Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Autumn/Winter
Avenue 32 Wishlist – Chayalan
2One of my favourite places to look for fashion inspiration is Avenue 32, and during a recent browsing session I came across Avenue 32’s new designer Chalayan. Hussein Chayalan’s unique pieces are extremely modern and adopt clean, sculptural shapes; a style that I’ve really come to appreciate as my interest in fashion has grown. His current collection featured on Avenue 32 really captures the colours and forms of Autumn, my favourite time of year, and I’ve managed to build up a fairly extensive Chayalan wishlist! Here are my favourite pieces from the website. The image is clickable for a closer look.
Grey Wool Knit Sleeve Coat – £1150 / Multi Metallic Signature Leggings – £680 / Oxblood Wrap Maxi Dress – £1260 / Petrol Cross Over Maxi Dress – £1020 / Black Signature Leggings – £240 / Oxblood Cup Sleeve Jumper Dress – £570
This summer was all about the maxi for me, and the two maxi dresses above are perfect for a smooth transition into Autumn without having to shed the maxi trend. The Oxblood Wrap Maxi Dress is my favourite piece from the whole collection, as its Gothic influences and elegant shape are the style I’m aspiring to this season. I’m also a fan of colour blocking, and the Petrol Cross Over Maxi Dress takes it into a whole new dimension by cutting into the colour with an exposed black satin lining.
One of my wardrobe staples for this time of year is leggings, mostly black as they go with anything, hence why I’ve included Chayalan’s Black Signature Leggings in my wishlist, but his Multi Metallic Signature Leggings also really caught my eye. The iridescent colours remind me of the backs of beautiful beetles, and would lend well to a dramatic day or evening look when worn with a simple black outfit.
Another Autumn essential has to be knitwear, and Chayalan gets it so right. I usually struggle to find coats that I love, but I absolutely adore his Grey Wool Knit Sleeve Coat. Its simple, angular silhouette is just stunning, and the combination of fabric textures give it an added edge. The Oxblood Cup Sleeve Jumper Dress is also simple, but its heavy knit looks so snug. I can just imagine it being teamed with a pair of chunky boots and a huge statement necklace.
Which Chayalan piece is your favourite?
Naomi x
*This post is a collaboration.*
Celliana Spike and Peace Bracelet
7I was recently given the opportunity by Sarah at Celliana to choose a gorgeous piece of jewellery from their new Regal Treasure collection. Celliana are a UK-based, online jewellery design company who put a lot of thought and care into creating exclusive yet affordable pieces. Their jewellery combines contemporary high fashion and traditional crafting techniques to bring you exciting designs which fit but also transcend current fashion trends, and every single item is designed by the company’s own small team of talented designers.
I actually found it quite difficult to pick just one piece when browsing the Regal Treasue collection as there are so many stunning pieces, but in the end I settled for a simple yet versatile bracelet – their Spike and Peace Bracelet, which costs just £4.00.
When I first received the bracelet I was really impressed with the way it was presented. It came in a little black drawstring pouch with a label attached, which in turn was in a Celliana branded bag-like ‘envelope’ – a lot more luxurious and far more personal than just being thrown into a jiffy bag!
The Spike and Peace Bracelet is very well made. The black cord which forms the bracelet is very tightly braided which makes it extremely strong, so there’s no worry that the bracelet will snap, and it has an adjustable cord fastening so it will fit any wrist comfortably without the chance that it will slip off or feel too tight.
The gold, metal-look peace sign and spike beads are woven securely into place, and have a decent weight and shine to them which gives them a look of real metal! I’ve found that, with some badly made bracelets, any protruding beads have the tendency to slip around and point in different directions, which can get quite annoying. However, the spike beads in this design stay pointing in the direction they’re supposed to, which is a sign of a good quality product in my eyes!
Celliana’s Spike and Peace bracelet sits really nicely on the wrist and is perfect for this season’s trend for stackable bracelets, and luckily at £4.00 it is cheap enough to invest in a few pieces from their website for a more dramatic look! It also fits the Autumn/Winter trend for all things Gothic, what with the spikes and black and gold contrast, which looks beautifully classy.
Celliana will be launching four Autumn/Winter 2012 collections over the next few months, with Regal Treasure being the first. They have also recently released their rather feminine Elegant Rose collection, but there are still two more amazing collections to come so keep an eye out!
Naomi x
