Feeling Shady

Payday has finally arrived and with it comes the battle not to spend all my wages in just one week. To distract me from the fact that there's absolutely no way this money will see me through till next month, I've been focusing all my attention on my new purchases. VICIOUS CIRCLE.

Although many of you will probably believe sunglasses for Winter are more of an accessory than a necessity, I have to disgaree. Eyes need protecting from the sun all year round and it has never and will never be chic to squint. Luckily for me and my new found thriftiness (kind of), I picked up these babies in the ASOS sale. Jealous? DUH.

Until next time,

O x

One To Watch - Awon Golding

When I was at London Fashion Week earlier last month I got to meet some incredible designers at the British Fashion Council's (BFC) showrooms in Somerset House. This season specifically there was a huge selection of hats and head pieces. I think this stems from the fact that earlier this year, in February, the BFC set up their annual Headonism project and the focus was on headpieces. The result of such a renewed interest in headwear has meant that a selection of incredibly talented up-and-coming designers have all released really unique collections of hats and headpieces ready for SS15. One of these designers, who I was fortunate enough to meet, includes award winning London-based Milliner Awon Golding.

I remember seeing this at LFW this year and
yes; it is as incredible in real life.

What I love about her work is that each piece is, in its own right, really unique and stand-out. Yet, the collection still comes together to create something united and fluid. The fluidity comes from the inspiration for the collection; having spent an eclectic youth in India, Hong Kong and England, Golding drew inspiration for her collection from her Tangkhul Naga heritage. The collection combines bold colours, feather headpieces, intricate beading and the weaving of geometric patterns which are all inspired by the artifacts of the North-East Indian Naga tribes.

Before she became a designer Golding wrote for various Hong-Kong based publications as a fashion writer and editor. However she soon realised that she wanted to pursue something more creative and moved to London to accept an apprenticeship with Edwina Ibbotson, a renowned London milliner. It was around this time that she was awarded a Distinction in Millinery from the Kensington and Chelsea College. Following this she went on to design hats for the likes of high-street brands River Island and Topshop.

I'm a huge fan of geometric shapes and the only
hats I'll wear are floppy ones so this one is
a double whammy for me! 

When she eventually decided to set up her own label her creative flair and natural talent were recognised by The Honourable Feltmaker’s Guild and she was awarded first prize at their annual millinery competition in 2010. Furthermore, she was selected by Stephen Jones (renowned milliner) to feature in the BFC's exclusive Headonism project at Somerset House earlier this February.

A cheeky snap I took of the Headonism Project in Feb earlier
this year.

Now a well established designer Golding spends the majority of her time hand-crafting the pieces for her collection in her London studio. As well as releasing two seasonal collections per year, her hats are available to purchase at London's Liberty store and she also does private commissions for a wide range of customers.

For more information on the designer please contact Awon at info@awongolding.com, or go to: @AwonGolding or  www.facebook.com/awongoldingmillinery.

Thanks for reading my post and a big shout out to Awon for sending me the images of her amazing collection!

O x

The Sweetest Ad Campaign Ever?

Aussie born jewellery designer Lucy Folk is renowned for her playful and creative relationship with food and highly sought after jewellery line. It's hardly suprising then that in her latest campaign, entitled Sugar, Folk combined her sweet tooth with her passion for jewellery design. The results? HEAVEN.

It's not very often that a jewellery campaign impresses me this much as, in my opinion, jewellery campaigns can often be a little boring and simplistic. That said, Lucy Folk proved she's not one to follow the crowd when she pulled this sugar coated bad boy out of the bag.

What I love about Lucy Folk is that she's definitely a designer who caters to a wide variety of tastes (literally). On the one hand she has her playful, girly and fun pieces which are aimed at younger buyers. On the other she has her more sophisticated, edgy and fine pieces. Personally, I'm more of a fan of her fine jewellery as she has some to-die-for cuffs, gorgeous bangles and her selection of rose gold pieces are dreamyyyy.

Not only does the campaign make we want to binge-eat all the sugary goodies in sight, it also makes me want to throw all of my next wage packet at the designer. It's creative, memorable and a little tongue-in-cheek, which I love! Here are the pieces I'm now coveting from her Sugar collection.

O x

Product Review - Trevor Sorbie Straight Protect and Shine

My sister is a hairdresser and has been at at me for ages to get a heat defense spray for my hair. Well, as someone who doesn't particularly like to be told what to do, especially from a younger sibling, I've put off buying one for ages. Well, that was until recently when I thought my hair was looking a little dry and I realised how desperate I was for it to grow a bit longer for the upcoming party season. So, after work the other day I headed on down to Boots to see what I could find. As someone with little to no knowledge of heat defense sprays I actually felt a bit lost when I saw the range available to buy. Not wanting to spend too much money on something I could potentially loathe after one use I thought it might be best to buy a trial/travel sized bottle and see how I got on with that. Plus, as someone who likes to test out products regularly I often spend the majority of my free time in the trail size section of Boots. #sadfactoftheday

I chose this one by Trevor Sorbie because I quite like their hair products anyway and, admittedly, the bottle looked pretty cool. It retails at £5.70 for a 200ml sized bottle, but I bought my trial size, 50ml one for £1.99. It is salon approved (apparently?) and the label implies that it prevents damage, reduces kinks and add shine. These are all major hair concerns of mine as, without the wonders of modern hair tools/technology I would look like that actress from the weird TV programme, Cavegirl, NOT EVEN JOKING.

So how does it rate? Well, firstly I'm not massively keen on the smell, but I've come to notice that a lot of the decent hair styling products don't actually have the best of scents to them and I think this means that they're less perfumed? Which is a good thing. After a couple of uses I have definitely noticed that my hair feels a little softer and I have noticed a little extra shine. I wouldn't say the difference is huge, but I've definitely seen an improvement. 

I would recommend this product as it has worked for me, however I'm not completely overwhelmed with the results so I think I'll test a few more heat defense sprays before I settle on the one for me.

O x

Winter IS Coming

In the past couple of weeks I've noticed a huge drop in temperature. So much so that this morning I left the house with both my winter coat and faux-fur hat (not that the hat helped much in the pouring rain) and I'm now having to wear a hooded jacket on my evening jogs (not cool). In case that wasn't reminder enough that winter is well and truly on its way, working in retail means I'm surrounded by the influx of autumn/winter/Christmas related products day-in-day-out. 

I'm hoping my faux fur hat will at least see me through till Christmas

Admittedly, I can't really moan as I've already started stocking up on knitwear and gone out and bought my winter coat. Although, this in no way means I won't end up buying another one in a month or so. Besides, there's no such thing as too many coats... is there? And, even though my Topshop ankle boots from last year are still in MINT condition, I know I'll end up buying another pair before the season is out. 

Amidst all of this temperature madness and constant reminders that Christmas is coming, I started thinking; when is it a good time to start purchasing your winter wardrobe? 

On my wishlist is this adorable pale blue fedora from River Island and these leather gloves from H&M. Thanks to Burberry's AW14 collection blanket scarves are going to be huge this season and I'd quite like one in a checked print, I think. I don't usually use umbrellas cause I find them a bit flimsy and naff but this one from Cath Kidston is too fricking cute I couldn't resist putting it in. Plus, to see me through till March-time, I'm blatantly going to need another pair of boots and at least 2-3 more winter coats. 

Coat : Monki - £65, Gloves : H&M- £19.99, Fedora : River Island - £28, Boots : Office - £85,
Scarf : Topshop - £18, Umbrella : Cath Kidston - £22. 

What's on your winter wishlist?

O x

Dreamy Jewels by &OtherStories

It's no secret that as a fashion lover I am absolutely mad for designer labels; YSL and Valentino being just a few of my favourites. It's also no secret that I'm a graduate with a poor excuse for a bank balance and can in no way afford to spend what little money I have at these high-end fashion houses. *Sigh* How does one get by in such a cruel world I hear you ask? Well, luckily for me I have high street brands to depend on when I can't afford high-end. 

One of the best high street brands I think we have here in the UK is &OtherStories. For those of you who haven't heard of them, if high street brands were cliques then &OtherStories would be hanging out with Cos, Zara and Monki. I love their dreamy colour palettes year-in-year-out, their sharp tailoring and of course their edgy prints. But this season especially I am absolutely in love with their costume jewellery range! It’s understated, edgy and combines geometric shapes with some seriously cool metal shades. Plus, if you didn’t already know, ‘gun metal’ coloured jewellery is massively in this season and &OtherStories is one of the few stores I’ve seen stocking it so far. 

Take a look at my top picks from the collection below: 

Earrings - £7
How fricking chic are these?!

Choker - £17
I love the understated elegance of this choker.

Cuff - £17
And - teamed with a matching bangle the pair would make
the cutest party season jewellery.

Cuff - £17
I love triangles anyway so this was bound to make my top picks.

What do you think of their jewellery this season? 

O x