31/01/2011

Flower Power

Spring is coming soon, and with spring comes flowers. So what's the next trend to look out for? Florals! This trend is one of the most obvious for spring but it's one that can be worn in so many ways. There are many types of floral prints, so I'm going to lead you through the different types and how to wear each one..


DITSY FLORALS


The word ditzy means muddled/easily confused, and that is exactly what the print looks like. Ditsy floral prints are when the flowers are really small and all muddled together closely so you can hardly tell that they are flowers. Its a really cute girly print, and it looks great on summery dresses. Here are some ditsy print items I like...



PINS & NEEDLES DITSY TOKYO CHIEF BLOUSE
 - URBAN OUTFITTERS



Vintage White Floral Print Tea Dress - American Apparel




BLUE DITSY FLORAL ZIP BACK TEE - TOPSHOP




BLUE TULIP PRINT FLIPPY SKIRT - TOPSHOP



Ditsy florals should be worn with plain block colours so as not to over complicate the look, denim looks good with this print and makes it more casual and less girly.

VINTAGE STYLE FLORALS

Vintage style florals are bigger than the ditsy prints, the flowers are larger and in more faded looking colours. The background of the print is usually a sort of tea stained colour or black and the flowers are in faded reds, blues, greens and yellows. The flowers are also usually classic english flowers like roses.

CREAM FLORAL PELMET SKIRT - TOPSHOP




MULTICOLOURED FLOWER PRINT PAPERBAG WAISTBAND SHORTS - TOPSHOP




Floral Chiffon Double-Layered Shirred Waist Skirt - American Apparel



The Reformation Farrah Floral Dress - ASOS


Oasis Floral Quilt Bangle - ASOS




CARTOON FLORALS

This floral print is sort of pop arty looking. The flowers are usually outlined in black and they are bright, bold and a bit more modern looking. The flowers also have a perfected look, like they were done on a computer, with clean smooth lines.


BLUE SCRIBBLE DAISY SCALLOP VEST - TOPSHOP




KNITTED OATMEAL DAISY PRINT CARDIGAN - TOPSHOP




KNITTED OATMEAL DAISY PRINT TOP - TOPSHOP



Pop Art (Large) Flower Shoulder Bag - 


UNISIGN 







3D

Now this trend pretty much speaks for itself. It includes floral lace, lace appliques, knitted flowers and more...

Leaf Flower Lace Tee - American Apparel



FLOWERS ON HESSIAN WRISTBAND - TOPSHOP




NUDE LEATHER TEXTURED FLOWER CLASP BELT - TOPSHOP




FLOWER POT RING - TOPSHOP






    30/01/2011

    East London

    Today I went to East London, for the first time in my life, to do some shopping. I went to the many vintage shops and cool boutiques along Hanbury St and looked around the Sunday UpMarket, Spitalfields Market, and this small vintage market in a church. I couldn't believe I hadn't been before because it was exactly the kind of place that I love to shop in. I have a bit of an obsession with markets so this area was perfect for me, there were about six markets but I only had a chance to have a look around two of them (and also the small one in the church but it doesn't really count), so I'll definitely be going back soon. If you haven't been to this area before I would definitely recommend it. It has some of the best vintage shops I've ever been to, and some really quirky boutiques with individual pieces. My favourite shops of the day were...

    1. A boutique called Olga de Polga, which had a few vintage pieces but mainly some really interesting new designs. I bought a white crocheted skirt which I will wear over a black bodycon skirt. There was a big range of styles, with some vintage inspired pieces but also some really modern looking items.




    2. Absolute Vintage, which I'm sure you have guessed is a vintage shop. It was actually one of the best I've ever been to. It had sooooooo many pairs of shoes it was amazing! And also loads of really cool vintage bags. There weren't actually that many clothing items but the amount of accessories made up for it. At this shop I bought a pair of vintage converse:



    3. The Lomography shop. This shop is AMAZING. It sells all the different lomography cameras and I have to say I think I have a slight obsession over them. Something about them is just so cool! I have the Diana F+ so I got this really cool film for it which makes the colours all weird and interesting.

    My favourite place that I went to was the Sunday Up Market. It's this huge indoor market that has a really big variety of stalls, from jewellery made out of lego to t-shirts with ballerinas printed on them. My favourite stall was definitely this vintage stall that sold accessories from the 70's and 80's. They had some amazing brightly coloured satchels and really quirky big sunglasses. The stall was called standout vintage and they gave me a website but it's not working, but if you want to try it and see if it works then its standoutvintage.yolasite.com

    These are photos of the standout vintage stall




    Here are some other photos I took today





    28/01/2011

    Plain White T's (No, not the band.)

    Plain white t-shirts. One of the most boring fashion items, but definitely one of the most versatile. There are so many ways to wear it, and it goes with practically anything. But how can you take that piece of white, boring fabric and use it for something interesting? There are thousands of different things you can do with this one fashion item, using it to complete an outfit, and create a look. So heres how to wear it for different looks...

    BLOCK COLOURS

    A simple white t-shirt is the perfect thing to wear with a block of big, bold and bright colour. 

    Jil Sander used this technique in her Spring 2011 collection



    Some ideas from items on the high street. A white t-shirt will look good with these pieces because they won't detract from the great colours of the pieces and will keep the look clean and simple.

    PLEATED SKIRT BY RARE** - topshop




    Unisex Stretch Twill Slim Slack Lite - American Apparel



    PRINTS

    A white t-shirt will look great with complicated prints, especially small detailed ones. It breaks up the look and stops it from being too fussy

    YELLOW SUNSPOT PRINT SHORTS - Topshop





    SPARKLE & FADE FLORAL BUDS ZIP THROUGH SKIRT
     - URBAN OUTIFITTERS



    Printed Cotton Spandex Jersey High-Waist Skirt - American Apparel



    NECKLACE OVERLOAD

    A really cool evening look is to wear a simple white t-shirt and then pile loads of necklaces on it to make it more eveningish. To accomplish the look you should wear necklaces that are a range of lengths, but to keep the look from being too random wear either just gold/bronze necklaces or just silver necklaces. A variety of different types of chains makes the look more interesting. The necklaces also shouldn't have too many brightly coloured charms or it makes the look messy.

    CHUNKY CHAin rope - TOPSHOP




    SWALLOW AND BEAD NECKLACE - TOPSHOP




    CARVED ROSE POSEY NECKLACE - TOPSHOP




    BEATEN RINGS DITSY NECKLACE - TOPSHOP




    ANTIQUE TELEPHONE LONG PENDANT NECKLACE - ACCESSORIZE





    You can also wear a plain t-shirt under just one, very bold statement necklace like these

    PLAITED CHAIN COLLAR NECKLACE - ACCESSORIZE





    MINI METAL BOW NECKLACE - URBAN OUTFITTERS



    CHAIN BIB NECKLACE
     - URBAN OUTFITTERS



    UNDER

    The last way I'm going to mention is wearing a white t-shirt underneath items, such as layering them under other t-shirts, wearing it with an open shirt over it and wearing it under a dress to make it more casual.

    Here are some examples of items that would look great with a white t-shirt underneath

    Sleeveless Lace Chiffon Dress - AMERICAN APPAREL



    Thick-Knit Jersey Cross-Back Short-All - AMERICAN APPAREL



    ROLL SLEEVE FITTED DENIM SHIRT - TOPSHOP




      Hope you now all understand the amazingness of a PLAIN WHITE T-SHIRT