Summer of Love

My skin is naked

My hair is like a wave

When is in chignon I braid a hair around my head, like a dancer of Russian ballet. Sometimes I just wear a floral wreath. And graceful fine lace.

To a seaside when I go I talk to the nature and great mother whispers me back. There’s me.  My vintage swimsuit. My body. My space. My hands in the sand. When I feel lonely I imagine the crappy motels and I recognize that I am desperate for some old school glamour. And then I will put gently a tiny pearl of red rouge. While I am lying in the grass ladybug comes to me and asks me something with soft words that I can’t understand. All I have is a smile to show her that I care. Then the rain comes out like unexpected friend and I free my body and I proudly raise my head to feel the drops on my brain. In the nights when I wash out a salt to wear a nice dress, I light a candle and lay on my bed. I close my eyes and I become a butterfly that flies among the stars on the night sky. I will need just one phone call and one drink to help me to open my eyes so I can become aware that my earthly body is there. After I spray few drops of magic on my neck, my legs show me the way to dance.

In the sunrise I will wear just lingerie and walk around my house. Like a real movie star. I will sit on a wooden bench and feed my soul with some pretty words that my mind tells. When that peace fills my heart, I see that everything shines. So am I. This picture is only one of its kind and somehow becomes tucked eternally between the times. And who am I to know how?

And I realize life is just like a film. One difference is that I am the maker of that movie scene.

Collage made of my favorite this season editorials;

Liu Xu & Hyun Yi by Lina Scheynius for Dazed & Confused June 2011,Heaven on a June Day by Olivia Frølich, Nimue Smit by Serge Leblon for AnOther S/S 2011, Constance Jablonski by Cédric Buchet for Purple Fashion S/S 2011, Michelle Williams for Interview May 2011 by Mikael Jansson, Daria Werbowy by Cass Bird for T Magazine Travel, Aline Weber by Benny Horne for Russh #40, Dree Hemingway by Tom Craig for Vogue UK June 2011, Brynja Jónbjarnardóttir by Toby Knott, Behati Prinsloo by Matt Jones for i-D Summer 2011, Now Virgin by Harper Smith for Flavor Magazine, Kelley Ash by Graham Dunn for Fashion Gone Rogue

I POST DAILY LOVELY PHOTOS ON MY TUMBLR , SO VISIT FOR A BIT OF INSPIRATION!

All the pretty little things that make me happy

I’m publishing this post in hope that next time when I open my boxes to make some paper craft or when I sit in front of my sewing machine I won’t be lazy to take some snaps. (Bizarre is the thing that I have boyfriend who is professional photographer but that is probably an explanation for laziness and for disorder where I always have to show  photos to him first which additionally complicates the situation.) Next time I’ll try to post the making of but this time I decided to show to my dear readers all the things I made lately

Here they are;
Decoupage jewelry box… painted old jewelry box with acrylic paint and glued little bird and flowers (from paper napkins)
Wall art…made of old plywood, white paint, cutouts from Vogue Paris (I just adore their font)
Mood board and to-do-board in mint...Since I am still seriously obsessed with mint, I painted frames and embellished with few flowers made of tissue paper. Dress repair… I bought a dress in thrift store and made mini from maxi.
Wall art with heart…again made of old plywood, acrylic paint, dried petals of almond flowers and violets.
Newspaper table…I painted old newspaper table in mint. (oh what a surprise) Embellished old jars… I adore old jars everywhere; as lanterns in garden, in kitchen, in room, as storage of little things or candleholders. Usually I am using decoupage technique or lace. The one at photo was a gift for friend. Pearl collar…I sewed pearls onto collar of old blue shirt (but I actually don’t wear it) Bags….I sewed a lot of shoe bags/lingerie bags from old fabrics that I use for organizing of my closet.

NOTE:You don’t have to be an artist to make the pretty little things. All you need is creativity and enthusiasm, just like in life.

misslikey loves Dahlia spring summer 2011

When you walk the streets of London, every now and then you stop to visit some cute little shop that you haven’t heard of before. When you enter to see the clothes, you realize they look familiar because probably you were drooling on your keyboard while browsing Asos or cursing the destiny at Topshop because you just cannot buy another floral dress. But you didn’t take your notebook and a pen nor remembered the brand. If you later find out about the label that makes situation much worse because except discovering you’ve realized you discovered something else; that you want it all. Same case is with Dahlia. Dahlia history begins at Portobello where sisters and designers Tracy and Leigh were selling their products of love. Now, except the own boutique, Topshop, Asos, Preta-a-Portobello and few independent boutiques in London carry their line. Every season sisters bring to all the fashion girls romantic and girly designs. Dresses are Dahlia’s best product. All carefree, cute and very pretty. New dresses from Spring summer collection are all very simple but enriched with elegant details as Peter Pan, petal collar, crochet, ribbon neck tie or neat buttons. Printed and floral ones bring the bit of a countryside vibe in city that’s hot while Honey, Imogen, Francesca and Agyness carry romance everywhere you are.

available online at Dahlia, ASOS, Pret-a-Portobello, ModCloth

Mademoiselle and Tapestry

Once upon a time your friend duchess used to invite you for a weekend at her lavish residence. In salon you were sipping tea from finest porcelain cups and assembly was playing flutes. Flamboyant tapestries were hanged on wall behind mahogany tea table. On the tapestries were hand woven images of the family so you were updated with their lives whether male members of the family went to war, or the duchess was reading in the garden. When you returned to your modest home, you unpacked your cheap traveling carpetbag, similar to the walls in duchess palace, and you felt tremendously modern.

That morning when you woke up, you went out on the street and you are terribly surprised when you see that stores instead of beans, are also selling bags and shoes. You buy yourself a dress. You come home and you push the button on something that looks like a box. People moving in it awfully scared you. You see a girl that flies with umbrella and carries in her hand that same carpetbag like you used to have.

Glorious duchess’s tapestries come as a memory to your mind. You decide to investigate around. You meet a man and he kindly offers his help. He brings something shiny and puts it on a table and starts typing the word tapestry while you are wondering how that little apple find herself on that. All of the sudden, on that thing appear thousand images of handsome attire and bags. Since the man told you could buy things there if you want, you choose tapestry bag on something called Etsy. And you choose one handsome suitcase for your voyage. Who wants to look like a carpet, kind man states. Mademoiselle thinks that gentleman doesn’t know the fashion, you say coolly while you sit on your chair to rest.

John William Waterhouse: My Sweet Rose, Mary Shepard: Mary Poppins Illustration , Vintage tapestry DVF travel bag, Vintage tapestry suitcase.

Guest Post; How to dress for Summer Music Festivals

When you’re a student there is nothing more satisfying than having the sun’s rays beat down on you as you lounge by the pool and recover from months or tortuous papers and text books. Apart from engaging in general sloth, summer music festivals count as one of the more anticipated events to fill your summer itinerary with. With the Coachella music festival already behind us, the task of formulating a comprehensive style guide of how to look festival-chic is ever simplified!

Do: Stay conscientious of the heat-- wear cut-off denim shorts! They’ll allow you to stay breezy and look cute. (On the photo William Rast Scarlet 867 Denim Short)

Do: Keep comfort in mind by wearing a loose-fitting crop top. Summer music festivals mean spending hours upon hours standing up in the heat and fighting crowds. Ensure your comfort by pairing your denim shorts with a breezy cropped tee in a fun color. (On the photo Colorfast Burnout Crop Top)

Do: Accessorize with a floppy hat for both style and practicality, à la Rumi Neely (of Fashion Toast) at Coachella. Look boho chic and protect yourself from the sun’s rays!

Do: Opt for classic sunglasses like these wayfarers worn by one Coachella festival-goer. Not only will they tie your retro-bohemian look together, they’ll provide you with much needed relief from the sunshine!

Do: Drink lots of water. Dehydration is not stylish. Drink up to be able to enjoy the performances and endure as long as possible! Choose a reusable water bottle to help reduce waste, and to be able to continue to fill it up throughout the day!

KOR Delta Hydration Vessel

Whether you’re headed to Lollapalooza, Osheaga or any of the myriads of music festivals going on this summer for your auditory pleasure, follow this style guide on Misslikey and be sure to be dressing thoughtfully and stylishly!

Guest post written by Alessia from Luello's blog

To see the products featured here, or to see more designs by William Rast or Colorfast, visit Luello.com!

Oh those moms

Mother & Daughter print, free download via Li'l Magoolie,

Designer Crush; Aileen, House of Isla

What I like about this about this global changes in fashion today is the fact that often happens that you are impressed by some young, enthusiastic individuals not obsessed with the profit but with fulfilling their passions. Aileen Kim, owner of House of Isla, Philippines-based indie shop is one of them. This young designer is really an inspiration. Not  only she is very hardworking busy bee, but she is very unpretentious and wise girl. How do I know that? When I asked her for interview and send her questions, when she send me back the answers, I really made myself a cup of tea and enjoyed in reading her words of wisdom. Creative and talented designer does the great job for House of Isla, and not only she is designing and sewing clothes alone at the moment, she also writes beautiful blog, models for her lookbooks, creates lovely assembles and writes beautiful words for her online shop. Also, Aileen has a great love for nature, which inspires her work. She is really something! Find out in the interview what she likes, how she started to sew, what inspires her and what is her advice to become more earth-friendly. 

Is this your dream job?

At this point in my life yes. When we were younger, we had this rather stereotypical picture of our dream job as something that requires us to be behind a desk in a four-walled office building in the midst of the busiest city in the country…and that the best gauge of success would be of course getting the heftiest paycheck. But then we realize later that what’s most important in life is that you do what you are most passionate about. I have always been passionate about the arts, fashion and design and am lucky enough that I get to do that now.

Beautiful, beautiful photos and lovely story with every single item… Who is in charge of that? 

House of Isla is basically a one-woman show. I do practically everything for the shop from the design ideas to the execution and the production. It could get pretty daunting at times but I must say that it is really fulfilling as I get to do all the things I love like design, writing, photography and even a little bit of web design.

Are you working (also sewing, crocheting) alone? 

Yes I do everything alone but hopefully in the future when House of Isla will be an established name, I would like to give back to the community by hiring and training women most especially housewives. I would want them to be able to earn despite their being a stay-at-home mom.

You are using vintage fabrics and materials. Where do you buy/find them? 

I believe our city pioneered in the sale of preowned apparels in my country and bulks of these apparels are very beautiful vintage pieces. Sometimes I get to see very beautiful fabrics but very outdated or unflattering design but I buy it anyway. We also have some fabric shops that sell vintage laces and buttons…one of my fave places to visit. I do not however use vintage materials exclusively. I like to mix things up with whatever beautiful material I could buy.

Favorite materials/fabrics to work with?

Lace and more lace!

Where do you find inspiration?

From nature, from the materials themselves and from myself. I like fashion and trends (well not all of them) but I have this neurotic impulse to be different at times. Guess  I am a little stubborn if not a tad proud that way. So basically I just make what I think I would want to wear. Sometimes I just let the materials speak for themselves. I would stare at a piece of lace and ask it…how would you want to be transformed?...lol!

When did you start sewing? Self-taught or?

I am pretty much self-taught. But sewing seems to have run in the family as my aunts and my grandmother were great seamstress. As a kid, I have memories of my grandma and her sewing machine, tape measure wrapped on her shoulders, her feet on the pedal while her wrinkled hand moves the wheel. Then I would find boxes after boxes of my mom’s pretty dance dresses with wide collars, big colorful floral fabrics and insane length that would make any mom of my generation want to grab a seam ripper! I would gasp with delight and say, “Gramma really made these dresses?”

When you are creating garments is that a planned work or "progress in making"?

I do make a rough sketch but most of the time I end up with a totally different design altogether.

Do you plan to expand on the global market?
Going global would be any designer’s dream. Hopefully I could break into the global market someday…but am not rushing. Trying too hard spoils all the fun.

What are you doing when not working on House of Isla? 

I am just your average mom, doing wifey errands. These days though, House of Isla had been incorporated in my daily life so much, so that it had no longer feel like it is some kind of a job or a task that I need to do. When I lock myself in my workspace, it’s like escaping in some part of the house with a hot cup of coffee while reading a pretty good book.

The love for the nature and earth…where from? 

When I started the House of Isla, I wanted to have some sort of advocacy and not to be just another online fashion shop. Saving the environment had always been so close to my heart. Having been raised in the great countryside, I grew up playing in the river, climbing trees and just being one with nature. And though I was taken to the city to start my schooling, I have always kept this great affinity with nature.

What do you think about this sweatshop craziness all over the world? Do you think people are too busy or maybe too shallow to think about who makes their clothes?

I wouldn’t say shallow, maybe uninformed in such a way that we do not really pay attention much on this side of the coin. But I believe a lot has changed and people are no longer just mere consumers. They developed a keen sense of curiosity as to how the product was produced and by whom. Sadly of course, sweatshops are still here and had been grounds for abuse and exploitation for many and many years now.

Your advice/message for misslikey readers; How to become more earth-friendly? 

Going green is really something you can’t achieve overnight. It's a lifestyle that requires great patience and dedication. Some people find it hard to go green because it inconveniences them. But it is all just a matter of taking one baby step at a time…like reducing 30min shower to 15mins. Or instead of purchasing new clothes, why not DIY your old ones! There are really a ton of things we could do with our old stuff. We just need a little dose of imagination.

Visit Aileen's Blog and House of Isla Shop
Become House of Isla fan on facebook

Met Gala 2011; Savage Beauty

WHAT: Costume Institute Gala
WHERE: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
THEME: Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty
MISSLIKEY'S BEST DRESSED GIRLS:
Karen Elson in Alexander McQueen, Arizona Muse in Altuzarra, Florence Welch in Yves Saint Laurent, Sofia Coppola in Marc Jacobs, Alexa Chung in Christopher Kane, Ashley Olsen in vintage Dior Couture, Dakota Fanning in Valentino, Kirsten Dunst in Chanel Haute Couture, Michelle Williams in Miu Miu, Daphne Guinness in Alexander McQueen,
Elle Fanning in Valentino

PHOTOS STYLE.COM, VOGUE

Do you Pin?

Since I discovered Pinterest I must say I really started to like this virtual pinboard. Pinterest not only understands my love for prettiness, but also knows about my disorganization disorder. I like Tumblr and We Heart It but I love the simplicity of Pinterest bookmark button and boards. Why? You open your page and you see your boards with thumbnails. And when you go to single board there are again thumbnails. I’ve opened Pinterest mainly because of the crafts and DIY projects I discover daily and don’t have time to scrutinize in particular moment, but of course, my boards expanded to some other things. What can I say? I cannot help but love all the pretty things available in this pretty little world!

MISSLIKEY ON PINTEREST