How to Flat Lay fashion

Westfield launched a new competition on Monday called ‘Flat Lay The Nation’ (complete with it’s own hashtag). I think it is one of the most creative competitions I’ve seen and it gave me the idea to show you how to flat lay fashion, if you don’t know where to start.

I could write up a few paragraphs on what is a flat lay, but I think it will be more effective if I give you a brief description and some handy tips (from Westfield and myself) on how to flat lay fashion, and what makes a great flat lay.

What is a flat lay?

A flat lay is a photo of objects of the same theme grouped together that are laid out ‘flat’ and photographed from above. They are used a lot in fashion magazines to display outfits or different fashion styles, but are sometimes made up of homewares, beauty products or anything really.

how to flay lay fashion

Here is a flat lay that I put together for an up coming blog post, I’m sure you can guess what it’s about

How to flat lay fashion

Tip 1. Flat lays are usually displayed on a white background to make the items stand out, but you can of course use any background you have available. Plain backgrounds are more effective because patterns can sometimes can be distracting, you want your clothing/items to be the feature.

Tip 2. Less is more- you want to make your flat lay portray a theme or style, but don’t over crowd it. Pick one or two fashion items and add some props, like maybe your favourite book/magazine, some jewellery or makeup products.

how to flat lay fashion

Here is a shot of a flat lay that I put together for my entry, yesterday

Tip 3. Flat lays are always square. If you don’t have a ‘square’ shooting mode on your camera or phone, just take the shot a little wider than your flat lay and crop it into a square later.

Tip 4. Setting up the shot. Lay your items out on your background in a square, move them around until your happy with the set up. You can take your photo directly above by just standing over your flat lay, or you can get up onto a step ladder. Be careful when doing this though, you don’t want to injure yourself. Bending forward like this can cause strain on your lower back, especially if you are taking a lot of photos and are moving around your objects. Take breaks regularly in between taking your shots, to save your back. If you have a tripod use that with an extender arm and a shutter release cable/remote.

 Tip 5. Have fun! You can be really creative with your flat lays, creating colour themes or maybe something inspired by your favourite style icon. Create a snapshot of something that represents your own personal style. You can incorporate current trends, while sticking to your style. The judges (of the Westfield comp.) want to see a representation of your style!.

Here is a quick video summary from Westfield on how to flay lay fashion

I’m having so much fun creating flay lays for this competition, that you will soon be seeing more of them on my blog!

for more info on the Westfield #flatlaythenation competition and to view people’s entries you can head to http://www.westfield.com.au/flatlay/ You could be in the running to win a trip to the UK or a daily prizes of a $500 Westfield gift card! Entries close March 16, 2014.

Good luck!
XO XO
E

Disclaimer: this post is not sponsored by Westfield nor was I asked to write it for them. It was my idea to write about it.

What I wore Wednesday: Black maxi dress

I have been really slack in kicking off my blogging for 2014. Two weeks in and here is my first post. ‘What I wore Wednesday: black maxi dress’.

What I wore Wednesday will be a weekly series of fashion posts, where I will be posting one of my outfits from the previous week.

black maxi dress

 This week’s outfit was a black maxi styled for summer (in Victoria, for days when it’s not too hot).

The inspiration for this outfit came from my Big W Peter Morrissey shirt. Like many button up shirts, I normally stick to wearing them as part of a suit, but I wanted to try something different.

black maxi dress

I decided to make it more casual by leaving it unbuttoned and tying the end in a double knot. This particular shirt is no longer available, but the Peter Morrissey long sleeve shirt in the Navy zigzag print would work the same (they both have the button up sleeves too)

I pictured the outfit in my head before I went on the hunt for the maxi dress…I am pretty sure I already own a plain black maxi dress, but I have no idea where it got to (probably in my wardrobe).

The black maxi dress is from Cocolatte for just $7.99! I can’t find it on their site, so I guess it isn’t available anymore. There are many different black maxis at different stores at the moment, though. (Tempt, Cotton on, Factorie).

The shoes are the Thyme Patent Ballet Flats in Nude from Target. To dress it up a bit you could add a chunky statement necklace and some bracelets.

black maxi dressHope you enjoyed my first ‘What I wore Wednesday’ post, next week I will have a new outfit post…

XO XO
E