Just fallen in love with a collection again.

Zac Posen Spring '11


So beautiful. So incredibly painstakingly crafted. 

Key piece for New Zealand Spring 2011

I'm finding it so exciting seeing the trends appearing in NZ. Working for a brand that is so on-trend is awesome too, as I get to see it first hand! 


So I thought I'd take you through a key trend I'm noticing coming through for the approaching season. Interestingly, bright, block colours are making a BIG appearance, much like they did for British summer 2010. This week I got a gorgeous silk tank top (left) from work, which looks amazing layered over a black or grey slip or camisole. This particular top is cut beautifully like many of Decjuba's clothes and is slightly longer at the back so it can be worn easily with leggings without showing too much butt. I also love the little breast pocket detail. Other bright items we had delivered this week is a beautiful cobalt blue dress, a fuschia pink strapless number and as well as another dress in the same shade as this tank. 


As it's an Aussie brand, Decjuba tend to be very fashion forward in a way that a lot of NZ brands aren't, embracing the catwalk trends with full throttle. And another piece of good news, I've got my timetable through from the Fashion Week! I'm so excited about being able to get right in there behind the scenes of such an important event in NZ's fashion calendar.  I hope I can learn a lot and make a tonne of contacts!

Current favourite thing in the world

I've literally been head over heels for this chunky knit cardigan from my very first day at Decjuba. The colours are so flattering on everyone that I've seen in it, and despite it being man-made yarn, it feels incredibly soft and natural. I have a feeling it'll be something I live in!

First steps into fashion.

Having been in New Zealand for just over 3 months, I've landed a couple of amazing opportunities that I'm hopig are going to be my opening into the fashion world.


Firstly, I am now working in the New Zealand flagship store for Decjuba, an Aussie clothes company run by the lady who used to part-own the Cotton-On chain with her ex husband. It's definitely a step in the right direction as I'm finally working in women's fashion and for a company who are at the top end of the high street stores. The clothes are all beautiful and very unique. My favourites are the leather jacket, the Native in particular, which has incredibly flattering panels on the back which give the jacket a beautiful feminine shape. It's the best job I've ever done, as so much of it involves styling our customers and being very creative. I love the fact I'm working for a company who car so much about one-on-one customer service.


And secondly, I've got a place volunteering at the New Zealand Fashion week, dressing the models backstage. I'm so so excited about this as it's going to be a great insight into the industry. As well as being able to get a first look at the next season's fashions!

Catching up on the catwalk.

I realised today that I haven't looked at the big designer's new collections for this season. So I did a quick bit of research. After a scan through the main big names, I fell in love with Gucci's new collection. It's a mixture of inspiration from 1920's English style, the American Prohibition period (Boardwalk Empire has played a part in this I'm guessing...) and a little 70's in the mix. I love it. It's so historical but with a modern twist, such as the red leather midi dress. And a perfectly cut white floor length, strapless gown. The most perfect, simplistic wedding dress I have ever seen. Completely plain, with a gather on one hip, creating a drape, flattering the figure to perfection. I can even almost feel the weight of the fabric from that picture; heavy enough for the fabric to fall gracefully but confidently to the floor, but still delicate enough to look feminine and floaty.


Last time I felt like this was over Burberry with their snakeskin leather jackets. Ugh.

Auckland.

We got here yesterday and after a drama with the car (I bumped it.) we checked into the hostel which is just as crappy as the last. We've wandered around the area where we're staying and there's tonnes and tonnes of Asian shops and restaurants, which are great and fairly cheap. 

I just have this huge problem now when you feel like you've brought completely the wrong clothes. I feel so out of place! The Asian girls round here are dressed so well too, giving me real clothes envy. I feel like I need to get a whole new wardrobe, and I have major tattoo cravings. I think I'm going to get me 'Je ne regrette rien' on my wrist instead of the ribs. I want to be able to catch a glimpse of it and for it to be a reminder to me. Not something that's covered up all the time. Easy access! I'll leave my ribs as a canvas for something much bigger when I can afford it. And I really want my half sleeve done here as I found an amazing tattoo shop in Auckland. 

But back to the clothes. I need some big chunky cardigans/jumpers. Seriously, everyone is wearing them here, and I've got a cropped breton striped one but it's just not.... right. Missing home bad at the moment, and really missing London. There just isn't a place in the world like it...

Just playing around with a bat wing cropped t-shirt I found in an H&M in Berlin. 


I fell in love with the butterfly print and thought it was a slightly cheaper alternative to the Zara butterfly print clothing I've gone mad over.


I wanted to incorporate it in a fairly casual outfit that can also be turn into an outfit for the evening with a pair of heels- minimal effort! I don't like cropped tees with a bare stomach underneath so I put this lace body (ASOS) underneath and teamed the top half with a black jersey skirt (ASOS) and grey knitted tights. 


I accessorised the outfit with a couple of long necklaces (Accessorize & Topshop) and minimal make-up so the top does the talking. Yellow nails pick out the yellow on the top and hair was left in a simple bun. 


Shoes for the day would be espadrilles or some cute little ballet pumps. And for the night of course dress it up with a pair of towering heels (preferably courts with a huge platform!) and some chunky gold jewellery.


To keep this outfit a bit more low key or for cooler days, I've worn it with a cropped nautical stripe jumper (obviously lose the butterfly top first) and flat ankle boots.


How would you wear this? Would you keep the skirt or throw some trousers into the mix? Thoughts please :) 

Experimenting with make-up.

Adopted the colour blocking trend with my make-up by mixing clashing turquoise nails and fuschia lippy! Thoughts on the make-up look? I'm loving wearing it with neutral coloured clothes such as the outfit in the picture- a mink coloured long sleeve top, black gilet and black leggings, with brown pixie boots. It has more of an effect than wearing the make-up with colourful clothes, as the colour stand out more against the neutrals. A nice safe way of wearing colour and a way in which I think I might adapt the trend into the New Zealand winter. I'm going to be keeping up with Brit fashion while I'm over there and try and translate it to the seasons over there.

Today I'm wearing:

So here's what I put on when I got home from work: 


Metallic khaki jumper with fur shoulders from Next. Bought this at the end of last year as I wanted something a bit warmer but with more style than your average woolly jumper. Topshop sold a similar one around the same time. 

Monochrome mini from H&M. Bought at Christmas. Also looks quite cute with grey knitted tights for chillier days.

All paired together with nude tights and nails as it's not quite warm enough for bare legs yet... 

At the moment I'm gathering together my thoughts on a revamped winter wardrobe for when we get to NZ. Basically it's going to consist of my winter purchases mixed in with a couple of new pieces and a lot of jewellery. Have to say I'm a bit lost right now on NZ fashion despite doing a lot of research! So I'm going in blindly with a bundle of my own style and just crossing my fingers there's no funny looks from New Zealanders!

An apology.

Firstly, I'm sorry for the lack of posts recently! I've been doing a lot of overtime and the sunshine seemed too good to waste when I had a spare five minutes. But enough of that. A quick make-up post now. I was given some Nail Rock transfers recently so tried them out the other day. Have to say I was quite impressed at the quality and they're very easy to apply. Also the adhesive doesn't ruin your nails, which is a bonus for me as mine are very weak and... well crap basically. They're very cheap as well (around £5) and the process is similar, although less proffessional, to Minx nail art. You just use a hairdryer to melt the adhesive and then smooth it onto the nail. The only real downsides are that it's quite easy to crease the transfer and very difficult to change this, even if you try and reapply it. Also they began to peel off slightly and catch on things- not very handy if you work in a clothes shop! But they're great value and a nice change to nail varnish.

A quick Karen Millen find

Just been having a browse on Karen Millen and found these beauties! I've always adored Karen Millen, especially for their coats and dresses. These two just stuck out a mile. The first because of the beautiful delicate layers on the skirt which look like fragile petals, and the second because of the move towards traditional Chinese kimono's and the fantastic contrast between the black and then the sudden bright pop of colour at the bottom. 


I'll use this post to explain my plans for this blog as well. As I mentioned previously I'm off to New Zealand for a year and I will obviously be continuing this blog when I'm out there. So I've decided to set myself a little project and photograph some street-style out there as well, mainly for my own interest in comparing the trends out there to here in the UK. It may be a complete failure but I'm always up for a challenge and will endeavour to post you some interesting things whilst I'm away!










Both images are from http://www.karenmillen.com/

Palazzo Pants

One of the most difficult trends this year is Palazzo pants. Usually made of a light material, they have a very wide cut leg which almost creates the appearance of a maxi-skirt when they are worn. 


On the left are a pair from asos.com which are one of the easiest I've seen to wear. I have seen a couple of pairs which were ankle length, personally I think this spoils the overall effect, as they should reach the ground when worn with heels (preferably platforms or wedges) so you look as if you're almost floating across the floor. The styling on the left by asos.com is quite casual, a difficult look to pull off when wearing Palazzo pants. 


If I were to wear them, I'd use them as part of a formal outfit, possibly even to wear to the office. I'd team them with a transparent chiffon blouse tucked into the waist of the pants and then put a very chunky, thick leather belt around the middle to cover up where the two items meet. This would accentuate the silhouette as the pants and the blouse are both very voluminous, the belt would cinch you in at the waist but not spoil the line. 


Any other ideas on how you would wear Palazzo's?


Image from asos.com

More colour from Zara

Another way of introducing colour is through accessories. Again, Zara has a good range of shoes and bags in bright pops of colour. This is an excellent solution for those of you who, like me, are a bit apprehensive about these brights! I'd team a couple of accessories together in different colours like this bag and shoes (both Zara) with jeans and a nautical stripe tee. The nautical trend is still very much around this season so kill two trends with one outfit. And you could even add a pop of colour on your lips in bright fuschia pink which has been very popular on catwalks this season. 


Find the bag here and the shoes here

Images both from zara.com

Colour pops.

So this season, colour is essential. And that means the brightest shades possible, worn together or with white if you're shy about this trend. I'm struggling to drag myself out of the monotone phase from winter but I'm determined to embrace this colour even if it kills me! 


So I've done a bit of high street research and found these jeans by zara which I think are a good way of 'testing the water'. I'd wear them with a simple white top and black heeled ankle boots, keeping the look simple so the colour does the talking.




Image from zara.com

My favourite hairstyle at the moment.

Right now, that whole 50's housewife look is great. Being a huge tattoo fan as well I love the two put together for that rockabilly style. I've got myself a few headscarves but this silk one I found in the Laura Ashley sale is my favourite. It's great for those days when your hair doesn't do what you want. I just throw it back in a messy bun or a high ponytail and hold my fringe back with the scarf. Minimal make-up works best for this look or liquid eyeliner flicks along the top lid only to really channel the 50's look.