SPRING ROLLING

Spring rolling it is...

In  classic British manner, it may not feel like it yet weather-wise but spring is among us.

This season, a variety of styles which have made an appearance over the years, are still going strong and prove that they're here to stay. Retro with a breath of 70s air, oriental and grunge are a few of the influences we adore at Memorabilic.

SS15 already feels like one big seventies time warp, clearly focusing on the boho/hippy vibe. Trends are having a nostalgic wander through the archives; fashion is primed to do a fierce trade down memory lane, adding uniqueness to any look, flawlessly complementing your existing wardrobe favourites.

We’re in the midst of an incredibly fun and adventurous moment; especially in London, in the land that allows to push fashion to the limits and where everything goes, it's all about flirting and experimenting with different styles and textures. Vintage prints, suede, patchwork, braids, flares, fringes, shoulder-baring silhouettes - it's a whole new mix and match approach to volume and fabric.

                                                        

If you can't literally travel east for spring, do it in - spiritual - fashion. Channel your inner demure modern geisha and ride the Orient Express with structured patterns - time to take your floral kimonos and dresses, embellished accessories, elaborate obi belts, and wild shoes to complete the look out of your closet. Hi-tech bomber and judo jackets can be dressed up or down and add character to any look. A few key items from favourite retailers, as is tradition, below:

Leather Patchwork Shirt, Zara

Long Embroidered Kimono, Zara

Long Fringed Suede Jacket, Zara

Long Poncho, Zara

Jacquard Viscose Dress, Zara

Embroidered Dress, Zara

Sleeveless Dress , Zara

Alright, it may look like Zara vomit up here, but they always seem to have something I have to have.

On the other side of course, I often find a few items I love at Primark - their knitwear comes in very fresh colours like mint green and lilac and is perfect for this weather, as it combines spring tones with autumnal warmth, and pretty much costs about a tenner.

In one of the rare pics you'll see of me below, I'm wearing one of their new military jackets. As you'll probably know by now I'm no massive friend of pics, so will post a few of the knitwear when I get any captured!

Primark Patchwork Military Jacket

Lastly, big-up to turtle necks this spring - now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say. There's something about high-neck tops and exposed shoulders, especially if you have shorter hair, that I can't put into words. A few recent purchased in black:

Black Split Side Cowl Neck Longline Sleeveless Top, New Look

Cut Out Cropped Top, Miss Selfridge

Let's not forget about accessories and lingerie:

Extra Long Braided Belt, Zara

Lingerie this season seem to be all about details secretly sneaking out of tops and dresses -a bit of subtle kink driven hugely by 50 Shades of Grey. One of my favourite affordable pieces below:

Lace Bustier, H&M

Loads of nice jewellery available at Primark, Topshop, New Look and H&M. All about hoops, layered necklaces, chocker necklaces, delicate and multiple rings for all lengths of the finger, feminine earring bars and beautifully ornate ears with lots of pieces on them.

Of course, never forgetting about shoes - below my favourite boot that pretty much goes with everything, is surprisingly comfy and makes your legs look like 20cm taller:

Black Cleated Platform Over The Knee Boots, River Island

This spring let your style truly blossom!

What are your spring favourites? Can't wait to hear!

x mp

Got wood?

If only I had a nickel for every time a friend made fun of me for my obsession with wood, metal and leather ...

Wood feels homey, warm and familiar, bringing me back to my childhood and my hometown I guess.

I can't put my finger on it - it's something about the simplicity and the clarity of the patterns and the materials that draws my eye. Wood is honest, it's inspiring; its flaws blend in in an admirable way.

It gives a sense of nature which we've all somehow lost, and it contrasts nicely with metal, quite the representation of urban living. Yes, perhaps that's what it is - the internal unease, the different dynamics we hold within.

I was in NY recently and I added a few things to the wood, metal & leather family which instantly became favourites - below with a few more from the permanent collection ;).

Leather book phone case, Ebay
Wooden USB stick

MIANSAI cuff by Michael Saiger

Carpenter Watch, Lorenzo Buffa - MoMA store

Mesh Gau Bracelet, Laura Santi, MoMA store

While there, I also got a cheeky little double piercing at NY Adorned - I came across it randomly on another blog a week before I landed and I knew it was going down for sure.

The guys there are really friendly; the girl at the reception is the one who introduced me to the gorgeous Miansai cuffs.

They customise the jewellery and the piercings per se to your own taste and body. They do have a massive gallery where you can get a good idea of their products -golden studs, spikes, etc.- and services, which differ from season to season, making them more unique.

To me their game-changer  factor lies within J Colby Smith's subtle piercings, which pay tribute to the name by literally adorning body parts. His work carries a simplicity that fascinates me. The combination of really delicate piercings and luxurious materials comprise probably the smartest move I've seen in the industry so far, "exonerating" piercing on places...other than your lower ear. What this means essentially is that you can still have your piercings and still look "professional", in the conventional sense, and elegant, as these piercings don't take away from your natural characteristics, but they rather enhance them.

For those of you who will ask, I would say it is a bit pricey, however, it is a customised service and the jewellery itself is high quality (gold, silver and so on). At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. so totally worth it - fyi that's how it looks like:

Needless to say, a post with the best places to visit in NY and best shopping spots will follow shortly!

x M

Introducing: Blackmans Shoes

Yes.

I have to admit - I used to make fun of people who wore Doc Martens, especially with it going extremely mainstream lately and EVERYONE ending up wearing the same shoes. But then I grew up and realised they're so popular because they're simply comfy and beautiful. They are quite pricey I find though, although the quality lasts ages. But still.

Anyway, if you were looking to buy them for cheap, look no further! I came across this small shop near Brick Lane, which is said to be one of London's best kept secrets.

Behold - introducing: Blackmans shoes.

There's a really interesting documentary on them here, explaining their way reasonable prices - being the first ones who brought the brand to London they have a deal with the retailer providing specific styles in low prices. Plus you can get a taste of the fun, approachable and unique owners, who will definitely provide a traditional market experience.

To give you an idea price-wise, the Cherry Dr Martens 1460 Boot, which has a typical high-street price varying from anything between £70-£110, is £56 at Blackmans! Yeap, that's right. 

Unfortunately they have the most basic Dr Martens styles, like 1460 in Cherry and Black, and a few of their 1461 shoes. That's why I had to get my new favourite work shoe, Dr Martens Aggy Army BT Boot, from an actual Dr Martens store a couple of months back- worth it this one time because they're simply gorgeous!

Moving on, they also have a few dessert boots styles and plimsoles from other brands, making it all in all a frickin' bargain!

As their sign reads: "The Devil wears Prada, but the people wear £5 plimsoles".

x M

Dr Martens Aggy Army BT Boot

Dr Martens 1460 Boot

Blackmans Shoes

#ZaraSale

Hey fellas!

Just thought I'd drop a quick post and let you all know - if you don't already- that since it's that time of the year again, Zara has a sale!

A big one, up to 70% if I'm not mistaken.

I was on a non-shopping resolution which lasted a whole month ... oops. But hey, on the bright side, got a beautiful studio dress -among others- for £20 with the initial price being £110!

Which obviously means it is quite a good time to get your hands on all those gorgeous things you were craving but couldn't afford before.

Here's some of my favourite pieces, which I'm sure you can still catch online if you hurry!
Hope you'll all enjoy your weekend!

Happy Chinese New Year :)

x M

LONG GREY MARL SKIRT

COMBINED FLORAL JACKET

CROP TOP WITH ZIP

NUBUCK ZIP SKIRT

PRINTED BLOUSE WITH ELASTICATED WAIST

FLORAL PRINT DRESS

LINGERIE-STYLE STUDIO DRESS

PRINTED DRESS WITH LACE TRIM

Bootie-licious

I hope you all had a great weekend - I realised I haven't been sharing a lot lately, and since I am a major shopaholic, I might as well let you guys know of some goood finds! Coming up - my favourite ankle boots of all times.

Autograph Leather Chelsea Ankle Boots with Insolia Flex® in wine

ZARA WIDE HEEL ANKLE BOOT

ZARA FLAT CHELSEA BOOT

All Saints Damisi boots

Isabel Marant Dicker Suede Ankle Boots

Some of those are quite pricey -that's probably why I'll be in jail soon- but you can usually find similar ones at Topshop, H&M, New Look, River Island, even Primark. Ebay is also a good way to go for specific items, so you're probably gonna have to do a bit of dig-around. If you wanna ask about any of them specifically though, give me a shout and I can  probably let you know of a good bargain ;).

I'll post soon where you can buy Dr Martens for cheap and I'll keep you posted on my online vintage shop! 

x M

Big mouth strikes again (Trick or Treat? Vol.2)

Dear God, it's been a whole year since I last blogged! Since that's done and gone, I might as well post a slight update to my costume from last year.

So, due to lack of time, I wanted to do a quick version of the "scary mouth" thing, just because I really like how it looks.
I had 45 minutes in my disposal, and some leftovers from last year:

• a bit of blood, 
• a bit of liquid latex, 
• some red & white paint,

and of course, some tissue and a black eyeliner which hopefully are there at all times!

The picture I used as an inspiration is the one below:

Via http://girlshue.com

I also watched this video here.


Final result (a bit worn off after lots of dancing):

What did you guys do for Halloween this year? Drop me a line, I'm always looking for inspiration!

x MP

Trick or treat? -Belated Halloween post!

BOOOOO!

 Hahahaha- hopefully I got u there!

I know, I know... pretty much everyone is in a Christmas spirit and couldn’t care less for Halloween... BUT, I will post this anyway!

Last year I was too lazy to make a costume, plus I haven’t acclimatized yet to the concept of Halloween, as back home we don’t celebrate it- who am I kidding? I just couldn’t be bothered to get off my a** and do it! 

Anyway, the point is, this year I decided to go all out; in fact I got sooo out that I got a bit carried away and spent  around £65 on costume stuff! Half of it I didn’t even have to use, and apparently because seasonal stores are trying to rip you off in any possible way, they don’t accept returns on liquid products even if they are sealed and if you have the receipt! Insane, right?

Costume inspiration

I’ve seen a massive amount of pictures while “researching” on Google and watched numerous YouTube videos for ideas and inspiration. Two pictures stuck with me, the “Gasping Mouth” type ones seen below. 

via http://gizmodo.com/

via http://gizmodo.com/

So I decided to go with it; I watched a bunch of YouTube videos about using liquid latex, improvised a bit, and here’s the result:

What I used:

• Liquid latex
• Good old TP (toilet paper)
• Fake blood
• Red paint
• White paint
• Black and white eye-pencils
• Fake white pointy nails (optional)
• coloured eye contacts

Process

As I said, I watched many different videos, but I found a new one tonight (submitted last week) which I wish was there before to help me out! I find it almost identical to one of the pics I used for inspiration-I'm assuming she definitely saw the same pic!

Anyway, I highly recommend it as an easier step by step process; what I did extra was that I added layers of latex and toilet paper around the mouth and on the teeth, and then blood.

It was a really fun and creative procedure, incredibly enjoyable; I pretty much did nothing in the way I saw it and tried to make the best of it! What do you think?

If you decide to try something like this, especially for the first time, keep in mind that it can take up to 4 hours; the second time I tried it I managed to take it down to 2 hours! So be prepared for a proper chore! If you have any questions or need more details, ask away and I’ll do my best to explain!

After coming up with costumes ideas we decided which parties we would crash and joined a Halloween competition; voting only just started online so I was wondering if you guys can help a gal out- if you liked my costume that is!

All you have to do is copy and paste the info below and send it to info@welovewhq.com with the subject “Halloween voting Competition”:

18.green zombie: 7  Most innovative costume- like the stitches touch, nice and simple

67. Spider Attack 3: 7 Most innovative costume- rockin’ the facial expressions! Hilarious

39. Big Mouth neck: 10 - The spookiest costume of all, great overall effort

You won’t be spammed or anything, so don’t worry about that and it will be much much muuuch appreciated! If you feel like getting costume ideas for next year or make fun of other people’s costumes, the full list of contestants is a fantastic resource and can be found here

http://www.welovewhq.com/a-look-at-our-halloween-costume-competition-2012/ and if you wanna vote for someone else, add it to the comments box at the bottom of the page with the number, costume name, category, mark and a comment- like it’s done above!

If any of you vote, let me know so that I can return the favour with anything you might need help with! –if you also wanna get any of your friends/family/bf/gf to do it, even better! :P

X

mp