Dedicated Follower of Fashion

Coco Avant Chanel

On Saturday night we curled up to watch 'Coco Avant Chanel' I can unfortunately only describe it as an ok movie.

The plot felt slow and drawn out, very long winded for what wasn't a lot of story and then the end was completely rushed - kind of a panic - oh yeah the woman made clothes too. I know it was Coco AVANT (before) Chanel but it felt like there were some huge holes in that story. Too much of an attempt to make it a love story rather than a biopic (as an aside the copy we were given had poorly written subtitles which were annoying, when they weren't down right hilarious)

Audrey Tatou and cast were wonderful though and the costuming interesting and inspiring so inspiring it's inspired some outfit posts of my own!

Most of the costuming was really menswear inspired, I particularly enjoyed watching her garner inspiration, from fishermen, to a mens wardrobe, to the races (it was more of an under inspiration - the exuberance of the outfits encouraged simplicity in her designs) and all the fabulous tweed, equestrian inspired outfits were fun and of course my dear passion - hats!

1) Vintage Striped Top - Mustard Seed Vintage - $20, 2) Mini Straw Hat - Topsy Turvy Design - $73, 3) Pleated Pants - Victoria's Secret - $49.50 4) Pointed Derby Shoes - Topshop - $100

1) Sweater with Ruffle and Tweed Detail - Natty Boho - $80 2) Tweed Cloche Hat - New Vintage Lady - $75, 3) Moleskin Jodphurs - Isobel and Cleo - $245, 4) Strapped Booties - Go Jane - $19.50

1) Vintage 30's Dress - Vintage Frocks of Fancy - $275, 2) Beaded Headband - Beads on a Wire - $20, 3) Black and White Purse - Davie and Chiyo - $90, 4) Mary Jane's - Nine West - $59.99

By Kelsi Smith

Get Involved!

We have a few ways to get involved here at Dedicated Follower of Fashion and over the next few weeks we will be sharing them with you!

First up is a fantastic exposure for artists and designers. As we evolve and expand we're leaning more and more towards a magazine feel and would like to add more design elements.

We have several categories that we would like to have some neat headers for. Each is open to your fantastic ideas and each chosen artist will win a Dedicated Follower of Fashion gift bag, jam packed with goodies and worth $75.

The categories are:

• Avant Garb (where we feature vintage collectors and retailers)
• Better Know Your Neighborhood (readers & writers feature their favourite spots in their 'hoods)
• Nosey Parker (our designer interview series)
• Pavement Princess (our very own street style series)
• Style Soundtrack (a showcase of our latest favourite tune & an outfit to match)
• Vanguard (a showcase of new trend)

Headers should be 400 pixels wide and 200 pixels tall or smaller. Illustrations to be worked into a header will also be accepted these can be any size but bear in mind the size they will end up as. They can be emailed in jpeg format to: kelsi@stylesmithonline.com

Winners will be selected in January so there is plenty of time to get involved! We look forward to seeing your entries, let your imagination run wild!

Love,

The Dedicated Team x

Riikka A.

This weeks lovely Lookbooker of the Week is Riikka Aaltonen a 23 year old student from Finland. Isn't she ridiculously adorable? And not even in a silly twee way. In a "wow can I have that dress?" kind of a way.

Her style is eclectic and obviously made up of many vintage pieces but the colours combination's (those shades of yellow and chartreuse are to die for) keep it modern and fresh.

Something Riikka clearly has a skill in (aside from putting together fantastical colour combination's)  is accessorizing. Big chunky (but still girly) handbags, gorgeous bows, scarves and hats and a clear penchant for cute red shoes, her looks are perfect...and yet it's the imperfections that make her completely charming, the perfectly mismatched colours, the occasionally bed head and the harried pose just add to the cuteness and character of the look!

And yes Riikka, coming from someone who gets told she looks like Maggie Gyllenhaal all the time - you really do look like her!

Check out her other looks here and her cute blog here (it's in Finnish but it's a great photo book nonetheless!)

Thanks Rikka!

By Kelsi Smith

LA Fashion Week - Sew Jeannie

There is a cute gallery on Ocean Ave in Santa Monica, the Jeanie Madsen Gallery. Here you will find a collective of artists from painters, sculptures to fashion.  All very complimenting of each other and one-of-a-kind.

This is where the Sew Jeannie Fashion Show was held as part of LA Fashion Week.  An intimate runway show with a fun playful feel, everyone was excited to see what Sew Jeannie was showing for Fall/Winter.  

Combining beautiful warm fall tones and fabrics, the line had a very natural and wearable vibe. The mixing of plaids and floral patterns was a nice look for fall. What really caught my attention were the mixing of textures and raw edges. Lace ruffles and appliqués detailed knit solids creating beautiful textured features and pops of color. The clean lines of the silhouettes allowed for the asymmetrical raw edge hem and necklines to create a modern upscale handmade feel that really made the pieces stand out.  This was a great Fall/Winter collection and perfect for your favorite boots for the season.

By..
Sandy Prisbell

Vanguard: Neat Knits

I'm completely fascinated by knitted or crocheted crafts. Mainly because I find the concept of knitting so hard. I can just about knit a scarf....I can't finish it off so it inevitably unravels. I've got the basics down but can't even begin to imagine how these people create such wonderful things!

It's interesting to see the progression in this particular art, I've been amused by so called Graffiti Knitting or 'Urban Knitting' in the past. Knitters will make street signs and lamp post warmers which is just completely brilliant. See this blog for awesome pictures. But in a more useful progression fashion has been going the way of "knit one, purl one' also....

Here are my finds.

Traditionally Twisted: So you expect knitted scarves and mittens right? it's obvious. But these gorgeous items each have their own little twist making them modern and new.

1. Knitted Bandana - Dolly Knits - $34, 2. Large Knitted Bandana - Miss Indie - $35, 3. Large Cowl - Spratters and Jayne - $159, 4. Neck Loops - Miss Indie - $36 5) Knitted Shawl - A Cat's Nest - $45 6) Twisted Cowl - Miss Indie - $42 7) Embroidered Mittens - ilyn - $30, 8) Cracked Mittens - Celapiu - $21 9) Finger Mittens (they're mittens with an extra finger - love!) - The Store NL - $18 10) Ribbed Fingerless Mittens - KitMit - $28 11) Fingerless Mittens - Mickie and Betty - $22 12) Buttoned Mittens - Coquelicot Salon - $39

Purl Jewelry: So how about knitted jewelry? It's the perfect way to rock some knitted stitches if you're in a warmer climate (like me - I'm not going to get very far with a scarf!)

1) found on Etsy (link missing) 2) Crocheted Hoops - Tania Nova Crochet - $21.99 3) Knitted Necklace - Hargarae - $95 4) Crochet & Stone Necklace (this is such a cute idea!) - Puolukka - $13 5) Knitted Bow Necklace - FUDUMUDU - $40 6) PomPom Necklace - FUDUMUDU - $40 7) Crochet Necklace - Alasdelsur - $35, 8) Knitted Chain Necklace - Sloanester - $34 9) Crochet & Stone Necklace - Puolukka - $13

Warm Wearables: Take the knitted look to the ultimate level with clothing and accessories that ain't your grannys cast offs (I mean that metaphorically as a grand lover of my grannys cast offs)

1) Crochet Shrug - The Little Things from T - $35 2) Knitted Leg Warmers/Spats - Sannica - $150 3) Madeline Shrug - Any Other Name - $40 4) Knitted Purse - Broken Hallelujah - $10.50 5) Knitted Kitty Purse - Coquelicot Salon - $72 6) Crochet Purse - Studio Wonjun - $38 7) Knitted Shrug - A Cat's Nest - $75 8) Knitted Mini Skirt - Lux Indie - $35

Soft Top: We all know I have a passion for a good headpiece... I like hats in general really but rarely get to wear a knitted hat (darn SoCal weather!) These knitted pieces satisfy my knitted hat craving & my cool head requirements. Yay.

1) Knitted Bow Headband - Dolly Knits - $26 2) Cable Knit Headband - Spin Thread - $35 3) Heart Headband - Little Honey Pies - $12 4) Crocheted Head Piece - This Ol' Thing - $30 5) Mini Bowler Hat - Eka Wear - $50 6) Knitted Fascinator - Serpilerol - $35

By Kelsi Smith

D to the I to the Y: Safety Pin Necklace

Yes. It's really safety pins! Since I whipped this one up I have had a ton of compliments. It was easy to make (if a little time consuming) and super cheap to make!

1. Beads (make sure the hole is big enough for your safety pins)

2. A length of chain.

3. Two jump rings.

4. A clasp.

5. Safety pins (I used 50, 2 inch pins)

1) Open up your safety pin and slide the beads down the pin until the pin is full (but you can still close it) Do this for every safety pin. I kept the pins and beads uniform in size and colour, feel free to change it up, but make sure your beads are big enough for your pins! This process takes a while so throw on a movie or summat while you work!

2. A pile of finished pins!

3 & 4) Slide all the pins onto the chain using the loop in the bottom of the pin. For the look I achieved make sure all the pins are facing the same way (beads out)

5. Opening a jump ring. The best way to open a jump ring is not to pull it apart as you may be inclined to do. You want to use two tools to grab each side and separate the ring by twisting one side away from the other (as in one towards you and one away from you)

6. Attach a jump ring to each end of the chain. Close the jump ring on one side in the same way that you opened it.

7. Loop the clasp on to the jump ring on the other end of the chain and close the jump ring the same way you opened it.

8. Voila. Your necklace is complete.

If you need to see the pictures closer click on the to make them larger! If my instructions aren't clear or you need help leave me a comment & I'll get back to you!

By Kelsi Smith

Reportage: Phases

(Some Images that have consistently inspired me.  Not totally cohesive, but these ideas have come together in my mind to create something I can label "my style")

I’ve gone through many sartorial phases when it comes to getting dressed in the morning.  There was my “Southern Gothic” stage.  It consisted of anything dark, neo-goth, floral, nature-y, vintagey.  I was influenced by Flannery O’Conner, Devendra Banhart, and Zoe Deschanel and wore lots of feathers in my hair.  After that came a “Hip-Hop Hippie” look (yeah, that’s for real).  I favored my high-tops, neon Aztec printed flowy dresses, and baggy (er) denim.  I listened to The Knife, The Presets, wore my bangs blunt and got my inspiration from “The Cobra Snake”.  Actually, that phase didn’t last very long… haha.

During one of my “phases” I read an article where a fabulously dressed woman was asked if she found it hard to get dressed in the morning.  She replied that it used to be hard, but she knows what she likes now and knows who she is, and her clothing is just as extension of that.  Her style came totally naturally after her journey of self-discovery.

That became my goal, to know myself well enough that “getting ready” became effortless.  I wanted to have a wardrobe that was a reflection of myself and felt like another layer of skin I put on in the morning.

Having  phases was like having a season of discovery of one aspect of myself.  I’ve been able to pull what I love from different phases and put together a more consistent look.  It’s not to say that I’m now a genius with my clothes and look like “me” every day.  But I get closer and closer every year.

All in all I want to encourage everyone to be themselves.  And if you don’t really know who you are, that’s what the phases are for.  Experiment with all those sides of yourself until you come to a balance. Interpret fashion through your own creative, individual lenses and become comfortable in your look!

Some examples of incredible self knowledge:

- http://showmeyourwardrobe.blogspot.com/2009/09/hannah-marshall-designer-of-hannah.html

(woah, talk about an aesthetic!!)

- http://www.thecherryblossomgirl.com/

(This lovely lady has impressed me for years with her lovely sense of self and style.

Love you!  Brittan

Inspirations from my October

Last month went by really fast, did it not? Before we jump into November, check out just a few things that inspired my October:

Diane Birch - Best known for her unique music (which I LOVE), Diane also has a striking look and distinctive style. She totally rocks the thick, straight-across bangs, and her clothing choices might trick you into thinking that she stepped out of another era. Very chic!

Prairie girl boots - Did you watch Little House on the Prairie when you were little? This TV show was really popular back in the day, and I remember having a pair of boots in a lovely cream color similar to those worn by the Laura Ingalls character. With the popularity of laces on boots lately, it made me remember how much I loved my prairie girl boots, and now I want to see an updated version of that trend come back. Could it be on its way? 

Textiles - During a recent adventure to the library, I discovered the ultimate picture book! With over 1800 textile patterns from the last two centuries, this book is so inspiring and interesting to flip through. I find myself especially drawn to textiles from the 1920s - 1940s. 

Owl City - One of my good friends from college recently introduced me to Owl City, which is the musical project of Adam Young from Owatonna, Minnesota. With music that is very chill and lyrics that are poetic and clever, Adam's music will make you float away to another world. Check out my favorite songs "Hot Air Balloon" and "Vanilla Twilight." Both have been on repeat for over a week now!

Fall leaves - In my opinion, this is the prettiest time of year. The beautiful colors of orange, yellow, and red have painted all the trees' leaves, and this inspires the color palette in my wardrobe. If you run into me, I will probably be wearing golden yellow or deep red.

What inspired your October? 

xoxo, Sarah Corley

London Fashion Week Catch-Up

I know I'm crap. It was weeks ago...and I was going to forget about it all together. But there was some really cool things going on and London Fashion Week is always my favourite (being British and all) and I would like to share...so forgive my tardiness?

First up some of the best looks about:

From Left to Right:

First Row: Matthew Williamson, Christopher Kane, House of Holland, Unique

Second Row: Basso & Brooke, Burberry Prorsum, Luella, Paul Smith

Third Row: Clements Ribeiro, Twenty8Twelve, Louise Goldin, Erdem

What I Noticed: My favourite thing about the London shows is the ability of the designers to push the envelope and instead of just achieve a wearability that you so often see on the New York catwalks they create a aspirational look. I want to be the girl that wears that. Even if that girl lives in the year 2057 and lives in an oxygen bubble.

This year for the Spring 2010 shows we saw that same attitude but much more of a wearability than we've previously seen. Perhaps this is because of the trends, or perhaps it's because of my own personal style or both. But the dreamy pastels, the amazing florals (sigh, Erdem, I could live in you  - please?) the structured gingham and the messy librarians. Each evoke their own personal style and character and they're all characters I want to be and styles I want to inhabit.

Is anyone else seriously looking forward to spring?!

Anyhoo speaking of characters my favourite move this year came from one of my favourite designers (or rather duo's) Antoni & Alison. They have been entertaining me with their quirky fashion for years and years and are one of the few 'designer labels' I have bought into (I am a proud owner of a few items including my favourite purse complete with quippy, quirky quote) This year they produced a slideshow entitled 'Screen Tests' rather than a catwalk show wherein they displayed their new collection. 

The collection was a re-imagining of what they would have had their favourite movie heroines wear if it had been up to them. Not only was it entertaining, lovable and extremely amusing but the looks were actually wearable - as in I want them - as in now.

Pictured above you have Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany's), Dorothy (Wizard of Oz), Bonnie (Bonnie & Clyde), Calamity Jane (Calamity Jane), Iris (Taxi Driver) and Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard)

Not only are the looks fantastic but I feel a desperate urge to watch every single one of these films they've been inspired by and get inspired myself! Project!

You can watch the slide show here (it's just over 15 minutes long for 43 looks and completely worth it)

So that's my round up of London Fashion week. Short, sweet and very late.....

By Kelsi Smith

Liz. S

This week's lookbooker of the week is the lovely Liz S, a 22 year old student from 'under the sun', I assumed California, the pictures say New York, so who knows.

But it's irrelevant. Liz has a fab sense of style, it's playful but remains chic, she works a vintage piece like no one I've ever seen...seriously I was shocked at the quantity of vintage in her looks, she makes it all look so modern. There's a femininity to her style that manages to get around this seasons harder styles,  something I've been trying to achieve myself (floral dresses will always win over studded leather -sorry) it's a hard balance but she does it well, on trend and herself, that's what we like around here!

She keeps a great and inspiring blog which I will be adding to my reader and you can find here and be sure to check out her other looks here.

Thanks Liz!

By Kelsi Smith