Instagram #3

The past few weeks have definitely been a bit hectic. I've had a couple of photography jobs, moved houses and visited home, hopefully things will be back to normal soon. Oh, I also grabbed a few new pairs of shoes so it makes up for feeling so stressed!

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MADE IN THE UK

When it comes to the fashion industry I always think it's important to invest in brands that make an effort to create, design & distribute to the country they are based in. Not only does it help to develop new talent but it helps to create more jobs and it makes it a little better for the environment. 

After doing a little bit of research I've grabbed a few of my finds, some items of clothing and accessories that have been made in the UK.

1) Dr Martens, Steed

Probably one of the pairs of shoes that I have had my eyes on for the longest time, I'm definitely close to snapping and grabbing a pair of these. They create them in a couple of different colours (I already have the Oxblood variation, whoops). Dr Martens are definitely worth a look at, especially their Made in England range. 

2) M&S, Plain Black Mac

Definitely of my favourite finds when researching for this blog post. I've been trying to find a good quality, well made Mac for quite a while. I often struggle with longer length coats due to the fact I'm not the tallest! Last spring I managed to grab a very similar navy version of this in Topman, definitely regret holding off and saving for this version instead!

3) M&S, Cable Crew Neck

The different colour options for this Jumper are definitely a bonus, while I've shown the cream option above the pastel blue or pink would make a great addition to a wardrobe. Having a bit of colour definitely isn't a bad thing, especially not when used with the right combination.

4) Bremont, ALT1-C Classic

It's my 21st coming up in the next few months so I have my eyes constantly peeled for any nice watches that I come across. While I absolutely love this watch due to it's classic feel I definitely think the price point is one to consider. Saying that, however, you do get quality with price, and this is definitely a brand that's worth investing in if you have the chance to. 

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INSTAGRAM #2

The past month of summer has seemed to go far too quickly, probably because I'm spending the majority of the time moving between two houses and working but there's nothing new there.

I have spent a bit of money on new shoes, bags and a trip to Edinburgh (whoops) but I'm going to try and refrain myself from now on to save up for driving lessons and some new camera equipment.

I also found myself flicking through the photos of NY from the beginning of the year, definitely need to pay another visit there again in the near future.

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JORDAN

 

Since I've been finished university for the summer I'm trying to do a couple more shoots to help build up my portfolio and because it's something I'm passionate about.

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INSTAGRAM UPDATE

I used to do Instagram recaps around once a week, but I found that I was rambling on about anything and everything. Saying that however, I love flicking back through Instagram as it reminds me of what I've been up to the past few weeks. Due to me enjoying these types of posts and they often get a good response I'm going to start doing them again, but maybe once every couple of weeks instead.

Anyway, since my last ramblings I've since finished my first year of university, been to London a few times and found some lovely little restaurants. Been house hunting, spent too much money on shoes & clothes (shock, I know). Basically,  I've just been enjoying my last few weeks of university and spent money that I don't have!

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05.06.14

After however many months of wanting to start a series of LookBooks I've finally gotten around to it. Hopefully after a bit of practice and habit over the summer I'll be able to carry on with the series once university is up and running again in September. 

 

 

 

Sweatshirt - WEEKDAY, Jeans - TOPMAN, Bag - AMERICAN APPAREL, Shoes - NIKE, Watch - CASIO.

After recently investing in a new DSLR I decided to have a walk around Newcastle and do a few test shots. While I was there I decided to grab a few snaps to complete my first LookBook, hopefully the first of many.

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WANT

BOMBER

WATCH

T-SHIRT

TROUSERS

Current Spring / Summer wanted items. Clothing that's slightly more relaxed has started to draw my attention more than my usual likings of fitted shirts. Zara cotton trousers are a slightly smarter alternative to tracksuit bottoms but are a welcomed alternative to jeans in my current wardrobe.

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DANIEL

DANIEL was a fashion shoot that linked into a university module, the unit was split into two areas both Photography and Journalism. It was to be styled and presented in the style of the publication - Fantastic Man.

Once the final publication was created it was then transferred onto InDesign and exported to be printed as the final magazine spread.

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INSPIRATION

As some of you may or may not know, one of my biggest passions is currently fashion photography, I have done a few shoots in the past and assisted on others. One of my main goals for this summer and over the next few years is to help improve my knowledge and develop my skills towards something I'm passionate about. 

To help think of ideas and become inspired I look at previous fashion shoots, editorials and advertisements amongst other things. I have found both Pinterest and Tumblr the best for this and I decided that I wanted to dedicate a post to them on my blog. 

If anyone uses either of these sites or a similar style of website then let me know and I'll check them out, even if it's not a similar style to the clips above as I like to broaden my knowledge.

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DIY - UNISEX LEVIS SHORTS FOR UNDER £5

Obviously it's the time of year when the weather starts to get that little bit nicer and it's time to get the summer clothes out. 

I've always wanted a pair of denim shorts but I refuse to pay £30 for a pair from Topman or Urban Outfitters, because of this I've decided to put together a little tutorial on making your very own pair of Levis denim shorts!

What you need -

- Levis denim jeans (They don't have to be Levis, or even denim, you can always grab an old pair of trousers that you won't wear again)

- Ruler 

- Scissors

- Pen / Fabric Pencil 

To start with you need to gather your materials, I managed to pick my jeans up in a charity shop for £4.99, looking in charity shops is normally the best thing to do if you're wanting to do this. You can easily grab a size that fits you and if you're wanting to experiment with bleaching or even try this out on a pair of jeans that you don't like as much in case you make a mistake, you wont waste too much money.

You now need to lie your jeans on a flat surface so that you can measure the inner and outer leg to make sure both sides match up. This is where you'll decide how you want your shorts to look, mark each side till you're happy. To help with this I used an old pair of shorts to get the rough length that I like then added a few more centre meters as I wanted to turn the bottoms up a little bit.

I normally put the jeans together to check that the straight lines join together before cutting along them, I wouldn't worry too much about this if you're turning the bottoms up or even distressing them slightly, only if you were thinking of leaving the harsher edge.

And there we go, a pair of Levis denim shorts! I would recommend adding a stitch or two in the inner and outer leg if you're going to be turning the bottoms up like me just to keep everything in place, but that's totally optional and you can tweak or change anything you like, the length, distressing, bleaching or even stitching onto them.

Hope you found this post helpful and I've added a before and after photo above incase it will help anyone. 

I managed to take the last photos using my remote shutter for my camera so hopefully once I get used to it a bit more I can start to post on lookbook, fingers crossed. It'll be a challenge to not get my cat in every photo though as you can see him peeking through in the background a few times!

LIEBSTER AWARD

A few days ago I was nominated  by the lovely Boonya to take part in something called the 'Liebster Award'.

I wasn't too sure what it was but after reading a few I get the idea behind it, so why not have a go! It's basically an award that you complete yourself and nominate up to 11 other blogs with less than 200 followers, within the award you have to tell a little about yourself and ask a few questions for other people to answer.

The rules if you want to complete the award yourself -

1) Mention who nominated you for the award.

2) Each person nominated must list 11 different things about themselves.

3) Answer 11 questions that the previous tagger has left you.

4) Create your own 11 questions.

5) Tag up to 11 people.

11 Things about me -

1) I'm 19.

2) I live in the North-East of England.

3) I'm going to study Fashion Communication at University in September.

4) I currently have a part time job in a shop called Office, I also work with a photographer named Sarah and also volunteer part time at a charity shop called Sue Ryder.

5) I love green tea, photography, fashion, graphic design, food and cats.

6) From my love of food, cooking is one of my favourite things to do.

7) I have been a Peskitarian for 6 years (I don't eat meat but I still have things like Fish, Eggs, Milk etc)

8) I would like to see myself as a hard working person who comes across as helpful and reliable. 

9) One day I want to live in London.

10) Owning my own house and decorating it exactly how I want it is definitely one of the things I'm the most excited for.

11) Although I only learnt a small amount of French in school I'd love to try to learn another language.

Questions from Boonya - 

1) What is your favourite clothing brand?

I think I'd have to go with Topman, whenever I need something and I'm in a rush it's the store I'd go to. Should it be a shirt, pair of jeans or even a pair of socks I know that I can run in and grab something that I like.

2) Which country would you like to visit the most?

I'd have to say America, it's been somewhere that I've always wanted to visit. A road trip to visit all the different states would be my idea of a perfect trip.

3) Do you play any musical instrument?

When I was younger I used to play the Piano but I've stopped over the years, I can probably remember a thing or two though!

4) Imagine you have £100,000 to spend, What would you spend it on?

I'd sort out the question above and probably visit America and Italy too. Once that was sorted I'd like to learn how to drive, spend a bit of money on upgrading my camera. I plan to try and spend a few summers down London gaining a bit more experience so I'd use some of it there and obviously spend a bit on some clothes! With the remainder I'd be safe and keep most of it for my first house or flat. 

5) Your best childhood memory?

When I was younger and we used to visit Disney Land in France, I have so many memories of all the rides and spending some amazing time with my Mam and Nana.

6) Your favourite ice-cream flavour?

Haagen-Dazs, Pralines & Cream, hands down!

7) Would you rather go skiing or scuba diving?

Scuba Diving, it's been one of those things I've always wanted to do and I've been fascinated with sea life for as long as I can remember.

8) What is your dream job?

I honestly don't know at the moment, definitely something within Fashion. At the moment I'd think either Fashion Photography, something within Publishing or the business side of Retail such as buying or merchandising. This is one of the main reasons I'm going to university, to improve my knowledge on different areas within fashion and hopefully decide on what I want to do.

9) What made you start a blog?

It's been something I've always wanted to do, I wanted somewhere to be able to post about different designers, DIY projects, post some photography. Plus, there isn't all that many menswear bloggers out there so I thought I'd help change that!

10) What is your must-have item in your handbag (apart from purse/wallet, phone and keys)?

I'd have to be quite boring and say a bottle or two of water.

11) Could you describe your blog in three words?

Fashion, Menswear, Creative!

My questions - 

1) What is your favourite fashion designer?

2) What would be your favourite meal of all time?

3) If someone came to visit where you live, where would you say they'd have to see before leaving?

4) Do you see yourself blogging in 5 years time?

5) You had the chance to create your own TV show - what would it be about?

6) What is your favourite animal?

7) What is the one item of clothing that you couldn't live without?

8) You can pick any job in the world right now and you'll be given it, what would it be?

9) Would you rather have a small modern flat in the middle of the city or a massive house in the country side?

10) If you had the chance to learn another language from a country or cook traditional food from another country, what would you pick?

11) Finally, how would you explain your blog to someone else in three words!

The people who I also nominate for this award are - 

Enn Franco Says 

Braids & Blouses

Alex Rocks 

ElliottEdward

TheSuckerForFashion

(L)ife.(E)ats.(F)ashion.(T)ravel.

If I've tagged you I hope you enjoy answering the questions and let me know once it's done, if I follow you and I've not tagged you then let me know and I'll add you to the list!

WORLDWIDE WARDROBE 2013

Recently I was tagged to take part in the Worldwide Wardrobe competition by David, after reading up on it I decided it's definitely something I wanted to have a go at.

If anyones never heard of the competition before it's something that was set up by Travel Supermarket and its a chance to win £200 to buy your winning outfit and a trip to the destination the outfit was picked for. There were 5 different destinations to pick from and you could pick a range of clothes for one or all five of the destinations, the only catch is you have to come under £200 for your outfit and explain why you've picked it for that specific destination.

When you enter you have to nominate another 5 people to take part in the competition to help spread the word, so here are my 5 picks -

Elliott

Ian

Joseph

Sarah

Kelly

Even if i've not tagged you, you can still enter by clicking here. Without anymore blabbering, here are my picks.

Sunglasses: Topman, £10.00.

Polo Shirt: Zara, £19.99.

Shorts: ASOS, £22.00.

Shoes: Office, £100.00.

Belt: H&M, £12.99.

Watch: ASOS, £20.00.

Bracelet: ASOS, £15.00.

Total: £199.98

When putting together the outfit for Ibiza I wanted to make sure it was something that would work for the evening and still look good throughout the night. I picked the Polo Shirt for the fact it's light and I won't get too warm, and obviously for the print, I'm a sucker for anything thats floral or tropical print of some sort on a shirt and this is no exception. As the shirt is so bright I teamed it up with a black pair of chino shorts so that they still look smart and with a tan belt to tie in with some of the more neutral tones. I'll also style the shirt tucked into my shorts so that it looks quite smart. I've also picked a pair of Timberland boat shoes - although these are expensive for going out in they're leather so if they do get mucky they shouldn't be too bad to clean up with a bit of soap and water, plus, there's no better combination than Ibiza and boat shoes. 

The plain watch and bracelet will add an extra something without being over the top and I love the added yellow colour from the watch, once again helping to tie in with the statement polo shirt. Finally I added a pair of brown patterned sunglasses as it will hopefully be sunny in the evening and because, well, I never really have much of a chance to wear sunglasses over in Englad! 

T-Shirt: Zara, £19.99.

Jeans: Topman, £36.00.

Shoes: Solestruck, £135.09.

Watch: Amazon, £7.41.

Total: £198.49

The main priority of shopping in London for me was to be comfortable and in clothes that are lightweight and hassle free for when I'm bounding around from shop to shop. 

If anyone knows me at all they'll know I've been in love with printed T-Shirts over the past few months and I'm definitely wanting to nip in Zara and grab this one. The material is very lightweight so it will keep me cool throughout running around and I'll probably get it in a size or two too big so that it's slightly oversized and baggy. Although I have a total love hate for these jeans in Topman I've decided that they'd be perfect for shopping in London, they never seem to last more than a few weeks for me but while I have them they fit me perfectly and they're so comfortable so I couldn't turn them down. 

Finally, these shoes. I have had my eye on these for far too many months and just never been able to justify the price of them. Due to the cut out areas they'll be able to keep my feet cool but also be comfortable throughout the day, I love the contrast of the cut out with the thick and heavy buckles, definitely need these at some point.

Sunglasses: River Island, £10.00.

Shirt: H&M, £7.99.

Blazer: Topman, £80.00.

Belt: American Apparel, £13.00.

Shorts: Topman, £24.00.

Shoes: ASOS, £40.00.

Watch: ASOS, £25.00.

Total: £199.99

I wanted to go for a very smart look for New York, after all it is one of the most amazing cities and I'd feel a bit bad going out in a T-Shirt and a pair of shorts on a night! 

While putting together a smart outfit I also wanted to keep it quite classic and timeless, I started with a neutral tweed blazer with a classic white short sleeved shirt under it. The shirt will help me to keep a bit cooler from the thick blazer but also work really well with the neutral blazer. 

For SS13 short suits have been very popular and I've loved a few different collections featuring them, because of this I decided to try and create a high street alternative using a pair of chino shorts from Topman so that they have a very simplistic and clean finish with a neutral belt. 

For accessories I picked a simple black watch as it will suit the rest of the outfit without being too over the top, and of course a pair of brown sunglasses. 

Black loafers will help to tie off the entire outfit and really give an emphasis to a classic menswear look. 

Sunglasses: ASOS, £8.00.

T-Shirt: H&M, £4.99.

Bomber Jacket: Weekday, £85.00.

Shorts: Topman, £24.00.

Belt: H&M, £12.99.

Watch: ASOS, £15.00.

Shoes: Office, £47.99.

Total: £197.97

I finally found somewhere I can mention this amazing bomber jacket I found, and I'm going to be honest, I did base the entire outfit around it. 

While in paris I want to be cool and comfortable when wandering around, classic high top converse will help with this along with a pair of comfortable black shorts and a white T-Shirt. The black watch and belt will help to make the outfit slightly more interesting without going over the top. I wanted to keep the entire outfit monochrome so that when teamed with the bomber jacket it's obvious where the attention is supposed to be at! Although I mentioned about being too warm and I've given myself a jacket it's made out of a lightweight fabric so it won't keep me too warm, and even if I had to carry it for a while the pattern will still be visible. 

SHOES SHOES SHOES

Quite a few months ago I started a job at Office and ever since then I've noticed that my love for shoes has gradually gotten stronger and stronger.

So I decided for a change to let you all know my top 4 most worn pair of shoes at the moment, I personally think shoes are one of the biggest parts of an outfit, it can either top it off or completely ruin it.

1) Dr Martens, 1460, Black, £89.99.

I can't quite put into words how much I love these boots, over the past few weeks they have literally saved my feet from snow, rain, wind, every condition imaginable! These boots are so comfortable once broken in and with a pair of thick socks there's no better combination, it's a shame its taken my 19 years to finally find a pair of shoes that are suitable for the winter months but that also go with pretty much every outfit imaginable. I'm even quite excited for the summer to try and have a mess around with a few pairs of shorts and see what I can come up with!

2) Nike, Air Max 1, Black Anthracite, £96.99.

For quite some time I've been after a pair of air max and when we got a delivery of these I just had to grab a pair straight away. First of all, the little icon of the image doesn't justify how these look in person, but they look amazing with a pair of solid black socks & jeans paired up with an oversized shirt and a denim jacket. I absolutely love wearing these shoes not to mention how comfortable they are, the only negative is that with them being suede they're not the best in bad weather so I've not been able to wear them as much as I wanted to, but once summer is here (Will we even have a summer?!) I'll definitely never have these off my feet!

3) Ask the Missus, Uranus Brogue, Navy and Orange, £69.99.

I've been wanting these shoes for far too long now, we always had them in the shop where I worked but we never got a delivery of them in my size. So the other week when I was in London I decided to pop into the Oxford Street store and grab a pair of these, and they were definitely worth the wait! I love teaming these up with a bright pair of socks and a pair of black jeans, the pop of orange is definitely what makes this shoe and can totally brighten up an entire outfit. Not to mention, they are so comfortable it's not even believable - in fact, they've impressed me so much I've even ordered another pair in the grey & yellow, definitely worth checking out!

4) Ask the Missus, Chatterbox Brogue, Tan, £69.99.

What can I even say about these brogues, for starters, every man needs a pair of brogues in his shoe collection, they can be dressed up or down and are suitable for pretty much every occasion. These ones in particular stood out to me because of the fact the toe was quite rounded, (I have quite small feet, so the brogues that have a slightly pointed toe just make me look like a clown) but they were still lengthened just that perfect amount as to not make it look like I have tiny feet. Basically, they're the perfect size and proportion for my body! Anyway, these are so comfortable and I know if I'm out the house all day and I chuck these on in the morning they're still going to be comfortable in the evening when I get home.

So there we go, a few pairs of my most worn shoes at the moment and I would recommend them to anyone and everyone in a heartbeat!

On a side note - I'm currently looking for a few new pairs of jeans, I swore by the spray on skinny range in Topman but apparently it's being discontinued and a few of my pairs from there have ripped and just really not been the best of quality. If anyone knows of any really slim fitting jeans and of a descent quality, it'd be great if you could let me know!

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!

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.

Todd Snyder Spring 2013

Todd Snyder released his Spring 2013 collection recently in New York fashion week.

The main theme of his collection was a mixture of both the colour scheme, what featured some very delicate sandy tones that were inspired from the Sahara desert, but also a mixture of the American preppy look. This then led onto the name of this collection that he titled 'Saharan Prep'.

Throughout his collection the preppy look is definitely very strong, he often matches blazers and shorts together to create a smart but relaxed look and he links most of the collection together with a smart, almost military like boot.

The collection looks very strong from its colour scheme to the use of materials, most of the line is made of very light, breathable fabric such as cotton and lightweight linen. While lighter materials are used, denim and knitwear does make a feature in the collection. Due to the style it's used in and how it is matched with the colour scheme it fits in with the rest of the collection and it's clear how the title 'Saharan Prep' is perfect for this Spring 2013 collection.

Below are a few highlights from the collection -

Images gathered from vogue.com