Thursday 30 October 2008

Tag!

I've been tagged by Kiss My Sass. I think it's my first tag ever!! It's called the happy tag, the rules are; mention the person who nominated you, list 6 unimportant things that make you happy, tag 5 blogs, state the rules, notify them with a teeny comment on their blog that they have been nominated!

Ok so here goes...

1. Watching old movies. I think Fred & Ginger movies are my favourite, but today I watched Gentlemen Prefer Blondes again and I loved it just as much as the very first time I saw it.
2. Baking. I love baking cookies, brownies, big cakes, little cakes, cupcakes - the lot! The trouble is that they get snapped up fast and then everbody wants more!
3. A vintage bargain. Nothing gets me more excited than finding a beautiful vintage piece that you know would be ten times the price if it were in a different shop.
4. Vinyl records. My favourite is 'Hits of World War II' that I found in a charity shop whilst visiting a friend in Devon. I play that record to death!!
5. My cats. I spoil them :)
6. Salad Cream!! I eat it with anything and everything. It's the condiment of the future. You heard it here first!

Instead of tagging, post your 6 things in the comments section. Just because I like to shake things up a bit!

Monday 27 October 2008

27 10 08

For those of you looking past the winter months and into the summer, here are some Spring/Summer 09 trends in vintage!

Trend 1 - Bright colours. Summer is the perfect time to be bold, so anything bright and eyecatching will work wonderfully.




1970's pink maxi dress - Dorotheas Closet Vintage £67.50
This dress really is something! Personally I would cut the sleeves of and maybe change the neck line to make the shape similar to the blue Michael Kors dress.


1940's mustard silk crepe dress - Vintage Martini £47.50
I love the shape of this dress, especially the draping detail on the skirt. Although the sleeves would need to be made shorter for the summer months, I don't think I would have the heart cutting something so old!

Trend 2 - Gold. Eveningwear has taken a glamorous turn with gold being the hot colour for those summer nights.




1950's Emma Domb gold brocade dress - Antique Dress £342
Emma Domb was a California dressmaking company from 1939 to the 1970s, they specialized in wedding, party and prom dresses, and were also known for fancy date ensembles.


1960's gold shimmer dress - Buffalo Gal Vintage £32
This dress is more of a subtle gold, but it does have some beautiful embroidery which makes up for its lack of shine.


1960's gold cocktail dress - Vintageous £85
The extra photographs on the website show the beautiful bow detail on the back of this dress.

Trend 3 - Floral. Floral is one of those trends that never really goes away, but comes around every summer. So take note - never throw out any of your floral dresses!




1950s yellow floral dress - Proper Vintage Clothing £50
I love this dress, it's so sweet! I can imagine wearing this to a picnic on a warm summers day.


1940's pink blossom print dress - Freudian Slips Vintage £75
This is my favourite item out of the whole post. I love the soft feminine print, and the dusty pink colour.


Late 50s-early 60s red flower dress - Tangerine Boutique Vintage £57.50
This dress reminds me of the red floral peplum dress from the Sex and the City movie. The figure-hugging shape makes it more chic and less girly.

Sunday 26 October 2008

26 10 08

By now anybody who loves fashion will be well aware of the Autumn/Winter 08 trends, but with so many people rocking the same looks this winter, how do you stand out from the crowd? VINTAGE! Yes, yes, here I am banging on again about vintage, but there is no way you will ever see somebody wearing the same thing as you. So, I have made a list of a few items that will see you stylishly through winter.

Trend 1 - Sophisticated Goth. The biggest of all the autumn/winter trends. Lots of black, lace, velvet, but pretty details to make the 'goth' look wearable.




1960s black lace & chiffon dress - Past Perfect Vintage £57.50
I think this item is my favourite out of the whole post. I love the delicate lace overlay and the shape of the dress with the cinched in waist is so flattering for everyone.


1970's Frank Usher gown with cape - eBay £25
This dress caught my eye because I can imagine Mary-Kate wearing this in her cool goth/grunge way. Plus, the additional images on eBay show you how the cape can be used in different ways.


1980's black lace & velvet peplum dress - Babylon Mall £12
I love the peplum detail on this dress, which is also another very big trend at the moment. If the lace sleeves are a little too much for your liking they could easily be cut into short sleeves or taken off completely to make it a sleeveless number!

Trend 2 - Tartan. Another massive trend that is all over the high-street. I like this trend because you can just use a hint of plaid or if you are really brave there are some fabulous bright tartan numbers to chose from!




1970's green plaid circle skirt - Babylon Mall £9.99
The colours on this skirt are a nice change from the red based tartans, and remind me of being cosy by a warm fire!


1960's tartan wool skirt suit - eBay £12.50
This skirt suit is definitely not for the faint of heart! It is loud, unapologetic, and a must for somebody who likes to be noticed.


Victoria's Secret tartan bustier - Rokit £20
This tartan bustier would look great with high waist jeans, and is a perfect way to wear the trend in a more subtle way.

Trend - Oversized Knitwear. I chose this trend because everybody loves being snuggly sometimes, so here are a few items to keep you warm and fashionable at the same time!




1980's op art jumper - Nasty Gal Vintage £34
I love the pattern on this jumper, it looks like it could have been designed by Bridget Riley. Plus, if you are brave enough, it is just about long enough to be worn as a sweater-dress!


1980's black bow jumper - Etsy £5
I adore anything with bows on, and this jumper is no exception!! The sparkly lurex thread makes it an ideal jumper to wear over the Christmas holiday too.


1980's red, black and white batwing jumper - eBay £17
The design on this jumper is simple but eyecatching, and I am all for wearing bright colours during the winter months to lift your spirits on dull days.

Monday 20 October 2008

20 10 08

On Saturday I had two photoshoots that I styled for my uni course, which was really fun! I was a little bit dissapointed with the choice of models they gave us, because I had to physically put them in the positions I wanted because they didn't really seem to know what they were doing, but beggars can't be choosers! Hopefully we will be getting our shots back on a CD this Saturday so I will post some. Here's a sneaky shot I took of the first photoshoot:

The second look was more edgy. I called it 'Second Skin' and used this and this. I hope they come out ok, we will have to wait and see!!

Thursday 16 October 2008

16 10 08

Today I found a hole in my only pair of high waist jeans, which are infact my only pair of jeans full stop! So I thought that it is definitely about time I got a new pair. Luckily, I spotted the most gorgeous pair of high waist jeans on eBay - the one and only Glenda jeans from Miss Sixty!! I have been wanting these jeans for ages. They are super high waisted and have an unusual shaped waistline, plus they were a fraction of the price that they went for when Miss Sixty had them in store. To be honest, I don't even care if they are fake Miss Sixty jeans, because I love the style so much that the label doesn't bother me!

Also lately I have been thinking a lot about pussy-bow blouses. It's an item that I don't have in my wardrobe but I would love to have one in every colour! Here are some of my favourite finds:

Malene Birger £120

Whistles £95

Marks & Spencer £35

Warehouse £40

Celia Birtwell for TopShop £45

Monday 13 October 2008

13 10 08

Hellooooo, it's been a while! I hope you haven't abandoned me yet!!
I spent the weekend looking after a little kitten with my boyfriend. Her name is Pudding, and I am in love with her! Isn't she adorable?!

Unfortunately we had to leave her with her rightful owners when we left today, but hopefully I will get to visit her again soon!
On saturday I went to my styling course at The London College of Fashion, and we were told that our photoshoot that we get to style is next week! I'm excited but very nervous at the same time because I really don't want to blow the chance of working with a professional model and photographer for free! I have some ideas for how I want each one to look (we get 2 different shoots.) The first one I want to style in a 50's/early 60's way , and I really liked this shoot from Britain's Next Top Model because it's so wonderfully kitsch! So, I am going to use a vacuum cleaner as a prop but have the model in more of a 50's prom style dress.

These are some pictures that I'm looking at for hairstyle ideas:


Then the second shoot I was going to go to the other end of the spectrum and have it super masculine and edgy, perfect for the current 'sophisticated goth' trend that is everywhere at the moment! I'm looking to get a really shaggy coat like the bottom picture and maybe some wet-look leggings, then loaaaads of metal jewellery! Here are some images I have been looking at for inspiration:

image from Forever In Fashion



last 3 images from Fashionation

Tuesday 7 October 2008

7 10 08

I do apologise for the lack of posts! I am still looking everywhere for a job at the moment - to no avail - so I haven't even been able to afford to go out anywhere, let alone buy myself any clothes!!
I'm feeling a bit uninspired at the moment, but hopefully soon I will get my spark back!
What do you do when you are feeling low or uninspired???

Friday 3 October 2008

3 10 08

I have an endless wishlist of items that I am constantly adding to, and have just added another! A cloche hat.
I first had the idea when I bought this beige coat from eBay, because the big fur collar reminded me of a 30's style (even though I think it is actually from the 70's)

I looked through the folder on my computer where I keep images for inspiration, and found this:

That is exactly the kind of thing I had in mind when I think of the coat in a 30's style. So I set about looking for a cloche style hat or something of a similar shape. The best one I found was this:

I really love the colour, and I'm having a thing for velvet at the moment so that's a plus. It also comes in black or a forest green.
I'm also hunting for lots of shoes that look like this:

The picture is from Sally Jane's wonderful blog, and I think they would top of the outfit perfectly!

Wednesday 1 October 2008

1 10 08

Why is it that when you have no money to spare you find so many things you want to buy, but when you have money there is nothing at all that you would spend it on?! Well, this is the former. I've just found this gorgeous 1930's evening dress on Etsy, but there is no way I could afford it!

I love everything about it - the sheer fabric, the white edges and most of all (of course) the huge bow. Oh well, I guess I'll have to let this one slide. I keep telling myself I probably wouldn't have somewhere fancy enough to wear a floor length gown to anyway, and I wouldn't have the heart to cut it shorter. If you can afford it, you'll find it here. How do you feel about cutting up vintage dresses? Yay or Nay?