Tiki Dreams...

The weather in has been amazing recently so I've been taking every opportunity to get and enjoy the sunshine and play about with my new camera! A couple of weekend ago me and my other half went for a walk and picnic to a beautiful local park to see the rhododendrons in full bloom and soak up the glorious sunshine. They are the most wondrous flowers to look at, each as something unique and enchanting to look at, no one plant or flower is the same. That day the sun was absolutely glorious with the rhodoendrons lining the drive with the most beauiful display of colours, those kind of days don't come around very often so we made the most of it, had a lovely picnic and even managed to take some pretty photo's too!

My look was inspired by vintage tiki style, which comes American genre of style and popculture kitsch of Polynesian origin...think Mai Tai cocktails, palm prints and tropical prints! I'm wore a vintage cotton H&M tiki print dress and hair-flowers. I've had this dress for over a decade and I still wear it and love, the print is so vivid and bright and it's really comfortable and cool on hot days. I don't often get much opportunity to sport such a tropical look living in Scotland but the weather has been amazing so I had to pull it back out of wardrobe for such unusually sunny weather! Here are some photo's from our walk, hope you'll enjoy! All photography is taken by +Michael O'Brien . Hair, make-up and styling by me. Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic weekend lovelies ♡

Caroline Hussey Designs

I recently did a photo-shoot wearing some beautiful pieces designed by my amazing friend and talented designer, Caroline Hussey. It was a really exciting project, a pleasure to model such wonderful work. Contemporary, classic with urban influences is how I would describe Caroline's jewellery but that doesn't do her designs justice by any means. They have to be seen and held in your hand to appreciate her work. The craftsmanship, attention to detail and uniqueness of her designs is second to none.  

The pieces I choose to wear for this shoot were (as shown) a divine vivid green brooch and chunky ring as worn throughout. I cannot wait to get my hands on more of her designs. I absolutely adore wearing Caroline's designs, my whole aesthetic changes and I think this shows in this shoot. My love of pin-up and vintage juxtaposed with the ultra modern and contemporary designs works really well together. We have very different styles but when we begin to mix things up it starts to get interesting, which really excites me creatively.

Continually homing her craft and producing new and interesting pieces of wearable art and that is the best way I can summarize her work. She began as painter and is now a jewellery designer, someone with artist vision and excellent eye for design. Each piece is unique and produce by hand which in a world of mass production is something to be celebrated and supported.

To find out more about the designer you can follow Caroline's work, loves and creative endeavors on her awesome blog, Aurochs. If you want to know more about events or details of Caroline's work than get in touch by commenting below or through Facebook and Twitter and I'll send you details! 

All photographs taken by Dariusz of XO Photography. 

Hair, make-up and styling all by me. 

Retro Casual

Bolero and rose top from Lindy Bop, Hair bow from Forever 21,
High waist skinny trousers from Primark, Shoes from Gap

Retro casual can sometimes be bit tricky...how to pull off a more relaxed look but still look relatively polished? I've been trying to find a balance recently and buying more retro casual pieces for work and weekends. I'm really into a more relaxed look lately, looks at don't take forever to put together but still look super cute! It's not that hard to find amazing retro casual pieces right and here are some pieces simple pieces that I need in my life to create cute retro casual looks!  



Tarantula Clothing Catsuit

Catsuits are the perfect adage to any retro wardrobe and I've been wanting this particular one from Tarantula Clothing forever, so this summer I'm gonna get it! This is top of my list of retro casual buys!

Mischief Made Tee

I'm slightly obsessed with Mischief Made t-shirts right now, the designs are so super cute. I adore the retro inspired prints, I'll be definitely adding some of these to my wardrobe for cute casual look for weekends with skirt and my favourite faux leather jacket.  

Collectif Clothing Cropped Cardigan Daisy Print

Cropped cardigans are another must for retro casual look, I really need to buy some of these in different colours to throw on over dresses or with top and skirt. I'm really into them right now and this daisy print is just perfect for Spring paired with some high waist jeans for a cute casual look. Lovin' Collectif's Spring/ Summer collection.

Bernie Dexter High Waist Jeans

Bernie Dexter jeans are perfect for retro rockabilly casual look, I need a pair in my wardrobe! I love how Bernie has style her jeans with retro mules and gypsy top, the perfect summer weekend look.

ModCloth Apple Print Day Dress

Apple print screams summer and this dress is just perfect for causal little spring or summer outing paired with flat pumps and a cardigan your good to go. I adore the peter pan red collar and the print, too cute. ModCloth have the sweetest retro inspired day dresses.

Tara Starlet Love Heart Coat

I love a good spring coat and this delight from Tara Starlet ticks all the right boxes. Create the perfect 60's retro inspired look with this gorgeous little number. The heart pockets and the powder pink shade, it's just perfect! A definite win for to have this in your wardrobe.

Let me know what your favourite places to shop or looks are for retro casual wear, I'd really love to hear from you? Have a great week ♡

☆★☆Goodbye 2015...hello 2016!☆★☆

In 2015 I did more photo-shoots in 2015 than any other year; became little more fearless; experimented with fashion, make-up and hair than ever before and developed my personal style. I have met and worked with wonderful photographers, designers, and creatives which all of which I want to thank and I can't wait to do even more creative projects in 2016. I wanted to share some highlights from last year's photo-shoots, fashion, hair and make-up looks from 2015 and some upcoming features!

Some of photo-shoots from 2015 featuring some of my favourite brands and stores: Style Icons Closet, Lindy Bop, Banned Apparel, H&M, Glorious Clothing Glasgow, Zara, New Look, Cyber Glasgow and Primark. All styling, hair and make-up by me, photography by Kaizi Photography and Darius Z Glasgow shot on location in various landmarks around the city. My favourite locations this year were at Glasgow Necropolis and Pollock Park with the outstanding victorian gothic and the utterly magical victorian gardens which was shot in mid summer so everything was in full bloom there so it was absolutely wonderful. My favourtie dress has got to be the beautiful vintage inspired strapless dress by Style Icons Closet. Check out their wonderful store for the dress I'm wearing below and an array of other beautiful dresses, accessories and clothes.

My brooch and costume jellewery obsessions definitely going to continue to grow within 2016 and I plan to source even more retro inspired brands to share with you all. There has been an explosion of excellent jewellery designers from all parts of the world so there has never been a better time to start collecting.  I'm loving Erstwilder collector items, they are so beautifully packaged and the quality is superb. My amazing friends got me my very first Erstwilder brooch for my birthday, its a pretty poodle which I can't wait to wear! I absolutely adorable Miss Polly’s Lucite, she makes the sweetest retro inspired designs which I'll be featuring in the coming months. Above are some very small highlights of my brooch collection featuring lots of vintage pieces, Viva La Lux and Erstwilder, Runaway Fox.

Here are some highlights of my 2015 everyday style. I've found a way of incorporating my love of vintage style into work looks and it's going to be even better in 2016...! I wore a lot of vintage last year but I have stocked on more vintage reproduction for 2016 as I find the sizing better when you're smaller as I never have much success with finding vintage lately in smaller sizes so I need to do research on where to find an array of vintage sizes and I'll share it with you all. I plan to log every look for the whole year which I've started, it helps to look back on your style too. I clearly need to expand my belt collection even from these highlights, haha!  I'll be featuring lots more vintage and vintage inspired fashion throughout 2016 and working with more wonderful folks I can't wait! Back to healthy eating and gym next for me as I've been so indulgent this Christmas. You'll see below some of the brands coming to The Chic Guide in the next few months!

This year I wore whole lot of lipstick, more than ever. I rarely go out without red or Plum lipstick on so its high time to invest and experiment on The Chic Guide. I cannot wait to purchase some Besame lipstick and Melt Cosmetics I'll keep you posted! I'm also taking the time to practice and creating vintage hair styles so I can share tips and tricks to help keep a record to share with everyone. Above are some make-up looks throughout the year. I'm really loving pin-curls and sponge rollers for authentic vintage styles, they work so well and it's definitely something I would advise anyone to practice if you want to create more authentic look and it's really simple with some practice. I've kept the length of my hair relatively short as I cut it in early summer and that makes it much easier for vintage styling too. I don't know whether to let my bangs grow out, what do you think?

I'm really inspired to be more creative than ever and blogging more than ever so I'm looking forward to sharing fashion, finds, lots of vintage, beauty and art with everyone. I'll be featuring the above brands in the coming months, lots of pretty pieces to shoot in and lots more so stay tuned and visit The Chic Guide on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, Bloglovin, Google+  for the latest updates and please like, follow and share. Happy New Year and I hope it's an amazing year for you and thank you for following throughout 2015; very much appreciated, much love and enjoy 2016 xxx

♡ Style Icons Closet ♡

Style Icons Closet is a wonderful UK based vintage inspired clothing company which I am delighted to collaberating with. Created by sisters Sisi & Mimi, the designers hand-make all their clothing line and offer an old school and very customer focused approach with every item you purchase. All their beautiful designs can be made to measure, tailored to fit perfectly to suit any figure or bought ready-to-wear from their website. This is just on of the many endearing aspects of this highly successful brand. Style Icons Closet describe their clothing as "chic vintage style with a modern twist", that's exactly what they deliver. Taking signature vintage pieces like the sweetheart neck bodice but add an unique and up-to-date twist on this classic retro design by using bold African tribal prints creating an edgier, more urban feel which is really fashion forward approach to vintage design.

It's really refreshing to see the designers adding something different as there are so many well established brands producing a lot of the same items within their collections which can be boring and unimaginative. Instead they are creating their own niche with the adage of contemporary fabrics and ethnic prints. As production is relatively small, the stock is normally limited which makes your purchase a little bit extra special as you won't find many others with the same item which in an era of mass production is becoming a rarity. Each piece is very reasonably priced for such beautifully crafted handmade product, producing so many different items is truly amazing and one of the many reasons I adore the brand.

Along with clothing, they also sell retro style accessories including beautiful retro style scarfs, cat eye sunglasses, cute belts and jewelry to match their clothing line. I adore accessorizing a scarf as they are so versatile,  whether you simply tie around your neck which makes any look instantly chic or as a headscarf it's worth investing, their range are really beautiful with lush floral prints and deep shades they're really striking. 

The fabrics, prints and designs work wonderfully for all sizes, skin tones whether you are into retro style or not doesn't matter as the dresses, tops, skirts and other pieces they sell come in many different lengths and styles depending on your preference, age or size; they've all bases covered!

Here's a few quick shots taken while taking an autumn stroll in the park, my favourite season for visiting wood areas, I adore trees and being amongst nature. Autumn/winter doesn't mean you have to hang up pretty dresses, just layer up ladies! I'll be showing more winter style inspiration in the coming weeks featuring Style Icons Closet. The below dress I'm wearing is ideal for all seasons, lets face it, polkadots are always cute! I like to pair full circle skirts with a petticoat underneath, it gives extra umph and fullness to create the perfect vintage inspired look. There's so much material with their circles skirts that you won't be able to stop twirling! ( I couldn't!!) You can find out the rest of their collection at their official website www.styleiconscloset.com, ASOS Marketplace and on Esty . Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to visit, like, tag and share The Chic Guide on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+ and Twitter. 

Lots of love,

The Chic Guide

♡

Happy Halloween!

Shoot on location at Glasgow Necropolis featuring Lindy Bop.
Photography Kaizi Photography. Styling, hair and make-up by me.

Shoot on location at Glasgow Necropolis featuring Banned Apparel.
Photography Kaizi Photography. Styling, hair and make-up by me

Shoot on location at Glasgow Necropolis featuring Lindy Bop
Photography Kaizi Photography. Styling, hair and make-up by me.

Shoot on location at Glasgow Necropolis.
Photography Kaizi Photography. Styling, hair and make-up by me.

Cast a Dark Shadow

Shot on location in the hauting setting, Glasgow Necropolis; featuring the wonderful retro inspired Lindy Bop and Banned Apparel. A more mournful yet utterly breathtaking expansive space, the beauty of the surroundings is like nowhere else in Glasgow. All photos taken by Kaizi Photography, styling, hair and makeup by me. ♡

♡ Vintage florals and victorian gardens ♡

When I think of some of my favourite summer days, I always associated with being outdoors amongst nature. The smell of freshly cut grass, the glorious sight of all the beautiful flowers in bloom with all the beautiful colours, the sounds of wind blowing through the trees...it's a magical time when every seems so lush and full of life. Its an ideal time to really make the most of what nature has to offer and get inspired from all the magnificent beauty the summer brings. 

I recently visited the delightful victorian gardens at Pollock Park to shoot with Kirsty-Anne of Kaizi Photography. This was our very first collaboration and I'm very excited to share some of beautiful images she captured while we were there enjoying the summer gardens and the glorious sunshine. Here are some of the images from the shoot. I'm wearing one of favourite pretty floral vintage inspired dress I've had in my wardrobe for a very long time and I got it from a from Glorious in West End but I don't know the brand.  All hair, make-up and styling by me!

Don't forget to visit The Chic Guide on Facebook, Instagram , Twitter , Tumblr , Pinterest or Bloglovin. Follow for regular updates on the latest news, fashion and other delights from The Chic Guide. Visit Kazia Photography  website, Facebook, for news on upcoming projects and the latest news.

Style Gallery