MicroTrend Alert

Asos -flag jacket- love!

Recently I  have come across quite as few fashion labels both on the high street and online whose designers have incorporated  triangles into their ranges for spring/summer 2012. It got me wondering what had sparked a micro trend which uses such an awkward shape. I think I may have come up with the answer, the Queens Diamond Jubilee, ok not the event specifically but my guess is that fashion and accessory designers everywhere became bunting obsessed as Britain geared up for some serious flag waving. Personally I'm loving both the spiky cool and sense of whimsy that flag shaped designs lend to everything from earrings to jackets.    

Topshop

Silken Favours | Animal Fantasy Collection Launches S/S Feb 2012

Five Minutes With Natures Own Poster Girl Victoria Murdoch

Having been pointed in the direction of dreamy new scarf label Silken Favours and its designer Vicki Murdoch I have been bursting at the seams with jumping jelly beans of excitement to share the labels new spring 2012 Animal Fantasy collection. You will understand shortly why that sentence flowed unprompted from my keyboard and out of my head. You see Silken Favours are not the type of scarves you tie on your handbag, rather like tying your pooche to a lamp post, while you go of and buy some cheese. These are the delicately captured blooms of a true daydreamer penned by an artist with great skill and a sense of humour that have a way of transporting you back to a time when the only thing that was important was revelling in your imagination. 

I was thrilled to discover that Vicki's whimsical scarves produced in the UK, are accompanied by poems that tell tales of far flung fantastical adventures penned by Gail Murdoch, Vickies mum, hence my excited ramblings above. Before I share my interview with Vicki and a sneak preview from Silken Favours Spring 2012 collection, here's a scarf from Vicki Murdochs current collection together with its poem.

BUTTERFLIES AND BEASTICLES

HOW CAN SOMETHING CATERPILLARY

METAMORPHOSE TO FRITILLARY?

IT'S JUST NOT BELIEVABLE THAT IT'S ACHIEVABLE THAT SOMETHING SO HAIRY TURNS INTO A FAIRY AND GLADDENS OUR HEARTS AS IT FLUTTERS AND DARTS LIKE THE ANGEL'S SHARE THAT JOINS THE AIR IN THE DISTILLERY

by Gail Murdoch

   

 Here's the preview of Vicki Murdochs spring 2012 collection which will see the launch of six of her exciting designs and can be found exclusively at Liberty at the end of February 2012, minus their poems as I don't want to completely spoil the surprise for you! 



Trippy Kitty






Flights Of The Imagination

 

Hope you had fun getting to know Vicki and her label Silken Favours, sign up to My Passport To Style by email top right of this blog to meet more new exciting accessory and fashion labels!

Me-Vicki, the images you create for your silk scarves are steeped in fantasy, do your designs relate to your childhood?Vicki I was a daydreamer when I was wee and still like to dabble , my designs are playful and I hope they make those that wear them think back to their childhood and their dreams.

Me-How did you come up with the label Silken Favours?Vicki-It started a year ago when I designed a surprise bespoke scarf as a gift for my parents. It had all the birds that came into their garden up in Scotland on it. They loved the design so much, it inspired me to create a collection with much loved British animals on them.

Me-Where did you gather inspiration for your spring 2012 collection?VickiI love day dreaming, and what's better to dream about than kittens riding unicorns in a tie-dye sky? The rest of the collection stemmed from that dream.

Me-How do choose your colour palette for each season?Vicki- tie dye dreams are mainly made up of pastel colours, so my choice was made for me.

Me-How important are the latest trends in fashion to your designs? Vicki- It is important to some extent, but I like to design prints that can be treasured forever not just for a season. Something that reminds one of their childhood or has a much loved creature on it.

Me-Your designs can be bought at Liberty, what advice would you offer to new designers wanting to get their fashion/accessory label out there?Vicki- You have to be passionate about your work and believe in it, This can be hard if there is no one else telling you it's great!  I would also say when going to show buyers you should have your product finished to a very high standard along with lookbook and packaging so they can imagine it going straight to the shop floor.

Me-What three words best describe you as a person? Vicki- imaginative, goofy, fun.

Me-I love the evocative poems that accompany your silken scarves in your press release, I believe your mum came up with the words, which are in my opinion a perfect fit for your flamboyant and charming pieces, do you plan to collaborate creatively with your mum on any other projects in the future?Vicki-  Yes she has a wonderful way with words. I have already made her my in-house Silken Favours poet, each scarf is accompanied by a wee poem written by her. The pressure is on Mum!

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 | Shares Mia Jafaris Unique Silk Scarf Designs

I was excited to discover scarf designer Mia Jafari, Mia is a London based Persian who combine themes symbolic of the British seaside with a delightful vivid technicolor palette and bold symmetrical design elements strongly associated with eastern architecture and decor that create a clean, calm, opulent feel ; little fairground horses prance in a circle around a hand with a heart in its palm against a sea of startling aqua blue silk on the Asia Manhattan scarf, the colour intensity of the aqua is so dazzling it almost makes my eyes ache! Purple buckets and spades, aqua lipstick bullets and bikinis punctuate the repeat lime medallions that boarder the central design of this silk scarf.

 This a feast of London and eastern culture, is almost baroque in its decadence, though the supreme skill of the design is the marriage of colour and symmetry which mean that the piece does not feel crowded and every element feels like it was destined to be included in the designers vision, like a great plate of food That must have fashion accessory the scarf, just got Karma!

The packaging is pretty decadent too and you might be surprised at the prices that represents such a unique labour of love.Delivary is free worldwide! Each scarf come with a swarovski encrusted swing tag.  To see more of Mias stunning designs visit  miajafari.co.uk

 

My Passport To Style | A Date With Dr Marten





With texture playing such a big part in luxe looks this Autumn/Winter 2011 season, I was excited to discover that the iconic masculine Dr Marten shoe which is so current this A/W has been elevated to new dizzy luxe heights, by the addition of some new finishes and materials, Dr Marten have used metalics in their new collection as well as ostrich hide, which adds a really organic feel, almost conker like, which resonates so well during autumn. I have had a faux ostrich pumpkin satchel for years that still works brilliantly when I need to add a dash of texture to a new look.



ostrich and conker skin not that different asthetically







credits for last 3 images style bubble  

My Passport To Style | Which Of Your Summer Bags Should Hang Around For A/W 2011?

wovenpurses.com 

 Hi Gals, before you look at this elegant raffia tote and remember that you have a similar bag languishing at the back of your wardrobe/closet that won't be seeing the light of day now till next summer 2012. Here is quick style tip to brighten your Monday, this bags shape and fabric  is perfect for wearing with this winter 2011 seasons mod inspired looks that featured heavily on the catwalks; vintage inspired mod looks can be in danger of looking a little brassy when teamed with traditional PVC accessorise, the raffia weave adds an element of sophistication. This bag would also work well to add warmth and anchor more futuristic winter whites if your more inclined in that direction this A/W 2011.

Vanessa Bruno

Healthy Back Bag Review | Leather Biker Style, Anniversary Edition

Most women I meet expect their handbag to be the height of fashion and to perform like a work horse carrying all their daily essentials, quite often the two top qualities we are searching for in the perfect handbag disappointingly are often not found in the same bag. Finding an independent handbag label that produces stylish bags with practical design features that set it apart from other bigger luxe handbag brands can be a rarity.

So when The Healthy Back Bag Company gave me the opportunity to review one of their anniversary bags and share my thoughts here, I had to try this practical bag and its eco friendly stylish credentials on for size!

First impressions

The bag I received was part of the companies anniversary range, tear drop shaped in black drum leather with stud and rivet detailing. A style classic perfect with jeans in the daytime and to toughen up a pretty dress or add edge to an evening look .

• Delivered swiftly by couriers service, in pretty standard issue plastic bags.

• The bag contained a handy card with instructions for cleaning the bag and a guarantee of the product for the lifetime of the bag.


• The bag can be worn either on one shoulder or across the body, to get full benefit of its ergonomic design, designed with a doctor to reduce stress on the back area and avoid back pain.

• The bag is designed to rest snugly in the hollow of your back and the main zipper faces toward your back, keeping the contents of your bag secure.

 

How did The Bag perform?

• The amount of pockets this bag contains is staggering! I counted 11 of varying shapes and sizes, two large outer zip pockets and some very small, perfect for storing my lip gloss and makeup brushes. One of the inner zip pockets is large enough to double up as a generously sized makeup bag and the bag will comfotably house much more from a full sized bottle of sun lotion, purse, phone, sunglasses, makeup wipes etc.

• Biggest plus? The Silver lining is really well thought out and means along with the organised pockets and key fob you would struggle to lose anything should you need it in a hurry.

• I put the bag through its paces to test the comfort factor (not being a cross body bag wearer I was a little unsure what to expect) when I went to the Ben and Jerry's music festival, packed to full capacity and worn across the body, after eight hours of standing and vigorously dancing I almost forgot my Healthy Back Bag was there until I needed a drink or my lip balm which I found with ease. However I would have liked a recess on the body strap for my mobile so I could have the option of easy access to my mobile when wearing the bag across my body. 

Finale Word

This bag is a miracle of design The Healthy Bag Back Bag comes in four sizes and a variety of exciting designs and fabrics including a on trend tweed version from their designer range and a fabric made from recycled plastic bottles (pet) as well as a baby changing bag range. From a fashion point of view I love the biker feel, but I would have liked to see a big leather tassel on the zipper and some additional stud work. With back saving properties and the brands guarantee of workmanship for the lifetime of the material, I was impressed! A great bag for buisy style conscious women on the go and makeup artists! 

www.healthybackbag.com