The Capri Crop

I realise that I haven't posted for nearly six weeks. Tut tut I'm disappointed in myself too. I don't really have an excuse apart from the usual, I have been busy, catching up with friends and generally enjoying life. So what's new in the world of fashion? Cropped trousers (or Capri pants) are going to be making an appearance this Autumn. I spotted this girl in Manchester and really like these cropped turn up jeans that she was wearing.

Sonja de Lennart made Capri pants famous in the 40's after the second world war, when Sonja's family lost all their fortune after the war ended. Sonja was inspired to launch her fashion range and put her designs up for sale in a small boutique in Munich. Many post war film stars took a liking to her clothes, making them a hit all over the world. Sonja and her family had a love of the Italian Island of Capri, which is where the name of these cropped trousers originated from.

Here are a few of my favourites all new in at Zara

Printed crop £25.99

Red Print Crop £39.99

Printed trousers £39.99

Basis Satin Trousers £25.99 

Peter Doherty and The Kooples

So Pete Doherty has been living in France for the last few years and he definitely hasn't been sat around twiddling his thumbs. His new film Confession of a Child of the Century, an adaptation of french writer Alfred de Musset's french novel, premiered today at the Cannes film festival. Reviews have been mixed. I will certainly be giving it a watch and making my own judgements on Pete's acting skills. He has just finished writing his new solo album and has collaborated with the french designer The Kooples and launched his own clothing range. I have always loved The Kooples. Their clothes are sleek, classic and sophisticated, which are not normally words used to describe Mr Doherty but maybe he has matured and personally I think he has style. In the interview below Pete talks about his views on fashion. One of my favourite parts is when he talks about his artwork on his T- Shirt designs. He explained that he had to be careful to keep the designs clean, which takes me back to the time in the 70's when Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm Mclaren were arrested for their indecent T- shirt design of two naked cowboys. Pete also talks about the influence of 60's and 70's on fashion and his designs. I took these photos based on this classic shirt from the Women's range. Pete used his on/off girlfriend Irina Lazareauna as a model. Love him or hate him the guy certainly has talent. 

Click here to watch the Interview with L'Officiel

Printed Silk jacquard shirt £180  www.thekooples.co.uk

Keeping it nude

Having returned from my holiday I'm feeling all happy and ready for summer. I have returned with loads of new ideas and have quite a few photos to post from a few projects I have been working on. I guess this blog is more of a journey of my photography as well as giving you guys some outfit inspiration. Since I started in December I have definitely developed my photography and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in to some more photo shoots now that I have got a bit more free time.

I am using a bit of positive thinking and hope that we will be able to get our summer dresses soon.  I love this Matthew Williamson nude dress with this sun hat and bright pink lips. I actually took this photograph a few months ago but this dress was not available to buy, as it was from the new summer collection from Seasons clothing in Sheffield.  

Here are a few of my favourite nude dresses for summer 

Embellished Dress £85 Warehouse www.asos.com

Ted Baker front wrap dress £229 www.asos.com

Cameo Hallucination Strappy Dress £120 www.asos.com

Fallen Angel

A contrast to the ice queen this angelic look is perfect for spring. I wore this outfit myself to a friend's party on Saturday night and had a few people asking where I got it from, so I thought I would post this look. 

I quite like the fact that you can mix and match this outfit and dress the skirt down with a jumper or wear the blouse with jeans. The 2 pieces go with loads of things I already have in my wardrobe. 

Powder Pink Blouse £9.99 www.hm.com

Cream Lace Skirt £16 www.riverisland.com

Papillion Necklace www.lisaangel.co.uk

Ice queen

Well I have been rubbish at posting lately as I have been working on a backlog of photos. A few weeks back I was lucky enough to do a studio photo shoot with Rossella Vanon . I have finally edited my photos (below is just a sample I will post a few more this week). 

Throughout the day we experimented with studio lighting and I got some great photoshop and editing tips. I think I still have a long way to go before I'm ready to start shooting for Vogue, unlike the very talented Rossella, who is a high end fashion photographer and recently won 2011 professional photographer of the year but I'm really enjoying learning and seeing my work progress.  I also worked with an excellent stylist who put together this look. I love the sheerness of this blouse and the prominent collar. 

Here are a few shots from behind the scenes at the Peacock Yard Studio in Kennington ......

If you want the ice queen look check out this chiffon shirt from Topshop

Black Chiffon Shirt £36 www.topshop.com

Stylist's choice

Well the sun is shining again so I guess this is a good time to post this lemon yellow jacket inspired by Stephanie Fraser, who works as a personal shopper at Topshop at the Trafford Centre in Manchester. Stephanie's yellow jacket instantly caught my eye last week whilst I was at a fashion network event. She obviously has excellent taste so if you live in the Manchester area and are struggling to find an outfit visit personalshopping@topshop.com where you can book an appointment online. 

or have a look at this yellow blazer as an alternative

Ponte Shrunken Blazer £40 www.topshop.com

Keep following your dream

I have certainly had a busy week hence the lack of posting. I have been putting all my energy into developing my photography skills (oh and a couple of wild parties in between). I was lucky enough to spend the day on Saturday working in a London studio with Rossella Vanon a very inspiring fashion photographer who has shot for Vogue magazine. Rosella made me realise that you don't always need to have industry related qualifications to break into fashion photography, just a hugh amount of passion. With a lot of hard work and commitment you may just achieve your dream. I am currently editing my pictures from this shoot so I will try and post them at the weekend.

I also attended a talk by ex editor of Elle and Grazia magazine on Monday night and had the opportunity to speak to some interesting people who shared my passion for fashion styling and photography. I spotted this lovely lady (pictured below) who has recently started blogging and I also met her boyfriend who does all the photography on her blog. We discussed the challenges of maintaining a fashion blog. For me the rewards come when somebody else recognises your work so a big thanks to Laura for writing about me on her site. Check out Laura's view on the evening wishiwore.blogspot.co.uk and this beautiful flowery dress that she wore from River Island.

I also spotted this D&G new season dress but this was a little out of my price range so found this floral print dress from Goldie London as an alternative.

Floral Floaty Dress £54 www.goldielondon.com

Pastels with a bit of edge

As much as I love this season's pastel pinks it can be hard to piece an outfit together. Dressing from head to toe in pink would be complete overkill. I spotted this girl at Somerset house wearing a black jacket with this cute pastel skirt the perfect combination to give a slightly edgy feel to this season's pastel trend. 

If you want this look have a peak at this jacket and skirt new in this week at Zara. 

 Jacket £149.99 and pleated skirt £29.99 both from www.zara.com

90's techno tribal prints

Well the bikini post yesterday certainly made the sunshine. I have spent all afternoon in the beer garden of a country pub with friends, think I may have even got a bit of colour to my ghostly white skin.

I have only got a few of my catwalk shots left to post now, then I'm going to write about all the street style outfits I captured at fashion week.

I have mixed thoughts on tribal print as it reminds me of the early 90's and Hilary Banks off The Fresh Prince of Bel Air but I actually liked this look when I saw it on the catwalk.

 I got really excited when I found these reworked tribal print dresses below on ASOS for just a tenner which you can also wear as a skirt ( I tend to buy a lot of vintage skirts and wear them as dresses).This can look very individual and nobody can ever guess that I'm actually wearing a skirt.

Tribal print dress £10 ASOS 

Too soon to think about summer?

I don't think it is. The sun has been shining today so I thought I would post this shot I took at the Game On catwalk show. If you are thinking it is still a little chilly to be walking around in your bikini (maybe I'm getting a little over excited for the summer but hey ho ) I also like the black cuff and boots and huge denim bag which could be worn with any outfit this spring.

Sinnie Stud Bangle £12.99 www.missguided.co.uk

 Carry Bag £24.99 www.hm.com

Carvela Short Boots was £160 now £119 www.houseoffraser.co.uk

What goes around comes around

Another of my favourite designers from fashion weekend was Game on. Think bright, clashing colours and 80's street fashion. Colour blocking made an appearance last spring and has returned for 2012. Game on's catwalk collection also has a sporty feel (notice the red wrist band). The black shoes also give an extra edge to this outfit.

Have a look at this cute colour blocked skirt from ASOS and these Jeffrey Campbell shoes

Rare Hem Skirt £39 ASOS

Jeffrey Campbell shoes $107

Prim and proper

At the beginning of the year I talked about how fashion was going to be very feminine and lady like this spring, with girls dressing more like girls saying goodbye to the boyish trends. This really came across on the catwalk last week. I guess I like Prim Rose's collection so much because it's young but sophisticated and has a little bit of a 1950's housewife feel, with hem lines skimming the knee. Here are a couple more of my runway shots from the show 

I have also found a great dress and coat (both new in at Zara) which could be worn with clashing pastel shoes inspired by this collection and the photography that I took of my favourite pieces. 

Guipure Lace Dress £49.99 www.zara.com

Coat £99.99 www.zara.com

Pretty in pink

My inspiration for tonight's post came from this shot I took at the Prim Rose catwalk show at fashion weekend. Prim Rose's collection is very girly with dreamy spring pastels. I really like this casual weekend look (maybe without the ice cream headband) I'm not sure I could get away with that one in Sheffield.  

I have picked out a high street alternative - may have to buy this one myself it's very 'me'

Knitted Tweedy Sweat £36 www.topshop.com

Worn blue Cigerette Jeans £50 www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk

Collar Necklace £14 www.topshop.com