My 'Special Occasion' Outfit

Every summer there seems to be a special occasion or family event on the cards, whether it be a big birthday meal or a gorgeous summer wedding. This year, I had my boyfriend's graduation to attend, and being a typical girl I was planning my outfit weeks ahead of the event. I knew exactly what I wanted, but searching shops and websites for my perfect outfit ended up very unsuccessful. So, as always, I decided to just do it myself. After some lengthy searches on the Internet I managed to order a couple of patterns to guide me through and bought some gorgeous crepe back satin material in an ivory colour. A tiring two day stint and a lot of help from my very skilled mother, I had my perfect outfit completely finished! And I have to say, it looked lovely, I couldn't have been happier with the end result. In fact, it looked so good, I'm now in the process of making my boyfriend's mum the exact same outfit for a wedding in September! I see a future business on the cards.. ;)

Inside my holiday wardrobe...

After a busy few weeks and a holiday to Tenerife, I've finally got round to doing another post! So I thought I would use my holiday to it's advantage and show you some of my favourite outfits!

I made myself these trousers from a satin jacquard material and they were perfect for the holiday, nice and cool to wear on an evening. I paired them with this lovely bright yellow silk top (Topshop £15), black and white heels (Primark £12) and a black and silver spiked necklace (New Look).

A little bit of a risky choice but I paired this drop arm vest top (Boohoo £6) with a denim skirt (New Look £16.99) and chunky gold chain (H&M £7.99).

An alternative to the American Apparel stretch leotard, this backless low cut bodysuit is a much cheaper version (Missguided £9.99) teamed with a textured midi skirt with mesh panels (Cameo Rose @ New Look £14.99).

A favourite of mine, I kept this black cutout detail dress (Missguided £29.99) simple with some tan leather sling back heels (New Look £34.99).

Another favourite, I matched this sparkle cutout crop top (Urban Outfitters £17.99) with this black side split maxi skirt (Primark £10) and a simple pair of flats.

And finally, a must-have this year, the white bikini! I may not pull it off like the gorgeous Lucy Meck, but this fringed beaded set certainly enhanced my tan at least! (Tesco Top £8, Bottoms £6).

Graduate Fashion Week

A little bit late but here is just a small review of this years Graduate Fashion Week, there was some amazing collections and talent being unveiled and I have to say, it made me proud to be part of LJMU Fashion! This years show saw sportswear coming through as a predominant trend as well as some exquisitely detailed designs. The innovative use of fabrics was one of my favourite aspects as well as the techniques that some of the designers incorporated into their work.  Here are a few of the well deserved winners, as well as being in my list of top collections!

First of all, Edinburgh College of Art student, Lauren Smith, walked away with the George Gold Award as well as £20,00 for her wonderfully creative yet simplistic collection. The idea of using the inspiration gained from the workings within a sketchbook produced a very detailed and intricate collection, cleverly transforming shapes and scribbles into the finest embroidery. I personally think that it is the hand drawn prints and over sized objects that really emphasize the roots of this collection and make it so deserving of the award that it achieved.

Elleuk.com

Hannah Williams of UCA Epsom claimed the womenswear award for her collection of white and pastel silicone deigns, for which she also managed to pick up the innovation award. The combination of fabrics and techniques came together to produce outstanding garments inspired by surreal sculpture and the 1920s flapper girls. Hannah created these exquisite pieces, including jewellery and accessories, through creating moulds in which she then poured the silicone into - very clever! I have to agree with everyone when they claim that this young designer is most definitely the one to watch.

Stylebubble.co.uk

Nottingham Trent student, Thea Sanders, won the Stuart Peters Visionary Knitwear Award for her vibrant collection of knitted garments. The traditional British patterns clashed with inspiration from Islamic tiling was presented through an eye catching colour palette which accentuated the finer technical details within the knit and weave methods used. A very deserving winner all round!

Stylebubble.co.uk

Other winners..

Menswear Award: Shauni Douglas & Olivia Creber - Edinburgh College of Art

Zhandra Rhodes Textiles Award: Kirandeep Bassan - Northampton University

  

LJMU - Graduate Fashion Week.

I recently had the pleasure of helping out backstage at the LJMU graduate fashion show, seeing all the hard work and success that the third year students have put into their work and the event really inspired me; and it certainly paid off! The show was amazing and gaining the experience of being behind the scenes and dressing models during the two shows was a privilege. Although it was chaotic and crazy backstage, every review I've read has been full of nothing but compliments and amazement at every aspect of the show, which makes it all worth the while.

A few of the collections backstage.

One of my favourite collections that I had to dress by Matthew O'Brien.

Very clever designs involving movement and lighting.

A sneak peak backstage as the models are ready to hit the catwalk.

This was just one of the collections which was shown at Graduate Fashion Week on Monday 3rd June alongside many other outstanding collections. My full GFW review will be posted soon!

A picture says a thousand words.

As this is the first post on my lovely new blog, I thought I would begin by giving you a little insight into what it's all about. Predominantly fashion with my own styling and outfits, reviews on events and just my general opinion on what's out and about. Coming in a close second is food; I love it (who doesn't?). Cooking is one of my favourite things to do and I love getting creative with it. I'm also really into the gym and healthy eating lately so my recipes are always really low fat and ridiculously yummy! These are a few of the pictures that I've uploaded to Instagram recently that basically sum me up just nicely.