Thursday 20 February 2014

15 Fashion Quotes to live by

“I like my money right where I can see it…hanging in my closet.” —Carrie Bradshaw

"Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak" - Rachel Zoe

"Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman." - Coco Chanel

“Fashion is what you’re offered four times a year by designers. And style is what you choose.” —Lauren Hutton

"Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn." - Orson Welles
1.Find your own style and have the courage to stick to it. 2. Choose your clothes for your way of life. 3. Make your wardrobe as versatile as an actress. It should be able to play many roles. 4. Find your happiest colours - the ones that make you feel good. 5. Care for your clothes, like the good friends they are!” ― Joan Crawford

"It’s a new era in fashion - there are no rules. It’s all about the individual and personal style, wearing high-end, low-end, classic labels, and up-and-coming designers all together." — Alexander McQueen

"I was never the girl next door" Betty Paige

“Girls do not dress for boys. They dress for themselves and, of course, each other. If girls dressed for boys they’d just walk around naked at all times.” ― Betsey Johnson

"I don't consider my own clothing to be outrageous... The truth is that people just don't have the same references that I do. To me it's very beautiful and it's art, and to them it's outrageous and crazy" - Lady Gaga

“One is never over- or underdressed with a little black dress.”- Karl Lagerfeld

“Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.”- Yves Saint Laurent

“A woman’s dress should be a like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.”- Sophia Loren

“Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It’s not about brands. It’s about something else that comes from within you.”- Ralph Lauren

"I don't do fashion, I am fashion." - Coco Chanel

"We must never confuse elegance with snobbery." Yves Saint Laurent

View my Pintrest page to see all products made from Pin Me Up Ireland

Hi Pinnies,

I wanted to share my link for my Pintrest page here as its the easiest place to view the variety of products Pin Me Up Ireland has to offer! Plus its really colourful and funky so it is definately worth a look. Here is the link: http://www.pinterest.com/hazelbreen/pin-me-up-ireland/

Here are some screen shots from it:






And another :)


Pin Me Up Ireland is owned by me and all products you see are designer by me unless stated otherwise. I make Pin Up Girl and Rockabilly style wire headbands in a variety of prints and fabrics. I make hair bows, dicky bows, shoe clips, unusual tees that I screen print or hand paint on aswell as customising the shape for  a funky new look. I do a variety of clothing and accessories aswell as customizing clothes.

I recently started screen printing on T-shirts which is very exciting and can take orders for personalized tees and headbands. I will be doing Hens and Stags headbands and tees in the near future as it will be a one stop shop to get your outfits for you and your friends with whatever slogan and design you like.

I hope you enjoy the pintrest page. I am also on facebook www.facebook.com/pinmeupireland and twitter @pinmeupireland. I am on Asos Marketplace and Etsy and you can view the Pin Me Up Ireland website here www.pinmeupireland.com

If you like what you see please feel free to share the love :D thank you xxx

Pin Me Up Ireland - Following my dream and the start of something special

Hi,

Let me explain to you what Pin Me Up Ireland is.

Pin Me Up Ireland is my own creation and creation(s). I started Pin Me Up by making Pin Up Girl style wire headbands in a variety of colours and funky prints then launched the images on a new facebook page I created and ten minutes later it all started to take off!

I started P.M.U.I back in June 2012 after I went on holiday with family and friends and my mothers friend said something that really stuck with me even when I came home from holiday. She and a few others that where there were asking me why I am not doing something artisitc with my talents and what I learned through my Costume Design Course. I asked myself the same question all the time but always replied to myself and others with the same excuse "I will someday" but when my mothers friend said "NEVER SIT ON A DREAM" for some reason that stuck and I was inspired by a headband I had bought because I remember thinking I would love these in every colour and print. So when I came home I bought about 15 different fabrics with plain and funky prints and started making 27 headbands to start off with.

I thought there was a big gap in the market and loved the style of Pin Up Girls and Rockabilly but with a modern twist so this gave me my motivation.

I sewed up a big variety of headbands to start with and then set up my facebook page www.facebook.com/pinmeupireland






When I uploaded my images of the headbands I had made, it was an immediate success. I was quite shocked to see that 12.30am on a Saturday night that there was so much interest and even people placing orders!

I was really surprised to get any enquiry's, well I really did not expect it to happen that fast, therefore I was not prepared to answer their questions because it was all new to me.

I spent a few minutes thinking of how I would get the orders out to them and discovered that the only way I could do it for now was to deliver them and accept cash. So I told them I could deliver them if need be.

That is how it all started and I sold over 100 headbands by the end of the Summer. I was a bit overwhelmed when the orders where flying in as I had only made 27 to start off with and within a couple of weeks they were nearly gone then I had to make another batch of 30 which was fine but I had only started making them therefore I was not as quick as I am now at making them.

So by September, I was pretty drained and overworked just because of the unexpected success but I was really looking forward to my holiday in Japan in mid September.

I went on holiday and took a continued break when I came back. I was really looking forward to spotting new trends in Tokyo and I did  and I wanted to bring back accessories to Ireland that I seen there as Japan is always a good year ahead of us with their fashion but unfortunately I lost a third of the money I brought over there that slipped out of a zipped pocket in my rucksack so I could not purchase the things I wanted after that so came back empty handed.

However I did notice a really cool trend over in Japan that were Tattoo Tights. When I came back I ordered these tights in an array of designs and put them up for sale. They did not sell too well at first as they images do not do them justice but at later fashion shows there was a lot of interest in them and when I wore my ones out people would ask me where they could get them.



I didn't really do anything with P.M.U.I until the end of November and I started making the odd Christmas Jumper. Then when January came I wanted to dive back into it with more determination and being more prepared this time around.

I made a few headbands in January but realized it was not the best of time of year to expect people to want these items, being straight after Christmas and that time of year where nothing is really on and Fashion is not at its prime.

I started making shoe clips as I thought they would be a great accessory to have to make an old shoe look new and match with different outfits. Here are some of the shoe clips I have done:






I loved these and so did everyone else. They give a nice kick to any plain outfit. Its always good to spice things up even if you are not the funkiest person in the world you can add small touches with accessories or statement pieces without going over the top. That is what I want for all my customers. I want them to stand out from the crowd and love breaking the boundaries!

I wanted to make something out this amazing fabric I came across so I made a cushion cover out of this really cool Alexander Henry Fabric. See the image below:






These were of great interest and I also made them in the same fabric in olive green for a customer too. I sold a lot of these cushion covers and really loved making them. I think it is very hard to find a nice cushion cover especially anything unusual.

I then went on to make Paddy's Day headbands. It might sounds ridiculous but you cannot buy Irish Tri-colour fabric ANYWHERE! I tried to look for fabric that had shamrocks or leprechauns but had no luck either (excuse the pun). I was actually in shock that no one in the world seemed to be producing these fabrics which is why this is one of my goals for 2014. I am going to design and make my own fabric and the first ones I will do is Irish designs seen as there is only metre of fabric in america with an irish design on it :P

This meant I had to buy green, white and orange cotton and sew the three colours together before I even started to make the headband to get the Irish flag. I did not want to use ribbon as you see that everywhere on St Patricks day. I wanted my customers to be unusual and have something no one would have. They turned out lovely.

Here is a pic of Kerry wearing my Paddys Day headbands. She is as Irish as you will get with her name, hair and lovely personality :) So cute.


It was approaching summer 2013 and I wanted to be prepared this time around. I learned a lot along the way since the starting Pin Me Up Ireland and failed a lot too. I think it is essential to fail to grow.

Here is something to inspire if you think you cannot do something or feel like giving up. This always sticks in my head and then I know I cannot give up because I have not tried enough.

Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps." :)

 I had wasted more money than I made on impulse fabric buys that did not work or where not what I was looking for, I made up headbands and at the last stitch I would go to cut the last hanging thread and cut the actual headband with my scissors therefore it had to be thrown away. I could go on and on but these things happen and I have learned from them

Anyway, summer was approaching and I wanted to be prepared for it. I started to buy in Levi 501 high waisted shorts and re-working them and customizing them for festival and holiday wear. I made summer headbands in a mix of bright fun colours and prints and made tie-dyed tees and got printed slogans on them, I made summer ponchos with wool fringe in aztec print and cool neon colours and I bought in fringe bikinis and cat-eye sunglasses which sold really well.

The summer was a great success and I had done my first 1950s themed fashion show which was amazing and had a stand at another fashion show where I donated levis and some other products to the charity for a raffle.

I had a great first year and I know there are many more to come. I have plenty of stories from the past few months also but for now I will just add images to show the progress in one year and how from starting from nothing your idea can become something amazing all you have to do is try! I would like to add that I did not take any loans to start Pin Me Up Ireland. I started small and built on the money I made, some of it wasted and some spent but now I use it wisely because I have learned to. I do not have any overheads and it is taking time but it is like anything, you need to give it time to expand it is not going to happen over night. Follow your dream and follow me on facebook, twitter and pinterest if you want to keep up with the progress and want to see what lovely new products I have in store for you :) www.facebook.com/pinmeupireland

Thank you for reading, if I inspired one person to act on their dreams instead of letting time pass by then it will make my day! It is never too late to try and you are only here one time so make it the best time xxx

To be continued..............