Porcelain Princess

2012-02-06T11:05:00.001-08:00

Lavender Love- get pretty in parma violet shades of lilac, lavender and palest dusky mauve

2012-02-06T09:25:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has even the mildest interest in fashion is probably well aware by now of the fact that pastel colours and pale, ice cream hues are just about THE biggest trend for SS12. As you cannot have failed to notice, glacial shades of spearmint green, palest pink and powder blue were all over the catwalks from Meadham Kirchhoff's living raggedy-ann dolls with their towering pastel-tinted beehives and frou-frou skirts, to Louis Vuitton's frothy fashion fairy tale show complete with fair ground carousel, dolly mixture mules and La Moss in a twinkling tiara. Therefore, at the risk of regurgitating the words of every fashion magazine I've read in the last two months and indulging in all things saccharine and sweetie-inspired (as much as I would love to- I'm all about the candy colours) I have decided not to bore you with repetition (no matter how pretty it sounds!) and instead focus on the one pastel shade that is tempting my sartorial sweet tooth right now more than all its pretty competitors.

The shade I'm talking about, is in fact, lavender. It is a colour and fragrance that I once associated with 'old lady-ness' (if I can coin such a term) due to it's old English associations and the fact that a gift set of lavender-scented soap was just about the only Christmas/birthday present that my granny couldn't seem to find one million and one objections to. As a child, I thought of lavender (the colour and fragrance) as the sort of thing one might find in Marks and Spencer's giftware department, or adorning the bathroom of a fussy, elderly lady with a weakness for lace and frills. However, what with the recent explosion of all things pale, pretty and pastel hued, I am feeling a real lavender love that reveals just how much I've been seduced by the lovely lilacy shade and its connotations of delicacy, softness and old-school femininity. What with my love of vintage, I find that in recent years I've developed a new appreciation for lavender's traditional English connotations, and that the pale, pretty colour is surprisingly and quite stunningly flattering when teamed with the dream combination of pale skin and red hair.

In fact, just about any faded pastel hue looks perfectly pretty against pale skin, but I'm loving the off-beat quirkiness of lilac, being a colour that you would have thought would clash terribly with red. Well, okay, it does clash, but that's what I think makes red hair and lilac apparel such a unique, surprising and therefore flattering dream team. Back in the summer, you might recall a post I wrote all about my rediscovery of the colour purple, and how I was loving its magical, mystical, sultry-night-sky-in-the-summer vibes. Well, this season, it's all about faded, powdery shades that evoke hazy summer memories and strolls in the park under the shade of a pretty parasol, so I'm ditching deep purple for a paler shade of plum. Think parma violtets and the lilac-coloured iced gems when it comes to this look, opting for cool shades of palest purple and duskiest mauve. Here are some images to get you inspired, and which capture the romantic mood of my current lavender love..

Pastels, pastels everywhere...

The SS12 catwalks were a beautiful watercolour wash of palest lemon, glacial blue, spearmint green and dusky rose.

Parma violet pin-up: The stunning Dita Von Teese whips up a sartorial sweet treat with her sugared-violet dress, pretty vanilla skin and cherry-red nails and lips.

Deborah Ann Woll (who plays Jessica Hamby in True Blood) once again proves that scarlett locks, snow white skin and lilac are a match made in fashion heaven.

Christina Hendricks is yet another porcelain-skinned redhead working the lavender look

Me, modeling a floral lilac vintage dress for Bohemian Rose Vintage last Spring

I adore this delicate lilac slip dress from Topshop.com. Team it with cream or nude heels for a summery tea party and you'll look as sweet as a (Louis Vuitton) sundae.

Louis Vuitton's SS12 ad campaign featuring aforementioned sundaes. Yum ;-)

Have a Louis Vuitton-style fashion fantasy and fly away on a fairground horse with this designer-esque collar from Rokit Vintage. The pretty lavender ribbon gives the prim cream lace a touch of parma violet sweetness.
Lots of love,

The Porcelain Princess

xxx

Candy Floss Days of Summer

2011-09-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

Before I start, I would just like to point out the fact that, yes, I know it's not summer. As much as I might wish it was- as much as I wish I could bury my head under my duvet and pretend that the stifling air in my room is drifting in through the window from a sultry, hot night instead of from my blow heater- even I cannot ignore the inevitable signs that the seasons are changing. The leaves are steadily turning gold, a bowl of freshly-collected, glossy brown conkers has taken pride of place on our living room table, and there is that definite nip in the air that demands the first trip up to the loft to uncover last season's fur coat and vintage Christmas jumpers.

OK, I am not denying that there is not some excitement in this. The musty scent of vintage knits and the new crispness in the air carry with them that back to school feeling that has you hankering for the scent of new text books and high denier ribbed tights, and that gives you the urge to go to WH Smiths and buy a new pencil case, no matter how many years ago you left school. Autumn is a time of promise; the dry leaves on the pavement whisper to you of that smoky scent mixed with the taste of red toffee apples that can only mean bonfire night, and the echoes of fireworks resounding through the brilliant cold of black, November air. It all has a touch of magic to it, yes. Even I, eternal child of summer and running barefoot on the beach, have been a little affected by it's sparkle. And yet.

As much as I look forward to winter and the promise of Christmas, I lament the loss of summer like the loss of a dear friend, or an intense, all-consuming holiday romance. For those short, fleeting summer months that we are (sometimes) blessed with in this country, there exists a time of endless possibilities; reading in the garden, camping by the sea, the smell that rises from a hot, sun-baked pavement after the rain has fallen. My memories of childhood and adolescence are a continuous steam of golden, sunlit flashes and hazy summer moments; of water fights in the garden, the faded pastel stripes of Neapolitan ice cream, toasting marshmallows with my little brothers and Adam Crossley from down the road, and then later: making up dance routines to Beyonce's Baby Boy, laying beside my best friend on the trampoline one cool summer night, looking up at the stars and laughing til our bodies shook and we could no longer breathe.

So, while I do look forward to the coming of the colder months and the fashion opportunities that arise from them, I still look back to summer and its somewhat haunting beauty. I say haunting because for me, summer is the time of year that holds the most poignant memories, and although those memories are happy and golden, I have always thought that there is something about happy memories that is incredibly and overwhelmingly sad. Because- as happy as they are, as much as they represent a time of beauty and freedom and youth- they are gone. So it is with a bitter sweet feeling that I welcome in this season and say goodbye to the old.

But anyway, I have gone off on a ridiculous tangent that I totally didn't even plan to go into...What I really wanted to say was that right now, I am kind of liking the idea of hanging onto a remnant of those hazy, candyfloss days of seaside pier wanderings and summertime fairgrounds via my wardrobe. The person that originally inspired me to do so was the beautiful Marina Diamandis, who I mentioned in my last post and who is my celeb style crush of the week. When searching online for some sartorial inspiration for an outfit to wear at London Fashion Weekend (which I attended on Friday with my close friend Leah, as is our tradition) I came across Marina, dressed for the shows in a concoction of candy pink pieces, teamed with pale pink curls and matching lipstick. Finally, someone who wasn't draped in the predictable autumnal hues of September, but someone who was rocking an unashamedly sugary mix of shades teamed with none other than bare legs. I took note.

As well as Marina, though, I have recently been reflecting on the fact that I have a rather extreme style crush on Kirsten Dunst, and that she is possibly one of the most beautiful women in the world. This is probable due to the fact that I watched The Virgin Suicides for the first time ever this summer (I know, it pains me that it took me 22 years to discover such an amazing and visually stunning film) and was taken aback by the haunting images, teenage nostalgia and hazy summer feeling that I always try to capture in my own creative writing. For me, Kirsten, with her laid back sun bleached waves, subtly suggestive smile and far-away dewy-eyed look, is the perfect embodiment of all those things that the film captures so well.

Film stills from The Virgin Suicides

Getting back to my outfit though, I ended up ordering something in dark colours and edgy jewel tones with a flash of leopard print thrown in just because it went so well with the most amazing shoes the world has ever seen, which I simply had to order from Topshop the second I saw them. But alas, it wasn't to be. Although the shoes arrived on time, my vintage outfit arrived a day too late, and I was left desperately rifling through Absolute Vintage near Old Spittalfiels Market on my lunch hour in a big sweaty mess at the last minute. However, with Marina Diamandis in mind, as well as the lingering of summer vibes I was evidently clinging onto, I somehow found the perfect outfit. The thing is, the pictures I took at London Fashion Weekend are not majorly impressive, given that I'd been at work all day and had rushed there straight after on the tube, was horrendously hot, sweaty and disheveled. Not to mention that there weren't really many posing opportunities. Therefore, I decided to recreate the look today with a photoshoot in my room, and have a little fun reveling in girliness with my mum's set of hot rollers while I was at it. I hope you enjoy my attempt at clincing onto the fading days of summer with a little candy floss chic...

Me in my London Fashion Weekend Outfit.

Hope you enjoyed the post guys! xoxo

Vintage Barbie

2011-09-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am going to start this post with a plea, to any one who has been kind and loyal enough to continue following me despite the fact that, recently, I have been so entirely rubbish and negligent. Here goes. Please remind me never to leave it this long before posting again. Not only have I a) neglected all the followers that I've been so happy, excited and, most of all, grateful to acquire over the last nine months since starting this blog, but b) my head has been so full of ideas since my last post over two months ago, that it is now near to exploding, and I feel like I don't even know where to start. Nevertheless, I will start somewhere, because it is my intention to turn my full commitment back to writing Porcelain Princess, so prepare yourself for the cathartic, sequin-spangled avalanche of ideas, inspiration and probably slightly hysterical sounding style-related sentences that are to follow.

In my defense, I must explain that I started a three month internship at Groupon UK as a creative writer in May, and have now secured a permanent position (yay!) As great as this is, never before did I appreciate just how much having a full time job and lengthy commute into London zaps up pretty much all of your time and energy. Oh for the uni days of getting up at noon, dreaming up outfits all day long, writing whenever the moment took me and attending the occasional lecture or Zumba class...it would be pretty safe to say that leaving the house at 7.40 in the morning and not getting back until 7.30 at night has made it a little difficult to find the time for this blog. However, in my moments of rest, the ideas have been brewing, words have been dancing tantalisingly in my head and my pink lap top has been calling...and so I am determined to make time to get in at least one post a week, and to get back to doing what I love most: writing about fashion. In an attempt to spice things up a bit and motivate myself not to return to my blogging days of silence, I have given the blog a bit of a makeover, which I think is a little more fresh. Please let me know what you think :-) Anyway, that's enough rabbiting on about that, so here's a pretty picture to get things started, and then let's get on to the important stuff...

MAC Barbie-themed ad campaign

So. Having reflected recently on my love for sequins, metallics and all things that sparkle, I have come to the conclusion that I perhaps lean a little towards Barbie-like tendencies of dressing. Now, don’t get me wrong - you won’t catch me wearing a vomit pink Big Brother contestant-style outfit complete with an OTT spray tan any time soon, but lately, I’ve been rather inspired by this whole notion of ‘Vintage Barbie’. It was actually a fellow Lookbooker and blogger (the very stylish Zee F from http://zizziswardrobe.blogspot.com/">ZiZi's Secret Wardrobe) who I am going to credit for coming up with the phrase. After Zee very kindly commented on a photo I'd put up of myself in a black sequin vintage shift dress, over-sized doll lashes and bright pink lips, pointing out that the look was rather 'vintage Barbie,' the term stuck with me and I realised just how much it sums up the kind of style that is giving me the fashion goosebumps right now.

As Barbie can be perceived as the very epitome of conventionality and even female objectification, it would seem odd that she is now a figure that I can draw inspiration from, given that her stereotypical, busty/blonde/skinny brand of beauty is one that the media constantly shoves down our throats, and which causes both women and men to aspire to a narrow-minded ideal of what it means to be beautiful. That said, there is simply something about Barbie and her mannequin-like perfection and overt 'girliness' that I belive can be used in an ironic sense to inspire, and to create something that is actually entirely fresh. Take Lily Allen in her ironic 'chav' get up, that she made her trademark when she first erupted onto the music scene, and which still inspires artists today like Gaga and Jessie J. Huge gold hoop earrings and thick ghetto-tastic chains fresh from the Argos catalogue may scream 'tacky' when teamed with a lurid-hued velour tracksuit or when adorning the lobes and neck of Vicky Pollard, but when taken and worn in the whimsical, fun, self-aware wat that Brits are so good at (in my opinion), it becomes something quite different indeed. Take Agyness Deyn, who arguably reinvented the whole 'bottle blonde' look, using her eccentric, urchin style to take it from page three glamour-model territory to the ultimate in quirky cool. You can't swing a beaten-up vintage satchel these days without knocking over sereval peroxide-blonde hipsters, who all manage to make the look contemporary with edgy hair styles, bold make up and nonchalantly thrown on faux-furs, battered leathers or studded denim jackets.

Speaking of bleach-begotten hair colours, I am currently obsessed with the idea of bleaching my hair blonde and dying it a pale, pastel pink. It is simply a fear of ruining the condition of the hair I have been painstakingly growing and caring for for the last four years that stops me (plus the fact that my hair is dyed bright red, and naturally brown.) However, I have never been more inspired by Polly-Pocket shades of softly falling curls and tumbling waves, and I highly suspect that by 2012, I'll be welcoming in the new year by finally succumbing to the bleach bottle.

Therefore, for all the above reasons, I am currently fascinated by the look of overtly girly, plastic-fantastic elements like bubble gum pink lips teamed with a vintage edginess that takes the look from WAG to cool. Think platinum blonde locks tied into a perky pony, teamed with luminous pale skin and the bedimmed glamour of a tarnished gold trophy jacket. If it’s inspiration you seek, look no further than blogger and Lookbooker Bonnie Strange from http://www.strangeambition.com/">Strange Ambition, whose stunning photography and crazy, sequin-spangled get-ups have me longing to raid her wardrobe and, well, just actually be her. Or, behold the dolly mixture-hued, glittery creations that are Miu Miu’s glitter boots. I kid you not when I say that never have I experienced shoe lust quite like this before. The pastel toned paillettes overlapping scale-like in Prada’s ad campaigns have got me feeling all mermaid Barbie, whilst the softly shimmering diamond-patterned knee-highs call to mind the teenage nostalgia of Clueless. That's not to mention the advert featuring a fresh-faced young model descending a staircase littered with cascades of candy-coloured glitter boots, which literally makes my heart flutter. So, it appears that irony is the key here folks; mixing up a bit of Malibu Barbie's unashamed girliness with a sprinkling of fun, tounge-in-cheek humour, 1980s vintage magic and all-out British eccentricity, Barbie can be allowed out of her dream house and let loose to wander the streets and catwalks ...

And here are the pictures:

The look that sparked my vintage Barbie fascination...

Nicki Minaj- the embodiment of hip hop Barbie

I personally think Patsy is a shining source of vintage Barbie inspiration

Mac models exhibiting doll-like perfection and the Barbie and Asos collaboration from a few years back

Marina Diamandis from Marina and The Diamonds, my official new style crush. Here she is at London Fashion Week looking like perfect vintage candy-floss

Photography from the AMAZING Bonnie Strange, taken from her photography blog:

http://www.strangeambition.com/ If you haven't checked it out yet, do so immediately!

Another of Bonnie's amazing pics- I want her blue hair so much!

Picture from an unknown source, but one which I think perfectly demonstrates the vintage Barbie look.

My own interpretation of 80s vintage Barbie (PS check out my new gold Toppers nail polish!)
Below are some of Prada's ad campaigns featuring the adored glitter boots, diamond socks and pailette-covered dresses, as well as a random blue hair picture I found and a lovely picture of girls laughing and carrying clothes and balloons. To me, it captures the unashamed girliness of Barbie and the nostalgia of female adolescence. I would actually wear that picture on a T shirt.

Purple Rain

2011-06-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

Who remembers back in the late nineties/early noughties, when purple was the colour to deck out your room, adorn yourself and paint your nails in if you happened to be a girl aged nine to thirteen with a penchant for Mizz Magazine, lava lamps and wavy, silver-framed mirrors? It was cooler than liking the Barbie-reminiscent, childhood-connotative pink, yet still feminine enough to be girly without having the tomboyish reference of blue. I think my first style encounter with purple as a 'cool', I'm-not-a-kid-anymore colour, was when, aged nine, I persuaded my mum to buy me a sequin-covered, satiny pair of low strappy heels from Tammy Girl to wear at the school disco. The more my mum shook her head at the Spice Girl-esque shoes with their miniture heels and repeated that they were too old for a girl my age, the more I inevitably wanted them, until finally she gave in, making me possibly the happiest nine year old girl on the planet. I thought I would love those shoes forever.

After that, purple was officially my favourite colour. I proclaimed a strong dislike for baby pink, adorned my eyelids with cheap purple eyeshadow from Boots and became the height of cool (or so I thought) by wearing those hideous stretchy plastic neck chokers from Claire's Accessories (remember those, girls??) Like any other self respecting pre-teen my age, when I was eventually allowed to have my room decorated in a colour of my choice, I went to town with an entirely lilac and silver colour scheme (FYI- our house resembled a building site for most of my pre-teen years, when we lived in a tent in the back of our garden whilst the entire roof was taken off and put back on again, before moving back in and living with bare plastered walls and glassless windows covered in plastic sheeting for a considerable amount of time, so finally having an actual room with painted walls was kiiiind of a huge deal for me).

It was about the time I approached the age of fourteen, when I became a teenager overnight, that purple was suddenly no longer en-vouge. No longer content to listen to Dido CDs on my silver stereo whilst I crimped my hair and told ghost-stories to my friends on my purple, star-scattered duvet, I filled my days with reading melodramatic romance novels (The Thorn Birds, anyone?) watching hip-hop stars shake their bootys on MTV and lusting after miniscule items of fabric resembling clothing from stores like Clobber and Jane Norman (I know- the memory still haunts me today!) My desire to fit in and to become 'popular' and fanciable took over, and pink was suddenly acceptable again. I adorned my planner with stereotypical-heartbroken-misunderstood-teen song lyrics, inked carefully in bubblegum pink gel pen, and drew felt-tipped coloured pictures of Disney Princesses to impress the popular girls (whose year eleven planners were covered in Disney Shop sticky-tape, printed with the pretty faces of Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella). I found a new relatability in the Disney princess films I'd watched as a child, suddenly able to fully appreciate the romance of being whisked into jasmine-scented night air on a magic carpet and into a diamond-studded sky by the handsome Aladdin. When I was sixteen, Barbie pink, Disney Princesses and girly memorabilia suddenly became cool again, whilst my sequin covered purple shoes were probably donated to a charity shop along with the purple dress with black lace overlay that I wore to celebrate the millennium. Having fully embraced my girly side again, I unashamedly sprayed my hair with magenta streaks, built up a collection of candy-coloured tops, skirts and dresses and lusted after boys in pink Hacket polos and pink-striped lacoste shirts. When I was finally allowed to re-decorate my room again, just before my GCSEs, the look was full-blown baby pink and black: think baby pink satin curtains edged with black beading and pink satin headboard embroidered with the outline of a black lace heart. Pink was in again, and I incorporated it into my makeup draw, pencil case, and of course, wardrobe. From the ages of fourteen to the age of around nineteen, I don't think I wore one single purple item.

Since then, purple has slowly began to filter back into my style radar, and these days, being someone who is no longer limited by the desire to fit in as I was in my adolescence, I find that there is space in my closet for anything which happens to be inspiring me at the current moment, weather or not it's 'in'. My re-introduction to purple has began slowly, with a sparkly vintage indigo slip here and a deep mauve, slightly shimmery Mac lipstick there (it's called Violetta, btw, and it's my new best friend.)

Just lately I've begun to be more and more inspired by the colour purple, and seduced by it's mystical, magical connotations. To me, as well as being the colour of my child-to-teen transition years, purple is the colour of night, mystery and magic. It's the colour of a star- filled, inky-dark night sky, a velvety smooth, gently rippling ocean and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure it's the colour of Dumbledore's moon-and-star covered cloak in the first Harry Potter book. What's more- for some reason- purple to me is also the colour that I feel best epitomizes the whole Harry Potter Series- that feeling of snuggling on the leather sofas on a humid day in our old playroom in summer whilst a thunderstorm rages against the rain-washed windows, that feeling of smelling the summer rain mixed with that distinctive, comforting musty smell of the pages of a book whilst reading about Hogwarts and Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks- that magical, cosy feeling is inescapably and undeniably purple. And since I have been re-reading the entire Harry Potter Series almost every summer since I was eleven as a kind of tradition, I am currently starting again on The Prisoner of Azkaban, which is making me feel in a thoroughly purple mood indeed.

Purple also reminds me of violets, which I think are some of the most beautiful, vibrant-petaled flowers there are. Right now in our garden, an array of lovely, jewel-toned purple flowers have recently burst into bloom, and when you look outside at dusk, it's like this muted lush green backdrop, scattered with dots of bright, vivid, purple that just seem to glow ultra-violet, like gems in the dimness.

These are all the things that are collectively inspiring me right now, and making me fall a little head over heels for the deep, mystical, night-sky shade. Not to mention that my uber-stylish friend Justine recently wore out a sparkly purple vintage top as a dress which I am a tiny bit obsessed with. As any readers of my previous posts will know, I have a major thing for vintage and also for anything sparkly, so if it's sparkly, vintage and purple, then you really can't get any better. Right now I love the idea of throwing on a sparkly, over-sized top/dress, teaming it with mega heels, tonnes of necklaces and long, wavy, free flowing hair. Here are some pictures that capture my current purple haze:

Our garden at dusk, taken by me just after the rain had fallen:

There's nothing like getting stuck into Harry's magical world for some mystical fashion inspiration worthy of Professor Trelawny (I get so inspired reading about her many glittering necklaces and strings of beads draped over layered-up, spangled shawls as she gazes into a crystal ball).

From left: sparkly vintage top from Rokit, sheer lace purple blouse- gift from a vintage modeling shoot, purple dress, from a vintage shop in London

These pics are all from the modeling shoot I recently did- sadly none of the clothes are mine, but these potfits were two of my favourites!

Me wearing sparkly purple top, Rokit Vintage, Bomber jacket, Rokit Vintage, levis cut-offs, Rokit Vintage, booys, Topshop

Hop you all enjoyed the post...:-) xxxxxxxxxxx

Bohemian Rose Vintage

2011-04-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Whilst I should probably be making a start on my postcolonial literatures essay or attempting to begin the other mounds of coursework I have awaiting my attention, I feel that it would be a much better (or at least funner) use of my time to tell you about my latest delightful little vintage trip...

Thanks to my friend gorgeous Bee, I found out about a fantastic little evening in an Antiques shop near where she lives in Winchmore Hill, by the name of Barker&May, where they were hosting a vintage clothes party. The shop doesn't normally sell clothing at all, so the night was a real one-off, special occasion. Indeed, news of it seemed to have traveled and beckoned to the fashionistas of the quiet London suburb, and the tiny, unassuming shop was packed with vintage lovers who had flocked from their hiding places to excitedly sift through the rails. I could barely get my Mary Jane-clad foot in the door to get a look at the rails of hand picked vintage clothing, accessories and unique, hand-made jewelery, but Bee and I couldn't be deterred from fighting our way through to ogle the vintage goodies. And boy was I glad we did!

The pieces were brought in by vintage collector Leanne Mobbs from Bohemian Rose Vintage and were all hand-picked so there wasn't a lot of rubbish to rifle through before you got to the good stuff. I found myself wanting pretty much everything, which is the way I feel in vintage stores like Rokit, where everything is high quality and hand-chosen. However, unlike Rokit, the Bohemian Rose Vintage clothes came without the high street price tag. I always feel strongly that vintage clothing shouldn't be expensive- it is second hand and a lot of it can be found for under a fiver if you have the patience to hunt through endless charity shops. As much as I love Rokit, it is a brand which is undoubtedly cashing in on the current vintage explosion in the fashion world, and charges £25- £30 for tee shirts which would easily be a couple of quid in a charity shop. However, all of Leanne's items were pretty reasonably priced, with most of the dresses ranging from £15- £20 on average. Barker&May have hosted the evening before and it has been so successful that they are planning to have more in the future (yay!)

With Bee's expert help (that girl should be a stylist!) I got my hands on an adorable pale blue baby doll dress from the sixties for £15, a lovely cream slip dress for £20 and a cute-as-a-button blue jumper for £15. There was loads more I could have bought, but that will have to wait till after my next pay day!

Leanne also has an online store at www.bohemianrosevintage.com so please do check her out!

Here are some piccies of what I bought and all the different ways the three items can be worn!

The cream slipdress is just perfect for a summer day out when teamed with cute vintage accessories and red lipstick for a fifties look.

My dog Benji getting involved in the shoot! <3

Doesn't it look so cute with the jumper? :-)
And here's a more grungy take on the dress:

And here is my lovely lace babydoll dress :-)

I hope you like! xxx

A Thousand Shining Beads Await my Every Move

2011-03-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

New sparkly top alert! I wore this outfit last night for drinks and a curry for a friend's birthday, and it took me soo long to decide what to wear. The thing is, I am one of those people who has loads of casual day-time outfits, loads of dressy going out outfits, but who NEVER knows what to wear to pubs/bars/restaurants. I can just never seem to get the smart/casual balance right. It's the one area in which I feel I struggle when it comes to style. Flats seem too casual, but heels are only acceptable if worn with jeans or trousers, otherwise you look too dressy, and I don't do jeans or trousers. I do jeggings, during the day, and will occasionally wear shiny leggings- but that's about it. I think it's just that, to me, jeans seem like the easy option. They're kind of the modern day uniform. I hate how, if you go to a train station or a bus stop or a supermarket and look around you, EVERYONE is wearing jeans. I mean, slinging on a pair of jeans and a top is effortless, isn't it? It doesn't require any thought. But then, where's the creativity in that? Where's the challenge? And you all know I love a good style challenge. SO. I decided on some extra shiny leather look leggings, and a cream vintage beaded top which I thought I vaguely remembered seeing in 360 degrees vintage. It turns out someone else had snapped up the cream top, BUT, they had one which was pretty much exactly the same in Beehive, so in the end I got my perfect bar to restaurant outfit :-) The top is entirely covered in tiny cream beads in vertical lines, and every time I move they give a subtle twinkle. Plus, all the little beads feel really smooth when you run your fingers down them, so it's one of those tops that you want to keep stroking all night.

The look was partly inspired by the Olsen twins- I love how they wear their hair all long and wavy and disheveled and how their outfits are often so simple and yet so amazingly cool and chic. Someone who I'm also currently obsessed with is model and style blogger Rumi. I am in love with her amazing blog Fashion Toast simply because the photography is stunning and because she is just so effortlessly stylish. I actually want to be her. Her outfits all consist of neutral tones like nudes and greys mixed in with black and the occasional unexpected flash of leopard print. Then I feel there is also a bit of Gaga factor to this look, in that the colours and sparkles remind me of the visually stunning, diamonte filled Love Game video. Plus, how Gaga-esque is this dark lipstick? So that's the inspiration behind the look. Let me know what you think.

Disheveled curls and dark lips: eat your heart out Mary Kate :-)

Topshop lipstick in Ruthless

My many beautiful rings (all Topshop)

Loving this nail colour

Yep, I did wear all these rings at once :-)
Please leave your comments, they make me super happy!
Love the Porcelain Princess xoxo

The Nights Are Golden

2011-03-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

As anyone who has read my previous posts will be aware of by now, I cherish a deep love for all things that shine, shimmer, sparkle and glitter. So, it should come as little surprise that there is also a huge place in my heart for metallic fabrics, and especially metallic GOLD fabrics. Before I continue- let me just get one thing straight: I am a gold girl. I don't do silver. Not that I have a problem with anyone else wearing silver- but it's just not me. I like my jewelery gold, glam, gaudy- and totally ghetto fabulous. I think it's just because I like the fun statement that wearing gold jewelery allows you to make. It's all about being outrageous; gold jewelery is loud, OTT and best of all, fun. Kind of like the leopard print of the jewelery world. Yes, it's chavvy, but in a kind of ironic, self-aware, Lily Allen-eque way (well, that's how I justify it, at least). This love of gold jewelry extends of course to gold fabrics. What's not to love about them? They're bright, beautiful, shiny, decadent and luxurious, as well as being fun, tacky (in a good way), gaudy, in-your-face and brash all at the same time. That being said, wearing gold clothes is a look that's hard to pull off. Metallic fabrics have 'potential for disaster' written all over them- but when worn right- can look totally fun and fabulous. Decent gold or metallic fabrics are pretty hard to come across (which is maybe a good thing- as much as I love it, head to toe metallic is NOT a good look) so you can imagine my excitement if ever I come across a little gem like a gold vintage top from the 1980s. Right now, I'm loving this 80s-tastic blouse that I purchased for a tenner from an old lady who was selling a load of her old clothes from her younger years (and I have to say, she must've been a pretty stylish lady back in the day.) I've worn it out twice lately on two different nights out. The first time I went for a Gaga vibe with bare legs and bright pink lipstick, and the second time I went for more of a rock chick look with sheer black tights and dark lips. Also, I have recently discovered how to edit photos on my laptop to create cool effects and just make the pictures look, like, way better. So I've been kind of obsessed with that lately.Tell me what you think dudes. Also, check out my new hair extensions ;-)

Brilliant photography (and totally amazing setting!) courtesy of my beautiful friend Miss Gardner ;-) In case you're wondering about the 'interesting' pose I'm pulling here, I was quite drunk in these photos. Hence the slightly crazy dancing.

Here I went for a more Gothic vibe with deep purple lips (Mac lipstick in Rebel) sheer black tights and black-as-night nails :-) Taken by my lovely (and very helpful and patient) boyfriend. And here's a black and white version, just coz I like the effect:

xoxo
The Porcelain Princess

Satan in a Sunday Hat

2011-03-16T07:26:00.000-07:00

As most of you probably won't be familiar with the above term, I shall elaborate. Ok, I'll give you a clue- it's another True Blood reference. The term is used by the characters Tara and her cousin Lafyette- a term they've inherited from Tara's alcoholic (but delusively devout) mother Lettie-Mae, meaning that 'if something looks too good to be true, then it probably is.' I just love in Season Two when Lafyette tells Tara that her new beau Eggs is 'Satan in a Sunday hat, girl. I'm trying to tell you, Satan in a f***ing beautiful Sunday hat.' You gotta love Lafyette. Anyway- for me- this phrase kind of sums up the whole vibe of the show. From the title sequence onwards, the juxtaposition of religious fanaticism and ecstatic spirituality with images of sexuality, violence and decay captures that whole Southern Gothic vibe that the entire show encapsulates. The contradictory images of religious purity and sexuality, violence and death kind of point to the idea of dark truths that lurk behind the stereotypically polite/devout Southern facades, and this idea continues to be explored throughout the entire programme. First of all, you've got the central relationship; you have Bill- a dark, dangerous, mysterious Vampire and Sookie- a pure, innocent, blonde-haired, blue-eyed virgin; two entirely different characters, one a metaphor for darkness and the other for light- falling desperately in love with eachother.

I love the way that the use of wardrobe in the programme reflects this theme; suddenly, the sweet, sundress-wearing Sookie is getting bloodstains on her floaty white nightgown courtesy of the the smoldering, leather-clad Bill Compton and his piercing fangs. The scene where she runs barefoot through the graveyard in the darkness to make love to Bill for the first time, said flowing white nightie glowing faintly in the moonlight, just makes my heart stop. The mix of dark and light seems to be mirrored by the pure and good Sookie Stackhouse with her golden tan, sunshine hair and floral prints getting mixed up in the dark and seductive world of stone-cold, deathly-white Vampires. Likewise, you've got Lettie Mae attending Gran's funeral in her Sunday finest, church hat and all, when really she is an alcoholic who believes she has a 'demon' inside of her. Then you've got the Fellowship of the Sun Church storyline in Season Two- Steve and Sarah Newlin are all sunny smiles and matching, buttercup-yellow outfits, when really they are leaders of a vampire hating cult (basically a metaphor for deluded, religiously fanatic homophobes who call themselves Christians.) The entire idea of darkness lurking beneath an exterior of beauty is summed up by Tara in season one, when she rages at her newly-reformed mother and her church-going friend that 'you can lie to yourself and everybody else, but when you go to bed, you just as f***ed up and miserable as I am, and going to church, and wearing a crazy-ass hat, ain't gon' make you a better person.' (Yes, I did spend ages going through each scene on the box set to find that exact quote, and yes, I did have to replay it 3 times before I got it word-for-word ;-) ).

Anways, let’s get onto the fashion. About this time last year, when I first got into True Blood, I was totally loving the whole Sunday dress/ church hat/southern Belle theme but with added creepy vibes that was depicted in parts of the show’s wardrobe. Think old-fashioned white church dresses complete with matching hats and fans from the blood-spattered worship scenes in the opening sequence, and Sookie’s lemon coloured sundresses accessorized with none other than Alice bands and bleeding fang punctures. It seemed like everywhere I went there were pretty, chiffony vintage dresses in respectable knee-length styles and candy colours which were just begging to be taken to church and worn with a Sunday hat/vintage fascinator. For weeks, my head was filled with visions of old fashioned hair rolls (like Sookie’s when she wears the lilac chiffon dress Bill buys her) and pleated fabric in pastel hues. However, one can’t exactly stroll down to Sainsburies in this sort of attire. I waited patiently, but sadly, I didn’t exactly receive heaps of invites to attend christenings, summer weddings or holy communions (or one of those gospel choir concerts in the Deep American South that you always see in films like Forest Gump and The Color Purple. Is it weird that I’ve always wanted to go to one and wave one of those fans? Ok, don’t answer that.)

I did get to work the look at a few occasions that summer, but sadly, my fashion dreams didn’t get to be lived out any more than that, so I’ve decided I’m carrying on with the theme this spring. I have a holy communion to attend this May, and I’m already SUPER excited about my outfit. I did find the perfect dress- it was kind of like the blue one Kate Middleton wore when she and Prince William posed for all those engagement piccies- but it had to be altered and it sort of got totally ruined and butchered in the process. I know- don’t. It was gutting. But after seriously mourning my vintage tragedy, I had to take a deep breath and let it go. These things happen. (Although I still haven't had the heart to throw it away.) But hey, I’ve always got my never-ending store of ideas inside my head- I’m sure I’ll pull something from my imaginary vault.

Me working Sunday-dress chic at a wedding back in the summer

Moi again, taking my vintage dress for a spin on the dancefloor

So. I'm thinking pale, pretty ice cream hues, faded floral prints, nipped in waists, airy cotton fabrics, sun-bleached gingham, cream lace tights, ankle socks, softly falling pleats and tea-coloured accesories, but all with a dusky, faded sort of look to imply a Gothic undertone. Think crumpled cotton Sunday dress, dusty from a dirt road in the Southern heat, or Sookie in her cherry-print sundresses with a devilish flash of cleavage. Or I'm thinking I could add a subtly dark, creepy undertone by patting on some deep red lipstick with my finger for a bloodstained lip effect. I think there's always something a little creepy anyway about looking too sweet and innocent and perfect- like with china dolls. They have those pretty porcelain faces and angelic curls and those huge, innocent, long-lashed glassy eyes- but everyone finds them a little bit scary. Here are some pictures which capture the creepy, Southern Gothic, dark-meets-light ambiance of True Blood and the whole Satan in a Sunday hat concept. Be inspired, be very inspired :-)

Grainy image of gospel-worshipers from the opening sequence

Lettie Mae in her Sunday best

Sunny smiles and hate messages; Sarah Newlin with her 'no special rights for dead people' apron.

A graveyard steeped in darkness provides the perfect backdrop for Sookie in her pale blue printed sundress.

Another haunting still from the opening sequence

Lettie Mae works florals and a hat at Gran's funeral.

Sookie wearing a white cotton sundress for a date to solve vampire mysteries at Fangtasia

Sookie looking like 'vampire bait' in another fifties style sundress

Classic Sook on the right. I cannot even tell you how much I love Sookie's yellow ensemble. Just the perfect look to solve vampire crime in Dallas.

I felt it deserved two pictures ;-)

Seductive, smouldering Bill in his dapper vampire finest, and Sookie looking sweet as sugar in her lilac dress (the one he buys for her- awwww) and her hair swept up in that elegant forties-style hair roll. This picture just makes me fall in love with the gorgeous Bill just a little bit more each time I look at it.

LOVED this moment. Sookie unwrapping the beautiful lilac dress from Bill...

Collection of images from the opening credits...kind of a mood board for the creepy Southern Gothic vibe.

Beautiful image from the film adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple

Another still from The Color Purple

A few of the vintage dresses I have to work with. From left: yellow floral dress, only £2 from Greenwich Market! (Was altered ALOT though), bright blue dress (the one that got ruined-it's too short and the hem is wonky) purchased from an old lady selling her old clothes, dusky blue one-shoulder dress, Greenwich Market (was taken up a lot), floral dress, Rokit Vintage, yellow pleated skirt, purchased from the aforementioned old lady (also taken up a lot).

Same but without the bright blue dress.

Also, I've recently got really into lookbook.nu, a website where anyone can join and post pictures of their outfits. It's an online treasure trove of endless style inspiration, and I must admit that I am a little obsessed. One girl that I'm a fan of is Dee. N, whose sugary sweet Sunday dress and straw hat looks are totally part of the inspiration behind my Satan in a Sunday hat look. Do check her out, she's amazing!
Thanks for reading, and please leave your comments :-) xxxx

2011-02-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

Celeb style crush gallery

2011-02-23T03:23:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-02-21T10:29:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

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

I'm gonna rouge my knees and roll my stockings down...

2011-02-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

To bare, or not to bare? That is the question- well, it is when it comes to wearing stockings and suspenders, at least. Ever since last summer, with the rise of the underwear as outerwear trend, and since I first began to see pictures of the beautiful Miss Momsen rocking exposed stockings and suspenders on her endlessly long legs, I have been obsessed with the idea of wearing some myself. All last summer, I entertained visions of myself strutting the streets in a cream vintage slip, black stockings and an oversized parka, or hitting the town in heels, stockings and suspenders and an LBD, with my baggy leopard print vintage shirt thrown over the top. I have managed to wear mock-stocking tights a number of times, and did so that summer- although what I really want to do is strut out of my front door and off to to the shops in a pair of actual suspenders. Sigh. If only it were that easy.

Let me just tell you a little story detialing my daily walk to the train station. So, I'm walking down the road in my flat winter boots, black opaque tights and huge fur coat fastened up to my chin. As I round the corner, I see the work van belonging to the builders who are working on one of the houses parked along my route to the station. My stomach clenching with nerves and annoyance, I deliberately cross the road to avoid them, even though I am already on the side I need to be. I keep my eyes and head down so as not to draw additional attention to myself, but as I draw level with the builders, the inevitable wolf- whistling and cat-calling begins. The first time I walked past them, I got a leering grin and an 'alright love', which I returned with a polite, albeit embarrassed, smile. After that, I felt too self conscious to walk right past again, so I started crossing the road. Each time I get at least a whistle. The other day I got 'excuse me!' shouted out repeatedly, which I firmly ignored. Taylor Momsen gets hoards of screaming fans and paparazzi clamoring for a photograph as she walks along the street with her army of bodyguards. I get a whistle of approval from Bob the overweight, middle-aged builder. This is the sort of response I get when I am completely covered up in my winter gear. Now try to imagine the chaos I would stir up if I actually walked past wearing a mini skirt revealing supsenders and sheer, lace- topped stockings, a la Taylor. I'd be asking for it, right? But that's the thing- I'm not asking for it, and this leads me onto my next question: how much freedom do women actually have to dress the way that they want to?

This is something I have given a lot of thought to in recent months. As someone who dresses in what some would call an 'unusual' way, I inevitably tend to stand out from the crowd quite a bit. Especially around Orpington and Bromley, where I live, as opposed to in London where crazy fashion is more the norm. Having people stare at me for wearing attention-grabbing outfits and even bold makeup is something I've had to force myself to accept as part of expressing myself through my style. I think the time where I first began to really notice it was, surprisingly, in New York. I went to New York back in April for my 21st birthday, and began planning my looks months and months and months in advance. I was finally going to visit a place that I had adored and worshiped since I was sixteen, when I discovered Sex and the City. I was going to the HOME of Carrie Bradshaw. The playground of the Gossip Girl social elite. I was going to the city where dreams come true. I think it's safe to say that what I wore to the New York City was pretty damn important. I pulled out all the fashion stops- I scoured magazines for inspiration, visited Topshop.com on a daily basis and hunted through vintage shops to put together the most fun, fabulous outfits I could think of. When I got there, I spent two hours getting ready each morning, wore fake eyelashes everyday and honestly treated the streets like they were my catwalk. New York was my big date, and I wanted it to be impressed. However, I didn't exactly get the response I was hoping for. People actually stared open-mouthed as I stepped into cafes in my see-through black lace body with only a skimpy croptop underneath, deep plum lipstick and flamboyant floral headband. One woman in a supermarket stared fixedly at my legs for about five whole minutes when I was wearing my denim chambray body-con skirt and bow-print tights. I searched the streets for the Blair Waldorfs, Serena Van Der Woodsens and Jenny Humpfreys, but all I saw was a load of suits, jeans, T shirts and trainers. I was disappointed. To be honest, New York street style was nothing like I'd expected, and I stood out like a sore thumb. I did manage to find some really trendy shop owners and stall-holders, but they were confined to the safety of their thrift-stores and vintage street fairs. Unlike me, they were safe from the bewildered stares of passers-by on the streets.

Most of the stares I got were from men- and it's the same here. I stand there sometimes and watch as their eyes travel unashamedly up my legs in my short skirts, or oggle me square in the face, even when I stare right back at them. Seriously, did their mothers never teach them it was rude to stare? Don't get me wrong- it's not that I don't want people looking at me. I put alot of time and thought into my outfits and it's lovely when you get an admiring glance and a smile from a stranger. But it's the fact that no one ever SMILES. Even when I'm smiling at them (which I always do- it's polite to smile) they just stare back at me like I'm an alien from outter space (if the person is female) or someone that they are thinking very dirty things indeed about (if the person is a straight male). If ever I look at anyone to take in their outfit and they happen to catch me looking, I always, always smile. It's just a natural reaction. When I catch people looking at me and they continue to stare straight into my eyes without even the hint of a polite smile- I must admit- it totally freaks me out.

So, should we try to avoid this rude, blatant, open-mouthed staring by dressing in a less eye-catching manner, and more to the point, should we, as women, try to dress less provocatively in order to avoid unwanted leering from men, even if it means not being able to wear our favourite trends? In attempting to give out the signal that we are strong, confident women who dress how we damn well please, do we instead give out the signal that we crave sexual attention from men? What happens when the signals you are trying to give out to the world are totally misread? I don't want to be unfair to men here, and I do understand that men can't help but look at women they find sexually attractive on the street. It's natural. I even think sometimes it can be quite flattering. A little look and a smile, or even a 'you look beautiful' is actually a real confidence booster, and when that happens to me, I take it as a compliment. But when men cross the line by leering unpleasantly or repeatedly shouting things out or muttering vulgar comments to their friends as you walk by, it makes you feel really uncomfortable. When I was sixteen, a builder who was older then my dad and much, much fatter, stood and watched me as I approached him for what felt like an age, and then as I walked past, leaned towards me and growled 'you're fit.' I think it's safe to say that I didn't take that as a compliment.

Worse still, is the idea that women are 'asking for it' or are 'up for it' if they wear a revealing outfit. Or, as my ex- friend's boyfriend once convinced her, that women who wear skirts and dresses have 'no respect for themselves.' As a result, she only ever went out after that wearing jeans, when previously, she had been the most daring, fashion-forward person I knew. Now, I don't know about you, but someone who allows a man to dictate to them how they should dress seems to me to have a lot less respect for themselves than a girl who wears whatever she wants because that's what she likes. I'm not saying that every woman should wear revealing clothes, I'm just saying that women should have the freedom to wear whatever they like, without certain men assuming that they are desperate sluts who are up for a one-night-stand simply because they are showing a bit of leg. One thing I HATE when I come across it in womens' magazines, are those articles where they ask 'what do men think of they way we dress?' The article always comes to the conclusion that most men think extremes of fashion are weird, therefore we should avoid wacky trends at the cost of our boyfriends no longer finding us attractive. What do men think of the way we dress? Here's a thought- WHO CARES?? I want to wear stockings and suspenders because I think it looks edgy and cool. Also because I am a creative person who likes to have fun and experiment with clothes. Wearing suspenders would reflect a style that I like- therefore reflecting my personality, and that's why I want to wear them. Not because I want men to shout out 'oi oi' and ogle me like I'm a piece of meat.

This also begs the question of how accepting are people in general of fashion? Of course it depends where you are, but the answer, in most cases I think, is not very. But then here's another question: should we care? Having experienced this sort of bewilderment first hand for as long as I've been interested in fashion, I think it's safe to say that there are always going to be those people who just. don't. get it. For example, there are certain people who would never understand why I would never want to wear fake tan or get a sunbed. They just can't see that there is any other way to be attractive than that of being tanned. They think that there is only one way to be beautiful, whereas I disagree. I believe that beauty comes in many, many forms, and that you can be beautiful in so many unique, different ways, no matter what your skin colour/race/hairtype/bodyshape. Yes, girls with blonde hair, blue eyes, big busts and golden tans are beautiful (ie Blake Lively), but so are girls with bright red hair and milky white skin (ie Nicola Robers)- it's just a different type of beauty. But then again, there are also a lot of people who admire and appreciate the style choices of others, even if it's something they'd never wear themselves. It seems that acceptance is always the solution at the end of the day, folks. Once people stop judging each other in such a negative way and start to accept the fact that we are all different, the world will be a much better place.

So- in conclusion, no, I don't really care if some people out there don't like the way I dress. Not that it's a nice thought- after all, we all want people to like and accept us. But if you want to make a statement with your clothes, you will have to accept that not everyone will like the statement you are making. As Christina Aguilera once sang, 'I'm humanly unable to please everyone at the same time...I'm gonna carry on, I'm gonna keep on, singin' my song'. So, in light of Miss Aguilera's fantastic advice, I will keep on singing my song. Come summer, I will wear my stockings and my suspenders, and I will do it with my head held high...

Ok, so enough of the heavy stuff: Here're some pics to get you inspired:

Lilly Allen working the look on stage

Wearing mock-stocking tights again, this time with an amazing sparkly jumper dress. (I want this outfit.)

So many celebs were seen in THOSE famous Henri Holland tights (I've already gotten through two pairs).

The beautiful Pixie Lott working chain-effect suspender tights

Lily, Taylor and Pixie.

The queen of suspenders herself

Seriously- can this girl get any cooler? My fave look of them all!!!

These shoes got a really mixed reaction- but I LOVE them.

What I wore today.

These are just two of the outfits I plan to wear in the summer when it's warm enough! I got the amazing Bob Marley Tee from a vintage shop in Greenwich today for only a tenner. Don't the lyrics written on it PERFECTLY capture the entire theme of this post? I didn't even realise that until I'd finished writing this piece!

Please leave your comments and let me know your responses to my article- I'd love to hear your opinions on the subject! Thanks!

Love and kisses,
The Porcelain Princess xoxo

You Stole My Heart At Seventeen...The Story of a Vintage Love Affair

2011-01-31T18:14:00.000-08:00

Stepping into the treasure trove, you pause for a moment to take it all in. All around you are rails upon rails of odd, unevenly placed garments, shelves and shelves of battered, elegantly pointed shoes and heaps of quilted handbags in all the colours of the rainbow. Immediately you are hit with that musty, faded smell which is simultaneously stale and yet somehow strangely comforting- like the soft, enveloping smell of a beloved Grandapent's home that isn't unpleasant and yet, unmistakeably signifies 'oldness'. You move deeper into the dustiness of the shop, running your hands over the rows of hanging fabric, scanning the room for those glints of sparkle or pops of print, the ones that catch your eye and flirt with it outrageously, twinkling or calling at you to touch them, hold them, try them against your skin in the mirror- just to see. You run your hands over age-yellowed lace with delicately scalloped edges, fondle the fronds of the flowing fabric of a 1950s prom dress, feast your eyes on cute-as-a-button pearl embellishment...Welcome to the world of vintage shopping.

The first vintage item I ever bought was a little red printed sundress from Peekaboo Vintage at Topshop, when I was seventeen, about to turn eighteen. It was sixty five pounds, and it was from the Topshop in Bromley, when the store had only just moved to its new location, and they had one rail on the top floor of vintage clothes. It was my first encounter with vintage, and I fell in love with the uniqueness of the items right away. I thought that the dress was expensive, and it took a big chunk out of the holiday allowance that my mum had given me for my first holiday away with my boyfriend. But I didn't care. I had to have it, and it was worth every single penny. I still wear it every summer to this day.

At the time, the high-street was overflowing with smock- tops and empire line dresses. I'd searched high and low, but for the life of me, could not find a summer top or dress that didn't make me look like I was pregnant. (For the record, I'm not personally a fan of the empire-line). I was desperate, I mean DESPERATE for a dress that cinched in at the waist. Since the revival of waisted belts in 2005, something which I had never encountered before in my life-time, I had fallen in love with the idea of defining my waist. There was always the option of belting a smock with a waisted belt, but it didn't achieve that cute but sexy 1950's hourglass shape that I was after. When I found the row of Peekaboo Vintage clothes, I felt like I'd stumbled upon a little piece of heaven. Ok, so the clothes were pricey, but they were beautiful. They came in all sorts of wacky colours, cutesy prints and figure- enhancing shapes that I'd never really seen anywhere else on the highstreet. These clothes were funky; they were edgy, and best of all, they were just different.

I will never forget the feeling that I had that day after trying on that dress, of milling around Topshop, picking out colourful neon holiday pieces (I was in love with the nu-rave look, and had just discovered electric blue), with the little red sundress flung over my arm. I felt like I'd discovered a hidden gem; I had finally found a dress that showed off my waist and no one else in the whole wide world had the exact same one. None of my friends owned anything like it, and I knew that it would make me feel like a pin-up amid a sea of identical smock dresses. As I picked out the rest of my holiday wardrobe with the money I had over, I could smell my new pink Johnson's 24 hour moisture hand cream. To this day, when I smell that hand cream, I am seventeen about to turn eighteen again, browsing the rails in Topshop in Bromley, an array of colourful clothes hanging off of each arm, and feeling like the luckiest girl in the world because I am about to be whisked off on my first grown-up holiday with my first proper boyfriend.

Since that day, my love of vintage has just grown and grown. I've learned a lot about it too- what suits me, where to shop, and what kind of price I should be paying (you wouldn't catch me paying 65 quid for a cheaply-made sundress these days!) There is something so satisfying about going into a shop and digging out an undiscovered beauty that nobody else has noticed yet, hiding beneath a pile of musty old scarves in the 'everything for a fiver' bin. I am aware of the argument that these days, whilst vintage dressing was originally a reaction against mass-produced clothing and mainstream style, it has now become so popular and on-trend that it has started to become mainstream in itself. However, I would argue that, whilst you might get girls walking around in Brick Lane with a similar sense of style- no two outfits are ever the same. I don't care what you say about the way vintage lovers dress- you'll never see someone in an identical dress/coat/skirt/top walking past you in the street, or see someone who has put their outfit together in exactly the same way you have. That's another thing- girls you see in East London who dress in vintage are so much more experimental with their hair and makeup, that everyone has such a totally outlandish and unique look.

What's more- vintage clothing is so varied and spans so many decades, that it allows you to be so much more creative in the way you put it together. You can go for a top-to-toe vintage look which perfectly emulates the style of a specific decade, mix vintage pieces together from different decades to totally put your own spin on the look, or mix vintage with high-street and/or designer pieces.

To be honest though, I think what appeals to me most about vintage is that it proves that clothes aren't just clothes, as so many people think. All of the clothes that you buy have a story behind them, and vintage clothes especially, because not only do they have your story behind them, but they also have someone else's story before you. Everything in my wardrobe has a story. Everything is special. Maybe it's just me with my romantic ways, sentimentalizing the clothes, and maybe it's because I am a writer and a lover of stories...but it's why I just can't bring myself to throw away the stacks of rainbow-hued, high heeled shoes I have mouldering away in a drawer under my bed. They are all hideously outdated now, not to mention battered and worn, and are actually about a fraction of the height of the heels I wear now (no one embraced the birth of the sky-scraper like I did!) But I can never throw them away. To me, they represent my acceptance of being tall and being proud of it for the first time in my life. Each pair has it's own special story. It's like a little piece of the magic I felt when I wore them is still encased within each pair, like the magic in Dorothy's ruby slippers. They represent a time of happiness, a time of freedom, friendship, sixth form parties, underage drinking at Amadeus nightclub and hair extensions...I have a whole drawer of ruby slippers, and I can't ever throw that away.

So, now that I've won you over to the joys of vintage, let me take you on a little account of my recent vintage adventures...

I recently payed a little visit to my favourite vintage shop, Rokit, which is pricey for vintage, but has such an amazing collection of pieces that you don't even have to rifle through to find something decent. I like to think of Rokit as vintage shopping made easy. I get generally the same feeling in there that I do in Topshop and Urban Outfitters, that I love EVERYTHING on the rails and want to take it all home...

Outside the Covent Garden store

Inside one of the Brick Lane stores

Moi, showing off my bags of purchases outside the Covent Garden Store way back in the lovely summer (God, I'd actually forgotten what sunshine looked like!)

So here's what I bought: an amazingly sweet white/cream summer dress which enables me to work the all-white trend I wrote about in my last post (plus- it was only £16 in the sale!), a cute headscarf and a faded green blouse.

Here I am rocking the scarf and blouse! I wore it to uni today.

I actually wanted to wear this outfit with sheer black tights- maybe patterned- with little beige ankle socks, and with the blouse knotted, but it's WAY too cold for thin leg coverage and midriff-exposure, so I had to settle for the tucked in option and the good old black opaques. Sigh.

After my Rokit rendezvous, I popped into Urban Outfitters and found this AMAAAZING book on how to do vintage hairstyles! I snapped it up immediately.

How amazing is this book?! I actually feel like it was made for me. Watch this space for 40's victory rolls and 50's peekaboo waves!

After that. I set off home back to Orpington and headed straight for one of the charity shops in the Highstreet I'd popped into a few days before after work. I'd seen an adorable little cream lace blouse in there which was only FOUR POUNDS. It was another one of those things that I saw, left, and then couldn't stop thinking about! I wore it to my night out on Friday to an uber-trendy bar in Brick Lane, called 93 Feet East. What do you think?

Blouse: Charity shop in Orpington Highstreet
Skirt: Topshop
Ankle Boots: Miss Selfridge
Belt: Vintage from Rokit
Bag: Charity shop in Orpington Highstreet
Eyelashes: Mac
Fur coat: Vintage from Ebay.

To add to my brilliant day of shopping, I even discovered another gorgeous little vintage-esque blouse in the charity shop which I'd failed to notice before! It was just as cute as some of the blouses I'd seen in Rokit (all £20) but this one was THREE POUNDS! Now is that a bargain or what? Plus, it's for a good cause :-)
Here it is:

I'm still totally obsessed with ice-cream shades in muted tones as a way to ease my wardrobe into Sping, so when I saw this vintage blouse for only a fiver in Beehive today, I snapped it up:

It may not look like much here, but trust me, once I've styled it up, this will look adorable :-)

I hope you enjoyed the story of how my heart was stolen by a vintage dress, and why I've never looked back....

love and kisses,
The Porcelain Princess xoxo

Breezy Summer Days in White

2011-01-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

When I first saw these stunning pictures of Simone Rocha's SS11 collection on the popular style blog Love Aesthetics, I guess you could say that I had something of a fashion Proustian moment. In case you don't know, (as I didn't until recently when we did this at uni) a Proustian moment or memory is when something you encounter evokes recollections of the past without conscious effort. In other words, involuntary memory. It could be caused by a smell (the most powerful evocation of memory that we have), a taste, or just anything that triggers off a sense of powerful, unexpected memory or recollection. The term was coined by the French author Marcel Proust. It's like when you catch a whiff of perfume or aftershave that your ex used to wear, and suddenly you are overcome with the feelings that you had when you were with that person, and you feel as though you are right back in that time, in that compartmentalized memory inside your head that you thought you'd closed the chapter on, that you thought was well and truly preserved as merely a memory, that you'd never have to revisit again. It's like you jumped right back into a photograph from the past, and just for that one moment, when you can smell that fragrance, the past is alive again, and you are there, back in that time, feeling that onslaught of forgotten emotions, back in that place you thought you'd put way back on a dusty shelf in your memory, far in the recesses of your mind.

Well, seeing these photos didn't exactly give off the fragrance of youth or the taste of childhood, but they did take me back to a time, in that summer in 2006 that I mentioned in 'Acid Brights and Summer Rain', when I had an all-white outfit that I accessorized with bright, fuchsia pink lips. I think that that summer was so special to me, not just because it was a time of happiness and of hazy, adolescent dreaming, but because it was also around the time that I really started to discover real fashion. Before that, I had always been a tall, skinny, insecure teen who thought that 'fashion' meant piling on as much bronzer as I could, getting out as much flesh as was decently possible, and trying my absolute hardest to look like the 'popular' girls in school. It was when I got to the age of seventeen that I started to question this desperate desire to blend into the crowd and look like everybody else.

I had discovered Sex and the City at the age of sixteen, and had watched, awed, as Carrie pranced the streets in tutus, outrageous hats, look-at-me knee-high socks and sometimes even ball gowns, with a confidence that made it seem like she owned the city. I had discovered Dita Von Teese, and realized that not only did staying out of the sun and remaining pale-skinned prevent you from premature aging and skin cancer, but also that it was beautiful. Watching shows like America's Next Top model and reading fashion magazines had taught me that being tall wasn't something to be ashamed of, and for the first time, I gave in to my love of heels. Before that, I'd only ever worn flat shoes, and would sometimes even stoop so that I was more the same height as my friends. It also taught me that beauty comes in many, many forms. Weather you're black, white, tanned, skinny, curvy, blonde or brunette, you can find your own way to be beautiful. For the first time in my life, I realized that fashion wasn't about making boys like you or fitting in, it was about being yourself, and most of all- having fun.

I reveled in my new discoveries and growing confidence that summer. I tried new things and dared myself to step out of my comfort zone. I stopped being ashamed of what I'd previously seen as 'flaws' and finally learned to embrace my differences. The models on the pages of my copies of Vogue were tall, willowy and ethereal in their beauty- to me, they looked like something right out of a different world. I wanted their perfect confidence, their grace and their ability to stand out on the page and make the clothes come alive. It was the first time I learned to take risks, and to try and stand out like my beautiful Vogue models. Sometimes I got it horrendously wrong, and people would laugh at me (like the time I cured my hair into ridiculously tight ringlets that bounced with my every step- BIG mistake) but at least I can look back now and say that I wasn't boring.

That summer I remember reading in Vogue or Elle that lipstick was making a comeback. I was so excited by the idea of wearing bold, matte colour on my lips, that was so different from the translucent, shiny lip-gloss I was used to wearing throughout my teens. I remember reading about how you should team your bold, fuchsia lipstick with pale skin, powdered to perfection, and a lick of black mascara for a fresh, minimalist take, and the words to me sounded like poetry. I remember telling my best friend about it in a random, old man pub we'd managed to sneak into one summer night, and how she laughed and told me I was talking too loud because I was drunk, and that everyone was looking at me sitting there raving about pink lipstick.

The Simone Rochas SS11 collection reminded me of the bright pink of that lipstick, and an all- white outfit I'd picked out to perfectly compliment the look. I had teamed together little white shorts from Zara, and a long, flowing, white top from Topshop that swung in the summer breeze when I walked. Seeing the Simone Rochas SS11 collection and the white with neon pink accents makes me recall that summer with a perfect clarity. The heat, the freedom, the excitement, and the feeling of being just seventeen years old like the Dancing Queen, and of having the whole world at my feet.

This summer, I cannot wait to re-rock this look. Here are some more images that are inspiring me right now:

The beautiful Carrie in the first SATC movie

Classic Carrie in a white vintage- looking sundress. I want her sun parasol!

Carrie in the opening scene of SATC 2

I love the way the Simone Rochas collection is made up of simplistic, deconstructed pieces layered under gauzy, billowy fabrics with pops of fluorescent pink accessories in futuristic shapes and plasticky materials (pink plastic box bag, I covet thee.) The collection was inspired by traditional Chinese mourning, when everyone wears white. Simone Rochas described in an interview how "I visited my grandad’s grave in Hong Kong and it was stark white but had highlighted flowers and that’s where I got the colourful accessories from and the pink clothes. It’s tough but with a feeling of romance." (If you want to read more of this interview, go to http://love-aesthetics.blogspot.com)

Although this idea may seem slightly creepy, I actually think that it's kind of beautiful, if you think about mourning as a way of showing love and respect to lost loved ones. I like the idea so much more than wearing black. There's a purity to wearing white and decorating graves in bright, cheerful pink that to me seems to be more of a celebration of the person's life and your love for them than just sadness at their passing. I think the idea behind this collection is really unusual and beautiful- what do you think?

It wasn't just at Simone Rocha that white clothes were seen on the runway. White was also seen at Dolche & Gabbana and Stella McCartney.

I love the floaty sheer dresses, pretty white cotton bloomer shorts and puff-sleeved blouses as seen at Dolche & Gabbana.

Long fluid silhouettes were seen in white at Stella McCartney.

Since I first read the Simone Rochas post on Love Aesthetics, I've been scouring the internet for pieces I can buy to take on the look. They're just ideas at the moment so I can decide what to buy come summer. Here's what I've found so far...

All the above are from www.topshop.com

white vintage dress from www.rokit.co.uk

Also from www.rokit.co.uk

I love these sunnies, from www.topshop.com

I've not managed to find many bright pink accessories yet, but I'm on the hunt! Come summer, I'll be strolling down memory lane in some of my bright pink lippy, for some more of those breezy summer days in white...

Please comment and let me know what you think :-)
The Porcelain Princess xoxoxo

Oh Sugar, Oh Honey Honey.

2011-01-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are the pictures of me modeling my sugary sweet, 'all that glitters' look...

Here are some close up shots of my makeup. The lashes are Cheryl Cole (the best false lashes ever!) and the lipstick is my new Barry M in shade 52.

The title of this post is just because I can imagine that song playing when I look at these pictures...it's such a cutesy, sugary-sweet look, that I can just imagine this song playing as I wear it, popping my foot in my leopard print heels and shimmying in front of the mirror whilst pouting and fluffing up my hair...

Well I hope you like the pictures anyway! Lots of love,
The Porcelain Princess xoxo

I got love for you, if you were born in the 80s...

2011-01-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

I was...although only just! This is just a quick post really, to update you with the outfit I've been rocking all week! Anyone that is familiar with the way I dress probably knows that I'm huuugely into oversized 80s knitwear. In fact, I am just hugely into the 80s full stop. It's one of my favorite decades, along with the 40s and 50s. I love the ladylike elegance of the 40s and the sexy pin up style of the 50s, but you just can't beat the 80s for pure fashion fun. I love the way that in the 80s, everything was just thrown together in such a crazy, OTT way, so that you could mix lace, neon brights, gym wear, pearls, sequins, tutus, corsets, shoulder pads, stonewashed denim, leopard print, metallics, ruching- and then top it all off with bright pink lips,electric blue eyeshadow and a perm! Not that you'll catch me rocking the perm look, (or the blue eyes and pink lips combo!) but I think a lot of the aspects of 80s style were pretty cool, and I love the look of 80s vintage clothes combined with the benefits of modern day makeup and hair styling, which make the whole look more sleek and fresh! I've heard the 80s described as the decade that style forgot- but I prefer to think of it as the decade that the rule book was thrown out of the window! I guess I just love the fun and boldness of it all- I love any look that makes you stand out from the crowd and that allows you to make a statement.

I loved Carrie and Samantha's 80s looks in the flashback scenes in SATC2- especially Carrie's Madonna inspired look!

I also really love the exaggerated proportions of wearing something really oversized like a baggy 80s jumper contrasted with something skin-tight on the bottom half, like leggings, jeggings, a bodycon skirt or tiny hotpants. A very unlikely film that really made me fall head over heels for this look was 'Little Voice', something my mum randomly got me to watch when it was on TV. The film was set in the 80s (I think!), and it was the main character's wickedly hilarious mother, Mari Hoff, that stole the show for me, character and style-wise. Her character is a total bitch- she's mouthy, gloriously tacky and basically meant to be a bit of an 'old trollop,' as my mum would say! The actress, Brenda Blethyn, plays it so so brilliantly. Mari is one of those hilarious characters that you can't help but love- she's funny and fun to watch, even though she can be totally selfish and vulgar. I also couldn't help but fall in love with her array of over-sized, patterned baggy knits worn belted over leggings, gaudy sequined tops and leopard print pieces. The look is clearly meant to be a bit 'mutton dressed as lamb', but I totally loved the outfits and could seriously see myself rocking them! The film was actually released in 1998, but I'm pretty sure it must have been set in the 80s, although I can't find anything on the net that actually says when it's set.

I now have a pretty expansive collection of baggy vintage jumpers and cardis from the 80s, but here is my latest purchase, the green jumper that I mentioned in my last post that I got from Beehive. I've been wearing it all week!

   Jumper: Vintage
             Bag: Vintage
             Skirt: Topshop
             Boots: Urban Outfitters

I hope you like it! Please feel free to comment and tell me what you think :-)

lots of love,
The Porcelain Princess
xxxxxxxx

All That Glitters...

2011-01-19T14:34:00.000-08:00

It is my personal belief, that deep down inside every woman, there lies a secretly burning passion for all things that sparkle. After all, isn't that why diamonds are a girl's best friend? I believe that deep down within even the most tomboyish of girls, there is a secret lust for things that twinkle, things that shimmer, things that sparkle, shine, glitter and gleam. No? Okay, just me then...

But seriously, ever since I was a little girl, I've been obsessed with glitter. I recall this one time, when one of my oldest friends (that means you, Leah Rossi!) and I sat in my bathroom, when we were about ten or eleven years old, collecting together all the glitter in my house that we could find. We collected up hair glitter, sparkly body spray, glittery mascara, glitter nail polish, glittery talc, shimmer face powder, you name it (remember all that 90's/early 00's stuff?)

We sampled each of the products, spraying them and puffing them and squeezing them and what have you over the bath, so that it wouldn't go all over the floor, and analysing the different types of glitter. We decided to categorize the different types, to see which was the best. There was glitter with huge shiny bits in it, glitter in tiny particles that gave more of a subtle, shimmery effect...I can still smell the glitter spray now, heady and gluey and with that note of excitement and anticipation on it- it was the spray I put on whenever I was going to a school disco or a year six birthday party or to one of my parents' big new year's eve bashes. I think we thought we were glitter scientists or something. Leah, if you are reading this, you probably don't even recall this weird random memory, but you know what I'm like for having a freakishly good memory when it comes to this stuff! It reminds me of a time even further back, when Leah and I decided to paint all the china ornaments in my room with my gold glittery nail varnish, and the times we used to make 'gems' out of lumps of wet toilet paper left to dry and coloured in with felt-tipped pens and painted with the same glittery nail polish (now I know you remember that!)

Well, weather or not anyone else shares this particular magpie tendency of mine (and Leah's!) to want to squeal with delight at the sight of glitter, that's what's got me all girlishly excited about my latest look. I'm calling it 'all that glitters' (another Sex and the City Reference, for any of those equally geekily obsessed fans among you). It all started with the outfit that I put together on one of my previous posts, the one with the pink sequined top and the leopard print heels (which I have now bought, and can't WAIT to wear out!) I loved the way the sequins on the top looked like those pink edible cake sparkles you can buy, and the way they winked and flashed and twinkled like stars in the light with my every tiny movement...

I also adored the soft pale pink of it, and the combination of the sparkles and the girlish pastel hue. So, when I came across this GORGEOUS little vintage gem on my travels in Greenwich a few days later, I simply couldn't get it out of my head.

(here is is, pictured with the pink Topshop top)

I was browsing the rails in The Vintage Emporium, to see if there was anything that caught my eye, when I glimpsed it, twinkling softly in the dusty light. It was a pale, mint green, sixties style top, which also happened to be sparkly (insert inward screams of delight). I held it up to myself in the mirror and noticed that it went perfectly with my skin tone and hair colour (don't you just LOVE making those discoveries?) but then quickly told myself that I didn't need yet ANOTHER little sparkly top. I moved on to the next shop, The Beehive, which is a total treasure trove of affordable vintage pieces (not to mention owned by the most lovely, friendly, beautiful lady whom I spent a good long while chatting to about all things fashion) and ended up buying an eighties-tastic jumper, featuring a similar colour of green (which I have been living in all week- thanks Beehive!)

That weekend, I simply couldn't make myself forget the darling little mint green top. It danced tantalizingly in front of my eyes inside my head, calling to me in a sound like crystals twinkling and clinking together (I know I'm getting totally carried away now, but I really did love the top). So, today I went back to The Vintage Emporium and bought it. Did I mention that it was only £15?? Total bargain, I know!

It goes perfectly with the other stuff I bought to go with the pink Topshop top, so that's two outfits I have yet to wear out! In addition to this, I also decided I needed a cream fur coat to complete the outfit, and found this beauty on ebay, which I won (yay!) and which was delivered today:

Don't you just love it!? It's real rabbit fur and sooo luxuriously soft and snuggly. I would just like to point out, that although I would never condone the purchase of new fur, this coat is vintage and therefore second hand. Hence, wearing it is actually a form of recycling, and if no one wore it, it would only be rotting away in some landfill somewhere, polluting the planet. ANYWAY.

The pretty ice cream shades of the tops and the coat got me thinking about Tavi's fantastic Valley of the Dolls posts that I've recently read. If you want to check it out, go to:
http://www.thestylerookie.com/
For anyone who doesn't already know this-Tavi is amazing. Her blog was one of the main things that inspired me to start this. But getting back to my main point, her post was inspired by the 1966 novel, Valley of the Dolls, which was turned into a film in 1967. I have yet to actually see the film (it's on my list of fashionable things to watch, along with The Taxi Driver, which apparently is the film to channel for the current on-trend seventies vibe) but I've seen pictures from it, and am loving the pretty, innocent but plastic doll-like look that's going on. The look is all about pastels, candy colours, pretty-girl makeup and a kind of creepy doll-like perfection. Think of the candy-coloured houses in Edward Scissorhands (Tavi also references this in her post- I give her full credit for it- although I've always loved that image anyway!)

To complete the all-that-glitters-meets-Valley-of-the-Dolls-look that I'm loving right now, I also bought two gorgeous Barry M lipsticks, one in an amazingly bright, shocking, almost fluorescent pink, and one in a beautiful pale chalky coral. I love the totally matte texture of the lipsticks combined with the intense, opaque quality of the colours. I have searched high and low for a reeeaally bright pink lipstick with a totally matte finish, and this is the first one I've found. Thanks Barry M!

I am planning on wearing this look with fun, unexpected twists like leopard print (cue my new heels!), garishly bright lipstick and flashy, gold vintage jewelery to give it a trashy/fun/glam edge. And of course, extra long, doll-like lashes. Pictures of me wearing the outfits will follow (I want you to see them with the full benefit of my two hours of pampering, hair and makeup that I will do when I actually wear them out!)

Here are some pictures that I feel capture the girly/glam vibe of the all that glitters look with it's Valley of the Dolls feel...enjoy!

My magpie collection of sparkly tops! From left: vintage from ebay, vintage from ebay, vintage from Rokit, vintage from a shop in Whitechapel, vintage from The Vintage Emporium Greenwich, and Topshop.

My pretty ice cream shaded tops go perfectly with my gold vintage bag from Rokit which I have actually worn to death!

(clockwise from top) bracelet: Topshop, cuff: Topshop, earrings: from a charity shop in Hunstanton, earrings: also from charity shop in Hunstanton, ring: Topshop, necklace: vintage from Greenwich Market (only 99p!)

My Barry M lipsticks, Topshop glitter, Benefit eyeshadow and Mac eyeshadow. Tutti-fruitti shades like this were seen all over the SS11 catwalks!

I <3 Dolly Mixtures! xxx

Glitter is a girl's best friend...

The Valley of the Dolls Look

Hope you enjoyed the post, and please feel free to leave any comments! Have a sparkly day...

The Porcelain Princes
XOXO

Porcelain Princess: Acid Brights and Summer Rain

2011-01-14T19:08:00.001-08:00

Porcelain Princess: Acid Brights and Summer Rain: "Hi, welcome to my very first blog! :-) I've been meaning to start a fashion blog for absolutely forever and I guess the new year is a perfec..."

Porcelain Princess: An English Girl in Paris (part une)

2011-01-14T19:08:00.000-08:00

Porcelain Princess: An English Girl in Paris (part une): "Bonjour! For anyone who doesn't know, the above title is a reference to the very last two episodes ever of Sex and the City, where Carrie m..."

Porcelain Princess: I think I feel a shopping trip coming on...

2011-01-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

Porcelain Princess: I think I feel a shopping trip coming on...: "New outfit alert! So. At the end of January I have a night out coming up for a friend's birthday, and as usual, I have been pondering over ..."

Porcelain Princess: I Wanna Do Bad Things With You...

2011-01-14T19:06:00.000-08:00

Porcelain Princess: I Wanna Do Bad Things With You...: "Calling all Trubies! (that's fans of True Blood, THE most amazing TV programme in the world. If you haven't already watched it, I'm telling ..."

I Wanna Do Bad Things With You...

2011-01-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

Calling all Trubies! (that's fans of True Blood, THE most amazing TV programme in the world. If you haven't already watched it, I'm telling you, you are missing out. BIG time.) Tonight was the first TV showing (in the UK) of the much awaited third season. I wish I'd had the self-constraint necessary to wait until now to watch it, but unfortunately, I have no self-constraint when it comes to watching the sexy Vampire Bill, so I already watched it online back in the summer.

For anyone who hasn't become hooked on True Blood, you really should give it a try- I actually challenge anyone not to love it. There really is nothing else like it on TV- it's sexy, dark, romantic, gory, violent and shocking whilst also managing to be hilarious at times and deeply moving at others. Not only that, but the opening sequence and theme tune are OUT OF THIS WORLD. It's full of flickering, blood-splattered images relating to the Deep South, like sexual images juxtaposed with footage of religious fanatics dancing around in churches, bar side- brawls and like, hillbillies and stuff, all set to a deep, country voice singing 'I wanna do bad things with you...' Not to mention that Bill Compton's seductive Southern drawl will keep you watching it, if nothing else does ;-)

The whole Vampire genre is something I'm hugely into, and I also love The Vampire Diaries and Twilight (don't judge- it's my guilty pleasure!) :-) and I loved when the vampire theme filtrated into the fashion world. True Blood has given me TONNES of inspiration. Here are a few of the sexy vamp looks I've been inspired by:

The evil but fabulous Lorena working underwear as outerwear (my fave trend ever). She is one of my favourite characters both in the show and style-wise. I love her sexy, gothic vamp glamour and her penchant for dark lipstick.

The goreous baby-vamp Jessica. So so pretty, she has the most flawless skin.

The STUNNING Sophie-Anne. I actually can't get over how beautiful she is.

This is the normally sweet and innocent Sookie's werewolf look that she adopts when she visits the werewolf bar- I love seeing her darker, edgier side here.

This is Debbie- she's also evil but I must say I'm feeling her wild, crazed, wolf girl look!

So, in celebration of True Blood being back on T.V, I decided to go for a vampire/wolf-girl/witchy/general-supernatural-vibe look today at uni. Here are some pics of what I wore:

Top: Urban outfitters (sale!)
Shorts: Vintage trousers from a vintage shop in Whitechapel which I cut into shorts
Boots: Tophop
Earings: Topshop
Rings: Topshop and vintage from a New York flea market
Bracelet: Topshop (sale!)
Lipstick: Rebel by MAC
Necklace: Creepy old antique shop in Hunstanton.

I feel like the leather and dark lipstick give the outfit a gothic, sexy vampire feel, whilst the animal print and chunky black boots give it a bit of a wolf-girl edge. I also love the witchy vibes that this odd, fantasy-like, wiccan-y necklace bring to the look.

I found the necklace in a wonderfully eerie, cobwebby little antique shop in Hunstanton, which is a seaside town where I went camping with my family in the summer. The windows were all dark and frosted up and crammed with piles and piles of antiques, ancient jewelery, old clocks, compasses and lamps. It looked like something right out of Harry Potter. You had to ring the door bell to be let in and this creepy old man showed us in and was like 'I don't do much business anymore, I want to start closing down soon.'
The whole shop was full of heaps of random old junk, towers of books, strings of yellowing pearls and dust-covered, glittering brooches. It was a real Aladdin's Cave and I would love to go back there one day if the old man hasn't closed it yet!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my vampire- inspired post! Happy True Blood watching!

Love,
The Porcelain Princess
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

I think I feel a shopping trip coming on...

2011-01-13T05:17:00.000-08:00

New outfit alert!

So. At the end of January I have a night out coming up for a friend's birthday, and as usual, I have been pondering over what to wear since I found out about it. Isn't January dressing so difficult sometimes? Your head is full of the new season looks so that all those glitzy Christmas party outfits seem tired and outdated already, but outside it's so freezing that to wear anything new-season would put you at serious risk of catching pneumonia. Not only that, but you really would look pretty out of place wearing a spring look in the snow/sleet/general freezing wintery greyness.

That said- I do actually prefer winter going-out looks. You can just add more to them. The weather provides more of an opportunity for layering and also, wearing tights, which I heart BIG time. Sometimes, I feel like wearing just a dress and heels can border on the...how shall I say...slutty? Maybe it's just me, but I feel like you need a little something to cover up some skin when you're wearing heels.

Anywho, getting back to my main point- after much internet trawling and trying on sessions- here is what I'm thinking of wearing:

This sparkly top from www.topshop.com (and bonus-it's in the sale!)

With this grey bodycon skirt, also from www.topshop.com

With these STUNNING shoes (provided they fit me!) From, you guessed it, www.topshop.com

With my amazing MAC Russian Red lipstick that my boyfriend's mum got me for xmas :-)

I would wear this outfit with black tights (I'm thinking possibly sheer, but I'm not sure yet, it needs to be tried on!) some gold chunky 80's style jewelery and my hair worn in hollywood screen siren-esque waves, but a bit messed up and back-combed for a disheveled, rock-chick vibe. I'm hoping to achieve something to this effect:

Incase the shoes don't fit- or if I decide I don't actually have the funds (I need to consult the bank balance-I must make my Christmas money last!) I will wear these shoes from Topshop, which I already have (and which I saw recently in the sale, grrr):

If I wear these shoes, I'd find a leopard print clutch bag because I just love the idea of an unexpected flash of racy leopard print with the softness of the pale pink and dove grey. I think it's what gives the look it's sense of fun and quirkiness, along with the bright red lippy. If I wear the leopard print shoes, I think I'd just wear a black clutch. Or maybe gold. Hmm...

Ok, so now I'm off for a treasure hunt in Toppers in Bromley to see if I can find any of these gems, and after that a quick browse at Greenwich market before I go into uni (the fact that my uni is RIGHT next to the market and a few fab vintage shops is possibly my favourite thing about going to Greenwich University!)

I will post pics as soon as I have purchased the outfit, stay tuned! xxxxxxxxx

An English Girl in Paris (part une)

2011-01-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

Bonjour!

For anyone who doesn't know, the above title is a reference to the very last two episodes ever of Sex and the City, where Carrie moves with her Russian to live in Paris. Ever since I saw those last two episodes when I was seventeen years old, I have wanted to visit Paris. As disastrous as Paris turned out to be for Carrie, I fell in love with her decadent evening ball-gowns, (who didn't adore her famous mille-feuille dress?) her snow-queen-esque winter layering in a pale palette of delicate pastels and neutrals and her huge, soft, tumbling curls which seemed more luxurious and romantic than in previous episodes- when it was wildly curly and untamed. Who didn't covet Carrie's vintage Dior clutch, and almost scream with delight when she pulled out the lost 'Carrie Necklace' from it's silk lining?

Mr Big to the rescue xxx

This feeling of wanting to visit Paris has only been increased over time by the numerous references to Paris in Gossip Girl, particularly the last season where I lusted over Blair and Serena's outfits as they wondered the streets of Paris; Serena chatting up hot French waiters and Blair sampling stacks of pretty French pastries and pastel-coloured cakes. For (in addition to Topshop and summertime) these are my other two great loves: Sex and the City and Gossip Girl. Never before on any TV programme have I been able to identify so well with the characters- with their deep love and appreciation of fashion, and all things glamourous, girly and fabulous. In particular, what I love about both these shows is their emphasis on female friendship and the importance of it- and of course the highs and lows that come with maintaining such crucial relationships. Not to mention the fact that all this exploring of the highs and lows of friendship is carried out by the characters whilst wearing vintage, Manolo's and couture :-)

Oh, Blair! <3

SO, you can imagine how excited I was when my boyfriend bought us Eurostar tickets for a day-trip to Paris for my Christmas present. As you can imagine- I spent hours and hours pondering my outfit. Since it is January- channeling any of Blair and Serena's summertime Parisienne looks was out of the question- so the Carrie Bradshaw snow queen look it had to be. In the end, after much trying on and discarding of outfits, I came up with this:

This is me on the Eiffel Tower!

The skirt is actually a vintage slip from a vintage store in New York, the jumper is Topshop, the bag is vintage from Greenwich market (it only cost me a fiver and I wear it EVERYWHERE), the boots are Urban Outfitters, the belt is H&M, the scarf is Accessorize, the hat is Topshop and the coat is vintage from a website called Devotedtovintage.com.

I decided to go for a sweet, cutsie Parisienne look with a vintagey edge which reflected the pretty pastel colours of some of Carrie's Paris outfits. I also have discovered that these colours really compliment my new red hair.

I actually had a way nicer hat than this that I bought from Greenwich Market just before Christmas- it was one of those big, fluffy, Russian fur hats and it was cream- but I dropped it at Greenwich station on my way to uni and when I went back to look for it- someone had STOLEN it. Can you believe that? I mean, who would seriously steal a hat??? It was an extra beautiful hat though. I have seriously mourned it's loss :-(

Anyway- here are a few more pictures of my day: (By the way, I wish I had one of those amazing £500 odd professional cameras that I could take stunning model-y shots with, but sadly I can't afford one, so my digital camera will have to suffice.)

Paris was so beautiful and I can't wait to go back. The Eiffel Tower was amazing and the whole city had such a romantic feel. However, the day turned out to be a bit of a disaster as my boyfriend had a call from work on the Eurostar on the way there about some humongous work catastrophe blah blah blah...that I wont even bother to go into- making him have a MAJOR stress- which kind of put a dampener on the whole day. Also, I didn't get to do any of the things I really wanted to do. I had this vision of wandering around Parisian vintage shops and eating cakes in a cute French patisserie, but we ran out of time. SO, my boyfriend has promised to take me to Paris again in the summer to make up for it.

I already have visions of wearing an adorable little floral vintage sundress and looking like I just stepped out of the D&G SS11 advert- I've only just seen the brand new campaign in my new issue of Glamour btw (something I eagerly await every season- especially in the Spring) and let me tell you, it did not fail to disappoint! :-) Here it is below in all it's pretty, picnic-in-the-park perfection:

Wow! I could stare at it all day! <3

So people, stay tuned for 'An English Girl in Paris, Part Deux'...

Lots of love, the Porcelain Princess :-) xxxxxxxx

Follow my blog with bloglovin

2011-01-08T09:59:00.001-08:00

Acid Brights and Summer Rain

2011-01-08T08:54:00.000-08:00

Hi, welcome to my very first blog! :-)
I've been meaning to start a fashion blog for absolutely forever and I guess the new year is a perfect time to start! Basically I am just hoping to document in some way the crazy creative process that constantly goes on inside my head, and to let you in on some of my thoughts and feelings relating to fashion. I am constantly hunting for new inspiration and searching for that next 'look' to try and create, that next persona to take on, so that I sometimes spend hours on the internet trawling Google Images, the fan sites of my celebrity style crushes and facebook (yes- I do realize that makes me a bit of a facebook stalker, but you'd be surprised at some of the style inspiration you can find!)
     Like all creative people, I can be inspired by so many different things; films, books, music, TV programmes, people on the street, designers, fashion magazines, even certain types of weather. I am aware that what I am about to say is a little weird, as everyone i know seems to hate this weather, but my absolute favourite type of weather is when you get one of those unbearably hot, humid, sticky, over-cast, cloudy days, where the sky is like this dense, impenetrable white-grey, and the air feels alive with the threat of thunder and lightening, and you can feel its crackling tension all around you, like it's full of friction- and you can't wait for it to break. You can't wait for that moment where you hear the first rumble of thunder, and then the sky opens up and warm rain pours over the the hot, dry pavements and sun-baked earth. Most of all I love the smell. Summer rain. You just can't beat it.
     I work in a perfume shop, and there is a perfume called Unforgivable by Sean John (that's P. Diddy for those of you who don't know) which smells just like the rain. Sometimes I tell this to customers when I'm trying to sell it to them and mostly, they look at me like I'm a little strange. Anyway, when the weather is hot and humid like that, it reminds me of the summer when I was seventeen and me and my friend used to go out shopping all day in Croyden Centrale, and take walks to the park near my house, and in the evenings we'd try to get into random old-man pubs where we wouldn't get ID'd and sit and get drunk on cheap wine and talk about makeup and boys, or sit in my house watching Sex and the City, and we always wore little shorts and pumps and shrunken jackets in bright, clashing colours and sports-luxe fabrics.
     My friend always carried off the look so well and I always wanted to dress like her. When I was meant to be revising for my As levels I would really be spending hours pouring over tropical-print shorts and shrunken jackets in acid brights on Topshop.com to wear during our summer adventures. Sometimes, when it rained, we'd run out into my back garden and jump on the trampoline in the downpour, getting soaked to the skin. Since then, I've always wanted to do a photoshoot like that: two teenage girls jumping in the rain in summer on a tampoline- all long wet hair flying and mascara running and bright, funky outfits with lush greenery in the background. Whenever the weather is like that, it makes me think of those long, hot, summer days of teendom, longing for the rain to break the hot, restless tension in the air, and I want to throw on a shrunken white bomber jacket over a red and white printed shift dress cinched in with a thin mustard waisted belt, and add heaps of red plastic beads and matching red patent pumps, like I did that summer in 2006.
   I am aware that this post has absolutely no relevance whatsoever to the current weather/trends, but anyone who knows me, knows that I hate winter and being cold more than anything in the world, and that I live for the summer months. Therefore, in my defense, I think I needed to write this as a boost to get me through the cold, dark months ahead, and hopefully to inspire and boost the spirits of anyone reading this (it's never too early to start planning your spring/summer looks, people!)
On that note, I am currently LOVING the Snake Valley collection in Topshop right now (a quick warning: you should probably be made aware that I am completely and utterly OBSESSED with Topshop.) Anyone who hasn't already had a browse through their SS 11 previews online, do so immediately if not sooner! I can't wait to put on some snake skin shorts and a fringed crop top and dance beneath a summer sky with coloured streaks in my hair (I haven't done that since I was fifteen and I used to spray pink hairpsray from Boots in my hair, and I've been secretly hoping the look would come full circle ever since.) (Also, I'm not sure where exactly I'll be dancing around like a hippy underneath a summer sky, but it's the image I have in my head.) Here are some pictures to get you more inspired for the (hopefully) hot, lazy, humid summer days ahead, so please enjoy them, and I hope you enjoyed my first post! Lots of love,

Chloë

xxxxx

I found this on Google Images when I searched for 'summer rain' and I think it sums up the those words perfectly.

This is on the Topshop website- I got it from http://stylesketchbook.blogspot.com. It outlines the whole 'snake valley' look.

This really beautiful picture also came up when I googled 'snake valley.' I love the colours in it and I think it definitely captures the mood of Topshop's Snake Valley look. It's from a website called www.protectsnakevalley.com. Apparently there's an actual place called Snake Valley and I didn't even know :-S Well, you learn something new everyday!

Also, I've decided to put together a little outfit that I can imagine wearing to a summer BBQ/ garden party that I may just have to purchase in the nearby future...

These AMAAAAZING shoes which I have just discovered and which I simply HAVE TO HAVE. Omg. they are SO beautiful. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

with these sexaliscious mini-shorts, (which could also be worn now with black opaques and battered winter boots),

with this crop top

worn under this kimono jacket

with heaps of gold and turquoise jewelery like this stunning ring. Obviously the outfit would need to be tried on first, but I think it would look pretty fantastic.
All these images are from www.topshop.com