Be still my beating heart!

Just a quick post, as I've been busily putting together our Fashion Week boards the past few days, there's been some pretty spectacular shows so far. Osklen, Richard Nicholl, Christopher Raeburn and Erdem have all been standouts for me, Burberry and Matthew Williamson however are easily the stars of the shows!

Live streaming the Burberry show was a stroke of genius in my opinion, I was instantly more excited about the show as my anticipation was built up watching the final preparations, guests arriving and the rather beautiful James Bay serenading the crowd. The palette was just perfection, I loved the oversized graphic insect prints, as I did the ultra feminine ombre tulle dresses. I must admit I'm not a huge trainer fan, nor was I as interested in Christopher Bailey's latest reinvention; the denim jacket. The show on the whole though was a resounding success, quintessentially British and the perfect balance between commercial vs fashion. Also absolutely loving Jourdan Dunns' new 'do, that woman is ridiculously beautiful!

The minute I spied the SS15 mood board on Matthew Williamsons' instagram, I knew he was back to his fabulous 70s inspired bohemian jetsetter best. I'm honestly starting to worry a little about my obsession with this man...

Williamson has said of this collection, "I wanted this to be a real, honest collection, going back to our DNA, a celebration of what we do with strength and passion" and I think he's definitely delivered one of his strongest shows to date. I did a bit of research after hearing Marie Helvin was the muse behind the show, and wow, I can definitely see the inspiration! Such beautiful images (she was married to David Bailey for a time), this is one of the many reasons I have such an admiration for Mr Williamson. He's heavily influenced by interesting imagery, locations and women, which he then translates into exquisite, impacting prints that are still completely wearable. He's very visual and a complete magpie, but manages to make all the elements- colour, pattern, embroidery come together and work for him. A true Prince of Prints!

All images via Vogue, Style.com & Pinterest. I, very very sadly, do not own any

Indian Summer

Whew! The past few months have whirled by and yet again I've failed to post anything. I'm the most useless blogger! To be fair it has been a pretty chaotic summer this year..my sister and I have moved house- TOGETHER at last which is great and Ive been spending quite a bit of time back home in Manchester which I think has been really good for me but my parents also. Also I managed to get to Wilderness festival this year which was such a laugh, I spent most of my time there covered in glitter & henna which can't be a bad thing.

We're heading to Paris soon with work for PV and a bit of vintage rummaging, and as we're supposedly in for a final blast of decent weather before the deep dark rainy Winter sets in I thought I'd post my ideal Indian Summer mood/wardrobe inspiration. On the wishlist for Paris this year are folky smock dresses, biker boots, a fun fur coat, snuggly oversize chunky knits, dusters, a decent coat and some interesting costume jewelery pieces. Also feeling tie dye, perhaps I'll have a little experiment on some plain shirts- could do with longer tops to go over jeans and leggings this winter, think they look a lot chicer!

All images via pinterest. I do not own any

Move On Up

Whew! Blogging is harder than I initially imagined! I posted a hiatus piece.. a couple of months ago now, and vowed then that I'd make more of a conscientious effort to get my act together and get back up to more regular blogging. However, since then I feel so much has changed for me and I'm now at a point where I need to start making some big decisions. Vural and I are no longer together, it's been so odd coming to terms with being single again but I'm getting more comfortable with it as each day passes. Everything's been up in the air with me for quite a while; job, family, London life, and unfortunately blogging has fallen by the wayside.

I went out to visit my cousin as she's currently living near Seville and I explained to her how blogging was in a way therapeutic for me. It's been great outlet to get my thoughts together and focus on things that interest me and most importantly make me happy, even if no-one else is really paying attention! So here goes again, another promise to get myself up and running once more. I'm feeling more positive and ready to start heading towards pastures new. Seeing how well my cousin Holly is getting on and visiting friends in Cornwall at the weekend have made me realise I need to really need to put more thought into me, what I want and how to get myself there.

Thought I'd share a few exciting things I've been up to, firstly my personal website-

http://cargocollective.com/EllaEllajo

So pleased with this, to finally have an organised site where I can showcase my illustrations and work across the high street. I've been starting to draw and design for myself again, to have a more creative outlet in my life outside of work which has lead to...

http://society6.com/EllaJoDesign

Yep, I've bitten the bullet and set up a society6 shop. I'm only dipping my toe in at the moment and perhaps need to dedicate a bit more time into designing more cohesive and specific prints, it's a bit allover the place at the moment! Saying that though, I guess that's me.

I love having 'products' online though and it's got the ball rolling in terms of ideas for my own brand-- watch this space in the not so far future! I just need to start promoting the society6 a little, perhaps through pinterest or something. Ive been having fun putting this board together though, let me know what you think, don't be shy! My personal faves are the wall clocks and throw cushions- is it a bit lame if I buy my own stuff?!

So yeah, perhaps this is a bit of a random post but I just wanting to state (more to myself I guess than anybody else) that I'm moving on to bigger and better things and will do my very very best to take my blog with me!

Prima Ballerina

Cannot believe the last time I posted was almost a month ago, sad to be letting it slip as I really enjoy putting my rambling thoughts & ideas out to anyone who'll listen! There's no sign of work slowing down any time soon & I've had quite a few personal/family things to deal with. I've also been really motivated & focused with my own creative ideas, something I've procrastinated over for far too long. This weekend however, I had a break from thinking too much as my Mum & Sister came to stay with me. We've had a lovely few days together, from craft & vintage fairs to galleries & the theatre, we covered it all!

I'm not a huge musical/West End fan but we managed to find some reasonable tickets for Billy Elliot so off to Victoria we ventured on Saturday night! I actually really enjoyed the show on the whole, the children are all so talented. Watching ballet performances are always so inspiring, I've been thinking about the frothy tutus all day. Obviously this isn't the most fashion forward of posts, I just really admire anyone who can pull off such a feminine look. Degas is the perfect accompaniment too... Wish I was graceful & sinewy enough to not look ridiculous in a puffy tulle skirt & cropped sweater combo, less Prima Ballerina, more Sugar Plum Dumpling!

I've warmed to pastels in the last few months, when they're broken up with black or a bright pop of colour, usually head-to-toe pastels is too sickly for me. However, its just works for off-duty chic, & I love how mixing textures can keep it looking really fresh. Sheer, lace, embellishment & froth just work together don't they. I love the catwalk interpretations of this style too, Dolce & Gabbana has this look down to a tee, Valentino, Alice Temperley, Rodarte & Christopher Kane are also fantastic sources of inspiration. Right, I'm off to hunt down a tulle skirt to call my own!

All images via pinterest, I do not own any