Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has to be one of my favourite days of the year, because for me it is a chilled day spent with family some doing last minute things and eating too many treats. My mum and I went into the local town near my grandparents',  My gosh their local town. That could be a whole post on its own. Lets just say I am glad I live where I do sometimes! Though they do have yummy bakeries (But not pretty bakeries- Not Insta worthy ;) ) and a lot of shops, useful for our last minute shopping for extra wrapping paper and decorations for our gingerbread house

This evening has consisted of icing the gingerbread house, (shop bought... cheating but we do have to stick the sides together!) a task that I both love and hate because seriously I just want it to look pinterest perfect haha but then my icing smudges and unfortunately I may snap at my mum for not being helpful enough. Bless her. I will share photos of it soon though! I was kind of going for a simple 'Scandinavian Look' with swirly icing and minimal colours, just red white and pink. Next on the Chilled Christmas Eve agenda is reading Harry Potter in the bath with my Lush Christmas Eve bath bomb, something thats turned into a bit of a tradition over the past 3 years.

I hope everyone has a really Merry Christmas! 

Winchester Christmas Market 2014

This past weekend my mum and I took to the mainland for a trip to Winchester's annual Christmas market. 

We had a bit of a rocky start, getting on the wrong train which was going to... Cardiff. Yup. Good job we got off or we would have been a liiiittle bit off track. ;) 

One of the main reasons for going was for me to get a feel of the town, as Winchester University is one that I really like the look of. I loved it! The cathedral and old buildings with unique boutique's is perfectly suited to me, and of course the Christmas market made it even more quaint.

We went on a Saturday, and the crowds were pretty mental. With it not even being Christmas holidays yet I would recommend you take a sneaky day off school as I'm sure it is 100x quieter in the week. 

^The cutest café which would also be my dream house, on the right^

^ ornaments from my new favourite shop The Hambledon ^

 ^As soon as I was on the ferry home, I knew I would regret not buying this shirt. Oh well. The ever-lasting hunt for the perfect white shirt continues.^

Once we'd got the train back from Winchester, we had a couple of hours to spare so stopped for a sneaky Nando's, seeing as there isn't one on the Island. ^

^There were the CUTEST food stalls scattered around selling candy floss to mulled wine. Wishing I had bought some, now. ^


Winchester, I like you.

Vacation!

Hello! Tomorrow I am going on holiday, over to the States. I will be there for two weeks; in that time we are visiting Las Vegas, staying in a ranch in the Grand Canyon, Disneyland, L.A, and a little cruise that goes to the Island of Catalina and Ensenada in Mexico. It's fair to say I'm a tad excited. ;) Also, expect a silence for the next two weeks whilst I am there, as I don't think I will be able to post on the blog.. feel free to follow my Instagram for updates! There shall be many many photos of this adventure when I'm back.

In the meantime, I hope you are all well and consider this me signing out!

x

Mastering the art of the self portrait

It has been so hot down on the Island lately. Well, hot for England's standards. My days have consisted of going to the beach, walking home when I get too hot, then heading back out for a late night swim. This is what happened in the too-hot-gonna-go-home portion of the day today.

Mabel's got this selfie thing down, don't ya think?

P.S Mabel is my dog.

P.P.S my mirror is grubby. Sorry.

;)

Let's talk couture: an overview of Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week

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If your instagram hasn't been blowing up with snapshots of Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week then really, you are following the wrong people. As envy-inducing the pictures of people attending these events are, I also rather love looking at all the gorgeous new styles and colours that will be trending in the following seasons. I also like fantasying of wearing dresses like this number by Elie Saab on a daily basis. If only it were socially acceptable to wear such clothes to Tesco!

So, here are a few of my favorite looks from Paris Couture Fashion week. 

Dior

A focus on full skirts, soft ice-cream colours created a feminine foundation for the show, yet the harsh structured lines, jumpsuits and two-piece outfits with zipped bodices and pops of colour provided a modern twist. I mean, Dior deserves to be featured for the wall covered in thousands of orchids alone! Definitely my favorite backdrop of the week.

Giorgio Armarni Privé

The entire collection was built on three basic colours; red, black and white. To me, this is what made the collection really stand out. A focus on tailoring created clean lines, a contrast to the pompom-esque, fluffy features seen later in the collection.

Giambattitta Valli

Feminine colours and hemlines meets masculine shirts. I'm loving the mix of embroidered flowers and embellishments with clean stripes. The head scarfs, sunglasses and full skirts gave it a very 'Roman Holiday' feel to me. This is perhaps my favorite collection, ever.

`

Bouchra Jarrar

Casual in comparison to other shows, but still one of my favorites. Muted colours, animal print and the outdoor setting gives off a relaxed feel, but the tailoring is excuisite enough for the pieces to still be dressy, creating unusual silhouettes.

Chanel

You can't have a Chanel collection without a tweed suit, and of course, they did not disappoint. Embelishments and mixing textures were also given a spotlight, with multiple colours running throughout.

Valentino

A mix of monochrome and earthy tones with a forest-like backdrop stirs images of simplicity. Models wore their hair simple and flowing, with makeup to a minimum, and gladiator style sandals adding to the breezy, old world feel. Many of the dresses after the first half featured sheer, barely there fabric; a very ethereal collection.Oh how I love Valentino.

Viktor & Rolf

23 ways to style a towel. An all red collection, it is so odd it deserves a spot here. Viktor & Rolf always bring the unexpected, and for that I love them.

Elie Saab

An array of colours and bridal like styles graced the catwalks, as intricate and beautiful as ever. Elie Saab has been a favorite of mine for years and every year I become excited to see what they've done next. This year the hem lines were kept long with only a few short dresses, and sleeves are remaining popular with his designs, something I'm so happy about.

To view all the collections head over to here

Unfortunately, none of these photos are mine- all belong to owners listed below, where you can take a closer look at the collections:

http://www.dior.com/couture/en_gb/womens-fashion/haute-couture/autumn-winter-haute-couture2#/the-silhouettes

http://www.vogue.it/en/shows/show/armani-prive

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2014/couture/giambattista-valli

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2014/couture/bouchra-jarrar

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2014/couture/chanel

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2014/couture/valentino

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2014/couture/viktor-and-rolf

http://www.eliesaab.com/en/ready-to-wear/fw-2014-2015#/en/haute-couture/fw-2014-2015/1/1

Welcome!

How does one start their very first blog entry? I think I'll start by telling you a little about myself.

My name is Abi, (apparently not an acceptable name as the red line appears under it.. thanks Google ;)) 

I live on an island off the British coast and have a little dog that I love very much.

As you have probably figured, this blog will feature a lot of fashion, my biggest love! 

It's also likely to include ramblings of my muddled thoughts, recipe ideas and things I've been doing lately.

I'd like it to be a place that I can keep my thoughts together, so I can look back and see what was going on in my mind and the styles that I was loving or hating at that time.

I hope you join along!

Abi 

xx