Unlikely style icon #3567

Yet another of my unlikely style icons. Liz Hurley in cheesy noughties film, "Bedazzled". The block colour, split silk dress and floral crown is oh so 2013.

2000...

2013...

Rihanna, Calvin Klein, 2013

I love a trend that comes around again and again. Cost effective and knowing if it worked before, it "should" work again. 

PS) Check out my beauty giveaway here:
http://gloriousgarments.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/gg-valentines-giveaway.html

GG Valentine's Giveaway

Oh first date woes. Never great are they. I'm attached however for all the single ladies out there, the trauma and drama that comes with prepping for a date are endless, from shaving our legs to plucking our brows and ensuring we don't have toooooo garish a dress on - it's a mission in itself to prepare for a date! 

My very first Glorious Garments Giveaway (alliteration) is for a Mystic Tan session at the Tanning Shop, you can find various stores throughout the UK. Check our their website here for your nearest shop. Offering a selection of four tan levels: glow, light, medium, or dark, Mystic Tan HD airbrush sweeps across your skin to magically transform even the palest skin types into a bronzed goddess.Whether dark skinned or fair (like me!) The Tanning Shop’s Mystic Tan HD ensures there is a natural, perfectly even looking tan for everyone.

To be in with a chance of winning:

1. Follow my blog via Bloglovin and/or follow me on Twitter @EmmaMartinRed

2. Tweet Tweet:

I've entered @EmmaMartinRed competition to win a Valentine's Tanning Shop session. Enter here - http://gloriousgarments.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/gg-valentines-giveaway.html #bbloggers 

Please leave a comment below to let me know you've entered and so I can see your tweet. The competition will close on Thursday 7th February with the winner chosen at randon. This will to allow me enough time to post your voucher and book your session. 

Good luck guys!

Summer 2013 Thoughts...

It's so cold just now I can't stop thinking about summer. Crazy to think I'll have lived in London for two years come July this year! 

Upon reading an old Grazia review of arguably London's coolest park London Fields, I'm already dreaming of spending my summer months there again, a mere 20 minute walk alongside Hackney's beautiful Regent's Canal, dozing around in hippy headbands (yes they're making a resurgence) and floaty vintage dresses...

My big thing this summer will be headbands and stripes and what better way to combine the two than my stripy hippy headband from four years ago...

A new fashion icon the making...

Not sure how many of you know of Alpines, those who produce wonderful electro/dub-steppy/dancey beats. They are my favourite band at the moment - the Creep remix of "Empire" is amazing. You may also know of them from the Sub Focus "Tidal Wave" tune which seems to be everywhere just now. 

I love a good old fashion film and after seeing their song "Drive" used in a fashion film by Rankin for designer Hannah Marshall it reinforced to me that this is one of those bands a la Goldfrapp who utilise their imagery as much as their music to make one huge overall impact. Love it. 

Lead singer Catherine Pockson is definitely one to watch in the style stakes. Slightly gothic, slightly East London cool, I love the way she styles simple classic tailoring with OTT accessories or if there is a rather OTT garment, leaves the rest of the look simple. This is something I've learned to do over time, whereas before just having everything OTT. I love taking a black dress and pairing with dark violet lipstick and a hair piece or wearing a dramatic dress with very simple make-up and accessorizing, a la the Alpines:

Just how important is an artist's 'look' to their music? Do you like the Alpines style as much as me?

This weekend I'm off to see "Django Unchained", then going to the British Film Institute for a wedding themed film premiere and drinks with the stars (exciting!) and cooking Burns Supper for all of my fellow exiled Scots in London. Hope you have a good one too!

'MADE YOU LOOK'

My friends had a triplicate 26th birthday party at my flat last weekend which was lots of fun whereby we ended up disco dancing in my living room to Minaj. Why does this always happen?!

To dress up for the special occasion  I popped in to Topshop Oxford Circus on Friday afternoon to seek an accessory for my red lace Miss Selfridge dress I picked up in the sale from the Oxford Circus store next door. I had went in to Beyond Retro in central LDN to find the over sized hair bow I've been lusting after yet to my absolute despair they had sold out of them. Must try the Dalston branch...

Anyways, as any readers of my blog may know I love a good old hair accessory - any size, shape, style I'm on it. So coming upon this amazing wee headband in Topshop I knew I was on to a winner. After the havoc my cat ears caused in Scotland I also thought it would be funny to inject a sense of humour in to my style, something I do like to revel in - all about the shock tactics!

Here's me in said headband via the medium of Instagram where you can follow my various OOTDs and general goings on on @EmsGloriousGarments...

Do you like daft headbands as much as me...or am I in a minority here?

ixie Lott for Rock 'N Rose

Perusing over Pixie Lott's birthday ensembles at the weekend, I realised WOW this girl has style...

From the chic and simple outfits topped off with a crazy hair accessory or two this girl is totally nailing it in the fashion stakes and is my current style icon. So much so that when my friend and I spotted her a few weeks ago in American Apparel on Oxford Street (in cat ears FYI) we followed her ever so subtly around the shop (creeps)...

I've long been a fan of the floral headband and cat ears accessories myself as you can see in some of my photographs below...

Homemade floral crown

Boohoo Cat Ears

You can get Pixie's look and buy these headpieces from her own collection on Rock 'N Rose. Albeit a little pricey, I love love love this collection and will definitely be purchasing a headpiece for my upcoming 25th Birthday celebrations.

*** Images of Pixie Lott courtesy of the Daily Mail online. 

Peach Melba

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD.

Could I love Amy Adams in this nude/peach Marchesa number at the Golden Globes? NO. She looks brilliant and this is EXACTLY the look I want for my wedding dress.

Now off to go out and pull out my old peach dress from underneath the bed...

London Life # 1

The thing I love about living in London is the multitude of things going on. Coming from a small town in the North East coast of Scotland, all my youth was spent craving city life, so off to Glasgow I went in for a degree and lots of fun. 

Internship after internship in PR and Communications led me on to my Communications career path in London, in a job I love. My day is filled with writing and networking with people, two of my favourite hobbies, and my evenings spent making the most of living in central London. Twitter is my ultimate tool in finding out what is going on and without this, my London living experience wouldn't be half as varied as it currently is.

After a quick Twitter scout, I visited the Barbican near my work specifically to visit the Random International: Rain Room exhibition. As a huge fan of installation art, modern art was (ironically) my favourite subject during my History of Art studies. Artists such as Vito Acconci and Matthew Barney captivate me for their sheer madness and ingenuity so I'm always on the look out for any interesting conceptual and installation art exhibitions in London. 

Random International brought us the Rain Room in October of last year and is as the word describes - a rain room. A queue awaits to lead you down into a darkened room beneath the Barbican, anticipation building as to what lies below. Once you get passed the door you're led to what appears to be a soaking wet room. Then, albeit slightly frightened of getting soaking wet, you venture in and find - you don't get wet! This display in fact utilises clever technology to make it seem as if you were controlling the weather. After spending a few minutes in the 'rain' you're then led out as dry as you were when you entered the Barbican - if it wasn't raining already, which London does quite a lot. 

Random International are described by the Barbican website as "...known for their distinctive approach to digital-based contemporary art. Their experimental artworks come alive through audience interaction and staged performance." I found their work to be unique, interesting and very 'of this age'. We control our entire lives through technology so why not the weather?

I loved this display and fully recommend you all take a visit before it closes on 3rd March 2013.

Have you been to the Rain Room and if so did you enjoy it? Are there any other interactive art displays you've visited recently?

Style Icon of the Month - Solange

I thought I'd kick start my 'official' post for 2013 (keep...typing 2012...ARGH) with a lady whose style I have admired for a LONG time. Solange aka. sister of Beyonce, Knowles. 

Her stylists, New York based sisters Ogo and Chichi Offodile, have done a brilliant job in taking Solange's style as far away from her sister as possible, a hard feat to achieve given how bloody brilliant Beyonce is. Here is just a selection of some of my favourite Solange looks...

So, how can you get Solange's look? Here's my tips on how to 'Achieve the Look' below:

1) Make use of the tailored suit trend. You may think it won't work but it will - the high street offers a wide range of styles suited to every shape and size. If in doubt, try your suit with shorts rather than trousers.

2) Block colour, block colour, block colour. As a redhead I stray as far away from neon pink as I can but find that emerald greens and blues suit me as I have green eyes. Take your hair colour, skin colour and eye colour into account when choosing your block colour - trust me there will be a colour which suits you!

3) Don't be afraid to pair a strong outfit with bright lipstick. Solange proves this rule can indeed be broken.

4) The clutch bag can be your outfits best friend. Note how Solange always sports a clutch - you can find similar clutches from Zara. See my favourite Solange esque clutch here. 

5) Don't be afraid of pattern clashing. This trend dominated the catwalk throughout 2012 and I don't foresee it dying down anytime soon. Solange proves this albeit tricky trend can be pulled off, just pair with simple accessories and make-up and you're good to go. 


You can shop Solange's look by visiting ASOS Africa line, which has all the hallmarks of archetypal African styling, from batik dyed shorts to bright poppy colours and I reckon Solange would be all up in that. Zara also stock various Solange esque outfits, so pop in to see what gems you can find!

Finally, click here for my favourite Solange tune off her recent album - it's a corker and the styling and cinematography of the video A-MAY-ZING. I'd also fully recommend her new album "True" - with such a unique sound and voice, she is arguably the female Frank Ocean and will be one to watch in 2013. 

What do you think of Solange's style?

Glorious Garments for 2013...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

So as we head in to a new year, armed with my new iPad (thanks dad) I can now start the blogging all over again! This year I really want to put 100% into my blog as it has really been deserted of late. Combo of work, social events and London Life when mixed with a broken laptop makes for one sad empty blog. It was going well before said laptop died a death, however this will now change!

This year, equipped with my new technology, I'll aim to bring you...

1) Outfit posts! This is something I've technologically not been able to do so far, however really want to share with you all what I wear to give you an insight in my style and likes and dislikes.

2) Some lovely new designers for 2013, of course!

3) London Life - this section will aim to cover all of the things my friends and I get up to in London, be it films I've seen (FYI - I am a HUGE cinema fan), to clubs I've discovered and restaurants I go to. Pop up restaurants are the thing of choice for 2013 I reckon. I also hope to enlist some of my cronies into this part of my blog too by recommending places and things to do and giving me reviews. 

I really miss writing my wee blog, I can't get enough of writing. I do it as my full time job in Communications and hand on heart read the dictionary for enjoyment so my New Year resolution is to bring this blog back to life and interact with as many fashion and lifestyle bloggers as I can.

Here's to a GG filled 2013!

Miaow! Like my cat ears?! I've received some odd looks and been called Catwoman on many an occasion but animal ear accessories are MY thing for January 2013. Get this fabby pair from Boohoo for a bargainous 8 squid. Bloody brilliant.