My new love: peruvian necklaces

You know when you flick through glossy mags, and fashion websites, and you see jewellery that's little more interesting and most of the time a lot more expensive to the that on the high street, and you just wonder - why is it so hard to find jewelry pieces that have a certain 'sass' ?


Now I'm not talking about the beach jewelry that you buy in holiday when you're feeling like a surfer and get home to find you have no clothes or surroundings that match. I'm talking about the the look fo the jewellery - Silvers, gold, stones, gems, detail that doesn't look generic.

Well, i think i've found it. I was looking around the net for some hand made silver jewellery and I discovered a style of necklace 'Alpaca' inspired and made in Peru. I then went on to my cyberspace heaven - ebay- and typed in 'Alpaca necklace' and I was given 848 necklaces to browse through. I was happy to see that if you wanted - you could also buy them directly from Peru with shipping costing around £6. Prices range from 99p - £25 (unless you plan on buying wholesale), which is amazing - Obviously at this prices it is not real silver but you're likely to get one for the same price you'd pay for a neclace from the high street - except this necklace will make your outfit a whole lot more unique.






I could quite happily buy ten of and never need to buy another necklace again. Of course It would be wrong of me to write this post without bidding or buying one, or two or three... So bidded I have done.

(I don't know why the necklaces are called 'Alpaca' but this is what real alpaccas in Peru look like for those who were not wondering)

Get the Chloe spring/summer look for less!

If you like the outdoors and you like fashion you should look to Chloe this summer for inspiration. The safari browns, and military greens of the collection  made the looks look effortless and laid back - you would think the models had just been backpacking around South America! The classic cuts like the denim and linen shirts and the jackets were adjusted to give the collection an 'edge' without being hard to wear.
What I really love about this collection, is how the looks could easily be recreated on a lower budget.

 Photo credit: elleuk

I've found a few key pieces for recreating this look for less.

I managed to find a great selection of clothes for this look, at Uniqlo (who are currently having a huge sale). Uniqlo is store that doesn't really do cutting edge fashion, and it doesn't have a huge amount of choice - but it does have great quality, classic clothes.

A classic shirt is a must. This premium linen safari shirt (1) at just £14.99 is a bargain. It's also available in white and well - every girl needs a white shirt in their wardobe....

I chose a classic pair of beige chino's (2) I found these in New Look for £20 (I already have my eye on the very same pair in khaki).  A beige pair of chino's has the longevity of surviving more than one season and can easily be brought into your usual outfit rotation.

If you live in Britain I don't need to explain how important a mac is in summer. A mac is every girl's necessity, and the farmer-esque examples in Chloe's collection got me all exited about everyones favourite dress-up time .... festivals!!! This mac (3), just £6.99 from Uniqlo, has the staple classic colour - it's not as hefty as a parker but it's not as awful as a kagool. It's just right.

Leather and PUC shorts are looking hot for this autumn/winter but Chloe went for a tight hot-pant style in their summer collection. These can be re-worked if you found a pair of shiny hot-pant/shorts. However I'm not that daring (at least not bare legged)- and so i'd stick to a more versatile satin pair that would work throughout the seasons in day and night. I found this great pair at, again from Uniqlo, (4) for £19.99. I love the wide leg shape and the flattering draping detail.

Here's the a video courtesy or Youtube of the Chloe S/S 2010 collection to inspire you...

Snow in Spring?!

Weather reports are saying that snow is on it's way. This is not  news I want to hear in March. The weather should be bright, with breezes, warm showers and the smell of Spring; everything coming back to life. One thing's for sure; I'm having a lot of trouble deciding what the hell to wear - a sunny start to the day gets me excited, and I decide to ditch the chunky cardigan i've been living in over winter and go for a jacket, but almost every outing involves an oufit re-adjustment before leaving the premises.

I have a mental list of things I want/need for the Summer (if it ever arrives...)

1. Military Chinos, £20 @ New Look
I'm currently eyeing up this pair from New Look but I'm not going in for the purchase until the 20% offer comes in (April 9th)

2. Black Strappy Wedges, £30 @ New Look
Oh my! I have wanted some wedges like this for a while now. Orginally I was contemplating a splurge on a £65 Topshop pair but before my irrational spending could get the better of me, they sold out. These are just as good and at £30 I'm not going to argue!

3. Strappy bodycon Skirt, £15 @ Boohoo.com
I'm pretty boring when it comes to skirts. I'm not very adventurous with them. Mostly, I wear bodycon skirts and use them for layering under a long top. This is a little different with the strap-stich detail, it also has versatility -which is great if you're anything liek me and can;t stand buying things that you'll probably only wind up wearing once!


4. Cropped Top, £15 @ Topshop
I have nothing in my wardrobe this colour. That's a justifiable excuse in itself. I think it would also contrast nicely against the khaki chionos.

It may not be a large list but the season is still young. I once again have a working sewing machine! I have many ideas of what I will attempt to make (I have no idea what I'm doing) and I have already made a pair £3 primark jogging bottoms skinny and taken in a hand-me-down black velvet skirt (I like the Hocus Pocus look.


So, this summers going to be about DIY fashion! See how to make Alexander Wang Sock braces here!
Let's hope we get some sun !

a bit of DIY

On Sunday morning I woke feeling surprisingly spritely after a late night spent catching up on desperate housewives. After a trip to a Dunelm Mill with a friend I had remembered to buy some hemming web and elastic for a little DIY idea I had seen here. It was the customising of knee-high socks to make them look like those featured in Alexander Wang's Spring/Summer 2010 collection.  I came across this girl (after getting lost on a 'blog wander' ) who had created this awesome idea. I thought I'd give it ago (you see i'm a bit creative like that -granted, not everything I make is wearable).

Photo credit: JazziMcG

For anyone who doesn;t know what hemming web is its a bit like ribbon that you cut to whatever length you need, you place it on the inside of the hem and fold the excess material over the web and iron. It's just a quicker and easier way to adjust the length of things like trousers. I love the stuff I have made a garish gothic skirt that I have a strange love for, constructed using just hemming web and elastic, (it hasn't fallen apart yet - though that would be embarassing).

So anyway all you need to make yourself of sock braces as they have been dubbed, is elastic the same colour as the sock about an inch wide, hemming web, needle and thread, scissors and white chalk or eyeliner.

I'm not gonna tell you how to do it becasue I think It's only fair you visit her blog and find out, but I will tell you what I thought.

First off, drawing and oval on the back of the sock whilst wearing it is hard. My attempt looking like a child's drawing, so after squiggling some kind of outline, I took of the sock and tidied it up a bit. After cutting out the ovals and sewing on the elastic (seems more sturdy) I checked the even-ness of the holes in the mirror and with no surprise one was twice the size of the other. I carefully cut to match the largest hole whilst wearing the sock (not something health and safety would approve of but that goes out of the window in my room!). Unfortuneately I only had over the knee socks but it still works okay you just have to trim and iron the hem under. I did this after sewing on the elastic as you may have to stretch the sock a certain way to stop it from gaping at the sides.

Hear is the result! The shorts I'm wearing are DIY cut-off tracksuit bottoms (£3 from primark) hemmed up using...HEMMING WEB!  It's a sporty look i'll be championing when the sun comes out for more than half an hour.

Shoddy photo's by me

Angry, Impulsive Shopping

I received my phone bill today and I was not impressed. I recently haggled my way up the mobile phone tree and upgraded to an awesome htc hero but only under the under the conditions that I would be given unlimited internet usage for free. Well, I should have know it sounded too good to be true because my phone bill told me that I had been charged for internet usage by the megabyte! Luckily, I do not have direct debit and I shall be having some serious words with them on Monday.

This news made me a bit cross so; on a slow Saturday with nothing else better to do I decided to look for weird stuff on eBay. My hours wasted browsing resulted in a purchase of a Red Indian feather fancy dress head band for £1.95 free p&p, and a hard rock cafe T-shirt for £2.99 inc postage. Don’t ask me why I spend to make myself feel better, but I do need T-shirts and I have been to Barcelona Hard Rock Cafe so it's kind of a souvenir and well... who doesn’t need an Red Indian headband!!?
(Barcelona Hard Rock Cafe pictured above [flikr])

New Shoes!

Lace-up boots have been HUGE this autumn/winter. The military lace-up has replaced the popular, classic ballet pump, and I was quick to put a pair on my ‘want list’. The thing is, I have decided this year that I must wear my heels more, and so I had to find an ‘in between’. Oxford style lace-up boots with chunky heels were one option, but I wanted something with more 'edge'. I remembered seeing this gorgeous pair of lace-ups from Topshop a few months ago, but by this point had sold out, so I went to my favourite shop, eBay. Here, I saw them being sold with an asking price of £110! I have no idea what the RRP was at Topshop, but I imagine they would be a bit out of my price range anyway!

(photo credit: obsessee.typepad.com/obsessee)

After scrolling through hundreds of boots under the search 'lace-up boots size 5' I discovered these little beauties. With a 'Buy It Now' price of £26.00 they were sold. I couldn't believe such a good replica would be so cheap. I wear them all the time with my knee-highs (if any of you have read my previous post you will see they are my new love). They are comfortable yet versatile. Definitely my best-buy of 2010 so far!

Best Designer-Inspired Boots Under £50

1. The designer; Balmain

 Price, £1,160

The tribute, available at Schuh

Price, £40

2. The designer, Miu Miu 

 Price, £380

The tribute, available at Myfirstwish.co.uk

Price, £29.99

3. The designer, Hunter

Price, £60

The Tribute available at Matalan

 Price, £10 

4. The designer, Chloe

 Price, £1,245

The tribute, available at Aldo

Price, £39.98 sale

 

5. The designer, Ann Demeulemeester

Price, £675

The tribute available at Asos

Price, £40