The Tale Of DIY Christmas Fashion Makeovers Using The Humble Zipper !

 I got very excited when I stumbled across unique blog outsapop.com which was showcasing these fabulous zipper cuffs!! Heres why, I love the way the humble gold zipper stacked in this way creates such a high glamour feel, I could wear a stack of these with a flapper girl dress for this party season, to complete the opulent off the wall glamour of the roaring 20's.

However I thought to myself why not buy a whole set and use them as contempory napkin rings for your Christmas table, then I thought, hang on after using to add contempory zing to red, white or purple napkins (this adorable napkin set is from dawnmcvey.typepad.com) Why not wear them over the ankles of a black harem style trouser suit, to add a little quirk of style to your New Years Eve party look? Wear these versatile zipper cuffs,  with plain linen or silk stiletos to trick the eye into thinking your wearing designer style shoes with a sophisticated fastening!

 What do you think gals, are these ideas a little too eccentric for a Christmas Style fest?? Or do you have some better uses for them? I would love to know x 

                             

#Marks & Spencers Vintage Dress Challenge

Hi Gals, Marks & Spencer recently challenged me to style up a vintage dress from my wardrobe that makes me feel effortlessly stylish as well as choose an M&S dress that is a classic piece and won't date. Their favourite look will win a vintage themed weekend in London. I don't need much tempting to step into a vintage frock but I must admit a chance to enjoy a vintage themed weekend in London sounds fun! Loving all shades of blue as I do, bright tones, prints and fuss free styling that can be dressed up or down, this original 70s dress with a cutsie geometric print in aqua ticks all the boxes. I have worn it over the summer with marshmallow pink pumps and yellow ankle socks but decided to dress it up a little for this special occasion with my pale gold Crest Of A Wave vintage handbag, a pretty pleated vintage floral scarf and my newly dyed khaki suede peep toe shoes.I spotted this dress in my favourite local vintage shop in Lancaster - The Vintage Shop.

If I had to choose the ultimate M&S dress that would stand the test of time? It would be this nifty number from M&S the Colour Block Lucy Dress. A great shirt dress is about as classic as it gets and this beauty could be styled up so many ways to look sporty, chic or casual, from leggings and high tops to geometric tights and a string of long beads to a favourite pair of suede fringed cowboy boots or just some neat block heel pumps. Do you own a shirt dress or a favourite hard working classic that you cant live without? Do tell! 

Please Stick Around

image credit- Vintage Dancer

Just in case you pop over to My Passport To Style today, I have been experiencing some technical issues recently which has meant that some of my images are not currently visible, really frustrating! :( sorry for any inconvenience, please stick around, while I attempt to sort things out. Hope you had a lovely weekend, look out for more new posts shortly to include - my modelling a vintage look, some fun easy diy fashion posts and my musings on the world of fashion and style. Sigh, sometimes I wish life was a little less complicated! x 

XOX From Chloe Sevigny

I had to share this cover of the talented Chloe Sevigny with you, I love her daring attitude both on and off screen, she does'n't appear to be very trend lend choosing to allow her instinct to guide her when it comes to her own personal sense of style, which is refreshing and sometimes she gets it so right! I love her Twiggy- esque  hair, make-up and pose.The ox blood red pencil skirt and oversized boxy sweater with giant piping is a very strong sexy look that works well for Sevigny.I particularly like the amazing lacquer technique Peter Som used on the sweater to create a soft sheen that perfectly reflects the ox blood leather used in the pencil skirt she wears for the cover of xox magazine. Do you follow Chloe Sevignys style?

  

*image credit xox magazine 

KAREN MILLEN LAUNCH #DESTINATIONDENIM

left to right, me, vipxo and Laura 

Last Saturday I was invited to preview Karen Millens surprise addition to her super sleek flock of clothing, a new jeans line (the event held at the Selfridges shop in the Trafford centre was hosted by beauty and fashion blogger vipxo) I say surprise, as I have always associated Karen Millen's label with her beautifully cut coats, jackets and dresses, in other words great tailoring, not casual wear.

rail of Karen Millen denim including metallic, floral,pastels,brights and python print

 It was nice to chill out and enjoy a glass of champagne and discuss all thing jeans with the other fashion bloggers who had come along to the event, whilst watching the staff model the new Karen Millen denim collection to perfection. Being of a slightly fuller leg, I am increasingly realising that as much as I like block colour jeans until I shift a few access pounds in that area,skinny print jeans are my new best friend. Pattern is great for breaking up big block of anything, trust me!

 I have a crush on python print at the moment, so I was happy to see plenty of python print in colours such as wine and mustard that will work well with any navy, black and red pieces in your wardrobe this autumn/winter 2012. I liked the weight of the denim too which was nice and light with not too much stretch, which, if you have read my profile you will know is baaad in my humble opinion, as you end up with baggy knee and bum area.

 Some of the jeans had a lovely wax finish which is become increasingly popular as it gives the illusion of leather and they also stock a pair with a metallic gold finish, prices start at £75.00. The sizes run up to a size sixteen, the larger sizes tend to fly out the door first, but obviously you can always order online. We all agreed that the floral jeans that looked like pretty coloured lights at night that had fused together were our favourite print in the range. Laura from Laura's Little Secrets picked up the last scarf in the floral print lucky her! Hanging out with the fun and friendly Karen Millen team at Selfridge's whilst munching on their delicious mint choc cake pops and getting the secret intel on vipxo not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening.  

  

Nice bum!some of the mannequins got a bit frisky!

Paris Part 4

This my fourth and final post of my adventures in delightful Paris, the last day was a bit of a strange mix, although in my opinion great fun! We started off with a Tim Burton exhibition that we discovered was on. I'm a fan of his eerie but sweet style, we got to see the original Edward Scissor hands costume which was incredible a real labour of love! Sadly I was limited  as the amount of pictures I could take (read barely any!) we did see many 3d  to scale models Tim Burton had created for his films and tons of his sketches from his earlier days. I was blown away to discover that he worked for Disney for quite sometime, but they found him  too much of a risk for their current audience at the time, so its pretty cool that he won them over with his production of Alice in Wonderland. I'm looking forward to seeing DARK SHADOWS staring Anne Hathaway and Johnny Dep, what it must feel like to be the only male lead that Burton will work with on his films, pretty good I imagine!!

skull vase raised pattern, flower with eyeball in the centre, loved the back drop, the style reminds  of a vintage St Georges flag

howling beast one of many Tim Burton sketches

Lift doors feature characters from the film Black Shadows

Many eyed Tim Burton  figure in the lobby 

Exit to the Louvre

cake break, white and milk chocolate cake, with a dark chocolate ganache and sprinkle of pistachio   

ladies toilets at Paris airport

ladies toilets at Paris airport 

Reversible Western Bow & Sailor Collar DIY

Diy Reversible Western Bow & Sailor Collar

Hi there, I thought I would share my latest style DIY with you, which shows you how I made a large reversible bow from an old oasis shirt of mine, great for adding a bit edge to your t-shirt or round neck tops and dresses! Bows are even bigger news than usual at the moment as Minnie mouse my favourite Disney character is soon to infiltrate the catwalk, more on that later!  

You need a collarless sleeveless shirt, a western style denim or cotton shirt with a print is perfect as you need a deep yolk back and front of your shirt (this gives you the squared of sailor collar when you turn the bow back to front) but if you only have a shirt with sleeves and a collar it's obviously not an issue, just get out those scissors and cut those babies off outside of your seams! 

What you Need

1. Darning needle and thread 

2. Double sided tape 

3.Sharp Scissors

4.An old shirt with a deep yolk

How To Transform Your Shirt Into A Reversible Large Bow

 1. So now your shirt is free from sleeves and the collar simply cut the rest of the fabric of the shirt up to the very edge of the yolk seam, cut it as close as you can, but not any higher. I actually was a bit relaxed about how tight to the  seam I cut as I wanted a little grungy fraying on my cowboy shirt, as I felt it worked with the studs and checks.   

2. Next fold the edge of the shirt up till the edge sits just beneath the button hole and tape it in place, then stitch it in place using a large darning needle and matching thread.Repeat the process on the other side.By doing this you are defining the neck of your large bow.

You will find that there is a slight twisting of the fabric after you adjust and sew the neck fastening into place, I love the slightly 3d pleated effect this creates.

Voilà your done! To create your detachable sailor collar just wear this bad bow (not a spelling error!) back to front and charm everyone with the fancy pants detailing at the back of your look. I love it modelled by my favourite mannequin Beryl worn with this simple berry T and my crunchie yellow leopard jeans. What do you think? 

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!

Twit Ta Woo Win A Silken Favours Cushion

Hi Gals and guys thought you might appreciate a heads up on this opulent silk cushion competition from the talented and lovely Vicki Murdoch above of Silken Favours. I interviewed Vicki on My Passport To Style a while back you may remember.

To enter 'Bounteous Birds' luxury silk cushion give away worth £90.00. simply hop over to this this link to follow the competition details which are easy peasy! Best of British! Hope you win! Sx  

My Passport To Style | Paris Part 3

Here's part three of my adventures in Paris, but be warned if you don't care about cars particularly, please look away now. Luckily I do like nice cars, the Parisians are experts in showcasing the glamorous nature of cars. So after a trip to the amazing church of Notre-dame by water bus, where we spied spires so delicate and sharp looking you felt you could snap them off to use as tooth picks, we checked out the seductive curves of the cars lining the shopping lanes of Paris, in between snapping favourite statues and a tree that I called the camouflage tree because of its unusual bark. We had stop off for a meringue break and rest our feet at the city park which was filled with the heady smell of lavender and the perfect retreat.The car I fell in love with the most was not in any of the showrooms we visited but parked unassumingly  opposite a pavement cafe we happened to visit, it was the perfect mix of old word glamour tinged with a touch of the sinister it's the Batmobile I thought to myself as G stood there transfixed admiring the cars every angle.