Colour vs Sound Clash

I've explained before how more often than not the one strong influence upon my wardrobe choice is often my music playlist.Every once and a while I may have a different source of inspiration,but mainly my daily outfits/ style depends on which tune/artist/band I stumble upon when shuffling through numerous songs and albums.Today it was a case of serious musical mash up, I began my morning with blasting out The Breakfast Club soundtrack, followed yet again by MGMT hence the colour clash,yup my bizarre ensemble was indeed heavily influenced by my bizarre early morning sound clash.I've given my nod and eighties approval in the form of these bad boy exaggerated shoulders: big enough for a small aircraft to take off into flight.
Then there's the other half of my outfit two words.Wyngarden effect.
I'm showing off (I apologise for no pics, camera batteries died on me) my DIY skillllz, wearing a pair of acid pink and electric blue jeans...slowly I'm fighting and overcoming the denim demons, if you had asked me a year ago to sport jeans I would have laughed in your face and legged it, always opting for a dress or skirt (ignorance is bliss) convinced jeans were dull,lazy and no fun.How wrong was the 2009 me?Jeans, trousers, leggings,jeggings they all have the ability to provide creative style fun for I am not at all limited. If anything it means I have to really exercise my creativity, as jeans/trousers etc require more imagination than if I were to chose a dress.From now on I pledge to dabble with the denim,I'll record my progression here...trial and error springs to mind.

Keeping it clean

So you all know what it's like when your a fashion blogger the old inbox gets full of those all too familiar transparent emails...dear (insert your name here) we follow your blog (you lie!) and love your fashion posts (name one, go on I dare you)we'd be grateful if you could feature (insert rubbish fashion item/collection/designer/label etc)on your fabulous (...eurrgh fabulous? Really, did you really just use that fashion chat up line? Who's this email from? Patsy darling? ) fashion blog.
Frown*.
I have one rule in regards to blog content I will only ever feature fashion goodies which are well,good if the item is off beat even better, hand it over here I will happily pen about it until my computer rejects me. I don't and won't ever write about something I dislike. It's simple if I wouldn't have it in my wardrobe it ain't going on this blog, I couldn't care how designer or 'fabulous' it is or how many samples they send my way.Hmm yeah I'm a fashion fuss pot.











So it was refreshing to receive a special email inside my inbox from Kenneth Cole who is lending a hand in the Gulf clean up by launching an online custom T-shirt store. Environmentally-minded fashion fans will be able to customize a shirt in the exclusive Facebook store and 100% of net profits will be donated to AWEARNESS, The Kenneth Cole Foundation, which is committed to supporting the Gulf efforts.
Now that's what I call fashion savvy.
I'm so so pleased that my little blog has been asked to back such an amazing and important campaign, which is a whole load of fun may I just add.I like how the Kenneth Cole campaign is interactive and creative: I spent ages customizing my T-shirt such a blast!
I won't preach how vital it is to donate,as we are all aware how tragic the gulf situation is, and we all know how important our world our environment is. So just please gals practice those fashion skills and get designing your T-shirt's whenever you have some free time and spare pennies in your purse.I've made it nice and easy for prettyneon readers to contribute, simply click on the Kenneth Cole billboard badge to your right.

peace X

Weekend Wars

Hello girls happy weekend hows your weekend going, good I hope? I'm currently recovering from extreme food poisoning, it was self inflicted foolishly self inflicted I was oblivious that the sour cream and chive deep I splashed over my summer salad was in fact three days old and out.I was vomiting so damn hard and frequently,I convinced myself I'd be ringing the bell at deaths door any time soon.Thankfully I remain very much alive and(almost) kicking.I staggered to work this morning pale (some things never change) with a light tone of green in my complexion, all day I've been running on empty. To pull me through I've been getting my psychedelic groooooove onto some vintage MGMT, with 'Weekend Wars' on repeat.
My choice of tunes has had a rather bizarre and surreal effect on my wardrobe...







After work I made a quick trolley dash around the shops for fathers day, desperate to be more original than previous years...happy fathers day Dad here's another book on the rolling stones, not forgetting the socks.Anywho's after picking my brains for gift ideas, fighting the weekend crowds,Saturday shopoholics and avoiding trolley/pram collisions (frightening stuff may I add)I finally purchased a basket of goodies for fathers day. When a very seductive sale rail caught my magpie eye.
The sale contents consisted of neon animal print tee's,sequin shorts and graffiti tribal print dresses all of the above I'd normally avoid like those pesky broken three wheeled trolleys and enormous 4x4 prams. However under the influence of MGMT I felt compelled if not possessed by the Wyngarden demon to be bold and dabble with the unknown. A fashion acid trip so to speak.

Maxed Out

Hmm so I'm guessing I'm not the only one who has noticed all those festival snap shots in many a fashion glossy magazine, a bombardment of beach babe models and other 'famous' beings elegantly floating around in their fashionable maxi frocks. Sigh. For they make it look so easy don't they? As if minimum effort is required, they simply slide into their maxi dress heyho they're ready to go and wow the fashion pap's.
I'll be the first to admit I have serious maxi envy.
There's just no avoiding the bloody things: every summer year in-year out, I just know I'm going to encounter a wave of maxi dresses and apart from oohh shelter myself indoors ans skip the summer season, there is nowt I can do about the situation. Each summer I ponder,weigh out the possibilities and consider embracing a maxi (if you can't beat 'em join 'em)then I remember I'm not even five foot tall. And this is where the drama err I mean nightmare begins...



The much adored Maxi looks fanfriggingtastic on all those Vogue girls,with their loong slender boyish straight up straight down figures with the added bonus of being blessed with great height. However I do not have pins all the way up to my armpits hence why the Maxi causes mayhem for me,forever cropping up various challenging issues

Problem 1:The long length is an hazard-I would forever be picking the hem and myself up off the floor.

Problem 2:All maxi dresses within my price range are cut terrible,the straps are never level and are always too flimsy result- exposure of undies...not good.

Problem 3: Most maxi dresses are very narrow- and not very generous for us gals with hour glass-esque figures...I don't wish to highlight these hips (inherited by my great Italian nan who I never met but she's giving me a gift that just keeps on giving...these giant hips!Cheers nan).





Despite my fear, and painful past maxi experiences which involve stumbling over numerous times (cutting and bruising my knees in the process)avoiding a close brush with death when the bottom of my floor sweeping maxi somehow got chewed up by an automatic train door. I'm foolishly willing to flirt with the mother of all summer wear...the monster maxi. Eekk the thought is ever so daunting, I much prefer to keep my skirts short above these knobbly knees thank you.In the name of research I've been compiling my maxi research, stalking every maxi supplier out there. I've decided it would probably be wise to invest in a well fitting authentic seventies style maxie dress, vintage if poss.I have many a vintage style summer wedge sandal which would make bff with my maxi and more importantly extend these short legs of mine. After browsing website after website, shop after shop, placing naughty bids on pre-loved, I've narrowed my options down to four (narrowing doesn't have to be quite so narrow-ish).
I'm in love with the seventies pastel crochet maxi (num 2)only problem being this beaut of a maxi (below) has also possessed my heart



image from asos.

Here she goes again

I know, I know, I know don't I have something better to pen about other than purse friendly Peacocks?
Your answer is yes I do lots,actually I have so much to write and share with you that it's rather naughty of me (and some could say self indulgent?) to keep championing Peacocks.I'm guilty of forever declaring my lurrrv for the fashion budget chain and also guilty of attempting to convert hardcore label lovers to raid Peacocks sale rails. So from now on (once I'm done with this post)I swear to stop with the Peacocks preaching I'll keep it zipped, no more of that P-word coming from this mouth nope nope nope...not until the next Pearl Lowe installment.
However I am about to declare my love for THAT low fashion budget store just one more time, you know one for the road and all that jazz! So if budget highstreet fashion makes you shudder word of warning look away now...





photos by prettyneons


Check out the eye popping, retro style curtain print! Oh how it make my heart skip a fashion beat, I was lucky enough to get my paws on this granny inspired handbag sharpish, I'm not much of an impulse buyer (really I'm not!) but sometimes in life you have to make exceptions:and this bag sure is worhty.
More often than not when it comes to accessories from cheap fashion stores, looks can indeed be deceiving, I went through a rather stubborn snobbish phase of refusing to purchase both shoes and bags from such places, because it was always so disappointing when after only just one use buckles, straps and buttons fall off and before you can say cheap the whole item falls apart. This would explain my obsessive compulsive quality testing, which I religiously put into practice.
This Peacocks bag isn't just pretty, the quality is top's too what makes this bag so very attractive is the design details and superb finishing which can easily give the big guns a run for their money.In a brief experiment (no animals were tested in this process)I gave my bag a test drive, and annoyed some trend conscious teens by asking them where they believe the bag was purchased from,with absolute no hints coming from moi. The results were interesting with more than half the gals (umm and one boy)who inspected my Peacocks bag utterly convinced its origins were either Riverisland or Missselfridge. Not bad eh? Not bad at all for a humble handbag from Peacocks which only costs (insert drum roll please) £12.







P.S...On another hundred percent unrelated note,I'd just like to say thank you to all you gals who visit this blog although and admittedly posts have been few and far between along with comments from me- to- you which have also been non-existent.This is due to personal life drama. I promise hand over heart no more slacking off.
Thanks again you all know who you are <3

Star Bell

Eekk it's been so so so long since I published a post! I've been pouring all my energy into my art and design work, this my friends is the honest excuse. And what with all the computer troubles I've been experiencing, I made the bold and drastic decision to switch the damn thing off until I could afford to have it examined by the computer doc i.e computer expert dude.
How I've missed my emails,blogs,gumtree and lastfm! I'm ecstatic to have my PC back, though shall be even more ecstatic when I get my paws on that elusive laptop!
Cannot believe it's the weekend, where the heck has this week gone? How time skips so fast when your sat in front of a dead computer screen sulking and screaming , "come on get it together your suppose to be intelligent no?So why can't you shake off that pesky virus you piece of good for nothing shit!"
Aaahh it's good to get it out the system every once in a while, the stress of all this techno drama encouraged an outbreak of spots on moi's chin. It's ridiculous how much us humans are forced to depend on computers isn't it?They're like a life support machine and when they refuse to play ball a huge void hangs over our heads...erm unless that's just me?


Since my hiatus I've mainly been working/designing/printing/sewing and stressing, in between all the above I've relaxed indulging in my beloved past time-thrifting!
My summer wardrobe is finally beginning to form, so far a large volume of my summer wardrobe comes from Peacocks Tesco's and BHF. I should imagine this is enough to make a fashion snob shudder,yep I can hear them now,'oh the girl should hang her head in shame'. I completed a fashion internship many moons ago (two years back)I experienced such shocking fashion prejudice, it didn't offend me because, well it was just too comical to take seriously.
...Moving on, I rummaged through several plastic baskets full of plastic accessory bling down my local charity shop.I'm content in charity shops, even more content when diving down those charming little plastic baskets often placed near the till point. Just as I was prepared to part with my second hand goods, I end
up scooping a handful of antique brooches,beads, skeleton keys(found two 50p each. I shall pop them onto a silver chain)and a quirky marble blue necklace, with an white and gold star/moon print.You can imagine
my sheer delight when I went to pick it up to observe closer and I heard a bell sound...yes yes the necklace has a bell inside of it,also snagged this compact size navy blue straw patch work shoulder bag with gold clasp-£3
Smug-very smug.
While I prance in front of the mirror with my new thrift findings, I'll leave you with these photos of me all excited over my bell necklace...








all above snapshots by prettyneons


Have a lovely weekend yeah my Sweet's? I'll no doubt still be prancing around in front of the mirror playing dress up and dancing to the happy sounds of my bell necklace. I'm also very excited about being reunited with my love-drumkit, my aunt is kindly bringing it up for me as sadly I had to abandon my kit when I first re-located.I cannot wait to catch up with all my blog pals either, I predict this weekend is going to be a good one!

peace X