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Luxe To Kill - Winter Edition

Winter doesn’t mean basic. It’s January and summer appears too far away to even bare but you can still look on point without having to hibernate in basic outfit choices. This time of year is perfect to mix up layers and you will need a killer  pair of shoes to match whatever your style.

Fashion icons such as Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and Kendall Jenner have made the Perspex shoe a classic staple for any shoedrobe, and this season they are still hot as ever. Completing any look from casual-cool to evening glam, these Yeezy vibe styles will have your outfits covered. 

From runways with Prada, YEEZY, Chanel and Givenchy to “the nothing shoe” and clear clutches making their debut on the red carpets, we have seen everyone from the Kardashians to Knowles rock this look and it is now a transparent necessity to any fashion week runway. 

Shop the newest in the collection - http://luxetokill.com/

Clarissa Beige Pumps | Kylie Beige Mules

http://luxetokill.com/luxetokill-kylie-beige-perspex-mules-2

Let your shoes do the talking, these statement barely their heels will have you standing out from the crowd and turning heads. These heels are perfect for any event, from birthday drinks with the girls, to a casual/smart dinner date at your favorite food restaurant. Think a classic LBD and Gucci clutch to match or an over-sized denim jacket over a slinky number for that luxe girl look.

Check out Kim Kardashians Insta feed for the luxe life look https://www.instagram.com/kimkardashian/

Luxe To Kill have some killer bags available for any outfit and any day of the week! High quality and fashion forward these bags will have you turning heads for all the right reasons.
CASSANDRA Chain Clutch Bag ⛓ Shop Now - £29.95 || luxetokill.com

 
 
Take it to the next level and dip in to some glitter like Kim K and rework your laid-back look with the Karla Diamanté heels. These shoes are the perfect transition heel into spring. Add these to any dress and give everyone a bit of weekend outfit envy, this way you're always photo-op ready.
 

LuxeToKill provides luxury footwear to Boss Women.

shop now : http://luxetokill.com/  

Karla Diamanté heels http://luxetokill.com/karla-diamante-platform-heels-gold

 Find more inspiration at https://www.instagram.com/luxetokill/ and https://www.instagram.com/thekatykd/ 

ThighD Review - Must Have ❤

I recently received my ThighD, for those of you who don't know what the ThighD is,its an elastic garter almost which looks after your cards,keys,phone or even makeup...and it is a must on a night out!

I ordered a small and it fit perfectly. I was curious to see if it would stay on my thigh and not slide especially when I was moving but it stayed in place all night!

My phone easily fit in and stayed secure as did my ID.

There is a range of other deigns and the packaging is everything.

I would defiantly recommend ThighD to anyone I use it now for nights out and in the summer I will use it for Festivals and holidays.

To buy yours go to www.thighd.com

Follow me on Instagram: thekatykd

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

How to make your hair grow long and thick

Vitamins, treatments, massages, products just to name a few of the things recommended for growing your hair.

 Here are my 3 top tips.

I have grown my hair by around 5 inches in the last 2 years, for some this might be nothing but i had the hair that stayed at shoulder length and never grew i wore extensions and i had weaves to make my hair look longer but all they did was damage it more, I wanted to post some tips that actually work to grow your hair.

1.       stop using heat!- Not entirely, but only when its necessary for example straightening your hair for school or everyday isn't needed and if you have curly hair try plaiting or putting it in a bun. This isn't forever but if you do this until your hair is the length you want you'll see a massive difference. I didn't use heat on my hair for a month and it grew a inch. Find products that keep your hair straight or curly without heat too. I use L'Oreal sea salt spray to give it a beach messy look.

2.       Biotin- Biotin is a vitamin you can buy from Holland and Barret its around £5.00 for 100 vitamins and this really helped with the thickness and my skin. Its only a small tablet and is a natural product.

3.       Tie your hair up- On a night tie your hair up, I like to twist my hair around itself into a high bun. This stop your hair becoming knotty whilst you sleep this is important because brushing knotty hair pulls out and damages your hair so its best to avoid it. I tie my hair up with a silk scrunchy don’t use and elastic tie as it will pull your hair. You can also try a silk pillow case if you don’t want to tie your hair up.

Victorias Secret Store Enviroment

"Welcome to Victoria's Secret my names Katy if you need any help with sizes just let me know!"

This is how customers are greeted into a VS (Victorias Secret) store, its welcoming and friendly and instantly gives a positive outlook on the store.

The staff

Staff are always dressed stylishly wearing all black with styled hair and makeup done. Usually they have a tape measurer around there neck so they can easily and quickly  measure your bra size if you want them too.

PINK staff which is another part of the Victorias Secret franchise wear all black clothing also however usually on Saturdays they wear a hoodie from the store. The VS style is to role the hoodie's sleeves up at the ends slightly this is how they display there clothes on hangers, mannequins and on themselves. 

Visual Merchandising

VS displays are usually very sultry and sexy and the main display is usually located at the big entrance of the store to really give a statement to the customer. The mannequins are wearing underwear and some have Angel wings on them, this is because Victorias secret refer to there models as Angels. The display will also feature a picture of a super model modelling the lingerie or clothing.

Victorias secret 2015

Bras and panties are usually stored in sliding draws underneath displays on each draw there will be size so you can locate your size easily. Although bra sets that are more expensive are usually displayed on hangers.

PINK visual merchandising is slightly different because they are targeting a younger crowd. There displays have brighter lighting, lighter colours and give off a funner atmosphere compared to sexy VS atmosphere. 

Behind the checkouts is a big screen showing the most recent fashion show, this gives the customers inpiration on things to buy. 

The checkouts are usually located where all the sprays are this is because the sprays are cheap which can make some customers add the item to there bag because they don't cost much. Staff usually spray the scents around the store to make it smell nice all the time.

Store Design

• The store is my favourite colour....PINK! The store consist of pinks, black and white.
• Wallpapers are white with pink dots or black and white stripe.
• Furniture structures are pink or black gloss in VS but white in PINK store
• Furniture to sit on is velvet black or pink
• Lampshades are ribbon rapped around (you could even DIY)
• Floor is black and white checked or wooden
• The store is all open plan and easy to get around 
• 
  
  

Clothing

"We are committed to providing superior quality merchandise and services to customers.  As part of our corporate culture and values, we strongly believe the quality of our merchandise begins with the treatment of the people who create our products. " https://www.lb.com/responsibility/supply-chain/overview

Conclusion

Victoria's Secret is the best store in the UK for customer service and store environment. They have offers everyday so your always sure to get a deal and have the best sales in history! There products last forever and are so comfortable.

My goal is to eventually work for Victoria's Secret because they are one of very few brands that push young girls to be your own kind of fun and sexy.

Shop Victoria's Secret now at: https://www.victoriassecret.com

"Everything looks better in pink"

Tracking a Trend: Adidas Vs Nike

This Poster shows the historic moments of Nike and Adidas Trainers.

The brief was to Track and Trend, I chose to research my favourite item of an outfit the TRAINERS. firstly I was Researching purely Nike but quickly realised that in some years Adidas dominated such as 1987 when RUN DMC were the fashion idols of Hip-Hop. Also 2012 Adidas took over with the launch of Snoop Dogs 'Raster Flavoured' trainer.

I believe Nike and Adidas are even in popularity however I see Adidas more as a clothing brand than trainers and Nike is all about the footwear. After University I believe these two Company's are defiantly the Brands I would like too work for.

Red Carpet Princesses

Our first Red Carpet Princess is Katie Holmes. This was at the Met Gala and she is wearing a Marchesa Gown.

Photo: Walt Disney Studios

I believe Katie's dress is beautiful, I would of liked a different material to the bottom of the dress as it looks like it needs a good steam. I would of gone with a satin or flowy organza and netting. I believe the yellow colour suits her which is a big achievement as yellow is hard to pull of. I would of put her hair in a sleek pony tail or low bun as the messy hair and messy bottom of the dress is too much going on for me. But since yellow is all the rage for S/S16 we defiantly need a lesson of Katie Holmes on how to pull It off.

 

Jennifer Lawrence took a different approach to the Disney look...

 



Photo: Walt Disney Studios

OK! Sure we all want to look as fabulous as Ariel after walking out of the sea on our holidays. However, if Ariel cant pull a look of us regular none Princess folk sure wont be able too.
Here Jennifer is wearing a DIOR gown and landed herself on the worst dressed list. If the dress had been a dark blue and without the lower black circle this dress could of worked. The two bands of black make the fabric come way out on her hips making her look a very odd shape. If I was Jennifer Lawrence I would have the stylist she has allocated to her in the Hunger Games! He never gets it wrong.

Walt Disney Studios

Amy Adams Oscar Dress 2013 stole the show. The colour the shape and the beautiful women all replicate Cinderella's dress. However, Amy's weren't made by her fairy godmother it was designed by Oscar de la Renta. I love that this dress is so loud but effortless. There's no need for all the bells and whistles because the dress does it for you. Simple hair and makeup with understated jewellery she couldn't be more like a princess if she tried. PERFECT.

 

Peter Werth SS17 Inspo board

Spring/Summer 2017 Menswear

All photos are sourced from WGSN.com

First I made a Trend board on Pinterest (@katykd1997)

This was the first board I created I wanted lots of cool tones like a British seaside. Problem was I couldn't find my idea anyway in the upcoming trend so I created a new mood board inspired y the Jungle this will be in a different post. I still wanted to show you this for ideas for your possible mood boards or layout ideas.

This was created on a MAC on InDesign, if your looking to use InDesign or any other payed for software here is a link to get a free trial http://download.cnet.com/s/adobe-indesign-trial/ .

This was the final Mood board for Peter Werth Jungle Book theme for SS17. I got the inspiration for this board from Trend Council.com. This board has more colours running through it making it a lot warmer, which is ideal for the Summer look. I added photos like the tiger and Jungle to allow the theme come through and be clear. I did keep the pictures of the cars in cement just to show the colour scheme. 

Rose Mood board

My recent project was to create a mood board in a sophisticated manor. I found that less is really more.

Theme

As you can see the theme is pink. I kept the focus on the main image which is in the centre and is also the brightest.

The pink colour then bleeds out into darker pinks and black, to break up the board and give it more depth. I also added fabric samples which represent some of the material seen in the images. Adding fabric samples in the way I have (which is curled over on top of each other) allows you to still see the movement and thickness, this avoids it looking flat and lifeless on the page.
I created this board using the standard glue and scissors, however there are many other ways to create a mood board which can help you get everything in line and you won't have to worry about cutting in a straight line.

Apps

For example the Apps that I have include POLYVORE I was first introduced to this in college, it allows you to easily insert newspaper clippings, effects, images and text to create a board almost like the Pinterest of mood boards as you can follow other people. The draw backs to this app are that you can't insert images, so forget about doing that collage of your holiday pictures.

Another great App is Insta size which allows you to fit all your photo on Instagram, this is initially why I downloaded it. However, once I started playing around with it I found you could create collages  its easy to use and FREE. It also has many other features such as effects and boarders, great for Instagram lovers.
Follow me on Instagram: @Thekatykd

Anatomy of a Victoria's Secret garment

This poster shows the construction and manufacturing process towards making a Victoria's Secret garment

This was my new brief that was set. The brief was to design and create a poster that showed the audience all the different aspects of creating a garment. For example the: fibres/Yarn ,Fabric type , Silhouette, products brand and care label information. 

I first designed this poster on Power Point Microsoft I did this because it was easy to move text boxes and play around with different templates. I then transferred the images and writing to InDesign. Indesign is a good software to use as you can export it into lots of formats which makes it easy for me to e-mail it or turn it in for my assignments and of course upload to my blog. 

I enjoyed this assignment as it has helped me look into my clothes in more detail and even understand the different construction of the actual fabric. I also learnt how the fabric was dyed which is completely knew to me, the only dying of fabric I've done is with hand dies like you would use for a tie die T-shirt.
I found a lot of interesting information from the books I read (referenced above) as not only did it explain the different processes of the garment construction but showed you the equipment and machines used in factory's.

Overall I've loved this assignment and I'm looking forward to the next which will be creating a 'mini range'. 

PLM Assignment and key colours for Autumn Winter 16/17

What is PLM?
I am currently learning to use Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) helps manufacturers manage complex, cross-functional processes, coordinating the efforts of distributed teams to consistently and efficiently develop the best possible products. The PTC PLM software system manages all aspects of the product development lifecycle, from concept through service and retirement. By optimizing product development processes and using a single, secure source of information, manufactures can develop products that are competitive, cost-effective, and high quality.
http://www.ptc.com/product-lifecycle-management

Photos from this board are from WGSN. 

This is my mood board for inspiration of the Nike Autumn Winter 16/17 collection. This board is a rough idea and presentation to send to my teammates so we can then agree on colours,textures shapes etc. I chose red because it's a big colour trend forecast and I think it will give our designs impact and be eye catching. I also looked into different pontoons and flat drawings to help show my ideas for the Nike designs.
This board as created on  a MAC computer using  InDesign which is a new software from me to use, but I'm coming to grips with it quickly.

Disney princess inspired

I looked into how Disney have revamped there princess's over the years to suit there ever changing audience and here's what I found.

It seems the eyes got bigger as did the head and other facial features get smaller. This is what I tried to capture in my illustrations, but avoided them looking like cartoons.

Frozens Elsa and Anna are Disneys biggest selling queen and princess, which tells me this is what is popular with my audience and what is gonna sell which is why I chose Elsa and Anna to be my inspiration.

Kim kardashian West steals my dress?

Recent photos surfaced on kim kardashian west wearing a dress very similar to the one I'm currently making. I'm thrilled! The fashion forward reality star rocks this outfit at her latest shoot. Have a look!

Clearly the top of the dress is not mine will look like as mine is for Disney, but the bottom panels and colour choice is right on.

Photos of my hopefully finished garment will be coming soon! 

Metal work and fashion what?!

Yes! I've combined metal work and fashion. 

On the photo above you can see the copper piece, this is what I made. I originally attempted to make it from fabric however the shape was wrong and I couldn't get the edges to point enough.

So to make copper piece I got a 0.5mm of flat sheet copper. I drew around my card stencil/pattern piece . I then began to cut around the pattern using pliers.

Once the shape was cut I sanded the edges with a metal sander, always going with the grain of the metal.

I then layer the pattern piece on top of a metal block and hammered out any uneven surface with a plastic hammer.

Then finally I measured and marked some drill holes where I could attach the pattern piece to my dress. 

I drilled the holes wearing protective goggles and tieing my hair back for safety reasons. Once the drill holes were done I filled down the rough edges if the holes, once this was done I was finished.

Pattern Cutting

I began with a basic dress block, I had to decide where the bodice(top) of the dress would start and finish e.g where it would sit on the body. Once that was determined I simply removed the darts and cut out my pattern pieces. I kept my spec drawing close by to keep referring back too.

Now I have my bodice I moved onto Makeing the panels for my roller coaster track inspired bottom of the dress. 

I made a rough pattern and pinned in place to see if I was happy with the length and shape.

Turns out that I was satisfied with look of it so made a sample up and here's how it looks. I've also decided to make a tutu, the tutu you see in the photo is 10 meters of fabric however I want it twice the size! Which means lots if fabric.Agghhh!

Traveling outfit

Traveling outfit by therealkatykd-1 featuring mink false eyelashes

Norma Kamali grey shirt
£38 - theoutnet.com

Long black cardigan
£13 - rosewe.com

Frame Denim ripped jeans
£240 - farfetch.com

Wet Seal t strap sandals
£25 - wetseal.com

MICHAEL Michael Kors michael kors tote bag
£140 - neimanmarcus.com

Tiffany Co sterling silver necklace
£110 - tradesy.com

Tiffany Co charm bracelet
£98 - therealreal.com

Pave jewelry
£78 - reeds.com

Urban Decay eyeshadow brush
£36 - urbandecay.com

Mink false eyelash
eyelashesdirect.co.uk

H M cheek bronzer
hm.com

Lips makeup
narscosmetics.eu

Chanel perfume
£89 - neimanmarcus.com

iPad illustration

I originally got the outline of this illustration from Pinterest and fell so in love with that I made it my own using the APP 'art set' on my mini iPad. This app was suggested to me by the company 'themesparx' who also use a software similar however this one was easier for me as I'm a beginner.