Denim Trends for 2014 – From Patchwork to Doodles!

I love denim. I have since I was a kid and I had pale blue dungarees shorts, followed by huge bellbottoms with flares the size of dinnerplates when I was 12, and again when I was 16 with my first denim miniskirt, again with an original dirty denim Levis jacket at 18, followed by denims covered in lace and patchwork when I was a student, and again in my late 20s with a few pairs of indigo skinnies…

I think it’s safe to say that denim is a big part of our wardrobe history, present and future; it’s been the fashion staple of mineworkers, train-track layermen, builders, CEOs, firemen, graphic designers, advertising executives and hipsters. And to keep this never-say-die trend going, here are the Denim trends for 2014 from We Connect Fashion.

Women’s Colours for Spring 2014

So according to the Pantone Colour Institute, here are the Top 10 colours for women for Spring 2014, as evidenced by designers in the latest catwalk shows. What do you think? A variety of brights, pastel brights and neutrals to play around with. Here is what Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director had to say about the colour selection:

“What’s interesting is we’re seeing exciting and fashionable colors as well as more neutral ones. It’s not as though everyone is willing to wear the bright colors from recent seasons head-to-toe. There needs to be equilibrium, and that is a more serious word than balance. The world still needs the stability of soft neutrals but we’re not just talking about gray, beige and taupe,”  (read more here)

I’m loving the Hemlock green, the Sand shade and Paloma grey. Thoughts Good Girls community?!

Ankle Boots to Love this Winter

For many years, I thought ankle boots belonged to old biddies doing their Saturday morning grocery shopping, or middle aged working women who tended to wear them with long (but not long enough) skirts with knee-highs. Clunky, with thick heavy soles and unattractive heels, ankle boots were a NO NO. In caps.

But now, take one look up a busy street and you’ll see women of all ages, races, sizes and ages wearing ANKLE BOOTS. And these are sexy. In a variety of colours & textures. Pointed, stillettoed, capped and cowboyed. Ruffles, tassels, zips & buttons. Studs & leather. “I LIKE”. The clear emphasis is on showing them off, although they do look good when worn under a good pair of jeans. I’ve found that leggings with a jersey dress or similar works really well with ankle boots, as do black tights with tailored shorts. I eventually found my pair at a place in Wynberg for a bargain (I’m not saying they will last me forever, but since I already have a pair of expensive leather riding boots, I decided I could skimp on these for the season).

I’ve found some really stunning pairs here, all pulled off fashion or retail websites, some off pinterest. Quite a few of them I’d probably be a bit hesitant to wear because the heels are rather intimidating, but they just look so good! Anyway, enjoy the fashion candy ladies. Good girls look good in Good Boots.

boot 1 | boot 2 | boot 3 | boot 4 | boot 5 | boot 6 | boot 7 | boot 8

Best Dressed on the Red Carpet at Oscar Night

So the 85th Academy Awards kicked off on Sunday evening – and while I didn’t watch live that night, I managed to catch 4 of the big awards at the very end when I got up early for work! For those who are hopelessly out of the loop – the big winners:

• Best Picture: “Argo.”
• Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln.”
• Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook.”
• Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained.”
• Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables.”
• Directing: Ang Lee, “Life of Pi.”

And of course I have to mention Best Documentary Feature: “Searching for Sugar Man”, most of which was filmed in South Africa.

But that’s enough of the awards. We all want to know who looked good! My favourites included Jennifer Lawrence (who tripped over her huge dress going up to collect her award) and Jessica Chastain – 100% elegant and beautiful. Here we go!

This year’s Best Actress winner Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook was the belle of the ball in a white-and-pale pink strapless Dior Haute Couture gown with fitted bustier and poufy hemline, sophisticated pulled-back hair, diamond-ball earrings and a delicate long necklace that hung down in the back.

This year’s Best Actress nominee Naomi Watts was shimmering in a gunmetal beaded Armani Prive gown with a geometric cutout on the bodice.

Snow White And The Huntsman actress Theron was sleek in an angular strapless dress with a fashion-right peplum and a buzz-cut hairdo.

Zero Dark Thirty actress may have lost to Jennifer Lawrence for the Best Actress Oscar this year but her gown did not. She wore a glistening copper-tone strapless Armani Prive gown with mermaid hem.

Amy flaunted her toned figure in a silver-gray Oscar de la Renta gown with a beaded bodice and a tulle-embellished skirt.

Les Miserables actress Amanda Seyfried looked pretty in Alexander McQueen gown with a keyhole opening.

Giuliana Rancic in Rafael Cennamo. The black gown is elegant, yet understated and all the couture-like detail adds curves.

Former Friends star kept up the tradition of Valentino’s special brand of Hollywood red, wearing a strapless princess gown.

George Clooney’s girlfriend was shining in a silver-and-black Naeem Khan gown which had a flapper vibe.

all images from Huffington Post and Indian Express.

Gorgeous Leather Jewellery | Flirty Friday!

Hi everyone, I hope your week back at work has been good, productive and not that long! I”m super happy that it’s Friday and also that the weather has cooled from 33 degrees to 25 degrees – much more manageable. Well I’ve decided to post on something a little different today: leather jewellery! No long the realm of hippies and bohos, leather jewellery is designer, custom, stylish and colourful (with a bit of cute boho on the side 🙂 From chains to cuffs, earrings to RINGS, you name it – leather is the new ‘it’ in accessories…

I hope you enjoy! Please leave any comments about where you’ve bought great jewellery items like these so we can all share in the goodness. Have a super Friday and I hope your weekend is fab. xx

Rainbow Earrings | source Design Love Fest

Leather String & Black Jewel Drop Necklace | source IndieMode

Leather & Gold Cuff | source Reiss

Gold & Black Leather Rose Earrings | source Bottica

MultiColoured Drop Leather Earrings | source Etsy

and then some fun DIY because that’s how I roll! A homemade leather cuff bracelet:

How to Make a Leather Cuff Bracelet | source Femour

Shiny & Colourful Cap Toe Heels – New Trend on the Block

The latest shoe trend I’ve been noticing is cap-toe heels = still working out if it’s ME or not, but still, it’s pretty cute and cheeky! You can do cap toes with pointed stilettos or round toes, either or is good.

The trend on the red carpet is metallic cap toes = usually in gold or sometimes silver, but with the neon trend still on the up, bright shoe tips are also pretty popular. Check out the DIY pic below for a how to with out the spend! Great way of jazzing up a pair of old shoes 🙂 Happy weekend all!

Celebs Wearing Cap Toes | source Who What Wear

Metallic! | source Pursuit of Shoes

Models in Cap Toes | source People Style Watch

Cap Toe Shoes – Do It Yourself! | source Hollywood Blvd

Gorgeous on the Red Carpet | source Pinterest

Black Heels with Yellow Tips | source A Pair and a Spare

Summer Trends for 2012 – A Saturday Moodboard

Haven’t done a moodboard in ages, but since I was inspired to go shopping last night after work and managed to come home with a few choice new items, I thought I’d spring a moodboard on the blog this morning – all in celebration of Summer 2012’s FABULOUS fashion, makeup & hair trends…

Think Neon, Pastel & Prints, top colours are mint, teal, green, coral & pink, dipped hair is in, brights are good to go, makeup is fresh & colourful, jewellery is big, glittery and bright... enjoy!

Summer 2012 Trend Moodboard | all images from Pinterest

Neon & Pastel Decor | Home Trends

Recently I did a post on Pastel Colours as a big fashion trend for 2012, and have found that splashes of Neon are also making their way into focus – both in fashion and in decor trends. What we are also seeing now is a great combination of neon & pastel together (I know, initally it seems crazy, but actually – it works!) and not only in fashion. Why not brighten up your home for summer with some pastel & neon shades?

The key is to keep the base colours very neutral and quite light – white, dove grey or pale pastels work well on walls, while brighter pops of colour look good as accents. Key pastels to remember include: mint, teal, rose, lemon and lilac, while neons look good in fuschia, tangerine, coral and florescent yellow.

Check out these great design & decor inspirations…

Neon vs Pastel | source Enter My Attic

Neon Green Touches | source Enter My Attic

Soft & Bright Colours | source The Style Files

Neon & Pastel Inspiration | source Le Notebook

Dipped Hair & Neon Inspired Home | source Trendland

Neon & White Kitchen | source John Lewis

Pinboard of Neon & Pastel Ideas | source Style Files

Fifty Shades of Pastel – Summer 2012’s Favourite Milkshake Blend

Oh how we love new trends! Sometimes it’s just nice to look at them on the runway or through the pages of glossy fashion magazines; sometimes it’s nice to see the trends come through as functional/wearable clothes in our department stores, and to wander through the rows of gorgeous threads, running our hands over the fabrics; but it’s the BEST when we find an on-trend item that fits, that works with clothes from last year and makes you look good.

Those trends we like 🙂

As a kid my mom dressed me in a fair share of pastel colours, but I don’t think I ever really warmed to the baby blues and bubblegum pinks – I preferred bolder or darker colours in general. But SUDDENLY mint, teal, lemon, peach and lilac are taking over the fashion world – and hey baby, pastels are back in.

The Trend is Pastel | source The Ray & The Ro

Here are some tips from Modalu about Summer 2012’s latest trend:

“SS12 sees the fashion world awash with a palette of light-infused summer pastels. An air of sugary-sweet innocence is in abundance as cool creamy mint, vanilla nude and shark grey dominate the season.

Keep this candy-coloured look chic by focusing on key neutral colours and popping in an unusual pastel shade such as mint.”

Ready, steady, go! Bring the girls to the milkshake barn.

Pastel Polka Dots | source Squidoo.com

Pastel Clothes & Pastel Flamboyage | source Elle France

Fifty Shades of Pastel | source The Style Umbrella

Pretty in Pastel | source Pinterest

Golden Girl in White | source sty.lized.tumblr.com

Pastel Jean Pants | source social-beautys.tumblr.com

Mint on the Runway | source The Ray & The Ro

Neon in Shades of Pastel | source Squidoo

Of Sparkly Pumps & Glitter Heels | Shoe Delights

Whenever I have a long day, I like to unwind with a bit of pinning – really one of the MOST therapeutic exercises I know. And the other day was one of those. Imagine my delight when I came across a whole lot of gorgeous shoes pinned by someone I follow; that just did me in!

I ended up scouring Pinterest and the web for some gorge shoes to share with you – really, I probably wouldn’t wear most of these (I find extraordinarily tall heels a bit hard to walk in, and since I am 5.8, I am then touching the ceiling) but I do find trying on massively tall heels at Mr Price rather fun 🙂

Anyway here’s a selection of fun, crazy, glittery, sparkly shoes, heels & pumps to share – feast your eyes!

Sparkle Pumps for Fun! | source babydeath.tumblr

Blue Glitter Heels | source Wanelo.com

Suede Baby, Suede | source CharlotteRusse.com

Peacock Peacock | source Etsy.com

Zig Zag Clogs | source modcloth.com

Cute Black Booties | source blushingapples.tumblr.com

Naartjie Glitter Heels | source etsy.com

Leopard Roar | source bourbonandpearls.tumblr.com

Louboutins in Style | source Shoe Tease

Denim Delish | source Asian Scent

BabyDoll in Neon | source Hawaii Kawaii

Mint Ice Cream | source Pinterest