Style Icon: Brigitte Bardot

I honestly do not know why this post has taken me so long to write:  I started researching Brigitte Bardot about a week ago, planning this post, pinning my favourite images on Pinterest, thinking 'oh, this should be easy, Bardot being one of my all time style icons.' So many things got in the way of it, but finally here it is.

Why is Bardot one of my 'all time style icons'? Well, first off, she had a way of celebrating her curves without being trashy.  Of course, being French, an effortless approach to style was probably ingrained in her genes.  Her cinched outfits baring a hit of shoulder are synonymous with the 'sex kitten' look, which however remains sensually elegant without being overtly raunchy.  Paired with a classic cat-eye flick of black eye-liner and bed-head hairstyle, the bombshell look is complete.

In 1970, sculptor Alain Gourdon used French actress Brigitte Bardot as the model for a bust of Marianne — the symbol of France — and four years later Andy Warhol captured her in an iconic pop art portrait. But Bardot — a curvaceous blonde with a kittenish grin — wasn't merely a muse: she was also a trendsetter. She helped popularize the bikini by wearing two-pieces in films like Manina, the Girl in the Bikini (1952). She's also credited with sparking the trend of knitwear with a wide neck that exposes both shoulders — the so-called "Bardot neckline." A former ballet dancer, she once asked designer Rose Repetto to make shoes as light as her dance slippers. Voilà: the everyday ballerina flat was born.
(Time)

Get the look:

Bardot and off-the-shoulder necklines are popular again and easy to come by right now.  Stick to fitted silhouettes on top paired with midi skirts in either full or pencil shapes.  Cigarette pants which graze the ankle combined with a breton-stripe top and ballerina pumps are contemporary yet evocative of the 60s Riviera, especially with topped with a broad headband.  Anything in fur or animal hide must be faux, in-keeping with Bardot's animal rights activism.

Shop the look: 

Trend post: Clutch Bags

There are way too many times when my bag doubles up as Mary Poppins' holdall. Whatever you ask me for, the likelihood is that you find it in my bag. But both for reasons of health (I can't possibly keep carrying such weight on my shoulder / elbow on a daily basis) and to satisfy my voracious appetite to be on trend, I want to convert to clutch bags.

I don't think I'll go as far as opting for the micro clutches where I wouldn't even be able to fit my keys and mobiles (I hate the fact I have 2 but that's life at the moment!). Luckily there are some gorgeous oversized clutch bags which I believe can satisfy my fashion obsession and carry all my daily 'necessities' around, whether I'm heading to the office, market or to my favourite watering hole.

Clutch bags seem to have, for a time until recently, existed only in the realm of occasion-wear, to be taken out only for a wedding or a smart occasion when, really and truly, one wouldn't need to carry much stuff around with them in any case.  But nowadays, wearing a clutch with a pair of converse trainers for the morning errands is very much the thing to do, and I for one, am pretty keen on giving such look a go. Actually, and as is probably evident from these pins and my Pinterest board here, I quite love how such formerly more formal bags are paired with more laid back outfits.

Shop the trend with Shopcade: 

I feel I'm already on the right track on this: the last two purchases in this department, both courtesy of gift vouchers from people close to my heart, were in fact clutch bags.  It's a matter of actually using them now.  Maybe I'll give the smaller one from Parfois (similar to this, but plain) a test run this beautiful Sunday morning ... and try the other, larger one from Asos (which is this) for the office one of these days.  Have you ever worn a clutch bag to work? Let me know how practical or otherwise that was in the comments section below xx

confession #000062

...or, shopping just got a whole lot better!

as you may have noticed from the badges at the side of this blog, i am part of the etailpr bloggers network through which i can promote both established and upcoming fashion brands treating my readers to the occasional giveaway or discount.  in the last days, etailpr has launched a competition for bloggers in conjunction with asos and shopcade.  if you are a blogger, what are you waiting for? check out the competition here, like, now!

if you're not a blogger, fret not my dear friend.  what i bring to you is something astounding.  i've only recently joined shopcade and, well, i am hooked.  

shopcade lets you browse products ranging from fashion items, tech stuff, media, food, you name it, it's there.  whenever you like an item, you can place it in a list such as i did with the shopcade 'gifts i want' which you can see below. 

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