Child of Wild: An Interview with Eileen Lofgre

I've previously mentioned Child of Wild, the Californian jewellery company, in posts as I'm totally obsessed with their culturally sourced designs. As someone who was torn between Anthropology and Fashion as a degree this brand is a dream come true! I recently got the opportunity to chat with the head of the brand, Eileen Lofgren via email as part of a university project and thought I would share Eileen's answers to some of my questions.

Q: What is your ethos as a brand?

A: Child of Wild is a brand that believes objects with past lives or cultural relevance have a depth that can be felt. In this day of accumulating 'a lot of cheap' Child of Wild comes from the philosophy that fewer quality possessions that speak to your soul are what makes your home and life fulfilled.

Q: What inspires your designs?

A: Jewellery: we love to find antique or vintage ritual pieces...either it be Indian wedding jewellery or Native American jewellery. We are inspire by different cultures and their colourful religious/spiritual beliefs and traditions.
Skulls: I often pull inspiration from history...either it be Marie Antoinette's love of lace and lavish clothing or the Art Deco buildings in Chicago. I like to research an era and pick out interesting pasts of it and try and physically exemplify the idea.


Q: What projects are you currently working on?

A: We are coming out with a bridal line that is full of traditional Indian headdresses and amazing statement pieces.

Q: Do you have any plans for the company in the future?

A: We would love to produce and design our own jewellery line. Pull inspiration from these cultures and give our own interpretation.

Q: How do you ensure that your materials and designs are ethically and culturally sourced?

A: That is what we're known for! We will only but direct from an artist or group in these cultures. It takes SO MUCH TIME and is definitely more of a risk but sooooo worth it. We are headed to Turkey in a few days to go source more traditional Middle Eastern jewellery.

Q: Who do you consider your style icon?

A: Oh man... I have always had an affinity for Eddie Sedgwick. I love early Cher (70s), Bridget Bardot, Nancy Sinatra. Currently I love Abbey Lee Kershaw, Sienna Miller and am honestly inspired by my blogger friends and clients!

I would thoroughly recommend (and have before!) checking out their website, they ship all over the world (and also have excellent customer service) and the pieces are so worth it! There are some amazing statement pieces as well as gorgeous rings, bracelets etc. The skulls are incredible and would be an amazing feature in any room.

Also big thanks to Eileen for this interview which is not only interesting but earned me a ton of extra credit on my uni course!

Current Inspirations: Kylie Jenner

About three weeks ago I sat down and watched an episode of Keeping up With the Kardashians, something I had always avoided like the plague and ever since I've just been addicted. What I'm most obsessed with though is Kylie Jenner's style. She is by far the edgiest of the Kardashian clan and I just love her laid-back, modern LA style. Think black, baggy and simple. 

High quality baggy t-shirts in grey or black are the staple item of this look along with some bad-ass stompy shoes with buckles (my favourite place for this style of shoe is by far Topshop). High wasited distressed denim shorts with a cropped top and a flannel shirt round your waist is a great way to achieve Kylie's style. Pair it with tousled hair, some round sunglasses, a choker style necklace and some stiletto style nails and you have it down. The easiest place to find clothes in Kylie's style is the Kendall and Kylie collection for PacSun. 

If you're going for a more dressed up look go for some cropped black cigarette pants with a baggy vest or another cropped top. Throw you're hair in a messy bun, add a ton of rings, layered necklaces and some strappy sandals  and once again you're set.

For make-up keep it natural but the key is the flick. I just went on youtube and looked through a couple of make-up tutorials which I recommend if you're going for a specific look like this!

Leather trousers can be scary but disco pants would also
look great here

I love this football referee style t-shirt

I love the Clueless feel to this outfit

I love everything about this outfit!

This is a great more dressed up look

I'm obsessed with this nude jumpsuit

Current Favourites: Shops!

Hello again everyone! It's been a while because I've finally got a job and have had a lot to sort out with uni and student finance etc. as well as organising a months travel round europe (which I'm planning to do a style diary for) but I'm finally writing a new blog post! I wanted to do a round up of shops that I've been loving lately because it's that time of year when I start updating my summer wardrobe, and this year I'm also having to buy clothes for the eastern European summer for whilst I'm travelling. So I thought I'd share with you my favourite high street store summer collections as well as my current favourite clothing items.

The first shop that I absolutely cannot get enough of this season is Free People. They have stores in the US, Canada and Japan only but they do international shipping online which is great for people in Europe. The shop is very boho, laid back, slouchy clothes that are just perfect for summer, think Coachella/lazy days at the beach. It's a little more expensive than the places I usually shop but it's great if you want a really good quality staple or investment piece. I love all their stuff but at the minute I'm obsessed with their bralettes, they look so good under a backless dress, a really slouchy vest or any sheer shirts/dresses that look a bit slutty with just a normal bra underneath. My favourites are the Intimately V-bra (below left, £58), I love it in white and black but it is also available in just black, and the Intimately Free People V-Wire Bra (below right, £28) in black/green or smoke however there are also 8 other colours to choose from.

Intimately V bra in white/black

V-Wire Bra in green/black

The next shop I've been loving is Miss Selfridge. I've always been a big fan of this shop and this summer it has once again lived up to my expectations. It is a UK store but again the website ships almost everywhere. The pricing in this store is very reasonable for the quality of the clothes and pretty cheap. At the minute I'm having a serious 90s phase and this store is doing gorgeous 90s neckline crop tops (below left, £8 block colour, £12 for print) that are so flattering and look amazing with anything high waisted. I'd recommend getting it in black as it's such a good staple item but  they had a ton of other colours and prints as well. Envelope skirts are the fashion item of the moment in high street stores, I've tried on various versions in almost every high street store and the Miss Selfridge high waisted skort version (below right, £35) is by far my favorite. It has such a flattering fit and because it's a skort its much easier to wear, you don't have to worry about the whole world seeing your knickers! The skort comes in various colours but again my favourite is black. The two items actually go really well together as well!

Black 90s Square Crop Top 

Belted High Waist Skort in Black

Cleopatra's Desire Headdress

The third shop I'm going to talk about is Child of Wild which is actually an accessories store but I am so obsessed with it right now I wish I could buy everything they have. Again, it's a very boho look, quite tribal and vintage. As well as jewellery they do home-wear and bones. It's very expensive compared to my usual price range but it's great if you want to treat yourself (which I did with my first pay check!) or for presents. It is online only but ships anywhere although they are based in the US. My favourite piece by far is the Cleopatra's Desire Headdress (left, $125) which is imported from India and isn't for the shy! My other favourites are the Menefret Egyptian Anklet in gold ($28) and the Janissaries Hand of Glory which is an incredible slave bracelet imported from Turkey (below right, $46).

Janissaries Hand of Glory in Gol

Paisley Print Sundress by Kate Moss

The next place I've been loving is Topshop which I was personally surprised by as I usually find Topshop overpriced and just not that nice. Obviously I love their Kate Moss collection at the moment although I don't think I would buy any of it as it's all a little too rock star for my taste and doesn't really suit my style, it has a kind of 70s vibe about it with all the tassels and sequins. My favourite piece from the collection has to be the Paisley Print Sundress (right £65), I just love the colours and print, I think it's so cute and summery! I'm loving the 70s style running shorts that are super fashionable at the minute and I picked up the lemon print ones from Topshop (below left, £12) because I thought the print was so summery and they are so comfy they're just perfect for travel. They're also really good value for money and surprisingly cheap for Topshop! I also really like the playsuits/jumpsuits they have in store at the moment (I find their tall section fantastic when it comes to jumpsuits since I'm 5"11!). They have loads of super cute floral playsuits but my fave is this Tropical Palm Print Boilersuit (below right, £65).

Tropical Palm Print Boilersuit

Lemon Print Runner Shorts

 

The Disco Pant in Black

The last thing I want to mention is American Apparel's Disco Pants. I really am not a fan at all of American Apparel, I think it's overpriced and the clothes are not particularly flattering or nice however, I had heard so much about their infamous Disco Pants that I just had to try them. The conclusion? They are AMAZING! they're so comfy, such good quality, so flattering and just look incredible. They suck in any wobbly bits in your legs and stomach and make you look so slim and the high waist is great for if you want to wear a cropped top or a loose baggy top, or pretty much anything! They are pretty expensive at £74 but they are definitely an investment piece and you do get what you pay for in this instance. They come in various colours but black is definitely the way to go in my opinion.







So that's it for my current favourites! I hope this has helped with any summer wardrobe updates you might be making! Please leave your comments below, I love to hear what you think!

Constance xx

Links:
Free People:            http://www.freepeople.co.uk/
Miss Selfridge:         http://www.missselfridge.com/
Child of Wild:          http://www.childofwild.com/
Topshop:                 http://www.topshop.com/
American Apparel:   http://store.americanapparel.co.uk/the-disco-pant_rsaah300

Horror Movie: Italian Vogue

The fashion world and general public has been thrown into debate once again by Editor-in-Chief of Italian Vogue Franco Sozzani's controversial cover stories. In the past war, oil spillage, rehab, plus size models and black models have all been subjects of cover shoots that get the readers in uproar over whether or not this is distasteful or trivialising the issue at hand. This April, Sozzani chose domestic violence as her controversial subject.

Having seen the full story on Vogue.it (link below), the question that I personally was left asking myself was whether this was actually a shoot about domestic violence at all and not just beautiful recreations of horror movie scenes. Yes the female models are being attacked by a male in a private home but the image are so cinematic and glamorous that almost all feeling of an actual real-life issue is eradicated. It feels to me like they started with one concept, a horror movie themed shoot, and then later decided it might be a good idea to also address a current social problem. I think that fashion can be used to promote social issues and current topics but unfortunately in this instance it didn't work.

The main criticism of this shoot is that the images trivialise domestic violence. I can understand where the critics are coming from with this point, the model draped across stairs in a red couture gown or cowering under the stairs in a saucy black number does lead to a sort of film-noir glamour mixed with Japanese horror. However, for me as I said above, the images seem to in fact just detach themselves from the subject altogether. Even the shoots title of Cinematic has no relevance to abuse at all and leads to the reader believing it is indeed just a shoot about horror films. 

Regardless of whether or not this shoot is raising awareness on the subject of domestic violence, the heated debate that it's sparked is in fact raising awareness anyway. It's got people talking about the subject and through the debates online and in the media the public are being exposed to the issue. Perhaps this was Sozzani's plan all along, to create something so controversial people are debating it's purpose and raising awareness more than one photo story ever could by splashing it across all forms of media.

Let me know what you thought of the shoot in the comments below! And if you haven't seen the images yet, you can find them here:  http://www.vogue.it/magazine/cover-story/2014/04/cinematic

My Style of the Moment

I found it hard to give this post a title that concisely described the look I've been loving at the moment so in the end I gave up. It's casual, beachy, a little bit LA surfer girl, a little bit chilled out East Village NYC. Think Gillian Zinser (Ivy from 90210), Rumi Neely (Fashion Toast blogger). Lots of baggy tops and jumpers, cardigans hanging off one shoulder with oversized slip dresses. Perfect for this crazy spring weather we're having right now. Here are the three outfits I've been loving the most lately that I shot at my beach hut this weekend.

 In this picture I'm wearing my absolute favourite Topshop leopard print pyjama pants that I nabbed in the sale with a baggy navy vest (Primark) and a vintage light denim shirt. I've got my hair in a messy bun which is super easy to do and looks great with this style and I've accessorized it with a gold leaf headband. I've pulled the outfit together with some gold bangles, lots of mid finger rings and an ethnic print side bag and clear frame sunglasses (New Look).

 This look is perfect for a warmer day, but you can pair it with tights and it will still look good. I'm wearing a neonish lime yellow baggy vest (H&M) with light denim cut-off shorts (Pull and Bear) and a super baggy navy knitted cardigan (Primark). I've accessorized with a long gold pendant necklace and a navy hat. Hats are always fun to wear (provide it's not too windy!) and also keep you a little bit warmer!


















This look is good for evenings, wear it with an oversized jacket or man's shirt for warmth. The slip dress is my current favourite item in my wardrobe, which I bought in New Look last week in the sale for £2!!
It's super see-through so I'm wearing a black bandage skirt underneath and a black Victoria's Secret bra. This outfit is sexy but laid back so it's perfect for drinks at the pub or a house party.

These mid finger rings are crazy fashionable right now and also look really cool! The more delicate they are, the better. If they're really thin then you can double up some of them to create really interesting looks. The plain rings are from H&M and the

Portfolio Shoot: Broguing

This shoot was titled broguing which is the perforated pattern on brogue shoes. For this shoot I played with locations and the final image I selected for my portfolio is one with the brogues in my fridge. This was inspired by a quote by Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City; 'I use my oven for storage'. Other locations included the Moroccan tiles in my bathroom, inspired by the film The English Patient and a barbecue full of burnt paper ashes. The shoes I used are white brogues with a pale lavender ombre on the toe by Alice Temperly. Once again, I hope you like the images and post any comments that you have!

Portfolio Shoot: The Cabinet of Curiosities

I feel this series of posts will require a brief introduction so here it is. I have just applied for fashion styling and imaging courses at various universities in England and over the next few weeks will be attending interviews. I have sorely neglected my blog in the past few months due to preparing my portfolio for these interviews and now that my portfolio is finished I am going to post the images from each shoot on my blog (one shoot per day). I haven't really ever featured any of my own photographs on my blog before so be nice and give me feedback!

Today's post is the first shoot I did entitled 'The Cabinet of Curiosities'. The concept first came to me whilst I was re-reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets where Harry marvels at the bizarre objects in cabinets at Borgin and Burke's shop. My mother owns various animal skulls, which she used at art college for still lives, that are kept in a glass fronted cabinet in our dining room. The combination of these two inspirations came together to form the following jewellery shoot.