I am obsessed with Belbeina Lee. Everything she makes is stunning, whether it’s an original design or a piece inspired by a true vintage item; they both generate the same effect, which is me falling in love and adding yet another fabulous hat to my wishlist. Since it’s been a crappy year I recently decided to treat myself to two brand spanking new Belbeina Lee pieces, and my goodness, they more than live up to my expectations, just as they always do.
I often ruminate that millinery is one of those art forms that people (wrongly) think must be a lot easier than it really is. The skill required to craft a hat, fascinator or cap that looks perfect in its beauty and lasts well is immense, which is why I’m continually grateful for the day that I discovered Belbeina Lee. A one-woman business, it functions solely through the love, skill and craftsmanship of designer and maker Katie, a New Zealander mum who, as far as I’m concerned, is incapable of producing anything other than the most beautiful headpieces of the highest quality. Today, I’m thrilled to share with you one of her more recent pieces, the Ella Leaf Cap.
It’s news to no one that I love the Claudia dress by Alexandra King for Deadly is the Female since I already own 5 of them–4 of the bishop sleeve dresses and 1 of the bishop sleeve gowns, in the super luxe and impossibly glamorous navy velvet version. I don’t, however, own any of the flutter sleeves, purely because I could never quite decide which colour would make the most sense for me to purchase, on a practical level. Well, Deadly and Alexandra made that decision real easy for me recently by releasing their first ever printed Claudia dress–this navy polka dot flutter sleeve beauty, made to sway and swish in the way of all your most buttery chiffon dreams.
If you pay much attention to my accessories, whether in my blog posts or my daily outfit posts on Instagram, then you’re bound to have noticed a sudden change that occurred early on this summer: I became addicted to Splendette.
In a way, I don’t know how it happened. Well, no, that’s a lie. I do. They produce hand made, beautifully carved, quality pieces that are reasonably priced and can be paired with a plethora of outfits. That was always their selling point. But it was the green that did it. This summer, Splendette released a vibrant new range of solid coloured fakelite bangles in bright new shades, including Chartreuse and Leaf Green. And I was immediately a goner. Because GREEN, you guys. Continue reading
For a long time, I’ll admit, I didn’t actually know what Hearts and Found was. I saw the account tagged on Instagram many times in ladies outfit posts but somehow I never twigged that it was a custom made Etsy maker, probably because their Instagram account is focused on posting collections of 40s and 50s era photos, rather than pictures of their hand made goods. When I finally twigged earlier this summer and took a look at the Etsy store, I immediately saw at least a half dozen items I wanted to buy. All were totally affordable in vintage-style terms, even when delivered to the UK from Vietnam where the maker, Marjorie, is based. I dithered for weeks over what I wanted to order first, changing my mind not just over which item of clothing but also which print, before finally settling on the Sunday Picnic Penelope dress.
I’m a pathetic sewer who has always meant to learn what to do properly, so I’m thrilled today to bring you a guest blog from Louise of thelittlethingsinlife.me.uk who’s going to walk you through the steps to making your own circle skirts.
Circle skirts always seem to add a touch of class. They are undoubtedly one of the most effective pieces of clothing and they are pretty easy to make as well. Moving on to the pattern, it will require a little bit of maths but nothing too scary!
Circumference = the entire distance around a circle (in this case, your waist length, plus 2 inches)
Radius = the distance from the centre of the circle to the outside of the circle
pi = 3.14 (approximately)
Here are the steps Continue reading
The collaboration between Wheels & Dollbaby and Dita Von Teese has to be the most beautiful piece to grace the category of knitwear of all time. Featuring a peter pan collar, embroided flowers, velvet buttons, pretty pleated contrast satin ribbon trim and a sexy yet classy keyhole, it is beauty unto itself. Which makes it kind of a shame that at £120 it is well out of the budget of your average girl looking to buy a cardigan. I’ve coveted the original blush and black colourway for a long time, and have a lipstick red look-alike blouse that I ordered off eBay forever ago and have since grown to feel dissatisfied with not merely because the craftsmanship is so shoddy that I lose a button everytime I leave the house but also because I’ve grown to feel very uncomfortable with just how blatant a rip-off the design is of the original. But I still can’t afford to justify spending £120 on one cardigan. That’s crazy money for a sweater. It would pain me to figure out how many hours I’d have to work to spend it on that alone.
And yet.
And yet I lust, Dita. I lust. Continue reading
Whether you want to bedazzle a pair of shoes, a phone case or a headband, you’re going to need the same materials and the same methodology. Hopefully by the end of this post you’ll know what you need to know in order to get gluing and glittering all over town. Let’s get to it.
What you’ll need:
– Glue, specifically made for bedazzling. I use GemTac, but you can also use E6000 (which must be used in a well ventilated area and preferably while wearing a mask, as there’s links to cancer with this glue. Part of why I prefer GemTac.)
– A gem picker/jewel setter. Typically a wax end picker, as pictured below at the bottom of the equipment image, but I prefer to use a pencil picker, as pictured at the top.
– Your shoes or accessory of choice, clean and dry.
– Flat backed crystals, obviously.
Miss Amy May 