Saturday 26 May 2012

Lovin' Leopard

Leopard print has made another come back into the fashion scene. You can see everything from silk shirts, fur jackets, pencil line skirts and accessories galore all covered in animal prints. It has taken me quite some time to embrace this reoccurring trend. For some reason I associated leopard print to the Popular TV series 'The Nanny' where Miss Fine and her mother would be draped in tight leopard print ensembles. Then of course, I have that scary association of leopard print with the oh so trashy 'Jerseylicious' cast. Putting all of these aside, when leopard print is worn well it can look elegant and even add a touch of rock star edge to your look.

I decided to welcome this trend and went online shopping. I found this cute leopard print, peter pan collar dress. I tried to style it into my every day wardrobe. Below I styled the dress with my long knitted vest and black stockings as we approach the cold season.  I have accessorised with a grey subtle leopard printed handbag. My simple rule is to never team more than 2 items of leopard print in your outfit. It is really important to tone the print down with a sold colour. 

Below, I have included some leopard print apparel and accessories. I think the safest and longest lasting trend pieces to purchase in leopard are the classic leopard print ballet flats and leopard sunglasses. They can always add some edge to an all black look. So why not begin there.
I have also included at the bottom of the post some looks worn by Olivia Palermo. She knows how to create elegance whilst wearing leopard. I also have styled an affordable look inspired by one of Olivia's leopard ensembles. 
 Happy Shopping!









Thursday 24 May 2012

Tommy Ton and Textured Textiles

Hi everyone! Following on from my previous post 'Textured Textiles,' I thought I'd share these incredibly detailed and elaborate textured ensembles styled by fashionable women from around the world.  The below photos taken at various Fashion weeks have been captured by the incredibly talented blogger/photogrpher Tommy Ton. I am constantly on style.com  as well as Tommy's blog Jak & Jil  looking up the latest off catwalk & street fashion. He is such a talented man. I encourage you all to visit Tommy Ton's blog  Jak & Jil and share his unique street style fashion photography.
The women photographed below are so brave and expressive in their style and celebrate the incredible textured textiles created today. I hope these pictures inspire you as much as they do me.

















All photos are courtesy of Tommy Ton on Style.com 

Thanks for reading!
xox

Sunday 20 May 2012

Textured Textiles

 Fashion is known for going around in circles and that may be the case, however the innovation and development has always stemmed from the textiles used. It is these textiles that enable designers to set their collections apart from others. Often a signature design can be repeated collection after collection however with textile changes. An example of this would be the traditional 'Chanel' jacket. We have seen the design repeated over the years but with different textures, materials and colours.

 The design of fabric/textiles today are incredible and can be seen as a piece of art.  My mother always encouraged me from a young age to take the time to look and hold fabrics and appreciate the amazing work involved. I remember fabric shopping with her and listening to how excited she would get as she discovered the incredible and intricate workmanship and design of different textiles. In fact she would often buy a swatch of fabric she loved and go home and investigate how the fabric was made.

 Today designers are so adventurous and creative with their fabrics. With the combination of rich and layered texture along with bold geometric prints, fashion has been taken to a new level. I love to combine different textured fabrics when dressing.  I did so in my below look.  I love the clash and contrast of the three pieces teamed together.

 I have styled some rich textured looks below my look for you to reference.  Due to the quality and unique fabrics you often have to spend more money, but they are worth every penny. Dare to combine different textured fabrics in your looks. It's particularly fun to do during winter because it allows you to layer thick over thin fabrics and you can always add some amazing fur to your looks.











Monday 14 May 2012

Bring on the 60's!

If I could jump into a fashion time machine I would set it to back to the 1960's. Fortunately designers are still taking inspiration from this decade.  In the early 60's the shape of clothes was dominated by expensive haute couture garments but soon transformed and became influenced by the emerging London pop scene. Musical taste had a strong influence on fashion styles. One of these styles being the 'mod look' which introduced the popular simple geometric silhouettes of the era which has made a comeback today. 

I always relate the amazing style icon 'Twiggy' when referring to the perfect 60's fashion image.  The world warmed to Twiggy's large eyes, long lashes, short hair and thin almost lanky build. Twiggy remains a huge inspiration to me when styling and designing. I have included some amazing sixties looks modelled by Twiggy at the bottom of this post.

In this post I am wearing a cute 1960's inspired dress from an amazing online shop called Oasap.  I fell in love with the simple shape of the dress, the daisy eyelet lace and of course the sweet little collar. 
Oasap have an amazing selection of affordable key trend fashion pieces. I have selected some other 1960 inspired dresses that Oasap have available for purchase online. I have referenced them below. 

I encourage you to all take a step back in time and revisit the 1960's. It's a great trend to take on while we juggle between the Autumn/Winter seasons. You can add an opaque or coloured tight to your mod dress and layer with a cropped jacket. 










Twiggy:
THE QUEEN OF THE 60'S






Thanks for reading!
xox