Saturday, 19 December 2009

The Winter blogger capsule collection 09/10

I love the classic styles that Judy wears. So I wanted two timeless designs that also reflected her eye for detail. And like her daughter, the shoes had to be a big focus point! The checkered dress is cotton with the boots being leather. The grey trousers are silk and the green cardigan cashmere.

I only discovered Style Bubble recently, but it has quickly become one of my daily reads. I love that she updates her blog so often, and she's a fellow British blogger! I was inspired by the quirkiness and whimsy of the way she puts her outfits together. The pleated t-shirt is silk and the layered pencil skirt is cotton poplin. On the other design, the cardigan is a chunky knit wool piece with silk screen printed dress.

Another recent find, 4th and Bleeker's blog is very interesting. Although not clothes I would wear, still ones to appreciate and admire. The shorts are silk and the t-shirt is jersey with lace collar and pocket. The cardigan is finelycrocheted with a green felt bowler hat. The pink dress is flannel with a drawstring waist and the tights are lace.

Natalie wears a lot of tailoring and classic shapes, which I hope is reflected here! The red cardigan is cashmere with the pinstripe skinny trousers being cotton. The shoes with cuff detail are leather. The blue shirtdress is silk (yes! I love this fabric) with stitching detail and the Chelsea boots are leather.

Oh the joys of the Christmas holidays. Spare time galore, creative projects to do, blogging more frequently. As due my promise, I'm going to try to post more frequently over the next two weeks to make up for the very sporadic postings over the last few weeks.

Some of you may remember the last time I did a blogger designs project (see autumn blogger designs- it won't bring up the link for some reason.)

I had the idea to repeat this project about a month ago, with the original intention of doing designs for another ten bloggers. However, being very busy got in the way, so instead I thought I'd just post the four managed so far, otherwise they'll never end up being posted here

ALL SKETCHES ARE COPYRIGHTED TO ME

The first four I chose were:

Judy of http://atlantishome.typepad.com/

Susie of http://stylebubble.typepad.com/

Alexandra (? I'm not sure of her name, hope this is right!) of http://4thandbleekeragency.blogspot.com/

and... Natalie of http://natalieoffduty.blogspot.com/

I really enjoyed working out and drawing these designs. I think getting inspiration from other bloggers is very interesting, but I'm being inspired by so much at the moment!

My list of things/ people that are inspiring my designs and style at the moment are:

- Stella McCartney for her flawless tailoring

- Any old (i.e. classic) film including Audrey Hepburn. I want her entire wardrobe, especially those immaculate Givenchy pieces.. Speaking of which, that Audrey Hepburn auction sounded like my dream event, just to get to see them! But being at school and living a few hundred miles away from London does have it's drawbacks.

- Edge Of Love style. All those floral skirts and big jumpers= what I could quite happily live in during winter

- Vintage issues of Vogue. I am currently collecting these, and the breathtaking images are worth every penny.

- Old books. I would also happily live as Alice in Wonderland.. I'm always getting inspiration for designs from fairy tales.

- Nature. It's surprising how much inspiration one can get from a tree or the colours of autumn!

- Old photos. Now what happened to that coat that my grandma was wearing in that snapshot I have of her?

- Tim Walker's photography. One of my favourite modern photographers, his fantastical shoots are so inspiring. I'd love to be able to do photography like that for a living! His recycled shoot for British Vogue including a bolero made from washing up gloves was brilliant.

- Vintage clothes. Definitely the biggest influence over my designs.

- Anything that could have been worn by an elderly relative!

- Silk. Probably my favourte fabric ever. My wardrobe is being take over by silk shirts, slips, knickerbockers etc..

Yes, I could blather on…and on... about my inspiration, but I'll stop here before I get carried away.

So what are your inspirations at the moment? I'd love to hear yours.

PS- Does anyone know how I could contact 4th and Bleeker to tell her I did some designs based on her style? I couldn't find an email or anything..