No More Wants Challenge - SS10 Trend - Military/ Utility

So today, I decided to get started on my 'No more wants challenge', which will see me, for a little while at least, refraining from buying new clothes and instead making outfits from what I already have in my wardrobe to fit in with key trends for the season. Military was an obvious choice for me as I love the colour khaki. There were all sorts of military and utility references on the catwalk including of course the colour khaki, camoflage prints, details like boots, belts and hats.

Jean Paul Gautier

Balmain

Kenzo

Stella McCartney

I bought this khaki print shirt dress last year and wore it as a dress with jeggings until I was completely bored with it. When I saw the military trend for SS10, I decided to find a new way to wear it and wearing open as a shirt with the white top has given it a lighter and fresher feel. I have recently abandoned my jeans in favour of leggings as I was getting so bored with wearing them day in day out. I was inspired to drag them out, roll them and wear them again with heels, by a recent outfit by Nina of Ballerina's closet obsession.

Shirt dress (worn open) Dorothy Perkins

White top - present

Jeans - Littlewoods

Bag- present

Shoes - Karen Millen

I am feeling quite excited about the challenge ahead and already have a list of outfit ideas in my head. Obviously, my wardrobe doesn't need updating with new clothes for spring and summer but looking at from a fresh angle. Any other fashion bloggers who would like to join me in this challenge would be very welcome. Feel free to post links to your trends and outfits in the comments.

Catwalk pictures from http://www.style.com/

I'm Taking Dame Viv's Advice

Last week one of my favourite British designers Dame Vivienne Westwood appeared on BBC London News and told shoppers to stop buying clothes for 6 months. At first, to many who love their fashion and clothes, this might seem like complete madness but the comments made in support of a campaign to protect the environment and reduce landfill, which is being led by London Mayor Boris Johnson, highlight a dilemma that I am currently facing as a fashion blogger regarding the sustainability of my shopping habits. Dame Vivienne urges us to avoid buying clothes unless we absolutely have to, in which case we should look to invest in quality pieces that will last.

I have already stopped buying clothes since January in an attempt to help the environment with my no more wants challenge, where I have been creating outfits around SS10 trends using clothes that I already own. I have decided to extend this for at least a few more months. Although I am not sure whether I will last 6 months, when I do start buying clothes again, I will do so with more though and buying more eco fashion, second hand clothes and quality pieces that will last.

There has been much debate over the sense in Vivienne Westwoods comments and claims of hypocrisy and that we should continue to shop to help the countries economy. But I believe strongly that we should all try and live more sustainably (and there is no time like the present). I am still going to be spending my money, just not on clothes at the moment.

I think it is a great way to help promote sustainable fashion and clothing. I am even starting to notice a few benefits to not buying clothes.

• I have got more money, I am using this to join the gym and save up for some really nice pieces of quality clothing when I need them.
• I have discovered and started wearing some great clothes in my wardrobe that I had forgotton all about.
  Not buying new clothes has forced me to think more carefully about what I wear, I think this is making me more creative with my outfits.
• The clothes in my wardrobe have been tried and tested and are the clothes that I love wearing. I have made many buying mistakes in the past, but the clothes I have left are hopefully the ones that look best and really suit me.
• If I get bored with my clothes I can always indulge in a bit of clothes swapping or refashioning my clothes.

So what do you think? Am I completely mad? Does the economy depend on our shopping? Could you give up buying new clothes for 6 months?

picture from http://www.vogue.co.uk/

No More Wants - for a little while anyway

I keep reading about other fashion bloggers who have imposed a shopping ban on themselves. I was certainly not going to go down this route this year, as much of last year was spent not buying what I wanted (although not through choice). This year, I fully intended to update my wardrobe in the fullest way. So far this year, I have done a pretty good job of spending money on clothes - the Topshop wedges, the sales buys and a Tomp L'Oeil dress from Warehouse which I hope to showcase in a post soon.

The point of this post was supposed to be to showcase the items that I wanted to buy to update my wardrobe for the Spring. Whilst browsing online, it suddenly occurred to me how shallow and consumeristic it would be to buy clothes for Spring when Christmas is barely over and there is still snow on the ground. In light of the terrible tragedies and poverty going in the world, particularly in Haiti, I decided to stop shopping for a bit. There are no guarantees as to how long this will go on but for now a I think a charitable donation to the Haiti Earthquake appeal will give me much more satisfaction than a shopping spree. Instead of lists of wants, over the next few weeks I hope to put together a series of trend reviews and outfits made from clothes that I already have.

SS10 trend - neutral/ nude sheer dresses (and socks!)

Next up on No More Wants, the SS10 trend for neutral or nude sheer dresses sometimes with socks. These dresses were just about every where on the catwalk. These are just a few examples but there were plenty more including longer styles, minimalist and full on frothy versions.

At Jonathan Saunders

At Givenchy

At Fendi

At Calvin Klein

At Burberry Prorsum

At Meadham Kirchhoff

And so to the challenge - to create a look for this trend from items in my wardrobe. I have had this chiffon dress for a year or two but have only worn it once or twice. Whilst, I love feminine clothes, there was just something too sugary sweet about this dress. It was also never that practical for the UK weather. Taking inspiration from Meadham Kirchhoff (although I am not sure if I like the collection) and Burberry Prorsum (I love the collection with all my heart), I tried adding a pair of grey knee socks ruched down with a pair of strappy wedge shoes. I also added a vintage/ second hand charcoal grey suit jacket. Funnily enough, I was really worried that this look wouldn't work but I really like it. The dark colours toughened up the sheer, cream frilliness of the dress making it much more wearable for me than just on its own. I think I will definitely be getting a to more wear out of this dress.

Dress - Asos

Jacket - Secondhand

Shoes - Karen Millen

Socks - Peacocks

Necklace - present

Catwalk pictures from http://www.style.com/

More Florals and Denim

I love florals and I love denim but combine the two and I my perfect summer outfit. I have made this outfit as part of my no more wants challenge - the denim and floral trend as seen a Ralph Lauren.

As it was such a sunny weekend, I decided to dust off my sunglasses and get out and about. Unfortunately I think this may be the last wear of my gorgeous yellow flower dress. The straps are just too long and it doesn't sit right and my bra keeps showing. Gorgeous as it is I don't feel comfortable in it and it annoyed me all day. Unfortunately I have no idea how I could shorten the straps as they have such intricate embroidery. Never mind I think I will list to swap on www.posh-swaps.com and hopefully swap for something gorgeous, the perfect alternative to shopping (as I am on a shopping ban). I have already swapped some other stuff today, so I am not feeling nearly as bad about my shopping ban.

I am feeling very happy today. So many exciting plans for the spring and summer, I can't wait.

Dress - Next

Denim Jacket - swapped on Posh Swaps

Leggings - Topshop

Wedge Shoes - Next

SS10 Outfit challenge - Safari Trend

It has been a while since my last outfit post and since I last put together an outfit for my no more wants challenge partly because things have been just so mad busy I have lost all ability to think creatively and sunk into that comfort zone of old favourites. I haven't given up on the shopping ban though, even though there has been much temptation.

So as I sit here at 5.30am on Sunday morning watching Dora the Explorer again, It seems like the perfect time to squeeze in an outfit post with the pictures of an outfit that I took yesterday accompanied by a few strategically placed animals, the monkeys are my absolute favourite, although not entirely sure of the accuracy of these species on an African safari, they have been collected by the children on our many zoo visits.

So enough about cuddly toys, some of favourite safari style outfits from the SS10 catwalks.

At Oscar De La Renta

At Louis Vuitton

At Kenzo

At Elie Tahari

At Giambattista Valli

This challenge was the perfect opportunity to wear my favourite bargain ever, this Burberry Prorsum top which I picked up for about £8 in a second hand shop. I have resisted the urge to add all sorts of animal and tribal prints in favour of a more mininmalist approach which is highly unusual for me. I may well revisit this trend though with more pattern added once the weather improves a bit.

Jacket - Burberry Prorsum, second hand

Top - Next

Jeans - Marks and Spencers, Autograph Weekend

Shoes - Next

Necklace - Monsoon

Bag - present

Bangles - presents and New Look

catwalk pictures from http://www.style.com/

SS10 Trend - Pattern Mixing

I have been playing around with pattern mixing for a few seasons now, so I was delighted to see so many examples on the catwalk for SS10 that I could use as inspiration. From real clashes to more subtle combinations, I love them all. I think it is something about the busyness of this look that I love. It is also, the perfect trend for my next No more wants challenge as I have plenty of patterned pieces in my wardrobe. I particularly love the pattern mixing at Kenzo, Rodarte and Dolce and Gabanna. I don't think there are any wrongs or rights with pattern mixing and I don't think there is any science to it, it is just a case of try and see.

At Dolce and Gabanna

At Proenza Schouler

At Rodarte

At Marc Jacobs

At Alexander Wang (quite subtle - look at the shoes)

At Dries Van Noten

At Kenzo

At DKNY

As this is such a huge and extensive trend, I had lots of outfits that I was going to make, but as usual I ran out of time, my camera battery ran out and I ended up with just 2 outfits for now - excuses, excuses. I have been dying to try out a combination of polka dots and florals for some time. I am not sure how wearable this outfit is as the polka dot dress has a lining and it is difficult to stop the different layers riding up, but I love the combination of patterns.

Polka Dot Dress - Marks and Spencers

Floral dress - New Look

Shoes - ASOS

Bag - An old cream satin bag decorated with mauve and silver nail varnish

The next outfit was definitely inspired by the mixture of tie dye and plaid/ check at Rodarte. I bleached the black top to get this interesting orange and black effect that reminds me of tie dye. I loved the effect so much, I was tempted to bleach everything in my wardrobe (I didn't luckily).

Top - second hand black top - bleached

dress - Oasis

Tights - Dorothy Perkins

Boots - Topshop

Necklace - present
scarf (tied around waist) - a present
catwalk pictures from http://www.style.com/

SS10 Trend - Denim and Florals

My next trend for the no more wants challenge is more of a micro trend really - denim and florals. Although denims were seen at quite a few of the shows (D & G, Chloe, House of Holland), it is specifically the mix of denim and ditsy floral prints that I wanted to create in this outfit, something similar to the mix seen at the Ralph Lauren show. It is a classic, easy laid back look. Nothing very adventurous, but I think I will probably wear this outfit quite a bit in the summer for those days when I don't have much time to think about my oufit. I also love this blue colour.

Floral Maxi dress (Jigsaw)- charity shop
Denim Jacket (BCBG) - swapped on Posh Swaps Clothes Swapping Website

Tan wedge sandals - Next


catwalk pictures from http://www.style.com/

Clocks spring forward - SS10 trends floral

It's officially summer time (sort of). I was woken up this morning by a small child wanting cuddles. Before I had the chance to say it is my turn for a lie in, Mr Style Eyes, reminded me that although my clock said 5am, it was actually 6am, at which point I gave in and got up. On the down side, I have been pretty tired all day, on the plus side, I got time for a bit of early morning outfit planning. I know, very sad, but it beats watching Dora the Explorer for the hundredth time.

Anyway today's outfit was is part of my No More Wants Challenge, where I create looks for SS10 using clothes already in my wardrobe. It is however a bit of a cop out as florals are always in fashion in spring and summer. I wanted to try wearing this dress in a slightly different way to the way I wore it for the whole of last summer so I tried wearing it with snake skin tights which freak me out ever so slightly as they make my legs look like snakes. I then tried a few different cardigans/ jackets. I am not sure if I can carry off the pale sort of colours of the dress with the grey jacket and it does make my hips look even larger but I like the contrast of feminine and grey casual. I couldn't resist trying with the pink cardi, one of my favourite colours.

Dress - New Look

Tights- Next

Shoes - Marks and Spencers

Grey jacket - Next

Pink cardigan - Fenn Wright Manson

No More Wants Challenge SS10 Trend - Shorts

At Alexander Wang

At Etro

At Rochas

A Matthew Williamson

There seems to be a pair of shorts for just about any occasion for SS10 from evening to tailored and from leather to super short and sporty. I bought myself a pair of navy blue shorts in Topshop last year but I don't think I have worn them once yet. They looked great in the changing room mirror but once I got them home, I went right off them - what is it about changing room mirrors in shops

Anyway with shorts being a big trend and my self imposed shopping ban, I decided to give them another go. I have not been blessed with the longest of limbs and so shorts can be a bit of a challenge of me. But I rolled them up a little bit and took advantage of the cold weather to wear them with tights. Finally I took the opportunity to wear the new Topshop wedges to add a much needed bit of height and length to my legs(wow I almost feel tall). The top also fits in with another major Spring trend and one of my favourites - florals.

Shorts - Topshop

Top - Next (second hand)

Tights - present from my lovely mum (Tesco I think)

Cardigan - Fennwright Manson

Boots - Topshop

Necklace - pressy from my sister

green ribbon - borrowed from a skirt

Catwalk pictures from http://www.style.com/