As cute as it looks from the front it was the back of the top that sold it to me and screams summer time! Cut at the bottom with a pink bow tied at the top it's the perfect for the festival look, which happens to be my favourite look.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Treating Myself
Urban Outfitters was having a sale and since it is my favourite store I was inclined to treat myself, finding the cutest top for Hackney Weekend/my holiday to Croatia this summer!
As cute as it looks from the front it was the back of the top that sold it to me and screams summer time! Cut at the bottom with a pink bow tied at the top it's the perfect for the festival look, which happens to be my favourite look.
The little peace pendant was a extra bonus have always wanted one just like it! So urban outfitters sale (that you can use student discount on still) has made my week! Love treating myself.
As cute as it looks from the front it was the back of the top that sold it to me and screams summer time! Cut at the bottom with a pink bow tied at the top it's the perfect for the festival look, which happens to be my favourite look.
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Vogue Festival
I know I have been away from my blog for a while due to my degree but I have been keeping up (live streaming all of London Fashion Week in the library!). My latest endeavour has been the first year of The Vogue Festival.
I went on the first day 20th April, 9am-1.30pm, and what was described as an experiment when amazingly well. First to be 'interviewed' was Christopher Bailey, who after the incredible London Fashion Week catwalk, had drawn me into this particular time and day. As you can see I was sitting quite far back from the photograph below!
First working for Gucci, when he moved to Burberry he described it as a "incredible diamond trodden into the ground - had so much potential...needed love, care and belief". And that is certainly what he gave to it, turning it into a worldwide fashion label. When talking about his stores he said he wanted them to be seen as welcoming and not intimidating. As he talks about his job and the many places he has to travel to and see, I became increasingly jealous! In his own words he called his life a "privileged life" and that it certainly is. To be working somewhere I felt that passionate about is only something I could dream of, Burberry is not only a job for Bailey but his "baby".
The next talk I was able to sit in on was titles "My Fashion Life" with Lucinda Chambers the Vogue Fashion Director, Matthew Williamson an independent fashion designer, Marigay McKee Chief Merchandiser at Harrods and Russell Marsh a Casting Director for models. You can just about see them here sitting together on the stage.
Lucinda was the first to speak, and as it is my dream to work for Vogue I was so intrigued by what she would have to say. She started off with a line that I very much agree with, that you have to "see the power of clothes...can totally change how you feel about yourself", as she described a shopping trip she had with her friend. It is very true that we tend to stick to the same mundane look not exploring what other clothes out their may suit us, completely changing how we feel about they way we look. It seems she ended up at Vogue magazine through hard work and chance, starting at the bottom and working her way up to the top. She inspired me with the way she talked about finding inspiration from everywhere she looked, "have to look at all things in a special way". She described British Vogue as being there to inspire you and make you dream.
Matthew Williamson very witty talk was described as "part1 of his life", with only 15 minutes to speak how was he supposed to sum up all his achievements that time? But what he did unveil was truly fascinating. He worked incredibly hard and fought the odds to achieve what he has today, telling use "you have to fight for what you want". When people told him he couldn't do something he was just pushed to prove them wrong (which he clearly has). His website http://www.matthewwilliamson.com/, shows how his hard work has paid off!
Marigay McKee described herself as "not the most fashionable or most clever" growing up and talked about how she just "muddled through" in life. Working originally as a school teacher she moved into cosmetics then onto a buyer and then onto Harrods firstly working in the cosmetic department. She seemed to transcend from job to job but with Harrods she "fell in love" reminded of her and her mums love for Harrods as a child it became her dream job when she finally became the Chief Merchandiser.
Russell Marsh was a interesting speaker to me as prior to this I had never known much about casting models and how it all worked. Russell Marsh would cast models for designers trying to make sure he has the right model for the right designer, telling us that the right model can "bring a collection to life". He looks for not just beauty but the way they dress their attitude! Once he has found this he is the one who teaches them to walk and how to hold themselves. His job takes great care in making sure each designer gets the right type of model in order to create an amazing reaction to a collection.
What I took away mostly from these talks was that it wasn't just about who they knew, or a great academic ability but sheer hard work that got them to where they were today. Which has inspired me greatly to work hard to be where I want to eventually be!
I had a little look round afterwards at all the other things they had on, with hair advance from Josh Wood, make overs from Armani's top make up artists and a beauty consultant on the best shade of red lipstick to suit your skin tone, mine happened to YSL in raspberry...
I loved their Vogue cover wall,
and got very excited when I saw a cover related to my dissertation on World War II fashion!
And just to end t my amazing experience at Vogue Festival (which I will definitely attend again) was these little cuties...
I went on the first day 20th April, 9am-1.30pm, and what was described as an experiment when amazingly well. First to be 'interviewed' was Christopher Bailey, who after the incredible London Fashion Week catwalk, had drawn me into this particular time and day. As you can see I was sitting quite far back from the photograph below!
First working for Gucci, when he moved to Burberry he described it as a "incredible diamond trodden into the ground - had so much potential...needed love, care and belief". And that is certainly what he gave to it, turning it into a worldwide fashion label. When talking about his stores he said he wanted them to be seen as welcoming and not intimidating. As he talks about his job and the many places he has to travel to and see, I became increasingly jealous! In his own words he called his life a "privileged life" and that it certainly is. To be working somewhere I felt that passionate about is only something I could dream of, Burberry is not only a job for Bailey but his "baby".
The next talk I was able to sit in on was titles "My Fashion Life" with Lucinda Chambers the Vogue Fashion Director, Matthew Williamson an independent fashion designer, Marigay McKee Chief Merchandiser at Harrods and Russell Marsh a Casting Director for models. You can just about see them here sitting together on the stage.
Lucinda was the first to speak, and as it is my dream to work for Vogue I was so intrigued by what she would have to say. She started off with a line that I very much agree with, that you have to "see the power of clothes...can totally change how you feel about yourself", as she described a shopping trip she had with her friend. It is very true that we tend to stick to the same mundane look not exploring what other clothes out their may suit us, completely changing how we feel about they way we look. It seems she ended up at Vogue magazine through hard work and chance, starting at the bottom and working her way up to the top. She inspired me with the way she talked about finding inspiration from everywhere she looked, "have to look at all things in a special way". She described British Vogue as being there to inspire you and make you dream.
Matthew Williamson very witty talk was described as "part1 of his life", with only 15 minutes to speak how was he supposed to sum up all his achievements that time? But what he did unveil was truly fascinating. He worked incredibly hard and fought the odds to achieve what he has today, telling use "you have to fight for what you want". When people told him he couldn't do something he was just pushed to prove them wrong (which he clearly has). His website http://www.matthewwilliamson.com/, shows how his hard work has paid off!
Marigay McKee described herself as "not the most fashionable or most clever" growing up and talked about how she just "muddled through" in life. Working originally as a school teacher she moved into cosmetics then onto a buyer and then onto Harrods firstly working in the cosmetic department. She seemed to transcend from job to job but with Harrods she "fell in love" reminded of her and her mums love for Harrods as a child it became her dream job when she finally became the Chief Merchandiser.
Russell Marsh was a interesting speaker to me as prior to this I had never known much about casting models and how it all worked. Russell Marsh would cast models for designers trying to make sure he has the right model for the right designer, telling us that the right model can "bring a collection to life". He looks for not just beauty but the way they dress their attitude! Once he has found this he is the one who teaches them to walk and how to hold themselves. His job takes great care in making sure each designer gets the right type of model in order to create an amazing reaction to a collection.
What I took away mostly from these talks was that it wasn't just about who they knew, or a great academic ability but sheer hard work that got them to where they were today. Which has inspired me greatly to work hard to be where I want to eventually be!
I had a little look round afterwards at all the other things they had on, with hair advance from Josh Wood, make overs from Armani's top make up artists and a beauty consultant on the best shade of red lipstick to suit your skin tone, mine happened to YSL in raspberry...
I loved their Vogue cover wall,
and got very excited when I saw a cover related to my dissertation on World War II fashion!
And just to end t my amazing experience at Vogue Festival (which I will definitely attend again) was these little cuties...
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Vintage Inspired
Just read an article (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/vintage-clothing-when-i-was-14-i-swore-id-never-wear-high-street-clothes-again-6534499.html) all about vintage clothing by Harriet Walker talking to, William Banks-Blaney (a globe trotting vintage shopper), Claire Stansfield (co-founder of Relik) and Sarah Kennedy (author and vintage expert). Everything they said was good advice for when buying vintage and I'll definitely remember it for the future, and make sure I pick up a copy of Sarah Kennedy's book! Claire Stansfield quote: 'Vintage doesn't follow trends, it creates and inspires them. Trends will always be influenced by what you see on the big screen or on the latest catwalks'. This is so true!!! Everything now is vintage inspired and that label helps products sell. It got me thinking about my vintage purchases and why I love them! I never realised how much vintage I had until I decided to write this so I tried to narrow it down to a few of my fave finds!
These were my auntie's back in the day CAT shorts which are gorgeous! She saw me wearing shorts similar and gave me these. Perfect vintage.
Levi cropped jeans from Rokit! Great find, hard to get the right size so was so happy with these.
I remember spending my last £35 on this jacket on a market in Brick Lane (I had to haggle) and it's still fashionable today. Win for me!
I found these trousers I saw on a mannequin outside a vintage shop in camden and asked the to bring them down for me. And although they are about 3 sizes too big with a belt I made it work!
Found this cute cardy at a vintage shop called COW near my friends university in Sheffield! I have to look round the vintage shops every time I am down visiting and make sure there is extra room in my bag to carry everything I find on the way back!
SO basically I love vintage!!! Who doesn't want to own something they know no one else has, makes it truly precious!
I remember spending my last £35 on this jacket on a market in Brick Lane (I had to haggle) and it's still fashionable today. Win for me!
I found these trousers I saw on a mannequin outside a vintage shop in camden and asked the to bring them down for me. And although they are about 3 sizes too big with a belt I made it work!
SO basically I love vintage!!! Who doesn't want to own something they know no one else has, makes it truly precious!
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Pure London
On Monday 13th I went down to Pure London, the leading trade fashion event for sourcing womenswear, young creative fashion for women, accessory and footwear brands. I was able to catch the womenswear catwalk and the young fashion half scene catwalk, and was fun to see what autumn/winter has in store. The three looks they spoke about before the womenswear catwalk were Eco Hedonism, Hyperculture and Radical Neutrality. Radical Neutrality struck me the most, I loved the nature aspect to the clothes. I am very into patterns and this look incorporated that well. What I heard a lot during the talks was NEUTRAL! It's all about neutral colours for the 2012/2013 winter just like its all about pastel colours this summer. It's good to have a heads up on whats to come this winter.
I got some snaps of my favourite looks from the womenswear catwalk, the first three are all about the shoes (as this is my weakness!)
Love the biker girl look! They will be so good, comfy and warm for the winter this year.
What amazed me about these are how did she walk in them?!? Gorgeous but dangerous!!!
These welly boots look so cute and will be perfect in the mucky English winter. They are practical as well as a fashion statement.
My last snap is all about the pattern!
This is a simple cardigan but when you look at the back it has such a beautiful design, making any simple outfit stand out.
What I loved most about this was looking round and finding some amazing new boutiques:
http://shop.shopheartboutique.com/
http://www.lovestruckclothing.co.uk/
http://www.rubyrocks.com/
http://www.minauk.com/
http://www.arkclothing.com/Ark_Female/Shop_by_brand/Danity.html
Which give you something different to look at when you always shop high street!
I got some snaps of my favourite looks from the womenswear catwalk, the first three are all about the shoes (as this is my weakness!)
Love the biker girl look! They will be so good, comfy and warm for the winter this year.
My last snap is all about the pattern!
This is a simple cardigan but when you look at the back it has such a beautiful design, making any simple outfit stand out.
What I loved most about this was looking round and finding some amazing new boutiques:
http://shop.shopheartboutique.com/
http://www.lovestruckclothing.co.uk/
http://www.rubyrocks.com/
http://www.minauk.com/
http://www.arkclothing.com/Ark_Female/Shop_by_brand/Danity.html
Which give you something different to look at when you always shop high street!
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Cheer Up Shoes
I had this idea for my blog about 2 days ago when I was feeling blue and bought myself a new pair of shoes to cheer me up! When I'm sad shoes seem to be the first place I look for comfort, so here I am going to give my top five cheer up shoes (which trust me was hard to narrow down).
#5 I can't afford it so someone else buys it for me as a present shoes: Office shoes that were £70 which I could not afford, but wouldn't stop going on about for weeks. After dragging my boyfriend in to see them a few times he got the hint and bought them for me!
#4 I want brown heels shoes: I spent forever looking for the perfect brown heels that I could actually walk in, when I stumbled across these in New Look. These were a great little pick me up!
#3 25% off Office shoes with O2 priority: Got to love being with O2 when they bless you with these little gems! Cheered me up a great deal when I saw this offer, went straight to office and then fell in love with these shoes.
#2 See shoes in a magazine, go to Sheffield, walk past an Office, go in and buy instantly: As you can see there is a pattern with my love for Office shoes! I saw these shoes in a magazine and fell in love! That same weekend I was going to Sheffield to visit my friend and of course I needed a souvenir...
#1 Wanting doc martins for years and years and finally found the perfect pair: These are my number 1 as I have wanted doc martins since I can remember. Buying those fake ones on camden market is just not the same (and I know for a fact). Definitely worth the £95 I spent on them and so worth the wait.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
FEAL THE LOVE
Just saw this on Melanie Rickey blog and had to share they are so adorable. On top of this a 1/3 of the proceeds go to the British Heart Foundation, they can be found at any Beyond Retro.
Thursday, 19 January 2012
My Fashion Journal
This is my fashion journal!!! Here will be talking about what I like and in some cases dislike. I will also be talking about all the latest fashion and my personal opinion on them! I have just signed up to tumblr so I can also be followed on there, where I will be updating weekly as well as this blog: andreaelizabethmccaul.tumblr.com. You can also follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/AndreaMcCaul.
Enjoy reading!
Enjoy reading!
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