aestheticcontradiction

Shooting for Sanctus

I met designer Lucinda Sinclair at clothes show a couple of winters ago and admired her rather cool top. She has since gone on to launch a cult inspired street-wear label called Sanctus.

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A few weeks ago I had the privilege of doing a shoot in some items from the Illuminex collection. Most of them aren’t available any more but feel free to check out the SS13 line, Adramelech.

I also got a change to try out the 5 strand braid I was obsessed with at the time.

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I shot with photographer Nina pang and styled with a variety of interested items I already had, including some pieces from my own label, Eustratia, Richard Ayres and Carly petitt Taylor.

Nina also brought a polaroid camera with her, I think they take great shots.

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Here are the final images:

IMG_3058IMG_3051IMG_3132IMG_3140IMG_3194IMG_3200IMG_3218IMG_3225IMG_3230IMG_3261IMG_3269I really enjoyed wearing these and ended up buying the Cuculatus dress in the end of line sale. It is very comfortable and flattering.

IMG_0182I prefer shopping from independent designers where I can get a unique, quality item, made ethically and with love. I think it would add freshness and challenge the industry if everyone didn’t rely on the same 5 stores for their wardrobe.

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Accessory moment no.5

This is an other look where the hair plays an important part. I realised I hadn’t posted an accessory moment with my new extensions yet so I used slightly less accessories than usual for this look. I think it’s a good example to show that less is more sometimes and you should just go with what works for your look.

What I used:

1. Layered spike necklace £5, Primark (occasionally this store surprises me)

2. Pheasant claw earrings, Sophie Adamson

3. Deer skull necklace, Eustratia

Bird claw earring.

For those who wanted to know, my septum ring is from bodyjewellershop.com I also get asked about this hair style a lot. The hair extensions I bought were lightest blonde, 22inches. I died them with a selection of Direction colours (lavender, lilac and turquoise) that I painted on and mixed into each other.You should try and get a blonde that matches the colour your hair goes when bleached, this will help the dyed extensions match your hair colour.

I left the hair dye on the extensions a lot longer than I do on my hair. Then rinsed and dried as usual.

The waves were created using a Babyliss Wave envy hair styler. I would suggest having a look on ebay for one of these as they are often cheaper.

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Dark unicorn inspiration

Those of you who have been following my blog for while will have seen the unicorn inspiration board that I posted last year. I’ve been wanting to do a dark unicorn shoot for a while now and have finally managed to arrange it with photographer Jamie Mahon, who’s dark aesthetic should fit the theme perfectly.

I gathered my initial inspiration on a board and I’m excited to see how the ideas evolve from there.

My wardrobe for the shoot is being provided by Eustratia and Richard Ayres and I’m also using some accessories by Sophie Adamson.

 

aestheticcontradiction

Pearl blossom shoot inspiration

I’ve recently been working on a few different types of accessories for Eustratia. When photographer Emily Bailey contacted me about shooting some of my designs I saw a great opportunity to do a chilled out shoot with some of the new accessories as well as a couple of outfits styled in ways independent to any particular collection.

This is the moodboard I created for the shoot.

It will feature a lot of influences from current fashion and my everyday style.

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Accessory moment no.4

This look revolves mostly around the bun hair. It’s not a style that I wear out very often so I wanted to see if I could make it look a bit more special.

What I used:

1. leather cuff (used as hair tie) £5 -NO:WEAR camden

2. Clock part necklace -ALL SAINTS (not current season)

3. Studded cross hair clip £18 -Eustratia (www.eustratia.co.uk)

4. Spikey bracelet £18 -River Island (not current season)

5. Bird cage ring £12 -TOPSHOP

6. spike earrings £6.50 –ebay

I think putting the leather cuff around the bun really made a difference and gave it an edge.

 

I get asked about this one a lot. It’s a little pierced cherub creature (wings on back) was a gift a friend brought back for me from Tokyo. I made it into a long necklace because I think it brings a bit of fun to my outfits. I haven’t seen anything like it in the UK and most people react quite strangely to it.

And finally the full outfit.