Hats and Happy times ♥

so yesterday I spent most of the day in town with my friend Charlotte (check out her super sweet blog here – Loretta Jane's Vintage Boutique) and Quinn (check out her fabby Tumblr here - See Quinn)mooching around the shops and having a look at all the fabulous Christmas goodies that have started to appear everywhere. (i think Abode and M&S won just for sheer festive fabulousness)

I still haven't started my Christmas shopping so i'll really have to get a move on next week and try and get some bits. It was my plan yesterday to get at least 3 or 4 presents for people but... instead I bought myself a hat!

it's so adorable though! a cute little black wool cloche with thin black grosgrain ribbon tied round the brim with little pearl beads and a cute bow. 

i bought a cloche last autumn/winter from Accessorize which i lived in (especially during my trip to London before xmas) but this one is just sooooo cute! i don't need it and i probably shouldn't have bought it but... oh well!

it's from Marks & Spencer and you can buy it here - Cloche Hat

in other news... i woke up yesterday to find an email in my inbox telling me i'd been given a £125 voucher to spend on asos. 

now for those of you unfamiliar with asos (have you been living under a rock...) it's a super duper online shop that sells clothes, accessories and everything else you could possible ever need for your wardrobe and dressing table! 

it also sells mens and kids clothes too but... that's not the point right now, the point is... i have a voucher to spend on it and i have NO idea what to get!!! 

the voucher is valid for a year so maybe i'll just wait a bit (surprisingly when it comes to fashion i can sometimes be patient) and see what turns up in the new year or something.

in case you're wondering, the voucher was a gift from the duo behind the Chloe loves Charlie website i mentioned in my last post. i am very grateful to them for sending me it, it's a lovely gesture and a well thought out gift, since during the whole design process of the Chloé girls one of the fashion sites we discussed as an existing comparison to Chloe loves Charlie was asos. 

so... thank you ◕‿◕ ♥

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also...

when i woke up this morning Charlotte had left a link on my facebook wall to one of the most fabulous vintage style Fashion Shoots i've seen in a long time. (NOTE: lots and lots of fabulous photos to follow...)

it's a fantastic shoot by Lupi Spuma. apparently Lupi Spuma are made up of three fabulous photographers, Karin Lernbeiss, Judith Recher and Alexander Karelly. 

they all live and work in Graz, Austria. but seeing as i don't speak German i can't be completely sure if they're a team of photographers or if one is a stylist etc etc. anyway... apologies if i got it wrong!

this shoot really is so gorgeous though! there literally isn't anything about it that i don't L-O-V-E! so super duper! the fashion, the colours, the models, the locations... so SOOOO sublime! 

 yes... it even has 'train' photos! you see... what's not to love! it's so good though, the models expressions are adorable, very reminiscent of the Pin-up poses and expressions found in the fabulous work of Gil Elvgren methinks...

also... seeing as the shoot is for the Lena Hoschek Autumn-Winter collection 2010-11 i thought i'd try and find out a little bit about the designer as well since the clothes are so god-damn fabulous. 

now Lena Hoschek IS actually a name i've heard before, supposedly so synonymous with vintage style fashion, however i didn't know much about her so i visited her lovely website here - Lena Hoschek

for starters... i totally love the statement on her site in reference to her designs - "You´re attention loving? Well, you'll be attention getting! Wearing Lena Hoschek places you directly into the spotlight of the ultra feminine"

here's more info off her darling little site - 

"After assisting Vivienne Westwood at her London studio, Lena Hoschek started her own label in 2006 at the age of 24. Her collections do not follow trends or the general conception of ‘cool’, they are simply a reflection of what has fascinated her since her childhood: the female ideal of the 40s and 50s, craftsmanship, high-end tailoring, traditional materials and patterns but also rock 'n’ roll and punk music, tattoos, bad guys and fast cars. 

Celebrating the erotics of the Pin-up who didn’t take herself too seriously, her clothes are made for all the Sophia Lorens and Marilyns of today. Lena Hoschek’s collections take you back to times when women were real women and men were real men. I bet, when designing, she secretly dreams of Rhett Butler"

ah now you see the bit about working for Vivienne Westwood doesn't surprise me at all! to be perfectly honest when i first opened the link from Charlotte i thought it was just a fashion shoot using all diffferent brands and my first thought when i spotted the picture below... 'oh it's a Vivienne Westwood dress right?!'

but isn't that statement brilliant! it makes me love her clothes even more just because she sounds so super duper fabulous and merveilleux! 

after all according to the site, "Lena Hoschek’s collections take you back to times when women were real women and men were real men"

...

YES PLEASE!!!!! 

i can also honestly say that i would happily wear ANY of the clothes from the photos i included in this post! 

and believe me i only included my very top faves, it was a big shoot and i could have happily posted the whole ruddy thing but... i didn't

anyway, if you want to see the original shoot in full follow this link - Lupi Spuma for Lena Hoschek

and if you want to see the general fabulous splendiferous beauty that is Lena Hoschek's site click here - Lena Hoschek

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ok i'm off to make some lunch now, vermicelli noodles... for a change! 

hope you all enjoy the rest of your Sunday

that's all folks...

♥ ◕‿◕ ★ xX