Fashion & Film: Abrakadabra

I wish this is what my morning routine looks like. Abrakadabra fun!

 

Simple DIY Travel Tip: Jewelry Container

Finding a secure container for jewelry when you're packing to travel can be a bit of a pain. I usually use the old little boxes that my Guess watches come in, but after a while they don't shut as tightly. So, when I realized my body butter was running out, I decided that the jar would be perfect for my jewelry! These are the simple steps to create a new travel companion:

Step 1: Don't toss out your body butter jar when it's nearing the end!

Step 2: Wash it out with liquid soap. It's best to let it soak overnight to get the scent out, but if you don't have time, a few hours should be okay.

Step 3: Dry it out. There could be some body butter build up where the top screws on, so be sure to dig that out with a cotton swab.

Step 4: Put your lovely jewelry or hair clips in.

Step 5: Seal, and you're ready to go!

Summer School: Show Up to Class in Style

It's no secret that schoolgirl outfits tickle me with excitement. This skirt with suspenders from ModCloth makes me want to carry my books with one arm, while shyly waving at my crush in the hallway right before I run to the park and grab a swing before anyone else jumps on. And I am way past the age to have this excite me! But, oh, how I love this outfit. This combination is perfect for summer school (or for recreating memories), as the white short-sleeve v-neck will leave you cool under the well structured skirt and straps. The shoes work perfectly with a light pair of frilly socks. You'll hear school bells ringing all day.

by fashionandtea 

Splendid vneck shirt, £55
Skirt, $115
BP. flat heels, $60

Fashion & Film: Stella Jean

Dramatic film with elegant African prints. I love this! And the collection is even better. Fashion by: Stella Jean

Skirts in Sorbet Shades

Mmm... delicious skirts for summer.

Sorbet Skirts by fashionandtea

Pleated chiffon skirt
Reiss pleated skirt, $210
By Malene Birger high waisted pencil skirt, £135
Double Standard Clothing skirt, ¥21,000
Peplum skirt, $68
Bow skirt, £20

Cute & Comfortable Outfit for Summer Festivals

Festive Attire by fashionandtea featuring a denim blouse

Glamorous dress, £25
Denim blouse, $52
ASOS ankle wrap sandals, $41
Camel handbag, $220
Heart sunglasses, $19

Pretty Parisian Food

It can be a bit difficult watching your figure in Paris, with all of the absolutely delectable food the city has to offer. Bread, cheese, and wine doubled as both enemies and my best friends while I was there over my birthday weekend. I had the most amazing fish I've ever had in my life, and tried escargot for the first time! Mmm Paris...

Street Style: Paris

Stephanie, 22, is a design student from the US, studying in Paris for the past three years. Jealous of her life and her bag.

Brighton Fashion Week Faves

After a camera malfunction, my favorite images have finally arrived in my inbox from Brighton Fashion Week! My favorite designers were Joey Bevan and the collaboration of Jade & John and Gemma Landing.

Fashion & Film: Dior

A fashionable story told through a secret garden in Versailles, France. Very chic.

DIY Couture: Skater Skirt

Over the weekend, I went to Rosie Martin's DIY Couture class at Fabrications in Broadway Market. It was just my second time using a sewing machine (the first time was a couple of weeks ago), and I was able to create this beautiful skater skirt! It took me a little longer than the more experienced girls in the class, but I'm so excited I was able to make this. Barley, who owns the fabric shop, and Rosie were incredibly helpful, and especially patient with beginners. The next DIY class is 'how to make a pleated skirt' in July. You can see more upcoming workshops here: http://www.diy-couture.co.uk/events.html

Accessorize Your Summer

Use these style influencers from LOOKBOOK as inspiration for adding the right accessories to your summer outfits.

Fashion & Film: Olga Olsson

Hello, summer.

Designer of the Month: Johari Designs

This month, instead of featuring a solo designer, the spotlight will be on the creative young designers of Johari Designs, a project of the Johari Foundation.

Johari Foundation supports child education and promotes self sustainability in Kenya, working at the grass roots level to help vulnerable children and young adults take charge of their lives and build a positive future for themselves and their families. They set out to achieve this through the building of social development and enterprise programs, like Johari Designs. The social enterprise runs an apprenticeship program that supports at-risk young adults to develop life enhancing skills and knowledge. At the Johari Apprenticeship Centre, they deliver an 18-month curriculum in tailoring and jewelry making. The students develop skills in fashion construction and print design, which leads to ongoing employment at Johari Designs and in some cases establishing their own small businesses. The organization also utilizes the creative talents of guest designers for some collections, as well as in-house product design. To support the graduates of their programs with on-going skills development, the organization encourages their creative input and supports them with their product design ideas. 

Krystle: Who are the original creators of Johari and what inspired them to come together and start designing?

Johari: David Sibbald is the founder of the Johari Foundation which supports child education and promotes self sustainability in Kenya. Our Social Enterprise, Johari Designs followed soon after as it became clear that quite a lot of the older teenage girls and young women we met showed a strong interest in fashion and design. The establishment of Johari Designs allowed vulnerable young women to learn life enhancing skills such as tailoring and jewelry making leading to ongoing employment and economic opportunities. 

Krystle: What influences the creativity of your designs?

Johari: The inspiration for our print design comes from the landscape, animals and people of Africa. We combine the best of African culture with Western design influences to create unique and stylish clothing and accessories.

Krystle: Where do you find your fabrics and materials?

Johari: All fabric is sourced locally from markets and suppliers in central Nairobi. The paper beads we use in our jewelry are sourced from social enterprise, Mzuri Beads, which is based in Uganda. We also use a co-operative in Kenya to supply packaging materials. It’s important to us to keep sourcing within Africa, as it is crucial for economic growth.

Krystle: What is your favorite aspect of working with local communities in Kenya?

Johari: The young people we work with have a very positive outlook on life. It is wonderful to see their confidence grow within such a short space of time as they build up their skill level. We have discovered a huge range of skills and talents within the local community and so utilize local businesses and other social enterprises at every opportunity. This includes printers who produce the screen prints used on many of our clothing designs, Mzuri Beads who supply the paper beads for our jewelry and Kawangware Street Children and Youth Project who produce our carrier bags. We believe that communities thrive and develop where opportunities for self sufficiency exist or are created.

Krystle: Do you have any memories of a specific young adult you’ve enjoyed working with?

Johari: It would be impossible to choose just one person. Given that most of the young women from Johari Designs have come from difficult and vulnerable backgrounds their strong work ethic and desire to provide for themselves and their families is truly inspirational. Not only do they work well together as a team they have all made very close friendships with one another.

Krystle: Do you feel like you’re helping to not only provide economic benefit to communities, but also creating little fashionistas?

Johari: Along with providing economic opportunities and ongoing employment, Johari Designs actively encourages the young women to develop their own designs. The team has regular brain storming sessions where they are asked to suggest new ideas to add to the existing Johari collections. The production managers regularly involve the young artisans in idea generation and concept development of new designs. This is an exciting activity that helps them to improve their creativity skills as well as build up on their overall design and production expertise. Some of our most popular sellers such as the Jani Necklace have been designed by the girls.

Krystle: What new projects are you working on, and what can we expect to see from Johari in the near future?

Johari: We are just about to launch our latest womenswear collection with involvement from the entire Johari team, from initial design all the way through to production. It’s always great to see the young artisans take a creative lead. Items from our new range will be available to buy through the Johari online store this week! www.johari.co.uk

Shoes for the Jubilee!

Jubilee Celebrations by fashionandtea

Hunter slip on rubber boots, £125
Irregular Choice union jack shoes, $77
Iron fist shoes, £65
Union jack boots, $63

Fashion & Film: Malgorzata Dudek

Transmutation features rigid, structural garments laced with touches of femininity. All dresses are from earlier collections by London based designer Malgorzata Dudek.