Category Archives: shopping

Shooting for Sanctus

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I met designer Lucinda Sinclair at clothes show a couple of winters ago and admired her rather cool top. She has since gone on to launch a cult inspired street-wear label called Sanctus.

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A few weeks ago I had the privilege of doing a shoot in some items from the Illuminex collection. Most of them aren’t available any more but feel free to check out the SS13 line, Adramelech.

I also got a change to try out the 5 strand braid I was obsessed with at the time.

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I shot with photographer Nina pang and styled with a variety of interested items I already had, including some pieces from my own label, Eustratia, Richard Ayres and Carly petitt Taylor.

Nina also brought a polaroid camera with her, I think they take great shots.

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Here are the final images:

IMG_3058IMG_3051IMG_3132IMG_3140IMG_3194IMG_3200IMG_3218IMG_3225IMG_3230IMG_3261IMG_3269I really enjoyed wearing these and ended up buying the Cuculatus dress in the end of line sale. It is very comfortable and flattering.

IMG_0182I prefer shopping from independent designers where I can get a unique, quality item, made ethically and with love. I think it would add freshness and challenge the industry if everyone didn’t rely on the same 5 stores for their wardrobe.

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Spring needs

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I recently managed to get my studio looking pretty much the way I want it, only to find out that I have to move again soon. The only thing that makes it bearable is that I have most of the furniture and equipment I need now and the next move will probably be easier.

I have a few posts to catch up on and with my birthday coming up I thought I’d start with wishlist type boards. I’m pretty sure my homeware choices will come as quite a shock after my wardrobe picks but that’s the way I like it.

clothesI’ve tried to choose items that could be Spingish but can also be layered for warmth as there’s no signs of the cold subsiding yet.

1. Black, cotton waterfall hem top £24, Dorothy perkins

2. Tigre t-shirt £40, All saints

3.filigree sunglasses £15, ASOS

4. roseport bike shorts £68, All saints

5. mesh skirt £34, rare at topshop

6. titanium druzy ring. $120 by liclabjewels on etsy

7. horse print skirt, £28 topshop

8. khaki lace shorts, £20 miss selfridge

9. Jeffrey campbell 8th street studded boots £160

10. stalagtite amethyst ring £22.89, product925 on ebay

11. studded leather satchel £210 Dr. Martens

12. druzy amethyst ring $27 xtremegems2010 on ebay.

birthdaywantsroom131. White chandelier £49.89 B&Q

2. vintage lamp £28 http://www.cqout.com

3. Belgravia mirror £37.99, ebay

4. hand painted cheat £23.99, dunelm-mill

5. rose cage lamp £29.99 dunelm-mill

6. hand painted small drawers £3.99, dunelm-mill

7. French style dressing table

8. Deer mugs £10.50 each or £35 for the set, lovelydeerhomeware on etsy

9. Deer dinner plate £19.50 lovelydeerhomeware on etsy.

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Valentine’s day picks

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I’m not really the sort of girl who makes a big deal about Valentine’s day. However I do find that, if you have the means, it’s a good opportunity to do something special for your loved one.

I love compiling boards whatever the occasion so I thought I would share my top picks in case some of you would like some extra ideas.

valentines board1. Charbonnel et Walker Pink Mark de champagne truffles £20.99 Selfridges

2. Gia shelf bra £105.00, Bordelle

3. Bow bra £75, bow peep briefs £55 and bow cuffs £6 each, Eustratia

4. Spike leather harness €375.00, MIse en cage

5. pussy bow £12, stripe waistcoat £48. stripey briefs £32, bow cargers £22, cameo pasties £22, Eustratia

6. Satin harness thong in black €74.00 Mise en cage

7. Pony ear bridle €138.00 Mise en cage

8. Confetti lace waspie £132.00 Bordelle

9. Barnabe leather cuffs €135.00 Mise en cage

10. Patent leather paddle £111.00 Mise en cage

11. Nibiru harness thong €72.00 Mise en cage

12. Heart suspender $100, Creepyyeha

13. Vivienne westwood frily snake tote bag £195.00, selfridges

To celebrate Valentine’s day I’m also planning a giveaway! Keep your eyes pealed, it will be announced soon!

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Christmas list

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I’m actually quite  organised this year and have done most of my Christmas shopping already! I enjoy picking out presents for people as much as I enjoy compiling lists of what I’d like myself and that’s what makes posts like this so fun.

I don’t think an adult can ever be as excited about Christmas as a child and that’s why I always make sure I ask for some fun things to bring back those memories instead of just boring stuff like money, work stuff and driving lessons (which I did actually ask for this year).

Christmas list 12

1. grey coloured contacts. £15 http://www.turtlecontacts.co.uk I thought these would be fun to use for shoots, I get bored of my eye colour sometimes.

2. Lindt stracciatella truffles. You can’t have Chrismas without chocolate! I usually list the white ones as my favourite but stracciatella sounds even better!

3. Peal trim earmuffs £12 topshop. I wear earmuffs a lot in winter because they keep your ears warmer and don’t mess up your hair as much as a hat. I thought these were funny because of the pearls.

4. Bligtone eyeshadow in purple haze. This is listed at £16 online but I’m sure it was under £10 last time I got some from boots.

5. Black facet headband £2 ebay. Simple and cheap, headbands are always useful when I’m working.

6. flocked damask leggings £20 Dorothy perkins

7. goldstone saddle plugs £5 urbanpiercingshop.co.uk I really love the colour of these but I think my bf already bought me on and he thought it looked black which is a shame :( .

8. Quartz & silver wire ring $22 bluembrownie on etsy I’ve wanted a silver ring with a big stone or crystal for ages and it’s so hard to find nice ones that don’t cost the earth.

9. skull and flowers plug £10 uk custom plugs. Not usually my sort of thing but I really fancy these for a change.

10. shattered look crystal quartz plugs £10 urbanpiercingshop.com

11. triple septum ring and iridescent plate nose stud honeycomborganics.com . Really like both of these but they were quite expensive and from an American site so I hope to find something similar from somewhere easier to order from.

12. Just realised I have 2 number 12s! studded leather shorts £48 and tie dyes velvet leggings (so comfy) £20 topshop.

13. Jeffrey Campbell Holy . £150.

14. lazer cut shoes £120 topshop

15. Deer washbag £15 randomvintage.co.uk

16. too faced nake eye palette £30 boots (or less on ebay sometimes) Really need to replace this one, it was useful.

17. Little deer iphone case £4 ebay. My current case is pretty dead so I need a new one.

18. contour palette. £15 ebay. Always wanted one of these but never got round to buying it.

19. flocked storage boxes £10 ebay. Been watching these since the summer, I think it’s time…

20. snowflake iphone case $35 society6.com I totally need to get on society6 when I have some time to sort it out!

21. Adjustable mannequin sizes 8-14. £120 ebay. This would be really useful for making clothes, shame it doesn’t currently fit anywhere at the moment.

22. Shabby chic bin. £20 ebay. Everyone thinks I’m crazy for wanting this but not having a nice bin instead of a red plastic one that stands out like a sore thumb would really make a difference in my room.

23. Unicorn purse and beauty products £36 candycandyjewellery.com Not only is the purse cute but the products are colours that I would wear!

24. Mini chest of drawers £18.95 allofmyheart.co.uk These would be perfect to sit on my shelf for some extra storage space.

25. socks £5 topshop. Socks are a classic xmas present and these looked particularly nice and comfy.

Wow, so that look longer than expected! I’m supposed to be making my Eustratia Christmas hamper samples so I better get back to work!

Writing lists is exciting even thought you know that you probably won’t get most of what’s on there but it’s always interesting to compare afterwards :) .

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Autumn essentials

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September’s always a good time to go shopping, I love seeing all the new styles for Autumn. I went shopping with my brother last week and here are some of my top picks from the items I saw.1. Stud collar dress £75 by sister Jane at Topshop

2. Lasercut leather jacket £399 MUBBAA

3.Studded harness £36 Topshop

4. High low shirt £39 by oh my love at Topshop

5. Jeweled collar shirt £45 by Coco’s fortune at Topshop

6. knitted ombre sequin top £38 Topshop

7. lace rib vest £28 Topshop

8. Jeffrey Campbell damsel boots £140 Office

9. house of holland for pretty polly tights £12

10. Lace trim mullet skirt £45 by coco’s fortune at Topshop

11. Apple pie patent platform brogues £55 by rock & candy at Schuh

12. unicorn ring £21 http://www.lazyoaf.co.uk

13. white stag rong £24 http://www.lazyoaf.co.uk

14. Opium leggings £65 All saints

15. Petrel brodie £85

16. jordan jean £48 by motel at Topshop

17. Sequin jeans £75 Topshop

Accessory moment no.5

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This is an other look where the hair plays an important part. I realised I hadn’t posted an accessory moment with my new extensions yet so I used slightly less accessories than usual for this look. I think it’s a good example to show that less is more sometimes and you should just go with what works for your look.

What I used:

1. Layered spike necklace £5, Primark (occasionally this store surprises me)

2. Pheasant claw earrings, Sophie Adamson

3. Deer skull necklace, Eustratia

Bird claw earring.

For those who wanted to know, my septum ring is from bodyjewellershop.com I also get asked about this hair style a lot. The hair extensions I bought were lightest blonde, 22inches. I died them with a selection of Direction colours (lavender, lilac and turquoise) that I painted on and mixed into each other.You should try and get a blonde that matches the colour your hair goes when bleached, this will help the dyed extensions match your hair colour.

I left the hair dye on the extensions a lot longer than I do on my hair. Then rinsed and dried as usual.

The waves were created using a Babyliss Wave envy hair styler. I would suggest having a look on ebay for one of these as they are often cheaper.

Yard changes!

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I’m a bit behind on these so I’m going to fit two visits into one post, with more interesting pictures of the new products.

Following it’s second birthday, Bird’s yard is undergoing a transformation, with changing the shop around and new permanent tenants moving in. If you live in the north of England and haven’t visited yet you really are missing out.

The current layout is as follows:
Ground floor- vintage tea room and independent designer booths
First floor- Life’s big canvas jewellery, Dora’s gift box toys and gifts, Aurora vintage, wearable vintage clothing.

Second floor: Bird shell couture and exclusive vintage, Belles Bejewelled leather accessories and re-worked t-shirts, urban fox design cushions, and a variety of jewellery designers. Blonde fury hair salon, £10 and printed t-shirt room, including Lovely crayfish.

The basements is also going to be open to the public too, adding even more to the Bird’s yard experience.

New upstairs Bird Shell room! This is where I work on my days at the shop.

Accessories stand!

I especially liked these cushion by Urban fox design, they do some many great prints!

While it was quiet I took the opportunity to design some of the outfits for my show at the Manchester Alternative and Burlesque fair next month.

Then I took some pictures of my outfit as it’s quite hard for me to do at home…

and my accessories for an “accessory moments” post that some of you may have seen on here.

Dictionary jewellery, new at Life’s big canvas!

These aren’t new but I’ve always really liked them. Life’s big canvas again.

They have also recently started stocking this new range or crystal-encrusted jewellery by Me & zena. As you can probably imagine, the majority of it is a bit colourful for my taste but I thought the crystal piece sign and pencil sharpener rings were quite cool!

On the second the day the lighting wasn’t as good so my outfit just looks like a mass of black even though it wasn’t.

This was totally flower headband day! I arrived wearing my new latex one I made for Eustratia.

And then noticed the new ones in Dora’s gift box and had to try one!

These also Have a cute birdie detail on the side.

I ended up modelling some of these in my recent shoot with ENB Photography in Leeds, pictures coming soon!

Blonde fury hair salon is now also up and running at Bird’s yard so I watched Michelle get her hair done. I heard rumors there is going to be a celebrity style offer on here soon so if you’re in Leeds and in need of a hair cut I think you should pay Chloe a visit!

I’ve temporarily taken the Eustratia products out of the shop to rethink and replenish but will be back soon with a new stand and new products!

It’s impossible to include all the designers as there are so many but if you’d like to find out more about what’s on offer at Bird’s yard and any upcoming events, why not add them on facebook or follow them on twitter?

Accessory moment no.3

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I tried out this summery look in preparation for my holiday. Most of the accessories featured are new and I’m really pleased with them.

1. mini box bag £12.99 H&M

2. Mini hair flower H&M

3. Ring £2.50 Primark

4. Pentagram earring $20.00 thechainsoflove.bigcartel.com

5. Evil eye bracelet gift from Greece.

 

Visiting the yard

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I walked into Bird’s yard to find that things had changed less that I expected. The rooms hadn’t been switched around yet but the third floor was being renovated and machines were so loud you could hardly hear what anyone was saying. There were plenty of staff on as we had expected the new jewellery room to be open so the work pace was quite chilled out.

After cleaning and reorganising my booth I decided to have a look round and take some pictures.

The first thing I noticed was that lovely crayfish had moved some new stuff in. I especially love the day of the dead T-Rex skeleton print, as well as the rounded corner moo cards (of which I have run out).

Pretty much immediately after this I noticed the large mirror and decided I had to seize this opportunity to get a picture of my whole outfit.

I was then asked to look through some magazines and find some interesting images for a collage. I really love this job because it reminds me of the non-stressful part of being at uni.

While looking through the magazines I came across “Fiyah!” a leeds mag I hadn’t seen before.

There was a feature on Bird’s yard inside and the Eustratia booth was visible in the picture.

I don’t think they mentioned individual designers but it was still nice to see.

The lady I was working with that day runs Urban fox. A label that makes the most adorable cushions. She also customises and re-upholsters furniture, there is a specific chain downstairs at Bird’s yard I’ve had my eye on since I first walked into the shop.

I have mentioned Belles Bejewelled on here before but I’d never tried on one of these strand necklaces. I decided to give one a go. It looked kind of cool and messy from the front but I preferred it worn over the shoulder.

One on each shoulder was a definitely strong look with maximum editorial potential. I’d love to wear these for a shoot.

It was Jubilee weekend so I decided it would be entertaining to try on Cloe’s inflatable crown and hold a diamond. I’m not usually the humorous type but this shop obviously inspires!

To finish off the nonsense, after re-pricing all the dresses on one side of the room I decided to try on a vintage wedding dress.

The top part didn’t really suit me but I love the layers of ruffles!

Accessory moment no.1

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Knowing how to accessorise is probably more important that knowing how to dress, what you choose to accompany it could make or brake an outfit.

I think accessorising for those going for a very simple or classic look or who follow “safe” trends by the book is pretty straight forward but if you’re looking to adopt a more edgy style or experiment with more runway inspired looks getting the balance right can be hard.

Obviously I don’t expect everyone to agree with the combinations I choose but I get asked about it often enough and have decided to introduce a new, hopefully weekly, feature with everyday images of how I wear my accessories and the ones I’m most into at that particular point in time. I think it will be a fun way to keep track of my influences and also give others some new ideas to try out.

This week I’ve been wearing a lot of black chain stuff!

1. inverted cross pendant £15, Eustratia

2. rune rings. I wear this all the time and have done for the last 10 years or so. They are from a shop called past times that has now unfortunately closed down.

I know they aren’t clearly visible in that picture so:

3. Long chain earrings. I mentioned these in my previous “style update” post. They are from an upcoming range at Eustratia and retail for £8 a pair.I love them because they as so versatile I can wear them with almost everything.

4. Aesthetic contradiction logo necklace. I only made a few of these for myself and the giveaway that I did a few months ago but I have ended up wearing it quite a lot as it’s slight smaller and more abstract than the stag necklace that was my previous favourite.

5. chain drape headband. This is probably my favourite accessory of the month. I’m hoping to release it in the same range as the earrings, just waiting to get some professional pics back. I’ve had a lot of compliments when wearing it out but no one could agree on the style it evokes. A friend told me I looked like a princess from a far off galaxy which was probably the most thought out comment I received but I see it as more urban tribe than sci-fi myself.

6. Moth hairclip. This is a lot smaller than most of my regular hair accessories. I’ve been wearing a lot of headbands recent (more info in the next style update) so I need smaller hair clips to fit in next to them without my head looking overcrowded.

And to finish off, a pic of what I look like wearing said accessories!