The Print Takeover:

About a month ago I first took a look at Mary Katrantzou’s s/s 2012 collection and now it’s official. I’m in love with print. Her designs are truly beautiful, and it’s clear that I’m not the only one who thinks so. With celebrities including, Kiera Knightly, Karolina Kurkova, Dianna Argon, and style royalty Alexa Chung wearing her designs, Katrantzou has succeeded in bringing the bold and beautiful into a season dominated by ultra-girly/pastel style. Her genius isn't just in creating exuberant digital print, but in also creating gorgeous structure to her designs, leaving us with intoxicatingly fabulous pieces.  

Her clothes aren’t for the faint hearted, that’s for sure, but if you are looking to get that splash of something Katrantzou, you’re in luck. A floral bomb was dropped on the high-street on the 17^th of February, as Mary’s hotly awaited line for Topshop hit the stores. Starting at just £50, Katrantzou said “It offers something to a girl who isn’t able to afford the main line and, more importantly, to a girl who’s fun and dresses in that way to be able to buy the look without having a diluted product.” The collection is certainly anything but diluted!

Mary Katrantzou – I bow down to you!

Thanks for reading guys,

Bethany Paige x

The Fashion Fifties:

Get your dancing shoes on because it’s time to jive! We all know that most old trends come back into style at some point, and at the moment it’s all about the 50’s. Channel “Grease” and get ready for an ultra-feminine spring/summer. One of the main features of the trend this time around, is the bandeau. With designer labels including Prada, Jason Wu and Dolce and Gabbanna jumping on the bandeau wagon, it really is one of the pieces of the moment. Just pair with a full skirt and you’ll look like you’ve stepped straight off a catwalk at London fashion week.

I've created two outfits, both based on NU-50's, the first being designer and the second highstreet:

Tutti-Frutti:

Jailhouse rock:

So, do you feel ready for time travel yet?

Thanks for reading guys,

Bethany Paige x

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If you're thinking about buying anything from the the post above here’s the stock-list:

Tutti-Frutti:

Browns Perforated A-line cotton skirt £750.00,ASOS Ri2K Grosvenor Leather Tote Bag £ 85.00, mywardrobe.com Pink Angora Cardigan by By Malene Birger Was £179.00 now £89.00, ASOS PINK LADY Platform Patent Peep Toe Court Shoes Was £ 40.00 now £ 24.00 High-street, Miso Hook & Eye Printed Bandeau Was 7.99 now £3.00.

Jailhouse rock:

Topshop Swan Cutout Bralet £26.00,Topshop Swan Print Skirt £30.00, Topshop Knitted Pastel Wide Cardi £38.00,Miss Selfridge Stone Ostrich Shoulder Bag Was £39.00 Now £29.00, Newlook Platform Court Shoes £19.99

High end or high street:

Don’t get me wrong, I love designer clothes and would happily buy a wardrobe full of Gucci if I was a billionaire… but I’m not, unfortunately. Equally, though, I adore the high street and think that anybody can achieve high end style with a price tag that doesn’t have six digits. In my past two blogs the five outfits that I’ve created have been designer, but that doesn’t mean in any way that the same trends can’t be created on a lower budget. More often than not designer style spreads to the high street anyway, which is great news for me.

To prove my point I’ve created three outfits based on the three trends that I covered previously, rock star, pastels and shine, all using clothes from high street shops. Here it goes…

I wanna be a rockstar:

Pastel perfect:

Shine a light on her:

So there you go, a much cheaper way of styling your way through this season. Hope you all like the outfits.

Thanks for reading guys,

Bethany Paige x

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If you're thinking about buying anything from the the post above here’s the stock-list:

I wanna be a rockstar:

Topshop MOTO Wet Look Coated Skinny Jeans were £40.00 Now £25.00,Topshop WILLOW Wedge Zip Front Boots £85.00, newlook Gold Pyramid Cuff Bracelet £4.99, Miss Selfridge Kiss Tank £24.00, topshop Premium Spike Cross Studs £18.50, topshop Cobra Ring £10.00, Topshop Chunky Chain Multirow Necklace £14.00, black nails inc. £8

Pastel perfect:

Topshop Chino Trousers £28.00, Miss selfridge Floral Open Back Shirt £30.00, Miss Selfridge Coral Shawl Collar Blazer £40.00, Newlook Dazzle Patent Brogues £19.99, Miss Selfridge Turquoise Spot Sock £3.00, Newlook Colour Block Across the Body Bag £12.99, Miss Selfridge Multi pastel flower ring £8.50, Barry M nail varnish £3.

Shine a light on her:

Next Metallic Gold Skinny Jeans £40.00,Topshop Slinky Metallic Racer Vest £22.00, Dorothy Perkins Black sleeveless jacket £35.00, Newlook Black Zip Wedge Shoe Boot £19.99, Black nails inc. nail varnish £8.

(All outfits were created using ASOS fashion finder)

She’s like a star:

All things shine are massive this season and are set to stay that way through spring/summer '12. Metallic fabrics, sequins, glitter… everything goes! I've loved this trend ever since I first spied that D&G dress (A/W ‘11 collection) a few months ago, and I still adore it now.

The dress that sparked it all for me: 

The shimmer soon spread to the high street as well, meaning us normal folk can afford to wear starlet style as well and let’s be honest a bargain is never a bad thing. One of my favourite buys in the New Year sales in fact, was a pair of metallic brogues from Newlook. It was love at first sight. They’re so versatile, which is something I didn’t think would be the case with metallics. They go with everything…well almost everything anyway. They look great with shorts, skirts and skinny jeans. Just call me “twinkle toes”. 

Walking on the sunshine: 

I know that for a lot of people the idea of wearing metallic or glitter clad clothes can be extremely daunting, and it is a trend that’s hard to get perfect. So here’s how I think the trend should be worn. The first outfit I created is based on sequins and glitter, the second is on metallic fabrics. 

What a sparkler: 

Mirror mirror: 

Well, it looks to me like this trend’s here to stay, so it’s worth investing in something fabulously shiny in preparation for it. I will be!

 Thanks for reading guys,

Bethany Paige x

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If you're thinking about buying anything from the the post above here’s the stock-list:

The dress that sparked it all for me:

Dolce and Gabbana gold sequin star dress Price unknown.

I’m walking on the sunshine:

New look limited edition metallic brogue shoe £15 in sale (no longer stocked)

What a sparkler:

Kenneth Jay Lane Statement Art Deco Necklace £ 85.00, ‘Isabella’ silk-blend velvet mini-skirt from Browns £240.00, boticca.com "Studded box clutch" £95.00, Hobbes Zig Zag Sequin Cardigan by Marc By Marc Jacobs down from £325.00 to £130.00, ASOS LEO Sequin Slipper down from £ 35.00 to £ 22.50, Nails Inc Black With A Twist Down from £ 11.00 to £ 8.00.

Mirror mirror:

Pour La Victoire Larkin Patent Leather Heeled Loafer £ 150.00, GUCCI metallic top £439.00, ‘Blake’ linen boyfriend blazer from Browns £415.00, Metallic Gold Skinny Denim Jean by Michael Michael Kors £150.00, Cambridge Satchel Company Gold 14" Metallic Satchel £ 120.00.

(all outfits were created using ASOS fashion finder) 

A sweet but tough decision:

About a week ago I was sitting on a sofa in my home, flicking through a fashion magazine.  Two trend spreads jumped out at me. The first titled “Ice cream dream”, showing off the latest in pastel colours that are set to be huge. The second “wild child”, channelling the rock star inside us all through some rough and rugged style. No matter how I tried I couldn’t seem to decide on which spread I preferred, which is unusual for me as I’m used to having a very strong opinion on whether a style is my favourite at the time or not.  This led to the creation of two separate outfits, based on the two very different trends, in the hopes that I could then make a final choice on my favourite. Here's the outcome.

May contain rock:

 I'm sweet like sugar: 

I’ll admit even after creating the outfits I was no closer to making a choice, so I did what I thought was best in this situation. Enter outfit number three a mix of cute pastel and rock star style. I call it “A stick of rock.” (You see what I did there? It’s sweet and rocky?) 

A stick of rock: 

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed experiencing my fashion obsessed brain first hand and liked the outfits.

Thanks for reading guys,

Bethany Paige x

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If you want to get any of the items from the outfits here’s the stock lists.          

           

May contain rock:

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Double Leather Skull Bracelet - £195.00, Minimarket Estrid Leather Wedge Lace-Up Boot £ 275.00, ASOS Opening Guitar Case Pendant £ 8.00, Lulu Guinness Black Studded Sparkle Leather Lips Clutch £475.00, UNIF Acid Sleeveless Tank Top (price unknown), Black Foil-Wash Leather Effect Skinny Jean by Helmut Lang £195.00, Juicy Couture Leather Charm Cuff Bracelet £ 66.00 down to £ 32.00.

I’m sweet like sugar:

COLORED TWILL SHORTS £95.00, Kenneth Jay Lane Perspex Apple Pendant £ 35.00, ASOS Punchout Backpack £ 38.00, ASOS limited Edition 6 Pack Googly Eye Snap Clips £ 8.00, Daddy Dusty Pink Solid Silk Shirt £255.00, Urban Outfitters Deena & Ozzy Blue Eva Shoes (price unknown), Miso Lace Trim Sock (price unknown).

A stick of rock:

ASOS Pack of Two Skull and Cross Earrings £ 6.00,Green Short Sleeve Pussy Bow Blouse £12.00,L'AGENCE leather skirt £510.00,ASOS Wing and Skull Ring £ 10.00 down to £ 3.00,Barry M Nail Paint Pastel Collection £ 3.00,ASOS ACORN Leather Platform Chelsea Ankle Boot (price unknown),NARS Satin Lipstick £ 17.50

(All outfits I made were created in ASOS fashion finder)