Voi Là-Bas: styling

Well, you guys, you can't blame me. She's one of the Fashion world's most favourite fashionistas out there. She's an icon, a trend-setter and she distincts herself from the rest.

Yes, people, bring on Fashion Icon of the 21st century #2, here she is, she's made the list. Should have made it sooner really, but I still have a lot to learn about the Fashion Industry and people and Designers and styles and trends... and I like to take my time. To analyse and decide what, for me, goes and what doesn't. I'm coming from a very art and design background so I look at Fashion more as a culmination of function, aesthetics and creativity.

I really ramble don't I? On with the post, now.

The first photo of Olivia Palermo that I've found and instantly loved. I cherished this photo, I saved it and probably looked at, used in posts and admired to death. It's the one from Stockholm Street Style where she 's wearing this gorgeous lace dress. It was a time were I was literally obsessed with lace.

Here it is! The gorgeousness.

At the time, I didn't know who this 'Olivia Palermo' was (Shame!), but I've grown a lot since (LOL) and I now know her for her sense of style, how she amalgamates stuff ("stuff"? Here I am trying to sound all informed and knowledgeable and I consciously squeeze in the word "stuff") and how she manages to create such superb outfits with so seemingly different items. Her styling is impeccable, and most of all, she seems like the person who experiments. The person who experiments with different prints in one outfit (cue leopard shoes/floral trousers outfit featured in this post) and wears many a different colours with not even the excuse of colour blocking. And still makes it work.

Photos from here and here

See what I mean? In the first outfit above she's wearing multitudes of items all in different colours and it still looks put together and assembled. My guess would be that it's because the colours are all warm colours, for example, and so they do not contrast in such a harsh way, which would have probably made them hard to pull off. Needless to say, she's got the eye. There is a fine, very fine line between something that's daring and something that clashes too much with regards to aesthetic value. The trick is learning how to be a good judge, and knowing what you personally can pull off and what you can't. Every person is different, and practice makes perfect- that's the best way to learn.

Photos from here and here

There are quite a few tips and tricks you are able to pick up when you follow someone's sense of style and outfit combinations. For example, thanks to Olivia Palermo's outfits and my obsession with street style/what people are wearing (also, I remember outfits. You can ask my friends; I can easily recall what they were wearing on a particular occasion. Quite annoying, I suppose, hah.), I have learned a lot on styling and that very fine line I mentioned earlier. I like that fine line, threading on it and swaying over it, but in general I try to avoid falling over on the wrong side.

The thing I wanted to point out before I started babbling was her yellow shoes in the first outfit above. Note the way she paired neutral colours- grey, black, white- with a pop of colour. That's definitely something I'll try out.

Photos from here and here

Olivia Palermo is the one who, to me, proved that an outfit can have different, unexpected elements, but with the right doses and the correct composition, it will still look good. If you're unsure of something, ask for opinions and be open to critique. You can learn a lot from this. I'm not saying you should accept everything people tell you, just consider it. Different people are able to point out perspectives which you wouldn't have noticed.

If you want to see more of Olivia's outfits, do check out my Tumblr. I'll be posting some pictures of her that I've found in my research.

You'll definitely be seeing more of these Style Icon posts. For one, I love doing them, and you readers seemed to have liked my other one on Abbey Lee Kershaw, too.

Have a great Weekend :) x

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This spring I'd really like to get my hands on a pair of leather trousers, or maybe leather shorts or a skirt, even. Leather clothing can sometimes be difficult to style and successfully pull of, especially if you've never tried it before. The fabric is something of an attention grabber, a bomb. But there are many different ways to make the outfit look elegant and glamorous. What I find important to keep in mind is that what works on the runway won't necessarily work in real life.

1. The first way to dress up leather is pairing it with simplistic pieces and giving that final touch in detail with accessories and shoes. Like a pair of Sam Edelman Lorissa pumps, white shirt and a nude-coloured blazer, like the outfit below.

2. In this option, think glamorous and elegant. What we want to do here is transform the inherent 'rock chic' undertone of leather pants to sexy effortlessness. And how exactly shall we do this? With red, of course. Red is a very strong colour, but it is also glamorous. And whilst having two strong elements in an outfit may cause a clash, paying proper attention to how you style it will go from clash to crush.

2. Another way to style leather is working it into an all black outfit. This might actually be my favourite, even though I don't particularly wear a lot of black; the times I've worn an outfit which was predominantly in this colour are very few. I find that outfits entirely in one colour can easily become boring, which is why I steer clear of it by second nature. However, one thing leather definitely isn't, is boring.

Rachel Zoe Fall/Winter 2012

4. The fourth way to style leather is with a minor print going on. Like a floral top, or a faded print. Not something over-dramatic but preferably sheer and light. This will soften the look and make it look more aesthetically balanced.

That's my post for today. :)
Any comments and feedback are obviously very welcome. If you like, you can check out my other blog, Shrine of Whim. It's more of an 'etc' blog, with bits and bobs about practically anything.

Thanks for reading,
Tina x

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This morning I was browsing Tumblr and what Fashion posts I have hearted in the past few days and I came across this:

Below, where before I hadn't noticed it, I saw the word 'Abbey'. Abbey as in Abbey Lee Kershaw. As I googled her, I found out that I had innocuously been posting pictures of her outfits, both on the runway and street styles.

In short, I'm in love with her style. So much so she's officially my first 21st Century Style Icon. What I love about her is that she has an ability to pull off things in any way she wants. She is versatile both as a model and with her own looks and styling. Even with the same bloody outfit. Let me show you.

The above picture illustrates one of my favourite ever. Why? Because it's very much like what I would wear. Loose lace dress, the large blazer, its colour. However, this is not the only time she wore that outfit. Ladies and, possibly, gentleman, look and admire:

Picture from here

Can you believe it? She looks so stunningly different that she doesn't even seem like the same person.

You might be thinking that it's obvious, you might think it is indeed nothing special. But it certainly is something I deem highly crucial in Fashion. Having the ability to make yourself look a certain way is a way of expressing yourself, and this is maybe one of the top, main reasons why I love Fashion so much.

What makes her look so different is how she complemented the outfit. Make-up, hair and possibly more than we can currently observe. Clearly, she knows her assets and works them to her benefit. The ability to pull off different looks is knowing yourself and how to style according to what you are like. Fashion and style isn't only about the clothes. It's about how you wear them, how you define what you want through them, and not the brand or anything else.

Now, Abbey is a model, so on the runway she does actually have to sell the brand. I chose her to illustrate my point because as a model, she easily shows what I mean as her style is very distinct even when she's not working. Though, to be fair, if Abbey had any particular style it would be called 'versatile'.

Street Styles both from here

Street Style and backstage at David Jones S/S 2011 from here and here

Quick(ish) post today! I'm soon off to my old sixth form, De La Salle. They have Lasallian Nights show tonight and I'm going to see them get ready, meet up with people and take some pictures.

Tata :)
Tina x

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