August Round Up

Kimberley

Watching- since missing out on the Iris Apfel screenings (damn it!) I've been delving into fashion documentaries.  I came across the amazing boxset House of DVF on E! and I binge watched the whole series. It's a typical '10 girls compete to work for DVF' style show... except. DVF is clearly busy running her business alongside, so there's no dramatic end of show cull. Instead, she decides over lunch/ in her car/ during a meeting that a girl isn't going to work and fires them nearly on the spot. It can happen at any time in the programme, so it appears much closer to real life and the poor contestants jump any time they're called to her office, each looking for the telltale farewell gift bag she keeps under the desk. Brilliant TV.
Channel 4 also recently showed Louboutin: the World's Most Luxurious Shoes. He's just so warm and charming- who wouldn't want to wear his red soles? He's also astute and knowledgeable when it comes to his business, showing how important it is to understand your craft.

Doing- Edinburgh Festival of course! Apart from just soaking up the atmosphere in the beer gardens, I also made it along to a few shows. Hightlights for me included Craft Scotland's #EdSummerShow at White Stuff, which featured over 30 local makers. I also went to late night comedy showcase Spank which has a fun party atmosphere and stage rush/dance at the end and also charity night Comedy Gala: in Aid of Waverly Care, which was packed with channel 4 regulars like Adam Hill, Marcus Brigstocke, Phil Jupitis and Al Porter.

Buying- the Saved but the Bell dress. I've been thinking about *that* Dreamland print for months. But Helen got in before my wishlist was even published and bought the purple tshirt dress. I finally got round to picking up the sleeveless pink duplex dress which is just as cute- hopefully I can squeeze in a few wears before it gets too cold.

Clicking- this month's obsession has clearly been Chouchou kittie hoods. I always considered these a bit too cool for a preppy granny dresser like myself but after a cheeky try on of one at Scarf School they've been on my winter must-have list.
I've also been checking out the Crowdfunding page for Scottish jeweller Joanne Garner and falling hard for the Strathberry luxury handbag collection and Sophia Webster Barbie shoes.


Helen

Watching: I went to the cinema for the first time in ages to see The Wolfpack. After looking at the poster and thinking it was some gangster flick, I'd dismissed it. But my sister advised it was actually an award winning documentary about a dysfunctional family - that sounded much more interesting. It follows a group of brothers whose father has kept them separated from the world in their New York apartment. To pass the time they watch movies (a lot of movies) and reenact them with their own homemade costumes and props. It's an interesting look at this out of the ordinary family that left me with more questions than answers.

Doing: It's been a hectic month but I took some time out to wander around the DJCAD Masters Show. As always the place was filled with amazing art but I think my favourite was Nicola Wiltshire. Her paintings were full of colour and I loved how both the big and small pieces had equal impact. I also enjoyed Allan Davies' detailed paintings and Samantha Wilson's ghostly works.

Buying: During a trip to Glasgow I found myself with way too much time to wander around shops. This resulted in a number of unplanned purchased, including my Factory 45 goodies. I also picked myself up a top for H&M's amazing new range of cat prints and this awesome vintage dress from Mr Ben's. The dress is a little big and could do with a few alterations but it's already become a new workwear staple.

Clicking: Ever since Dismaland opened it's doors I've been scouring the internet for images from the bemusement park. I do enjoy Banksy's work and I love the looked of abandoned theme parks so this is the perfect combination. While I don't think I'll be making the trek down I've still enjoyed seeing the images, comments and articles about the place. Plus it's made me want to revisit Story Book Glen. A childhood favourite of mine which, from the photos and trip advisor reviews, may be in the running to be Scotland's Dismaland equivalent. 

August Wishlist

1.)  Fried Egg Umbrella | Monki
Fried eggs everywhere. I cannot get enough of the pattern. My favourite thing about them as a print is people don't look too closely at first and go "nice daisie... oh, they're fried eggs". Yes, my friend. They are.

2.) Saddest Ghost Tshirt | The Sad Ghost Club
I may not be feeling sad or lost right now but I love the charming illustrations this duo produce. We've been getting behind their crowdfunding project for a new studio and you should too! Ghost-themed goodies in return.

3.) Diamond Terranium Necklace | Finest Imaginery
As well as being a firm interiors fave, I love that this has crossed over into fashion and this piece is so well thought out. The whole cacti and succulent collection is. I've followed Kim Lawler aka Finest Imaginery on social media for so long now that I think of her more in her web designer/ knower of internet things guise and I forget to keep up with the Finest Imaginery side. Which is stupid because it is so damn cute!

4.) Wednesday brooch | Baccurelli
My instagram favourite Baccurelli is building a whole army of doll heads- her Valley of the Dolls. I'm still trying to decide which one most looks like me since my hair is ever changing- this one or this one? This unmistakably Addams family version is a dream!

5.) Lemon Hypnosis Sweater | Butter Babes
I love a mad jumper and this one is insane. Hypnotising lemons? Doesn't make any sense to me but it is amazing on the eye. I also keep popping their fried egg tshirt dress in my basket. Along with all the other egg goodies.



1.) Worriers Pin | World Famous Original
I am a worrier. Always have been and (I'm guessing) always will be. Little things, big things, medium things - I've worried about them all. This little pin badge would make it official and maybe encourage others to help calm my nerves.

2.) Gene Leather Dress and Cora Flower Sweater | Winston
The sun may be shining today but I'm already trying to prepare for the colder months ahead. This leather dress looked so perfect when combined with the jumper I had to add both to my wishlist. The cosy fabrics are great for keeping warm and the pops of colour and pattern would add some much needed fun to greyer days.

3.) Custard Cream Envelope Purse | Nikki McWilliams x RDK
This little collaboration between biscuit queen Nikki McWilliams and textile designer Rosie Drake-Knight has been flying off the online shelves. And it only went on sale yesterday! It's the perfect little purse for all your bits and bobs and the gold finishing adds that extra feel of luxury. If you want one you better be quick as there's only a limited amount.

4.) Ceramic Knot Necklace | Beth Lamont
I've had the chance to meet the lovely Beth during my recent jewellery class and while she was working for the lovely Jane Gowans. But she also makes fabulous jewellery of her own. I am so in love with her ceramic arc necklaces. They come in both grey and white and there's a huge variety of rope colours to choose from. As well as the yellow I'm also pining after this fluorescent one. Plus the length can be adjusted, great for wearing high with shirts or low to jazz up a simple tee.

5.) Stay Weird Tee | Olive & Frank
You can never go wrong with a white slogan tshirt. This cheeky one from Olive & Frank encourages you to stay weird, something I'm all for.

Factory 45

It's not often I find myself with an afternoon to wander around Glasgow. Usually if I'm headed to the big smoke it's with a long to do list of places to go and people to see. But a few weekends ago I found myself with some time to kill and I knew exactly where I wanted to spend it. I've been meaning to check out Factory 45 for the longest time. Ever since I heard of the non-profit retail space setting up shop I knew I'd love it. Stocking local designers and makers, the store strives to showcase creative talent as an antidote to the throw away fashion of the high street. Run by Impact Arts, profits go towards helping communities transform their lives through creativity and the arts. All good stuff if you ask me.

Upon arriving I was made to fell very welcome by David Black, the designer behind House of Black, as he gave me the lowdown of all the designers and the story behind Factory 45. There were a number of designers I was familiar with (Obscure Couture, Rebecca Torres, G69 Clothing ) but also a few that were new to me. I loved NLM Design's fun ice cream appliques and Thrifty Little's awesome heart purses. My wish list grew longer the more I looked around.






One thing we always harp on about on here is our love for shopping IRL. The online world certainly opens up the choice of independent designers but we also love being able to see, touch and try on items before we buy. So, of course, I took the opportunity to have a little changing room session. I have always liked the look of Rebecca Torres' designs but have worried that they'd be a bit to figure hugging for my curves. With a mighty fine collection stocked in Factory 45, I decided to test some of them out. I was instantly attracted to a colourful zip skirt sample that had just arrived. Trying it on I was pleasantly surprised by the fit. The stretch patterned fabric meant it fit snugly without being uncomfortable. I may be wearing it back to front in these photos but the fact that it looked good both ways made it even more attractive. Unfortunately my shopping budget was limited and I had to leave this beauty on the shelf. Being able to try it on has definitely made me more confident about buy ing some Rebecca Torres in the future though.




What I did leave with was a bit smaller, but still rather awesome. I treated myself to a pair of mermaid pants (you can never have too many pants) and a fun faces zine by Claire Forrest. I just loved the monochrome design and the expression on the mermaids face. Not a bad little spree, I'm sure you'll agree. I'll be making sure I return to Factory 45 on every Glasgow trip from now on!

Blog Crushes 13

Kimberley's crushin' on... Dresses on a Clothesline

I've just stumbled upon this blog (thanks Twitter! Best way to discover new blogs) and I already have a major style crush on Ron, the chemistry student behind the blog. Her outfit shoots are adorable and with her glasses, short hair and fun accessories she would definitely fit in with us Wardrobe Convos girls. Her blog is very visual with interesting outfit photographs. I especially like the way she has an "Ethical Directory" to list all the ethical brands she's a fan of.

You can catch up with her on Twitter (like I did).


Helen's crushin' on... Frankly Ms Shankly

How could Frankly Ms Shankly have not featured as one of our blog crushes?! It's been about a year since I meet the lovely Emily at the Edinburgh Bloggers Afternoon Tea. I've followed her blog ever since and it was so nice catching up recently at the MFSAwards. This orange haired babe knows all the best spots to eat in the capital and she certainly knows how to rock some monochrome.  Even if I do love seeing her in a bit of colour every now and again.

Catch more of Emily's serious selfies and Edinburgh adventures on Instagram.


We're also lovin'...

• Constant colour crush Lovely Sara is showing just how incredibly vibrant the UK is with her recent visit.
• Our girl Miss West End Girl is making us feel a whole lot better about turning 30.
• We love crowd funding and there are some great campaigns to get behind. Help jeweller Joanne Garner study at The Royal College of Art and get awesome jewellery rewards, or get The Sad Ghost Club to their new studio with spooky perks, or both!
• We love a solid jacket and Glasgow Fashion Girl is killing it in this polkadot beaut!
•  Designer and illustrator David Black of House of Black has just started selling his sassy illustrations online and at Factory 45 (more about Factory 45 coming soon).

How To Blog as a Duo

This post is a bit of a weird one because we're no experts but we've been doing this for a wee while now and it seems to be working.

We constantly get asked what it is like to be a blogging duo. How does it work, who does what and how can we still like each other? In various interviews, twitter chats and dinner conversations we have given the 'origins' story (i.e. we are besties and have been since school. Wanna know more? Read About Us) but that doesn't explain how we blog. Here are our top 6 tips for being a blogging duo, but they are useful for any collaboration!

1. Find Someone You Can Stand
This is a no brainer but is trickier than you might think!
Working on a long-term creative project together, whether paid or not, can be stressful. Since we've known each other a long time, and have worked on previous projects, we knew we could do it longer term. Our ideas are in sync and our aesthetic is very similar in many ways- it's why we pick the same accessories.

2. Strike a (Power) Balance
There's always a power balance in play in any team. Normally, it's clearly laid out by a hierarchy but not so in a creative pairing. This can cause rifts from butting heads or a partnership can wilt from a lack of assertion.
For information, Helen is The Boss. She is excellent at planning and likes things spelled out in advance. I coordinate events for work so I can find it exhausting and boring at home. I'm more than happy for Helen to assume this role and tell me what we're doing, as it avoids anxiety for both of us. I trust Helen to plan meticulously but if I'm not happy about something I can let her know. It doesn't cause too many issues as we'll often find we have the same thing in mind.
Our main sticking point is event arrival- I prefer to arrive just after the start time (and I mean just after, not 'fashionably' late) but Helen likes to be nice and early for everything. We are constantly the first to arrive, like a couple of newbs!

3. Use Your Strengths
In the early days we did everything equally, meeting to work on it together and splitting up tasks 50/50. Soon we realised each others strengths and weaknesses. There are clear differences in how we operate. This is normal in life and we're always honest with each other. Rather than homogenize, we try to embrace and push each other to do our best at what we do.

Behind the scenes, Helen is the technical side and I'm the social side. As well as the talker, I'm the writer of the two of us. Helen has a great eye for locations and photographic details. Obviously we both have the fashion and style thing down. Styling is where we become a real team- we work together on a weird twin-like wavelength when we work on styling projects together.

4. Organise

This is vital for us because we each have full time jobs, responsibilities and we don't live close by each other. Time is precious! We use a Google calendar to schedule our month- what posts we'll have and what events are coming  up. Although we post consistently, 3 times a week, we rarely struggle for content ideas.  In fact, with a growth in events and collaborations, which are often last minute, the plan can go out the window a bit but having a back up post is perfect for times when you just don't have time to produce content. We message each other pretty much daily anyway so we're always in contact, usually Helen gently reminding me to do something, or just sending a message to say we really enjoyed the other's post. We are each other's number one blog fans.

5. Compromise
It can be hard to split up the workload evenly. In the early days I felt quite guilty because Helen had a lot of setting up to do of the pages and editing photographs for posts and I am useless at this. However, these days it's managing our social media that takes up a vast majority of our time and that's mostly down to me. We have subsequently re-organised things. Helen manages our emails and dips into the social media at weekends, when I try to take a back seat. Blogging is an ever-changing hobby so it's important to keep evolving as a duo too. It can be easy to be dragged by the momentum of invites and offers and living in different cities means we have to turn them down more often than some.

6. Have Her Back
This is one of the best parts- you can take a break or pick up her slack without affecting the flow of your blog. Recently we were both elbow-deep in wedding prep so we took a week out but normally we can cover each other's breaks quite well. Helen knows it takes just one text and I'll sort it out. It really is great having someone to support you.

To round off, here's all the other good stuff:

The Best Bits of a Blogging Duo

• Matching outfits. Yes, re-live those annoying sister moments in adulthood!
• A shared wardrobe. You can instantly double your accessory list. And if I were to cut my toes off, we could double the shoe cupboard too...
• The personal stylist that comes with the wardrobe
• A constant plus one for those scary blogger events.
• A sounding board for your ideas and writing. And whether you look like a bag lady in that coordinate.
• Late night messages with a hilarious new "Unlikely Style Icon" idea (think Flight of the Conchords level of absurdity)

Lastly, you know you're onto something good when you look forward to reading the other person's posts before they go live!

I hope you've enjoyed a little peek into the life of Wardrobe Conversations and all our old behind the scenes pics! The photos came from collaborative posts with Edinburgh Fashion Week, The Wardrobe, Halloween Girl Gang, Edinburgh Bloggers, Wear Eponymous and our 1st Bloggiversary.

If you too are affected by someone making you turn up early for events please get in touch. Don't suffer in silence.

What Helen Wore: MFS Awards

  
On Sunday I had a lovely chilled out afternoon at Beer & Skittles for the Metropolitan Fashion Show Awards. It was so nice to hang out with our fellow nominees Frankly Miss Shankly and Love From Lou Lou. Any time I see these ladies I seem to be wearing a Coco Fennell dress and this time was no exception. I've built up a small collection of these dresses. I love the shape of them and the fun collars are just the icing on the cake. The flamingo embroidery on this one adds a splash of fun to this LBD. Plus the pink goes rather nicely with my little pom pom shoes. These were my flat bridesmaid shoes for dancing but I've been looking forward to wearing them with more everyday outfits. I do find myself checking the weather before slipping them on though. One outing in the rain and I'm sure these wouldn't be so pretty anymore. Not the best footwear for our changeable climate but I still adore their fluffiness.

Dress | Coco Fennell
Shoes | ASOS
Necklace | Cheap Frills
Earrings | Lady Muck of Whitstable
Tights | Primark

Beer & Skittles certainly put on a good spread where the BBQ was concerned, but I was even more impressed by my drink choice. I was on the hunt for something fresh and summery and they have a whole list of lovely lemonades. Now, I've been on the search for the perfect lemonade since summer started. I've looked far and wide (even drinking a different lemonade everyday while we were in London) but I think I have finally found 'the one'. A super delicious pink number with plenty of refreshing ice and tasty fruit. If only the weather would chirp up a bit to match my summer drink of choice.

What Kimberley Wore: MFS Awards

You've probably already seen on social media but we won an award- yay!
The Metropolitan Fashion Show held their annual Talent catwalk event to showcase emerging designers in Scotland. This year the show featured a couple of our faves, Nicci. N, C. Watson and Siobhan Mackenzie as well as some others. And we returned from our week of wedding planning frenzy to find out we had been nominated for the Scottish Fashion Blogger 2015. A very nice antidote to post-bridesmaid blues. It was a fun distraction and was voted for by the public, so everyone could get involved.

Unfortunately, we had plans on the evening of the fashion show so we didn't make it along but we were able to get along to the awards ceremony the next day. When we found out that we were finalists up against two of our favourite Edinburgh Bloggers- Love from Lou Lou and Frankly Ms Shankly it was difficult to keep up the competitive spirit. The girls produce high quality, entertaining blogs and we love hanging out with them. It was just fun to join in, so we decided to go along and enjoy the afterparty BBQ at Beer and Skittles and meet the other designers. We arrived on time (shocking for bloggers) so we got a chance to take some outfit pics before the barbecue started.

Dress | Tara Starlet
Shoes | Daniel Footwear
Brooch | Magasinxstitch
Earrings | Lady Muck of Whitstable
Hair | pink homage to Cilla Black <3

My dress is actually really old- an old workmate of mine owned it and I've coveted it forever. When she had a wardrobe clear out, she gave me a shout and I picked up this and a pencil skirt for a snip. I'm a little plumper than when I first set my sights on it and I wish I'd had on my proper underwear but I needed room for those burgers! I wanted a retro shape that would compliment Helen's Coco Fennel dress (because, twinsies) but I've grown too busty to borrow from her collection. Sob! Originally I curled my hair for a victory rolled updo but when I took the rollers out and saw the fringe/ volume I just knew I needed to do this pink version of  Cilla Black's infamous bob. Yes, I did spend two days watching Cilla on catch up!

The earrings are kind of a funny story. Before we went to London, I ordered Helen and I a set- crabs for her and lobsters for me. Because we are cute like that. When they arrived I received 2 pairs of crabs. I love the Lady Muck of Whitstable brand and I know it's a small business so I sent her an email to explain the mix up. She was SO nice about it and offered to send the missing lobsters down without asking for the extra crabs back.
When they arrived, I opened the sweetly wrapped package with a note and ANOTHER pair of crabs. I laughed so hard that I decided to keep them and forget about the lobsters.
So that's the story of how I got crabs.

Anyway, back to the Award. We really had no clue who would win but it was really nice when we did. It took a few seconds to register but we got a cute little plaque to take home.
Thanks so much to everyone who voted for us!


Now we just have the small matter of how to share this.. we'll have to work out a timeshare rota of the plaque. Dibs on the first 3 months in my house!