Bloggers Unite: Flip Fashion

As I, fashion blogger Michalah Francis, document my journey in “finding myself” in fashion, I now take a step back and explore uncharted waters: guys fashion.

This is one for the guys!

One of the most stylish guys in my life is fellow blogger Andy. His style could easily be an extension of his brutally honest blog, as he is edgy, on trend, a non-conformist and truly different.

His 3 fashion fav’s: boots, boots, and hey more boots.

Andy’s Spring Tip’s:

-          White Washout: as white is not the easiest colour to maintain, a great alternative could be off white and eggshell.

-          Please guys, please, no mismatched patterns. Remember, pattern and solid. Solid trousers and pattern tee, solid tee and stripped trousers, and however you decide to mix them, no stripe on stripe that needs to be avoided, at all costs!

-          It’s always best to try clothes on in-store, it might be a mission but it will save you a trip for returning over-sized clothes.

-          Don’t let the clothes wear you guys!

-          And most importantly, don’t be afraid to try a new style. Change is always good!

 “Fashion is an extension of your being, don’t be a clone” – Andy

Andi's look of the day:

 

 

 

My look of the day by guest photographer Andi:

 

 

 





The Dark Days Are Over

With winter coming to an end and dark colours and heavy fabrics slowly making its way to the back of my wardrobe, I felt it only right to wear black and denim for the last time before pastels and sheer dominate this spring.  

Pretty Little Rockstar…

Black and Denim: the easiest way to achieve the rockstar look is to mix these two. Any black pants and black top paired with a funky denim jacket means you are half way there.

The denim jacket: the funkier the better. You could wear a stone washed jacket or something studded. Any denim will do.

Accessories: Mix and match. Layer heavy chains and delicate feathers but try to keep to the colours which you are already wearing. And stack on those bracelet’s, always remember to mix it up.

My way:

 

 

 

Another way:

Mix heavy fabrics with soft ones: pair your denim jacket with a satin top or something sheer.

And as always accessories, accessories…  

 

 

Happy rockstar'in!

Rainbow Cupcakes!

Yes, it’s been discovered, happiness in cake: Rainbow Cupcakes.  Here’s how to make your own!

Ingredients:

100g butter

180ml sugar

5ml vanilla essence

2 eggs, slightly beaten

500ml self-rising flour

10ml baking powder

1ml salt

160ml milk

Various colours of food colouring

Cupcake paper cups

 

 

Method:

Cream the butter and sugar.

Beat in the vanilla essence and slightly beaten eggs.

Add the sifted dry ingredients.

Add milk.

Now it’s time to get messy!

Rainbow me in: depending on how many colours you are using, divide your batter into as many bowls as colours you have.  So if you have 3 colours divide your batter into 3 different bowls.

Now add your various colours to the different bowls. When doing this go steady as you don’t want really dark colours.

 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Now for the messy part! Begin to scoop your batter into paper cups in a muffin tray. The secret to rainbow cupcakes is scooping different colours into one paper cup. Begin by scooping a tea spoon of each colour into one paper cup and then stop once the paper cup is half full.

 

Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes...

And voila Rainbow Cupcakes!

Depending on the size of your cupcake cups, depends on how many cupcakes the batter will make.
Small cupcake cups: 24 cupcakes.
Large cupcake cups: 12 cupcakes

And now for some rainbow icing:

Ingredients:

Icing sugar

100g Butter

method:

Melt the butter until it's running and add the icing sugar.

Rainbow icing:

Once again, divide the icing sugar into different bowls and add colourant.

From personal experience don't use purple icing sugar because once it's mixed with other colours the icing sugar turns a funny shade of pink, so avoid!

 

Fill the icing pipe with the different colours, like you filled the cupcake cups with batter, and let the icing begin!

 

Have fun making one of my favourite treats and don't be shy to share your pictures!

Campus Party

I bring cupcakes and you bring sweets and hey, Happy Birthday! At campus every low budget plan has the same justification “I’m a student”. In my circle of friends every little action counts and small deed is appreciated, so when it’s someone’s birthday we all come together and have a little “campus party”. Here’s how to host your own:

What you will need:

-          Venue: find a place at campus, preferably not the caf as you’d want to avoid the noise and nosey strangers. You could find a place on the grass on a warm sunny day and set up a picnic or do something indoors around a table.

 

-          Goodies: split the spend. One friend brings sweets, another cupcakes, and another chocolate. This way it’s easy on everyone’s pocket.

 

-          Amazing friends…

 

-          And Voila you have a campus party!

 

How we did it:

Happy Birthday to Lauren Wells!

A table full of goodies!

Amazing Friends!

 

A View From Above

 

My Fav Rainbow Cupcake!

 

Rainbow Cupcake!

More Rainbow Cupcakes!

 

 Go ahead have a Campus Party!

 

My latest obsession

Trending: the fedora hat. I’ve never been a hat girl as the only head accessories I own is a drawer full of headbands, but the fedora has me hooked. My hat took my outfit from average to chic and instantly on trend. With summer around the corner the fedora will be a great addition to your wardrobe.  There is one for every event this summer: a straw fedora for lazy days on the beach and a neon fedora for music festivals and picnics in the gardens.

 

 

How I wore it:

 

 

 

 Stay blogged in for my next DIY post as I bedazzle my fedora.

Headband Diva

As promised in my very first blog post, DIY tips on how to make your own Blaire inspired headband!  Sparkle, Sparkle headband star…

Hardware:

-          Headband

-          Craft glue
-      Tweezers, for easy arrangement of jewels

-          Various sized jewels

Have fun randomly arranging the jewels on the headband and let the sparkle inspire. Keep adding jewels until you are happy with your sparkle creation! Enjoy!

Here’s my headband fun…  

 

 

Spring Is In The Air

With late sunsets and early morning sunshine you cannot help but gladly pack away those boots and bring out the bright and eccentric. When September 1^st came and that chilliness left the air I’ll be the first to admit that I thought “Spring is finally here” and I could finally rock my denim turn-ups and favourite pumps.  For me, this summer is all about bright colours and eccentric prints, chunky jewelry and funky nails. Bring on the pastels and the neon’s as this is the season to experiment.

As I faced the bitter sweet return to varsity, I happily re-welcomed the days of funky outfit’s and daily clothing experiments. Here is my Spring dedicated outfit.

 

 My Spring Must Have's:

-          Coloured skinnies.

-          Pretty blouses.

-          All things pastel.

-          All things minty green.

-          Studded shoes.

-          Bright eccentric tees.

 

 

 

 

Nifty Nails

Paid pedis and manis? Over! With a few simple tips you could get the salon look for less. As someone who loves funky nails and extreme colours I find it’s always beneficial to maintain healthy nails.

My Tips:

Ø  Perfect Position: sit in an area where you are relaxed and have enough space to move around and lounge about.

Ø  Prevent Staining: always apply a base coat as this will prevent coloured nail polish staining your nails.

Ø  Polished Paint: always apply two layers of colour as this will give the full effect.

Ø  Top Coat: apply a top coat once the colour has dried to prevent chipping.

Quick Fixes:

Ø  Chips? The easiest would be to remove the colour from the chipped nail and reapply. However if youre pressed for time dab colour on the chipped spot and apply a top coat.

Ø  Polish Overflow: this happens to use all, paint on your cuticle? Dip a wooden cuticle pusher or ear bud in remover and dab away and voila, problem gone.

Ø  Bubble Problem: sometimes nail polish can be thick and bubbly, instead of shacking the bottle, roll it between your palms.

And voila! My fav tips for fabulous nails.