My Passport To Style | Strictly Come Dancings Wardrobe Needs To Work On Consistency

For any strictly Come Dancing fans who saw last Saturdays Wembley performance I was in heaven watching Holly dance in her beautifully conceived outfit the combination of gold and emerald green with a touch of leopard looked sharp and sassy and at the same time Holly looked beautiful alongside the handsome Atrtem. I was really confused how wardrobe could go so horribly wrong in the same show, with another of my favourite dancers, Anita and her partner, zero thought seems to have gone into her look and that quantity of cheap pink lycra just looks really cheap particularly with black! Did you have an outfit teeth gnashing moment or a swoon over a favourite dress?     

My favourite to win is Chelsea!

My Passport To Style | Alphabet Chic

L is for.......... London bus! Londons calling! I'm off for a whistle stop tour of 24hrs, leaving 4am tonight, short but sweet and probably dizzingly buisy.Part of an exciting photo project to be revealed here early December!! Have a lovely weekend x



My Passport To Style | Style Tips For The Christmas Party Season

 I know that Christmas and the New Year can often be a busy time for most women and with the party season snapping at our heels, I thought I would play fairy godmother by rounding up my hottest style tips for adding polish to your party look without busting your budget. Red lipstick has had a revival and creates instant party glamour, if your thinking of wearing a red lipstick this party season, follow my two foolproof tips-

How To Wear Your Perfect Red Lipstick

Pull your lower lip out and match the colour red you select to the shade of the your skin tone on your lower lip. Remember to use a nude lip liner to stop any bleeding or feathering, apply your lipstick with a brush for best coverage, blot with tissue and reapply, this is the most important part- Put the first half of your index finger in your mouth and pucker up your lips whilst removing your finger. This will ensure that any access lipstick appears on your finger and not your teeth, when you smile!


One of the best ways to achieve instant glamour is with a hair up, this season the catwalks were awash with clean sophisticated hair ups a la Grace Kelly.

Don't Ditch The Doughnuts Just Yet!

Want to achieve the look but don't think your fine or shoulder length hair will allow you to reach those dizzy heights? You need a little boost with the greatest invention since a jammy dodger a foam doughnut, a small hair brush, a stack of long pins, some hair spray and a strong hair elastic.

 Using a small brush gather all your hair into a high pony tail, on the top of the back of your head, slide the doughnut over your ponytail, depending on your hair length in front of a mirror wrap the ends of your hair round the doughnut securing with the long pins to match your hair colour. Comb through some hair spray to the front and spray the back, voila your done.

High Brow

 Strong brows are essential for this seasons retro party feel and always add strength to the face, brow kits can cost £25.00 upwards, own a good waterproof eyeliner in a shade lighter than your brows? Then why try this budget busting grooming advice, purchase a baby sized tooth brush I usually opt for pink! Lightly stroke on your eyeliner following the shape of your brow, brush hairs backwards and then brush back into shape, dust with translucent powder and your good to go!

Who Needs A Manicure This Christmas Party Season!

For top to toe grooming I would generally advocate a full manicure, however with this season being all about full on glamour, I have the perfect style solution that will save you time and rescue you from feeling guilty about forgetting take care of your nails! For uber glamour, ditch your washing up gloves in favour of full length evening gloves in this seasons brightest colors! Spanx currently sell a vast range of mouth watering colours on Amazon.

Cette Hollywood -tightsplease

 Customize Your Look

Personalize your tights by layering an exsisting pair of opaque pair with a sheer glittery pair over the top, great for when the temperature drops! Try purple tights with a glittery silver finish or black tights with a purple finish and dark grey with a silver finish, for a sophisticated after dark look.

clutch bags catwalkfashion.co.uk

Clutch Control RULES! 

Finally do you have a whole array of soft clutch bags but want to update them a little? Brightly colored vintage style diamante brooches add instant chic to your clutch or why not glue some black marabou trim to the bottom edge of your bag or even a wide black Alice band if you fancy adding a bit of Audrey sparkle to your up do!

My Passport To Style | Mia Jafari Spring/Summer 2012



Watercolour Explode



I'm guessing Mia Jafaris inspiration for this piece of her collection was one of my favourite artists below!

Gaudi

My Passport To Style | I Spy Mia Jafaris Latest Piece From S/S2012



Purple Flight Dress



I spy another piece from Mia Jafaris spring/summer 2012 collection Waterlilies done in digi-broidery, methinks that the inspiration for this dramatic butterfly shift is blue lapis shot through with rose gold.

My Passport To Style | I Want Mia Jafari Louboutins

Meditation In Louboutins Dress

Hi Gals, It's not often I see a white dress so special and unique that I think I need to get married again! To the same man of course! This unusual embroidered dress by Mia Jafari is such a dress, it's pretty colours dazzle this dress is joy and and despite the modern references, lipstick ect in what we generally deem as a traditional sewing technique, I am transported to corn fields and the country as if in a dream, whilst at the same time the embroidered design and exquisite cut gives this dress a touch of majesty and regal bearing, perfect for a spring wedding. In theory to all sounds a little confusing, in practice Mia Jafari skilfully pulls it off as you can see! I'm going to be having fun later today guessing her design inspiration for some of her other pieces from her spring/summer Waterlilies 2012 collection. Enjoy.

Art Deco Brilliance At Your Fingertips With BlingBacks!

My favourite trend this Winter 2011 is the return to full on glamour and elegance, move swiftly from the 40s to the 20s by swapping your tweed pencil skirt and detachable fur stole for a pearl collar and a simple flapper dress.

I love the ultimate shoe accessory of the season, BlingBacks, this is an ingenious way to give last year's heels a vintage art deco feel, well made and very dance floor friendly, but what I love most about BlingBacks, is the the silicone cushioning on the removable BlingBacks are designed to provide extra comfort and protection for the heels of your feet when your dancing, simply hook them over the back of your shoes. If like me your unlucky enough to have a whole half size difference between your two feet, you will know that a bit of extra cushioning can mean that the shoe which is slightly bigger on the foot does not rub as much. BlingBacks come in a wide range of styles but my favourites are these slightly irregular shaped sweet bows. Visit BlingBacks to see more designs 

I was sent some BlingBacks for the purposes of this review 

credits- whitneyonthewing.blogspot.com   brooklynexposed.com

My Passport To Style | Project Red Coat



pillar box red



Hi Gals, as you know red is a big trend this season. So I was thrilled to find a wool pillar box red and black velvet short coat with a gorgeous tux neckline at my local vintage store but I need to alter the puffed sleeves, at the moment the volume in the sleeves make my athletic shoulders look too top heavy and I want to change the double breasted fastening to a single button fastening to simplify the look and play to this jackets potential for a long lean look, the back of the coat also needs taking in, so it is more fitted across my back and less boxy, which won't flatter my hourglass shape.

I confess to being a blue girl, I love lots of vibrant colours too, but navy and grey which flatters my olive skin tone best, forms the basis of most of my wardrobe neutrals rather than black. When my red coat project is finished, I will be sure to share the pictures here on My Passport To Style, but in the meantime I have been scouting for some fresh ideas on which colours to wear with my pillar box red coat. I want to wear the my restyled red coat more casually, which is harder than you might think, red is a colour we associate with full on glamour so we tend to automatically accessorise it with a red lippy and heels. To my amazement there was very little on the internet on how to wear this autumn/winter seasons 2011 red coat trend, but as luck would have it, I happened upon a post on Pink Bow from the North UK, where 10 fashion bloggers took up the challenge to style the same red coat from Next.

 Paula from Pink Bow opted for a pink red of course! The other fashion bloggers look very glamorous in the orange red version (incidentally orange red is easier to wear if you have an olive complexion and pink red looks great on very pale skin tones) but I did notice that most fashion bloggers had opted for wearing this red coat with black tights, which is something I wanted to steer away from, simply because I feel it creates a more vampy evening feel.



 However Eleanor the blogger on the top left from Pretty Much Penniless has gone for a softer feel which I love, by breaking up the red using a lemon yellow dress and a large fur collar, the sheer tights Susie has chosen give the look a more casual feel and her combination of well chosen accessories and colours mean that the red is not overpowering her look.

rust colours ground  true bright reds

midnight blue accessories work well with true reds

 Bingo! Aside for the obvious colour choices such as red on red or navy blue or grey , I have decided to take inspiration from Susie's hair colour and satchel and wear rust and conker colours with my red tux coat once its altered, perfect colours to contrast with the black velvet detailing and they will soften the pillar box red for a more casual feel, I'm thinking a large flat navy tweed cap would finish this androgynous look off perfectly and I will wear my hair in a bun at the nape of my neck. Have you dared to wear red this season?

The Winner Of The Limited Edition House Of Holland Tights Is The Fabulosity Factor!

Congratulations to the lovely Indy From The FABULOSITY FACTOR who won these gorgeous limited edition House Of Holland Tights! 

My Passport To Style | The Queen Of Bhutan Sets The World Of Fashion Alight!

For those of you who read my announcement of the royal marriage in Bhutan here  you must read this latest fashion post in the guardian it made feel very proud to be part of this rich culture and I have to say, I'm not surprised this wedding and the beautiful bride has taken the fashion world by storm! 

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 | Henry Holland Giveaway Announcement

Hi Gals,  if you love the designer Henry Holland and his fun colourful crochet designs, then hop over and see me here tomorow, from around 4pm UK time, for a chance to win a limited edition pair of these dreamy Henry Holland tights and to check out what I chose to team these tights with and two other looks I created using tights from tightsplease. This giveaway is open to everyone, UK and overseas!

My PassportTo Style | A Little Pink Moment, To Brighten Your Monday

pink cherry balloon cake, well, that's what I like to call it!

Hi Gals,  pink cherry jelly and cherry mousse cake and my favourite vintage pink and blue stripey beach shorts from the summer, do you think my vintage beach shorts might have been Marc Jacobs fabric inspiration for this latest sweet dress from his girls wear collection? I like to think so.







my pink and blue striped vintage beach shorts

My Passport To Style | Hip Halloween

My two favourite Halloween couple looks this year, have to be Kelly O and her boyfriend and Henry Holland and Agness Dean. If your stuggling to create a Halloween look, my style tip is start with a great pair of tights for inspiration, tights please does really unusual and fun styles, from giant stars to bingo balls by Henry Holland. I like off the wall Halloween costumes, I once created a costume for my little boy that was a giant piece of moldy cheese with a rat nibling on it!Last year I dressed as poison Ivy and made my costume using green velvet, lots of red feathers and red face paint. Happy Halloween GALS!

My Passport To Style | Alphabet Chic

L if for ........... Loopy laces, worn for languid walks in your local park.

See stylebubble for more from this collection

My Passport To Style | Reviews Armery| The Solution To Arm Wobble?!

Mary Portas is taking the 40+ world by storm with her private fleet of red headed bobbed mannequins and her new range of clothing for women at the House of Fraser in London. Mary being Mary she's certainly not a follower of fashion, she is a innovator and as such has come up with some clever ideas regarding varied lighting in changing rooms to mimic office and daylight as well as a range of clothes that flatter a range of body shapes and reflect the need for the 40+ to be catered for.

So I was intrigued about Marys latest partnership with Charnos to produce a solution to dressing one of the areas of the body women hate most, their under arms, in a more flattering way. I had high hopes for what appears to be a really great solution to a problem which prevents some women from wearing sleeveless tops and dresses.

 armery comes in a variety of plain colours and black lace, I was sent a small to medium size of the black lace to review. The lace version has the added benefit of the length of the armery sleeves (which represent a pair of footless stocking with the gusset cut out) being able to be cut down to size at home without any fraying. I decided to try them on underneath a simple navy 60's style A-line dress.

To be fair I could have done with the next size up as I have quite long arms and fairly broad shoulders, I like the idea that wearing the armery helps create a firmer look to the arm rather like stocking but without the bulk of a long sleeved vest top under your dress, that would probably ride up and leave ridges under your garment or dress. However the armery left gaps around the front of my arm holes and dress, which looked frankly odd, which is a shame, if you look at the image of the armery being modelled, you might get a better idea of what I mean.

This piece world be fine for wearing under a t-shirt top but didn't work for me under and a basic sleeveless dress, if you can't wear it as flexibly as described because of the fit then you may as well use a fitted shrug to solve this style dilemma in my opinion. The size maybe a issue, but if you look at the models it appears that the fit does not hug the front of the shoulder line enough to provide adequate coverage when wearing a sleeveless dress. I would love to be proved wrong, so do try it out in the correct size, you can always return it if it doesn't work for you.


To find out more visit-   House Of Fraser 

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