Giveaway winner!

Thank you to all who entered! But unfortunately there can only be one winner, and that winner is...

(drum roll)

NO. 3!

Who is number three you ask... Well it is none other than RCagz! Sorry to all who lost out....

Tweed and beads...

Seriously don't know what to do with this weather, one day the sun is splitting the stones the next it is doing that awful drizzle thing that our weather evidently loves to do. Still I'm keeping my legs bare for as long as possible, eventually my love for tights will come back and I shall raid Penneys for them before I head back to college.

This skirt is also a recent "college" purchase. I don't know if anyone else does this but I often feel I've to pick stuff up for when I head back to college, almost like going to buy your new school shoes and shirts and the likes. I thought this would be a great winter skirt with chunky tights and loafers. Looking all studious (in a fifties sort of way).

The necklace was a gift from Forever 21 from yesterdays media morning. Thank you! Tis loverly, nice and chunky... and sometimes noisy. 

Don't forget to enter my Forever 21 competition, tis ending tomorrow.

Top/Heels: Penneys

Skirt: River Island

Belt: off a Monsoon dress

Necklace: Forever 21

Forever 21's media morning...

Today I was at Forever 21’s media morning where they were showcasing their autumn/winter collection. And I must say it was pretty stunning! It was all laid out so pretty; I wish I could have it all… The collection was spilt up into different sections: a preppy look filled with plaids and letterman jackets, a mod look full of sixties prints, fuzzy sweaters and blazers, a seventies section which had chunky platforms, mini leather skirts and simple blouses and a lady like section which had rich furs, delicate lace dresses and tulle skirts. The colour schemes varied from hot pink to dark chocolate brown, mustard yellow to marl grey.  I think there is something for every girl in this seasons collection of Forever 21.

I feel their accessories truly stole the show for me though. Magnificent oversized earrings, tassled and jewelled necklaces, and sumptuous satchel bags! Oh sweet lordy they were delicious! And the shoes! From cute, nude patent, to all out suede platform!

Now there was a table in the middle of the room and I was told I could help myself. Since this was my first time to one of these things I was like a kid in a candy store and I got a little carried away. I may have abused Forever 21’s generosity, for that I am sorry…. 

My bad indeed! But from my greediness comes a wondrous thing.

A GIVEAWAY!

I am giving one lucky person two pieces of Forever 21 jewellery! These pieces are gorgeous and I wish I could keep them but my Catholic heart won't allow it. All you have to do if you want to enter is "like" Forever 21 here, then follow me any way you like (if you have not already) and finally comment below to announce you have done that while also telling me what autumn/winter trend you are loving. Couldn't be simpler!

Giveaway ends Saturday at 3pm...

Guest Post...

Blau von T from Blaubushka and The Hostess Handbook here. Blaubushka; an edgy scrapblog of fashion, style and beauty. The Hostess Handbook; a parlour of delicate beauty, a lounge of wit and the obscure, a kitchen of the kitsch and all things tempting.

Looking for a festival with a difference? Then totter along to London's Southbank for The Vintage Festival 2011 (29 - 31st July). Over three days and nights, Vintage at Southbank Centre sees the Royal Festival Hall dressed up as never before. All six floors of the iconic riverside building will be transformed into a 13-venue playground where, over 13 hours each day (from 12pm to 1am), pass holders can learn the dances of the decades, take in over seventy live performances (including three themed multi-artist ‘revues’ in the Royal Festival Hall) boogie along to the tunes of an incredible 150 DJs, enjoy exclusive catwalk shows and decade specific make-overs and sample Vintage food and cocktails. While the Royal Festival Hall Cafe is transformed into a North/South divide pub; the Ballroom will re-create the sights, sounds and smells of Wigan Casino in the late 1970s; the basement provides a suitably industrial location for a 80s-style rave. Elsewhere though the building will be rooms be dedicated to Prohibition-era jazz played original shellac; 1940s swing; 1950s rock ‘n’ roll; 1960s era pop; the pioneering DJs of disco era and iconic London clubs Le Beat Route, Blitz and Wag Club. Beyond offering what is arguably the world’s best-ever excuse for dressing up, Vintage at Southbank Centre boasts the most incredible line up of music from across eight decades, including themed revues in the Royal Festival Hall, the tunes of 150 top DJs to a re-creation of a jumping 1950s rock ‘n’ roll joint.

So whats a gal to wear?Not the usual wellies and cut up shorts, oh no! This is a festival for the retro glam and vintage darlings!

Dresses from Oasis, bags and sunglasses from ASOS

Blau x

That girl's in vogue...

This is the final inspiration outfit post... Thanks for all the comments that you have given me!

Kathryn O'Regan is the wonder behind She's in Vogue. Filled with patterns, paintings, full skirts, opinionated words, rings, icons and petticoats this blog is for ever "arty farty" girl who sometimes feels she was born in the wrong era. Her collages are a blend of old and new, of lady like chic and forgotten girls. Not only does she share her love for fashion but she shares with us her love for art, of artists she admires as well as her own work (her room is filled with her artwork-tis awesome!)

Her style and her blog have a wonderful juxtaposed nature. There is a constant theme of elegance with hints of childish fun, a young woman who understands the greatness of the full skirt, of the "below the knee" length, of pearls and fascintaors. Yet this girl will also rock a busted up pair of converse, layered dresses, oversized cardigans and cat eye shades.

Yes, there is something very special about this girl with the unruly hair and big eyes...

Cardigan: Dunnes

Dress: Vivien of Holloway

Belt: Coast

Heels: Penneys

Watch: Gift

Rings: Gifts

A masterpiece if I ever saw one...

These are from the Christian Louboutin's Autumn 2011 lookbook. I love this! I truly do... There seven images in total and they are all inspired by classic portrait paintings. The photographer behind these masterpieces is Peter Lippman.

Love when people think outside the box.

Just enjoy them... 

The obsession continues...

One of the trends for the coming season is "fetish"... Now when I first heard this I was thinking to myself that it was a trend I wasn't even gonna bother to make work for me. It was one of the trends I was putting on my virtual shelf. Other people could do as they wish but it was ruled out for me. I'd be too bashful to try it. 

That was until I saw these babies...

Kurt Geiger have a collection of shoes especially for this fetish trend. These are my particular favourite of the bunch. I like them in both colours but I feel I have enough black heels to my name. Alone the shoes look fairly full on but once I saw them on the model I was hooked. The look amazing on! I need to get to a Kurt Geiger shop to try them on... I will never be able to afford them though. Damn that student budget!

So I think I will dabble in this fetish trend, subtly. Throw on shoes like this with tailored trousers or shift dresses. Tone down the daring, dominator vibes with devilish cuteness and a heavily chilled attitude...

Stitch up my soul...

For those who haven't been following this is the fourth installment of a project I am working on, creating outfits that have been inspired by other bloggers...

The devil is in the detail... That is what I have learned from Stephen Moloney's blog Stitches, Fabric and Soul. The people he hunts down and photographs are the pick of the crop. The cool, the demented,the loved, the wild, the weird, all with devil may care attitudes. Their clothes say something about them. Souls exposed in the seams of their garments. I may not always love what the people are wearing but I am jealous of their bravery, wearing items they truly love despite the fact it might not "go" or be "on trend".

Stephen Moloney himself oozes a sort of careless coolness, a characteristic I wish I possessed. Never trying to be cool but always falling into that category. A relaxed outlook to fashion while still being heavily consumed by it... You want to be his friend, but he is too bashful. Killer coolness, a monotoned quirkiness, shocking, youthful, fresh faced and head buzzing with glitter falling from his foot steps.

Though I am nowhere near cool enough...

Biker jacket/ Sandals: Dunnes

Ballet Top: Awear

Trousers: Penneys

Belt: River Island

Bag: Vintage Fair

Shades: Ray Ban

Watch: Gift

Teaser...

These a spreads and the cover are from an on-line, german, fashion magazine known as Teaser. It is their summer spread and I wanna show it to you not only for the fashion (isn't that last dress amazing?!?) but also for the editorial design of it and the art of the photography.

There is something so sleek about this editorial. The monochrome finish, the typography, the use of white space as well as the sexy/sultry shoot all add up and make quite a work of art in my opinion.

Photography by Carsten Witt...

Enjoy!