Fashion & co: London.

Hi everyone! I apologise for my absence but I've had LOADS of things to do since I've moved back to the Uk on the 18th and I've been sorting my new house and room out :)
Thank god now everything's done and I've started university again so I can also come back to my blog.
Being very close to London I'm always very interested in what's going on there; I love London, it's one of my favourite cities and it's not only a cultural melting-pot, but a "fashion melting-pot" (if that makes any sense) as well! It's such a diverse and fascinating city, and the people who live there are as part of its charm as the buildings and streets.
Right now there are some really nice exhibitions going on, all worth checking out.

• "Club to Catwalk: London fashion in the 1980's" at the V&A Museum - this exhibition is going to be open until the 16th of February 2014 (Ticket price: £5) and I will go see it on Saturday, 28th September, and hopefully I'll be able to tell you guys how it was and show you some pictures if it will possible to take any. In the meantime if you're interested, you can check the website out here.

• "The glamour of Belville Sassoon" at the Fashion + Textile Museum - this exhibition will be open until the 11th of January 2014 (Ticket price: £8 adults; £5.50 students). You can check out what this exhibition is about here.

• "Miles Aldrige: I only want you to love me" at Somerset House - hurry up, this exhibition will be open until the 29th of September (Ticket price: £6 adults; £4.50 students). You can find more info about this exhibition here.

• "Isabella Blow: fashion galore!" at Somerset House - this exhibition will be open to the public until the 2nd of March 2014 (Ticket price: £12.50 adults; £10 students). you can find more info here.

• "Pearls" at the V&A Museum - this exhibition will end on the 19th January 2014 (Ticket price: £11 adults; £6 students). You can check it out here.

• "Fashion Rules" in Kensington Palace - this exhibition will be open until Summer 2015 (Ticket price - including tour of the palace: £15 adults; £12.40 students). There will be dresses from the collections of HM The Queen, Princess Margaret and Diana, Princess of Wales. You can check it out here.

So have you seen any of those exhibitions?? If yes which one(s) and did you like it/them?

x, Val.

Mary Katrantzou S/S 2014: fab as always.

Mary Katrantzou is stunning as usual. Her collection was amazing; the prints were so expressive - as they always are - and the designs were very interesting. The silhouettes were quite varied, from some fitted dresses or ensembles to looses fits (pictures below).

The prints this time were pretty different from the last collections' - and btw I totally loved her Resort 2014 collection, there were some amazing sweaters and trousers (you can check it out here) and her Fall 2013 collection, with the amazing prints showing fairytale landscapes and views (check it out here). The prints in this new S/S 2014 collection were more definite, they were pretty direct and vivid, different from the dreamy landscapes of the Fall designs, and the cuts were again different from those of her Resort collection.

So here's a big THANK YOU to the great Mary for presenting such a beautiful collection, executed with great verve and polish.

1. Here's the first "type" of print: dresses and ensembles are like big canvases showing the English shoe for excellence: the Oxford shoe.

2. The second print seen on the runway is a a close up of trainers shoes, very colourful and I would say appropriated since one of the newest and hottest trends is "sport-chic".

3. The third and last print seen at the show is a very vivid, colourful and alluring floral print, presented by the Greek designer in different colours and versions. I think this one if my favourite print from her collection, and also the designs are amazing (I love the third picture showing the light blue dress with the purplish flowers and the last picture).

So do you guys like this S/S 2014 collection??

x, Val.

Made in Italy.

I've already published a post about my summer holidays in South Italy, but I haven't talked about the sweet city of Otranto, Puglia.
I wanted to dedicate a whole post to this place: first of all it's a very nice place to visit, it's full of small souvenir shops and there are plenty of shops offering typical and traditional products (as the delicious "Taralli" - see pic below).

One of the most visited, famous and original shops in Otranto is a handmade leather sandals shop called "O di Otranto" (website link here).

They sell amazingly well crafted sandals and ballerinas in black, dark brown, light brown and dyed leather 

and they also make some more decorated and "modern" pieces.

Now going on to the city itself, here are some pictures I've taken during my days there.

Do you guys like handmade leather sandals? And do you have any?

x, Val.

Liebster Award!

After reading the comment from the sweet Julieth (from the must-see blog Glamourattic) saying she nominated me for the LIEBSTER AWARD I felt so happy, privileged and proud!

I haven't been blogging for a long time - it's actually been a few days - but I've wanted to start my own blog for quite a long time but I was afraid I wasn't good enough and didn't have enough to say. When I read Julieth's comment I felt very proud because I knew that my blog had started "spreading" and attracting readers, which meant that I was actually doing something that could get people's attention, dedication and time.

The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. I think it's a very sweet idea to show your support for blogs you like and to promote them.

The 5 RULES

1. Each nominee must link back to the person that nominated them.
2. Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
3. Nominate 10 other bloggers you like and who have less than 200 followers.
4. Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
5. Let them know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

My answers to Julieth's questions:

1. If you could travel anywhere in the world and money was no object, where would you go? I would go to the USA and do a coast-to-coast trip, visiting the major cities of both coasts and of the central states.

2. Favourite designer or brand? Oh well, this is a very difficult question for me because being a fashion design student I've been studying old and new brands quite well and I can't really say which one I prefer the most. I have to say though that Balenciaga (old and new, with the amazing Alexander Wang) has been my favourite among the favourites for a while now.

3. Beauty product you can’t live without. Apart from my moisturizing cream, I would probably say my liquid and gel eyeliner :)

4. What is your favorite season of the year? It used to be summer, but I have to admit now that my new favourite season is Autumn: I love that it's not too hot and not too cold, you can wear both summer clothes and winter clothes (layering up cardigans etc.), you can drink hot tea and chocolate and the colourful leaves make me so happy!

5. Three favorite online shopping websites. Definitely Urban Outfitters website (there are some online exclusive products ;D), Asos and Ebay (mostly for my home accessories and books).

6. Link and/or photo of a handbag that you are currently coveting. 

Valentino Rockstud flap bag.

7. What’s your all-time favorite movie? I have many favourites, it's so difficult to choose just one! I totally love Dead Poets' Society, and I adore Gone with the Wind too. I also like Forrest Gump, Chocolat, Cadillac Records and Sixteen Candles.

8. What is your favorite candy? Uhm.. I don't really love candies, I love chocolate much more, but I have a thing for strawberry candy strips.

9. A must have in your closet. Probably my high waisted jeans for the winter and high waisted (vintage) Levi's shorts for the good weather.

10. What makes you laugh out loud? Old memories of funny moments with my friends.

The blogs I am nominating..

Fashion mumblr

Patchoulii-Flog

Etee

Miss Haribo

Thrifty Decor Chick

Kiki's Fashion

All you need is fashion

Big city to back road fashion

Fashion is my vengeance

Fashion at its fall

Here are my questions for the lucky bloggers:

1. Who would you say is your style icon?
2. Describe yourself in 5 adjectives.
3. Which designer inspires you the most?
4. When you open your beauty case, what are the first three things in it?
5. Which are the top 10 cities to visit on your list?
6. Who's your favourite movie character?
7. What's your favourite book and would you recommend it?
8. If you could be an animal which one would you choose and why?
9. Do you have any tattoos? If yes, which ones?
10. What trend do you think will be more popular for the A/W 2014 season?

TBT: my summer holidays in Puglia, South Italy.

Hello everyone!

So I've started this post after the summer holidays, but I really wanted to show you the magical and wonderful places I've visited this summer so here it is, on a Wednesday, a throwbackthursday post :)

I went to Puglia, in South Italy, on the 11th of August, basically the hottest and most crowded period of the year to go on holiday in Italy.

Anyway it was a really nice trip, we visited lots of cities (Gallipoli, Lecce, Galatina, Nardo', Otranto and some other small towns), and we went to the beach to relax and sunbathe.

So here are the pictures of my holidays.

The two pictures above are taken from the place we were staying, an old Villa near Cutrofiano.

The streets were all made of this old rock.

The sign indicates that the square we were at was called "Freedom Square"

Come Clothes is finally here.

Hello everyone!

So, as you may have noticed I have finally started my adventure into the intriguing world of blogging.

As probably many of you, I've always been very keen on fashion and the industry in general. Both the hidden side - so the designing process, the pattern making and production of a garment - and the "public" side of fashion have always fascinated me. Last September I started my BA course in Fashion Design at UCA (University for the Creative Arts), in the Uk, and now I feel like I have something to say...and what's  better way to express oneself than keeping a blog? 

I am not sure I am going to be like other fashion bloggers; still I hope my topics are going to be interesting for you.

Being a fashion design student, I will not just write posts about the latest catwalk shows (and some reviews as well), but I will also be able to post tutorials (how to: sketch, draw fashion illustrations, research for inspiration on a certain topic, sew, etc), posts about my days in uni, about my ongoing projects and, if there will be any, internships.

I'm also a photography lover, so you will probably have to cope with lots of (fashion and not) photography posts.

So...excited? Want to read more? Well, I hope I've tickled your curiosity. If so, keep checking for new posts on this blog.

x, Val.