Mod inspired shoot

From time to time I'll post some of my favourite images from shoots I've worked on.

The photos below are from a fun Mod themed shoot I organised a few weeks ago with Duncan Holmes Photography, Leanne Mckillop modelling, Naomi Baxter and Chrisyine Thomson doing a super job with make up and hair respectively.

 

        

Psychomoda - new season pieces.

I went to Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago to see what was new in the Psychomoda shop (22 St.Mary's Street, Edinburgh - 0131 557 6777 - www.psychomoda.co.uk).

I've been a fan of Psychomoda for a few years and I've used some of the great clothing in several different shoots and featured in Eris Events shows.  Alison Harm owns the shop and makes the contemporary tartan dresses and separates in addition to running the Red Carpet Dresses, and she pops over to Amsterdam every so often to source some vintage pieces to upcycle or sell on.  I caught up with her latest collection with model Kinga who showed off a few pieces from the shop beautifully.

First up are some of Psychomoda's own designs.

For the purpose of the shoot I put Kinga in black tights and shoes (with a grey top on the blue tartan skirt and shrug) but there are plenty of options to style it up.  

I think these Irregular Choice shoes on the left (£79.99) would look great with the blue skirt and shrug. The more simple blue suede from Office (£58) is a perfect colour and will be versatile for many outfits. Instead of the grey top, the white shirt (Next £48) is a sharper alternative, I chose that thinking of traditional dress frilled shirts and thought this would be a contemporary option. For outer wear, I love the blue coat from Ness (£119) or a different option to go with the tartan skirt to give the look a more punked up edge (a wee hint of Vivienne Westwood) would be to wear it with a biker jacket (faux leather £50 from Topshop). 

I like to give a choice of a least two jewellery options, and the ones I've selected for this look are the Thomas Sabo blue pendant disc (£35) and the Swarovski Angelic set (£99).

The boot with the green detailing will give this dress a modern look and hint at an olde-worlde look with the lace and button detail (Irregular Choice Betseys Buttons £94.99).  I love the Topshop Faux Fur Buckle Cape £35 - the soft grey goes really well with the dress and the boots, and the green bar clutch bag from Next £14 brings the colour in the whole outfit to life.  There were lots of jewellery options, but my favourite for this is the Swarovski Pure pendant (£119).

For this vintage look (white beaded 60s top and sunray pleat skirt) I used metallic block heel ankle strap shoes (£12 from Primark!) and a white belt with silver coloured buckle and pearl jewellery from Psychomoda's stock to create a very elegant contemporary look which I love, and Kinga looked fantastic in the bright white.  I'd keep to white or ivory for this outfit to keep it sharp, with maybe the exception of this Retro White & Multi Colour Disc necklace £20.00 from Past Times, boots are by Poste Mistress from Office (£115), the faux shearling fur jacket is £75 from Topshop and the boxy cross body bag from is from Next (£24)

The gold embroidered dress was paired with black tights and Kinga's own boots on the day of the shoot.  I'd prefer to see bare legs or nude tights with gold shoes (both from Office) £58 on the left and £55 on the right.  The coat with faux fur collar to pick up the warm tones in the outfit is from Miss Selfridge (£89), and to finish off a gorgeous Autumn look, the mink leather zip gloves £39 from Next will go really well.  In keeping with the warm Autumn tones, the faux Snakeskin design clutch bag  is £25 from M&S.

 

The turquoise ruffle blouse and jade green velvet 80s trouser will look great with either of these two pairs of shoes from Office (both £65)  The colours in the two pieces of clothing are picked out in the Chunky Bead Bracelet £15 from Past Times, or alternatively the Swarovski Blue pendant £99 would look beautiful.  The Mini Structured Wing Tote Bag from Next £34 is in green and blue (and other colours) which gives you the choice of the bag picking up your favourite colour in the outfit.  The smaller blue boxy cross body gives you another choice if you prefer to go for the blue and is £24 from Next.

These new Red Carpet velvet dresses come in ruby red, forest green and royal blue and there are going to be a load of options to style these very opulently, beginning with the red dress, the scarlet velvet Red Or Dead ankle strap mules (£34.99) for a great colour match to the lovely Hush Puppy boots (£80.00) for stronger styling of a medieval look.  The beautiful jewelled Fan earrings are £12 from Accessorize, the rich red Bulaggi handbag from Next is £78, finished with a stunning handmade mink faux fur headband £18 from Ursula Treasures and the Millie coat is £249 from Hobbs.

The green shoe with the purple detailing is in keeping with the style of the dress itself: (Irregular Choice Poetic Licence Backlash £94.99).  The Swing coat by Goldie at Topshop £79keeps the long elegant line and slim silhouette and the lovely Mersey Mini Winged tote bag by LYDC from Next £27 keeps this all very ladylike.  I completed it with a dark contrasting Swarovski Brunette pendant (£119) and green & black gemstone stud earrings from Ursula Treasures (£5!)

I love both these blue shoes for different reasons.  The boot is edgy and would give the flowing dress a much more contemporary look, and for more formal and traditional looks the blue lace shoe with a lower heel would be really pretty.  The 'Versailles' necklace from Accessorize is just gorgeous, and will sit perfectly in the shallow V neckline of the dress. These dresses flow from the empire waistline, so a deep belt to bring it in at the waist would be a great idea - I found really lovely matching blue belt by EleSva at Etsy.  To carry on the long line of the outfit and the wintry feel from the strong blue colour, I chose the Topshop Longline Throw On coat £110 to add in as outerwear, and the Bar clutch bag £14 from Next in a slightly lighter shade of blue brings everything together very well.

I'm not advising a colour-overload where you go head to toe in one colour in any of these options, but giving you ideas of what will complement the dress, skirt, trousers and top you choose to wear.  Keep looking good!