Monday 2 July 2012

Glorious Garments Five Summer Staples, Edition 2012

I've been a bad blogger of late. A mixture of a hectic social week, long hours at work and not to mention outfit planning for all the events I have coming up means when I get home all I want is my bed! So thought I would ease myself back into the blogging loop by taking all our minds off of the horrendous weather we're experiencing to look at Glorious Garments' five summer staples. 

With lots of visits this summer, festivals and Brighton Gay Pride already on the calendar it's high time to start planning my outfits and no doubt all you fashion obsessives will be seeking out their 'must have' items. 

Some odd choices appear in my 'Top Five' for summer, but trust me in that these will dominate London this year, and will seep out to the rest of the UK throughout the rest of the year:

Summer staple number 1...

JELLY SHOES ARE BACK. Yes, the shoes which as a little girl you would get super excited about every summer, is nigh on 2012's fashion radar. Azealia Banks, undoubtedly the most  talented artist to emerge this year, sported jelly shoes at a fancy event at London's Serpentine Gallery recently. Combining a Moschino Cheap and Chic dress with jelly shoes is a bold move, however this lady really pulls it off and makes me want to rush out and purchase a pair of glittery jelly shoes for the summer...

Azealia Banks, Moschino Cheap n Chic dress and jelly heels

I adore the Juju Babe 80s Jelly Sandals, which can be purchased at Mr Shoes. I'll be purchasing the aqua pair to wear with my weekend outfits - namely mini-dresses and shorts and long tops, and a black glittery pair to pair with my monochrome polka dot numbers through my working week...

Juju Babes Jelly Sandals, £21.99

Summer staple number 2...

As any of you who have read my blog would know, I love flowers, hair accessories and Lana Del Rey. The floral hair crown sported by LDR has already been credited as my accessory of 2012 and makes it into the list for my Top 5 Summer Staples. Your floral crown can be worn with an array of outfits, from maxi to skater dresses, and makes for a great girly quirky injection to any outfit. My favourite is from Rock N Rose - I would definitely check out this website, they offer some amazing items. If you're a bit cash strapped and in East London, pop by Brick Lane vintage market at a weekend as on Sunday I noticed homemade floral crowns cropping up on various stalls for a bargainous £15...

Rock N Rose Florence Oversized Floral Crown,  £36

Image courtesy of Rock N Rose

Summer staple number 3...

The cuff bracelet can really make an outfit and for the past few years, I've sported two on each arm. I always have some sort of chunky jewellery on, be it oversized earrings, a torque necklace or quirky bangle however at the moment I can't stop wearing chunky cuff bracelets. It's pretty organic where you buy your cuff bracelet from, however Zara and H&M offer some really interesting, affordable cuff bracelets at the moment. 

NOTE! A key tip to stop your cuff going green is to coat in clear nail varnish, which keeps those pesky green marks at bay. Here's me below sporting cuffs bracelets, ultimately a key staple not only for summer but this year...

Monki silver sweep cuff and H&M cuff with white stone, June 2012

Matching H&M silver/white stone cuff, June 2012

H&M gold chain cuff,  January 2012

Primark torque and Primark gold cuff (two on each arm), October 2011
Summer staple number 4...

Trainers. I never thought I would say that. Namely platform trainers a la these ladies...

Spice up your life with Buffalo trainers
Buffalo trainers ruled the day back in the late 90s and I loved my white pair - the day my mum threw them out still remains one of the saddest of my life. Luckily, I'm 24 now and my mum lives hundreds of miles away so I can purchase a pair of platform trainers and be safe in the knowledge she won't be here to chuck them out. ASOS do amazing platform trainers at the moment, which I'll be buying very soon, particularly the DECO gold pair  which will make for my perfect summer shoe along with jelly heels...

*** TOTAL LUST ALERT ****

ASOS DECO gold flatform trainer, £30


Summer staple number 5...

Not so much an item or fashion trend, rather something that we should embrace every summer and that  is vintage fashion. Summer allows us the chance to be footloose, feminine and fancy-free and no other fashion style suits this than vintage. Embrace your femininity this summer and sport girly dresses and give it a 2012 twist by pairing with platform trainers and a floral hair crown. Mix and match the old with the new, something summer really accommodates for and which I take full advantage of year by year. 

Last year, I sported vintage florals with bralet tops and colour pop...

Vintage sequin bralet and home-made floral skirt, July 2011

Vintage dress, July 2011
2012 will see me taking inspiration from the past with a 2012 twist by donning my summer vintage with converse trainers and gold hoops, a la a mix of Rita Ora and Grace Kelly. It may not work - but hey, it's summer!!!

Vintage dresses with Converse, image courtesy of Michellemoreblog.com

Hope you enjoyed Glorious Garments' guide to summer fashion :) 

Emma x












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