OMG DRG

Anonymous blogger Disneyrollergirl outed herself yesterday.  An end of an era, she can now be referred to by her real name of Navaz.

It's like when Belle Du Jour came out, except a bit cooler and a bit less smutty.

You may remember I wrote a post on blogging collaborations in which I managed to get a quote from Disneyrollergirl herself.  You may read the post here.

If you are a Londoner, you may also go along to see her do a Q&A with Vogue's Creative Director Robin Derrick at 6:30pm on Thursday night.  

As a Cardiffian, I'll be attending the Pica Pica Cardiff Blogs Meet-up instead.  Definitely just as good : )

(Image: Disneyrollergirl)

I HEART Vintage

With the recent closure of Lunacy Boutique, it comes as no surprise that the newest independent fashion venture in Cardiff is making its tentative first steps online instead of on the high street.  I Heart Vintage is a second-hand clothing website, the brainchild of two local residents Sarah and Reena, whose love for vintage clothing motivates them to seek out individual finds for themselves and others.

Since I share a passion for vintage with the fashionable entrepreuners, I was keen to ask them a few questions about their venture:

Why did you decide to open an online shop?

R&S - We both love the high street and the key for us is mixing high street with vintage.  We aren't top-to-toe in vintage all day everyday and we don't claim to be vintage experts. We just have a passion for fashion so wanted to share this through setting up I Heart Vintage. We were lucky to have the support and generosity of family and friends which allowed us to set up the online store around our full time jobs. 

Would you ever think about branching out into the high-street?

R&S - We both work full time so at the moment that wouldn’t be an option for us but it’s not something we would rule out for the future. I think we would like to explore other opportunities the high street could offer such as working with stores who would like to add vintage to their range and would be interested in stocking a selection of clothing from I Heart Vintage.

What do you think about vintage in Cardiff?

R&S - We love the vintage scene in Cardiff and have enjoyed being a part of it as we have shopped many times at fairs such as Blind Lemon Vintage and Milgi's Northcote Lane Market. It's really exciting to experience the other side of it now, having become sellers particularly as the options for vintage shoppers in Cardiff grows. We've been able to raise our profile through the vintage networks in Cardiff by selling at fairs such as Make it Pretty and Milkwood Gallery's flea market. This has really helped us and it's been great to meet and get to know other vintage sellers. 

In the near future we are looking to work with local talented designers whose products are inspired by vintage fashion and showcasing them on I heart vintage. We hope that this will help towards the already thriving vintage scene in Cardiff and play a part in promoting Welsh talent. 

 Where do you source your clothing from?

S – We source our stock from a combination of wholesalers, charity shops and private sellers. My Auntie Pearl gave us a good kick start by kindly donating all her beautiful clothes from the 60s and 70s. Shopping runs in the family! To begin with we’re customising quite simply perhaps by shortening, removing shoulder pads or adding buttons but learning to make clothes or change them dramatically is something I’ve always been keen to learn to do.

 What sort of price range will the clothing be in?

S&R – Prices on our website for clothing start at £20 with accessories starting from under £10. We have chosen a great selection of items for the online store with the majority of dresses around £30-£40. At vintage fairs we’ll have a broader price range too.

Why Cardiff?

S&R – We both love Cardiff and live here so made sense to get the business well known and established here before taking on the rest of the world! ;o) Plus vintage is up-and-coming in Cardiff, so it’s great to be a part of it here and we’ve met lots of other great people here who are doing similar things especially jewellery makers who we would love to collaborate with in the near future. 

What era of vintage is the clothing from?
 

S&R - For I Heart Vintage we define vintage as being 80s or before. At the moment we have a lot of 60s and 70s stock but we select items according to what catches our eye more than what era it’s from. If we love it and think other people will then we’ll go for it.

                                        
How would you describe your own style?

S – I have a quite diverse style and incredibly varied taste in clothing. I love the look of celebs like Carey Mulligan & Milla Jovovich. On the high street i love Urban Outfitters and Top Shop. My friend Flair always looks amazing although she says one of her style icons is my mum!  My style and taste has constantly changed although and I’m a little bit less impetuous when buying things now. I’m constantly learning what goes together and what suits me personally.

R – I love Fearne Cotton, Alexa Chung and Kate Bosworth’s style so usually look to them for inspiration. I really like the way they mix their vintage pieces with high street clothes. I like their modern take on vintage. And even when they wear designer pieces you can usually count on Topshop and Urban Outfitters to come up with a great copy. And I am with Sarah on the love of these high street shops as they are my favourite!

................................

Hmm, good answers.  I very much agree with Reena and Sarah that the vintage scene in Cardiff is burgeoning (just like the blogging scene!), and I love that they're both eager to promote Welsh designers. 

I also love the clothes on their site, especially the 70's maxi-dress above.  Pass me my (imaginary) fedora and bring on the new season please?  I wonder if the couch and the furry cushion will get thrown into my purchase if I ask nicely??

I'm also liking this soft-looking dress (below), particularly for the nipped in waist and pussy-bow style neck.

There's plenty more on the website and prices are pretty reasonable too.  You'll also be smug in the knowledge that no one else will be wearing the same item as you.

I have to say though, as much as I love the site, buying vintage online does have its cons.  You miss out on feeling the quality of the item, of falling in love with the intricate detailing and incredible craftsmanship of a vintage piece.  

 Luckily, Sarah and Reena are still going to be selling at various markets, good news for us vintage-lover that still like to shop in the old-fashioned way. 

You can go say hello to them and their lovely items at:

Make it Pretty at Chapter – Saturday 5^th February

Blind Lemon Vintage Fair at City Hall – Sunday 6^th February

Blind Lemon Vintage Fair in Swansea – Sunday 13^th March

Fittingly, their also having an old-school launch party at 10 Feet Tall tomorrow night, featuring a clothes stall, a bespoke I Heart Vintage cocktail, CUPCAKES, a free prize draw, and Vinyl Vendetta DJing.

Let me know what you bought?

Lennon Face

I've always had a slight aversion to John Lennon-style sunglasses.  That's less to do with Lennon and more to do with Elton John though.  He makes me associate round specs with big faces, tacky signet rings and gold teeth.  

That's why it's come as a surprise that I'm digging on (sorry, had to throw some 60's vocab in) a more spherical shape for summer this year.

I especially like the translucent floral ones and the coral pink shapes seen on the right, and in an ideal world I'd be packing both pairs into my suitcase for an immediate trip to Rio, along with a macrame bikini and some jelly shoes.

Instead, I'm sitting in my cold room researching SS11 trends for a job application.  I'm guessing the little round buggers have subliminally slipped into my subconscious from their use in the various shoots, shows and campaigns I've been coming across.  They've already managed to worm their way into my blog twice, here and here, and have had a runway presence at Bodkin and Jil Sander, as well as in various other places on the interweb.

I'm therefore going to put my proverbial money where my mouth is and forecast that these are the shape for the new season.

Slight tip: the larger versions are more flattering if you don't have the cheekbones of a model.  Plus they make you look a little more 60's 'it' girl than stoned hippy.

Bye bye last year's fake Cambodian Wayfarers - the future's bright, the future's...circular?

Art of Uff

The internet is the best tool ever invented for the inquisitive (nosy) among us.  Where else can you browse through the drawers of the rich and famous or check out a designer's wardrobe at the click of a button?

Stylelikeu is a website which takes a mix of people, from 'it' girls to rappers to bloggers to people living in a teepee in their friends' back garden with reeeeeeally interesting dress sense and analyses their style through a video lens.  They go round to the houses (or tents) of these creative dressers to see them rifling through their closets, talking about their dress sense, and generally showing off their quirky selves.

(The teepee couple.  I'm seeing a trend for round sunglasses on this blog.  I think I like them.)

It's kind of like an underground version of Cribs for those of us who are obsessed with style.

It's also an anthropological study into fashion tribes.  The videographers explore where the sense of the person's style came from, and it can often be connected to where they grew up, and who they grew up around.  For example there's one American girl who grew up in Tokyo, who has a clear Harajuku influence in her style, even though she hasn't lived there for years.

(Uffie)

One of the vids is of Uffie (above). If I had to summarise her I'd say she was an authentic and far superior version of the vile Ke$ha.  Even bringing Ke$ha into the equation kind of undermines Uffie, but if you listen to the track I've posted below this video you'll see why I had to make the comparison.

The pink ombre hair, the chipped nail varnish, the quote on her style, 'it changes daily, sometimes it looks like I could be homeless, sometimes I wear really pretty clothes.'

Girl after my own heart.  If I was a super cool female rapper who lived in Paris and had an tres amazing figure, then I'd totally be Uffie.

Zooey

Ah, Zooey Deschanel.  I met you in Elf, loved you in (500) Days of Summer, but am confused by you in this music video.

I do like your lipstick though.

Label Lust

Just discovered Bodkin and had to share.

Love.

I kind of dismissed the fact that Spring/ Summer 11 is meant to be all about the bright colours, particularly tangerine.  

Until I saw this ad campaign that is.

Head-to-toe white is also meant to be in - which looks even more wearable with a splash of orange in the '7' labelled picture - don't you think?

I love that it's all about how the clothes drape on the model, and how wearable every item is.  I know I've already said that, but it is!

I also love how the shoes bring the looks together.  Especially those brown boots.  I need to get me a pair of those, along with some brightly-hued shorts.

(Images courtesy of Bodkin)

Designer Bloggers

Arguably Sweden’s most famous blogger, Elin Kling made sartorial headlines last week due to her design collaboration with huge high-street players H&M.  The first collection of this kind on such a high-profile scale, it consists of eleven bohemian-inspired pieces, nine of which are items of clothing, and two of which are accessories.  

The lack of items and simplicity of design makes it a capsule collection, mimicking the pared-down fashion that is synonymous with Stockholm street style.

In a press release from H&M, Kling supports this idea, stating; 

“The collection is minimalistic and raw, but with bohemian elements, something that reflects my personal style well.”

The collection will appear only in Sweden, leaving the international consumer to wonder if H&M is planning to pair up with bloggers in other countries, or if any other brands will jump on the collaboration bandwagon.

I asked one of Britain’s most illustrious fashion bloggers, Disneyrollergirl, for her insight on this.  She surmises:

"For a brand as big as H&M to take on a blogger as guest designer is huge news because up until now, its collaborations have been with established international designers. It's not the first time a brand has worked with a blogger as a guest designer but because of the size of the H&M brand, this is significant and I imagine many more will jump on the bandwagon. Well-read bloggers do have celebrity-like followings so it makes sense that brands will want to utilise this - they get the blogger's creative input, a slice of their audience and all the media coverage that comes with the story."

I’m inclined to agree with Disneyrollergirl, and it makes business sense to the blogger as well as the big brand.  Of course, we've seen how bloggers have come to be recognised as a respected source of fashion knowledge with regards to writing and commentating on the fashion industry, but this design collaboration is a bit of a twist.


As a blogger and an avid blog reader, I'm eager to see how the partnership between the established fashion industry and the debatably independent online contributors develops further.

Now what’s Swedish for vive la revolution?

(Image courtesy of  Uniartfashion)