Style on Sundays: Purple Hat Vintage

For the past couple of years Vintage fashion has been on the up and up, so much so that if it’s vintage that you want it’s vintage that you’ll get without the hassle of rummaging through heaps and heaps of clothes, accessories and even home ware in your local charity shops, flea markets or your mom and nana’s wardrobe. Now you can head straight to your high street and pop into the likes of Topshop and Urban Outfitters and purchase your non authentic vintage ‘style’ ensemble for a not so much vintage price.

Some authentic vintage items can be high in price while others can be absolute sweet finds that cost you peanuts, but look like they cost a bomb.  So with Vintage fashion growing in popularity over the past few years, it’s only natural that like everything else these days that once would have cost you £3, will probably now cost you almost £30, even in some of these real vintage shops that shall remain nameless.

Before Christmas my sister kept telling me about this Pop up Vintage store that had opened in Birmingham City Centre on New Street. She told me that it was this cool Vintage clothing shop that stock hand-picked items from Europe and the USA and that you can fill a sack bag with items and pay per bag. But busy body lazy me dragged my feet with getting there to check it out, so the other day my amiga and I were nearby so we decided to pop in and this is what we found…

If you go in you’ll actually find a guy in a purple hat manning the shop too. On the day that we went in, there wasn’t a great deal of selection but still, what was there was my kind of price. The Levi Denim shorts were only 10 quid!! Most vintages shops that I have been in have them priced between £25 to £30 so they were a bargem (bargain gem), and leather and fur jackets for a tenner! In fact everything in the store is £10 or below! 

The day that we took a looksee, only the down stairs was open but the dude in the purple hat (his name’s Gary) told us about some exciting new plans for the shop which at this point I’m not sure if I can or should share, because I would hate for someone else to come up off of his brilliance, but if you like music and cafe culture I’d definitely pop in sometime on the early side of 2013 and get involved in the vintage-ness.

So if you’re looking for something vintage and don’t want to pay silly prices for it, I would definitely recommend popping  in to the Purple Hat Vintage Pop Up Bazaar to see what goodies you can find.

They are situated on New Street, Birmingham next to Café Rouge near the Floozie in the Jacuzzi aka TheRiver, you can also check them out online and Like the Purple Hat Vintage page by clicking here me dears.

 

 

Love Sara (A little lady who loves her some Vintage Bargains). xxx

The New Funky Socks on the Block: What America's Next Top Model Annaliese Dayes Did Next!

Model, Designer, Presenter and Entrepreneur are what the gorgeous 26 year old born and raised north Londoner Annaliese Dayes would write next to occupation, which sounds like a lot professions for a Missy of such a young age to have. Well my friends… this lady is just getting started.

 

You may know this bubbly, animated, pretty little sass pot from America’s Next Top Model – British Invasion that is currently airing in the UK on Mondays at 9pm on Sky Living or you me be familiar with Miss Dayes from her radio Breakfast Morning show which she co- hosts on Bang FM. Either way Annaliese Dayes is a name that if you don’t yet know, you should probably get to know.

For some being invited to LA by Tyra Banks’ team to compete in ANTM as one of the first ever non-American competitors and to also be in the presence of the of Miss Banks herself, as well as the cutthroat no time for Bullshit Fashion Publicist Kelly Cutrone, the BEAUUUUUUTIFUL Nigel Barker who by the way, Annaliese confirmed is actually as beautiful in in real life as he is on TV and to be one of the three finalists on the show would be enough, but for Annaliese
this is just the beginning.

Since coming back from LA-LA Land Annaliese has dipped her toes into the designing world and has launched her very own street style Inspired “Funky Frilly Sock Boutique”, ‘Frills By AD’ and I had absolute the pleasure of meeting Miss Dayes at the Clothes Show Live back in December. But as we both working, or in my case working and shopping our socks off that day (no pun intended) we had little time to discuss her latest venture, so in the new year we managed to catch up and I learnt all about how this "crazy" little lady is ready to change the world of socks as we know it.

FTLOM: What inspired you to produce a sock line rather than say, a range of tops or dresses?

Annaliese Dayes: It wasn’t like I thought, “Right, I want to design something, what should it be?”  It was quite an organic process in the sense that I myself love frilly socks (and my sock drawer will prove that) and I just couldn’t find any that were truly unique. It was just lace, lace and more lace, so I thought I’d fill that gap in the frilly sock market!

FTLOM: Where did your inspiration for the collection designs come from?
AD: Camden Town is full of inspiration, and this is really the home of Frills. So I took inspiration from the street style and culture, as well as textured fabrics.

FTLOM: What sets your product aside from the others similar products out there?

AD: There is nothing like Frills By AD out there.  Trust me, I have searched high and low! It’s the uniqueness of the frills themselves that sets them apart from not just other socks out there but also other frilly socks.

FTLOM: What plans do you have for Frills in 2013?

AD: It’s just about developing the brand for me. Getting the name out there and most importantly working my socks off in the process! Lol

FTLOM: In 5 years’ time where do you hope Frills to be?

AD: I’d like Frills By AD to be an internationally recognised brand, being stocked in department stores and boutiques around the world! With a large variety of collections that are being worn by celebrities of the time.

FTLOM: You’re currently on Americas Next Top Model - British Invasion cycle 18 and in the FINAL THREE!!! How did that come about?

AD: Well, I was on Britain’s Next Top Model back in 2009 and in late 2011 I got a call from producers of ANTM asking if I would be up for making Top Model history and fly over to LA with other previous BNTM contestants, to be the first ever non-American competitors on the show. Now, of course I said yes, because as far as I’m concerned if Tyra Banks’ people ask you to go to LA, you jump on that plane and worry about the details/consequences later! And in terms of making it to the final 3… I think I just wrangled my way in there, tried my best, kept smiling and ta-dah! I was in the final 3!

 FTLOM: What have you taken from the whole experience?

AD: That it always pays off to be yourself no matter what you may think others think of you. And obviously some great experiences that I’ll never forget!

FTLOM: For someone so young you’ve achieved quite a bit:  you are the Founder of Frills By AD, a Radio Presenter and a model, how have you managed to achieve so much at such a young age? 

AD: Thank you very much. I’ve really never looked at it like that! I’m quite ambitious and a tad hard on myself, so to me, I feel like I could have achieved more! Lol I think it’s just a case of knowing who you are, what you want and going for it, without apologising.

Image sourced from Google

So mi amigos, have you fallen in love with Annaliese and all her magnificent Frills yet? If you have and you want to add  a bit of fun to your sock drawer and a pop to your outfit, you can be in with the chance of winning  a pair of socks from Frills By AD! All you have to do is answer the following question on For the Love of Moi Facebook page and follow these 3 very simple steps…

'On Annaliese's final episode of America's Next Top Model, how many jobs did she book while casting in Hong Kong?'
 

Step 1: Click here to answer the question on the wall of the For the Love of Moi Facebook page

Step 2: Click here to ‘Like’ For the Love of Moi Facebookpage

Step 3: Click here to ‘Like’ the Frills By AD Facebook page

 

 

Good Luck Love bugs. xx

*Terms and Conditions
All national and international entries will be accepted.
In order to be entered to win you must complete all 3 simple steps. If you have already ‘liked’ both of the Facebook pages  prior to the competition, you can still enter by following step 1. If you have only ‘liked’ one of the Facebook pages you must also like the other and follow step 1 to be eligible to win.
The closing date for this competition is Friday 01/02/2013.

 To keep up with Frills By AD you can Follow Frills on Twitter @FrillsByAD and on Facebook, or to see the full collection you can head over to the Frills By AD website. But they are also stocked at the Laura Moore Boutique on the ASOS Marketplace. And to find out more about what Annaliese has been up to since ANTM British invasion you can follow her on twitter @AnnalieseDayes  and Facebook and visit her website www.annaliesedayes.com .

Style on Sundays: Styling it D.I.Y

It should come as no secret that I love style and fashion which means that my credit card is constantly being abused.

At the end of every year I go through my paper work aka receipts and bank statements and have this horrific reality shock of how much money I’ve spent throughout the year which is always a lot more than I had literally bargained for and become ashamed and annoyed at the fact that the majority of the hard earned money I have spent was thrown away on clothes that to be perfectly honest I really didn’t need.

So last year as an attempt to keep costs down and to also release my creative streak I decide that I had to try and find a way to stop abusing my bank cards but still be able to fulfil my style wants and needs, so I signed up for a sewing class.

The shame in all of this is that I actually learnt how to use a sewing machine in school but decided after one or two attempts that I was a crap at using it so gave up all hope and besides I thought to myself why do I need to learn how to make clothes when I can just buy them. So some ten odd years later when I learnt about the value of money and also the recession, there I was with my sewing basket rushing to night school after a hard day’s work to re-learn how to wind the bobbin up.

Most people in the class were working from patterns which is a great skill to have, but I am just way too impatient for all of that jazz. I wanted to be able to look at an item and say “Yep I can make that”. So going against what my dress making teacher advised I did just that, but of course I had to start off with a bit of guidance so I took my quest to the World Wide Web and found a skirt that was simple, easy and stylish.

If you are a regular follower of For the Love of Moi you may be familiar with a blog called A pair & A Spare this is my favourite blog for DIY tips guides and inspiration and this is where I found the ‘How to’ for this beautiful Sheer Maxi skirt.

      

Image sourced from A Pair & A Spare

What people were paying 30 odd quid for on the high street cost me a fiver to make and it was soooo easy to do.

 

As New Year ’s Eve is tomorrow which usually means that people are rushing around town to find a last minute outfit to wear to see the New Year in with style, A Pair & A Spare’s Geneva posted a DIY ‘how to’ for this amazing Sequin Maxi Wrap Skirt

Image sourced from A Pair & A Spare 

I love the way Geneva has teamed this lush glam skirt up with a simple white cut off top, it dresses it down a little but gives the outfit a fresh and yet still elegantly modern edge.

I am not doing anything fancy this New Year’s Eve but if I was I would deffo be making this skirt.

As for my sewing and DIY skills for 2013, I aim and I quote ‘aim’ to buy my own little sewing machine and make and modify more clothes to save my self some serious money and to add a bit of individuality to my wardrobe.

Love Sara (A little lady full of optimism). xxx