Blue Leopard

photo courtesy jakandjil.com/blog

Leopard prints continue to charge full steam ahead as one of the top trends of the A/W 2010 season but the majority of them tend to be quite literal translations of the motif.

An interesting take on the theme is coloured leopard prints, or more specifically, blue leopard. It's more funky and playful than the usual brown leopard print but the cool tone of the blue keeps it easy on the eyes.

If you're feeling the blue leopard print as much as I am, check out the gorgeous, stylish pieces below.

Sunny Leigh Blouse

Price: US$36.99

Leopard Print Scarf
Price: UK£12.00 (US$18.74)

Hobbs Animal Cardigan

Price: UK£44.00 (US$68.60)

Gianni Bini "Honey" Pump
Price: US$89.99

Leopard Dress
Price: UK£34.00 (US$53.00)

Cool Vintage Finds - Feline Fantasy

I love cats. Not in a weird, cliche "I want to live with them alone for the rest of my life" kind of way but I do have a definite affinity for them.

I also have a thing for the cat motif in fashion and I believe novelty feline prints and accessories are a really great way to add fun and quirkiness to Spring wardrobes.

The Miu Miu Spring 2010 runway was littered (bad pun intended) with cute, playful cats on clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry - you name it, cats were on it.

images courtesy style.com

I scoured Etsy and Ebay to find some cute and stylish vintage cat pieces and came up with quite a few options below.

Crazy Cat Lady Sweater
Price: US$35.00

Meow Cute Sterling Silver Kitty Ring
Price: US$5.50



Vintage Beaded Bag with Cats and Roses
Price: US$16.99

Movable Vintage Hoop Pierced Earrings with Cat
Price: US$12.00

Vtg 70s Black Cat and Guitar Boho Kaftan Dress
Price: US$24.99
(N.B 7 days left in auction)

Vintage Pewter Color Three Cat Necklace
Price: US$16.50

Cats in Love Brooch
Price: US$8.00

Vtg 80s Tapestry Vest

Price: US$9.99
(N.B 7 days left in auction)

Vintage Cat Earrings
Price: US$6.00

Here are some little known and interesting (to me anyway) cat facts taken from www.catscans.com:

• Ailurophilia is the "love of cats".
• The nose pad of a cat is ridged in a pattern that is unique, just like the fingerprint of a human.
• The domestic cat is the only cat species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. All wild cats hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs while walking.
• Sir Isaac Newton, discoverer of the principles of gravity, also invented the cat door.
• A cat will amost never "meow" at another cat. This sound is reserved for humans.
• A group of kittens is called a "kindle" and a group of grown cats is called a "clowder".

Also, here's a Vogue fashion spread from 2008 which features cute Persian cats and model Karen Elson with hair, makeup and outfits inspired by the fantastic Grace Coddington.

photos courtesy mycatgoma.com

Float like a Fashionable Butterfly

Butterflies are exquisite, beautiful creatures and the butterfly motif is a perfect addition to the summer wardrobe. The butterfly is symbolic of many good things to various people such as love, freedom, rebirth, and good luck - all great things to feel and experience when summer comes around.

photo courtesy ces.ncsu.edu

When it comes to fashion, the butterfly motif can be interpreted in ways that caters either to those with extravagant tastes or those who prefer things a bit more subtle.

For me, the allure of the butterfly is in the subtlety of its thin delicate wings, the eye-catching designs and colours on its wings and the graceful, playful way it flies through the air. Any fashion piece that I wear which features the butterfly's likeness should reflect these qualities.

On the other hand, Mariah Carey, who is well known for her butterfly obsession, simply prefers her butterflies shiny and bedazzled.

photos courtesy nimony.com and eurweb.com

My feelings towards butterflies haven't ventured into obsession zone but I definitely have a love for them. When I was a child, there was an area behind my house where an abundance of gorgeous butterflies would gather and I would spend long hours observing and playing with them. Unfortunately, this area was cleared some time later and I haven't seen such a large group of butterflies since. In fact, I'm lucky if I even see one. Butterflies are much like rainbows for me. They are such amazing, lovely creations that I rarely get the chance to see, so I can't help but smile and feel a sense of happiness when I do.

The pretty and playful butterfly motif was featured in the Spring/Summer 09 collections of designers like Badgley Mischka, Collette Dinnigan and Diane von Furstenburg (below).

photos courtesy style.com

These two ladies (below) who attended this year's Royal Ascot races proudly displayed their love for butterflies where everyone could easily see it - on their heads.

photos courtesy dailymail.co.uk

Below are some cute, stylish butterfly options that will have you set for the summer.

Take Flight Butterfly Ring in Gold
Price: US$12.00



Bold Butterfly Plaid Dress
Price: US$22.80

Cocoon - Butterfly Hair Comb
Price: US$35.00

Butterfly Belt
Price: UK£15.00 (US$24.63)

Truly Madly Deeply Butterfly Wing Burnout Racerback
Price: US$19.99

Asos Statement Cut-Out Butterfly Short Pendant
Price: UK£8.00 (US$13.68)

Underwire Ruffle Top & Ruffle Hipster
Price: US$24.50 each

Galleria Tiffany Butterfly Tote
Price: US$40.00

As chic as a peacock

Hey everyone,

First I want to apologize for being absent for so long. I haven't been feeling well this past week so I decided to take a break for a little while. I'm feeling better now so I'll try to get back to posting regularly.

The theme for today's post is the peacock which is one of my favourite animals. I remember visiting to the zoo when I was much younger and there were so many peacock feathers scattered all over the grounds because the birds were allowed to roam freely. I obviously gathered as many as I could, took them home and enjoyed playing many games of "Dress-up" with them.

I still love peacock feathers today and although they're not as abundant as before, I do love using them for various projects when I get my hands on them. The last time I got peacock feathers, I used them to make a haircomb for a friend.




Now what would this post be without a little info on the beautiful bird it's based on?

The term peafowl can refer to the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. These two species are the Indian Peafowl (shown below) and the Green Peafowl.

photo courtesy ladyhalfbreed.files.wordpress.com

A male Peafowl is known as a peacock and the female is called a peahen. The Indian Peacock has iridescent blue-green or green coloured plumage and the Green Peacock has green and gold plumage and the wings are black with a sheen of blue. Both species have a crest atop the head.

photo courtesy subjunctive.net

The extravagant "tail" or "train" of the male peacock is the feature for which these birds are best known and it is proudly displayed when courting females (as seen in the photo above). This is often mistaken for tail quill feathers when it is, in fact, highly elongated upper tail coverts. The train feathers have a series of "eyes" that are best seen when the tail is fanned.

photo courtesy blanc-wall.com

Feathers from the train have long been considered a sign of beauty and knowledge because they are attractive and because they are in the form of an eye.

Peacock feathers or inspired motifs have a unique appearance that when used on clothing and accessories often leads to gorgeous results.

Here are a few lovely items with a peacock theme:

ASOS Peacock Trim Flat Sandals
Price: UK £18.00 (US$38.93)
http://www.asos.com/countryid/1/Asos/Peacock-Trim-Flat-Sandals/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=266983&clr=Purple&SearchQuery=peacock&sh=0

Peacock Lure Earrings
Price: US$24.00
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&navAction=jump&id=14990253&search=true&isProduct=true&parentid=SEARCH+RESULTS&color=07

Peacock Feather Belt
Price: UK £12.00 (US$23.96)
http://www.monsoon.co.uk/invt/39370641

Marais Feather Print Tote
Price: US$34.00
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2985379/0~2378467~2378483~2377034~6007303?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6007303&P=1

Peacock Racerback Tunic
Price: US$19.80
http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=FOREVER21&category%5Fname=tops&product%5Fid=2051097426&showBACK=OK&cookie%5Ftest=1

Wings of a Bird Barrette
Price: US$5.00
http://www.lulus.com/products/Wings+Of+A+Bird+Barrette/9041.html

Los Gatos Clutch - Purple Peacock
Price: US$20.00
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_2&listing_id=13559231

Peacock Feather Ring by Handmade Julz
Price: US$24.00
http://www.shopplasticland.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=P71109507

Vera Bradley Peacock Small Cosmetic
Price:US$18.00
http://www.verabradley.com/Site/Store/ProductDetail.aspx?colorid=59&sku=210%3a59

Daytrip Peacock T-Shirt
Price: US$25.00
http://www.buckle.com/product/product_detail.jsp?prd=50185912P5CF&bmUID=1216823288412

Cool Vintage Finds - Order of the Elephant

Don't you just love it when you get style inspiration from other bloggers? I've been getting quite a lot lately and this post from the very lovely Sharon Rose (thank you dahling!) about sea life prints is the most recent. Now it wasn't exactly direct inspiration, as today's post has nothing to do with the sea, but it did get me thinking about what other rare and unusual motifs are out there.

When I'm on ebay, I tend look at and save a lot more items that I can ever possibly purchase and then forget about them. I went on the site yesterday and saw that I had saved an elephant print dress because I thought it looked interesting and unusual at the time. So I thought it would be cool to make the elephant motif the theme for today's 'Cool Vintage Finds'.

Not surprisingly, this motif was mostly prevalent during the 60s and 70s when hippies were fascinated with other cultures, largely those from eastern Asia where the elephant is a sacred symbol in many of those countries.

Get on the hippie trail with these elephant motif items below.

Vintage 70s Cute Elephant Gold Brass Charm Necklace
Starting Bid: AU $8.00 (US$7.51)

Seller Description:

The necklace is featuring a cute vintage charm of elephant pendant. It is antique brass oxidized finish, which is then lacquered. The charm is from probably 1960-70 era and has a bit tarnished to show it's aging.

Pendant Size: 26mm (H) and 21mm (widest). Pendant Materials: vintage brass ox. Chain Length: 420mm vintage patina brass chain.

AUCTION END: Jun-18-08 06:05:24 PDT (2 days 20 hours)

Get this necklace.

Blue and Gold Elephant Batik Sleeveless Dress
BUY-IT-NOW Price: AU$5.99 (US$5.62)

Seller Description:

Gorgeous Navy Blue & Gold BATIK PRINT Sleeveless Sun Dress
100% Cotton
Made in Thailand
Cute little dress with fabric tie belt at back of dress, slip on style

Condition : excellent

Measurements (double for accuracy)U/arm-U/arm : 52cmWaist : freeLength : 96cm

Get this dress.

Vintage 60s Handmade Leather Embossed Elephant Purse Bag
BUY-IT-NOW Price: US$10.39

Seller Description:

This auction is for a Vintage HANDMADE Leather Purse. Leather is in very good condition for its age. It features embossed color prints of Elephants and other scense from India or Africa. Measures approximately 5" x 4" x 2".

Get this bag.

Vintage Hippie Boho Ethnic Elephant Empire Sun Dress
Starting Bid: US$14.99
BUY-IT-NOW Price: US$55.00

Seller Description:

This vintage dress is so cute! Gray with turquoise blue print of elephants and other little cosmic adornments. Cute little straps. Zips up the back Has cute little empire waist tie in front.

Very good vintage condition.

Measurements (double)
Bust: 30/31", Waist: Up to 30";smaller when ties are cinched, Hips: 37", Length: 52"

AUCTION END: Jun-18-08 19:00:00 PDT (3 days 9 hours)

Get this dress.

Vintage Square Head Scarf Bandana Elephant
Starting Bid: US$0.99

Seller Description:

This is a square 21" head scarf or bandana. Feels like polyester. Has elephants on it. No stains or holes noted.

AUCTION END: Jun-21-08 09:40:14 PDT (5 days 23 hours)

Get this scarf.

Vintage Cotton Indian Ethnic Elephant Dolly Blouse
Current Bid: US$12.30

Seller Description:

Fresh white cotton is crafted into an adorable, slim-fitting sleeveless blouse with a perfectly cute peter pan/dolly collar. Indian-style elephants parade about in warm shades of yellow, orange and purple. Looks amazing worn solo, belted or tucked into your favourite bottom.

Measurements
Chest: 36", Waist: 32", Length: 23"

Condition: EXCELLENT (no flaws)

AUCTION END: Jun-17-08 18:09:41 PDT (2 days 8 hours)

Get this blouse.

Vintage 80s Safari Metal Elephant Animal Chain Link Belt
Starting Bid: US$9.99

Seller Description:

Get wild…with our Sick Thrift safari elephant chain link belt!!! Belt is made in an antique bonze tone metal!!! Features five 3” wide elephants charms linked together with adjustable chain hock closure!!! Goes great worn over anything from swim wear, high waist skirts to mini dresses!!!

Measurements
Width: 37” long from end to end
Total length of elephant portion: 18”
height: 2”

Condition: Perfect!!!

AUCTION END: Jun-17-08 19:30:00 PDT (2 days 9 hours)

Get this belt.