Welcoming New Silhouettes

I will always love trainers, I did sell them for 6 years after all. My only issue is the selection of aesthetically pleasing casual footwear for women is particularly poor. The choices of styles and colourways is never as great as what men get to choose from, which annoys me to no end. Men get such great limited releases and colabs which is why when I spotted these newly designed Nike Free Viritous on Hypebeast I was pleased to find they come in women’s sizes. Here’s to hoping I can find a European stockist rather than the only American one I’ve found so far. At $100 I think these would make an excellent addition to my collection of black trainers.

I really like this new silhouette, definately up my street. What do you guys think?

Long time coming…

So I haven’t posted in what seems like an age, I think I have felt a little uninspired with what is out there on offer. I am also struggling to capture the right balance between buying fashion and homeware, I feel the house needs some decorating but I don’t want my wardrobe to suffer. Especially as I started a new job over a month ago, I am determined to keep my fashion identity at work without conforming to your typical office attire. It’s been a hard adjustment from working in retail to working in an office environment, I feel I don’t have enough clothes to rotate between week to week.

What I do need more than anything for work are some new shoes, I’m incredibly picky though so I find it hard to find what I want. I saw these boots by LD Tuttle which I really like, although not sure how appropriate they would be for work. I don’t have a pair this length… and they are half price in the sale though! $780 to $312!

 

What have you done to keep your style identity at work?

Undeniably so…

I recently discovered Kim of The Mourning Cloak through Instagram and love her approach to personal style. One day when I was flicking through Instagram, I saw Kim had posted an unbelieveable leather jacket by Barbara Gongini. Pretty sure it was lust at first sight, yes for a piece of clothing! The cut and silhouette are to die for, and I am a sucker for anything with thumb holes.

It truly would be an amazing wardrobe addition that I would love to own, costing KR6,900 which equates to approximately £540 it’s definately not cheap, but not as ridiculously priced as it could have been. This one is undeniably worth saving up for and I am in need of a replacement leather jacket. See for yourself, make up your own mind:

Mind blown? Mine sure is, I can’t tear my eyes away from this beautifully designed leather jacket.

Conquer Stress. Be Stellar.

I love finding great Kickstarter and IndieGoGo campaigns to support, and this is one right up my alley. I have always been into smart technology and recently have been researching fitness bands. Then I stumbled across the Olive campaign on IndieGoGo which is a band that targets stress and helps you conquer it. Stress is something I don’t cope particularly well with, so reading the story and seeing how well thought out the product will be showed me it was something worthwhile to invest in.

The details:

Olive sits comfortably and discreetly on your wrist and monitors stress-related data in the background. Olive:

• Tracks physical indicators of stress based on changes in heart rate, reactions in your skin, and trends in skin temperature

• Analyzes habits that contribute to stress like your physical activity, sleep, and exposure to light

• Talks with your smartphone to understand your lifestyle through your calendar, your location, and other available data

All of this information is meticulously stitched together with powerful algorithms to paint a more complete picture of your stress than has been possible, until now.

Olive measures:

		Heart rate and heart rate variability to better understand our body’s stress response through changes in the cardiovascular system.

		Skin conductance which indicates our body’s level of excitement. When we have emotional reactions, Olive can detect this in our skin.

		Ambient light because exposure to light affects our sleep and body’s natural rhythms, which in turn change the way we respond to stress.

		Motion to analyze overall muscle tension. When we are stressed and our body enters a fight-or-flight state, our muscles tense up.

		Skin temperature which can change when stress affects blood flow to our extremities.

Stylish enough for me, featuring some amazing technology, what’s not to love? Have a look at the perks and read up on the campaign for yourselves. Will you be investing?

OUT NOVEMBER 2015

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

I discovered Ofelpan a while ago whilst I was spending hours perusing Etsy. It offers affordable handmade clothing imitating high end designers, one of my favourites being Rick Owens. Normally the concept of buying imitation goods is enough to put me off buying anything because the original will always be hands down better in every way. However you need to consider that sometimes you can lust after your favourite designer pieces but will never own them because the price bracket is just too high. I’m still supporting an independent designer and getting pieces for my wardrobe I could only ever dream of. I feel like I am partially selling out, but even eBay offerings for designer labels I adore are still unaffordable.

I find it increasingly difficult to buy anything on the high street as the offerings locally are your standard brands with nothing exciting design-wise. 90% of my wardrobe is bought online these days, a few clicks, swipes and a short wait later my goods have arrived. I love the wait and excitement for parcels. I always feel more appreciative knowing I’m supporting independent designers, maybe because that’s where I would like to be myself one day.

Check out the Ofelpan Etsy store, there’s hundreds of designs for both men and women. What’s your opinion?

Oversized Grey Draping Long Sleeve Jersey Top £60

Sleeveless Asymmetrical Draped Long Anthem Dress £80

Tie Sweatshirt Hoodie £102

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

I have been an avid follower of Alicia Hannah Naomi since a friend led me to the discovery of her blog many years ago. When she started making her own jewellery I loved her design and aesthetics, and was an instant fan. I applaud her efforts on this new collection, and have my eye on the Awl Ring my favourite piece. I urge you to check out her amazing work.

In response to corporeal relationships and visceral sensuality, the 2015 collection features raw textures with a primal tactility. The desire for human contact is communicated through sculpted surface treatments and undulation that culminates in sharp detail. Interlocking elements delineate our common need for intimacy, while the shadowy blackening of the precious metals amplify the brutality associated with lust. Manufactured in Melbourne from sterling silver, precious gems and volcanic rock; the works allegorise the carnal connection of lovers.

Have a look at the hauntingly beautiful images from Alicia Hannah Naomi’s 2015 collection:

Photography: STEPHANIE CAMMARANO

Hair & Makeup: HOLLY-ROSE BUTLER

Model: TONEYA @ SCENE

Art Direction: ALICIA HANNAH NAOMI

Sculpted…

So let’s talk about Fleet Ilya and their amazing bags. Now owning one of these beauties is only a dream as they are WAY out of my price range, but a girl can lust after all! The structure and shapes are to die for, I love any brand that challenge boring design.

I’ve picked my favourites from the Spring/Summer 2014 collection, what do you guys think?

Winger Box Bag Dark Grey £566

Multi Zip Long Strap Bag £650

Sculpted Satchel £675

Large Parallelogram Clutch £541

Flat Cuff Clutch Black £458

I think my absolute favourite would be the Winged Box Bag in Grey, it’s so unusual with great construction. Here’s to dreaming!

Studded Kiss Lipstick

So I always promise myself to try out lipsticks, I always see my friends wearing them but I always feel it’s too bold a statement for myself. Every so often I decide to be brave, buy one, wear it once and decide it’s not for me. Then I found the Kat Von D x  Sephora Studded Kiss Lipstick line, which has me sold on the packaging alone. I’m a sucker for something well presented. It comes in a huge array of beautiful colours including matte and a bunch of sparkly ones.

The full Kat Von D make up collection is available on the Sephora website. What do you guys think?

Studded Kiss Lipstick, shown in Underage Red $21

Mathletes

Chromat‘s new SS14 collection Mathletes, is apparently inspired by competitive mathematics, team uniforms, sports jerseys and the athleticism and intellectual mastery of NASA Astronauts.

I’ve only featured Chromat’s swimwear on this post, but they do clothing as well, it’s worth heading over to their website and checking it all out.

I think my Top 2 choices from this collection would be the Neoprene Tri set and the Molly set. Purely because I feel I could be relatively comfortable in these two, not too much skin on show but still looking damn fierce! I love the look of all the different pieces in this collection, I’d love to see how wearable they are, I always worry too many straps mean constantly re-adjusting yourself. Check it out for yourselves below:

Bouloux Bikini $149

Underbust Uniform Top $218

Sport Bikini Top $149.50

Sport Bikini Bottom $103.50

Neoprene Tri Top $229

Hipcage Bustier Suit $310

Molly Top $148.50

Molly Bottom $108

If I spent more time by the beach I would be inclined to spend plenty of money on swimwear but holidays are few and far between for me. So justifying this kind of money for a set seems silly. But there is a holiday looming on the horizon so maybe just maybe I should just go for it…

What do you guys think?

 

Summer Summer Time…

Oh Dear England, where is the sun? Unluckily for me my birthday fell on a Saturday between two beautifully sunny weekends, and I spent the morning setting up a gazebo in the pouring rain, adamant that having my annual birthday BBQ was still going to happen. Even though the weather was rubbish I had an amazing day with friends travelling from all over to see me!

While dreaming of the sun that has been replaced by constant rain at the moment I stumbled upon these awesome sunglasses cases by Tanner Goods, that come in an array of colours: Natural, Rich Mocha, Dark Oak, Chicago Tan and Black. I absolutely love this brilliant design, I just wonder if they could fit my cat-eye sunglasses. Onto my ever evolving wishlist they go!

Sunglass Case Black $65

Tanner Goods make a huge array of amazing leather goods, ranging from belts, bags, wallets, guitar straps and even rad little chopsticks carry-on pouches. Check out the website for the full range of products.