Velvet

I'm here with an outfit post as promised even if it does have very few photos (my younger brother took them as quickly as he possibly could!).I bought this dress last week for £16 from a vintage shop. I've been wanting a velvet dress for ages and I'm happy with the one I've finally chosen. The dress was originally very long so I cut it and I'm going to use the extra fabric to make a skirt (watch this space!). I am aware I've been wearing this necklace a lot in my outfit posts but it goes with so so much and I don't actually have many necklaces (this length at least). I kept this look quite simple but I think this works well, especially since the velvet fabric stands out so much. I never really thought about silver velvet (I was planning on the typical red or blue) but I love how this looks. It has a really cool effect to it too.

 dress - vintage

necklace - River Island

Shoes - Office (see here)

What I've been liking at the moment...

I was going to do an outfit post for you today but then I looked outside and decided against it. Next time I will trek outside even if there's wind and hail, I promise! I thought I'd show you some things that I've really been liking at the moment . Here are mine...

 (checkered crop top - Yayer, green crop top - Roksanda Illincic, shorts - River Island, belt - John Lewis, shoes - Topshop)

1. Crop tops

The chances are I'll only have about 3 days this summer to actually wear a crop top since the weather's so rubbish here in England. Who knows, maybe this summer will be hot and sunny - I'll report back in a few months time. I really love this trend though at the moment. I keep seeing crop tops on other people's blogs and it's given me loads of inspiration.

 (black top - Yayer, purple top - Topshop, Shoes - Topshop, necklace - Oscar de la Renta, skirt - Helmut Lang)
2. Off- the - shoulder tops and dresses
I don't know why but I really love this style. I guess it sort of makes an outfit a lot more elegant and can be mixed with something completely not elegant such as the boots above and look amazing.


(top - Givenchy, shoes - Jeffrey Campbell, skirt - Temperley London, belt - Oscar de la Renta)
3. Sheer fabrics
You can never fail with a plain sheer top. I'm pretty sure this trend will never go out of fashion due to it's wonderful versatility and ability to glamourise any outfit (if worn right that is!).



(dungarees - Boohoo, shirt - Todd Lynn, shoes - Jeffrey Campbell, bangle - Kate Spade)
4. Dungarees
Partially inspired by my friend's recent purchase of a very lovely pinafore dress. I really really want some dungarees now!

What items do you really like at the moment? What are you looking forward to wearing?

Under the Sea

For the past few weeks and loads over half term, I've been slaving away trying to finish all of my art and textiles coursework (the deadline's Monday!). This included creating my final piece in textiles. The whole course built up from the overall theme of Natural forms (from which I chose 'The Sea'). The idea was then to create a whole sketchbook full of development in order to create a final outcome, which is what you can see below.  The dress was originally only white cotton fabric, so producing it not only involved sewing it all together but dying, batik-ing (using wax to resist the dye), embroidery, mola etc. etc. Overall, the garment was supposed to show about 15 hours of work in total. I'm pleased with how it's turned out (there's always going to be something I'm not happy with though. I won't tell you what!) and fingers crossed I get a good mark for it. 

What have you all been up to this half term? 

5 standout collections at LFW...

... apart from Sass and Bide and David Koma which you can find here and here. I thought London Fashion Week was really great this season. All of the collections seemed to be exceptional and all designs were incredible both from regular designers and new designers. I've picked out my personal 5 favourite collections. Here they are...

Antonio Berardi

I'll admit I haven't taken much notice of this designer before, but scrolling through his latest collection I must say I was really impressed. Although, these designs aren't the most creative and 'out there', they're extremely well designed and still exciting to look at. I'd definitely wear one of these designs myself - I mean look at that red leather dress!

 Christopher Kane

Everyone loves Christopher Kane, and so do I, but the truth is I hadn't been feeling 'it' over the last couple of seasons, but this collection has made me love his designs again. I felt that his last collections were quite simple and there was never that spark or that unique quality. This collection, however, is far more exciting and unusual. 

Fyodor Golan 

 This collection is seriously exciting. The shapes and textures are all brilliantly designed and there is a wonderful mix of different designs and garments. I'm definitely going to be looking out for this designer next season. 

Marios Schwab

Again, another designer I hadn't noticed much before. This collection is stunning.  Velvet and leather is always the perfect mix! (Look at that stunning blue velvet dress!). I can't wait to see what else this designer creates next season.

 Peter Pilotto

I was seriously impressed by this collection. It's quite weird to think that this is a winter collection what with it being so colourful and vibrant, but I love this! The sculpture and shape here is brilliant and the prints are really exciting (a slight Mary Katrantzou feel about them). 

What did you think of London Fashion Week? Which were your favourite collections?

Also, thank you so much to all of my followers - I've reached 200 on GFC! I hope you enjoy reading the blog as much as I enjoy writing it!

Rediscovery

I had a lovely day on a visit to London today. Me and a couple of friends went over to Covent Garden in the morning. I bought a velvet vintage dress which I'll show you all at some point. I've wanted something velvet for ages so I'm so glad I bought it! We then went over to the Valentino exhibition which is currently on at Somerset House. The exhibition includes 137 of Valentino's most incredible evening dresses. We were all amazed by the incredible quality and design of all of the dresses (literally every single one!) and I'd definitely recommend going to visit the exhibition if you get the chance. On to my outfit. This is a variation of what I wore today. The jumper was from a family member and is perfect for wearing tucked into a high waisted skirt. The fur gillet, I actually rediscovered yesterday. I'd completely forgotten I had it (I bought it a couple of years ago) but it's actually really great to add to an outfit and is really great for the winter (It's just a shame winter is nearly over!).

skirt - Primark

fur gillet - Birmingham clothes show

necklace - River Island

jumper - old 

tights - Bora Aksu

shoes - New Look

What do you think of this look? What items have you rediscovered recently?