Tag Archives: clothing

Summer party dress decisions…

Posted on by Abi

Wedding season is well and truly upon us. As brides up and down the country are counting down the days until their special day, wedding guests (particularly women) up and down the country are wondering what on earth to wear??

First of all what colour should you wear? White always seems like a no no, for starters most brides have the monopoly on white, plus there’s always the chance that the bride is wearing Ivory (as I did) and the last thing you want is for your crisp white dress to make the bride’s look dirty 🙁 Jewel colours are a favourite of mine and perfect for evening celebrations, but what if the service is starting at 12 or 1, will your colour choice hold up for both day and night?

Then there’s the style or cut, too short may not be decent for a wedding. Too long and you might be accused of pretending to be a bridesmaid. Too casual and you might look like you can’t be bothered, too formal and you’ve gone too far. It’s a minefield!

Or at least it is for me, I’ll admit that my habit of over thinking things is probably to blame. Especially considering that my own wedding was attended by those wearing the decidedly informal New Rock boots though to almost ball gowns and I was completely unfazed. I was more agreeably engaged with my own dress and how the church and reception venue was decorated 🙂

Just in case anyone else finds these kind of decisions as hard as I do, I thought I would share my current favourite wedding attendee dress choices. You could of course wear a skirt or indeed trousers, but weddings are a great excuse to go all out feminine and wear a dress so I usually do.

I think all of these dresses are gorgeous and perfect for taking you through from day to night (if you have the time to change though two dresses is always fun!) They are all from reiss, which has long been one of my favourite stores. They seem to bridge the gap between high street and designer perfectly and while some of my former favourites have wavered over the years (usually due to a change in design direction) Reiss has stayed right up there!

What are your wedding picks this year?

 

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Inkodye Printing

Posted on by Abi

I recently read an article in the Mollie Makes magazine about a really unique printing ink called Inkodye and I instantly wanted to have a go.  Unfortunately there is currently only one company in this country that stocks it www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk and the postage is quite high but I felt really impatient to try it out!

Inkodye comes out of the bottle colourless, you then apply it with a brush and then leave it to the sun to develop, almost like a fabric photograph. In theory it allows you to create beautiful prints using anything that casts a shadow. Of course I bought it in the winter when sunlight is sparse but I have still managed a few goes with it. At present it only comes in three colours: red, orange and blue, but you can mix them so it’s not too restrictive.

My first attempt was using the red, I placed some old keys onto a small bag which I put outside for about 45 minutes. There wasn’t really enough light so it turned out pink and I don’t think I painted enough dye onto the fabric either.

My next attempt was using the blue and the same old keys. This seemed to go a dark colour very quickly, so I panicked and washed the ink out too early and again it was rather pale.

Once your piece has developed the depth of colour you desire you have to wash it really well otherwise it continues to develop! I washed the blue bag by hand (really scrubbing it) and then put it through a machine wash. Despite this after leaving it on my table folded in half for a few days I noticed that it had still continued to develop and one half was darker and some of the keys had started to turn blue 🙁

My third attempt was more successful. I cut some shapes out of cereal box and put a sheet of glass over the top to weight it down. I left it outside for one and a half hours but again there was not much light. The mistake I made with this one was washing my brush in my white kitchen sink and finding later in the day that I now have an orange and white sink!!!

Dyed sink aside I’m very pleased with the third piece and how it turned out. I think Inkodye is going to take me a little while to completely perfect but it’s definitely worth a try if you’re interested in trying out a new form of printing. Just remember my top tip…. wash that ink out until you can wash no more! Otherwise be prepared to see further colour development 🙂

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Boden Press Day Spring Summer 2012

Posted on by Abi

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited along to Boden’s Press Day, to preview the Spring Summer 2012 collection. You are probably all aware that as well as this blog, I also write for the Boden Community. If you’ve not taken a look at their site yet do pop across and check it out, there are many wonderful posts on a wide variety of subjects. For today though, here is a brief taster of what Boden has in store for us next year.

The upcoming collection has been inspired by world travel, even the board outside welcomed us in with a giant airmail letter! The whole room was festooned with maps, globes, signposts and doors. It was a visual treat before you even began to peruse the clothing.

There were three stories within the collection:

Globetrotter – a more subtle direction for Boden. The prints were delicate and refined, think of a gorgeous watercolour painting. There was a real touch of classic feminine glamour.

Breton Charm – I adored this collection of clothes, nautical inspired prints with a classic Britishness that was hard to resist. Perfect for a Spring picnic beside the lake, these clothes were wearable, classic and relaxed.

Secret Mediterranean – The holiday collection, beautiful vibrant colours that instantly transport you to a world of bright blue seas, golden suns and hours spent on the beach. The summer dresses really stole my heart here, easy, comfortable but with little touches that really made them stand out.

Even the men have been well catered for, here I am busy flicking through a lookbook and admiring some wonderful summer shirts.

If I had to pick one must have item, it would be this stunning Purple Satchel bag (also available in tan and red). Although it seems I wasn’t alone and everyone I encountered was coveting it too. I’m sure that’s a mark of good taste 🙂

The Mini Boden collection was absolutely stunning, I particularly liked the pieces that employed a mixture of applique and traditional print.

The Boden team are a really happy, helpful bunch and are genuinely enthused about this collection. They know the pieces well and really believe in the vision they are creating.

So whether you’re looking to be smart, casual, classic or bright, Boden has something for all the family next year. I already have a shopping list of must have pieces for all my family (it’s rather long), I’m genuinely very excited!

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