Barbara Rihl
October 22, 2012 § Leave a comment
While in Moscow a few weeks ago I stumbled across a brand of super chic handbags and just had to share them with you. Feminine, functional and fashionable, these leather bags are created by Barbara Rihl under her eponymous label. The more I researched about the brand and the lady behind it the more jealous I grew of her career (not in the bitter way but in the I-am-so-inspired-I-want-to-be-her kind of way). First, Barbara Rihl was a student to Karl Lagerfeld, absorbing a wealth of experience from this multi-talented icon for two years. Then she moved on to spend a year learning from Jil Sanders before being appointed into the famous house of brands LVMH to work on their marketing strategy. And then in 2000, after feeling that it was time for her to stand behind her own wheel, she created a brand of these witty bags, that are now available at over 1000 shops around the world. I bet after reading that I’m not the only one envious of this extremely talented and successful lady! And while you are reconsidering your personal success, here are a few of her designs I picked out for you to see. Take a look at the rest of the collection here.
- Mystical, €360 (approximately £293)
- Jen’s Favourite, €360 (approximately £293)
- Attractive, €360 (approximately £293)
- Red Scarlet, €325 (approximately £264)
- Matchless Helena, €312 (approximately £254)
- Shiny Linda, €350 (approximately £285)
New Heights For Nail Art
October 13, 2012 § Leave a comment
London has been buzzing about nail art for a while and I did not stand aside and watch it happen, regularly visiting my favourite Wah Nails salon at Topshop Oxford Circus. But now a brand established by Holly Silius and Hannah Warner called, surprise surprise, H&H are taking nail art to next level, the metal level. While the rest of the world is excited about metal looking wraps or new OPI’s The Man With The Golden Gun nail varnish that looks like liquid gold, these ladies actually use real metal for their nail art creation. Their idea is creating full sets of metal nails that vary in size to suit your nails and have to be attached on to your natural nail with strong nail glue (but removed easily by soaking your nails in nail varnish remover (check out how many times I used a word nail in this sentence!)). Usage of this innovative material allows to create 3D structures and even apply semi precious stones. Designers recommend choosing single nails for daily wear and full sets for special occasion. My recommendation, stick to special occasions and with Halloween fast approaching, go all out! As expected, prices are much higher than your normal manicure, but these nails could be used again and again. Single nails start from £40 and be expected to pay up to £500 for a full set. Above are my favourites – from animalistic claws to embellished nails inspired by nature. The collection is available at Kabiri and soon on H and H website.
- Gold Multihorn Nails
- Black Rhodium Pointer Nails
- Oxidised Silver Spiderweb Nails
- Gold Nature Nails
Yet Another Bracelet On My Fashion Wish List: Bibi Bijoux
October 8, 2012 § Leave a comment
When I was a little girl, friendship bracelets were the coolest thing and I learned how to weave them myself and hence ended up making tens of them for all my friends to wear. Now that the friendship bracelets are back it would have been interesting to try to make one again but due to lack of spare time actually finishing one seems unlikely. The good thing is that in our capitalist society we are no longer required to produce things we want and there is always something similar available to purchase. What is even better in this particular case, is that what is available to purchase is a much better version of what I could have made myself! Say hello to Joyful friendship bracelets by a Dutch brand Bibi Bijoux. Colourful and eye-catching those bracelets combine original friendship style weaving with crystals and metal chain to create statement piece that unlike originals comes with useful clasp. Each one is hand made and may have slight variations of design, so you are likely to get a completely unique piece! 
Available to purchase at Swarovski Elements for £176.
Autumn’s Perfect Splash Of Colour
October 3, 2012 § Leave a comment
What inspires your fashion choices? For me it is always about seeing outfits that have been well put together or just cool fashionable items worn by people – whether they are models walking down the catwalk or passersby walking down the street. Even though I only met the girl- Miss Daria Malyarova, whose awesome coat is featured in this post, once, when I stumbled upon these pictures on the Instagram I was inspired. And it wasn’t just about the super cool coat by DSquared that I immediately added to My (mental) Fashion Wish List, it was just as much about the way she wore it – with a brilliant smile, joyful attitude and bags of energy. Hence the inspired wisdom – whatever you are wearing, it is your mood and feelings that really make the look that bit extra special. So next time when you are trying on the outfit of the day, look at yourself in the mirror, smile and see it transform…
Enough of that, now back to the coat. Bright pink and orange colour blocking against classic cool of nude trench, this coat represents a great way to update essential pieces in your wardrobe making them hot and trendy. Sadly no matter how long I looked I was not able to find anywhere it was still in stock (if you do, give me a shout in the comments below). But to fulfill your interest, Farfetch.com, for example, was selling it for £707. To tell you the truth though, there are other options to get yourself a similar piece. If you are any good with your hands, get some colourful fabric and experiment with a classic trench yourself: it will turn out cheaper and give you a feeling of creative fulfillment!
Many thanks to Daria for letting me use these pictures.
Hot Item: Double Skull Bracelets
October 2, 2012 § 1 Comment
The fact that skulls are fashionable symbols is not news. Their recent popularity probably goes back to Alexander McQueen and his widely popular skull printed silk scarfs. And once again for A/W 12 the fashion house kept their notorious symbol of death at the heart of the accessories collection and created what has become a sensational bracelet that has been gracing everyone’s arms for the last few months. Meet double skull bracelet that has already moved from My Fashion Wish List straight to my wrist – the hottest accessory of the moment. And since not everyone can afford McQueen prices, or even find where to purchase original one that hasn’t yet sold out, I found a few others that have been inspired by the double skulls for you to see below. So pick yours, put it on and join the cool kids.
- Alexander McQueen, £165
- The Jewels Boutique, £10
- Hello Parry, $12.99 (approx. £8.25)
- MadeByGirl, $21 (appox. £13.35)
Goodbye Pastels!
September 25, 2012 § 6 Comments
That is it. I now think the summer is finally over. Thus I thought the time could not be more perfect to say goodbye to my favourite trend of the last season – pastels – with one last summer outfit, one going totally over the top with all the soft ice cream colours that I have been wearing past couple of months. And here it is, on one of the last warm days I put together super pastel explosion and took a photo for you to have a look. I am wearing baby pink cropped oversized tank from American Apparel, skinny mint Leigh trousers from Topshop and Converse trainers I designed myself using their online tool and blogged about the experience earlier this year here. Accessories-wise I am wearing pink and green Allumette necklace by Allumer (1), Dior ring (2), ASOS perspex bag I also mentioned a few months ago here (3), Beta silk scarf that is printed with symmetrical geometrical print in beautiful pastel colours (4, check out their entire collection here), Timex pastel watch as mentioned here (5) and ASOS gummy bracelets once again in combination of pastel colours (6).
The best thing, even though I am saying goodbye to this palette for the vivid colours of Autumn/Winter 2012, I am happy to store those garments for the next spring when thanks to a number of shows recently seen in New York and London, the palette is going to come back. So see you soon pastels!
The Queen Of Handbags
September 24, 2012 § Leave a comment
If you are ever looking for a classic and luxurious handbag with quality to last you a lifetime, look no further than the handbags worth a real Queen, the ones so often seen on the hand of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth. Worn to main state appearances including wedding of Will and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge(below left) those handbags made to order by British designer brand Launer have become Queen’s go to accessory. And now the classic collection that featured leather handbags in traditional colours with gold hardware is expanding its palette to feature bold fashionable colours that are likely to attract a much younger hipper customer. Indeed I would not refuse one of these myself, how lovely would it be to have one in, say, pink to take with you to afternoon tea with the girls or dinner with partner’s family. So yes, thanks to completely revamped colour collection, Launer is landing itself on My Fashion Wish List, and I think I am not the only one to want a handbag adorned with royal nod of approval. The only problem – most Launer bags are still made to order and will take 2-3 weeks to be delivered to your door, so plan your purchase in advance. Take a look at the classic range here with styles worn by the Queen starting at £1020, the new range will appear there shortly.
Nautically Inspired
September 17, 2012 § Leave a comment
Sophie Chandler, the mastermind behind Fabel jewellery is bubbly and very fashionable lady with abundance of design experience. After impressive career as lighting designer she switched to jewellery and has since produced a range of nautically inspired pieces that is currently a hot item on My Fashion Wish List. Most of the collection focuses on combination of gold plated charms and clasps with silk ropes that come in variety of colours: ivory, champagne, emerald, chocolate, wine and black to name but a few. I love how, thanks to unchanging central theme, most of the pieces could be mixed and matched together. Even with clashing colours the combination will give your outfit a finished well accessorised look. Another great thing – the collection does not have a target audience and could be worn just as easily by young fashionistas as by more experienced style queens. And while I have a few birthdays coming up, I can hardly think of a better present – just have to decide on the colour!
See the selection of my favourite pieces below, all available to purchase at www.fabeldesign.com. 
- Double Lariat Necklace, £58
- Nautilus Bracelet in Green, £48
- Nautilus Bracelet in Red, £48
- Locket Necklace, £155
- Locket Bracelet, £145
- Deco Cuff, £198
As Seen On Celebs: Batman Fever
September 16, 2012 § Leave a comment
Batman, being the main character in one of the most anticipated films this year, has once again become a trendy figure of popular culture. And while comic books and film memorabilia sales were expected to rise, it’s the Batman influence on fashion that is the topic of the post.
Over the last few weeks we saw Cheryl Cole stumble out of Rose Club in London wearing a dress covered in Batman logos followed by rising stars Perry and Jesy from Little Mix sporting Batman inspired attire. And however geeky you are inside I bet most of you suddenly want a piece of that comic book character! Well we are in luck, since the Batman inspired collection is made by affordable East London brand called Lazy Oaf. They started their journey in 2001 and since then have been producing graphic apparel and cheeky accessories. But it is not until their latest collection that they really caught my eye and I bet you can see why.
Below I picked out my favourite items from Batman collection: dress as seen on Cheryl and Jesy (£60), monochrome shirt (£60), t-shirt as seen on Perrie (£40) and logo shirt (£65). Shop my picks and see the rest of the collection here.
Classic Reinvention
September 12, 2012 § Leave a comment
Sometimes doing online research for My Fashion Wish List turns out completely counterproductive to the original aim of this blog of keeping my shopoholism under control. This is just one of these situations.
Meet my two favourite pieces from a capsule collection designed by Lulu Frost for J Crew. These tortoise beauties are made out of resin and marcasite with earrings priced at £65 and bracelet at £70. At first glance the colour combination seems so modern, yet take a closer look to discover antique feel of the style, which is exactly what makes these pieces special – timeless classic is completely reinvented. This trick is not new to the brand of Lulu Frost. Established in New York in 2004 by designer Lisa Salzer it always focused on giving modern spin to classic jewellery and thanks to J Crew you can get your hands on Lisa’s designs for less.
To see the entire collection go to www.jcrew.com. Here is a useful tip: despite being operated from US, shipping to UK is at flat £10 rate, but if you become an ‘insider’ on the website, the shipping will be free!
MY FASHION WISH LIST 