Flora's Holiday Wardrobe

Last  month, One Off's Flora was lucky enough to travel to Israel and spend time in Jerusalem for a week. I asked Flora to take pictures while she was there, especially of her hot weather outfits to add to our 7 Days of Style archive (inspiration as our holidays approach).
Here are the results:
Outfit 1

Dress - Charity Shop
Sleeveless Shirt - My Mum's
Bicycle Charm - Alex Monroe
Outfit 2

Dress - Primark
So pleased with this, I got it for a fiver and it reminds me of Summer
Outfit 3

Skirt - homemade!
Top - Charity Shop
I love this skirt as I made it out of some material of my grandmother's and the top is nice and summery too... Though they both look crinkled here.
Day 4

New necklace from Jerusalem!
I like wearing it on my jumper's neckline so it looks like a very fancy collar
Day 5

Broderie Anglaise Shorts - H&M
Top - Charity shop
Day 6

 

Embroidered Coat - another Jerusalem buy!

Thank you, Flora!

Aqua Snakeskin

 

 Thank you Poundland, for my new sunglasses case.

Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes

Stairs at Goldhawk Road tube station were paved with diamonds yesterday

It might seem that this is just a chance to show off my new suede sling back wedges, and it is, but there's more from London Transport bling:

Really annoying that this picture is horribly bad - but the top caps of this school girl's Converse were covered in diamante. Apparently her Mum did it for her as an experiment, and now she might even charge to do other people's toe caps, at a reasonable £20, rather than the £90 that Lucy from the 'Only Way is Essex' charges for a similar service. And no, I didn't actually speak to the diamante toed girl, I was eavesdropping, probably with my mouth wide open.

This is the Day

This songs reminds me of a hot summer a few years ago, bombing around London in a beaten up VW (now sadly retired to car scrapyard heaven), windows down and Poundland imitation Raybans on... Those really were the days!

The Photographers' Gallery

All this hot weather has obviously got me thinking about water, as there seemed to be a theme running through my postcard selection from a trip to the recently refurbished Photographers' Gallery last week

Coming Soon

Lily and I didn't have to travel far to shoot our next feature for One Off this morning...

Here is a sneak peak inside the room of the next stylish girl to step into the spotlight. Stay tuned for MUCH better pictures from Lily. I for one are really excited to see how the photos come out.

Chilly?

Not in this weather but I really love Tessa's chilli print skirt, especially with her electric blue suede platforms.

Gifts

So pleased with the latest gift offerings from One Off - both Jubilee and Summer boxes are ticked. We want to run away with the skewiff GB bag, necklace and make up bag inside!

For more details on our lovely (and affordable!) presents, see our Gifts page.

Pins

I love a pin badge, new additions:

Roger Fenton

 

Last week I learned that David Bailey's son is called Fenton, in homage to the British photographer. 

 

Roger Fenton is probably best known for his photographs of the Crimean War of 1855, of which there are said to be over 350. It was the first time that the British public were kept a brief of battles on foreign terrain and Fenton's photographs depict stoic soldiers and tidy camps, in an attempt to buffer negative response to the war.

After looking at these photos I now want to go camping and wear kilts and plaid knee high socks. Coincidentally, you can buy your very own stylish kilt here, should you want to pretend you were in the Crimean War too.

Charlie Prebensen

If you haven't seen it yet, have a look at One Off's latest feature with beautiful Charlie Prebensen. All photographs were shot on film by Lily Bertrand-Webb. Read on here.

Cow Hide

It took me about a month to finally choose my new bag, bought with my Grand National winnings. The sale assistants in pretty much every shop in Westfield must have been getting so bored of seeing me struggle over the decision. I'm in love with it and find myself proudly standing around showing it off whenever I get the chance.

Paisley Amber

This amber ring of my Mum's means business. Mum found the piece of amber and then got it made into a ring years ago in Camborne, Cornwall. I am borrowing it at the moment, and really love it with my 70s paisley teired dress. Which actually reminds me of Ferrero Rocher wrappers for some reason...really not sure why...

Not sure it's working with the white T-shirt underneath, but it's time to get some work done and I'm too lazy to take it off.

Freud

 

I finally got my act together and went to see the Lucian Freud exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery last week. Despite the fact it was absolutely heaving, I loved it and recommend it to anyone who is able to go and see it before the show closes on 27th May.

Saville Row

Saville Row is one of the most interesting streets to walk down in London. Remember to look down when passing shop windows... When I was 16, I had a week's work experience with a gentleman who was then the Queen's Haute Couturier. It was such an amazing insight in to the whole world of Haute Couture, as well as an important realisation that I couldn't really sew! One of my favourite parts of the experience was assisting on shopping trips sourcing fabrics, threads and buttons from specialist shops tucked away and hidden around Central london.

Flora's Gold Coin

One Off's Flora has just returned from what sounds like an epic trip to Israel. Among some of the gems she picked up while out there was this 'genuine' Roman coin... (Sorry about the awful quality picture). I love it next to her trusty bicycle charm. I seem to have a thing for gold coins as jewellery, see here for more ramblings on them.

Neon Coin Purse

Last night I saw my lovely friend Hannah (see her 7days of style here), for a long overdue catch up. I was a bit distracted though, because I couldn't stop staring at her purse.

Crochet Crab

The lace and chiffon below is to me reminiscent of an exhibition of Joana Vasconcelos' work I went to see at Haunch of Venison when it was camping out at Burlington Gardens back in 2010. The show was amazing, and definitely one of the best I went to that year.

Vasconcelos creates crochet webs that mask objects. My favourites were the crochet covered animals

'I will Survive', Vasconcelos' exhibition at Burlington Gardens, suited the space perfectly. The wood panelled rooms provided the ideal backdrop for these carefully crocheted pieces. I was completely floored (actually quite literally) by 'Garden of Eden', a vast space initially appearing pitch black, until ones' eyes adjusted and picked out the hundreds of fibre optic plants laid out in a maze around the room. Impossible to get a picture to do the work justice, but it was a much better version of this:

For more, see here for Haunch of Venison's write up. Tomorrow I'm off to see the Freud at the National Portrait Gallery. So glad I got my act together and booked in time.

Chiffon

I set myself the challenge of making something from practically nothing last week. I found this beautiful piece of fabric in a second hand shop in Notting Hill for £2, which was once a fully functioning top (I think). I hope I just about managed to fashion it into something wearable without having to get a needle and thread out, although there is something Egyptian Mummy about the tied chiffon/muslin vibe.

One Off in The Boar

Flora has been at it again, making yet more headlines... This time it's all about One Off. Read Flora's article here.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

 

This smashed Watermelon on a road near by my house somehow reminded me of these paintings by 16th Century Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Famous for creating portraits out of natural objects, Arcimboldo's paintings are awe inspiring, if a little unsettling. When I was little my Mum had a postcard of this head made up of sea creatures stuck on her diary

Water, 1566

Vertumnus, 1590

Summer, 1573