That 70's coat!

It's Monday which means that everyone is feeling a little down at the start of a new week and let's face it everyone would rather stay in bed on a Monday morning for an extra hour! I for one missed my alarm this morning and was only awoken by my mother asking if I was actually going to get up today. So the day didn't quite start off as planned but it needn't all be bad, for one thing - Mango has a 30% flash sale on!!! Obviously to cure my dose of Monday blues I have indulged in a little something to warm my cockles on a cold winters day and so I have purchased an item I have been craving for awhile now, a cosy Shearling coat. Depending on your budget it is a rather eye watering £69.99 but with the added 30% I got it for £48.99 and I've a feeling it is going to be an investment that I won't regret.

Mango - FAUX SHEARLING-LINED COAT £69.99

Not only is it clearly one of the best coats I have ever laid these blue eyes upon but it is right on trend channeling that 70s vibe that took over the AW runway shows and is slowly creeping into all the high street stores. I'll let you in on a secret, i'm not fully convinced by 1970s fashion but like all crazy trends - with a little moderation it can really work! I'm feeling this coat with a tailored shirt tucked into some ripped skinny jeans and a pair of brogues and a messy textured mop to finish it off! If you are feeling the Shearling love but not quite the style of this one then I've included some more options below to get you inspired!

| Bank -BLONDE & BLONDE FAUX SHEEPSKIN COAT £55.00 | Asos - BELLFIELD FAUX SHEEPSKIN COAT £70.00 | Missguided - COCO FAUX LEATHER SHEARLING JACKET BLACK £49.99 | Mango - FAUX SHEARLING-LINED COAT £79.99 |

Disclaimer - This post is in no way endorsed by Mango and all views are my own. Basically...I'm just a happy customer!

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There was a wedding.

It's been awhile, sorry.

The good news however is that my absence has not been in vain for I have been working on a pretty major project that took up a heck of a lot of my free time... I believe I previously mentioned the wedding dress?

My darling Aunt was kind enough to bestow upon me the incredible, if not daunting, honor of creating her dream dress plus two bridesmaid dresses to accompany it. As previously stated this was an amazing opportunity, however it was one which came with a lot of responsibility and was fairly challenging at times. I spent a lot of evening after work as well as weekends and booked holiday to create the dresses. First of all we had consultations to work out what exactly my aunt was looking for, starting off with Edith Head's infamous dress worn by Grace Kelly in Rear Window and moving on to more classical 1950's prom styles.

We even went to dress shops to try on different styles so that we knew what would look good. Just a few consultations were needed (a Costa always in hand) and we had finally come up with a design that we were happy with. I will need to post the sketch later due to my lack of a scanner at the moment but it needed to combine the 1950's full skirt, ivory satin, lace and a touch of navy. For the bridesmaids we had found the perfect style to compliment the dress which was an a line empire dress with a mesh overlay, I agreed to recreate this dress though we ended up with a crepe back satin dress and chiffon overlay.

My friend and previous housemate at university Rachel Dapré - helped with the construction of the patterns and garments. We went through meters of calico and toiles and endless hours figuring out how to make the dresses sit perfectly (we had no mannequins). In the end I totaled up countless hours of labor and an all nighter just before the wedding to complete the finished looks. Making dresses from scratch is no easy feat but I have to admit I am impressed with what our dedication has produced. The wedding dress comprises of a sating prom with sweetheart neckline and a line skirt. There is a silk overlay attached to the skirt with appliqued embellished lace. An embellished lace jacket lies over the top fastened with a line of rouleau loops and pearls on the back. I have also hand sewn navy beading to the lace jacket. You can see the finished dresses below on the day of the wedding -

Hand stitched navy beading.
Image courtesy of Rachel Dapré | Edited by me.

Image courtesy of Rachel Dapré | Edited by me.

The bride and one of her darling bridesmaids.
Image courtesy of Anna Carpenter | Edited by me.

I don't recommend making wedding dresses for the faint hearted, the level of detail and the limited choice of fabrics (unless you've got a large budget!) can become quite stressful, but it is a magnificent sight to see when all is sewn together and fitting snugly on the bride. Not to mention the dramatic ego boost when you are receiving extremely positive comments from wedding guests on how lovely the dress looks. However, nothing is greater than when the bride sees herself in her dress and her face glows and she smile and you know that it is a job well done.

ASHISH X Topshop

It's official, Topshop have finally redeemed themselves in my eyes. This is how you do a collaboration Topshop, you find a wacky designer and let them create an equally wacky collection to draw in the crowds and who better to choose than Ashish? I have had a certain admiration for Ashish ever since he went overtly 90s in his SS2013 collection, churning out denim look after denim look like it was ironically 'going out of fashion'. Not to mention the sequins....THE SEQUINS!!!!

Yes, Ashish Gupta has a special place in my fashionista heart and to see this kind of recognition for him is delightful. That collection is seared into my brain and I love seeing him expand on his two favourite fabrics year after year, including in his FW2014 90s-street-princess combination infusing denim, sequins, lace and god knows what other abundance of glorious fabrics. That being said this collection with Topshop lacks his usual piled on looks and he has gone down a more simplistic beachwear avenue.....I love it! Nothing is better than seeing a designer show versatility and after all it's still in-your-face fashion. I mean there is a fill in the blanks t-shirt proclaiming 'I want to ....... your .......' if that doesn't cause strangers to raise an eyebrow at you, I don't know what will. Wait, yes I do....the mesh top with sequin crosses over the breast area is very likely going to cause some double takes. My favourite statement t-shirt from this collection has to be 'Hi my name is ....... my room number is ........' it's cheeky and fun and who doesn't want a slice of cheeky and fun in their wardrobe?

One thing that caught attention in the FW2014 collection was the trainers - bright white platforms with LED lights! These take me back to primary school and the traffic light school shoes you could buy, all you had to do was stamp down on them and the soles of your shoes lit up for everyone to marvel at. You can't deny the concept of light up trainers are cool, right? Well you are in luck because they are now available on the Topshop website, including a pair of sliders in the same style and just to allow you to light yourself up like a christmas tree there is also a transparent LED plastic backpack! Of course, be prepared to dip into your savings because casual coolness like this doesn't come cheap, the trainers alone are a hefty £300.

After all the excitement of suggestive t-shirts and light up clothing there are some more relaxed pieces including swimsuits, bikinis and garments made from towelling. Yeah, I said towelling, but fear not it's the perfect material for slumming it on the beach or by the pool in a hot country and the design of the pieces are pretty stylish nobody will notice the fabric! There is also accessories galore including quirky sunglasses and beach towels with slogans such as 'Dirty Beach' and 'Son of a beach' on them, once more paying homage to the loud aesthetic that ASHISH so cleverly delivers.

All in all I am loving this new collaboration and he's had some big names to follow including Meadham Kirchhoff and Mary Katrantzou, but he really has succeeded and I believe this is the gateway for a bigger market for ASHISH. I predict that a lot of items are going to disappear pretty fast and i'm looking forward to seeing bloggers and stylists alike, use them over the coming weeks.

Current.

I'm so slack on posting lately, but as i said in the last post i am mega busy! I had my first proper consultation today for freelance work - i am making my aunt's wedding dress! I am feeling a mixture of emotions ranging from excitement to pressure, i want it to be perfect! We have had a few conversations to talk about what she wants and i went with her when she tried dresses, today however was when we sat down and looked at samples and drawings and i sketched what she wanted. We have agreed on a final design and i am very pleased with it. A picture unfortunately is not available, not until after the wedding....i will however be posting updates along the way! Previously i have made my uni work and i made my sister's prom dress, but this is the first big piece of work i have had in awhile and i can't describe how i'm feeling, but it feels good.

The only other thing i have to post about today is the illustration i'm currently doing, it's only an edited doodle but i think it's alright!

One Month Anniversary.

My blog has been up and running for a month now and i've already had over 1000 pageviews! So i just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been reading it and we'll see what the future brings! Oh and i added a picture of some beautiful flowers i saw last weekend, enjoy!

xxx

Creating.

A magical thing happened last week when I was staying with my old fashion buddies - I made something! That doesn't sound magical I know, however it has been about a year and half since I last used my sewing skills and actually made something and I’m telling you now, it felt good! I completely forgot how much I love designing and making clothes and the pride that comes with standing back and admiring a finished garment. It all started when I went with my friend Rachel to a fabric shop as she was looking for viscose jersey. I found some really nice off white ribbed fabric and the store assistant told me that all fabrics on those rails were a pound a meter. One thing you need to know about me is that I am an absolute fabric junkie! If I find fabric that I like then I HAVE to buy it, regardless of whether I need it or not - so as you can imagine being told that the fabric in front of me was so cheap I couldn’t resist the urge to spend some money. That is when I came across the beautiful mint green textured fabric that helped me produce my first piece since leaving uni. I wanted it and for once I knew that it was going to be turned into something. Below I’ve added photos of the process of making my jacket; my ideas came from biker jackets and parkas but softened by pastel colours and an unconventional fabric for those styles -

I did actually buy a book of coat patterns a few weeks ago that I was going to take with me however I left it at home so this was also a test of my drafting and pattern cutting abilities because all I had to work with was a basic bodice and collar block. Also as a side note - the dress underneath is one Rachel made in college I just could not be bothered to take it off of her mannequin!

This was the finished toile of the jacket, as you can probably see I didn't try neatening it - I wanted to get the jacket finished as soon as possible seeing as I only had a few days until I went home. As you will see below the final thing looks a bit different due to the fabric type used and the added interfacing and topstitching detail.

This is the finished garment, however without the drawstring cord as I had to do that on the train home. It looks very different on a person and I am aiming to get an outfit post done that will contain it, I did wear it a few days ago paired with black jeans, white sandals and a white tee but I didn't have time to take a picture. IT's probably the best thing I have ever made and it was nice to actually be able to make something without university tutors watching everything I did and trying to make me change it.

H&M w/ Alexander Wang.

Source: Vogue.Fr

So as everyone is now aware H&M announced at Coachella that their next designer collaboration is with none other than - drum roll - Alexander Wang. Now, I am very excited about this collaboration as i feel this is going to be one of their most marketable. We all know Mr Wang for his sleek sportswear collections, containing staple pieces that can be re worn and re worked into a number of different outfits and this is where i believe H&M have bounded onto the right track. If previous seasons of his own name brand are anything to go by, then we can assume that in November H&M stores will be stocked with a collection that lends pieces to all styles and tastes. After all, sportswear is stripping fashion back to it's basics...but in a cool and sophisticated kind of way of course! I think i speak for all fashion lovers when i say that i am excited for a slice of urban New York style to spice up my wardrobe and a piece of Alexander Wang innovation at a cut price!

P.S I couldn't help myself with that picture, it's fantastic!

Travelling.

Sorry that i haven't posted in over a week now, i did try to yesterday on the Blogger App, however it decided to not post and then delete what i had written. I should have paid attention to the reviews. The past week i was trying to get back in to the swing of work, which wasn't really necessary in the end considering i am now off for another two weeks which i had previously booked off. What am i doing you ask? Well, i am helping my friends finish their final collections for uni, so i'm basically their sweatshop slave for two weeks. So in reality i am swapping work for work, which just sounds mad, but it's work that i am going to enjoy so it's a good bargain.

I got the train up here yesterday and whilst waiting at one of the stops for passengers to board i noticed petals gliding past my window, apparently escaping from a blossoming tree. It made me think about how lucky i am to live in such a beautiful part of the country and how travelling on the train allows me to see much of the hidden countryside around me. Living in a town really does pull you away from the natural world around you and into a concrete jungle of sorts. It's a welcome change to see the vast expanse of fields rolled out across our countryside and dotted with wildlife and stoney cottages nestled within the hills and forestry. More so when you're stuck within the four walls of an office most days staring at the artificial imagery and light of a computer screen. I suppose we need times like these, not only for a release but to really bring back our humanity, if only for a little while. Admittedly, it would be better to be out there sticking my hands in the soil and smelling that refreshing earthy smell, but seeing it from my train carriage was enough for me.

I also decided to do some drawing on the way and so i have added a picture of a small design i did, it's not much but it's amazing how inspired you can be just at the thought of seeing your friends. I now have a vest top to finish and a jacket lining to sew so i best be off!