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Men’s SS18 Fashion and How to Dress for Spring | Fulton Umbrellas

Men’s SS18 fashion and how to dress for spring

Spring is here and it’s time to get rid of our winter clothes for some new styles. But, what’s in fashion for men this season?

Here at Fulton Umbrellas, we’ve taken the best spring-summer 2018 (SS18) styles to help you get ready for holidays, garden parties and warm-weather excursions! Read on for top tips on the next big fashion trends and how to wear them…

Vertical stripes

Forget Breton stripes this spring, men’s fashion is currently all about vertical stripes — whether these feature on your shirt, jacket or trousers.

To pull off the trend, stick to one striped garment per outfit. Either go for a dark and light-blue striped t-shirt with a pair of shorts when the day is fine or opt for a cream blazer with black pinstripes and jeans for the ideal formal summer party outfit. You can even prepare for a spot of bad weather with an automatic stripe umbrella, too.

Denim never goes out of fashion — but it does evolve with each new fashion season. One of the stand-out trends in last year’s global SS18 fashion week events was the drive towards no-fuss denim. But, what does this mean?

To get in on this trend, look for jeans that are straight-leg, free of frays and embellishments, and light-wash in colour. This season is all about merging style and comfort, so forget about skinny jeans that wrap around your legs and go for a cropped jean with a pair of plimsolls or simple straight leg with a pastel-colour shirt for those warm spring evenings.

This season will revolve around checked clothing. If you’re wondering when this print ever went out of fashion, you’re right: it didn’t. However, you should forget about the standard gingham shirt that many men throw on for a night out. Instead, go for enlarged checks or a heritage design to style up your SS18 look.

Similar to wearing vertical stripes, limit your outfit to one check garment per outfit. A grey and black checked jacket looks great over a pair of black jeans and a charcoal t-shirt. Or why not suit-up with checks? There are plenty of check blazers and formal trousers out there that will make an ideal outfit for any summer wedding you have scheduled this year. If you like the pattern but want to keep it subtle, a simple check umbrella — like our window pane or navy plaid designs — will do the trick

Even though the weather is warming, we still have plenty of showery and cooler days. When it’s too chilly to go without outerwear, opt for a suave tie-waist coat to stay warm and on-trend this season.

Whether you prefer longline or mid-range jackets, making sure you have a tie-waist design will help you create a formal and flattering figure — plus, you can get these in a range of patterns and colours to suit the formality of an event and your personal taste. Pair with brogues or loafers to finish off the look.

While we’re on the subject of outerwear, another top SS18 trend will also help you beat any bad weather we have coming up in spring.

Technical jackets — think anoraks and windbreakers — played a major part in the latest SS18 global fashion weeks. Get yours in a block-colour design and wear with plain jeans and a hooded top or go for a long style in a cool grey to go over your shirt and trousers for heading to the office. If it’s a particularly bad day, polish of the weather-ready look with a wind-resistant Cyclone umbrella.

The decade of power suits, big money and bigger hair is back. From London to Milan, international fashion weeks were pushing the 1980s trend and bringing its best looks into spring 2018.

This season, look out for boxy shirts, creased trousers and light-wash denim. Then, bring them stylishly into your current wardrobe by pairing your ‘80s-inspired choice with brogues, trainers and bomber jackets.

This trend is ideal if you have a beach holiday coming up. The eye-catching style of a Hawaiian shirt is roaring back into fashion this season, so make sure you don’t forget to pack a couple in your suitcase.

Just don’t go over the top. Keep colours similar in tone and opt for pastel shades that look subtle — but great — in the sunshine. Pair with slim-leg chinos, combat shorts or ankle-length jeans for the ideal holiday-prepared outfit.

But what are the big shoe trends for men this season? If you have a wedding or special event to attend this spring or summer, upgrade your formal footwear wardrobe with quirky-detailed formal footwear. Go for black derby shoes with a contrasting-colour panel or try a subtler design — such as a brown brogue with white trim.

Looking for something for days at the beach? The sporty sandal with wide straps and Velcro fastening is going to be the shoe-of-choice for many on-trend men in 2018, while ‘amplified styles’ — like pumped up soles and chunky boots — is going to be another big trend to get on board with this season.

 

Dress to impress throughout spring and summer 2018 with these style tips and check out our ranges of men’s, women’s, children’s, and designer umbrellas to keep you dry from April showers.

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Our Best Fashion Accessories Designers | Fulton Umbrellas

At Fulton Umbrellas, we take great pride in our range of designer umbrellas. However, there’s a lot even we don’t know about some of the UK’s most respected and iconic fashion brands.

From the quirky styles of the renowned Cath Kidston to the vintage motifs of the pioneering William Morris, we’ve delved into the lives of our best fashion designers to discover their signature styles, interesting careers and key life moments! Read on to find out more…

Born Catherine Isabel Audrey Kidston in 1958, this English designer, entrepreneur and author is most famous for her floral patterns, animal prints, vintage designs, and fun use of colours.

Cath Kidston, the daughter of a former Bentley racing driver, was raised in Hampshire and attended several boarding schools before moving to London at age 18. In a recent interview, she said that her cousin, a dress designer, was a major role model for her during her formative years. But, it was working for decorator, Nicky Haslam, that gave Kidston the confidence to launch her iconic range.

Kidston opened her first shop in 1993 in London’s Holland Park, originally selling items of homeware and furniture. However, she claims that her designs were originally “out of sync” with the fashion of the time — so much so, that she had to run an interior design business alongside her Cath Kidston brand! Eventually, the world caught on to Kidston’s beautiful creations and now, the brand is a respected name in the fashion industry with more than 130 outlets in the UK and abroad.

Today, Kidston has an MBE and is a keen publisher of several books. Although, you may remember one of her most recent successes — the adorable tank top that Prince George wore featuring the Queen’s Guards in 2014!

Find Cath Kidston on Twitter and Instagram.

Lucinda Jane Guinness OBE, better known as Lulu Guinness and born Lucinda Rivett-Carnac, is one of the UK’s leading fashion designers and, like Kidston, Guinness also calls Hampshire her home county. Although a respected fashion designer with decades of success, her childhood life aspiration was actually to become a glamorous entertainer — such as a singer, actress or ballerina!

The Lulu Guinness brand is famed for its sense of quirkiness and use of powerful prints. Beginning in 1989 with a focus on handbags, accessories and the famous ‘lip motif’, Guinness has always infused her collections with her sense of originality and humour. In fact, the designer cites anyone who doesn’t have a sense of humour as her choice for a real-life villain!

This designer’s eye for fashion has struck a chord with people and organisations from all pockets of society. For example, in the 1990s, the Victoria and Albert Museum placed a Lulu Guinness handbag in its permanent collections, which is a moment that Guinness describes as life-changing.

More recently, in 2017, Guinness announced the launch of her first clothing collection. Featuring her signature palette of red, black and white, the designer’s ready-to-wear collection is designed with all women in mind — regardless of size or age.

Find Lulu Guinness on Twitter and Instagram.

Irishwoman, Orla Kiely, was born in 1963, and started her illustrious career studying textile design in Dublin. She then went to New York to work in wallpaper design, before moving onto Esprit in London and choosing to focus her career on designing hats — which were eventually picked up by Harrods.

Since forming the Orla Kiely Partnership with her spouse, Dermott Rowan, in 1997, Kiely’s designs have been worn by a stream of famous faces — from the Duchess of Cambridge to Hollywood star, Kirsten Dunst. Her dedication to her industry also earned Kiely an OBE in 2011.

In 2015, Kiely’s company won Premium Brand of the Year at the Drapers Awards for her use of patterns and colours, and today, she creates four clothing collections every year — which can include bags, dresses, watches, furnishings, and homeware — with stores in London, Tokyo and New York.

Kiely is most highly regarded for her stunning prints, while her love for colourful retro and quirky motifs makes her brand instantly recognisable and effortlessly iconic.

Find Orla Kiely on Twitter and Instagram.

William Morris was born in 1834 and is commonly associated with the British Arts and Craft Movement (spanning from approximately 1880 to 1920).

Morris studied Classics at Oxford University before training as an architect and then later founding a decorative arts company. Within his role at the firm, Morris designed everything from fabrics and wallpaper to furniture and stained-glass windows.

Although his designs and poetry became famous across Victorian Britain, Morris was also well-known for his political views. He became a revolutionary socialist activist in his later life and even helped to found the Socialist League in 1884.

Morris was a firm believer that the creative and production sides of designing should be intertwined. In fact, he even felt that designers should also manufacture their own products, and took time to teach himself how to embroider and expertly dye his creations. Morris’ collections take inspiration from medieval fabrics and the natural world, and he is regarded as a major advocate of environmentalism.

If you browse William Morris designs, you’ll spot a palette of leaf motifs, floral prints and animal images with a captivating vintage aesthetic.

We hope you’ve enjoyed finding out more about some of the UK’s leading designers. Discover a selection of beautiful products in our designer umbrella range today.

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The World’s Most Bizarre Weather | Fulton Umbrellas

In the UK, we tend to get pretty grim weather. However, when you take a look at some of the planet’s most bizarre meteorological conditions, you’d probably count yourself lucky!

Here, we’ve pulled together a list of the oddest and even most frightening weather scenarios in the world. Read on to find out about a selection of bizarre occurrences…

Animal showers

Flightless creatures falling from the sky may sound like something from the Bible, but many people across various cultures throughout history swear that the strange weather phenomenon truly occurred.

Although the most commonly reported animal to descend with the rain is fish, there have also been claimed sightings of frogs and toads (in Japan, Hungary and Uruguay), spiders (in Brazil, Australia and Argentina) and worms (USA). Even in Bath, England, residents were certain that they spotted jellyfish plummeting from the clouds in 1894!

So, if the phenomenon is to be believed — and there have yet to be any recordings of it — how does it happen? The truth is, nobody knows, and almost all theories — from waterspouts that suck up sealife into the clouds, to very strong winds that blow creatures into the sky before gravity takes effect — have been debunked. However, the fact that some of these airborne critters drop to the ground alive makes the event even more enigmatic…

Mega hailstones

During winter, there’s always the risk of hailstone. Where snowflakes are soft and pretty, hailstones are often hazardous and painful. However, nobody can complain about a hailstone shower as much as the citizens of the Gopalganj district in Bangladesh.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the heaviest hailstones on record — weighing around 1kg — fell here in April 1986, reportedly killing 92 people. While these were apparently the heftiest hailstones, the widest ever recorded was discovered in the US. Here, the US National Weather Service found that one of the hailstones dropped during a storm had a diameter of 20.3cm, circumference of 47.3cm and impact pit of 25cm across the terrain!

Hailstones are essentially balls of ice that are usually between 5mm and 150mm in diameter. To form, hail needs a thundery weather environment that includes a strong, upward motion of wind, high water content in clouds and below-freezing temperatures.

Strongest wind

We all know tornados can pick wind speeds up, but do you know where in the world has experienced the fastest wind not related to a twister? According to an automated weather station, the strongest gust of wind was recorded on Barrow Island, Australia, in 1996. Here, the wind reached 253mph — or 113 m/s — and the recording was later checked and deemed accurate by the World Meteorological Organization’s Evaluation Panel.

Various weather factors can affect wind velocity, including pressure gradient (air pressure differences between two points), Rossby waves (strong gusts that move worldwide from west to east in the upper troposphere), local conditions, and jet streams. The fastest wind speed found in the UK — 173mph — was officially recorded at Cairn Gorm, Scotland in 1986.

Waterspouts

Waterspouts are a mesmerising weather phenomenon to witness — at one time; nine were sighted at once on Lake Michigan! A waterspout is a rotating column of condensation that connects a body of water to a cloud that is essentially a type of ‘over-water tornado’. They are made by developing rain clouds and sometimes called ‘water devils’, although, they’re usually weaker than land tornados and certainly don’t suck up liquid — a common misconception.
Most commonly, water tornados form in tropical climates, but sightings have also been recorded in Europe, Australia, Antarctica, New Zealand, and the US. According to the National Geographic Society, waterspouts fall into two categories — tornadic and fair-weather — and the phenomenon occurs when condensation descends from a cloud in a vortex formation, connects with the water and creates a spiralling ring of spray.

The average waterspout has a diameter of around 50 metres and lasts around five minutes. However, some recordings have shown waterspout diameters of as large as 100 metres and lasting for up to an hour!

Fire whirls

There have been plenty of recent reports on the issue of wild fires, particularly in California, which recorded its most destructive fire season ever last year. However, many people in the UK may not have heard of the terrifying but captivating fire whirl phenomenon.

A fire whirl — also called a fire devil or fire twister — is a whirlwind of fire that is formed when dry, rising heat meets with strong winds to create swirling eddies of air that then whips up a fire into a column. Wildfires can be exceptionally destructive and have the ability to produce updrafts that can have serious effects. For example; Canberra, Australia witnessed a real tornado — like the ones we see in the US — created by the strength and veracity of a wildfire.

Ball lightning

As if normal lightning wasn’t bad enough, you may even have to contend with balls of sky-borne electricity.

Even today, experts aren’t entirely sure how ball lightning occurs, and these sphere-shaped objects of lights have often been mistaken for UFOs. What we do know is that ball lightning usually happens during standard thunderstorms and is thought to occur when microwave radiation, emitted when a bolt of lightning strikes, gets ‘trapped’ within a ‘plasma bubble’.

Unlike a flash of fork lightning, ball lighting can last several seconds and spookily, they have also been spotted in closed rooms and aircrafts (as they apparently come from microwaves, they can pass through glass). An exploding ball of lightning is said to leave behind a disgusting smell of sulphur, and they have been known to kill people and set buildings on fire.

Clearly, there is some weird weather in the world. Keep yourself protected from the typical British climate with our ranges of men’s, women’s, children’s, and sport umbrellas.