Theme Review: A Romantic Affair

Romance fills the air this month of February. All things affectionate, passionate and romantic inspires us...

Outfits:
Black Romance
White Romance

Make-Up:
All things sweet and girlie
Like flowers to his eyes

DIYs:
Lace hairband with a tulle felt flower DIY
Flowery romance

Inspirations:
February inspiration: Agnes from Ms Kwong - Art and Fashion
All the Romantics

You can make everyday a romantic day with your valentine! Hope we have inspired you into the mood of love!

All the romantics...

Just a couple of amazing, beautiful and romantic ladies who inspire me... I am always in awe at how beautiful their styling and photos are. Makes me feel like a hopeless romantic who wants to live in Paris to absorb all that beauty and style (and meet them in person).


 Louise of Pandora

Alix of The Cherry Blossom Girl

Feeling romantic?
Ash :o)

February inspiration: Agnes from Ms Kwong - Art and Fashion

Happy Wednesday! Today, I would like to introduce you to beautiful Agnes from Ms Kwong – Art and Fashion. Her blog has quickly become one of my favorite daily reads. She never ceases to inspire us with her amazing style and classy, feminine outfits. I am so happy and honoured to be able to do this interview with her. 

1. You are always wearing the prettiest outfits! Where do you draw your fashion inspiration from and where are your favourite places to shop?

My biggest inspiration must be from Audrey Hepburn, but my favourite Hepburn movie is not the cliche Breakfast at Tiffany's, but SABRINA! I truly find the style inside Sabrina amazing and classy, and she looks like an angel! That's why I always opt for feminine and classy outfits with a timeless style.

2. How would you describe your style?

I would say my style is a mixture of retro classic style with modernity. I like timeless classy style.  

3. Oh, do you have any fashion soft spot?

Not really, everything can be a piece of art and fashionable!

4. The photos on your blog are all so beautiful. Any tips on taking such great outfit photos?

I just take the pictures by myself, even those pics of myself. I think the best blog pics need a DSLR and a F1.8 lens. That would create a clear image with a blurry background, in which the figure would stand out.

5. What has been the best part of blogging so far?

I guess it must be the fact that I am able to keep track of my own fashion experience, new items and be interactive on the international fashion platform!

6. If you are not teaching, you would be…

Well, Can't think of anything really. I used to work as a translator, a PR, a fashion magazine editor and property management trainee. But I'm a person who is too talkative (ha!) , likes to be the spotlight, but value privacy and my own time. And I need a meaning in my life and I like shaping other people and to inspire. So? Being a teacher seems really suitable for me!

7. Our blog theme is Romance this month. How about sharing with us your perfect outfit for a date? Any tips on looking amazing for a first date?
My perfect outfit would be a nice little hat with a delicate lace one piece in white. It gives your date the feeling that you're fun to be with, but he also needs to take you seriously. Don't show too much skin, less is always more. Don't try to hard.

Can't get enough of her amazing style? Hop over to her blog to check out more of her gorgeous outfits and be totally inspired! Thank you Agnes!
Ft

Flowery Romance

Flowers are essential in romance. Be it as gifts or as decorations. I can't imagine going to a wedding or a romantic restaurant that is without flowers. It would just be like having bread without butter or jam: Plain.

So my DIY for this romantic month is none other than a flower sash! :)

It's a super simple DIY. All you need are some artifical flowers and ribbons. I have choosen 2 ribbons (1 white lace + 1 Pink) and flowers of 2 colours. 

Step 1: Cut your ribbon to your desired length (enough to loop round your waist and tie a ribbon at the end comfortably). It's always ok to have a longer ribbon and trim the excess later.

For my case, I need to sew my 2 different ribbons together after cutting them to the desired length. 

Step 2: Decide where you want your flowers to be and sew them onto the ribbon.

Tah Dah! Your sash is ready to be used!

 You can use it as a sash around the waist over different outfits, when you are in the mood for romance. It would also look great for little flower girls or even your bridesmaids!

 Or loop it over your head twice to use it as a head band.

Who says women need to wait for men to give them flowers. Make one today and have fun! 

Ash :o)

Lace hairband with a tulle felt flower DIY

For my romance-inspired DIY this month, I just wanted to make something sweet with two of my favorite and also possibly two of the most romantic materials - tulle and lace. Here's what I made, a lace hairband with a tulle felt flower!

What you will need: Some felt and tulle, 12cm of elastic band, 44cm of lace, 1 small button
Not in photo: Fabric glue, basic sewing equipment and a safety pin

1. To make the lace hairband, simply sew the ends of the lace to the ends of the elastic band. I sewed a box just to secure them better as there will be a lot of tension when the elastic band is being stretched.

2. To make the tulle felt flower, firstly, cut 2 tulle circles of diameter 10cm and 11cm.
3. Place the smaller tulle on top of the bigger one. Sew (by hand) a circle using running stitch in the centre, leaving the ends of the thread free.
4. Pull the two ends of the thread to create the gathers. Tie the two ends with a dead knot and snip off the excess thread.

5. Cut a felt circle of diameter 3cm. Sew (with a sewing machine) the felt circle onto the centre of the tulle gathers. This is the base to attach the tulle felt flower on.

6. Cut 3 felt pentagons of sides 2.8cm, 2.5cm and 2.2cm respectively.

7. Cut 1 felt circle of different colour as the pentagons. This felt circle should be slightly bigger than the button.

8. Now layer the pentagons, from the biggest below to the smallest at the top. Then top it off with the felt circle and the button. Sew all the layers together. I find it easier to just secure everything with a little glue then sew them together.

9. Using glue, attach the felt flower to the felt base of the tulle gathers. The tulle felt flower is ready!

10. I used hot glue to attach the flower to a hair clip. Then simply clip the flower to the lace hair band. I prefer not sewing the felt flower onto the lace hairband so that there are more variety on how to wear it!

You can wear the hairband without the flower.

Or just clip on the flower for that extra tinge of sweetness.

Or how about letting the hair down for a more boho look?

Hairbands like this are really versatile. Have fun in creating your own hairbands!

And lastly, we have an announcement to make! FtAshion finally has her own facebook page (the link is on our sidebar)! If you like what we are doing, like our FB page too? LOL!

Ft

Like flowers to his eyes

All of us want to look like beautiful flowers to his eyes. So my eye colour is inspired by the flowers I have: a tinge of pink and a tinge of purple. A very soft smoldering look to gaze lovingly into his eyes and soft dewy lips waiting for that sweet kiss.

To me the key to a romantic look is to not over do the make- up as he loves the real you! Happy Valentine's Day to all of you romantics out there! 

Ash :o)

All things sweet and girlie

Occasionally, I wear the sweet little frocks and do the girlie stuffs, but I've never been the really girlie sort. This romantic look brought sweetness and girlie-ness to a whole new level for me. Look at all the pinks on my face, the soft romantic curls and my gawd, there are even roses in my hair! The photoshoot with hubby was hilarious, with me attempting to give some soft gazes but end up looking sleepy and totally unconvincing. So that's why I'm taking forever to put together this post because these photos are raising my goosebumps and I need time to convince myself to publish these photos on the world wide web. lol.

Alright, back to more serious stuff. Other than the fact that I'm not used to seeing myself all sweet and feminine, I like how the different shades of pink on my eyes, cheeks and lips harmonize. Honestly, I'm tempted to try this makeup again using a stronger pink on the eyes and cheeks just to see if tipping the balance can give more fashionable look. Pink shadows are a little tricky since they can make our features look swollen and I tried to avoid that by blending in a little darker pink eyeshadow at the outer edge of the socket line.

A final tip for anyone who like to wear this look out, go easy on the pink eyeshadows and build up colour slowly. Show us photos if you try this!

♥ Ft

White Romance

It was never intended as a pun on our side to have Black and White romance. But B&W are my favourite colours, and since FT choose black I very naturally used my other favourite. :)

When I think of romance I think of: flowers, lace, weddings and erm, my husband :P. I think my outfit speaks of all.: Flower sash + Lacey Tutu + Wedding like white outfit + Shirt dress (looking like hubby's oversized shirt).

Shirt Dress: Far East

Tutu Dress (Worn under): http://cct-fashion.com/

Socks: Gmarket

Lace Shoes: Tangs

Flower Sash: DIY

Love is in the air....

Ash :o)