Celeb style crush gallery

Purely for inspiration purposes, I have decided to create a gallery of all my celeb style crushes of the week! If ever you're feeling uninspired, take a little look through my collection of weekly celeb style crushes to give yourself some fun, crazy, celebrity style ideas! Each week I'll add a new pic :-)

Florence Welch

Taylor Momsen

Kristen Stewart

Kristen again!

 Nicola Roberts, I actually want to be you. So perfect.

 Since I accidentally skipped a week, here is an extra picture of Nicola that I also would have put up, and which, despite being about a year old, is STILL inspiring me now. The perfection of this outfit can never quite fail to impress me every time I look at it.

 Kristen working red carpet chic

I'm your...ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherrybomb!

I didn't think that it was actually possible for me to fall anymore in love with the beautiful, ivory-skinned, chocolate-haired fashion icon that is K-Stew, but after seeing her star in The Runaways last week, I realised that it totally was. Like most people, I first found out about Kristen Stewart when she stole the show as Bella in Twilight. Well, ok, it was actually Robert Pattinson who really stole the show for me and who subsequently caused me to read all the books and embark on my Twilight/Edward Cullen obsession (that was the first time I realised it is totally possible to fall THAT much in love with a fictional character...) but you know what I mean. If Edward was my hot man/vampire crush (or should I say love of my life ;-)) Bella was my effortless style/beauty crush. I was awed at the way Kristen could look so beautiful in such a laid-back, casual, effortless, non try-hard way. I lusted after the way her flawless, luminous pale skin glowed in the dimness, the way her chocolate brown waves fell effortlessly around her face. I even liked the simplicity of her wardrobe; the khaki parkas, the dark denim, the faded, checked shirts. The effortless style only seemed to emphasise her natural, un-made up beauty. She was the perfect Bella- beautiful but without even realising it. I think that is one of the main things I love about Kristen and the way she plays Bella- she isn't this perfect, all-American cookie-cutter teen with a cute giggle and a flirtatious smile. Bella strikes you as awkward, reluctant, a little unsure of herself but confident at the same time; in an 'I'm an outsider but that's cool' sort of way. You get the impression that she has no idea how stunning she really is, and doesn't really care much about it either. She's the perfect heroine, because she's not the sort of character that you think would fall head-over -heels in love with the mysterious, dreamy, heart-stoppingly beautiful Vampire boy. But she does- against all her better instincts- and that's what I think makes it that more exciting, and what stops the film from being cheesy.Bella and Edward are both beautiful but in non- stereo typical ways- she's an shy, slightly awkward high school teen with out the Hollywood tan and cheerleader outfit, and he's really a dangerous predator that has to fight the urge to bite into her flesh every second he's near her. Heart-meltingly romantic, but with a dangerous twist :-)

 This scene is so beautiful and magical...one of my faves in the film :-)

I fell in love with the whole look and feel of the film; the awkward, disjointed editing, the hazy palette of woody greens and blues, the green light filtering through the mossy trees on the Forks forests,  the slow, hypnotic way that the story and the romance unfolds. It all captures that intense, intoxicating, mind-altering feeling of adolescent infatuation so brilliantly. Not to mention the music...I can't hear Bella's lullaby without feeling like I'm sitting beside Edward, watching him play it to me on the piano...

But anyway, before I go on any more about what a Twilight addict I am, let's get on to The Runaways. I'd been looking forward to seeing the film literally since I first discovered Twilight two summers ago, when I kept reading about how Kristen was going to be taking on the exciting role of 70's rocker Joan Jett.Sadly though, I felt that the film didn't live up to it's potential. It didn't really go very deep into the lives of the characters and it all felt kind of on the surface and flashy. Joan was depicted as this troubled, rebellious young girl who turned to drugs and a life of rock and roll, but it didn't really explain why she was like that, where she had come from and what she had been through to make her want to rebel so much. I felt like there were a lot of missed opportunities to go deeper into the story behind the band. However, I thought Kristen's performance was fantastic, as was Dakota Fanning's. The thing that really made the film for me though, was of course the fashion. Here are some of the looks I've been loving since I saw it :-)

My fave look of the entire film!

Watch this space for some Runaways- inspired outfits coming right up..!

Lots of love, The Porcelain Princess
xxxxxx

That Friday Feeling

Don't you just love Fridays? I think it's that feeling of anticipation that makes them so special- the thought that you have two whole days of freedom before the drudge and monotony of Monday morning returns. Even if you work on weekends- or know you have to get up early the next day- there is still just something special about Friday night. It reminds me of the end of the school week when I was younger, of getting ready to go out with friends to the local youth club or to hang around someone's free house, of sitting in with your best friend doing face masks and wishing you knew some boys you could make flirtatious calls to on your mobile, of singing along to 'Moulin Rouge!' at sleepovers or of sitting in by yourself when there was nothing better to do, watching Mean Girls.

Nowadays, even if my boyfriend is busy and I'm not doing anything or going out, and I know I should use my free night to make a start on that essay or do that important reading- I can't. On a Friday night in, the TV and my pink duvet and the Ben 'n' Jerries calls, and it is impossible to resist. Sad? Yeah, I probably am, but I don't care what anyone says; Friday nights with Half Baked and a girly film can be pretty damn amazing! Even if all I'm doing is swooning over Damon Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries instead of dancing the night away, it's cool because it's Friday- and no matter how you spend it- Friday is the best day of the week. Nothing can take away it's sparkle.

My regular Friday afternoon routine has lately been to spend some time happily vintage shopping in Greenwich after my class finishes at three, then to catch the train home, new purchases in hand (even if it's just a 99p necklace!) to spend a cosy night in with my boyfriend on the sofa. This Friday just gone was extra fun, as my mum came up to meet me and joined me in my weekly treasure-hunt around the shops and market. I was all too happy to introduce her to some of my long-time Friday shopping friends, such as 360 Degrees Vintage and my favourite vintage market stall :-)

Here we are having Fashionable Friday Fun:

    Having a panini, coffees and scones to give us the energy to shop til we dropped!

My mum working 70s chic in 360 Degrees Vintage!

I love slips and sundresses!

I love the displays in this shop...

How adorable is this!? (P.S, I want the black bralet which is hanging up! It would look cool with black shiny leggings, a half-way done up denim shirt and heaps of ghetto-gold, non?)

Little touches like this really add to the atmosphere!

It's all about trying on a crazy church-hat.

 Floppy floral hat, anyone?

Love this stall! I bought two cute headscarves for only a pound each!

Gotta love the £3.00 pile!

Can I just draw your attention to this lovely cream blouse? My boyfriend managed to sniff out a thrift store when he went skiing to Canada recently, and found this and a cute beige jumper. Isn't he the sweetest for rifling through a vintage shop for me to find something I would like?? Thankyou Michael! :-) x

Trying on a top (which I bought!) in Vintage Emporium

 This top is so cute and different- I think I'd wear it with my grey bodycon skirt, some black opaques and some leopard print flats? Or maybe some grey high-waisted shorts? Hmm decisions, decisions...

I didn't buy this but am going to go back and get it- it will be just perfect for camping in the summer :-)

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little account of one of my Friday shopping trips, and I hope you all had a very happy Friday, whatever you got up to...
love and kisses,
The Porcelain Princess xoxoxoxo

Windswept Meadows and Mermaid Vibes

Having fallen fully in love with Topshop's Snake Valley collection, I have been filled lately with the desire to throw on a fringed kimono over a tye-dye tee, add heaps of sparkling turquoise jewels and gold gypsy- style chains, shake down my hair, dance through the pine-scented forests and run in open fields beneath a flaming pink sky. This seems like a perfect plan, apart from a few teeeeny drawbacks. Firstly, the sky here is currently more of a dark, menacing grey or just an open, freezing white than flaming pink, and I don't think there are any pine forests in my neck of the woods, and if there are , the air is not warm and summery and sweetly scented. It's more icy cold and full of those little flecks which you're not quite sure weather are rain, snow, or something in between. Here lies my problem. My head is full of warmth, summer rain, bare feet in the sand and dream catcher earrings. The English weather,on the other hand, calls more for wooly hats, scarves and furs. Oh-and don't forget brollies. If it rains in the summer while you're camping by the sea, you can just stroll through the downpour, (in theory) letting the pretty rain drops fall all around you, adding to the wavy beachy-ness of your tousled do. If it rains in winter, however, you simply freeze.

So, to avoid this problem (sort of), I decided that I could work the look with added layers of knitwear, my fur coat, chunky winter boots and black opaques. Therefore, I decided to treat myself to a new outfit from Topshop's Snake Valley collection, which I can wear in the summer but which can also be styled up for colder weather. Another thing I've been dying to try for a while now is coloured streaks in my hair. I used to wear pink spray-in streaks when I was fifteen and I loved it, and have always secretly hoped I'd be able to rock them again one day without looking like a fifteen-year old circa 2004. Just lately, colourful cartoon-esque wigs have been seen on everyone from Katy Perry to Nikki Minaj, and coloured streaks were worn in the models' hair in the Topshop SS 11 campaign. Not to mention my beautiful friend Bee, who has been working electric blue streaks for as long as I've known her, and has now moved on to shocking purple (you go girl!) Every time I see a new celeb rocking a bright colbolt wig or pastel pink do, I fall in love with the look a hundred times more. I decided that my favourite colour, pink, wouldn't quite work with my red hair (although I will still give it a try!), so I decided on blue as the perfect compliment for my amber locks. Today, I headed straight for boots to buy my 'Azure Blue' coloured hairspray. Yay!     

Just to make me adore this look even more- to me, blue and green ocean hues worn in beachy, mussed- up hair scream 'mermaid'. Ever since I can remember, I have always had a strong fascination with these imaginary beauties of the sea, and have always been enthralled by the ocean. It may have started with Disney's 'A Little Mermaid.' Nothing can inspire me quite the way the ocean can- the sound, the smell, the atmosphere that seems to hang around it, it's hypnotic, compelling, powerful beauty. Being near the sea makes me want to write about it, paint it, draw it, take pictures of it...and basically just become a mermaid. But seriously, I once read a book when I was eleven, called 'Daughter of the Sea', by Berlie Doherty. I found it in the year six book box at school, and fell in love with the first line. It begins: 'My tale is of the sea.' Wow. STILL gives me chills. Anyway, I hungrily devoured the book within a matter of hours and begged my mum to buy it for me, which she did. I still read it every few years. The story is about a little girl who is a Selke- a seal who can shed her silken skin and walk upon the land as a human. However, the sea will always run in her veins. Selke's feel the very ebb and flow of the tide within them, whenever they are on land, they long with all their hearts for the sea. One night, a childless fisherman, caught in a hideous storm, sees a baby in the water, thinking she must have come from a wreaked ship, and that she will surely be dead. The man fishes the child from the sea, finding that she is alive and well, and takes her home to his barren wife.  The wife is overcome with joy, and together they raise the sea-child as if she were their own, always afraid that one day the sea will claim her back. They name her Gioga, after the name of a sea-princess from a folk-tale. The narrative is woven with local myths and stories and tales of the sea in the far North of England, and the language itself seems to imitate the rushing sound of the tide, and whisper to you of shells and ships and Selkes and ship-wreaks. Ever since then, the sea has lived inside my head. The haunting tales and startling imagery of jagged black rocks and ferocious towers of sea spray  have stayed with me, and are called instantly to mind when ever I am near to the ocean. Seriously, EVERYONE should read this book.

Anyway, before I go any more off tangent, I think that blue-streaked, mythical hair really adds a mermaid-y, sea-princess vibe to the snake valley look, and gives it that little touch of under-water magic. Here are some photos which capture the blue hair/mermaid vibe I am SO into right now:

    Katy Perry

STUNNING picture that I found when I googled 'mermaids'.

Amber Rose carries off the trend with a hip-hop edge

 

Serious mermaid vibes. Oh GaGa, how I adore you.

The oh-so-fabulous Nicki Minaj. She amazes me with both her music and her style.

Found this when I googled 'blue hair.' Wow. Words cannot describe...

I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this look. Am I brave enough to try it..? Hm, maybe only in celeb-land!

My gorgeous friend Bee!

So, moving on, here are some pics of me modeling the Snake-Valley/ mermaid look in a local park/woodland area. To my extreme happiness, my boyfriend has just bought an amazing new camera, as I've wanted a really decent camera to take professional pictures for this blog for absolutely forever. Unfortunately, neither of us knows the first thing about photography or how to use this amazing camera at the moment- but we are going to try and find out. We're hoping to take a short photography course, and still need to attack the manual (which is like a textbook) so please forgive the extreme amateur-ness of these photos- I just couldn't wait to give it a go and have an experiment! I hope you like them!

 
Love and kisses, The Porcelain Princess xxx