☆☽ Waiste ☾☆
christmas

Hello and welcome to the third instalment of my small business Christmas shopping extravaganza. haha. Anyway, today it’s the turn of the ACCESSORIES, and what cute accessories do we have here. Thank me later. Whether its a personalised scrunchie, snazzy bag or even a phone accessory-I’ve got you covered. Perfect for stocking fillers, or as a gift to yourself, these are some of my favourite small brands.

Kairi London

Two words…shell bag! Omg. Kairi London are a sustainable accessories brand and they have also launched a plant based leather collection this year which are plastic free and 100% vegan, so you can choose that iconic shell bag to be leather or vegan. A bag to treasure forever. Oh…and they’re all designed and handcrafted in London too.

Maison Archives London

Hi and welcome to hair clip HEAVEN. I’ve got quite the collection from Maison Archives (I think I may be aiming to have one of everything eventually ) as they are the cutest (sustainable) hair accessories around. If you love everything cute and colourful then I think you are going to love these. My favourite thing from them has to be all of their bows, but the hair clips come a close second. It’s an online treasure trove.

Willow and Hive

How beautiful are these! Willow and Hive are a handmade leather goods brand, everything is designed and made in the UK by hand, and the best thing? You can personalise everything. The pouches are perfect for your passport, coins or even as a makeup bag as they come in all different sizes and they also do keyrings, belt bags, bracelets and card holders. A lovely unique gift.

Palomino

Speaking of things to put in pouches, let me introduce you to Palomino. This aesthetically perfect brand (just go have a look at their instagram!) is a new one, and what a good one it is ! Dreamy hair accessories, just look at those pearly combs ! Not only do they look good, they’re eco friendly as well, and their bamboo cotton towelling scrunchies are perfect after a shower, they prevent hair damage and helping reduce drying time too. Not just a swoon worthy brand -they’re so much more than that.

Roop

A firm favourite of mine, Roop is a handmade, sustainable bag (and now accessories too) brand based in Manchester. All of the products are handmade using quality and luxury vintage and remnant fabrics – meaning the collections are limited edition, but ensures you get an amazing unique bag that no one else has.  They’re just about to bring out that incredible fluffy number above (in black and pink) on the 5th December !

Little Fashion Finds

Another Manchester based handmade brand, in the form of Little Fashion Finds. And another one with the option to personalise, for that absolutely lovely extra touch. A girly paradise where you’ll find the prettiest accessories including scrunchies, charms and more. For this brand it’s the attention to detail for me that sets it apart from the rest. The personalised scrunchies are my favourite. Ooh and they do gift wrapping too !

Olivia Wolfe

Made to order puffy braided accessories are Olivia Wolfe’s speciality, and I’ve never seen anything like them. The handmade bags with the puffy braided handle are just too cute for words. And you can even get a headband and collar to match to complete the look. All their fabrics are locally sourced too.   The bags each take around four hours to make, which is such a labour of love.

Daisy and Valentina

For bespoke beads, look no further than Daisy and Valentina. They can make everything from glasses chains to phone beads, to anklets, I’m obsessed with this brand, as I love jazzing things up and making them look more unique. They also take commissions for bespoke designs and have a strong focus on sustainability. They only use beads made from glass and crystal, so no nasty plastic.

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christmas

Hello and welcome to this weeks instalment of the Wednesday wishlist (and my sincerest apologises for the break over lockdown) – although it’s a wishlist and we can all window shop, I didn’t feel comfortable continuing promoting clothing with everything going on, and let’s face it, there was no where much to wear it! But now we are back, out of lockdown, and in full festive season, it being December and all, even if the closest thing you might get to a party is a fancy zoom. I’ve been drawn to all things cream and pink, floaty, and sparkly if you couldn’t tell, tis the season after all ! Would love to dress like a winter angel for Christmas.

 

 

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christmas

Well, it has certainly been a year hasn’t it. The less said about that, the better, as I’m sure we are all sick of talking about it now one way or another. But one of the things about this year which has stood out for me the most (and for me in particular as I’m a small business owner myself) is the importance of supporting small businesses. So without further ado I thought I would share with you some of my favourite small businesses that I love and who need your support this Christmas (and of course every other day of the year!) but i thought with the festive season literally just around the corner (how is it December tomorrow?!) this is the perfect time to shop small and independent brands for all your Christmas gifts this year. I’ll be doing a snazzy four part series of these, the first being of course clothing (and these are all handmade brands too!) then jewellery, accessories and homeware. So hopefully from these if you’ve not heard of some of these, you may discover some new favourite brands to love for years to come.

Studio Rosalie

With one of the most aesthetically perfect instagrams around (I mean who doesn’t love Paris as a backdrop) Studio Rosalie is a size inclusive, made at home French brand. With their signature ruffle blouses and beautiful imagery I just want to live in the Studio Rosalie world. They release new pieces weekly on Sundays. The hardest decision you’ll make is which piece to choose !

(photography of the first image by Nastasia Moreira)

Before July

With all their pretty dresses and tops handmade from deadstock fabric, Slow fashion brand Before July is a puff sleeved dream. You can also choose to customise your dress or top, to make it unique to you which is just an incredible service from a small brand. They design 1-2 collections per year and are made to order in the UK-so go get your orders in in time for Christmas! The Madeline dress is a personal favourite of mine-I have it in the green but I love all the other colours it comes in !

Faith Rowan Leeves

Handmade right here in Brighton, Faith Rowan Leeves is a designer and crocheter. With the perfect balance of beautiful wool pieces and stunning vintage style dresses inspired by Faiths personal collection, this brand is an absolute must have on your radar. The amount of detailed information on the website about all the deadstock fabrics and wool used is also incredible-an inspirational slow fashion brand. All the dresses and wool pieces are timeless classics that you will love for years to come.

Maison Cleo

Made to order magic from France, Maison Cleo is a mother daughter team who handmade everything to order from leftover fabrics from their studio. Their web shop opens on Wednesdays at 5:30pm UK time for a limited time only and then orders take two weeks to make. You have to be so quick ! I have seen they are making a mini capsule collection especially for Christmas though which is launching soon-I can’t wait to one day have a piece in my wardrobe.

Studio Katya

If you want bespoke made to order luxury items-look no further than Studio Katya. The attention to detail from this brand new cute and sustainable brand is beautiful – just look at those pearl button cuff details. I love that kind of attention to detail-it really makes the designs special. You can also of course get custom fitting too.

Looph

Looph is a new brand on my radar, and I’m so glad I discovered them. Their clothing is handmade from organic, reclaimed materials and foraged dyes. They are also completely zero waste and are committed to only using materials that do not harm animals, humans or the environment.  An amazing sustainable size inclusive brand with the cosiest knitwear around- you can order their new AW20 collection via DM through their instagram.

Particular Pieces

Another recent discovery (and I’m so glad I found them) Particular Pieces are the chicest handmade French brand with a mission to change consumption habits. All their fabric comes from collecting, buying and recovering second-hand textiles to hand make limited unique pieces with it. All their blouses are absolutely beautiful – I have the Gigi pastel already, and it is so beautifully made I want them all!

ALSO…

Two of my other favourites which have now closed for Christmas but you can shop in the new year:

 

Molby the Label

First up we have the incredible Molby the label, which has fast become one of my favourite brands this year. I’ve got quite the Molby collection now, and have been lucky to have received a few gifts too, but I can honestly say it’s one of the best handmade brands out there-everything is made so so well, the material and the designs are beautiful and they are nothing like anything out there at the moment. Everything is handmade to order too.

Peggy’s Room

A brand new brand that you need on your radar immediately- Peggys room is gloriously girly with a rock and roll edge-original and like nothing I’ve seen before. I love love love the Belle dress. Oversized frilly collars and quirky heart pocket details on designs made from the most decant fabrics set this brand apart from the rest. Oh and everything is made to order too! the current collection ‘Tea and Oranges’ has closed now but they’ll be releasing a new collection next year !

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Italy is one of my favourite places to visit in the world. I love everything about it: the beauty, the people, the food, the architecture, the scenery, the cities, the beach. I could go on but we’d be here all day. I just love the Italian way of life.

Oliver and I usually go to Italy around 6 times a year for vintage buying (As he is both my boyfriend and business partner…yes it works-most of the time we make a great team haha! ) However, due to this years series of unfortunate events, we’ve only been once back in February.

However this time around when we were allowed to travel again, we booked it in, and managed to book in a few days in Sardinia too before we headed vintage buying and I’m so glad we did, as it’s been on my list of places to visit in Italy for so long. About three years ago we booked a holiday to Sardinia, however due to another series of unfortunate events (this time it was a lost passport, hint: not mine) we ended up never going, that time it wasn’t meant to be I guess. But this time it was.

We stayed in Olbia in Hotel Stefania, a lovely boutique hotel around 15 minutes away from the airport. Practically we actually chose it because we were only there for four days and weren’t hiring a car, and taxis in Italy can be so expensive so we didn’t want to be too far away from the airport as we had to fly back to mainland Italy to go vintage buying. We also only took hand luggage so I had to pack light (eg no big flowy maxi dresses for me) and it was around 36-38 degrees when we were there. This meant lots of mini dresses, and versatile pieces I could layer and mix and match with different outfits etc. The hotel was absolutely beautiful, quiet and charming, and only a five minute stroll to a beautiful sandy beach.

Right now I bet you’re thinking, hmm wasn’t this an outfit post? I am getting to them I promise ! I just couldn’t write this blog post without talking about Sardinia first. We did mainly spend the four days just on the beach or around the pool just relaxing as it was just so nice to have a break from work, and visiting Olbia old town in the evening twice for food and drinks (which wasn’t cheap in taxis – £28 each way to go about ten minutes – told you they were expensive !) My holiday wardrobe mainly consisted of mini dress and floral dresses, BIG sunglasses, some white outfits, head scarves and bucket hats so I didn’t burn my head-which I usually ALWAYS do. A linen shirt for layering and skirt and shorts to cover up when walking to and from the beach, and I always bring my comfy trekky style sandals for the beach, and my Chloe or Jonak white sandals for the evenings.

These two were a couple of my favourite dresses I brought with me. The yellow one is a gift from Faithfull and I threw it on the first night as soon as we got there, it was the perfect ‘first night dress’. I just love that feeling of being able to wear something like this at night with no jacket or worrying about being colder later. I ran and dipped my feet into the sea that night and it was so warm. The second is one of my my favourite dresses I’ve bought this summer, the Realisation Par Devon mini dress. I did do a panic order on this, mainly because I don’t own any mini dresses and I knew how hot in was going to be, but this has become one of my firm favourites as it fits so well! It is short, but the way it fits just makes me feel so good when I wear it.

I do love an all white outfit on holiday, especially when I’ve got a bit of a tan! Which tbh I didn’t tan as much as I’d like to since we only had four days and it usually takes me at least a week as I’m dead careful not to burn. Anyway, the top dress was a gift from Neon Rose (and is now on sale FYI) and the linen two piece is also by Faithfull and was one of my favourite outfits to wear on holiday! Accessory wise I’ve got my Kokotala earrings and Roop white satin bag, I brought both my Roop bags with my and they were perfect for holiday as they fit in my hand luggage and were great for both the beach and at night. These Chloe woody sandals have definitely now got their cost per wear, I practically live in them!

Now, let’s talk swimwear. I brought three options with me-two bikinis and a swimsuit (as a swimsuit is great if you get a little burnt and need to cover up more. This an amazing vintage pink floral 80s one I found on Lucid Voyage. I was so scared it wouldn’t fit me but I just love how it looks. I love a vintage print or vintage swimwear. I just purchased my first Hunza G – which is the Jean lilac bikini in the second photo- and let’s just say it won’t be the last ! They fit like an absolute dream, and I’m so in love with the colour, ALSO…the bikini bottom is high which I’ve not tried before, but is actually so flattering. Plus they’re all handmade in London too. I layered it with my Sezane gingham shorts, which are the perfect fit if you have wide hips and a small waist, and my Massimo Dutti lilac linen shirt.

And lastly (and a very cute beach look if i do say so myself) consists of a bucket hat from Camilla Ashley, bikini from Faithful (sadly sold out now), skirt from Taar Wiloughby, and sandals from last year c/o Nanou Beach,which are the comfiest sandals I own, apart from the Chloe’s. I wore them everyday to the beach. The sunglasses in all three are from Gucci but I can’t find them online so I’ll link similar below.

Right, last but not least, as I feel like this post has gone on forever now, are these two pretty floral looks. Both the lilac headscarf and floral maxi in the first photo are vintage, but the second dress is from great sustainable brand Nobody’s child, and also comes in a short version too. They have some really really pretty dresses on there at the moment !

 

And LASTLY:

I’ve also resurrected my youtube channel too with my travels to Italy which you can watch here !

SHOP MORE ITALIAN INSPIRED LOOKS HERE:

 

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Photography: Sophie Anneliese

I cannot believe how long I’ve left it on here, and for that I’m truly sorry. So what’s been happening since June you ask? I mean not that much tbh, Covid has put a stop to most of our summer plans but we did manage to head to Italy to go vintage buying, which meant we could take an extra few days away too, which we were really grateful for, as we’ve not stopped working since lockdown. As the amount of vintage we needed to buy for both the shop and online couldn’t be done over Skype (we’re talking A LOT here-we just had 15 massive boxes turn up) we had to be there ourselves to hand pick it all, which meant two days in 34 degree heat in the warehouses. Thank goodness we had a few days to relax in Sardinia before. Ooh that gives me an idea, I can do an outfits in Italy post actually if you’d like.

Anyway, I’ve gone off on a tangent now as the whole point of this post was about gingham, and preferably in pink, although I do LOVE lilac too, I’ve not found many people making anything out of lilac gingham ! Anyway…these are my top four gingham outfits of the summer.

1. DAILY SLEEPER

Dress: Sleeper (was via Studio B but sold out) Bag: Rooper, Hair Slides: Maison Archives

Ok my absolute number one pink gingham piece in my wardrobe has to be my gingham Sleeper dress. These handmade linen dresses are definitely an investment, but I’ve 100% got my cost per wear now, I mean at one point in lockdown I was practically living in this ! My sleeper dresses are also my most complimented dresses from girls on the street which makes my heart smile. Please also note my pink gingham Roop bag, never too much matching gingham in my opinion.

2. MOLBY THE LABEL

Pink and Red Gingham Dress: Molby

Next up, we have this amazing handmade dress from Molby, a new discovery of mine but an incredible one, I’m in love with everything Karina makes ! Working on a made to order basis so there is no wastage, Molby in cute print and gingham heaven. Set your alarm for the next shop opening via their instagram (which is what I did to nab this dream dress!) I’ve not got my eye on the top version too.

3. SEZANE

Photography: Beatrice Rigby

Pink gingham shorts c/o: Sezane, Blouse: Zara

Now, I’m not usually a short person, but I thought I’d give these linen Sezane shorts a try, and I’m so glad I did. I love them! They fit perfectly, I’m small on the waist and big on the hips and these don’t hug unflattering on my thighs like denim shorts do. Plus they make my legs look so much longer than they actually are. I love them. They also have a matching top which I’ve linked below !

 

4. DELPHI EVA THE LABEL

Pink Gingham Two Piece : Delphi Eva

And last but not least is this incredible pink gingham two piece from Delphi Eva Design, a brand I found when I went on a gingham instagram black hole. This is actually a bespoke design created especially for me by the lovely Delphi from an existing dress design she had already, as she can custom any of her designs to suit you. Again made to order which I think is absolutely great. I thought I would opt for a cute co-ord because I know I have a pretty extensive dress collection already, a co-ord gives me way more outfit options!

SHOP MORE PINK GINGHAM:

 

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