Boudoir

Fashion and rose... Parfait! ♥ ♥

[Image: www.befrassy.com]

Wild side

The internet is soooo slow back at the farm this Christmas, so apart from a few tentative puffs on the web (plus a hella lot of Gossip Girl – thanks little sister for the boxset, I have now lost any desire I once had to crawl back a social life in the countryside) my blogging has been, dare I say, non existant. But with a new year’s eve party to gather dressing up ideas for (plus my birthday coming up), I couldn't abstain from fashion gorging completely. These pics are from the winter edition of Jalouse magazine... yummy. And perfect for outfit ideas! I brought a gorgeous skinny leapord print dress in Topshop the other day - alas, not on sale, but you can’t have everything. And now all I need to add are lashings of chunky gold, chains, some ripped tights, black nail polish, backcombed hair, perhaps a black eye mask and kohl, kohl, kohl and voila! New year's eve outfit: done.

[Image source: www.eight.blogspot.com]

Lacy lady

With sumptuous velvet and twinkling sequins making waves on clothing everywhere you look this season, it's sometimes hard for anything else to get a look in in. But lace has been in the forefront of our fashion conscious through and through. From beautiful floor-skimming flapper dresses in the 1920's, to shocks of neon coloured elasticated leggings as worn by teen fashionistas bouncing around to Hadouken a few years ago, much like the raven-eyebrowed Madonna who championed it in the 1980's, this unsung hero may look delicate and girlie, but in reality, its staying power is as tough as nuts. And so, in the way that only they do best, Vogue have re-worked the narrative yet again and given us a new twist - toughening it up and playing on its quirks and flouncy frills for maximum impact. As they so eloquently put it: "Lady lace gets all shook up with sugar-almond shades, brothel creepers and arch-browed attitude..."

[Publication: British Vogue, Issue: January 2010, Title: More dash than cash]

The Princess

If Elvis is The King, then Riley Keough, his 20 year old granddaughter, is surely The Princess. Show-stoppingly beautiful, with "her grandmother Priscilla's bone structure, her grandfather's jawline and her mother Lisa Marie's almond shaped eyes," - as well as kohl-lined eyes and the tattoos on her hand and wrist that speak of the rock'n'roll running through her veins. But on top of all of this, Riley's got the most intrinsic sense of style, as profiled in the latest issue of British Vogue. Vintage dresses, tailored jackets and quirky, unique and easy-to-wear pieces, she cites Alexander Wang, 3.1 Philip Lim, Chloe, Lanvin and Alaia as her favourite designers, with Doc Martins being her footwear du jour. Oh, to have such a wardrobe!!

[tfs]

Voodoo

Tribal

[Publication: W Magazine, Issue: October 2007, Title: Voodoo, Photographers: Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Stylist: Alex White, Model: Kate Moss, Images from Alice's Wardrobe Wonderland]

Blonde

♥ ♥ ♥

[Olsens Anonymous]

Timeless

Jane Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon*...

This is basically a visual list of what I want more than anything at the moment. (Apart from a hot water bottle at my desk.) Birthday present, perhaps?? Soon, soon, soon!

• Shiny top hat
• Tuxedo jacket
• Huge wicker basket (to go with my dutchie)
• Slouchy breton top
• Denim play suit
• Coat made out of Christmas baubles? Why not!
  

*For Laura

[www.smokeye.wordpress.com/]

All I want for Christmas is...

[Deelightful]

Smile :)

Long day? Cold fingers? Wishing you were back all snuggled up in bed next to your favourite person? Turn your speakers up loud and watch this pretty little film and all your troubles will melt away... I promise!

http://www.garancedore.fr/en/2009/12/10/all-you-need-is-love-baby/

[Garance Dore]

Embellish

Unless you've been living in a hole for the last six months or so, you'll have seen embellishments everywhere this season. From sequins and studs to badges, chain mail, zips, lace paneling, glitter, appliqué and more, it’s almost a glutton-fest for your fingers to touch all this textile-icious finery. I love fashion ornaments like no other – in fact, my friend’s often call me a magpie as every time I flick through a vintage jumble rail or pour my way through the heaving throng of Oxford Street’s Topshop, I am instinctively drawn to the glitteriest or most textured garment I can find. (I think it’s because I adore thrifty, mix-match style and I’m a sucker for an original find – plus I loooove mixing different textures and colours together.)

But now, without even meaning to, I seem to be moving away from the twinkly, 3D trend I once championed. My oh-so-garish 80’s sequin cocktail jacket, which I wore at every opportunity when I first got it (not kidding), has been cutting a lonely figure in the bottom of my wardrobe since the end of summer. And my pretty, flapper-style sequin beret? The same fate has bestowed it. But why…?? I think I just get bored of things. (And far too easily in my opinion, especially due to the state of my bank balance.)
But by discarding some of my former favourite pieces, this does not mean it's the end - but a new beginning. HURRAH! Beautiful embellishments are still on the agenda, but in a subtler way – less feminine and more grunge. Think Kurt Cobain mixed with Sienna Miller and you’re on the right track. I’m doing away with brightly coloured, full-length sequin panels and introducing delicate embroidery, dirty gold studs and clusters of chunky, jewel coloured rings. Deeeeelightful!
Ps. There's a whole webpage dedicated to rock chic jewellery on Asos at the moment... enjoy! http://www.asos.com/Women/Ctas/Rock-Chic-Jewellery/Cat/pgecategory.aspx?cid=9530&affId=1257

[Knight cat, fashion canvas, tfs]

Fuzzy and warm

Fluffy coat? Check. Ripped tights? Check. Sultry pout? Check. Winter is definately here.

[Viktor Vauthier]

Minus 40

I am becoming increasingly aware that this cold weather – the one that renders me utterly useless, with a slow brain, chilblains on my fingers, and numb, puffy toes, and forces me to rush home to shiver in bed with a hot water bottle at SEVEN PM EVERY SINGLE NIGHT so I don’t freeze to death – is here to stay. And, instead of surrendering to its evil blasts of frigid, frost-bitten air, I am going to fight it. And, damn it, I am going to fight it in style!

Having not yet started my Christmas shopping – save from half my boyfriend’s present, which if I hadn’t already got I would probably have night sweats wondering where, when, and how I’m ever going to get a hold of it in such a short time – I am going to bitch it like a dream this weekend. East London, North London, hell even a little bit of Portobello Road in the West is going to get a thorough seeing to from my cash card. And hopefully, at the same time as shopping for my nearest and dearest, I’ll be able to find a selection of pretty vintage coats, faux furs and gloriously cossssy accessories to keep me warm and snug through the wintery months – even when the trees and houses are shattering in into clouds of ice-dust around me in the minus 40 degrees temperature*.

Here are my favourite looks for winter…

* Slight exaggeration. I am a wimp when it comes to the cold.

You can’t go wrong with a lumberjack shirt and leather combo

Monochrome makes this faux fur chubby look even more outrageously covetable!

Go wild with leopard print a la Kate Moss, Alexa, Mary-Kate…

Scarlet woman: A shock of colour in the fluffiest wool

Butter soft leather + metal studs +vintage badge embellishments = divine

[Drip book, the fashion spot, fashion canvas, Terry Gates]