Parachute Silk

The inspiration for this post actually came from the daily net-a-porter.com email I subscribe to but I thought I would take the idea and show you exactly how you can wear it.

PARACHUTE SILK
From Mathew Williamson to Chloé, billowing silk has been shown all over the catwalks for Spring/Summer. An elegant, feminine trend which always looks beautiful but is not always practical (or cheap!). I've created 3 looks - day, evening and occasion - to show you that you can wear it from day-to-day.

DAY

Rolled-sleeve t-shirt - Splendid @ fashionbeans.com, pleated silk maxi skirt - Tibi @ net-a-porter.com, black leather clutch - Alexander Wang, suede sandals - Prada, black and gold watch - Michael Kors

EVENING

Silk organza dress - Valentino, patent wedges - Lanvin, black leather clutch - YSL, knotted bracelet - Lanvin

OCCASION
Iris-print silk-chiffon gown - net-a-porter.com, skull diamonte embellished clutch - Alexander McQueen, Palais pump - YSL, gold and blue agate cuff - maxandchloe.com

Ok, I know, they're all stunning pieces but not exactly accessible for the recessionista. But I'm now going to show you with just a few tricks, you can create these looks on a budget.

DAY
Take that canary yellow maxi skirt. I know for sure that with a little bit of rummaging, you can find one similar in a charity shop. It may not be the exact colour but if you spend a few pounds on the skirt and another few on some dye, it's hardly breaking the bank, is it?

And the Prada suede, black platforms. They look fairly similar to these Topshop heels.

EVENING
Now I would agree that the Valentino dress is a little harder (if not impossible) to emulate but a dress similar to these will still create the mood you want.

Left: J.Crew @ net-a-porter.com (£120). Centre: French Connection (£150). Right: French Connection at John Lewis (£135).

And if you layer a black lace body underneath, it adds a little more uniqueness.

Lace body - Topshop (£30)

And as for the Lanvin shoes, a simple pair of black stacked wedges will do the same job. Adding some cheap satin ribbon and tying it in a bow around your ankles will make them look extra sweet.

Wedges - ASOS (£40), scissors - totally my own creation. I would take off that boring ankle strap and instead thread a length of ribbon through.

OCCASION
This look is just that little bit more special/eye-poppingly expensive so it takes some creativity.

The McQueen clutch could be emmulated by starting off with this cheap box clutch and decorating with glue-on diamontes from a haberdashery. Now it would take patience and time but ultimately look glittering at the end of it.

Clutch - Kurt Geiger (£19)

ASOS is a great place to shop for occasion/evening dresses and I found this one for £60. Not too dissimilar, I don't think.



So that's it. My attempt at trying to show you that you can wear what you see on the catwalk and in designer shops, you just need to be a bit smart about it.

Images - Polyvore.com

How-to Make-Up - Inspired by A/W 2011 Catwalk

The last how-to make-up post I wrote has had well over 1000 hits - so I figured it was popular. Since I wrote that post, what seems like, a decade ago, I thought I'd do another one.

I looked at a few make-up styles from next season and picked a few different ones. Comment below if there are any you'd like me to cover.


YSL
This is the purple lip that never was. Although backstage photos show a coloured lip, last minute, Pat McGrath (make-up artist for YSL) decided it didn't suit with the variety of hair colours of all the models and instead opted for a pale peach lip.

This look is very simple to achieve. Flawless skin is the key so use plenty of foundation and concealer to even the skin tone. Keep it matte with finishing powder. Only apply one layer of mascara to top and bottom lashes. Shade eye brows with a brow pencil and use an eye brow brush to smooth the hairs upwards. Skip blusher and apply a lip liner, followed by a matte lipstick in a deep indigo shade (for the daring) or use a pale peach lipstick and apply clear lip gloss on top.


Chanel
This look is again, simple but there is a little bit of extra work to be done around the eyes. Start off with foundation and concealer, making sure to concentrate on the under eye and finish with a translucent powder all over. Use a shimmery silver eye shadow cream (it will make the colour look more dewy than if you use a powder shadow) on the whole eye lid, working it up to the brow bone and into the inner corner and along the bottom lash line. Use a white eye shadow on top to further highlight the inner corner. Use a black kohl pencil to line the top and bottom lash line making sure it meets at the out corners - this helps to define the eyes - and use plenty of mascara on top and bottom lashes. Finish off with a pale matte nude lipstick.


Chloé
This is the new beach babe-style look. Use a foundation in a slightly warmer shade than your natural colour and use a bronzer to define the areas normally hit by the sun (forehead, nose, cheeks, chin). Shade eye brows with a grey/brown brow pencil. Use a shimmery gold cream eye shadow to cover the eye lid and smudge a light brown/orange eye shadow powder up to the brow bone. Smudge a grey/brown eye pencil a long the lower lid and finish with a few coats of black mascara. Dab a little concealer onto the lips and press a nude, matte lipstick on with your finger.


Lanvin
At Lanvin, Alber Elbaz wanted the make-up to look like it was done my the models themselves.

Start, as always, with foundation and concealer and use a translucent powder to fix them on. Shade eye brows with a brow pencil. Use a black eye shadow powder and using your little finger, dab it onto the outer corners of your eye and flick out towards your temples. This may be a little tricky so use a cotton bud to clean up any mistakes. Use lashings of mascara and finally dab a little concealer onto your lips.


Valentino
Like most of these looks, it requires a (as close as possible) flawless complexion so use foundation, concealer and a finishing powder to fix the make-up. Use a highlighter on the cupid's bow. Use a light grey eye shadow powder and sweep across your eye lid and out towards your temples. Then apply it under your bottom lashes and smudge. Apply a couple of coats of mascara and dab a little pale pink lipstick (ideally a creamy one) onto your lips.
All photos are from Style.com





Maria