Fantasia

When I was younger I as obsessed the centaurettes from Fantasia (the one who gets a lily pad for a hat was my favourite). They were part animal and spent a lot of time swimming and putting flowers in their hair so in my book they were absolute winners. My parents were always keen not to raise me in a gender stereotypical fashion and I remember my mum trying to get me enthuse over the dancing mushrooms, but I wasn't having any of it.

I really like the colour palette- a background of deep rich shades with their pastel equivalents peppered throughout. Pastels have been coming back for a while now, and whilst I do love that Versace ad and the pastel on pastel metallic action, I wanted to have some other ways to blend pastels in with what already exists in my wardrobe.

Images via Disney Wikia

I have dark hair, but if I were fair I would make like the girl with the rose crown and dye my hair pastel in a heartbeat (though it might have to be with those wash out hair chalks because I'm not sure what my workplace's policy is on pastel hair). As my hair is too dark to go pastel without me having to bleach the hell out of it, I have been looking for ways to mimic the centaurette girls in an outfit. I was trying to capture some of the girly floral details and the pastels mixed with dark colours. I bet my mum will be pleased. 

Zara stone necklace / Topshop Boutique silk camisole / Topshop Boutique patent leather skirt / Tophsop print sandals

Topshop leather floral necklace / COS fine knit jumper / Topshop Boutique floral camisole / Zara harem trousers / Vintage Prada ostrich leather sandals

Handmade jagged rock necklace / Zara pleated vest top / Topshop suede cross body bag / Zara floral pencil skirt / Lanvin pointy toe pumps

Clockwise;

Topshop leather cobalt calf pencil skirt

Asos high neck top

Topshop metal arm cats eye sunglasses

Topshop blur floral print cigarette trousers

Monkee Genes skinny jeans in plum

Topshop Petite navy textured cigarette trousers

Vintage double breasted lilac jacket

 

Lana Del Rey

I really like Lana Del Rey's style. I think that her every day street style can be a bit blah, but her promo shots and video shoots are always really cool.

Images via:  

Only Lana 

F*ck Yeah Lana Del Rey 

Lana Fan 

Lana (or the stylist she works with) references lots of what I think of as the epitomy of 'Americana'; old school Hollywood starlet, classic pin up, wild west frontier ranger, wood stock love child, motor cycle rebel and West coast urbanite. 

Images via:

Real Vintage 

Today 

Stinky Lulu 

Belle Bijoux Australia 

The Queen Josephine 

Metro 

Bad Perm 

GQ 

Lenin Imports 

Time Out 

I am kind of fascinated by America. Despite the fact that I speak the language, and I see US TV programmes and films and hear American music on a near daily basis sometimes I feel like I don't understand the culture at all. I think this 'otherness' is probably what I like so much- it's familiar and different all at the same time. I was really gutted when the BBC stopped broadcasting new episodes of Americana, but I've been listening and re-listening my way through the archives. If you are interested in America and American culture I can't recommend it enough. 

I wanted to take a cue from Lana and try to reference some vintage Americana in a few outfits, but I also wanted to make sure that they were really wearable and didn't look like costume so I've tried to keep some of the references a little on the subtle side.

Topshop applique rose necklace / Whistles leather motorcycle jacket / Zara sleeveless top / Asos beetle cuff / Zara tube skirt / Topshop beetle ring / YSL pony hair heels

Topshop fuzzy bomber jacket / hoop earrings / Topshop check shirt / Vintage Levis jeans / Vintage leather bag / Chloe biker boots

Christopher Kane x Topshop sleeveless tshirt / Vintage leather bag / Asos claw cuff / Topshop tuxedo trousers / Tophsop mock-croc sling backs

Topshop tear drop necklace / COS tshirt, Topshop high wait shorts / Asos leather backpack / Nike high tops

 Zara stud collar shirt / Zara pony hair bag / Topshop leather skirt / Topshop ankle boots

Beach huts, Chanel Spring/ Summer 2014

Images via:

Tour Norfolk 

The Suffolk Coast 

Photo for Beginners 

The Sunday Times 

Woman Seeks World 

Met Office 

Channel 4 

There is something really appealing about beach huts. They are quaint, quirky, and so, so, so very British. I love the different colours all in a row. Beach huts allow people to be a little bit more creative and wacky than they can be in their actual home.

Beach huts are all about summer days at the beach. Beach huts, deck chairs, 99 flake ice creams, maybe a sand castle and a quick dip in the sea before you remember that the sea is always freezing because you're in Suffolk, not the Seychelles.

The multi-coloured rows of huts are what I thought of when I saw the Chanel S/S 2014 collection. I really liked the rainbow of colours against a white background.

Chanel ready to wear S/S 14

Images via style.com 

I really wanted to try and create something inspired by days on a British beach and the Chanel collection. I couldn't find anything encapsulating the rainbow spectrum in what I already owned, so I was really happy to find a vintage tshirt on Etsy that fitted the brief really well- white base, rainbow colour palette, and a stripy, colour block type print. 

Topshop tear drop necklace / Vintage tshirt / Vintage Levis jeans / Asos suede creepers

 Vintage tshirt / Topshop suede bag / Zara tube skirt / Topshop buckle low heel sandals

Phoebe Lettice, The Spice Girls

I don't watch Made in Chelsea. I watched an episode once and I really didn't get it. Nothing happened, and what did happen I wasn't sure really happened. It was sort of a Esse Est Percipi type of affair where the distinction between reality and the fake was becoming imperceivable. Stupid TV isn't meant to cause an existential crisis. 

However, despite my numerous reservations something of a guilty pleasure about the show is the style of Phoebe-Lettice Thompson (although I don't think she is part of the show anymore). 

A lot of the other girls in MIC have a pretty and polished, but quite safe (and at times verging on boring) style. They look nice, but they don't have a huge amount of personality in the clothes and I don't know, it's not very exciting and a little meh (although pretty). I don't like everything that Phoebe wears, but I like that she seems to have fun with it and goes for something a little different. 

Images via:

Phoebe Lettice's Tumblr 

(I'd recommend having a look at Phoebe's tumblr. She's a photographer come fashion assistant by trade and a lot of her work is pretty cool).

With her nose ring and often pastel or braided hair Phoebe's look usually has a funky edge to it. She often has a tom boy streak to what she's wearing, even when it's a dress or a skirt she'll wear stomp-y, boyish boots or trainers, or a baseball cap. I like the almost garish prints, OTT bling, chunky shoes and high-low mix that she pulls off. She has a good mix of high street, designer and vintage as well as mixing more formal looks with influences from urban street style. 

There is something very 90s about her look- she sort of reminds me of my childhood style icons; The Spice Girls. As a child I loved, and I mean LOVED with a capital L and a romantic weekend away in Paris, The Spice Girls. I owned platform trainers, I did my hair in Emma Bunton style bunches, and my love for weird Tammy Girl tshirt and cargo trouser combos knew no bounds. 

Images via:

Spice Force Five 

The Telegraph  

When I got to about ten I completely rejected anything spice-esq because I was so sick of it and wanted to try something new. Out went The Spice Girls and in came Nirvana (even though I was somewhat late to the Seattle grunge scene); out went the platform trainers and shiny metallic fabrics and in came the corduroy flares and battered converse. Now there is some distance between us (me and 'the girls'), I actually find myself drawn to a lot of their aesthetic. Yes, some of it is extremely tacky, but some of it is really fun and wearable.

I wanted to try and recreate something that was a little 90s and tom boy-ish and fun. I was hoping to create something that was maybe a slightly more refined take on the elements of the Spice Girls' style that I loved as a child by taking some hints from Phoebe's funky look and not wearing my hair in bunches.

 Vintage Versace butterfly print denim jacket / Topshop Boutique draped tshirt dress/ Asos White leather bag / Zara buckle ankle boots

 H&M black and cream jacket / Topshop gold cat necklace / COS tshirt / Topshop Boutique ribbed trousers / Nike Free Run trainers

 Vintage Micky Mouse sweatshirt / Topshop plait necklace / Topshop pleather trousers, Nike high tops

Whistles motorcycle leather jacket / Peter Pilotto x Target long sleeve tshirt / Vintage Levis jeans / Peter Pilotto x Target slip ons

Zara denim shirt / COS side zip ribbed jumper / Vintage Moschino back pack / Vintage Moschino rafia skirt / Nike Pegasus trainers

 Clockwise;

Asos embroidered cutwork dress 

Asos hearts and arrows embroidered tshirt 

Emma Cook snake and butterfly print bomber jacket 

Topshop pale pink flatbrow catseye sunglasses 

Wood Wood floral print skinny jeans 

Eleven Paris Mickey Mouse print jeans 

Emma Cook star print embroidered skirt 

Topshop aqua catseye sunglasses 

Lessons in leopard print from nine stylish people

When I first bought a leopard faux fur coat I was promptly told by a friend that I went to meet wearing it that I looked like a prostitute. I chose to think that this is because he was being small c conservative, and that he also didn't really have a good idea of what street walker attire consisted of as I was wearing jeans and a jumper under my coat. Despite this early set back in my foray into animal prints I haven't been put off.

I love leopard print, and truth be told I probably own too much of it. I justify my cat inspired collection to myself by saying that it is versatile and therefore I'll get enough wear out of everything that I own. I think that leopard print can look quite prim and lady like, glamorous, a little bit punky and rebellious, bohemian rock and roll, coquettish, or exotic. Owning an excessive amount of think means that I have quite a good range of different shapes, styles and fabrics to try different looks with. 

Images via:

Pinterest 

Diane on Whidbey Island 

Le Luxe Mannequin 

Fashion She Loves 

Castaway Vintage 

Corvusnoir 

Vogue 

Trendy Crew 

The stylish nine (clockwise); Bianca Jagger, Debbie Harry, Miroslava Duma, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Bridgette Bardot, Steven Tyler, Keith Richards, and Anita Pallenberg. 

I particularly like the floaty chiffon print that Bianca wears combined with her deep red lips and chunky jewellery, and Anita's oversized white button down shirt worn over some tailored leopard trousers; the looser shapes stopping the outfits from looking tacky or trashy. I also love how Keith Richards mixes in a few different prints, it looks thrown together but it all works. 

I wanted to create some outfits using leopard print that had different 'feels' to them. So they didn't necessarily copy any of the nine examples, but that they get across there different vibes and are maybe appropriate for different occasions and for day and night.

Topshop Unique oversized shirt / Topshop chain and pearls necklace / Vintage clutch / H&M high waist trousers / Topshop Boutique ankle boots

Topshop faux fur scarf / Zara leather sleeve jacket / H&M fine knit jumper / Topshop pleather trousers / H&M patent leather bag / Topshop mock croc sling backs

River Island ear cuff / H&M cotton scarf / Whistles leather motorcycle jacket / Whistles jersey dress / Topshop spike bracelet / Asos patent toe cut out shoes

Vintage Moschino Cheap & Chic  fuzzy jacket / Topshop Boutique jumper / Asos sunglasses / Vintage Moschino Cheap & Chic fuzzy skirt / Asos ankle boots

Vintage YSL silk blazer / H&M grey fine knit jumper / Blank NYC cargo jeans (via Asos) / Zara leather bag / Topshop patent leather loafers

 Vintage faux fur hat / Topshop Boutique cropped shirt / Topshop fisherman's jumper / Asos White leather bag / A J Morgan cats eye sunglasses (via Asos) / Vintage fuzzy skirt / Asos ankle boots

Clockwise:

Vintage Dolce & Gabbana leopard print skirt with tail

Vintage leopard print jumpsuit

Vintage Bill Blass quilted leopard print shift dress

Vintage Adolfo Realities faux fur leopard print fedora hat  

If you would like £5 towards your first Etsy purchase click here. 

(Disclosure: I will receive £10 Etsy credit for every two people who use this link).

Geometry

Recently I've been really intrigued by photos of Persian and Islamic architecture. The buildings have interesting shapes and arches, and are sometimes covered in tiles in bold and bright colours.

Aniconism in Islam forbids the depiction of sentient beings, so designs in architecture and art are filled by ornate geometric patterns and prints. The patterns are really intricate with a mixture of curved and straight lines creating so many tiny interesting shapes and patterns.

Images via:

Fresher 

Marlborough College 

We Heart It 

Taghrib News 

I particularly love the patterns combined with the vibrant colours in the patterns- bright turquoises, marigold and dusty yellows, rusty oranges. I really wanted to try and take inspiration from the geometric patterns as well as the colours. 

I don't own a lot of geometric prints so I had to play a little fast and loose, but I think I managed to convey the right vibe using the colour combinations some sort of non-stripes, non-realistic floral prints.

 Asos necklace / Topshop Boutique v neck tshirt / Topshop rings / Topshop Boutique skirt with side splits / Zara studded moccasins

Topshop Unique shirt / Topshop bracelets / Zara wool trousers / Pierre Cardin x Gap sandals

Dries Van Noten top / Topshop semi precious stone cuff / Zara trousers / Vintage Prada ostrich leather shoes

Clockwise;

Zara blue and white geometric print trousers 

Calvin Klein via Asos geometric print sliders 

Asos ornate embellished clutch 

Benu Shop laser cut leather necklace 
BTM Vintage baroque shift dress 
Corina Crooks Moroccan tile earrings 

Red hair, purple shirt

I think Taylor Tomasi Hill has great, creative style and she's someone who I usually look out for on street style blogs come fashion week. There are a couple of people whose style I regularly check up on, mainly because I like the way they use colour and prints. Taylor is one, Miroslava Duma is another favourite.

Taylor Tomasi Hill at New York Fashion Week S/S 13

Image via The Front Row View
 

I particularly loved this outfit when I first saw it, and however many months later I am still in lust. The purple is so perfect with her copper hair and red lips. 

I don't have red hair (this is a cause of great sadness to me, and because I have tan skin red hair won't ever look good on me. It is also a sadness to me that I had to dye my hair ginger before I fully accepted that it would never look good). Because of my ginger deficit I have tried to incorporate the red and copper into the outfit. I'm going to put a strap on the bag to make it a cross body bag because its so much more practical being hands free.

 Vintage silk tshirt / Vintage brocade bag / Vintage belt / Tophsop jeans / Asos White perspex heel shoes

Inspector Montalbano, Dolce & Gabbana Spring / Summer 2012

European crime dramas seem to be the new black and there is barely an evening where you cannot watch a sleuth with subtitles tracking down some mysterious villain.

Inspector Montalbano and its prequal Young Montalbano are set in a imagined town on the island of Sicily. None of the characters in either show are hugely stylish or particularly visually inspiring, but there is something about the overall feel of the two shows that I really like. All the characters look quite natural- there's lots of linen and cotton, and the women tend to have naturally styled hair and minimal makeup save for some lucious deep red lipstick. Not to mention the Sicilian backdrop to the drama and the luscious colour palette that it brings is stunning.

(If you are looking to watch either of these shows I don't believe they are currently being screened, but there are still a whole heap of other continental murders being solved).

 Inspector Montalbano & Young Montalbano

Images via Radio Times

The colour palette and general feeling of Southern Italian living reminds me of Dolce and Gabbana's aesthetic. Domenico Dolce hails from Sicily and D&G use a lot of southern Italian culture and heritage to inpire their collections.

This has probably never been so apparent as in the Spring/ Summer 2012 collection and ad campaign. The mix of fruit and vegetable prints and lace looked sexy yet wholesome, and the campaign centered around the highly stylised lives of a 'typical' Sicilian family really re-enforced the Italian inspiration behind the collection.

 Dolce & Gabbana S/S 12

Images via F Tape

The silhouettes were, on the whole, quite form fitting with plunging necklines, though there were some full skirts and legs on show here and there. Monica Bellucci looks stunning in these ads. Admittedly making Monica look good makes shooting fish in a barrel look challenging, but never the less I think the clothes are helping her, not hindering.

I wanted to try and recreate the mix of lace and fruit. I think that despite the fact that I don't live in a small Mediterranean village this look is actually pretty wearable for summer. It's also something that you could quite easily adapt and re-create using any crochet and floral pieces that you have in your wardrobe (I would love to do something with the aubergine print from the D&G collection, but sadly nobody on the highstreet seems to have tried vegetable prints- sticking only to the fruits). I decided not to try and emulate the silhouette completely as I don't really enjoy wearing low cut tops, but I like the pencil shape to the skirts and the hourglass figure with a cinched waist.

Zara foil lace tshirt / Zara fruit print trousers (available here) / Topshop citrus gem bracelet / Topshop suede bow heels

Hoop earrings, Zara foil lace tshirt / Vintage Cacharel skirt / Zara leather bag / Topshop flat sandals

Vintage Dolce & Gabbana lace shirt and skirt / Vintage Chloe vest with beaded detail / Vintage nude slip skirt (worn underneath) / Topshop patent leather lace up heels

 Clockwise;

Topshop lemon print skort

Zara fruit print blouse 

Vintage citrus fruit print top and skirt 

Vintage 80s pear print dress 

Vintage 60s apple print shirt dress 

Asos fruit print tshirt dress

Clockwise;

Vintage lace dress with scallop hem

Vintage Dolce & Gabbana nude lace shirt 

Vintage Gianni Versace Isante black lace shirt

If you would like £5 towards your first Etsy purchase click here. 

(Disclosure: I will receive £10 Etsy credit for every two people who use this link).

Rainbow fish

I was out buying some things to make noodle soup when I saw these fish outside one of the Chinese market shops. I don't eat fish so I don't usually pay a great deal of attention to that section of the shop, but I was drawn to the colours when I passed them on my way in.

The scales have a really cool metallic sheen. The turquoise blue and emerald green ones look insane, but I also liked the lilac, slate, purple and silver tones. It's a similar colour palette to when petrol has spilled on the floor and leaves a green and purple sheen on the ground.

The fish reminded me of one of my favourite childhood books, The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. The story is essentially a tale of socialism as one fish who happens to have been lucky enough to have been born with amazing scales gives them away in order to share these wonderful scales amongst all fish evenly. I used to love reading it to children when I worked in a library because not only do I have such fond childhood memories of the story but it is also a really good way to talk about sharing. Politics aside, the book is really beautifully illustrated and the watery-metallic colour palette has a really dreamy quality.

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Images via:

Amazon 

Neelys News 

I was inspired to try and use the iridescent metallics and watery colour palette in an outfit. 

Topshop chain drop earrings / Topshop metallic leather tshirt / Topshop Boutique patent leather a-line skirt (available here) / Masimo Dutti t-bar flat shoes

Topshop tear drop necklace / COS tshirt / Topshop Unique leather bag (customised) / Carven iridescent oil spill skirt / Zara brogues 

Topshop Unique iridescent lens sunglasses / Asos silk blouse / Cos peplum double layer top / Topshop textured cigarette trousers / Asos White perspex heel shoes  

 Topshop rope necklace / COS ombre sheet tshirt / Asos hologram clutch / Zara sequin skirt / Topshop mock croc sling back shoes

 Clockwise;

Topshop iridescent pencil skirt

Topshop PU water print skirt

Vintage iridescent blue mini skirt

Vintage iridescent blue sequin dress

Vintage light blue sequin shell top

Vintage cropped iridescent sequin top

Vintage holographic sequin top

If you would like £5 towards your first Etsy purchase click here. 
(Disclosure: I will receive £10 Etsy credit for every two people who use this link).