Ideal vs real life NYE

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! Let's talk about New Year's...

In an ideal world we would all be going to glamorous dinner parties dressed in stylish designer clothes, looking nothing but flawless. We would mingle with amazing and inspiring people, drink delicious cocktails and exclusive champagne, and wake up feeling perfectly fine without a hangover the next day. Unfortunately I'm not a millionaire and I can't afford a designer outfit, but if I could you betcha I would be wearing something like this for my glamorous New Year's party:

As you can see I've gone for a black and gold style, which I find very suitable for a sparkly New Year's party. The dress is one of the example dresses from my last post about Christmas and New Year's Eve dresses. The to-die-for bag is from Jimmy Choo, the earrings are Gucci, and the gorgeous shoes are Yves Saint Laurent.

In the real world I will probably cook dinner for myself at home, and then go to one of the local pubs with my friends, wearing jeans and a simple top... waking up with a horrible hangover on the 1st of January. Happy New Year!

Evening dresses for Christmas and New Year's Eve

♪ ♫ Christmas time, mistletoe and wine... ♪ ♫ WINE! And there's gonna be wine for New Year's Eve as well, but in a bubblier form. This is the season of celebrations, and you're better off celebrating in style. So here comes the same question that you ask yourself every year at this time; What am I going to wear for Christmas and New Year's Eve?

I like to dress up for Christmas - even though I usually only spend it with my family. And for New Year's Eve the motto is; the more glamorous and sophisticated - the better.

I tend to opt for a semi casual dress in a dark, wintery colour like black, purple or red for Christmas, and a fancy evening dress with a little bit of sparkle for New Year's Eve. 

Need some inspiration? Check out these gorgeous evening dresses that I've picked out! As you can see I've chosen to go for typical holiday colours.

My favourite is the black short dress with folded details at the top right from Coast.

If you don't fancy squeezing into a dress for your celebrations (they can be a bit tight around this time of year with all the yummy Christmas food!) then opt for a party top that you match with either a skirt, or some fancy trousers.

1 knitted dress - 2 completely different styles

I got this light purple jumper dress in a very fine knitted material from online fashion shop Zalando the other day. The dress was quite pricey (£28) but the quality is amazing, and it's definitely worth every penny. I wasn't sure what to wear with it at first... tights, leggings, skinny jeans...? I decided that it would look nicer with tights.

I have put together 2 different looks including this dress below; one tough rock chick style with a lot of black leather, and one "granny" style with vintage inspired accessories. I absolutely love the leather waist belt with a bow in the rock style, and the pocket watch necklace in the granny style (I have actually added that necklace to my wish list for Christmas.)

I am a chameleon when it comes to clothes and I love both these styles. Which one would you rather go for? Would you rock this dress up, or would you grannify it?

Knitted dress from Zalando

Wetseal knitted eternity scarf

Biker leather jacket from House of Fraser

Studded leather bow belt from vincecamuto.com

Buffalo heeled boots

Black tights from Debenhams

Juicy Couture 'Scotty - Daydreamer' bag

 

PAUL & JOE SISTER wool cape from Harrods

Monsoon woollen hat

Pocket watch necklace rom modcloth.com

Knitted dress from Zalando

BALENCIAGA 'Work' bag

Cable-knit tights from H&M

Tamaris ankle boots

GIVEAWAY! - Purple heart shaped silver necklace - CLOSED

I thought I would treat you lovely readers now with Christmas and all coming up. And what better way to do it than with a GIVEAWAY! :)

I am giving away this sterling silver necklace (yes, real silver!) with several thin chains and a purple heart shaped pendant. 

If you would like to enter this giveaway (anyone can enter, wherever you are in the world), all you have to do is to follow my blog Fashion Infatuation with Google friend connect. Please leave a comment saying you have followed me, so that I can keep track.
For extra entries:
Follow me on Twitter - @F_Infatuation
Follow my art blog - The Creative Artista
Tweet about this giveaway ;)


Please add a comment for each thing you have done. The giveaway will close on Tuesday the 13th of December. One lucky winner will be picked randomly, and he/she will hopefully receive the necklace in time for Christmas.

Celebrity hair trends - hair extensions

 Celebrities ouze of glamour and luxury, and on the red carpet they all look like super models with their killer bodies and amazing locks. The trend of hair extensions amongst celebs is huge, and some pull it off better than others. Victoria Beckham's long highlighted brown hair is absolutely gorgeous, and it looks very natural.

So does Lindsay Lohan's long auburn mane. Can I have the number to her hair dresser, please!?

 

Paris Hilton rocks both a short crop and long curls with the help of great lengths hair extensions, and she knows it! Her extensions, just as Victoria's and Lindsay's, look very natural, and they're probably made out of real human hair.

It's one thing having Hollywood locks, but when is it too much? Miley Cyrus has gone a bit extreme with her extensions, and her hair looks very much like a bird's nest.

 

You can tell Nicole Richie's extensions aren't real, but they look very plastic! This doesn't look great at all. I really hope she sacked her hair dresser after this fiasco! She looks a thousand times better in a shorter hair style,

But hold on... it gets worse! Hair extensions can look gorgeous, but if you put them in the wrong way, or use cheap low quality material they can look absolutely awful. So be careful! Two celebs who've made a really bad choice when it comes to fake hair is Britney Spears and Axl Rose from Guns'n'Roses. I guess Britney can be excused cause of the fact that she shaved off all her hair a few years ago...

My pick of amazing skirts for Winter

In my first ever post on this blog I wrote about how my style has developed since I was a teenager, and I described myself as a "skirt freak". My belief is that you can't have too many skirts.

I bring to you my favourite skirts for Autumn and Winter - patterned, one-coloured and leather skirts. Have a look, and enjoy! :) Which one is your favourite?

My favourite one of the patterned ones is the beige and black stripy puffy skirt. I really like the mustardy one of the one-coloured skirts. Out of the leather skirts I would definitely place the black one with zipper detailed pockets as number one, with the tan skirt with the bow as a close second.

Thick, knitted winter tights

I am already tired of winter, and it's not even here yet...
But one thing I do like about winter is all the warm and cozy clothes you get to wear; chunky cardigans, warm boots, fluffy scarves, and the best thing - thick knitted tights!
I admit - I've got a thing for tights. I might not wear patterned ones very often (although I would like to) but I love wearing coloured ones. My favourite is a pair of thick dark purple tights I bought from M&S last year.
I recently found this tights shop, with the incredible name of Tights Tights Tights - could it be any better?! ;)
I could easily fill shopping bag after shopping bag with their collections. These tights below are my favourite ones of theirs. Note the awesome zebra ones! ;)

Shoe porn - Jimmy Choo

I’m going a bit Carry Bradshaw and am sharing some shoe porn with you. Ever since I wrote my post about cocktail dresses and designer shoes last week I’ve been obsessed with the thought of shoes. I kid you not!

I’ve browsed the collection of Jimmy Choo on the Jimmy Choo Shoes official site. I’ve especially drooled over the Icons collection, which actually includes a shoe which made its debut on Carrie Bradshaw’s feet in an episode of Sex and the City (Marlene). The Icons collection is a comeback of old classics, in new versions.

My favourite Icons shoe is Greta. See a few shoes from the collection below, and let me know which ones are your favourites :)

GRETA & MARLENE

LAUREN & ANITA

BRIGITTE & FAYE

Unfortunately with Jimmy Choo shoes, and with all designer shoes for that matter, they aren’t very kind to your budget. You can find some slightly less expensive Jimmy Choos at Cruise Fashion though. Have a look!:)

Fancy a cuppa?

 I just wanted to share with you this lovely little tea cup necklace that I won in Natbees Fashion's giveaway. It's super cute! Thank you! She did the giveaway in collaboration with designer Misty Aurora, who's collection you can see here and here. Misty Aurora makes all sorts of pretty pieces of jewellery, such as earrings made out of fabric buttons, etc. I sure wouldn't mind having a pair of them :)

Keep an eye out for a giveaway of my own. It'll come soon ;)

Plectrum - Shop opening event in Leeds

Me and blogger friend Laura from TopStyleAdvice were invited to a shop opening event in Leeds last week. The shop was Plectrum, which is a menswear collection from Ben Sherman, and it's located in Thornton's arcade in Leeds city center. It is also in collaboration with the clothes shop HIP, which is right next to it. Plectrum is a very modern collection of menswear, and the style of the clothes is truly unique. I would call it something like "urban lumberjack" as a lot of the items are made of very rough or thick material, and the classic checked patterns show up on several of the items.

When walking around in the store it was kind of like walking in someone's wardrobe. Not because of the lack of space, but because there was pretty much only one of each item presented on the shelves and hangers. I quite liked the look of that - it looked very posh - but I can imagine it being a little bit annoying for a man to shop there since the staff would have to run up 2 floors to get the right size for every item he wanted to try on.

The event itself was unfortunately not that exciting. I had expected there to be a little fashion show of the new collection, or some kind of entertainment or presentation - but it was just about standing about and mingle for 2.5 hours. The cocktails were delicious though, and the bartender was a chirpy lad that entertained us as much as he could - but too bad we only got 2 drinks each. I really wanted to go to the after party at Sky Lounge, but I just couldn't bring myself to wait around that long. Here are some pictures from the event...

Cocktail time

Is it just me, or are there more parties in general during the autumn and winter? While the summer is all about casual bbq get-togethers in the garden or in the parks, autumn and winter is more about the glamorous and dressy cocktail parties.

The secret behind dressing right for a cocktail party is to think "elegant and sophisticated".
Think classic beauties like the 1950's actresses Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly.
Go for a dress that is classic, timeless and versatile. You can of course choose one with a modern twist or an unusual detail. The thing about cocktail dresses is that you should be able to wear the same dress to more than one party but still pull it off as different styles, as you match it with different accessories. Therefore, choose very carefully when buying a cocktail dress. It should be flattering, confident-boosting and easy to match. Patterns can be tricky, so go for a safe choice and buy a one coloured dress. Dark ones are always a safe choice as they go with pretty much everything. Black, royal blue, dark purple, grey... But lighter ones can be great if you want to lighten up your surroundings. Why not choose a creamy or a beige goldy satin dress to look a bit goddess-like, or a bright red if you are daring enough and want to stand out from the crowd. After all, everyone should have tried the "the lady in red" style at least once in their life.

The perfect match with a classic cocktail dress is a pair of stylish designer shoes. If you've decided to go for a very neutral dress, match it with a pair of sparkly or bold coloured shoes. Every girl should own at least one pair of designer shoes - shoes that she can cherish and treat with great respect. Designer shoes are so well designed that they feel feather light on your feet, and you feel like you're walking on clouds - but only the top designer shoes can make you feel like this, so decide carefully before you invest. Some of the greatest shoe designers there are, are of course Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo.

Here is the recipe to becoming a classic beauty:

• 1*cocktail dress
• 1*pair of designer shoes
• A handful of glamorous jewellery
• Dramatic makeup
• 1*elegant hairstyle

The witch style is not only for Halloween...

Can I just say that I love this time of year, just because you get an excuse to dress a little bit like a witch ;) And not just for Halloween, but the whole autumn and winter! The witch inspired fashion, which in this case really is fashion from the 18th and 19th century, comes back every autumn. Just look at all the lovely lace up boots that come back in all the stores' collections every year, the felt hats, the leather bags, the wool capes, the flowing ruffled skirts (really can't have too many of them!)... these items don't necessarily have to be "witch style" but combining them together... I, personally, am absolutely hooked on this fashion. Sure, I probably wouldn't squeeze in to a corset other than on occasions where it was appropriate, and I might skip the hat (don't want to mess up the hair!) but the rest is added to my list of lovable fashion.
Fashion Infatuation ♥ Witch fashion = true!

Versace for H&M

 I think it's amazing how big designer brands team up and collaborate with normal high-street clothes shops. This time it's Versace who is launching a collection for H&M. H&M has had one or a couple of designer collaborations each year since 2004, when the first one out was Karl Lagerfeld. This collection was extremely popular, and people were queuing outside the shops for hours to get inside and see the wonderful clothes. The year after, in 2005, H&M got together with Stella McCartney, and since then we have seen collections at H&M for Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Lanvin and the big shoe favourite Jimmy Choo.

It's great for H&M to collaborate with big designer brands in order to gain popularity, but I bet the designers are only doing it to get us all hooked on the amazing designs of the brand. We are going to end up being so obsessed with quality tailored-like clothes that we have to buy the real thing once they've stopped selling it in H&M... :P

The Versace collection is available in store for a limited time only from the 17th of November this year.
Here are some sneak peaks on some of the lovely items that you will find in H&M shortly. Get ready to get your hands on them!

 

1920's Autumn Style

If I could have lived in another decade, I would have chosen the 1920's. "Why?", you wonder. Well, just think about it - there was the catchy Charleston music with the lovely jumpy dancing, post war happiness, dramatic looks with lots of eye makeup and short hair with glamorous curls, all the pretty dresses with fringes, feathers in your hair, cute hats, and my favourite; the heeled brogues!
I bought my first brogues a few years ago, and after that I was obsessed! Most of my heels are of brogue style nowadays. I think this style is so utterly flattering for your feet, and the laces make them look super pretty. The rounded toe, the little fringed details - what's not to love?! Here is a little collage of a few pretty hats and brogues perfect to complete an Autumn outfit and to get a bit of a 20's twist :)

♥Ivory hat from Nordstrom
♥Red hat from Joseph M
♥Black hat from Debenhams
♥Black brogues from heels.com
♥Black and cream brogues from Dorothy Perkins
♥Tan brogues from Miss Selfridge

Get the style: Green satin dresses a la Christina's in Burlesque

 I know, I know... Christina Aguilera again?! The thing is, I've had such a good response from my post about the green dress she is wearing in the film Burlesque. (buy the film from Amazon by clicking the link) Remember that post I wrote? So I thought, why not make a "how to get the look"-post. The actual Michael Kaplan dress she is wearing in the film is a one of a kind, and is unfortunately not available on the market. There might be replicas out there, but here are 3 lovely green satin dresses of a similar design that I have found for you guys. I am totally smitten with the one I've used in my second example below. Add a few other bits to the outfit, and you'll pretty much get the exact look of Christina Aguilera when she was singing "Bound to You" in Burlesque. Gorgeous!

As I said, I've used my favourite one of the 3 dresses pictured above. Pair that with matching green satin shoes and a white hair flower. Make your hair curly with the help of a crimping iron (I've got one by obh nordica - the one pictured - and it's great!), draw thick lines of eyeliner above your eyes, and apply bright red lipstick. Finish off with a matching red nail polish, and you've achieved the look of Christina.

All of the 3 dresses are available from PacificPlex, and Amazon.
And great news; PacificPlex ships internationally! 

Lovely Lace Dresses

What can I say... Parisian inspiration and absolutely gorgeous lace dresses.

L'amour ♥

Scottish clan wedding dresses

As you may have seen from my post last week, I visited Scotland for the first time this weekend.

A three-day trip to Edinburgh was just what I needed to cheer myself up now when the summer weather is gone and it's just getting darker and gloomier every day.

My last post was about Scottish inspired fashion (in this case just a few checked items that I picked out) but I am now going to tell you about the genuine Scottish fashion.

The thing is... I was wandering around on the streets in Edinburgh and I passed this wedding shop. Now, I knew that most Scottish men dress in the traditional kilt made out of tartan fabric for their wedding, but what I didn't know is that the bride can choose to dress in tartan fabric as well! I thought the bride just dressed in the classic white dress, but I was very wrong! 

When I passed this wedding shop I saw a very eye-catching wedding dress in the window; a green and purple checked dress! I couldn't believe it! I thought it was really odd at first, but after having thought about it for a while I thought it was quite pretty. The dress was quite medieval looking, which is really the style of all things that are typically Celtic, and it had lots of pretty details like the old-fashioned lace-up tieback. 

Although I got used to looking at this odd Scottish clan dress in the end, I think I would still prefer to go for the classic white for my future wedding...

Images from www.heritageofscotland.com

Tribute to Scottish fashion

I am going to Scotland tonight! Whoo!
I have lived in England for about 2 years, but I have never been further up north than Newcastle, which I find a bit bad. I have never been to Ireland either, for that matter...
This is going to be a lovely little weekend break. I can't wait!
My trip to Scotland is also the reason for this post... of course I had to do a Scottish inspired fashion post. Well, I have basically picked out some checked items ;)

I have learned that these checked patterns are clan patterns, meaning different families wear different coloured clothes to show what clan they belong to. I'm saying clothes, but we all know I mean kilts... right?

One must if you go to Scotland is to wear something checked!!
Therefore, I am bringing this old skirt of mine this weekend! I wonder what clan I would belong to if I wore this...

...or this gorgeous Burberry iconic checks small "haymarket" bag. No, I don't own one. It's just wishful thinking...

What clan would I belong to if I wore this beige and green checked scarf from River Island...?

...or these tights from Amazon, in the more classic Scottish colours (the colours they're known for by us non-Scotts anyway)?

Edinburgh, here I come!