By The Pool

Finally back from my travels ... it seems like I haven’t been home in eons!!

Cyprus with the family (relaxing, getting plenty of Vitamin D and drinking my weight in Ice Tea)   immediately followed by Reading festival (crowds, friends, alcohol -raspberry sours and lemonade a new favourite combination and people watching plus amazing bands) was insane but such great fun. I’m really enjoying being back in my own bed and after 15 hours of sleep feel rejuvenated enough to join the blogging world again .   

I’m glad you enjoyed my posts while I was away and it’s great to see some new followers and some new faces commenting (I do have a peek at all your blogs as well J I love finding new ones to follow ).

Now an explanation for the pictures above ... yes the pool is empty..... We have been driving past this derelict hotel for years now and finally decided to have a little explore inside. I found it was the most amazing location for photos. So next time we drove past I whipped out the heels and pilled on the jewellery to take some holiday looking snaps. I managed to pop back a few times so more pictures coming up.

I’m wearing a Topshop orange bikini, Jessica Simpson Dany heels and a snake print kaftan from Avon. The cuff was a new purchase that day from a strange little shop in Cyprus where I found loads of great bargains.

It’s also finally hit me that I’m going for to uni in just under a month!!!! I’m excited but nervous at the moment ... you would think it’s about moving 3 hours away from home and meeting loads of new people but no ... these nerves come from the thought of having to sort through all my clothes that I have collected from the past  10 years !!!! MISSION... my mum has just bought 200 new hangers... let the sorting begin J

Ashley x

Reading Festival 2011

Here are some images I found on Tumblr (if they are yours please let me know. The second image on the right is from Native Heart Vintage and the 7^th image is from Planet Blue) to get me into the festival mood. I love the fringe kimono and the cut off shorts.

Ashley x

Feather Headdress DIY

I took these pictures after I made this feather headdress, I saw them a while back on Oracle Fox and Sandra from 5 Inch and Up and I had to have one. Finding that they were quite expensive (for something I would probably only wear once a year at a festival) I thought I would get creative and make one myself.  The crochet dress is from South and the shoes are Jeffrey Campbell “So Much’s”. So here it goes :

Ok so you will need feathers, a piece of thick material (I found some leather from a sofa colour swatch we had in out craft drawer  ... yes we have a craft drawer), scissors, ribbon and glue.

I then ordered the feather and arranged them how I wanted them. I also cut the leather so it would fit round my forehead.

Now for attaching the ribbon:  I marked half way of both the height and the width of the leather. The ribbon will then need to be glued along the top of the width ways line.

Ok so you can see from this image where I glued the ribbon to the leather. I then started gluing on the feather individually, starting from the middle working my way outwards. Remember you need to place the feathers good side down as now you are looking at the back of the headdress.

When its dry turn it over and admire J Hope you liked my DIY... I’m now ready for Reading Festival tomorrow J

Ashley x

So now all the feathers are glued down, put loads of glue on the strip of leather at the bottom. Then fold the strip of leather over the bottoms of the feathers and press down.

Ditsy

Can’t believe it’s the weekend again, I only have 4 days in Cyprus left and then home and straight to Reading!

Yet another item from Boohoo J this dress has some really cute details like the key hole in the back and the large split sleeves.

After seeing the Rebecca Taylor S/S 2011 show where she sent the models down the Runway with topknots and large hoop earrings I haven’t been able to get that look out of my head ... Finally I decided to try it out myself. I rummaged through my draws to find these very old hoop earrings from Primark and threw my hair up in a bun.

This hair works particularly well with this dress, as it gives me a bit more height I found as the dress is quite voluminous and being a diddy 5”2 my hair up gives me a few more inches (the 6 inch platform shoes also help :P)

My little round glasses are from H and M and my bag is from a market in Majorca.

Hope everyone has a good weekend

Ashley x

Paisley

I’ve been in Cyprus a week and a bit now... I have to say I’m missing good old English tea J

Looking at these pictures it looks like I’m stuck in the default hands in the pockets pose... Oh well not much I can do about that now.

These little shorts are from New Look, they are now in the sale for just £6!!!

I love the lace up feature rather than having buttons or a zip ... very Isabel Marant. I wanted the shorts to be the main feature of the outfit so I have paired them with a plain Whistles T and a pair of Jeffrey Campbell “Zag” leg lengthening platforms (they are actually my mums... But she lets me borrow them if I beg her :P). My necklace is very old; I got it when I was very little for a market in Spain.

My hand chain is from Urban Outfitters and the large gold coloured watch is from Asos. My other jewellery is from markets.

I read in a post a while back there are certain things/items that it seems most blogger either covet or have.... I found this rather interesting, as when I first started blogging I noticed there were items that in the “normal world” I had never seen before. Examples of these are:

YLS Arty Ring

Anything Crochet

Statement/customised shorts

A fox Tail

Hand/body Chains

Giant platform shoes

Has many one else found this to be true ???

Ashley x

A Little Bit More Crochet

I’m still in sunny Cyprus J

I bought this black maxi from Topshop (I think it was in the beach wear section) for £2 in the sale. I think with the number of times I have worn it it’s been one of the best buys ever. I hardly ever wear it on its own as it’s so great for layering.

Here I have layered it with this very cute crochet top from Boohoo. I have really liked what they have been doing recently they have nailed the maxi dress, crochet and kimono trends this summer.

I was actually invited to a preview of the A/W collection in London but sadly I am unable to go as I will still be in Cyprus, as you can imagine I was rather upset as I think it will be a great night. Make sure you keep your eyes out for their A/W coats when they arrive online they have some true beauties.

The hat was a find from H and M. I was very happy as it looks like hats will be in fashion for A/W as well. Some of my fav floppy brimmed hats were seen on the runways at Gucci, Lanvin and Christian Dior.

Hope everyone had a good weekend J

Ashley x

Look Blogger Competition

When the email popped up in my inbox promoting the Look Magazine Show blogging competition my immediate thoughts were: 

I’m so excited ... Can I do that? Will I have enough time to write anything? Can I think of anything witty/charming to say? How could I pass up such an amazing opportunity? How the **** does Twitter work? My final thought was “in for a penny in for a pound”... and hey I spend enough, so here goes ...... my entry J wish me luckJ

When I think of September I think of new beginnings, the start of the academic year (this particular year being the start of Uni, undertaking a Fashion Communication and Promotion Degree), the beginning of autumn and let’s not forget...... London Fashion Week, where the fashion houses and designers flaunt their wares, showcasing their innovative ideas, cutting edge design and their immaculate cut and fit.  This is ravenously absorbed and admired by the stylists and magazines that then show us the trends and the high street adaptations forever tempting us and our bank balances..... enter Look.

Look magazine brings the best of both worlds; they show the lust labels, the high street brands, the celeb trends and how you can achieve a similar look, they put together whole outfits combining a range of high street shops to show their readers the range of possibilities and looks they can create.

I think my blog does a very similar thing and for that reason I think being in the front row of this incredible occasion would be a perfect fit.

I too drool over the designer collections, wishing that one day I could own at least one piece that was that beautiful. I’m then shocked back to reality when looking up the prices of such pieces and do my best to find the alternatives on the high street. I dive into a vast range of different shops, creating styles, much like Look, from a mixture of brands, aiming to generate something creative yet stylish. 

When I heard about the Look Blogging competition I thought back to my first blogging month October 2010. Still a newbie I watched as Lily Melrose documented her amazing experiences being part of and then winning the Look show blogging competition. At the time I was thinking how much I would love to be in their shoes... some of them literally.

It’s quite addictive sitting at my computer uploading my photos, writing my few lines finally to press “publish post” and it to be sent into cyber space in the hope that it might be read, seen and enjoyed by someone out there, it is then lovely to get some fantastic responses.

However,  I have yet to experience this “front row” aspect of the process of how this world of fashion works outside of my little computer screen. Being involved in the Look Show would allow me to write, photograph, blog and be a part of the reality of the cogs of the fashion world and how they blend and fit together.

So here I am this year writing my application, writing my little heart out in the hopes of having this amazing opportunity of being part of the vibe and excitement of being front row of the Look A/W Show..... Being only 5’2 the front row really is the only place for me otherwise I just can’t see :P

Ashley x

Saucers

Only 2 days left before I come back from Cyprus L

After seeing giant  round, saucer like sunglasses on a number of people on LookBook I had to get myself a pair. It was rather tricky though ... eBay only seemed to have little round John Lennon style ones, Asos only had the large plastic frames, I finally found some on the American site Cobra snake only to find they were sold out and the ones everyone seems to have from H and M I couldn’t find anywhere !

To my surprise I found these humongous ones in the River Island sale for £5 with the choice of gold or silver frames. Woooo!

And now on the rest of the outfit: My crochet waistcoat is from New Look, the vest is from H and M and the animal print shorts are from Miss Selfridge.

The boots are Jeffrey Campbell Grayson’s I found in the sale on Nasty Gal. They are much more delicate than my other JC’s and I love the architectural heel it’s very reminiscent of the shoes at Pierre Hardy’s Balenciaga 2010 fall collection in Paris.

The earrings and the spike cuff are from Topman..... I am always surprised and shocked at how nice the male jewellery is!

I went a bit matchy matchy with my necklace from Topshop and my nail varnish which I got free in Cosmopolitan. I love bright orange at the moment when you see it you can't help but think of summer.

Ashley x