Style HQ

Lord/Lady Gaga?

If you're a celebrity, the VMAs are the place you show off your most extreme take on the trends.

From Miley Cyrus in a 70s style floral maxi dress to Beyonce looking beautiful in head-to-toe orange, the celebs were ticking off the trends from our AW11 feature - although Katy Perry's bizarre cubist hat was definitely not on our list!

One of the most interesting looks of the night was Lady Gaga's version of the androgyny trend:

 

In typical Gaga style, she's taken the look to it's logical conclusion and assumed a male alter-ego!

We wouldn't suggest you go this far, but where Gaga leads others follow, and this look is going to be big for autumn. For a more fashionable twist, just take classically male pieces and add a feminine detail.

One stylish way to do this is with a dressed-up shirt or blouse. Here are three of our favourites, with bow details, a bit of added shimmer, or jewel embellishment to add interest:

 

 

For a full on boy/girl look that's perfect for a night out, just add tailored trousers. What do you think? x

This Month We're Wearing... Circular cut dresses

Every month we select one can't-live-without item and show you four ways to wear it, as modelled by the team from DP HQ.

This month, it's the circular cut dress:

  

Which look do you like best? Let us know in comments! x

WIN tickets to the Look Show

The Look Show is back, and we can't wait!

It's your chance to see the highlights of the AW11 collections from the best of the British high street - not just Dorothy Perkins but H&M, River Island, Oasis and more.

As always, there's a celebrity guest model, and this year it's the fabulously fashionable Sarah Harding!

 

The Look Show is also a great opportunity to be among the first people to see the brand new Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, where you can shop the catwalk looks immediately after the show.

We have an amazing VIP prize to give away to one lucky winner:

- A pair of tickets to the Look Show on the 17th September

- A £500 shopping spree at the new Dorothy Perkins Stratford Westfield store

- A meal for two at Jamie’s Italian, Stratford Westfield, with a menu full of rustic, simple dishes, using the best ingredients

- An overnight stay at the Mercure London City Bankside, a stylish and contemporary 4 star hotel, ideally located in Central London

We also have 3 pairs of tickets to the Look Show for our runners up!

If you fancy winning this day of luxury, click here to enter.

If you miss out on tickets to the show, Westfield Stratford will be screening the show live on large screens around the centre on Saturday 17th September.

We'll see you there! x

 

The future's orange

This summer's trend for bright colours opened our minds to colours we would never normally consider - orange wasn't even on our fahsion radar a couple of season's ago, and now it's one of our hot colours for autumn.

On the catwalk, we've been surprised not just how well it works in combination with neutrals, or with other bright, but head-to-toe!

 

As we all know, sometimes catwalk trends have to be adapted to work in real life, and we love how these celebs have interpreted the look:

 

If you're ready to embrace orange, we'd suggest taking your lead from Blake Lively or Kimberley Walsh in a block colour dress - a great statement piece for a night out or special occassion. We've got loads of orange dresses coming in later this season, but here are a few you can get your hands on now:

 

If this look is a bit bold for you, you can still stand out in an orange blazer (a la Molly Sims), or even just a shoe or bag can look amazing with a neutral outfit:

 

Tell us how you work orange into your wardrobe in comments! x

The Maternity blog is back!

Hello mummies to be!

So the weather is starting to change and it's time to think about Autumn, and we have some great new lines to see you through the unpredictable weather.

Superskinny jeans!

 

 

Superkinny is a new shape from DP Maternity and our £30 style comes in indigo and black. It's a great staple for your maternity wardrobe and with 4 way stretch is still extra comfortable. We have a lovely new top that can be worn with our superskiny, the navy spot top at £19.50 - easy to wear and the spots are SO on trend!

 

 

Also if anyone out there is in need of workwear look no further! We love this black stretch pencil skirt with over the bump band, which can be worn with minimal bright tees in pink or orange to bring some colour to your workplace!

Finally my personal favourite this week is our £30 navy printed wrap dress, perfect for bank holiday weekend! It's such a flattering shape and the print features cute crowns and Eifel towers - what’s not to love!

Please don’t forget you can get in contact with myself and the team at maternity@dorothyperkins.com - let us know what you think - we love getting your emails.

Hayley on maternity x

Steph's Top Trends

Steph's been at it again on Cosmo's guest blog, sharing the items she'll be championing in the upcoming season.

We won't tell you what they are (you'll have to click here to read it) but these photos should give you some clues!

 
 
 

Once you've read about Steph's choices, come back and tell us - what are your key pieces for autumn? x

Vote DP!

We just can't stop getting nominated for awards at the moment, and it makes us so happy! This time it's the Company High Street Fashion Awards, and we've been nominated in several categories.

 

You can vote for us for:

- best place to spend £150
- best footwear under £50
- best jewellery
- best plus size
- best fashion retailer

We're so pleased to be recognised for our value, the fact that almost all our clothes go up to a size 22, and our fantastic jewellery range.

You can vote for us now, and we'll let you know when the votes are in.

Is there a category you would nominate us for? Let us know in comments x

 

What are you wearing?

There are loads of blogs where people take photos of their daily outfits, but What I Wore Today is one of our favourites. We love Poppy's laid-back fashion sense - combining high street pieces in a way we'd actually wear.

To prove the point, here she is in a DP spotty blouse yesterday:

 

Seeing how easily she puts pieces together - and how she doesn't worry about posting her outfit even if she spent the whole day in pyjamas - makes us want to join in the fun.

Which you can, because Poppy's turning WIWT into a social network, where anyone can put of photos of what they've been wearing.

You can also tag them, so if you're browsing and you spot a piece you want for yourself, you'll know exactly where to find it. We wish we could do that while we're walking down the street!

It's only available in a trial stage at the moment, but we know you guys stay ahead of the trends, so if you want to try it first, head on over and sign up. We can't wait to see your DP outfits! x

Return of the Look Show

The Look Show is back! Our favourite high street catwalk event is returning for AW11, showcasing the best of the British high street - DP included.

 

The biggest even Look Show will be held at the brand new Westfield Stratford City, on 17th September, just days after the shopping centre first opens its doors. What a great excuse to get down and check it out!

 

We'll be giving you the chance to win tickets (and much, much more) in one week's time, but if you can't wait that long, you also have the chance to win them from Look - just click here.

If you miss out on tickets to the show, Westfield Stratford will be screening the show live on large screens around the centre on the day, so be sure to head down!

You can also be one of the first to check out the newest Dorothy Perkins store, opening there on 13th September. We hope you come down to see us! x

To Dye For

Last year Rihanna and Cheryl Cole went red, and half the whole world followed in their footsteps.

This year if you want to keep up with colour trends, it looks like you're going to have to go for something a bit more drastic, judging by these trendsetters we've spotted in the last few weeks:

 

From Sienna's subtle shading to Dianna Agron's grungy home dye and Katy Perry's all-over tint, A-listers are going crazy over this look. But what do you think? Could you be convinced to go pink?

If you're not team pink, maybe you'd consider the second look we've spotted:

        

Blue tips! A little less girly, this suits Kate Bosworth's rock chick style perfectly, while Lauren Conrad even manages to make it look quite glamorous... we're not sure if we could pull that off!

Can you see either of these trends cataching on? Let us know what you think x