THE B&D BALL

 

With my love coming home and Halloween approaching parties are standing in line over here.  Although not the most festive gal overhere, but some things are just to much fun not to miss.

So, gothic romance was on my mind this season around and the choice fell on the classic with a  black off-shoulder gown by House of Dagmar paired with a lace blindfold (later on though).

For those who still can't find the perfect lacefold you can as easily pop by your nearest DIY store and find a material you like (it can even as easily be just a piece of organza or beaded silk or whatever falls into your particular liking)

Pair it with some simple jewelry and woop, your done..(and next year you can always go as something pink and fuzzy)

 

 

I am wearing Acne Coat, House of Dagmar dress, Saint Laurent heels, Angel Jackson purse, vintage jewelry and Kikki de Montparnasse mask

THINKING OF: CHANEL BOOTS

In courtesy of Globalblue.com

Chanel biker chain boots from AW13.

I want them so badly that the words can't describe it, nor can the cute emoticons.

Regreting for not getting them when I was in Paris earlier in October

Oh, regrets...

IN DENIAL

The same moment weather took a turn for the worse, which was- let's face it- some weeks ago,I threw on mood-lifting colors- thus me never taking off my beautiful pink Bugsy.
 I love how the fantastic pink brushed wool works with my newly acquired men's shirt br Dries Van Noten ,playign on the whole masuline-feminine mix that we all love.
 As I am still very reluctant to packing away my sandals, especially my beloved Prada's (that have been sported only a few times), I decided that it was time to take the whole in-denial-that-autumn-is-here feeling and pair them with hand-knitted woolen socks(thanks to my mother-in-law)...
Irina 1- Autumn 0.
Where are we on the whole socks- in- sandals thing anyway?
It was a definite no for my part as long as I remember until Vogue Paris did this editorial with a girl on a bike in Dries, and wool socks topped with Birkenstocks. 

I am wearing pink Bugsy coat by Malene Birger, men's Dries Van Noten shirt, Rag&Bone jeans, Prada sandals and TheManual&Co bag.

STYLE BIBLES of the Month

I've been inspired by a few new blogs this month so thought I would share them all with you in my not-very-regular Style Bibles of the Month post!

Roxy from Ginger Fix

Roxy is a crazy friend of mine from my uni course and I've always been a huge fan of her style and she's recently started blogging which I'm ecstatic about. Not only does Roxy showcase her unique style, she also shows off her insanely good creative skills by putting her blog photos into cool layouts like above which I feel makes an interesting twist to the usual blog layouts.

Megan from What's new pussycatt

Been girl crushin' over Megan for a little while now, how perfect is that face?! I've stalked right the way back through her blog too and love every single outfit!

Becca & Lizzy from Stinkin Hippies

I recently discovered this new blogging duo on Instagram and am obsessed with both of their quirky styles. They have a wardrobe to die for! <3

LAYERING

SO, very colorful look from my part this time.I know I usually am not this happy-happy-color fashion persona but something about these garments and colors really went well togheteher when I started layering.I loved the fact that it was still warm enough in Oslo to actually sport bare legs.

On the other hand layering (white) shirt and polos has been on my mind since the Dries van Noten AW13, that it is porbably going to become my trend staple for the winter comming.That, and furry (pereferably shearling so that we are clear) clutches, especially in beautiful pastels.

I am wearing Fillipa K polo, CÉLINE shirt, 3.1 Phillip Lim clutch (isn't it adorable??), Dries Van Noten skirt, Stella Maccartney for Adidas sneakers and RayBans.

Faux Fur Jacket- Nasty Gal

Tartan Dungaree Dress- c/o Loving Youth

Rucksack- New Look

Bag Charm- DIY

Shoes- Jeffrey Campbell via Nasty Gal

Here is the other tartan beauty that the amazing Loving Youth kindly sent me. Annoyingly, my hair is covering the best part of the dress (sorrryy) the dungaree straps! I wore this out for dinner with the boyf the other day when we decided to break our diets and make the most of the buy one main meal, buy the second for £1 at my all time fave restaurant- Chimichangas!

I have been itching to wear these shoes since they arrived (and cost me ridiculous amounts of custom fees). They are really comfortable but I find them a little odd to walk in as the heel is so heavy but it's not going to stop me from wearing on every night out in the near future <3

x

WEEKEND FIX

Latest combo-obsession of mine: navy blue and leopard. 

1. Isabel Marant Etoile sweater 2.Christian Louboutin leopard heels 3.by Malene Birger leather pants 4.LeLabo Santal 33 5.Maria Black armcandy and rings 6.Saint Laurent Paris Betty in Leopard 7.Elixir Nicatil 5% cream 8.YSL Mascara in Bronze Black

Happy Saturday

PS. Don't forget to stay tuned for some photos from last night ;)

xx

VELVET BLAZER

Ok, tired face and coffein cravings, but there is a reason why most of the people wear sunnies during fashion week.
A little TBT from Paris FW today wearing jeans from Zara and a vintage blazer, and check out my lipstick(ok, I did borrow it ;) and purse doing matchy, match with the blazer details.
I still can't believe that I paid 30$ for this vintage Valentino treasure, which kind of  a brings me to todays topics: quality really does last, and velvet  never goes out of fashion. Nor it should.

I am wearing vintage Valentino blazer, Acne T (mens), Zara jeans, Marc Jacobs bag, Georg Jensen watch and Saint Laurent Paris heels.

Jacket- Vintage (eternally grateful to Jen)

Leopard Shirt- Carboot

Skirt- c/o Loving Youth

Super quick blog post today as I am SO busy. I last minute decided to do a shoot tomorrow for a competition that ends next week so have been non stop all day trying to get outfits ready and style the shoot but I am really excited, can't wait to show you all a sneaky peek!

The lovely people over at Loving Youth sent me over a couple of tartan goodies that are to die for. They are a relatively new brand and have a concession in Topshop which you may recognise them from. They specialise in remaking vintage into super cool stuff like this- just up my street.

What do you think of my eyebrows? I was actually just trying out a glitter eyeliner from collection 2000 for the shoot tomorrow but loved it so much I've kept it on all day! 

x

VOGUE PARIS

Photo courtesy of Vogue Paris

Anja Rubik, black and white photography,amazing leather pieces, to be frank -what is there not to like about the editorials in October issue of Vogue Paris?
And let's be honest nobody does nonchalant sexy as french do, which is right spot on how I want to look this fall.

TUESDAY CRAVINGS

Not much into cute animals on sweaters and sequins but I am very much into lucky cats(actually an obsession of mine, still not sure why..). This sweater from Markus Lupfer is waaay to adorable and very much cute and cuddly (ok,slightly pricey) not to own one.

Markus Lupfer Lucky Cat sweater on Net-a-porter

POWDERY HUES

My last Paris sin (aka the buy that was the final touch in the plan of ruining this months economy) was this powdery blue coat by Carven The place of the crime: Colette's - naturally. That being sad I haven't regretted one moment after I bought it and have used it countless of times since (it's getting really chilly here..:/) 

I love that this season powdery, pastelish colors have been dominating outerwear.The new approach designers have taken when it comes to baby blue and pink, mixing them with a harder, more masculine materials and cooler shapes, reinvented and adapted these usually perceived as girly hues so that they suddenly fit in every women's wardrobe.

As for my chunky sweater it is men's and vintage, bought few years back.

I am wearing Carven baby blue coat, vintage sweater, Rag&Bone jeans, Proenza Schouler heels.

Tartan Top- Motel

Faux Leather Pinafore Dress- c/o Bank

Faux Fur Gilet- H&M

Boots- ASOS

I feel ever so wintery/clueless in this outfit. I still don't feel comfortable wearing tights, why do they break outfits so much? :( Might attempt knee high socks or knee boots a la Sara instead.

I'm not gonna lie I hadn't ever been on Bank's website before I was contacted by the lovely Jade but I was pleasantly surprised especially after spotting this little faux leather beauty. I wanted to wear it on a night out but I'm forcing myself to stay in at the moment due to third year work overload and being poor. Instead I dressed it down with this cute little crop top which I bought along side the matching skirt here (20% off using code: helenajlc) and tights and boots. 

Haven't been feeling my usual colourful self as spent all week in bed with various diseases and this weather has got me in the biggest style rut ever. Why do none of my 'wintery' shoes go with my trousers or tights and vice versa?!?! I think my rainbow alter ego may be going into hibernation for a little while :(

x

SUNDAY FIX

Sunday.
The one day of the week I deny to think about all of the things that have to be done, usually reserved for long breakfasts and reading, a long aimless stroll after workout just to maybe stumble upon a interesting discussion or clear the head and re-focus. First, I still haven't digested all of the fashion week impressions, but have non-the-less become few tricks wiser:

1. ALWAYS have a small good quality camera with you, the choice this time fell upon Leica with the coolest retro design, and beyond quality for something that fits in all of my purses and clutches. Also I am a keen everything-and-everywhere photographer, so visual diaries of good quality are a must.

2. The second thing is use underground to make it to the various appointments and shows, being stuck in the traffic is a generally not accepted excuse although it is a legitimate one

3. A pair of good sneakers is a must if you want to be able to walk a)from and to the stations 

b) just to actually be able to walk out of your hotel after coming home from shows.
Which brings me to the my newest obsession: the Adidas sneakers with BOOST sole.
Now, this is the closest thing you get to walking on clouds.
My always tired feet and tendonitis( I run a lot before, started recently again) were like swept away after trying on these. I wore them for a whole weekend when I was in Oslo, and loved them so much that I actually ended up with a second pair with the same sole, for the workout purpose.The green ones from Stella McCartney for Adidas and the purple ones with the same boost system.
 Pure revelation. 

Oh, yeah and the Saturday spent on some light-weight fashion reading and eternal search for inspiration found in Yohji Yammamoto and Karl's wit.

MATCHING THE OCCASION

So, Paris (Fashion Week) is a place for drama and unfolding all of the aspects of your style that usually don't fit in everyday reality - or at least if You are not AdR...And I bet you didn't know about my life on the darker side of fashion where I dress like a GoT worthy character (now I did ask Ch to buy me a dragon- he simply replied that we already have one in our house....). But seriously, joke aside, I wore this on the final date of PFW-very fitting if you ask me- with Marc Jacobs doing dark birds of paradise theme and funeral carousel for his final Louis Vuitton show.

 I have to admit this is probably one of the coolest things I ever wore, just those pants are insane- not to mention pairing them with a croptop...

But all that being said Paris is Paris, and the show must go on. I probably will not be getting the pants as the rain here would ruin them (silk and ostrich-need I say more??), but the croptop (I mean Barbara Bui made one in gold AND white. somehow both will end up in my closet) paired with the leather pants is a decently cool night-out outfit, or just paired with ripped jeans and white sneakers for just hanging outside with your mates.But than again I would pair everything with the ripped jeans...

Top, pants and clutch are from Barbara Bui and Saint Laurent heels

THE PROENZA SCHOULER EFFECT

 

When you don't like a pair of shoes, but than you see them in a store and they become an obsession.
And than you go out of the store with a cool white box with blut print saying 'Proenza Schouler' feeling all warm and fuzzy...and slightly confused.
Nevermind, I loved them since the moment I tried them on.

 

Proenza Schouler heels at My-wardrobe



 

Mini Fashion Haul

Here we have my first EVER haul video. It took me the grand total of 10 minutes to film, edit and upload as I used the social media video app; Videofyme. I think I've mentioned before that I have had thoughts of doing youtube before but don't wanna bore anyone with my face and voice so this app is a godsend for me as I feel like there's not as much pressure to talk to the camera.

Anyhooo, these are a few bits and bobs I have bought over September and October that you might not have seen yet. I've been poorly the last few days but will hopefully have some outfit posts up soon with these items!

What did you think of my first haul video? Bit shaky I know and I know people like to see prices but I couldn't remember all of them and didn't want it to look weird with just a few prices on there. I could probably give you a rough idea if you really wanna know though!

x

NEIL BARRETT OBSESSION

The name that has been on everybody's lips lately (except for miss Cyrus) is Neil Barrett and his Aw collection that has been hitting the stores last couple of weeks. We have seen some amazing sweaters and neoprene pieces  that have taken this 90's vibe to the anno 2013 and his precise cuts have been the latest obsession of mine. SO, no wonder this sweater was very much welcomed and I didn't have to brainstorm to find what to wear it with.

Also it would look great with a turtleneck under when the weather turns the page...

I am wearing Neil Barrett sweater, Vanessa Bruno skirt, by Malene Birger purse and Sergio Rossi heels

THE PERFECT BORDEAUX

A lot of you emailed me about which lipstick I was wearing a couple outfits ago and here is the secret;)

I don't wear lipstick BUT I am completely hooked on lipsticks/pencils either because of the perfect velvety-matt color or because of the light hint of color, and I have lately been using the mix of these two. NARS in Palais Royal as a base color which is very saturated and has this satinish texture and Clinique Chubby stick in Tomato red lightly dubbed on the top of the pout to catch the light and give a little more lush lip.
Also, it's creamy texture mixed with saturated NARS pen gives a more natural feel to the red lip, and easy to adjust colortone whether you want it lighter or darker depending on what your mood.

Clinique Chubby Stick in Tomoto Red and NARS Satin Pencil in Palais Royal

BLEACH LONDON Super Cool Colour Review

Despite being a bit of a hair and beauty product junkie, I've never done a post on any products before so this is new for me but hope it turns out ok! I was invited to Bleach London's blogger party last week but unfortunately couldn't make it last minute so the lovely Hayley over at Chalk PR asked if I would like to try some of their crazy colours. Now I've been wanting to dye my hair a crazy colour for SO long especially a green/turquoise kind of colour and as the colours are wash in wash out I thought I would give it a shot. The colours I chose were Washed Up Mermaid and Sea Punk which are both greeny blue colours. 

I know you will probably laugh at me at this point as I was rather naive. I've just had my hair cut and have got it back to being healthy so am very hesitant of doing anything that can damage it, i.e bleaching. So I thought, I wonder what the colour would look like if I just put straight onto my DARK brown hair which lead me to do a little strand test with both colours. I followed the instructions of washing hair, towel drying until damp, then rubbing the colours in, leave for 15 minutes then wash out with warm water  (don't shampoo!). I'm sure you can probably guess the results- nothing happened. But I was expecting that so I wasn't too disappointed to be honest.  

I didn't wanna give up here as I was really curious to see what it would look like if I was to bleach my hair so I dug out some old extensions that I had dip dyed myself. Please note that the hair wasn't white blonde before it was just a darkish blonde colour. I followed the instructions again and see above for the results. The colours came out quite subtle but still enough to look like a mermaid- I love it!! The colours would definitely be more bold if the hair was a really light bleach blonde colour beforehand. 

I am now tormented with the debate in my head of whether to bleach and dye all of my hair or not?!

You can buy the Bleach London products at Boots- although they seem to be selling out extremely quickly!

Has anyone else tried them? If so, what did you think?

x

JUST IN

Heeey, my absolutely wonderful readers! Well, Yours truly has been away for work a couple of days and managed to forget her Mac at home thinking it was already packed.Which obviously it wasn't.

But now I am back with some pretty cool pics from Oslo, completely new training gear from Stella McCartney for Adidas and a new Leica cam.Not to mention this amazing Acne coat that I just got from My-wardrobe and new uber- comfy, and very,very cool sneaks from Stella for Adidas.

I wore this for a meeting yesterday and afterwards for the stroll in the sunny weather we have had.

I love the detailing on this outfit, from the high shearling collar to the pop of denim mixed with leather and neon green laces.Not to mention that it is a super comfortable one...

Acne coat, Ostwald Helgason Baudelaire sweater, Ralph Lauren,by Malene Birger leather pants, Stella McCartney for Adidas sneakers, Saint Laurent purse