Trend inspiration: Mod

Stepping into my mod world…

When free people launched this trend I became all nostalgic, being British I studied this movement through my fashion and design course and feel honored that one of the significant designers of this time is from my homeland Wales. When I think of MOD I think of Mary Quant amongst other things. She was a Welsh fashion designer and British icon, who was instrumental in the mod fashion movement; she was one of the designers who took credit for inventing the miniskirt and hot pants and showed a generation how to dress to please themselves, she created the ‘London Look’ that was so apparent during this time.

What mod means to me?

To me mod means ‘swinging London’ a time when fashion and style was everything, a time when mods and rockers became huge rebels and pop culture influenced fashion in a big way, psychedelic rock and bob haircuts… now I wish I was right in the thick of things in carnaby street London, 1960’s

Here’s my inspiration and a great editorial I found in self service magazine starring Arizona Muse and Daphne Groeneveld

items: russian print mini skirt, Mohair plaid mini skirt, polka dot blouse, rhiannon two tone platform

DIY: Fancy Collars

Shirts seem to be a trend everyone is diving into right now, including me.  That preppy school girl is becoming cool again but there seems to be a twist. I’m seeing people buttoning their shirts right up to the top so the collar becomes a feature (see blog post here) and they’re not scared to get adventurous with it either. So here we’ve made our very own DIY where we’ve made the collar a little more decorative!

What you will need;

Measure the length of the collar and cut trim to size

Sew the trim around the collar

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 Then style as you wish, we love it under cropped sweaters

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And here’s a little idea to jazz a shirt up a little for holiday season; buy some iron diamond, decorate the edges and shine on!

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Rings worn in photos are the asymmetric stone ring and the crystal wave ring

A diary of a fashion blogger….

I love weekends, don’t you? Come Wednesday I’m lusting for Saturday morning to come. I wake up to the smell of French roast coffee and snooze until I’m ready to step foot outside of the cozy blankets. No alarm, no rushing just a peaceful mind looking forward to two days that you can dedicate to yourself. My mindset right now is all about HALLOWEEN. I decorated my house a little, placed a pumpkin amongst my flea market finds and a little Halloween man on top of my crate box.

I’m leaning towards an autumn leaf vibe; my aesthetic seems to be turning all rustic and autumnal from wearing dark floral prints to gathering earthly things for my home.

It’s that time of year again and I love it!

my mantel inspired by mrs havishman aesthetic

mid afternoon, I search for inspiration

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rearranged my wardrobe

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Trendspotting: Fancy Collars

Shirts have become a fashion focus with an emphasis on the collar. Styled individuals are wearing their shirts buttoned up – right up! But it doesn’t stop there…
Decorating the collar is key in creating a quirky new take on this trend whether it is with a necklace or actually customizing the shirt collar itself.
Right now we love this collar necklace as it allows you to create a quirky collar twist with almost anything!

Are you all collared up??

Oh… and stay tuned for a DIY next week

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items: Miles of lace dress,  La bourse Plaid button down, Cropped cardigan, Stella collar

Paris Fashion Week: Highlights

Paris fashion week to me has a certain unique edge to it that gives the glamorous silhouettes a bit of funk. From tinsel skirts at Balenciaga worn with a structured top half to Chambray denim worn with foiled gold at Balmain, The designers featured at Paris always know how to mix the young with the old.

Valentino brought 1920’s lace back into the picture and wasn’t scared to hit the ground with it, while Chloe brought interested and unique proportions down the runway;  I love the exaggerated details in the garments – why not call out a great waistband or a cool sleeve.

Here’re my highlights from Paris, what did you guys think?

Balenciaga, Balmain, Valentino and Chloe – Street style by Tommy Ton via style.com  

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Milan Fashion Week

Milan’s fashion week has come to a close and I’ve been scrolling through the shows for inspiration. It was bright and glitzy, everything that you would expect from a city that enjoys the finest things in life.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Marni, there’s something so incredibly quirky going on with it aesthetics; whether it’s the unique colour palette or the juxtaposition of ad-hoc accessories against geometric prints. In this collection I was seeing a little touch of 60’s housewife which worked in a weird kind of way – that’s what to expect from Consuelo Castiglioni.

Roberto Cavalli’s show brought glitz to my eyes the artisanship won me. The collection seemed like it belonged at the couture shows at times. I loved the contrast of gold with leopard and florals against the black. It was a dream to look at.

Milan shone bright, next stop Paris!

Photo’s taken from Vogue and Style

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Loungewear for the FP Girl

When the nights start drawing in I love nothing more than coming home from work putting on some comfortable clothes and lounging around. The nights are dark early.

So you have an excuse to just stay in and do nothing but be cozy. Comfortable clothes do a lot to your mood; it’s an indulgence that feels great. I’m excited about FP body, now I can be lazy in great clothes.

From our FP body buyer:

Describe FP body started from the basic seamless romper that was perfect for layering under all our sheer slips. We wanted to take comfortable basics to the next level and explore it in terms of lounge wear.  We felt our girl was too pretty and cool to be lounging around in boring sweats so we brought the FP aesthetic and created a range that is fashionably comfortable.

We didn’t want to limit ourselves when designing into this concept – we looked into great silhouettes that can be carried from indoor dressing to outdoor dressing, when styled carefully – for instances the fleecy sweat pants that are online right now are ideal for curling up on the sofa but then you can team them with some biker boots and a leather jacket and be ready to head out the door. The Kimonos are thrown on for some decorative warmth over your basic lounge wear but can also be worn in a cool way with jeans and a simple top for a night out.

FP body is comfort made fashionable!

What are your favorite pieces from the line?

The items I love the most are the ones that can transition from the indoors to the outdoors, the body hugging soft rompers are cute whilst the kimonos add that touch of fancy that can easly be taken as outerwear and you can never go wrong with a pair of cozy lined sweat pants

 FP body Shop

LFW: best in show

London pulls out all the stops when it comes to fashion, there’re no boundaries when it comes to styling and playing with different patterns and textures. The shows this year demonstrate just that for spring/summer 2012 — from oversized daisy prints over monochromatic geometrics, to unusual fabrication and applique techniques. It’s no wonder London is now for the cray cray city of cool.

Anything goes here, and it’s kinda fun. it’s a city of diversity that’s for sure!

Here’re the shows that stood out to us and a couple of street style looks from Facehunter.

Did you have a favourtie show?

street style from facehunter and runway photos from Vogue and Style

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Christopher Kane  Spring/Summer 2012lfw

Trend Spotting: we LOVE polka dots

Such a playful print is running through our minds lately, we can’t quite get enough of this adorable look. It’s a look that made a very popular fashion statement, especially for women’s dresses and blouses during the 1920, 1940’s and 50’s and now it has made its way back and is at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

We like this look either worn full blown retro, like our muse Alexa Chung, or dress it down with casual items, jeans or cutoffs to give the look a relaxed, cool vibe.

Are you happy to wear polka dots?

 

Photos: Marc Jacobs, Yohji Yamamoto, Alexa Chung

From left to Right: Elizabeth Taylor struck a glamorous pose in a blouse with a polka dot yoke in 1944, the same year she appeared in the award-winning movie National Velvet. Studio headshot portrait of American singer and actress Alice Faye (1915-1998) wearing a polka-dot dress. 1970 London policewomen.  Marilyn Monroe circa 1951.

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dotted lace tee, mesh panties, mesh dot ankle socks, polka dotted boho blouse

More from our FASHION Night Out event

New York fashion week is still under way and we still have a buzz from our fashion night out!
New York definitely pulled out all stops for this Fashion event, the streets were crazy, and inside our free
People store the atmosphere was high energy as well. We got to mingle with our customers
and celebrate our Fall collection with them. Those mini cupcakes made by bakedbymelissa went down a treat two.

Tomorrow we have the official DIY of the Honestly WTF bracelets and Thursday more Street Style from outside New York Fashion week!!!

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Here are some of our store girls in beautiful Free People clothes

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FNO 2011: Getting Creative with Free People in NYC

Tonight is our fashion night out event; we’re kicking off fashion week with style!! if you’re around that area please come and join us – we’ll be there with our creative directors and these ever so cool bloggers from Honestly WTF who will be carrying out a special DIY project.

 Here’s what inspires them about NYC

New York in 4 words…

Ambitious, home-away-from-home, sleepless, and fashion, baby.

What we are packing…

We’re totally embracing the grunge-chic trend this season: ankle boots, skinny pants, oversized sweaters and a little sparkle to top it all off. Of course bell bottoms, maxis, and hats will forever be staples in our closets. 

Best Places to go in NY?

 1) We love brunch in NY. It’s a battle between the baked eggs at Café Gitane and the Turkish eggs at Public . . . I’ll have both, please.

2) Christie’s Auction House in Rockefeller Plaza is a great place to go see an art exhibition. Not a lot of people know that it is free and open to the public.

3) Daha in the Lower East Side has the most extensive collection of vintage boots in New York City.

4) Whenever we’re in New York, we always stop by The Little Branch for a sweet libation.

5) Dropping by the first floor of ABC Carpet & Home is always a must – it’s full beautiful things and perfect place to pick up a gift for someone.

One Free People item you’ll be taking into fall…

We’re kinda dying over these Hatchett ankle boots – love the asymmetrical cut and distressed details. They are the kind of boots you live in all season long!