African Prints Mix Up!

Posted on January 21, 2013 by admin

Jacket – Second hand (from mum)
Top – by YouMeWe at Sapellé
Trousers – ASOS Africa
Shoes – Dream in Green
Vintage Bag – Local Charity Shop
Necklace – a Christmas pressy from my mum
Ring – Made UK

Admittedly, it is not really the weather for this outfit a great big woolley jumper would probably be much more practical but I have never been much of a fan of winter clothes and I was desperate to try out the top that I got for just £16.50 in the Sapellé sale. I thought if I added a jacket, then I could perhaps get away with it when the weather warms up a little.

This outfit is my entry for this months Freestyle challenge over at Ethical Fashion Bloggers. I also thought that I would enter it in the Observer Ethical Awards. Much to my excitement, they have introduced a ‘Well Dressed’ award sponsored by Eco Age and Fru-Gal Challenge, if you have some sustainably stylish pieces in your wardrobe, why not enter? you can find out more here.

For those that want to share their sustainable style or ethical fashion brands that want to share their story or latest collection, plus anyone else with an interest in sustainability and ethics in the fashion industry, I will be arranging a Twitter party on the last Friday of each month (starting this Friday). Please join me for #FGFF (Feel Good Fashion Friday)

I hope that you have had a good start to the week despite the snow and cold weather.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

African Prints and Inspiration for 2013

Posted on January 8, 2013 by admin

I don’t really follow seasonal trends but can’t help being inspired by themes that I see emerging in the fashion industry particularly when it comes to prints. Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know that I love a bold print and some of the most amazing prints that I have spotted recently have come from African designers or those taking inspiration from Africa. Of course the great thing about that is that there are also plenty of fair trade/ ethical options out there.

Image from www.styleselfridges.com

Selfridges have been featuring some great African fashion recently with Ndani, the African Fashion Project which ran through December and into January. The collection brings the best of Lagos Fashion Week to London with a selection of handpicked pieces for SS13 from hand-picked from the runway shows of some of Africas best designers including Lisa Folawiyo with her label Jewel By Lisa, Lanre Da Silva Ajayi, Eki Orleans, Odio Mimonet and Tiffany Amber as well as some up and coming and emmerging designers.

Just today I recieved an email from Ethical Fashion Forum telling me about Aimee Kent, a Glasgow based designer specialising in ethical printed textiles. Aimee was born and grew up in Kenya and her work clearly reflects the bold African prints that she was surrounded by for much of her life. Her work has attracted the attention of both international designers and high street fashion chains, some how I think (and hope!) that we are going to be seeing a lot more of her. Aimee only uses eco fabrics and innovative sustainable production techniques including traditional screenprinting, hand painting, resist techniques and digital textile design.

Aimee’s latest collection is for The Top Project, a vibrant and forward thinking, sustainable design store created by Designer Nikki Taylor which sells their own range of unique, eye-catching silk tops and covetable, luxurious silk vintage blouses whilst also promoting and selling the work of emerging print designers and illustrators on 100% organic cotton printed T-shirts and sweatshirts.

I also recently discover Umoja, a new ethical label, when I met the lovely founder and designer Victoria at the EFF Source Awards. Her Limited Collections are inspired by her love of Tanzania and she tries to source as many of the fabrics and components from Africa as possible. Her colllections are also made by SOKO, an excellent organisation providing fair employment to an impoverished community (they also make clothes for Lalesso, ASOS Africa, Suno, Choolips, Modahnik, and Made – some of my favourite brands). This African Printed shirt is top of my wishlist at the moment (Umoja is also really affordable!).

Of course if you want to check out even more amazing African prints Sapelle is the place to go, a fantatic website crammed with African inspired fairly made clothes and accessories. Only today after visiting the website temptation got the better of me and I treated myself to this colourful reversilble top by South African designer Chantel Koning for her label YouMeWe.

I have also been admiring this Modahnik dress at Sapelle for some time. It has just been reduced in the sale causing me some pretty severe temptation!

For yet more African inspiration and prints, I would also definitely recommend that you check out the African Fashion Guide.

So, what do you think of African inspired prints, will you be wearing them in 2013.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

PS – the winners of my ethical outfit competition on style-is.co.uk have just been announced, you can check them out here and my lastest blog post on ethical menswear.

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Fireworks Weekend

Posted on November 3, 2012 by admin

Scarf – Vintage/Second hand
Tops – high street
Trousers – ASOS Africa
Boots – Clarks

This week seems to have passed by in a blur, I have been super busy although I am not really sure what I have been doing. The children have been home from school for half term and we have been to stay with my sister for a Halloween sleepover, out for lunch in town and doing non stop making stuff.

Whilst it has been lovely to have some time with them, I am definitely looking forward to a return to routine on Monday. This weekend, we are having one last half term treat with a visit to the circus, honestly I think I am more excited than the children. I don’t think I have ever been to the circus. Also of course there will be fireworks followed by chips from the chippy.

Oh and the outfit? so fed up with the dark and dismal weather I decided to wear something bright to cheer myself up. I don’t think I will ever get bored of these trousers. By wearing them I am probably breaking multiple style rules by wearing patterns on my pear shaped lower half. But oh well, stuff the rules.

What are you up to this weekend? will you be going to the fireworks?

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Autumn is here!

Posted on October 18, 2012 by admin

060 Autumn is here!

Top – charity shop and upcycled
Skirt – ASOS Africa (a few seasons back)
Shoes – Dream in Green

Finally I have had to give up on the summer wardrobe and move onto some warmer clothes until next year. I will be hopefully swapping over many of the clothes in my wardrobe over the weekend although they may well be a few pieces that can be layered with leggings and a cardigan for the cooler weather. Actually I am quite happy to move onto autumn, I am ready for a change.

How about you, are you ready for autumn? Do you have a different set of clothes for the different seasons or are your clothes multi taskers?

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

Ethical Fashion Brands in ASOS Green Rooms

Posted on June 10, 2012 by admin

I have, in the past, been a little critical of the ASOS Green Room for the fact that many of the clothes featured in it would not really be what I would consider ethical and they provided very little information on the ethics of the brands and clothes that they sold. I am pleased to say much of that has now changed and ASOS Green Room now contains quite a comprehensive collection of ethical brands as well as some of their own label clothes including the fabulous ASOS Africa Collection which has been produced by working with SOKO, a clothing production workshop for the export market that aims to create sustainable, fair employment and offer training and skills to some of the most impoverished communities in Kenya.

It also has a bit of information about each of the designers/ labels that it sells. I would however suggest that if you are unsure of whether a label fits with your ethics you look for further information on the brands own website.

I wanted to share some of the ethical brands and collections that are stocked in ASOS Green Rooms and have caught my eye.

ASOS Crochet Village

I love crochet and I love the way this dress incorporates it into a fresh and modern style of dress ! Crochet Village is part of ASOS collection and includes dresses, skirts and tops that fit perfectly with the other exciting and directional pieces in the collection. The collection is made in Bangladeshi village of Chonpara, it enables underprivileged communities to establish sustainable business through their local artisan craftsmanship.

Heti’s Colours

Heti’s Colours is the label of Heti Gervis, a colour forecaster and textile designer who has worked with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein. The collection is inspired by the softness and depth of colour created by hand-dyeing. The collection consists of tonal jersey pieces which are perfect for layering and colour blocking hand dyed in a community near Jaipur, India.

Choolips

Choolips combines ancient textile traditions with fun colourful prints and pretty dresses. The dresses featuring modern Batik prints on pure cotton made entirely in Ghana with both ethical and sustainable practices. Theses dresses are so perfect for summer!

TOMS

I have seen TOMS featured on quite a few fashion blogs recently and really love them for their simple laid back style, multiple choices of colour/ fabric and that they match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a
child in need.

What do you think? have you visited the Green Rooms at ASOS recently?

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

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ASOS Africa Patterned Trousers

Posted on May 30, 2012 by admin

Dress – really old!
Waistcoat – Even older!
Necklace – present from my mum
Patterned Trousers – ASOS Africa
Shoes – Melissa

Today I finally got the chance to wear my new ASOS Africa Patterned trousers that I have been looking forward to wearing with a sense of both excitement and apprehension since I bought them about three weeks ago. Here is the original post that I wrote about the ASOS Africa Collection for SS12.

I have been looking for the perfect pair of patterned trousers for a year or two now. Being so short I really struggle with finding trousers that will fit me and in the case of patterned trousers suit me. Add into the mix that I only buy from eco/ ethical labels these days and I had given myself quite a challenge. I had been working on a short list of possibilties for a few months but when I spotted these babies in the ASOS Green Room, I just couldn’t resist the fantastic colourful pattern.

I have put off wearing them for a few weeks while I carefully considered exactly how I was going to wear them. There is plenty of style advice out there on wearing of patterned trousers which ranges from ‘never do it if you are not tall and very slim’ (neither of which I am) to always wear with heels and if you are petite opt for cropped and close fitting patterned trousers. I am afraid I have not managed to follow any of these rules!

My inital outfit ideas included a fairly eye popping pattern mix with a tribal print tunic I have. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find said tunic so had to opt for the much safer alternative of a little black dress. The one danger with these trousers is for the outfit looking too ‘global traveller’, not really the look I was hoping for.

This outfit really works for me despite the lack of long legs, heels and cropped trousers, it is comfy and practical for everyday and I felt good wearing it even in the really hot weather. Mr Style Eyes even said it looked good or was it ok, either way praise indeed and highly unusual for an outfit this bright.

My tip for wearing patterned trousers if you are vertically challenged, team with a mini dress or long tunic top, this also works well of you are pear shaped. I am pretty sure I will be trying out some other outfits with my new patterned trousers though perhaps heels and a tailored jacket.

What would you where with these ASOS Africa trousers?

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

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The New ASOS Africa Collection for SS12

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

I have loved previous ASOS Africa collections and couldn’t wait to see what they had in store for SS12. I have just realised it is now on sale and I have to say I am pretty excited by the whole collection. For someone like me who loves bright prints this collection is a dream come true but I also think there are some great choices there for the slightly more conservative fashionistas in the form of some great striped and plain pieces.

I love everything about this collection. It combines traditional prints with fresh and very wearable designs, it is very affordable and of course it is made by in collaboration with SOKO Kenya, a fantastic and ground breaking ethical company which allows underprivileged communities to establish sustainable business through local craftsmanship.

The collection consists of sporty dresses, trousers, tops and jackets in acid-bright zebra, giraffe and rhino prints, mixed with traditional Kenyan patterns. Fun, eye catching and contemporary, It moves well away from any of the old preconceptions of ethical fashion. My only wish is that there was even more of it!

What do you think?

You can see the whole collection here.

I have been a little sceptical of the ASOS Green Rooms in the past as I wouldn’t have classed many of the items in there as ethical and they seemed to lack information as to where the products where made and how they are ethical. I think they have got it spot on with this ASOS Africa collection though. They have also introduced some great new ethical brands and started providing much more information on the individual products.

Despite pledging to start a shopping ban just a few days ago, I have failed spectacularly and ordered myself a pair of trousers from this collection. In my defence, I have been looking for a pair of patterned trousers for ages. The shopping ban definitely does start today though.

With warmest wishes

Ceri x

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Pattern Mixing – Animal Print Blouse and Statement Skirt

Posted on October 31, 2011 by admin

Blouse- charity shop
Skirts- ASOS Africa
Shoes – Dream in Green
Necklace – Etsy

I love pattern mixing but have in the past tended to stick to fairly safe choices of different florals or polka dots or stripes. For today I decided to try something a little more adventurous by combining a statement skirt with an animal print blouse and bright tights. I am not sure if this was taking things a step too far, I am sure I got a few strange looks when I popped into town, but then again I don’t usually bother too much about stuff like that plus it is Halloween, so slightly scary outfits are allowed aren’t they?

I hope you have had a lovely weekend. Despite looking forward to an extra hour in bed on Sunnday, I ended up getting up a 5.30am with my daughter who hasn’t yet grasped the concept of clocks going back or having a lie in on the weekend. I did get to spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon wandering around a vintage fair in Bath (more on that very soon) followed by a delicious roast dinner made by Mr Style Eyes. What did you get up to?

For those that have haven’t read my previous post, I have started a new group/ platform/ community – Ethical Fashion Bloggers. It is for any fashion bloggers with an interest in ethical fashion including vintage, charity shopping and DIY. I am really pleased that some of my favourite Fashion Bloggers have already joined. If you would like to join, you can find out more on www.ethicalfashionbloggers.com. I will be publishing full details of our first outfit challenge very soon.

November is the fourth birthday of Style Eyes Fashion Blog, I can’t quite believe that I have been blogging this long, but I have really enjoyed myself and hope that my blogging has improved a bit over the years. To celebrate, I will be holding a competition with some great ethical fashion prizes, the competition will launch next Monday so please stop by and check it out.

Finally, I have had some good news! I have been accepted as a Fashion Blogger for Oxfam. I think my first post will be posted quite soon, I will share it with you once it is live. Those who read this blog regularly will know that I love Oxfam for buying clothes so I am really excited to get involved.

Happy Halloween – Are you doing anything fun (or scary)?

With warmest wishes

Ceri X

Tuesday Treats – Textured Layers

Posted on October 18, 2011 by admin

It is starting to feel a lot more like autumn now and I am really craving interesting textures and layers. I have found some great affordable and ethical options which might even tempt me away from my usual bright prints.

Crochet Shawl by Ethical Emi – £25

quilted jersey shell top Tuesday Treats Textured Layers

Quilted Jersey Shell Top by ASOS Africa – £35

People Tree Chunky Cable Knit Cardi - £120

Organic Cotton Dress from H&M Conscious Collection – £34.99

Krissie Top by Komodo – £45

Antiform Peach Doilie Top – Think Boutique – £39

Boucle Slouch Cardigan – Annie Greenabelle – £47

Finally, I just wanted to share with you a great opportunity for any budding fashion designers out there:

Surfdome.com and Eco surf brand Rapanui have teamed up to offer you a money-can’t-buy opportunity: to be a designer for an award-winning fashion brand. So get your creative head on and come up with a design for a Rapanui t-shirt. The winning design will be printed by Rapanui, and will be sold at www.surfdome.com. You’ll also get five of your t-shirts for you and your mates. To top off the prize bundle, you’ll get £50 worth of vouchers to spend at Rapanui and £50 worth of vouchers to spend at www.surfdome.com! To enter the competition ‘Like’ both Rapanui and Surfdome’s Facebook pages and then upload your design here: http://www.rapanuiclothing.com/surfdome-form.php. Competition closes on 6^th November 2011.

Hope you are having a good week.

With warmest wishes

Ceri X