Here are some fun finds I've stumbled across this week, I really enjoy doing these fun finds posts as they're really light hearted and I always succumb to buying things like these as they're just cute and make you smile, although this edition is not as wacky as the ones I've previously done!
I absolutely love the pineapple crop and zesty skirt; Motel prints never fail to entice! These posts always seem to veer down a fruity route, especially in summer but who doesn't love a brightly coloured fruit print!
We jam packed our second day in Berlin with all the main tourist sights; Brandenburg gate, Reichstag Dome and the Holocaust Memorial. We firstly headed to brandenburg gate to see it in all it's glory in the blazing sun before nipping round the corner to the holocaust memorial which was stunning. I love the simplicity of the memorial yet the impact it has on you when you walk around and amongst the tall angular blocks is extraordinary. It really is a beautiful and thought-provoking memorial to all those who lost their lives.
We then sun-bathed the afternoon away by Reichstag dome and took some embarrassing tourist photos holding the German flag and getting an unexpected snap with some locals!
I wore a cute African printed co-ord that I bagged in the H&M sale for £17 with TK Maxx sandals (which I had to embarrassingly resort to wearing socks with as my feet were completely massacred after wearing them for about an hour).
For dinner we roamed Potsdamer Platz checking out some cool skyscrapers and more Noir art as seen on the East Side Gallery before settling for an American Diner for tea (really immersing ourselves into the culture!) To top the day off we headed bag to Reichstag and Brandenburg gate to catch them as the sun was setting and managed to get some striking photos with a gloomy sky! Panoramic camera mode has never had so much use in it's lifetime!
My best friend and I decided to take a last minute 'yolo'-esque holiday to Berlin, here is a photo snapshot post of what we got up to on the first day. We were lucky to get fab weather and so far it's definitely one of the best places I've ever travelled to and would recommend it to anyone!
We commenced our tourist activities at the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall, it was interesting to learn about the civil unrest here which still continued through the 80's, I had no idea this was still quite recent. The artwork on this stretch of wall by artists from around the world was great to see and somewhat brings light to the end of a dark period for Berlin whist being a something to remember what happened. We walked past a busker along the East Side Gallery and gave him some spare change who then insisted on us having photos with him and having an awkwardly confusing cross-language conversation but he was so fab!
We then gallivanted around Alexanderplatz to see the TV tower and Berliner Dom/Cathederal and went up to the 37th floor of a hotel for only 3 euros to see these great panoramic views of Berlin!
I wore this fab eye dress which I got from Sheinside but of course this dress is being sold in multiple places after selling swimmingly in Zara.
'Eye' absolutely love this dress and ordered it from SheInside a couple of weeks ago and I love it, I was going to wear it over the weekend at Parklife festival but didn't want to get it ruined in the mud n all that from the delightful Manc weather!
In this quick post I've shown how I would style it for summer - ideally with a colourful boxy jacket that frames the turtle neckline of the dress or an A-Line colourful jacket to complement and mirror the A-Line style of the dress. An obligatory pair of sunglasses and matching bag in tow complete the outfit, I cannot wait to rep this dress over summer.
Did any of you guys go to Parklife festival? I had an absolutely ace time; sick music, too many selfies, a tonne of mud and the best people made it the best! Do you like this dress?
Top missguided // Pants Matalan // Shoes eBay // Necklace - Wishbone eBay, Cross gift
A few weeks ago it was my friend's 20th and she'd booked a table at the Hilton for drinks and told us to dress up (I didn't realise that the Hilton was Cloud 23 in Manchester where I've always wanted to go otherwise I'd have dressed up more!) So my daytime outfit was comprised of an old gem - Matalan gingham trousers from last summer which I'm so glad I didn't throw out, I think I bagged them for £6, they fit so well and are a perfect, lightweight summer pants option! I paired them with my new missguided pastel purple short sleeve high neck jumper which I absolutely love, and at around £14 it was an absolute steal. I am definitely contemplating getting this in another colour when payday rears its head. From wearing this item in the day to night I literally just changed my footwear from some trustry vintage Nikes to comfy black wedges and slapped some lippy on! What do you think of this outfit? Are you as hooked on the gingham trend as I am?
Cloud 23 was so picturesque and beautiful, I would love to go back in the daytime; definitely a perfect go to for a date or special occasion! We had such a lovely evening despite the sky high drinks prices. It panned out slightly strangely though with some part owners of Hull City football club buying us a few bottles of champers but we weren't complaining!
At the end of April I interned with the Manchester Fashion Week team over the Easter weekend (I really need to be more prompt with my blogging!).
As an intern for fashion events you expect to do all the guinea pig jobs during the day like making goodie bags, lugging them to the venue (I’ve definitely developed guns), promoting the weekend and all that jazz! At around 2pm it would be all hands on deck with exhibitions arriving to set up, models arriving for fittings and designers transporting their collections backstage if they hadn’t earlier in the week.
The first of the three days showcased graduates’ work which I thought promoted Manchester talent perfectly; marrying up and coming talent with already established Manchester designers and brands. The more creative of the graduates had collections with huge head pieces, natural materials (like straw) and believe it or not, razor blades! These were absolutely stunning creations but made dressing more difficult as you want to please the graduates by styling the models well but with such little time to even get the outfits on in time was a struggle, especially with only six models; super quick changes were crucial. Contrary to expectation, dressing for Manchester Fashion Week was more demanding than London Fashion Week which I was lucky enough to be a dresser at earlier this year. Despite this, with such a great backstage team, Manchester Fashion Week ran very smoothly, well from an outside perspective!
Me and another intern Rhian with Jsky the presenter and final designers of the Saturday show.
Cheeky pic with Denise and gorgeous detailing of one of Get Clobbered's designs.
The second day saw some retail based brands and Manchester designers showcase their garments on the catwalk. With less interns available on this day and 4 male models added to the equation backstage was even more packed and hectic (although I wasn’t complaining about the male models!) Similarly to the first day, there was a collection made from entirely natural, delicate materials and also a swimwear brand with outrageously beautiful Showgirl-esque headpieces. The retail based collections were slotted in between to ensure everything ran more smoothly! For this day, there was an interval due to an increased number of collections but also to accommodate for a designer called Eustratia. Eustratia’s collection was entirely made from skin-tight latex in summery pastels, so in the interval there was latex and masses of talc flying everywhere! The final designer wished to dress her own collection so we got to watch the final catwalk and I managed to get a cheeky snap with Denise Welch from Loose Women.
The final day again consisted of a mixture of retail and
couture brands and one of my favourite brands; Get Clobbered who showcased
immaculate handmade headpieces and statement jewellery. The weekend ended with
a bang with humongous creations by Adnan Bayyat who named this final collection
‘Birds of Paradise’; sky high creations, over 500 paperclips and a 2m wide
dress (a row of seats had to be taken out to accommodate for this whopper of a
dress!). Great theatrics were provided for this finale with such ambitious and
creative garments teamed up with thrown glitter and functional parts of the
outfits!
Overall I had such an enjoyable weekend meeting interns,
designers, graduates and models and wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again!
So I have fallen completely in love with the two-piece/co-ord trend at the minute but when they're being sold at 20+ pounds for each garment I just thought it wasn't worth investing in one (this was pre-student loan day). When I was at home over Easter I decided to whip one up myself in a purple gingham print because I also love the gingham print at the minute and I've always wanted to incorporate more sewing tutorials on my blog beings as I study fashion and just like doing this as a hobby (when I find the time). I picked up the gingham fabric and two zips from a local fabric store in Manchester for under a fiver, you really can't argue with that!
If you're not the best at sewing or are thinking 'I couldn't make that looking at this post, you definitely can it's really not that difficult, check out my DIY tutorial posts on my newly set up Youtube channel to see a step-by-step sewing guide for this two piece. I would love to see your two piece creations and love to hear your feedback as I know the filming and general editing of my videos are a bit shabby and need improving. The top tutorial has been live for a while but I've only just managed to write this post and finish the skirt tutorial because I've had copious amounts of coursework to do which got sent off on Friday (woo!) so I've only got one exam to go before I've finished second year, I hope coursework deadlines and revision is going well for anyone in college or uni! Anyway I'm rambling, I've posted both Youtube videos on this blog post and included instructions of how to draft the pattern pieces for the top and the skirt which is missing from the videos.
DIY Co-ord Tutorial Part One; Top
DIY Co-ord Tutorial Part Two; Skirt
Pattern Drafting Instructions;
Top
Take appropriate measurements as outlined in the diagram and draw the top pieces using the additional landmarks specified. Draw the pieces onto pattern paper if you have some, you can buy some from your local fabric store or even eBay! If not just tape A4 paper together. Any additional measurements added on these instructions are to allow for movement and good fit of the top and for darts.
My Measurements with Seam Allowance (will fit Petite Size 8-10)
I have included a diagram with the measurements that I used for my top that you may find easier to use if you are of a similar size! You can check specific measurements like bust and waist and alter them accordingly if these differ.
Facings
Take the pattern pieces as drawn previously and draw around the neckline and draw the facings of appropriate widths as shown. Seam allowances will also need to be added to these pieces which need to be; 1cm on the neckline and hemline and 1.5cm on the shoulder seams.
Seam Allowance
If you have drafted the pattern pieces with your own measurements and instructions from the first top diagram you will need to add the following seam allowances;
Skirt
Here is how to draft the pieces for the skirt, any additional measurements are to allow for movement and the creation of darts;
My Measurements with Seam Allowance (will fit Petite Size 8-10)
Again, here are the measurements that I used which should fit a size 8-10, these measurements include seam allowance so if you use these measurements don't add seam allowance which is outlined in the next diagram. Ignore this section if you are drafting your own pattern.
Seam Allowance
If you have drafted the pattern pieces with your own measurements and instructions from the first top diagram you will need to add the following seam allowances;
Lining and Facings
Once the seam allowances have been added, draw around both the front and back pieces again, take away 2cm from the waist measurement of the back piece to remove the dart from the lining. Next draw the same waistline curve 6cm below on both pieces to leave the facings and lining pieces, a 1cm seam allowance will need to be added to where these pieces have been cut.
Make sure you let me know if you try out this tutorial, I'd love to see what you make and good luck for anyone doing exams! x
Just under two weeks ago now I got to meet the lovely ladies behind 'Lily Lulu Fashion' and attended their first press event at Barca Bar in Manchester's Deansgate which was all in the aid of Cancer Research UK, a charity I'm sure is close to everyone's hearts!
After venturing further into the demure depths of Deansgate than I ever have before, Georgie (fairygobmother) and I arrived at the swanky venue. We were greeted by a generous goodie bag containing gifts from Clarins, Pearl Drops, Jelly Beans and many more.
Anyway enough with the introductions, the main focus of the event was to preview Lily Lulu's recently launched Spring Summer 14 collection which was on display for everyone to have a gander at. The collection is bursting at the seams with monochrome, florals and pastel influences (what more could a girl ask for?!). There were so many pieces that I had my eye on that I haven't seen on the high street so I would recommend heading on down to the Lily Lulu Website to check out their collection for yourselves! Here are a few of my favourite picks;
A nail bar, raffle and dress up box were some activities on offer to do at the event alongside munching on carby treats like Krispy Kreme doughnuts, gorgeously decorated cupcakes and Pipers' crisps. It was also exciting to see some familiar faces from TV like Take Me Out and Girlfriends.
Catching up with some fellow Manchester bloggers, meeting new bloggers and the Lily Lulu team made a such a lovely evening and I can't wait to see Lily Lulu grow in the future!
x
I also won a Neal&Wolf Shine haircare set from the raffle, I've tested out the shine spray which smells divine and adds a lovely gloss to my currently very scraggy locks (haircut is in order). I am eager to try the shampoo and conditioner but I was limited with luggage space as I have travelled home for Easter but I will keep you updated with the use of this product!
