The Life's And Times Of A Fashion Student.

Playing with polka dots.

2012-05-22T14:28:00.001-07:00

So, I know i promised a bit post, but as per, life got in the way. I've had a few issues on my course and with my collection so that's been my main focus. I've managed to finish a dress in two days to put on the fashion show so pretty pleased with that. The fashion show is on Friday, so after that's done I can focus on the blog a bit more, along with job hunting etc. Can't wait!

Anyway, I've been keeping myself busy designing a business card! Here's the final design :)

The quality's a bit rubbish because the image is a jpeg not a PDF, seems blogger can't handle the file size!

Quick Update.

2012-05-08T10:04:00.002-07:00

Just a quick update, since I'm overloaded with portfolio work at the moment, but expect a big post at the weekend as that's when I'm done :)

But just to remind everyone that I am still alive here's a drawing I did for my portfolio yesterday and one of the first times I've actually used my own figure drawing as a final.

The theme was 1950's wedding dresses and I took my other inspiration from the paintings of Degas and his ballerinas.

Working drawings are a pain in the butt.

2012-04-09T14:52:00.000-07:00

So, I know I've been posting a lot of illustrator work lately, but its taking over my life!! Hopefully I can finish the rest of my collection working drawings tonight so I can finally get my head round them!. But until I sort those out, here's a peak at some portfolio working drawings I've done, based on my vintage Dr who project.

Pretty Peplum's

2012-04-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

So a pretty interesting trend this spring is Peplum dress's/skirts. I think its kinda cute and quirky, and very lady like. It's not something I've ever worn before, it looks a little posh for everyday where for me. However when the next student loans comes in I might treat myself.

This cute little dress is from new look online and cost's £42.99. I love the front detailing however I'm not too keen on the back detailing.

I love this little dress. Lace is one of my all time favourite things, and this dress is beautiful, perfect for an interview are a posh dinner. This costs £48 from the House Of Fraser website.

The print on this is so pretty! Don't know if you could call this a Peplum dress since it doesnt stick out at the sides as much but beautiful colours. Dorothy Perkins. £39.50

Peplum in a playsuit. Enough said. Dorothy Perkins. £35.

However the only thing with this trend is I think it looks too formal and office like, I'd really like to see something a bit different with it. Maybe I'll have a crack at adding a new look to it myself when I get some spare time. :)

Pintrest Is Wonderful

2012-04-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

I'm having so much fun with Pintrest!, Its so useful for displaying your work and keeping all your pretty things organised :)

If anybody is interested, go check out my profile.

http://pinterest.com/misslaurameow/

Beautiful Bags.

2012-04-04T13:36:00.001-07:00

So I've decided I really really want a new bag. As cute as my little Primark satchel is, It's defiantly not going to last me longer then a few months, and I only bought it as a replacement bag because my other one broke. So I'm after something new and pretty that I can fit my organiser and other important bits in, and prance around London feeling all business like, Here's the two that I'm kinda in love with. :)

Little bit in love with this one. Fake croc skin, beautiful colour. If i had a spare £55 knocking about I would definitely buy this. This ones from Dorothyperkins.com

This one's from Newlook.com. Cute, Disney and massive bow on the front. Winner!

This post is only a quick one, since I'm about to go and watch the shawshank redemption for the first time ever with the other half :) Hope everbody is having a good week :)

Illustrator Is My New Best Friend.

2012-03-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

First off, my blog has a new look. Quite a change from the old layout, but I was getting a little board of having somebody else's design, I made my own. The little polkadot bows on the side I made myself with Illustrator :). You'll also notice I've changed my tag line, and when I leave uni, I'll be changing the title too. Since I am no longer a student, but a proper grown up. :(

Speaking of being a proper grown up, I've started preparing my portfolio, which includes some Illustrator work. This is further work on my mini escape project from the previous post, because I love playing on Illustrator so much. If only I had a spare 300 quid to buy it :(.

Chevrolet Competition

2012-03-22T17:01:00.001-07:00

Quick post to show you my entry to the Chevrolet fashion design competition. The task was to design an outfit inspired by one of their cars. I chose the title Escape as my theme, and took inspiration from Lady Gaga's Marry The Night Video. The design was hand drawn then coloured and layed-out on illustrator. Pretty proud of this and now think I may have mastered Illustrator. Well maybe not mastered but gotten the basic's. :)

International Woman's Day.

2012-03-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

So, since today is International Woman's Day, and I haven't posted anything in forever I thought I'd do a quick post after a day of pattern cutting and share my 2 favourite fashionable, inspiring ladies :)

Although she's not what one might typically call fashionable, Gaga pushes the boundaries and I love her I didnt get the whole meat dress thing and some of her weirder outfits, but I love some of the stuff she wears in her videos, how she can pull off so many different looks and her general kick-ass attitude. One of the coolest women I've ever seen :)

Dita Von Teese

Classy, sexy, elegant. Dita summed up in three words. So jealous of how beautiful this woman is. I love how she is constantly glamorous, makes me kind of wish I lived in the 1950's just so I could dress like that everyday :)

So this is a small post, because I'm tired and I've got lots of work to do, however this weekend I am hoping to organise my blog again and get a regular amount of posting done, as well as continuing my Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me Posts :) xx

Cupcakes and Cards, Fashion fundraising

2012-02-13T05:17:00.000-08:00

I'm a bit late posting this since the cake sale was on Thursday, but since my dissertation deadline is looming, I've been working like crazy on that. Bring on the 24th of February when its all over. And then on to my collection to take over my life for another few months

Anyway, Thursday was our courses fundraising cake sale, Valentines day themed, and the cakes and cards everybody made were amazing. We managed to raise around £260 pounds which will all go towards our end of year fashion show. Thank you to everyone who made cakes and cards, and everyone who we bullied into buying one :)

Photo's Taken by Harriet Sparham :)

Moving On From Paint...

2012-01-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

... And finally getting to grips with illustrator. Finally after two years of avoiding it, I decided to have a go on illustrator. And surprisingly I'm not too bad. :). Here's some of my final illustrations that I used illustrator for.

Apologies in advance for my rubbish explanations, I am a total amateur. First I put the sketched out the image by hand, scanned it, then put the image into Photoshop and darkened the sketch lines. Then i saved the image as a Jpeg file, put the image into Illustrator and used the pen tool to add colour, using a different layer for each, for example, labelled one layer as skin, one as the coat, hair etc.. I then selected the darken option on the transparency box, (if you don't know what that is then YouTube it!, I am so bad at giving explanations!). This made all my sketch lines show through to give the image a more "real" look rather then just plain colour. I saved the image as a Jpeg once again and moved it into Photoshop. I then scanned in the lace I bought from Birmingham and using the lasso tool, managed to cut out the shapes for the arms and the coat cape, the i just saved it as a Jpeg. Sounds short but took me about three hours, because like I said, I had no idea what I was doing. But i guess illustrators just one of those things you have to learn by playing around with it, rather then have somebody teach you.

This was my first attempt, and was made in basically the same way as the above design. As you can tell this has a lot more shading in it, I used the grid tool to achieve this, I have no idea how, I just clicked a button and it kind of did it itself. Also I made the beads by making a large circle, adding some shading to it, making it very very small, and copy and pasting. It took a very very long time.

Anyway, I hope that was interesting for you all :). Please don't take this as a tutorial, I'm not an expert and this is not what my blog is about, I'm just a fashion student learning, the same as everyone else in my position. I don't know the proper names of any tool on the program and most of this was done by you tubing and clicking on random things, until i got an effect I like. Anyway, I hope this shows to everyone who struggles to use these programs that if i can do it anyone can (seriously, it took me half an hour to figure out how to save on Photoshop!) , all it takes is time, persistence and YouTube!

Too say its been a while is definatly an understatement

2012-01-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, my last post was on the 13th of October. When i started blogging again, i never realised how difficult it would be to fit into my uni life. I dont know if this apply to everyone, but for me, blogging takes time and effort, i can't just quickly type up a post. However, since its a new year, I'm definatly going to try and be more organised and update more, about anything. I need to look over my list again on the topics that i wanted to talk about. Yes I made a list, i was organised once upon a time!

Anyway, since my last post I've managed to almost fill a sketchbook, come up with four final outift ideas for my collection, and toile them up, had a critique and I'm now making changes, I'll upload the final designs when i figure out how to connect bluetooth to my new laptop :)

I've also managed to write 4000 words on my dissertation, halfway there! the subject is about blurring the gender boundries in fashion, and i've been looking at transgender models in the fashion industry. Its really interesting stuff so I'm planning to do a post on my findings this week at some point.

For proffesional practise I've also entered a wedding dress competition :), still waiting to hear the results on that one, again I'll post the picture when i sort my laptop out

Also for proffesional practise I've just completed a questionaire about my future with in the fashion industry, which has given me a lot to think about, but its so exciting!!, So now I'm applying for placements and jobs and flat hunting in London!

Other none course related fashiony stuff, I've got some lovely new clothes for christmas, my favourite is a pair of purple jeans from international, there actually quite daring for me since i generally wear my favourite pair of skinny jeans to death. But i though since its new year its about time i started to branch out a bit, so now, even when I'm not leaving the house I'm going to make an effort. No more pj bottoms for me. Ill even post photo's to prove it.

And none fashion stuff, and because I love Jai Mcdowall so much, check out this link. My boyfriend bought me his album for my birthday and I've not stopped listening to it. I think I'm in love, sorry Jack!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM07g4Wjnes

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder.

2011-10-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

It seems to anyway, big thank you to all the readers who are checking back regularly
So, finally back into the swing of things at uni, and I'm actually enjoying the long tiring days.

A quick update on things regarding uni, we are having a meeting pretty soon about running the blog for the course, the team is me, Natalie, Giorgia and Ellie, who also has her own blog- www.fashionstitch.blogspot.com. And I have to say from the brief talks we have has about plans, it looks like it's going to be pretty exciting stuff!!, stay tuned.

Also, I have started my final major project now, sticking with the burlesque theme, but decided i hated my sketchbook, (like you do after working on it all summer), so i ripped up cut and stuck my way through the day and here's a peak at my new one :).

Actually had the best time doing this :), Over the weekend I will be cracking on with my toile for my started pattern cutting project, and doing some competition research, so stay tuned :)

Whats This? Oh Wait, Its My Blog. Oh Dear.

2011-10-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

Busy busy times!!!

I'm slightly ashamed of myself for not updating for ages!, I'm very very sorry, and thank you to the people who have been checking for updates!

This isn't going to be a long post, as I'm currently about to go to bed to get up very early for uni, and that's the reason why i haven't been posting, freshers, uni and generally bad time management!

But now all the mini fashion show stuff is over, I can get into a proper routine again! Here's a picture of the dress I made in the end. Its a little too big for my lovely model Harriet hence when its not very well fitted, but she was lovely enough to model it for me, so much love to her :)

The dress is 2 layers of cream fabric, nude chiffon and lace, overall I'm pleased with the design, although I think I could have improved the sewing, but there's plenty of time for that, since I'm sticking with the burlesque theme for my final collection

Today has been a really productive day :), I've decided on two competitions to enter, which I will detail in another post, and I have also become involved in the uni blog, and the PR and promotion for our annual uni fashion show. Exciting stuff. And tomorrow I have my first sewing lesson back.

So now I'm having a cuppa and going to bed! Ahh, its so good to be back at uni! can see this being a very good year! <3

Thing's I Wish My Mother Had Told Me : How To Be Glam

2011-09-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

So, apologies for not posting for so long, but as many people know, life has a very annoying habit of getting in the way of your plans!

Anyway, next instalment of Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me, how to be glam. For this one I'm thinking of old school vintage glam. Here's some inspirational pictures :)

1940's glam is one of the trends seen on the catwalk for Autumn/Winter

Also, I've found this blog- http://decadesinc.blogspot.com/ which is brilliant so go and check it out :)

Ok, so How to be glam, hopefully these pictures will give you an idea of the look I'm trying to achieve, I'll just be doing one outfit today, since uni work is consuming all my time at the moment. Plus I think glamour is more of an attitude then clothing but hey :)

So, first of all tip's on how to go glam-

Go for it, don't think that you look too posh, or too glamorous, that's the fun of it!
Go lady like, A-line and pencil skirts all the way :)
Red lipstick, enough said
Smoky eye's or big fake lashes, either look amazing

I've decided to look at the shop Quiz today, and here's what I've found

Going on the picture of Marilyn in her white dress, I've found this little beauty, follow the link to see a better picture.

http://www.quizclothing.co.uk/clothes/1006012676.html

Love this cocktail ring I spotted too, it cost's £6.99 and it also comes as a necklace and earrings, just follow the links

http://www.quizclothing.co.uk/jewellery/2604013988.html

http://www.quizclothing.co.uk/jewellery/2601013992.html

http://www.quizclothing.co.uk/jewellery/2602013987.html

I think all this look would need, is a pair of black heels, some fake eyelashes and a dash of red lipstick :)

And just for fun because I loved them so much, here's me before I went out with a pair of fake eyelashes on :)

I'm not actually very good at smiling for photo's so apologies!

So again, I'm sorry this post is so short, but I'm overloaded with work, but hopefully will be able to post some pictures to show you I am actually working hard too :)

Thing's I Wish My Mother Had Told Me : How To Dress For An Interview

2011-09-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

So, apologies for being late with this post, I got really into my work and have literally spent the past 3 days doing that!

So, next instalment, what to wear for an interview.
It all depends on the position you are going for, but as creative students most of us will have interviews for work placements etc, so I think its quite important to be smart, but quirky and make sure the style reflect's you. Here's what I wore when I went for my interview with designer Jade Kang.

Again, apologies for the rubbish picture quality.

So I chose a black flower patterned dress, which was the only new thing I bought, and its from Primark. I chose the dress because I thought it reflected my style really well, I added a black belt to this, black tights and heels.

The jacket is a a short sleeved fitted jacket which has to hook and eyes at the front. I thought the jack it was cute and young, but still made the dress smart. It's actually one I bought from Peacock's when I was 17!

This wasn't actually the necklace I wore but it was very similar, just add's that little bit of sparkle :)

I've chosen a selection of shops, and looks for this post, so hopefully there is something for everybody. :)

First up, H&M, because I love playing with the dress up tool.

New Look - from H&M

http://www.hm.com/gb/s/01KKE5

Products in this look:

Tights, Suede boots, Shorts, Top, Jacket, Necklace, Ringwww.hm.com

Ok, with this look I've gone for a more business like approach. The whole outfit cost's £90.93, but don't panic!, The shoe's cost £34.99 and I only put those on for show, any pair of black shoes would look nice. Same with the white top, this vest is £5.99 but you could pick up a similar one from Primark, cheaper.

Tight's- £7.99

Short's- £14.99

Jacket-£17.99 (On sale!)

Necklace- £6.99

Ring- £1.99 (on sale!)

Ok, next shop is Matalan.

Avoiding traditional black with this one, and have gone for a vintage/bohemian look. I'm in love with the bag, and the tasselled shoes are uber cute. The pictures not great because i had to print screen it so sorry about that!

Anyway, the dress is a bargain at £12.00!

Satchel- £8.00

Shoes- £18.00

Necklace- £7.00

Right guy's I did plan to do three outfits, but I can hear my sketchbook calling!, hopefully next time I post i'll have a few more outfits to show you. Hope you enjoyed the post, please feel free to comment and review xxx

Och Aye The Noo

2011-08-30T13:52:00.000-07:00

That was my poor attempt at Scottish speak!

So after a lovely few day's in Edinburgh, I'm back at home and finally ready to start my designs for my summer project.
While I was in Edinburgh I didn't get a chance to do much fashiony stuff, but here's the few little bits I did do.

Edinburgh Tartan Factory
So I got to visit the Factory where they make tartan and got to watch it been made in front of my eyes :). I was so tempted to pick the sample book up and take it with me, there was some beautiful fabrics there, and not too expensive. The factory also has a full tailor service too, so you can get fitted up for your kilt right there. Defiantly worth a visit, plus they also sell mini tartan skirts, jewellery, and all sorts of pretty things. :)

Bill Baber Knitwear.
A little knitwear shop I spotted on the high street, so I popped in to have a chat with him. He sells lots of cute quirky things, all knitted by him and all one off pieces. Plus he's a lovely guy too and was happily chatting away with me about knit and uni. Check out his website if your a knitwear fan-
http://www.billbaber.com/index.htm

Mandor's Fabrics.
Now I didn't get a chance to visit this shop, but a girl on the train recommended it to me, and I've checked out the website and I'm quite impressed, so I thought I would pop this one in too.
http://www.mandors.co.uk/dressmaking-fabrics.php

That's all for today, but tomorrow is the next part of Thing's I Wish My Mother Had Told Me, and I'm looking at interview wear on a budget x

Gone For A Few Day's

2011-08-27T01:34:00.000-07:00

So, I wont be able to post for a few day's since I'm going to join my parents in the lovely Berwick-Upon-Tweed, and then spending the day in Edinburgh, lucky me! :). I'm going to have a good scout around and report back on any good shops/fabric shop's/ general inspiring things I find. Think of it as an inspiration trip!

When I come back i'll post my finding's and also, if I'm not too late, my first IFB project!

xxx

Not So Much To Report

2011-08-25T14:07:00.000-07:00

So, started back at work today, I now officially have less time on my hands and sore feet! Not that I'm complaining I do love my job! But in light of yesterday's post, I thought I would share with you my work hair :)

So, I've gone for a little side plait, which hide's the fact my hair was flicked out all over the place and needs cutting very badly! Also gone for a little flower I picked up from Primark a year ago and still love. And the bow earrings, because bow's are just awesome.

So since I've been at work all day there's not a lot to report, but I have finally, after meaning to do it for month's, joined the independent fashion bloggers network, and I'm already loving it, and looking forward to participating in the next IFB project.

So, tonight has been spend, slowly re-organising my bookshelf and I'm slightly ashamed to say I enjoyed doing that. I've also been going through my magazines to create fabulous mood boards for my room. Now all I need is the spare time to do it. Going to write a big to-do list tomorrow.

And I've also come across this little gem while I've been browsing. Vogue's best dressed list 2010, there's a few surprise's on there I must say. Here's the link

http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/celebrity-photos/2010/12/22/best-dressed-list-2010/gallery#

And that's all for now guys, I must go get some beauty sleep for work tomorrow! xxx

Thing's I Wish My Mother Had Told Me : How To Dress For Work

2011-08-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

Due to travelling, I couldn't get this post out yesterday, so sorry guys!

Moving on to the next section of the book. Work clothing. However this won't really apply to Uni student's so much, since some people won't have a job and the ones that do most likely have a uniform to wear .If, like me at work you have to wear a uniform, the only thing you can do is customise your hair, and accessories. Depending on the job you do, I wouldn't recommend wearing too much make up.

Hair.
Most job's will require that you tie up your hair. Luckily plait's are in, you could go for the grunge glamour of the 90's with lots and lots of little ones, or a loose bohemian side plait. Or if your feeling really adventurous, have a tiny little plait going into your hairstyle.

Other hair trends at the moment, are scraped back high pony tails, and the androgynous (girl as boy) look, which will work well if you have short hair, however try curling/ crimping your fringe for a more feminine look. Also the messy up do is back in fashion, which is a lifesaver for me! and also the high beehives of the 1960's too!

Check out www.glamourmagazine.co.uk and www.vogue.come for a more detailed description on up and coming hair trends, since this is quite brief.

Whatever hairstyle you decide to wear to work, every girl likes something to make it that little bit prettier :). Today my chosen student store is Peacocks, who do some very cute reasonably priced hair pieces.

This is mega cute and will work quite well with any hairstyle and is only £3.50!

http://www.peacocks.co.uk/product/index.jsp?productId=4910561&prodFindSrc=paramNav

This is more expensive at £6.00 but it's great if you fancy channelling your inner 40's glamour, plus it would look lovely for a special occasion too.
http://www.peacocks.co.uk/product/index.jsp?productId=4910571&prodFindSrc=paramNav

Some cute little clips for those out of place hairs, I really like the Art Deco feet of the rose and the bird on this one, £3.50 for the set
http://www.peacocks.co.uk/product/index.jsp?productId=5097521&prodFindSrc=paramNav

If you fancy a break from the trend's and something with a bit more attitude then go for this sexy leopard print headband. £3.00
http://www.peacocks.co.uk/product/index.jsp?productId=5097681&prodFindSrc=paramNav

Obviously, there's a lot more bits on the website, but these are my favourites, that I'll be buying when I get paid again :) I also decide to take a quick look at the earrings, you know just because I can ;)

Even though I already have a pair of bow earring I want these too. Because I'm obsessed with bows and that's what girls do. And they are only £2.50

http://www.peacocks.co.uk/product/index.jsp?productId=4910651&prodFindSrc=paramNav

These are £4.50, mega glam, but probably a bit too big for work. Big love anyway.

http://www.peacocks.co.uk/product/index.jsp?productId=4910661&prodFindSrc=paramNav

These are sweet if you fancy adding a pop of colour to your work uniform. £3.50

http://www.peacocks.co.uk/product/index.jsp?productId=4910831&prodFindSrc=paramNav

Instead of doing what's next in the book next week, I've decided to follow this up with an interview wear topic since the book doesn't have one, but its something every student needs, then I'll get back to my original book structure.

Also feel free to leave any comments, or suggestions of shops for me to look at, it would be very helpful :) x

I'm Back!!!

2011-08-22T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'm back from Cyprus, feeling refreshed and actually have a tan for the first time in my life! Apologies for the lack of updates but thanks to those who have been checking the blog, and I also have 2 new followers which was a lovely surprise.

So this is just a little update to remind everybody I'm still alive :). Firstly, I managed to get a few sketches done while I was away, and I'm starting my 30 outfits burlesque collection designs and I've just bought some lovely purple fabric to make something from. Here's the pictures, feel free to give me your opinion.

This one was actually inspired by a twisted sweet wrapper :)

I like the idea of having a nude fabric over a lacy corset for a cheeky peek-a-boo look

This is actually a knitted piece, with lace hole sleeves and a gathered beaded back

I don't think i have drawn this very well, but its meant to show a cloak type piece in a sheer fabric over a fitted dress, again for a peek-a-boo look

Defiantly went a bit over the top with this one!, had a crazy drawing moment and mixed everything together.

You cant really tell but the black thing at the side of the dress is a curvy lady silhouette print :)

Jacket shape ideas

This is one of my finals, I adapted the knit idea with the jacket.

Another one of my final pieces :)

Also while I was away I managed to finish my book, "Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me", and I've jotted down my idea's and a plan for future post's on my student take on the book, which I'll be posting every Tuesday. The next instalment will be tomorrow and the subject will be How to dress for work or uni.

I've also come up with some new idea's for the blog which I will tell you all about soon. :)

Another thing whilst on Holiday, I managed to consume this many magazines (all research for my blog, honest!)

So some interesting fashions bits and bob's for you that I found flicking through these-

The star print is going to be huge next season. It was featured in every magazine and on 2 of the cover stars, credit goes to Dolce and Gabbana for starting that trend off.
The 1970's are sticking around, but in a more grown up glam way, less boho.
One trend I didn't see in any other magazine's was a Victorian/lace trend, Check out the new September issue of Company magazine for that one
And I picked up an American version of Glamour magazine while in Cyprus too, and interestingly fringing is a huge trend over there at the minute, which it isn't over here. But the 1960's are also in trend there, and due to be coming into fashion this season. It was quite an interesting insight into how fashions work in other countries. Defiantly going to get different versions of magazines from now on.

So that's all from me today, hopefully that makes up for the fact I havn't posted for two week's!, so you all tomorrow for the next "Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me" post :)

Continued Styling Post- Curvy Hourglasses and Juicy Pear Shapes

2011-08-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

So, a bit later the promised, my continued styling post. See previous post on the inspiration behind this etc.

Hourglass.
The figure the beautiful Marilyn Monroe made famous. Curves are sexy, and here's how to flaunt them :)
The key is, make sure everything is fitted, ill fitting clothes can make you look boxey and shapeless. Belts are your best friend here :)
You can wear any shaped skirt pretty much, A-line for that vintage 1950's edge and pencil for a sexy flattering look.
Puff or cap sleeves will emphasise your shoulder line :)

So last time I went for new look and this time I'm going for H&M.

New Look - from H&M

http://www.hm.com/gb/s/01C0FP

Products in this look:

Shoes, Dress, Blazer, Necklace, Necklace, Hair clip/broochwww.hm.com

This look is created using a brilliant little dressing room tool that H&M have on their website (all by myself might i add!). It just made this so much easier, all shops should have it. Big brownie points to H&M there!!

So this little outfit is beautiful and summery :). The blue polka dot (FYI- polka dots will be big in A/W 2011/2012, so vogue tells me so it will last you another season). The little white blazer nips in the waist drawing attention to the gorgeous hourglass figure (another trend, 1940's tailoring). And the costume jewellery and brooch at a little vintage twist :). And the best part?? The whole outfit cost's £54.94. Some of this is sale stuff so be quick if you want it!
Shoe's £12.99
Dress £14.99
Blazer £19.99
Necklace: £1.99
Necklace £2.99
Brooch £1.99
BARGAIN!!

Ok, So lastly pear shapes, a slimmer upper body, and a curvy lower body. And the body shape of most females. :)
Darker block colours on your bottom half will slim it down
Shoulder pad's in jackets will help even out your silhouette and make you feel like Samantha from sex and the city. Sexy and glam.
Belts!, thin ones across the smallest part of your waist, or big depending on the look you are going for.
Jackets should cut across the hipline to avoid making your waist look big.

For this look, I'm choosing Dorothy Perkins.

First off, a blue midi skirt. The length is bang on trend for next season, as is the bright block colour :)

Skirt is £28, maybe a bit pricey for a Primark princess like me, however it's elegant, and would last a long time

http://www.dorothyperkins.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33053&storeId=12552&productId=2550757&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208660&parent_categoryId=208600&pageSize=200&refinements=category~[212187|208660]&noOfRefinements=1

For an edgy look, add this Rihanna vest top (tucked in), this will add a quirky twist to the outfit, while keeping you in proportion

£15 on sale!

http://www.dorothyperkins.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33053&storeId=12552&productId=2470105&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208650&parent_categoryId=208600&pageSize=200&refinements=Colour{1}~[cream|white]&noOfRefinements=2

Red wedges for a summer look.

On sale at £10!

http://www.dorothyperkins.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33053&storeId=12552&productId=2375337&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208737&parent_categoryId=208609&pageSize=200&refinements=Colour{1}~[red]&noOfRefinements=1

For a cute vintage look, pin up your hair and add some big 60's sunglasses, and a red clutch bag for an extra dose of colour!

I hope that you enjoyed my styling ideas :), and its given you an insight on what I plan to do in regards to the book "Things I wish my mother had told me", I'm flying off to Cyprus tomorrow, so its unlikely I will post for a week or two but I get the chance I will!! I'm also working on some new idea's for my blog, so share with friends, family and everyone and follow to stay updated. :)

See you soon!

Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me.

2011-07-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the wait for this post, I've been a very busy girl, working hard. :) but finally I've got a minute.
So this is the first post on the Lucia Van Der Post book, "Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me."- Lesson's in grace and elegance. What I'm going to be doing, is reading the book, which I'm about half way through and offering a more student/less expensive alternative. So here we go :).

The first chapter is titled- How to dress. The first chapter is all about how important it is to dress well, basically summed up by a quote from Oscar Wilde "only a fool doesnt judge people by appearances." However she does go on to stress the importance of finding your own style. The chapter is quite long, and i would definatly reccomend buying the book, but all the advice is tailored towards older women and, dare i say it, more well off women. So I'm going to be her student opposite! :)
So the first section is entitled, Problem shapes. Not the most cheerful of starts, but I guess dressing for your body shape is the best thing you could do. However, the books list's "problems" which I doubt are common for girls my age. So, I'm kinda going my own way a little on this one and looking at 3 common body shapes instead.

1) Slim
Slim girls are actually quite lucky, because they can pull off almost anything. I couple of tip's I picked up from my trusty Gok Wan book for slim girls are-
Shorted fitted dress's will look amazing and show of slim legs
Don't go for plunging necklines (unless you have a trusty booster bra, which I'm sure most girls do!)
An A-line skirt add's defination to the waist.
Looks for feminine prints and shoft materials, to look like a lady :)

This dress is £29.99, its so classy and chic It would last you a fair few years, plus the print is very in next season :)

http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/dresses/swallow-tie-back-dress_230257159

To create curves add a belt. £3.99. New Look

http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/accessories/wide-buckled-elastic-belt_223823201

A cute beaded necklace for some vintage glam :)

It's £9.99 but will generally go with most things

http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/jewellery/chunky-bead-necklace_225095113

Just to finish the outfit off, a cute little cream hair piece. The two cost £3.99 but its buy one get one free on this and other hair products at the moment.

http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/accessories/rose-corsage-hair-clips_227454913

As for shoe's, every single female student I know has a pair of faithful black heels, so wear them :), you could also wear with wooly black tights in winter :)

Just reviewed this post and so far its turned out longer then i expected it to be, because I don't want to waffle on and on, I'm going to stop here and move on to the next body shape tomorrow. I want to dedicate the same amount of time to each of them :). So check back tomorrow for some advice for curvy girlies :)

Fabric Suppliers

2011-07-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

As promised, I've made a list of some of the really good fabric sample suppliers I've found. Hopefully the lovely ladies on my course will find this helpful too :)

Just type these into google and they should come up.

Broadwick silks- You have to email them and say what fabric and colour palette your after and they send you the samples. Really good quality too.

The Berwick street cloth shop.- Same way to order as Broadwick silks

Croft Mill- Will send 1-5 samples free, but you have to send them a self addressed envelope

The cloth house- You have to send in a written request and self addressed envelope

Denholme Velvets- these are really good, they will send you quite a few samples of everything for free
.
Fabrics-store.com- this is an ok website, the samples are not great quality though.

Harrington fabric- quite a good selection.

Mac Culloch and Wallis- I've been to this shop in London and the fabrics great, all you have to do is email them and tell them what samples you are after with the fabric code and they will send a few.

www.quickfabric.co.uk- not brilliant quality but ok for sample's

Sherwoods fabric- they charge £3 for five samples, but the quality is quite good.

The Silk Society- Order the same way as Broadwick silks

The Cloth seller- quite a nice selection and will send up to five samples free.

www.ukfabricsonline.com- they send out decent sized pieces of material, and the fabric is an ok quality

White lodge fabric- you can order up to ten free samples, but the quality of the fabric isnt great.

Thats just a couple I've got which I quite like, however I'm still looking! Whenever I find a good site I'll post it on here, :), when i get round to it I'll make a page with all of these and more on :)

Hope this helps all you fabric hunters!

Little Bits And Bobs

2011-07-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

So these past few days have been quite productive, in small bursts. So I'm feeling quite cheerful today :)

Firstly, I've started reading my new (£3!) book, "Things I wish my mother had told me". See the previous post if you havnt already. And so far I'm impressed, Just finished the section on what to wear etc. Its a really good book, however its aimed more towards the older woman I'd say, defiantly not for somebody on a student budget. Saying that I think the basic message is brilliant, one of my favourite quotes so far is this-

"I can't believe I'm quoting Paris Hilton, but she is alleged to have said "Dress cute wherever you go.Life is too short to blend in." She's right. What a waste of all the fun that's out there to be had".

So the book got me thinking, it would be brilliant to do something like this more aimed at my own ages group. So that's what I'm going to do. Following her book, I'm research and review the way she does on a student budget. I'm thinking of doing this once maybe twice a week. I'll keep you posted. I'm quite looking forward to it though :)

Another thing I've been up to is my summer project. I've been inspired, so here's what I've been working on.
Once again sorry for the picture quality, I think after the loans come I'll invest in a camera :)

These are some print ideas, only rough sketches.

This ones my favourite so far.

I've also been fabric sourcing, which is getting harder and harder. I found this cute little website,http://www.vintagefabricmarket.co.uk/index.html

But I think I'm going to make a list one day this week on here of good fabrics shops for samples that I've found :)