Links à la mode: Zimmermann's Summer 2014 Collection

A big thanks to the editors at Links à la Mode who included "The Perfect Bikini from Zimmermann's Summer 2014 campaign" post in their round-up of the top 20 blog posts this week.
You have until Tuesday to submit your own links for next week, if your a blogger or you can just check out all the other great posts by clicking below.

Born to be Styled

You know how it is, every season there's something new to get into... new trends, new styles, keeping up appearances. As I get older, I notice how some things come cycle in and out, and how some things stay with us season after season. That biker jacket, that classic black and white ensemble, that perfect suit. It's just a matter of finding that thing that resonates with you and your life year after year. We all have our fleeting musings, but what really strikes our fancy time after time? That's what I call style.

Links à la Mode: March 27th

• A Tale of Two Shoes: Illustration of Ulyana Sergeenko Spring Couture
• Attire Club: Free Time Hobbies for Men
• Daria Burkova: 10 Spring Trends From Milan 2014
• DressCode:HighFashion: The 10 Coolest Biker Jackets SS 14
• Flower City Fashionista: Hi, I like Shoes A Lot
• Hunting in Heels: The Perfect Bikini from Zimmerman's Summer 2014 Campaign
• Lara Lizard: How to Gain a lot of Followers on Twitter
• Love, Lace & Glitter: How to Find Your Blogger Voice
• Mama In Heels: Being Fabulous is Having a Signature Style
• ModaVracha: How to Pronounce Designer Names
• Ms. Fabulous: Debut of Affordable Couture for Prosthetic Limb
• Oxford Student: Fashion and Mental Health: The One Trend No One Mentions
• Romeo Style: Monday Men Style: Blue Man Crew
• Sannam and Style: Four Ways to Wear Black and White
• Style by Alina: 4 Ways to Style a Strapless Dress
• Style Convict: Leather in The Spring?
• The Loudmouth: 10 Blogging Tips for Busy Women
• The Heart's Delight: Oui, Oui, Paris! What to Pack for Paris
• Wild Beauty World: Is Your Makeup Killing You? Decoding Cosmetic Scare Stories
• What to Wear Where: Lovely Leather Spring Jackets

Brought to you by: East Dane OHW?, Alejandra G, Michael Michael, Ferragamo Sandals, JOA, Fratelli Rossetti, Tautz, Ladison, LBT, PRPS,Y3, Men's Sneakers

Want to be featured in Links à la Mode?

1. Read the clarified rules and submit your links on this page: Links à la Mode. 2. If your link was selected and you need this week’s code, visit this page: Links à la Mode Code.

The Perfect Bikini from Zimmermann's Summer 2014 campaign

Australia is the home to a population of surfers and beach lovers, so it is only natural that they would give the world one of the best swimwear brands, Zimmermann.
I remember when I was working in Australia, for another Australian brand, I used to spend my lunch break fondling the delicate, printed bikini's at the Zimmermann shop near by. Out of my budget of course, however it did get me thinking of the idea of investing in swimwear. I usually buy a couple of high street bikini's each year and then toss them to the side when they have had their share of salt water and sun cream stains.Only once did I invest in a Seafolly red striped. nautical, cut out one piece. It lasted me a good 3 years or more. So it was worth the price tag.
One of the reasons that Zimmermann is a great bikini brand to choose from is it's wearability. Normally designer swimwear lines are all sequins, awkward cut outs and closely cut bikini lines. Great for posing in St Tropez or partying in Ibiza but not very practical. Zimmermann's bikini's are on trend with unique prints and flattering cuts, but without the heavy fashion details. Their Summer 2014 collection is to die for and has me dreaming of an exotic trip to The Cook Islands, where they did this shoot.

Oh Summer do hurry up!!

Love Dani xx

Outfit Post: White coat

WHITE BIKER COAT | PRIMARK /PENNYS

BLACK POLO NECK | BORROWED

BLACK JEANS | DR DENIM

BURGUNDY CHELSEA BOOTS | MASSIMO DUTTI

BAG | ZARA

Last Sunday the sun was shining so I went for a walk in Villa Pamphili, the biggest green space in Rome. This open space is home to beautiful Palazzos and a lake full of turtles. One of my favourite things is the maze garden, which you can't enter unfortunately.
I worked this look around the white biker coat, which I got when I was home in Ireland last Christmas. I am always afraid to purchase anything white, but this coat was a stand out piece that I couldn't leave behind. I decided to pair it with all black, in an attempt at channeling a mod look.

What do you think of this look?

Love Dani xx

Travel Diary: Venice Part 1

Well I finally got to visit Venice and after all these years in Italy it was top of my list of places to see. My biggest fear was that this floating city would be overrated, cheesy even. Full of tourists it was, even if carnival had ended the week before,but this did not effect it's charm.
I loved exploring the city with Lorenzo, from getting lost in the maze of narrow, narrow streets to hopping over the little bridges.
We stayed in a little hotel just off Piazza San Marco, called Hotel Antigo Trovatore which I would definitely recommend. Our room was bright, airy and so clean. The price was more than reasonable, also considering we were a 2 minute walk from Piazza San Marco.
On the first day we arrived by train from Rome with Italo, who do great train offers if you can book in advance. After lunch we went to visit the Palace of the Doges, where we could also enter Ponte dei Sospiri and the cells underneath the building, where Casanova was held. Then we took a walk around, just trying to familiarise ourselves and stopped for a class of the famous Venetian Prosecco while we watched the sun set on San Marco.
For dinner we ventured out to find the local Venetians. Living in Rome, we are well aware that the best restaurants are not near the main tourist attractions. I had done some research online and I read that most of the locals hang out in the Cannaregio area. It took us a good 30mins on foot, but we found lots of little restaurants and  small bars along quiet canals, away from the hustle and bustle of the tourists. It was very romantic as we strolled back to our hotel after dinner, with the street lights reflecting off the water.

Part two coming soon....

The perfect flats for St Patrick's Day

The perfect flats for St Patrick's Day di huntinginheels contenente slip on shoes

Happy St Patrick's Day to you all. Make sure you enjoy the day/night by leaving your heels at home and opting for flats. Here are some gorgeous green festive designer and non-designer flats to help you jig the night away.

Love Dani xx
 

Links a la mode: Mary Katrantzou and the death of the digital print.

My post last week on Mary Katrantzou and the death of the digital print was chosen by Independent Fashion Bloggers for their Links a la Mode this week.
Check out the other great posts below:

Fashion Kaleidoscope

Style is made of so many pieces it's hard to focus on just one element. The beauty is the collective whole of random bits and pieces from our lives makes for an abstract pattern. What? Ok, maybe that's a bit philosophical, then again, so are a couple of the posts in this week's roundup. From a close look at Emilio Pucci's outrageous prints, to dissecting the underrepresentation of lesbians in the fashion world, and decoding childhood memories influence on design, there's a lot to look at even more closely than whether or not an outfit works.

Links à la Mode: March 13

1. Adorned in Armor: Lupita: A Cinderella Story
2. A La Modest: Emilio Pucci: Kaleidoscope Patterns & Sci Fi Uniforms
3. Al-Balsam Life: Fashion Fever Paris Fashion Week Edition
4. A Tale of Two Shoes: Do we really read blogs?
5. Attire Club: Les Sapeurs: The Dapper Men of The Congo
6. Fashioned by Love: 5 Minutes with Nadia Vodianova
7. Happy Pretty Sweet: A Brief History of Jeans
8. Hunting in Heels: Mary Katranzou and the Death of the Digital Print
9. Lara Lizard: 9 Blogger Pet Peeves
10. Lollieshopping: 90's Fashion I Don't Miss
11. Madame Ostrich: Let's Hear if For the Girls: The Issue With Lesbian Underrepresentation In Fashion
12. Miss Monet: Fashion Wearabouts at Paris Fashion Week
13. Style Curated: Interviewing the Interviewer: Kinvara Balfour
14. Style Vanity: 10 Tips to Get a Job in Fashion (No Matter Where You Live)
15. Tangles & Chains: 3 Jewelry Wearing Mistakes to Avoid When Going on a Date
16. The Sassy Girl: Splurge vs Steal: Spring 2014 Fashion
17. The Style Lineup: 4 Easy Steps to Make Your Jewelry Fit
18. Trend Survivor: Milan Fashion Week Decoded
19. We Are Ready Made: W.A.R.M. is in the Mood for Childhood Memories
20. Wild Beauty World: Marilyn Minter's Subversive Beauty

  SPONSOR: GQ East Dane ReNamed, Mr Hare, Golden Goose, Whistles, Italia Ind., SH Athletics, Norse Projects, Han Kjobenhavn, Soulcycle, Staghorn

Want to be featured in Links à la Mode?

1. Read the clarified rules and submit your links on this page: Links à la Mode. 2. If your link was selected and you need this week’s code, visit this page: Links à la Mode Code.

Mary Katrantzou: The death of the digital print

All photos are from style.com

Trends come and go, sometimes without us even noticing it. Last season, pioneers of the digital print such as Christopher Kane, veered away from the style that catapulted him to fame, in favour of change. His digital prints were replaced by intricately embroidered handiwork, that resembled print from afar and bewitched on closer inspection. While at big name trendsetting labels, like Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld cut up tiny pieces of coloured fur and stitched them together to create the illusion of geometric prints.
However the final nail in the coffin was Mary Katrantzou's Fall 2014 collection. A reputation built on digital imagery, there was not a print in sight. But who is Katrantzou without the print? Apparently an even better designer!
This has to be one of my favourite collections of hers. The prints were gone, but the exquisite and spellbinding aesthetic value of the clothes was as powerful as ever. Kaleidoscopic embroidered gowns played tricks on the eyes, a spectacular day dream, her surrealist graduate prints but a distant memory.
What does this mean for the future of fashion? In short, this is designers giving the finger to fast fashion. Gone are the heavy, yet easily printed graphic deigns, so often modified and reproduced by high street labels. It is a return to the handmade and an appreciation for the handiwork of talented artisans.
There is a need to get interactive with clothing again. There seems to be an new found emphasis on the tactile. Soft furs and supple leathers caress the fingertips while pleated silks and chiffons delicately stroke bare legs.
With such work comes an investment of time and talent and therefore a higher price tag for consumers. But perhaps it is also a call for the acknowledgement of hard work and quality. The aim is to reignite the passion that once existed for those love at first sight pieces. Not just an investment, but a piece that you truly love and will treasure for seasons to come.

I say farewell to the digital print and good riddance to fast fashion!

Love Dani xx