Grunge Stripes | Nautical Or Nasty?

 

You may remember I shared one of my birthday gifts with you here recently an espresso set with the exact same print as the canvas tote above, slightly bizarrely I received this tote from someone completely different from their trip to Edinburgh. So why am I sharing this? Well to be honest I love navy but more for the way it make other colours look pretty, I think black can sometimes be a little too hard as an accent and I like the idea of making my nautical stripes a little grungy.

 

 So I'm thinking of doing a diy dye job on these new stripey trousers and tote in matching yellow or liac. I wanted to know your thoughts, obviously the idea is the white will become the contast colour, have you done anything simular, what do you think of my colour choices and do you think I should take the grunge plunge?!

 

My Week On The Road Part 1 #Style #Architecture #Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 So you may be wondering where I have been, or why I'm wearing a bonnet, more on that later. I decided to hire a camper van and sneak away for a much needed escape and to celebrate my birthday, which I proudly share with Vivienne Westwood. Not being much of a camper I confess I was slightly unsure about certain aspects of camper van life such as the loo and wardrobe space, A then told me there was no wardrobe and no ironing facilities, my stuff could be lovingly dumped on the back seat, thankfully I discovered the toilet/box could accommodate my generous derriere, so armed with a surplus of wool sweater dressers, which resist creasing and the cold, a pile of face and toilet wipes we headed for Cornwall.

How To Choose A Handbag

Hi Gals's I thought it would be fun today, to demonstrate how different handbags help define our signature look and then explore a few style tips around choosing the right handbag for you! I heard you gasp, how can there be a right or wrong bag, just falling in love with the one should be reason enough.Choosing you handbag using a mix of Style Psychology and accessory advice will ensure your look is balanced and adds the desired impact to your image and help avoid looking mismatched and out of step with the ocassion.

OK bag number 1, style personalty number 1, swirls of strawberry soft leather, convey sensuality and a romantic nature a great bag to use if you work in the beauty, lingerie or wedding sector.

In contrast bag number 2 this grey patent envelope clutch says you mean business, perfect for business lunch's, smart reporter's carrying just the essential notepad and lipstick.  Minimalist clean lines say you're not shy about being direct.

                                                                 My 3rd handbag selection and style personalty is someone who wants to wear a bag that says they are artistic and slightly edgy. I really like the giant safety pin detailing. Great worn by designer type's who are confident about quirk.

Next up for those who want to look approachable but still look well put together, this 4th handbag, will help achieve that delicate balance for you. Perhaps you work  informally with people, you maybe a life coach or a counsellor or maybe you work with families. 

Handbag number 5 the doctor bag shape, subdued colour and high definition stitching work, add up to a professional that carries a career that has a high level of management skill's and creativity, the perfect  bag for an architect, that wants to convey their creativity, whilst not being over the top with their accessory styling.

Last but not least this brief case in sheep skin and leather, is for those women who want to whisper softly, luxe and quality. Perhaps you negotiate with high flying client's or just want to reflect the status of you're luxury store.

Now You Have An Idea's Of The Type Of Bag That Fits Best With Your Image, Here Are A Few Top Style Tips On How To Wear Your Bag successfully.

1. Petite gals don't go for bags that you wear across the body, it will cut you in half!

2. Tall gals, you can wear most styles, avoid anything too small, or you will look unbalanced.

3. Big busted gals don't wear a bag on your shoulder or across the body, it emphasises the bust line.

4. If you have a pear shaped body wear larger hand held style's over the shoulder to balance your hip line and bust.

 

 

Give Your Brows A Makeunder For Less Than A Fiver

 

You may not know it yet but your brows may just be 'to done’ I recently realised that I was doing my fairly generous dark brows a disservice by using a variety of pencils ranging from black to brown that were to dark for me and left me with brows that over powered my small Asian features. I had tried various brow waxes but nothing seemed to give me the Liz Taylor effect I was yearning for, until I discovered Elf mineral beauty products and their inexpensive little brow kits.

Filling A Chocolate Shaped Hole | Fluffy Egg Review

 

 

 

As some of you may know from my last post I have recently learnt I’m allergic to chocolate, so after trying a variety of methods to wean myself of the sweet brown stuff, amongst them watching re runs of Choccy WoccyDoo Da, which not surprisingly had the reverse effect required and on the brink of what would normally be one of my chocolate highlights of the year, the nice people at Lush took pity on me and sent me a chocolate free substitute in time for Easter, aptly named Fluffy Egg.

China Girl

 

I have a love affair with the colour blue, I put it down to a yearning for blue summer skies without a cloud in site.So I was very happy to receive some little china expresso cups and saucers in this lovely wash of blue as an early birthday present, thought you might like to to take a peek.   

 

 

My Passport To Style | Wish Want Wear Review

 

 

Dress - Matthew Williamson, jacket - Jaeger, bag - vintage, shoes - Topshop


 

 Wish Want Wear Review

I was recently asked by Wish Want Wear if I would like to trial their designer dress hire service, after taking a quick look at the dresses on offer on their site, well can you blame me! I decided to give designer dress hire a whirl, I did have a few reservations, and generally I find designer dresses’ sizes to be cut small. Being pretty much a flattened hourglass shape, pretty curvy from hips through to my thighs, with shoulders the same width as my hips and a defined waist, not much happening in the boob department though, I tend to steer clear of low cut dresses, my go to cut of dress is the 60’s shift which lengthens my short waist making me look taller and slimmer. Buying clothes online can sometimes be hit and miss in terms of sizing, so I often buy two or even three sizes of the same item when I first order as I hate the frustration of something not fitting and having to reorder.

A Taste Of Spring

Cara Delevingne - image courtesy of Barnies, Bergdorfs, Bloomies & Bendels

 

I was recently more than slightly miffed to learn that I am allergic to chocolate, how could life deal such a cruel blow I wailed to anyone who would listen in a dramatic fashion. Surely a few squares of the dark stuff was packed full of health benefits I reasoned whilst alternating between ordering A to reveal the hidden source of his choccy stash, which had become our stash during the conversation. I was impressed to see he completely disregarded all my chocolate induced ranting with his usual wry humour.

Swatch UK Mothers Day Special

Image copyright Swatch

 

Today’s post is an ode to three of my greatest passions, watches, Russia and beautiful packaging, the clever designers at Swatch have launched a set of five Russian Matryoshka nesting dolls for Mothers day 2013. In a high shine finish using an extravagant palette of colors and best of all, three of the five dolls have a matching floral Swatch strapped to their bellies, are you smitten yet? I like that each of the three watches could potentially reflect a new season; green would work for spring, blue for summer and the red for autumn. Given that these dolls traditionally represent mother daughter and grandmother though, it seems only proper that if you were to buy this as a gift for your mum that you and gran get a slice of the pie too!      

'Lomo Love' Top Blogs 2013

 

My Passport To Style was recently awarded the Lomography blog badge of honour – 'Lomo Love', for being one of their top 20 favourite blogs for 2013, this is a brand new award for Lomography UK and it's exciting to see them welcoming partnerships with bloggers. You might remember I wrote an in depth review of their fun Lomography city guide London here and have featured several of their impossibly cool cameras. It was great to discover some new bloggers and talented photographers  who are hooked by all things Lomography.

 Although I was not selected as one of their five out right winners it was lovely to be recognised as someone who cares about bringing interesting images to my blog to share with readers. I have really enjoyed using my camera and styling skills this year to showcase fashion and beauty items in what I think of as slightly quirky miniature sets. My two personal favourite shots that I took this year feature Orla Kielys perfume and some vintage china horses and Lush spa products styled as a little Tug Boat caught up in  the swell of my favourite Bali inspired duvet. This is the list of the 20 that Lomo Love and the five winners if you want to check them out .

 I thought you might enjoy a sneak peak of Lomography UK's  monochrome offering, the La Sardina Moonassi Edition Dream a bit of a mouthful but I forgive them as the dreamy graphics by artist Moonassi and the tranquility he has furnished this camera with more than make up for it.

*Images courtesy of Lomography UK