Miranda Kerr Hangs Up her Wings

Miranda Takes Flight From the Runway…

So, indeed, today is the day that Miranda Kerr announces her departure from luxury lingerie house Victoria’s Secrets. Although we have enjoyed admiring Miranda work the Victoria’s Secrets runway with her sweetly pretty face and her stunning body, wings and all, there need be no reason to be sad that the angel is leaving this runway behind. She’s about to take flight in another aspect of life, that celebrates being a woman just as much as an Angel does, she’s making this departure to prioritise her responsibilities as a mother to her two year old son Flynn. Kerr has been modelling since she was thirteen years old, now twenty nine and about to celebrate her 30th birthday on the 20th April, she felt it was the perfect time to hang up her wings.

Miranda is such a fashion icon, with a style that mixes Parisian chic with just enough glamour to be perfect in its effortlessness, that she has become a Pinterest Princess – an icon that the masses can and want to relate to even when her wings aren’t on show. Some of us may never have the body of an angel, but we frequently take inspiration from her style and most would certainly like to be fabulous mothers some day, so to Miranda’s departure from Victoria’s Secrets I say, congratulations!

Be charmed, stay inspired! x

My Thing About Stilettos…

 Ayesha on Pinterest

If you’ve picked up a Vogue magazine, scoured the Street Style pins on Pinterest or admired the spring summer 2013 ad campaigns of the major fashion houses in the last six months you will know that the stiletto is back and with a vengeance. These days you rarely spot the likes of Olivia Palermo, Kim Kardashian and the the recent addition to my fashion radar, Miranda Kerr out and about without donning these ever so simple, ever so classic, yet suddenly ever so chic shoes.

In my fashion lifetime, which consists of twelve years, defined by the period of time in which I have been a contributor and a consumer of fashion goods afforded by my own pocket as opposed to my parents, this is not the first time the stiletto has been coined chic. When I say chic, I am not referring to the days when the stereotyped Essex girl claimed this pointed heeled shoe in white leather – No, the stiletto has reigned once before within my fashion life, with a lot more fashion kudos than the Essex girl was rewarded for wearing this shoe and if my memory serves me correctly, this was circa 2001.

I remember categorically as it was about the time when I was studying performance art management at the Brits School and dating a French man 13 years my senior. The pointed stiletto I owned a plenty, mostly from Faith, a few pairs from Ravels and one pair from Karen Millen, complete with matching handbag. I wore them to feel grown up, elegant and worthy of dating an older man. I wore them in pink with a wooden heel,  black mesh with a leather toe cap, silver with a metallic heel, monochrome with a white toe and black heel (which would have been perfect for the trends of the coming spring) and my very special pair from Dune in gingham check red and white.  On their debut, I wore these shoes with an asymmetric little black dress from Miss Sixty. It was Monday night and I was at Ten Rooms, indeed, it was about the time when Ten Rooms was the hot London night club and the ultimate place to be Monday nights. That particular night, the night I wore my gingham check shoes to Ten Rooms, John Legend was just being launched in the UK, so fresh out of water was he that he required an introduction from the master of ceremony for his performance, which won over the hearts of me and my friends . That was the era, my era, when stilettos were the only shoes you wore.

However, if you weren’t a fan of John Legend nor a fan of the live music scene in London night clubs in the early noughties, then a better reference point to draw upon for any fashionista will be Sex and the City. In 2001 Sex and the City was into it’s third year. Carrie Bradshaw, my ultimate icon, idol, maybe even professional guru at the time, was flitting all about the streets of Manhattan in these delicate stilettos. And, like I said, she was my life coach, therefore I flit about the streets of London in stilettos too! During this period I wouldn’t have been seen dead without my stilettos, but like all trends, the day came when the pointed shoe was ‘so last season!’ And after becoming very mindful of getting my heels stuck in drains and in between decking and mastering the art of walking on my tip toes when visiting homes that boasted parquet flooring, the stiletto disappeared. In fact, the stiletto didn’t just disappear or slowly fade out, they were thrown out, considered hideous, unfashionable – those items that you’d look back and think, ‘God, I can’t believe I ever wore those’, and very quickly the world became adverse to the pointed toe, pointed heel and all.

Nothing quite confirms you’ve got a few miles on the clock like witnessing a trend complete a full cycle, however the stiletto is back, and in its second term in my fashionable life.  Although the world hasn’t gone stiletto crazy just yet, by Spring 2013 it’s likely that fashionistas will be getting their heels stuck in drains, sunk into grass and ruining parquet floors left right and centre. But, the stiletto uptake has been slow. Stilettos were on the shelves of high street stores as far back as 2011. That may not sound particularly long ago in real life, but in fashion years, two years ago is a long time. I remember because I bought two pairs of stilettos that year, a pair from Zara inspired by the Christian Louboutin Helmut shoe and a pair from Office with gold spikes on the back of the shoe. But I found I never really wore them and by 2012 I had forgotten about them entirely.

You see, nobody was really wearing stilettos around the time I purchased mine and although I’d delight in spotting a snap of Victoria Beckham or the occasional fashionite in a Tommy Ton photograph wearing their thin heeled shoes, truth be told the stiletto wasn’t really making much of a presence on the high street and therefore I wasn’t enjoying them as much as I would have if they were totally on trend and all the rage. I’m not a fashion victim, at least I don’t think so, but fashion is a two way street and no matter how proud one might be to be fashion forward or fashion savvy, part of the reason we all follow fashion is so we can be in it. If nobody else is really getting it and nobody else is wearing it – then the trend doesn’t really work and so I hung up my stilettos…. but only momentarily.

Now I am keen to add to my stiletto collection – a leopard print pair, a nude pair, a red pair and a designer pair and I am wearing the stilettos I already own as and when I can. But let’s be honest, with the violent cold we have been experiencing in England and the recent downfall of rain, sleet or snow, wearing stilettos is a major commitment that I cannot make at the moment. This is my thing with stilettos, you see, as excited as I am that I grabbed hold of this trend and have been donning these shoes before they become populace, I am only able to wear them on very select occasions.  Reason being, I can’t flit around town Carrie Bradshaw style in stilettos the way I once did. I have become way to accustomed to the support and protection a platform or a chunky heel provides.  I am not used to the ball of my foot being so close to the ground, I am not used to being able to make out a pebble beneath the sole of my shoe and I am not used to relying on such a thin heel to hold the weight of my body. In my late twenties I have also realised, I am not comfortable having any of my skin exposed to the harsh outdoors of an English winter, barring my face, and this includes my feet. I wear boots and brogues and that’s as far as it goes.

I recently went to dinner with a friend who wore a pair of red suede stilettos with a metal cigarette heel. When she arrived I was a little sad that I had opted for a pair of black suede wedged boots instead of my stilettos and admired her commitment. Let me tell you about my friend – she’s tiny, about five foot tall and she wears heels relentlessly. Even to walk around Portobello Market she’ll adorn her feet in the highest of heels. However, as we readied ourselves to head home, she slipped off her red stilettos and swapped them for a pair of Converse. I was flabbergasted, a little disappointed even – but I got it. Stilettos are not a commuters friend and they are no walk in the park. If you’re jumping in a cab, driving or doing something that involves very little walking, dancing or time on your feet in general, then by all means opt for your stilettos, but these shoes will not see you through hard times, in fact they might create them!

So, I wear my stilettos as and when I can. I wear them when I am going for mid-week drinks or dinner and am driving or jumping in a cab. I wear them to the cinema – as just like drinking and dining, you do this sitting down. I wear them on house visits and I recently wore them at a work conference, (not to, because I carried them in my bag) which also involved lots of sitting down. They look spectacular with a pair of leather trousers, and in skirts and dresses stilettos elongate your legs and give your feet that perfect ballet dancers arch (think Victoria Beckham’s feet in a pair of court shoes). If I’m wearing my stilettos in the daytime I generally tend to pair these very elegant shoes, which can be looked upon as particularly sexual, with a more casual look. As someone who isn’t a particularly casual dresser, but has desperately been trying to pull off the casual sporty winter trends, namely the sweatshirt, the stiletto has been my game changer. Since committing to my stilettos I have bought four sweatshirts and am feeling very proud! These shoes will glam up any sweatshirt and skinny jeans ensemble instantly and appear almost effortless. Only you will know the effort you are making to wear these shoes, whether it’s  paying extortionate cab fares to and from a location, driving on a night out, therefore compromising on the merriment of alcohol consumption and knowing, if the night kicks off and the crowd gets dancing, that you’ll be spending most of it dancing with your bottom on your chair. 

So, for those like me, not braving the cold in stilettos just yet, I say we enjoy the spring in our step for the rest of the winter, come Spring 2013, we might not be able to. 

 Ayesha on Pinterest

Ayesha on Pinterest

Ayesha on Pinterest

 Ayesha on Pinterest

Ayesha on Pinterest

Ayesha on Pinterest

Ayesha on Pinterest

Ayesha on Pinterest

Ayesha on Pinterest

Ayesha on Pinterest

Ayesha on Pinterest

Ayesha on Pinterest

Be charmed, stay inspired! x

‘I Love You’ Victoria’s Secrets Valentine’s Day 2013!

Oh Victoria’s Secrets, Oh Angels and indeed, Oh Candice Swanepoel!

 (It might be a little bit late,  but this is a post that couldn’t be missed on Charms of a Dandizette and better late than never…)

Barbara Palvin, Lily Aldridge, Karlie Kloss and Candice Swanepoel showcased the 2013 Victoria’s Secrets Valentine’s collection. There is no better way to say I Love You on Valentine’s Day than with some very pretty, very pink  and very perfect Victoria’s Secret lingerie from the Valentine’s collection – even if you purchase it for yourself!

Admittedly, all the Victoria’s Secrets underwear I own has been purchased by me for me…, but who says there’s anything wrong with whispering to yourself every now and again, ‘ I love me too.’

Happy belated Valentine’s Day Dandies…sorry it’s soooo late…xx

Candace Swanepoel for Victoria Secrets Valentine’s 2013

Candace Swanepoel – Victoria’s Secrets Valentine’s 2013

Barbara Palvin Victoria’s Secrets – Valentine’s Day 2013

Candice Swanepoel – Victorias Secret Valentines Day 2013

Candace Swanepoel – Victoria’s Secrets Valentine’s 2013

Karlie Kloss Victoria’s Secrets – Valentine’s 2013

Valentines Day 2013 Candice Swanepoel – Dream Angels Demi Victorias Secret

Candice Swanepoel – Victorias Secret Valentine’s 2013

Be charmed, stay inspired! x

Redefining A Love Affair with Dresses and Statement Separates

Source: Ayesha on Pinterest

So, first of all I should probably start by saying Happy New Year to you all! So, ‘ Happy New Year’. I hope you all celebrated in style, adorned in your very best. I personally had a small panic attack selecting the perfect dress to make a first impression on 2013. Because I have spent much of my Christmas holidays writing my novel, I’ve had very little time to shop, so thought New Year’s Eve would be the perfect opportunity to don one of the many loved and forgotten dresses that hang patiently in my wardrobe awaiting their outing. After my said panic attack I opted for a Holly Fulton for ASOS black and yellow shift dress I bought a year and a half ago – which, in hindsight, is probably one of the most unique and expensive dresses in my wardrobe and pretty fitting for the occasion. But this dress was selected under the strict instructions of my ever changing body.

It was about the time when everyone was watching The Hills, and I was not only obsessed with my weight, but very much in control of it and a very happy size eight, when Heidi asked Lauren Conrad, ‘Have you been working out a lot?’ and Conrad responded with something along the lines of, ‘No, I just wear dresses’. Immediately I scribbled into the notes section of  my That Extra Half an Inch by Victoria Beckham, ‘wear dresses to look skinnier’, this new fashion tip was added to the bottom of my never ending list of how to dress myself skinny. It doesn’t take Karl Lagerfeld to know that black is slimming, so with this in mind and in the light of my newly acquired Lauren Conrad fashion tip I bought myself six black dresses from ASOS all in one pop – it was 2007, my partner was living in Sicily and I was partying frequently. These six little black dresses was merely just the beginning of a frenzied episode in my life where I purchased nothing but black dresses. They were draped or backless, prom or puffball, bat winged or off the shoulder, short or even shorter. I partied attired in black dresses for four years – never wearing the same twice out to a big night out and if so, rarely was it documented on Facebook.

The black dress was my thing, at least I thought so at the time. Occasionally I’d worry whether I had gotten too predictable – friends used to comment that I always wore black dresses, but I was convinced that this was my style and that I was very lucky to have found one – a style that is. I suppose the colour black in itself, although slimming, refined, classic and elegant, can also be associated with being boring, safe, Gothic and worst of all – death. So, one summer I made a conscious effort to invest in a whole array of poptastic brightly coloured dresses in canary yellows, warm corals, floral, striking oranges, emerald greens and a rainbow of prints – even though I love a black dress on a summer evening. So, albeit my effort to rid myself of the black dress, I had moved away from black, but was still very much wearing dresses. I wore dresses to mark occasions, I wore dresses to look glamorous and mostly I wore dresses to feel dressed up – because surely only a dress can do all of these things in good and proper form without each and every time.

After a 2011/12 winter spent dressed in a variety of black midi dresses, by summer 2012 my affair with dresses died officially died. It was around the time that I had split up with my partner – a Sicilian man ten years older than me, a workaholic, very rarely seen without donning Cartier shirts and Hugo Boss suits, who has the utmost appreciation for formal dress. My black dress fitted into all occasions suitably and complimented his formal attire. However, when we split up I began hanging around in Peckham, a setting more art chic than and far more quirky than what my wardrobe was used to. The affair ended also about the time that I started using Pinterest ardently, pinning street fashion photographs by Tommy Ton, admiring the manipulation of garments and  the styling of an ensemble and falling completely head over heels in love with Olivia Palermo’s ability to dress. Magazines were featuring articles that celebrated statement separates as opposed to the statement dress and suddenly the black dress felt so irrelevant. It felt boring.

I wanted to be more interactive and involved with the way I was dressing – I wanted a challenge. I started with skirts and lots and lots of tops in different materials, cuts and colours. I had emerged from the Victoria Beckham-esque dress and was completely inspired by Olivia Palermo and the thought she put into creating one ensemble. It involved the pairing together and experimenting with colours, fabrics, silhouettes, mis-matching, prints, layering, accessorising and most importantly, being brave enough to be totally unpredictable. I had opened up a whole new approach to fashion, which very quickly managed to empty my bank account and burst my wardrobes. I was enjoying a more youthful approach and it wasn’t about being classic or timeless – it was about being fun. My skirts rose from midi-length to short and I purchased a selection of shorts, short shorts, in wool and twill, leather and silk. It was a very special moment when I purchased myself a pair of denim Topshop shorts! I’ve worn them three times now and each and every time I do I have to mentally coax myself into doing so.  Denim shorts have always been my biggest fashion no-no for anyone above the age of twenty four and four years senior, I am prancing around Garage raves adorned  in denim shorts. Oh the irony!

So, after the best part of a year piecing together separates and implementing my new unpredictability styling technique, I was especially looking forward to being plain old and predictably glamorous -stunning dress, skyscraper heels and a clutch bag. The art deco style Holly Fulton dress I ended up wearing on New Years Eve went up against a red peplum dress inspired by Lanvin’s peplum, frilled sleeve dress from the Lanvin Spring Summer 2010 collection and a black midi dress with a sheer decolletage embellished with polka dots inspired by the remarkable  dresses from Stella McCartney’s autumn winter 2011 collection – you know the ones that took the world by storm. Ultimately, I was most excited about wearing the red dress – I hadn’t worn it in at least two years –  it’s hot, it’s sultry, it’s powerful and when I previously wore it to Kensington Roof Gardens the compliments were endless. Let’s just say this dress makes me feel special. Or, more aptly, made me feel special. When I modelled my very special red dress in the mirror yesterday afternoon, during what I like to call my ‘dress rehearsal’ or what my partner calls ‘Ayesha’s catwalk’ I was getting ready to look and feel the most dressed up and glamorous I had felt all year – all for my first meeting with 2013.

However, I quickly realised that the ‘wear dresses to look skinnier’ style tip that I had been swearing by for the past four or five years no longer applied. The very garment that I have always gone to to make me feel protected and safe, glamorous and womanly, refined and special no longer made me feel either of the above. To put the realisation into context, imagine really looking forward to wearing your favourite pair of jeans that you haven’t worn for a while, you know the pair that suck you in, lengthen your legs and go perfect with your favourite pair of boots or stilettos, only to realise they no longer fit or are no longer flattering. Neither my Lanvin or my Stella McCartney inspired dresses, or any of the dresses in my wardrobe for that matter, could hide the fact that in my new found youthful approach to dress, I had also been eating like I had  metabolism to match. The dresses clearly displayed the pounds that I have piled on over the months and have been covering up beneath my statement separates without even knowing it.

 As much as I have enjoyed piecing together separates, and as much as this has become my new go to look, the irony of fashion would have it that I am now eager to look and feel just as confident   being refined and glamorous in my dresses as I feel confident being fashionable and stylish in separates. Fashion isn’t all about dressing ourselves skinny, it’s mainly about feeling good in our clothes. On the other hand, life is about balance and you can get too much of one thing; whether it’s junk food, partying, work or even black dresses. The black dress and the denim shorts are indeed metaphors for the two extremes of my personality and my approach to life. My desire to now find balance in my life between the two extremes and redefine my affair with dresses may be enthused by the rekindling of my relationship with my partner. Of course I am not about to let go of all that I discovered in the four months I was single and I am not going to take away from the great moments that I had playing around in my denim shorts, but I cannot deny my affection  for the black dress, the respect it commands with its elegance and refinement and how powerful, yet safe and protected it makes me feel. With some balance implemented into my life, less junk food consumed, less nights spent partying and a lot more time exercising I’ll get excited about wearing the black dress as a means to show off as opposed to covering up, because let’s face it, there’s no fun in dressing up if it’s just to hide lumps and bumps anyway!

So, to all of us planning to shed those extra Christmas pounds, working to fit into a favourite pair of jeans, trying to tone up to look stunning in the perfect party dress and whatever less fashion concerned ambitions we might have for the coming year – here’s to embracing a challenge and never losing sight of our goals for 2013!

Of course, till the pounds are shed – I’ll still be opting for the stylishly fashionable in street chic separates.

Source: Uploaded by user via Ayesha on Pinterest

Source: oliviapalermo.com via Ayesha on Pinterest

 

Source: Ayesha onPinterest

Source: thealwaysgentleman.tumblr.com via Ayesha on Pinterest

Source:  via Ayesha on Pinterest

 

Hope you all spend your happy New Year feeling your utmost fabulous!

Be charmed, stay inspired. x

The Victoria’s Secret Angels…

Miranda Kerr and Alessandra Ambrosio at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2012

For many a reason the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show is a very special and unique kind of fashion show. The typical runway show is ultimately all about showcasing the design and craftmanship and style of a new collection, admittedly designers might put on a show with an elaborate set, think Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel with his motif of icebergs and crystals mise en scene,  or use the garments to tell a particular story, think Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton autumn winter 2012 runway show inspired by the golden age of rail travel.

But let’s be brutally honest – the Victoria’s Secret show, although a beautiful show, is not about beautiful garments, imaginative sets or enthralling tales. The Victoria’s Secret Show is about the enjoyment of being a woman and feeling beautiful and who embodies this? Well, we all know that at the heart of a Victoria’s Secret show is an angel – the Angels, the celebrated Victoria’s Secret Angels –  and as one might expect, they are celestial.

Unlike the models we are accustomed to seeing on fashion houses runways, that are almost blank canvasses, ready to embody and showcase whatever garment or ensemble they are draped and fitted into – there’s nothing blank about the likes of Miranda Kerr, Chanel Iman, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candace Swanepol and Lily Aldridge. Or even Brit’s very own Jourdan Dunn and Cara Delevigne, who made their debut walking for the lingerie brand in this show. I watched the show absolutely captivated by these extraordinary looking women and their perfectly trim bodies, but what I loved most about the show was simple – it was watching these women delighting in their womanhood!

 So here’s to feeling beautiful!

Victoria’s Secret Angels

Miranda Kerr at Victoria’s Secrets Fashion Show 2012

Miranda Kerr

Miranda Kerr and Alessandra Ambrosio at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2012

Barbara Palvin at the Victoria Secret Fashion Show 2012

Cara Delevingne at Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2012

Izabel Goulart at Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

Lily Aldridge at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show 2012

Candace Swanepoel at Victoria’s Secret Fashion show 2012

Be Charmed, Stay Inspired! x

The Sweatshirt and the Kenzo Tiger Sweatshirt!

Trending #Sweatshirts

It was winter last year that the grey sweatshirt became one of the key wardrobe items to for super savvy street style dressing. The sporty garment, a staple for the gym, once taken out of its context and paired with skinny jeans and strappy sandals or a tailored pair of trousers and brogues seemed risque and innovative. Although it would appear, as seen in these photographs taken by Tommy Ton, that the reign of the sweatshirt sill very much resides this winter 2012-13, we have become so accustomed to the sweatshirt trend, that for super savvy-ness and ultimate fashion manipulation we can no longer play it safe by simply nodding towards the sporty trend with the initial grey sweatshirt. This norm has been accepted and it’s time to innovate once again and push the boundaries. Now the expert sweatshirt wearer creates a more stylised sweatshirt ensemble or selects a more statement making sweatshirt.

Those of you that have adopted the new approach to dress that Vogue has coined ‘Haute Casual’ for your winter wardrobe may have coveted the utmost seasoned sweatshirt wearers donning the, albeit conspicuous, admittedly cool Kenzo Tiger sweater. This Kenzo sweatshirt has indeed become the queen of this evolving sweatshirt trend and will buy you plenty of street style kudos in this fashion jungle. So much so that all 2,000 Kenzo tiger sweaters sold out in just two days and in a matter of hours at the Parisian Kenzo store earlier this year. This sweatshirt literally does all the talking, so you don’t have to do too much to look super stylish in it, no matter its sporty nature. Having said that, in my humble fashion books, the most street style kudos clearly comes from how creative you can get with incorporating this practical and functional sportswear item into a trendy chic ensemble.

Admittedly, as much as I adore the creativity and unpredictability of this new sweatshirt glamour, I am yet to invest in a sweatshirt myself. Habitually, in the winter months I take on a more Olivia Palermo/Victoria Beckham perfectly preened and neat image, seeking more inspiration from runway looks as opposed to street style. Unfortunately the sweatshirt creates a couple of concerns for me; firstly, with such a casual garment I would be very keen to wear a shirt beneath it that can smarten the round neck with a nice collar – this I can imagine would leave me feeling very hot, especially when I am commuting. Secondly, I wear a lot of slim lined coats, which I doubt a sweatshirt and shirt ensemble wouldn’t fit beneath comfortably. Thirdly, I fear that wearing the sweatshirt beneath a cape or the voluminous coats we have seen at the likes of Celine a/w 2012-13 can make me appear particularly top heavy and again, leave me feeling extremely hot.

However, for those of you that are tiny, whose commute does not involve power walking or taking the London Underground, that acclimatise to temperatures quickly, if you are thinking of trying out this new Haute Couture sweatshirt ensemble don’t let my sweatshirt concerns stop you. Opt for placing statement jewellery around the neckline, juxtaposing the sporty garment with a tailored shirt collar or pairing the sweatshirt with a glamorous skirt, evening clutch or an elegant shoe. The key is to play that push and pull game between conformist and alternative, formal against disorderly. And hey, if you can nail this look and are prepared to invest, why not go the whole hog and purchase the highly coveted tiger Kenzo sweater?!

I don’t think this sweatshirt trend is one that will stick with me for long, so I’ll definitely be giving the Kenzo tiger sweatshirt a miss. However, I am keen to try out the trend and am currently on the hunt for a grey Mickey Mouse sweatshirt, that I’ll wear with a white shirt, black skinny jeans and a pair of black pointed court shoes and statement necklace. So, I am still playing it safe with the colour, but with Mickey Mouse emblazoned on the front, it’s still a little quirky and most importantly, easy on my bank balance. Having said that, should someone wish to purchase the Kenzo Tiger sweatshirt for me as a gift, I most certainly won’t say no!

Be charmed, stay inspired! x

Related articles

• …that Kenzo green Tiger sweatshirt (nontando58mposo.wordpress.com)
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Balmain a/w 2012-13 Fashionising for the Girl About Town…

Balmain -Winter 2012-13 Runway Show…

‘It’s over the top, I mean it’s very very embellished. I don’t know quite where you’re going wearing those clothes, but if you have the life for it, I envy you.’ Said Cindy Weby Clearly from Instyle Magazine at the Balmain’s a/w 2012-13 runway show.

As I begin to write this post I am realising how ironic and funny life can be…I am even deliberating the theory that life would have it that we are all literally walking talking contradiction – if you’re not, I know I definitely am.

When I first began writing this post I had a future set out in front of me with my partner – marriage, children, a house in Sicily where I’d write my novel and buy beautiful clothes and a house in London where I’d come to see family and friends …of course these are all ideals and I am summarising. Something happened in between the time I started writing this post and I completed it. When I began writing this post I was at a point in my life when I was literally hanging up my dancing shoes and was mentally assembling a wardrobe for myself that resembled neat and clean Celine and Parisian chic, all accompanied with the versatile, sexy but practical court shoe. I was writing style posts that referred to my new refined approach to fashion as opposed to my uniform of little black party dresses and sky scraper heels perfect for partying.

What happened between the time in which I began writing this post and today (the day in which I am completing it) is life-changing. My partner and I split up after seven years. Parties and social opportunities began to arise in abundance, whilst civilised dinners and drinks almost disappeared off my radar.  As did the ties to my future and even my life as I knew it. Ironically, on the top of my shopping list now is a new pair of dancing shoes. Fashion and life is ever so interchangeable, when I began writing Charms of a Dandizette I swore I would never wear a pair of brogues – when I graduated from my Masters and found myself a job that involved commuting daily I realised how impractical navigating my commute in six inch heels was and what did I do? I purchased myself a pair of brogues. I may have written extensively about a recent refinement in my life, and equivocally my wardrobe…but with my loosened ties to my future that I once envisioned comes a looser approach to refinement and a far more stringent approach to having fun.

Of course, the best lives are those that are balanced – so although the glamorous approach to dress finds itself at the forefront of my mind and my dancing shoes and party dresses have once again found themselves at the most accessible regions of my wardrobe…I’ll still keep it cultivated and totally inspired by this alluring and majorly desirable Balmain collection.

After all, isn’t that how every single girl out on the town wants to feel?

Be charmed, stay inspired! X

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• ★ Anna Selezneva for Pierre Balmain SS13 Collection [Film] (fashioncopious.typepad.com)

Gucci a/w 2012-13: The New Direction…

Source: gucci.com via Ayesha on Pinterest

Whilst the Fashion gliteratti celebrates the collections of spring summer 2013 the civilians amongst us are still very much in 2012, feeling the weather growing colder by the day. So…the research for the amalgamation of my winter wardrobe has begun. Before I head to the high street or make any major purchases, I get a feel for the key trends and the overall tone for the season by  going straight to the source – the catwalk. So let’s start with Gucci – because I always do.

Gucci’s a/w 2012 collection is sensuous, decadent and opulent. It’s a collection to fall in love with, if it were music it would be the perfect soundtrack to an intense winter romance. Regardless of how different this collection might feel to the clean and sharp lines we are used to seeing at Gucci, Frida Giannini never disappoints…

Source: gucci.com via Ayesha on Pinterest

Source: gucci.com via Ayesha on Pinterest

Source: gucci.com via Ayesha on Pinterest

Source: gucci.com via Ayesha on Pinterest

Gucci a/w 2012 -13 Ad Campaign

Models Nadja Bender, Karmen Pedaru, Lenz von Johnston, photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott

Gucci a/w 2012 Runway Show with commentary

Bellissima…x

Goodbye to the Maxi and Summer 2012…

An Ode to the Maxi skirt and summer 2012…

Source: via Ayesha on Pinterest

As the mornings remain darker for longer and daylight leaves us that bit earlier the unfortunate fact is looming…summer is over and out with it goes the summer wardrobe. This summer I fell in love with the maxi skirt, a white linen shirt and maxi skirt ensemble became my go to look for the season, to mix up the look I even took inspiration from my ultimate style icon Olivia Palermo and wore my maxi’s with heels. I will be sad to pack away my super comfortable, effortlessly glamorous maxi skirts and even more so to say goodbye to Summer 2012..But whilst the temperature remains in its double figures in London and it’s just warm enough to don my maxis I will…

Here’s my ode to Summer 2012 and the Maxi Skirt…

Source: 5th-avenue-fashion.tumblr.com via Ayesha on Pinterest

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Be charmed, stay inspired. x

Inspired By: Stylish Thoughts…

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I’ve been thinking about style a lot of lately, possibly because I have been shopping excessively and going out at just as much – requiring the styling of many new ensembles for many different events, locations and situations. When I studied fashion two years ago I was lucky enough to truly discover exactly what it is exactly that beguiles me about fashion. Beyond the delight I find in dressing and dressing up, what I am so curious about and so deeply intrigued by is simple…it’s style. STYLE! That simple one syllable word that has such a weighty significance in terms of self expression. We all know the famous fashion quote ‘Fashion fades, style is eternal…’ But do we truly know how to define it? We know it when we see it -’That’s stylish, she’s stylish, he’s got style etc.’

We all generally tend to have a universal understanding of who and what is stylish, hence why the world covets and henceforth creates style icons. And style icons vary from classic and sharp Victoria Beckham, to masters of the glam rock chic Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, preened to perfection and always neat Olivia Palermo  or forever casual and cool in a leather jacket, skinny jeans and boots combo Kate Moss.

But asides from using the word to identify a form of dressing, Classic, Casual, Trendy, Sporty etc, what constitutes as style and how can we identify what it looks like?

I like to define style as fashion’s cousin, her much cooler cousin and a trend is fashion’s sister, possibly even twin sister. Without going too deeply into semiology and linguistics, fashion is the object – the signified and the trend is formed by the signifiers, in this case the consumers (us), who with our consumption of said object  eventually make the object fashionable or/ and trendy.

Style, I refer to as fashion’s cooler cousin because it’s more expressive and offers more of a personal communication. If we could all afford to wear runway looks straight off the catwalk of the season’s most coveted look, regardless of how fashionable and on trend it might be, we’d all look like clones, or the alternative terminology, fashion victims. Style is not the possession of, or the monetary strength to, own and dress in fashionable items.  Style is the dance between conforming and rejecting, between being predictable, ironic and unexpected.

We can all wear a runway look and be fashionable, but  we’d have no credit to take for our ability to dress, because the look has already been packaged and parceled by another stylist. In fact, the only thing we might express dressed head to toe in a runway look is our undying love for fashion and our ability to keep up with its capricious nature. Ask Anna Dello Russo, Fashion Editor and Creative Director at Vogue Japan, who’ll tell you ‘I don’t want to be cool, I want to be fashion’. I have never seen a woman wear so many runway looks, in fact so fashionable is the passionate fashionista that she has been described by Helmut Newton as a ‘Fashion maniac’.  Anna might be considered ironically cool, like wearing nineties patterned  Moschino in the twenty first century or a black woman wearing a t-shirt that reads ‘Blondes have more fun,’ but too much irony or too much of one thing is never good.

So, back to this dance of conforming and rejecting. Style is a personal interpretation of the signified object – the fashion item, it’s the way in which we  choose to hangout with fashion’s sister, the signifiers, the masses that form the trends and its how we choose to reject it, by refusing to wear it, altering it or manipulate it. A white shirt might be fashionable, neatly buttoned down and tucked into a pair of jeans, we conform to the trend by wearing the white shirt, but we reject it by tucking only the front of the shirt into our jeans and leaving the back out, wearing the first three buttons undone or placing a statement necklace around the collar and so on and so forth.

In my humble opinion, ‘styling’ is the way in which we manipulate fashion. The most stylish of people in my belief are those that always have their eye on fashion but have the ability to manipulate, to innovate, to be unexpected but respectable, ironic and predictable and know exactly when to conform and when to reject.  Style is formed once we develop a particular method towards the way in which we approach dress, over a period of time this will form a motif which eventually becomes our own unique style.

Here’s to some of my personal style icons at the moment…

Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City movie wearing pink cut out dress and black studded belt.

Carrie Bradshaw – Sex and the City

Victoria Beckham wearing DVB Jeans

Victoria Beckham dressed in grey

Rihanna dressed in pink and orange

Olivia Palermo wearing pink lace at the Valentino Couture at Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild

Olivia Palermo in black leather peplum top and navy blue shorts with pointed wedges

Kourtney Kardashian casual in flats

Kourtney Kardashian dressed in blue patterned dress

Kim Kardashian wearing staple skinny jeans, heels and waterfall jacket. Dressed in black and grey.

Kim Kardashian dressed in leggings and longline blazer with statement necklace

Kourtney Kardashian dressed casually in flats and brown hat

Be charmed, stay inspired! x