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Pop, Bright Shoes
2008-05-28 01:08:00
I love bright coloured shoes, especially the way they look with knee high socks (my favourite combination right now is yellow shoes with purple socks). The one's I recently came across are by dutch designer Egbert van der Does, the name of his Shoe Label ; Does Shoes includes shoes for both Men and Women.Egbert apparently used to be a painter before he became a shoe designer, he studied the art of shoe making and craft at a vocational training institute in Nieuwegein which I think is in Netherlands.These shoes are possibly the most fun and playful shoes in terms of the colours, that I have come across in a while. I just love the combinations for example the yellow, black, orange and Grey coloured one below left. I reckon these shoes will be perfect for dancing to The new Mystery Jets song - Two doors down, Junior Senior - Can I get get get, Seelenluft - Manila and even LadyHawke - Paris is Burning...sigh!! I can just imagine the joy. Sadly I was unable to find out more about the d...
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Swishyness
2008-05-25 12:50:00
I've been working in a Charity shop for over a month now and I must say I am absolutely loving it, my favourite days tend to be fridays and Saturdays when all the "I bought this dress the other day and I dont like it anymore/ it doesnt fit, but I cant be bothered returning it, I'd rather buy a new one" ladies drop in to donate some bits and pieces. And for a while now, I've been searching for my very one Swishy skirt, like those by Giles Deacon and Erdem. Well on friday while sorting out some clothes at work, I found a lovely velvet midnight blue one, with some black floral details and best of all, it has a pocket (you should have seen the expression on my face when I realised it had a pocket, it was like when Jerry see's cheese).Although it was way too long I still got it anyway and got my mum to cut it to a shorter length and hem it. I love it so much, I'm sort of scared to put it in the wash 'cause I keep thinking it'll skrink or change colour.Another gem I found is this b...

New Found obsession:
2008-05-22 13:50:00
A little while ago, I joined Flickr (about time... I've been prostponing it for so long) anyway, I seem to have become more and more addicted to so many Photo streams, particularly the Style and fashion ones. A few moments ago while searching and going through more photo streams, I came across Billa's Photo stream.Billa also known as Ian Baldwin is basically a photographer based in London, you might have seen some of his work in the likes of ID Magazine and Super Super. He often takes pictures of party scenes as well as Music band promotion pictures for the likes of The Teenagers and Hadouken (Listen to Tuning in, I absolutely love it) he also takes some Fashion pictures, you can find some on his site here. I've seen a few of his pictures before but I didn't realise he had a flickr page with all the party scene pictures.I'm personally a huge fan of party scene pictures, I cant seem to get enough of them, mainly because most people want to look their best on a night out, therefo...
More About: Obsession

Talk of Fashion Craftmanship
2008-05-16 02:51:00
Make sure you remember this name - Iris Van Herpen, why? Her recent Fall/ Winter collection should hopefully show you why.Having graduated from the Arnhem Art Academy in 2006, the up and coming Netherlands designer showcased her Fall/ Winter collection at the Amsterdam International Fashion Week, the collection titled "Chemical Crows" is just amazing, her use of materials for the collection is also very fascination, from brass rods which were apparently made from children’s umbrellas, beige and black leather.Many will question the wear-ability of this collection and I must say their are many wearable pieces in the "Chemical Crows" for example, the dresses in beige and black leather with the rows of chains, and also the dresses with the deep blue raffia yarn. The details on these dresses are so perfectly put together to create something very unique. However as a whole I would refer to this collection as a great work of Craft particularly the dresses with the gold coloured construct...
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Christian brings me joy
2008-05-13 00:30:00
You'll be easily forgiven if you hear the name Christian Joy and the other name that instantly comes to mind is Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.You might remember the outfit on the left from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs video for Gold Lion.Having being designing many great costumes / outfits for Karen O for many years, Christian Joy launched her Spring Summer 08 collection, which is surprisingly very simple, and with little of her usual theme of play full and non-conformist details, I do like the collection, however it didn't catch my attention as much as her recent Fall 08 collection.You might also remember she did a collection for Top shop, the most memorable outfit from the collection then for me was the tunic top with boat graphics on it, back then the collection also seemed very simple, I did like it but it just did not get me very excited like I was expecting it to. Her Fall 08 collection is more like what I have been expecting from her ready wear collections, not as flamboyant as m...

Josephina Lar does Knits with extreme details.
2008-05-08 13:15:00
Swedish born designer who graduated from the London College of fashion has amazed me with her Autumn/Winter 08 collection.Having worked with the likes of Preen and Ann Sofie back, her collections seems to mix influences from these two designers. Preen's deconstructed, structured but chic outfits and Ann Sofie Back's use avant guard details are all visible in Josephina's collections. Lar's Autumn / Winter collection includes the use of visible details, structured and clean silhouettes as well as twisted and folded materials which all creates very chic outfits.The knits are a particular favourite of mine from this collection, particularly the green one on the far right and the nude coloured one on the first left.Josephina's use of details, structured and clean cut silhouette to create chic outfits is even more evidence in her Spring / Summer 08 collection. This collection reminds me of outfits you'll probably find in COS, especially the shirts, however with more details, I parti...
More About: Extreme , Details , Knits

The Vintage Fair
2008-05-07 16:00:00
Some weeks back now, I went to a vintage fashion fair, it was the first time I'd ever been to one, usually I just go to the usual vintage shops never a fair. Therefore I was filled with lots of excitement, It was like been in a candy shop except they were clothes, shoes, bags and other bits and pieces in place of the candy (phew!!! that was a long way of explaining).Anyway, there were lots of dresses I absolutely adored, however with little time on my hand I did not get to try as many outfits as I would have loved to, also there's lack of photographic evidence as I somehow forgot to put new batteries in my camera however I've used some pictures from the retrolex site. The sheer red dress with the fluffy lines on the far right on the rail were one of many dresses I wanted, it's actually a knee length dress cause in the picture it looks like a really long dress, the pink below is another dress behind it on the rail (I hope that makes sense.)Looking back now, I reckon I should have...
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Izzie Klingels
2008-05-04 04:10:00
Fashion and art /Illustrations paths often tend to meet one another, especially this recent seasons with Art inspired outfits (Art Attack) such as paintings and drawings being one of Spring/ summer 08 key trends. This season art/ illustrations has not just being used on clothes it being broadened and used on Beauty lines like Fafi for M.A.C, Mari Kubota for Jelly pong pong and accessories such as bags for example the Prada hand painted bag.An illustrator I recently came across is Izzie Klingels , her illustrations are just absolutely adorable. Izzie who studied Fine Art at Chelsea School of Art recently did an illustration for the fashion story featured on the most recent issue of Preen Magazine.The illustration features a girl wearing a Miu Miu dress, then she's wearing a Benjamin Cho pink bow top, next wearing a Stussy dress, the other is a lovely Hurley dress, then the first illustration on the left of the huge fist holding the mannequins wearing an original penguin and a Balenc...

Maria presents "Mucha"
2008-05-03 01:20:00
The thing with jewelries is that they can either transform an outfit completely or just make a lovely outfit look a bit "tacky." However with Maria Francesca, her jewelry collections tend to transform a very simple outfit into a fab looking outfit, her jewellery sort of reminds me of the ones Hilary Alexander wears a lot.Maria Francesca Pepe is an Italian designer who graduated with a masters degree in Fashion Women's wear at “Central Saint Martins College”, London. Before attending Central Saint Martins she studied Fashion Design at a fashion and design school in Milan called "The Marangoni Institute". Having worked with the likes of Kookai, Luciano Soprani and more recently with Louis Grey on her Fall / Winter 08/09 collection in which Maria Pepe designed the shoes for her collection. Maria has now has her own jewelry label "MariaFrancescaPepe LTD" already in its second season - the fall 08/ 09 collection which is titled "Mucha." The campaign for the collection features Alice...
More About: Presents

Alternative Fashion - Hasan Hejazi
2008-05-03 01:15:00
I'm ever so sorry I've been away for way too long, anyway hope you're all doing alright. So Alternative Fashion week 08 , AFW went on through out last week and I discussed some of my favourite designs and pieces as well as what the whole event was about on The Drip book fashion studio (which I don't think I've mentioned, I sometimes contribute on). One of the designers I mentioned was Maryanne Mbira, and another I did not go into so much detail about is Hasan Hejazi. Hasan is a graduate from Manchester Metropolitan university who has been working as an assistant stylist for various magazines such as OK, YQ and Hello magazine. His use of materials for the collection shown at the alternative fashion week 2008 includes a mixture of inspirations from sheep skin with some nude coloured materials on some pieces, lace and leather corsets to create very beautiful and quite attractive dresses as well as cocoon looking coats. He seems to me like another designer to look out for in the fu...

What's in your bag?
2008-01-14 01:41:00
I've been tagged by the super stylish Susie Bubble to show you lovelies what's basically in my bag. Well my bag is a slightly big bag, seriously, I can even fit my little brother in it... OK maybe not, and no I have not tried to...I tend to prefer big bags so as to fit my school folders and all other sorts of bits and pieces in them, if not If not I tend to go for over body bags too.So here it goes, I've got my college folder, bottle of water so as to avoid getting hydrated, my pen/pencil case, black leather gloves and of course, an umbrella, a must for the "great" unpredictable weather. My Brown Little bag - which is where I store all my pennies and loose change just in case I go extremely skint and need to buy a packet of Haribo or magazine desperately. Purse, phone, mp3 player, keys, 3 batteries (not sure why). Also banana (part of the five fruits a day) a little red Chinese fabric sack that comes with a circle shaped mirror which my Mum's friend gave to me, Vaseline, hand c...

Its our Birthday...
2008-01-11 04:41:00
Its my birthday today, I just turned 19...(screams!!!!) I feel so old, Its also a year since I started this blog too, therefore this is just to say a big thank you to all the readers and their support. I am really enjoying getting to know all other fellow blogger's and sharing my ideas and thoughts with like minded people who don't think I'm weird or a freak for thinking foil leggings look great rather than something out of star wars.I hope to continue blogging and updating more often, however for now I hope to go and treat myself with some "from me to me" birthday presents by doing some shopping after college.
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Fun geometic prints
2008-01-11 02:51:00
Prints are often a recurring trend for Spring/Summer collections, however Neurotica which is a women's wear label designed by Victoria McGrane plays with and manipulate prints to come up with something fun, new and creative for her collections. Neurotica Spring/Summer 08 collection includes the use of geometric prints. Although the collection seems quite dark, it is somewhat brightened up appropriately for Spring/Summer by combining bright prints with the darker fabric colours. I am particularly fascinated by the designs of the leg wears in this collection, the prints on the socks and tights look very eye-catching, they are also very unusual and quirky, it has now gone to my head that it must include my very long list of "from me to me" birthday presents. You can find out more about the designer herself, that is Victoria McGrane in an interview with Dirrty Glam magazine.
More About: Prints

A MiniMarket filled with Style
2008-01-04 22:05:00
Sometimes search engines are completely nut when they decide to give you results that just don't comprehend with what is been searched for, however other times they are completely useful. For example during a recent search I some how landed on a Swedish site called Mini-Market, to my delight it turned out to be better than what I was searching for.Mini market is actually a Swedish clothing label designed by the three sisters Pernilla, Jennifer and Sofie Elvestedt. Their aim is to design clothes with two elements which are comfort and Extravagant. I do not know much about Swedish designs however, something I have noticed is that most tend to include these two elements in their designs, for example Helena Horstedt, Acne and many more.I'm really impressed with many pieces from this label, including blouses with ruffle and pleat details at the from, a particular favourite of mine.As most of the site is written Swedish, I did not understand many of the information's (anyone knows some...
More About: Style

Sci -Fi is so Feminine
2008-01-03 01:32:00
Firstly, a Happy New Year to you all and I hope this year is more prosperous than the last. New Year tends to be the time when all the January/February magazine issues start putting out and predicting the trends for Spring/Summer 08, its also a time for all those New Years resolutions which most us give up on after February. I've never really kept to most new years resolutions I made in the past, however I made one I hope to achieve which is to learn to speak french...their are so many great french films out there and I'd love not to have to read subtitles and just understand what going on. Talking of the french, French designer Gaspard Yurkievich who studied at the Bercot Studio Paris Spring/ Summer 08 collection includes some of the top trends for Spring/ Summer 08 such as hint Sci -Fi elements and the flapper dresses. The flapper dresses with ruffles/pleats is very feminine and floaty are just beautiful, and gives a sense of sweet, romantic and fun...ideal for the coming Spring...
More About: Feminine

Sales till You drop
2007-12-28 00:06:00
Seems to me like the Sales season gets crazier each year and this year seems to be the worst I've seen so far. With the sales starting on Christmas day. The vogue UK site have even done a whole list of where and when many sample and Christmas sales start and I must say their are some great bargains out there and I've got my eyes on a few itemsI personally love the Christmas sales for obvious reasons, I mean who doesn't like a bargain, for example last years Season sales, I got some amazing bargains, for example the Topshop Boutique top with some back details worn in the picture on the left was reduced from something like £40 to £9.99.Some other great sale finds from previous Season sales are also shown in the images below the, like high waisted skirt and the blue tights along with brown leather bag. However this year I cannot seem to deal with the whole rush, lining up at 7am on boxing day, I just haven't got the strength.Therefore I'm deferring my bargain hunting till the Ja...
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Hohoho!!! MERRY XMAS
2007-12-26 23:33:00
I bet most of you have got christmasand all the pressie's over and donewith by now, anyway I hope you allhad a great one and got all you wanted. I had a fab christmas, lots and lots of food thanks to my SuperMum as wellas some great presents, I had so muchto eat I couldnt walk properly for a fewhours I just had to watch some greatChristmasy TV; Eastenders and Dr.Who...woohoo. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL XXX
More About: Xmas , Merry Xmas , Merry

That is so last season!!
2007-12-13 22:20:00
Most of us are aware that the trends running throughout this Autumn/Winter and peeking into next season, Spring/Summer 08 include; sheer, zips and metallic. There seems to be a designer who seems to have done it all before we all started going nut for these trends. Miki Fukai's Spring 07 collection features all this "trendy" pieces, I never understand when many girls use the phrase "that is so last season" because I don't think any cloth is ever "so last season", I think its a wee bit tragic that some people throw away certain items from their wardrobe or stop wearing them when it is considered not trendy and only wear trendy pieces. Miki Fukai's Spring 07 collection proves this, as most so called trends always comes back anyway. For example, the ever so consistent reappearance of "the little black dress" and the phrase that you cant seem to get away from when reading many fashion magazines; " ... is the new black" Moving on from the trend talk, Miki Fukai Spring 07 collection ...
More About: Season

Pill that coat
2007-12-12 13:07:00
When I think of Belgian designers, what comes to mind include designers like Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester and many more. However recently I've become drawn to Cathy Pill's work, and her name has somehow been added to that list of talented Belgian designers in my head. I am still beating myself up about the fact that I did not pay attention to her work and previous collections until very recently. Pill was a former Vivienne Westwood intern, her staple signature includes the use of patterns, prints and shapes, most of all I am more amazed with her use of shapes and colour combinations in the coats which are featured in her Haute couture Spring 07 collection which was presented in Paris.I love the Zip attachment on these coats, they can be zipped and turned into a Jacket or just left hanging. The collection is also featured on the I dress up website which I have been messing about with and enjoying changing the mannequin's outfit (a wee bit childish...I know).Her Spring/Summe...

Drip into Dripbook
2007-11-19 00:21:00
Apologies for the lack of post for a while now, I've been busy with so many assignments, most of which have to be in before the end of term and others right at the beginning of next term. My mum's also been at the doctors to sort out her leg which has been poorly for a while now, but she should hopefully be back home tomorrow, so its all being busy, busy, busy... anyway I hope you've all missed me...on second thoughts, don't answer that, I'll just take it as a yes - he he!!Anyway while I've been away, I got an email from Alex Wright, a photographer, who basically introduced me to Drip book. Alex Wright is one of the creators Dripbook, which is basically a social network, a wee bit like Iqons but dedicated to photography and Visual Art which most regular readers would know I'm a big fan of. After some long hours of browsing through Dripbook, I came across some truly creative and fantastic work. Whats really good about Drip Book is that it has a vast range of creative work from ...

Pretty Pleats
2007-11-09 14:54:00
For a variety of designers adding pleat details to a garment tends to create so much character, creativity, fun and a high level of visual appeal. Renata Morales whom I discussed her previous collection briefly, in a previous post, is one of those designers that the use of pleats tend to reoccur in the garments and pieces from her collections. Her Spring 08 collection shows many complex looking but beautiful and eye catching pleats which she has managed to make it look very wearable.The dresses above are my favourite from the collection, there is so much attention to detail and some hand knitted details.Morales is also a painter, which is echoed in many of the prints, fabrics and garments in her collection, there are also splashes on the background where the pictures of her garments are taken. Her Paintings have been featured in a variety of exhibitions and Fashion & design festivals in Canada. You can view some more of her paintings here.
More About: Pretty

An early christmas present
2007-11-09 02:17:00
Having been sharing a laptop with my mum for a while now, Ive been craving my personal one especially the Sony Vaio laptop which I first came across via the adverts on the Vogue UK website. To my surprise my Super Mum managed to get one and gave it to me a few days ago. It comes in a variety of colours from Blue, Red, White, Pink and Black.I was given the blue one which I'm still quite excited about, therefore I'll just like to thank my lovely Mum and send her an High Five. I bet she's very glad she doesn't have to share with me anymore as I tend to bug her when she needs to use her Laptop while I'm looking through Style.com and end up making her wait for ages. The laptop also looks quite good with most of me outfits too (which is very vital of course).
More About: Christmas , Present , Early , Resent

It's the STARKILLER...
2007-11-02 14:07:00
Finding creative and new designs from a place or designer I know little about is always a buzz for me, in this case, its the Icelandic label Star Killer (which I thought was maybe something from Star Wars), the designer Harpa graduated from the Icelandic academy of art and design in 2005 as a fashion designer. The label was recently featured in the recent issue of dirrty glam. You can read her interview in the dirrty glam interview where she also discusses how the name of the Label came about. Usually when I think of Iceland the first person that comes to mind is Bjork (who has a quirky style I find to be very inspirational), therefore its great to see that there are other great talents from Iceland.A sense of quirky and fun designs run through Starkiller pieces, the mixture of silk and sheer fabrics as well as PVC is used very creatively in the collection. My personal favourite from Star Killer collection are the high waisted blue PVC trousers, the black PVC playsuit with sheer ruf...
More About: The Star

Glittery, Zippy and Shiny...
2007-10-25 00:19:00
I bet most of you would have noticed my mini obsession with all things metallic and shimmer as well as zip details which have occurred in many catwalk shows and have also been occurring in many previous posts. I have been collecting a few bits and pieces that shimmer or has zips for a few weeks now.The glittery jumper with bold print details is one I found in my Mum's wardrobe (sometimes her wardrobe is like a mini vintage shop) which I managed to convert into a little dress by getting rid of the arms and adding a silver zip to the front.I found the purple sequined top in charity shop, taking it off is quite annoying because the beads keep catching something or getting stocked on my earrings (moral of the story, take care when removing a sequined top or dress as it might result in a little accident such as destroying the sequins...oh deary me!! that sounds a like a washing instruction)The silver shoes were an absolute bargain from Office, not buying them will just be rude and silly...
More About: Zippy , Glitter , Shiny

beady beads
2007-10-24 05:13:00
For me accessories are always a great part of an outfit, they sort of complete a look. I personally love beads and a designer I recently came across makes use of some beautiful beads to create a variety of accessories from necklaces to bags. Bea Valdes whose accessories craft started as a hobby studied interior design at Inchbald school in London. I think her pieces are gorgeous, the red piece below is my favourite, I wasn't quite sure what it was but apparently it can be used as a necklace and scarf.The bags and clutches are also very lush, they are apparently hand beaded, hence the great details.The website is also just as beautiful as accessories (however after a while the bird noises started to do me heading)...
More About: Beads

Balerina for Hoss
2007-10-13 00:42:00
Spanish Boutique Hoss recently opened earlier this year in London's Regent street and I haven't had the chance to look through their pieces until now, and I must say they're quite lovely, the pieces are simple and eclectic the way they are put together gives this polished and feminine look that show many vintage references. What even impressed me more was their Autumn/Winter 07 campaign which features Tamara Rojo.A Spanish prima ballerina who is also part of the Royal Ballet of London. Her adorable look and ballet skills which were captured in some of the pictures enhances the beauty of the clothes as well as a result of beautiful pictures.Hoss Intropia accessories also had me saying my ever so often phrases like "I want...I like...this should be mine, add to Christmas wish list." The jewelries has some very creative details and the beret style hats are just gorgeous (especially the yellow hat...meow!!)You can also have a look at the campaign's making of video which features th...
More About: Bale , Erin

Back to the Future
2007-10-11 01:31:00
This season leather, zips, PVC and neon colours have all been unveiled on the catwalks which looked great and very futuristic. Another designer who has played and made use of all these various bits and pieces especially to create the futuristic (hence the title of the post) is Tina Kalivas.Kalivas has designed costumes in a variety of movies and theatre productions, she has also worked at Alexander McQueen. This collection features very structured and graphic tailoring and what looks like influences from vintage corset dresses. However, the neon bright colours especially that of the second dress in the picture above sort of reminds me of those Liquorice flavored sweets or maybe I'm just revealing my thirst for some sweeties (I might just go to the corner shop right after this post) .I personally love the confident as well as feminine look of this collection, certain pieces from Kalivas collection are available in BrownsYou can also view the video of the catwalk show here.
More About: Future , The Future , Back , Back to the Future

Metallics and Shimmer
2007-10-06 00:10:00
Autumn 07/08 as well as Spring 08 catwalk shows have featured lots of shimmering, metallic outfits which has inspired many men's shimmering outfits that look very stylish and classy on lot of street styles. I personally love the sheeny colours, the PVC pieces, they seem to give a edgy, modern, futuristic yet classic effect.My favourite design for the men's wear show is that of Eric Lebon, his use of waxed cotton and shiny PVC for his Spring 08 show is just superb especially the shorts. I bet lots of girls can also get away with wearing these shorts too.Talking of super stylish men, I've become quite obsessed with Unkle Jam's style, they are an electro-soul group and I love their colourful and funky style.Their recent single's video "Stereo" (which I think is out now) impersonates certain aspects of one of my favourite opening scenes ever, Stanley Kubrick's, "A clockwork orange (1971) ". However, the manniquins were replaced with girls in silver jumpsuits which I have been hunt...

Get it all out
2007-09-29 23:24:00
I'm very sure most of you have seen some bloggers like Dream Echo, Susie Bubble and Diana Bobar all experimenting and looking fab in the Maison Martin Margiela Spring 07 inspired outfits.Elliot Atkinson's Autumn/Winter collection "BLOW" has taken this idea to the next level by creating them for men as well as women, the selection for men echoes some sense of witt and humour which I just love. My favourite is the pink boob dress which I feel would look great with beige rassel tights and those black ultima boots I've got me eyes on from Vagabond. He has being an assistant to menswear designer label Cassette Playa, you can have a look as some of his previous work too which I think are very eclectic, forward thinking and fun. In my view, Elliot Atkinson is definitely a designer to look forward to in the future.

Stylish Illustrations
2007-09-27 21:08:00
I am a big fan of illustrations and I've recently come across a London based illustrator whose work I find to be very creative and versatile. Oliver Harud is a freelance illustrator, storyboard artist and visualiser. He has worked in the editorial and illustrative field, including jobs in computer games for Sonny. His work has recently been featured on Chic Today's recent issue.The illustrations featured are of certain pieces from the autumn,winter 07/08 season, they are also set in the London underground, his take on the autumn/winter pieces show a edgy, bleached blond hair lady which sort of reminds of Agyness Deyn, I find his drawings to be very detailed and I also like the way different designer pieces are put together to create each look, my favourites are the one with the Balenciaga Shoes as well as the third outfit with the Dior dress combined with the Giles Deacon for Daks looks great. You can find some more of his work here and his site.
More About: Stylish , Illustrations , Stration