How to…dress like a First Lady?

How to…Dress like a First Lady?

With the American presidential campaign taking place next month Hilary Clinton is everywhere right now and so we couldn’t help but start thinking about previous first ladies as we sat chatting over a cup of tea and some macaroons at lunch (We are good to Ourselves-I know!). Throughout the decades the first ladies have been the epitome of sophistication and glamour providing fashion and style inspiration to women across the globe. I mean let’s face it every woman would love a wardrobe like theirs and even now first ladies from the past manage to inspire modern day fashion as their outfit ensembles were never anything less than classy, polished and of course timeless.

Probably the most iconic of all first ladies and the first lady we have the biggest soft spot for is none other than (drum roll please)-Jackie Kennedy. Jackie Kennedy is a classic style icon who will be used to draw inspiration from for years as her style will never go out of fashion. Of course we may be biased here at Carousel considering Jackie herself was half-Irish and married Americas first Irish-Catholic President but even still you cannot deny how stylish she was! Jackie gained worldwide attention from the moment they won the presidential election campaign in 1960. She became a fashion icon, an industry trendsetter portrayed by the media as the ideal woman-(ahem…of course she wasn’t cause really there is no such thing!)-with impeccable fashion sense.

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As she often sketched her own designs she garnered her own signature style that got her international recognition. The famous ‘’Jackie Look’’ spread like wild fire as even lower end stores imitated her sleek, classy ensembles. Much in line with her checkered and colorful life she had a mixture of signature looks that evolved throughout the years but the most iconic of these involved structured shapes that showed skin in a very tasteful way, along with bows on dresses. She was an avid fan of classic cuts that emphasised the silhouette, were extremely sophisticated yet stylish and uber feminine. Much like us at Carousel Jackie wasn’t afraid to experiment with bright colours, to express her individuality and cinch her dresses in at the waist to show off her figure. Until she passed away in 1994 Jackie remained one of the USA’s most stylish women.

When we think of Jackie we immediately think of structured A-line dresses or dresses that highlights the silhouette topped off with a bow which Jackie loved to add to her ensembles. Her look is still so attainable and nowadays even more affordable. My favourite dress in store right now is the ‘Jackie Blue Dress‘created by our own Circus range available exclusively to Carousel. . This dress inspired by Jackie herself is as close to her style as you can get and the shade of blue is stunning against all skin tones! We also have the ‘Ava Grey dress’  which I think is the epitome of a relaxed, Jackie Kennedy day look as she strolled around the grounds of the white house with the kids.

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How to…Dress like Bridget Jones

How to…Dress like Bridget Jones?
Hello ladies! If you are like us here at Carousel you consider winter and it’s long, dark, cold nights (which have certainly begun-eeekk!) to be the perfect excuse to get cozy on a couch beside the fire. Winter is THE perfect time to catch up on all your favourite series and movies and we recently kicked movie season off with a trip to the movies to see the long awaited Bridget Jones Baby!!

First off let me tell you my sides are still sore from giggling and I can’t help but laugh still as I think back on it. I always judge a comedy on whether it can make me laugh or not-let me tell you it is not easily done-but this movie did not disappoint! Bridget Jones movies have become romantic comedy classics, they are the ultimate chick flick and let’s be honest there isn’t a girl anywhere who can’t relate to Bridget.
Without giving too much away in this movie Bridget gets pregnant but in typical Bridget Jones fashion her life is all over the place and she has no idea who the father is. Her love hate relationship with mark Darcy is stronger than ever and we are kept on the edge of our seat in typical Bridget Jones fashion as to whether they will ever get together or not.
Dress like Bridget Jones
To be honest I was quite surprised with how good the movie was considering it is the third installment in the franchise but Bridget was her usual warm, witty lovable self and she looked better than ever! Throughout the film which has not lost any of its appeal and charm Bridget donned a few fabulous looks but our favorite was the chic green midi dress she wore to her son’s christening which she paired with a cute cream knitted cardigan and classy black patent shoes. We are delighted to have such a similar dress, ‘The Vivien dress’  here in stock at Carousel both in store and online and we also have the knee length floaty and fabulous ‘Peggy skirt’ that reminds us of the dress she wore. How great is that? I mean who doesn’t want to be Bridget Jones? (Hopefully though we have better luck with men!)

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Pair with some low heeled vintage style shoes for the ultimate, classically vintage ensemble!