humble pie

Grace Kelly is my ultimate style crush 

There is no competition

My mother is a big Hitchcock fan, and I always relished in sitting with her, sipping tea and watching old horrors on the VCR, so I was first introduce to the late Ms Kelly through Rear Window, which still sits at number five in my all time favorite films.

So what better than a day, still sitting sipping tea with my mum and watching her elegance, but rather than an old shed, the V&A?

So after eating lush my fish pie and the remains of  my mum's chicken pie, we decided to wonder over to the fashion section.

 I must have been to that section way to many times, but it still enthralls me each time. 

After starting at Mr McQueen for what could have easily been half an hour my mum dragged me off to the shop, to see if we could buy any more pattern booklets. Sadly they were too expensive, but I did find a lovely pink kimono for the very generous price of £140, hehe.

We then went to see the theatrical costumes and set, which is my second favorite exhibit and then after that the fabric archives

At 2 o'clock we we then allowed into the Grace Kelly exhibit, which did not disappoint. Though the collection was small it was still perfect, showcasing some of my favorite outfits, such as her famous Hermes bag, a collection of her hats, and a short film, including scenes from Rear Window. I really wish there was more of her outfits and ensembles, but it was still a pleasure to stand less than a foot away from them, and there were a lot of photos and lovely little information points. I really would recommend it, even if you're not a fan, she really was a breath taking woman, and the collection really does display that.

Of course being the camera happy person I am, I completely missed the no photography sign, but successfully captured half of the collection before being tapped on the shoulder by an angry looking attendant. I won't post any, as I'd rather not piss of the V&A. 

te he, I've decided to turn over a new leaf and try and spend less. So it was off to the Monday market  on a bargain hunt. And a bargain I did find, bagging a little crop top number for only a pound, yipee!

I then traveled to the menswear section of M&S looking for a suit for my dad, when I spied a fishy beauty, again for only a pound. And whilst at home, watching Gok coach several naked women, I fashioned a neck feature from my pillow handles. Yes pillows have handles! 

And finally after a luxurious trip to London avec mes amis I picked up a new pair of  maroon pumps from urban outfitters for £28, now named Nigella and Phillip

And such has been my week. I've been hurriedly trying to finish all of my holiday coursework, which is a lot, but that what you get by taking 5  A levels. But I have to get it done as  my family and I are planning to go to the city of romance, Paris!

I am so so so so so so so so excited, like my brain is going to burst! 

I've got to get together 11 outfits, so any suggestions, past outfits you've liked? Any ideas for new combinations or just certain pieces you think might impress the french fashion crowds? Also any places I should go? I've been before but to different districts, but mum's decided to try out Northern Paris this time.

te he, yip yip yipee!

xox Eve-Rei

p.s I'm currently sitting here, cutting up the latest Vogue to go on my wall, but sadly cannot go in my room due to sheer terror and fear for me life

The largest, most poisonous looking spider has taken up residence in my room, so I've slept in my sisters room for the past few days, only to wake up at 6:30 this morning, to find Meme sitting next to my arm taking a good 'ole piss. Thanks babe, way to go and comfort my arachnid fears

windows in the sky

te he, well I'm back from Ireland, with a few more freckles and all the more better

gosh London was getting really claustrophobic, so it was nice to escape into another country, see my family, and say hello to my great uncle Lawrence, who is sadly in hospital.

If you are ever looking for a cheap weekend away, I really would recommend Belfast, its basically London, but so so so much cheaper. And whilst the history of the city is horrific, but also extremely interesting. My dad took me round the city, showing the key places of 'The Troubles', which was quite scary as he used to live almost in the heart of it all. Not many people know about 'the Troubles' so I would recommend wiking it (or doing a kassy, te he)

My yaya being the amazing charity shop shopper she is gave me a tour of the city's vintage and charity shops, and wow. 

Embelished top, £10; Tennis skirt, £4; Heels, £2

Gold chain necklace, £2; Topaz and pearl clip ons, £3; Pearl clip ons, £2

Crocodile skin bag, £10

that bag is amazing, seriously I can fit in so much stuff! Like un-physically possible amounts, take a wallet, phone, fan, sun glasses, a green tea and a whole katsu curry! Trust me, I've tried.

Frida, my lovely crocodile skinned beauty has redefined the meaning of tardis bag.

Seriously the vintage shops are well worth the travel, I visited two, and they were both really cheap, and with lovely owners. The first, Bang Vintage, had a rack of various 80's snazzy jackets, and I'm talking intricate beading and amazing embellishing, each for only £10. The other had a barrel filled with various shoes, each for just £2. Belfast is my true home.

Okay so as I promised, here is a shed load of pictures from around the city

The glass roof was the Victoria center, which housed many different brands, like Topshop, Urban Outfitters and Kurt Geiger along with an observation level, showing a panoramic view of the city. From there you could see the two yellow cranes at the docks, named David and Goliath, also the City Hall (1 & 3) and many other historical buildings.

It was really amazing to see the city which half of me belongs too, I'd visited my grandparents a lot before but had never see the actually city center, so it was lovely, te he, I feel complete. And truly Irish, of course after visiting several different pubs (don't worry I stuck to coke)

It was saddening to leave, but I promised yaya I'd be back so we could travel to Dublin.

He he, so when you mix me, a camera and several different cloud formations,  what do you get? 55 different photos and videos of course! Sorry I couldn't resist.

So I'm back, abit with a faulty internet, but still back on English soil and with another post in  the wings ready and a'waiting, about my trip to see the lovely Grace Kelly and eating two delicious V&A pies. Yum.

te he

xox Eve-Rei

your comments and love are like  beautiful cumulonimbus clouds, supportive and wonderfully uplifting, actually that sounds a bit like a wonder bra, oops

p.s, Also I have recently acquired a flickr account, which you can find here, so if you want to take a look, or comment on a picture individually, please feel free to do so, you know I love it

summer madness

I think its rather unfair that a single magpie has taken up residence in my garden 

I usually wake up at 3/4, look out the window blearily a bit to find my bearings, but seeing as I have the compulsion of saluting at Mr Lonely Wings, I often thwack my head.

So thankyou my dearest feathered friend, but seriously mate go out and get a lady friend and stop bestowing bad luck upon me!

Haha, as you can see the 'holiday' effect has already taken a hold of me, and I am going slightly insane with boredom. I can no longer tell what day it is, what month we are in, but have gained the ability to tell when a microwave is within 3 seconds of going off. Handy!

So  to amuse myself I've been trying to do as much as possible with my new found freedom. For one, I've begun to save up (omg!) started swimming and have try to dress up every day, whether or not I'm going out. 

It was on one of my many lonely shopping trips, which I spied this long, pale beauty. Ignore the disgusting fat faced loser inside it, and rather avert your eyes to my lovely £10 topshop maxi.

white maxi dress ♥ topshop - £10  

chain necklace ♥ m&s 

belt  ♥ primark 

ollie clogs ♥ topshop, £65

 cream lace vest ♥ primark - £3

I thought I should just blast you all with loads of photos, another product of my boredom, thousands of photos. 

But the weather has been lovely, sunny, with a light breeze but not to much heat, i.e just about bearable for us vampires. 

So to counter act the nocturnal effect, I cracked out all of my summer dresses

. 

You remember this dress? 

blue flower summer dress ♥ primark

flower bracket  ♥ topshop - £10

vintage clip on earrings ♥ kingston antique market - £3

ollie clogs ♥ topshop, £65

white knit socks ♥ topshop - £3

I have a new found addiction to clip on earrings! By the end of the summer my earlobes will be nearly as long as my hair!

This will be my last post until, I think next monday, as I'm leaving on wednesday to go back to Belfast.  

Of course thats when the streets of Belfast decided to erupt into riots with pipe bombs and bricks. Fun.

But never fear,  I will be armed with my camera, so expect a torrent of concrete filled photos coming your way this time next week

wish me luck!

xox Eve-Rei

Your love and comments are like little whispery kitten whiskers, utterly ticklish and a remedy to everything.

P.s 143 followers! Oh my gosh. Guys! Seriously wow. The support you have given me since November, has been amazing, and if it weren;t for all of you I'd have no reason to blog, so thankyou. Hopefully by the end of this summer I'll have even more to thank!

P.p.s Due to the heat also, my insomnia is roaring its ugly head, and now is progressing from transient to chronic, does anyone have any sleep remedies, really anything, I'm allergic to lavender and my weight doesn't let me have enough sleeping pills, so I ready to try anything now, I finally thinking that after 12 years its just not going to go away.

Though did you know there's a rabbit on the moon?

te he

week o'work

I am in love

l o v e

Look at her, the most beautiful heat presser in the whole wide world!

So as you can see, read and spidey sense  for the past week, I haven't been in the blogosphere, or anywhere near it to be honest. 

Pour Quoi? 

Parce-que I have been at work experience. And with it being at a fashion design studio, my life for the past week has been nothing short of perfect.

Monday 

My work placement was at Tom Cody designs, a company specializing in print and fashion design, perfect! So traveling into deepest darkest Bethnal Green (fun!) Especially as the dress code was anything you can get messy. I basically got to wear what ever I wanted, so first day I wore my knee length bleached denim dress with my green bolero. My first task was to start making details for this vest, so velvet flowers and piled up blue hued fabrics, along with green chiffon ruffles, as see below. This was also the day that began my addiction to Radio 1, I just can't stop now!

Tuesday

I continued detailing the vest, and also made white strips into ruffles, using a blanket and long running stitch for Mel, my supervisor, who was so lovely, actually everyone there, about 15 women, were all wonderfully helpful and kind to me, it was such a inspiring atmosphere in which to have my first tastes of work in. I also, along with Alice, one of the other two interns, designed some background prints for a tweed section, onto tracing paper. We then scanned these into photoshop and edited them to make a continuous print.

Wednesday

We then finished editing the designs and printed them onto acetate paper for printing. I then learnt how the printing process worked, the first step being washing the screens, this was using a cleaning fluid and then blasting the screens with a pressurized water gun, which had a real kick to it, but was so fun to use, and I got to put my deck cleaning skills to practice. After they had dried using a hairdryer which was possessed on sucking in all of my hair, we added a thin layer of green emulsion to both sides of the screen. These screens then had to be dried again, after which the acetates were taped into position on the outer side, which books weighting the other down onto the light box. With a flip of a switch, the screen was then photo-exposed for exactly 3 minutes and 10 seconds. After which the 'white' parts were blasted off the screen using the water gun. Confusing I know but absolutely amazing.

 

Thursday

Continuing on from the day before, Mel then taught me how to print on the ink. I've only used stencils with screens before so to being using the emulsion instead was very fun. I also got to try out discharge printing, which looks as it sounds hehe. This then bleached the fabric, but in the print, how cool is that? It allowed for a wider range of colours, and because Mel has chosen browns, gave a antique golden hue. Below are Mel's final prints, she let me keeps the off cuts, aren't they just stunning prints? 

I also got to do some dying, which being me was messy, namely me pouring dye into my gloves and then reaching my hand up, pouring the liquid down my arm, basically turning me into a smurf. In the afternoon I was tasked with styling some of the pieces, which involved cutting, pinning and sewing, allowing me to effectively spend a whole afternoon on a sewing machine, fantastic!

Friday

Meh fr. Today I was given my own set to make using the wonderful heat press. By using transfer inks on cartridge paper I created my print using deep reds, purples and rich yellows, almost in a homage to London sun sets, but really it was just me splattering paint around. Then placing the sheets and crumpled silk jersey, we created the 'sexy' print inside the heat press for exactly a minute. Afterwards with which I was able to make two vest, one high neck the other a deep scoop, but both with ruffles. To finish what was an amazing experience, I brought in a chocolate mousse cake, which we all ate together along with their resident cat.

My mum half way through the week suddenly said, well what if this makes you realize that this isn't what you want to do. But that final day, the whole week actually just suddenly made my whole dream tangible. To actually be able to make clothes  for a living, have a job, travel to work, find other transport when someone goes under your tube. All that grown up shizzle. 

xox Eve-Rei

your kind comments and love are like a Lost marathon, worth a million dollars and always making me want more!

p.s may I just say, that if my designs I made at Tom Cody, which I doubt it ever will, are sold on, I just made em, I don't own them. Sadly.

♥ prom ♥

Prom

I have wanted, correction needed to go to prom ever since I was little,

The joy brough with prancing around in a floaty dress or the prospect of feeling like a princess, has always filled me with an unbridalled joy, 

Well that was until I realised that shopping for a dress is impossible and the constant wearing of highheels will lead you to having to popping your own blisters

Very un-princess like

So as soon as the idea of prom went out my mum pressed me to make my own dress, which I thought, with my amatuer skills will be a joke, but decided to take up the challenge.

Dress 1

This first design is my Carrie Bradshaw tribute, a white bodied, fitted dress with a large corsage giving an asymetrical shape. I would also make smaller flowers to descend down the boobal area, giving some coverage whilst still showing off the collar bone, which in my eyes is my best feature. Also with an aysmetrical hem, created using a hot wire to make a petal cut edge. Avec Peaches oh fo'shizzle.

Te he of course in pink because its one of my favourite colours, and what prom dress isn't pink? Okay fine a lot. 

Dress 2

Second one is inspired by Miu Miu's use of shape and how flesh is revealed and where. Showing but hiding collarbones and building up the clothing up on the shoulders. Stars would be made with white dupion backed with bondaweb to give them rigidity but not make them cardboard stiff. Then braided dupion to give a waist and a shape to the dress, and allow for the fabric upon the hips to flare out. The braids basically counteract the 'pregnant' effect, by resting on the waist synching it in and reducing a bump in the stomach. 

Te he, the faces on the shows are of course a must 

Dress 3

This one was my favourite design, mainly cause I love flowers especially gardenias. Based on Luella's 2009 spring rtw, with floral patterns and sheer fabric. Sheer is great, it covers yet reveals, and placed in the right postition is right on trend, i.e sleeves and waist cut notches with out being slaggy. Basically I adore sheer fabric, its a wonder to sew and falls beautifully.

The body of the dress would have a tulle underskirt to give is shape and then long petals stitched on by hand with tiny white beads and also similar shaped cuts into the actually skirt, hehe

So I was prepared to make my dress, found the fabric, had decided on the design, and then mum turned round to me and said 'no way are you making your dress'. So I was like 'Say wha?' 

Exactly, crazy days, so on the weekend before prom, repeat, three day before she was like we're going to find a dress and you are not going anywhere near that sewing machiene.

So after much dress searching, shop trawling, and rack raking our feet were aching, we were in desperate need of Starbucks and the humidity was playing with our heads. 

And then I had an epiphany

Pie

and I don't mean the sweet savoury desert, I mean this

 

The dress

and I mean THE dress. THE dress you see and suddenly a holy light appears and you hear a chorus of angels singing.

THE perfect dress.

And my mother, my beautiful, sweet, lovely, kind charming mother bought it for me. I adore her so so so so so so much. To the moon and back times a million trillion gazillion.

te he, and here we all are, please excuse the hairy peach eye sore in the middle and cast your gaze to the 8 beauties surrounding me. 

Esme, Laura, Vicki, Baisa, Yuck, Kassy, Gk, Lizzy and Aashna

♥

te he

so, my lovelies, any Prom stories, what you wore and how you wore it? Mishaps or Miracles? Or just want to comment on my general worminess? Tehe

xox Eve-Rei

your comments and love are like a chorus of angels singing Florence and heavenly tracks in my ear, te he spectacular

p.s, may I just say all of the central illustrations are mine, but all other pictures are from Style.com, Fashiongonerogue.com and other sources which are not my own. But that does not mean you can steal my drawings, noway josé, if you want to use em, ask. Its just polite.

Freedom At Last

My face has melted off

literally the heat is unbearable

but the sweet breeze of freedom is here

GCSEs ARE OVER

you do not know how wonderful the feeling is. 7 weeks of exams. OVER

it was like bloody labour. 

he he 

So summer is here finally, and I've resolved to not waste this one on endless lie-ins and pointless daydreaming. It has to be wonderful.

So here's my list of things to do, which I will do, or I'll have to live in a box.

1. Learn to cook.I burn cornflakes, and with the ominous looming of getting my own place, I've got to sort that out. I've saved loads of recipies over the years, so I'm going to try em out this summer. Yum! Which might be hard, as I only have a microwave.

2. Blog more. Because you my gorgeous followers deserve better. So that means more posts, shorter posts, and a hell of a lot more pictures. 

3. Earn more. I'm going to tutor Inigo, take yaya swimming and do a job for pineapple studios, so hopefully I'll be swimming in the green stuff. Well that's the plan. 

So the sales are upon us, and when I see a price reduction, I go wild. And where else to go wild, other than the Oxford street Topshop sale? Jeans £20, accessories  half price and all manner of lingerie for under £8. Yes please! 

Look at the beauties I bought! Nude pink body £7, Baby blue anklets £1 all from the shop of top, and Ladyhawke cat print tee, £15, from urban outfitters. 

Lovely jubley :D

te he 

Okay so I assure you all that I have actually been wearing clothing over the past few weeks. And to make up for lack of evidence, I'm giving ya a double wammie. 

emerald print bolero ♥ vintage, £10

elephant broch ♥ vintage

rabbit dress ♥ yesstyle.com
 llama necklace ♥ accessorize
various bracelets ♥ various sibilings
ollie clogs ♥topshop, £65

okay do you know how much a love my mama

to the moon and back 

for everything 

and for giving me Peaches

yes I named my £160 Kurt Geiger clogs, Peaches, te he, my other wooden babes are called Priscilla.

fuchsia print vest ♥ zara
    khaki body con skirt ♥ topshop - £25

 llama necklace ♥ accessorize
bracelets ♥ as above
Kurt Geiger clogs ♥Bentals, £160, to £60

well I will return to my LOST marathon/sleepover/takeaway pig out avec ma mere

I have another post lined up for y'all at the end of this week end, oo get me, already ticking off number 2. 

te he 

have a wonderful weekend my lovelies 

xox Eve-Rei

your comments and love are like a lovely summer breeze in this sweltering heat. Welcomed and utterly loved.