Pink, Pink, Bright, Bright, Pink!

Coat Paul Smith, Headband Topshop, Quilted Bag French Connection, Leopard Print Shoe Jimmy Choo, Pink Skirt with Broach River Island, Earrings Miss Selfridge, Bubble Hem Dress Matalan, Pink Rose Drape Side Top Topshop, Horoscope Briefs Miss Selfridge, Jacquard Dress Warehouse.

In keeping with the 80's that is still a major influence in fashion at the moment, the re-emergence of bright fuchsia pink is current throughout designer and high-street! So get your inner Barbie out and celebrate pink again!

Marilyn Minter for MAC

Marilyn Minter has teamed with MAC cosmetics new limited collection for Autumn 2009 alongside painter Richard Phillips and illustrator Maira Kalman. The collection features a lot of glitter and gloss in bright glamorous colours.
Marilyn Minter is perhaps most famous for her images of mud splashed diamond studded heels and enlarged images of lips, giving beauty and fashion a raw edge. Her video Green Pink Caviar was very controversial, sparking either love or hate of her work whilst gaining an interest in the media and critics alike. Her video has also featured in Madonna's Sticky and Sweet tour, linking two very similar characters in art and music.

"I was shooting stills of models with long tongues swirling and sucking bakery products from under a pane of glass. I wanted to make enamel paintings along the idea of 'painting with my tongue'. My makeup artist shot some short videos during the shoot just to see how it would look. The low definition videos looked so good that we made plans to do a professional high definition video. This made sense to me as I have made both billboards and produced a commercial advertising a painting show in 1989." - Marilyn Minter

Belle & Bunty Autumn Winter 2009

I had to share with you the new collection by Belle & Bunty. I absolutely love the mutual grey colour palette mixed with gold and black which gives the outfits strength on otherwise a very blank canvas. I particularly love the gold and black patterned dress and chunky knit wear! Effortlessly cool!

Shop Floor Project

Having found Clara Francis' website a real inspiration I found out the people behind the website's design. The Shop Floor Project is a mother and daughter web company where artists and designers can exhibit and sell their work. The Shop Floor Project website is based on a shop, it encourages exploration using interesting links and collage mixing imagery and text. For a real visual experience visit The Shop Floor Project!

Clara Francis

I came across the jewellery designer Clara Francis in London and loved the intricate designs. Each piece is beautifully crafted using tiny glass beads stitched together to create an ‘embroidery’ type image. Later when I visited the website I loved how in keeping it is with the jewellery designs. I like the use of old imagery and interesting layout almost like a pop-up book!
Visit at www.clarafrancis.co.uk

Reem

Reem was another designer that I discovered at London Fashion Weekend.
Her work is a combination of vintage mix matched pieces put together to create an unusual design and array of textures. I love the hands-on approach to her work and the combination of different materials. I think her work is inspiring and each piece very different from any other. I think the outfits give a Victoriana feel but find a mix of more modern materials and prints (for example zebra stripes) keep it original and up to date.

Rag & Bow

By now you may have discovered my love of vintage and quirky clothing.
I discovered Rag & Bow at 180 the Strand at London Fashion Weekend. Unlike the other stalls, this stall had a sketchbook with lots of pictures and information about the company (something I had to have a nose at)
However, this is a vintage store with a difference! Rather then you travel to them they come to you, bringing with them an assortment of 1950-1980's hand-picked items! They also plan events on social network sites like Facebook and Myspace so if you don't want one-to-one shopping you can go with your friends to an event! All I can say is what a good idea, and although its early days yet I can see this really taking on!

Tatty Devine

Tatty Devine is a jewellery company with a difference. The founders Harriet Vine and Rosie Wolfenden first began by selling leather cuffs at Portobello and Spitalfields markets. Soon their quirky designs were of great interest and Tatty Devine was born.
I was enticed by the brightly coloured kitsch pieces, as well as the heart shape lollipops.

'this season is all about pom poms, pearlies, brass and buttons!'

Tatty Devine aslo features their badges (£3.50 for set of four) in this months Elle Magazine!

Check out their website!

London Fashion Weekend

This week I went to London Fashion Weekend with my friend Katie. This was also a great opportunity for me to see a selection of smaller independent companies like Rag & Bow and Tatty Devine, and to get some freebies and bargains! Believe me if you want a bargain you will have to be prepared to fight for it, this is not for the feint hearted! However, I did manage to pick up a bag from Billy Bag reduced by 75% much to the envy of others around me!

William Kilburn Postcards

I found these postcards at the V&A shop and loved the intricate detailing. I think it may be interesting to take a section of the image and duplicate it to create a fabric print. I love the burst of colour in each image.

Floral design (detail) William Kilburn (1745 - 1818) Watercolour on paper
From an album of designs
Britain, about 1788-92