22

It's my 22nd Birthday on Monday and high time I made a wish list of the gifts i'd love to be unwrapping! I'm celebrating truly entering the grown up years with a trip to London, starting off with a trip to Meat Liquor followed by drinks in Shoreditch on Sunday before stopping over, then spending the day partying at Notting Hill Carnival and hoping to get a spot on the guest list for the Red Bull party before heading off to see one of my favourite DJs Oneman at a Deviation night. Still need to find the perfect birthday dress! The next day is my besties Rachael's birthday when we'll be easing the hangovers with g&t's and dinner from the yummiest restaurant in town back at home. Bank holiday is always great with a double birthday in the mix!

Wish List; Pretty Underwear (Topshop), Opening Ceremony 10th Anniversary Book, Zubrowka Vodka, Chunky Jewels (Mawi), the Perfect Party Boots (ASOS), iPod....I lost my iPhone and i'm dreading the commute to my work placement without any music!.... Gold Casio, Beaded Clutch (ASOS), Ving Boots (Jeffrey Campbell), Molecule 03 (Liberty), Boo Boo Zap (Benefit) ..because any Benefit is great and the packaging of their skincare range is gorgeous, Free Run Sole Trainers (Nike)...I definitely can't pull off the streetwear look but fierce looking feet might just help me to dedicate myself to the gym a little more!  

SO CALLED SUMMER

Denim & Velvet Dress; Topshop Boutique £55

Mella Bra; Monki £7

Mella 60's Briefs; Monki £7

Orange Lipstick; Topshop £8

Gold Casio Watch; American Apparel £55

Camo Socks; Topshop £3.50

Ankle Boots; Jeffrey Campbell @ Solestruck £130

OLYMPIA

I am completely hooked on The Olympics, from the awe inspiring cauldron, to the sprinter shorts which have filled high street stores, from the high fashion hints to sports and onto the faded vintage sweats, the nail art (patriotic albeit tacky) to the unstoppable Usain Bolt...and less I forget the rumoured Spice Girls performance at the Closing Ceremony on Sunday. And haven't Team GB done us all proud. 

HI BROW

If you know me then it will come as no surprise that I am obsessive over eyebrows. After sporting over plucked apostrophe style eyebrows during my school uniformed years I began to lust over the full strong womanly brows. Eyebrows truly change a face and the coming season sees the brow taking centre stage. A certain sense of dystopian surrealism has been cast over the fashion and beauty worlds and I am in love with other worldly brow embellishments. I'll be experimenting with coloured make up pencils and glitter gels for evenings, the statement lip always was impractical for drinks anyway!

SUITCASE

Suitcase is a new magazine which brings together fashion and travel, perfect editorial escapism from the UK's very own monsoon season which is washing out any home based summer plans. While the fledgling magazine was a little lacking in art direction for myself as a type and layout nerd, the publication's Tumblr has got me longing for my holiday to hurry up! I'm heading to Barcelona the week before my birthday for the perfect balance of city break and beach holiday with my boyfriend and can't wait to see the amazing architecture, hunt for hidden treasures in markets, eat ice cream everyday and actually get a tan!

All images from suitcasemag.tumblr.com

ASOS: TREND ROUND UP

I adore the kaleidoscopic style ASOS have visually summarised A/W12's key trends with, these spherical repeats appeared on my Facebook feed and started to get me excited about how the new seasons trends will translate to the the high street.

Very Berry; Layered berry shades will be the colours of the season.
As seen at Roksanda Ilincic and Christopher Kane.

Man Up; Menswear is big news right now, just see London Collections Mens for the proof. 

As seen at; Miu Miu and House of Holland.

Baroque Rocks; The Royal affect brings us the 21st Century Princess, with heavily embellished pieces layers with boyish tees and jeans to keep it fresh.

Seen at; Balmain and Dolce and Gabbana.

Eastern Opulence; Princess of China gets real, the sporty take by Proenza Schouler should work well on the high street.

As seen at; Proenza Schouler and Dries Van Noten.

Sci-Fi and Fantasy; Well....just see my previous post, Game of Thrones and Prometheus are providing a dystopian escapism from the real world and it's time to play dress up.

As seen at: Balenciaga and Mary Katrantzou.

Leather; Used in more ways than ever, new jacket shapes, new colours and new textures. Kill two trends with one stone with Oxblood leather pieces.

As seen at; Acne and Proenza Schouler. 

Military; The current smattering of camo jackets evolves into a fresh take on the military look, it's all about texture and utilitarian shapes. The Unique collection has to be my favourite of the season although i've never really liked miltary influences.

As seen at; Unique and Maxmara.

Floral vs. Geometric; The digital era adds a new dimension to surface pattern, with mirrored florals and retro repeats appearing across co-ordinate pieces. Source vintage patterns for the best retro looks.

As seen at; Prada and Kenzo.