Estelle Dévé Nuri choker / bracelet

From http://www.anyonegirl.com/gold-estelle-deve-nuri-choker/

I grew up hating gold.  My parents are from the Indian subcontinent and there, there is a big obsession with really yellow, strong gold jewellery.Women are generally expected to adorn themselves in gold be it the real thing or costume jewellery at weddings even as guests- this is now changing though. During my younger years I rebelled and refused to wear gold costume jewellery in any form (I never received or bothered asking for the real thing as presents nor desired it- saved more than pennies there anyhow for everyone concerned!!). All I had were a few sterling silver rings, costume jewellery and silver coloured necklaces.

As they say people change...this only really happened when I came across Estelle Dévé's jewellery. She is a French jewellery designer based in Melbourne, Australia.

What I really like about  Estelle Dévé's designs are that they are unusual and elegant, organic and like mini sculptures and ornaments without being sentimental. They can be part of one's day and evening and I feel with time they will be as jewellery should be- treasured possessions and full of memories. 

Simplicity

A year ago I never saw the big deal with simple classic clothing.  Why spend money on simple toned garments?  Answer- It's all about the cut, the quality and the the fact such pieces are timeless.  Also such pieces let the face,hair and figure be the focus of the portrait- think Audrey Hepburn style. This style creates a frame for the person. No wonder many designers wear black.

My clothing phases from my early twenties consisted of a few items from Primark, most from H&M and a few pieces from Zara and ebay. These were largely girly or frilly clothing mainly with prints. Now looking at my wardrobe I need to spend an afternoon sifting through to throw away, donate to charity and sell a few good quality items on ebay.

As with life we go through phases and I think there are times where some of our clothes are no longer part of us, like people we used to know years ago, would these people be part of your life today? Time to move on and not delude ourselves with rose tinted glasses.

                                     

Erdem

I really like Erdem and the resort 2013 collection. I have a weakness for dark florals and quirky designs . “Colour, optimism and oddities.” is right up my street- if only I was earning loads....

Erdem, resort 2013, images are from style.com

From:  http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/designers_profile.aspx?DesignerID=109

DESIGNER NAME: Erdem Moralioglu

BACKGROUND: “I was born in Montreal, Canada. I lived just outside the city, near a very large lake.”  Erdem studied at the Royal College of Art. He worked for a designer in New York before setting up his own label.

SIGNATURES: “Colour, optimism and oddities.”
IDEAL CLIENT: “A clever person who probably cares little about seasons. She has a lot of conviction and marches to her own drum.”

TRADEMARK PIECE: “Hopefully pieces that are special and individual.”


Erdem was the winner of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund 2010

Erdem won the New Establishment Award at the British Fashion Awards 2012

girl crush #3 Yasmin Sewell

Alas another inspirational woman, isn't she beautiful and I love her hair, she looks like a strong person. Yasmin Sewell has a fashion consultancy and has a wealth of experience in fashion buying and tend analysis. She's one cool aussie :-D

Read this article and watch the interview her http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/blogs/style-files/cool-to-be-sewell-20120426-1xnlw.html   images are from smh.com

Valentino lace maxi dress - Hanelli

"I consider lace to be one of the prettiest imitations ever made of the fantasy of nature; lace always evokes for me those incomparable designs which the branches and leaves of trees embroider across the sky, and I do not think that any invention of the human spirit could have a more graceful or precise origin."

Coco Chanel, April 29, 1939

Spring feeling not outside :( but yes embodied in a dress!

Here in Surrey, UK we have had such grey skies, rainy days and even cold weather!   I hope we will have some beautiful flowers this summer as a result of the abundant rain to make up for this!

Mary Katrantzou
Balalaika Dress
 http://www.lyst.com/clothing/mary-katrantzou-balalaika-dress-multicolour/?utm_source=175903&utm_medium=product&utm_campaign=link

The balalaika is a stringed musical instrument popular in Russia, with a characteristic triangular body and three strings. I remember as a young girl listening to the Balalaika via Microsoft Encarta world music interaction page- Ah Microsoft Encarta, I loved you! Those days of reading, listening and watching through the screen was pure magic.

There is an good article in Tank magazine supplement (Spring 2012) about Mary Katrantzou, it was interesting to learn that while she creates a lot of patterned fashion designs she herself likes wearing black.  She creates lovely patterned dresses and this one reminds me of spring- the spring we should be having in the UK with lots of blooms and lilac-clear evening skies, warm enough to walk around outside without a jacket!!