Wire Shoe

Hi all,

So, I had my first official day at Art college yesterday. We have one week called drawing week in which we have two different work shops per day. Yesterday I had a sculpture class in the morning, which was really fun. We had to make a copy of our shoe out of wire. I was so glad I was wearing my brogues as they were quite a good shoe to model.
It was kind of painful working with the wire with bare hands, but luckily there was no blood shed :)

After we finished making them we used an overhead projector to project them up onto a piece of white paper. This let us look at the outlines. We also did a continuous line drawing from the shoes.

Here it is.....

I think that the one thing that i didn't love about it was how the bow turned out. In an ideal world I would have used a ribbon or something for that, but it had to be fully out of wire.

Hope you like it.

xox Niamh xox

Chelsea Boots

Hi all,

Guess what... I'm back (and slightly jet lagged) but very prepared for boosting a bit more life into this blog than there has been for the past month. I will probably be doing a few posts on what I got up to on my holiday, but I need to organise the pics first (don't worry, I will try to keep it interesting, rather than boring you with endless pictures)

I am starting back this September with a post on Chelsea Boots. I have recently developed a rather strong desire to own a pair of chelsea boots. They are so cute and really practical at the same time (in this English wet weather they would be able to stand up to a rain storm or two!) I am planning on getting a pair some time soon, in time for the autumn weather to hit. I have only had a brief look around at what is available, but it looks like they might be a popular choice this year with a good few shops stocking a range of different styles for different price ranges.
Here are a few that caught my eye...

This super cute pair are from Carvela, Kurt Geiger. They are the Sloane boot, and come in at £150. I love the deep red-plum colour and the detailing on them that you might find on a nice pair of mens brogues. 

This one is by Dr.Martins, and its called the Kensington flora burgundy leather, and its priced at £110. Being Dr.Martins I am guessing that these would be pretty comfy and durable. I quite like the patent look to them, and the colour.

This pair is quite a classic pair of chelsea boots in quite a standard colour, that would pretty much go with anything. They are from Jack Wills, and are called the Whittenham chelsea boot. These ones would set you back £198, which is quite a lot for a pair of shoes, but they are a classic style, so should last you many years.

ASOS ATHENS Leather Chelsea Ankle Boots £50.00
I thought I would throw these ones into the mis too. Chelsea boots come in more styles than you can imagine, and are not just the standard black and brown leather. You can get suede ones, many different colours and prints. These flowery ones are quite cute, and remind me of some of the floral pattered Dr.Martins, and its quite a girly soft pastel pattern on a more masculine shaped shoe. (plus these more affordable)

Another colourway here. These boots are from Kurt Geiger, the laurel boot, and these cost £220. I don't think I would buy them personally, as i'm not too keen on the gold panel, but its another example of some of the ones out there.

Trickers Silvia Navy Suede Chelsea Boots ASOS £340. These are the priciest pair that I have seen, and are quite an interesting take on the style. They combine all of the variations, in colour, material and shape. 

So, what do you think of chelsea boots?

Which pair was your favourite, and what shoes will you be wearing for autumn?

xox Niamh xox

Au Revoir August

Hi all,

So this is basically a post saying that I will probably not be able to post for the next 4 week (wow thats a long time!) I am so sorry but I am going to be quite busy. My family and I are going on holiday to Australia (flying via Singapore) I am going to take loads of photos and get inspiration for future posts. We are staying in Singapore, Brisbane, Sydney, The red centre, Alice Springs and Port Douglas. I might be able to give you an update when we get to our friends house (or whenever I get a wi-fi connection) I am so excited because I am going to see my best friend, its been 7 years since I last saw her!
Until then I hope you are all having an amazing summer wherever you are. And I am looking forward to posting again when I get back.

xox Niamh xox

Jack Wills Summer Sale Haul

Hi all,

So, recently Jack Wills had its Summer sale, and I was happy to take advantage of it! They always have a really great sale, cutting up to 70% off the normal sale price so I decided to get a few things. Most of the stuff I got I ordered on the internet, as sometimes its hard to get your size in the shop. I did however get a pair of socks in the shop, even though they had been sold out online.

So the first things are very exciting! Two pairs of socks. They are ankle length, and I got them because they will look really nice with brogues.

Moving on to actual clothing, I got a white dress 'the Cottenham dress' and the tank top is the 'Elwick vest' (more details to follow... :)

I love the back of this tank top, with the flowery lace as the racer back. It gives quite a sporty shape a very feminine and soft feel. I love the feel of this top also, its really soft. The only downside is that it needs a bandeau underneath, as it wasn't suitable for a bra (more shopping!) 

This dress has a long back story. I tried it on first in London, and I really liked it, but I didn't buy it because it came in a different colourway which I wasn't able to try on. So when the sale came up I was actually in Ireland, with no access to internet. When I got back home they said it was sold out :( but when I checked the website a few days later it was back again. So I bought it there and then :)

It has a very 1950's feel, with the full gathered skirt and the wide neckline (I found the neckline a little weird on me when I first tried it on, but it has grown on me)

I love the back of this dress with the little opening and the bow. I will probably look for a little skinny belt to wear with this dress, just to break up the white for a different look.

I was very pleasantly surprised with this bag, the discount was really good and when it arrived I was surprised by how big it actually is. I am going to use it as my carry on for my next flying trip, and maybe as a beach bag. Its really handy because it has a zipper, which would keep your things safer than most tote bags.

Hope you enjoyed this little haul

xox Niamh xox

Louis Vuitton Marc Jacobs

Hi all,

So here is the promise look at the Louis Vuitton Marc Jacobs book from the exhibition at Les Musée de arts in Paris....

I loved this version of the classic LV speedy bag. The roses look like they have literally just been painted onto the material.

Louis Vuitton was, by trade a professional packer, then maker of trunks. This is one of the trunks which had an additional purpose! It contained a pop up camp bed. 

Image: Dressing session in the Second Empire; positioning of the dress over the crinoline and petticoats c.1855
That is one extreme skirt, I can imagine getting through doorways would have been ... interesting!

All of these miniature fashion pieces were displayed at the exhibition. I loved the detail in them, even though they are very small.
Image: Doll trousseau and trunk, c.1865. 

Town dress, from 1863

Dinner gown from 1861

Ballgown from 1863

Bring on Marc Jacobs...

Spring-Summer 2011 runway show, looks 10,8,11,9 and 12

Runway show, Autumn-Winter 2011-12, looks 9, 10 and 27

Sping-Summer 2012 runway show set

Hope you enjoyed this quick peak at this book. I still have a lot of reading to do, as it is a fairly big book!

xox Niamh xox

A portrait of Zoe

Hi all,

So, I now have a brand new cousin called Zoe. My auntie has made me her godmother, which I am very excited about. The past weeks I have been in Ireland helping out here and there where needed. She is so cute and the perfect baby. She sleeps practically all the time, and I never heard her cry in the whole 2 weeks that I was there.
As I am her godmother I wanted to get her something special, but I couldn't find anything that I thought was perfect. So I decided to draw a picture of her. The picture I drew was taken on the day she was born. I framed it and she can keep it forever :)

xox Niamh xox

Paris (part 4 - Angelina Tearoom)

Hi again,

Part 4.. This was on my actual birthday. We went to the Angelina Tearoom, which is on the Rue de Rivoli, basically a short walk from the Louvre and Les arts Decoratifs. If you every get the chance.. GO HERE!!! I had their famous hot chocolate, which was heavenly.. divine.. it was like drinking the elixir of life :) We all had a sweet aswell. My mum had a yummy looking pan au raisin, my dad had a strawberry and rhubarb tart (again yummy) and I had a raspberry/cream/custard/pastry thing, which was really good, except I was very full from the hot chocolate.
I took a few pictures, and we also bought some of the hot chocolate to bring home and enjoy on special occasions.

xox Niamh xox

Paris (Part 3 - Les arts Decoratif)

Hi all,

Part 3... I went to the museum Les arts Decoratifs, which is near the Louvre. We decided not to go into the Louvre because the crowds were so huge, and the weather outside was so lovely. It would have taken us a week to go around the whole thing! However in Les arts Decoratifs there was an exhibition on that we went to which was Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs. It looked at the label from the start in the 1800's, the trunks he used to make (amazing, I wish people travelled with them nowadays) up to Marc Jacobs collections for the label. Unfortunately no photos allowed, but I have ordered the book on amazon (so much cheaper than in the museum shop) so when that arrives I can give you a sneak peak :)

We wandered around the rest of the museum (which was so quiet) and I took a few photos here and there...

This was in the jewelary section. I loved the contrast between the flower and the purple gems.

This is the handle of a vase, I am pretty sure that they are flowers dipped in wax. So pretty!

Here is one of the many amazing examples of french style furniture. I love this wardrobe, its so ornate.

Another wardrobe, this one was pretty spectacular as well with the pattern on the surface of the wood.

Hermes circa 1952. It was just like the details had been painted onto the fabric.

Similar to before (can't remember whose design this is..) there was beading on this one as well.

Similar to before, this time knitted!

This very ornate corset is a design by madame Rompard circa 1900

Various hats adorned with flowers. Ascot anyone???

This one had my eyes going funny :) by Lanvin 1970

This is a bed and a half! Love it.

How beautiful is this art deco stain glass window.

xox Niamh xox