A quick snippet of Spring/Summer 2012 Couture

As a fashion promotion student, I am meant to know what's going on where and when and who's going to it... or so they say! Part of this includes looking at all the catwalks of every fashion week from every country going... BORING! Obviously I'm a great lover of fashion, I wouldn't have spent the last five years studying it if that wasn't the case, but I like to check out what’s happening, who's doing what, in my own time.

Like last week, I decided to have a look on style.com as I hadn't in so long and realised it was Couture week in Paris, woops, totally forgot about that one (bad fashion student!) I love couture collections because I find it's a way for the designers to go all out in individual pieces. So I started looking through and noticed a lot of the collections had a definite vintage feel to them... I always like looking at collections like this because it makes me feel nostalgic and all warm and fuzzy because they're creating pieces that look like they've stepped out of my favourite eras, if a designer can do that than they've got my vote!

I know I tend to write more about vintage and pin up stuff but I see if contemporary designers are creating retro inspired bits then it needs to be celebrated, so here are a few of my favourite outfits from the Spring/summer couture shows.

First we have my favourite designer of all time, Christian Dior, after all the controversy that happened with John Galliano at Dior, Bill Gaytten has currently took the reins for his second couture show at Dior, and this one showed the New Look from a different angle, using extravagant sheer fabrics and heavily constructed garments that gave it a retro, lady like feel but still made it look very edgy.

I love this outfit, it is something that could easily be worn out for dinner, the red and white dog tooth gives it that vintage feel; however the sheer cross over jacket with the bow on the side makes it look distinctive yet chic.

This dress just reminded me of Betty Draper from Mad Men, such a simple pencil dress but the detailing in the fabric is phenomenal, I love the gradient from black to white, so classic, I love that it is kept simple with just a necklace for accessories.

The finale pieces are always amazing, I must admit I did think at first these girls looked a bit like toilet roll holders but I still adore the detailing of the skirts. Bill Gaytten has dramatised the new look and made the focus of the hourglass very powerful but yet it is still elegant.

It makes me wonder how much fabric goes into pieces such as this one because look at all that net!! This piece is kept retro with the polka dot print on the bodice of the dress and the giant bow on the models waist, how cute! Once again I love the different shades in the skirt; it brings the garment to life!

Next designer is Alexis Mabille, now I'm going to be honest I hadn't really heard of this designer before but their collection really stood out to me, I think it was more from a styling point of view rather than the designs themselves. Here's a few that caught my eye.

 The style of this dress was so eye catching to me, I wouldn't completely say it's got that vintage style to it but it's a great pencil dress and they look good on anyone! I love the lace detailing on the sides so it creates an hourglass shape which every lady wants of course!

 This, I thought was just beautiful, the embroidery and the detailing, not forgetting the gorgeous aqua shade of the dress itself, if it was just a tad longer it would be the perfect evening dress to a vintage ball!

Ahh I love this one, so elegant and I love the layering of the skirt, it looks like a lace petticoat, so pretty and the colour is so calm and classic. What I love about this whole collection is the giant flowers on the models head and the matching coloured faces, it made quite a simple and classic collection have that wow factor, and this is why I love styling! 

Finally we have Elie Saab, I just wanted to try on every single dress in this collection, oh it was so glamorous, the colour palette was truly beautiful and every dress looked like it could have been something Grace Kelly would have worn! 

Pastel greens and pinks were the colour palette for this collection, you can see how much thought went into each dress because of all the detailing in the print and the embellishment, The bottom left picture reminds me of something Grace Kelly wore once I think to an award ceremony, the high neckline is so flattering and feminine, it just oozes forties glamour. The one on the right I love it has such a strong hour glass shape to it and I love the round neckline, this style was quite popular in the fifties and sixties and it just suits the style of this dress so much, I want it in my life!! I think I am partial to a bit of pastel colouring at the moment, which is never a bad thing!!

So there we have a snippet of the spring/ summer couture collections I love

Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

Xxx

Summer styling~

Oh blog, How I've missed you! Third  year is well and truly underway and once again you've gone to the back of the line whilst I attempt (important word there!)

But I've come back and and thought I'd show off some of my new styling work that I did at the  beginning of term back in September, gosh doesn't that seem ages ago already, it is quite scary that I'm going to be twenty two soon!

Anyway back to the topic at hand! I got an email months ago from a photographer I had modelled for last year asking if I wanted to style a shoot for her and a jewellery designer, of course I said yes!

I didn't know what we were doing, what the style was or anything, I just got asked to bring dresses. So I raided my wardrobe and just took pot luck hoping they'd work!

Katie (of Katie Blench photography) picked me up at Chatham train station along with the beautiful model Alice and Sian of Sian Bostwick Jewellery  and away we went. We only went to the outskirts of Chatham but it seemed like we were a million miles away from the darn place, in a gorgeous park in the middle of nowhere! Here are some behind the scenes snaps I took on my phone!

This image and Chatham doesn't connect right?

our gear for the day! I love shoots and how much stuff you always have to take!

The girls left all of the set design and styling in my fair hands... whether this was a good thing or not I don't know! I think they were going for some kind of Alice in Wonderland, fairy tale style to a degree

so this is what I came up with!

Using all the bits and bobs Katie brought in her car, how it all fitted I will never know!

But I quite liked this, its quite Quaint English countryside!

As well as having all this Katie even managed to have some cupcakes designed by a local company

HoneyBunz and lordy lord they were beautiful, how anyone could put that much attention to something so tiny gets a round of applause from me!

How adorable are these? They also tasted AMAZING,

 shame to eat them really but someone had to!

I was also hair stylist for the day too and gave Alice a 1940s ish inspired hairstyle, hairstyling isn't my forte but I tried my best and I was pleased with the result

And the shoot begins!

Alice wearing a vintage dress Sian brought along

Some of Sians jewellery she makes by hand, I want some!

And now for the actual shots from the day...

I adore all of these shots, I think their so natural and effortless, I hope to work with these lovely ladies again on a shoot sometime as we were a damn good team!

Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx

Anita's Vintage Fashion Fairs

Recently I got a lovely email from Zara King, the fab PR and Marketing lady at Anita's Vintage Fashion Fair's saying that she had come across my little ole blog,loved it and invited me to the next fashion fair in London as an 'Official blogger' to help promote it and to generally have a jolly good spending spree, now how could I turn this down!?

I found this on Anita's website, oh I am so excited for this!

I'm very much looking forward to it as I haven't been to a vintage fair in so long and as I've just started back in my third year at university, my student loan has come in at what I would say is impeccable timing, although I must add that I am going to try to be good and not spend too much... I hope, well my fella will be with me so I'm sure he will keep me on a tight reign!

Anita's vintage Fashion Fairs have been running for quite some time now and have become a popular on London's vintage scene, sponsored by Lipcote, the fairs don't just showcase clothing but everything from home wear, jewellery, fabric, you name it, you will likely find it there, and not only attracting the general public but celebrities, designers and journalists from all over London. What I love is that they don't come across as your usual vintage fair which are just stacked up with 1980s 'vintage'(if you can call it that), no sir, antique finds date right back to the 1800's so there really will be something for every fashionista out there.

As it is currently fashion season, the fair is going on the theme of the 4 capitals of Style, which are of course New York, Milan, Paris and not forgetting London town, I've chosen to cover London in my up and coming post on it so I'll be looking out for lots of quaint nostalgic bits and also some of you glamour girls and guys making a strong fashion statement (we all know London folk do it best).

As well as posting on London Themes for the fair I am likely to post about anything that catches my eye, my finds and the general overall response on the fair, I do feel honoured for being asked to be one of Anita's official bloggers so I hope I will do everyone proud!

My official Bloggers tag!

So if you're around in London this Sunday 25th September come pay the fair and me a visit and you never know your face might turn up on my blog, the fair is at Battersea Arts Centre, Grand Hall, Lavender Hill, London, SW11 5TN. Times are 9:30 am - 4pm (get there early to find the best bargains!)

Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx

A little collectors item

I've always wanted to collect something but nothings really ever took my fancy, I mean I'm a girl so I generally collect shoes and many types of clothing, mostly vintage, so I guess I am a bit of a vintage collector however when I was in Southwold during the summer I found a bag in a little antique shop hidden away, Southwold is such a cute little town, only five minutes up the road from my home town and I never think to go there, bizarre!
This bag caught my eye straight away, it was beautiful covered in little gems and crystals, I'd seen so many on EBay and Etsy but never thought to buy one, so as soon as I saw this I thought I'm having that without even looking at the price, to be honest now looking back on it I did buy spontaneously because I could of got the same back for better condition and cheaper on the Internet but live and learn!

These bags are by the designer Enid Collins or usually inspired by her, the company Collins of Texas started in 1959 and carried on until Enid Collins sold the company during the 1970s, there were two types of bags, the wooden box bag or the canvas bag. The company also sold diy bag kits so a lot of the ones you can buy off the Internet are actually imitations, which to be honest I think I have but I still love them nevertheless!

Collins bags are somewhat the collectors item now and as I have fell head over heels for them I've decided to collect them (with my father constantly going you don't need anymore bags!!) .

If you are wanting to collect them the ones obviously that are worth more are the ones with the jewels still intact, unlike my first one which hardly have any jewels on!

This is the one I purchased in Southwold, pretty even though a bit jewel-less!

Other collectibles ones are ones with the signature on, these can go for over £70 if you are lucky to find one!

This is the type of label to look for, On the Canvas bucket bags the signature is usually scribbled on with the design that is carefully hand painted on!

 So hunt out bargains on eBay, in shops such as Beyond Retro and other vintage shops, because luckily these types of shops don't usually realise how much they are worth because they only see it as "vintage" and don't know anything about labels! 

I bought this little darling at Beyond Retro for £30 and only has one gem missing!! I didn't even look at the price when I picked it up, I just knew I had to have it!  

I've noticed that even though I'm a fifties girl at heart I'm glancing towards more vintage sixties bags, what does it matter though if you think its pretty?

This is my little collection! The one nearest to the left is one I got off Etsy, I think it is a diy one because I found another lovely lady that had it and it is one of the cheapest to buy off the Internet,so I generally use this and my Southwold buy as everyday bags, as they are fairly large so I can fit all my rubbish in it!

I only have three but I have another coming on the way which looks something like this...

And it is an actual Collins bag too! I love the tan leather finishing, it stands out so much more than my other three! I'm happy that I now have something to collect, the only thing is finding somewhere to put them all! I have two wardrobes and both are chocker block with bags! A steady investment for the future I think!

How adorable is this advert!? If only she knew how much her bags would go for today!!

                                                                     Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx

The return of the The Hollywood Starlet

Whilst I was at Blue water this weekend doing a bit of window shopping (and only that let me just clarify!) I noticed a few things that were quite different in some fashion shops, glamour is coming back ladies and not the trashy page three glamour either, that's right Hollywood glamour, I was looking at dresses, tops and there was a very strong vibe of decades from the twenties to the late forties. A friend and I spotted a 1930s inspired dress which was very Madeleine Vionnet , it was classic and it was enchanting, something that could be worn time and time again and a lady would look just as  beautiful in it each time. With a simple style to it I fell in love, however not so much at the price of £195 I had to let it go, bring on the January sales I say!

It seems people are looking back again at times where glamour was a way of life, women between the twenties and early sixties took great pride in their appearance and wanted to look feminine and beautiful and damn right they should. Women are meant to look glamorous and sexy this is what men love about us right?
I'm after a jumpsuit, I was a bit wary of this idea because I've never worn one in my life and I didn't particularly want to look like an eighties  reject and the majority of jumpsuits in shops are just tacky until I went into New Look and Found what seemed to be a seventies influenced but I liked it a simple black one shouldered jump suit.

See now this is something I think looks rather good(excuse my awful cropping of the image!) I tried it on and it just felt so comfortable, like I said it is very seventies however the seventies took a lot of influence from the forties so If I get this for my birthday I think with my hair pin curled it will look lovely! I like the fact that the trousers have a bit of a flare to them and are high waisted so this means it will suit my hourglass frame a treat!

But it was very classic and so was many other things I saw in shops, I mean of course dress lengths haven't really grown and I don't see them growing any time soon, its either maxi or mini I'm afraid and nothing in between, but the bodices of some of the dresses are very forties and fifties influenced and are very flattering for ladies. I also saw that River Island were selling Pretty Polly seamed tights.

Now obviously these aren't as good as seamed stockings in my opinion but for ladies that want a bit of class every day and a cheaper option these could be right up your street. I love the fact also the design is also very vintage inspired with the streamlined radio, the pose of the ladies legs and the general feel to it, very retro indeed.

You also now notice celebrities who go for the Hollywood glamour look such as Katherine Heigl, is it because they want to stand out from the rest or are they generally interested in past times? Or just wearing something their stylist simply told them would look good?

Katherine Heigl wearing a beautiful evening gown at an awards ceremony with fifties inspired hair, wowee!

All of this could be because of the new Cher and Christina Aguilera film BURLESQUE that is coming out this month. People have  certainly now opened their eyes to burlesque and it is certainly becoming more mainstream so are designers wanting to show this through their garments and give ladies a bit of retro chic?

Christina Aguilera in Burlesque

 Or are the general public simply following another trend similar to the "Mad Men" phase? I quite like it to be honest because I can now go into modern clothes shops and find clothes that are actually similar in design to those of the decades I am interested in, the forties and fifties. I can now mix and match vintage with contemporary without feeling too uncomfortable in it because some outfits now do just scream pure class and this is what I like, call me a snob, I don't care, I like to look good and sometimes high street fashion just isn't for me. Personally being a lady myself there is nothing more captivating than a woman dressed up to the nines in alluring garments with a bit of glitz, their hair styled nicely, beautiful red lips and a damn good handbag, I'm sure most of you would agree. So will we see a bit of Hollywood glamour over the Christmas period, oh I do hope so. Ladies, ditch the jeggings and go for something a bit more seductive with a ravishing evening gown or pencil skirt, or like me a classic jumpsuit.

Until Next Time

Toodle Pip

xxx



Salute to the 40s... in Chatham?!?!

Last year when I'd first moved down to the glorious area of which is Kent, I found a 40s event at a place called Chatham dockyard, I didn't know anything about the event then and I wanted to go dreadfully! But having only just moved, I hadn't made many friends so I had to give it a miss. When I found out they were doing it again this year I was thrilled and even better I had my man to take me there too! I checked out the website and found out it was 70 years since Dunkirk so it was also a remembrance as well as a jolly good day out!





  So off we went just after midday, I'd dolled myself up to the nines wearing my brand new Vivien of Holloway turquoise pencil dress and Hawaiian wedges, which after my man getting us lost and taking us on a tour of Chatham it seemed, my feet were lets say a bit on the sore side. However this did not put my spirits down and when we got there I felt like a little girl at Christmas!

    I didn't quite know what to expect as Chatham's not got the most going on but as I walked down to the main event it was fantastic to see everyone in original  40s clothing and in world war 2 uniforms, including police, army, firemen. Oh it was magnificent! Everyone was so friendly and looked like they were having the time of their lives! I was a bit nervous at first thinking I'd over dressed, how wrong I was! I felt under dressed in the end. Ladies in beautiful tea dresses and Dior inspired suits and hats, men in double breasted suits or sailor outfits.

Every girl's gotta have a man in the army..or two

Four lovely ladies lookin good!

    Every now and then I had the urge to have my photograph taken with a plane or with a car ( as you do!) and as my man was taking my photograph,I noticed other people doing it as well, how nice of them! I guessed from this event people put on their glad rags here and love to have their picture taken so I let them snap away!

My favourites from the day,opposite from each other but just as good

   There was live music from singers and bands, I only caught a few of them, two of my favourites were a t-chest bass blues band who did a lot of Elvis, of which I was happy to hear! Don't get me wrong I adore forties music but it was still a delight to hear my favourite! And also a very Andrew sisters inspired girl group who were just fabulous, they had the look down to a tee and their voices were just gorgeous!

      I gave out a few business cards hoping for some work to come my way, but if it doesn't I don't mind, there was a few stalls to buy clothes from and of course there was the Best of British magazine there so I made sure I got myself a couple of copies of that magazine, there was a woman making hand made snoods too so after treating myself to a pretty one on eBay I made sure I got myself another so I have a choice now! I'm still trying to get the hang of wearing them at the moment, because when I try it on, I seem to look more like a dinner lady then a forties starlet, better keep practising I say!  I also had to stay away from a lovely vintage dress that caught my eye, it was a beauty but I thought I'd better not!

Some lovely ladies getting their hair styled

   Do you know I could actually go on about this day forever, when I was walking home I kept saying to my man how I'd had such a good time and I honestly did, being a fifties girl I was a bit wary that I would get fed up with a day of the forties but how wrong I was! I definitely could tell a difference between the 1940's scene and the rockin scene. There is a lot more drinking involved in the 50s scene and the music where as 40s is more about the clothes and dancing, which to me is still just as good, I loved watching the couples lindyhopping and would love to do it myself but I'll just stick to my jiving, I can do that, I think I'd trip over my own feet and that would not look good!

  So after a long ole day we retired back to my house to go get ready to go out in the evening. A long day of glorious 40s music, dancing and great people.
    I'll be reporting on the London tattoo convention over the next few days so keep your eyes peeled

 Until then

Toodle Pip

xxx

 

In rememberance to people who lost their lives in the war