Fashion week- part 2

Alright everyone!

Paris fashion week has recently finished and consequently it's time for the second installment of my 'fashion weeks blog'...

To be perfectly honest, I am one very happy fashion lover at the moment! Almost all designers are focusing on fairy-like ethereal themes, taking inspiration from the sea, folk patterns and the flowers of Spring. No more so than the designers which showed in Milan and Paris. I noticed a distinct theme during Paris with both Eli Sabb and Philippe Plien both creating an underwater atmosphere with their catwalk and collections. Another noticeable theme and a personal favourite was elegance; both old-school 50's glamour and demure silk dresses appearing throughout the collections.

But enough of my babbling- it's time to show you my top five and how I use them to inspire my outfits.

I hope you enjoy and I shall see you very soon...


Phillip Plien

The 50's shape of this dress creates a beautiful hourglass silhouette for the wearer. In the summer when one wants to keep clothing to a minimal, a dress such as this can provide an alternative, more elegant way to wear summer fashion. Often during the summer months we tend to stick with what we know-shorts, t-shirts and skirts but sometimes I think it's nice to embrace a beautiful sundress and stand out, whether that be on the sea-front or the paved streets of a city.

To capture this elegance I chose wear my vintage 1950's dress- a hand-me-down from one of my relatives. You can imagine my squeal of excitement when I was told I could actually keep it! You can find dresses like these in most vintage stores and many places like Jackwills.com or Topshop.com reinvent the full skirt shapes almost every season. To add my own little twist to the look I wore my leather jacket from Missselfridge.com- I felt this brought the dress into the modern era making it easier to wear around in 21st century Britain!

Louisa Beccaria


The elegance of this garment by Beccaria is undeniable. I love how the silk of the garment creates a beautifully soft drape, perfect for summer and the floral pattern across the bottom of the dress is just a subtle hint of, rather than 'in your face' floral patterns. To recreate this I wore my silk dress by Jackwills.com, which like the Beccaria garment is made from silk but also has the floral pattern along the bottom.

However I felt that the dress by itself didn't form an entire outfit-something was missing and so over the top of this I wore my boyfriend fit, classic navy tweed blazer by Jackwills.com. This for me created the structure which was missing and allowed me to pick up on the colours of the flowers along the bottom of the dress.

Valentino

It's back! I just couldn't not include Valentino's spring/summer collection, if you have read my previous blogs you will have all seen how I professed my love for this collection when the pre-pictures were released and so it was a given that it would be in my top five. Shown in Paris, this collection encompasses my Spring and summer fashion. The gypsy, loose blouses, textured folk style skirts and dresses and gladiator sandles hits the nail on the head as far as summer fashion for me is concerned- it's the perfect mix of bohemian elegance.

In turn when drawing inspiration, I kept my look simple with a peasant gypsy blouse I found in a charity shop (of which a dupe can be easily found in a regular high-street store) and my Laura Ashley carpet style pencil skirt. I found that pairing a loose top with a tight skirt created an even balance of texture which I really liked the end result of.

Paul and joe

Ahh the trusty pinafore dress and collar combination. You can never go wrong with this cute yet sophisticated, undeniably feminine approach to fashion. The pinafore draws on the traditional dress for woman yet the structure of the outfit is very 1920's feminism and manly- a look synonymous with Paul and Joe.

Despite my love of the spring pastel colours used, I chose to wear my black pinafore dress by Primark.com because I loved the cord texture of it and it also meant I could wear my favourite floral collared blouse by Zara.com. The two garments work in perfect harmony, with the white peter pan collar providing a perfect contrast to the mostly black outfit.

Chole

The collection by Chole this year was exquiste, the lace and chiffon gowns were a perfect example of feminine elegance. However as I had reinvented a similar chiffon gown for my previous fashion weeks blog with Burberry (can you guess what my favourite fabric is?) I decided instead to draw inspiration from the colours of the collection. Of which the most re-occurring was mustard.

Mustard therefore, formed the staple of my outfit through my Misselfridge.com paper bag shorts, which nip in the waist and create a beautifully soft silhouette, much like the Chloe collection. I paired these with my simple waterfall crop top by Brandymellvilleusa.com. I love the simplistic yet sophisticated impression of the outfit, it is incredibly easy to re-create and perfect for those hotter Summer months. With tights and boots it is ideal for the transitional month of Spring.