The Collective

So in the past I can't say I've been a big fan of Miss Selfridge. I used to find some things a bit too, umm, tacky and slightly brash (sorry!!). But that is all in the past! My opinions changed when, on a weekend in Liverpool with my friends, we popped into Miss Selfridge. I wasn't really looking for anything as I already had an outfit for the evening, however there sitting pretty smack bang in my eyeline was a gorgeous little pink playsuit. We fell in love and the rest is history! We've had some good times and bad times (like the time someone spilt a drink on you - poor baby!) but non the less, a year has gone by and our relationship is just as strong and the playsuit is joining me on holiday! Things are getting serious!

Anyway, Ode to a Playsuit over, lets get back to the real reason of this post. This morning, Miss Selfridge's email newsletter pinged into my inbox. I had a click through the links like I always do when I've got a spare minute, but one section of the email caught my eye... The Collective.

The tag line is 'Your Styling Essentials' and it's certainly that and more! Check out the video below to see the collection.  



What do you think? The styling and makeup is glamorous with a sort of rock edge (that sounds naff I just can't think of the right word!) and a 60s element with the heavy eye make-up and leopard print fur coat.

These are some of my favourite pieces from the collection:

Black Bardot Dress £22 Miss Selfridge

Nude Shawl Collar Blazer £40 Miss Selfridge

Sharp Black Studded Point Shoe £50 Miss Selfridge

Embellished Collar Shirt £37 Miss Selfridge

Black Textured Peplum Top £27 Miss Selfridge

Tan Leather Biker Jacket £150 Miss Selfridge

What do you think?

Summer sumer summer time...

Summer holiday season is upon us! Although for most of us in England it probably doesn't feel that way what with the gloomy weather! But if like me, you're jetting away some where hot then you will probably of done at least some of your holiday shopping. I however, have not even started and to be honest I have hardly any money. It's quite worrying really, considering I go in 27 days and only have one pay day left before I go. Eeeeeek, I think I'll be relying on my student overdraft for most of my spending money but hey I may as well take advantage of it while I still have an interest free overdraft!
So as you may of gathered, I will be doing most of my shopping on a budget. I'm going to try to use clothes that I already have and just update my wardrobe with some fresh pieces and accessories, so if you have any cheap-ish clothing websites you'd reccommend I'd really appreciate it!

Anyway, this is what I have on my (sort of) budget shopping list so far:

Drawstring Skirt £18 Topshop

White Embroidered Hem Shorts £18 River Island

LOVE Spring Flower Print Chiffon Cross Back Dress £38 inlovewithfashion.com

Top in Crochet with Dipped Back £22 Asos

Midnight Grace Preppy Stripe Bikini Top £28 Figleaves

Geo Print Cross Back Dress £20 Miss Selfridge

That is all I have so far, it's a work in progress. Although progress needs to happen sharpish so tomorrow I'm hitting Manchester!

x

Rule Britannia

So, it was the Queen's Diamond Jubilee at the weekend and what a weekend it was! Although my weekend consisted of working, I hot-footed over to Manchester straight after work on Sunday to celebrate mine and my best friends 21st birthday (and Queen Lizzie's Jubilee obviously!). I bought a new dress for the occasion from Topshop which I love! It's quite a gem (geddit? cos it's the Diamond Jubilee!) as I found it in the Buy Now or Regret Later section in the tiny Topshop in my local town so it's fair to say I'm pretty chuffed with it!

It reminds me of Mary Katrantzou and Erdem, and for £60 I think it's a bit of a bargain! On Monday I was pretty hungover but waved my friends off and headed to Dot To Dot Festival. Unfortunately I didn't get chance to watch that many bands, shamefully due to my hungover state, but managed to catch Lucy Rose performing. She first appeared on my radar when I went to see Bombay Bicycle Club last year where she performed with them and I just think she has such a stunningly beautiful voice, I'd recommend you to go and listen to some of her songs! She also came across as being really sweet and humble and was touched when she saw someone in the audience wearing one of her T-shirts. I finished off the night with a yummy tea at Felicini's. And Tuesday was spent recovering!

What did you get up?

Hello!

image from Pinterest

Hi there! It's been a very long time since my last post so my apologies for that! I was extremely busy with uni work and exams so this has had to take a back seat for a while. Hopefully now that I've finished for the summer I'll be able to update this more often.

Just a quick mention while I'm here, if any of you have Pinterest, feel free to check out my boards! My username is fionaclare1. Pinterest is definitely becoming a bit of an obsession for me, I'm addicted!

x

Robert Storey

I've recently stumbled across Robert Storey's work and I am impressed! Robert is a set designer who studied Fine Art Sculpture at Central Saint Martins. He's worked alongside art director and set designer Shona Heath and photographer Tim Walker for magazines such as British Vogue, AnOther Magazine and i-D. Other clients include Asos, Converse, Stella McCartney, Topshop and Victoria Beckham. Take a look at his work and I'm sure you'll agree that this is one talented guy!

Window installation at Nicholas Kirkwood

Rita Ora - i-D magazine

(Photographed by Scott Trindle who I've blogged about here)

Dazed & Confused

(Photographed by Sean and Seng)

more of Robert's work can be seen on his website

Burberry Beauty

Cara Delevingne - what a beaut!



And the award goes to.....

So it was The Grammy Awards 2012 last night and my Twitter feed was filled with updates of who was wearing who and who won what etc. I am chuffed at the news that Adele won 6 awards including record, song and album of the year, think she totally deserves it. Check out her performance below.. AMAZING!

And onto the fashion, some gorgeous outfits I think you'll agree. Below are my faves..

Adele wearing Giorgio Armani

Alicia Keys wearing Alexandre Vauthier

Carrie Underwood wearing Gomez-Garcia

Corinne Bailey Rae

Gwyneth Paltrow wearing Stella McCartney

Jennifer Hudson

Kate Beckinsale wearing Zuhair Murad

Katy Perry wearing Elie Saab Couture

Kelly Rowland wearing Alberta Ferretti

Lykke Li

Paris Hilton wearing Basil Soda

Rihanna wearing Giorgio Armani with Christian Louboutin heels

Taylor Swift wearing Zuhair Murad Couture



Polly Bean - a different kind of supermodel...

Polly Bean is not your average model. Sure she has the super long legs and protruding pout, but there's something different about her. And that is because Polly is the first cartoon model! Recently signed to Premier Model Management in London, Polly Bean is the creation of Neil Kerber, a leading cartoonist. Polly was first seen in Kerber's successful 'Supermodels' comic strip featured in Private Eye which has a cool and witty take on the fashion industry. 

http://www.premiermodelmanagement.com/Polly_Bean.html

http://www.vogue.co.uk/blogs/polly-bean

http://www.pollybean.com/

http://polly-bean.tumblr.com/

Blooming lovely!

After a quick look on style.com I am now swooning over Valentino's Spring Couture collection. Consisting of beautiful dresses with delicate flowery prints covering every inch of the fabric... So pretty!!! This collection just screams 'spring-time' to me.. Ahh how I long for some warm weather, it feels like this cold weather has been around for far too long! Anyway, back to the collection, delicate fabric detailing such as the use of lace and filigree complements the prints on the dresses, which are teamed with slipper style shoes (also featuring floral patterns). Blossoming!



images from http://www.style.com/

Perfect for a Monday...

Alexa.

Sienna Miller

Sienna Miller is someone whose style I have always admired. She was mainly responsible for the 'Boho' trend circa 2004/2005, inspiring girls everywhere to copy her look of cute little smock dresses, denim waistcoats, frayed denim shorts, floppy hats and floral dresses. Although I was a fan of this look (and no doubt the 'Boho' trend will come around again at some point, as fashion trends tend to do. Come to think of it, elements of this style have been seen this summer into autumn, such as the floppy hats. And lets face it, denim shorts have never really gone anywhere! Anyway, I'm getting off track..), its her more recent style that really appeals to me.

Oh and also... she's bloody gorgeous!! 



Effortless, groomed, glowing and all in all, stunning!