Florals For Men

I have finally managed to get Mr Style Eyes to wear florals. He has fairly set opinions on certain things in life, one being that that men should not wear florals. I think think the fact that the pattern is in black and it has an underlying stripe making this shirt a striped rather than a floral shirt might have swung it on this occasion and he has actually admitted to liking his new floral shirt.

The floral shirt was very kindly sent by Blue Inc and I believe that the textured black pattern is called 'flocking'. It is available in both a black and white stripe (like this one) or black and grey stripe. It kind of reminds me of wall paper (in a good way). It looks equally good with a pair of jeans or slightly smarter black trousers. I love it and think it definitely adds a bit of style to his almost pattern free wardrobe. I will just have to make sure he doesn't wear it in the same day as I wear a full on floral print dress or we may look a bit much.

What do you think to men wearing florals- yay or nay?

Ceri X

Weekly Shopping and Goodies 1/09

A Few Goody Gumdrops is roaring into Fall with Giuseppe Zanotti's animal print booties!
Bags, Bling & Beauty is smitten with the buttery soft leather of the Linea Pelle Dylan Shoulder Bag.
Being High Maintenance, not Bitchy wants to help you find the best online deals with Smarter.com!
Child Mode lists Back To School Must Haves For Kids This Fall
Couture In The Cityshares with us classic boot styles for fall 2010.
Fashion Cents reminds you that ready to wear is not always READY TO WEAR. Check out the 5 tips on when to alter your clothing.
Fashion Hippo finds the "it" bags for Fall
Raging Rouge posts a huge Beauty Giveaway. Win three MAC eye shadows from the Dare To Wear collection!
Check out RedPoppy's EMMY AWARDS Red Carpet Review!
Shopping and Info loves Sandra Bullock’s gray fedora hat for Fall.
Simply Sample Sales Has The Code For 40% Off Everything at Chick Downtown + Super Hot Picks For Fall!
Style Eyes offers some fun tips on How to get some retro glamour in your life
StyleMaven goes abstract with bold graphic prints from Matthew Williamson, Sigerson Morrison and Vivienne Westwood for fall shopping inspiration.
The Bare Skinny shows you a fashionable convertible.
TheFind will be going skinny and luxe this fall with a pair of Sleek and Skinny Velvet Jeans.
Violet Revolution answers one reader's question: What are the Hottest Fall Accessories?

Image from A Few Goody Gumdrops

How To Add Some Retro Glamour To Your Life

Lately I am feeling more and more inspired by retro glamour or fifties pin up styles. I particularly loved some of the outfits that I saw at Vintage at Goodwood and as irritating as she is, I can't help admiring Katie Perry's retro inspired look and outfits. I love the drama, the fun and the femininity of this look.

I am not sure that it can work as an everyday look for me at the moment, although I might try it out for some special occasions, but I love the idea of incorporating a bit of retro glamour into my every day style. Here are a few ideas on how you can do this.

Hair - I would love to try a proper retro hair do but for everyday just putting it half up and adding a flower works really well. For evenings out and special occasions mini hats and fascinators make a great addition. Check out Chloe Mostyn on Eco Emporia for some great hair accessories made from vintage fake flower arrangements. For some really fun fascinators for a party which include mini grand pianos, ice creams with wafers and trays of champagne glasses try the Fantasia collection by The Libertarian.

Make up - Make up is fairly easy. Just your usual foundation some liquid eyeliner over the top lid and some bright red lipstick give an easy retro glamour look that will look great even when you are wearing jeans. If you want more detailed information on how to do retro hair and make up, I would definitely reccomend visiting Retro Chick's blog and You Tube Chanel

Clothes - a fifties style dress, circle skirt or pencil skirt are all easy ways to get a bit of retro glamour. As fifties style is so on trend at the moment it should be easy to find these clothes but why not try to find the real thing by checking out vintage shops. The Urban Renewal label at Urban Outfitters and Tara Starlet (pictured above) also have some great fifties style dresses, skirts and playsuits made from recycled fabrics.

Accessories - fun and kitsch accessories are all a great way to add retro glamour to your outfits. Think cherries, icecreams and union jack designs. There are plenty of these accessories on Etsy. Nautical inspired accessories also look great.

A Lion Hunt in Bath

On Saturday we decided to wander into Bath to go on a lion hunt followed by dinner at Strada. Lions of Bath 2010 is a project where 100 individually decorated, life-size lion sculptures have been placed in and around Bath in order to raise money for charity and make people smile. The lions are dotted about all over the place from the railway station to the tops of buildings and in Victoria Park. In October the Lions will be auctioned off in aid of charity. I quite fancy one to go in the backgarden, although not sure Mr Style Eyes would be impressed with the idea!

Here I am with one of the lions in front of the Bath Thermea Spa.

I decided to wear the vintage floral dress that I wore to Vintage at Goodwood but in a slightly different way. I love the bright florals on dark background which lend themselves not only to summer outfits but also being combined with black for a slightly more autumnal look.

The bottom button on the dress is missing and I haven't replaced it. After Mr Style Eyes commenting that I was showing a lot of leg, I decided to wear it with leggings. I am glad that I did as it was really windy and the skirt kept blowing up.

Dress (vintage) - Martha's Closet
Leather Jacket - Gestuz from ASOS
Leggings - Topshop
Shoes - Spartoo

What did you get up to over the bank holiday weekend?

Ceri X

New Styles Of Dr Martens

The year cult shoe brand Dr Martens celebrated its 50th year. The DM boot has had an iconic place on footwear history with its role in many different youth sub cultures from punks to skin heads and Goths. In my teenage years my black DM boots were permanently welded to my feet, these were the days before I started crippling myself with high heels. As a teenager I was a bit of a Goth (although I think Goths were a bit different back then to they are now) and also went through various stages of dressing in a way that could probably be described as Indie or grunge. My outfits consisted mainly of long skirts or shorter skirts with black opaque tights and velvet jackets from second hand shops with black Dr Marten boots.

With the whole grunge revival going on, I have been really tempted to invest in a pair of Dr Martens. They are so versatile and comfy and I know I would get loads of wear out of them. But another part of me thinks that I have already been there and done that.

I was really pleased to discover a whole range of alternative Dr. Martens on Spartoo. Ideal for a fresh take on my old favourite and perfect for the grown up grunge girl.

Elena Black

Ina Green

Tana Green

Did anyone else used to wear Dr Martens? Will you be wearing them again?

Ceri X

Friday Finds - Ethical Clothing in the Sales

I am going to keep this post fairly short and sweet as a large glass of white wine awaits me once I have finished writing. I dare not start drinking it now incase I loose all trace of will power and buy myself new clothes that I just don't need.

For those that do need some new clothes, I have spotted some great bargains in the sales on ethical clothes, because if you do have to treat yourself, buying ethical makes you feel so much better about it, no?

I'm afraid the calling of the glass of wine is preventing me from putting full details of prices and ethical credentials for each item. Each of the items has a great reduction and is also ethical in one way or another you can find out more by clicking on the links.


Choolips Printed Jumpsuit

ASOS Africa hand crocheted dress

Black Floral Ruched Waist Dress

Jackpot Lyna Navy Spotted Rain Mac Trench

Komodo - Alana Organic Fairtrade Top

Noir Aurelia Silk White Shirt

Goodone Navy Bodycon Jumper Dress

Do you every buy ethical clothes, if so what are your favourite brands? I would love to hear as my ethical fashion guide is slowing coming together and should hopefully be published soon.

Have a great weekend

Ceri X

Around The House

Over the last few days, I don't seem to have got out much apart from popping to the shops and taking the children to the park. As I work from home I often find myself in the house all day and sometimes there can be a slight temptation to not make any effort at all with what I wear.

I do try and make a bit of an effort though, even though I am not going any where special and I refuse to ever wear a tracksuit (I don't even own one), although I have very occasionally been known to stay in my PJ's. Here is what I have been wearing this week:


Today I thought I would try my hair in a different hairstyle. If you read my blog regularly, you will probably have noticed that I virtually never wear my hair up, mainly because my hair is a free spirit and much prefers to do its own thing, I don't usually even brush it unless I wash it (if you have curly hair, you will probably understand) .

Top- Dorothy Perkins
Jeans - Autograph Weekend at Marks and Spencers
Cardigan - Marks and Spencers
Necklace - present from my mum

Green Jacket - present (Marks and Spencers)
Top - Dorothy Perkins
Skirt - swapped on Posh Swaps
necklace - present from my Mum
Wedge boots - Topshop

Cardigan - Fenn Wright Mason
Top - Dorothy Perkins
Denim Skirt - Dorothy Perkins
necklace - My own DIY project
Shoes - Spartoo

As the weather is starting to feel quite cold (especially when I am sat at my computer working), I am starting to think about warmer outfits for around the house - at the moment I am wearing two cardigans. My favorite around the house clothing for the cold weather is cashmere jumpers and cardigans though as they are so soft, comfortable and warm.

What do you wear on those days when you are just around the house?

Ceri X