Flower Bib Necklaces on Etsy

Style Eyes Fashion Blog has now moved to Style Eyes Ethical Fashion Blog. I look forward to seeing you there.

El Verano Crocheted Woollen Necklace

Lexie Bib Necklace

Flower Cluster Necklace with Vintage Buttons and Fabric

Prarie Chic Statement Bib Necklace

Sexy, Spicy, Citrus statement necklace

Etsy has become a bit of a monster of a site for shopping whimsical accessories. I rarely venture on there for fear of temptation but with a bit of birthday money still in my pocket, I decided to go in search of the perfect flower bib necklace.

bib necklace

Planetary Exploration - Gold Saturn

I really had to explore further an email that I recently received from David Jon Acosta, a designer from Miami, about his label Gold Saturn. I am not sure what prompted me to look further except that Miami is place I have always quite fancied visiting. Perhaps it was also the mention of head pieces. What ever it was, I was glad I did go and the head pieces were definitely better than I had expected. I love the idea of the hippy flower child type head dress worn with a fun style of t shirt or prom dress for a great retro sort of look. In fact the flower headbands are rapidly moving up my list of must have items for my summer uniform. The T shirts made me feel very happy as well and would make a change to my boring old plain ones.

Weekly Shopping and Goodies 29th April

picture from Quinta Trends

The Fashionable Housewife dishes on Summer 2009 Hair Trends & Hairstyles


A Few Goody Gumdrops has two favorite Alexander Wang dresses!


Being High Maintenance, not Bitchy asks: where do you draw the line between inspiration and copying? Join the debate and win!


Couture In The City Enter your chance to win with Veet! Ladies It’s Time To Show Off Your Legs! And You Could Win A Trip To Barbados!


Fashion Fille got a really pretty ring with a really cool message. See it and read about it at her blog!


Handbag du Jour is coveting Mena Suvari's luxe Be & D Belleville Hobo in washed champagne eelskin.


Puppies and Worms found a way to get $25 for $10 at restaurants all over the US.


Quinta Trends introduces CandyStore Collective: Sweet e-shopping.


Raging Rouge posts the ultimate Mother's Day shopping list.


Shopping and Info checks out Megan Fox on the set of Jonah Hex.


Style Eyes announces the launch of Posh Swaps, a new site for swapping buying and selling second hand and vintage clothes for free, in her post Let the clothes swapping commence


The Bare Skinny shows you denim done differently


The Fashionable Gal is giving away MAX Factor Lipstick & Mascara. Submit your outfit idea for a chance to win!


The Well-Heeled Society reviews high heel rain protectors that will have you humming Rihanna's, "ella, ella, aye, aye, aye"!


What's Haute can't wait to shop the Rachel Roy diffusion line at Macy's!

Let the Clothes Swapping Commence

I am pleased to announce that my new clothes swapping website posh-swaps.com is now live. Posh-swaps.com is a place to swap, buy and sell second hand, vintage and reworked, recycled clothes for free including mens, womens and childrens, designer and high street clothes. Swapping, buying and selling second hand clothes has to be the ultimate alternative to guilt free shopping, it is eco friendly and frugal!

With the manufacture of clothes having a huge impact on the environment, clothes swapping is a great way to refresh your wardrobe in a sustainable way. I hope that posh-swaps.com will also become a vibrant market place for new creations made from second hand and recycled clothes. So if you have creative flair why not try making and selling some of your creations on posh-swaps.com.

I have had a bit of a clear out and listed a few of my own items to get the ball rolling.

• A cream chiffon dress
• A black floral embroidered playsuit
• A navy striped blazer
• A cream linen maternity dress
• A black floral skirt
• Black high heel boots

A Q&A with Jewellery Designer Natha Perkins

I am delighted to have the opportunity to interview Natha Perkins who designs and makes unique and enchanting handcrafted jewellery which can be found on her website www.nathaperkins.com. She also has a blog and Etsy store selling her beautiful designs.

How did you get started designing and making jewellery?

I have always had the strong urge to make art and as far as jewelry went, I kept dreaming up pieces that I really wanted and could never find. When I took a metalsmithing class I thought "finally! This is my art!" I fell in love in the first class.

What is your most treasured piece of jewellery?

My most treasured piece of jewelry is my Dads wedding ring from his marriage to my stepmom- the gold was recycled from his wedding ring from his marriage to my mom so it has tons of symbolism and sentimentality for me but it is also visually amazing. It is yellow gold with a bumpy surface, set with tiny rubies that look like molten lava rising up to the surface.

What inspires you in your jewellery designs?

I am inspired largely by what is happening in my life but more specifically I am inspired by words. Language is such a lovely thing, the way you can convey a certain feeling with just a word or two. Almost all of my pieces have at least one word if not many to invoke some sort of resonance with their eventual owners.

What do you like best about your jewellery?

Well I am very attached to my jewelry of course, sometimes I have to hang onto a completed collection for a few weeks until I feel I can part with the pieces! What I like the best though is the custom aspect, the fact that you can choose a piece initially because you like say, the color and then you see that it has a word on it and you think- "Wow, "adore", oh I want to be reminded to do that" and the piece is yours...

Who buys and wears your jewellery?

I am so lucky to have a following of women who collect my jewelry. Women of all ages really, the collections are quite diverse so they seem to appeal to women from all walks with tastes that span the ages.

How would you describe your own style and where does jewellery fit in?

My whole day is thrown if I'm not comfortable in what I am wearing. I am really picky when it comes to what I wear actually- it has to feel right for how I'm feeling that day. Currently I'm liking tight jeans, tall boots, long shirts, and short dresses, sometimes all mixed together. I do feel naked without jewelry. Jewelry is sort of the icing on the cake for me and my current favorites are lots of layered necklaces and slinky earrings.

Canada Goose

Molessa - another interesting new label to watch

Another exciting new label Molessa was launched in London last year and is designed for by Olesia Makhonko. Unfortunately the website will not be up and running until July, but the shop is based in Shoreditch if you must get a closer look.

The Spring summer collection is full of bold geometric designs and futuristic shapes with strong colours black, white red and grey.

The Autumn winter 09 collection in contrast has a much softer feel but the dresses also have a strong sculptural shapes. The collection was inspired by Jeanne D'Arc and the dark Middle Ages. Designer Olesia Makhonko commented " I got fascinated by the contradictory image of the French heroine - a pure young virgin girl and tough fearless soldier; angelic saint and dangerous heretic. She was the mystery, the idol, the spirit of France and inspiration for many. " Everything has Molessa’s signature geometric tailored style with new experiments of three-dimensional effects to the flat surface of the garments. There is a dramatic contrast in textures and materials from grey pinstripe wool suit fabric, carefully arranged in panels to imitate the structure of metal armour, to layering of metal organza with beige silk underlay in the cocktail dresses. I love the white dress with a rose skirt.

Another Wholly Cow Collection

Ever since I discovered Wholly Cow and got myself a lovely tweed dress from the last collection, I have been waiting to see what their next collection would bring. I am very glad to say it has arrived. Another collection that is very different but shares the same qualities of very wearable but fresh, quirky and different styles. Details like reversed and frayed side seams on a dress or dip dyed silk ties on the arms of an organic cotton T shirt are what I love about this label. My personal favourites of this collection are the bleached and distressed denim and the a line skirts with a pleated back. I am also loving the incorporation of the recycled fabrics into these designs for the green label, giving a unique feel to each piece. Lisa Germaney designs the clothes which are all hand made in the North of England and judging by my last purchase from Wholly Cow, the quality and workmanship is excellent.

Blue Denim Dress

Pink Denim Dress

Distressed Blue Denim Pencil Skirt

Green Label - A Line Skirt

Weekly Shopping and Goodies 20/04/09

Lots of lovely posts today from my shopping and goodies friends. Enjoy!

A Few Goody Gumdrops views the independent film: Valentino,The Last Emperor and chats with the Director!

Even though Fashion Fille is far from Australia, she is digging a super cool down-under online boutique!

Princess Dominique Dishes Fashion shares the Cole Haan Air Owen Venetian because Men Have Shoe Swag Too!

Ropa del alma presents it new collection by Quinta Trends

Raging Rouge is now utterly flawless. Ok, not really, but Hello Flawless can certainly help out a bit!

Shopping and Info checks out Angelina Jolie’s latest classic bag.

Style Eyes has yet another shopping dilemma as she considers Bright versus dark florals

The Well-Heeled Society shows you a chic slice of life.

Bright versus Dark Florals

I am definitely a big lover of floral patterns. Most summers I am completely tempted by so many different floral dresses and often I just cannot resist the bright colours and girly charm of these dresses. This summer is no different in having a wide selection of gorgeous floral prints for me to choose from. As is often the case with fashion there is huge contrast even within the field of floral patterns. Amongst the hundreds of bright neon, pinky, acid tone and Luella like florals, there are also some darker patterns in greys, browns, neutrals and khakis.

I love my bright florals but these darker florals put a whole new take on the floral thing. They are less girly girly and much more grungy and understated. I now have yet another fashion dilemma to decide on. Do I stick to my usual brightly coloured florals which do really cheer up my day or do I go for the darker but more relaxed and easy to wear dark florals. Decisions decisions or perhaps I go for one of each which I can wear on different days depending on my mood.

The Darks

Ventilo Dress


Khaki Rose Print Dress

Black/ White Pansy Tea Dress

Rene Derhy Printed Dress

The Brights

Vibrant Bandeau Dress

Multi Colour Rose Dress

Vibrant Floral Dress

Frugal Fashion and Sustainable Style

Frugal fashion is something that is on every ones minds at the moment (or most people anyway), another hot fashion topic of the moment is sustainable fashion but can the two go hand in hand. What effect will the recession and the economy have on Eco fashion, will it mean the end, or will it help us to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Traditionally Eco fashion has been considered something of a luxury with only a few labels offering eco alternative such as organic cotton, hemp or bamboo clothing. These products tend to be more expensive, partly as they are more expensive to manufacture, but also because they tended to be sold in higher end brands. The cost of producing these environmentally friendly fabrics has reduced as they are produced on a wider scale and also as they become more widely available in all of the main online and high street clothing retailers. But even with the prices being slightly lower than before they are still more expensive than conventional and man made fabrics and for many when paying the mortgage and putting food on the table is a challenge every penny counts.


On the plus side, the recession has contributed in some ways to more sustainable style. As people do not have so much money they are forced to think carefully about what they buy and rethink their consumerism. There seems to have been a bit of a change in thinking towards buying quality clothes that will last more than one season. Fast fashion is no longer cool, but instead unique and individual style is where it's at.

One of the biggest moves towards sustainable style that the recession has brought is the huge popularity of clothes swapping and second hand clothes. In just week (0r so), the latest clothes swapping website http://www.posh-swaps.com/ will launch offering members the opportunity to swap, buy, sell second hand clothes for free. This is a great way to be both frugally fashionable and sustainably stylish.

Wild West Cow Girls

Fashion seems to have gone all wild west for this summer. On a recent and rare shopping trip last week, I struggled to find a shop that did not have it's own version of the checked hitched dress. This dress is so perfect for wild west girls. It is great for hurdling over cattle fences and the like. The look is accompanied by lots of washed out faded neutral colours that just add to that tomboyish, sort of look.

Denim, leather, cowboy boots and fringing are also great ways to work this trend. But my favourite is the hitched checked dress, which I think will be perfect for everyday summer wear.

Neutral Check Dress - Dorothy Perkins

Crop Denim Jacket - New Look

Stud and Fringe Bag - New Look

Diesel Low Cut Cowboy Boots

Weekly Shopping and Goodies 14/04/09

picture from shopping and info

More lovely stuff from my shopping and goodies friends this week. I love the ripped jeans trend the fashionable Housewife shows just how it is done. I am also loving the monokini for when that warm weather finally arrives.

The Fashionable Housewife dishes on the Ripped Jeans trend.

A Few Goody Gumdrops is so "Inspired" by Handbag Designer, Katherine Kwei!

Couture In The City shows us how to work out our legs with Reebok EasyTone sport show for women.

During her spring break, Fashion Fille caught up on her life. Hear about some of what she did at her blog!

Handbag du Jour presents the Steal du Jour: the 7 For All Mankind Edgemont Tote

Puppies and Worms found Bugaboo strollers on SALE.

Quinta Trends loves Carolina Parragué fashion photos

Raging Rouge starts each morning selecting one man from a group of hotties. Confused? Click HERE for the scoop!.

Shopping and Info checks out the monokini swimsuit trend for summer.

Style Eyes finds a great new British designer label for those who like to dress like a Girly Tomboy

The Bare Skinny is loving Michael Jackson in his Balmain shirt.

The Fashionable Gal wants you to get your 2,000 Calories from Max Factor

The Well-Heeled Society helps you improve your batting average with a Lash Stiletto Ultimate Length Mascara Giveaway!

What's Haute Magazine discovers fashion line Revelation by M.E.

diva in a carry on is digging on these delicate new necklace designs by prismera design!

The Girly Tomboy

I recently got an email about Emma Griffiths, a new label that describes itself as 'the UK’s hottest new fashion label for the empowered woman with a split personality; a tough tomboy with a youthful girly look.' I was interested enough to have a look and see what they were talking about and was very pleasantly surprised. The clothes had a strong look with a definite eighties influence which was exhibited through the larger than life shoulders, body con dresses and strong silhouettes.

What I loved about the clothes was the attention to detail which created an interesting diversions from the silhouettes giving another layer of features that flatter the figure. A silk jersey dress with a flattering design added in grosgrain ribbon, a herringbone wool cropped jacket with velvet corsetry detail and a taffeta coat with a pin tucked skirt attached only at the back were all examples of the dramatic but very flattering designs. The overall feel was luxurious, fresh and eye catching.

The collection was heavily influenced by eighties style icons like Grace Jones and Joan Collins, not people who I would perhaps want to dress like, but overall this theme has been cleverly adapted for the modern woman.

Emma Griffiths has worked with Alexander McQueen and Boudicca before starting her own eponymous London based label. Yet more proof that London has some great up and coming designer talent.

Weekly Shopping and Goodies

picture from Handbag du Jour

This week yet more gorgeous stuff from my shopping and goodies friends, just about everything that you could possibly need for Spring from the latest hairstyles, to handbag give aways and more importantly some very delicious Easter food.

The Fashionable Housewife has the details on all the Spring & Summer 2009 Hair Style And Hair Cut Trends

A Few Goody Gumdrops Scoops Interview and Giveaway with Handbag Designer, Jalda.

Enter to Win!Couture In The City Gives us the scoop on the top five haute trends for spring & summer 2009

Fashion Fille has a fantastic giveaway for a gorgeous bright blue zigzag Tolani scarf from chickdowntown.com...enter today!

Handbag du Jour's Haute Bag of the Week is the Elie Tahari Daphne Oversized Clutch.

Princess Dominique Dishes Fashion Premieres the HOTTEST Indie Designers Jypsea Leather Fringe Belt - Win It!

Quinta Trends talk with Elvira López del Prado about her contemporary jewelry.

Shopping and Info loves Rihanna’s fringe sandals.

Style Eyes is completely in love with Sequin trousers

The Well-Heeled Society shows off her shoe-licious cookie created by What a Cookie!

What's Haute Magazine reviews the new brunch service at tbsp & spoon

NYC and chats with owner Melissa Chmelar.diva in a carry on has partnered with Chickdowntown.com to give away this awesome Caesar's Designs gold vermeil flower ring - don't miss this giveaway!

The Bare Skinny gives you the "Hole" truth on the ripped jeans trend.The Fashionable Gal tells you how to get Great Lips for Girl’s Night Out!

Puppies and Worms loves Lemon Mousse and Hazelnut Meringue for Passover or Easter.

The Maxi Dress is Back

Ever since I discovered that the maxi dress is back in this year, I have been hunting for the perfect one with a very gorgeous pattern. Last year my maxi dress had minimum wear due to the bad weather but this year I am confident that I will need at least two for the long hot summer that has been predicted.

I really like this Maxi dress from Littlewoods for it's boho print and elegant slim cut. I love the feminine and seventies feel of the maxi dress but can sometimes find them difficult to wear being really short. I find the slimmer cut skirts work the best and this one is perfect.

Heart Shaped Sunnies

Heart Sunnies - Urban Outfitters

I always think that summer is a time for having a bit of fun with what you wear and that you can get away with a lot more in the summer than the cold dark winter. For this summer, I quite fancy a pair of these heart shaped sunnies. They are a complete contrast to the usual seriousness that I wear my sunglasses with, like a film star trying to hide from the pap (or perhaps just me trying to prevent crows feet with debatable success). I thought these would be great fun to wear and even better they are in one of my favourite colours of the season (apart from coral) lilac.
They will of couse need to be worn with caution, out of direct sunlight and with lots of sunscreen to prevent heart shaped sun tan marks.

Sequin Trousers

For some reason I have developed an overwhelming urge to buy myself some sparkly trousers. I have no idea why as I would probably have very few opportunities to wear them. Perhaps it is my sub conscious mind telling me that I should get out more. It all started when I spotted a pair of gold trousers at the Ralph Lauren Spring Summer 09 show. What I really loved about them apart from their sparkliness is the way that they are worn in a semi casual way with a safari style shirt.Then I spied the neon blue trousers at Armand Basi One for ss09. Again very gorgeous but absolutely no where to wear them.
pictures from www.style.com




And finally, there were the Stella McCartney Dégradé sequin leggings that reminded me of a sunset with their gorgeous graduating colours. As gorgeous as they are I cannot ever imagine paying that much for a pair of leggings, sparkly or not.

I have managed to find this pair of slightly more affordable sequin trousers by Wisch on Yoox.

Which I think are probably a much more flattering version of the looser sequin trousers. They would look great with a safari style dress or tunic for a Ralph Lauren style outfit of a bit of Sophie Hulme urban disco style.

Crop Tops and Neon Shorts

Apparently crop tops are back in fashion, which is great news unless you have a stomach like mine. Well never mind there is still plenty of time for Pilates, crunches and virtual starvation (not that I would condone this as a way of getting a flat stomach). I can see no better incentive to get a bit more toned up than these gorgeous crop tops (all from ASOS). I have heard it mentioned that this year, we will have a long hot summer - yippee. I think we deserve it after last year and crop tops will be the perfect thing to wear.

And whilst on the subject of toning up and steering well clear of the biscuit tin, I am incredibly tempted by these lovely little neon shorts (all from New Look) for the summer. Perhaps the fact that this style is another blast from the past is the attraction plus of course the gorgeous juicy colours. They would of course look best with some lovely tanned legs, now where did I put that holiday brochure.