If Spring Were A Dress: Vintage Inspired Spring Style From Circus

April 1, 2014April 1, 2014

Call us crazy, but we reckon that if spring were a dress, it would be this delightful tea dress from Circus! Its delicate blossom print reminds us of all the flowers poking their little heads out of the ground, bursting into bloom as the season starts to warm up. It’s fresh, vibrant colours will invigorate your wardrobe, doing away with any leftover winter dreariness. Inspired by the 1940’s tea dress, this dress keeps that classic shape, but updates it with a shorter length hem. We can see ourselves wearing this dress at a picnic in the park; sitting with your best friends, enjoying some dappled sunlight on our faces and drinking tea from vintage crockery!

Vintage inspired spring style from Circus – available exclusively at Carousel!

This dress is your very own slice of spring, and is available in two colours, green (here) and orange (here). Find these, and much more vintage inspired spring style, here.

Carousel xox

Weekend Style: We Style A Skirt 3 Ways For Every Day of The Weekend!

March 27, 2014March 27, 2014

Around this time of the week, our minds often turn to whatever it is we’re looking forward to this weekend – and what we’ll wear! We decided to take one of our favorite pieces in the shop at the moment, and see how it can solve all of our weekend style woes, and get us through a busy weekend with ease. With its block red colour, this pleated midi skirt (available here) will go with almost anything. We adore its vintage inspired shape. We would wear it high on our waist for that classic 1950’s fit and flare look. So, let the weekend begin…

Friday night: Bowling Bonanza!

Ahhh work is finished for the week – now it’s time for the fun to begin. You’re joining your friends for the most retro of activities – bowling. You may not get a full strike every time, but this cute outfit is guaranteed to bowl everyone over! We unfastened the last few buttons on this cute bird cage print shirt and tied it in a knot to exaggerate this outfits retro vibe. You may not actually own a bowling ball, but this adorable bowling bag is just what you need to keep all your essentials in. Add some saddle or oxford style shoes, and you’re ready to hit those lanes! You can find the shirt here, and bag here.

Saturday: Shopping Trip

It’s Saturday morning, and time to meet up with your best friend for a relaxed coffee and a wander around some of your favorite shops or markets. Comfort is key here, but you won’t want to compromise on style. This gorgeous shirt puts a darling twist on the standard white shirt, with its dainty print and pretty pleating detail. Paired with the red midi skirt, this look is casual, but chic. Add a neckerchief to get a look reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday” (1953). You’ll need a bag that can hold all the precious new trinkets you may pick up on your shopping trip, and this shopper bag is fit for the job. It’s gorgeous blue colour will compliment the whole outfit. Add a comfortable pair of flats or loafers, and you’re ready to head into town! You can find the shirt here, and bag here.

Saturday Night: Restaurant Date

It’s time for some romance, and you have a tasty trip to a restaurant planned. Don’t be afraid to make a glamorous statement. Use block colours to add a contemporary edge to the vintage inspired skirt, and pile on the bling. You can make sure your accessories aren’t too overwhelming by sticking to accessorising one area only. Here we layered some large statement necklaces over a black top, but left our hands and wrists free of any decoration. This top is anything but plain. It has a sparkling sheer pleated panel on the back, ensuring you look great from all angles! Add this black and white bag and some bright colour block heels to complete this look.

Sunday: Time to Relax!

Phew! After all of that we think you deserve a rest! So throw on those comfy pajamas and head for the couch.

Take care!
Carousel xox

Gingham is Great! Get Inspired With One Of Our Favorite Patterns.

March 24, 2014March 24, 2014

We’re taking a look at and getting inspired by one of our favorite patterns today – gingham!

With a history stretching back as far as the 1600’s, when it was first imported to Europe, gingham has always been a fashion staple. Fresh, fun, and easy to wear, it’s the perfect pattern to welcome spring into your wardrobe.

Gingham gained a new found popularity with style leaders during the 1940’s and 50’s. Featured in many movie wardrobes, such as on Katharine Hepburn in “The Philadelphia Song” (1940), and seen on many glamorous stars of old Hollywood, this checkered classic was having a stylish revival. Brigitte Bardot even got married in a gingham wedding dress, causing a shortage of the fabric in France! We’ve gathered together some of our favorite vintage gingham looks below, and we’ll show you how to get the look from Carousel!

Get some gorgeous gingham from Carousel!

We have a major crush on this adorable fit and flare dress from Circus! It’s cute checkered pattern and beautiful blue color will add a breath of fresh air to any wardrobe. Combined with it’s vintage inspired shape, this dress is an instant classic. Based on gingham’s rich and long history, you can’t go wrong with this fab frock! You can find out more about this dress here.

Carousel xox

Spring Style: The Deirdre Dress is Back!

February 25, 2014February 25, 2014

One of our favorite styles of dress – the Deirdre – is back just in time for spring, and we just had to share it with you! With three gorgeous new floral prints to choose from, its the perfectly fresh update for your wardrobe. Whether you’re meeting the girls for a bite to eat in town, taking a stroll with an ice cream by the beach, or hitting the dance floor for a shimmy, this cute and comfortable dress can take you everywhere this spring summer season!

Vintage Inspired Spring Style

With its mandarin style collar and adorable puffed sleeves, we think this dress has a 1940’s vintage vibe, but is kept thoroughly modern with its shorter length A line skirt and popping bright colours. With so much styling potential, you could make this dress extra pretty by adding a cardigan, sling back wedges and matching flowers in your hair. Alternatively, dress it down and grunge it up with some thick tights, boots and a denim jacket. Play around with your spring style with the Deirdre dress, because this dress is definitely made for fun! Available here.

Carousel xox

Hairspiration! 5 Vintage Hairstyles To Try Today.

February 24, 2014February 24, 2014

Finally, winter is slowly fading away, and we don’t always have to hide our hair under a hat or umbrella. A great way to celebrate this is to play around and experiment with some new hairstyles. There is no better place to look to for some inspiration than the vintage hairstyles of the past.

We particularly love the hairstyles of the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s (less so the back combed and bouffant disasters of the 80’s and 90’s – what were we thinking?) which are still as popular today as they were then. These hairstyles are the perfect finishing touch to your favorite vintage outfit, or alternatively, can add a vintage twist to a more contemporary look. Some of them may look complicated or difficult to achieve, but a modern approach to vintage inspired hairstyling allows for looser and relaxed versions of these gorgeous styles, so don’t worry about it being too perfect. We’ve picked our 5 favorite vintage hairstyles and paired them with their more modern interpretations. With a little bit of faking and pinning, they can be adapted to so many types and length of hair. So, grab your hairspray and bobby pins ladies, and let’s give a new hairstyle a go today!

Soft Waves With a Side Parting

The Big and Beautiful Beehive

Victory Rolls For The Win!

The Always Elegant Chignon

Classy Curls

If you want to find out more about how to get these hairstyles for yourself, we suggest heading over to YouTube where you can find a wealth of easy to follow tutorials. We particularly like the YouTube channel of “Cherry Dollface”, which you should check out here for lots of vintage hairstyle tutorials. Which one would you like to try? Have fun!
Carousel xox

London Fashion Week 2014 Trends: Fabulous Floral!

February 21, 2014February 21, 2014

We can’t get enough of floral!

We’re very fond of a gorgeous floral frock here at Carousel. It’s the trend that always comes back into fashion every spring/summer season. As the sun starts to peak out from behind the clouds, and the real flowers poke their heads up from beneath the soil, our thoughts turn to warmer days and spending more time outside. Slipping on an outfit that is inspired by nature is one of the best ways to induce happy spring feelings, even if the weather is still not the best. With the explosion of floral prints on the runway at the recent London Fashion Week, floral has again been confirmed as a wardrobe essential! As proved on the London runway, floral prints don’t always have to be dainty. They can be big, bright, and bold, or even mixed with other patterns for a look that makes an impact. Don’t be afraid to stand out!

Vintage inspired florals on the Clements Ribeiro runway at London Fashion Week 2014

Gorgeous and bold florals on the John Rocha runway, London Fashion Week 2014

Get the look at Carousel

Take a leaf out of London Fashion Weeks book with this bold and graphic floral print dress (above). It’s the perfect mix of tough and pretty, ideal for the transition from winter to spring. Get it here.

A vintage rose pattern gets a contemporary update with bright and unexpected colours.. With its flattering neckline and pleated skirt, this dress ticks all of the boxes, and is a spring wardrobe must have! Get it here.

With an entire bouquet of colourful flowers floating and gathering around this dress, it’s as fresh as a spring breeze. Ideal for any special occasion! Get it here.

Keep your eyes peeled as we add more floral styles to our new arrivals section over the coming months!

Carousel xox

10 Vintage Fashion Photographers That We Love

February 20, 2014February 20, 2014

We love vintage fashion photography! It’s not just because of the amazing vintage style on display in the photos. These photographs are as fresh, influential, and innovative now as they were over 50 years ago – and some of them are even older than that! Masters of their craft and full of creativity, the photographers who made these images create a world around each outfit and add new layers of meaning. Making both the clothes and a lifestyle even more desirable, these photographers influenced fashion and taste as much as the designers of the time did. We made a shortlist of our favorites, and wanted to share with you 10 vintage fashion photographers. These photographers have created some of the most magical and iconic fashion images of the last century.

Nina Leen

John Rawlings

Richard Avedon

Louise Dahl Wolfe

Lillian Bassman

Mark Shaw

Erwin Blumenfeld

Karen Radkai

Horst P Horst

Cecil Beaton

Irving Penn

Who is your favorite? Let us know!

Carousel xox

Mod Style Inspiration: The Mod Couple Portraits of Carlotta Cardana

February 14, 2014

Modern Mod Style Inspiration

At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking that Carlotta Cardanas portraits of mod couples are straight out of 1960′s England. In fact, these photographs were only taken in the last three years! This blurring of time is part of why we adore this project. Cardana has taken so much care to place these couples in surroundings that mirror their mod style, and evoke the time and place that mod originated. The surroundings become a part of their style as much as their clothes are. Cardanas photography style – the square format of the photos, the colour palette used, the lighting, all capture a retro vibe perfectly.

Speaking of retro vibes, who can ignore the amazing vintage style inspiration that these couples are? Their dedication to mod style, and also each other, is admirable. It’s so sweet how the couples complement and reinforce each others style. Do you think you could dress like this with your partner? Could you be as committed to a style and subculture as much as these couples are?

We picked out some of our favorites photographs below, but head over to Carlottas website (here) to see the rest of the project and more of her incredible work.

To get your own vintage inspired style, head to our website m2.ilovecarousel.com now.

Carousel xox

3 Date Ideas – And What To Wear On Them!

February 13, 2014February 13, 2014

Fresh Spring Date Ideas

No two couples are the same, so no two dates should be either. Since it’s almost Valentines day, we’ve been thinking about some of our favorite date ideas that are a little different to the usual fancy restaurant or cinema – and some inspiration for what to wear on them. Of course, these date ideas are not only suited to loved up couples. If you’re single, grab your best gal pal, sister, mother, or work colleague, and get out there and have some fun together!

A Heart Warming Nature Walk

Wrap up warm and head to the hills (or your local park)! A walk in the fresh, chilly spring air, surrounded by nature, is the perfect way to get your blood pumping, and gives you and your date a brilliant chance to talk and share stories. You could bring along a mini picnic of warm soup in a flask for extra heart warming goodness. Best of all, it’s completely free! You’ll need a warm and comfortable outfit, but it should also make you feel gorgeous. Layer this richly textured, inspired by nature dress under a parka jacket and a cosy scarf. Add thick tights, a slouchy hat, and comfortable boots, and you’re ready to get back to nature.

A Loud and Live Music Gig

What better way to get up close and personal with your date then shimmying to the beat together in front of a live band? Bound to turn up the heat and get pulses racing, the music might be too loud for conversation, but this is a great way to loosen up and become relaxed in each others company. We’d wear this gorgeous graphic floral print dress under a denim or leather jacket, for that perfect mix of tough and pretty that really gives you an edge.

Become A Tourist In Your Hometown

Grab your camera, a map, and a date, and head out into your hometown to visit places that are usually the haunt of tourists. Wandering around museums and exhibitions is the perfect way to explore the interests and tastes of your date, and will give you plenty to talk about. Don’t forget to take lots of photos of each other on your adventures! By rediscovering and exploring your hometown, you might also start to see it through fresh eyes to boot. This cute and laid back printed dress is perfect for the urban explorer.

Have you ever been on a date like any these? Do you have any unique date ideas?

Carousel xox

Spring Inspiration: Time To Dream About A Fresh New Season!

January 27, 2014

Escape the Monday Blues With Some Spring Inspiration!

The weather may still be dreary and cold, but in just a few days it will be February. In our neck of the woods that means it will be officially Spring! Now, we know that we’re not going to see great changes in the weather anytime soon, but we’ll take any excuse to dream about a fresh new season. Spring means flowers in bloom, sun on our skin, more time spent outside, colourful dresses and less bulky layers. We can’t wait! We’ve gathered together some images that give us that light and airy Spring feeling. So take a break from winter to look forward to some warmer and brighter days, they’ll be here soon, fingers crossed!

Check out our new arrivals section here where we will be adding fresh and inspiring new styles in the coming season.

Carousel xox