Burlesque Legs and Stripey tights

Hey All,

There are certain elements of fashion that I always associate with particular styles and subcultures. Elements that I just can’t see myself really wearing. One of those things is stripey tights; they make me think of Punky / Goth / Emo girls who wear them with Doc Martens. Those are genres that I have never really seen as an influence on my own style. I was always more about grunge than anything else when it comes to ‘alternative’ fashion.

That was until fellow blogger, Hermia changed her blog-site. She’s included a photograph in her banner from a shoot by Guy Aroch for Nylon Magazine (issue April 2008). It’s of Clémence Poésy in pair of black and white stripey tights. Ever since I saw it, my opinion on striped tights has become less focused on the alternative.

This is the photo Hermia has,

This is from the same shoot…

Then I saw the new Jonathan Aston range, inspired by burlesque on TightsPlease.co.uk.

This cartoon is part of the promo imagery.

I waited ages, until my last pair of fishnets became so holey, they’d be considered dolphin friendly. I ordered a pair of back-seam midinet hold-ups and… yep! Stripey tights. (Well actually they’re called Ringers over-knee socks but made of really thick denier nylon, and besides they go quite high up the auld leg.)

I also chose stripey over-knees because I didn’t want to buy a cheap pair and have them not be properly white when I put them on. Or have them be so tight around my leg that hold-up band gives me thigh-muffin top. (These do neither; always a bonus…)

Can’t wait to do a style post, now where to get those yellow courts?

Yours,

Whisty Xx

 

 

 

Hold on… Tights

OR: Because tights shouldn’t always be 60 denier and plain black…

Hey All,

Don’t you agree, there’s no better way to improve a Monday morning than by receiving some yum online purchases through the post? (I ordered this little lot last Tuesday evening from tightsplease.co.uk). Yes, I’ve been on-line shopping but, I’m delighted with the fact that for less than €100 I have managed to overhaul my winter wardrobe this effectively. They are actually all tights… I kind of splurged on the Wolford pair but I was completely obsessed with them… I’d already fallen in love with Henry Holland for Pretty Polly so that pair was a simple choice; plus I ordered two pairs of Red or Dead tights, I’ve never worn them before so I’m pretty keen to see what they’re like too.

Bondage Tights, Wolford at Tights Please – €37.55

Chain Suspender tights, Henry Holland for Pretty Polly at Tights Please – €17.54

Gladdis Tights, Red or Dead at Tights Please – €12.89

Addy tights, Red or Dead at Tights Please – €14.07

Xx

She’s a Stone_Cold_Fox: Label Love

Hey All,

I just discovered the Stone Cold Fox label and I’m lusting after it all. It’s vintage inspired, made to order and is pure silk and velvet heaven. Their campaign imagery is stunning; Carolyn Dorian photographed by Lauren Taylor, and now all I want to do is go and wander around Arizona (or somewhere hot and dry), in lashings of washed silk. It’s available on StantonJames.com.

Love the name too, ‘Fox’ always reminds me of Garth’s ‘Foxy Lady‘ Hendrix dance from Wayne’s World.

Xx

What to buy for AW09.

Blogging took a back seat this morning because I wanted to make the most of such an amazing autumn day. I have already mentioned that this is my favourite season and today is exactly why. Taking a walk into town in the sunshine was the perfect excuse to do some research into what the high street is offering for AW09. Now that all the collections seem to have arrived in store, many with the promotional help of a fashion-show launch or press walk-through, it’s time to decide on which pieces are high street’s hits. Which are the pieces that really stand out, that I want to invest in or those that completely reflect what was on the catwalk this season. I have picked some look-book shots as well as some individual images, that includes pieces that will be warm for winter and pieces to make a statement on the dance floor during the party season.

Whisty’s Want list:

1. Lace-up ankle boots, 2.Over the Knee boots, 3. Faux fur gilet, 4. Distressed jeans, 5. Leather jacket, 6. ‘Power’ skirt- suit, 7. Sequin jacket / dress, 8. Leopard print anything!, 9. Flats / brogues, 10. Print dress, 11. Plaid Shirt and 12. Spotty sheer or lace tights, 13. Leather dress.

Going Out

Topshop

Pair this look down by adding a lantern skirt. Clockwise from top left: Multi-chain necklace €17 next, Wet-look leotard H&M, knit and faux fur gilet H&M, Abstract print lantern skirt, €65, Warehouse, ‘Skater’ lace-up ankle boot £55 Dorothy Perkins, Sheer spotty tights, €12 Oasis.

Work, Rest or Play

River Island

Asos.com

Remember to mix grunge and glamour; distressed or bleached denim and a plaid shirt looks incredible with a sequinned jacket and buckled heels. Clockwise from top left: Oversized plaid shirt £11 asos.com. Cream ‘Panda’ beanie, £12.99, River Island. Sequin statement-shoulder jacket, €96, Next. ‘Pendulum’ boot by Boutique, £130, Topshop. Distressed jeans with zip detail, €36, Next.

The Skirt-Suit

This suit needs no words other than, leg-it trouser suits, the skirt is back.

Penney’s / Primark

The Dresses

Oasis

Dresses should be sequinned or leather, the multi-coloured sequins of this Dorothy Perkins one makes it stand out from the usual black and silver. I love that French Connection has gone with white for their statement leather dress and in going with PVC, Wallis has made their dress, vegan-friendly and a great cheap alternative to pricey leather. L-R: Long Line Sequinned Tank €60 Dorothy Perkins, White Leather Brogue dress €395 approx French Connection, Black PVC dress €80 Wallis.

The Footwear

Finally, footwear; there are three main styles when it comes to dressing our feet for AW09. Over the knee boots, fierce ankle boots and if the rumours are to be believed, flats are the new heels. Clockwise from left: Lace-up thigh high boot £140 Asos.com, Jump leopard print ankle boot €155 Dune, Keen 3-buckle patent shoe £40 Aldo.

Kelly Osbourne and Rihanna in Marc Jacobs.

With a dress that makes such a massive statement, you may think it would pretty hard to vary the ways in which to wear it. But both Kelly Osbourne and Rihanna managed to rock this amazing, Marc Jacobs Pagoda dress in two totally different styles.

Kelly O, went for a more classic statement, wearing studded courts, large, black, wing-frame sunglasses and a thick leather belt to cinch the slightly more loosely fitted dress in at the waist.

Rihanna kept true to her edgy style, in a more fitted dress, with ghetto-style bling, leopard-print Louboutin ankle boots and bright red lips… And a train-drivers hat… (?)

I really like both of these looks, okay they both pretty much say, “I love fashion” but the way Rihanna has worn the dress more fitted ,shows of her perfect curves, but I equally like the way that Kelly has created a gathered / folded effect that complements the sleeve detail by cinching with a belt. Both the boots and the courts work brilliantly and you could rock both these looks for day and night. Though I think Kelly has a slight edge for a daytime look and Rihanna for the evening.

The dress is currently available at Harvey Nichols online for £975. If that is a little out of your price range,

More A|wear Discounts!

A|wear are seriously pushing their fabulous new AW09 collection. This time it’s 20% off on-line shopping with the Closer Magazine reader offer. The code is on the A|wear website as well as in the magazine.

If you have yet to see the new collection, do have a browse as it is definitely one of the strongest that they have created. They have key pieces inspired by many of the season’s hottest trends and designers, as well as some seriously fierce and seriously feminine themes.

This dress is €40 in-store, the cardi is €35 and the necklace €10, so if you bought them with the discount you’d save €17. (Yes, I have a calculator too!).

In Brogues – AW09 Trend Alert

I’m a high-heeled girl. There is no escaping the fact that I feel more confident and (mostly) more comfortable in heels. My posture is better, I don’t slouch, my head is up straight and my shoulders are back. But every now and again, totally unexpectedly, I get this almighty urge to set my feet more firmly on the ground.

This morning was one of those times… I was late for the bus, it was beginning to rain and I had no umbrella. As the No. 16 sailed by me, I tottered along through the fast-forming puddles and decided once and for all that I shall invest in a fabulous pair of flat shoes. Had I been wearing them at that point, I could have skipped to the bus stop, jumped onto the bus and sat in the dry. Instead I tottered to the stop, missed the bus and ended up soggy, frizzy and ten minutes late.

Don’t get me wrong I do own flat shoes, but they serve purposes; like hiking boots for hiking, runners for ‘running’ and flip flops for all things beach and BBQ. None of these shoes will work with any of my day to day city outfits; but Brogues will!

Any of these pairs will do but the purple flock Browns ones, or the plain tan Schuh ones will do very nicely indeed thank you santa. (too early?). Both these pairs would go with everything; smart enough to wear with suits and city-wear but casual enough to rock them with jeans. I likey, nay I wanty.

Classic: Top: Black and cream, Jazz brogues £25 New Look; Mel Lace Brogue £49.99 Schuh; Black and white, Kameryn brogue shoes £55 Topshop.

Contemporary: Top: Giraffe print brogues £65 Urban Outfitters; Melissa lace-up flocked shoe £65 Browns; Metallic brogue-trimmed pump £20 New Look.

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Etsy All Hand-Made

Just discovered this site, Etsy, it’s all about buying hand-made pieces, from furniture to fashion and everything in-between. I just discovered these gorgeous brooches by Tina Tarnoff on the site. Because they are hand-made there are only a small number of them available but they were only added last week. Tina creates paper-cut images and she made these brooches by setting prints of her images on these antiqued filigree bases. I love the little rose bead that is added to the bottom of the brooch, it’s such a lovely finishing touch. They are so pretty and poignant; the left hand brooch is called, simply, ‘Girl on a Swing’, the right-hand one, ‘Back Where You Belong’.

They are $30 each with $5 rest-of-the-world shipping charges. Bargainous.

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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

It’s an Online Circus

This week the Circus boutique at the Powerscourt Townhouse launched their on-line store at www.circusstore.net. Where you can now browse and buy on-line and they deliver anywhere in Ireland as well as worldwide. To make it even more tempting to press enter is that they are currently in sale with up to 40% off some pieces.

There are loads of really on-trend dresses included in the sale, like this Reality Studio Monstera dress reduced to €123 from €175. This Carin Wester Jenine lace dress is gorgeous and will work amazingly well, under or over other pieces all through AW09 and has been reduced from €60 to €42. Other designers at Circus inlcude: b Store, Diana Orving, Eley Kishimoto, Gaspard Yurkievich, Henrik Vibskov, Julian Red, KTZ, Marjan Pejoski, Material Boy, Poltock & Walsh, Quinny by Vibskov, Unconditional.