My Passport To Style | I Spy Mia Jafaris Latest Piece From S/S2012



Purple Flight Dress



I spy another piece from Mia Jafaris spring/summer 2012 collection Waterlilies done in digi-broidery, methinks that the inspiration for this dramatic butterfly shift is blue lapis shot through with rose gold.

My Passport To Style | I Want Mia Jafari Louboutins

Meditation In Louboutins Dress

Hi Gals, It's not often I see a white dress so special and unique that I think I need to get married again! To the same man of course! This unusual embroidered dress by Mia Jafari is such a dress, it's pretty colours dazzle this dress is joy and and despite the modern references, lipstick ect in what we generally deem as a traditional sewing technique, I am transported to corn fields and the country as if in a dream, whilst at the same time the embroidered design and exquisite cut gives this dress a touch of majesty and regal bearing, perfect for a spring wedding. In theory to all sounds a little confusing, in practice Mia Jafari skilfully pulls it off as you can see! I'm going to be having fun later today guessing her design inspiration for some of her other pieces from her spring/summer Waterlilies 2012 collection. Enjoy.

Art Deco Brilliance At Your Fingertips With BlingBacks!

My favourite trend this Winter 2011 is the return to full on glamour and elegance, move swiftly from the 40s to the 20s by swapping your tweed pencil skirt and detachable fur stole for a pearl collar and a simple flapper dress.

I love the ultimate shoe accessory of the season, BlingBacks, this is an ingenious way to give last year's heels a vintage art deco feel, well made and very dance floor friendly, but what I love most about BlingBacks, is the the silicone cushioning on the removable BlingBacks are designed to provide extra comfort and protection for the heels of your feet when your dancing, simply hook them over the back of your shoes. If like me your unlucky enough to have a whole half size difference between your two feet, you will know that a bit of extra cushioning can mean that the shoe which is slightly bigger on the foot does not rub as much. BlingBacks come in a wide range of styles but my favourites are these slightly irregular shaped sweet bows. Visit BlingBacks to see more designs 

I was sent some BlingBacks for the purposes of this review 

credits- whitneyonthewing.blogspot.com   brooklynexposed.com

My Passport To Style | Project Red Coat



pillar box red



Hi Gals, as you know red is a big trend this season. So I was thrilled to find a wool pillar box red and black velvet short coat with a gorgeous tux neckline at my local vintage store but I need to alter the puffed sleeves, at the moment the volume in the sleeves make my athletic shoulders look too top heavy and I want to change the double breasted fastening to a single button fastening to simplify the look and play to this jackets potential for a long lean look, the back of the coat also needs taking in, so it is more fitted across my back and less boxy, which won't flatter my hourglass shape.

I confess to being a blue girl, I love lots of vibrant colours too, but navy and grey which flatters my olive skin tone best, forms the basis of most of my wardrobe neutrals rather than black. When my red coat project is finished, I will be sure to share the pictures here on My Passport To Style, but in the meantime I have been scouting for some fresh ideas on which colours to wear with my pillar box red coat. I want to wear the my restyled red coat more casually, which is harder than you might think, red is a colour we associate with full on glamour so we tend to automatically accessorise it with a red lippy and heels. To my amazement there was very little on the internet on how to wear this autumn/winter seasons 2011 red coat trend, but as luck would have it, I happened upon a post on Pink Bow from the North UK, where 10 fashion bloggers took up the challenge to style the same red coat from Next.

 Paula from Pink Bow opted for a pink red of course! The other fashion bloggers look very glamorous in the orange red version (incidentally orange red is easier to wear if you have an olive complexion and pink red looks great on very pale skin tones) but I did notice that most fashion bloggers had opted for wearing this red coat with black tights, which is something I wanted to steer away from, simply because I feel it creates a more vampy evening feel.



 However Eleanor the blogger on the top left from Pretty Much Penniless has gone for a softer feel which I love, by breaking up the red using a lemon yellow dress and a large fur collar, the sheer tights Susie has chosen give the look a more casual feel and her combination of well chosen accessories and colours mean that the red is not overpowering her look.

rust colours ground  true bright reds

midnight blue accessories work well with true reds

 Bingo! Aside for the obvious colour choices such as red on red or navy blue or grey , I have decided to take inspiration from Susie's hair colour and satchel and wear rust and conker colours with my red tux coat once its altered, perfect colours to contrast with the black velvet detailing and they will soften the pillar box red for a more casual feel, I'm thinking a large flat navy tweed cap would finish this androgynous look off perfectly and I will wear my hair in a bun at the nape of my neck. Have you dared to wear red this season?

The Winner Of The Limited Edition House Of Holland Tights Is The Fabulosity Factor!

Congratulations to the lovely Indy From The FABULOSITY FACTOR who won these gorgeous limited edition House Of Holland Tights! 

My Passport To Style | The Queen Of Bhutan Sets The World Of Fashion Alight!

For those of you who read my announcement of the royal marriage in Bhutan here  you must read this latest fashion post in the guardian it made feel very proud to be part of this rich culture and I have to say, I'm not surprised this wedding and the beautiful bride has taken the fashion world by storm! 

My Passport To Style | Tights Please Review And Limited Edition House Of Holland Giveaway!

When tightsplease recently invited me to try some of their designer tights on for size, I decided to use the opportunity to not only check out the quality and the fit, but to also create some new looks to share here, using my existing wardrobe. As well as checking out my latest style inspiration using tights from tightsplease in this post, you can win the pair of limited edition Henry Holland tights featured. Just leave a comment or tweet about the competition and let me know here, be sure to leave your email address too, the winner will be announced here on Monday evening and contacted.Good luck! 

THIS GIVEAWAY IS OPEN TO UK AND OVERSEAS READERS

Win These Today!

Ask For The Moon At Tights Please And They Probably Stock It! 

I'm a big of British designer Henry Holland and his quirky designs, so I had to choose a pair of House of Holland crochet print tights, I also chose a pair of Ingie tights by Red or Dead in red, which to me is more a lovely raspberry pink, I love the naive Scandinavian style print. My third, very grow up choice was the Cette Oslo tights in grey, these are grey on the front with teeny tiny black polka dots and black on the back with grey polka dots, creating a two tone effect along the length of the outer and inner leg, which is sliming to the calf and thigh. Both the Cette Oslo and the Ingie tights come in an opaque finish and are very comfy to wear. They do cost a little more than some tights on the high street, but personally I would rather have one pair of tights that fit my style DNA perfectly and don't ladder within

ten minuite of wear, than five pairs of bland tights.

Four Fresh Looks I Created For My Winter Wardrobe Using Tights From Tights Please



Red Ingie Tights worn with maroon, gold & lilac tones



Mixing berry tones is a look I love right now, so for look 1 I teamed my maroon sweater with my biscuit A-line skirt, the raspberry ingie tights and a lilac flat bobble cap, I think the gold tone looks really pretty with pink.

red Ingie tights worn with blackcurrant and gold tones

 For look 2 I switched my 1940's inspired blackcurrant boiled wool short jacket with my maroon sweater and teamed it with my biscuit short A-line and ingie tights. The key to both looks is using natural fibres which reflect  the homespun look of these tights to create a luxe palette.

House Of Holland Crochet Tights Worn With Egg Yolk Yellow & Blackcurrant tones

 Look 3 is really casual and the House of Holland crochet pattern tights I chose, worked beautifully with my egg yolk yellow 60's tunic and the deep blackcurrant of my boiled wool jacket, the orange and grey tones in the tights work well with yellow and I love playing with the lines from a mix of eras, why not mix 40s and 60s together.

Cette Oslo Grey Polka Dot Tight,Worn With Emerald Green, Ivory & Black Texturing

 Look 4 was a Biba inspired Christmas party look and utilised my latest thrift shop gem, a George wrap dress with bold emerald green swirls on a black background worn with a Ivory and gold necklace from Top Shop, black suede Clarks wedges, a small angular black clutch bag from Coast and of course the grey Cette Oslo tights, I could have gone for black, but grey is softer and more interesting. I love all the strong deco lines in this look and the fun mix of smaller patterns and angular shapes created using these accessories , like the grosgrain ribbons spouting from my Coast clutch, the square perforations in my black suede shoes and of course the tiny polka dots on the Cette Oslo tights. Visit tightsplease to check out the other colours in this range or more designs.

 

Biba Inspired Christmas Party Look

*please note I was compensated for this review with tights from Tightsplease

My Passport To Style | Henry Holland Giveaway Announcement

Hi Gals,  if you love the designer Henry Holland and his fun colourful crochet designs, then hop over and see me here tomorow, from around 4pm UK time, for a chance to win a limited edition pair of these dreamy Henry Holland tights and to check out what I chose to team these tights with and two other looks I created using tights from tightsplease. This giveaway is open to everyone, UK and overseas!

My PassportTo Style | A Little Pink Moment, To Brighten Your Monday

pink cherry balloon cake, well, that's what I like to call it!

Hi Gals,  pink cherry jelly and cherry mousse cake and my favourite vintage pink and blue stripey beach shorts from the summer, do you think my vintage beach shorts might have been Marc Jacobs fabric inspiration for this latest sweet dress from his girls wear collection? I like to think so.







my pink and blue striped vintage beach shorts

My Passport To Style | Hip Halloween

My two favourite Halloween couple looks this year, have to be Kelly O and her boyfriend and Henry Holland and Agness Dean. If your stuggling to create a Halloween look, my style tip is start with a great pair of tights for inspiration, tights please does really unusual and fun styles, from giant stars to bingo balls by Henry Holland. I like off the wall Halloween costumes, I once created a costume for my little boy that was a giant piece of moldy cheese with a rat nibling on it!Last year I dressed as poison Ivy and made my costume using green velvet, lots of red feathers and red face paint. Happy Halloween GALS!