Fashion from films: The Great Gatsby

I remember when we studied The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald in English - you just can't really picture the glamour until you see the film. I loved the old Gatsby film and already being interested in fashion at that point I thought the '20s flapper style was adorable.

That era was so glamorous with the bejewelled headpieces and beads and fringed dresses. And what's more - the flapper style is back on the High Street nearly 100 years after it first arrived. 

The comeback is a lot to do with the remake of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio and the ever-gorgeous Carey Mulligan.The original 1974 film starred Mia Farrow who was a real beauty in her time and played the role of Daisy Buchanan eloquently but I am really looking forward to Mulligan's spin on the dainty character as she was superb in Drive. 

As the flapper style has come back with a bang, it's the perfect time to invest in your christmas party pieces. Here are some picks:

If you are feeling a little extravagent and have a bit of spare cash to spend then this lovely little number by William Tempest @ River Island will keep you happy. It's very sparkly and will have no qualms about getting you into the festive mood - its only downfall is the price at a steep £150. This beautiful piece also comes in a baby pink colour. 

Looking for something quite a bit cheaper? desireclothing.co.uk has the answer. Their slightly more modern and less sparkly version on the flapper dress is only £25 and can be a great day to night dress if you are going from work to work's night out.

Finally, you can't go out at christmas without a good bit of head gear. eBay has some really cheap costume pieces and this easy-to-use headband is a cracker at only £2.50. 

I hope you have enjoyed my roaring 20s inspired post and I am very excited to see the remake of The Great Gatsby. 

Enjoy your christmas parties!!

Christmas buys: beauty

Do you have that one person in your life who has everything? Or has no real desire for anything else? 
Well, with Christmas round the corner, the high street is packed full of gifts and gadgets (maybe too many if you ask me) and I'm going to tell which are the best ones - beauty related ofcourse as this is the beauty edition...

Now, I bet you're tempted to head along to boots or lush and buy a gift set of some sort - I mean it is 3 for 2 so you could get everyone's presents there, couldn't you?

No.

It is far too easy to buy a nice, cheap gift set that someone has also bought for them thus resulting in disappointment (and you getting a naff present for your birthday).

The first gift - which I just found out about - that I will recommend is Nails Inc couture polishes.

These are special one off polishes that you create by yourself through the Nails Inc. website. No, I don't mean you start mixing colours together and all that nonsense but you chose a jewelled top for the bottle, the colour you want from quite a wide range and you get to name the polish e.g. you could put "ace aunt" or whatever.

At only £20, they come in a sweet little box that you can put a little message on so it's great value for money in my opinion and your loved one has a one-off nail polish which no-one else will have given them. 

You can create your own here.

Another great beauty gift idea is making up a LUSH hamper. It's fairly cheap to get a nice box or basket and fill it with tissue paper and fill it with LUSH items that you know the recipient will love - the bath bombs are my favourite. And it won't be that expensive either so everyone wins 

A final tip I will give you is create your own, there are tonnes of blogs and pin boards out there that show you simple ways to make home-made beauty buys such as sugar scrubs and solid perfum lockets.

Be original this Christmas and get gifts that your friends will adore.

Do you have any good original gift ideas? 

What is the best gift you've ever received?

Celebrity endorsements: Who really benefits?

It's very popular now for celebrities to 'create' lines for high street retailers. Off the top of my head - Lana Del Ray - H&M, Kelly Brook - New Look, Kim Kardashion - Dorothy Perkins, Kate Moss - Topshop - spring to mind.

The lines get released and they sell-out like Oasis tickets.

What I want to know is who really benefits from these collaborations?

The customer, for example, is currently spending less due to the current climate so can they really validate paying an extra £20 or so per item to have it 'designed' by a popular celebrity? Not to mention the lossy quality of these so-called special edition items due to the reduction of production costs...

Then take the actual clothing retailers... they have to put in a bid for that celebrity and offer them a rather large sum of money to even be considered. Not only that but you have to account for production costs and extra staffing as, to be fair, these so-called celebrities don't design the line - they choose from a selection shown to them by a designer. Taking all this into consideration - are the retailers even making much money from these one off lines?

Then we have the celebrity, the person who already has a small (or most likely large) fortune chilling in their bank account, who strolls in, picks a few clothes they like, then models them in a photoshoot and walks away with millions of pounds.

But yeah, the customer totally benefits.

I think you know something isn't right when the company doesn't seem to gain as much as they should. However, that's just my personal opinion.

Are you prepared to pay over-the-odds for high street labels to have celebrity names attached to them? 

Do you think high street labels should stick to their own brand?

I'd love to hear your opinions