ASOS MARKET PLACE FINDS

I don't know about anyone else, but the ASOS website can initially be a bit confusing and overwhelming if you've never used it before. I mean, once you get the hang of it, it's almost too easy  to spend way more than what you have, but I thought I'd help you guys out and help you save time scrolling through page upon page to find just one amazing item. 

If you've never used of/heard of ASOS marketplace, it's an amazing outlet section of ASOS where independent brands and stores can sell their pieces. This could be anything from vintage shops to boutiques. There are some amazing finds on it for really reasonable prices so I thought I'd pick out all my favourite pieces! (All you have to do is click on the photo of the item you like and it'll take you straight to the link to purchase it - you're welcome in advance!)

Much love,

Orlagh x

Fashion Practitioners Who Inspire Me

Petra Collins

Petra is an artist/photographer who captures the female experience - from sexuality to femininity - and focuses on teenagers in particular. What I love about her work is that she portrays the reality of growing up as a female, but does so with the most dreamy, pink tinted visuals.

Ashley Armitage

Ashley is one of the first fashion photographers who really caught my eye. Her instagram account, @ladyist, showcases her fantastic work in which she photographs the reality of being a female, such as pubic hair and tampons. She doesn't filter femininity, which I find so refreshing in a world where all girls are made to feel ashamed of their body and the hair that grows on it. Ashley is using photography as a medium to diminish these social constructs, in the most visually pleasing way possible.

Tavi Gevinson

Tavi started her fashion blog, The Style Rookie, at the mere age of 11 proving that age does not define success, as her blog blew up and became very  successful, so much that she now has her own magazine - http://www.rookiemag.com/ - where she focuses on subjects such as feminism and the effect of pop culture on young people. I really value her hard work and entrepreneurship from such a young age. She is really a lesson in not waiting for opportunities to come to you but rather to go out and grab them yourself.

Leandra Medine

Leandra really inspires me as a businesswoman in fashion. She is the brains behind the well known blog, https://www.manrepeller.com/, which wonderfully mixes fashion with a little bit of satire. I really love how she has brought a fresh, witty and almost mocking outlook on fashion. Leandra inspires me in terms of finding a niche and making it into a huge success.

Jess Farran

Jess is a recent University graduate who studied Fine Arts in Photography. I discovered her work on The Messy Heads website and was immediately in awe of her stunning photography style. She dabbles in fashion and sexuality photography, and her aesthetic is so dreamy and futiristic. Although only relatively new on the scene, she has been extremely successful and has won many awards. Her skill of creating original and individual pictures whilst still sticking to a particular visual is really inspiring to me.

Mika Francis

Mika is a fashion/lifestyle blogger and youtuber who combines her love for fashion and spirituality in her enviously, amazingly edited videos. Showcasing her bold and daring style in lookbooks and on her instagram, she preaches self love and acceptance and constantly inspires me to seek more from life and express myself unapologetic ally through my clothing.

Adwoa Aboah

Adwoa is the new fashion 'it' girl, featuring as the cover girl of the new Vogue cover, which has just changed editor's. She is refreshing as a model and I really appreciate the fact that she uses her platform for good. Adwoa has created an organisation called Gurls Talk (@gurlstalk on instagram), which is a place for girls to be honest and real, and feel like they can talk about anything. It is empowering and encouraging - I'd definitely recommend following them.

Estee Lalonde

I've followed Estee's blog and youtube channel for a long time, but recently I've been loving her rebrand and change of content. In recent years she has used her fashion blog to address issues like feminism, and has become an educated, articulate and down to earth voice for the blogger industry. Her podcast, 'The Heart of It', has been such an amazing venture out of her usual work, and discusses subjects from makeup to strength, keeping it light-hearted and interesting.

Who are your favourite artists in the fashion industry? Let me know!

Much love,

Orlagh x

My First Fashion Memory

My first strong memory of fashion that I can recall is at chapel. I’m struggling to pinpoint an exact age, but I couldn’t have been very old – around 5 or 6.

Where I’m from, (and I believe this is generally the case with Irish Catholics in general) going to Sunday mass was the best opportunity for mothers and wives to dress to impress and wear their Sunday best, as there wasn’t really any other opportunity to do that in a town where nothing ever really happened.

I had no interest whatsoever in God or Catholicism at that age – I don’t think any 5 year old does to be completely honest. The only thing that made mass remotely enjoyable was gawking at all the fancy, designer clothes that everyone was parading around in on their way to get communion.

It’s the first time I got excited about fashion and style, quickly becoming more and more intrigued by the different patterns and textures.

While everyone else’s parents had to keep their children quiet with cars and Barbie dolls, I was quietly fascinated with fancy dresses. 

It was like my own personal fashion show every Sunday.

A Letter To My Flaws

 

 

Hey everyone! I just wanted to post this project that I done for a uni project as I'm really happy with how it came out. We had to make a 6 page editorial spread for a magazine of our choice that fitted in with our style and personal manifesto (I thought The Messy Heads would be a perfect fit for me) and so I came up with this concept of mixing my love for photography, editing and writing to make an editorial called 'A Letter To My Flaws'. A big part of my manifesto (which I will be posting on here soon) is that I want to empower young men and women and promote healthy body image in the fashion industry so I wrote this piece to encourage people to be proud of their flaws.

I really hope you enjoyed looking at/reading this post and I just want you to know that your flaws really are beautiful and make you unique and individual!! Own them! I also made a video about body image on my youtube channel a while ago that discusses the same sort of points, here's the link if your interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-_AyyBt4X0

Lots of love,

Orlagh xx