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.