Sweet Velvetine

There is something about this time of year that always makes me want to wear velvet, particularly burgundy velvet. I always have this image in my head of a specific dress; skater skirt, sleeves to the elbow, scoop neck, very simple. But yet I have not found it anywhere. This time I am determined that I am going to find it! 

Velvet is also appearing more and more frequently in high street shops in the form of mostly crop tops and skater skirts. Personally I am not a big fan of crop tops, but the later I love and will definitely pick them up in black and burgundy. I'm picturing a lace top teamed with a dark rose lip to give an overall Gothic feel for the Christmas. 

The biggest shake up in the reviving trend is the breakthrough of velvet boots. These can be bought in virtually any fashion outlet at the minute. My favourite (Christmas wish list!) are from River Island for 65Euro, and will go with everything, therefore completely worth the money. Urban Outfitters is another brand which have lots of velvet options in at the minute. To mic things up a little I've been spotting this Navy Overall Skirt which although is way more than I would pay for a skirt at $110 (roughly 81Euro), I just think that there is something quite special about it and I haven't seen anything like it on the high street. Is it worth the money??

 One of the most influential style sources of our generation, Vogue, has suggested that those who are not entirely comfortable sporting a velvet outfit (sometimes it can be quite unflattering) could subtly embrace the look with the aid of a velvet fedora/jewellery/bag. It doesn't have to be an in your face statement. Vogue recommend investing in the "Rabbit Felt and Velvet Hat" by Maison Michel for $950, which is ridiculous! Pop down to H&M and pick up a brilliant replica for £12.99.

Back in September I wrote a post called Turkish Delight and I spoke about my love for a particular bohemian lifestyle that resembled Turkish and Moroccan markets.I also think this post has something similar to offer in that velvet co-ordinates this style effectively. If you need any more encouraging on the effects refer back to the previous post (link above). 

Love C X 

Underneath it all...

 Anything that represents a classic era I am a fan. From jewels to hair to clothes, the chances of me loving it are particularly high, especially the 1960's/70's era. I always find style in these decades so much more interesting and beautiful and the classic approach to styling is so much more appealing. This is predominately true in specific areas of the fashion and beauty industry, the principal example being hair styles. This was a much more refined generation of women who viewed class as a form of living and not just an option which unfortunately is not the way society is today. This ethos carried throughout every aspect of life; work life, home, social and private affairs. The subject of private affairs and accompanying ensembles is the source of inspiration through photography, beauty and art still to this day.

                         

 

 I chose to focus on the vintage style of lingerie for this post as I find it much for flattering for a wider range of body shapes, and visually it is more enchanting. Lace was a popular choice of fabric for under garments during this particular era represented sensuality. Basic colours were always the main choice of tone, black, white, ivory and grey. Honestly, I would completely buy this style of underwear if I could afford to constantly buy it but unfortunately it is quite expensive. I have been researching this topic for the past few days to source reasonable places to purchase this vintage look that will not break the bank and the two main sites that kept popping up at me were Intimissimi and & Other Stories. Intimissmi appears to appeal to the more up-market approach to this vintage attire but stock extremely beautiful bras that you will definitely want to buy. & Other Stories prices are not significantly cheaper and the stock consists of a modernised version of the images seen above, a little bit more sheer and a little less lace.

It has been a common phrase for as long as I can remeber that a women can feel instantly more beautiful/empowered/sexy with the right lingerie. For me, this is justification enough to invest in luxury underwear, even if you are the only one who knows you are wearing it!

I am also a MASSIVE fan of Tumblr and Pinterest and always look for minimal shots of 70's period lingerie shots because of the simplicity and beauty of the photo. For similar photos such as the ones featured above you can click here CiCi Jewels Tumblr . <3

Love C X 

Full Tweed Ahead

In my last post I spoke about Tartan and how each season the infamous print reappears throughout stores, magazines and editorials on a global level (Clash of the Tartans). Another vintage rebirth has taken place with the explosion of Granny Chic, reinforcing tweed as "back with a bang". Winter 2013 invites another dimension to the classic look with the "berry" approach. Warm and rich tones are a given in the harsher crisp months and this subconsciously forces us to to reach for red, olive and maroon shades. 

It wasn't until I sat down to write this post that I realised how much tweed I have actually bought over the past few weeks (particularly in grey); two coats, shoes, bag and dress. Most of these items are from Penneys/Primark purely because of its incredible value and the stock has significantly improved over the years. Some items are practically identical to stock in shops such as River Island, Warehouse, Topshop, and at just a fraction of the price. If you are going to invest in any tweed piece this winter I would recommend a coat, I did and I am so happy that I did. I got mine from Penneys for 25 Euro and is featured below. Another beautiful tweed coat that I would recommend is from Oasis, also featured below and priced at 79 Euro.

The best thing about investing in tweed staples is that they are items which can be worn repeatedly over the next few years. I'm obsessing over this look at the minute and keep an eye on my Instagram account for images of my latest tweed pieces @CiCiJewels .

 

Love C X 

Lets get lost in Paris (Part 2)

So the last post featured the top vintage shops to visit while in Paris, Lets Get Lost in Paris (Part 1), and this is a recommended route to take that I have put together. This may vary a little depending on where exactly you are staying in the city. The closest metro station to me was the "Gare Du Nord" so this was the starting point for my trip, but if you have a smart phone I would recommend downloading the metro app as it will make everything a lot easier when travelling around. I would also advise to spread your trips out over a number of days, as it can be difficult to fit it all in just one day. For this particular post I have divided it into two days. Also, you can buy 10 metro passes for 13.70 Euro, which will cover all of your shopping trips. 

 

Day One

Station 1: Gare Du Nord

From here you are looking for Line 4. Once on the metro, travel to the Barbes - Rochechouart stop and change at this station to get on Line 2. While on Line 2, you will be stopping at Anver station, and this will be your destination for your first vintage shop, Mamie Blue.

Thankfully, the next shop you can visit, By Flowers, is within a walking distance from Mamie Blue. Just follow the directions below.

Mamie Blue to By Flowers Walking Directions

Station 2: Place du Clichy

While near this sation, you can visit the Guerrisol vintage store, and after this you can continue to travel along. From this station you are looking for Line2. You will change at Barbes to Line 4 and continue until the Etienne Marcel stop. At Etienne Marcel you can go to Episode, which is one of the trendiest vintage shops in all of Paris.

Station 3: Etienne Marcel
After Episode, you will be heading towards Hotel Du Ville, and to get there you must stay on Line 4 and look out for the Chatelet stop. Once here, you must change to get on Line 1 and you will then see the Hotel Du Ville stop. This is the area with the most vintage shops in the facinity, Freep'star, Hippy Market and Fripp'irium.

Day Two

Station 1: Gare Du Nord

Starting again at the "Gare Du Nord" station, you will be getting on Line 5 and travelling through four stops and arriving at Oberkampf. It is here that you will be at Omaya Vintage, which is where I bought some of my bits which were featured on the first part of this post.

The next place that you can go to is Adom, whcih luckily is not too far and is easy to walk to. Directions can be followed from the link below.
Walking directions from Omaya to Adom

Station 2: Bastille
The bastille sation will be easy to find fromAdom, and once here you will be looking for Line 5 again, changing at the Stalingrad stop to Line 7, arriving at Riquet after a twenty minute journey. One metro ticket will cover this entire journey.

To get back to Gare Du Nord, simply reverse this journey; Line 7, change at Stalingrad to Line 5 and arrive at Gare Du Nord.


Hope you find this suggested route useful, and if anyone of you use it please let me know!

Love C X 

Lets get lost in Paris (Part 1)

 

So I am just back from a few days in the beautiful city of Paris. A couple of months ago, my Friends and I bought tickets to see Fleetwood Mac for Bercy as they were sold out in Dublin. This became a perfect opportunity for a girls holiday!  We were there for five days, so plenty of time for shopping around and viewing historical architecture. Knowing what you want when you go shopping is half the battle, and it was decided early during the trip that vintage was the main objective when it came to clothes and accessories. Being one of the fashion capitals of the world, we were not short of options and shops to choose from, so I have decided to share the experience with you guys, along with a suggested route to save your energy for rooting through rails of vintage, in the second part of this post.  

The image above sums up my few days; writing, sight seeing, shopping and going to see Fleetwood Mac. 

Where we stayed in Paris was north of the city and the closest metro station was "Gare du Nord". I highly recommend this area as it was very reasonably priced within a really expensive city. And the metro station can have you in any part of the city within minutes. First of all I will go through the top ten Vintage shops in the city and throughout this post I will talk through my experience and the ones I visited and bought from. 

Freep'star: 8 rue Saint Crocci, La Bretonnaire 

This shop is located in a very tourist part in the city but offers reasonable prices. During my time in Paris I only managed to visit a number of vintage shops and this was one of them. It was very busy, as it was a Saturday (try to go during a weekday morning if possible) but everything was well organised so it was easy to spot a section you like. There was a great selection of  leather shorts and denim jackets. The basement of the shop holds all flannel shirts, fur coats and granny knit jumpers, but watch the stairs as you go down as it is very narrow. Also, this shop has a great variety of silk scarves. 

Omaya Vintage: 29 rue Jean Pierre Timbaud 

While shopping this was was the first stop on the journey. From my experience, Omaya stocked amazing vintage coats and most were priced at 35 Euro. Every colour that you could think of, there was a coat! I managed to pick up an olive green blazer, which will go perfectly with black skinnies and biker boots for the winter months coming. I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I was also on the look out for a silk print headscarf, Bohemian Nights, and I am happy to say that I found the perfect one in this shop, and priced at only 5 Euro. 

Hippy Market: 21 rue du Temple, 75004 

This was another one of the shops hat we visited along the way, but it was the only one that none of us bought anything in either! Although there are amazing pieces in here (I particularly fell in love with the shirts), the prices are more expensive than others and I found it quite difficult to justify what I would have been paying for. It was also quite big and spacious which allowed for lots of stock. I would recommend this shop if you only have time to visit one of these vintage stores as you will absolutely find an amazing piece or two, and this can justify your purchasing rather than binging in all of the above also. 

 Episode: 12-16 rue de Tiquetonne, 2e

Although I did not actually visit this shop, I have read on line lots of amazing things about it, and now I'm devastated that I didn't! For anyone who does plan on visiting Paris anytime soon, the reviews say that this shop is a serious contender. Again, like Hippy Market, prices are a little higher than other Vintage shops in the area but the large space offers rare finds and completely unique pieces that won't be found anywhere else. 

  Mamie Blue: 69 rue Rochechouart
This particular vintage boutique has a specific genre focus on the 1950's/60's. It is also recommended that you should go there when you have a few hours to spare as it may take awhile to look through everything as it can be messy.

Guerrisol:19 avenue de Clichy
It is this particular store which seems to have everyone vintage lover in Paris raving at the minute. With its growing popularity and low prices, it is a must see within the city according to Time Out Paris. It is also this particular area of the city which is now considered the "trendy" spot of Paris.

By Flowers: 89 rue des Martyrs
Neat is definitely not what you will find here, but if on line sources are anything to go by it adds to the atmosphere and experience of shopping at "By Flowers". Most items are still in bags, so you will have to get your hands dirty a bit before you find anything but if this seems like a bit of a task, just think of the satisfaction of when you actually find something you love.


Frip'irium: 2 rue de la Verrerie 

This is considered the "upmarket" of vintage. Prices here are higher than most as a result of many items being pre-assembled into stylish looks, which can often save you time and energy. Everything is well arranged and visually presented well, and  you are  able to watch MTV while you shop. I am particularly intrigued in this shop as I am researching vintage inspired swimsuits and lingerie, both of which Frip'irium stock. 

Adom: 35 and 56 rue de la Roquette
Along with some of the previously mentioned shops above, this one has a 60's/70's rock n'roll theme. This place is split into two stores which are facing one another, one set up in 2007 and the other in 2009. A om is particular is well know for its selection of men's clothing.

 Bric á Brac: 104 Rue d'Aubervilliers, 19e 

Bric a Brac has alot of love on line and created a fantastic profile for itself. One of the great things that I love about this shop is the supply of vintage home ware. Old chairs, mirrors and frames to enhance the your unique style into your home. Classic hardback books are also available across all genres which are worth far more than what you will pay for them! 

Look out for the second part of this post which will feature a suggested route to take and tips on travel and accomodation in Paris. 

Love C X