girls wear pink

Adventures and visions.

2011-05-04T17:13:00.000+01:00

My blogging skills of late have been rather poor to say the least, but today is the beginning of a new month, the beginning of a new chapter and most importantly the start of new adventures! The kind of adventures that involve getting on a plane and popping over the pond to New York none the less! (yippeeeeeeee!) I am lucky enough to have a very lovely and very talented musician boyfriend who's been kind enough to let me tag along for the ride as he's been invited to play the rather awesome Blip Festival (an electronic music festival that focuses on original music made using old computer systems, such as the Gameboy). Check it out here: http://blipfestival.org/2011/

You can buy these cuties online in my shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/70251978/gameboy-brooch

Not only am i excited about treating my ears to some amazing musical bleeps and bloops (and of course not forgetting becoming reacquainted with some much missed old faces), but i'm also itching to get out of this country and swamp myself in buckets and buckets of lovely inspiration. My creative self hasn't been putting the effort in lately and over the past week i've decided to give her a good, stern talking to to try and find out just exactly what the problem bloody well is. Turns out that creative self doesn't thrive well when working a full time day job and being tired. She also isn't a fan of routine and certainly isn't impressed by spending too much time in the same place wondering what the point in expressing your creativity is when you don't even have time to appreciate and develop your own work, let alone have the hours to promote your lovingly crafted goods enough so that other people can appreciate it.

And that's precisely it, i've become a bit cynical and a bit 'meh' about everything recently and i don't want to be that person, i have so much stuff to be excited about! After having numerous long distance chats with the boyfriend (god bless that boy, he has the patience of a saint and superb listening skills, well even if he's not really listening, he does a very convincing job of making me think that he is!) and a good, long chin wag with my friend Ellie over a bottle of Bulmers in our local last week, the proverbial fog has lifted. It seems it's not just me that's feeling this way. It's easy to forget that bearing the weight of reality on our shoulders, whether it's family pressure, money worries or working too hard, makes us forget the bigger picture. I get so swamped down that i sometimes feel like i'm the only one in the world that feels that way and i become lazy and my motivational skills run off into the sunset never to be seen again.

Anyway to cut my mammoth story short, Ellie and i have decided to become a team. When one of us is slacking off or feeling sorry for ourselves, there's someone there to kick the other up the arse and tell her to sort it out (think 'sort it aaaawwwt' Peggy from Eastenders style mockney accent) and also to share the load. Both of us have felt we're struggling in the creative department recently, me because the thing i love to do is make things/drool over vintage anything/sew stuff/write about the aforementioned subjects and generally touch/do/make/talk about anything crafty. I loath website talk/ HTML/can't use design software/even if i did love computers i don't have time to do computer jazz as well as making cool stuff.

Ellie, on the other hand, wants to get started with a creative project, she is one of those girls who takes to new technology (jesus it's 2011 not 1981, i am so slow on the uptake) like a psychotically hoarding bag lady to a carboot stall. So with her technology and marketing skills, my craftage & our combined obsession with all things vintage, we're starting work on a new project. Still the same old handmade ethics of 'Girls Wear Pink', but with a little extra vintage sprinkled in & a super cool new website. I will keep you posted and stop being quite so cryptic as we make progress, however let me put it simply:

There will still be lots of this:

Definitely as much of this as possible (however, unfortunately probably not quite so Parisian as this):

.....but from now on there will be a heck of a lot more of this:

Simply bow-tiful!

2011-03-25T15:58:00.001Z

1920s actress Clara Bow, ironically sporting a lovely bow!

Those of you who know me personally or have met me at some point within the past five years or so will know that i've never really been what you'd call a 'shy delicate wall flower' when it comes to my dress sense. I like 'different', i like bold, i like to be the black sheep and i will always appreciate vintage originality over multiple factory produced throw 'away' fashion. I will near enough always choose a bold vintage floral print over a personality-free plain black fabric. And generally if there's a choice between an understated necklace and a piece of overly extravagant statement extravaganza bling, well bugger me, i think you already know the results of that choice.

There is one old friend in particular who has always been a regular in my life for the past few years, he is of course the over sized hair bow. Long before those Japanese girls were backcombing their hair extensions into unthinkable realms of volume (i must admit this did make me shy away from the old over sized bow for a few months!) i was addicted to the bow. There was a time about a year ago where i literally felt naked without my old faithful. These days i'm happy to bring him out of the dressing up box when the time is right and not just to pop down the shops for a pint of milk.

Another close pal of The Bow, is my other good friend, the neck scarf, like (i almost wrote Bowie, then realised my error!) The Bow, he is a fabulous accessory and loves nothing better than to finish off a dull outfit that's missing that certain something. So i thought i'd share some accessory love with you all with some lovely examples of good bow-age and show you a few of my own hand made hair bows available in my Etsy shop. Enjoy!

Large vintage sunflower fabric hair bow available in my shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/68102058/large-sunflower-print-hair-bow

Greta Garbo looking insanely seductive.

Super cute vintage bow pumps by Small and Mousey on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/53838444/adorable-vintage-creamy-white-leather

Drool-some shiny bow shoes!


Pure 80s so-wrong-but-so-right-ness

Cute pink and white vintage polka dot fabric bow available in my shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/68102944/large-polka-dot-pink-and-white-hair-bow

Flat premiere!

2011-03-19T22:50:00.002Z

Well here i am, (finally) writing my first blog from my new flat, perched on the edge of my (lazily only half made this evening) sofa bed. Woo hoo, i made it out of mum and dad's alive! I have procrastinated long and hard this month and have taken my sweet, sweet time to get my arse into gear and back into productive, creative mode.

It turns out that my surroundings appear to have a humongous effect on me getting around to doing any writing or in fact making absolutely bloody anything! It's taken almost 3 weeks for me to feel totally comfortable and to unpack every scrap of my crap, from what felt like 1 million boxes, to make this little flatty a space filled with goods that make me feel like i can finally call it home.

As i write this, i'm actually feeling a bit sick. I think i must be the only struggling, skint, independent 20 something year old girl that gets to dine on fillet steak when i currently have 2 quid in my bank account. Seriously, praise the lord that my father is a farmer: free steaks, free sausages, free ham, free bacon, free potatoes and free eggs (complete with feathers and chicken poo shells, you can't get fresher than that!)

On that note, I'd also like to take this opportunity to warn you all against the dangers of buying supermarket own brand chocolate instead of the good stuff, as i learned this evening it will make you feel nauseous, especially after devouring aforementioned massive steak that's swilling around inside of you with a coffee and a glass of red wine. The sickness feeling isn't being helped by the occassional glimpse of my hair in the mirror looking like what can only be described as a disgusting 90s spice girl catastrophe. I will never be one of those women who can wear their hair in a high bun on top of their head and look effortlessly chic, instead i look like the greasy love child of Sporty Spice and Waynetta Slob (baggy 80s jumper dress not helping matters here). Alas it just wasn't meant to be.

Anyway I thought i'd kick off this new era of bloggins by giving you all a small glimpse into my little living space and showing you a few of my creature comforts, my new little studio area & some of the things that are currently inspiring me. So here we go with the picture show:

Several years worth of vintage fairs and carboot sale trinkets

The old romantic in me can't help myself

Mini New York

I bought these postcards from the design museum

My little studio area, i love books

A treasured Christmas pressie, my Jo Malone candle smells amazing, am scared to burn it too much though as i don't want it to run out!

My kitchen cupboard

Can't stand to have cold trotters

I have a slight cushion obsession

Retro bean bag in a kind of gross but awesome blue leather

Record collection :)

Spring hasn't quite sprung.

2011-02-17T16:45:00.001Z

There's something about these grey old winter months that just doesn't quite do it for me. I love the lead up to Christmas, somehow the onset of a cold chill in the air seems like a novelty at the beginning of the season (i strangely love the changing of seasons!). However, two months on, waking up to complete darkness, dull grey skies and the inevitable English drizzle every morning is starting to to get very boring, very quickly.

I crave sunshine, lazy long bright days, the smells of nature and chilled out summer evening walks. I was lucky enough to see the sun for all of about an hour yesterday and i must admit that viewing it from inside my warm centrally heated work training room in London, it did almost lead me into a false sense of 'possible summer' security for a moment or two. Cheeky sun!

This longing for any sight of a colour that isn't grey (notice that nothing fun or sexy is ever the colour grey: rats, concrete, roads, led, mildew. Not exactly the stuff of fantasies is it?) has led me onto designing a few cheery jewellery bits and bobs. Recently almost every fashion magazine i pick up seems to predict a spring/summer 2011 trend of neon block colours and eye popping brights.

So, i've taken my 'anti-grey' obsession and chucked it into a mixing bowl with a smattering of my vintage florals addiction (this appears to be a keeper), mixed it all together and voila! I present you with (predictable drum roll please) The Floral Cluster Collection. Yay! Blindingly bright colours entwined with a vintage twist.

Check out the Flower Cluster necklace here in my Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/68053488/vintage-pretty-felt-flower-cluster

Check out the Flower Cluster Brooch here in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/68097812/vintage-pretty-flower-cluster-brooch

Do you know what? Who cares if the weather is as miserable as a British Bulldog's backside. Once you've adorned one of these eye catching, cheerful delights upon your person, who could possibly fail to smile? They're a treat for the eyes (even if i do say so myself!) At the very least, having a bouquet of pretty flowers hanging around your neck or pinned to your favorite jacket, might just remind you that summer (even though it may appear to be taking it's sweet time) will undoubtedly roll in eventually.

There is also a matching Flower Cluster hair accessory on the way too, so keep your eyes peeled for that one!

New home, new brooch!

2011-01-27T22:02:00.001Z

It's been far too long since i've updated this bad man, i silently promised myself when i set up this bloggins that there would be at least four posts a week, but unfortunately i've been a serial slacker for the past few days. I thought it would be kind of nice to follow on from my last post with a bit of positive news, i have a flat! Woo hoo! I've bagged myself a little studio flat in the city centre with an actual real life car parking area (previously i thought this bonus to be almost impossible after witnessing several filth infested shit boxes situated in the arse hole of Norwich), a super cute little garden and to top it off most bills are included in the rent. (This basically means that i'll be rinsing this privilege to it's maximum potential.) Sorry mother earth.

After hearing such positive news, it's put me in a great mood and because of this, I've had a lovely days sewing today. Frame of mind is massively important to me, if i'm having a bad day, i find it impossible to concentrate enough to put my mind to anything creative.I have finally completed the long anticipated (long anticipated for me as i've been procrastinating over this puppy for two weeks!) 50s inspired vintage telephone brooch. I shouldn't really be unveiling it just yet as the rest of my mini collection isn't quite in it's finished state, but i couldn't resist! I'm just so pleased with how cute it's turned out! However, my lovely slick SLR camera is currently in camera hospital as he has a broken lens, so the quality of this isn't amazing, but it'll give you all a taster of the rest of the mini collection (5 pieces all together) which will be showcased on my Etsy shop on Monday night.

He is approximately 4cms wide and has a brooch fitting on the back of both the handset and the main body of the phone so you can pin it however you like. He is also all hand sewn and made from felt with a gold plated chain. Can't wait to show everyone the rest of the collection! Telephone brooch and friends will be available online on my Etsy shop on Monday night! Eeeeee!

Has anybody seen my independence?

2011-01-17T17:05:00.001Z

After looking through some photos from the places my boyfriend and i visited last year, i'm left with a feeling of itchy feet, a lovely warm feeling of nostalgia as well as a feeling of sadness upon looking out the window at dreary, grey England. I would love to be back in some of those places right now, but they seem like such a distant memory. The photos below are some of the most beautiful places i've ever visited.

Valence, South of France

At the age of 25, there's something very wrong and very frustrating about your dad telling you to tidy your room or clean out your car. Yes that's right, i said 25. After living away from home independently for 7 years, it really is no fun having to live back home for a while. (Maybe this is why i'm yearning to escape into these photos.)

Ok, so to be fair, i do get cooked for most nights and my mum literally insists on doing my laundry for me and ironing everything. Honestly EVERYTHING, socks, tea towels, duvets, knickers and anything else that is even remotely fabric based. I've tried to stop her or tell her that i'll do it, but there's no staling her when she's wielding that iron in her hand, she's like a machine. Other plus points about living at home include never having to go food shopping and having someone up earlier than you in case your alarm doesn't go off in the morning.

Outskirts of Sydney, Australia

Don't get me wrong, i love my parents to death and i know that they would do anything for me and i'm completely grateful for that. It's just they have their 'ways' and i have my 'ways' and unfortunately my 'ways' are approximately 95% more relaxed than theirs. It feels as though i can't sneeze without upsetting the natural balance of my parents meticulously planned and organised house proud life. And this, it seems is starting to drive me slowly but surely insane.

I'm quite literally yearning for my own freedom and space, a life of my own where i decide what to have for tea and when i'll do the laundry and if i want to leave the entire contents of my handbag (just for the record, it's a big bag, one of those Mary Poppins bottomless pit ones) scattered over the living room floor for 3 days then i bloody well will.

Somewhere near Washing D.C, USA

The big thing that's getting to me at the moment is that i don't feel as if i have a space to call my own and therefore my creativity feels like it's hit a brick wall alot of the time. The ideas are there, i just feel as if i can't get comfortable enough to let it all out. I'm the kind of person that gets bored easily and i hate routine, but at the same time i do love my home comforts and i love to travel and see new places.

When i had my own flat, i had a little space in the corner of my spare room where i used to draw and design tshirts (i had a thing with screen printing a few years back) surrounded by bits of fabric and pens and paper. I was in my element because that was my little place to escape and i could do whatever the hell i wanted in there.

Traveling inspires me in the same way. Whenever i've experienced different countries or cities i always come back with a real feeling of inspiration. I was lucky enough to experience several different countries and meet some amazing new people last year due to my lovely musician boyfriend and his even lovlier touring schedule! Each time i came back, i'd say i didn't want to come home, partly because i didn't feel as if i knew where my home was and partly because of all the lovely people we'd met, communities we'd experienced and places that i could quite happily see myself living in abroad. My conclusion is that i need to find a nice cosy studio flat ASAP that i can call home that's cheap enough for me to still be able to afford to pop off to brighter, sunnier climates every so often. And maybe in the not so distant future i might be able to afford to call one of those other inspirational cities my home too.

New York City, USA

Inspiration Station!

2011-01-12T22:43:00.001Z

Ok, if i was a train, i would currently be full speed ahead (specifically i would be a luxurious, romantic old steam train rather like the one in the Chanel No5 TV advert, the ones with those little chandeliers above each table in the restaurant carriage!) on my way, non stop, to 1950s inspiration station! Choo choo!

After much thought i've come to the decision to base my new jewellery and accessory collection on the 1950s. Yay! It's going to be super kitsch, super cute, super girly and disgracefully vintage! Here are just a few reasons why i decided on this genre, why i love it and a few snippets of the people, films and photos that have inspired me.....

1.) Awesome hats. Especially those cute 'half hats', modeled here by the beautiful Judith Evelyn playing the character 'Miss Lonely Hearts' in Hitchcock's 'Rear Window'. Please also note the beautiful shade of that emerald green dress!

And more to the point, how the hell was this woman dubbed 'Miss Lonely Hearts', how could she have possibly been single?! I watched this film over the Christmas period and it was absolutely amazing for it's time, very different to the later Hitchcock films, such as 'The Birds' that i'd seen previously. You should all watch it, if only to experience the beautiful styling and wonderful cinematography.

2.) Christian Dior couture. I may be being a bit biased here, given the current industry that i work in, but good god that man changed the face of fashion. I've had the history of Dior drummed into the back of my brain several times this past year and i don't mind one bit, i could read about this man's creations for hours and not get bored.

There we were in the middle of a post war depression in the late 40s, times were poor and down right drab. Rations had meant that dresses were bland, boring and tasteless and along comes this unassuming art dealer with relatively no fashion experience and turns the streets of Paris upside down with his beautifully fulls skirts, sumptuous fabrics and brilliant colours. This man made women feel like women again and brought back curves and femininity. (well to the seriously rich anyway!) Check out some of these breath taking creations from the 40s into the 50s.

And while we're on the subject, I've just seen the latest Dior campaign for the Miss Dior Cherie fragrance. Not only do i have a mini girl girl crush on Natalie Portman who looks almost edible here, but how deliciously sickly sweet is this? In fact there's a bit of a vintage boudoir feel to it, even after 60 years, Dior haven't lost their touch.

3.) Mad Men. Yes i know Mad Men is technically set in the 1960s, however it starts off in the very early 1960s, which actually, fashion wise, is still very much carrying on with the style from the 1950s. (i just had to talk about Mad Men, i'm positively obsessed!) One of my favourite things about Mad Men (other than the lovely, but devilish Don Draper) is the iconography. I especially love the realistic way that the leading female characters are portrayed. It is of course very sexist, but back then that's the way women were treated in the workplace and how they were expected to behave in the family home, Mad Men shows them in a realistic light.

The clever styling portrays each woman's character perfectly and reflects three very different aesthetics and personalities. Betty is seen as a classic, no hair out of place, picture perfect housewife = luxurious fabrics and beautifully feminine yet classic dresses. Joan is super confident, curvy and sexy = skin tight, figure hugging, bum wiggling dresses. Peggy is portrayed as a quite innocent, blossoming young girl coming of age = lots of florals, hardly any make-up, very classic looking. I love the how these characters are of the same era in history, but have greatly differing dress sense. To be alive to experience that revolutionary time in history would have been immense. God Mad Men is so bloody good!

4.) Insane differences in styles. Just look at these two completely different brooches from the 1950s. Two completely different looks, two completely different connotations.

This is why i love this era, it's has it's cutesy fun side, but underneath it's 'butter-wouldn't-melt' exterior there's always a glamour puss ready to wiggle it's bum and trot it's heels sexily to the surface. I could literally go on with this list for hours, but my eyes are sore and my bath is almost run, so that's it from me this evening, i will keep you posted with the new collection over the coming few days.

Oooh la la!

2011-01-11T20:18:00.001Z

For some reason, over the past few days I've become unreasonably obsessed with vintage French chairs. I got myself into a 2 hour deep, dark cavernous Ebay and Etsy hole the other night randomly researching them.

Maybe it's the fact that I've been partaking in several flat viewings in the last week or so which has caused me to have a severe case of mental furniture fantasising, but even so the real deal in sexy vintage French chairs is way out of my price range. I just love seeing what people have done to them! The crazy fabrics and amazing colour schemes i've perused during my chair stalking evening were just so original, i can't help but fall in love with them. If you're lucky enough to be a master of upholstering then the world is your oyster with these beauties, just check out some of my favourites below.

Yes, some of these examples are verging on being a little bit Elton John, but that's the beauty of them, they're a combination of French style and English eccentricity and let's face it the French might have elegance, but when it comes to being original, us Brits always come in first place. If there's any way of entwining these two things then bloody hell i'm sold! (It would be like if David Bowie and Audrey Tatou had a baby!) In fact, so much so, that this evening i'm going to start work on my own homage to the French chair in the form of a teeny, tiny chair brooch. Will keep you posted on that one!

You can buy these two golden lovlies here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/45929728/fabulous-pair-hollywood-regency-vintage

Living Art

2011-01-05T21:53:00.003Z

I've just spotted this lovely photograph on the Etsy blog, well at first i thought "What a super cute little shop/museum!", but low and behold, after further reading, this beautiful room was actually part of somebody's house in Boston. According to the article, the late Isabella Stewart Gardener actually designed, decorated and opened her house as a public museum in 1903 because she felt most American museums of the time were 'too cold looking' and due to her declaring in her will that nothing should be moved after she died, it still looks exactly the same today.

Imagine waking up to such an awesome interior every single day. There's something incredibly romantic and yet quite stifling about the look of this place. Part of me absolutely loves the thoughtful arrangement of all the large, regal looking frames against the gloriously soft, powdery, metallic clash of that vintage wallpaper. I also love the fact that none of the chairs match and they have that naughty yet stylish French Marie Antoinette look to them. However, the other part of me wants to knock one of the frames slightly or pull a chair out of place as it's just too damn well meticulously organised!

The fact that Isabella asked for nothing to be changed when she died gives it quite a time capsule feel. Apparently it took her over a year to place each piece of art in this huge museum exactly where she wanted it before she opened her house to the public, so i guess if you're that much of a perfectionist, you'd be pretty pissed off if someone turned around and built a walk-in-wardrobe where your prized million dollar masterpiece once stood! Regardless i'd love to pop over the pond and have a leisurely strole through that wonderful old house. I wouldn't say no to a slither that baby blue and gold wallpaper either! Check on the link below to have a nosey through the Isabella Stewart Gardener museum website.

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/index.asp

Give it some Hattitude!

2011-01-04T00:31:00.001Z

This is so beautiful! I would wear this bad man with pride. Such a shame women just don’t do hats any more. We need a 40s revival, everybody looks and feels phenomenal in red lipstick and a fascinator. If all of parliament was filled with crazy-hat-wearing, red lip pouting ladies then i swear to god we wouldn’t even have time to go to war, they’d be too busy admiring how awesomely individual and original they all looked.

This post is copied from my old Tumblr page, it's one of my fave photos that i found on there and i felt it deserved to be paraded around. You can buy this gorgeous hand made creation from a shop called 'Ginny and Judes' on Etsy. Check out the link below to have a ganders.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/32120745/bows-and-arrows-bow-and-feather?ref=em

Blogger Virgin (well, sort of...)

2011-01-04T00:07:00.001Z

I think i’ve just broken my Blogger virginity (well maybe for the second time) and i must say it didn’t hurt a bit! Well, actually, in all honesty, I did set this one up a while back, however i’ve been meaning to update this bad boy for quite some time now, but alas i am super disorganised and have only just finally put the effort in. From now on i am all about the effort!

Right, well basically this little ol’ blog is going to discuss my new venture into the world of jewellery design and is a way of sharing some of my inspirations, thoughts and ideas. Considering my interests span all the way from vintage collectables to unforgettable books to a wierd obsession with nature, stupidly beautiful limited edition make-up and a bit of thing for all things psychadelic……well anything psychadelic actually (tut tut). I also love old lady murder mystery dramas and any films with Audrey Tatou or Natalie Portman (except Starwars, yuk!), i love those two a little too much. Oh and i also have the worst sweet tooth ever, seriously a brief fleeting thought of eating a ‘Galaxy Ripple’ (they're my new 'thing') or a Starbuck's chocolate chip shortbread can sometimes haunt me for days untill i give in, which is almost always.

Wowza i’m already on one, this was supposed to be a short and sweet summary-style introductory post. Oops. In actual fact i've been glued to this very spot for 4 hours now updating various internet jazz in order to promote my new Girls Wear Pink venture. I now have a very serious case of numb bum and pins and needles in most limbs.

Anyway, when i’m not doing the aforementioned 'New Venture', i’m actually a full time beauty consultant for a premium make-up brand (thought it best not to name names in case i drop myself in the shizzle).

You’ll be suprised to learn that i don’t have a full head of straw-like highlights or a face that looks like it’s tested every cosmetic under the sun all at once then been finished off with a coat of brown fence varnish. In fact i’m very pale and not even remotely pushy and i’m a rubbish saleswoman, but (if i do say so myself) a bloody good make-up artist. I hate the vanity of the beauty industry but i love the creativity of painting peoples faces, it’s kind of like painting a picture. I also love the feeling of satisfaction i get from making someone feel good about themselves. It’s remarkable how much you learn about a person’s life and personality from a half hour consultation, sometimes upon finishing a person’s make-up i leave feeling like i’ve known them for years.

This feeling of making someone happy is exactly why i love hand crafting. It's an altogether completely different industry, yet actually it's principle is exactly the same, I'm making people happy. After spending a few hours pouring all my love, care and attention into making, let's say, a super cute little felt brooch, to then have somebody see it and appreciate it so much that they are willing to part their hard earned cash to own it, feels bloody amazing!