New Years Eve Edition

New Years Eve, the night sky (and everyone underneath) don more sparkles than they have all year round, combined. We all have places to be, whether it’s our lovers arms watching a film or out in the city dancing the night away. I have constructed (you guessed it) 3 outfits to represent 3 different occasions that you could find yourself in on this special night.

Comfortable Night In

This could be with your partner, family, or by yourself. A quiet night in is always nice, but on New Years Eve, you can expect that there may be some interruptions, or you might even end up going to an event that you thought you wouldn't.

Here I've put together a cute outfit to lounge around in. I mean, if someone comes over unexpectedly (if it happens, it happens on NYE) and invites you out, you can be looking fab already. I teamed a simple ivory cashmere cardigan with black Capri pants (Audrey favourite) with a cute sleeveless polka dot blouse. The shoes are cute and versatile, to be worn to casual or semi-formal occasions. While you’re home, maybe flick on an old blockbuster with some popcorn, and if you want, you could let your hair down (literally), lose the cardigan, and be ready to go out at the drop of a hat.

Gathering with Friends

Oh, the casual meet-up. It’s not a party, but it’s not pyjama-casual. It may be centered around a meal or a few beverages. It’s hard to define a dress code for this sort of event which brings to worry – what do I wear!?!

This ensemble is just for a casual get together, you can keep or lose the blazer but I do prefer a little formality to my outfits and this is where it is. I've teamed a black sleeveless boat neck top (featuring a peplum) with a white pleated skirt and black waist belt. It’s not too flashy, simple and classy. I've used a matte black colour for the flats and bags because we’re not going too shiny here; it’s just getting together with friends/family. I've added some colours in make up and accessories with dark red lip gloss, nail polish and earrings.

New Years Night Out

The big night out, lucky you! You’re going to make the last of 2012 by stepping out into town, or a big bash, in style. It’s your night to be the bell of the ball, it’s your last chance, and so what will you wear?

Forgive me, for I have over indulged. I have a soft spot for full dresses and it’s just so beautiful and my ideal of feminine wear, I had to use it! Warning: I would not use a petticoat of that high volume. The rest is really simple; pearl earrings, white T bar heels, a pearl necklace and simple make up with an emphasis on eyelashes. The dress is the main attraction. For hair inspiration, look at Marilyn Monroe or Dita Von Teese.

New Years Eve is a time of many events, and choosing what to wear is only half the battle. The last Contemporary Classic post of the year! Next post will be the first of my posts introducing the month, it will be titled ‘Introducing January – New Years Resolutions’. Stay safe on this busy night, and I hope to see you during 2013.

Love Claire, x.

Retro Cadillac Car Print Clothing

When looking at retro prints, one thinks tropical fruit, animals, nature and vehicles! After the prime time of these prints in the 1950’s, the look returned at some points during the 70s and 80s as eye catching novelty prints on jumpers, dresses and t-shirts. Around a year ago, Prada brought out their retro, fifties inspired Spring Summer collection which restarted the trend, so let’s look at a general timeline.

Late 2011

Prada’s cartoon Cadillac prints.

After the campaign and the catwalk show, it was clear to see that these prints were in. The perfect addition to a Spring/Summer wardrobe, it was flirty, fun and everything in between.

Early 2013

High street UK store Primark release a Cadillac print shell and pleated skirt in colour options of pastel yellow and blue. 

The skirt only costing 12 pounds (about $20 US) and the shell at 8 pounds ($12.50). From what I'm aware of, they also sold a pink dress and shorts featuring the print, possibly due to the popularity of these pieces. Unfortunately Primark doesn't ship overseas, but the printed items were admired by many over the web.

Mid 2013

After popping up in almost every fairly priced clothing store from Next to Zara, we begin to watch the cars drive away as more and more trends enter and exit the chain stores. Many stores became sold out, and others let their stock filter through reductions. Bringing us here ... 

Late 2013

A Boxing Day shopper, yours truly, sifts through a bargain bin to find a cute Cadillac print scarf and underwear in an outlet Cotton On for $2 each.

This is surely the end of the road. Cadillac print trend is officially over, but that won’t stop me from wearing my adorable new scarf. If you’re strictly an on-trend sort of person, Never fear! These things will always repeat, and when it does a print trend similar to this re-enters fashion …

Tips on wearing Cadillac (or other loud) printed clothing:

-          Keep the outfit largely neutral by utilizing neutral colours such as navy or white in the remaining pieces of your outfit or using basic pieces such as jeans with your print blouse.

-          If you’re shy of being too bold, you could incorporate the print in an accessory, such as a scarf or shoes.

-          Wear a print where you want to draw attention. Example, wear a print skirt if you have great legs.

-          Don’t wear head-to-toe prints. That’s overdoing it a little.

Well that wasn't a planned post! I enjoyed writing it though. I was really inspired by my Boxing Day shopping. My next post will really be the ‘New Years Eve Edition’, so you should hang around for that.

Love Claire, xo.

Post-Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Well, you know, Boxing day now. How were everyone's festivities? I had a great big breakfast and a ham for dinner! Oh, how full I am. Last post, I showed you a possible outfit for Christmas day. This is what I actually wore. 

  

I don’t really buy a lot of red things, so my sample outfit was out of the question. It was such a hot day (31+ degrees C) so I just wore a white and pink, short sleeved house dress from Valleygirl (which I received as a Christmas gift), with embroider cotton flats (which you can't really see, unfortunately). With this outfit, I accessorized simply with layered pearl bracelets and at one point a pearl necklace (not pictured). I didn't go out to see anyone, this was just while I was walking my dog, but I like my outfit here for a casual (very hot) day.

Also, fun stuff, these are the gifts that I received

I’m so pleased with all of these gifts, especially the iPhone. Now that I own a smart phone I will expand blogging by posting from my mobile and setting up an Instagram account.

The gifts in the collage below are things that were purchased too late over the internet, so they’re taking their time. That’s okay though, because I’m very excited for them.

I know I talk forever about clothes and gifts, but honestly (and not to be a bore) but Christmas is so much more than material goods. Our real gifts are the loved ones we’re surrounded with. This is a time to show your love and appreciation to others, because that’s better than any gift money can buy. Remember to be courteous, gracious and above all caring on this special day, because it wouldn't be the same without those extraordinary people in your life. I mean, come on, what would be the point of looking fabulous if no one could bask in your company? Ha-ha, enough now, we must get back to our friends and family.

I hope you enjoyed my Post Christmas post and you’ll come back on the 29^th of December for my ‘New Years Eve Edition’. I hope you enjoyed two more personal posts of mine, and have a merry, merry Christmas!

Love, Claire. xo

Christmas Edition

Dress yourself, the tree and the rest of the house, it’s Christmas! Are you feeling merry? I certainly am, and I’ll start by telling you what I asked for this year, following on to an outfit proposal. Oh, I know it sounds so materialistic of me base a Christmas post on gifts and clothes, but we can get to the mushy stuff in my next post. 

Christmas gifts!

These are some of the things that I wished for! Its Christmas Eve tomorrow and some things still haven’t come in the mail, which is a little sad, but we’re having a massive breakfast at my house so there’s so much to be excited about. Speaking of Christmas events …

Now, I just couldn't help myself, while wondering what to wear for my own family’s Christmas breakfast, I made a Polyvore look for a Christmas outfit (adaptable for breakfast, lunch and dinner).

I love this look because it’s comfortable, and can be sweet or sexy depending on what more you do with it. I’ve used a redxgold colour scheme, because we’re so over green and red Christmases. I’ve accessorised with a simple wreath-looking headband and a gold pearl bracelet, Chanel quilted bag, and for the first time in the history of Contemporary Classic, pantyhose! I love them so much, but haven’t been able to put them in a look until now. They’re actually a sheer gold, I have a vintage pair by Christian Dior (unopened) just like them. Any how, enough about me, see the sparkly gold flats. Well they’re great for any sort of sit down feast, but if you’re going to a party maybe mix it up with some heels. Last but not least the dress, I love this style of dress, it’s a little retro looking with the pleats and the illusion of fullness, but it’s simple and gracious, perfect for Christmas!

Breakfast: Throw a pale coloured cardigan over your shoulders (in colder climates) to add some light to the outfits, preferably an ivory. Instead of using the bag as a clutch, utilize it's straps as a small bag. Keep makeup minimal.

Lunch: Perhaps consider wearing a 3/4-sleeved blazer over the dress. It would be a good idea to match the colour of the shoes to the blazer (say, if the blazer is navy, choose navy flats). Wear your hair out in a casual, tousled look and go without the red lip pictured.

Dinner: Perfect for dinner, but you could swap your flats for heels if you wanted here. Use the bag as a clutch purse here. I've included a make up look for you here.

Tune in on Christmas during the evening (GMT 10+) to read my ‘Post Christmas’ post, detailing what I did, what I received and what I wore! I hope you’re excited, because I just can’t wait

Channeling Your Inner Audrey Hepburn – Breakfast at Tiffany’s

We made it! The last installment of the ‘Channeling Your Inner Audrey Hepburn’ series is met with a bitter sweet feeling, but fear not, as I will continue to talk about her on this blog (I mean, who could forget her). For those of you who aren't familiar with this story (probably no one ever), Breakfast at Tiffany’s is about how a struggling writer moves next to sophisticated young socialite, Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn). As their relationship grows stronger we see a lot of depth to Holly, it’s a great love story and I recommend it to the moon and back! This was another film with just way too many great outfits, but I had to choose 3, so here they are!

The Little Black Dress

When Holly goes to Sing Sing, she wears this classic black ensemble. I chose this over the outfit she wears opening scene as I feel this is more of a real life, practical representation of how people perceive the original (as they are quite similar).

Holly wears a knee-length black shift dress with black pumps, a black purse, and accessorizes with a great black hat and statement earrings. I much prefer this ensemble as the opening scene features a full-length dress and tiara, and hey while that’s fabulous, it’s not a practical or modern look.

So I've only drifted a bit from this outfit, to make it a bit more modern and casual (it was already pretty modern, but still). I teamed a shorter LBD (with a cut that you would find in many stores right now) with a small black leather purse and patent black Louboutin pumps for Holly's core look. To jazz it up a bit, I've accessorized her with a light gold head wrap (instead of the hat+scarf combo) and pantyhose with a light gold shimmer. I had to include something from Tiffany’s, because Holly is “just crazy about Tiffany’s!”, which were the 'Paloma's Venezia Luce Drop Earrings'. I'd really like to wear this ensemble out of night time, or with flats to see friends during the day.

Dull Weather, Bright Coat

In town with Paul, Holly wears a coat based ensemble for cold weather.

Her coat is a bright orange to combat the greys about town! Matched with a fur hat and sunglasses, this outfit is all fun. Under her coat, she wears a more versatile grey tweed herringbone dress. Holly’s extra accessories are simplistic to suit the busy outfit, a black chain-strap purse and simple pearl earrings.

This was a fun outfit to re-create! I matched a yellow/mustard high-neck, long sleeved coat with a grey dress, similar to the film (a little different), and found the closest colour heels, to the coat, to match. As it's a striking colour, I decided that a fur accessory would be just too much, so I opted for a quilted black chain purse and sunglasses (which look very Audrey Hepburn, in my opinion). This outfit can look very casual, but has the  potential to be very dressy. I often underestimate the power of mustard!

Cowl-Neck Sweater

One of Holly’s more casual outfits, here she is knitting in an apartment, and then out for a cigarette break with Paul.

In a cropped, cowl-neck beige sweater and black skinny pants, her look is fashionably simple (great for horrible weather). She wears loafers, and it looks like Holly is only accessorizing with the black chain-strap purse she had previously.

My last Audrey reproduction (possibly), how bittersweet! I've been the most consistent with this outfit, as it is the simplest. I've combined a short-sleeved cowl-neck sweater with some very dark navy jeans (for a modern touch). To simply accessorize, a vintage Chanel navy chain purse and grey loafers are used. This looks like an awfully comfortable outfit, great for watching a few movies in, or doing your hair up and getting out of the house.

Fun Fact: Hubert de Givenchy dressed Audrey for not only Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but also Sabrina and Funny Face! You know what this means, that we have to see a post on his work.

I really hope you enjoyed this series. I've had a ball writing it, and there will be more where this came from! Please come again for more fashion posts, the next post is my Christmas edition! Come enjoy the holiday season in retro-chic style with me.

Love Claire, xo.

First Lady of Fashion - Jacqueline Kennedy

My interest in U.S. politics in modern history? Well it pretty much begins with Jackie Kennedy’s style, and ends with Jackie Kennedy’s style (as I live in Australia, and we aren't taught American history). She’s everything I love about fashion of the 1960’s, a timeless fashion icon whose style I’d like to emulate. Today I’ll be looking at how to achieve this glamorous, graceful style.

Before delving into my typical ‘3-outfit interpretation’ formula I’d like to say a few words on Jackie’s style influences. She seemed to adore bright colours, which was common during the sixties, so that means bright pinks, reds, yellows, blues, but also ivory. After some digging, I've found that her style icon was the same as mine (twins!), Audrey Hepburn. Now we know this, let’s get into the outfit categories!

So firstly, I want to look at Jackie’s leisure wear. When she wasn't in the public eye, attending events and such, she would lounge in high waist trousers with either a sweater or a nice blouse. Jackie would accessorize with some large sunglasses or simple pearls, very classy.

I went with a redxwhite colour scheme here, incorporating her love of bright colours. The sling-back (-like) pumps have a retro feel and with the top, gives the outfit a great pop of colour. Both the top and cardigans have peplums, so that matches well. I’m very happy with this ensemble, especially with the glasses.

Jackie spent quite some time in the office, and the White House, so smart office wear was essential.

Houndstooth Women’s Suit (1959)

She was a fan of two-piece suits (like me!) that consisted of jackets (a la Chanel) and a-line skirts. She normally wore these ensembles with white gloves, a pillbox hat and/or pearls and brooches. Unlike Audrey, she wore pumps, a lot.

As I've already recreated an outfit in the past with the classic two piece suit, I wanted to mix this up a bit (okay, a lot). It’s a modern looking outfit, with an eye-catching a-line skirt and white top, with a gold chain to match. All of the pieces are either a warm or very subtle gold. The modern blazer adds a contemporary edge to the ‘women’s suit’ concept.

Often attending formal functions, there is a lot of photo evidence of Jackie in darling evening wear.

Silk Gazar Evening Dress (1963)

She preferred sleeveless dresses, that were not full but sheath dresses. She was no stranger to off-the-shoulder or backless gowns, but always kept it very tasteful. As consistent with her office wear, she accessorized with white gloves here, too.

I think I like this outfit the best out of this series. Again, instead of fancy ball-wear, I've comprised this look to be suited for a more casual occasion, perhaps a garden party or shopping. I chose a pastel pink, as many of Jackie’s evening gowns were light in colour. The draping on this dress would flatter various body types. I love the scalloped gloves here; I wish to own a pair.

Well that was something a little different! I do enjoy a lot of Jackie Kennedy’s looks. The next post is the one you've been waiting for, ‘Channeling Your Inner (Audrey) Hepburn – Breakfast at Tiffany’s’! I hope you’re as excited to read it as I am to post it. Only a few days now!

Love Claire, xo.

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Fashion) and Business

I got in! I found out last night that I’d been accepted into my first university preference, Bachelor of Business/Fine Arts (Fashion) at Queensland University of Technology, commencing in February 2013. All the hours I spent slaving over my portfolio payed off. I’m so excited to start learning, you have no idea. The classes are going to be so interesting! Here, take a look at my first year classes:

Fashion Classes -          Introduction to the Industry of Fashion -          Unspeakable Beauty 1: A History of Dress and Fashion -          Sustainability: The Materiality of Fashion -          Unspeakable Beauty 2: Fashion and Modernity Business Classes -          Global Business -          Marketing -          Accounting  -          Management

I will be combining studying and blogging in some posts, in the form of publishing what I’m learning about here on my blog. This information will include:

-          Styles of fashionable dress up until the mid-nineteenth century - including medieval dress, the renaissance, seventeenth rococo styles and eighteenth century romantic dress

-          Fashion and Class

-          Gender Politics and Fashion

-          The Fashion Cycle: Slow and Fast Fashion

-          Styles of western fashion dress between the mid-nineteenth century and mid twentieth century.

-          Significant developments in the production and consumption of modern fashion including the rise of the celebrity designer; industrialisation and fashion; conspicuous consumption, fashion and the modern city.

All of this spanned across the year of 2013! Oh, I am so excited; I’m going to start packing tomorrow for my move in exactly 1 month and 1 day. I’ll make a post on how I choose between my clothes, because that will be the hardest thing (besides leaving behind my family, of course). So anyway, to celebrate I went shopping with my little sister and then out for dinner, with my parents and sister, to a little pizza place on the beach, and this is what I wore out.

What am I wearing? Dress - Valleygirl / Ballet Flats - Rubi Shoes / Hair Piece, Necklace, Bracelets - Equip 

Extra Photo: Dessert!

Notes: I ate so much! For dinner, we shared a trio of dips and bread, followed by a 'Zorgas' pizza. For dessert, I ate a lovely nougat and gelato combination. Oh, how I celebrated!

I am very excited for next year. Now I just have to pack and get on with Christmas and New Years events. My next post will be titled ‘First Lady of Fashion – Jacqueline Kennedy’. Very excited for you to see it! Until then …

Love Claire, xo.

Channeling Your Inner Audrey Hepburn – Funny Face

A musical, with outfits just as exciting! I’m talking about Funny Face, of course.  A story about a fashion photographer who meets bookstore salesgirl Jo (Audrey Hepburn) by chance at a photo shoot in her workplace. He notices that she’s model material and she accepts on the grounds that it includes a trip to Paris! There it begins. There are too many great ensembles featured in this movie – due to the plot featuring around the fashion industry. I had to choose 3, and I think I chose very well varied looks.

Beige Coat

When Jo arrives in Paris, she explores the city in a very chic-casual outfit perfect for rainy or cold weather. You’d expect nothing less from the new face of Quality magazine!

Here Jo wears a tan hooded parka-style coat, over her iconic black form-fitting pants and a turtleneck. She wears no accessories, as she is still transitioning from a girl with her head buried in books to a fashion model. Her look is very practical, but I’d like to add some interest.

 Here I've updated the look by swapping the coat with a cape with a fur trim, and accessorizing with simple pearl earrings, a slouchy beige bag and a beige watch. I figure a practical girl-on-the-move like Jo would benefit by using a watch. I've also swapped the flats for short heeled pumps, but either would do, depending on the occasion.

Little Black Dress

In a photo shoot in Paris, Jo wears this gorgeous black dress and hat.

A short sleeved black dress, with a fitted waist and full skirt, this is one of my favourite outfits. With white wrist length gloves and black pumps and a black hat matching her dress, this is by far one of my favourite outfits yet.

I couldn't help but use the dress that I've bought myself for Christmas ($53 on Ebay, what a catch!) but I see it fitting to the outfit. I've stayed rather true to the original outfit, as I am such a fan. However, I've added some pearls and have gone with a more casual hat. Last note: I just adore sling-back heels, I had to add them and I feel like it fits so well (however, disregard the platform).

Little Red Dress

Another photo shoot in Paris, here Jo is seen wearing a great, but simple, red evening gown.

With an extravagant diamond (?) necklace and elbow-length white gloves, Jo doesn't need a lot to dress up the dress. It might be a simple strapless fitted dress, but in a eye-catching scarlet and matching chiffon stole, it is show-stopping.

Again, like I did in my ‘Channeling Your Inner (Audrey) Hepburn – Sabrina’, I have converted this look from a very formal gown to a cocktail dress you could wear out to a party or a romantic evening. This dress is great as it mimics the chiffon stole that Jo wore with the dress and remains consistent with the fitted, strapless bodice. I've left the gloves out of this look, as I feel they don’t go well with the dress, but you could add a splash of white with this coat in colder weather. NB. Wouldn't it be great to replace the tag ‘Vogue’ with ‘Quality’!? Ha-ha.

I hope you enjoyed this post! I do believe Funny Face is great to draw vintage fashion inspiration. My next post is titled ‘First Lady of Fashion – Jacqueline Kennedy’, which was a pleasure to write. I hope you have a pleasure reading it!

Love Claire, xo.

Contemporary Take on Classic Nails

Today we’ll be looking at a ‘Contemporary Take on Classic Nails’. So, what we know about western nail polish history and trends is that, to begin with, women painted their nails in the 1920’s with car paints, oh dear. Fire-engine red nails and simple French Manicures were the most popular nail looks during the 1950’s. Both are timeless and versatile, and I will be giving tutorials on both, like my ‘Smile of a Silver Screen Star’ post, but with a twist added.

Okay, so again before this tutorial, you want to make sure your nails, and hands, are in good condition.

-          Start by making sure you have no remaining nail polish on your nails.

-          It’s a good idea to moisturize your hands regularly, maybe before bed?

-          Remember your cuticles! Cuticle oil, or almond oil, will nourish these.

For both tutorials you will need:

-          a strong white nail polish

-          a basic top coat polish

-          nail polish remover

French Manicure

On to the classic, the French manicure! You can find high and low tutorials on the old-school French mani, however today I’m putting a spin on this old girl.

You will need:

-          a sheer pink or peach, a neutral colour

-          a dotting tool, you could use a skewer or tooth pick here

Let’s start!

1.        Begin by painting a classic white French tip over the top of your nails. If you are a little inexperienced, and/or it got messy, use some polish remover to clean that up now.

2.        Get out your dotting tool! Just below the French tip, make a row of dots. Depending on your nail/dot tool size, the amount of dots could be from 4 to 6. Try to make them as even as possible.

3.        Between the dots you just made and the tip, make another row of dots where they fit. Not directly above the dots you’ve made, but diagonally.

4.        If you’d like an accent nail, choose a nail or few to fill in with dots, like so.

5.        After the polish has dried, polish over with a thin coat of your neutral-coloured nail polish

6.        After that coat has dried, apply a top coat to ensure a longer life!

Voila, cést tres mignon, non? I hope you like!

Vintage Red

Now, for something a little more show-stopping, red, red, red! The vintage classic, with another twist!

You will need:

-          Either one really strong red polish or 3 reds in varying dark/light tones.

-          Card

-          Dipping water

-          Mini brush

Start your engines!

1.        Apply a strong white coat of nail polish to your whole nails.

2.        Find your lightest shade of polish, or begin mixing your polish on a piece of card, add water to dilute it. I didn't like the use of water as well as different polishes, as nail polish is a lacquer it doesn't mix well with water.

3.        Apply this shade like a very thick French tip with a mini brush, you can see here an example of width.

4.        After the previous coat has dried, apply the second shade darker (by either mixing a new diluted colour, or a different polish) so that you can still see the first shade, leave a few millimetres, or whatever your preference. Repeat as many times as you prefer, leaving a tip for whatever size preference.

5.        It may end up messy so you may need to go over spots or remove spots.

6.        Apply a very thin layer of non-diluted red over the entire nail

7.        Finish again with a top coat, you can’t go wrong here!

Achieving this look takes practice, so good on you if you mastered it (I know I haven’t, yet)! If not, there’s always next time.

Also, I have to share with you my most recent purchases! I bought so much this week it feels like a waste If I don’t. 3 pencil skirts, a dress, sunglasses, a purse, a card holder/wallet and a cardigan and tank top set.

In total it all cost me $35, not too bad if I say so myself!

This post was a challenge taking all of those photos! I’m rather glad how it turned out though. I hope you enjoyed it! Maybe it could be a little project for this Sunday afternoon, how nice. My next post will be titled ‘Channeling Your Inner (Audrey) Hepburn – Funny Face’, I hope you will tune in to see it on Wednesday morning (GMT 10+).

Love Claire, xo.

Chanel Métiers DÁrt 2013

"The Scottish tradition of long skirts, pictures tweed and tartan"

Date: December 4^th, 2012

Season: Pre-Autumn

Location: Linlithgow Palace, Scotland.

Oh my, Chanel’s new collection! Nothing in the history of my life has ever made me more enticed with Scottish influenced fashion! As Karl Lagerfeld has a interest in Scottish culture and history and Chanel’s recent purchase of company Barrie Knitwear in Scotland, there was no better time to create a Scottish inspired collection. The colour schemes fit autumn fashion so well.

I’m amazed looking at photographs from the women’s and men’s collections, however I’m going to reconstruct 3 looks inspired by the women’s collection.

Consistencies throughout the show I've noticed:

-          Tartan: the over usage of this has been criticized for being cliché in representing Scottish fashion

-          Patterned tights: Mostly argyle, but I've seen some vertical stripes on pantyhose. Again with the argyle, it was seen as cliché by many.

-          Boots and flat shoes: The use of boots and flat shoes are consistent with the overall look of the collection. Practical for autumn, too.

-          Low or undefined waists: Not the sort of silhouette I’m used to, but I’m inspired – especially by that white gown with cascading large ruffles.

-          Knitwear; Coats, woolen scarves, gowns and more! Knits are everywhere to showcase Barrie Knitwear.

Tartan Suit Look

Tartan – the staple of this collection. Here is a tartan suit that I’ll make a look for which is a little more practical, as one of the biggest complaints of this collection was the costume-like look.

Blazer – Topshop / Blouse – Mulberry / Skirt – Azzedine Alaia / Bag – H&M / Earrings – John Lewis / Shoes – Saint Laurent Paris / Nail polish - MAC

Here I chose to only use one tartan piece, as I don’t want to over-do a casual office look. I've teamed the dark tartan Topshop blazer with a white bow-tie blouse and black full skirt. The blazer would go over the skirt to achieve the look Chanel conveys. The outfit accessorizes simply with some dark red earrings, a small black satchel featuring minimal design and patent black leather boots. To add a splash of red, look to make up in forms of lipstick and nail polish – but a darker red, not fire engine. One could wear this to the office (maybe with heels, though) or a music concert.

White Knitwear Look

It seems that the ivory pieces are the most popular from this collection. I've chosen this for a representative of the knitwear used, and because it’s a more practical every day outfit.

Sweater – A.P.C. / Skirt – Diane von Furstenberg / Bag – Tory Burch / Shoes – Rag & Bone / Cuff – Mulberry / Tights – American Apparel

This outfit is pretty consistent with the original. The sweater looks very, very similar to the Chanel one. Under a ruffled beige and white lace skirt, I've used some crescent lace tights and brown simple boots. The fur isn’t really practical for day-to-day wear. To accessorize  there was room for one cuff (you could use more/accessorize more, as I didn't have room) and a buckled brown bag that looks pretty masculine satchel-like. This outfit reminds me a little of the Japanese street-style “Mori Kei”. If you like the look, it’s worth a Google. This is a sweet, comfortable look you could wear for a movie night with your significant other, or to get a coffee with friends.

Black Tartan Look

This dress is one of my favourites in the collection. Here is a silhouette I'm a little more familiar with - fitted bodice and fuller skirt, this outfit was one of the only that had a defined, natural waist. There’s something about black tartan that I just adore, and now I need a dress with this pattern.

Dress – Alexander McQueen / Bag – Mimco / Shoes – Miss Selfridge / Necklace – Wet Seal / Bracelet – Nina Galax

Okay, I went ahead and did the controversial, but I didn't want to! So I've used a dress from Alexander McQueen’s Scottish inspired pieces. His dresses were the only ones that looked close to Chanel! Anyway, we can get past this. I've used a detailed faceted necklace and a bracelet to mimic the detailing featured on the Chanel dress. These seem to be pretty common in stores right now. I've also accessorized with a silver headband. For shoes, I've used silver-toed, black flats to compliment the silver jewellery and a letter shaped patent leather black clutch with a silver clasp.

Before I leave I want to leave you with my personal favourite of the collection – the gowns!

This collection has received a lot of buzz, and I hope you like my interpretations on how to get the look in a more casual outfit! It’s not the sort of post I usually make but I think I will do a bit more on current fashions, as well as older fashions too. My next post is titled ‘Contemporary Take on Classic Nails’, so come back and see it next time I post. See you soon.

Love Claire, xo.