Sunday 31 October 2010

Hello Weekend :)

Thought I would do a quick update, so, here are Saturdays and today’s outfits. Had to wear my new purchases, I’m like a five year old everything I buy I have to wear straight away! So on Saturday it was an old Asos cardigan, with an H and M cream dress (which my mum thinks looks like a nightie), a pair of thigh high boots and my new vintage hat J



 
Going out for Sunday lunch today, so great chance to wear my new sheer blouse! I teamed it with grey biker style jeans with a little pair of lace up Firetrap boots, and a faux fur stole.

Going back to the shirt I am so pleased I got a red one, as red has popped up on many of the A/W runways. You can’t fail to be noticed when wearing anything red, and at first I thought it was going to be hard to incorporate into my wardrobe as it’s such a vivid colour, but this blouse sorts out all my problems as it’s a simple silhouette  allowing the colour to take centre stage.
Here are some great red looks from Milan Fashion Week A/W 2010-2011

Dsquared² and Dolce & Gabbana Autumn/Winter 2010-2011 RTW


Redcoats at Armani and Roberto Cavalli Autumn/Winter 2010-2011 RTW




Ashley x

Saturday 30 October 2010

My New Lucky Day

Friday is now my lucky day! After posting about a sheer blouse, I manage to find one, and it was much cheaper than any of the versions I researched.
Walking round my little town of East Grinstead I found a new Vintage shop named “Wear it Again Sam”. It has just opened and is full of lovely vintage finds from 40’s onwards, and at brilliant prices. I’ve been told by the owner their website will soon be up and running, great for me and my vintage needs but bad for my credit card balance!
Originally I wanted to buy almost all of the clothing in the shop but settled on; a brilliant red sheer blouse (£15), a felt hat (£19) and a beautiful sequined dress (£25). These vintage prices beat the high street versions hands down, so it’s always good to have a look around before buying anything, you could find it cheaper somewhere else!
Here are my purchases J

I got given a free hat box as well !



Looking at the sequined dress it was probably intended to be a very large top, but with chunky heels I think it will be a perfect Christmas party dress (and yes I know its ages till Christmas but, It’s always good to plan ahead!).

Ashley x

Thursday 28 October 2010

Wish List

Blouses where all over the Autumn/Winter 2010 catwalks (my favourites Zac Posen and Balmain) and there’s so many to choose from! You can go for the luxe silk or lace, the classic pussy bow blouse or the retro printed blouse. At the moment I am after a sheer simple classic blouse. I’m planning to wear it with shorts and tights or biker style trousers to edge it up a little. Sheer fabric is a hot trend for A/W 2010, I loved the Balmain show, and they showed some amazing sheer blouses.
Balmain A/W 2010
Balmain A/W 2010
A sheer blouse comes with some issues, the catwalk models can walk down the runway with their nipples on show but for us normal folk that could be a bit of a problem. You want to show the blouse is sheer but not have everything on show. The trick here is to wear a blazer over the blouse (as above) or to wear a bralet or fuller bra underneath.    
Here are some blouses i found on the high street:
Cheap Monday at Urban Outfitters
Ruffle collar blouse at Next
Grey Blosue at Warehouse
Leopard Print at Warehouse
These range in price from £28 to £50, I don’t want to spend that much on a blouse at the moment, so I will be searching round Vintage shops to see if I can get a similar one, wish me luck J
Ashley x

New Trousers :)

I never thought I could wear trousers like these, but when I saw them in River Island I had to try them on just to see what they looked like. As I prepared to be disgusted by what I saw in the mirror, I found I was quite surprised.... I LOVED them. Sadly I don’t have super model legs so heels are a must, need all the extra height I can get!
The black jumper reminded me of Mark Fast and the collection he showed at London Fashion Week. It’s a sort of cobweb and ladder-stitch knit combined with a cable knit, which reveals inches of skin. Fast’s collection features skin tights knits, and this jumper is loose fitting, creating a more slouchy look.

Jumper and Trousers River Island, Shoes Carvela


Necklace House of Harlow



Love this necklace for a piece of statement jewelry. I find myself liking all of the House of Harlow collection designed by Nicole Richie, it has a very 70’s vibe to it. There are some great statement rings as well!  

Ashley x

Wednesday 27 October 2010

Garden Party

I decided to brave the cold weather and go for bare legs with this look. The waistcoat is from Primark, dress from Mango and the boots are All Saints.
I love the sleeves on this dress; they are sheer and add a lot of volume. The dress itself is loose fitting and falls off the body; I’m only 5”2 and have I reasonable size pair of boobs on me, so this isn’t always my best look, adding the waist coat gives me back my shape, therefore avoiding the very wide munchkin look J
My ring is from a Vintage Market in France and my necklace is by Erin Wasson .I was able to get the necklace as I won a raffle when I went to Marie Claire’s Inspire and Mentor event, the prize was £300 to spend at mywardrobe.com J
The waistcoat I’m wearing is brilliant for Autumn Winter 10, as leather is everywhere;   it’s sexy yet grungy at the same time, adding a slight rock and roll edge.
I have a leather skirt from a few years ago which I’ve just dug out from  the back of my wardrobe, but I find myself wanting a pair of leather shorts, I’ve done my research and found a black New Look pair for £45, a brown pair from Next at £28 and a pair from Oasis for £60. I will have to start saving!
The pair I having been lusting after but will never be able to buy are the Vanessa Bruno Athé pair and they are £245!!! I love how they are styled here with black tights, a white shirt and sequined waistcoat, a definite nod to the Glam Goth look Balmain sent down the runway. Below picture from http://www.net-a-porter.com/

Ashley x

Monday 25 October 2010

BNTM live show 24th Oct

Britain’s Next Top Model Live is a fashion, beauty, shopping and entertainment event that allows you to sample a little bit of the BNTM lifestyle.
The fashion element of this event made me most exited, being able to see a catwalk show which showcased some new talents and had over 40 designers featured!
Train Station


Collection of tickets, Check. Going into the event it looked like every shoppers dream, tonnes of pop up shops and large signs saying SALE.
I was very much up for doing anything that said FREE, as I spent my last pay check on two lovely dresses from ASOS. So first things first, I headed towards the Reebok photo booth.  

Some rather funny pictures of James and I



Then for the Catwalk showJ.  I have to admit at first I was I little confused, there were dancers doing strange things on stage, a couple of minutes of that then luckily the fashion started.
Designers included, Tamzin Lillywhite, Richard Sorger, Jonathan Aston, Bushra Ahmed, Liam Stafford, Jess Sayers, Sarfraz and Zandra Rhodes.  The show was brilliant, the girls of Next Top Model walked very well, apart from one tumble from the winner herself, but hey these things happen.
Here are some (very poor quality, fat camera not available) pictures of some of the looks that I liked :

Pure Decadence, with sequined jacket and thigh high boots.

A take on the Woodland trend, patterend cape, with a fur trim, a perfect mix of textures

Another nod to the decadence trend with an opulent mini
Fur cape and Russian style hat > LOVE


On my way out I noticed the Nine West stall, they had hired an artist to do little fashion sketches of people, I Had to have one! Yes I had to wait in the queue that had assembled but it was well worth it.    

 
To finish off the day James and I ate at YO Sushi, up in London, YUM. Then back home > truly exhausted.



Ashley x

Saturday 23 October 2010

First Post :D

My names Ashley Gail Dean, I’m 18 years old from Sussex, United Kingdom.  
 This blog is a look into my life, fashion and art. Fashion is my passion (sounds corny but its true). I have just finished A levels in Art, History and English Literature, and have deferred my uni place to study Fashion Communication and Promotion till next year whilst I study Art. I felt writing a blog was the great way to express myself, and share my work and views with other like-minded people.
Whilst studying art I felt I needed to keep up with the ever changing and eventful fashion world, enter ----> my new blog.
At my group interview for Uni I rediscovered my love to share ideas, knowledge and views on fashion with other people. I was hugely inspired by some of their thoughts and feel a blog is a brilliant way to share innovative and interesting ideas on a large scale.
I live in East Grinstead, where I can revel in the joys of the countryside. It’s also very close to the Ashdown Forest home to Winnie the Pooh. As much as I love Grinny it’s not exactly a hot spot for all things fashion. Luckily I’m just a train ride away from London, so I can fulfil my fashion needs J  
I have a Nikon D60 camera, which I love with all my heart and I have just got Photoshop CS5 which I’m very excited to try out, so hopefully will be updating you with some reasonably interesting photography at some point.
Ashley x