Pre LFW/LOOK Show excitement

Ship-Shape & Bristol Fashion has moved! To read all about the eve of The LOOK Show and see my new home, please visit me here.

Love Is In The Air...

Happy Valentine's Day from Ship-Shape! Regardless of your relationship status and feelings towards this Hallmark Holiday, I hope you are having a fab 14th February.

For anyone wondering how love and romance can translate to the catwalk and high street, check out my article for the Bristol Pigeon entitled Love Is In The Air on romantic trends for S/S11.

Something for The Weekend... The Big Swish, Gimme Shelter Vintage Fair

This weekend is all about recycling, regeneration and pre-loved clothes as the Oxfam Big Swish clothes swap descends on the city. This Saturday you can get rid of your wardrobe hermits - you know, the kind of clothes that cling on for dear life to the sides of your closet, not wanting to be worn but not wanting to leave the comfort of those four walls - and get some new threads in the process.

Clothes swapping, or swishing as it is also known, has become big in recent years and given the economic downturn this country has faced it isn't hard to see why. The Oxfam Big Swish is just one of the many events going on at the CREATE Centre, as part of their sustainable fashion programme.

If you want to take part simply drop off any unwanted clothes between 11-12, peruse the rails and be ready for a 1pm kick off. I'd love to go but have actually double booked with another clothes swap - my own! I've been inspired by all the clothes swaps that have been happening recently so a few friends and I are getting together on Saturday to exchange our unwanted goods - I'll let you know how I get on : )

The Gimme Shelter vintage fair is back at the Lanes this Sunday with all the usual suspects including Motel, Cox & Baloney and Nylon Sky in attendance. Entry is free and there will be vintage clothes, shoes, jewellery and bags up for grabs, as well as plenty of vintage bric-a-brac and homewares.

If I have recovered from the excitement of my own clothes swapping sesh I'll be heading down to find some bargains, though I'm not sure anything can compare to the cream dress I found a couple of weeks ago.

Have a great weekend and let me know if you're planning your own fashion events by commenting here or emailing shipshape.bristolfashion@gmail.com.

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Reading List: Techy Tips

For a while now I've been contemplating a move from Blogger to Wordpress and, as always, I've found making a pro/con list to be the most effective way to make the decision. Although this would be quite a big step for the blog, it got me thinking about all the little technical tips and tricks that bloggers (fashion or otherwise) use to get the best from their blogs.

So here are some of the blogs I've been reading this week, full of tips to get the best out your blog...

SVB - What have you done with my landscape, flooding the fields with this clone shape - For a style blog perhaps one of the most important factors is great photos. This post shows readers hour to get a hazy, vintage tinge to their pictures.

Pro Blogger - How Your About Page Can Make or Break Your Blog - a tad intimidating as a headline but as a post it actually makes a lot of sense - great for seasoned bloggers and novices alike.

Independent Fashion Bloggers - How Will Fashion Blogs Evolve in 2001? - A fantastic resource for any fashion blogger, IFB's post on the changes we can inspect in fashion blogging over the next 12 months is comprehensive and insightful.

Dressful - 20 Sarcastic Tips to Become a Successful Fashion Blogger - an excellent tounge in cheek look at how to be a 'successful' fashion blogger from a site packed full of useful info on the fashion blogging scene.

Lust Have: Tatty Devine's new collection. Yes, all of it.

I'm a big fan of Covent Garden (previously Brick Lane) based jewellery company Tatty Devine and their quirky, whimsical designs. Perhaps best know for their brightly coloured acrylic 'name' necklaces, I first came across TD in my teens, when their logo was tattooed across strings of guitar pick necklaces and bracelets. I love that with every season comes a completely new concept (previously including dinosaurs, cocktail umbrellas and Amelia Earhart) and their new season collection, Astral Haze, does not disappoint.

Myth and magic has cast its wand over the Tatty Devine studios, with jewel encrusted unicorn brooches and quartz inspired bibs taking centre stage, but my favourite piece has to be the Halcyon Skies necklace, above. With the nights gradually getting lighter and winter slowly making way for spring, this dreamy necklace would make the perfect addition to any S/S 11 wardrobe.

If you want something Devine for yourself check out the Soma Gallery in Clifton Village which stocks Tatty Devine as well as several other contemporary jewellery designers.

All the fun of The Vintage Fair

This weekend has been a busy one and not particularly gentle on my wallet! Before freezing my fingers off at the Gok's Clothes Roadshow catwalk I had some time to kill so I popped into Primark and came out with a brown paper bag.

I felt a little guilty making an impulse purchase just before seeing the man that claims women can survive with just 24 key pieces in their wardrobe, but I couldn't resist. Heavy cotton skirt with a voluminous black net underskirt, covered in a watercolour of poppies, this skirt is truly a work of art and unlike anything I've ever seen the fast-fashion retailer before.

After watching Gok and Co. I got an early night in preparation for yesterday. An early morning makeover courtesy of the Benefit concession in Debenhams kicked things of, before S and I hit the Bristol Vintage Fair in Portland Square. Sadly we peaked a little too soon, falling in love with a pleated cream dress and polka dot playsuit within the first ten minutes, thus blowing our budget an forcing us to dig around in our bags and purses to find enough cash for a cheeky cupcake.

Half an hour of Benefit later we were ready for the fair

A selection of gorgeous vintage bags

Circomedia on Portland Square was the perfect venue for a vintage fair

Clothes swapping fun at Goldmine on Stokes Croft

The fair itself was fantastic though, with some quality sellers in such a beautiful location. My pictures, below, don't really do it justice but if you missed it fear not - apparently there are plans for another fair in three months time, or visit their online calendar for upcoming fairs across the country.

After the fair we went long to the Goldmine clothes swapping party, armed with some pre-loved treasures to swap. The event kicked off at 4pm and when we rocked up not half an hour later we joined what can only be described as a frenzy of eager girls who looked like they had walked straight of the set of Skins.

I suddenly felt quite old as I rummaged through the rails looking for some vintage gems but S and I did come up trumps with some elasticated skirts (perfect as summer dresses) and 80s jumpers. By 5pm we were done and headed out with some fantastic finds and we had spent less than a fiver between us : )

Today I made use of the gorgeous winter sun to shoot some of my new (and old) finds...

50s style floral skirt from Primark

My stunning new pleated cream dress that I found at the fair...

... with a mocha coloured bow and shoulder panels

Two of the vintage skirts I picked up at the Goldmine clothes swap