The Story behind...

Sometimes it's nice to know a little more about what inspires style and fashion trends - all too often things can feel a little foreign... At One Off we have decided to let you behind the scenes, and to explain the story behind certain styling and clothing choices.

This week it's the turn of the Jackie O inspired Fringed Dress:

 This dress is simple and chic but crucially not boring or too grown up. Its texture and fringe help to jazz things up a bit.

We love a bit of texture at One Off.

A few months ago, I went through a real Kennedy family fad, which no doubt inspired me to buy this dress when on a One Off shopping trip.

Channel 1960s Kennedy chic when wearing this dress. 

We styled it for the photo shoot with a well loved pair  of chunky black suede wedges with an ankle strap, which looks great

but you could wear this dress anyway you want, and team it with a pair of smart loafers

or keep it real 60s preppy vibe with a pair of ballet pumps

We kept it simple for the shoot, but I reckon this dress would be even better with a bit of gold. Throw on a chunky necklace or a pair of hoops to make this a more polished look.

Who knows - maybe this dress is a Jackie O original!

 

You could do a lot worse than looking like Jackie.

www.one-off-style.com

NYC Beads

Tessa went to the US of A and all I got was THIS AMAZING BEADED STATUE OF LIBERTY BOX!!

Apparently when she bought it her company at the time were full of disbelief that anyone would actually want such a thing. That person is ME and once the toffees inside have been demolished I am looking forward to finding a use for this piece of art. Other USA souvenirs already featured on What's She Like? include Hannah's great homemade eNYa T-shirt, see here. Am also reminded of a recent trip to White Cube to see Liza Lou. Thank you West Polar.

Tied up in Knots

I found this lovely sterling silver knot ring in Spitalfield's Market today after wadling around trying to walk off the enormous breakfast I'd just eaten. I love it so much and it was a real bargain too!

I think it looks best on its own, but I'm not very good at not wearing all my rings at once, for sentimental reasons.

 

Tartan Cowhide

Back in London after a few days in Cornwall, and so pleased I do not have to wear jeans and DMs in an attempt to sheild myself from the sideways drizzle we have been having. Sun, stick around please.
Couldn't not share the additions that were made to the Suburu, a car that belonged to my Grandparents before us and is older than me:

Queen Vic

 

Today I learned about this painting of Queen Victoria looking rather uncharacteristically racy. Painted by Franz Winterhalter in 1843 this private painting was meant solely for the eyes of Prince Albert, a man who she loved dearly. So much so that when Prince Albert died, the devastated Queen gave orders for a copy of the portrait to be buried with him.

Laundry

Sunday evenings often turn out to be laundry night, and this week I found this tie dye vest at the bottom of the pile. I made it a few summers ago in between toasting marshmallows on a campfire and swimming in a lake in Northern Minnesota. I really was that person for a few days once.

Plastic Casings

I've written about plastic and perspex before, especially after purchasing a plastic handbag a few months ago. The trend goes far beyond accessories though, as a shoot in ES magazine, which is distributed throughout the length of London's tube trains, proved last week. I really loved this patent leather skirt by Holly Furton - it's since been ripped out and tacked to my desk's pin board.

 

I have to say though that given this was a shoot about sexy poolside outfits etc, the thought of wearing patent leather/plastic/perspex in the baking heat does not particularly appeal.

Imagine if some condensation suddenly appeared?! How horrifying!!! Particular danger of that with this Paule Ka skirt above I feel. Still I love both skirts, especially Ka's plastic/crochet contrast, and at least this mild Summer weather just about renders them wearable... Small consolation. Are you brave enough to bare all in plastic this summer? You can see more pictures from ES's Suit Up shoot here.

Hermione Pilkington

 

Beautiful photographs and a very admirable woman feature in our latest Style Profile. Read on here.

Giveaway Winner

We chose the winner of our Twitter competition the old fashion way this morning:

Congratulations to the winner of one of these lovely new cross rings!

Thank you to all who entered, stay tuned for another giveaway soon... And if you are really disappointed at not winning, you can buy one right here.

Dream Weekend

Sad that the weekend is over - I enjoyed the rare treat of having both days off from work - and that my opportunity to steal this J.Crew men's mac of my Mum's is over.... I didn't spend very long in clothes that were acceptable outdoors (PJs prevailed) but really loved wearing this 1990s gem. We also drank the bottle of Lanson pictured - another great highlight of a weekend indoors.

Twitter Giveaway Weekend

One Off is offering you the chance to win one of these lovely cross rings, simply by following us on twitter, @one_off_style, and retweeting our Giveaway tweet. It's that easy! Your fingers could be happily sparkling away with a new bit of bling this time next week...

 

Your chance to win this lovely ring ends this Sunday 8th July, at midnight.

Sunny Southbank

New unexpected discoveries today - the first a mini city made out of plastic milk bottles

 

Artist Gayle Chong Kwan created 'Wasteland', which is described as an 'immersive contemplative environment' to encourage visitors to reconsider the role of waste on everyday life. The project was inspired by Moravia, a district of Medellin in Columbia, built on top of a rubbish dump after people were displaced from their homes. If you're passing by and have the time, duck in and see it because it is quite striking. 'Wasteland' is part of a series of installments going at Southbank this summer, and there's lots to see.

 

This colourful sand pit reminded me of a recent post by West Polar, where crowds were dispersed with coloured water. Great mix of concrete and colour.

In contrast to Kwan's plastic world, on my way out of the little high up corner of Southbank I ambled into its rooftop garden, which is so beautiful and lovely and quiet too.

 

Can't wait to go back and enjoy a drink there.

Fit Birds

I stumbled across Eric Hosking's pictures of owls this evening. Love those eyes and feathers. His most famous image is probably the 1936 image below of an owl with its prey.

This last image is said to be the first time a flash was used to capture a bird in flight, in 1948.

Hosking is apparently the only artist to make a living by taking pictures solely of birds - his reputation initially being made by news coverage of the loss of his left eye after being clawed by a tawny owl. I know it sounds made up, but it isn't (I went beyond wikipedia to make sure).