The Saturday Salute 30.05.09

Image thanks to [Nati]

Let Celestine Chua help you find your purpose on Embrace Living.

Get a girl crush on Johanni and her Wardrobe Project.

"I have lots of clothes I never wear, so I thought I'd make a project of using them. I will go through my wardrobe one garment a day, build a great outfit around it, and take a photo. When I'm finished I'll have a bunch of photos for inspiration whenever I feel I have nothing to wear. And I'll know what I should get rid of."

Find out The Truth Behind Night Owls and Morning People from Divine Caroline.

This is Paris, a gorgeously sordid editorial.

Beauty tips to take you through to Happy Hour.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! I'm off to charity shop and stroll in the sunshine...

How to do 1960’s Style on a Budget

So we’ve covered the fifties, what about the swinging sixties? Peace, love and a helluvalot of eye make-up! If you want that 1960’s look on the cheap then this post is for you.

The Icons

Past ~ Twiggy

Present ~ Duffy

The Colours

The 1960’s colour scheme had two extremes; stark monochrome or psychedelic colours and patterns, including bright orange, yellow and green; you’ve got no chance with middle of the road beige's and brown's. Check out these finds from Old Age on etsy, they have loads of great 1960’s dresses at a steal:

All dresses from Old Age

The Staples

1960's style on a budget is easy with only a few vital items to mix and match with what you already have. Here are a few examples:

Product Information

1. A bright swing or trench coat will do wonders for your mood on those grey days.

2. A framed angular bag will help you store all your goodies in true sixties style.

3. Eyeliner is a must for the 1960’s aesthetic. Get it perfect and it will become the defining component of your look.

4. A sleeveless shift dress is a great option for a sixties summer look.

5. Chunky, colourful jewellery will give any outfit that sixties edge.

6. A few mini dresses in block colours can form the basis of many a great 1960's look.

7. These boots are made for walking. Invest in a stylish pair of 'Go-Go' boots to complement your minis. Great for dressing up or down.

The Hair

Image thanks to LOV-E

Think Bardot; think bouffant; think big! A can of hairspray and a session of backcombing are the only true tools of the trade for this look.

♥ Strawberry Koi Vintage shows you how to achieve a classic bouffant 'flip' look easily.

♥ There is a super simple teased look here.

♥ And a Brigitte Bardot/Amy Winehouse brilliant beehive here.

The Shopping Hotspots

1960’s style, to my mind, isn’t a look that’s hugely ‘in’ right now; the 50’s pin up is far more popular and, for that reason, it’s still possible to find some amazing thrifted items in your local second hand and charity shops.

Dress from Ballyhoo Vintage

Ballyhoo Vintage have some great items, but I think they’re a little pricey so, if you’re serious about the sixties, get out in your local area and scour high and low!

That said, there is a hint of the sixties look creeping into the mainstream stores, so if you’re not a vintage princess, but still want the look, it can be done.

♥ Topshop often have a sixties vibe running through their collections, like this knitted tape dress, easy for mixing and matching.

Dress from Topshop

♥ As always, Modcloth have your vintage inspired look covered with some great 60’s items in bright jewel colours:

Dress by Modcloth ♥ Coat by Modcloth

Extra Inspiration:

♥ Check out this 1960's fashion film shot in Rome.

♥ 60’s fashion from Flickr.


Are you seriously swingin' 60's? Do you have any ideas to add to the mix?

Eclectic Aesthetic 26.05.09

This is how I celebrated yesterday after handing in my final piece of coursework for the academic year - frolicking around my stunning campus! Would you believe I've actually had seminars in the building you can just about see in the second image (click to enlarge!) We call it 'Castle'.

My boy and I nearly got attacked by Mr Swan from the third image, he made a charge at us and, as you can see, all his feathers were up, which I assume means he was telling us who was boss... Still, it meant I got a lovely shot of him.

My outfit was casual but I rather liked it, the colours are bolder than you'll usually find me in:

Yellow Cardigan ♥ Primark
Japanese Design T-Shirt ♥ Mango
Black Denim Skirt ♥ Topshop
Leggings ♥ H&M
Boots ♥ tReds
Bag ♥ Motel Vintage
Scarf ♥ A gift from my parents
Sunglasses ♥ Clothing Federation

Expect lots more of my feature articles now that I'm free of the burden of academic work! I anticipate a very blogtastic summer and even have a few surprises up my sleeve to celebrate Charade's first birthday in August... (!!!) I'm very excited indeed.

Words to Live By #40

Image thanks to ~Xu

"How dull life would be if one was born with the ability to do everything without struggle, endeavour or dedication. There would be no challenges, no sense of achievement, no excitement. If everything was always available to us at any time life would hardly seem worth living - and what boring creatures we would be."
Wendy Grant

Silver Lining Giveaway: The Results

Here it is ladies and gents. The results are in. I popped the number of entry comments with links (which was 13) into a random number generator and the result was 11, meaning...

JUJUJUDITH - You are the winner of this sweet 'Oui' bird charm necklace!

(Fairness guaranteed!)

Please email me with your postal address Judith, and I will whip your prize over to you a.s.a.p. Thanks to all who entered, you lovely bunch you! And, of course, thanks to Silver Lining Jewellery. There are sure to be many more competitions in the future so keep an eye out.

The Saturday Salute 23.05.09

Image thanks to Sean McGrath

Good morning sweethearts! The sun is shining, it's bank holiday weekend, and nothing can dampen my mood (except maybe the 2000 word essay I have due in on Tuesday, doh!) Here's the best of my week's web adventures:

♥ Firstly, a big over-enthusiastic salute to Leia and Sherin of HiFashion for being so darling and sending me this sweet Lush gift! Thanks so much ladies! (Click image to read the message.)

♥ Steve Pavlina talks about Creating a Belief Board. Do it. Seriously.

♥ Zen Habits has 55 Ways to Get More Energy.

♥ Check out The Goddess Guidebook.

♥ And "Dear Liz Sampson, May I please be you? Thanks, Megan."

Happy weekend! And now I return to my essay...

How to do 1950’s Style on a Budget

Are you fascinated by the fifties? Bowled over by Bettie Page? Ridiculously rock’n’roll? Then how about adapting your wardrobe to fit your fetish? This post is all about creating a 1950’s look on a budget. (Click all images for original source.)

The Icons

Past ~ Bettie Page


Present ~ Dita Von Teese

Both of these leading ladies have charm and style in bucket loads, and although you don't have to be quite as racy (ooer!) you can achieve a similarly sassy look easily.

The Colours

The beginning of the 50’s were all about wholesome prints; gingham, polka dot, and often a cute little poodle on the skirt (though you might look a little too ‘in costume’ if you go down that route…)

Dress from Bally Hoo Vintage

Dress from Daddy O's

Later in the decade, the full skirt transformed into the sexier, more streamlined style of a pencil skirt. As you can see, bold red, navy and white are popular colour choices when rocking this look.

Dress from Natasha Bailie

The Staples

If you’re hoping for fifties style on a budget, then there are a few key pieces you’ll want to snap up that will hopefully work with other items in your wardrobe. Here are a few examples:

1. Cheap polo shirts are great for that casual look.

2. A simple scarf can be used as a neck tie or fifties-style headband.

3. Cropped cardigans are also perfectly practical with the overall look.

4. A cute satchel is a wholesome complement to any fifties ensemble.

5. A waist belt is a great way to accentuate the fifties silhouette.

6. A full skirt or full skirted dress in your favourite print or colour.

7. A versatile pencil skirt that will work seamlessly with other pieces.


[All pieces shown are budget friendly options. Check out where to buy here.]


More Staple Suggestions:

♥ Tight, cropped jeans or ‘pedal pushers’ as I’ve always called them.

♥ Capped sleeve check shirts tied in a bow at the waist with…

♥ ...Anything high waist!

♥ As far as shoes are concerned, casual white daps, peep-toe wedges and lace up Mary Jane’s all work.


The Hair

Authentic hair is the single best way to evoke the 1950’s – and you can do that for free!

♥ Casey gives an awesome tutorial here.

♥ Iris is also a gem for the pin-up look.

♥ And Rascal Kosher provides inspiration and cute flower pins!

The Shopping Hot Spots

Dress by Modcloth

♥ Modcloth do a great modern twist on the 1950’s.

♥ Rokit provide awesome vintage pieces.

♥ And Tara Starlet may be a little bit on the pricey side, but surely worth the investment?

Skirt by Tara Starlet

Extra Inspiration:

♥ Check out The Wonderful 1950’s.

♥ Gasp and adore The Freelancer’s Fashion Blog.

♥ Cry Baby is just one film with a fantastic 1950's aesthetic, I wrote about it a while back here in Girls on Film.

............................................................................................................................

Hope this was useful / enjoyable. Check out for my 1960's Style, 1970's Style and 1980's Style 'how to' articles.

Words to Live By #39

Image thanks to Julianne.Hide

"Shoot for the moon.
Even if you miss it you will land among the stars."
Lester Louis Brown

Silver Lining Jewellery Giveaway!

Well, hello, fancy meeting you here. Firstly, this is what I wore last night:

I wore my hair up for the first time in, well, forever, and thought it was rather successful, until the pins clocked off duty about half way through the night and left my tresses annoyingly loose...

But less of that malarkey, it's competition time once again! The delightful Maria, enterprising Brighton University student of Silver Lining Jewellery, was kind enough to send me some little trinkets in the post this week. Et voila:

(Click the images for bigger versions)

She has some lovely, quirky but dainty pieces and, lucky for you, I have a seriously stunning piece to give away. Check it:


So, what you gotta do? To mix it up a bit, and kind of as an 'I scratch your back you scratch mine' thing, for this comp, I'm asking you guys for a favour. Basically, grab this new web banner I knocked up (or one of these guys) and post it on your own little piece of cyberspace. Then, leave a link to it in the comments section of this post and I will pick a winner at random in a weeks time!

<code><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://studentcharade.blogspot.com"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 123px; height: 78px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_76VkVLuoxPE/Sg_-8-EW8GI/AAAAAAAAA9k/VNqfRm7xH7k/s400/web_banner_4.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336764406864212066" border="0" /></a><br /></code><br />

If you've already posted a banner somewhere (p.s. I love you!) you're still free to enter, just link me up.

I'm reeeeally sorry to those of you who don't have a website / blog / myspace where you can do this, but I figured most of you do, and I absolutely promise there will be more competitions in the near future where the normal 'leave a comment' entry will return. Kindly humour me whilst I try this method out.

So, check out Maria's shop, enter the competition, and then carry on about your day in a generally fabulous manner.