Monday 28 September 2015

Andrea Kett Cards are available in Dirty Fabulous


Make sure your wedding card to the bride and groom stands out from all the others!




Looking for a stylish card for Halloween? You won't find a prettier one!




Holly Parton.... Hah!!!

You know us, we're fan's of all things kitch, quirky, retro and even a little macabre...which is why we're in love with pretty much all of Andrea Kett's illustrated cards.
We've selected some fabulous wedding, ghoulish and dare I say the word in September ... Christmas cards, that we'll be stocking in Dirty Fabulous..
Each card is hand decorated with glitter (everything is better with glitter!) and beautifully drawn.
Some are saucy, some are cute and other are down right hilarious.
Make sure you have a look through them on your next appointment.
You can be the one to give them the best card... the one they stick up on the wall and makes them smile and think that you really know them the best! Competitive? Us? Never...

Thursday 24 September 2015

Pearl and Crystal - The Perfect Pairing!






I know what you're thinking... these photos are adorable right?
Mary came to us looking for a headpiece that would compliment her lace wedding dress and add a little bit of sparkle to her big day.
We were delighted to customise one of our large crystal headpieces with the addition of pearl beading. The pearl accents coordinated beautifully with the ivory tones in her lace dress.
Congrats to Mary and her new hubby!


Monday 21 September 2015

Fashion Inspiration from the Cockatoo! (Yes you read that correctly!)

I think it's crucial not to limit where you take your fashion inspiration from. Whether it's from the obscure: the texture and form of the popcorn your munching on or the mundane: the shade of aged wood on that shed, or the obvious: from a glittering fashion magazine.

Your imagination is limitless so try and absorb everything. It's how all the great fashion designers and stylists work. They don't just sit at home mulling over their desk all day, waiting for their next great idea. They view everything in their world as a possible source of inspiration. The colors of the fruit in that bowl...interesting... The outfit that girl was wearing as she passed...I never would have thought of that... the lampshade in the secondhand shop...what a great pattern...the colour of the sky before a big downpour...would be perfect with that yellow skirt I have!!!

With this in mind, the first thing I though of when I saw Leila Jeffreys series "Biloela - Wild Cockatoos" was what amazing colour combinations they would make for outfits. Nature, being the greatest mood board and stylist of them all, knows how to coordinate!!!

We've a huge affinity with creative work of all forms, so to see more of Leila Jeffreys work and get lost in a world of beautiful and provoking art head over to Artsy






























Thursday 17 September 2015

Harrogate... a lovely destination for pretty much anything!!!

We had a very, very quick overnight break in Harrogate on Sunday and Monday, and we were so pleasantly surprised that I had to share it with you!
I won't lie, my knowledge of English geography is pretty ropey to say the least, so when I saw the "Welcome to Yorkshire" sign on leaving Leeds Airport I did a double take. 
Yorkshire you say... who knew! 
The flight was an unbelievably quick 40 minutes with Ryanair and then we took a £30 taxi to Harrogate, which was about 20 minutes away. I'm sure it would be really easy (and much cheaper) to get a bus but we were in a hurry to get to a Bridal Fair fr work.
Along the way, the scenery was gorgeous, green and lush and the houses, full of old world charm.



After an exhausting day of sourcing a plethora of gorgeous bridal goodies we strolled up to The Fat Badger for some tasty pub grub and a glass of vino. While we were there the locals were having a pub quiz and the ever competitive Caroline signed us up. Hmmm... 
Would you believe we didn't do to hectically in a quiz based on English history, politics and current affairs... It was fun though and a nice way to end the day!

Even though Sunday was taken up fully with work, we managed a few hours sight seeing on Monday before our flight home.
The Montpellier Quarter in Harrogate is a quaint little area packed with cafes and boutiques. It's pretty adorable! The whole town is really easy to navigate and see on foot. We saw quite a bit in a short space of time and what we took in made us want to come back for another visit! 
Apparently, Harrogate came first as the happiest place to live in England, I think that says something about this lovely little town!




 Betty's Tea Room's seems to be a bit of an institution. We passed it several times on our walk around and each time the queues where out the door. It's a big place so I don't think you had to wait long but it really speaks of it's popularity!

We didn't have time to visit the Turkish Baths and Spa so it's on out must see list for next time! 

About twenty minutes before our bus departed we stumbled across Space. A wonderland of vintage and retro accessories, clothing and furnishings. We were gutted that we didn't have more time to have a real rummage through everything here because it was awesome! Right up our street. It was crammed full of vintage treasures for the house. I wanted everything, particularly a vintage chandelier I had spotted but I was pretty sure I wouldn't be allowed to take it home in my hand luggage!













 Above Space was Major Tom's Social, cafe and bar. It looked really quirky and funky and somewhere that we'd love to while away a few hours of an evening. We had missed the geek quiz on Sunday night which I think sounded hilarious. I'm sure we would have done a little better in this than the one we took part in.
While we were there we came across the Harrogate Vintage Trail map. Can't you just see our sad faces when we found this as we were running for the bus!!!

All in all we had a lovely, if brief trip to Harrogate. It's a beautiful Victorian spa town and I think it would be prefect for a break away. There was loads to do for families with oodles of parks, playgrounds and attractions. It's oozes charm and would make quite the romantic getaway as there are lots of fab eateries, walks and hotels.

One of the things that struck me was what a marvelous place Harrogate would be for a glamourous hen party. Don't get me wrong, if willy straws and drinking games are your thing then this is NOT the place for you. It is a sleepy little town but with the Turkish Baths, Yorkshire tea rooms, lovely boutiques and abundance of culture If you were hoping for a more ladylike hen party then you couldn't ask for much more!

Anyway to find out anymore have a look at the tourist site. We'll definitelty be visiting again for a holiday.






Monday 14 September 2015

Edith Head the Grand Dame of Costume Designing

Edith Head was one of the greatest costume designers in Old Hollywood. She was certainly one of the most prolific! She began her career in Paramount Studios in 1924 as a sketch artist for the costume department despite having no experience. In fact, Head revealed that she borrowed sketches from friends who were artists to present at her interview... the cheeky madame!
Lucky for us, when Paramount Studios found out she couldn't draw they laughed it off and told her she better learn how to quick smart... I can't imagine that happening today.

After 44 monumental years Edith moved on to head Universal Studio's costume department at the age of 70. Possibly as a result of Alfred Hitchcock's move there as they collaborated on many movies together. She continued to design for Universal until her death at age 83 in 1981.

She was nominated for a whopping 35 Oscars and won 8 which is a phenomenal amount considering that the world of movies was completely dominated by men.

Edith is responsible for some of the most iconic dresses in Hollywood history. She worked with every major starlet of the time and became great friends with many of them. You can guarantee that if you are watching a movie with Edith Head designs then you are in for a real visual treat.

With Gloria Swanson with whom she worked on Sunset Boulevard (a personal favourite of mine!)

 Apparently Edith Head was the inspiration for superhero designer Edna from Pixar movie The Incredibles... there's only a slight resemblance right?

Edith Head with a model in 1955

Barbara Stanwyck in a 1930's stunning creation

Edith head won an Oscar for her costumes in Elizabeth Taylor's movie: A Place In The Sun. In fact, this design caused an explosive fashion trend with women everywhere clamouring to wear similar dresses to their proms and weddings. It's instantly recognisable as what we refer to today as a vintage prom dress. 
It's one of the styles we get asked for most so you could say we can be thankful to Edith Head for Dirty Fabulous!!!



Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief

 

Ginger Rogers in Lady In The Dark



Rosemary Clooney in White Christmas .... Another favourite movie!

Edith's sketches were incredibly beautiful. It's amazing to see how all the little details drawn could be constructed into fabulous dresses worthy of Hollywood!


 Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. 

Even though Edith Head won an Oscar for the costumes in Sabrina it caused quite a controversy as it's said that many of the outfits worn were designed by a young Hubert de Givenchy. Edith dismissed this and accepted the award solo. (another audacious move by Head!) 



Edith Head worked with Grace Kelly on several movies which included creating this dress for Rear Window. It's often considered one of the most beautiful in cinematic history.


Again, it astounds me how Edith's brilliant sketches are transformed into wearable pieces.
This one is of Shirley MacLaine in What A Way To Go.