently unfunny jokes. Sharon's uncomfortable flirting with underage boys. Plus, Dannii Minogue joins the judges this year - and seeing as though Louis made some pretty cutting remarks about big sis Kylie, it's certain to be an interesting show.

2 - Leather Jackets

Now that we've started to turn our attention to next season's trends, we're getting distinctly excited about the new, smart mood that runs through all of A/W's looks. One piece that will be absolutely key to our wardrobe is a leather jacket, so we were over the moon when the Lindsay Scalloped Leather Jacket, a previous best seller, arrived back on the site. Buy now, or be disappointed.

3 - Daring to Look Ridiculous

She's 6 foot. He's 5'4". But that hasn't stopped love blossoming between model Sophie Dahl and jazz hobbit Jamie Cullum. The pair have been snapped on various occasions over the last few weeks looking sickeningly loved up - and oddly matched, considering the substantial height difference. How does kissing standing up work? Does she have to stoop?? We don't know, but the pairing has got us thinking - are we way too fussy when it comes to the other sex? Maybe if we gave that guy with the wonky nose / funny shaped hands / too small Adam's apple (delete or add as appropriate) a chance, it'd work out? C'mon ladies, it's time to let your guard down - if Sophie can, we can.

1 - Christmas in August

Now, we're no Scrooge. In fact we love Christmas. But...there are 134 days left until Christmas Day. One. Hundred. And. Thirty. Four. So why-oh-why is the Harrod's Christmas store open already!? The grand opening took place last week, complete with a Santa Claus and fake snow - as if Londoners aren't confused enough about what season they're in...

2 - Flip Flop Rage

Now that the sun is sporadically shining, those flip flops that had been hiding at the back of our wardrobe have finally seen the light of day. Hurrah! But our sun spirit is seriously dampened by pesky people stamping on the back of our flip-flops - not cool, mister.

3 - Lockdown on Facebook

It's an internet phenomenon, a website used the world over - and a brilliant way of whittling away the hours of a particularly dreary Monday afternoon. But alas! Alack! The powers that be are blocking our beloved Facebook. Those pesky so-and-sos in IT are seriously messing with our social networking - it's just not on...

What's Hot, What's Not - Your Weekly Guide to Cool

1 - Sarah Jessica Parker

The truly lovely Sarah Jessica Parker graces the cover of ELLE this month, working next season's trend for bright, block colours in a hot yellow dress. With the Sex and the City movie in production (altogether now girls - hurrah!) and a new fragrance, Covet, on shelves, our love affair with SJP has been re-ignited. We're so very excited to hear her utter the immortal words "I couldn't help but wonder..." again.

2 - Getting the hottest new designers before any of our friends

Shhh - keep it under your hat...The Laden Showroom, previously only available from the boutique of the same name in London's hip East End, is now available exclusively online at ASOS.com. Featuring hot British designers including Jovonna and Chan Chan, your friends will be demanding to know where you got that amazing new dress / top / puffball jacket.

3 - Reunions

Our spies in LA tell us that our very own Robbie Williams recently met with former Take That-ers Mark Owen and Gary Barlow (yes, that's Gaz Barlow - the Robster's sworn enemy) for a drink at trendy Chateau Marmont - could there be a full-five reunion on the cards? Also sparking rumours of a reunion in LA are Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, who have been spotted out running, shopping and lunching together (please, PLEASE say this is true!). Meanwhile on this side of the pond, Chantelle and Preston have kept tongues wagging by releasing a statement calling time on their 10-month marriage, and then being snapped all over town together. What's the dealio, guys?

1 - Stating the Obvious

Nicole Richie appeared on American TV network ABC confirming to Diane Sawyer that she is in fact pregnant. "I am. We are. I'm almost four months" she said. Two words - WE. KNOW! Still, we loved the oversize cowl neck top she wore for the appearance - best of luck, Mommy Richie.

2 - Crutches

Poor old Rihanna - first her single Umbrella gets knocked off the number one spot by Timberland (not that it's ten-week stint at the top spot didn't deserve to come to an end), and then she literally gets knocked off her stilettos and does herself an injury. The R'n'B star was snapped out shopping on a pair of crutches - not exactly the hottest accessory right now, but at least she still managed a smile.

3 - Sunburn

We're ecstatic that the sun came out this weekend (obv). We're not so happy about neglecting to pack anything remotely containing an SPF in our bag - lobster red is not the colour du jour.

What's Hot, What's Not - Your Weekly Guide to Cool

1 - Entrepreneurs

Budding businesswoman? Take inspiration from Lauren Pope, founder and face of Hair Rehab extensions and a finalist in ITV's recent Tycoon - a Dragon's Den style show. The 23-year old model-turned-entrepreneur's clip-in natural hair extensions come in 4 different lengths and colours, and are a more hair-friendly alternative to their glue-in counterparts. Now that's the business.

2 - The Simpsons

There's no avoiding it - The Simpsons Movie is going to be the biggest cinematic event of the year, and with Madge and Co starring in their very own Harper's Bazaar spread, big blue hair and donuts have never been so cool. Well, maybe not the blue hair. But definitely the donuts...

3 - Mahiki

It's gained a bit of a reputation over the recent months as a bit of a royal playground, with Kate 'n' Wills and Harry 'n' Chelsey all crossing it's threshold, but it's not just the toffs that come out to play at Mahiki - with celebs including Girls Aloud, Mischa Barton and Paris Hilton partying there, Mahiki is still very much an A-List haunt. We're particularly partial to one of their Ultimate Mai Tais (or 4).

1 -  Knickers (worn as outerwear)

A note to all Big Brother contestants - only Superman can get away with wearing his underwear as overwear. Whatever happened to cool and classy?

2 - Dirty Dancing

No, not the film. Instead we refer to the cringy snaps of TomKat dancing at Posh and Becks' Welcome To America party captured by US Weekly. We turned the same colour as Katie's beautiful dress just looking at the pictures - the words "embarrassing" and "dad" spring to mind...

3 - Bag Envy

Just how did Nicole Richie manage to get her hands on the new and strictly limited edition Chloé Heloise bag for her recent court date? We've been good little girls all year - not fair!

What's Hot, What's Not - Your Weekly Guide to Cool

   

1 - Pink - Posh seems to have kick started a trend with the "pretty in pink" Roland Mouret dress she wore in LA recently...the perfect antidote to the gloomy outdoors, pink is our colour du jour.

2 - Theme Parks - Brad and Angelina reportedly spent the weekend with the kids at a French theme park, where Brad played on the bouncy castle - is it wrong to find that totally hot? Now that Britain's theme parks are open for the summer, we can't wait to ride the loop-the-loop, get soaked on the log flume and generally act like a child again.

3 - Movie Marathons - we spent yesterday watching Desperately Seeking Susan (Madonna at her best) and Titanic (our love affair with Leo is rekindled) - next weekend we're set for old classic Turner and Hooch, The Parent Trap (the original Hayley Mills version, not the Lindsay Lohan remake) and Charlie's Angels. Heaven.

1 - Men - Gavin groping some girl whilst Charl's in the family way; Frank doing the dirty on Elen; Calum chucking Lindsay because she's too "boring" since her spell in rehab - seriously guys, not cool.

2 - Cat Fights - Whilst Maggie Gyllenhall has been laying in to Katie Holmes, calling her "some generic lady in a dress", Posh has been having a go at Paris. On hearing that the socialite was keen to meet up with her, VB reportedly exclaimed "Over my dead body! We couldn’t be more different. You won’t catch me falling out of nightclubs with no knickers on.” Come on ladies - whatever happened to girl power?

3 - Tights - there we were at the till, clutching a pair of tights and ready to pay when it struck us - it's July! And we're considering buying TIGHTS! We're not quite ready to succumb to the weather yet - our legs will remain bare. So what if we're cold...?

What's Hot, What's Not - Your Weekly Guide to Cool

HOT

1 - Versace

We've long been fans of Versace - with lashings of glamour and luxury, what's not to love? And with Sunday’s commemoration to mark 10 years since Gianni Versace's death (where Jessica Alba and Claudia Schiffer were in attendance) the Versace brand shows no signs of slowing.

2 - Petite

No more taking up trousers or drowning in too-big tops for small-framed girls - we've just added a petite range to our collection.

3 - Embellishment

We've already started researching the A/W trends here at ASOS.com HQ, and the big news of the season? Embellishment. Big news already, come September it's going to be absolutely everywhere - we advise stocking up in advance!

NOT

1 - Frizzy Hair

Heat of summer + rain of winter = hair's a complete mess. Not. Happy.

2 - Song Fatigue

Much as we love Rhianna, how can "Umbrella" still be at number 1!? As if we need another reminder that the weather's rubbish...

3 - Big Old Carbon Footprints

Thanks to the celeb-studded Live Earth, there's a real buzz around the issue of global warming at the moment, with big carbon emmissions a massive no-no. If you haven't got the message yet, it's time to listen up - this season, green is the new black.