DOMINIK TARABANSKI

I'm going to start doing a range of posts on different fashion designers, photographers, stylists, basically anything that inspires me that I can look back upon in the future.

I've loved looking back upon both my tumblr and pinterest so I figured it might be nice to have the odd bit of research on my blog too, I can spend hours on end with my head in books or magazines!

First post is dedicated to the Photographer - Dominik Tarabanski.

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.

TUMBLR | PINTEREST

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. 

FINAL MAJOR PROJECT

Incase any of you have missed my past few posts that had a blabber about me stressing for college, it's finally over! Summer is here and I've got more time to work on this blog, far too excited. As promised, I'm going to show you all a couple of shots I took for my final project. 

I'm currently doing an Art & Design foundation diploma and I've specialised in Fashion before starting my Fashion Communication degree in September. For my project I decided to make one garment (In this case the faux leather skirt that Alex is modeling) and then have a final shoot and a marketing book within my project as my final piece.

Alex is currently an aspring model who is based within the Newcastle area, I knew roughly how I wanted the shoot styled and she was definitely perfect for the job, without her I definitely wouldn't have been as proud with the final shots. For my studio shoot I also had a bit of help from my friend Sarah who's a Newcastle based photographer that I work with, she's helped me ridiculous amounts over the past 7 months that I've been helping her out so definitely drop by her website.

I've included a few of my final photos below, some are edited slightly as there were used as experimentation pages but I'm still very pleased with the results. 

Overall I'm very pleased with how the shoot turned out, as it was my first fashion shoot I was a bit worried about how everything would turn out but overall I feel very pleased and it's definitely something that isn't just going to be a one off - fashion and photography, I don't think there's a better combination!

Once again, please check out Sarah and Alex as it wouldn't have been the same without them!

KIEHL'S - OIL-FREE GEL CREAM

Now, if a few months ago someone said to me that you'll be sat in your garden trying to take a photograph of a tub of moisturizer to then write about and post on an online blog for people to read about I'd have said you're completely bonkers. And now here I am...

If anyone knows me they'll know the trouble I've had over the past years with my skin, I've had very bad acne since around year 9/10 in school (6 or so years) and it has pretty much continued ever since. It's very very verrry rare a skin product actually does what it's supposed to do and for once I found something that did just that!

While I was down in London the other week I popped into the Kiehl's store and questioned about my skin as it flared up again, possibly the worst its ever been, and asked if they had anything to recommend. I was given a sample of this product and by the time I'd finished the sample (it lasted around a week) it had calmed my skin down and just generally made me look a lot healthier.

My skin has never responded to a product so well, especially not one that wasn't even aimed towards acne. What I did get told was that sometimes by using a mixture of very strong cleansers, moisturizers, spot treatment etc that you can take too much of the good things out of your skin, it then overcompensates and often makes the case worse. Makes sense!

Anyway, before I ramble much more I just wanted to share this product with everyone because it definitely deserves a bit more attention. 

Not to mention the amazing staff at Kiehl's, I even got a lovely little handwritten note with the store number that I could contact if I needed anymore help or advice. 

Ultra Facial Oil-Free Cream, Kiehl's, £28.