Tie-dye, the Isabel Marant way

I haven’t posted for a while but that’s cos I’ve been tending to various life upheavals. And just playing The Sims loads. That’s a lie.

Anyway. Let’s get the ball rolling again and celebrate the fact that tie dye is back in fashion for this summer.

Celebrate?! Yes I was horrified too at first, because don’t tie dye t-shirts share wardrobes with ‘Fairport Convention’ jumpers and cheesecloth skirts? Yes they do, but that was before Isabel Marant tie dyed her S/S 12 collection and made it look really cool (minus the football jersey tops). So now tie-dye can share wardrobes with peplum dresses and metallic box clutches, and that’s fine.

Isabel Marant S/S 2012

…Obviously I can’t afford the above, so I’ll be moving in on the below instead:

L-R: // Religion // Topshop // River Island (top and jeans)

Weddings and Charity Shops: Match Made in Heaven

Can you wear something from a charity shop to a wedding? The answer is yes. As long as when people say ‘ooooh great dress, where’s it from’ (which they did, no modesty spared in this post) you say ‘oh it’s vintage’. Well, it is isn’t it? It’s not new, I know that much. So here’s what I wore to my beautiful friend’s wedding: a little number plucked from a humble Clapham High Street charity shop. Who said all the best charros are in Richmond?

Me… Earrings: Topshop // Dress: charity shop // Bracelet: Vintage // Shoes: Vintage. My pal Georgie… Hat: M&S // Dress: French Connection // Bag: Vintage // Wedge Sandals: All Saints

PS. It was November and an autumnal theme, so I managed to get away with the black.

Bag disguises

As a kid I LOVED those boxes that were disguised as books – the ones where the pages are fake and split in the middle to reveal a hiding place for all your sweets. Well, now my adult self  has something similar to obsess over…. Olympia Le-Tan hangbags and minaudieres – BAGS disguised as BOOKS. It’s too good.

It gets better, not only are these little bags sneaky and clever, they’re also retro-looking and totally beautiful in their imitation of famous literary works.

Plus, Olympia Le-Tan seems like a fun and lighthearted brand, with a team that’s put a lot of time and love into making these little accessories – just look at this endearing digital short from their website.

Camping, with long socks on

Oh my god this place is AMAZING. Not amazing like Alton Towers, or popping candy or cats in hats or anything, but in a picturesque I feel-like-I’m-in-Scandinavia-but-I’m-actually-just-in-Wales kinda way. It’s FashionBratt blog worthy because I need others to know how good it is. First look at the pictures.

Those white bits are people, and we walked up that.

My 21 year old brother saw these photos and his only comment was: ‘You’re wearing those socks for a joke right?’

[Socks: H&M]

Right, so that’s not some mountainous area of Norway, that’s Cwmcarn Forest – just north of Newport. The boyfriend (@trendplanner in case you’re nosey) and I decided to go camping and I found this place in the Cool Camping guide – Wales edition. These Cool Camping books are great btw – whether you’re a seasoned camper looking to try out somewhere new or a first timer needing a bit of direction, the sites they’ve listed are so varied and interesting, I want to try and visit them all and I don’t even really like camping that much!

Cwmcarn forest campsite is completely surrounded by woodland, so although there’s a small town with a Tesco a couple of miles down the road, you can be completely oblivious in your coniferous enclave. The facilities aren’t too shabby, the staff are friendly and very helpful and the place is also famous for mountain biking – with some pretty hardcore trails – so lots of fun to be had! Even if you hate camping, I’d suggest go for the day and do the ‘forest drive’ (a figure of 8 loop around the forest with various stop off points with amazos views and free barbecues!)

Cruella De Vil vs The Orange Skirt

This here, apart from being a bad quality photo, is my current favourite thing: an American Retro, bright orange, high waisted, midi skirt. I’m still obsessing over midi skirts because this is one of the few trends I feel comfortable wearing. I’ve had to avoid so many trends that I’ve really loved before, as it just hasn’t felt right wearing them. I strongly believe that it’s important to feel confident in what you wear because, as they say, if you don’t, it will show. For example lots of girls look amazing in a fur coat, but I just can’t help feeling like Cruella De Vil when I wear one, and if you’re feeling like a Disney villain, you’re probably not gonna come across very well.

This treasure of a skirt just makes me feel good….. especially when it billows in the wind like I’m in some kind of perfume advert! Do you have any trends that you’ve desperately wanted to pull off but that just haven’t suited you?

It Was Acceptable In The 80s….

Eugh I make myself baulk at how much I’ve neglected my blog over the last 3 weeks! I wish I could say there’s some exciting reason as to why, but sadly not, just that a busy internship and a bout of the flu (which made me want to do nothing bar lie listlessly and catch up on missed Neighbours episodes) have prevented solid blogging.

But now I’m back and ready to tell you about this amazing find my friend picked up at a vintage fair. An Italian Harper’s Bazaar from the 80s!

Things I love about this magazine:

1)  It’s not a magazine, it’s a bloody text book. Not sure that the picture shows it very well, but this bad boy is AN INCH thick.

the welcome page...

2)  The hair!! I think somewhere deep within, after having seen so many comedic takes on the 80s, I didn’t really believe that women actually had hairstyles like that. But as this mag evidences, they really did. Jeez.

3)  The fact that some of the outfits are outrageously 80s (and quite revolting), but others actually parallel current trends.

4) The lack of airbrushing (see below). Those moles would never be allowed these days.

Also the whole thing is pretty much just adverts, and I thought modern day mags were bad! But in this case it was fine, because it’s not like I speak Italian anyway.

 

The H&M Carrie (sort of..) skirt

I saw this skirt glowing in a tired corner of an H&M store in Knightsbridge and immediately the Sex and the City opening credits flashed through my mind. Ok so it’s not a tutu like Carrie’s but it’s the closest I’ve seen the high street come to producing such a skirt. So obvs I bought it (I am a HUGE Carrie B fan).

Only problemo is the pinchy elasticated waistband. By pinchy I mean that unless you have the washboard abs of Kelly Holmes you will undoubtedly get severe love handles. (I have tried to stretch the elastic by pulling it several times, but to no avail – anyone got tips on how to help elastic lose its elasticity??)

I have come up with quite a good solution though – thick scarf round waist acts as a corset and minimises lumps and bumps.

Green tank and black top, both Primark // Skirt, H&M // Shoes, New Look // Brooch, vintage // Scarf worn as belt, vintage // Pineapple necklace, Accessorize // Envelope necklace, Urban Outfitters

Brand love: Minimarket part II

Yeah, not quite finished with raving about Minimarket just yet I’m afraid…

So, if they were going for beautifully demure and serene this Autumn, then they are shaking things up a bit with their coolios S/S12 collection. This time around, inspiration has come from the likes of Cleopatra and Aladdin! And it’s not just the wigs… you see it in the jewellery, the cropped tops and the loose and draped fabric – yums.

Gorgeous photos courtesy of Dazed.

 

 

100 Years Of Style In 100 Seconds

For those of you that haven’t seen this already…. it’s Westfield Stratford’s 100-second ‘100 Years of Style’ video to commemorate their grand opening. Ahh those 90s rave sneakers – gorge.

I love this BUT do kind of wish it had been done all in the same place so that the focus is 100% on the clothes. What do you think?

Brand love: Minimarket

Oh YEAH man, just stumbled across Swedish label Minimarket. Sisters Sofie, Jennifer and Pernilla Elvestedt are the designers behind it and their A/W11 collection has a distinctive autumnal theme with lots of auburns and deep red hues. So beautiful…

As much as I love designers embracing brights for their A/W collections and steering clear of the conventional winter black, it’s also really nice when some reflect nature’s colours of the reason. I feel like Minimarket has done just that and done it really well. Looking at the pictures makes me wanna put my bobble hat and boots on and run outside to kick leaves!

….And if the clothes don’t impress? Juuuust take a minute to absorb these.

Anyone that manages to slip Dr Marten-style numbers into their collection has my vote automatically.

Also, they have a fairly strange yet somewhat entrancing campaign video. Sure, the horror movie-style sound effects might chill you to the bone, but it’s quite interesting to watch none-the-less: