Pearl Lowe for DP London

Last week I attended the launch event for the multi-talented Pearl Lowe's new limited edition candle collection for DP London, held at the ultra-fancy Mayfair Hotel.





Upon entering the Schiaparelli Suite, I was instantly struck by how incredible the room smelled - always a good sign at a candle launch - and after hearing the ingredients list I can understand why! The three candles in Pearl's collection feature a delicious mix of bergamot, orange peel, cedar wood, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and vanilla, all of which help to create a beautifully relaxing and warming atmosphere. Not only are the candles gorgeous, they're also made from 100% natural wax and are presented in re-useable packing in the form of a bespoke, handmade Japanese porcelain container.

The Pearl Lowe for DP London Candle Trio is available for the bargain price of £30, and can be purchased from Selfridges and ASOS.com. Having had a good sniff first-hand, I can promise you that they'd make a perfect Christmas present for someone you really, really like, or even as a little treat for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Fashion foresight with Stylesight

A little while ago I attended the International Jewellery London (IJL) event with my good friend Nik Thakkar to hear a talk on fashion forecasting. For those of you not in the know (I must confess I knew very little before attending), fashion forecasting is the process by which future trends are predicted so that the fashion houses we all know and love can anticipate the sorts of looks and styles that we consumers will want to buy in the future.

If you're anything like me, you're probably wondering how the hell they do this. How can someone predict what will be possible in the future?! Using witchcraft involving Mystic Meg and her crystal ball, perhaps? Well, it turns out there's a much easier and less satanic way of doing this.

Stylesight is a very clever online service that does all of the hardwork for you. They are constantly researching trends and styles in order to provide concise forecasting and reporting relevant to industry timelines seasons ahead of time. In their own words, "Color Premiere, Megatrends, and Design Developments forecast the upcoming seasons' colour, trend direction, materials, and shapes and silhouettes. Our trend boards provide thorough and insightful analysis of designer collections for each major season, deciphering the core messages by categories such as color, theme and a spectrum of key items from a conglomerate of images."

As a jewellery designer and fashion stylist, this is an incredibly useful tool for me. I found the Stylesight talk at IJL absolutely fascinating, and within 10 minutes of listening I was full briefed on future jewellery trends. In fact, here's a sneaky peak just for you!

(Click on the images to see them nice and big)

If you are serious about working in any kind of fashion design capacity and want to stay ahead of the game, I highly recommend Stylesight. To quote the good folks themselves, they use "state of the art technology is easy to use and makes the tedious work of fashion research simple, immediate and enjoyable". And isn't that what we all want in life - work made fun and easy?!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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We're number 8!

I have just found out that this very blog that you are reading at this very second is one of the "Top 10 UK Vintage Clothing Blogs"! Number 8, to be exact.

And I'm in great company too! Check out the full list:

1. Vintage Vixen

2. clothes, cameras, & coffee

3. i heart vintage

4. Retro Chick

5. Penny Dreadful Vintage

6. MyStyle-Fashion, Vintage and Me..........

7. My Vintage

8. SWELL VINTAGE (THAT'S ME!)

9. natasha Bailie The Blog!

10. Yesterday Girl

It goes without saying that I am rather chuffed! Thank you, lovely people of Cision - you have made my Sunday!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Jasper Garvida SS12

Yesterday I attended the Jasper Garvida show to see his collection for Spring/Summer 2012. I'm afraid my camera was behaving very badly, so instead of taking photos I filmed the finale. Check it out.

Needless to say, I don't think I'll be taking up a career as a camera man any time soon...

I have been a fan of Jasper's for a long time now, and while I absolutely loved some of the pieces, there were elements of the collection that didn't really work for me personally. I have fallen in love with his use of metallics and heavy metal embellishment, as well as his decision to feature exposed zips alongside clean cuts and simple lines. My favourite pieces? See below.

(This jacket was the stand out piece for me - I think I dribbled when I saw it!)

All photos courtesy of Christopher Dadey

So what do you think of video and the pieces I have selected? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Corrie Nielsen

Unless you've been in an internet-free sound-proof cave with tinted windows for the last week or so, you will be fully aware that London Fashion Week kicked off today. So far it's been pretty damn great! Despite getting up far earlier than my usual freelance lifestyle calls for, I have met some lovely people and see some fantastic collections by some incredibly talented designers. My favourite so far? Corrie Nielsen.

Corrie Nielsen's collection was titled, "Arbiter Elegantiarum" (which means "Judge of Tastes") and it was, to put it simply, quite stunning. You can definitely see why Galliano chose her as the winner of Fashion Fringe 2010 - her designs are just so intricate and detailed. Her mix of tailoring, draping and powerful ruffles created a strong silhouette with big shoulders, bustles and exaggerated hips, which were softened by a feminine Japanese influence. The colour palette was calm and elegant. The models walked in a slow, Geisha-like fashion and the show had a wonderfully calming atmosphere despite the usual chaos that Fashion Week brings. It was beautiful.

Please excuse my poor, poor photography. My camera and I are not the best of friends at the moment...








So what do you think? Do you like the collection?

I'd like to say a big thank you to the fantastic folks over at Forward PR for putting on one hell of a show! It was a honour and a pleasure to witness.

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Rokit AW11

It's September, folks. That's right - September. And we all know what that means!

It means our fleeting excuse for a summer is over, and it's now time for my personal favourite season. I love Autumn/Winter because for me it means heavy knits, luxury fabrics and I don't feel like a total idiot for wearing my thick black tights all the time.

But the good news is the cold weather doesn't mean you have to dress like a frump. The catwalks for this season have shown us that by mixing textures, bedazzling ourselves and adding chic mixed layers, you can still look every inch the lady when it's cold outside. The lovely folks over at Rokit vintage have released there lookbook for AW11, and it's ever so sexy. Here are some of my favourite looks.

Styling by Scarlet Shillingford-Blay
Photography by Cat Lane
All images courtesy of Rokit

There's also a super cute video showing behind the scenes of the shoot - see models moving around below!

You can view the full-sized video here.

To browse all of there lovely vintage goodies, head over to www.rokit.co.uk.

What snug-as-a-bug gems will you be rocking this season? I want to see!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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Celebrate good times, COME ON!

Life can (and should) be full of things to celebrate. Whether it's something big, like passing an exam, or something small, like making a particularly excellent cup of tea, there's always an excuse to celebrate and have a little party - especially if it means you can win prizes!


To celebrate their "Aussie-Versary", the very generous and lovely folks over at Aussie are giving seven Swell readers the chance to win a super-cool summer party pack, as shown in the photo above. You will even be able to choose from any of the Aussie-versary Limited Edition Ranges to go in your pack - pretty cool, huh? Not only that, but the winners will also have the opportunity to take part in a challenge, with the chance of one person winning 10 tickets for them and their friends to the HUGE Aussie Summer party in October! Best competition ever? Probably!

To enter, all you have to do is tell me if you have anything to celebrate. It can be anything at all, and I do mean ANYTHING - the more creative and interesting the better. Just leave your answer in the comment box. It's that easy! The only catch is that the competition ends at midnight on Wednesday 22nd August, so you need to get your answers in quickly.

Need a little inspiration for your answer? Here's what I have to celebrate:


This is Barney, my beautiful little baby nephew. He's just over two months old, and he's insanely adorable! He's always smiling and happy, and I am so proud to be his Auntie Frankie. So I would like to celebrate that!

I can't wait to hear all about your celebrations!

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

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