New styles, New hair, New lifes........

Well Christmas is now officially over everyone and of course I hope every single one of you lovelies had a great Christmas? did you all get what you wanted? stuff yourself silly and realise that your bank account has suddenly become really small? Yeah me too....but overall it was a lovely Christmas. Such an excellent family time I think. Well now that Christmas is over, I know it's time to get back to business for a few of us. I am still of college for a little while but I have now decided to start work on presentation boards, design sourcebooks etc, and yes that is how I spent my boxing day, with tons and tons of work, so no I never got to go to the boxing day sales this year :( Made me extremely sad. However while I catch up with my work that I had been procrastinating on, I realised that when it hit Christmas eve it has been exactly a year since I had to cut all of my hair off. Long story short, I used to dye my hair to much and then when I went to get it fixed a certain hairdresser bleached my hair even more and my hair was completely destroyed. Like beyond repair!. To all the girls out there you will know just how much our hair means to us. But I did grow to love my short hair and even kept it that way for a little while, when the new year came around I felt like a new person and had started a brand new chapter of my life. The year before had never actually been that great, and I felt like my life was in need of a change. i just had to go in a new direction. In a way, you could say I felt as though a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Well I have grown so accustomed to my short hair that I don't know if I want to continue growing it long or cut it again? Such a tough, tough decision. Which is why I have decided to call on all you guys to help me with my decision. What do you think I should do?
                                                               Natural Hair (Long time ago!)

Current Hair 

Long/Short style

Pixie Cut

Short bob and Black/blue

Long red with sidefringe

So what do you think I should do guys? 

                               

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Yes Christmas time is almost upon us! after just 2 more sleeps one of my favourite times of the years will arrive and pass in the blink of an eye! but I must not get too ahead of myself right now because right now it is at that time of the year where I am staring at all the stacked up presents that I have bought for my family that are nowhere near wrapped or even sorted at all!. Now usually I would be wrapping all my presents on Christmas eve, however this year I am a little booked to even have the time to wrap my presents this year tomorrow night. So right now I am sitting in my room with a cup of hot chocolate ( a necessity for this time if year!) as I wrap my christmas presents with the Santa Clause films on in the background to get me a little more into the festive spirit. Like most of you guys, this time of the year is exceptionally hectic and I feel as though there is a lot I have not done. Don't you just hate that feeling? especially at Christmas time! I must admit though that this Christmas eve shall be rather exciting and eventful. First I shall be doing some last minute shopping, then off to see the Hobbit with the family and then I'm getting my party shoes and frock on and heading out for a night on the town with some of the best girls that I know!. Yes, I feel as though this Christmas season shall be a good one!. I hope the rest of you lovely, wonderful people are having a good time during this wonderful holiday season and I truly hope each and everyone of you will have a merry Christmas!. As for now I am off to go wrap the rest of my presents. That is if the Santa Clause films don't distract me first!. Actually, I'll end this blog post with a questions for you guys. What's your favourite christmas film? and what are you up to this festive season?

Winter Fashion and trends

Baby it's cold outside.....and it feels as though this winter is just about to get even colder meaning that we all might have to wrap up a lot more than we already are which can sometimes leave you feeling bulky and over dressed. However, I personally love the winter season and winter fashion certainly makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, literally and metaphorically. So if you feel as though the winter season can make you inner fashionista, here are some winter fashion trends that might help you feel less bulky and more fashionable.

Casual Blazers

 Casual blazers are tailored to fit your shoulders and waist and won't leave you feeling to bulky. In fact, a blazer can sometimes feel more comfortable than a huge oversized coat.

Skinny Jeans
Skinny jeans are known as the "Perfect staple" for any wardrobe during the winter. You can team a pair of yours with an over sized think knit jumper for warmth and style.

Over sized Scarves. 
Yes, Yes. I know I said these are trends that are supposed to feel like you aren't dressed so bulky. But come on, who can resist an over sized scarf? They always look so great and not to mention, they keep you so toasty warm.

Large Comfy Sweaters 
Personally, Large comfy sweaters are my favorite staple winter wardrobe piece. Like I mentioned above they can be teamed with an ever flattering pair of skinny jeans. But the best part about a large comfy sweater? is that they are warm enough so you don't have to wear a large coat at all and not to mention they are just super stylish.

Topshop unveil first ever Christmas Advert with Kate Bosworth

One of my favourite British High street stores, Topshop, has officially unveiled their first ever Christmas campaign advert featuring American Actress Kate Bosworth, who I think is a huge fashion icon right now!.
The short film entitled "Winter Wonderland" sees the stunning actress wear a customer made Topshop evening dress, that Kate herself helped design in a co - partnership, as she stands on a grand piano in an old fashioned Jazz club as she sings her own version of the hit christmas song "Winter Wonderland", which will be available to download on itunes, Shazam and spotify.
It has also been said that Topshop are hoping to become the christmas number 1 this year and in true Topshop style, the fashion chain has been promoting this ad for various weeks now releasing teaser trailers without actually revealing who the face of christmas campaign was, but instead encouraging viewers and the public to try and guess using the hashtag on twitter #whosthatgirl.
Being a huge fan of Topshop, I am never left dissapointed and finally seeing the video for the first time sparked the christmas spirit in me. In particular I am a huge fan of the setting of the short film, it reminded me off an old classic movie and Kate Bosworth was like the old fashioned film actress playing the lead role. There's something about old classics that gets me everytime.
So has anyone else seen the "Winter Wonderland" short film yet? and if so what was your thoughts on it?

Hysteric Glamour

 

So just today, on my way home from College, I decided to pick up my latest issue of the Dazed and Confused magazine and like usual the issue is always filled with amazing fashion, images and I am always introduced to something or someone new. From the moment I saw this issue on the magazine stands, I think I knew I was going to fall in love, soley for the reason that I have an absolute fascination with Japanese fashion and culture. There is just something so magnificent and unique when it comes to their style, espiecally their youth culture. I must admit it, that once I graduate college it is one of the countries I want to travel to and learn more about.
After reading this issue I have been introduced to a new fashion brand that I have fallen head over heels for. What is the name of this brand you ask? Well, ladies and gents, the name is Hysteric Glamour. A brand founded by Nobuhiko Kitamura that is inspired by mixing fashion and culture together to create a new - wave spunk styled empire that is quite frankly, amazing!
The main themes of this brand are, comics, pop art, automobiles and neon designs mixed with the influences of famous faces such as Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry and the Sex Pistols, gives of a sense of grunge styles mixed with the main influence from music.
Mixing fashion with culture, espiecally music, is a smart move. The teenagers of today are heavily influenced by the music scene, being part of the youth scene I know, Music has influenced me in many ways.
So here are a few images of Hysteric Glamour's work, Let me know what you think about the brand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Woes!

Well the winter weather is now nearly upon us and Yes I am really excited! I absolutely love winter, wearing huge chunky knits, snuggling up by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate oh and not to mention it's nearly christmas time!. `However my only problem is the damages this weather does to my skin!. No matter how much I wrap up to protect myself from the chilly breeze I still get really sore and dry skin. It's progressively started to get a little worse over the years, I get dry patches and my skin becomes very irritated. It sometimes gets to the stage where I cant even wear make up for a long time because I have to let my skin breathe and try and retain itself. Being a long suffered of Dermatitis doesn't seem to help much either.
However just this year my sister told me to start making home made face masks to try and soothe my skin. I have been told by a few people that one of the best masks for dry/irrititated skin is the Banana,oatmeal and milk mask. So just the other day there I went and got the ingrediants and decided to give it a try!. And I must admit, it has worked wonders for my skin at the moment, my face doesn't feel so inflammed at all or irritated. Here's my recipe for this particulr face mask.

 

Ingrediants.
1/4 cup of finely ground oats
1/2 banana chopped up
1 cup of milk
Teaspoon of honey.

• first of all pour the pint of milk into the finely ground oats and mix into a paste that isn't too thick or thin.
• Then add in your chopped up banana and max into the mixture with a fork, Completely mix all in until there is no banana visible and it is all one paste.
• If it is to thick you can always add more milk. Or if is too thin you can add more oats.
• Stir in the Teaspoon of honey into the mixture completely.
• Then you can put your face mask on, sit back and relax for about 15-20 minutes before washing off with warm water and a face cloth.

Simple, easy and very effective! I do reccomend this face mask to anyone who suffers from very irrititated skin like me, when it comes to this weather.
If any of you guys have any other recipes you would like to share that would be great! I am always in need of new recipes for the skin and not to mention my hands will be needing some new moisturiser when my dermatitis starts to play up. If anyone has any tips to help I would love to hear!. So have fun trying this face mask and remember to relax and take it easy!!

Gwen Stefani: style Icon

Gwen stefani is known for her unique fashion sense just as much as she is known for her music and has been turning heads since her early No Doubt days. Over the years she has become known for her fearless sense of style and being leading the fashion pack rather than being a follower and has pulled of retro punk, effortless tomboy, cute quirky styles and ladylike glam but Gwen's styles always have that certain edge that lets her stand out from the crowd.
I myself have been a huge fan of Gwen for many years now and seriously look up to her as a person and her fashion sense because she always seems to be one step ahead of the crowd and she can pull off any look in her own unique way. I personally believe she doesn't get enough credit for her much she has influenced the fashion industry before the likes of Lady Gaga, Audrey Kitching (Another icon of mine), Rita Ora and madonna Gwen Stefani was the first woman to showcase her wacky/unique sense of style and she sported blue and pink hair long before it was "Cool". So I have decided to put together a little lookbook of Gwen rocking her unique styles throughout the years. What's your favourite Gwen Style?

Liebster Blog Award!

Well hello there beautifuls,

Sorry I seen to have been MIA for a little while, I have been piled up with so much class assignments and I have recently fallen extremely sick! but however I am on the mend and hopefully will be back to my normal self again soon with regular posts for you guys.
One thing I am very happy to announce is that http://everydayvoguemk.blogspot.co.uk/ has nominated me for the Liebster blog award! At first I didn't know what this meant but then she told me that it is an award given by bloggers to other bloggers with less than 200 followers, as a way of saying "Your doing a great job, keep it up" and I must admit, this has definitely lifted my spirits by being nominated for this award!, it makes this so meaningful so thank you Marta, I owe you one!.
Basically when you receive this award you post 11 random facts about yourself, answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you and then pass on the award to 11 other blogs (but you can't nominate the person who nominated you)

11 Random Facts
1 - I am half Scottish and half Welsh
2 - I have 1 older brother and 2 older sisters
3 - I currently have an obsession with Tom Hardy
4 - Currently I am a student studying fashion design
5 - Even though I have never dislocated or broken my shoulder bone I can pop it out of place
6 - I love to read and go to libraries. I have my own personal book shelf in my room.
7 - my favourite film is the Moulin Rouge or the nightmare before christmas
8 - Audrey Hepburn is my style icon
9 - I had my poem published when I was just 6 years old
10 - I am currently a musician in a rock band
11 - out of my group of friends I was known as the "Weird one"

Everyday Vogue's questions 

1. Do you have any hobbies?

 I love to read and write but acting is also a huge hobby of mine and I currently started taking lessons outside of college

2. What is your favorite movie?

well this is usually a tough question for me as I love movies haa! but if I have to be honest it is either The Moulin Rouge or The nightmare before Christmas.

3. What is your dream trip?

I really want to visit New Orleans, I think I would marry the person who took me there. 

4. If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Rice. I know it's such a weird choice but I love the stuff. 

5. What's your favorite blog?

Ooh this is a tough one because I love all the blogs that I follow. Everyone is unique in their own way and has that something special!. but I do like Audrey Kitching's buzznet blog. 

6. What is a staple piece in your wardrobe?

My trusty little Black dress. Such a classic and I believe every woman's wardrobe should have one. 

7. Favorite perfume?

Naughty Alice by Vivienne Westwood. 

8. Who is your biggest inspiration?

Helena Bonham Carter or Audrey Kitching. 

9. Do you have any weird obsessions?

honestly, I have tons of little obsessions. Currently I have an obsession with skulls. Not in a creepy way, I am just really fascinated by them

10. Heels or flats?

heels all the way!. 

11. One thing you can't leave your house without? (no cellphones, too mainstream lovelies)

well I always have to have my ipod on me, I just feel so much more secure. Oh also my Rimmel diva red lipstick, it's always in my handbag for touching up throughout the day!.

My Nominations and Questions. 

1. http://moderngirlsinvintagepearls.blogspot.co.uk/

2. http://hippiechicpao.blogspot.co.uk/

3. http://thechicolat.blogspot.it/

4. http://dejafashion.blogspot.co.uk/

5 .http://anthonyelle.com/

6. http://www.gumbootglam.com/

7. http://www.oneheelforward.blogspot.se/

8. http://simimaus.blogspot.ro/

9. http://sarablahblah.blogspot.co.uk/

10.http://mariposa-vibe.blogspot.co.uk/

11. http://www.thepretrender.blogspot.se/

1. What made you start a blog? 

2. What is your favourite clothing brand?

3. Name one thing that you couldn't live without?

4. What is your wardrobe must have?

5. who are your biggest inspirations?

6. Do  you have a celebrity crush?

7. favourite make up brand

8. how would you describe your personality?

9. winter or Summer clothing

10. Where in the world would you like to visit?

11. What are your hopes and dreams for next year? 

Once again thank you so much Everday Vogue for this nomination it seriously means the world to me!! You should all check out my nominations that I have chosen they are really good and deserve some notice! they are all top Quality!. Much Love, Rachel !! <3 

Topshop and Fashion style survey.

Hey there everyone! As a fashion designing student I have an upcoming project due for commercial design where we have to choose a fashion brand to design a collection for. My retailer of choice has been Topshop and I have been asked to create a survey for people to gather some information and evidence that I will need for my project. So with great appreciation could I please ask you guys to take a spare few moments of your time to follow the link and answer my survey please? It is definitely appreciated and I thank you so much!. Here is the link, Fashion style survey. Again thank you much and I look forward to reading everyones answers!.

Modern day baroque hits the catwalks.

Autumn/winter is now upon us and kick starting the season off is the new in fashion trend, 'Baroque', which is proving to become one of the hottest trends this fall from Asos and river island to designers such as Dolce and Gabbana and Karen walker . 'Baroque', the development of art, music and architecture in the 17th century that emphasized dramatic effects combined with bold, curving forms, elaborate ornamentation and classic order, is now making it's way into the modern day fashion world and onto the high fashion designers Catwalks.
Dolce and Gabbana are at the fore front of this trend continuing from their clothing line late last year, their women's wear fall 2013 collection "Barocco" hit the catwalk and is inspired by the tradition of sicilian baroque with golden embroidered coats, rich velvets and delicate lace dresses all present in the line.
What I love most about this trend and era is the romanticism, extravagance, class and opulence.
You can clearly see that the designers have taken inspiration from all aspects of the Baroque era, with spiraling shapes that climb up the female body and fabrics rich in velvet and golden embroideries that add a touch of sophistication and drama to any wardrobe.
I for one love this new fall 2013 trend. I am hugely inspired by history and it's always very enticing to see collections that also draw inspirations from certain era's in history, I think it always adds that extra touch to any collection.
With this particular trend you do have to be willing to be bold. With intense baroque prints, various proportioned capes, asymmetrical designed dresses, chunky accessories and long leather boots, it's all about making a statement this season. So, do you think you could handle the baroque fashion?

  

Topshop 'unique' spring/summer 2013 collection.

Well I have finally managed to catch up with Topshop's 'Unique' spring/summer 2013 collection at London fashion week and I must say it's definitely left a good impression.
I have always loved Topshop, definitely one of my favorite high street brands and they have never failed to impress me yet, So I was very excited to finally sit down and catch up with the latest collection 'Unique' which I discovered is just that.
The whole space age trend was something that I noticed straight away, from the venue itself with huge white lights above the spaceship esque oval shaped runway, to the style of clothes such as metallic baggy trouser suits and metallic floaty dresses. Topshop being, well topshop, has made this space age style very trendy and nothing to 'Captain Spock'.
The element that I love most about the 'Unique' collection is how simple and elegant every single piece of the collection is. Topshop has gone for a kind 90's minimal feel with soft colors, striking white's and blacks, transparent skirt/dresses with sheer panelling to cover their modesty and every so often the accentuated pinks and yellows would appear.There was soft shirt-dresses and boxy and slightly over sized coats and vests but nothing to extreme,  Paired with the models wearing minimal make up as well, with light pink eye shadows, rosey cheeks and side parted hairstyles. There was not a single piece that was out of place.
Speaking of the whole 90's minimal feel this collection seems to be giving off, Kat Phelan the creative designer at Topshop spoke about the 90's revival in fashion saying, "That's what this idea of a 90's revival is about, because that's the way I look at fashion now, so those ideas feel very powerful".
To me, there was so many highlights from the show but in particular my favorite was the transparent black dress with the bold paneling, I thought it was stunning.
Also another trend that Topshop played with was the "Social media" trend, allowing their show to reach a wider audience as fashion enthusiasts could watch straight from their home instead of being front row. They could also customize the catwalk and order what they liked three months before anything is due to hit the stores. So with that said I believe that Topshop is still the high street store that manages to get everything bang on trend. Here are some of my favourite looks from the 'Unique' spring/summer 2013 collection.

What did you guys think of Topshop's 'Unique' Collection?

Topshop's Customisable catwalk!

London fashion week has officially started and one of my favourite stores, Topshop have announced a rather interesting development. As part of their spring/summer 2013 event that is taking place tomorrow the high street brand has teamed up with Facebook, where users can have the chance to customize the clothes and accessories from Topshop's latest range straight from the catwalk! It'll be just like your in the front row of the fashion show!. Oh not to mention, you can also order everything that you like right there, three months before it's even due to hit the stores!. How awesome does that sound? I quite frankly think my heart jumped out of my chest when I heard about this. Not to mention I also think it is a really great way for others to get involved with fashion as well as getting fashion enthusiasts from all over the world connected. In addition to the facebook activity, Topshop are also running a 'tweet off' campaign to encourage the viewers to write 140 word review of their catwalk and the best tweet will win VIP tickets to the next show!.

I absolutely love Topshop and I think that this idea is pretty great, I am even thinking about getting involved myself. Does anyone else agree? what do you;s think about Topshop's use of social media websites?

New Designer to watch: Anne Sofie Madsen

Like many of the fashion bloggers out there I have been keeping a good track of New York Fashion Week, checking out some new designs from some of the worlds most famous Designers in the fashion industry but there is one designer in particular that has caught my eye and that would be Sofie Anne Madsen.

Denmark Native Anne Sofie Madsen is being featured in this years Gen art's fresh Faces in fashion as an uprising star and I couldn't agree more that she is definitely going to be a huge designer in a few years to come. For an uprising star in fashion Anne Sofie Madsen already has a very impressive resume, she attended   the Royal Danish Academy of Fine arts school of design and then went on to train under John Galliano for Dior and also worked as a junior designer for the great Alexander McQueen, so it's no wonder she is starting to create a buzz within the industry.
I managed to see some of her designs from Copenhagen Fashion week this year for her her spring/summer 2013 collection and I must admit that her designs and style completely blow me away. I have fallen in love with the way that she mixes classic vintage couture with a little bit of grunge princess incorporated through her designs. There are punked up art deco designs along with flapper girl dresses with fierce studs and spikes and everyone knows just how much I love classic vintage and studs and spikes so it's definitely no wonder that I have fallen in love with this womans collections.
Not only is she a great designer but I believe that Anne Sofie Madsen is a designer with great vision. Her collections let the audience get lost in a beautiful swirl of grey's mixed with pastels, historical pieces clearly influenced by norse mythology and viking princesses/warriors (A piece of history I am hugely interested in) and creating great designs that are both outrageous but also very contemporary and wearable. So on that note I shall leave you guys with some absoloutely breathtaking images of Anne Sofie Madsens collections at Gen art's Fresh Faces show and Copenhagen Fashion week for you to draw your on conclusions about Anne Sofie Madsen's breathtaking work.

Fall 2012 Fashion trend: Leather Trousers.

Every fashionable lady knows just cool a pair of leather trousers are but until recently most were very skeptical about this unwavering trend. However A-listers have been spotted wearing leather trousers more and more in the recent weeks and now there seems to be a buzz growing within the fashion industry. Thanks to fashion beauties such as Olivia Palermo and Miranda Kerr, the leather trouser trend is becoming very chic and the must have of the month. In fact you could possibly say that they are the alternative to Skinny jeans, Worn any time of the day or night. In my opinion, teamed with a sheer white blouse, a pair of high heels and minimum make up and jewelry makes the perfect Chic outfit for cocktails with the girls...Anyone else agree?

Blogloving

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H&M Autumn 2012 collection revealed!

A few months back it was revealed that the ever fashionable singer/songwriter Lana Del Rey would be the face of High street store H&M's Autumn 2012 collection. I was pretty much thrilled with this revelation because I must admit that I love to shop in H&M, I usually go on a whole shopping spree there!. But I am also a huge fan of Lana. Of course I love her music but her style just blows me away!, it's very vintage and reminds me of old hollywood film stars from black and white movies.

This campaign was shot by Inez Van Lamsweerde and vinoodh Matadin and see's Miss Del Rey snuggling up in the collections new trends such as angora Knits, printed trews and tweed shifts with her very own signature 60's style bouffant and winged eye make up.

The songstress also not only lends these sultry shots to promote the campaign but also it has been revealed that She has lent her beautifully smooth vocals for full length cover of "Blue velvet" to help promote the campaign, which should be released very soon!.

All Saints Woman's lookbook Autumn 2012

All Saints is probably one my favourite places to shop or even just go in and look and right I have been flicking through their Autumn 2012 lookbook for their women's wear. Let's just say I have fallen in love again!. Autumn is proving not only to be just a new season of the year but a new season in All Saints styles for women.
Vintage dresses delicately pleated and angled to fit the form of your body. Skinny fit jeans with leather patches with new tailoring yet staying to true to the original all saints style. And tops that come in casual and formal styles that you can team up with vest t - shirts or a garment from the new knit collection they are releasing.

So how many of you's are all Saints fans? do you like their new autumn collection?

If you'd like to see some more of All Saints collections check out their online store http://www.allsaints.com/
or go check out their facebook http://www.facebook.com/allsaints