The Art of Fashion
January 19, 2013 § Leave a comment
About a year ago here, I wrote about a new trend for backpacks that was taking over the fashion world – not just any backpacks you take hiking with you, but luxury ones with hefty price tags. In my selection of trending items I included Nile backpack by The Row, label owned by Olsen Twins, which was priced at over £2500. At the time paying as much for a rucksack seemed rather steep – I was not even sure if the trend was going to last long enough to be bothered to purchase one, let alone to commit to anything like The Row. Yet time has passed and Nile became one of the most sough after handbag of 2012, especially when the sisters brought out an even more luxurious version made out of crocodile skin (FYI at mere £22,000). Now that we are in 2013 I can safely say that The Row rucksack domination is nowhere near the end, thanks to one of the most exciting fashion-art collaborations of the decade. 
And here they are – three of the twelve Nile pieces designed by Damien Hirst himself (hence the multicoloured circles and pills, of course). The trio was brought together by Just One Eye online store that specialises in artistic partnerships. I adore the idea for it’s multipurposeness: that is creativity-inspiring, profit-making, charity donating and of course press-generating. Not that Olsen twins, The Row or Damien Hirst required any more buzz around them. These pieces of art are yours for £35,000, by the way.
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.
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!
Exclusive Mulberry
July 23, 2012 § Leave a comment
I love Mulberry. I love it so much that if I had to choose only one brand which handbags to carry for the rest of my life I would easily jump into that monogamous relationship. That is why I always get extremely excited seeing the new Mulberry bag for the first time. And since this new bag range is extremely exclusive, the excitement is only heightened! Meet Maisie, the range that has been specifically created to celebrate launch of Mulberry collection in Japanese location of Dover Street Market. But don’t worry you don’t have to go to Tokyo to get your hands on the bags – they are also available at the London DSM store. The collection consists of 4 pieces (2 totes of different shapes, clipper bag and a clutch) in 3 colours (black, oak and flame) each finished with 3D print of Mulberry’s famous Alexa. And if by the time you get down to Dover Street the range is sold out – don’t threat as the entire range will be available online and in store from September onwards. 
And for those dying to know the price range of the new Maisie collection – here are the numbers supplied by friendly press staff of DSM (from left to right) £1200, £395 and £995.
Pictures taken from British Vogue Facebook page
Perfect Cleavage Bikini
July 16, 2012 § Leave a comment
Even though I have already been on a holiday this summer, I bet many of you are just starting to pack for your week (or so) away at a warm and sunny destination. Hence I thought it is a perfect time to seduce you with my bikinis of choice. I am a sucker for balconette bikini tops – with those you end up having perfect tan lines easily hidden under your bra and for many of us not proud owners of DD cups, they do add a bit of well-needed push up. This season Ted Baker is the go to designer for affordable yet high quality swimwear that has been created to show off that cleavage – if you go make-up-less during your tanning session, there have to be other ways of attracting male attention rather than your beautiful eyes, right? Available in various prints and colours you are very likely to find your perfect swimsuit – my selection, all available at Asos.com, is presented below.
- Peony Print Bikini Top (£45) and Bottom (£39)
- Butterfly Print Bikini Top (£45) and Bottom (£39)
- Cherry Blossom Print Bikini Top (£45) and Bottom (£39)
- Jungle Print Bikini Top (£59) and Bottom (£49)
THE Shoes by Kanye West
June 25, 2012 § 1 Comment
To tell you the truth so far I haven’t been particularly excited by designs showcased by Kanye West. Apart from one specific item – a pair of shoes. THE KANYE WEST SHOES. They were first presented to the world as a part of Spring Summer 2012 collection during Paris Fashion Week. So why am I mentioning it now, such a long time since you might wonder? That is because I recently found where to purchase them from – LouisaViaRoma.com. And the fact that I discovered them does not mean I am the first in line to buy them, especially at £4145, but then who knows maybe one of you are! (And if so I am not judging you in any way, if I had that much to spare, I would not hesitate a second!)
Statement heels inspired by tribal jewellery and covered in pearly beads make your legs look significantly thinner thanks to thick ankle rings, and who would not want that visual effect? But Kanye is not the only one to thank for these beauties as they were created in collaboration with Giuseppe Zanotti, a brand known for their beautiful heels of highest quality – yet another reason to love them! And as much as I love them, I am by far not the only fan! Anna Della Russo wore these heels to Alexander McQueen show straight after they appeared on the runway, Chanel Iman sported them while attending Givenchy show accompanying their creator the day after and recently Kim Kardashian was seen in them, of course who would not wear your boyfriend’s designs! 
Jewellery Week Special: Jenny Llewellyn
June 21, 2012 § 1 Comment
This is a blog post about a very exciting brand I came across during London Jewellery Week Treasure Exhibition Launch Event. To read my report on the event look it up on my twitter @fashionwishlist. 
At first look this jewellery appears to be alive – delicate and natural it requires a double take to grasp the idea behind the design. In fact this jewellery is made out of colourful and luminescent (yes, it glows in the dark!) silicon crafted into various shapes and set in precious metals. While there is a wide range of collections, my faivourite by far is Plume and Who Needs Pearls, items from which are presented on the pictures above. If you are looking for statement pieces that will draw attention and excite fashion lovers with unique approach to design – this is a brand for you!
Jenny Llewellyn is an East London designer that graduated from Middlesex University 5 years ago with a BA degree in Jewellery making and since then pursued designing and promoting her own jewellery brand. Her inspiration often comes from the deep sea live, which gives the pieces a very harmonious natural feel.
Who Needs Pearls collection, which was launched at the event I had a pleasure to attend, is really striking. At a fraction of the price of real pearls and of course with no ethical questions of pearl harvesting, this is a jewellery gem indeed. I could not help myself but feel like I want, indeed need each and every pearl-inspired item!
To see where you can purchase this jewellery visit their website or online shop carrying a limited range LoveDazzle.com.
The prices for the jewellery on the picture above is as follows: Blue/Green Plume necklace £800, Three Cup studs in gold £80, Blue/Green Cascade earrings in gold £230, Who Needs Pearls necklace £1200 and Pink/Orange Plume hoops £155.
The Fashion Bicycle
June 14, 2012 § Leave a comment
This bicycle, unlike any other sporting equipment fully deserves a place in My Fashion Wish List as this is no ordinary bike. Created in limited numbers it might be the hottest accessory of the summer and it is brought to us by Dolce & Gabbana. The designer duo, Domenico and Stefano are both big lovers of healthy life style hence it is not surprising that they went a step further in promoting sporting activities. The Animalier bicycle reflects the designer brand through and through – from iconic leopard print, to black bell engraved with the logo, to 24k gold branded plate on the leather seat. It is indeed a piece of luxury. The bicycle is designed for ladies only as it features low cut female frame. Style-wise it is very traditional – based on artisan creations it does not have any gears or other fancy modern features. But even the will to pay £1450 for the designer bike will not guaranteethe purchase: the exact number of bikes produced is unknown, but only a handful of stores in major cities around the world will have it on offer. If you are head over heels for it, I suggest you get yourself down to brand’s London boutique asap for more information on availability.
And in case you do purchase it, or indeed if you are just inspired by iconic animal print, there is a whole range of printed accessories to choose from and below are my picks:
- Sunglasses,£150 at SaksFifthAvenue.com
- Blackberry sleeve, £90 at net-a-porter.com
- Belt, £240 at net-a-porter.com
- T-Shirt, £254 at farfetch.com
- iPad Case, £140 at net-a-porter.com
- Scarf, £229 at farfetch.com
Top(shop) Brides
June 6, 2012 § Leave a comment
All the fashion lovers on budget, who live and breath designer and high street collaborations and are about to walk down the aisle as a bride or a bridesmaid – this is your moment to rise from your chair/sofa and rapidly jump up and down making hysterical noises aka celebrate new bridal range created by Richard Nicoll for Topshop. And after you settle back down here is all you need to know about the wonderful collaboration.
At the end of June the collection called ‘Tie The Knot’ will be available online and in the selected stores. This is 6th collaboration of the designer with our favourite high street brand and it is once again predicted to be a massive success: not just because the brides-to-be will be hitting the stores but they will be joined by other fashion lovers wanting to get a piece of high fashion for affordable price. And what can you expect from the designs themselves? Simplicity and femininity in blush pink and classic white, lots of lace and see-through light chiffon as seen on the sneak-peak pictures below.
The only downside is that the gowns are made for a very specific bride: fashion forward lady not looking for a classical wedding in the church but picking city, beach or garden backdrop. So for example I would choose a non-white piece from a collection if I was going to a wedding as a guest or dressing my own bridesmaids or go for a white style for other special occasions (when the colour would not be clashing with bride’s dress, of course) but not for my own wedding as it just does not go with my mental image of what I wanted my dress to be, which is, no office, a bit more special. Nevertheless I am sure there are hundreds of girls out there who are dying to get there hands on the collection to wear on their special day thanks to affordable pricing and high fashion designs.
Here are the prices for the dresses above, according to Vogue.com:
- £200
- £350
- £170
- £170
Love For Books
May 15, 2012 § Leave a comment
I have not read a book for personal enjoyment for a while. And that is one of my biggest regrets in day to day life. A absolutely love reading, experiencing new things through beautiful words of talented authors, sharing lives of wonderful characters. I promised myself to get back to reading good books as soon as I am done with education and the end is indeed near – as soon as I hand in my Masters dissertation in September I will be free from textbooks and assigned reading material for the rest of my life, I hope. But until then my War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, Anna Karenina and other classics are waiting on the shelf.
On a more positive literature related topic, if you like me do not have the time to read the most influential books out there, you can now show your love for good old book by carrying one around with you thanks to Olympia Le-Tan and her beautiful book-clutches. I can not believe I have not blogged about them before! Quirky and interesting yet somehow absolutely elegant and classic these clutches are to die for. And if you follow celebrity fashion you must have seen them on various occasion in the hands of Chloe Moretz, Natalie Portman, Clemence Poesy and especially Michelle Williams who has picked those handbags for various red carpet occasions. Choose from a wide selection available on olympialetan.com with starting price of €1140 (£925).
MY FASHION WISH LIST 