S/S '13

The designer, high end and high street shows got me excited as to what's in store for Spring/Summer 2013. As it's spring in Ireland since today, I'll be hitting the shops soon to pick out gorgeous clothes I'll be wearing through the coming months, and in this post, I'll be showing you what I'll be after!

Stripes are staying and monochrome is already big, so I'll be definitely looking for a cheaper version of Motel Rocks' Jordan High Waist Jean, except in a disco pant form, so that I could wear them everywhere, without the discomfort of that jean material sometimes has. As the stripes are vertical, the design actually makes your legs look longer. Bloggers, celebrities and ordinary girls wore the Jordan's, and I know I have to get a pair!

Florals will be, and already are, everywhere. I love the floral trend as I think its so pretty and retro. I'll be looking out for anything flower-y, like crop tops or jeans.



Motorcycle jackets won't be going anywhere, but I've already got mine- a gorgeous soft faux leather green jacket I got in Dunnes early in November that I wore all through winter, but as the weather gets warmer (hopefully!) the bomber will find it's place in my wardrobe.  It's like a crossing between a jacket and a fashion statement, comes in infinite designs and colours, and is perfect for both spring and summer months. Penneys (Primark) have got a pretty bird design coming out, and you'll be finding it in my wardrobe!

The 60's are here to stay- news that made me very happy when I first clicked through some of the S/S shows, as I wore a bouffant all summer! Bold colours and squares, as Louis Vuitton taught me with his recent shows, can be incorporated to create a gorgeous dress. Clip on your collars, layer your prints and wear your tweed skirts with pride- we're back in the 60's.

A lot of celebs have been wearing green dresses lately, and as emerald is my birthstone, I'm on the hunt for a green dress. The one everyone wore in late 2012, and fell in love with, was the Motel Rocks Gabby Dress, which just like the name, is so me. It's green, sequinned,  shimmery, long sleeved, and a revealing back, perfect for so many occasions.  I'll be looking for a similar version in the high street shops.


It's still quite cold outside, and a warm jumper in Ireland is a must have, and you can never have too many. Sassy jumpers and sweats are part of the high street S/S collections, and I'm actually loving this River Island cardigan!





I've been keeping an eye out for (faux) leather skirts as they're so easy to wear and are so glam every time. Look out for skirts with large pleats and elastic waists as they're the easiest to wear- pair them with tees with cheeky sayings, or keep it simple and glamorous with a plain tight top and black courts. I wear skinny jeans quite a lot, and as the warmer weather comes, maybe I should start showing off a leather skirt!


Gaby x

People who Inspire Me: Alexander McQueen

Third, and final installment of People who Inspire Me blogs!

                           

McQueen is one of the reasons why I love fashion so much. He taught the world that fashion can be anything you make it to be- no matter how crazy, or unbelievable it is, if it inspires you, you can make it into a piece of clothing.

McQueen, or 'Lee', as he signed his suicide note, had a difficult life, but depression didn't stop him from doing what he loved best, although McQueen didn't win the battle with it. He ended his life 3 years ago, only 40 years old, at the height of his success.

Over his lifetime, McQueen had designed collections that were worth dying for. Filled with raw energy, his shows were unique, just like himself. They stood out, as so did his clothes. 

                        

                        


  
 
McQueen is most famously known for beginning the skull trend with a scarf.



Low-rise jeans are another one of his creations.

               

McQueen's creations not only left an infinite imprint in the fashion world, but motivated people to be themselves, to live life the way they wanted to, to do the things they wanted to.

                               

Gaby x

People Who Inspire Me: Marilyn Monroe

I was meant to post this last week, but I was having a really stressful couple of days and couldn't bring myself to it. However, here it is- the second installment to my three-part People Who Inspire Me blog!



Marilyn is undoubtedly is one of the most inspirational, beautiful and amazing women that ever lived. She is known worldwide, is unbelievably beautiful, and is as some people say 'The Perfect Woman'.  She was originally a 'dumb blonde' image actress, a figure everyone found humorous, witty and attractive.

Marilyn lived in the most remarkable century of our time-20th century, and she's one of the reasons cinema and film is so popular today, as some people are on the hunt for a second Marilyn Monroe, even though she is irreplaceable  She was a brilliant actress, fashion icon and role model to millions-or billions even?- people worldwide. Her quotes motivate people to get out of bed in the morning, most famous examples include 'I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and sometimes hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.' and of course 'Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and its better to look absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring'.

'Madness is genius'- describes Marilyn's life perfectly. She suffered from psychoanalysis, which was triggered from her troubled childhood. Undergoing depression whilst the whole world was watching you was obviously difficult, however, the final year of her life she looked amazing and gathered, so its good to believe she died happy, at the very early age of 36, hence the saying, live fast, die young.

Marilyn's impact of fashion is unreal. Her signature look, dark lashes, blond peroxide short curls, pale skin and red lips is the classical look today. She always looked breath-takingly beautiful, she didn't need makeup or plastic surgery (and that wasn't even available at the time) to look young and gorgeous.
  She made a massive impact on Chanel without even realizing it. When asked what she wore to bed, she admits she 'didn't want to say nude' so she famously replied 'a drop of No. 5 by Chanel' which has been made out to be 'the secret of No. 5', and was used in a advertisement campaign for the famous perfume only a couple of years ago. Putting Chanel aside, she wore outfits that sold for millions in actions- her most famous include her white dress that made her famous (the 'skirt blowing' scene, which caused a split from her first husband) and the drop-dead shimmering white dress she wore at her last public appearance (Happy Birthday Mr President).

          

I was always familiar with Marilyn Monroe, ever since I was a child. My mother was always really fascinated by her, always curling her hair into Monroe styles (and she still does daily!), always calling her unbelievably beautiful, so I respected Marilyn since a very young age. Mam always said Marilyn was 'the perfect woman, thus she will never die.'

My sense of fashion and the way I dress is influenced by Marilyn a little bit- I always like to keep my outfit feminine, pretty and noticeable. Obviously, my taste in fashion will change, but I will never take Marilyn Monroe off the No. 1 spot as to the people who influence me to put on skinnies and not tracksuit bottoms in the morning.



Gaby x

The Jeffrey Campbell Obsession

As I've mentioned in my earlier blog post, I love shoes as much as I love chocolate, and as I've said, the crazier, the higher, the more expensive they are, the faster I fall in love with them. The most obvious designer that ticks all these boxes is of course Jeffrey Campbell.

Opening a box of new Jeffrey Campbells is like opening a window in early spring. His shoes are a breath of fresh air- they're crazy, studded, skull-ed, unbelievably high and ballerina platforms are 5 inches thick. I first came across his delights when I was in Arnotts in Dublin. I have a habit of snatching and demanding a size 6 of the craziest, most highest pair of heels I see in a shoe shop, and so I grabbed his 'Shadow' off the shelf, called an assistant over and demanded for my size. They were in a fancy box, wrapped in meters and meters of white paper, and looked absolutely fabulous. They were surprisingly comfortable, and my red Samsung camera captured the glorious moment.

Posing with the Shadows on in Arnotts!

Surfing Facebook every day allows me to check out his creations often. I've fallen in love with holy cross wedges that capture the baroque stud trend, gorgeous skull boots with a low heel that are perfect for marching through the city, and of course the spiked Lita, which every high street brand under the sun is making similar copies of. Then there is the unbelievable platforms and flatforms. His ballerina platforms have melted numerous bloggers hearts and his damsels have a crazily high wedge, making your legs miles long and you a million feet tall.
                      
                                             Jeffrey Campbell Ballerina Platform

And as you click through different pairs of madness, insanity and absolute genius on Wasteland or Nasty Gal, you keep coming across a boot that has a thick five inch heel, a two inch platform and comes in so many different designs. The Lita is the most popular and undoubtedly most sought-after shoe that made Jeffrey Campbell so well known. With over 100 different colours and designs, nearly every blogger (except me :'( haha) has befriended and loved the Lita over and over. And if you're a vegetarian, then Lita's first cousin Vita is for you. The best part of this unique shoe brand is that all Jeffrey Campbells aren't designed by a single person- they're designed by the blogger girl, different inspiring ideas put into a shoe. Each pair is more lovable than the next- more sequins, higher platform, more madness that surprisingly attracts you to bring them to the till with a grin, knowing that if you stroll down the street in these, all heads will turn.
    
Jeffrey Campbell Spiked Lita


Even though the height of the heel on some of Jeffrey Campbells might be a little frightening, the shoe itself if actually really comfortable. The inside of the shoe is really padded, so you can strut around your statement shoes without the statement pain.

The Jeffrey Campbell sale in Arnotts, last weekend

The reason why I decided to do a whole blog post about Jeffrey Campbell's footwear is because it's one of the reasons I'm blogging. His footwear highlights the most fun and important thing about blogging: anything is possible, and hes made that idea into a shoe form. And being the crazy shoe lover I am, no wonder his shoes melt my heart!

2nd+3rd photos from Google Images.


Gaby x

People Who Inspire Me: Lana Del Rey

I'm really sorry it takes me forever to put up a new blog post- I'm new to Blogger and half of the stuff I write decides to vanish in the transit from the Blogger app on my phone to my laptop :( No worries though, as the #1 thing on my New Years Resolutions is to blog more often, and I intend on making that happen through 2013!

Today I'm going to talk about one of my biggest idols and inspirations- in fact I'm going to start a new chain of blogs talking about the people who inspire me over the next 3 weeks! I'll upload a blog a week talking about the idols, heroes and heroines that motivate me to get out of bed and carry on when times are tough.

Number One on the list is undoubtedly Lana Del Rey. For those of you who might not yet be familiar with her, Lana, or Lizzy Grant, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music captivates me from the very first note, fulfills me and makes me feel happy yet heartbroken; her husky voice gives me a feeling of prettiness and toleration; like nothing matters in life, except love.

I first discovered Lana when I downloaded Video Games to my iPod for the only reason being that I was dying to get new songs on it. It instantly attracted me to this never-heard-before singer and her gorgeous way of expressing heartbreak. Her way of using words was not only poetic but also deeply touching, and Video Games remains one of her best known, and my most liked songs of hers.

I went on to buy her album, Born To Die, after Youtube had no more new songs of hers to offer. It took me a while, but soon I couldn't stop listening to it. In the car, at home, before bed, the minute I woke up, the minute I got back from school, all I did was listen to her beautiful songs, over and over, until each word was memorized, and each phrase became mine.

One of the songs on her album, Radio, was also where I got my inspiration from to write a blog. When I got back from Lithuania last Summer, I felt I needed to show everyone I was good at something- writing. I didn't know how to, I didn't know where to start, but I did know I wanted to write about my life, fashion and beauty. Radio inspired me to go and do so, to stop being lazy and to do what would make me even more unique.

                               'Now my life is sweet like cinnamon
                               Like a fuckin' dream I'm livin' in
                               Baby love me cos I'm playin' on the radio
                               How do you like me now?'

And so, I named my blog 'sweet like cinnamon' - because that's exactly how I am. Sweet, yet bitter.

Surprised as you might be, I did get sick Born To Die eventually, and I decided to take a journey back to when the whole world didn't yet know Lana.

The album I turned to was Kill Kill, which due to different problems, had to be taken out of production. Even though the music was much slower, and there was a lot less lyrics, the songs were still as meaningful. My favourite became a song similar to Video Games in numerous ways- Pawnshop Blues.

                               'Well I pawned the earrings 
                               That you gave me
                               Gold and middle flowers dangling
                               And I almost cried
                               As I saw them go'

As insignificant as these lyrics might seem, they described the feelings that I felt due to a time I was going through perfectly. They were still sad, still heartbreaking and still motivational- one of many of Del Rey's qualities.

A couple of months back, Lana released a new edition of Born To Die- The Paradise Edition. The new songs are more dark, yet still so Lana- and there's also a song that's really similar to Video Games and Pawnshop Blues- American.
                               
                              You make me crazy
                              You make me wild
                              Just like a baby; spin me round like a child
                              Your skin so gold and brown
                              Be young be dope be proud
                              Like an american

Lana has motivated me to do so much things, to go for living life a little on the wild side, yet still be myself. Even her appearance  fashion and beauty wise, is absolutely gorgeous. Her signature dark long thick hair, her winged eyeliner, dark lips. She adores vintage-type of clothing, ticking all the boxes from the 1950's onward.

She motivates a lot of bloggers and fashion lovers world wide, she inspired people through her music, and sometimes even changes some peoples lives a little- like she did mine.





Photo from Google Images. 

Gaby x