MEADHAM KIRCHHOFF AW13 FASHION WEEK

I was lucky enough to have a day off when Meadham Kirchhoff showed at London Fashion Week last month. I've been a fan of this English/French design duo since the beginning. Each season the boys fascinate, shock & inspire with their intricate details, unwavering colour palette and contemporary slant on historical costume, tailoring and couture. 

Tucked up in my room in Whitefield; I had the pleasure of watching live-streaming of the show on Stylist. It was dark, mysterious and amazing to say the least...

Set against an industrial concrete backdrop, models paced in beautiful monochrome ensembles, showcasing side swept hair with dashes on red on their lips & nails. 

High shine fabrics and PVC were featured throughout the collection. 

Modern approaches to surface decoration and design were presented in the form of rubber ruffled trousers & reflective metallic leather shoes. 

A haunting bride; embroidered lace veils took a new turn in the show. All white ensembles with nautical stripes evoked 1920's nostalgia. 

Eccentric gold leather sling-backs were reminiscent of 17th Century styles.

Anyone for Tea?

Beautiful Victorian gingham pinnies worked there way into the Meadham Kirchhoff show, complete with ribbon trims and cute matching shirt collars. 

Lace veils in the show gave me chills; I love the exquisite embroidery.

A strong air of nostalgia was intrinsic though the collection. The monochrome combo's were complimented well with bejewelled crowns and high shine leather shoes. 

One of the last few dresses featured on the runway, I love this vintage 1940's inspired maxi. Definitely one of the show-stopping pieces, the lace trim & peter pan collar are lovely details. 

What do you think of the collection?

Watch the show in action, shrouded by Electro beats; if your eyes are fast enough...

...these vintage vixens surely do one hell of a stomp! 

xxx

Bejewelled Bandolino's and Booth & Bruce

Is it wrong to be in love with a pair of shoes? I literally fell head over heels when I saw these beauties on Ebay. I've been scouring a lot lately on there mostly looking for shoes but have never seen any like this before. They are Vintage Bandilino lipstick red suede loafers and to my delight apparently dating back from the eighties! yay! 

They were an absolute bargain $16.95 I think. Remind me of Dorothy's Ruby slippers crossed with La Roux's interesting footwear choices. I can't wait to wear them!!!

Booth & Bruce Blue Tortoise shell spectacles...another new love in my life. 

Having had my eyes tested a month or so back, I indeedy needed some specs and chose these stunning glasses from Seen Opticians which is in St Anne's Arcade, Manchester. I was recommended there by a friend and it all sounded too good to be true so I thought I'd go and have a wander in. Little did I know, there are so many unique and beautiful specs to buy in this wonderful shop, you really should check it out if you've never been! The staff are super lovely too, an ace lady Collette helped me pick them out. They are pricey in there though, I was lucky enough to have my birthday soon enough!

Unfortunately I only need them for short-sight, reading and when I'm typing but I love wearing them at most opportunities (well when I'm in work), everything just becomes more magnified.  They are dark tortoise shell with pale blue transparent arms with a pale blue stripe running through the frame too. Some people have even been kind enough to say they look Audrey Hepburn esque! 

I love them they are so lush! 

 xxx

Bead me up

Images sourced from Monsoon & Day Birger et Mikkelsen

Recently I've found myself pouring over beautiful shiny beads, sumptuous ribbons and glistening chains only a mermaid would be proud to adorn. Unfortunately I just simply cannot afford these prices. 

Currently I've been really interested in the line of accessories by Day Birger et Mikkelsen, who only use the best quality materials to create something that looks really special and utterly wearable! Monsoon also have some really pretty pieces integrating ribbons, pearls, trinkets that channel a more vintage inspired theme. 

Checking out all these lovely shiny things, has made me want to dabble in a bit of handmade chic! I started making some jewellery a while back and then stopped it... can't quite remember why. Since starting on Whistles, I've been wearing some of my old creations and I'm happy to say I've had more than a handful of compliments!

I love using an eclectic mix of bright colors, yarn, wooden, glass and porcelain beads sourced from all over really. So watch this space...I'm planning on making some good stuff soon! 

XXX

LOVERS eyes

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Margaret Wolfe Hungerford


A few days after attending the fantastic Consequences exhibition at Nexus Art Cafe, my lovely friend Miss Freyia Lilian Porteous conducted a beautiful little workshop to accompany her work, inspired by 18th century keepsakes. 

A 'Lovers Eye' signifies a piece of decorative jewellery adorned with a miniature portrait of an eye of a loved one. These romantically bizarre yet beautiful pieces of ornate jewellery, often had hand-painted eyes situated in the centre of pendants, brooches and rings. To wear one of these pieces can ultimately be an expression of love and adoration for another whilst can also represent the loss of a loved one hence mourning jewellery. 

Freyia's workshop was so lovely, instead of traditionally hand-painting eyes, magazine cuttings and photographs were provided. Along with pretty fragments of broken jewellery, beads, dimantes and flat back brooches. 

Here is my lovely friend Freyia, I got her to model the pieces she made because they looked soooooo good! I recon her pieces could well and truly pass as the oroginals as she decorated them so beautifully with personal photographic eyes, such as her own and her grandmothers. 

Here is my very own handcrafted Lovers Eye! I had fun making it, I cut out a model's eye from a magazine as well as a detail embellishment on a dress spelling out 'rocker'. I wanted to make a more contemporary version of one of these pieces. I adorned my brooch-pin with a string of vintage pearls, a paper flower and some small delicate dimantes. With the placing of the jewels, I think my lovers eye has a slight Middle Eastern feel to it, what do you think?

Easter *VINTAGE THREADS* @ The Triangle, Manchester

On Friday 2nd of this month, I went to the very ace Vintage Threads to cover the event for MFN. Held in The Triangle there were countless quirky little stalls offering handmade lovelies and second hand beauties ranging from womens & mens clothing to belts, shoes, bags, original artwork and jewellery.

Most of the day i spent talking to the sellers hearing their insightful little stories about how they got into Fairing it and selling their vintage wares. I also did some street snaps at the event which can be seen HERE!!! I wrote some of my notes up about the stalls for featured seller articles, which will be going on THE MANCHESTER FASHION NETWORK site soon, I'll link those to my blog when their up!

My two friends fellow fashion bloggers Matt & Clare held a joint stall @ Vintage Threads, here they are pictured with their vintage clobber.

I bought some really nice stuff off Ruthie McCall's stall, some pretty pink beaded dangly clip-on earrings and a black sheer blouse with a pointy collar!! Check out her wares that she had on the day!

Other sellers that were there on the day I've listed below with images of their stock, Ive linked their sites and Facebook pages too so you must have a look!!!

The Magpies Boudoir

Jenny Wren

Yellow Squirrel Facebook & Etsy

Gods and other Animals

Preserved Vintage

Twilight Corner