Clothes Show Live 2013

Recently I went to the Clothes Show Live at Birmingham NEC with the GCSE and A level Textiles students. So yes, that means I not only got in free, I was being paid to be there - there have to be some perks to my job right?!

The major fashion show was a mixture of high street and designer clothes, with the theme of 'A Weekend in the Country'. The story running through the show was that a group of friends arrive at a country house for a weekend away to party & celebrate New Years Eve. I thoroughly enjoyed it (and not just because of the skantily dressed men, although that is always a bonus!). A particular favourite was the eveningwear section, complete with gothic looking black lace masks and headpieces.

I also managed to see some of the Graduate fashion shows from the colleges and uni students, which were very inspiring. One of the collections I could have worn immediately, which was made up of quirky vintage style tweed outfits complete with pill box hats.

The rest of the day was spent browsing the huge number of stalls, it really is a shoppers dream! The discounts on the items on sale were really good, and I got some real bargains. Next year my friend Sian & I plan to go back on our own time so that we can take part in some of the hair & make up demos going on.

So yes, I spent the day oggling male models, shopping & taking photos and I got paid for it....!

Florence



Outside the cathedral. Dress: EBay, shoes: Reef, bag: an Italian purchase!



The only way to travel in Italy!

Posing outside Gucci? Oh go on then!

Inspiration

Assisi

Rome

The Pantheon

Interior of the pantheon

Getting a fruit pot from the market for breakfast

The Colloseum

Inside the Colloseum

An amaretto bellini - my new favourite drink!

You know what they say, "when in Rome..."!

We had a wonderful time in Italy this summer, and finished off our trip with a weekend in Rome. We stayed in a small apartment and spent our days wandering around all the sights (which are surprisingly close together) and taking far too many photos. In the evenings we sat outside restaurants and ate - and boy did we eat a lot!

Everything about our stay was amazing, the weather (43 degrees anyone?!), the architecture, the people, the markets... sigh!

Umbria

Viw across the bridge to the town & castle from our house

Evening over Spoleto

You can't go without ice cream in Italy! This one was English trifle flavour...

At the cathedral

The only way to travel in Italy!

The Roman ampitheatre

We were lucky enough to spend our summer holiday in Italy this year. We had a week in Umbria, followed by a weekend in Rome before flying home. It’s safe to say that we both fell in love with Umbria, and could quite happily get used to the laid back lifestyle out there!

We rented a beautiful restored artist’s house just outside the town of Spoleto. The town itself is a walled medieval town, with a castle, a cathedral, a roman amphitheatre and lots of pretty squares hosting markets and open air cafes.

Using Spoleto as a base we did day trips out across Umbria, or just spent our days potting around the winding roads of the town.

If you get a chance to visit Umbria, do it, it is just the most beautiful place!