Fashion Illustration

I hope everyone is enjoying the sun at the moment (It actually feels like summer now!). I've got a bit of a different post today. I recently did an Art critical study on the artist below (Sara Ligari - have a look at her other work, it's incredible!) which inspired me to do a post on fashion illustrations. I've gathered a few of my favourites below to show you. There are no words to explain how incredible these illustrations are and I really wish I could draw and paint as well as them! I hope you like this sort of post - I certainly enjoyed browsing through drawings and even rediscovered one of my favourite websites from when I was younger (Would You Rock This? - basically a site where you can post your illustrations).

Which are your favourites?

Sara Ligari

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 Alicia Malesani

 David Downton

Grant Cowen

  Sunny Gu

New items in my shop now - http://fashiongirlshop.tictail.com

Return of the boots

I hope everyone's having a good week. I've been dumped with a load of coursework so I better make this quick and then catch up on TV continue with my work. 

Firstly, the dress is one I've had for a long time and only tend to wear during the summer, as as you can see it's quite strappy and light. The print is really lovely though and is definitely something that deserves to be worn more often. I've paired it with a DIY mesh top. I'm pretty sure everyone now has come across the tutorial on how to make your own top out of a pair of tights. Well, if you haven't, it's really easy and definitely a must do (just cut out a triangle in the middle and cut off the ends of the legs and you have yourself a top!). It's definitely a good way to make use out of your old tights or those which are unusable due to ladders and holes (I have plenty of these!). My top's not that neat as I did it quite roughly but if you're a bit of a perfectionist then if you cut the edges slightly neater you can avoid any messy parts. I'm currently deliberating over whether to cut a pair of my Bora Aksu tights (see here) in this way. What do you think? I have my ebay boots on again. I'm so happy I made the purchase a few months ago as I've made a lot of use out of them and I'm still finding them useful even in the warmer weather.  I don't normally mention my jewellery in my posts as often it's just something I've found in my drawer that I've collected at some point in my life, no change in this post. I've been wearing beaded necklaces a lot recently, simply because they're super easy to wear and go with absolutely anything. 

What do you think of my outfit? Is anyone heading off to any festivals soon? (so jealous if you are!)

 mesh top - made using a pair of tights

dress - old

boots - ebay

Sales Wish List

Hello! I thought I'd do a 'pick of the sales' type of post to show you what I've found whilst browsing countless sales online recently. I keep seeing so many bargains dotted around but I've had to keep my money in my purse unfortunately (actually rather difficult to do), to ensure I have enough money for my holiday to Spain (only 19 days to go - whoop! whoop!). I was pleasantly surprised by the Nasty Gal sale (I'm sure every blogger knows how great these clothes are, no need to explain) and almost decided to buy something until I realised postage was at least £10. I've only just realised I've left out Zara in my round up (oops), which just happens to be one of the most talked about sales around (I really should take note of things more often).

Anyway, here are some other items....

Which are your favourites? Have you found any bargains?

1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8//9//10//11//12//13//14//15

Don't forget to visit my shop for vintage or high street clothes. I'll be uploading new items soon... - My Shop

Lace and frills

I've been so lazy with blogging recently (I hate that guilty feeling you get when the number of unread blog posts keeps increasing) but I'll get back into the swing of it soon. I've now set up an online shop to sell some of my clothes, so you can now buy from either there or still from my Asos Marketplace. I'm still trying to save up as much holiday money as possible so I'd be very grateful if you could take a look if you haven't already (sorry to keep asking). Also, if you have any suggestions or ideas of what else you want to see in my shop, I'd love to know! 

On another note, if any of you are artists or have a strong obsession with anything Doctor Who/LOTR/Harry Potter/Sherlock etc. then take a look at my friend, Megan's, new blog. I am extremely jealous of her drawing talent (she drew a picture of me and my friends as a birthday present - so amazing!) and she also does really cool speed drawing videos which you can see here.

So today I'm wearing my new top from New Look. I love how it can be worn layered over other items rather than just paired with a skirt. New Look is definitely the best place to buy tops like this as they're not too pricey and are quite basic (which seems to be the best option due to the limited amount of warm weather in this country). I'm wearing a lace dress underneath this, which I bought about 3 years ago at the Birmingham Clothes Show. I really should wear it more but I'm not that keen on the top half anymore so this outfit seems to be the way forward. 

What do you think of my outfit? Anything interesting happened recently?

dress - Birmingham Clothes Show

shoes - present

top - New Look

5 holiday outfits

I'm feeling pretty shattered today (late nights and early mornings really aren't great for me) but there's nothing like a bit of blogging to keep you awake! Does anyone know what's happening with Google Friend Connect? I've heard that it might be staying but others have said otherwise - it's all a bit confusing to be honest!

I have to second my friend, Katie's, recommendation of Vampire Weekend's latest album by the way - definitely have a listen when you get the chance as the songs are actually really catchy (in a good way).   

Also, there's only one day left to enter my giveaway to win a dress and a bag so enter here if you haven't already. 

I've only got a month left until I go away on holiday and it got me thinking about different holiday outfits. I picked out 5 ideas, let me know what you think...

top - New Look, skirt - vintage/buy it here, sandals - Topshop, fan - present

 1. I really like this simple outfit. I don't tend to wear midi skirts much (as being only 5'4 means that they tend to make me look quite short if I'm wearing flats) but I think when you're on holiday it's much easier to get away with it. I've had my sandals for a while now. They're nothing special but they're unlikely to go out of trend (are there even trends for sandals?) and will keep me going for at least another summer. How lovely is my fan?! You can't really see in this photo but close up the detailing is so nice!

 sunglasses - River Island, shirt - ebay, shorts - old/modified, sandals - Clarks

2. I've never actually owned a pair of high waisted shorts before now, so the prospect of pairing these with shirts and t-shirts is rather exciting! I think it looks great with this shirt (approx £3 - such a bargain!) though the shirt can also be worn on it's own as a beach cover up as it's quite big. Another pair of worn out sandals (I can't even remember when I bought them) but good enough for the beach or the evening. 

 sunglasses - River Island, top - old, skirt - ebay, flip flops - ?

3. I really like pairing a casual t-shirt with a skirt or pair of shorts for a more summery look. This skirt is by far one of my favourites (another bargain). Again, you can probably tell by now that my summer shoe collection is very old and limited (I actually sellotaped these together last summer and they're still hanging together just about!) but I can't bear to throw these ones away as they've got some really nice beading on the top. 

 bikini - Motel, shirt - vintage/buy it here, flip flops - ?

4. I really do like this shirt and I definitely think it would be great as a beach cover-up type of thing. It's got really nice embroidery detailing at the bottom which definitely adds a bit of interest to it. My bikini is new, from Motel, and I'm completely in love with the print and colour. 

top - New Look, skirt - old/modified, necklace - bought on holiday, sandals - Topshop

5. Last but not least, I haven't had the chance to shop you my new top yet in an outfit post (a bit too cold for that) but this is how I would style it if the sun was out. 

Which outfit was your favourite?

Back to monochrome

I've been trying to spruce up my outfits with some colour recently (in the hope it might make the weather warmer - evidently doesn't work) but today I opted for a simple black and white outfit. I've shown most of these items on my blog before (my shirt here and my skirt here) but my bag is something new. I bought it at a vintage fair a while back (£15, I think), thinking that it would be perfect for school. It's not actually big enough though so I haven't used it as much as I had hoped over the last year but I still don't regret the purchase. My skirt is from ebay. I've unfortunately managed to get oil paint all over it (skillful hiding going on here) which is impossible to get off so it's only really wearable when I'm wearing a jacket or with a bag now. I always seem to get paint all over my clothes (not unexpected as I'm an art student) but I still don't seem to have learnt my lesson and continue on wearing my usual clothes every day. My shoes have to be one of my best purchases at £25 in the Office sale. Although £25 is a fair amount (especially compared to Primark/New Look shoes) they're really comfy and have and will last a long time. 

What do you think of my outfit? What have been your best purchases?

skirt - Miss Selfridge via ebay

shirt - Topshop/present

shoes - Office

bag - vintage

 My shop

and my giveaway - 3 days left!

What's in my bag?

I was tagged by Emma from Highland Fling for the 'What's in my bag' tag so here I am with the post! If you don't already follow Highland Fling, definitely take a look (you won't regret it!) as her blog is really really lovely!
I doubt that my bag is particularly interesting. In fact I probably have the most boring items in my bag so I don't blame you if you decide to stop reading now. I really enjoy reading these sorts of posts though and finding out little things about people but I'm not sure you'll gain much knowledge from my extremely typical bagged items but thanks for taking an interest if you're still reading!

My bag itself was a present from my mum. She managed to find it in a charity shop and I'm so glad she decided to buy it for me as I am absolutely in love with it! It's quite small and extremely inconvenient if you're going on a day out but I don't care and I continue to use it anyway as much as I can!

My purse: Another wonderful present. You can read more about it here if you wish. I used to have a pink purse but I have an aversion to girly, pink items like that so this purse has been a fantastic addition to my bag.

My phone: I honestly don't know how I'd manage without my phone. It is literally so so useful and I use it for absolutely everything. I know some people have a strong dislike for Apple products but I'm afraid I'm on the Apple side for this one. It could not be easier to use (although I must say, the battery life is really terrible on my phone. I'm pretty sure there's a way of charging it so it saves battery but I'm no good at that sort of stuff).

My diary: I always have some kind of calender, diary, or timetable thing on the go. I really like this diary (look how pretty it is!) but I have to admit I don't use it that often. I find it's always useful to have something to write things down on though, as I'm always forgetting things and I am always surrounded by to do lists.

A pen: Never should you go out without a pen. I'm often that person who will come to the rescue when someone needs a pen to fill out a form or write something down, because, well, you never know when it might come in handy!

My sunglasses: They hardly ever appear due to the appalling weather but when they do, I will wear them non-stop for all of summer. I find that my eyes are quite sensitive to the sun (and squinting is certainly not very attractive) so finding a good pair of sunglasses is very important. I managed to find this pair in River Island (£10).

My keys: Always important to make sure you don't get locked out the house.

My makeup: I won't pretend to be one of those beauty-obsessed, I know all about makeup people because I am the complete opposite (seriously, I feel completely lost in Superdrug or Boots), but I don't think anyone can go without a basic foundation and mascara (nothing too complicated!).

A water bottle: It's a sort of trait of mine to bring a water bottle everywhere with me, and I pride myself on it! I don't tend to drink anything other than water during the day (no tea, coffee, fizzy drinks etc. - yes, I'm quite fussy) so having water is essential for a trip out.

A book: You can obviously tell I don't carry this around normally (it wouldn't even fit in my bag!) but if I'm going on a car/train journey I will often bring something to read. This is the book that I'm reading at the moment. It's a thriller/mystery type of book and is actually really good. I tend to stick to the same authors over and over again so that I can be sure that I will enjoy a book but occasionally (such as this time) I will branch out and try something new.

So that is all of the items in my bag. I hope you enjoyed reading this (though I'm sure I bored you half to death) and to continue on the tag, I have tagged Bel from Rags of Love, Jordan from Bambi Legs, Emma from iEmmaFashion, Susanne from Predict the Day and Yinyin from Yinyin Loves.

By the way, I've added more items in my shop if you want to take a look

and only 5 days left to enter my giveaway so don't forget to take a look at that.

Louise Amstrup

It's been a little while since my last post but don't worry, I'm still alive! I spent the day on a boat yesterday which was really lovely (minus the fact that we broke down half way through the trip). The weather made up for it though - how nice has this sun been recently!?. I'm back to school tomorrow which is a bit weird since study leave feels like its lasted forever. I'm into the routine of getting up late in the morning and going to bed late at night so it's going to be a bit of a shock next week (I only have 2 lessons on Monday though, so not exactly a hard start to A2!).

 The designer I have chosen to show you today is Louise Amstrup. She is originally from Germany but now lives in London having worked for designers such as Jonathan Saunders and Alexander McQueen. Her collections are all quite simple but every piece is individual in it's design. I personally really like the colours that she uses in her designs and the different prints that she includes. 

What do you think of this designer? How has your week been?

Spring/Summer 12

Autumn/Winter 12

Spring/Summer 13

Autumn/Winter 13