LAST OF THE SUMMER PARTIES, LAST OF THE SUMMER NIGHTS

At the end of summer you get this sad, perhaps even slightly desperate feeling when evening falls that every night could be the last night of summer, the last night one can go out in bare legs and bare arms and light shoes.  That night might even have gone by by now; the evenings feel more chilly already...  This also is the last official weekend of summer with September around the corner already. The summers always go by too fast...

But no need for melancholia - one more summer night, one more chance still to go to a party with flowers in the hair! (Alright, there are indeed as many chances as one likes all year round, this just seemed like a good caption.)

I've developed a thing for yellow accessories. Plus warm earthy colors always become more welcoming this time of year anyway.

This lace top dress is one of the items I got to choose as a gift from Sheinside. 

 

I guess you'd be able to style it quite modern would you like to do so, but I went after something old and timeless, more antique than retro.

I like the combo of white and yellow, although I also (secretly) think it reminds me of eggs.
So the other parts of my egg-party-outfit were my yellow heels, a yellow clutch (also from Sheinside) and an old bracelet from Pilgrim.  I've made the hair flower myself out of an interior flower and some beads left over from a costume of mine.

Time for paper lanterns in the tree and lots of wine!

THE "STUDY"

 You may remember we have a study in the city apartement. This is the way it should look like.

Unfortunately, here's how it most often looks tough; a mess of papers, unpacked bags from shows, launrdy drying and stuff stuffed away from elsewhere on their way to somewhere:

The mess room, ehrm...

Well this will all change when all of this magically disappears and we turn this into Dag's room! He has been sleeping in or bedroom so far. I've never bee that interested in interiors for kids rooms until now, well, naturally, but before the thought of loosing the study was a bit sad, now I'm eager on building kids' stuff in here!

The only question here is where the hell will I dry my laundry from now on?

Style blog: Lois Albinson and Richard O'Gorman!

So I've been meaning to do this style post for quite some time but keep getting distracted by one thing or another. Street style posts are a staple in the majority of fashion blogs and this is my take on that idea.

After working in topshop for 2 years while at uni I had the opportunity to meet some people with really individualk and expressive senses of style. I have chosen to feature two friends who have completely different clothing styles and who are both very expressive in what they choose to wear. 

First is Richard O'Gorman;sales adviser at Topshop, fashion blogger, pattern enthusiast and economics graduate. Richard is living testament to the often overlooked fact that intelligence and an interest in fashion aren't paradoxical.

 As a print designer I love anything patterned and I really love Richard's ability to mix prints and completely carry it off. I would love to see him start a daily style blog documenting his outfits, but until that day he has a fashion blog which he occasionally uploads outfits on:

http://www.skinnybelt.blogspot.co.uk/

Who/what do you get style inspiration from? Any decades/art movements or 

designers in particular?

I take inspiration mostly from culty, low ground designers like Agi & Sam, KTZ but then naturally your style is shaped by things you inevitably see at Versace/ JW Anderson/Celine shows so there's that too.

Menswear Resort 14 collections left to right: Agi&Sam, KTZ, Versace, JW Anderson.

What is your favourite high street store and why?
My favourite high street store has got to be Topshop. As well as a great staff discount (!) they really put a lot of money into their product development and whilst there are some really bad things in there, they do take quite literal references from the high-end fashion market
Would you say you follow trends or do you just buy whatever catches your eye?
I think I nod towards trends without literally following them blindly; it's better to take reference to big style changes season by season but develop them into a way that reflects your own style
How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style is part Amish, part Versace/Cavalli love child, part Evacuee child, part Wizard, part Vintage kid. I try to repeat outfits as rarely as possible and always try to reinvent my style
What do you think of British fashion and street style?

British style is 50/50; you get some incredible designers coming up through the ranks of British Fashion like Mary Katrantzou & Rag & Bone but then we have to take ownership for Julien McDonald and John Galliano (p.s. Raf Simons is doing the best job at taking over Galliano's helm at Dior. The BEST) . Our street style is really dynamic though, it changes and evolves and some people are really inventive, which I love.

................

Second is Lois Albinson; Topshop sales adviser, textiles graduate and knitwear designer.  Lois' personal style has always fascinated me! By mixing carefully selected vintage pieces with catwalk inspired high street items, Lois' wardrobe is on trend and edgy without compromising her unique bohemian style. To see some of her amazing knitwear designs visit:

https://www.facebook.com/loisameliaknitwear

Who/what do you get style inspiration from? Any decades/art movements or designers in particular?

I get inspiration from everything! Blogs, magazines, art, old films, street style etc. I work in Topshop and I am constantly surrounded by current trends so I try to find a way of eclectically mixing everything together. I don't really have a particular style I follow I think it depends on my mood a lot of the time. Being a knitwear designer I am mainly inspired by textures, and I love the work of Craig Lawrence and McQueen. When it comes to art Anselm Kiefer will always be one of my favourites.

Top row: Craig Lawrence knitwear, Bottom left to right: Anselm Kiefer and Alexander McQueen knitwear.

 What is your favourite high street store and why?

Trying not to be bias, I do think my favourite high street store is Topshop! They are the first off the high street to dilute trends from the catwalks. I think most of the time , depending of how they are styled, clothes from Topshop can definitely look quirky and individual. They are good value for money too! Other than that, I love a good but from American Apparel and urban outfitters.

Would you say you follow trends or do you just buy whatever catches your eye?

I don't think I follow trends...I think on some cases it's difficult because that's what's available in the shops. But I definitely just buy whatever I want whether it's on fashion or not. I like to mix everything together so in most cases I will wear something from Topshop and then add a few charity shop pieces in. I love to layer and the more clothes the better in my case. If I can't decide I don't think twice a out wearing two dresses at once!!

How would you describe your personal style?

I would say I own personal style is a real mix of things! I don't think I have many boundaries when it comes to trying new things! I think I like to combine new and old and I love to make my own clothes...so I guess you could say I like things that are different! I mix new with vintage so the newer pieces never look the same. I love to layer and I like the contrast of putting girly clothes with more grungy types...I like to have fun with things and I love to try out quirky new styles!

What do you think of British fashion and street style?

I love street style and I think without realising everyone takes inspiration from what other people wear. Living in Manchester is great because i think that there is such a mix of fashion and I love to see people's reflection of fashion! It's an expression of personality and I think it's so interesting to see how people convey that. I have great respect for British fashion and I think that past eras and past trends have made how we dress today! Britain has so much history, which I think has a huge impact in terms of fashion, and it's exciting to see these new trends constantly revisited throughout the years! British designers are innovators and I think they are always at the forefront of fashion!

MY SISTER'S WEDDING

My sister got married to my (or, our; they met there) long term harbor colleague last saturday. It was a fine day that went by terribly fast.

Away in a Ford Mustang, oh yeah. (I snagged this one from our friend @Johannesslotte ...) 

The party was at a small old ship yard on the sailing club's island right outside of the absolute centre of Helsinki.

 

My youngest sister, brides maid. They (the bridesmaids) wore similar short versions of the wedding dress. 

And yes, I managed to finish my dress in time! It turned out pretty damn good although I of course succeeded in spilling nail polish on it the last minute before the wedding. Oh well, that's life. And, the stain wasn't that bad in the end; tiny as you can('t) see.

 

BRING IT ON

Bring it on!-autumn, part one.

Well you know, the change of season is just around the doorstep and soon everyone will be blogging autumn this and autumn that. Well, except for those blogging from down under who will go on about spring. Feeling wise spring is bigger for me -the clod and dark finally being over- but when it comes to the material side it's all about autumn, preparing oneself for what is to come by stocking up; warm items, warm colors, a new range. 

Going trough my closet I noticed any practical mid season shoe I had was worn out or in a desperate need to see a cobbler. I sometimes have issues pairing certain clothing with suitable shoes during the colder season; the fuller the hem the less good they (in my opinion) look with anything else than heels (or ballerinas) -wearing boots with circle skirts for example most often just makes me feel like I'm on my way to sing at a rodeo or so (nothing wrong with that would that actually be the case). But other suitable options often gives me rather heavy granny-vibes. Which will have to do in this case.

We still have summer, sunshine and above twenty plus for now, but I stumbled across a pair of purple walking shoes at the supermarket and got them now already, deciding they'll help me and certain skirts trough autumn

...But a pair of rubber boots wouldn't of course hurt either...

ON THE BENCH

We went to a family lunch today. me in my Trashy Diva butterfly dress and Dag in red pants he got from his grandparents.

Shop reports!

Shopping/current trend reports as promised...

Betafashion design competition:Dreaming in Colour!

Since stopping my freelance job for my new job I have been at a loss with what to do with my spare time, so I decided to enter a design into a competition on betafashion.com. 

This was the brief:

DREAMING IN COLOUR

Taking inspiration from trans-dimensional dreaming and futuristic utopias, the challenge for this project is to create prints for our S/S14 womenswear collection using freedom of colour and mind and lucid dreaming to create new universes that will transform the collection into a contemporary, innovative and beautiful work of art.

We are looking for a combination of placement and repeating prints to be applied to the collection which will consist of jersey and woven dresses and separates.

8 winners will be selected, each receiving £500 and seeing their designs go on to form part of the collection which will be sold in our online store as well as some of the world's largest fashion retailers. Where possible the names of the winning designers will be presented alongside the collection at point of sale, as well as to the fashion press.

Below are the images eta provided to use as inspiration for this project.They are extremely similar to the images used in WGSN's cosmic folk trend prediction for next year, photos of which I have also posted below.

WGSN trend board

Not only would it be amazing for me to win £500 if my design gets chosen, it would also be a great opportunity for me to get my design work featured in thebetafashion collection. As I have been doing so much research on this topic in my spare time I am hoping that this will increase my chances of reaching the final 8!

Below is the design I submitted which combines shapes from crop circles with galaxy/nebula shape fills and all seeing eye details. If you like the design it would be great if you could follow this link and vote for me to win: 

http://www.betafashion.com/competitionratedesign.aspx?SubmissionID=7817&compID=0&filter=0