COMING INTO FASHION

A CENTURY OF PHOTOGRAPHY AT CONDE NAST 

 

Today I visited the highly anticipated exhibition: ‘A Century of Condé Nast – COMING INTO FASHION. It was held at the Edinburgh City Art Centre and for everyone who hasn’t managed to see it yet, it is thankfully here until  September 8th!

 

Walking around the exhibition I realised how hard it was to tell what era a photo was taken in. All that mattered was the photo and the real skill these photographers have!

 

I was admiring photos from 1972 and realised these were taken nearly twenty years before I was born, yet I can still connect with them. 

I especially loved the way David Bailey, Helmet Newton and Willy Vanderperre were able to take such captivating images. Another plus point was the use of black and white in lots of the images (who doesn’t love a black and white photo)!

This image was one of my favourites captured by David Bailey for American Vogue in 1962.

Surprisingly my other favourite was also in black and white and was shot by Willy Vandeperre for W in 2011. 

After the exhibition, to my luck, I happened to walk past some vintage pop up shops that were there for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 

My very talented and artistic friend Robyn managed to snap up a bargain. A beautiful emerald green dress for £5. She will no doubt turn this dress into some wonderful creation (I will post a picture on my Instagram tomorrow for everyone to admire)!

The Love of My Life

If anyone reads my blog they will understand how much I love Zara. They never seem to fail! Whenever I go shopping I try my best not to spend all my money in one shop. Whenever I dress I try not to wear 4/5 things from the same shop. THIS ALWAYS SEEMS TO HAPPEN AND EVERY TIME IT IS ZARAS FAULT. 

 

So I thought I would share my love with you and post some photos from their Fall 2013 Collection.

 

How amazing it is all? Now I will share my top 5 favourite items that are being added to my wish list (someone buy them for me…..please?):

Beautiful deep maroon leather skirt, £159, available here

Grey versatile polo neck top, £19, available here

Floral slip like dress with lace detail, £45.99, available here

 

Emerald green antique look necklace, £19.99, available here

Suede platform heels, £59.99, available here

 

Unfortunately a lot of the clothes that are shown in the campaign were not available on their website. However, a lot of them would of made there way onto my wish list!

Edinburgh Vintage Fair

I have been very quiet recently as I have just started an internship at a PR company and this 9-5 schedule has been taking it out of me (pretty pathetic I know). Although, working during the week allows me to make the most out of my weekend! After a very late night on Saturday (with my dad I may add) seeing shows in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. If anyone needs a great show to see where your stomach muscles are in agony afterwards – go and see Jason Byrne…he is HILARIOUS! I managed to pull myself out of bed late Sunday afternoon to visit the Edinburgh Affordable Vintage Fair. 

 

The fair was founded in 2005 and has been featured in Vogue, Elle, Stylist and Marie Claire, although what makes it so great is its wide range of vintage, from clothes and jewellery to home ware and vintage magazines. 

 

I wore a little bit of vintage myself! When I was in France I managed to bag myself this little denim dress straight out my grans wardrobe (I did have to take it up a little though). I wore a pair of heeled chelsea booths with it – they are essential my life! The top I got in the airport at American Apparel, Edinburgh needs one asap.

My guilty pleasure at the moment is white nails and top finger rings (I have no idea what they are actually called). Especially after being on holiday white nails make you look even more tanned – perfect!

 

Here are a little selection of some of the clothes I managed to find whilst searching through the hundreds of racks:

 

The trouble with vintage fairs is there are no changing rooms: you just have to cross your fingers and hope what you are buying fits. These shorts certainly did not! They are still pretty to look at and hopefully I will find a loving home for them. 

It is such a great feeling managing to find a few hidden treasures and this necklace is differently one of them. The photo does not do it as much justice but its such a nice fit around your neck and the stone is a beautiful baby blue. 

I love finding clothes that no one will have -there is nothing worse than buying a dress from Topshop to go out and find 10 other people are wearing it. So if anyone has any recommendations of amazing vintage fairs in Edinburgh or London please let me know :).

My Obsession with Sunglasses

Many girls have an obsession with shoes or handbags…my obsession is with sunglasses (I won’t lie though – I do love all three)! I know this post seems a little late as summer has been around for a while now, although recently I have been inspired by just how many weird, wacky and wonderful sunglasses you can purchase.  I have put together photos of some of my sunglasses; unfortunately they aren’t as crazy as Lady Gaga’s but they are all different shapes and sizes with unique colours and patterns. 

When travelling back from Biarritz, my sister and I were stuck in London Stansted with 4 hours to wait until our flight to Edinburgh. After we wasted time at Yo! Sushi and Starbucks, we luckily stumbled onto the new American Apparel store. I was in awe of the hundreds of pairs of sunglasses they had on sale. Whist staring longingly at them, a shop assistant kindly came over to tell me more about them. All the sunglasses on sale are vintage (not pre-owned) from the 1960’s to the 1980s – wow! They were all priced between £27-£40 and I bagged myself these two pairs. 

My next go to stop for sunglasses is Primark. They always have every style you can imagine and if, like me, you are a little clumsy a cheap pair is a much better option than spending hundreds of pounds. 

ASOS are also great for statement sunglasses and range from about £10-£40. These are Black Metal Round Sunglasses and were £15 but they have now gone into the sale for £12 (not that much of a bargain but at least it is something). 

Marks and Spencer do amazing underwear, but it was the last place I could imagine finding my favourite pair of sunglasses. They are a perfect shape (that I feel would suit any size and shape of head) and the subtle pattern through them gives them a unique quality. Although, the only downside to buying cheap sunglasses is that they do not last as long as designer pieces. The plus side is that ‘trends’ are changing all the time and it is perfect that high street stores offer the latest styles at affordable prices.