Colour Block Lips

Hey All,

Today’s post is brought to you by the colour orangy-red and the word minimal.

I’ve spent the last two years going hyper on eye make-up. Lashings of gel, liquid and Kohl eye-liner and tonnes of smoky eye-shadow. I fancy a change, and it comes courtesy of Gucci, Fendi, and Diane von Furstenberg (SS11) and Hakaan (AW11) .

It’s not pretty, pale or subtle orange; it is IN (ON) YOUR FACE ORANGE!!! Bright and neon and I-can-see-you-from-across-the-street orange. Because lips are so strong, eye make-up is at a minimal though I dig the fierce brow that balances out the look, (see Hakaan below) worn with little or no mascara.

I like the idea of clear mascara for daytime and plain black for night.

The perfect tangerine shade at Fendi (SS11)

Glossy at Gucci (SS11)

Freja Beha Erichsen at Gucci (SS11)

With a fierce brow at Hakaan (AW11)

Pretty pinkish tones at Diane von Furstenberg (SS11)

Images via Style.com

Yours,

Whisty Xx

DVF = Dramatic, Virbrant Footwear… Right?

Hey All,

I’ve been shoe-perving again this week. You know with shoes, you have your favourite designers; either eternally (mine’s YSL and more recently Miu Miu) or seasonally (3.1 Phillip Lim SS 2011 T-bar snake-skin heels).

Queen, (or princess? Diane von Furstenberg was once married to a German Prince) of the silk-jersey wrap dress, DVF appointed Frenchman Yvan Mispelaere as creative director last year. A new creative head often means huge changes for a design house… but as the title may suggest, I’m shoe-gazing.

Diane von Furstenberg‘s spring / summer 2011 footwear, is vibrant, wearable – see those heels, they’re not spindles – and as on-trend as they are timeless. I was in Brown Thomas the other day, watching the launch of the new DVF collection in-store when I saw these samples on the runway…

DVF’s clutch collection was worth a look too, lots of snake-skin, tassels and rock-chic elements:

Have a great weekend,

Yours,

Whisty Xx

(Shoe images via Style.com)

Weak but not daft… Goddies Bagged, in a sensible way.

Hey All,

You know what? In my entire wardrobe, I only have one cardigan (by DVF) that fits me perfectly. I don’t actually remember another one since leaving my school uniform behind, that fitted nearly half as well.

1. The top of the sleeves are always too tight, even if I go a size bigger than usual.

2. There is always a gap between at least two buttons; if not more.

3. If its fitted then its always too tight around the middle.

4. If its loose, then either the front or the back seems to slouch down, leaving the other side exposing parts of me that a cardi is positively supposed to cover-up.

5. Women’s cardies are embellished. I don’t want sparkly buttons, or frilly cuffs, or badges, or lace. I just want a plain, well-fitted cardigan, something similar to what my Granddad used to wear. Though preferably without the pipe-ash and maybe in a softer wool.

It seems that my prayers were answered in the shape of Lanvin for H&M Menswear. I looked again at the collection on-line last night. Just to remind myself of the frilly, shiny party dresses that were going to be fought over this morning. Lovely and all that, just not my bag. There wasn’t a specific piece that made me want to queue in the cold for hours. I admit I was rather partial to the white tux jacket, but for that price I would rather find one that no-one else had.

I also didn’t fancy looking like Lanvin for H&M for the rest of the season; and have people come up to me with a sense of knowing in their eyes. Giving me that pitying look as they pat my one-shouldered, ruffled, red satin party dress.  Followed by a slow shake of the head as they enquire, “was it worth it?” *Cringe*.

Apparently people were queueing all night at  both Sth. King Street and Dundrum for a slice of this made-in-China, Lavin pie. I, on the other hand, wandered in at 10am; asked the important-looking woman with a clipboard; “Is there a queue for Menswear”. To which she replied, “no”. To which I replied, “lovely”.

Swooping in, I picked this up in grey and navy-blue (size small); walked to the changing rooms and chatted briefly with a rather charming Scotsman who gave me a tag. I tried both colours on, decided on the grey, checked that it wasn’t made of Polyester, (Merino wool actually), went to the cashier, paid (€59.99) and left. Smug? Nah, not at all, I still broke under the pressure of buy-it-before-it-sells-out marketing. Happy? It’s the best fitting cardigan I’ve ever bought, whadda you think?

Whisty Xx

Crochet. Not to be confused with Croquet.

Dear Readers,

Where did the sun go? How does it know that it’s Saturday; more of us are off work and so want to be out in the sun that we’ve been longing for through the office window all week. How does it know not to come out and spoil us? One of life’s little mysteries…

Anyway, I was on a bit of a mission today to buy some crochet, you know that kind of needlework that Doilies are made of. Not that I was looking for doilies, I was looking for dresses or a waistcoat. I’ve been keen on the idea for a couple of weeks but since the sun came out the need to buy some to perfect my summer wardrobe has become much bigger. If I can’t find any vintage these are a few pieces I’d happily settle for instead:

Topshop Dresses

L-R: Asos Crochet and chain waistcoat, £25, Oasis Crochet Waistcoat, £25; Sass & Bide Crochet cotton vest, €471.79 at Net-a-porter.com

River Island Cardi – Not Strictly crochet but because the knit has such a big / loose weave it kind of has the right vibe.

Tim Ryan

Other Inspiration:

Diane Von Furstenberg : (Apparently this is crochet lace).

Sasha Pivovarova by Facehunter

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Editorial: Knitwear? Pretty though.

Xx

All “inspiration” images via google.

BT2 gets gestuz

BT2 previewed their new AW09 collections yesterday as well as showcasing their new for 09 designers like DVF, Love Moschino and 3.1 Phillip Lim. They also announced the inclusion in-store of more underground designers like Gestuz.

Gestuz very much emphasises the urban, edgy, rock chick vibe for AW09. The collection contains plenty of embellishments, rich fabrics and textures and structure with amazing leather jackets and awesome bustier dresses. Gestuz is exclusive to BT2 to find out more about the brand and see more pics go to www.gestuz.com.

Ginny gets Grazia

Make no bones about it, this blog is a fan of Emma Watson’s style but it seems that her co-star and friend, Bonnie Wright, AKA Ginny Weasley, is also a budding contender in the style stakes. This weeks Grazia has featured the young actress in a moody and super stylish four page spread in the mag. I grabbed a copy today and am seriously impressed, the 18 year old showed her classic, understated style at the recent HP6, UK and US premiers wearing Miu Miu and Prada respectively. Of her fashion choices she says, “I wanted two totally different looks, Miu Miu is more of a fun, London, fashion-forward idea and for New York it was more elegant.” Speaking to Grazia she also confessed, “It took me such a long time to decide what to wear”.

She also chats about what it is like growing up with the cast and crew of Harry Potter and what her ambitions are after the final scene has been filmed. She comes across as unguarded and genuine in the interview and at 18, that’s exactly how she should come across.

Bonnie is wearing a DVF dress and Temperley belt. DVF is available at BT2, Temperley at Brown Thomas.

Too see the rest of the pics…

AW09 Trends, SS09 Prices

The AW09 catwalks were bursting with black embellished pieces made with luxurious fabrics and sumptuous detailing. But not only do we have to wait until the end of the next month or even longer to see the full collections in-store but paying full price can be darn near impossible. So here’s the plan, it means you still get on-trend designer looks but for less!

The sales that are in full swing at the moment have a few pieces that will easily mix into the AW09 trends and what other reason do we need to bag a bargain than to know it will see us through till SS10? Also, as well as hitting the high-street for our pick of the designer sale bargains; the Internet has some mighty offers to temp us too. I had a browse in on-line today, purely research you understand, to see which pieces are available that will suit the AW09 trend and won’t cost an arm and a leg. I reckon these fantastic pieces are a total steal.

L-R: Sonia Rykiel full stripe skirt with large bow was £210 now £75 ASOS, Diane Von Furstenberg black cardigan with roses €254 now €178 net-a-porter, Joseph silk chiffon frill vest from €165.45 to €99.27 Flannels Fashion

www.flannelsfashion.com