Vote for Me! Style and Beauty Blog Awards

Hello all! I have entered my blog in Oh La La Magazine's Blog Awards and I'd really like your vote! The winner is decided by a public vote and a jury vote, both of which count for 50%.

 If you like Mlle.Brico and feel like it should win, please follow these steps -

1. Click here
2. Paste in my URL - http://mllebrico.blogspot.ie/
3. And vote! I'm eligable for the 'Best Newcomer', 'Best Fashion Blog', and 'Best Blog of 2013' categories.

DIY | Super-easy Pimp my Earrings

I decided to experiment with making things that you could add to earrings and it worked really, really well; it's incredibly easy, very quick and so effective. Pimp your earrings in 5 minutes flat!

Ingredients: 

• Beads of your choice (this is how I got mine)
• Two headpins

Note: If you can't find headpins like this, you can always make some out of a length of stiff wire, making the end loops yourself with a pliers.

Plus: Pliers

Topshop DIY: Tank Top to Tote Bag

I came across this DIY via Oustapop. Apparently it's a Topshop DIY (you can see the 'Shop Reclaim to Wear' button in the bottom right of the image) and may be part of their current drive towards ethical fashion - Reclaim to Wear is an eco-fashion label that promotes the use of discarded materials and remnants in the industry and the two have just collaborated on a new Topshop collection.

I say apparently, however, because try as I might, I could find no trace of this on any Topshop-owned webpage or blog; a rather big fail on the part of their marketing team!!

Oh well, it's pretty nifty anyway and reminds me of this Honestly WTF DIY, but with even less work! Why didn't I think of this?

Wimbledon 2013, Peplums, Nail Varnish and Hot Pants

If ever a sphere were exempt from fashion, professional tennis at Wimbledon, with it's strict white-only dress code and the limited dressing options that high-level sport surely imposes, must be it. Not so. Even this microcosm mimics the trends of the wider world and, rather than crushing it, necessitates creativity as the big brands compete to distinguish themselves. Cue a couple of trends I've noticed, even by day 2.

1. Peplums: not the wide, stiff variety but the frill-at-the-end-of-an-otherwise-straight-skirt variety sported (lol) by Sharapova, Maria Kirilenko, and Laura Robson (sponsored respectively by Nike, Addidas, and Addidas)

DIY | Liberty Turn-ups

Why not add a splash of colour when you turn up your jeans for the summer? And what better way than using Liberty bias-binding? Yay!! (You just may, may, have noticed that I am totally enamoured of this stuff) The bias-binding is only seen if you decide to turn them up and turn them up twice and it's hidden again so you haven't limited your jeans-wearing options either!

This DIY fulfilled a duel function for me: I recently cut these jeans to shorten them but went too short - I didn't leave enough to fold the hem over on itself. The hem frayed badly and the bias binding stops this - practical as well as decorative!

Ingredients;

• Jeans
• (Liberty) Bias binding

Plus

Pins

Sewing machine or needle and thread(sewing machine not necessary)

Inspo | Cos Necklace

I came across this necklace in Cos the other day: grosgrain ribbon or different widths woven together and threaded on a wire. What fascinated me is the way the ribbon is folded - do you remember making this kind of concertina out of strips of paper as a child?

Photo de la Journée | Wild Strawberries

First day of Wimbledon and the time is ripe (lol) to start foraging under the leaves for jewels - wild strawberries, the taste of summer!

DIY | Shoelaces

Did you know that the bits at the end of your shoelaces are called aglets? And that they serve a very useful duel purpose of preventing the ends from fraying and making shoes easier to lace? Didn't know how useful? Have you ever laced a shoe with something unconventional - such as string, say, or bias binding, both of which are impossible to seal by burning (as you would with ribbon)? That is why the aglet is so important and it is the key to this DIY. They also give DIY-ed laces a satisfyingly finished look which is hard to achieve otherwise.

...Actually, no, I lie : the aglets aren't the only key to this tutorial. This Liberty bias binding (which I discovered in France and can only get mail-order here in Ireland) is also very, very key. Can't afford these? Well, this will do for the moment!

Ingredients

• 120cm/47inches of ribbon or bias-binding (the length of converse laces)
• 4 clamps - I got mine in a jewelry shop

Plus

Pliers

Inspo | Suspender Dress

Came across this Veronique Branquinho dress via OutsaPop Trashion's blog, such a cool idea!

DIY | Hat Pins

How do you wear hat pins? I'm not really sure - sometimes I use them to hold scarves and shawls in place, sometimes I use them like a pin in my jacket lapel, sometimes, imagine!, I use them to decorate hats! But even if somewhat obsolete I still find them very glam. And you wouldn't think it maybe, but once you have the supplies, it's very easy to DIY!

So here's my DIY, even if making them turns out to be pretty self evident.

Ingredients:

• A hat pin (can be found at a bead or craft store)
• A bead, or selection of beads or pearls
• A stopper (not strictly necessary unless the hole of the bead is large but does give a nice finished look

Plus super glue.

Photo de la journée | Küçüksu Palace, Istanbul

How it's made | Léa Seydoux's LV dress for Cannes