Fashion

This post is just too exciting in many ways. I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in a week (terrible blogger), but I’ve been waiting for parcels etc etc, but this post should definitely make up for it! First of all, thank you SO much if you nominated my blog in the Company Magazine Blog Awards because… *drum roll* we’ve been shortlisted for the 2nd year! It would be awesome if you could click here to vote for me! I’m on Tab 8 under Best Teen Style Blog 😀 Another exciting thing is that my soft boxes finally arrived! This is the first blog post using them 😀 Anyway, this post is exciting in itself…

TOLLY DOLLY POSH X MAKIE OUTFIT £16.99 – OUT NOW

You may remember at the beginning of this year, I did a resolution post (read it here), where I said I wanted to a product collaboration with a brand. Well, let’s move down the line, 5 months later, and I’ve gone and done just that! The amazing people at Makie, a 3D printed toy brand from London, gave me and two other bloggers the chance to create our own outfit and have it sold on their shop. How cool?! It’s only small but I am absolutely thrilled to have been part of the project. I feel giddy with pride!

I love promoting innovative brands, and Makie is certainly one of them. 3D printing is something that will be a common household utility in the future, and all the dolls and accessories (excluding the outfits of course) are all printed from a 3D printer. I think it’s amazing! You can make your doll look like you, or whatever you want it to look like. They sell lots of different accessories, and now of course, the Teen Couture collection. 2 of my lovely blogging pals, Mia and Lexi, also have outfits which you should check out!

INCLUDED IN THE OUTFIT: TOP, SKIRT, PETTICOAT, YELLOW SHOES & FLOWER CROWN

As you know, I LOVE prints, so my design of course had to incorporate some! I decided on a full panel skirt with an additional petticoat, a yellow high neck, some winged high tops, and of course a floral crown! The prints are inspired by my current loves, including pineapples… obsessed with pineapples!  I also love yellow, so it seemed to right to have a matching top and shoes! I think the outfit really suits my personality and I hope other young girls like it too… or boys of course! It’s called ‘Posh Prints-ess’, because… well… prints!

I’m going to treasure this forever. Although it is only a small piece, I would like to say it would be worth a lot in the future… perhaps? It’s my first ever product collaboration…. the first ever ‘X Tolly Dolly Posh’ design. I really hope you go ahead and treat yourself to one. Even if you don’t have a Makie doll, you could just keep it wrapped up and make yourself millions in the future… jokes, but you know what I mean! I wouldn’t be able to have these opportunities without your support, so thank you, I’m blessed 🙂 I really do hope you like it!

(This is not a sponsored post. Makie sent me the doll and outfit as a gift. I do not make any profit from the outfit being sold, currently. Read my full PR disclaimer here)

Howdy! *waves* Today I have another different kinda’ post like my last one, and it’s all in support of Fashion Revolution as today is the day people! Are you wearing anything #InsideOut? If you are make sure you tweet @TollyDollyPosh and @Fash_Rev with what you are wearing! Anyway, back to the post… P.S There is still time to nominate my blog!

Whilst researching more about where our clothes come from, I found out that Nike had created an app for designers (or everyone in general) to help them make better decisions on what fabrics they use when doing their collections. The App is called ‘Making’ and you can download it free from the App Store here. It basically shows you what fabrics are best for certain aspects of the process, like power usage, water, waste and even the chemistry behind it. I decided I wanted to use the App to find out which of my favourite pieces of clothes, really should be my favourite.

How did I calculate it? On the App, it gives positions from 1st to around 35th, using these positions, I could make averages which could help me find out what pieces I should really appreciate the most. For a piece which is only made of 1 fabric, I looked at it’s positions in each category, added them up, and divided them by the total of categories (i.e an average/mean), and that gave me the average position for that 1 garment. For a piece which is made of more than 1 fabric, I made the averages for each fabric, then multiplied each average by the percentage. So if a piece was 25% Cotton, I would times it by 0.25, then I would do the same to the other fabric(s), and add the totals up! The totals I have, are positions which match to the Nike Making App, so the highest position, will be the best piece in my wardrobe!

NEON EMBROIDERED DRESS (ASOS): 95% COTTON + 5% POLYESTER – ESTIMATE

This is probably one of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe… well one of the newest ones at least. It was such a bargain in the ASOS sale, and I love it! Unfortunately though, the scores didn’t make me feel too good about it. For it to be so high on the amount of water it took to make it, and for it too use quite a lot of power, means it wasn’t such a great piece after all. Of course, I still love it, and I can’t do much about it now, but it’s a shame that it really did take such a toll on the environment. Overall Cotton comes in at 21st place (for the 95%) on average, with the Polyester (used for the orange thread) comes in at 1st, which isn’t too bad, but that is for just that 5% used.

COMPARING COTTON TO SILK

Power – Cotton uses 69% less Water – Cotton uses 103% more Waste – Cotton creates 6% more
Better option – I can’t decide! It’s probably 50/50 for this one.

NIKE FREE TR FIT 5.0* (JD SPORTS): 25% RUBBER + 25% EVA FOAM + 25% POLYESTER + 25% COTTON – ESTIMATE

Seeing as I used the Nike App, it would be wrong not to include my Nike Free’s. I honestly do love them, and they are super duper comfortable. You can read my full review on them here. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the fabric percentages for them, or get an answer quick enough, so I went with a rough amount of 25% for each fabric… Other than the Polyester and Cotton, they come up quite strongly. Rubber is actually the best fabric for shoes according to the App, which I think is awesome! We should all embrace our wellies and what ever other rubber made shoes are called… perhaps?! EVA Foam is the padding you find in some shoes, and especially Nikes, FYI!

COMPARING EVA FOAM TO LEATHER

Power –  EVA Foam uses 91% less Water – EVA Foam uses 22% less Waste – EVA Foam creates 12% more 
Better option – EVA Foam

PINK COAT* (ARK): 80% POLYESTER + 20% VISCOSE

When I received this, I fell in love, and I still love it even if it is covered in cat hairs… naughty Paloma! But… do I still love it after to looking at the results? For the Viscose I had to take it that it would be Rayon-Viscose ‘Wood’ rather than ‘Bamboo’, as that is what it usually is according to Wikipedia… In my opinion the results aren’t brilliant (aka, they are pretty darn terrible), but because I love it so so much, I think I can forgive it… maybe? It’s still awful to imagine that Viscose is actually that bad to the environment… and for the Polyester to be equally as bad too. It’s a shame really.

COMPARING POLYESTER TO WOOL

Power – Polyester uses 62% less Water – Polyester uses 40% less Waste – Polyester creates 15% more 
Better option – Polyester

LEATHER SHOES (JUMBLE SALE): 100% LEATHER – EXCLUDING LACES & WINGS

These shoes were quite the bargain for what they are. They’re vintage, and cost me less than £20 which is pretty darn good in my eyes, so I was really interested to see what Leather came up as… unfortunately it was 20th. I can’t really tell if my shoes came from grass fed cows (sorry veggies…), or corn fed, so I just went for grass… and the results were pretty shocking. 43rd in power? The waste isn’t too bad which is a good sign, but I think the rest of them show that really… it’s probably not the best to buy leather shoes. As you can see below, when compared to Polyester… Leather uses 518… yes, 518% more power.

COMPARING LEATHER TO POLYESTER

Power – Leather uses 518% more Water – Leather uses 17% less Waste – Leather creates 20% less
Better option – Polyester

So…. as you can tell… my Nikes came out on top! I officially can love them a tad bit more than any other piece in my wardrobe! YAY! Plus… they look incredible, they’re totally up my street! But I don’t think I can leave you here, we need to talk about all of this…

Is Cotton always best? Throughout this post, we can see that Cotton isn’t a very nice fabric. Are there alternatives? On the Nike Making App, in 3rd place for clothing, you have Polypropylene Fabric, which is commonly used in thermal underwear and base layers. It’s strong, heat resistant and good in water. It has better chemistry than Cotton, it uses 11% less power, 57% less water, and only creates 10% more waste, so how come we haven’t seen it being experimented on with other garments? Silk is also a good alternative, other than the fact it uses 226% more power… yikes!

Buying new vs Buying old… Whilst doing all of this, I have realised that the options we go for straight away, aren’t always the best, which leads me on to the question… should we buy new Cotton, polyester and other bad fabrics? If we buy new, we are putting more money into the specific industries, which means more of these fabrics will be made, and that means, more power and water will be used, and more waste will be created, where as, if we were to purchase second hand pieces, not only are we helping the people we buy from, but also we are avoiding pumping more dough into already unhealthy fabric industries. Even if Cotton is what we usually go for, if it is using so much energy up, why should we carry on funding it? Do ya’ get my flow here? Do ya’?

 Go and download the app, and create your best wardrobe. Find out which pieces were really worth the money. Leave a comment telling me what your results were! 

Hellooooo! Happy Easter! Today I have a post which has taken me quite a while to get together, but hopefully it shall be worth it because 1, you will like it and 2, there is a give-away at the end! I’ve picked out 5 of my favourite fashion books and am going to review all of them for you! I hope it is helpful and you find some new reads at the same time! Enjoy! Look at me as well… putting a picture before the intro! Something new 😉 …and yes that is a McDonald’s Hello Kitty toy… Please note that this post isn’t in an order!

TEEN VOGUE HANDBOOK//FASHION & FASHION DESIGNER DICTIONARY//DREAMING OF DIOR//STYLE FEED//STYLE DIARIES

TEEN VOGUE HANDBOOK – £7.49 – AMAZON

Let’s start with the most obvious one… by that I of course mean, the Teen Vogue Handbook. I have read this all the way through, and it is pretty darn good! It’s basically a book going into the lives of people in the fashion industry, and how they got there, along with tips and tricks on how you can get there. The cool thing is that as you go along, it asks questions to do with each job that there is available. You get to learn so much about each part of the industry.

The layout is beautiful and all the pictures are gorgeous which makes it such a nice book to read. In each section they have a page which is a ‘tool kit’ for that job, and I love it! There are pages focusing on people like Anna Wintour, the Teen Vogue Fashion Market Team, Phillip Lim, Mario Testino, Marc Jacobs, and many more, so you really get a feel for what life is like in the fashion industry. One of my favourite pages is page 206, where they tell you how a shot was created for a photoshoot, and it is hilarious! At the back of the book they have a list of design schools, the prices, what are the benefits of each one etc, and it is actually surprisingly helpful!

Would I recommend it? – Yes! It’s really interesting and you learn a lot.
Who would you recommend it to? – I would recommend it to anyone who thinks they might want to have a job in the fashion industry, or anyone who is generally interested in fashion!
Any cons? – The only con really is that because there are so many pictures, at times you forget to actually read the book, so if you are a looker not a reader, then this might not be for you!

FASHION & FASHION DESIGNERS DICTIONARY – £7.96 – AMAZON

The next one I have is the Thames & Hudson Fashion and Fashion Designers Dictionary. Now you might think, Tolly, why are you reading a dictionary? Well my friend, because it is very very insightful. Although I read it before bed and I cannot actually remember things off the top of my head… that is not to say it is a bad book! I don’t really know how I can describe this book because it literally is… a DICTIONARY! It’s full of everything about fashion, and it is actually what helps me make my topics for my A-Z series.

Not like the Teen Vogue Handbook, you can actually read it without getting distracted as there aren’t that many pictures. I would probably like a few more for things like shapes etc, but I wouldn’t say it is a problem. For the value, I think you are getting a lot from this book and it has been really helpful for me!

Would you recommend it? – Yes! Not much more to say, but a definite yes!
Who would you recommend it to? – Anybody who needs/wants to learn about fashion. I would say any fashion student needs this book in their life!
Any cons? – Only the fact that sometimes a few more pictures/diagrams are needed!

DREAMING OF DIOR – PRICE VARIES – AMAZON

This is a book I didn’t really realise I was going to like until I read it page by page. Dreaming of Dior is a book all about a collection of dresses that the author has inherited and she basically tells the story of each dress through this book. Some of the stories are heart-warming and some are sad, but the book is just gorgeous to read, and it’s all real!

Each story is quite short so it’s a great book to either read all the way through, or time to time. I love looking at the illustrations of the dresses and deciding which one I would wear, or not, or how I would change the dress to make it suit me. It’s not necessarily a learning book, but it’s too lovely not to include.

Would you recommend it? – Absolutely! Even if you don’t learn from it, it’s a great read!
Who would you recommend it to? – Anybody who loves clothes will enjoy this book!
Any cons? – Nope… maybe the stories could be longer, but maybe that is what makes the book great!

STYLE FEED – £11.55 – AMAZON

Of course being a blogger myself, I had to include a fashion blogging book. Just like the Teen Vogue Handbook, you’ve probably heard of Style Feed before. The book is basically about the world’s top fashion blogs, from 2005 – 2011. It’s written by both William Oliver and Susie Bubble, and it features some really interesting people and their blogs. Of course it is understandable but quite a few of the blogs are those ones we all know about like Tavi G, The Man Repeller, Anna Dello Russo, etc etc, which kinda’ irritated me because I just wish smaller blogs got into these things!

I would say this is more of a coffee table book… maybe not in my case seeing as it was printed awfully (I have to miss out a few blogs), but the reason it is, is purely the fact that I don’t really find it that interesting. Not to say that everyone else will feel the same way, but IMO, it could have a bit more too it. A plus would be the outfit inspiration in this book… they are awesome! The reason it is in my Top 5 though is because I am sure other people will love it more than me!

Would you recommend it? – Yes and no. I think it depends on who you are!
Who would you recommend it to? – Other fellow bloggers and maybe students wanting to learn more about blogging.
Any cons? – My copy was printed terribly, and I didn’t think it was very interesting.

STYLE DIARIES – £16.99 – AMAZON

Along the very same lines we have Style Diaries which I absolutely prefer to Style Feed. Other than just featuring the top blogs in the world it features loads more, smaller ones too! There is so much diversity in this one too, which makes me smile! Plus, there were no printing errors! Yipee!

If you are on the look out for new blogs to read, but don’t want to keep tweeting everyone and anyone, then GET THIS BOOK! There are male fashion bloggers, vintage fashion bloggers, punk, modern, crazy and cute fashion bloggers in this book and you are sure to find a new favourite! Although there are lots of lovely pictures, I would say that this is quite a pricey book for what it is… but for the inspiration, and for all the new blogs to find, maybe it is worth it!

Would your recommend it? – Yes, yes, I would!
Who would you recommend it to? – Bloggers, blog readers, fashion loving people!
Any cons? – The price… as I said, there are a lot of pictures… maybe try find it second hand?

GIVE-AWAY TIME! WIN 1 of 5 COPIES of Model Under Cover

A while ago (here) I promised that I would be giving away 5 signed copies of Model Under Cover by Carina Axelsson, and here I am, doing exactly that! All you have to do is fill in the entries in the widget and voila! 5 lucky people will get 1 signed copy each, where ever you live! I also got to ask Carina a couple  of questions, so check it out underneath the widget!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Before you started writing this book, you were PA for John Galliano. Is the writing industry as buzzing and fast paced as the fashion industry? What made you stop and turn to writing?: Fashion is constantly changing so you have to move quickly to keep up. Also, because it’s so youth oriented, fashion is at the forefront of new trends and ideas. All of this gives it a high day-to-day buzz. That’s just fashion: it’s always “on”. For me, as a writer, publishing moves at a much slower speed than fashion, but that’s because the process of writing and publishing just one book takes oodles of time! As soon as it’s publishing time, the buzz picks up and the buzz is intense, and after a while I start yearning for some buzz-free days!

Could you describe the sort of person who might enjoy Model Under Cover?: Ooh! That’s easy! Anyone who wants a thrilling, page-turning read! Model Under Cover: A Crime of Fashion has a juicy mystery, and fresh, young romance set against the glittery, fast-paced world of fashion; these are things that I think interest most of us. I also think that Axelle’s sassiness will appeal to all kinds of girls.

I hope you liked this super duper long post! I will be back with another post on Fashion Revolution Day talking about something quite interesting! See on the 24th April!

(This post is not sponsored or in anyway in work with Amazon or Usborne Books. Amazon links are affiliate links. Usborne Books gave me the chance to give-away some books, so I took the chance! Read my full disclaimer here.)

Quite recently, via Twitter and the wonderful blogger, Lexi, I discovered the wonderful site which is Wanelo. I swear this isn’t sponsored, but I am OBSESSED with that site. Absolutely obsessed, I think it may even be better than Tumblr because it’s full of clothes *evil cackle* You can follow me on it here if you wanna…. but, on that site, I found the awesome brand which is Spangled. It’s insane… (Images via Spangled)

I told you Spangled was insane. DINOSAURS, SPARKLE AND NEON GEMS. What more do you want?! Before I start a huge great big ramble on how much I NEED their stuff, can we just appreciate that, that male model… O_O MIND BLOWN *fireworks and explosions* …back to the glasses Tolly, back to the glasses… If you have known me and my blog for a while now, you’ll know that I would die to wear these glasses because they are everything I look for in an partner  accessory. The shape, the colours, the gems, the animals, the glitter, the EVERYTHING. Just imagine having pastel dinosaurs on the front of your noggin? Pretty cool, pretty darn cool. Spangled were born from the love of Festival dress up and aims to bejazzle you with limited edition handmade items that will make you stand out from the crowd. From bodysuits, to spangled sunglasses, sparkly spandex, outrageous prints, customised items and much much more. Dayum gurl!

Not only do Spangled specialise (by specialise I mean… DO THE BEST BLIMMING JOB) at Sunglasses, they also do awesome clothes like the neon two piece above. Totally on my wishlist. All of their stuff is so colourful and bright and just perffffect. Plus, if you wanna’ look good down at the beach, then you need to look at their swimwear range… oh Spangled, you do keep getting better and better. When I tweeted them they said that they actually have a new collection coming soon, which I am TOTES EXCITED (totes… really Tolly?) about. For realz. Anyway, I shall leave you to stare at these pictures in amazement… and the male model one more time, and then you can look at even more pictures here. Check em’ out people! Enjoy 😉 😀

If you liked this post then you may want to nominate me as Best Teen Style Blog! You can do so, by clicking HERE! 

Today I have a special post, which I really really hope you get involved with. If you don’t know, April 24th is Fashion Revolution Day which is exactly 1 year after the Rana Plaza disaster. I’m here to tell you more about the special day, and how you can get involved to raise awareness in the fashion industry…

What I Wore #InsideOut: Neon Embroidered Blouse with Drop Hem (ASOS), Printed Dress (Primark), H.Morgan Denim Jacket (Jumble Sale), Pastel Chain Necklaces (Rings & Tings)* & Blue Jelly Sandals (Sun Jellies)*

Last year on April 24th in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1133 people were killed when the Rana Plaza factory complex collapsed, many more were injured. The textile industry is widely regarded as a major contributor to global pollution but, according to research by Deloitte, 2 in 3 fashion companies are not focused on engaging consumers with regard to sustainability. According to the Australian Fashion Report in 2013 61% of companies surveyed didn’t know where their garments were made. Fashion Revolution, says enough is enough, and I totally agree. It’s time we do know where our wardrobe came from! I know I don’t feel comfortable in buying clothes made by children my age, and by people in crumbling buildings, and YOU can help. YOU can do something. YES, YOU!

This is what Fashion Revolution want YOU to do….

Wear a piece of clothing (or an outfit!) ‘#InsideOut‘ and share it around with the hashtag #InsideOut including @Fash_Rev and @TollyDollyPosh (I want to see it too!)

Tweet and share your picture with the brand that it comes from, and ask them ‘Who Made My Clothes?’ again with the #InsideOut hashtag

There are going to be events at Somerset House, as well as a mass catwalk in Barcelona, a fashion show in Bangladesh and in Nepal. This isn’t just a local thing, Fashion Revolution is a global project, and I hope you get stuck in!

I’m going to be tweeting throughout the day to as many brands as possible that I have worked with in the past, or whoever! I want to try my best to help this cause because I am very passionate about it. If you are a blogger, you can also check out the course I have made on Bundle where you can learn more about the cause, and gain points on your Bundle account. More modules will be added, but for now go check it out! It will only take you 30 minutes at the most.

Please please please check out Fashion Revolution because everyone wears clothes, so it is something we should all be getting involved with. I hope to see lots of you tweeting on April 24th! If you liked this post, you can nominate me as Best Teen Style Blog here!

I haven’t done an opinionated/rant style post in ages! This isn’t a rant, but more of a ‘what do you think’ discussion point post. Seeing as fashion month is done and dusted for another season, maybe this can get you thinking about SS15’… (Images via Pinterest)

I enjoy watching fashion week on live stream, even if I am not there on the FROW, the live stream feed is the best seat in the house, but something bothers me. It’s not anything to do with connection, or how pixelated it is, it’s to do with how zombie like the models look. There are two major arguments about this matter, 1 – being that they are all too thin and are not like ‘normal people’ and 2 – being that if they were to smile they would distract from the collection. The bit that annoys me is the smile point. I do agree with what the designers have to say, but only by a small percentage. If distraction is the reason why, then can you explain why Chanel had a supermarket made up for them and people were more interested in it than the clothing? Can you explain why we have top models strutting their stuff? Can you explain why we allow celebrities to sit in main view on the FROW?

I expect you cannot.
Take what I said about Chanel; for their AW14′ show at Paris Fashion Week, they had a huge supermarket as their catwalk. The aisles were actually stocked with Chanel branded everything, from egg boxes (filled), to vodka bottles, there was even a doormat! I was on Twitter and Instagram at the time of the show, and I saw more tweets about the actual set than I did of the clothing. At the end of the show, up on the speakers, it said ‘The store is now closed’ but still, people insisted that they would go for a browse. Security guards were put in place to retrieve all of the stolen goodies. Guests were only allowed to take fresh produce from the vegetable aisle…. I’m not saying I don’t like the whole ‘set’ style show, I actually quite like the idea of creating more of a theme, but it’s the fact that they think a smile will be a distraction, when you have all of that as a backdrop!

Then there is the top models.
When ‘Cara’, or Jourdan Dunn come down the runway, more heads turn and more lights flash than any other model (watching live streams = *flash flash, phones up*). Heads will turn and people will become more excited about the person wearing the clothes than what is covering their naked body. If a smile is such a big distraction, then surely we should use less known models which perhaps aren’t seen as ‘perfect’ and as ‘versatile’ as the likes of ‘Cara’.

My final argument is all about celebrities.
Nowadays the likes of David Beckham, Harry Styles, the Olsen sisters, Anna Wintour, Alexa Chung, Emma Watson, Paloma Faith, Jessie J, Lily Allen and Kate Moss sit knee to knee across the front bench. The paparazzi storm that is captured on live stream is huge. Hundreds (or a few less) gather round them, snapping away, flashes blazing, blocking the view of whoever is in front of the lens, for a good ten to fifteen minutes, and even when the show is going, the live stream cameras point towards the ‘VIPs’ a good few times. To all designers out there… you think a smile is going to distract from the collections? You’d rather your models look like lifeless zombies, than healthy, glowing humans? Makes sense… :-/

The reason I think models should be allowed to smile, is because 1 – it will liven up the catwalks and make it a more enjoyable, and less serious place, 2 – it will make the models look more healthy (which is what we all want to promote) and finally, 3 – A small smile, will not distract from a big puffy dress and the amazing headdress, all of the list above, will. I am happy to say that more designers and brands have started to let models smile… but is it just a publicity stunt now? Do they just want to stand out from the crowd? If we want to solve this once and for all, designers, please do let your models smile, and the fashion world will be a much happier place. 😀 🙂 😀 🙂 😀 🙂 😀 Listen to ‘Happy’ and you’ll get in the right mood!

What do you think? Do you think models should smile? Let me know in the comments!

As you may know, London Fashion Week recently ended, and now the calm as come, I thought I would do my ‘AW14′ London Fashion Week Collections Review’. Although I preferred SS14 I did find a lot of collections that I thought were quite nice, so it ends up that I have to do this in 2 parts, which is kinda’ cool because it means you have another one of these posts to look forward to! I hope you like it…

Ashish: Unfortunately, I was quite unimpressed with the Ashish collection. In SS14, I was quite simply, in love, but with this one… something just didn’t click. I like the use of casual wear mixed with formal wear, and I like all the sparkles and pastels, but I just don’t really…. get it. It’s a bit plain compare to the SS14, and although it is still absolutely gorgeous, it’s just not up to my standards (#fussytolly). My favourite piece is probably that amazing prom dress though… LOOK AT IT.  Oh and those shoes are a collaboration with Topshop, so I think they will be on my wishlist as they LIGHT UP! Rating: 9/10

Bora Aksu: Oh my. There are no words. Bora Aksu has done it again. The collection was divine. It’s got those traditional shapes, and those amazing colours, and that perfect mix of sequin and leather. It’s perfect. My favourite piece is the monochrome dress (far left) and the grey and white sequin dress (middle). I tried doing the hairstyle and dressed in my ARK pinafore* over a white dress, but sadly I didn’t look as fabulous… I LOVE YOU BORA! Rating: 100/10 

David Koma: One of my favourite shows of SS14 was David Koma, and although I like elements of this collection, I just don’t think it is my favourite anymore. I really like the structure though, and the colours used are brilliant. I also love the use of leather. My favourite piece in this collection is probably the beige dress (left), but I also quite like the collared leather dress (right). As I said, it’s not my favourite collection, but it’s still really lovely and he has stuck to his amazingly structured dresses! Rating: 7.5/10

Erdem: Erdem has never been one of the eye catching designers for me, but this year they made it something special. I’m not sure whether it is the metallic or the intricate detailing on the dresses, but it is just stunning. The shapes, and the colours are beautiful. I could definitely see myself wearing the gold dress (far left). It reminds me of an eagle, and it also has a slight Egyptian feel to it, but then when you look at the other pieces they have a quite Oriental feel to them. It’s extremely interesting! Rating: 10/10

Fashion East – Ashley Williams: I really enjoy watching the Fashion East show as there is always multiple collections to look at. I didn’t particularly like any of them this season, but I thought Ashley Williams had something a little different. I like her use of print and sequins and bold colour as well as metallics. Her interesting way of using the horse on jackets and skirts made me smile as well because it was like they were alive. Intriguing is how I would describe it. Rating: 7/10

Felder Felder: I like wearable collections when it comes to fashion week because what is the point in selling a collection which isn’t wearable? That is why I like this one. It’s simple, but specific things make it different. Like the prints, and the textures. I also really like the shapes. The two piece (right) is specifically interesting because it looks 3 dimensional in a way but it also looks like snake skin. It’s a very clever collection and I bet lots of high street stores will be looking at it for inspiration! Rating: 8.5/10

Fyodor Golan: WOW. When I saw this collection I was like, what?! That’s incredible! It’s like this magical ball of colour and texture. It’s like they are all creatures, from the sea and from on land. The metallics are awesome and I love the OMFG sweater because it could mean the rude version but it could also mean Oh My Fyodor Golan which I think is pretty cool. I cannot pick a favourite piece because they are all SO amazing. I honestly think this is one of my favourite collections of AW14. Rating: 1000/10 (not this again ahaha)

Holly Fulton: This is what I call the ‘Star Wars’ collection. I mean, those appliqué dresses just look so… modern and Star War-sy. But then there are those pastel blue pieces, and the evening gowns. It’s a mish mash and I’m not sure I like it. I’ve never really been a big fan of Holly Fulton, and I just feel this is just a bit odd. Rating: 6/10

House of Holland: I’m not happy. I’m not happy because the House of Holland collection wasn’t that great. It wasn’t anything special. I only liked the really bold colourful pieces because that is my personal liking, but usually I like it all. Unfortunately there wasn’t anything really ‘WOAH’, it was all ‘Meh, seen it before’. Of course I would be totally happy to have all of it in my wardrobe, but it’s just not fabulous enough. Rating: 7.5/10

Leutton Postle: I’ve never actually heard of this designer, but I like them a lot. I would wear all of the collection and I think it is a perfect AW range. It’s not too dark and dim, but it’s not overly bright, it’s just right. My favourite is the look with the orange background on the left. It’s just perfect and I am actually in love. It’s no Fyodor Golan, but it is gorgeous. Rating: 100/10 

I really hope you liked my review of London Fashion Week AW14. Do make sure to let me know what your favourite collection of this, Part 1, as I’d love to know! Thanks so much guys, tata for now! 😀

(All images are via Vogue)

Hello everyone, today I am starting a new series. Now, don’t get me wrong, we all know that I am bad when it comes to blog series’ because I never seem to complete them, but I promise that I will. I hope that I can write a blog post every week or fortnight for this series, which is an A-Z Fashion Guide. It’s going to be to do with terms, designers and anything really, from A-Z. The first instalment is Appliqué. I hope you enjoy it…

Appliqué is a French word, for ‘applied’. It basically means, ‘application’. Anything you add to a piece of fabric or garment, is ‘applied’ which means it is a form of Appliqué.  The actual way of adding a piece of fabric or detailing to another piece of fabric, has been around since 980 BC, and one of the first pieces of Appliqué which we know of, came from Egypt, so although the word is derived from the French vocabulary, the actual ‘art form’ comes from Egypt. At first Appliqué was to cover up patches of worn or frayed garment, or to decorate house hold things like curtains.

In the 1800s coloured fabric became more and more popular and Appliqué was used to create historical murals to remember great battles and ceremonies. It was mainly used for quilting, until more recently when designers and artists have used it in clothing. There are different techniques of appliqué, but mainly it just consists of stitching one piece of fabric, to another! There is also reverse appliqué which is where the main piece of fabric is cut and you apply layers of different fabric from behind.

To fit in with London Fashion Week, I have chosen 2 designers which have showed some form of Appliqué. John Rocha & Holly Fulton have both applied 3D floral detailing to their designs, as well as basic Appliqué on Fulton’s beige dress. I will go into these collections more in depth when I come to do my London Fashion Week Review for A/W 14. My favourite way of doing Appliqué is actually the 3D flower, so I do really like the way they have done this, especially Rocha’s metallic detailing onto mesh. The way Holly Fulton’s Appliqué has been done on the beige dress though, almost looks seamless and like a print, but up close is actually slightly lifted off the fabric and looks really nice in different light.

I thought in this series I would show you a piece of clothing from my wardrobe which shows the ‘terminology’ being used. This is my mesh top I got from a jumble sale after seeing Susie Lau – *takes a moment to appreciate the fact that she follows me on Twitter* – wearing a coloured mesh dress on her blog. It’s really pretty and looks so nice over floaty dresses and printed things. You can see me wearing it in this not-so-brilliant OOTD. It was a bargain though and I am very happy with my purchase. *Laughs because she cannot believe she scanned in a top because her parents were out using the camera* *Mentally uses the hashtag: #LifeOfAFashionBlogger*

So, I hope you liked this post! I will try and link it somewhere on my blog so the series is easily accessible, but for now, good bye! Enjoy the rest of LFW!

(Images from Pinterest & Vogue)

Quite recently I got contacted by Usborne Books telling me about the treasure hunt they are running where their readers can win a Nikon DSLR camera and a copy of the new book by Carina Axelsson, and asked me whether I would like to take part and hold part of the treasure hunt on my blog! I thought it would be a nice idea, so here it is! Read on to find out how you might be able to win!

The rules are simple! Each day there will be a clue on Carina’s Facebook page, as well as on the Usborne Facebook and Twitter pages’. There is already a couple up, so make sure you have a look! The clue will lead you to a website and you have to find a button, similar to one in the image above (the ‘CONGRATULATIONS’ one), click on it and enter the details! The more you find, the more chance you will have of winning! Anyone can enter, as long as you have parents permission if you are under 16! On Wednesday & Thursday I will be hosting the very ‘CONGRATULATIONS’ badge you see above, somewhere on my blog! *Simples* It’s super easy and if you like you can just enter once!

Then, when this whole treasure hunt is over, not only will you find out if you were the lucky winner, you will be able to enter a give-away on my blog, to WIN a signed copy of Model Under Cover! I will be giving away 5 copies, which is pretty cool! But, if I were you… I’d get searching on this treasure hunt! You could win a D90 from Nikon… AWESOME!

That is all from me for now, so I will see you in 2 days with ANOTHER give-away opportunity… with pictures from my new lens… oh yeah. It makes everything look so pretty though… n’awww.

Let me know if you will be entering by leaving a comment below! Good Luck! 😀

(This is not a Sponsored Post. I was not paid to write or publish this, I just thought it was a nice opportunity for you guys to win something! All opinions are mine as usual.)

I really wanted to do a post on eco-friendly and ethical fashion, and here it is! I wanted to find out a bit more about not only what it is all about, but also some great brands which sell and produce ethical and sustainable fashion products. It’s taken me quite a while to get this done so I hope it is worth it! Thank you to the brands for answering my questions too!

VOZ – This brand specialize in hand-made garments that feature premium quality natural and ecological fibres, hand dyed and woven to celebrate ancient traditions. On their site they state: ‘VOZ give’s their artisans a means of sustaining their culture, by offering them economic and artistic protection for their proprietary indigenous craft forms. Our artisans receive name credit and earn royalties for their designs featured in our collection.‘ I love how Voz offer gorgeous collections, but also do good at the same time. I like how they stick to ancient traditions and really work on each piece, taking in every detail. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the answers in time to publish but check out VOZ anyway!

Reet Aus – This brand is an ‘up cycler’. They collect donated clothing, and get it turned it something completely new. Each garment in the collection I have featured, on average saves 4500 liters / 78% of water creates 2273 g / 86% less CO2 emission per each new garment, which I think is incredible. I love their SS14 collection, and the fact that they are saving that much energy and water is really good to see.

When and why did you start to realise that Ethical fashion was the way to go forward?  Reet has been working with fashion and clothing for many years. Seeing the industry from the inside, the fast fashion, the endless new clothes that come in and out of stores, has been alarming that it is not really the way it should be. Just imagine the amount of waste and pollution it creates.

What is the process in up cycling clothes and making them Ethical & Sustainable? The process of upcycling is using left-overs in making new products. In this case, textile and clothing waste for new garments without changing the material. This method avoids producing new virgin materials and also helps to alleviate the waste problem in the producing countries.

Ovna Ovich – This is probably my favourite brand in a ‘fashion’ sense, because all the pieces are so simple, and versatile, yet they all are ethical and sustainable from the fibres and the fastenings. Is it weird that I can tell which bloggers would wear what from these pieces? The white dress would be perfect for Liv, the blue one for Carrie, possibly maybe the two piece for Natasha, and the pale blue dress for Katia! Weird I know…

When and why did Ovna Ovich start to realise that Ethical fashion was the way to go forward? It has been a life long journey of decisions and upbringing to get to this realisation. The ‘eureka’ moment happened when I was working on my final project at university and wondered what would happen if I concentrated on producing work that was a solution rather then just pointing the finger at something negative.

What do you do differently to other Ethical designers? OVNA OVICH is clothing for both male and female genders. These lines are blurred where we create clothing for men which can also be worn by women. OVNA OVICH work with fabrics that eco friendly and luxurious. Our pieces can be worn to special occasions as well as the everyday.

New Look – You may not know it, but New Look Retailers are an ethical and sustainable brand. They try to create quality jobs for people they work for as well as care for the environment as they produce our clothes. Most of us will own a New Look item in our wardrobe and they are all really good quality for the price, so what exactly goes into making them, and how are New Look trying to change the way things are done? I got my questions answered by their Ethical Trade & Environment Manager, Subathra Vaidhiyanathan… (Images thanks to New Look)

What do you do differently to other Ethical brands? One of the things I really like about working with New Look is that there’s a big focus on building long term relationships with our suppliers. This is important because it means we get to know our partners and we understand the challenges our factories face. This means we can talk about how to resolve them and then work together to help factories overcome any challenges they face. All our suppliers sign up to our Ethical Aims before we buy from them and we have members of our field teams visiting factories daily to check conditions. We also recycle a lot more than others and last year we recycled 71% of all waste from our UK stores we hope to do more in 2014.

What are your next big goals with your Ethical system? What do you want to achieve next with it? We have set ourselves some challenging ethical targets this year and our ethical team are working hard to meet them! Last year we worked on over 70 ethical trade projects, this year we have over 100!

Do you think we will ever see most high street brands being Ethical & Sustainable? I feel that awareness of ethical trade and sustainability among consumers, brands and suppliers is the highest it has ever been. People care about where clothes come from and that they are made in a ethical and sustainable way, which is great. Many high street retailers have ethical teams now and I really hope this trend continues!

It’s been really interesting creating this blog post on ethical and sustainable fashion for you guys and I hope you like it! Thanks once again to the brands who answered my questions!