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

WishList | Liberty-print Nikes

Six styles, twelve prints, what would you choose?

Inspo | Robe de Minute, Paul Poiret

This long evening dress was made by Paul Poiret 'Le Magnifique', one of Paris' most celebrated couturiers at the turn of the century. It is literally just a long, straight rectangle with holes for sleeves and a rounded neckline. Utterly simple, it's a perfect DIY - especially given the vogue for all things flapper that will undoubtedly follow in the wake of Gatsby!

"The tunic was described as a robe de minute ('minute robe') because it took only half an hour to make. The prototype was made in 1908. Paul Poiret made this dress for his wife Denise, for their European Fashion Tour in 1911. She wore it for their visit to Berlin. Consisting of a pure, simple rectangle of white satin, it was the avant-garde prototype of the chemise dress of the 1920s, making its first appearance ten years before its time. Madame Poiret wore it with the Dufy printed coat (La Peise) and a single grey pearl at her neck." The V&A

Image from the Victoria and Albert Museum

Off the Catwalk

Ever wondered how clothes you've lusted-over on the catwalk would look in real life? Vogue.fr have done a catwalk to Cannes-red-carpet comparison. Ok so it's not real real life but the results are interesting - especially when seeing how they translate on normal-sized stars and out of the rarefied  high-fashion context of the catwalk. See the rest of the images here.

Inspo | Put a bow on it

Images from tommy ton, style.com, Honsetlywtf.com

@ | VV Rouleaux, London

VV Rouleaux is a London haberdashery recently written up in the Financial Times' 'How to Spend it' supplement  At the very least it has pedigree and an upper class stamp of approval! But it also looks like a fantastic place. Although never having been there I cannot confirm this, a quick browse on their website plus the glowing article has given me high hopes. They can name people such as Keira Knightly, Kate Middleton and Tom Ford among their clientele, AND they offer headdress-making classes, which is pretty cool. If you're in the Oxford Street vicinity  head to Marylebone Lane and see whether the FT knows what it's talking about!

Spotted | Ankle-strap Shoes

Shirt Worn Backwards

Appart from the crazy...tiara? she's also wearing her shirt backwards. Inspired or deluded? Well, it's certainly not for everyone, but you have to admire the creativity (and daring)!

Image from honestlywtf.com

DIY | Easy Dress Update

I got this red silk dress in a charity shop for about €4. The feel and flow are great but it's a bit shapeless and with the straps so far apart, it tends to fall off the shoulder. But with a needle, thread and some ribbon, it's really, really quick and easy to glam-up a dress like this, without needing to cut or remodel. In fact, you could do this with any top or dress that is cut low at the back or even at the front.

Ingredients:

• About 50cm ribbon (depending on how you choose to place it)

Plus +

• Needle & thread
• Safety pins

DIY | Woolen Scarf

I was looking for a big, cozy, bright scarf but couldn't find one that I really wanted to buy. What I could find however was lots of lovely woolen tweed and knitted material. It's actually really easy to just buy about 50cm of wool and turn it into a scarf yourself. Voilà, something exactly to your own specifications and without having to get the knitting needles out. And why not do this with any material that you come across and like?! It doesn't have to be a cozy winter scarf, although, as you'll see, you would have to hem it differently.

Ingredients;

• 50cm length of woolen material (I was lucky that the material I chose was 150cm wide. If yours isn't, then I would get a 1m length of material, cut it in half, and then sew the halves together)
• Thread (matching or contrasting, whatever you feel like)

Plus +

• Sewing machine.
• Scissors