Vintage Sparkle!

By Annette Bette Kellow, Fashion & Vintage stylist
www.annettebettekellow.com

Looking like your art teacher from Year 6 couldn’t be more popular this season in adding a bit of Hayworth sparkle as a must have ultimate accessory- Cocktail rings, darling! But rather than wear one for a classic date with a LBD in understated fashion go Gypsyesque and wear them all on every finger!

Enough to make a magpies eyes truly water, let them glint in abstract colours and tones, silver, gold with different coloured stones and shapes, not fussing too much if they don’t match.

They remind me of a recent book called Mil Besos (1000 kisses) by Ruven Afanador of which he famously followed gypsies around Spain capturing their attire, beauty and traits and many wore all of their jewellery at one time, looking intricate in their adornments-

If you are nervous of wearing ‘too much’ perhaps tone down the size of them but never the glamour!

Natacha Marro Shoes!

By Annette Kellow, Vintage Fashion Stylist
www.annettebettekellow.com/

I was running down the land of Brick Lane for a rehearsal early on a Sunday morning when I saw the glimmer gently cavorting towards me- SAMPLE SALE HERE TODAY. Gulp.

Skidding to a halt, there was something shimmering in the form of iridescent skyscraper, platform Mary Jane’s in a multitude of coloured leathers, glitter, patterns and prints and before I knew it I had gravitated to the front and was gently cooing and clucking like an over protective mother as I cradled 3 of the beauties… Welcome Natacha Marro.

Coming from the tres equisite Nice, Natacha trained at the famous Cordwainers College and opened her first store in 2000- she has a long list of clients that include David Bowie, Luella, Gwen Stefani, Olivia Newton John, Goldfrapp, Star Wars and Grayson Perry.

Her shoes have graced catwalks all over the world and magazines Elle, Bizarre, The Independent and Observer have gladly printed her whilst the feet of Keira Knightly, Chloe Sevigny, Gareth Pugh and Kate Moss have been adorned by these fairy-tale creations.

They include thigh high rubber boots, chunky glitter wedges and high platformed Oxfords, pixie toes, Betty ballets, fetish heels in patent shiny colours and bold prints of which you can have tailored and custom designed to your own bespoke fashion.

Natacha herself aims for shoes which are beautiful and comfortable and indeed I got to put this to the test when dropping an earring in the middle of Shoreditch high street and hotfooted across, incase the traffic crushed it- trying to look glam at the same time!
I managed to narrow it down to one pair in the way that you go to a restaurant, order then secretly wish you were eating someone else’s (cue stamping foot, I want them all!) but I staved myself off with the reassurance that, ‘Next time, I will get more’. On purchasing the sequined, ballet ribboned platformed pair for a purse happy reduction, the manager of the show approached, catching a forlorn, red-handed me. Oops. Expecting a huge telling off, for this irresponsible shopping when supposed to be practicing, I awaited the worse. But no, the spell had been cast and she too had gone into ‘ooooh’ mode as she flashed her hunched back at me the rest of the time whilst carefully indulging-

These shoes can only be described as fantasy extraordinaire and cater for anything your mind creates so all hail to the new shoe queen, Miss Marro!

Guytastic!

Ok, so we’ve all heard of the famous “Guyliner”… eyeliner for men, disguised in a manly fashion, just to make them feel a little more, well, manly! Now, Taxi Cosmetics have broadened their range of man wearing makeup to now offer Disguys (concealer for men) and Manscara (self explanatory really). Where will this craze end?
To be honest, surely there is zero difference in the products themselves to what us lovely ladies wear, except of course for the funky black and white packaging and  the fact they have been labelled “for men”, makes it all the more acceptable, right? They have even designed a Mineral Foundation for the men of this new era world. I don’t suppose we’d batter our lovely lashes if we came across these makeup wearing builders… afterall, it’s classed as being pretty cool is it not? Doesn’t it resemble being a little “Rock n’ Roll” when you see a black smudged eye upon a lovely face of the male specie?

I say bravo to the inventors and designers Pete Kelly and Jane Williamson, the husband and wife team behind this very “with the times” product and brand! www.taxicosmetics.com/taxi_men.asp

What do you think? Are you up for a little bit of makeup wearing man? Or do you prefer your men with glowing features, imperfections and all? Leave your comments below!

Official Website

Hi all, just thought I’d write a quick update as I have been a little quiet on the blog side of things. This is purely because I am in the process still of working on the official site, so things have had to slow down for the blog.

All is looking fab, and am sure you will all love it! We may even launch it sooner than planned which is exciting!

Anyway, have a great day and keep your eyes peeled for further updates!

Meanwhile, if you feel you have something to offer the official ESVIE website, whether as a Freelance Writer/Contributor, you are a designer or stylist, established model or photographer, have new products or designs that you’d like to showcase, please feel free to get in touch!

SabinaVentriglia

Founder and Editor of ESVIE

Cheryls new do!

Cheryl Cole wowed us all with her new “extensionless” do, on the X Factor this weekend. Her hair was visibly shorter, giving the illusion of her extensions being no more. Or are they?

Cheryl received a backlash of comments after appearing on the L’Oreal adverts advertising hair products for the brand. People have complained they feel cheated that they are being sold these products to make your hair “feel stronger, full of life, replenished with a healthy shine”, when she is in fact wearing hair extensions herself to create this “perfect” look.

Now she enters our screens on one of the biggest shows on earth, fashioning a new do, where questions have been asked if her extensions have now been taken out.

If you ask me, I’m sure they’re still there, and just cut shorter to her new style… they aren’t only used for length you know, they help with creating fullness too! But either way, I think her new look is fabulous! So what do you think? Leave your comments below.

Gold Lips?

Dolce & Gabbana

It’s one thing slapping a bit of gold eyeshadow on, or highlighting your cheek bones with a golden shimmer or as we now know, painting your nails a liquid gold, but to introduce a Gold Lipgloss is summin’ else!

I can imaging that on its own, it’s not a great look and could potentially make you look a little washed out. However, used with a warm toned lipstick, just to give a bit of depth, could look absolutely gorgeous! Simply apply a little of the gold lipgloss to the centre section of your lips, and this will make them look poutiful! You can use this same technique with a very light dab of gold eyeshadow to your lips (remember to keep it light, or you’ll be spitting powder! Nice!)

Bobbi Brown metallic shades

OPI Nail varnish

Fashion Icon – Madonna

Now I have chosen Madonna as this months Fashion Icon as it is she, who since the 80’s, has set many fashion trends! Whether it’s her bleached blonde locks, punked up makeup, or lacy clothes, we just can’t get enough of her. And now, in December 2009, we are still seeing her 80’s trends being worn again and again!

Lace, leather, bows and erm… cones!? Yep, you’ve got it, all of these trends have lived on the back of Madonna for years, starting in the 80’s and now here we are in the 00’s re-living the fashion yet again! I think I clearly make my point below…

Madonna in the 80's!

...re-introduced in the 00's

Madonna's Cone Bra in the 90's

...Re-Invented for the 00's!

Madonna and Lourdes showcasing their new Black Framed Glasses

...and guess what, so is our Fern!

Get your trusty LBD!

Everyone knows that everyone should have a trusty Little Black Dress stashed away in their wardrobe. The Little Black Dress that you can rely on when all else fails. The Little Black Dress that never goes out of fashion!

If you don’t then I am seriously shocked! No matter how long you’ve had it, months, years, decades, you can guarantee that when you pull it out to wear it again and again, that it will look just as stylish and completely in fashion as it was when you first bought it. Accessorize it if needs be, but either way, it would be a whole lot cheaper than buying the whole shebang! A true way of getting your value for money!

If you find yourself asking if you have one, and coming to the answer that you don’t, then I urge you to get one. They are all in this season… and the next…and the next…

Here are a few that ESVIE have picked out as our top choice! * Click on the image to buy

Asos, £35

Boohoo, £18 - click to check out the back detail

Rare, £49

Very, £69

Christian Audigier

Christian Audigier Vest Top

Christian Audigier, ok so he’s not a “New Designer” however, he is due to open his first UK store this weekend! An absolute genius in the world of fashion, using the work of US tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy as his inspiration for his collections that are forever seen on the backs of our beloved superstars… Madonna, Britney Spears, David Beckham and Mariah Carey, so as you can see, he is absolutely huge in Hollywood.

I have been lucky enough to meet the amazing Audigier at his UK launch of his fine Wine and Champagne event in London and am so excited to see that he is due to open his first UK store in West London’s Westfield Centre this weekend. Are you ready to style yourself in

Christian Audigier Bag

skulls, roses and tiger styled tattoo designs, encrusted in crystal? Fancy treating yourself to a vest, hoody, bag, or a pair of sunglasses… what? The Winter sun can be just as bad for your eyes! So introduce your wardrobe to some urban rock, it’s going to be huge, so get in there quick!

Eyeshadow Palettes

Artdeco Palette

A must have this Christmas (aside from the camouflage creams to make those bodily marks disappear), is the EyeShadow Palettes.

Now I don’t mean just any eyeshadow palette, I mean the Artdeco Eyeshadow Palettes. Whats the difference? I hear you shout!

…Well, these palettes are completely customised to your desired shades. You simply buy the palette size you want, complete with an “oh so” Artdeco design on them and then select your shades! That way, they ALL get used! None of this having one or two looking brand spanking new and full, while the others get depressingly low and run out.

So in my eyes, that screams out VALUE FOR MONEY because you know you’re paying for the exact colours you want in a palette as oppose to buying a palette of 5 colours when you only actually like 2 of them! Now am I right or am I right?!

Now not only are these extremely handy where your personal choice of colour is concerned, but the eyeshadows themselves are beautiful. They feel like velvet on the skin, they blend so easily you don’t have to worry about your level of talent and they build up beautifully to allow you complete control of the depth you want to create. So how about you treat yourself this Christmas with a present for… well, you!

www.artdeco.org.uk