Sister Jane Spring Collection 2017

I absolutely love Sister Jane's new Spring collection. The collection is an alternative take on the girl gang look. Instead of biker jackets and jeans think peter pan dresses, ruffles and bell sleeves. The designs are feminine, fun and true to the London based brand's retro style. 

1. Forget Me Not Jacquard Dress

2. Confetti Shadowplay Dress

3. Belle De Jour Volante Sweater

I thought I'd start with my three favourite pieces. The forget me not jacquard dress has the most gorgeous floral design and flared sleeves. It  reminds me of a dress from Valentino's A/W 2013 collection. The jacquard material is also used in cigarette trousers and a blazer. The confetti shadowplay dress is one of my favourite dresses from the collection. The combination of tweed and pleats is very Chanel-esque and the lace back really adds to it. Tweed is a major feature of this collection. They have with a pink and grey tweed blazers, skirts, tops and dresses. The belle de jour sweater has amazing ruffle detail on the sleeve, it also looks like the comfiest jumper ever because it is in a soft suede material. 

1. Mint Condition Blouse

2. Saved by the Bell Dress

3. Teen Idol Tunic Dress

 Exaggerated sleeves are such a big trend this year and a major feature of this collection. I love the pleated front and the black brooch on the mint condition blouse. The saved by the bell dress is a modern take on the fifties silhouette, with bell sleeves and a full a-line skirt. I love the fun doodle print on the teen idol dress. It is also featured on the red teen idol ruffle blouse. 

1. Chartreuse Lace Top

2. Madeline Coven Dress

3. Primrose Tiered Top

There are some lovely mustard coloured pieces in the collection, including the chartreuse lace top which has the most amazing flared sleeves. The peter pan dress is always a staple of Sister Jane's collections and it returns this season with a contrasting mint pussy bow. The primrose tiered top is in a delicate pink shade with amazing tiered ruffle sleeves. 

1. Macroon Oxford Dress

2. Main Squeeze Rabbit Dress

3. Dear Diary Coven Dress

Sister Jane is one of the best places for retro dresses with a modern twist. The macaroon oxford dress is a classic sixties shift dress, however, the ruffled bib gives it a preppy look. I love the pearl embellishment on the collar of the mustard dress. The main material of the dress is also slightly see through in places to reveal the lace overlay. The dear diary coven dress is one of the few darker pieces of the collection. The high neck collar, ruffle sleeves and swing shape is a modern take on the LBD.

Support your local girl gang and visit the Sister Jane website

Zig Zag

zig zag top - river island (sold out)
black bralet - river island (sold out similar here)

shorts - topshop on ebay (sold out similar here and here)

shoes - topshop

When I was packing for Bristol I came across this little zig zag top from River Island that I used to always wear years ago when I was obsessed with sixties style. It has inspired to experiment more with black and white and sixties patterns. I bought these black pointed heels last week from Topshop. I have a lot of black shoes but the pointed toe makes them a real statement shoe. They also remind me of the pointed heels at Miu Miu A/W 15. I'm moving to Bristol tomorrow and I really can't wait. It's going to be such a big change living in a different county but it will be an adventure too. I also can't wait for fashion week!

Factory Girl

Last year I wrote a steal her style piece on Edie Sedgwick, I thought I'd show you my factory girl fashion collage (sorry about not having all the links)

Clockwise from top left: striped sweater via forever 21, black mesh leotard via amazon, famous butterfly earring via stevesascodesigns, black fishnet tights via forever 21, gold tone metallic clutch bag via river island, paprika black patent pointed-toe pump via amazon

Who are you Polly Magoo?

Today I dressed up as Dorothy MacGowan from Who are you Polly Magoo? because hey why not!

Me as Polly Magoo from the 1960s french film Qui Etes-Vous Polly Magoo?

sources (moviepostershop.com, ilovehotdogs.net, elenavzintaris.blogspot.ie, strawberige.com)

I watched the film Who are you Polly Magoo? last night. It's a movie that I've been dying to see for ages. I couldn't find a English version so a lot of the time I didn't fully understand what was going on :/ but it didn't matter because everyone looked amazing hehe 

Renowned fashion photographer and film maker William Klein ridicules the fashion industry in this 1960s satire. William Klein was known for challenging the traditional views of fashion and experimenting with fashion photography. Klein's love of avant garde and experimentalism can be seen in a great scene in which Polly discusses her feelings towards her appearance. The shot is layered with picasso like portraits which highlight the influence of modernism on the film. The opening scene has to be my favourite...a runway show featuring models wearing outfits made from sheets of aluminium. 

There are so many famous faces in this movie. It was a challenge just to name them all. I recognized  Donyale Luna at the fashion show, Peggy Moffitt also appeared a few times and at one point I think I saw Richard Avedon. I'm not quite sure (due to my poor understanding of french) but I think some the film's plot is related to the lead actress's life story. I absolutely love Richard Avedon and his artistic style really fits with the movie. He has a really unique way of photographing portraits which captures the essence of the subject in a unique moment in time. I love this famous 1968 portrait of Twiggy and the very late sixties portraits of the Beatles which borderline on pop art.

I read that Dorothy MacGowan was spotted by a talent agent from a crowd of Beatles fans... that's the dream right, meeting The Beatles and modelling for Elle. The eye makeup in this movie is amazing. I was trying my best to replicate it using eylure lashes and L'oreal Paris liquid eyeliner.

I got these fake eyelashes because they say Queen Of Mod on the box hehe 

I also got these giant sixties hoops from a wear, they are similar to ones I wore in this post

Who are you Polly Magoo? in Elle Collections S/S 13 Magazine. Peggy Moffitt looks amazing in this photograph

Vidal's Sassoon's five point cut is everywhere in this film. I got this wonderful book in tk maxx. It has two pages each dedicated to different designers, models, actresses and it girls of the sixties <3

The Mod Squad: Louis Vuitton and Moschino Lookbooks S/S 13

I know I'm about a six months too late to be talking about Spring/Summer but when these collections were released I was very busy making terrible life decisions haha :/ anyway its technically Spring so w/e. My favourite collections are Louis Vuitton and Moschino, theyre so dreamy

Let's relive Louis Vuitton's amazing SS show featuring escalators, colour-blocking, matching twin models. I created some fashion collages inspired by Louis Vuitton's collection.

Louis Vuitton SS 2013 - Green by emmamodonnell

Green dress, €50 / ASOS white pumps, €21 / Zatchels leather purse, €78


I love this green checkered dress from oasap, its almost a perfect copy.

Louis Vuitton SS 13 - Grey by emmamodonnell featuring River Island

River Island midi dress, €32 / CÉLINE white sandals, €110 / River Island clutch, €39 / Reeds Jewelers sterling silver jewelry, €14 / Plastic headband, €5,53 / River Island sunglasses, €17

I know the dress is striped not checkered but it replicates simple, sleek, color-blocking so well. Isn't this bag amazing? It looks so sophisticated for the price.

Moschino's collection gave their interpretation of the sixties fashion revolution in London. Some of the black and white suits clothing remind me of this picture while the more colourful outfits are reminiscent of Carnaby Street fashion and psychedelica

Moschino SS 13 - Black and White by emmamodonnell featuring handbags purses

Dorothy Perkins black and white striped dress, €32 / Kurt Geiger mary jane shoes, €63 / Topshop handbags purse, €42 / Bonnie Jonas brass jewelry, €7,38 / Round glasses, €12 / TOPSHOP Polka Dot Bow Barette, €5,54

I think the best way to create the sixties mod look is with over-sized white round sunglasses, they instantly make you look cool

Moschino SS13 - Colourful by emmamodonnell featuring a a line skirt

Giambattista Valli yellow shirt, €285 / A line skirt, €68 / Topshop cotton socks, €5,54 / Nly Shoes white sandals, €52 / Blue purse, €21 / Plastic glasses, €7,76

This is my favorite outfit ever! The tweed skirt is colourful, cute, the love clutch bag  is from modcloth  is the yellow checkered socks from topshop, they remind of Louis Vuitton's collection. I think the best way to create Moschino's collection is to use color in a fun way while teaming it with sixties inspired accessories and lots and lots of hairspray

Kings Road

pink suit - topshop
white tights - topshop
earrings - awear
pink mary janes - awear

I've meaning to show you guys this outfit for a while now because it's one of my favourites. I got it at topshop. I'm selling my shoes on etsy (I love them but they are just too small) I've been watching lots of youtube clips of Carnaby Street and Kings Road during the sixties. I like this montage of fashion models including twiggy and this documentary on fashion shops by some cynical journalist haha 

Pauline Boty

photo by lewis morley

Lately I've been inspired by a pop artist called Pauline Boty. She was heavily involved in the sixties British pop art movement and was known for being one of the first proto-feminist icons of the sixties. She often made collages of pop culture icons but her most famous works deal with feminism and female sexuality. 

I noticed Pauline Boty in a documentary on British pop art called Pop Goes the Easel which followed four young pop artists (Pauline Boty, Peter Blake, Derek Boshier and Peter Phillips) around London. The documentary is a pretty good insight into sixties London. I absolutely loved the dance scene at the end of  the film of mods and beatniks twisting at a London club. Pauline Boty was a great socialite and free spirit. Her home in Shepherds Bush was the meeting place for students, artists and eccentrics. She was known for having the Monroe-esque quality of being both alluring and vulnerable. It was often thought that she was a Brigitte Bardot look-alike but I think she looks more like a blonde Anna Karina. She was described by the writer Joe Massot as having "marvellous strawberry ice cream and leonine hair" 

In the years before the feminist art movement she struggled to get her work taken seriously "women painters like myself felt very alienated, the full feminist movement hadn't come in and we worked in isolated pools, mostly of depression" Boty was a self-assured women and was admired by her fellow artist Peter Blake as being the first woman in London to wear men's 501s. She also described herself as being the secretary of the Anti-Ugly Action in which she and her fellow activists scattered rose petals over the new Barclay's Bank as a protest against unattractive architecture. Unfortunately her life came to a tragically short end. She died from leukaemia in 1966 (aged 28) leaving behind her baby daughter and a small but inspiring body of work.

Screencap from Ken Russell's Pop Goes The Easel