Tie dye Fun

Still marching to the drum of DIY crafts, I wanted to share my latest crafty creations.

With a sunny April and the excitement of our recently booked holiday to Crete, Ben and I got in the mood for a little bit of tie dye fun! Wilkos have a wide range of fabric dyes that are pretty cheap (£2.99 per sachet) and I managed to get hold of a 3 pack of white cotton t-shirts for just a fiver at Primark - bargain!

And this is what we came up with...

The 'marbled' effect - simply screw up your tee into a tight ball and whack a load of elastic bands round it to keep it in place.

Stripes - if you want horizontal stripes, roll your tee up from sleeve to sleeve and then wrap elastic bands across to create the stripe its self (spacing however you desire!) For verticle stripes, roll from neck to bottom hem line.

Circles - pull tee from the centre (or wherever you want your circles to start from) into a cone-like shape. Wrap elastic bands round the cone.

OK so at the moment we are clearly amateurs at the tie dying game but I reckon with a bit of time and practice, we could become masters!

For illustrated tie dye tips and techniques, just have a look on youtube or google; there's an abundance of sites to help you get started.

Mode L'homme

In attempt to cater to any male readers I may have out there within my small group of followers, I've decided to bring some fashion suggestions to the Spring/Summer table for you guys.

My boyfriend once said to me that he cannot deal with people wearing hats unless they absolutely suit them and I totally agree. If you're lucky enough to be one of those who can style a hat with ease, Brixton do some excellent head gear:

YMC do some wicked footwear for men. I'd have to say these are 2 of my favourites:

Stripes are still dominating the high street and are essential to complete any casual 'fit:

Shirts are not typically formal attire these days. You boyos have given them an urban twist that simply makes me go weak at the knees. LOVE these shirts, especially the Vintage Garbstore. And the red one is on sale at Urban Outfitters right now - quick!

Penfield are one of my favourite labels for men's clothing. I think these chinos are pretty fresh.

The chino short will be rife this summer, but make sure you get a decent pair like these Libertine Libertine chinos I found on ASOS. They're a little pricey but worth it if you want to avoid looking like a Topman clone.

Polo shirts are a classic if worn correctly (collars up with a gold chain is a no no!) I love the simplicity of this polo by Farah:

And just because we all know England's weather is just about as trustworthy as it's politicans, a light parka will be all good to see you through those rainy days. YMC holla!

Check out oki-ni.com for more key pieces this summer. I just kinda stumbled over it and liked what I saw...!

*P.S. If you're a citizen of Nottingham, have a wander to the Heligoland store in Bridlesmith Walk to explore what you could be wearing, other than what you feel you should be wearing.

So I Creep

Just putting this out there... I've spotted a few creepers knocking about in the highstreet stores recently. Got a funny feeling they're gonna be creeping into more of our day to day fashion fixes. Watch this space.

Topshop: £85

Robert Lee Morris

Ever caught a snapshot of one of the Olsen twins flashing a nicely sculptured piece of Ag or Au and thought, 'where do they get their jewellery from?!' It'll more than likely be the work of Robert Lee Morris.

Discovered in the early 70s, Robert Lee Morris is a renowned leader of the art jewelry movement, collaborating with the likes of Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Karl Lagerfeld. His career really made a storm after Vogue first featured his work in 1976 and continued to do so for 7 years in 49 consecutive issues. In 2007 he was awarded the Geoffery Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen grew a particular bond with Robert Lee Morris when their own career began to soar in the fashion lime light. He designed a collection of jewellery for the twins' label Elizabeth and James in 2008 and his work still dominates all the runway shows today.

My most wanted:

Spring 2011

There has been an abundance of tweets and countless articles in all my favourite 'zines this month about fashion week sweeping through Milan, Paris, New York and London. The hype on the fashion scene has proven to be unavoidable and I'm so glad that this has been the case; spring 2011 will probably be my favourite season yet.

Why? Because the key looks for Spring 2011 are right up my street. They're marching the biker drum, hailing leather as a must-have. And the punk influence is back once again dominating many designer campaigns, taking over from what was more of a clean cut 2010. Say goodbye to brogues and blazers and hello to motorcycle jackets and leather pants!

But the important thing to remember here is that punk is not a full blown trend this season. It is an influence which means mixing it up with set trends. Convenient then, that the biker look is an excellent combination with those studs and heavy boots. If that's a little too much for your taste buds do not dismay: sheer maxi dresses have also taken reign on the catwalks and look amazing with a pair of Dr Martens. Soft, minimal twists to those hardcore garms is my favourite way to deal with these key pieces, giving the impression that you've just rolled out of bed this morning and carelessly threw that outfit together.

How To Get Over A Guy In 10 days

Recently I split with my boyfriend. To be more specific it was on new year's day so it was kind of a double whammy for me. We all tend to get a bit sensitive about that sort of stuff don't we? So understandably I was quite distressed about it, sobbing on the phone to my best friend on an overly packed out transpennine express feeling all sorry for myself. With a runny nose and blood shot eyes, I must have looked terrible stalking through Manchester Picadilly with that god forsaken suitcase!

But my philosophy in life has always been to look at the bigger picture. After A LOT of wine drinking and a couple of very hard (and lonely) nights, it soon came to my attention that the timing could not have been better: a new year, a new start, a new me. I didn't see the point in dwelling on the pain when I knew that in a few months time I'd be over it. So why couldn't I be over it now? And it was quite easy really to achieve that. You just have to go about the post break-up period in the right way, of which I have a few pointers to share.

• It's OK to cry. We're only human right? So give yourself a one day to sob to your hearts content because this is healthy, no matter what your face might say (red, puffy bags around the eyes is definitely not the one!) But what isn't cool is to cry for days on end, to cry into that wine glass spoiling everyone else's night out and to cry on the phone to your lover, begging for him to take you back. No no no. Have a bit of dignity about it. You have one day and that is all!
• Have your say. Whatever the reason for your break-up, there is always two sides to the story; yours and his. You are allowed one time to tell him how you feel after you break up. This will make you feel better, he will know where he stands in your new situation and you can both move on. But whatever you do, do not over do it. Whether it's face to face or over the phone; losing your rag, throwing things, begging for mercy or doing anything else that counts as an absolute break-up faux pas is not the way forward. Say it once and walk away. *If it helps, get your mates to confiscate your phone on a night out, to avoid any embarassments.
• Be realistic. And honest with yourself. During my down time a very good friend of mine quoted me this; 'Integrity is telling yourself the truth. Honesty is telling the truth to other people'. I truly believe the word 'integrity' is the main focus in getting over any relationship. You have to be brutally honest with yourself... what's the bottom line here? There's a reason you broke up and you need to face it because there is absolutely no point in holding on to something that wasn't meant to be. Why waste time on that when you could be happy and moving on? Check yourself before you wreck yourself!
• Surround yourself with friends. These are the people who do love you and do care about you so take heed of that fact. Nothing feels better than a good old laugh with your mates.
• Keep busy. The worst thing you could do is mope around the house feeling sorry for yourself, with a string quartet ready to go in the corner. Don't pull sickys, go to work. Go to the gym, eat out with friends. Spend some quality time with family... do anything other than lay in bed watching Bridget Jones with a bottle red, unwashed for days... rotting away. Trust me, it's not a good look.
• Male attention. Now I'm not telling you to go around sleeping with everything that has a pulse. You do have a rep to protect. But harmless flirting never hurt anyone right? Allow yourself to be admired by other guys and have fun. It's OK... you're single!
• Focus on YOU. Singledom means the best opportunity to make a good relationship with yourself. So sit down and think about what you want in life. Give yourself goals and targets. Go and do all the things you've never managed to do. And try something new. You might surprise yourself at what you might find. Eventually you'll begin to realise that you're an amazing person and when you do, someone else will too; someone worthy of your attention.

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UPDATE

I just wanted to spread the news that our Freja has made it into Vogue's Best Dressed 2010. Would we expect anything less? I think not. Bravaaaa!

“Freja is the ultimate in boy/girl cool. She’s so down-played but everything she wears is exquisite. Every girl wants to look like Freja.” – Lucinda Chambers, Vogue fashion director.