inspirations of the week - week two! - Carmen Miranda!

OK, so this is the second week of my inspirations of the week which im planning on doing each week showing which things inspired me and why! however this one is a little late due to lots and lots happening last week. So this week i haven't bee inspired by a lot of things like last week but just one glamorous lady has inspired me this week and thats Carmen Miranda the Brazillian singer/ dancer and actress. I have to totally agree that me and her share the love for more is more! and not doing any thing but halfs when it comes to styling myself. I hate anything minimal and believe styling yourself to the max every single day is the way to go! so this week i have looked to the forever stylish and one of my main fashion inspirations I love the way she wore her quirky fruity head pieces and of course that incredible platform shoe collection shes a girl after my own heart!  and of course you cant forget her love for over the top exquisite head pieces and turban! and you all know im a huge turban lover and lover off all things flamboyant especially in the head wear variety. So Carmen this weeks inspiration goes to you and only you. Because who can live up to her style in one week?

She was a lover of the platform the same as myself! and had pairs made my some of the words best shoe designers with custom fruit, studs and even embellishment! i just hope one day i have a shoe collection amazing as hers!

She also rocked that incredible hair roll!

Known for her incredible talent, beauty and style Carmen Miranda will forever be one of my style icons along with Lucille Ball and Ginger Rogers! and that's why she had to be this weeks one and only inspiration because what else can be put along side her? 

hope you enjoyed the post feel free to comment!

lots of love original vintage queen xo

inspirations of the week - week one

I know ive been yet again away from the blogging world. I said when i started my blog that i would be blogging everyday|! but when i actually started to blog i realised that this isnt always possible as i have other life commitments. But i still try to blog as much as i can I have also been thinking of possible new posts i could do as part of weekly features so i decided to do things each week that inspire me because im always finding things whether there online or when im out and about that inspire me in everyday life almost in the strangest ways! whether it be in my work as a stylist or just typical fashion inspiration. So this is this weeks inspiration in pictures and a little trip inside my sometimes crazy and flamboyant mind and way of thinking. So heres my top 15 inspirations and ideas of the week. Hope you enjoy.

15. THE HAIR AND THE HATS 

yes as everyone knows im a massive vintage hat fan and wear a hat almost everyday! but lately ive been wanting to experiment and do more than just wear a hat i wanted to experiment with my hair and try different styles on my wear while wearing smaller pillar box style hats! and this photo inspired it!

14. LOVING COUTURE

i recently bought a new couture 1960s suite and when i saw this photo after wards it inspired me on different ways to experiment with dressing it up! and it also revitalised my ever growing love for long and midi length gloves.

13.FOREVER STANDING OUT

of course STANDING OUT everyday for me is another day of standing out. why blend in? when you can stand out especially in fashion. And seeing this image jsut reminded me of that and made me think even though people look at you in the street like on this photo. Maybe they are looking at you because your fabulous i know thia gorgeous lady in red is!

12.  BONKERS FOR TARTAN

just everything about this photo inspired me this week. I totally forgot how much i love and miss wearing tartan since the summers come its been hiding in the back of my wardrobe crying out to be worn. But seeing this im defiantly going to be digging myn out soon and wearing it again. And im thinking of wearing it all together in one go i mean you can never wear enough tartan? and not to forget this amazing but simple way of wearing the beret! its amazing so simple i would never have thought of it. So im definitely giving it ago after seeing this photo.

11. TURBANS

TURBANS ! turbans have always been something which i have loved wearing for years even before i started dressing vintage! but since finding this image at the beginning of the week of these amazing 1940s turbans i have fallen in love again! and have spent the week creating my own! similar to this! thank god for pinterest.

10. MORE AND MORE PLATFORMS

SHOES SHOES SHOES AND CARMEN MIRANDA, so i have always love shoes every girl does! and vintage shoes even more but seeing this photo of the incredible Carmen Miranda and all her amazing vintage platforms i am now on the hunt for some just like hers! and ive become obsessed with owning this many amazing pairs of shoes!

9. ADVANCED STYLE

ADVANCED STYLE! i have been reading the advanced style blog for years now and i still love reading it as much a i did back then! the women are just incredible and so is there sense of fashion and the way they know exactly who they are with no doubt! which is something which i hope to achieve way before i get to there ages! and i hope to still love fashion as much as they do when i get to that age. Also advanced style has recently been added to my following list on instagram and i am hooked even more! i look forward to seeing some incredible men and women showing off there sense of fashion and confidence every day!

8. MARILYN MONROE

MARILYN MONROE i have been literally addicted to watching Marilyn movies this week and realising each time how amazing and gorgeous she was! she will forever be an inspiration and a great beauty.

7. I LOVE LUCY

LUCILLE BALL! she is forever my main inspiration and since it was her 103rd birthday earlier this week it inspired me to look back at some of the old photos of her. Also i have has numerous comments on instagram telling me i look like her! well theres no better compliment than that!? the forever gorgeous Lucille Ball.

6. NOVELTY HATS

HATS HATS HATS i love hats as everyone already knows and finding this image has made me get out my most amazing and crazy hats this week! and also made me want to search the earth for this amazing vintage dog hat!

5. WOMEN OF THE FIFTIES AND MY GRAN

WOMEN OF THE FIFTIES! well looking back on the women of the 50s this week. Spent the day earlier this week looking through images from my grans photo album of her teenage days in the 50s and her ice skating days from 1952 to 57! which are always amazing to look at and always inspire me when ever i look at them! and im forever asking her everything about that era! forever my biggest inspiration.

4. BEDROOM ORGANISATION.

so i spent a large chunk of the week after looking at this photo of apparently Dita Von Teese's bedroom/dressing room tidying up my own room and finally organising my dressing table and organising my hats in a similar way.

3. SUITES ARE COMING BACK

its been to hot for vintage suites at the moment so myn have been gathering dust in my wardrobe for weeks. And even though its middle of the summer the heatwave seems to have cooled down and its cold enough for suits again so im making the most out of it and living in myn for the next few weeks. And seeing this photo made me realise how much i miss wearing myn.

2. THAT HAIR - LOOSE CURLS

i always say that i need to spend more time pin curling and setting my hair wearing it down more often like that. And seeing this photo has inspired me to start wearing myn down more often and setting it again for the summer months.

1. GAGA FOR GAGA

well of course my biggest inspiration of the week has got to be Lady Gaga. She is forever one of my biggest inspirations in life and fashion. She is fearless and isnt afraid to take a risk. She is forever my weeks biggest inspiration.

Outfit of the day - Orange suite and the poodle

Today's outfit of the day is the theme "Orange" and since orange is my favourite colour and my hair colour i always love wearing reds or oranges. So i decided to wear this orange top skirt and jacket three piece from Ding Dong vintage and then built up my outfit from there. And of course today's hair style is inspired by the one and only Betty Grable and this is my take on her classic "POODLE" hair style with my own twist. I hope you enjoy my Outfit of the day and feel free to leave your comments below...

The inspiration Betty Grables amazing " POODLE" up do!

OOTD!

im wearing!

orange striped 1960s suite - Ding Dong vintage

Shoes - British heart £4.99

Vintage brown Seamed stockings - £3.99 Age UK

Aligator skin handbag - St cuthberts hospice £10

Scarf - charity shop £1

Wooden bangles £1 car boot sale

Red knitted snood - eBay £3.99

Hat pin - charity shop £1

Orange vintage hat - £6 Armstrongs vintage

Brown leather and mink fur earrings - £4 Herman Brown

Vintage fox fur cape eBay £50

Blue crochet gloves - Great Aunts

Bangles - Charity shops

Necklace - Mams

Volunteering as a window dresser some tips and what i wore..

I have been volunteering as a window dresser at my local Age UK for just over two months now and i have enjoyed every minute of it. I do there shop mannequin's and main window mannequins every Sunday and just have to freedom to pick out which of there stock i want to put onto them and use there accessories, handbags and shoes to make outfits. Giving the customers an idea how to out things together or just give them some inspiration on how to style up things if they are unsure on how they would style it. I sometimes even forget im helping them by giving my time because it doesn't feel like im actually working. 

Ideally i would love to be a professional stylist and style real people! for editorials more on the couture or concept side. Creating high concept outfits for shoots which is what i am best at. Coming up with an outfit for a unique theme. However dressing mannequins and people for normal everyday wear is still fun.

They photos aren't as good as camera quality as i could only take them on my photo camera.

I started off by dressing the main window mannequins and decided i wanted them to very summery. They could provide inspiration for people going on there holidays but i still wanted the clothes to still be able to be worn in england. so i added a cardigan over the strappy maxi dress in case it is a little bit chilly. I also added the chunky necklace as a statement piece and because they are very popular and in fashion at the moment.

I added the over the shoulder bag and picked out the blue flowers in the dress and added a blue scarf to the bag to add more colour to the outfit. However i wasn't to sure on the cardigan i added to the dress because i felt it was blending to much into the dress and wasn't standing out as a good cover up and wanted to chose a colour that would pop against the floral print.

TIP! - it is important when you are adding accessories to an outfit to pick out a colour within your main garment and go from there.

I added this lime green cardigan over the top of the maxi dress because i thought that it stood out against the dress instead of blending in. And it is a very popular colour for the summer. I also decided to add a sequin beanie hat to make a look more fun and youthful also make the look more bohemian.

The next window mannequin i dressed was influenced by the races and of course Ascot. Since a lot of people have been coming in recently looking for hats for the races i thought i could give them a little inspiration on there outfit.

I put this hot pink lace pencil skirt with ribbon bow which you tie at the back with this floral tunic top. which i decided to put together to keep the floral theme running through the two main window mannequins.

I added this black statement necklace to make the outfit look more classy and i chose black to keep it toned down. I also added this black and cream wicker beach bag so the outfit could be worn on holiday.

And of course i added a hot pink hat to complete my races themed outfit. And the finished window mannequins.

I chose this black and white ruffled shirt and decided to add this red and gold studded belt so i could then use reds blues and golds for my accessories.

TIP - black and white is a great colour palette for any outfit then you can pick out any other colour for your accessories.

I put this red, blue and gold nautical beach bag with my black and white ruffled shirt because pattern clashing is very popular and in fashion at the moment and these prints clash but at the same time go hand in hand with each other. And i chose these cherry red shoes to match the red belt.

I then added this statement green and black necklace to finish off the look. And i chose green because the green goes with the red belt and shoes i chose.

When constructing this outfit i started with picking out this paisley mini skirt and picked out this pleated purple top. I then added this black statement necklace.

Then added this silver and gold Chanel style handbag to complete the look.

I started this outfit but choosing this navy blue skirt with rouched waistline and added this navy blue printed scarf and added it as a belt.

I then picked out the orange from the scarf and added this strapless top to add a pop of colour to this outfit.

I added this green and orange necklace to complete the look and give it a tropical feel.

I created this look picking out red and black from the top, and added strappy sandles to make it suitable for summer.

I added this purple necklace to this neutral outfit to add a pop of colour but not to much colour.

And now for what i wore..

Todays outfit was nautical themed but still comfy and casual for window dressing.

Hat - Local vintage market £6

Scarf - bought today Age uk £2.50

Dress - salvation army £4.50

Bag - British heart £5

Shoes - British heart £4.99

Belt - charity shop £1

Gloves - Herman brown Edinburgh £12

This is the print on my giant scarf, love the summery beach/nautical print. Which i couldn't resist buying today while i was window dressing and for only £2.50!