Posh style @ the Royal wedding

Are you jealous of Kate Middleton? Not only did she manage to tie the knot with one of the hottest bachelors around (Prince Wills) but she also officially became the Duchess of Cambridge, and became the envy of all fashionistas who watched or heard of the wedding - and yes, this all happened in one day!  So we all know she looked great, and oh lord am I a little obsessed with how she looked on the big day... the hair, makeup, dress - it was all done to perfection.

But for those of you who did watch the wedding you may have noticed that there were many guests who attended who's choices in out fits are also certainly worthy of a mention.

The first obvious fashion guru to look out for would have been Victoria Beckham (a.k.a posh spice). She stunned the crowds wearing a Navy dress from her own line Victoria Beckham.

With the sophisticated number, she wore a classy and pretty bulky matt clutch bag, with stiletto heels and a hat placed in front of a pony tail. Okay, so this look might not be one that most of us could wear and get away with, but as always Victoria Beckham pulled it off in flawless style probably making other guests green in the face with jealousy. Well done Posh!

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Kate & Wills: The dress!

Every girl (secretly) dreams of growing up and marrying a prince. Well yesterday - as those of you from the UK should definitely know, that dream became a reality for Kate (Catherine) Middleton.  Having been on and off for a little over nine years, Prince William finally tied the knot with Kate at Westminster Abbey in London.

Thousands of people gathered around the root from the palace to Westminster Abbey to have a look at the royals, the celebrities but most of all to catch a glimpse of Kate in her Alexander McQueen wedding dress. The likes of Vogue, ELLE and all the other fashion gurus have been referring to her wedding dress as the best kept secret in fashion for the last decade. They praised Sarah Burton at the house of McQueen for her work, and could not have explained any more how gob smacked they were that they had managed to keep the beautiful gown as such a secret. 

 These pictures show Kate Middleton herself minutes before being announced wife to Prince William of Wales - and can you really say you've ever seen anything quite like it? Didn't think so.

 Sarah Burton told The Telegraph:

"I am delighted that the dress represents the best of British craftsmanship. Alexander McQueen's designs are all about bringing contrasts together to create startling and beautiful clothes and I hope that by marrying traditional fabrics and lacework, with a modern structure and design we have created a beautiful dress for Catherine on her wedding day . Catherine looked absolutely stunning today, and the team at Alexander McQueen are very proud of what we have created."

I think it is most probably safe to say that high street wedding dress designers will be mimicking this design for years to come - and why not! We all deserve to look as beautiful as this on our wedding days.

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That summer time feeling...

It is the beginning of Spring, but feels to me like the beginning of Summer. I will not be going on holiday this year, so wont be drinking cocktails out of pineapples (yes, I am jealous of those of you who will be doing so), but this doesn't mean that I wont be sipping on them whilst sat out in the sun reading through my back issues of Elle Magazine: after all that is my idea of harmony.

So having thought of what cocktails I would like to try first  in the 'come and get a sun tan' weather, I decided that I would have a go at making some. One that i surprisingly have never tried, but have always wanted to would be the cosmopolitan. To make this super sophisticated looking cocktail you will need a cocktail mixer as well as a fabulous looking glass (or pineapple) to put it in! 

So here goes... 

You will need:

•   1 shot vodka
•  1/2 shot triple sec
• 1/2 shot cranberry juice
•  1/2 shot lime juice

Add ingredients to cocktail mixer, shake shake shake, and your done. However or wherever you drink it, remember to drink responsibly and enjoy your day / night!

What is your ideal summer drink? Will you be drinking yours out of a pinneaple?

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Happy Easter!

Being twenty years old - I thought I would be slightly past the age where you get an Easter egg . How wrong was I... I think my mother got a bit over excited with the fact that we are all home, and went out with the intention to buy as many Easter eggs as she could. So, we all got an Easter egg from the hen of the house - but I did notice that whilst everyone else had a mug with theirs... mine came with a wine glass. Maybe my parents are trying to tell me something? I will keep you updated.

So anyway... Happy Easter - the above photograph is from Melbourne fashion week, and I thought it fitted perfectly!

Face to watch out for: Tali Lennox

If you haven't heard of this girl already then you really must ask yourself where you've been hiding from the fashion front! With her stunning good looks, Tali Lennox (yes, progeny of Annie Lennox - who could forget her) has already walked the runways for the likes of Prada, Burberry and Miu Miu, and apparently is set to be a big hit next season! Keep an eye out as she seems set on a big future in the fashion industry.

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Ombre Dye - the new look for summer 2011

Now some of you who read my blog on a regular basis will have noted that I have previously blogged about the technique of dip dying.  As much as I love love loved it, it may seem a bit daring for some so this evolved more understated version will ensure your luscious locks are the envy of all hair & beauty gurus!

The general take on this trend is that you dye the body of your hair (steering clear of your roots) a slightly lighter shade than your natural hair colour. This creates an illusion that your hair colour has changed naturally by the heat and light of the sun... brilliant! Celebrities to embrace the look include Alexa Chung, Rachael Bilson, and Lauren Conrad.  It looks refreshing, and is just the thing to do if your looking for something different to do to a boring barnett.

So how do you do it?!

It is basically the same as the technique of dip dye hair but you need to add more length to the foils and use hair lightener  or lighter dyes rather than brightly coloured hair dye to get the desired sun kissed look. It looks at its best in choppy layered hair  as then you really get to see the different shades of colour.

Here is  a little guide from Regis hair salons:

If your dying your hair rather than lightening it, I would suggest you do it at a salon, but if you are feeling adventurous, have a go at doing it yourself!

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Its been a while...

Well bloggers, it's been a while and I am sorry to say that my excuse is that I have been over occupied with my university degree work. I know, I know, stress should not affect valuable blogging time... so I'm going to make it up to you.

Look forward to a long weekend of fashion updates, news, fashion guides, reviews and gossip.

I promise it's worth it. Wait & see.

FASHION NEWS

Agyness Deyn and Henry Holland have recently been officially confirmed to be running the London Marathon this weekend. They will be running as part of the Oxglam fashion force (in aid of Oxfam) to raise money for their London Marathon project that aims to change less fortunate lives around the world.

Having recently returned from a visit in Boznia Henry blogged about his experience:

“We visited the Buhangija school for kids with special needs and were surprised to see that a lot of them were albino. Then it was explained to us that in 2006, there was a spate of killings in Tanzania with people killing albino children for good luck.”

“So so sad; these kids had been taken in by the school for their own protection and the school was therefore oversubscribed and in desperate need of a new dormitory. Heartbreaking.”

Oxglam hope to raise money that will contribute towards helping people around the world who live in these kind of nightmare - ish conditions.

To donate and help these fashionistas reach their £1 million target please click on the link below. Whether you can afford to donate £5 or £500 please do... every penny helps.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=oxglam&faId=78977&isTeam=true

Do you think Agyness Deyn will run the marathon as well as she struts the runway?

Leave your thoughts and comments below!

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Customized denimz... make it unique!

So for those of you who may not have caught on yet - the new way to have denim this season is to have it customized. Designers like Jaeger and Betsey Johnson are big fans of this craze, and considering how easy it is to achieve - so should you be! Below are a few photos I have taken of the jacket I customized - formerly a completely plain denim jacket from Topshop, modeled by my lovely sister Zoe.

First things first - I cut off the three quarter length sleeves and chopped the jacket at waist length. I then decided to gather bits / remnants and samples of fabric - literally anything I could find around the house. I found some pink PVC, skull bone printed cotton, netting and velvet amongst many other snippets that I sewed onto the jacket in no particular order, overlapping one another to get the edgy look.

To add more detail and co ordination to the jacket I firstly, found a piece of gothic rose print fabric and decided to cut out all the roses individually to sew onto the jacket. I then found an old denim skirt I had from Primark that was embellished with strips of studs. Studs are rare to come across in haberdashery stores so I decided to cut the strips off and to sew them along the collar and button holes of the jacket to make it that little bit more funky. 

I then added shearling onto the collar (which I had to hand sew as it was a little too thick for my machine), hemmed the edges and to finish it off scoured some scissors down the edges and arm holes of the jacket to give it a distressed touch.

I really cannot tell you how easy denim jackets are to customize. Their bang on trend and you can do it to suit your own individual style, making your version as rock chic, girly, vintage or edgy as you wish! Get the scissors out because I know for a fact you have an old jacket or denim shirt that could really do with this kind of TLC.

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Get Lippie

I thought since I always mention bright lip-sticks in my blog posts I would give you all a little idea of what I mean. My favourite brand for amazingly bright and lasting colour has to be Barry M. My favourite shade at the moment is shade 117 - a bright orange that looks brilliant with minimal makeup. Remember when you choose to have your lips this bright... steer clear from any coloured eyeshadow. We don't want to look like krusty the clown now to we?

Barry M products can be purchased online or in stores such as Superdrug, Boots or any other good pharmacists or drug stores internationally.  They retail between £3 and £5 too so their not only a must have      right now, but their also just such a steal!

Grand National Weekend: What to wear

Its Grand National weekend, which is brilliant... but I've never really personally understood the hype. I'm not going to go into trying to figure out why that is but I'm sure you don't mind as I really doubt you'd want to be sat here all day finding out why either. But either way this year more than ever I have found that most of the people I hang around with are to sum up in one word - obsessed. Most of the boys I know are placing down their bets - if they haven't already. Most of the girls I know seem intrigued on what the celebs and A Lister's will be wearing to the events, basically everyone seems very enthused about the Grand Nationals.

So I have decided to stop being such a grump - and get myself involved! How will I be doing this? I will be telling you the hottest must have items - in true Grand National 'theme' -  to be seen wearing this weekend. If your expecting ladies day dresses and over sized hats, then you really might as well stop your race tracks now. The choices I will be bringing to your attention this morning are all very now, quite contemporary and can be dressed up or down for any occasion... wherever you will be this fine weekend.

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The first steal I have found has to be this top. It is from ASOS and is only £15. What a dream! For a direct link click here.  This top is perfect for a day at the races or to be seen wearing whilst sipping on some expensive cocktails bought with your boyfriends winnings.
To dress down team with some turned up denim jeans, a lighter shaded denim jacket, or a cardigan with a pair of brogues and minimal makeup apart from a brightly coloured lipstick. Think neon pink or orange.

To dress up for the occasion, wear the top with leather shorts, or a muted coloured middi skirt with a fabulous pair of heels. For examples, click here, here or here.

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The next must have item on the list is sure to be these knee patch leggings from H&M. They certainly capture an essence of Grand National weekend in true jockey - esque style.
These are fab and there is no way you will be able to live without them this summer. Perfect for the horse racing season, they will add instant glamour to any outfit - though I would recommend you team them with a plain top to ensure nothing is taken away from the general jist of the look. Take it from me, sometimes too much really is too much. Worn with a white off - cut t shirt, blouse or vest however, and you'll be worthy of the fashion limelight rather than a fashion disaster.

To keep it simple wear it with flats: think brogues, loafers or dolly's for the day time, and swap them with serious platforms for a great night time look. If you want to get even more in season then find yourself a brightly coloured clutch  with clashing jewellrey and need I say it again?... some brightly coloured lip stick.

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Remember... as usual, None of the pictures / photographs in this post are intended to breach any forms of copy right. All images are for viewers purposes only.

Get reading: National book week

So, for those of you who might not know - I've finally travelled home for the Easter holidays! I will be home for a good three and a half weeks... meaning ill have a good chance to visit all the family and to get back in touch with my country roots.

I plan to bake, sew, knit, eat lots of easter eggs and celebrate the royal wedding - in one way or another. And no need to worry as I assure you i will be blogging about everything as soon as I get the chance.

First things first though I want to start reading a book. Its national reading week this week, which means in all honesty we should all try to make a little time to read something we wish we could - but never have the time too.

The thing that puts me off reading novels apart from my lack of time,  is the fact that there are so many books out there that its kind of hard to choose what will suit your taste. Do I go for a biography? a fictional story? a historic period drama? a Sci-fie? or even a self help book? So much choice.

I decided to ask around to get a general jist of whether or not there are any books out there that people like myself enjoy. Most of the people I asked pointed me a book called Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Apparently it is a novel 'that every young woman should read' according to my mother (who is often wright about most things). So I shall start reading it tonight - and update you on what I think about the books beginning!...

To read a review on the book Rebecca click here.

Twitter bug

I have finally (after many attempts) created a Twitter account... and I shall actually be sticking to it this time. This means you can actually keep up with what I'm doing and what events I'm at in between blog posts. So tweeters feel free to add me / follow me and tweet back to my posts! Ill try my best to be nice n tweet everyone back asap... seems like a bit of fun!

Click here for a direct link to my Twitter profile: Typedupthoughts // Louise Dawson

INDUSTRY EVENT

"Dress for the job you want... not the job you have."  

- Jenny Dickinson, Deputy editor of Elle UK.

"Make no job too large or too small"
- Alexandra Shakespeare, Web editor Haper's Bazaar.

These were amongst the many advising tips that I picked up from industry editors at a fashion journalism event yesterday evening. Having always forever wanting to work at Elle magazine I was star struck to meet the deputy editor (soon to be acting editor) of the best selling print magazine just yesterday evening.

An industry event was being held at my university and Id had my ticket a week ago, so as you can imagine seven days on from getting the invitation - I did feel a bit nervous. But to my surprise they were lovely, friendly, approachable and chatty... nothing like the pre conceptions we seem to have of fashion editors nowadays think Anna Wintour who has the reputation of an ice queen because her mannerisms are supposedly very abrubt and cold to those below her rank - Safe to say I dont believe this is true after meeting Jenny and Alexandra. 

They gave great advice  and tips on how to suceed in the industry and reassuringly blew out all rumours of mode styled, white and bitchy offices: apparently the Elle offices are anything but - grey, stained, aging carpets with a team of co - workers who get on well and all count to the success of the magazine. 

According to both Jenny and Alex, both companies i.e. Elle and Harper's Bazaar are always looking for interns and often keep them on for as long as possible as they are oh so handy to have running around the offices helping out with jobs that other people may not particularly want to do. They said that the vital things to remember are to dress to impress - after all you are going to a fashion magazine - not the dry cleaners, and to know the publication inside out. They also mentioned that whilst they like those who have managed to get some work experience in the bag, they prefer people who show initiative and have done things for themselves, attempted in starting a magazine, clothing line or blog like there is no tomorrow. Basically if you put the work in... your set to rack in the rewards.

Before I go - I think ill be nice and fill you in on what you probably want to find out most: what were they wearing? 

In true expected style, Jenny Dickinson (deputy editor of Elle) strutted her way into the event room wearing a grey matt sequin embelished jumper, tucked into a panneled knee length black A - line skirt with some grey knitted tights and Cerise pink suede stilletouhes with a patent rouge heel. Genious. 

Alexander Shakespeare (Web editor of Harpers) took a chic take on the nautical trend that is set to re occur this up and coming season. She wore pinn legged trousers, with a blue and white sailor style striped top and finished the look off beautifully with a navy blazer.