RIHANNA FOR RIVER ISLAND

Rihanna has finally released her campaign with River Island.

The photographs above were inspired by the 90s, along with the entire collection itself and was photographed by the one and only, Mario Sorrenti. Mario is most known for his nude shoots that have previously been displayed in both Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.

Rihanna created the collection with help from Adam Selman and River Island, judging by the reaction from the unveiling at London Fashion Week the collection is sure to be a massive hit.

The collection includes maxi dresses, crop tops, baggy jeans, basically everything that Rihanna could wear herself or has been spotted wearing in the past, you'll find something similar in this collection!

From the cut of the clothing to the styling of the photography shoot, I don't think Rihanna could have put her personal stamp on the collection anymore than she already has.

All about the Beckhams!

Well what can I say, it seems like the Beckhams are in the limelight at the moment from Davids recent H&M campaign through to Romeo being featured in Burberrys newest advertisement ready to be published in British Vogue. Finally it's Victorias turn who has produced her, simply amazing, Autumn Winter 2013/2014 collection.

Throughout the recent years within the fashion industry Victoria has definitely stood her ground while up against some of the bigger fashion houses. Each collection has continued to become better and better, and this year is no exception.

The collection has a very British feel about it including a glimpse of tweed among Victorias very first attempt at knitwear.
Mid length pencil skirts were featured throughout with a small slit at the front and a zip running down the back to help elongate the figure, most pieces were synched at the waist to create a stunning silhouette.
To tie the collection together certain outfits were styled with a very simple but well designed duffle bag. The bags were carried under the arm in a similar way to how Victoria has been spotted while out and about in London over the recent months.

Overall, this collection is a massive hit with me. I personally love anything that has a burst of colour or a structured yet simplistic design, and Victoria has achieved both of these, and I still believe that the best is yet to come!

Images from style.com

DIY - Tie Dye!

Tie Dye has been one of those things I've always wanted to have a go at but never actually got round to doing it, but this time I actually did it!
The other day me and my friend Joe decided to grab a bunch of dyes and a few white T-Shirts and have a try, I decided to take a few photos along the way so I could create a little guide incase any of you were looking at trying it out but needed a little bit of help.

What you need -

- T Shirts (Or whatever you want to dye)

- Dye

- Elastic Bands

- Bottles with some sort of nozzle

- Bucket

- Water

- Newspaper or bin bags (Optional, used to protect the surface while mixing dye)

- Gloves

Step 1)

Grab whatever you want to tie dye, the lighter the colour garment then the brighter the dye will be, however, there's no harm in grabbing a few coloured shirts and having a little experiment! You could always try bleaching the garment first to remove a bit of the colour.

In this case I decided to grab a few plain white T-Shirts from Primark for £2.50, I didn't want to start on anything more expensive as it's something I'd never done before, plus the basics from Primark are normally pretty descent for the price.

Step 2)

I was using Dylon die, so from now on the instructions were according to what the packet gave us. I had to wash or soak the T-Shirts for a bit at first, I'm guessing to remove the dirt or if there's any chemicals left on the fabric, but that could be a total lie and I've just convinced myself!

Step 3)

Now add the dye to warm water and stir it a few times to help dissolve the leftover powder, then mix together water and 250g of salt, finally mix the two together to make the dye. Repeat this a few times or till you've mixed up all the different sachets of dye. 

Step 4)

Once the dye was made I then poured it into separate bottles and labeled them. For the bottles I actually used some empty washing up liquid containers as they had a little nozzle on the top, although in the end I then had 9 empty bottles and a spare 4.5 litres of washing up liquid. 

Maybe not the best idea I've ever had!

Step 5)

Take the damp shirts and tie them with elastic bands in whatever pattern you want to achieve. For this I'd just google tie dye patterns or something similar, there's literally hundreds and I just went for a few that seemed to be the easiest as I'd never done it before.

Step 6)

Go outside or anywhere that's easiest to clean, away from anything you care about getting ruined and then start to squirt the dye onto your fabric. 

Be as adventurous or as safe with the colours as you want, remember that with some dyes the colours will mix, so blue and red will make purple, etc.

Maybe don't follow exactly in my footseps as I decided to do this in the afternoon as by the time I started to add dye outside it was pitch black so I had literally no idea what colour I was adding to what bit of my T-Shirt! 

Once you've finished adding colour then simply follow the remainder of the instructions on the back of you're die packet, for me it was just a rinse with cold water and then stick the T-Shirts in for a warm wash!

And there you go, a nice little guide on Tie Dye!

I'd definitely recommend anyone who's been wanting to do this for a while like me, to go ahead and do it. It's so easy and if you grab a few friends too, it can be a laugh. 

I'll keep you updated with how they turn out once the final wash is finished and they've been ironed by doing an outfit post, or something similar.

Good Luck to anyone who is off to give this a go, I hope I helped everyone, feel free to comment and link me to your tie dye'd clothes!

February Wants!

1) Zara, Sweater with faux leather.

I absolutely love Zara, the clothing can sometimes be a bit on the pricy side but it's honestly not bad when compared to the quality and the fit. As soon as I saw this sweatshirt I just needed it! If anyone knows me, they'll know I love block colours, and this is basically the same but with fabric, simplistic but well done! This could also be a very versatile addition to my wardrobe, I could style it with a white shirt under with some jeans and have a very smart look or wear it on it's own with a pair of jeans or even shorts. Due to it being a very classic style I'm sure it would be wearable for quite some time! £29.99

2) Levis, 8 line shirt.

Recently I've had an increasing love for Levis shirts. I grabbed one a few weeks ago in the sales and it's instantly turned into one of my favourite items of clothing.

When shopping for shirts from Levis I often find my favourite cut is the original or slim fit, for me they then end up a bit baggy and oversized - but not to the point where it looks like I can't buy clothes that fit. I then stick it on with a pair of skinny jeans and whatever shoes I fancy, because of the fact the shirt is oversized it creates a smart but very relaxed look, I can tell I'm going to end this year with far too many of these shirts! £55.00

3) American Apparel, Fisherman's Pullover.

For me AA is one of those shops where I constantly check their site to see for new items added and pop into a shop whenever I'm near one and normally fall in love with a few things every time, without fail!

I've had my eye on this jumper for quite a while now, because of its slight pattern and simple colour I can match it up to pretty much every pair of jeans I own and put together an outfit that looks well put together and thought out, when really I just flung things on last minute before I'm running out the door! £66.00

4) Air Jordan, 4 Retro.

Where to even start with these! 

Basically I started a new part time job a few months ago in Office and my love for shoes has just slowly gotten bigger and bigger and bigger. In the past I normally wore brogues or vans, quite a simple choice really, but since working with shoes, pretty much on a daily basis, my love for every style and colour possible has increased massively. I've had my eye on Jordans for quite a while now and every time I see someone wearing a pair I get massively jealous. 

I may not get these this month, but in the future I will own a pair, you just watch! Around £105.00

Newest Additions from David Beckham.

David Beckham, 37, was previously the captain of the England football team but recently he has collaborated with H&M. 

The photos (right) were posted by David himself on his personal facebook account. They show a sneaky peak into his 2013 spring / summer collection that is currently available to the general public. 

So far David has received nothing but positive feedback after receiving over 310,000 likes across both of the images.

Hopefully David continues to collaborate with H&M in the future, more additions to his bodywear collection will definitely not go unnoticed.






Don't forget to check out the new advertisement to help promote the range!

Images from TheDailyMail.

Cara Delevingne for British Vogue.

Cara is currently 20 and has already been the face of Burberry's spring / summer 2011 and 2012 campaigns, not only that, but Cara has been used within advertising campaigns for Zara, H&M and Chanel. 

The list is endless and exciting for what Cara has already achieved and it won't be narrowing down any time soon.

In March she has landed her very first cover on British Vogue. Known for her energetic and loving personality she recently said to Vogue - 

"It doesn't really sink in until you actually see it, that cover, that actual magazine, Vogue - it's so great," she said. "Especially the March issue, it's the big fashion issue, so it's going to be pretty amazing. I'm going to run out of the shop with 20 copies in my hands, going: 'Oh my God, this is me! Oh my God!'"

Top 5 Aftershaves!

Quite recently I noticed that I had quite a little collection of aftershaves and obviously I was reaching for a certain few more than others. So I've decided to make a post on my top 5 to show a few of my favourites.

Although a fragrance can be a very personal thing I think it's important to have a little delve into trying something new once in a while, so here are my top 5 aftershaves that might give a few of you some ideas!

1) Yves Saint Laurent, La Nuit de L'Homme.

This is my most recent addition to my collection but definitely one of my favourites. Aftershaves that are normally classed as 'night time' fragrances tend to be a lot stronger and longer lasting, because of this I can put this aftershave on at the beginning of the day and still smell it on my clothes by the end. The scent is quite rich and spicy, but also has a slight sweet smell once it's been worn for a while. I managed to pick this up just after christmas in Boots as part of a set with an aftershave balm and shower gel. (£46 for 60ml)

2) Paco Rabanne, One Million.

I'll be pretty surprised if everyone hasn't seen / heard about this fragrence, it is definitely my most worn and theres a reason for it! This aftershave smells, well, just basically, amazing. I stick this on if I'm late and running to college or even if I'm going on a night out, It suits every occasion imaginable and never fails to get noticed. (£40 for 50ml)

3) Giorgio Armani, Acqua Di Gio.

Acqua Di Gio is definitely my second go-to aftershave, it's very light but long lasting. The easiest way of describing this scent basically a summers day mixed with citrus fruits, definitely one to grab if you're away on holiday or on those soon to be here British sunny mornings! 

A few squirts of this and you're good to go all day! (£48 for 50ml)

4) Gucci, Gucci.

'Masculine' is basically the only way to describe this fragrance, my only slight bug with it is that I don't find it lasts very long on me at all. If I put it on in the morning it's gone within a few hours and theres barely any trace of it. Despite this it's still made it into my top 5 because it really does smell amazing and as you might be able to tell by the photograph above, it's nearly all gone! (£44 for 50ml)

5) Chanel, Bleu De Chanel.

Luxurious, Masculine, Exciting and Addictive are the best words to describe this fragrence. Absolutely everything about this aftershave, packaging and all, it's just spot on. 

One of the best things about this aftershave is once it's applied you feel like you've given yourself a real treat with not only how it smells but the solid glass bottle and magnetic lid, and for the price it just gets even better. (£45 for 50ml)

So there you go, my top 5 aftershaves! I hope it's given you all something to think or even try next time you're after something new to try.

Don't forget to follow me on my new blog over at www.sprksam.com