Grace Kelly – Channeling Your Princess Within

Movie star and Princess of Monaco, the Grace Kelly fantasy belongs to girls around the globe. As a fashion icon of mine, I admire her feminine and very elegant dress sense; it’s the sort of look I hope to achieve.

Before we look at outfits, I want to talk a bit about Grace’s general fashion choices.

• She preferred soft pastels (a typical feminine favourite) and jewel tones such as navy for a darker look.
• For main items, she often wore simple blouses accompanied by a pencil skirt (usually woolen), tailored high-waist pants or jeans.
• Grace always accessorized perfectly, with elegant white gloves, a silk scarf and never forget, the ‘Kelly Bag’.
• To emphasize her slender arms and fine shoulders during the evening, she would wear off the shoulder or thin strapped gowns teamed with longer gloves

Leisure Day Wear

This look is mainly to show off a Grace look with pants. She rocked them looking as feminine as the princess she was.

Her outfit here is actually modeled after an outfit of hers in the film High Society. She wears a beige blouse with darker beige/camel high waist pants. To accompany these pieces she wears a brown belt, brown kitten heels, a simple pearl bracelet, and of course, the Kelly Bag! This has been one of the more masculine outfits that I've constructed and I’m very happy with it.

Sensible Day Wear

Grace had mastered the art of sensible, elegant day wear while looking effortlessly fashionable.

This ensemble is quite simple, as Grace never looked like she was trying too hard. I've matched a woolen pencil skirt with a fitted blouse, and accessorized with a pearl necklace, a Chanel bag modeled after the Hermes ‘Kelly’ design and some simple black heels. You could wear this to office and go out for a drink after work, still looking very chic.

Evening Wear

Princess Grace! Oh how stunning she looked in an evening gown. Like I've done many times before, I’ll channel this look in semi-formal attire.

Here I have a stunning, full red dress which would really show off Grace’s arms and collar bones. I've teamed it with a white pea coat, a red Hermes crocodile Kelly bag, some red sling-back heels. For accessories, I've simple used some diamond earrings and longer white gloves. This look is all about looking like royalty, effortlessly!

This post has been so much fun, I've really enjoyed looking at Grace’s outfits and picking apart her style. In my next post I look at ‘How to Move Away (With Your Clothes)’.

Did you enjoy reading about Grace Kelly today? She is one of my favourite princesses throughout history. How do you think she goes up against Kate in the fashion department?

Vintage Fashion, Modern Approach.

Love Claire, xo.

Giulietta's Pre-Fall 2013 collection

This collection hit a soft spot for me, oh it did. Designer  Sofia Sizzi, was inspired by fashion muse, Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s! A month ago I made a post reconstructing some of her outfits here. Sofia Sizzi is no stranger to working from silhouettes reminiscent of the 1960’s, but this collection catapults her into my good books. From gradient jewel prints, to a bright pink short-sleeved dress with a full skirt made, I feel as though Giulietta’s collection has captured the essence of Holly Golightly perfectly.

  

I don’t feel like there’s much of a point deconstructing these outfits, because I've already deconstructed Holly’s outfits in my post ‘Channeling Your Inner Audrey Hepburn – Breakfast at Tiffany’s’. So I’ll leave you with this link to see the rest of the Giulietta collection here.

Giulietta Pre-Fall 13

Notice, its Cat!

I’m so happy about finding this (even though I was a month late to it), thanks Twitter! You can also find me on Twitter here. My next post is on ‘Grace Kelly – Channeling Your Princess Within’, so I hope you come back to read it. How did you feel about this collection? I’d love to know! Post a comment or email me.

Vintage Fashion, Modern Approach.

Love Claire, xo.

Christian Dior – The New Look

A year after the fashion house of Dior was founded; Christian released his first collection Corolle. Dubbed ‘New Look’ by then editor-and-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, Dior’s designs were controversial. Lovers of fashion and important figures in the industry were divided due many being appalled at the extravagant amount of fabric used, in comparison to what people were used to buying with their clothing stamps.

Dior used slim fitting bustier style bodices paired with full, A-line or bell shaped skirts that were hemmed at mid-calf. When wearing these garments correctly, one would need to purchase a petticoat. Optionally, a waist cincher, corselet or other waist binding undergarment would be worn.

To achieve this look, I've created 3 outfits to wear to various occasions. These dresses and skirts probably won’t be something that you’ll find in your wardrobe. I’ll provide some links on places you could buy these skirts and dresses as they are essential to achieving the look.

Day Wear

For a day wear look, you have the option not only to wear a simple dress, but also to wear a nice blouse and the skirt.

Originally this was set as an office wear outfit, but after looking closer, I've decided it’s more appropriate for everyday wear, despite the fact I've used a dress. The grey woolen dress is teamed with a cute beige trench coat. I've accessorized with a pearl necklace, gold-chain watch and a quilted beige handbag. Lastly some plain black pumps, this outfit would be great for going to the shops, or grabbing a coffee with friends.

Office Wear

In the office, a lighter petticoat would be more practical and work-friendly. This opens up doors to wearing a coat over it, as with a full skirt one should tuck in their top (if it isn't already cropped).

As I said before, this was originally mean to be the day wear ensemble. This means it’s a little dressy for the office, but I’m okay if you’re okay. I've combined a cropped beige blazer with a brown pleated skirt and sleeveless ivory blouse. Worn with a hat and open-toed, beige heels, you could dress this down by switching the heels to flats or nixing the hat (personally, I like the hat for the office look). I've accessorized with a quilted beige handbag (wow, again! Ha-ha),a gold pearl bangle and pearl earrings. I’m quite happy with this ensemble, it’s not often you see an office outfit with a full skirt!

Evening Wear

A dress is mostly appropriate for evening wear. Something made of a luxurious material and featuring short sleeves would do the trick.

I thought about using a silk dress, I did. I even found one that was pretty nice. However, when I came across this chiffon gem, I was sold. It’s just a marvelous evening dress. I paired it with some pale pink kitten heels and a lace cape. The dress steals the show, I’d even go without the cape if it isn't too chilly, which is why I've accessorized simply with pearl earrings, white gloves and a satin clutch. I think in this outfit, you’d want more volume in the petticoat than those previous.

Where to buy full skirts and dresses

-          Ebay – You have to be weary about quality for many stores, however you can find some great vintage pieces for cheap prices.

-          Modcloth – A bit more pricier than you’ll find on Ebay, but probably safer on quality

-          Bettie PageClothing – All new, and more expensive than the other stores. Many of these dresses look amazing.

-          If you want to dip into the pond of alternative fashion, my first and second outfit’s major pieces are from a Lolita fashion store in Japan called Mary Magdalene. Their prices are about double of Bettie Page Clothing, but the quality is perfection.

WARNING: Do not, under any circumstance, buy from the company Milanoo. I have seen way too many horror stories come from this web store. While the prices may look cheap, you’ll end up with a bunch of satin rags stitched together flimsily and called a dress. Seriously, save yourself tears.

Whew! It was great talking about an item and collection that I love so much. I hope you enjoyed reading it, like I enjoyed writing it. My next post is titled ‘Giulietta's Pre-Fall 2013 collection’. Do you like vintage Dior? Or do you prefer the slimmer silhouettes of the 40’s? Thoughts?

Vintage Fashion, Modern Approach.
Love Claire, xo.

Review - 1950’s Audrey Hepburn Style Dress

For Christmas, I received a lot of lovely gifts, including an Audrey Hepburn inspired dress from an Ebay web shop ‘hourglass_dresses’. Based in the United Kingdom, Hourglass Dresses stock a lot of inexpensive retro designs, particularly reminiscent of the fifties! As it isn't easy to come across well-made, close-to-accurate retro designs for cheap, I figured that I would review this gem!

I bought the ‘Classy Vintage 1950's Style Swing Dress from Lindy Bop’

Cost

$46.99 (+$7.50 shipping to Australia). This is an extremely inexpensive cost for what a dress similar would usually cost, even online.

Fabric

In the description, the fabric is described as lightweight, stretch cotton. I specifically didn't order from an Ebay store that uses satin or any shiny material – in fear of it being very cheap. To my delight, to cotton used does not stretch. Unfortunately, the dress is not lined; however I saw this coming due to the price.

Size

I purchased a size XS, with the assistance of their helpful size chart! The Ebay web store displays measurements in the form of a UK size, and then bust & waist measurements in inches. As it is a flared skirt, the hips are free-size. The dress fit my measurements perfectly. It a little longer than I expected, but true to the measurements.

Notes

It arrived after a very short waiting time. The dress was very creased on arrival, as it was folded up (flimsily) and wrapped in a bag. For this purchase I give 4 stars out of 5. I would buy again from this store, gladly.

NB. It really does need a petticoat. I've packed mine away for moving – but when I unpack in the next few weeks hopefully you’ll be able to see it in all of its glory.

Overall, I’m really happy with what I received for the price of it! You can purchase one just like this (or in a bunch of other colours) from this store. They offer a wide variety of sizes also, which is fantastic.

I had fun reviewing this item; hopefully I’ll do some more reviews in the future! My next post covers ‘Christian Dior - The New Look’ which I feel ties in well after a post with this dress. Did you enjoy my review? I welcome all feedback and comments from readers.

Love Claire, xo.

Outfit Photo Friday

It’s my first Outfit Photo Friday! I've devised a clear-cut formula to how my outfit posts will go, because really I’d rather it no other way than meticulously organized. Almost all of my clothes are packed up in a box, but I’m making lemonade out of lemons with the clothes I've still left unpacked.

So, on with it! This is what I wore.

The Hobbit

What am I wearing?

Cape – Dotti / Blouse – Handmade / Shorts – Ally / Shoes – Valleygirl / Ring – Equip

When did I wear this?

I wore this on Wednesday night at 6pm.

Where did I wear this?

I went out to see The Hobbit with my brother and father, in the city cinema of Cairns.

Why did I wear this?

The Hobbit (if you haven’t heard of it/are living under a rock) is set in a fictional world called “Middle Earth”. The only way I can describe the setting is reminiscent of medieval woodland cottages from fairytales, as well as there being dark castles and eerie mainlands. I dressed with inspiration from the characters in Lord of The Rings (fur collar cape, earth tones) as well as injecting some sweetness into the look (frilly blouse, crochet lace socks, lace high waist shorts).

There it is, my first Outfit Photo Friday! I hope you enjoyed it; it’s the second last to be taken in Cairns. Come back in just 2 days time to check out my next post ‘Ebay Review - 1950’s Audrey Hepburn Style Dress’, which you can see in this post under the title of Little Black Dress. I hope you’ll enjoy it; I hope you enjoyed this post. Have you seen The Hobbit? I for one, thought that it was incredible. Did you love it, or hate it? Your thoughts?

Love Claire, xo.

Bette Davis and Her Eyes!

Whenever I think Bette Davis, I think strong, independent, and the eyes! Now I’m not talking about the ’74 Kim Carnes single, I literally mean her eyes. Lovely, big doe eyes that I could spend hours envying, couldn't you? Well today, we’re going to get that look with a short tutorial of mine!

Before we start the tutorial, you want to make sure your eyebrows are shaped in a nice arch and generally well groomed. The eyebrows really frame your eyes, and no one notices a pretty picture when you’ve got an awful frame!

Now we can start!

1.        From the lash line to the eyebrow, apply a light ivory or cream eye shadow over the entire eyelid to create a soft, clean base.

2.        Apply another, lightly darker colour with a shimmer onto the eyelid and up toward your crease. A colour idea for this would be a beige/very-light brown.

3.        Add definition to the eye shape by using brown eyeliner across the top eye line and just in the center of the bottom eye line (under the lashes). This should look pretty inconspicuous, and this should allow your eyes to look larger.

4.        Now, if you want to really open up the eyes and fight the tired look, line the bottom inner eye line with white eye liner. This is a tool every woman should invest in as it makes you look awake and looks natural.

5.        Lastly, apply dark brown mascara to your top eyelashes and just a teeny bit on the outer sides of your bottom lashes.

There it is, a classic and natural looking way to open up those eyes. This is such a versatile look and you can really wear it anywhere. Just a short tutorial for today, but before I finish, I’ll leave you with a 1930’s outfit in comparison to a Bette Davis inspired ensemble!

The popular women’s fashion silhouette of the 1930’s embraced their natural form by employing natural waistlines, backless gowns and bias cut dresses. Capes as outerwear, lace and ruffles were in fashion. Costume jewellery became the new way of updating and old outfit, and the Great Depression never stopped many women from being fashionably fabulous!

This look is based mostly on an elegant 1930’s look turned contemporary. I've used a bias-cut Ralph Lauren dress that should hit at, or just below the knee paired with a cream fur cape and white peep-toe, sling-back heels. I've accessorized with large silhouette earrings to match the colour of the dress and a long pearl necklace. To be honest, I’m a novice at 1930’s fashion, this is my first attempt and I hope you like it

Bette’s style was a little left from center during the 30’s. In 1934, she was quoted saying “I have lost faith in glamour … It has been over used and badly mistreated.  I think I should rather be chic and well-dressed”. Information on Bette’s personal style wasn't easy to find, but after a lot of digging I learnt a thing or two about her fashion favourites.

Day Wear

During her the day, she preferred a tailored box pleat suit or a checked sheer wool suit. She also liked peter pan collars and tailored black blazers.

So this outfit means business, obviously. I've paired a beautiful black blazer with a simple peter pan collar blouse and a beige/brown skirt that features box pleats near the hem. For shoes, I've turned to short heeled black brogues to match the office-wear feel, and accessories with a thick chain bracelet. For bags, I’ll give you 2 choices! A classic 1930’s looking black handbag or a modern chain-strap purse with contrast colour blocking. How historically accurate do you want to look? You decide!

Evening Wear

Of an evening, Bette’s ideal dress was made with lace or ruffled organdy. She liked the colour black for evening dresses.

The dress featuring in this ensemble is undoubtedly 1930’s inspired. It’s a ruffle lace maxi dress that I paired with a lace cape. I don’t know a lot about her evening wear, but I’m assuming that she paired the colour black with jewel tones. I've added a deep purple in the peep-toe, sling-back heels and a hand bag with a gold clip. I've given her some suede gloves to accessorize with because I haven’t seen her wear any evening accessories and I need at least one!

I hope you enjoyed my post on Bette Davis, her time was a little further back than I’m used to but I really enjoyed making this post. As I have a film box set with some Bette Davis classics, I may end up creating a series similar to my 'Channeling Your Inner Audrey Hepburn'. My next post will just be 2 days from now on Friday for my first Outfit Photo Friday, and then for a bit of a personal post on the 6^th, my post is titled ‘Hardest Part of Moving – Clothes’. I expect tears to be flowing, ha-ha. See you then!

Love Claire, xo.

Introducing January – New Years Resolutions

Hello January! From now on, at the start of every month I will be making an introductory post for the month highlighting what will be covered over the month and my thoughts.

This month the posts you can expect from me are:

-          Bette Davis and Her Eyes!

-          How to Move Away (With Your Clothes)

-          Christian Dior – The New Look

-          1950’s Style Ebay Dress Review

-          Grace Kelly – Channeling Your Princess Within

-          Katharine Hepburn Style

-          How to Dress for a Plane Flight

-          The Pencil Skirt

-          New in Town

Along with regular Outfit Photo Friday posts. It’s going to be a busy month moving and posting, but here’s to trying!

Personal New Years Resolutions

-          Budget more (so that I can buy clothes as a poor, uni student)

2013 brings many things for me: new school, new house, new city. New is expensive and most of my money will be going to rent and feeding myself, however clothes are essential to my happiness. I need to get on top of managing my money, buy putting unused grocery money into a ‘fashion bank’ (I have a Hello Kitty piggy bank) and saving up for expensive, but durable pieces (style, quality and time wise).

-          Explore Brisbane

Being a new city opens up doors for me to explore places I've never seen before. I’m not talking about just visiting all the second hand stores (which I assure you, I will be doing) but also cafes, galleries and markets.

-          Visit fashion and culture events

Another part of exploring, and I guess embracing the new city, is attending as many cultural and fashion events as I can. I doubt there will be many fashion events, besides Brisbane Fashion Festival and maybe going out to the Gold Coast Fashion Week. I will be attending the Big Day Out on the 20^th of January and hopefully many markets and events to come.

Blog New Years Resolutions

-          Post more than twice a week

Currently I've been posting on Wednesdays and Sundays (or about every 3 days), but I hope to post more often, hopefully 3+ times a week from now on. I have tons of written articles waiting to be posted so this shouldn't be a problem for a while (until exam time, eek!)

-          Study by blogging

I plan on studying and blogging at the same time with making posts about what I’m studying. If you haven’t previously read, I’m going to be studying Fine Arts (Fashion) and Business at QUT, and this year in fashion I’m taking classes on the fashion industry, fashion throughout history (14^th to the 20^th century) and textiles. I probably won’t be posting much business stuff unless I see that people are interested.

-          Use Twitter and Instagram

Now that I have an iPhone, I’m hoping to increase my online presence by tweeting and uploading images to Instagram regularly. You can follow me to see my progress and get updates on future blog posts and my life on …

Twitter: @WoodfieldClaire

Instagram: contemporary_classic

-          Outfit Photo Friday

A new addition I’m hoping will be successful! Every Friday, I should be posting a picture my favourite outfit that I've worn during the week. I’m going to schedule it into my blog post list so I don’t forget; I will try to stay faithful!

This has been a fun few weeks with this blog! I’m excited for 2013, big things to happen. My next post will be the ‘Bette Davis and Her Eyes’. I hope you’re as excited as I am.

Love Claire, xo.