Yohji Yamamoto

I'm back again with my favourite topic. Fashion! I love looking at how fashion arrives on the high street and in our favourite shops. Of course, it all starts with the crazy bizarre creations on catwalks around the world, that are then adapted for us to wear. As an art student and a lover of all things crazy, the shapes, colours, and extravagant designs put together at a fashion show fascinate me. It's amazing to see materials, colours and tones you had perhaps not considered as a match made in heaven look so cool and flow so well. Often designers will start by revealing their most minimalistic designs that originate from sketches and as the models come out the audience are able to see how one simple idea can be developed and branched out into so many elaborate designs.

Specifically, one designer that doesn't hold back on his creativity is Yohji Yamamoto best known in mainstream fashion for his Y3 quasa high trainers which I absolutely love! After browsing around I decided on a collection that particularly interested me and no doubt will interest you too!
Here are some of the images I found, enjoy and I hope it inspires you not only be bold with your fashion but bold with everything you do!




  
Yohji Yamamoto A/W 2014 Collection













 

3 tips to lose inches off your waist and stomach !

 Angela Simmons  my body inspiration, real and beautiful !

I'm back again with a fitness post ! So on my last post I wrote about the dangers of waist training  and the lies people are being sold that they actually work as a long term weight loss solution. That may of left some people wondering so what will work ! Here I am to the rescue .Another disclaimer I'm no fitness expert and I am  most definitely  not saying I  have the perfect stomach and waist, far from it but I've lost weight from using these tips and I always like to try things that have worked for real women with real busy lives so I thought I'd share too ! I will also insert a before and after picture so you can see the progress for yourself

1. DRINK LOADS OF WATER ( Detox water even better !)
More specifically at least 2 litres a day . Lets be honest now the majority of us don't love to drink water but if we really understood the benefits I think we would.
Under all that water weight could be your dream stomach but your body is holding onto all that water because your not hydrated enough . Water retention causes bloating making you look bigger than you are. Drinking water will not only lose that water retention but also flush waste out of your system. This is where detoxing comes in. Simply adding lemons and/ or cucumbers to your water makes a big difference. Both these fruits contain antioxidants that help cleanse your body which Is just what you need to wash away all those nasty fats ( plus it makes your water look pretty sorry the fashion side of me speaking)!

2. EAT MORE FIBRE !
 Fibre is a great way to keep you full and energized for longer! Fibre also helps your digestive system so switching to brown bread instead of white is a good start. One of my favourite cereal is special K ,its a low calorie quick and easy breakfast option and I promise it will keep you full till lunch ! Another alternative with plenty of fibre is oats if your not a fan of oats try  bran flakes they are usually pretty cheap and another high fibre option . Besides breakfast the best way to get a bunch of fibre in your gob is  eating loads of fruit and veg. With my dinner I always add additional salad to the vegetables already in the meal, mostly lettuce, red peppers, rocket leaf and spring onion not only is this adding more well needed fibre to my diet but it tastes so good. Finally a big change I have made is  changing my carb options,  I am an absolute pasta addict and cutting pasta out of my diet was proving impossible so instead of white pasta I tried  whole wheat  pasta and its just as good with the added bonuses  it doesn't give you that heavy sluggish feeling you get after eating white pasta. another one of my favourites is Couscous! Couscous is literally sooooo good and the easiest thing to make, add some vegetables, some seasoning and boom your good to go !

3. EXERCISE CARDIO AND CORE !
This last tip is extremely obvious yet we all try to avoid it. The best way to lose weight is to use the HIIT  workout ( high intensity, interval training). Its as simple as working out super hard at high speed for a short amount of time then decrease your speed  or stop completely. This increase and decrease in heart rate is great for burning calories and shedding that unwanted fat.


Now for the all important tummy toning exercises. I would suggest having a  general routine with this so you can see whats working for you and also to track progress. My usual routine consists of  basic yoga to relax me and get a good stretch in. The best exercises for your waist are any movements that twist your body while keeping your core tight for example Russian twists ,plank position twists. All plank position workouts are great for toning those abs but don't be fooled if you have a layer of fat over those beautiful abs it will only push your stomach out even more and not really show off all your hard work,  so stick with cardio based exercises mostly , keep it high intensity and don't stop till you really feel it !
 

Well that's all from me guys hope this was helpful I certainly found doing all the research for this helpful and will continue using these tricks! Best of luck.

 

 

 

The truth about waist training

Hey guys.
I wanted to touch on a subject that has been on my mind for a while and I feel its pretty important . Waist trainers began as a go to fitness hack for celebrities to get that oh so desirable hourglass shape but as this hype has been spread across the media, more and more women are using them in hope to get that perfect shape with of course the tiny waist but still maintain a full curvaceous body. This body we see so often on instagram on twitter and everywhere else in the media  is unrealistic and is just not how the majority of women look without time, effort and money needed. Yes im aware I may get barked at that I'm jealous and hating. I cannot deny the jealousy part may have some truth but I still feel people should know the truth about these coke bottle bodies. So in this post I will be discussing  the facts and  dangers of becoming obsessed with waist training  In addition on my next post  I will include some safe exercise alternatives I've recently used to slim down and get some inches of my waist! Quick disclaimer im not a health professional I just love to do research on health and fitness and try out some things myself! Don't be put down by the media, every body shape is beautiful !



1. They don't work all that effectively !
Many clinical professionals have said these garments fail to promote weight loss which is what is needed to reduce the circumference around your weight. Suggestions have also been made that the corsets are put on so tightly that you produce more sweat than normal and therefore drop pounds through sweat specifically in the targeted areas. There are two things wrong with this theory of how the trainers work . 1. It is not possible to sweat so much in one area that it slims you down. 2. Majority of the time It is very difficult to lose weight on a specific area of your body, the best way to see results is to do cardio then as  you can control where you build muscle do some exercises with weights to look more lean and defined.


2. Waist training is not a long term solution.
Wearing a corset maybe okay on a night out to get a better shape but to assume constantly wearing a corset will safely suck in your waist is completely untrue. It has been found that waist training decreases core strength which in the long run makes it difficult to maintain a toned and smaller stomach.

3.What are the risks?
As we all know corsets work by pushing your stomach in but if worn too tightly can push important organs out of place leading to breathing difficulties. which is why I'd like to stress DO NOT EXERCISE WITH A WAIST TRAINER ON !


So that's the truth about waist training if it hasn't put you off I hope at least you feel a little more informed !
Till next time peace and love.



 

Japanese/ South korean street style

Happy New Year everyone  ! I'm back with my two favourite topics fashion and Japan ! ( of course I got love for south Korea too).For a long time I have been in love with street Fashion but as I discovered more about Japan specifically Tokyo I became more  and more intrigued by the diverse variations in style, all unique and  fabulous in their own way. Tokyo is now know as one of the world's fashion capitals and forgive me for being bias but its only growing bigger and better and I look forwards to contributing to the Japanese fashion industry in the future ! Currently one male that stands out to me in Japan who really represents the pure urban essence  of street fashion is Kohh ; an up and coming rapper you may most recognise from the now quite popular song " IT G MA" featuring both Korean and Japanese rappers which instantly drew me in and now im quite the fan of Kohh.

Don't worry ladies  I haven't  forget about the kawaii girls, pushing fashion boundaries seems to be the norm on the street of Harajuku Tokyo. From pretty pastels to gothic punk outfits  full of creativity, which to me comes from a places of not giving a damn about what anyone thinks and freely expressing your beautiful soul. I  really do love the combination of urban and grunge concepts I commonly see in Japanese street fashion!


 Now the reason why I included south Korea In an addition  is because after watching Korea's next top model I've kept up to date with my  favourite contestant Kim Jonghoon and also one of the judges won joong who both have immaculate dress sense and I suppose it helps that they are both super hot. I'm very interested in luxury men's sports fashion lately especially the clean minimalistic look which seems to be a popular trend growing in todays fashion industry. Simple, clean and urban is the way forward. Don't get me wrong I'm still into my grunge 90's fashion but its always good to mix things up. Who best to deliver this simple fashion than Korean model Sang Woo Kim. His sharp defined bone structure, clear skin  and tall and slim frame makes him  the perfect person to model simplistic clothes.

Here are some of the pictures that I absolutely love and to me really screams clean street fashion ( pardon the unintended yet still amusing pun). I hope you enjoy and feel inspired!
peace love and kpop !


















SANG WOO KIM (above)




















KOHH (in the middle)

Outfit post :Culotte Trousers

Hello all ! its about  2.30 am right now and I suddenly remembered  I would upload an outfit post on my recent purchase .So here it is!For those of you who haven't  had a chance to check out my last post, I mentioned these cullotte trousers I'm rocking. Like I said in my previous post it was a risky purchase as I had never worn anything with a similar fit, so if anyone has some tips on the best way to wear them feel free to comment or get in touch with me ! I  decided to try both casual and slightly more dressed up just by changing the shoes . These adidas shoes change the outfit to a clean cut street style while the white platforms still have an urban edge they class things up a bit which we all love occasionally!
email - mayfieldn@hotmail.co.uk
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Here are the pictures I took! Apologies for the poor back drop, by the time I had a chance to do a quick shoot it was pitch black outside( sad times) but anyway hope you enjoy.
Peace and Love.