Topshop Makeup Launch...
Topshop's new makeup line has officially launched here in the UK and to help you discover which colours and products to go for they have launched a virtual makeover site. It is hilarious, so easy to use, and actually works quite well. All you have to do is upload a standard boring photo of yourself without any makeup and then you can test out all their items. They even have a selection of '1 click looks' that you can try out that feature makeup trends used on their models. As you can see by my examples... they are probably best left to the photo shoots. Proceed with caution: this is one serious tool for time wasting, but it is so fun! I am loving all their lipstick colours!
what do you think? which face of the style crusader do you prefer?
first look: Sketchbook blogger workshop...
just want to send out a very big thank you to everyone that rocked up to the Sketchbook Popup Shop yesterday for the getting started discussion jill and i hosted on blogging. it was really quite inspiring to meet other people who are trying to establish themselves and find their place in this weird and wonderful blogosphere. it was also such a treat to get to get to check out the pop up shop again. they have a new exhibition up and, if you haven't been already, you really should try to make it over. i can't recommend it enough.
bust out the old...
i had totally forgotten about this strand of turquoise that i got in egypt a few years ago. originally i had intended it to be a long necklace but seems much more fitting these days wrapped around my wrist. if your in britain you've got 30 minutes left to get your vote in... it's polling day and tomorrow morning we'll know who the new prime minister is, if all goes according to plan.
so, are we going to be busting out the old or possibly just reinventing it a bit?
fancy a chat?
i can't promise that we'll sit in the sunshine, eat delicious pastries or sip on lattes but i can promise you a good chat. if your free tomorrow at 3pm and in the London area then pop over to the Sketchbook Pop Up Shop located at the heart of Newburgh Quarter. Jill and I are hosting a workshop, as part of the Getting Started lecture series, on what it means to be a blogger in this day and age when there are thousands to shuffle through online. even if your not an active blogger you are welcome to come along, it would be great to see some of your beautiful faces in person. plus, if you haven't checked out Sketchbook Magazine's gem of a pop up shop yet you really should - it's pretty incredible and wont be around for much longer.
above photos of me taken by the wonderful jill - while i waited for her in the sunshine at pauls. wearing - topshop leopard print headband, zip detail harem trousers, and sunglasses, gap cardigan, j.crew sequined t-shirt, shoes from some random american shop.
SOS...
meet fiona. she is one half of the blogging duo behind SOS! Save Our Shoes. she is so funky, vibrant, and gets invites to all sorts of cool events so her blog is filled with lots of behind the scenes peeks that i'm sure you'll be interested in seeing. she made it to yauatcha for our last blogger meet up but sadly i didn't get a chance to chat to her very much. what i did get to experience of her though was utterly fabulous - she seems to bubble over with excitement and enthusiasm which is totally contagious. am already looking forward to the next meet up so i can chat to her more.
p.s. if you based in the london area and would like to find out about our blogger meet ups then contact me and i'll add you to my little contact list!
copycat.
is it just me or does the marc by marc jacobs petal to the metal messenger bag look eerily similar to my alexander mcqueen flapper bag? all i'm saying is i know which came first... and it wasn't the one with the silly little birds.
'my clogs arrived, my clogs arrived!'
after waiting for almost 2 weeks for my swedish clogs to arrive they finally landed down in my living room yesterday. way more comfortable to wear than i expected, my only criticism would be the slight sauna sensation that started to develop around my feet after hours of walking around town. never-mind though, that certainly is not a reason to put me off of them. i decided to go for this very traditional version, as opposed to all the more fancy high heeled and studded varieties that are everywhere. although the clog trend already feels slightly overdone, i realized today (while people kept staring at my feet) that they haven't trickled down to mainstream street style yet. i know people who have bought pairs but none that actually wear them. this is because they always complain that the versions they purchased are too high and too difficult to walk in (especially on the cobblestone roads in oxford). with this said, i'm totally chuffed about the pair that i got. i will upload more detailed shots later and will include info on where you can find them - they are from some very random swedish site that my husband found and were a real bargain. thanks mr crusader! i love them.
Wearing: Rare ditsy print top, Urban Outfitters pull on jeans, Alexander McQueen bag, Swedish Clogs, Chanel Blue Satin nail polish - they I got as a birthday present from the gorgeous Jackie of platform princess. (thanks my love!)
p.s. did you notice? i'm officially thestylecrusader.com now!
happy may day!
Oxford is a bizarre and wonderful place - hence the totally surreal happenings that take place bright and early every 1st of May. Reluctantly I dragged myself (and Mr Crusader) out of bed at 5:30am this morning and headed down to the High Street to find out what all the fuss was about. The streets were full of people - some had stayed out all night at balls while others were toting around small children and looking remarkably fresh faced. All the madness culminates in front of Magdalen college where a choir sings from the top of a tower. I wont lie to you, I could just barely make out the sound of their angelic voices radiating across the heaps of people - but regardless of that pivotal moment the whole experience of May Morning was totally perfect. The energy of hundreds of people, some who have triumphed over the night and were struggling to stand up straight, was totally electrifying. Some traditions really are worth all the hype.
Dapper Oxford gents wearing brogues, society jackets, burberry trenches, smoking cigars and drinking champagne - all before 6:30am. That is what it's all about.
Oxford High Street at 6am.
Morris dancers next to Hertford College.
Parades go through the streets with people dancing behind them.
Triumphant party-goers who managed to stay awake through the whole night! All this before 7am...
currently craving...
asos and i are having a moment. i have never actually bought anything from the website (gasp!) but i seriously want pretty much everything they've got. i do not know what has gotten in to me but i feel like i need the above printed trousers! after seeing this post where sarah wears a similar pair - i just can't get them out of my head. do you think i've lost my marbles? are they actually hideous? on a less controversial note, the above skirt would pretty much be perfection- with my new clogs... uh, yes please. all the skirts i currently have seem to be either too bodycon (AA stretchy ones) or too... well, too not this one pictured above. in addition to those two pieces i'm also craving an army inspired little jacket and the rayban cat sunglasses that are on sale. yes, that's right, i've got some serious style cravings going on at the moment.
is there anything your dreaming about?
rustic orange...
not a colour that is highly connected with spring but it is totally working on this girl. this rusty orange shade that she's got in her hair, around her neck, and slung over her shoulder is the perfect accent to her otherwise neutral shaded outfit. i just love the laid back, but very well put together, and in sync look of these three. plus, i'm totally after an army khaki jacket (like the one hanging over her arm) and wedged desert boots (like both girls are wearing). seriously covetable - a masterclass on how to put together contrasting prints and colours and a reminder that attention to detail really makes all the difference.
p.s. apologies that i haven't been keeping up on everyone's blogs very well - i'm totally feeling overwhelmed with university work at the moment, but i promise i'll make an effort to catch put this weekend!
i smell trouble...
as i was sitting on the tube this morning i spotted someone reading the stylist - this free fashion lifestyle magazine that is given out on tuesdays on the underground in london. as i was eying up the carriage to see if i could find an abandoned one the girl flipped it over and i saw this nina ricci perfume advertisement on the back. is it just me or are people kind of over perfume? the last perfume i bought was the marc jacobs daisy one... and that was literally two years ago. i really am not a perfume girl. it really bugs me when someone walks by and you can smell them after they've walked away, gotten in a taxi, and driven miles away. yeeuck. i think someone's scent should be personal - the sort of thing you can only snatch a whiff of if your lucky enough to get close to them. everyone in the room doesn't need to smell your scent, just a select few. am i alone on this? anyway, all this to say - i've never smelt this perfume and i've got no idea if its rank or divine. but immediately when i saw it i thought of a little someone i know....
this is my sister's daughter grace. she is seriously one stylish and adorable little monster. often my sister will post photos of her dressed up in ridiculous outfits - and i can't help but think that actually she is totally nailing some major trends. so, here she is, in all her four year old birthday glory sporting a pair of ears identical to the pair worn in the newest nina ricci advertisement. how stinking cute is she?
breton striped twinlets
have you ever shown up at a party to discover that another girl is wearing your exact same dress? it's meant to be like the worst thing that could ever happen in girl world, right? well, luckily i've never lived through such embarrassment (but trust me, i've had my fair share of humiliations) but today when i met up with lucy we were wearing pretty stinking similar outfits. the exact same zara striped top, biker jackets, skinny jeans - all topped off with a good dose of wispy hair and makeup free faces (hence the big sunnies). i guess this is the way to wear breton stripes this spring... well, it is in our little world at least.
matchy-matchy. lucy wears: topshop leather jacket, zara breton striped t-shirt, gap denim, raybans, and some espadrilles that were picked up on holiday. i'm wearing: madewell jersey jacket (i swear this is the only jacket i ever wear, are you getting totally sick of it? well, today a bird did a massive poop right down the left arm of it! seriously distressing), urban outfitters denim pull on jeans, rainbow leather flip flops and banana republic floral tote.
lucy is one of the coolest girls i know. she is smart, absolutely hilarious, and so driven. i love her sense of style (err, probably obvious from the above photos). at the beginning of each season we end up having very deep conversations about what we want to be wearing this season and what we are thinking of buying... it's all very official, you know. a girls wardrobe is serious business. anyway, i love lucy because she encompasses so many great qualities and is so fun to be around. she ticks the intellectual boxes as well as the stylish and fun ones - hence the recent creation of her blog: cest gleek. your probably thinking, what the heck does that mean? well, it encompasses lucy's dual nature of being utterly GLam but a total gEEK at heart. hence the word - gleek. check her out, she's a blog newbie and needs some serious love.
a little obsessed...
i tend to love things in waves - in a sort of obsessive all or nothing sort of way. for example, last summer, after spending my whole life detesting avocados, i literally ate one every day for lunch for three months straight. see, i have a problem. so presently i've got a couple fashion obsessions. one of those is the maxi. not the sort of floaty maxi dress that was so popular last summer but a new sort of maxi dress. i want it to be a solid colour and i want it to be very long. if it stops at my ankles that isn't long enough it needs to graze the floor - or come pretty darn close to it. and i don't want it to be full and whimsical i want it to be straight. i was warned that this sort of dress is seriously impractical - how are you going to walk if the bottom is small? how are you going to get on your bike? honestly, do you think i care about those sorts of things (i asked my husband). clearly, i do not. my first attempt at getting this covetable spring item was at topshop. i tried on a solid version of this and wound up looking like a total mermaid - to be honest i was trying to copy this look that i saw and totally loved - but the hip to ankle ratio was making me look rather ridiculous. so weeks passed and it wasn't until i stumbled across this little number at topshop that my maxi dress needs were met. now they've got it in three new colours and at 18 pounds a pop you seriously can't go wrong. if you haven't jumped into the maxi pond yet this is the perfect way to gently stick in your toe without sacrificing too much if it all goes horribly wrong. i for one am officially hooked. they are so easy and really feel so lovely to wear. my advice for wearing them though? you need to seriously consider your underwear situation - there is nothing worse than a beautiful silhouette destroyed my a nasty case of bum bulge. i opted for a long white slip from m&s to wear under it to conceal all the little lumps that you don't want anyone to see. next on my list is the asos lightweight maxi dress. after seeing olivia wearing it on friday it is officially on my wishlist. i think i'm going to go for it in the heather green and since it looks a lot looser than my topshop one maybe i'll be able to pass on the granny m&s slip.
have you fallen for the maxi trend? or am i a lone wolf in this obsession?
your new favourite thing...
in the market for a new totally addictive blog? well, i've got just the thing for you and it's bound to be your new favourite thing. olivia came to our blogger meet up on friday and i totally did not realize which blog she was from during our lunch, i'm blaming that on my slightly delirious sleep deprived birth-week self. it was the first time we met and she was absolutely charming. i'd like to think we bonded over such deep and meaningful conversations as the thought of my husband wearing clogs in his laboratory... and my unsuccessful attempt at borrowing them (if you think walking in clogs your own size are difficult try a men's 11). not only is olivia lovely and down to earth but she is also so chic. i totally adore her long black asos maxi dress. you can't see in the photos but it's got short sleeves and basically looks like an extension of what would be your absolute favourite t-shirt. must get myself one as soon as possible.
Olivia wears: Asos dress, Topshop cardigan, vintage jacket, Alexander Wang bag, Marni shoes, Rolex, bracelet from Mykonos.
p.s. after i got back home on friday and i went to check out Olivia's blog i was left feeling like a total muppet. i love her blog! how did i not realize this when i met her. i seriously sat and scrolled through the pages and was totally won over again by how charming she is... i love the photos and her commentary. it is all gorgeous and it makes you feel like you want to be her best friend. as cheesy as it sounds it is my new favourite thing.