What is it with uniforms in the workplace? Do employers make it their mission to make their poor staff look like the ugliest, un-trendiest people on Earth?
I think that most of the workplace uniforms are absolutely disgusting….starchy, crisp shirts, uncomfortable jackets, unflattering neck attire, long flat shoes….urgh, I shudder at the very thought. Adding insult to injury is the little name badge you have to wear.

I pity the poor buggars who work at Asda who are the ‘greeters’. There they are, in their gorgeous bright blue jackets sporting a HUGE yellow badge that reads…’MY NAME IS *insert name*’ How sorry do we feel for these poor people?

Here, I have compiled a list of the five worst uniforms in the workplace, in no particular order.

1. Specsavers

Horrendous saggy purple tops with no apparent shape un-complimented by a drab pair of trousers and jacket. I think it’s a good job that people who go to specsavers generally have problems with their sight, if they could see the damage I reckon they’d run a mile…Should have gone to Specsavers? Should have got a new wardrobe more like!

2. Asda

That’s Asda price alright…cheap, tacky and hard on the eyes! Luminous green shirts with accents of blue along with an unflattering pair of trousers.

3. Royal Bank of Scotland

What’s worse than wearing pearl earrings, a light blue neck scarf and flat squared shoes? Adding a blue and green tartan jacket of course! Sticking to the Scottish tartan could look cute if only you could accessorise with a nice pair of heels and lose the neck scarf. We even think the pencil skirt is kind of alright.

4. B&Q

I suppose the B&Q uniform isn’t too bad….give or take the BRIGHT orange shirt, tool belt and scabby name ‘sticker’…Hel-lo Stan…!

5. McDonalds

I’m lovin it….not! Grey and black polo shirt with trousers and a er…peak cap. Right. Oh yes, don’t forget the name badge with the little yellow stars…now that is really special….lets hope the McDonalds suit outrage actually takes place, surely it must be an improvement on what it is already!

So, there you have it. Some of the worst uniforms in the workplace. I would have posted images but to be fair, I didn’t want to scare you all away!

Let me know what your worst uniform has been and why!

A guide to the bitchy lingo of the fashionistas and insiders….

Gucci Hoochie
rich skank, hideous label whore, couture ugly

1. a girl who spends lots of money on haute couture or expensive clothes but doesn’t realise that no matter how much Prada or Galliano she dresses in won’t change her cheap look and $1 body.

2. A girl who looks like a chav but has the clothes of a millionnaire.

Fashionista
fashion whore, fashion passion

1.Term used to describe a woman who has a passion for fashion. She can name every part of an outfit down to the exact knit used on your grandmas’ cardie.

2. Fashionistas are ladies who MAKE trends, not FOLLOW them.

Fashion Faux Pas
What the hell is she wearing, disgusting outfit, rather mingin attire like…

1. Common term used by fashionistas used to describe a fashion disaster.

Weeble
drunken skunk, leaning lorna

1. Term used to describe a girl who cannot walk in her high heels.
i.e. ‘Look at that weeble over there trying to walk across the road.’

2. Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down!

Poseur
wannabe, yuppie

1. A person who is a complete wanna-be. Somebody who tries hard to portray themselves as something that they are not.
i.e. Heather Mills pretending she was never a ‘Miss Whiplash’’

Trendy
fashion sheep, un-individual wannabes

1. A Trendy describes a group of people who follow fashion trends down to their new Victorias Secret knickers and listen to mainstream music. They ‘wannabe’ fashionable but haven’t yet worked out that fashion is a personal statement, not a rule to follow.

Hauterfly
Fashion butterfly, in the wire, well informed

1. A Hauterfly is a well informed fashion insider who is familiar with the fashion business.
i.e. Vivienne Westwood is a Hauterfly

Enjoying a meal out or even just a piece of chocolate is a luxury that many of us let ourselves have every day. For a large amount of us, this is one luxury that is seen as the ultimate failure.
Eating disorders are a growing problem and in the UK alone, it is estimated that there are over 60,000 sufferers, nine out of ten being female.
The disorder usually starts from the individual feeling insecure about their looks – it could be a simple trigger, such as a dress being too tight for them in a store. This insecurity then begins to get bigger and bigger and the individual will start to think of themselves as ugly, fat and disgraceful. Eventually, the concerns blow up out of proportion and cutting out meals or making themselves vomit after food becomes an every day routine.

It is all too easy to blame the media and magazines such as Vogue and Elle for making young adults feel this way. But the blame cannot wholly be put down to them. Alexandra Shulman of Vogue stated: “All we are doing is showing images of women we regard as interesting or beautiful or fashionable. But we are not actually saying you have to be like this.”
Often the disorder is beaten, but in some tragic cases, death does occur. A Uruguayan model died from heart failure whilst making her way back from the catwalk towards the dressing room. Luisel Ramos, 22, died even after receiving medical attention. It was later reported that the young model had gone for days without eating. It also came to light that the model was told she needed to lose weight and so favoured a diet of green leaves and diet coke for an apparent three months.

Only six months after the death, Eliana Ramos, Luisels’ sister also died of an eating disorder.
Since the outcry after Luisel’s death, Madrid fashion organisers decided to ban any models who had BMI ratio lower than 18 to take to the catwalk. They stated that they wanted to project an image of beauty and health and that they didn’t want a ‘waif-like’ look. This meant that Spain’s well known model, Esther Canadas who has a BMI of 14 was not able to take part in the event.

Eating disorders are beginning to affect ever younger audiences and girls as young as 12 are becoming paranoid about their body image. Australian website, Miss Bimbo has caused uproar by targeting 7-9 year old children into making a fictional character to compete and have the provocative title of ‘Miss Bimbo’. Young girls are told that they must keep their ‘bimbo’ within a certain desired weight and have challenges set including plastic surgery for their character. They are also encouraged to buy diet pills and bag a millionaire boyfriend on the virtual game. The site stated: ‘Bimbo dollars is the Cabbage, the bread, the mula you’ll need to buy nice things and to get by in bimbo world. To earn some bimbo cash you will have to (gasp) work or find a boyfriend to be your sugar daddy and hook you up with a phat expense account!’

Not only is the site promoting plastic surgery and dieting pills to seven year olds but it is also encouraging young girls to find a ‘sugar daddy’ to dote on!
For an older audience, this would probably have a humorous edge, but to the young audiences it is targeting, they will see their ‘bimbo’ as a role model. And we all know how easy it is to sway the mind and decision making process of a 7 year old child!
With websites like this, there is no wonder that eating disorders are on the rise. And sadly, I think this will always be the case. We are all portraying a world of ‘perfect’ skinny models whereas the average size of a person today is a 14-16.

We really need to start concentrating on projecting a true image of the real body shapes and sizes that are within our society today. If this is not recognised, we may have many, many more deaths on our hands sooner than we think.

This question caused a lot of speculation on what size runway and catalogue models should be. The indefinite answer was slim.

John Galliano once used models of all shapes and sizes to grace his catwalk show and even though this was a very wise move, it didn’t show some of his clothes off to their full potential. (more…)

Fashion takes its influence from many different areas; Museums, costumes collections, libraries, people, places, smells, sounds, colours, the past, crafts, art work, parties, food, industrial aspects, other designers, the theatre, interior design, social events, magazines, fashion forecasts markets, books, Pret-a-Porter and Haute Couture shows. (more…)

Eco-Fashion is becoming increasingly popular within the UK and many people are deciding to buy eco-friendly clothing. (more…)

Luxury brands are paraded around us everywhere we look…whether it’s the famous Vivienne Westwood Globe sparkling from a ladies earlobe to the signature Luis Vuitton ‘LV’ slashed across a deep brown bag. But can we be sure that this is the genuine article? (more…)

**Please be aware that some of this posts content may be distressing to the reader**

Introduction

For many years now, the fashion industry has been under scrutiny for using real fur due to the slaughtering of animals on fur farms. Although fur farms and suppliers insist that their animals are kept and skinned in the most pain free way possible, recent undercover reports have shown a very different story. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is constantly campaigning to try and give the animals that we all live with a better chance at life. There is an endless supply of celebrity and media attention based on real fur being used in society and gracing the catwalks. In this report, the fur industry will be uncovered and the dubious question will be yours to answer…to fake it or not to fake it? (more…)