Printed Cotton Scarf, American Vintage, £58.00

 

There’s never a time when I’m not wrapped up in a scarf. In the winter the fabrics are cosy, in the summer they’re fine and floaty. I’m not alone. In the last two years we’ve become a nation of scarf wearers again with weekend scarves becoming the hottest accessory as handbags have retreated from centre stage. Gwyneth Paltrow, Miley Cyrus and Gisele Bündchen are a few of the scarf’s celebrity fans rarely seen without theirs, and let’s not forget the Duchess of Cambridge who has perfected her own fully accessorized look over the past two years.

Luscious patterns and prints have become the best way to add a dash of colour and detail to a simple look. Picture the plainest tee and then wrap a coordinating scarf around its neckline – it’s as easy as that. Codello has a stupendous range of prints in a variety of fabrics. The European accessories powerhouse has developed a range of designs that manage to combine a multitude of colours without overwhelming the wearer. Pastels and neons are mixed masterfully to create some of the most exciting prints out there.

Interestingly, we’ve also become much better at sampling different fabrics. Asquith sells plain and simple bamboo and organic cotton wraps that are deliciously big and comforting for post-yoga and ideal as a travel companion. American Vintage, too, excels at creating plain jersey wraps that are soft and versatile for whole-year use. EMU Australia, more famous for its gorgeous sheepskin boots, has produced its own very lovely, super-fine merino wool scarves which can work as beach cover-ups or as delicious pieces for pairing with a summer dress or jeans.

From one scarf fan to anyone out there who ‘fesses to being one too, this really is the season to stock up on this versatile, go-anywhere accessory.

Check out your favourite stretch boutique in this month’s Health & Fitness magazine. We’re always looking for new ways to brighten up your gym looks and this season there are kits bags full of colour and new shapes to check out. Featured here are pieces by Casall and Petit Bateau.

 

If you haven’t been there yet, don’t forget to raid the sale section for your summer basics. We’re having a spring clean so everything is 80% or more off original prices. Lounge Lover, American Vintage, Paige Denim, MiH, Wellicious, Casall, Lola Rose and Codello are a few of the brands you’ll find there. My personal favourites are the jersey layers that last throughout the seasons – I have neat stacks of American Vintage pieces and they never fail me. Also, the last of the winter cover-ups are heading out of the door so don’t miss out.

I could go on but that’s just cutting into your shopping time…  So before you start to get your spring look together in earnest, go to the sale section pronto!

Yoga and Pilates vests and circle scarf, all by Wellicious
Summer has to end and the whole thing is made so much easier but the thought that the shops are starting to fill with the rich, luxurious colours of autumn. Over the last few years, yoga and Pilates clothes have become seasonal in the same way and there are few companies as adept at making sure fashionistas look their best in the studio as Wellicious. This London-based company is no less serious about yoga and Pilates but it always manages to produce a collection which reflects beautifully the turn of the seasons.

Headed by its Founder and Creative Director, Heike Schnell, each seasonal collection is designed and developed by the very experienced and highly skilled design team at Wellicious. Each and every detail carefully evolves to create an eco-friendly yet stylish and glamorous collection infused with the latest fashion and colour trends. Since its launch in 2007, celebrity fans of the luxurious yoga, Pilates and loungewear have included singer and actress Dannii Minogue and top model Erin O’Connor. More significantly, many star yoga teachers such as Tara Lee, Katy Appleton and Gabriela Bozic advocate the brand for its comfort and quality.

Sustainability is a core issue for Wellicious and it uses only carefully sourced fabrics such as Organic Cotton, Lyocell and Tencel. Rain-fed Organic Cotton ensures less water is used for its growth than for regular cotton. Tencel and Lyocell are soft, lightweight breathable, shrink-resistant and durable materials created from natural cellulose found in wood pulp. They are also biodegradable.

For 2012, deep and luxurious colours such as merlot are blended with muted highlights for a flattering yet modern take on the classic yoga vest and leggings combo. Stand-out pieces include a ruched vest which borrows the sweetheart neckline and seaming from an evening dress to make a top that properly supports the figure throughout practice. Leggings get yet another Wellicious makeover with fabulous jodhpur styling added to the classic fold-over Wellicious stirrup pants.

Large Cotton and Canvas bag, £86, by American Vintage

It’s only when you’ve had children that you realise just how unnecessary most of the kit is that accompanies the contemporary infant. And among the most unnecessary of all are the special baby bags that every new mother feels obliged to own, with a space for a changing mat and pockets to hold bottles and room for nappies. I can rarely see the things without wanting to accost the women who carry them and hiss: you do realise you don’t need this? Because you don’t.

What you need is a bag big enough to hold two or three nappies and a packet of wipes, a couple of bottles and a folded changing mat. And you know what? A big handbag will do the job perfectly well, even the changing mat. There is nothing cooler than accommodating a baby into your everyday wardrobe and one thing most of us possess is a big bag. Make it generous enough, and it’ll not only fit the baby, it’ll stand you in perfectly good stead for civilian life, post-infancy.

Whether you go down the canvas or leather route can depend on the season. Summer is the time you can unleash breezy cottons into your wardrobes and bags are no different in this respect. Leather, as used by IKKS for its capacious handbag, will see you through the seasons but fare less well on the beach (you’ll be hoovering sand from its depths well into autumn) unless your name is Marc Jacobs and a) you won’t go anywhere without your Hermes Birkin and b) someone else will do your bag-hoovering for you. The answer is probably to own a selection. Okay, it means getting a bit of a work-out if you forget the golden rule – just because it will fit in, doesn’t mean that it should fit in – and you overstuff your gorgeous bag, but what is all that gym work for anyway?

The benefits of big bag really show themselves in the summer months. What we all need is a holdall that will masquerade as a handbag when it comes to check-in – especially if you entire mini-break can fit into your hand luggage. It is also a way to combine a summer shopping bag (practical) with a shape and colour that fits right in with your outfit rather than simply going along with it (fashion hit).

Browsing for some skincare advice the other day, I happened on this extract from a webchat on Mumsnet with Liz Earle. There lots of good tips in the piece for honing your beauty routine (click through at the bottom for more) but here a a few of them:

Keep it simple. As far as our skincare routine is concerned, keep it simple, as more is not necessarily better.

Feed your skin. I swear by natural-source Vitamin E as an internal and external natural beautifier as its the most important of all the antioxidant vitamins for helping to maintain a youthful glow.

Never ever use soap and water on your face! All soap is alkaline some soap very strongly so and our skin is naturally slightly acidic, so every time you wash with soap you upset the delicate pH balance.

Switch to plant power. Pure plant oils are naturally rich in essential fatty acids EFAs, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients and do more good for your skin than bland mineral oil or paraffin waxes.

For brighter, smoother skin on your body, I highly recommend body brushing. Its an easy and inexpensive way of keeping the skin smooth, especially on lumpy, bumpy areas such as upper arms, hips and thighs. Use a long-handled, natural bristle brush to literally brush she skin from top to toe working upwards from the soles of the feet, concentrating on hips and thighs to help shift cellulite.

via Webchat with Liz Earle, skincare expert | Mumsnet.

‘Great expectations’ might make you think of the book by Charles Dickens. But here I’d really like to focus not on our own great expectations and how deep an effect these can have on our mental, emotional, even physical state.

If you’re out with friends tonight and anticipate the moment with the attitude that ‘it’s going to be fantastic’, you have already applied a certain outcome to a future event. One that is subject to a wide array of variables over which you have no control. What if the taxi doesn’t come? What if your friends can’t make it? Disappointment quickly replaces excitement.

If instead we only made a plan without attaching any sentiments to it and stayed in the here and now, it could still be the fantastic night one would hope for. Or it may not be. Whichever, the result is the say but expectations, and emotions, are managed and remain balanced.

One of the essential concepts of Yoga philosophy is non-attachment. It has many facets with expectations an important part of the whole. In this context, expectations are an attachment to a future event or outcome: we are attached to something that has not even happened. In short, we are compromising ourselves if we allow our hopes and expectations to rule our mind and emotions.

If you want to experiment with this concept, you can start on your yoga mat. No matter how deep your forward bends were last time, start afresh every time you step on your mat. Don’t expect your practice to be one thing or another, just practice. You will reap the profits without ever having expected them, all the sweeter for its unexpectedness.

Outfit by Yogamasti.

When it comes to the office, the pressure to look smart, together and well-pressed is the very least your boss or co-workers are going to expect. Fair enough, but finding a way to express your own style as well simply adds to the pressure first thing in the morning. A capsule wardrobe – picking a palette of coordinating colours and complementary shapes – is the short cut to an easier life.

It’s also the best way to maximise your clothes budget. The more you plan, the less room there will be in your wardrobe for those random purchases that somehow never make it off the hanger. Putting your own capsule together ensures you get off to the best start each day and means that your look is entirely yours.

Making the most of your wardrobe begins with versatile separates. Of course we’re here to entice you with our gorgeous Lovestretch collections (see above for one selection) but in reality you will be pulling your look from other sources too so go for simple, universal shapes in classic colours as your base. Camel, navy, grey or black are ideal background colours because they also work with one another.  The smart addition of a stand-out colour will transform a classic outfit and make it special. In addition, you can maintain the basics from one season to the next and simply change your highlight colour, or add a coordinating print, to create a perpetual, interesting wardrobe.

The Lovestretch look is all about versatile, stretch pieces and this is no bad place to start. Jersey is an ideal layering fabric (light and bulk-free) and a carefully edited selection can prove to be endlessly useful. A simple cami, for example, is potentially a base layer, a filler under a jacket, a sporty piece worn over a long sleeve tee or an evening top when worn with a statement necklace or earrings.

In general the best office basic capsule comprises: jacket, trousers, simple dress, leggings, shirt, cami, tee, long-sleeve tee, skirt, fine sweater or cardigan and a scarf. Simply pick one or two complimentary basic shades, a feature colour pulled through in two pieces and you’re away.

We check out Zest‘s advice on a regular basis and we discovered these top tips for the Christmas run–up. Follow the link at the bottom for more:

Trainer Nisha Obaidullah is a published author, leading female fitness entrepreneur and the creator and owner of Pilates Fusion Bootcamp, The Abs Project and Nisha’s Fat Loss for Fitpros.

She hosted an extremely popular online Expert clinic with us recently. Here are some of her answers to the female fat loss issues you raised.

1. Sleep more to shift belly fat

Nisha says:  ‘Sleep deprivation has a massive impact on fat loss. Lack of sleep, high stress and a toxic diet will pack on fat around the belly. The best and most effective way to manage this is to be in bed by 10pm on six nights of the week for optimal hormone balance. However if you struggle then there are a few things that will help.

‘We are looking to restore balance to your cortisol rhythm. Licorice and cinnamon tea will help fortify cortisol in the morning when it should be rising and tulsi tea will help it drop out in the afternoon.

‘Magnesium supplementation with Zinc should be taken one hour before bed (9pm) and make sure your supplements are chelated forms.’

2. Target-reduce fat spots

Nisha says: ‘Fat deposition around the body is controlled by hormones. Belly fat is down to cortisol (stress hormone), lower body fat (thighs, bum) is an over-dominance of oestrogen and love handle fat shows insulin resistance.

‘Your first priority (and this goes for all fat loss issues) is to remove all toxins from your diet. So you should be eating only from natural food sources.

‘The body holds excess fat to protect you from harmful toxins in your system. Eliminate toxins and the fat has no reason to hang around. So all food should be things you could get if you lived wild. Fresh fruit/veg, clean (preferably organic) meat, fish, poultry and eggs and some whole grains (by the way wheat is not a wholegrain, no matter what the box may tell you).’

3. Short, sharp exercise sessions

Nisha says: ‘Shift workers have a really tough job when it comes to managing body fat. Your circadian rhythms are all over the place so you will have a tendency to pack on belly fat as your cortisol is running at a chronically elevated level.

‘As for workouts you need to keep them VERY short and super intense. Its important you don’t add more stress to an already stressed system. Physical exercise is also a stressor. I would focus on 3 short lifting sessions with time based intensity workouts using compound movements that use as many muscles as possible (the staples like squats, deadlifts, rows, chins, push-ups) and any additional sessions would be oxygenation type stuff – so 25 minute walk/cycling outside in the fresh air and sunshine.

‘It is more than possible to get a super intense workout in less than 12 minutes.’

4. Hit the weights

Nisha says:  ’Aerobic exercise is brilliant for making you fitter but rubbish for fat loss. You see, when we exercise aerobically the body seeks to drop weight the quickest way possible. And the densest tissue on the body is lean muscle. So aerobic exercise will catabolise lean muscle to make the exercise easier for you.

‘Problem is that lean muscle is the ONLY substance in the body that burns fat. So effectively every time you cycle you are reducing your body’s fat burning tissue. Body fat and lean muscle have an inverse relationship. The more fat you have the less muscle you have.

‘So here’s the key: increase your lean muscle and it will eat your fat for breakfast! You need to hit the weights… bodyweight resistance exercise is the best thing for you right now. Short and intense.’

via 4 fat loss strategies for busy women – Other fitness – Zest.

We’re always careful on the Lovestretch blog to give you the best info – especially when it comes to exercise and beauty. So we’re really pleased to introduce KORA Organics, the brainchild of supermodel Miranda Kerr and managed by her businesswoman mother Therese Kerr, to Lovestretchers. Over a couple of posts here on the Lovestretch blog they are describing their passion for Organic skin care and what goes into the the products.

Noni
Noni provides a potent anti-oxidant to protect from environmental damage and lifestyle. Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) is a tree native to Pacific Islands and Tahiti. It’s been used in Polynesia for over 2000 years for its beneficial properties and is thought to help a whole host of health issues plus boost energy and improve skin condition. It’s very high in Vitamin C, antioxidants and can help minimise free radical damage.

Noni is a macro nutrient and is also indigenous to Australia; grown wild it’s known by Aboriginal people as ‘bush tucker’. It was first introduced to Miranda as a drink by her grandparents when she was twelve. Miranda swears by Noni, which she uses everyday; and believes that its nutritional properties give her the energy she needs and helps keep her skin in fabulous condition.

Apart from drinking Noni, Miranda has incorporated the qualities of Noni into her KORA Organics skincare range so that you can enjoy its powerful benefits too.

Apart from drinking Noni, Miranda has incorporated the qualities of Noni into her KORA Organics skincare range so that you can enjoy its powerful benefits too.

Macrobiotic salts sourced from the Pacific Ocean
Free from any preservatives or additives, this pink-grey salt from the coast of North East Australia, is packed with minerals and trace elements. Delivering the full benefits of the pristine ocean where it is harvested.

Rose Quartz Crystal Energised Water
Rose quartz is pink coloured crystal gemstone believed to have heart-healing qualities. It is a natural remedy that is thought to carry a very gentle, soothing energy that encourages self-love. By using Rose Quartz Crystal Energised Water we hope to infuse a vibration of self-love into the KORA Organics skincare products.

Rose Hip Oil
Rich in Vitamin C, Rose Hip Oil (rosa mosqueta) is very nutritious and consists of 80 per cent essential fatty acids. Can be helpful to repair the skin and can reduce the appearance of sun damage, acne scars and may help the symptoms associated with dry skin and eczema.

Vitamins A, C and E complex
Known as Bio ACE, in combination these vitamins synergistically work as powerful anti-oxidants.

Vitamin E
Known as one of the most healing and effective anti-oxidants in the skincare world today, it protects the skin from everyday environmental exposure and damage caused by lifestyle.

In the next KORA blog, Miranda and Therese explain why the three-step beauty routine (cleanse, tone, moisturize) is the beauty standard.