The Same But Different

Lucy In Disguise - FrostFrench. Lily Allen and her sister Sarah Owen bare a striking resemblance to Sadie Frost and Jemima French. FYI - Watch Lily and Sarah try and make it with there new business venture on Channel 4 tonight at 10pm. In Lily's own words she's 'deluded' - lets hope they are more of a success in fashion than their look-a-like counterparts' well documented business struggles, but I think its safe to say so far not so good. However I'm very interested to see how this turns out especially as Mary Portas has decided to be their consultant. The retail guru, is on hand - but for how long? Not sure she was too keen on the new business women's 'nice idea'. I'm hoping the title 'Lily Allen: From Riches to Rags' means just that and is not also a metaphor. I can't wait to tune in to find out.

Luxury. With a Wink

I'm a huge fan of these novelty necklaces and for those of you that loved Katie Hillier's paper clip animal pendants, what I have found should fill you with great excitement. Well, it did me anyway. Found here on Etsy for a mere £2.90 (roughly), novelty paper clips in all shapes of animals! Seeing these reminded me of the novel necklaces and spawned an FYI - Idea. Why not hook them on a chain and create your own necklace? You could even get them gold plated to get the look. Katie Hillier has designed for the likes of Marc Jacobs and Luella and continues to collaborate and design her own kooky collections or as she likes to call it 'Luxury. With a Wink.' But for those of us who can't afford that luxury why not try this diy budget version, with a wink to luxury.

Sale of the Day

"The clutch is huge for Fall" says Brittany Adams of Style.com. The envelope clutch or document wallet has been seen and photographed everywhere on the blogosphere and in every colour - but for the minimalists this will tap into the Celine design format. The bags, minimalism, tailoring, camel - details synonymous with the luxury fashion brand. My latest sale taps into such details in the form of an envelope clutch bag.

Get it Here

 Vintage imitation leather envelope clutch or document wallet. Simple, chic shape, perfect size to fit in all you belongings and a nod to the Celine bags as seen on the catwalk for Autumn/Winter 2011. Use it for anything to add a chic touch to the way you carry things. Here's some inspiration for the clutch bag;

 

 Also for sale Topshop leather bag - Helmut Lang style!

Great Read

Another collection of great reads for you. My usual routine consists of browsing the internet on a Sunday morning and  I came across this article on blog favourite Dead Fleurette, here's the links and other articles relating to this hot subject. Be sure to check out the comments on these pages.... nothing beats a good debate.

Invest in Your Wardrobe

Dead Fleurette, this girls on a mission!

Invest in Your Wardrobe

The Vancouver Sun's say.

The GQ Guide to Dressing for Less

25 Rules by GQ for men.. but something women could take something from.

FYI - DIY

Found these old leather trousers, and I have to be honest I don't think these would have looked flattering on anyone as they were. So I decided to do a little diy project. Plain and simple - I simply cut the leg to the required length, folded them up and secured them with a stitch in the side seams to form turn-ups seams and ta-da! A chic pair of shorts. They are already high waisted and fit me perfect and have a really interesting waistband detail. What do you think of the end result? I think wear them either with a buttoned up shirt, or Breton striped top....

 

McQueen's Royal Order?

So rumour has it that the house of McQueen could be producing the dress for THE wedding of the year  over here in the UK. Sarah Burton who has taken over the reigns at the house of Alexander McQueen is in the running to design the wedding dress for Kate Middleton to marry our  very own Prince William! Now I've really not been that interested in the whole build up surrounding the budding nuptials, but this has really taken me by pleasant surprise. The latest collection for Fall 2011 coincidentally showed what could be the modern brides version of a 'the one' the dresses featured were complete with tulle, chiffons, winter whites and romantic edge. 

Whilst I highly doubt that the traditional Royal wedding will hold such a modern twist, nothing is yet confirmed, it would be controversial to say the least. Remember McQueen said he wrote crude messages inside the lining a suit meant for Prince Charles during his early days on Savile Row, hardly a royal fan. But not to take that away from Sarah Burton 'She is, without doubt, one of the most talented and skilled dress-makers of our time' according to Lorraine Candy, editor of Elle Magazine for the Daily Mail, and 'for her, it is also about the woman in the dress'. She certainly delivered breath taking fashion of couture quality and I agree with Lorraine she could certainly produce something Royal wedding worthy.

1 Jacket, 3 Ways

Clean, simple - classic, courtesy of dead fleurette. Always so chic and consistent in style.

The Panama Hat

Made in Ecuador - The Panama Hat Story from Daniel Gautreau on Vimeo.

This ridiculous! I had no idea hats could be made this way - talk about naive! Its like the most insane French braid, which I am rubbish at doing so this seems like fine art to me. How amazing though, the time, effort and craftsmanship put into this hat is fantastic. I do love to learn about the heritage of fashion and accessories, and this is a great insight to the origins of the Panama hats and importantly its still a tradition continued today.  The Panama hat is essentially the straw hat originally from Ecuador; Trilby like in shape with a wide brim. The Panama Hat eternally chic...

 

Miroslava Duma and Madewell and how they wear theirs. I've got mine, have you? Eugenia Kim at Shopbop has some great ones.