J'adore Accessories

My friends (all 8 of you, woo!) I have been suffering from a bad case of the flu for the past 5 days, and though I had intended to wear some beautiful outfits over the weekend to use in an OOTW post, I have in fact been living in my pyjamas. Now as fabulous as my multi-coloured stripy Old Navy pyjamas are, I don't think they're worth a picture, and my un-washed hair and greasy skin certainly isn’t!

So instead my lovelies treat your eyes to this feast of accessories! I took these photos a while ago, for no reason other than that I am in love with my new jewellery box (from my amazing trip to Marrakesh in the summer), and wanted to document it in all its glory.

Orange Jewellery Box - Casablanca Souk, Assorted Necklaces and Brooches - My Grandma's and Charity Shop Finds, Sunglasses - Primark, Fascinator - Afflecks Palace, Shoes - KG by Kurt Geiger, Pink Clutch - Jimmy Choo for H&M, Brown Handbag - Vintage, Gold Purse - Vintage 'Glomesh', Green Hat - Vintage, Perfume - Princess by Vera Wang, Clock Necklace - Accessorize, Chunky Gold Chain - Urban Outfitters, Cinderella Jewellery Box - Disney World, Eyeshadows & Lipstip - Barry M

My boyfriend and I moved into a new flat in September for 3^rd year and whilst unpacking I started to re-discover bits and pieces that had been buried in a box or suitcase all summer and placed them delicately around the empty shell of a room. I thought my jewellery boxes looked cute on this little drawer unit as it has a glass shelf which reflects the light in the room, and usually always keep my black fascinator and fave pair of sunnies on ‘Vivienne’ my little wig dummy, from there I just started to dress the picture. I used most of my favourite bits and pieces in these photos, and I love how exciting and colourful the outcome is. I’ve just made a little collage of the pictures in ‘Polaroid frames’ to make it a bit more of an interesting post while I’m wrapped up in my duvet with a mug of Lemsip, but they've come out all horrid and grainy, so here are a few nice big digitals..



Hope you like the pics in this little impromptu filler post! Do have some favourite accessories that are just so beautiful they’re like works of art? I barely ever wear my KG’s but I could look at them all day. And how do you store your jewellery, various jumbled boxes, or a more sumptuous display? My best friend hangs her necklaces and earrings in an old bird cage, gorgeous.

Loves VW x

Eagerly Awaiting the Postman...

This weekend/week I'll be eagerly awaiting the post, as I made a few little purchases on Ebay! Actually one arrived today (wow super quick!), but was only a little plastic clip on cover for my Blackberry, so not really worth a picture. (99p with free p&p, bargain!)

Winter has crept up on me this week and left me and my boy with the sniffles. With this harsh winter fast approaching in Manchester, and the recent departure of my family to the warm southern hemisphere (Australia to be exact) I felt like I needed a little cheer up, cue Ebay!

I am now the proud owner of these boots, purchased yesterday for a very reasonable £31 (including p&p). I literally cannot wait for the postman to come.

I've wanted a pair of lace-up wedge boots for aggggees, but I'm so picky, did I want black, or brown? Leather or suede? Too much choice left me bootless and despairing. If I'm honest I knew exactly what pair I wanted, a looovvely pair of black peep-toed shoe boots from Pierre Hardy at Gap, I'd seen them on the Grazia 'waiting list' back in August, but at £85 knew they were out of my reach. I then went onto lust over a pair of brown suede shearling cuffed pair from Urban Outfitters, again too expensive. I nearly bought a pair for £35 in River Island, but the sizing failed me, curse my size 7/8 'canoes' (as my boyfriend has affectionately dubbed them). Then I found them, a fab cheap pair from H&M (gotta love having the Swedish giant online now huh?!), available in black or brown, only £29.99, click click, in the basket they go, along with this season's must have aviator jacket.

But, Voni, you haven't shown us these H&M purchases? Quite right, well observed. And you want to know why, what stopped me? Oh only the fact that when my little beaming face went to checkout I was told neither item were available currently and I'd have to wait until late November for them to be dispatched! Well needless to say crest-fallen wasn't the word.

For now though all is well, I have some lush and very functional boots, which were just as affordable, on their way to me as we speak, HURRAH!

Also I saw this necklace at 'Temporary Secretary' online (£16) and just had to have it!

Cute right? My mummy recently bought me an old Singer Sewing Machine (for show rather than actually sewing) that looks just like this mini one, so when I saw it I fell in love! But unfortunately they were sold out! Cue genius idea... I'll make my own. So I found a near identical dolls house miniature sewing machine on ebay for only £2.14 inc p&p and will attach it to the chain of this random necklace I bought from Primark today £2 (and then I'll have the plastic rose to play around with too). With a little cannibalisation hey presto I've got myself a super-sweet diy necklace, and at a fraction of the original price! (Will post pics when its made!)

There are loads more cute little dolls house miniatures really cheap on ebay which would look darling hanging on a chain, or even glued onto a ring or brooch back, like china teacup and saucers, cuckoo clocks and teddy bears! Go on, have a go at making something for yourself, you can always check out Temporary Secretary for inspiration (or just to buy something ready-made!), but make sure you let me know if you do! Ever made something yourself to save some money?

Oh yea, and I grabbed this new nail polish in superdrug today, I really wanted a red shade for a sort of vintage look, and to be honest I picked this one because it was only £1.99. NYC Long Wearing Enamel in Big Apple Red Creme. It looks ok on my nails now, but was really thin and looked a bit sheer and pink-ish at first, so needed 3 coats, eek! (apologies for the awful photo)

On a different note, 5 whole followers! I'm extremely happy about this, as I think I've finally got to grips with this blogging malarky and love to think somebody is actually reading this! Thankyou you lovely people!

Loves, VW x

OOTW - A Dash of Geek Chic

The Manchester Arndale were having their 'big student giveaway' last week (discounts of up to 20% in most stores), but due to lack of funds I couldn't go crazy.

With a huge amount of self-constraint I came away with a dash of geek chic...

This beautiful light grey shirt from Topshop - £25 (instead of £32)

The frilly socks I'd been eyeing up in the American Apparel window display - £6.80 (instead of £8)

And a little black skirt from H&M - £2.99 (ok so no money off there, but come on, 3 quid! So handy.)



 

Worn with, Trench Coat - Zara
Brogues - Urban Outfitters
Bag - Vintage
Scarf - Oxfam
Necklace - a gift from China :-)
Glasses - Specsavers



My new OOTW carried me through my Friday 9am-1pm lectures, then later I ditched the glasses, swapped my brogues for some black heels, added a slick more eyeliner and my brown mock-croc handbag and I was ready for quiet drinks with a pal in Fallowfield (which ended in dancing 'til 3am and being horribly hungover when my parents arrived the next day, oops!)

I may have also made some new beauty purchases - American Apparel Nail Lacquer which I'd been dieing to try out. Factory Grey = Perfection. Lovely strong matt colour in two coats and dries super fast! A bit pricey at £7 a bottle, but I nabbed it at the 15% off night!

You may have noticed I love a strong, dark brow, and for a few years now have been enhancing my naturally bushy brows with powder (I much prefer it to the harsh shaping a pencil gives). I must admit until now I was only filling in with a chocolate brown maybelline eyeshadow of all things! But it was cheap, easy and effective, that is until it cracked, leaving powder all over my makeup bag and me with a naked brow! A quick stop in Selfidges and I came away with Benefit's Browzings in Medium, a cute little eyebrow shaping kit of wax, powder, tweezers and 2 mini brushes! A friend of mine has always used Benefit products, but until now I've always seen them as a bit pricey. Ok so the Browzings was £22.50, but definatly an investmentwhen you think about how I use it every day and will last a good 2 years! Converted.

'My Personal Style'

So for my Creative Comms lecture this week I was asked to 'present about 20 images that you think represent your personal style'. I boshed this out like an hour before I had to leave for uni because my parents had been visiting all weekend (nothing like leaving it til the last minute ay?!), here it is..

A few piccys of Florence Welsh (Florence and The Machines) & Ellie Jackson (La Roux) - I love their music and their offbeat style, mixing vintage with highstreet and designer. Also I love that they both rock the red hair (mine is naturally auburn and I have had it styled very similar to Ellie's in the past!)
Also a few snaps of Agyness Deyn, gotta love that girl, great model, always has fab hair and has really quirky street style. I love her mixture of glam and grunge. Bright orange DMs - LOVE!
A couple of photos of Katherine Hepburn thrown in there too. I'm a huge classic movie fan, particularly anything with Cary Grant in <3 and Kathy was definatly his best leading lady (Bringing Up Baby - Watch it now!!) I love her fashion sense, one of the first Hollywood ladies in the 30's to popularise wearing trousers, and i love a pair of classic, well cut, highwaisted slacks!
Some classic Twiggy pics thrown in there as I love 60's style, her waif like figure and her original Vidal Sassoon crop.
All sorts of other stuff in there, refrences to my travels, art and culture, aswell as my australian roots. Barbie & Cinderella - my style icons as a youngster. And of course some pictures of me and my besties, because they certainly influence my life more than anything else, so they must influence my style.

So yea, thats me :-)
Whats your personal style like? Which celebrities influence your fashion sense?
Loves VW x

The Day I Discovered Vintage

As you can tell by my other posts I love, love, love vintage clothes, and wear them frequently.

Obviously wearing vintage is individual, you stand out from the crowd, but its more than that, isn’t it? I suppose as a cash-strapped student there are obvious benefits to buying second hand clothes, sure charity shopping is cheap but even specialist vintage boutiques sell fab items for £30 which are similar to the clobber you find in Topshop for 50.

But really, when did it become acceptable to wear, well, hand-me downs? In the 90’s we cringed at wearing something your big sister once wore, let alone your mum. I was definitely one of the people. Since the age of about 10, my mother used to haul out her 80’s leather collection every 6 months or so in the vain hope that I’d have developed not only the breasts and hips needed to wear these lurid suits, but also the taste (sorry Mum!). I mean mini-skirts and matching tops, all in real bright Italian leather, shoulder pads and all, eek! Great in the 80’s but... they had their day in the sun.

Dress - Vintage
Belt - Primark
Shoes - KG at Kurt Geiger

So when did I discover the brilliance of vintage? October half term 2002, I was 12. A sleepover at The Bestie’s house; “do you want this dress? It doesn’t fit me anymore and my mum thought you might like it, try it on.” Black, lace, mid-calf length, full skirt, fitted bodice. Perfect. We both tried it on. We giggled, we span around in the swishy skirt and took photos. I went home with it. Putting on that dress I felt like a princess, I loved dressing up like Cinderella when I was 4, nothing much had changed. I’ve walked away from Fran’s house with a few fab vintage pieces since then, like a great pair of khaki woollen trousers, part of the women’s royal air corps uniform from 1951.

Escapism; to live in another place, another time. A chance to live voraciously through your clothes. Is this why I love vintage? Probably. But it’s not the only reason. The vintage clothes you wear have stood the test of time, they’re probably well made, well cut and appreciated enough that someone thought they were worth keeping.

Now, my mother’s pink and blue leather suit 10 years ago, were awful. Today, they’re still pretty bad. But I did rescue a pair of fudge coloured trousers with tan belt which I’m going to wear to death this winter. Thanks for keeping them mum! I also have her to thank for my black leather shoulder bag, so soft and lovingly beaten up, just the way it should be.

And the best bit about vintage..? Fashion insiders know, if you want to look fashion forward tomorrow, look in to the past. Check out a back issue of Vogue from twenty years ago, that’s what everyone will be wearing this season, and if you’ve got an original... you do the math.

Have you got any well-loved vintage pieces? And when did you discover that vintage clothing could be truely marvelous?

Loves, VW x

Manchester = Spending Your Student Loan Made Easy

As a third year with mounting debt and maxed out overdraft I really should have learnt by now that a shopping spree the day your student loan comes in is never a good idea. But I’m only human and studying fashion to boot.

It’s not my fault you see, it’s the bright lights of Manchester City Centre, a fashion mecca after months stuck in the dreary shadow of Harlow Town; where the YMCA charity shop is the closest I get to vintage shopping, and the Topshop is crammed full of 16 year old single mums complaining that ‘you can get a dress like that for a fiver in Primark, its not worth wasting your benefits babes’.

But don’t despair; I did only buy the two things!

Camel is my fave trend this season, so this dress was a great find, from Cow vintage near the bus station (www.wearecow.com), it has a button missing (I’ll probably replace them all with some old gold buttons anyway) and a tiny stain on the sleeve (which has already washed out) so I got it for £15 instead of the labelled £18. I’ll wear it this winter with a black leather jacket and wedge shoe boots – both of which I don’t actually own, but intend to buy at various student lock-ins this week!

The lace blouse was a bit pricey, especially for H&M, £24.99, but I couldn’t resist. I’m so glad lace has continued to dominate the shops as it’s a personal fashion fetish of mine, this shirt came in ivory and navy as well, and I was so tempted to buy all three, if they’d been cheaper!

More shopping & spending to come I'm sure!

Loves, VW x

Promise of more to come!

Just a quick one to say sorry for the lack of blogging! Although i had written a few bits I didn't have any internet in my flat (thanks to some douche at Sky) so couldn't post :-(
But never fear, la tinternet is now up and running, so a few fashion bits and pieces are on their way!

Loves, VW x