The Rise And Rise Of The Beehive

Is it me or are we ladies trading in our heels in favour of other more cunning ways of adding inches to our height this season? Bring on the beehive!

Rules Are Meant To Be Broken



lime green zig zag vintage ponch- by Lynette Packman

Watching my friend’s daughter struggle under the weight of her mum’s best lace table cloth and  about twenty strands of tangled beads she had managed to throw on over her fireman's  helmet, as she hummed Postman Pat to herself, despite the fact she looked like a crazy and rather lavish Christmas parcel, I felt a pang of envy at her carefree abandon as she plundered every corner of her home for fresh inspiration. Time to build a date with myself into my diary I thought, when I can reclaim dressing up and allow myself to dress without censoring how much neon is too much or whether that shiny jacket actually adds more inches in the wrong places.



floral 2B shorts

 

Breaking all the fashion rules feels good, is fun and shakes up your style, something that we all need, a bit like taking a holiday from yourself. So in this spirit, I have dug out my perfect outfit for the weekend. Firmly ignoring thoughts about being a little too heavy on the Mexican look or slightly clichéd - the new me inspired to connect with my inner fashion gypsy after re-reading an article about an expert in throwing away the rule book ( Anna Della Russo) says "nah what I really need are some chilli earrings to finish the look and I'm good to go!"     

pink raffia bag

 

High rafia wedges with black accents

*All images sourced via google images*

Trend Alert | Cartoon Casual

      If It's Good Enough For Jessica Rabbit .......

It seems the new best way to beat the recession retail blues right now is to buy into the whimsy and fantasy that is cartoon world, where your dishwasher never breaks down, the heel never snaps on your shoe on the way to work, your home is always tidy even if you have been watching back to back episodes of Mad Men, food magically appears on the table and your clothing never creases. These are the fantasy benefits of this fun new trend but in reality there are plenty that are real too, like the youthful optimism and carefree quirk that this seasons trend for cartoon embellishment lends to a gals wardrobe. I confess to being a fan of tough cookie cartoon character and super hero fashion wear designer Edna Mode, of the film The Incredibles!

Have Fun Wearing An Investment Piece Now!

 If your worried about getting your pound or dollar per wear quota out of these pieces don't, pick wisely and you will have some potential wearable collector's items that you can use to fund your next shoe obsession when the time comes, that's if you can bare to be parted!  The only rule? Allow yourself to have fun, if you want to buy into quality design and the cartoon trend then shoe brand Cleo Barbour is featuring her quirky range at a fairy tale shoe event at Bolesworth Castle her old Cheshire home on the 27th & 28th of April from 10am to 5pm! My favourite pieces for wearing this trend? Tatty Devines fishbone necklace and matching eye rings, Cleo Bs flat purple metalic Boom sandals and these fun gold cassette heels from her S/S12 collection (featured below, which would have Jessie J whooping in glee) as well as these adorable bags from Jump From Paper named Cheese below and Bonjour above! Work the toon look with the latest ice cream colours like these pink jeans Marks and Spencers  do a great pair (worn with your favourite take on a POW t-shirt) or this pretty drop waist dress.  

Close And Personable Hollands A/W 2012 Collection

Something I read recently whilst doing my weekly round of fashion blogs has really stayed with me. A fashion blogger I visited who is pretty well known in fashion circles said she was staying away from the circus of London Fashion Week this time because she wanted to enjoy it at face value and not be sucked into bitching of who sits where etc, I admire a gal who knows her mind and can still enjoy and share the music that is fashion.

Seeing as I'm not there (London Fashion Week) either, for different reasons which I won't bore you with, the lovely words of the fashion blogger I just mentioned made me feel better about the whole thing. Just for the record I respect London Fashion Week and the designers that show there.

 I'm just happy for now to share my views at a distance and from the comfort of my armchair. So coming up are my favourite picks of the A/W 2012 Henry Holland runway show 'Ride'. With a little virtual catwalk commentary thrown in, i.e things I imagine I might have said had I been ringside that would have had no real bearing on my fashion blog or the proceedings!

Me - Hollands crayola zipzags, ouch! It's ok you just jabbed your elbow into me and my pencil for sketching has disappeared under that chair, its ok, I think I can manage without it, although it would have been nice to have.... you could reach under with your umbrella, really?! Whisper, thanks! Dull thunking sound as her umbrella zips forward like a snake about to launch it's venom beneath the sleek lines of the chair front left, flailing from side to side like a redundant windscreen wiper, shuddering as it hits the steely chair repeatedly.

I giggle nervously as the woman sitting on said chair swivels her head a whole 90 degrees in my direction and uses her x-ray fashion savvy vision to see right through my most stylish shirt, piercing my thermal vest that I bitterly regret wearing now given how warm the room suddenly feels.
 "Pencil gone", lip syncs my neighbour and kindly offers me a shocking pink plastic fan with black ostrich feathers that looks like what I imagine to be a freebie from baroque barbies wardrobe were she human size. Right where was I, ah yes, this is Holland at his best, simple clean flattering lines, supersized bright knit patterns create a print that is flamboyant yet still sophisicated, the riding hat punctuates the look with a regal grown up feel that elevates the look beyond playful. It's the signal, a deep sigh and the row including myself uncross and recross our legs again, pencils at the ready, as the next stream of Henry Hollands knitted dollies are launched from the wings of LFW's runway.   

I breathe in as the next model shimmies past in black sleek shiny skinny leather boot cuts, topped off, I scribble, with lemon hunks of giant dogtooth printed onto a chunky scarf and easy sweatshirt, clashing blue, perforated by a strip of hot pink.

 Still with me? Great! thanks for joining me.

I wriggle, I need a pee, I look round to see if sucking sweets is permissable and spot several suspicously bulging rose powdered cheeks. A quick rummage in my bag, trying to locate a mint, a strong waft of Coco Mademoiselle reveals my worse fears, my mints are now doused in it's heady scent, I wipe my mint on my shirt, feeling a little smug that I cunningly re-scented my blouse as well as helping control my bladder a little longer all in one swift move. A few raised eyebrows later and I'm back in my stride, in the zone, breathy with the excitement of Hollands next look. This dress has optical illusion written all over it, I scribble madly like a crazed professor, Holland has made 3d acid red, pink and purple with the use of pinstripes and shapes combined masterfully, bold simplicity of shapes and variations in the fabrics depth of colour as light hits each new pinstripe ripple in the skirt fabric are mesmerising. 

  

Cameras are clicking, popping and clucking like a clutch of broody robotic hen sounds in my ear, slightly unsettling, I try another mint, but truthfully I could eat a whole plate of something much more stodgy and northern right now if I'm honest. I'm thankful the next poor girl lovingly swathed in this blinding blue and brash clash of black leather and dog tooth, striding willfully down the runway has thoughtfully been shielded by Holland with her riding hat brim protecting her eyes from the glare of the constant popping of flash bulbs.Liquorish pipes spring to mind when I start to think of the next few metaphors to describe the contrasting leather sleeves and patterned bodice of another of my favourite Henry Holland sporty dresses from his 'Ride' collection.

 It's official I'm hungry! A quick glance left and right confirms that I'm not alone glassy eyed fashion editors have grown teeth of beaver like proportion and are gnawing helplessly on their black velvet pencils, perhaps dreaming of tucking into a truffle or two at their favourite restaurant? Finale word? I have really enjoyed Hollands use of leather in his A/W 2012 'Ride collection, particularly the red skirt top of this page and his fearless approach to hot colour's he has taught me yet again, when it comes to pattern more is more if it is transposed onto pared back shapes and I thank him for that and his gran!  

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Is Great Style In The Details?

A recent trip to London got me thinking about how important or not, the details in our outfit choice for the day actually might be to us as a nation?  Why did I start pondering on this topic, well at the risk of sounding slightly bonkers, what struck me when I was in London was that with everybody walking so briskly and rarely making eye contact on the tubes the main thing that everyone seemed to focus on was well, your shoes. Perhaps this explained our obsession with shoes, but not necessaily whether or not that the details that make up a whole look are still as important to our sense of style. Spotting a mens tie embroided with the sweetest bowler hat and brollies (and this piano satchel worn by a man about to cross the road) my closest encounter with snapping street style to date and if I'm honest very feeble as I did not even engage with the man in question as the great Satorialist would have done even for a back shot, no doubt, I began to get the distinct impression that we still love our detailing.

What are your thought are you big on detailing or are you a black dress and a great pair of shoes type of gal? Do tell!

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Clarks shoe shop window display -My Passport To Style image

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Is Our Wardrobe Just An Extension Of Our Home?



2) Princess and The Pea /minimalist style



Fashion week looming does strange things to a bloggers brain, this post is a case in point, it got me thinking for some bizarre reason about how often times our personal sense of style is an extension of our home, or for some of us living communally our bedrooms.

So I thought I would have a little fun and come up with 3 types of home owner/room dweller and their parallel style personality.


1) Ok so if your fill your home with the following items, mismatched furniture and china, you like the retro feel of a colourful knitted tea cosy on your teapot, cushions that you have made sit pertly in rows on your sofa and your bed, you can't throw anything away unless it has been subjected to a rigorous series of questions regarding its usefulness in your home. Then you are quite possibly someone who owns a pair of clogs, likes to layer, layer and the layer some more for good measure, nylon stretch tops leave you cold you would much prefer a scratchy wool kilt and a woven silk vest, basically you live for texture, so your sense of fashion is reflected in your homely cluttered style. It's either eco friendly or vintage for you all the way, as these are the options that give your home and your closet the texture hit you hanker after. You're a Material girl!

1) Material Girl/layering is your thing 

2) If on the other hand your home is furnished with chrome and granite and you favour sliding doors and blinds. You dislike plants or pets in your home and you have a cupboard to house your keys, well my guess is, sorry to be predictable! Your wardrobe is very stripped back too. You favour classic cuts over fast moving trends, a large flat clutch over a handbag, lace, frills, pattern and frou, frou bring you out in spots. Tailored pants, a bun with a side part and a good watches are your best friends. Function and form are the buzz words for your cool uncluttered style, but luxury fabrics and materials matter to you to. I'm calling you The princess and the pea, as if you know the fairy tale, the princess can feel the little tiny pea beneath a huge pile of mattresses, the pea is a metaphor for you having a high intolerance to anything surplus to your own personal style. the great thing about your kind of style is your minimalist for a good reason to show off your ability to pick out the perfect detail to make that look shine.



3) Showgirl /Accesorise To The Max



3) Moving onto home loving number 3, you love your white walls, they make a great back drop for colourful works of art and photography you like to showcase on all your walls. You don't do kitchen cupboards, a big Danish dresser and sideboard is more to your liking, where you can display all your best china. You are an expert in choosing striking picture frames and mirrors. Your curtains are either brightly patterned or a hothouse of coloured silks and you like a little bit of sparkle so a chandelier might feature in your loo! All this adds up to a Showgirl, you are all about accessorise, if you can snare it, you will wear it, is your motto. Your style is larger than life think Dita Von Teese and Betty Boop.

Have you worked out which one is you,? Me to! If you would like to have access to more silly style advice and some very useful style advice hopefully! Then sign up to My Passport To Style  fashion posts by email  top right of this blog now!


Photo credits- thehollywoodstory.com, glamcheck.com and fashioninyear.com