My Passport to Style | Shares What It's Like To Contract Patchwork Fever!



New York Fashion week Oscar -De- La- Renata

Hi Gals, I was recently very ill with patchwork fever, the symptoms ( brought on by many hours of staring at vibrant 7o's inspired folk photo shoots in my favourite glossyy mags) are pretty, although rather nasty! It starts with your vision blurring the boundaries between print, texture and plain blocks of colours, till you become extremely dizzy with visions of hotch potch design. The next stage found me obsessing over how to transform a perfectly lovely patchwork quilt into a coat, I don't think the world is not quite ready for me looking Joseph like, at least not till pantomime seasons starts properly! The finale stage saw me feverishly cutting up every scrap of fabric in the house ready to patchwork into a creation and cloaked in the fall out of loose threads. 



So why not just give way and throw on a plethora of patch work layering as in the image above? The answer is clear in my case, at 5,6 I simply don't have the height to carry of such a large scale mish mash of colour and design, I would end up shrunk to Rumpelstiltskin like proportions, as well as considerably extending my girth, while vastly reducing my fashionable years.

So onto the recovery phase, how did I cure myself, easy, a quick trip to Etsy and the store While There Sleeping, where I found the these beautiful patchwork animals to coo over and reminded me that this trend works best on stuffed animals, beds and models on the runway.So next time you spy a patchwork master piece and start salivating think about what it took me to come back from the brink! 

footnote - fashionable years - like dog years only better!
 
images coutesy of broadwayworld.com, While They Are Sleeping and Oscar De La Renata

My Passport to Style | Edinburgh Hosts Jungle City Event

Sabine Roemer and her encrusted hornbill in Edinburgh

JUNGLE CREATURES UNLEASHED ACROSS EDINBURGH

Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities in the world and I am very fond of elephants, perhaps because they are a large part of my dads culture in Nepal, I love their solemn aura and the fact that they look so old like mature oaks trees, I met my first elephant on the streets of Kathmandu aged just three, my mum says I was completely transfixed. So when I discovered that talented jewellery designer Sabine Roemer was taking part in a new and very flamboyant exhibition in Edinburgh to help save them, I had to share the exciting news here on My Passport to Style!

Richly painted ‘Jungle City’ sculptures have launched themselves onto the streets, parks and neighborhoods' of Edinburgh and are currently making a Great 'Spectacle' of themselves in a bid to raise funds and awareness for their endangered relatives in Asia.

One of the pieces expected to fetch a significant sum for the Elephant Family charity is a hornbill decorated with feathers, pearls and a 383 carat ruby from Tanzania, which is set in a hand crafted sterling silver mask. The exotic creature has been created by German born goldsmith and jewelry designer, Sabine Roemer.

“I created this beautiful paradise bird with the intention to escape into an amazing tropical and colorful world through his eyes: set with beautiful crafted 383,09 carat Rubies from Tanzania”

“I have been enormously inspired by the people and work of Elephant Family and am happy to again be a big part of this year’s Jungle City. I hope through these beautiful art pieces we can build awareness for these endangered animals and make a change” (Sabine Roemer)

Sabine’s hornbill can be found in the Harvey Nichols store in St Andrew’s Square where shoppers will also discover a hot rod inspired tiger encrusted with more than 200,000 Swarovski elements by artist Johnny Rocket and a gold leaf ‘crocodile’.

Edinburgh is the first city in the world to host a ‘Jungle City’, event which is 100% charitable and has been organized to benefit the work of lead charity Elephant Family and six other conservation NGOs. Throughout September tourists and city dwellers alike can expect to spot 130 hand painted sculptures of some of the planets most endangered and extraordinary wildlife.

The sculptures will be sold at a glittering auction event on the 29th September at the National Museum of Scotland.

To visit the Harvey Nichols site for more details of the exibition click here   

My Passport to Style | Alphabet Chic R Is For .......

R is for  Raven haired, Red hot beauty, this layering of orange, red and Raspberry will be imprinted on my mind for the rest of the A/W 2011 season, thank-you Katie at What Katie Wore! 

My Passport to Style | Prada | Versus | Rachel Zoe!

Prada

I  was really excited by Pradas A/W 2011 collection, I love the fun and flattering use of texturing and colour in most of this seasons outerwear garments, but I'm not gettting this swim cap look and giant goggles, yes the accessories do look sharp with the matching nude collar against the black coat but I suspect the chin chic strap will not flatter less than 18 year old heart shaped faces, most of us need a little hair to soften our face or slim it down a little, when wearing a hat!

In contrast stylist extraordinaire, Rachel Zoes latest offering for QVC US, which is live right now! Is about as flattering as A/W gets! Her faux fur vest in grey,white and black is her signature piece without a doubt, the cut is sublime and the price is pretty nifty too, I'm guessing it will be gone within half an hour!

Rachel Zoe for QVC!

 

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