Stylish Erdem Bag Up For Grabs!

Hi gals, planing a picnic with friends? Then you need a stylish tote to haul all your picnic goodies in, I found this Erdem tote free here  Enjoy, happy picnic!

                                   Sharon x

Move Up A Grade With Haute School Style

shoe-supply.com

Remember the buzz of a brand new shiny pencil case and book bag? Your secret delight of the squeak of newness in those shoes that you had convinced mum were more than sensible enough, all easing the pain of the first day back to school after the long summer break. How about injecting a little of that nostalgia into your work wear wardrobe? The new preppy, is long and cool like a mint julep. Office boys beware, we squeak!    

eco laptop bag by Helen Riegle

                                       Sharon x

Unplug Your Iron Take The Battery Out Of Your Mobile And Have An Adventure!

                                    

Dear Gals,

If today has been one of those dull, boring, stressful days, where you feel like nothing has quite gone as it should, chances are your in need of a little magical moment in your life, how does a road trip in a Cadillac sound? Thelma and Louise style. Or perhaps clutching onto the luxury pile of a Persian carpet while you do a little freewheeling up in a cloudless blue sky, imagine your favourite city or landscape laid out before you begging you to land where ever you choose. Ok so this might be a bit of a tall ask, after all flying carpets only exist in fairy tales right? Well yes, but how about the next best thing, the eastern mystery of a carpet bag made from Persian carpet to inspire a new adventure every day, just looking at these authentic Persian prints on the glossy pile of these carpet bags from carpetbags.co.uk gave me the chills!

If you need tempting any further to join the Kingdom of a Persian princess Carpet Bag are offering this trio of Persian purses to choose from, all hand made in the UK where they are designed at a discount, perfect for carrying lucky coins to throw into your favourite fountain or wishing well.

If like me you feel that filling your luxury flight bag with any less than the choicest travel companions might throw you off your sartorial stride, cowsheds online store, carries the perfect cashmere set for those serious about a relaxing travel experience, contents include, cashmere mini hot water bottle, blanket, eye mask and socks.

So what of those spontaneous, gals, who like high style but with plenty of low maintenance attitude out there? Well the Cadillac might just need to be traded in for a four by four for your road trip depending on what part of the world you live in. If you heading to Cuba or the US you might strike lucky,but if not, here's the next best thing to riding in a Cadillac a sleek shoulder bag by Kim White, that has all the charm of a Cadillac without the price tag, puzzled as to the connection, Kim's Whites ethically designed bag's are made from reclaimed vintage automotive textiles.

1980s Ford Mustang - Blue and Black optical small shoulder bag

 Great for swinging over your shoulder as your saunter into roadside eateries with the gal's and explore the outback that is your own private adventure. I felt dizzy with excitement at the texture, pattern and colour that this unusual source of fabric's brings to Kim Whites unique designer collection. A little squirt of 70's style, engine oil, never hurts to bring out the bohemian in us all!


1978 Ford Mustang - red stripe large shoulder bag



Now that your getting close to mother nature and all that she has to offer, how to hold onto this newfound carefree feeling for as long as possible?

 Number one consign all said travel iron's to the boot of your car (the locals all drip dry their clothing on bushes, its much kinder to the planet and the baking heat will see they speed dry and are fresh as a daisy) number two, stylish casual clothing made from fibres that don't crease and resist perspiration are pretty much a major priority when you and three gals are holed up in your car together whilst you hunt down that perfect roadside stop off, not on your map! Smelling like a rose takes on fresh importance believe me! Scratching your head on where to find this elusive easy wear that is not made of synthetic fibres that pollute the environment or need ironing or dry cleaning?

 Visit natureshop.co.uk and go to the versatile Merino Travel Wear from their super fine range (Nature Shop are currently offering a 20% discount on this range and keen and Simple footwear, but only till the 29th of May 2011) layer up for extra warmth,when those cold night's draw in and your huddled around the campfire, listening to the crackle and smelling the woodsmoke, playing that harmonica you brought just encase or perhaps guitar is more your style ....

Spool 72 Discount And New Drop

  

Hi Gals, thought you might like to know Spool72.com are offering a nice discount, if your looking to become a dancing queen this summer I can think of no one that does 70s retro with a twist better than here. I'm loving these pieces below, straight from their new collection that have warm balmy summer nights running right the way through them. Do you have a favourite piece I would love to know, do tell?

                                      Sharon x x

If The Shoe Fits Win Yourself A Pair Of High Heels!!

Hi Fabulous Followers and welcome to any new Fashionable Frolickers here on My Passport to Style, today is a big thank-you to all you stylish gals who visit and comment here. I'm holding a Lucky Shoe Dip, that would have even lady Ga Ga going Ga Ga!!! 

If you like surprises and you like shoes, this is the perfect competition for you! One of these delicous pairs of stylish shoes will be sent to the first gal picked at random that matches the UK size of one of the pairs of shoes featured in this fun Lucky Shoe Dip! A true Cinderella moment for all you buddying princess's out there! Feast your eyes then check out the entry rules below! (please note these are near perfect seconds stock)

Rules Of Entry

 Competition ends 25th of June 2011 winner to be announced here and emailed, tweets or facebook posts must be done no later than one week prior to the competition deadline on the 25th of June 2011. 

1. For your first entry please, check out your shoe UK shoe size by going to this shoe sizing conversion link here -http://www.pediwear.co.uk/chart.php, then leave me a comment here, letting me know your UK shoe size and what kind of topics you would enjoy reading about on My Passport to Style or would like to see more of. If your new here subscribe to posts in my right hand sidebar and let me know here. For one entry

2. For a second entry tweet about the My Passport to Style Lucky Shoe Dip and link to this competion post.

3. For a third entry post the details of this Shoe Lucky Dip, on your Facebook wall and link to this competition post.

Finally make sure to email me your name and full postal address by going to enquires@zipbuttonandtuck.co.uk 

Good Luck Gals, I know who ever wins the shoes will have a very stylish home!

 

                               

                                   Sharon x

Nature Shop Designs For Life

Like most women  I appreciate quality, comfort and well made pieces of clothing that can do double duty in my wardrobe. Ok I will amend that to, I can be a little fanatical at times about these issues with regard to my wardrobe, quality fabric and dressing other women! I don't know about you gals but on really busy days spent styling other women my work out is often my walking time! So when I had the opportunity to review a pair Keen sandals from ethical company Nature Shop and a Icebreaker vest and pant set made from natural fibres  I jumped at it.

 First impressions

It's not often that you find a leisure wear company that offers the kind of attention to detail, level of service and standard of ethics that I found Nature Shop offers. Let's face it how many stores offer a 365 day return policy, free returns and 100% biodegradable packaging?! Often when stores talk about bio degradable packaging, we don't associate biodegradable with the kind of pretty packaging that will have us salivating about the goodies inside. So I was excited to

discover that the packaging I received my vest and pants set in from Nature Shop  had broken that sometimes frumpy mould and was really elegant with clear information, that I did not need to squint at to read..

 

 

                                       

The pant and vest set by Icebreaker, in Snow -Sahara,  a warm ivory shade are part of a much wider range of underwear by Nature Shop, made of fine pure Merino wool, both the tank top with a flattering scoop neck and the hot pants feature a pretty ice blue floral design. Soft and light to the touch the gage was so fine I could see my fingers through the vest fabric!  Working as a personal stylist, VPL is an absolute no- no whatever the occasion, so I was pleased to discover that the pants had nice flat seams, that did not show when I slipped on a pair of yoga trousers or under my favourite clingy dress. Even more impressive was the invitation on the clothing labels to trace the sustainable nature of my pants and vest set back to its origins in the southern alps of New Zealand, by taping in a bar code, now that is what I call attention to detail!

Comfort Versus Style

With British weather being so unpredictable  natural fibres feature big in my wardrobe, as they are cool when it's hot, but  warm when there is a chill. It was great to have an opportunity to test my Icebreaker set out and after walking briskly for an hour( and at the risk of sounding like the weather man I encountered plenty of high winds and a few sunny spells) did I manage to keep my cool ? Yes, beautifully, I would quite happily stock up on this premium quality panties and vest set in a variety of colours as they wash perfectly and leave me with a squeaky clean conscious.

The  La Paz moulded sole sandal in bronze green by Keen, provides a great solution for someone like me who does not want to sacrifice style for comfort  when wearing these for what I imagine to be their most popular use of walking.The sandals have ultra fine woven straps and a contemporary gladiator feel, teeny tiny functional fastenings in black plastic, which make them a breeze to get on and off in a hurry and feature pretty zig zag stitching in pastel pink and wheat on the olive green straps. Even better, these elegant but casual walking  sandals would work just as well with my floral maxi dress in jersey or some crisp cotton city shorts from my spring wardrobe. Extremely light weight with a moulded sole and cushioned foot bed, strong supportive heel backs, comfortable and versatile, I think they offer great value. My only niggle from a design point of view is that I would have preferred the sandal fastening to be in olive green in keeping with the rest of the sandal rather than black, but that's just personal preference. Bring on the festival season!!

If you want to check out Nature Shops green credentials and ladies clothing range go to

http://www.natureshop.co.uk/

Disclosure: I was provided with a Icebreaker vest and pants set and pair of Keen sandal from Nature Shop for the purposes of this review.

Which Shoes Go With Which Maxi Dress??

Hi Gals, after talking to a super stylish friend of mine that was looking to give her maxi dress wardrobe a fresh twist in time for her long awaited holiday to Mexico but at a complete loss as to which which shoes to choose to wear with which type of maxi dress, I decided to post a few potential pairings to help her out! Lady Luck should be reserved for raffles only!  

sneakers are a great low key shoe alternative worn with vibrant striped maxis and olive green looks sophisticated when worn with peach and navy.

 Lace is huge this spring/summer 20011, and these flesh coloured pom pom flats will create a textured but pretty story when working a lace maxi dress. Alternatvely rev up the style stakes for those that are more daring and want to dally with drama, wear some bright slipper style pumps, like these below that give a Morrocan flavour to your look, break out the turkish delight and apple tea!

Ok so we have covered two of the three most popular maxi dress looks this season, lace and stripes, so for the third and final pairing, it had to be a floral print, here are a few alternatives to ground this whymsical seventies inspired alternative.

Cut out pointy flats in electric suede lend themselves to a more casual look that still keys into the opulent fashions of this period, texture was key and clashing textures and colours in brights, create a more contemporary feel. I love these rope and raffia wedges in coral and grey with a white stripe running through below, they would elevate my finale maxi pick, to a high glamour look for an evening by the pool, big hair is a must!

 

Hope you had fun, sharing some options for what shoes to wear with which summer maxi dress styles. I know I did!

credits go to Bells & Whistles and Fashion Era 

                                       Sharon x

                                   

Internation Jewellery Designer Sabine Roemer Launches Her Charity - From You With Love

                                                                      

Hi Gals,

 some of you may remember I interviewed the beautiful Sabine Roemer, internationally renowned Jewellery designer here on My Passport to Style, the interview is on the sidebar incase you missed it.

Sabine has just  launched a charity 'from you with Love' to help the people of Laduka where she was stranded last year due to floods that devestated the landscape and killed many people leaving orphaned children behind to look after themselves. Sabine was so overwhelmed by the kindness of local people there and their suport to help her and her team reach safety and return home after losing loved ones themselves, she wanted to find away to repay their kindness.

If you would like to support the charity by buying one the beautiful bracelets Sabine designed herself from brass below to signify the need to care for others, or find out more about how the money raised from the sale of the bracelet with be used to help the people of Ladakh please go to  

www.fromyouwithLove.com    

By purchasing one of these beautiful bracelets you will be helping to support the Buddhist community in Ladakh, India through From You With Love. Thank you!!! Sabine Roemer

                                 

 Sharon x

Touche Eclat Launches Beauty Bible Top Rated Favourites Today!

               

  Hi Gals,

With all the new makeup trends around, a gal can have one to many options, but one thing is for sure dark shadows don't team well with any makeup or outfit choices, as we age the skin under our eye gets thinner which can mean, we have a annoying grey, or bluish tinge under our eyes. My eye essential, when working with clients to create a perfectly groomed look, has to be a good quality under eye concealer and if you have not yet tried the diva of them all Touch Elclat, now is the time, as YSL launched today, not one, not two, but seven shades of their shadow banishing elxir, (available at selfridges UK, nation wide from the 4th of August) as voted number one under eye concealer in the Beauty Bible. Generally brighter shades of eye shadow are harder to wear, unless you have a flawless canvas to start with, but most women can get away with using a bright eyeliner or masacara. If you still want to achieve impact with a more natural makeup, try this hot tip to really make your eyes colour stand out, line the upper eye with one colour and the lower eye with a contrasting colour, this opens the eye up whilst making your whites sparkle. Can I let you into a little secret, I even wear this concealer alone on my brow bone to get the same effect as Bobbie Browns - bone shadow. Have you had success using this product, any tips on where to use it on the face?

                                 Sharon x x