Summer Of Love

We can certainly say that since the nuptials of our own Prince William the world has caught wedding fever. Since then we've seen a wealth of the rich and famous tie the knot - first Lily Allen, then Kate Moss, Abbey Clancy, Prince Albert of Monaco II and Rachel Weisz & Daniel Craig (though theirs was top secret with just four guests).

In the UK over the last few weeks the wedding buzz has been all about Allen and Moss with a stream of unanswered questions about what the girls would be wearing on their big days...Would Lily be donning Chanel couture by 'Uncle' Karl? Would Kate stand by her old friend Galliano and have him design her dress? And with both weddings taking place in sleepy Cotswold's villages what would the comparisons be?

BRIDE: Lily Allen
GROOM: Sam Cooper
BRIDESMAIDS: Three adult (in peach satin slips), three children (in lace) - including long time friend Miquita Oliver
CHURCH: St James' in the Cotswold's village of Cranham 

DRESS: Parisian designer Delphine Manivet created the vintage inspired dress - full length lace with bracelet sleeves, sweetheart neckline and 1920s style embellished veil. Lily also wore custom made Rupert Sanderson peep toe platforms

FLOWERS: Cream, peach and baby blue hydrangeas and peonies
GUESTS: Well known siblings Alfie Allen and Sarah Owen, hell raiser father Keith Allen and comedian Harry Enfield
DRAMA: In the run up to the wedding it was all about who was designing the dress, as rumours abound that Karl Lagerfeld was creating a Chanel piece for the big day (pictures have since surfaced of Lily at Chanel having a fitting so it is possible she wore Karl's gown in the evening). On the day -  Sam announced to guests at the reception that they would be expecting a child in 5 months time!

                                                         ♥

BRIDE: Kate Moss
GROOM: Jamie Hince (wearing YSL)
BRIDESMAIDS: Trish Simonon (in Erdem) and Jess Hallett (in Stella) plus 15 bridesmaids - including Kate's daughter Lila, half sister Charlotte, Sadie Frost's daughter Iris and Ella Richards, granddaughter of Rolling Stone Keith
CHURCH: St Peter's in the Cotswold's village of Southrop
DRESS: A John Galliano creation - again heavily '20s inspired, with a nod to Kate's Heroine Daisy Buchanan of Great Gatsby in the veil - floor length, bias cut, sheer and heavily embellished with embroidery and crystals - plus Manolo Blahnik's with blue lining
FLOWERS: Cream and pink roses for the bride while the bridesmaids wore fresh flower daisy chain headbands
GUESTS: A roll call of everyone cool and Rock 'n' Roll - Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, Alison Mosshart, Anna Wintour, Anita Pallenberg, Mark Ronson, Marc Jacobs, Paul McCartney, Philip Green, Naomi Campbell, Christian Louboutin, Christy Turlington, George Michael, Grace Jones...... 
DRAMA:The biggest news about the big day was that la Moss had closed off roads around the church for the three day extravaganza - including performances from Shirley Bassey, Snoop Dogg, Beth Ditto and Iggy Pop! Moss and Hince also had photographer du jour Terry Richardson snapping paparazzi style at the reception. Though he has had to remove the pictures from his own site (apparently due to a clash with an exclusive Vogue deal with Mario Testino to create images from the event) there are still a few that have slipped through the net and are floating around...

twenty8twelve / five7eleven

Finally received my parcel from The Outnet yesterday and since I'm writing this post you'll realise that my purchase fit perfectly. Little sneak peak with outfit post to follow in the next week...

I'm thinking an amazing loose jersey tee is in order to go with these bad boys!

Banging On About Bangs

So on Monday we watched the first episode of E4s new 'entertainment documentary' Dirty Sexy Things - hoping that it would be more Model Agency 'real' than the cheesy (but still addictive) Made In Chelsea (thankfully it was somewhere inbetween). But it wasn't the scantily clad models running around London that caught my attention, it was Perou's first assistant Clara Maidment - and more notably her fringe.

It's not often I get fringe envy (hair envy, yes!) but I suddenly had to have her blunt heavy bangs. So yesterday I started slowly snipping away at my own locks to get the look. So far, so good - I always find the real test with a full straight fringe is getting it to look the same after it's been washed for the first time...we shall see.

Ethereal Blouses, Barbaric Shoes & Boxing Kitties

Another new edition to the wardrobe and another outfit post. I picked this cream chiffon asymmetric hem tank up in the sale for £18! The best part is that the front is a double layer so you don't feel half naked. Paired with trusty black skinny hi-waist jeans and my ancient 3/4 sleeve beige mac...

Mac...MK1. Jeans...Topshop. Blouse...Topshop. Leather Cuff...Vintage.

I've always stayed away from asymmetric hems as I assumed they would make my hip look big on one side (and who wants lopsided hips?) and whatever my style is it ain't ethereal and floaty...but black denim and leather seems to have toughened it up nicely.

It was another trusty Betsey Johnson handbag that held my daily crap, this time in black leather with gold hardware...

And on the feet? Another new purchase...Zara chunky black leather sandals. These are a killer but I'm determined to wear them in...

I seem to always be drawn to 'ugly' shoes.....something a bit barbaric that kind of takes over your foot. If you ever see me in a pretty pair of heels it's likely someone else has made me wear them.

Waiting in today for my theoutnet.com parcel to be delivered. I am so excited but will massively deflate if said item doesn't fit...if I don't post anything about it it means they're going back and I'm too sad to blog :(

Finally, while in the garden yesterday my strange and inquisitive kitty (his favourite garden activities are digging holes, rolling around on the dusty concrete and chasing flies) got stung! He's thankfully fine but his bottom lip didn't come out of the battle unscathed...

Looks like he's done a few rounds in the ring.

Style File: Inspiration

While scouring the random pics I save on my desktop I came across a selection of street style shots that are really the direction I want to go with my own style...simple silhouettes, monochrome and neutrals, with the impact being in the styling rather than an overpowering piece...

The Hoarder, The Blog & The Wardrobe

After reading a lot of posts from A Pair & A Spare about her wardrobe essentials and wardrobe rehab I've decided to have an honest to goodness wardrobe cull. I'm one of those people who keeps EVERYTHING! Tee's that I would never ever wear again but have some vague sentimental attention...Keep! Leggings covered in holes...Keep! Clothes which don't really fit my style but could come in useful for a) the beach b) a job interview etc etc...Keep! A whole chunk will be ebayed, some will be making their way to the TTA shop and others will head to the charity shop.

So, in honour of my first tentative steps into creating a more capsule wardrobe and defining my style here is the first of many Outfit of the Day posts...

Denim Jacket...Topshop. Nude Jersey Dress...H&M. White Leather Bag...Betsey Johnson. Faux Leather Belt...Zara. Watch...Casio.

Fails, Frames & The Future

Had a change of stock today at one of the boutique's I stock in Hull, including some new displays (the abacus/earring stand was a massive FAIL). I went with frames lined in fabric to showcase vintage charm necklaces and earrings and a vintage yellow glass 'dish' (made by gluing together a shot glass and gravy boat plate!)  for rings plus a handful of studs and bracelets.

A few earrings hanging from a frame, reworked vintage blue stone and diamante bracelet, vintage plastic fruit charm and keys and hearts vintage charm bracelets plus vintage daisy studs.

'LOVE' vintage scrabble tile ring set, horseshoe and shell vintage charm earrings, selection of made with vintage rings and various vintage charm necklaces.

I'll hopefully be adding items back onto the website VERY soon. Been cooking up a little spring/summer vintage jewellery collection and looking into a few other handmade ideas :)

Also, apologies for the low photo quality but the shop is in a basement so is quite dark.