Mary Katrantzou

I actually wrote down in my little notebook of blogging ideas about doing a post dedicated to Mary Kantrantzou and no one believed me last year when I went to a university interview that she was one to watch, well I guess I and many of the other people who have helped her along the way were right. Having won the emerging talent award at the British Fashion Awards this designer has gone from strength to strength. 

She first debuted her first collection at London Fashion week in 2008 it wasn't till her S/S11 that I really started to pay attention and I'm glad that I did. 

With an absolutely amazing S/S12 show Mary has gone on to design a capsule collection for Topshop and I for one couldn't be more excited. 

Released 17th Feb I'm hoping to grab an amazing piece from the collection. 

Photo's taken from Topshop Website no copyright infringement intended 

Paradise

Disaronno and Coke

Wedges: Boohoo
Platform Heels: Independent Shop

Aztec Dress: MissGuided
Earrings: ASOS
Rings: Various Shops

Dress: Glamorous
Crystal Necklace: River Island
Gold Chain Necklace: Primark
Earrings: Topshop

Went on a spontaneous night out with my friend so I thought I'd do like an outfit post.

Had a good time, I love when you go out and spend the night outside talking to random people who you are never going to see again but it doesn't seem to matter because in that moment you have so much in common and so much to talk about and you'll remember it briefly the day after but then it's gone.
Drank far too many cocktail's but when it's buy one get one free it's rude not to, we did have a strange one called a MaiTai and it was so lemony like a sickly lemon cheesecake kind of taste, has any one ever had one of those before? What did you think?

Under the sea: Look for less

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 clockwise

After doing the Under the Sea post I started craving a little bit of the sea with me and being a part time employed sales assistant obviously cannot afford the Chanel price tag, even though I would happily sell my Grandma for a piece of Chanel...Just kidding...maybe...

Anyway so I started looking at different places where I could get the look for a little bit less and found some interesting pieces for not a lot of money.

1. Rare at ASOS green chiffon dress, I thought the colour was lovely a gorgeous pastel mint that reminded me of the seaside and the way the dress hangs is really feminine and floaty like fabric under the sea.

2. ASOS Shell Clutch, I loved the Chanel Shell clutch and while this is a more simplified version I think it's a beautiful substitute. I love anything where black and gold is the colour scheme, so this clutch is ideal.

3. Topshop all over sequin dress, When I think of sequins for some reason my mind always goes back to the 90's when sequins were oversized and garish, but this dress seems really sophisticated and the colour is perfect for Spring. Think of the sequins as very fashionable scales on a mermaids tail.

4. TFNC at ASOS sequin bodice dress, Sequins and the sheer pleated skirt combines the two features that I think make up this trend.

5. Topshop Lurex roll sweat top, Admittedly this is actually part of Topshop's sporty trend going on right now but I thought the metallic sheen was perfect for an underwater trend and it's casual enough to be worn in the day...in fact I did nearly buy this top the other day but refrained as I'm trying to save money but isn't it just lovely.

6. Monsoon Vintage Shell Clutch, This is a more subtle version of the other ASOS clutch, I liked the gold clasp and the indented lines that rather than pointedly declaring it's a shell made you think of the details of a sea shell.

7. Finsk metallic leather shoes, Metallic, pleated, ankle boot, what's not to like? They are beautiful.

8.Topshop Sequin double layer top, Clear sequins that remind you of the shimmer on the water on a sunny day. Simple but effective. 

Silver Booties

Chanel SS12
The boots in question. 

After seeing the silver boots from Chanel's SS12 Collection I decided to go on a bit of a hunt for silver shoes probably the only colour of shoe I don't actually own and I found these. 

So I thought I would share. 

1,2,3,4,5 clockwise.

1. Pierre Cardin, I'd say these are my favourite because they look formal enough to be worn in the evening but also in the day to add a different dimension to an outfit.
2. Peggy by Emma Go, I thought these looked quite lovely for the summer more edgy then say a tan boot but they look quite safe.
3. Jeffrey Campbell Lita's in Silver, Most of us are familiar with the popular Jeffrey Campbell Lita's (which I will get one day) these are those but in silver, which I think are really different but whereas some Lita's I would wear in the day I'd reserve these specially for evening wear.
4.River Island, I love how these aren't too high and the black band gives a contrast to what could seem overly glittery silver boots. I have no idea what I'd wear them with all I know is that I love them and desperately need them.
5. River Island again, Now I know these are more ankle heels rather than boots but I like the peep toe, the cut away side and the 3 little studs place along the front of the shoe so much that I had to include them. 

Under the sea

Over the years a nautical theme is a given for S/S catwalk trends, however this year it has been given a twist with designers diving underwater for not only design inspiration but also catwalk inspiration. Take Chanel's S/S12 collection for instance, before even seeing the pieces spectator's were treated to a wondorous display of underwater designs.

Coral and shell pieces set the tone for Chanel's SS12 Catwalk show

The show kicked off with a gorgeous pure white dress teamed with a cropped jacket.  

It was all up from there with coral effect fabric, sequins giving an illusion to scales and beautiful pearls that are all part of the Chanel Heritage. 

Chanel SS12 designs.
Also has any one noticed the silver shoes who wouldn't want a pair of those!

The audience was then treated to a live performance from Florence Welch emerging from a shell as Botticelli's Venus. 

What a beautiful dress. 

But it wasn't just Chanel that gave a wonderful sea themed show designer's such as Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacob for Louis Vuitton took inspiration from the sea and featured pieces such as swimming cap lace headpieces from Alexander McQueen and laser cut dresses from Louis Vuitton. 

Alexander McQueen SS12
Stunning from the headpiece to the delectable ruffle shoes.

Louis Vuitton SS12
Kate Moss Modelling for the collection in a laser cut dress with  seaweed effect fabric. 

Acessories also took on an underwater theme with Chanel's stunning shell clutch bag and the more fun Versace shell print shoulder bag. Both as equally stunning and perfectly suitable if you just wanted to have a piece of the ocean with you. 

Chanel SS12
Who wouldn't want this bag?

Versace SS12 shell print bag

I'm going to end this post with a picture of the pearl hairpins from Chanel embellishing the model's hair to get that perfect mermaid look. 

Chanel SS12

All Photo Credit goes to respective sources no Copyright Intended. 

Cat Eye

Getting ready for Summer despite the fact that the cold has really set in around Britain and of course Europe. I'm being hopeful that hot weather is just around the corner when I bought these items but when ASOS has a sale sometimes the sensibility goes out of the window. 

First things first the gorgeous straw hat, that I got for an amazing £4 reduced from £10 or £15 I can't remember, but I had to get another hat as mine got destroyed at Beach Break last year (an amazing student festival) and it has a cute floral trim around the edge so makes it a bit different. 

The next thing I got was a lovely red dress by Vero Moda reduced to £9 again I can't really remember the original price think it was about £25. It has an elasticated waist and gorgeous cut out shoulder sleeves which I thought was quite unusual and hopefully it will be nice and warm so I can wear it this year.

Last thing I got though I got them from ebay is the cat eye sunglasses, I saw some from Prada and liked them so much that I looked for an alternative and found these, so I was quite happy with that buy, again they cost about £3 and they really are lovely. Though I have a bit of a sunglasses addiction so these are the ONLY pair I'm buying this year.