How does One dress like an Art Student? ;) ____

Ek! Times a ticking and I have no clothes to wear to art school. So what does the average art student look like???

Like an Urban Outfitter model?

Retro vamp?


or

Charity shop chic?

My style is kinda a mix match of things. I tend to buy things that are affordable. For example, I see a pair of amazing blue high heels in Topshop, but instead I buy them in black in order to get more use out of them....when ultimately I really really wanted the blue ones lol! Im no saint though... I do splash out on the odd purchase from asos.com. When I invest money in clothes it always seems to be in evening wear. Therefore, I don't have a lot of day clothes other than boring old skinny jeans which are like stuffing my thighs into sausage skins. So, i'm thinking it would be nice to possible get some day skirts and something other than jeans to wear. 

I have been working like mad for the past month so I am hoping for a decent wage on the 31st. So, what are the 10 daily item essentials???

The List

1. Cardigans - its going to be winter after all

2.  T-shirts - laidback logo'd t-shirts

3. Skirts - floaty skirts to throw a baggy T or jumper over.

4. Chords! - no self respecting art student can be seen without a pair of chords :D

5. Cute dresses - good for mornings when your in a hurry and are only capable of making one item of clothing decision.

     5. Tights & Socks - for those cold winter mornings. 

6. Jacket - a sensible one! i.e. covers down to below your waist, hood and warm.

 7. Scarves, hats & gloves - i used to hate wearing hats in the winter because I don't suit them, now i just want to be warm. 

8. Belts - for defining your waist through those baggy winter jumpers and jackets.

9. Flat shoes/boots - comfort comfort comfort. 

10. "School Bag" - the revival of the backpack. 

Oh! and not forgetting possibly the most important item for a jewellery student is.....JEWELLERY. Preferably my own but until I get some made its important to wear some different and inventive pieces by designers I admire. 

The images are taken from Urban Outfitters and Topshop. However, my mission is to try and find similar items at half the cost from other shops. I am giving myself a budget of £200. Will i manage to stick to this? Hmm.... in the words of arnold ...I'LL BE BACK! 

Check in to my blog around about the 10th of sept to see if my shopping spree has been successful. 

VWx

Problem solved__________

I am terrible for chucking my jewellery into a box. Precious or none precious I always seem to get them intertwined with bits 'n' bobs. 

Whats a girl to do with a magnolia painted wall and a box of pins???? Why, create her very own gallery to display her jewellery collection in. Gone are the days of hours spent detangling necklaces from bracelets. Simply pluck the chosen piece from your bedroom wall. 

My Modern "Jewellery Box"  ----->

My very own little gallery at home. Excuse my messy wardrobes, but you get the idea. Its a shame to have such beautiful things locked up in a jewellery box. Jewellery should be adorned at every opportunity. After-all jewellery has just as much of a right to be called art as a painting that you would hang in your livingroom wall. 

Anodised Aluminium_____

I have recently came across jewellery designers who use anodised aluminium. The colours achieved are incredible. They are vibrant and maintain a quality that I feel enamel finds hard to achieve. 

I had a quick look into how these colours are achieved and found process information from John Moore (below).

"Anodising aluminium is the process of forming an absorptive layer of hard transparent oxide on the surface of the metal which can then accept dye. This is achieved by passing an electric current through the metal in a solution of sulphuric acid.

For practical reasons I do not anodise the metal myself and I buy pre-anodised sheet from a company that produce the material for industry.

The process begins at home in my basement where sheets of pre-anodised aluminium are cut into smaller pieces (approximately A5 size) and then submerged in baths of special aluminium dye, which is heated to between 40 and 60 degrees celsius. Using only four colours of dye I am able to achieve infinite colour ways by dipping into one dye after another any number of times, thoroughly rinsing the metal in between. Effectively I am building up layers of transparent colour but without contaminating each dye. I am currently using a 'dip dye' technique to achieve a subtle fade evenly across the metal, which is difficult and often unsuccessful resulting in a lot of waste material. Afterwards the metal is steamed for half an hour to seal the the pours in the oxide and fix the colour permanently."   - taken from www.johnmoorejewellery.com

The results: 

John Moore www.johnmoorejewellery.com

Helen Swan www.hswanjewellery.co.uk

Sophie Honeybelle www.honeybelle.co.uk

I think these are all stunning. I would definitely like to try experimenting with this material in the future!

My discoveries in Munich 2011______

I went to Inhorgenta for the first time in February 2011. I loved Munich!! It was amazing, my boyfriend and I spent £300 in 3 days.....basically all in cakes! :D They were amazing. Anyways, back to business....the galleries in Munich are to die for, it is a design feast for the eyes. I lost count of how many galleries i dragged my bf round. It was exhausting work, hence why we properly ate so many cakes.  

My favourite gallery was Galerie Spektrum. In there I found a Designer called Ruudt Peters. He uses a method of pushing hot wax into very cold water to create these weird and wonderful shapes to cast from.

I loved these pieces and casually asked how much the necklace I had my eye on was....my mistake! I should no better lol so i settled for his book instead.

@ Inhorgenta the designer that stood out to me was Emma Ware . I loved the versatility of her designs and use of materials. I think they would be the types of designs you would see selling out in Topshop and Urban Outfitters Boutique sections.