Today we are profiling a fabulous fashion blogger from the United Kingdom,
Urban Butterfly - Swing into 40's
Maria – aka UrbanButterfly. Maria, has posted many fashbos to the site to very positive feedback from the fashbo community. She is a rare fashion breed as she can pull off any look from polished to edgy, from vintage to modern and anywhere in between. You can check out all of her fashbo looks by clicking on her profile, UrbanButterflyLoves_. Maria, also has a regularly updated fashion blog detailing many of her great looks of the day, fashion finds, and reviews. Check it out at www.urban-butterfly.net .
1. Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? Can you draw fashion inspiration from where you live.
I live in Essex, in the South East of England, no Essex girl jokes, they are not normally very well received! Haha. I grew up on a non working farm and in the countryside. I refused to wear a dress until I was about 13 years old. Nowadays it’s hard to find me out of one. I tend to draw very little inspiration from the area I live, but more from images that I see and my travels; be it from classic Hollywood, to Indian weddings with their array of colour and culture.
2. What is fashion to you?
Fashion for me is a way to play around with my identity. I think that my mood can often be seen by the way I dress, if I’m feeling playful, I find that the style maybe a bit cheeky and tongue in cheek. The way I’m dressed often defines my approach to situations; you could say that clothes can be a mask but ultimately I use it as a way to play off the differences in personalities.
I feel tailoring such as shift dresses will never go out of fashion, this is more about style than disposable, fast fashion. I much prefer to keep with what I know suits my shape, then play around with the accessories and items that can change the look but still keep the fundamentals the same.
3. How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style most days is quite tailored. I am only 5ft 1 and have far from a boyish figure, so I dress in a way that works with the curves that God gave me. You could say that my style is ‘vintage with a twist’. I radiate towards all that is 40’s and 50’s. I love the strong feminine feel of the 40’s. It’s a era when women looked super feminine even if they were just doing the housework.
Long Classic Hollywood gown
4.Describe your vision of a perfect outfit ensemble.
My perfect outfit would be a long classic Hollywood gown, that is worthy of the red carpet.
5.Name your favorite and least favorite past or present fashion trend/fad.
My fashion hero is undoubtedly Dita Von Teese. She oozes glamour and poise, not only when she is performing but through-out her public life. Also Audrey Hepburn is a great inspiration, not only for the influence she had, that is still filtering onto our high street today, but also for her beautiful soul and compassion that she had for people. Vintage inspired dresses are taking our British high streets by storm at the moment, long may that live! I’m not a great fan of Fair isle, or sports luxe, as I personally find this look to casual for me.
6. You have a fabulous fashion blog, www.urban-butterfly.net Tell us about your blog.
I first started my blog last year as I wanted an outlet to write and post about makeup and fashion as my 9-5 job has no link to the makeup or fashion world in anyway. For a number of years I have been doing Bridal makeup and a blog felt like a natural place to evolve my passions.
7. Your fashbo profile tells us you are a freelancer makeup artist. Is this your profession, or a hobby? How long have you been a makeup artist?
I have been a part time makeup artist for a number of years, mainly concentrating on Bridal and occasional. I am currently doing a course in order to work towards more editorial makeup. I do plan in the future to become freelance full time.
9. What is your favorite fashbo you posted? Do you have a favorite fashbo that someone else posted?
Vintage Wedding
My favorite post was of my vintage dress. When I bought this it was in such a mess, there was stains on the sleeves, it was originally longer but someone had hacked it off unevenly, some of the beading panel was loose and there was a huge stain in the under skirt, however with much love and care I mended it and had a dressmaker make the peach underskirt. This day was also a magical day as it was my friends wedding at a beautiful 16th century mansion and I was also lucky enough to do all the wedding makeup.
I love to see what LittleCherryBox is wearing, she has a great sense of style.
10. Who is your favorite designer or designers?
I love Channel and Rouland Mouret, both excel in women’s tailoring and easily celebrate the feminine figure with timeless classics.
11. What is your favorite Online location to shop. What is your favorite retail place to shop?
Blimey, where don’t I shop, I am such an online shopper now days. As a vintage lover I like to visit Tara Starlet who makes a beautiful vintage inspired fashion line in London. I also like high street stores such Topshop which is always great if you need to grab a Saturday night outfit. ASOS.com is also a great place to browse for both mid to high end brands. I also trawl ebay for a lot for vintage bargains.
12. What would you consider to be your dream job?
I would love to be a full time makeup artist, working on editorial shoots for magazines such as Vogue and Glamour. I would also quite like to be an independent personal shopper, I love a challenge of putting an outfit together. The next step for me maybe video blogging when I get some courage.
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