My Passport to Style | Woolmarks Got Me In A Spin!

reycycled bright wool pieces used to make a new knitted dress

National Wool Week seems the perfect time to feature this post. Woolmarks latest creative campaign, Fashion by Feelings, is encouraging bloggers from around the globe to write a blog or post an outfit onto the Fashion by Feelings Facebook site that reflects a feeling that they associate with wool, from beautiful to powerful and all that passes in between. In return for sharing your woolly feelings, you can win a weeks holiday to Sydney and a visit to Merino wool.

 This is the perfect project for me, wool is what I like to call soft armour, shielding you from the elements, cocooning you in its weight. Living breathing fabric that holds its shape and has real character. I love to see loose knits that showcase a hopscotch of brightly coloured stitches. Plus hand washing is very soothing don't you find?

Hopefully if I can crank up my camera, I can create a wool outfit image that will do justice to this awesome project by Woolmark, I'm so excited! I would love to see your wool outfit posts if you want to post a link here to one, do!

bright soft felt marbles

follow this link to find out more .....

My Passport to Style | Lost And Found | Torie Jayne Save The Day!

Hi Gals, LET ME SHARE the worst mistake my 8 year old self ever made was letting my mum throw out my conker brown leather school satchel, which would now be a vintage piece that would look great with my new red mac I'm planning on purchasing very soon. I love that the satchels simple smart looks mean that you can wear it to relax your outfit or build in some classic functional heritage transporting you to smart land.

Had I never hopped and skipped over to the lovely Torie Jaynes blog, I might never have discovered that I might be able to replace my long lost love with one of the above bright shiny new satchels from Bohemia in her giveaway! I'm feel a little less blue all ready!

However I do think I might need to trade the contents from my 8 year old satchel to things that are a little more fitting for my grown up self, so here are my trades for your inspection, what do you think? Did I make the right trades?







TRADING MY BANANA FOR THIS  VINTAGE ESQUE PHONE CASE

TRADING MY SKIPPING ROPE FOR THESE LIME GREEN SUNGLASSES

TRADING MY SHINY BROWN POWER CONKER FOR GLOSSY POLISH

TRADING MY YUMMY RED APPLE FOR A SWEET POLKA DIARY 

My Passport to Styles | Cheats Guide To Pregnancy Shopping!

flattering A- line smock shape and bold neckline 

Hi Gals,

Increasingly I'm coming across fashion conscious expectant mummy bloggers on the blogosphere, so today's post was inspired by them and their style needs as they change shape, but still want to get more bang for their buck. I'm loving these picks for expectant mothers from Sonia Rykiel whilst not strictly maternity wear, the lines would work perfectly for those mums that are around three to four months and wanting to disguise their bump in the early stages or equally those mums in the later stages of pregnancy happy to show off their bump in a flattering way that celebrates their shape now, but still leave them with pieces to wear next A/W. The fact that most of Sonia Rykiels pieces from her new collection are knitwear or A-line in shape this A/W 2011 makes these pieces very pregnancy friendly, but where she really excels is her talent for carving up bold colour into shapes that draw the eye towards the slimmest parts of the body, which when we are pregnant is generally are lower leg or neckline. Who says pregnant women can't indulge in fashion! Did you know that Sonia Rykiels first ever pieces were maternity wear.

tiny polka dots distract the eye

 




team this SR top with black wool or crepe wide leg black

maternity pants to draw the eye up the body.Black blocking

is positioned to flatter a larger bustline.



My Passport to Styles | The Taming Of The Shoe

Hate!

Love!

Hi Gals,

do you ever wrestle with yourself about posting a burning opinion on something fashion related, just encase you offend? Well that was how it was for me when deciding whether or not to publish this post to share here on My Passport to Style . You see as much as I adore the world of fashion and am thrilled by the way fashion designers encourage women to reinvent themselves and inspire our daily lives with their creations. There is one particular trend in the kingdom of shoe wear that leaves me cold, the trend for what I term crooked heels, I just don't understand how this trend so beloved of Alexandra McQueen fans is in anyway aesthetically pleasing, maybe I am missing a particular gene that would help me appreciate the beauty of these shoes??! Incidentally I love much of McQueens clothing and I am fairly flamboyant in my sense of dress and love quirky designs that push the boundaries of fashion and style. Like most stylists I love to reinvent a look, putting my own unique spin on it, but to me a shoe is supposed to flatter the limbs of the wearer as well as make a fashion statement, the design of the heel and the front of the shoe play a crucial part in that role.

confused?!?

 Whilst I appreciate the role of attention grabbing shoes in boosting confidence and making women feel invincible do we really need the equivalent of a dinosaur on the end of our feet to do that? Surely this over engineering of heels which has I admit become hugely popular lately is just attention grabbing for its own sake or perhaps we are all so smitten but the greatness of the late Alexandra McQueen and his collection that we just can't see it. So for now I'm sticking to my classic wedge, stiletto and block heels this A/W, whilst still feeling that perhaps I am missing out on something to do with the greatness of fashion and design but I'm not sure what. I guess that's the beauty of fashion today, like freedom of speech, it's allows us the freedom to enjoy fashion in all its many forms for ourselves.What's your view on the trend for crooked heels? I would love to know your opinion am I missing out? 

dislike

mixed

My Passport to Styles | Guide To Working The Timeless Monochrome Look

Hi Gals, heres a quick style note for you to bookmark, the monchrome tend is really easy peasy wearing, if you handle with care, soften the look by wearing silver, powder pink or off white tights and gloves rather than just black or white with skirts, dresses and coats. Wear make up natural and keep hair slicked back from your face either short, in a pony or top knot. Avoid hard starchy lines unless your blessed with Mad Men esque curves, blocks of black and white look divinely decadent when varying the texture of fabric used, mohair knits, feathers, faux fur, beading, boiled wool, leather and of silk.Here's a few of my favourite black and white picks. All Oasis, Far Fetched and Chelsea Doll.

black and gold ball frame earrings- Chelsea Doll

black and crystal swirl ring - Chelsea Doll

ivory and black lace shift- Oasis

black and white zip zag and check coat, slouchy style - Oasis



sweet sharp, dalmation spot cardigan- Far Fetched



 my felix the cat pumps

silk scarf V&A

   

My Passport to Style | Got Cindy Lou Fever Find Out Why .....

Hi Gals, if your looking for a perfectly wicked reason to splurge on yourself in the run up to my favourite time of the year that is Christmas, then please take note at what I'm about to say, but don't say you heard it here first, got it! Unless of course it's to let your closet gal pal in on our cunning plot! Got it?! Great!

 Every year I indulge in a new look for the Christmas party season, usually a dress, do I ever wear it again?  I'm ashamed to say in previous years the answer has been no! The solution is to invest in slightly quirky but still chic separates rather than that expensive price tag dress, separates that you can wear from now through to the November, then configure (loving that word) differently for Christmas season 2011. So in the spirit of 'configuring' buy it now pieces into a sparkling Christmas look, I'm thinking this Aztec vest with kitch Christmas chic running right through it, is the perfect place to start guilt free pre Christmas shopping. I could wear it with my grey wool A-line skirt, bright yellow tights, fitted black leather jacket and these buy it now gorgeous gunmental cuban ankle boots for a fun edgy look.

 By updating my old black skirt to this lovely swishy number from Style Passport I can tap into this seasons monchrome look now, then come Christmas day leave even the Grinch with a warm glow at my Christmas Party look, as I glide down the stairwell of the hottest ticket in town wearing said black swishy skirt, Aztec vest, sheer black tights, gun mental leather cubans, knock out earrings, a neat silver clutch and a partridge in a pear tree! Sorry I could not resist, capsule wardrobe planning always makes me slightly giddy!

 all items Style Passport

My Passport to Style | Meets Nadia The Founder Of Luxury Label Danaqa

Nadia at Danaqa-Kensington & Chelsea Chronicle

Q1Sharon-Hi Amanda, what inspired you to set up Danaqa?

A-Nadia- Well it was an interesting combination of things. Firstly my husband David and I both work in the field of international development-him in development finance and me in agricultural research and development. This has meant two major things in our lives- one that we have had the privilege of living and working in wonderful developing countries around the world, and secondly that we have had direct exposure to development issues and opportunities in those countries.


 As a result I always came back from these trips with lots of unusual and beautiful jewellery, textiles, wooden items, things for the home and things for me and for gifts. Our Christmas presents for family and friends were always very different and unexpected.


The culmination of the idea behind Danaqa was the planning of our wedding.. We found lovely colourful hand loomed shirts for the men and raw silk material for the bridesmaids in Sri Lanka. Little give away baskets in Ethiopia.


And from this the precursor to Danaqa was born—what we coined as our theme- ‘Development Chic’!


We figured from all of this that there was a gap in the market in Europe for high end beautiful goods from these countries, especially countries underrepresented, under exposed, or with negative reputations in Europe.

 



Q2Sharon- I'm dying to ask why did you decide to choose Danaqa as your company name?

A-Nadia-This is a really great question. At that time we were living in Ethiopia and they have a beautiful world which gets used to describe things, people, concepts, thoughts, moods or anything as being beautiful, pretty, lovely, etc—and that is ‘konjo’. We initially wanted to use this term—but again it was not suitable for a number of reasons.






 A shortlist of words were then shared with people interested and involved in the setting up of the business and a pole was taken.


Emerging from whole process was ‘Danaqa’. As a derivative of the Amharic (Ethiopian language) word ‘dinknesh’ which was the name given to Lucy- the prehistoric skeleton found in Ethiopia to denote their wonder and surprise at this amazing find, ‘Danaqa’ also provides the sense of being pleasantly surprised.


A beautiful word when written down, this word also encapsulated what we wanted to achieve—for people to find beautiful items for what they are, but to be pleasantly surprised about their origins, context and deeper meanings.

Q3Sharon-. How does the ethical nature of your business benefit the women you commission to produce the pieces you stock from third world countries such as Nepal?

A-Nadia-Firstly, we don’t exactly commission pieces from our suppliers. Danaqa is about recognising and supporting the whole value chain in countries for our products. This means respecting and empowering the beautiful design processes that happen there, not just using suppliers as producers. We search for items which are beautiful and that we think would be attractive in Europe given the current seasons, trends and desires of the market—and often supply our groups with style sheets and magazine clippings to expose them to what people like in Europe at particular times of the year. But essentially we honour their design as well as their production skills.


As for how our ethical business benefits women, we work with small women’s groups to enable them to lead enterprises in our source countries and equip them with the business skills needed to sustain their endeavours.


As an ethical business we also make use of fair trade principles. We pay a fair price, try as much as possible to ensure that the working conditions are good, we pay half or more of the money for the order up front so that suppliers don’t have to take loans out for materials or labour, and we don’t do once off buys—thus giving them some longer term security.


As an ethical business, we also support the whole value chain in countries so as to keep the majority of money in those countries to benefit people. We don’t just import raw materials for production here, instead we buy finished products. We also buy packaging and get services from those countries as well.

Q4Sharon - It's great that you back up your offer with business advice and support for women in third world countries. Have you noticed any changes in consumers attitudes to purchasing ethical fashions and accessories?

A-Nadia-One thing is that we get a lot of repeat customers. People come in and are interested and come back again and again to look some more, hear more about the products and then eventually buy. People are becoming more aware of their own consumption patterns both due to internal financial issues such as the rescission in the UK but also because of awareness off what is happening around the world. We do see some sceptics who see the products and then see the prices and feel that they are too high. But many once they hear about how items are handmade over weeks of skilled labour, using high end materials such as silk, leather, and silver then have a better grasp of the value.


Another thing that strikes many of our customers is the uniqueness of the items they can purchase this way. Rather than multiple, exactly the same items that can be made from large factories, our items are made by small groups so are in small numbers and often are never the same either. We can see this starting to appeal to consumers more and more.

Kitenge cloth bag in lips and lipstick print made in Rwanda

Q5Sharon-.What’s been your greatest challenge since setting up?

A-Nadia-Well as a small start-up there are many challenges and the nature of our business brings many challenges too.


While a challenge, it is also exciting, but working with a wide range of small suppliers in 5 different, developing countries does bring a fair share of issues to deal with. Scale, quality, consistency and chic design are key things we have to always watch for and work closely with our suppliers to achieve. While beautiful, it is hard to sell, especially online, 20 necklaces all with completely different colours and designs, for example.


Dealing with shipping, customs and delivery on both sides can present challenges too.


In the UK, setting up a business is something that has been supported by the government in words, but in practice it is quite a complicated process. Meandering through all the rules, regulations, not to mention taxes and costs—could easily put off people, especially when you are a small, different business such as ours.






Then finally—trying to push this niche market and our concept through marketing when we operate on such a small scale right now can be challenging. How to compete with the big high street shops and department stores in terms of visibility is something we are trying to be creative about, but we still need for the public to know about us.

Q6Sharon- What’s your philosophy on business?

A-Nadia-I am quite new to business myself so have been learning a lot along the way.

For me business needs to make sense. You need to have a good concept, approach and model to keep guiding you, as there are many forks and speedbumps in the road. My husband and I spent a long time developing a business plan and strategy and checking it with others—to make sure we had something good to guide us along the way.


Key to being an ethical retail business is remembering that as nice as products and the stories behind them are—this does not make them sell. They need to match the market demand, they need to be priced right and they need to be marketed. We cannot achieve our good aims if things do not sell—so we need to make sure we are acting like a business.

But businesses need to be adaptable and flexible and be able to change and match what is happening around them—can’t just be stuck in your ways.

Q7Sharon- Great advice! What makes you smile?


A-Nadia-In general—people make me smile. I am a people person and get my energy from people. When people are happy, satisfied, fulfilled and enjoying themselves—it makes me smile too.

Q8Sharon- Got to ask, do you have a favourite accessory in this seasons collection, you know mines the goats skin bag and the Nepalese urn!

Ostrich Eggshell necklace made in Botswana

Wow—so hard to choose a favourite as I Love EVERYTHING we have. But if pushed I would say:


• The bright coloured ‘kitenge’ cloth covered leather day to night bags from Rwanda. They are so fun and individual (and make me smile too), plus can be worn in so many different ways for the day and night—a key for me as I am often out for the whole day and night, especially on weekends.


• The ostrich eggshell necklaces and earrings made in Botswana. These are so different. They are large and chunky but still light to wear. They are an amazing natural material, made with skill and precision over weeks of cutting out the little beads from the eggs…and are stunning to wear!

• And for the home… I would say I love our collection of cushion covers from Ethiopia. Made from a silk and cotton mix—they are so soft and perfect for cuddling up with in the evenings—but look beautiful and natural.

 Q9Sharon- What gives you the most satisfaction and what’s been your proudest moment?


A-Nadia-I guess one of the proudest moments was the day we opened the doors to our shop with beautiful ethical stock and our beautiful sign outside. It made our whole dream become a reality.

My satisfaction comes from two things:


Firstly- when someone comes in and falls in love with a product and buys it and looks so happy.


Secondly-when we relay feedback to our suppliers about the business, how products are selling and what people are saying about them. To see or hear their sense of pride of being recognised as skilled craftsmen and business people in their own right gives me such a warm glow.

Q10Sharon- If you could give one piece of advice to women hoping to start up a ethical business what would it be?

A-Nadia-Make sure you believe in what you are doing. For me, I believe in the beauty, quality and chic aspect of our range and in our business model we have designed. When we have days with bad sales or someone coming in and saying something negative about our shop—I always go back into my heart and remember why I am doing this, who I am doing this for and what I can achieve and it keeps me going. You need that belief, that passion, that rock—because it isn’t always easy.

Q11Sharon- Brilliant advice! What do you think is our biggest strength as women?


A-Nadia-Well I believe as a woman my strengths, many shared with other women, are the strong connection between the emotional and rational side. While I can develop a business and do all the necessary practical things—I always bring my passion, my belief and my emotions into as well. Some may say it is our downfall, but I believe it is what makes us more resilient, creative and outstanding.


This emotional side is also very key in ethical business. It gives us the heart to always remember the ethical side—when the business side demands so much attention and can often be overpowering. The emotional side comes in strongly in choosing products, working with the suppliers and telling the stories too.

I guess to be a bit stereotypical, I do also believe that women are great multi-taskers—and in this type of business it sure is necessary.

Q12Sharon- Where would you like the company to be in five years time?



A-Nadia-I would like Danaqa World Chic to be a recognised brand within the ethical fashion world as well as just the fashion world too. I would like to see the company as a frontrunner in ethical fashion, bringing new ideas and innovation as to how we can combine commercial fashion with achieving good contributions to the world around us.


I hope to see us with an expanded network of shops as well as being featured in other larger retail spaces.


I see our company working side by side a successful foundation which uses some of the profits to give back to the countries we source from in even more ways through business training, support to preservation of crafts and skills, and promoting trade.

Hope you gals, have enjoyed finding out more about luxury ethical label Danaqa, you can kind find their shop in Notting Hill London or online here at Danaqa.com   

Adaptable Kitenge cloth bags made in Rwanda

goats skin Kitenge bag made in Rwanda 

My Passport to Style | Meets Rosie Founder Of Ethical Company Preeti Design

 Hi Rosie, I'm really excited to have Preeti Design featured here on My Passport to Style today, as you work with such skilled artisans who use such beautiful colours and prints in your range and a big thanks for offering such a lovely giveaway of one of your sets of handmade bangles.The details of which are at the bottom of this interview with Rosie 

Sharon Q1- What inspired you to set up Preeti Design?

Rosie A- India! I went to Rajasthan with my sister on holiday and fell in love with the country. I had to go back and do something that meant I could spend lots of time living there and working with it’s fantastic people.

Rajputi Bags

Sharon Q2- How does the ethical nature of your business benefit the women in Asia that you commission to produce the bags, clothing bags and bangles you stock?

Rosie A-They work in their own homes under their own time. Because they all have a family and young children, going to work outside of their home is not possible. I provide an income for them that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to have. They take great pride in their work and produce fantastic products, because their standard is so high I am always really impressed and excited by how they replicate my designs and ideas, seeing their hard work get this reaction is a real boost for them and gives them the confidence that women in India often don’t have.

Sharon Q3- In the time that Preeti Design has been running have you noticed any changes in consumers attitudes to purchasing ethical fashions and accessories?

Rosie A- Buying an ethically made product has become far more on trend. People definitely care more about how things are made and where they came from. Using recycled materials is quirky and people love seeing a fabric reinvented and used for a completely different purpose. My Borie bag is an example of this and is hugely popular.

Sharon Q4- What's been your greatest challenge since setting up?

Rosie A- Working in a country where you don’t speak the language was a challenge and meant that I had to learn some basic Hindi fast!

Sharon Q5- What's your philosophy on business?

Rosie A-For every business it is essential to have a great product and commitment behind it. For small independents such as Preeti Design we can’t forget the importance of PR and marketing to get our brand noticed. Personally I have found the blogging community a great source of support in this area.

Sharon Q6- What makes you smile?

Rosie A-Colour! In any shape or form, this is why I have such a passion for India, women wouldn’t dream of stepping out of the house in beige!

Sharon Q7- That's so true! Colour is such a big part of Asian style! Would you do anything differently?

Rosie A- My first collection included only one design of 11 colour ways but I didn’t have the confidence to go further with my ideas. With the success of the first range I wish that I had pursued a few more of my initial designs from the start.


Sharon Q8- Got to ask, do you have a favourite bag from your collection?


Rosie A- I love all the bags and can’t really choose, but my favourite products from the new range are the one of a kind silk necklaces, they are each plated from antique sari silk bearing beautiful hand painted silver pendants.

Sharon Q9-That sounds like a really special piece, I really like your brightly coloured garment bags, I can imagine opening my wardrobe, in the morning and the thrill of catching a glimpse of saffron yellow and feeling inspired to get ready whatever the weather outside! What gives you the most satisfaction and what's been your proudest moment?

Henna Garment bag, available in other colours

Rosie A-I love working with the women in India and going from the prototype to the finished product with such amazing people is massively rewarding. My proudest moment was putting my fab website up online and seeing the sales rolling in.

Sharon Q10- If you could give one piece of advice to any other women hoping to start up an ethical business what would it be?

Rosie A- It takes time, have patience and commitment and it will work.

Sharon Q11- What do you think is our biggest strength as women?

Rosie A-Our eye for detail and our dedication to the things we love.

Sharon Q12- Where would you like the company to be in five years time?

Rosie A- Still in its colourful state and I would love to be selling to the department stores.

If you would like to win this beautiful set of handmade lakshmi bangles from Preeti Design made from silk and handmade glass in blue and red then simply follow here if you don't already with friends connect or blogger.

then-

 Tweet or FB about the Preeti Design bangle giveaway on http://www.mypassporttostyle.blogspot.com/  follow Preeti on Face Book here OR on Twitter here and leave us a comment here to let us know.We would love to know what you think about Pretti Design as an ethical buisness or just what you like about their range, remember to leave your email, the winner will be selected at the end of the week and notified.  

Remember to check in here tomorow if you have a minuite to find out more about ethical buisness woman Amanda and exciting luxury label Danaqa you won't be disappointed!