Fashionable Friday : Coffee and Haute Coiffure

Fashionable Friday : Coffee and Haute Coiffure

21.12.18

Coffee and Haute Coiffure fashion illustration © Shell Sherree all rights reserved

You can get high on life with coffee.  You can get even higher with haute coiffure!

If you're on the petite side, a voluminous up-do will add inches ~ and more than a few.  Tuck in enough hair pins, you can even shelter a bird or two.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you!

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Fashionable Francophile Friday : Marie and the Dog and Cat Groomers

Fashionable Francophile Friday : Marie and the Dog and Cat Groomers

8.12.17

Fashion and fluffballs illustration: Marie Antoinette with French Bulldog and Cat Groomers © Shell Sherree

If Marie Antoinette had put out the word for a dog groomer and cat groomer, this might not quite be what she had in mind.

Today's illustration sees us stepping back in time ~ because I hear the cake really was exceptional back there and then.  And who doesn't love a good piece of cake. 

So come, let us test the vertical limits of our coiffeurs' engineering and flippantly decide whether we feel like one tier of temptations or two.  And on that note...

Happy Fashionable Francophile Friday to you !

PS:  Scratching your hair - or head - over a cute little Christmas trinket to surprise and delight a friend anywhere in the world?  How about some faux gold koala tattoos?!  Lighter than a feather and completely unexpected:  provide your friend's name and address in your order notes and I'll send your order gift wrapped directly to them.  I can include a hand-written note on your behalf, too! 

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Fashionable Friday : Vintage Glam Hat Pat

Fashionable Friday : Vintage Glam Hat Pat

10.3.17

Fashion and Fluffballs illustration : Vintage Glam Hat Pat with Kitty © Shell-Sherree

All for one and one for all !

Today's illustration has us ready to join the three Muskateers ~ hang on .... four Muskateers ~ and make it an even five plus one.  Puss in Boots would be right at home.

I love drawing vintage glam.  Frankly, it's easier for me to illustrate it than to source and wear it.  But wouldn't it be fun to harness your inner actress, muster your Golden Age of Hollywood, sally forth in your finery and have people wondering if you're taking a lunch break from a film set nearby? Yes, it would.  It honest to goodness would.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you!

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Fashionable Friday : Going Dotty Over Vintage Fashion

Fashionable Friday : Going Dotty Over Vintage Fashion

20.1.17

Fashion illustration : Going Dotty Over Vintage Fashion in Black & White © Shell-Sherree

Fear not, this fur is faux.   Thankfully when illustrating, the case is always so.

In a bid to disappear from the heat into a snowy wonderland, I was about to post one of my Paris carousel illustrations from several years ago and changed my mind.  Sorry if I've just disappointed you.  It's somewhat like saying, "I saw a majestic bunch of flowers at the markets that were so 'You'!  Here's a box of champagne truffles... I hope you like them."  My bad.

Nonetheless, here we are, with a something vastly different from the highly detailed and delicate work embodied in that gilt-edged and pastel-encrusted carousel, tiny enough to fit on a sheet of A4.   You could take this vintage ensemble for a spin on one of those winter-clad horsies and be snug as a bug in a rug.  Oh, all right then.  Go take a peek.  Don't say I never give you anything.  Hang on ... do say I always give you something?  Curse you, double negatives, and pass the hip flask of brandy. And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you !

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Francophile Friday : Taffeta Tango in Paris

Francophile Friday : Taffeta Tango in Paris

6.1.17

Paris Illustration Fashion & Fluffballs : Taffeta Tango in Paris © Shell-Sherree

 Today's illustration lends itself to a tango overlooking the rooftops of Paris. 

A gorgeous taffeta confection might impede our steps but would hide a multitude of footwork sins all the while. 

This vintage gown might possibly be Dior.  There was no credit on the photo from which I drew inspiration, so if you know, I'm all ears.  Well, actually, my ears are rather petite.  In proportion, I would say.  Anyhoo, what I do know for sure is this gown is a beauty.  I hear several arrondissements are vying to become its postcode of residence.  They might have to take a number.  And on that note ...

Happy Francophile Friday to you !

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Fashionable Friday : Make Like Diane Keaton

Fashionable Friday : Make Like Diane Keaton

11.11.16

Fashion and Fluffballs illustration Lilac Seventies-Style Slouching  © Shell-Sherree

Someone once likened me to Diane Keaton.

As I'm not tall in stature, I have a feeling this observation owed more to my oft-circuitous conversational path than to appearance.  To be fair, I leave a good breadcrumb trail that's easily followed if you keep your wits about you.  But keeping a bag of trail mix in your pocket isn't a bad idea. 

Anyhoo, potential vague similarities aside, today's illustration is inspired by the always-stylish Ms Keaton.  Is she a lover of cats? I rather suspect so. Speaking of cats, did I tell you about the time I saw a black hat on the side of a ... ooh, fairy floss !  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you !

PS:  Looking for something special for the animal lover in your life?  Click the Contact link on the menu to enquire about an illustrated portrait.  One of a kind for one of a kind. Too adorable for words!

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Fashionable Friday : Vintage Violet and the Happiness Weed

Fashionable Friday : Vintage Violet and the Happiness Weed

21.7.16

{Fashion illustration: Violet and Vintage Dior in Paris  © Shell-Sherree}

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.  A purple weed foraged amongst foliage on my studio desk would not.  Most unfortunate.

Regardless of its rejection from the perfumer's arsenal, it is cheerful, humble and really rather lovely.  I'm sure the vase is at least half full.  And our thought for the day, even more so.  Always choose happiness.

Today's illustration rewinds us with a nod to vintage Dior and has me wondering where Agent Violet has got to.  So come, let us scoop up our skirts, sip medicinal brandy from our gold monogrammed hip flasks and ...oh.  Perhaps therein lies the problem.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you !

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May the Fourth Be With You

May the Fourth Be With You

4.5.16

{French Bulldog & Kitty May the 4th Be With You illustration © Shell-Sherree}

Say, "Hello," to Gary, the subject of today's Fashion & Fluffballs pet illustration.

If Carrie Fisher's scene-stealing French bulldog Gary had been on set back in the day, there's a good chance the Star Wars dynasty would have included a Frenchie.  I'm relieved that didn't happen, or I'd have been forced to abstain thanks to my golden rule of not watching movies starring animals.  Far too high a 'Weeping Inconsolably' risk factor for my EQ levels.

But here Chez Shell, transportation to your happy place is always a safe bet.  So come, pull up a cosmic lounger, roll up those side buns and clink glowing glasses of liquid aqua while pining for the caramel scrolls back home.  And on that note ...

May the Fourth be with you !

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Fashionable Friday : Out of Africa-ish

Fashionable Friday : Out of Africa-ish

15.4.16

{Fashion and Fluffballs illustration: Vintage Camera Romance © Shell-Sherree}

Not quite Out of Africa, but from the looks of that fence, this could be our definition of a weekend with the big cats.

Call me old-fashioned but there's a certain romance about old cameras and the careful consideration called for when capturing a moment in time without the ease of digital indulgence.  And don't get me started on dark rooms.  Is a kiss stolen while gently swirling paper and watching an image come alive under the ripples more breathtaking than a smooch exchanged over a computer screen?

Let us compose ourselves and sip G&Ts with a slice of finely-Laguioled lime while we ponder on the meritous possibilities of hipsters trading fudge brownies for Box Brownies.  Perhaps not a moment too soon.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you !

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Fashionable Friday : Vintage Vixens

Fashionable Friday : Vintage Vixens

2.4.16

Fashion and Fluffballs illustration: Muddled Lilac and Vintage Vixens  © Shell-Sherree

The penny farthing has dropped that I'm increasingly taken with illustrating vintage fashions {and not overly flash at knowing in which era penny farthings were invented.  Insert shrug of insouciance here}.

This led me to thinking ... is it time to sashay into the world from a film reel of glamorous day-to-day dressing times and see if it catches on?  Faux fur and feathers obligatory but nary a bone of corsetry in sight?  Could we have just one day a week in which vintage vixenry is the norm, or would the world wobble off its axis as surely as a penny farthing rider with a bee in his bonnet?

Let us lower our fluffy stoles, imprint lipstick on glasses of sherry and draw seams on our legs as we wonder.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you!

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Fashionable Friday : Coochie Coo

Fashionable Friday : Coochie Coo

18.3.16

{Fashion and Fluffballs illustration: Pink Petal Pies and Coochie-Coo  © Shell-Sherree}

Coochie-coo, happy Friday to you !

One of the things I love so much about illustrating is that I can fashion up whatever I feel like in an ink and watercoloured world where pigment is currency and magic is an hourglass or two away.

While this concoction was tickling itself onto the paper, inspired by a real life gown and strategic placement of poetically licensed ruffles, I wondered if I might offer you a No Sew DIY Haute Couture Tutorial involving a 600 thread count Egyptian cotton sateen bedsheet, three metres of tulle, hemming tape and a smoking hot glue gun. But a packet of Turkish fairy floss caught my eye and that was the end of that.

If you're up for some fun, let's give the construction a whirl while we sip muddled-cherry-infused bootleg and play Pass the Pretty Kitty.  Our fluffy fabric confection's lack of thread saves both a stitch in time and nine.  By my mental arithmetic, that means we'd make it to dessert with dinner to spare.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you !

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Fashionable Flashback : Going Dotty for Dalmatians

Fashionable Flashback : Going Dotty for Dalmatians

3.10.15

{Fashion and fluffballs illustration :  Disco Dotty and the Dalmatians © Shell-Sherree}

Calling all spotty dogs and booty shakers!  We're having a disco-themed pawty and we're short 98 dalmatians.  Don't tell kitty.  She's singularly unimpressed as it is.

Breaking out some Bee Gees and Saturday Night Fever moves will score you extra brownie points.  But if you can shake your tail feathers without snagging anyone's disco pants, you're guaranteed entrée to our soirée ~ no questions asked. 

So come, let us engage in healthy transference and blame it on the sunshine, not the boogie!  Manhattans are first up on the bar cart and kitty is happy to tend it.  Anything to keep her gaze averted from the embarrassment of it all.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Flashback to you !

PS:  If you love the idea of toting a Shell Sherree around with you or having one lounging on your sofa or there for all your phone calls  {heh, that's not unnerving, is it!} ... you can browse my merchandise here! 

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Fashionable Friday : Agent Violet and the Chameleonic Canine

Fashionable Friday : Agent Violet and the Chameleonic Canine

25.9.15

{Fashion and fluffballs illustration :  Vintage Glam, Classic Poochy © Shell-Sherree}

As Agent Violet anticipated, her canine opted for a wardrobe change of his own before their appointment with The Groomer.  He had detected a tail as they were making swift their departure from the pâtisserie and when the opportunity presented itself, they took appropriate precautions.

Quite aside from the need for evasion, there had been an unhappy marriage between the croquembouche toffee and her canine's poodle curls, rendering them riddled somewhat ironically and most uncomfortably with sugared violets ~ and no time to lose.  A switch in time saves nine. 

What other mysterious powers does her canine possess?  Will The Groomer have a matching collar to complement her hat?  And does the lining of her black velvet cape have sufficient fortification in the event of complications and a good stiff breeze?  Let us sip rose petal tea and contemplate.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you!

Today's illustration inspiration: Audrey Hepburn and Mr Famous photographed by Cecil Beaton 1960

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Fashionable Friday : Agent Violet in Vintage Paris Purple

Fashionable Friday : Agent Violet in Vintage Paris Purple

24.7.15

{Fashion and fluffballs illustration : Agent Violet in Vintage Paris Purple © Shell-Sherree}

As Agent Violet has discovered, trench coats have their uses but you can stow all manner of useful gizmos in the voluminous sleeves of a vintage coat like this one. 

The spotted cuffs and matching pillbox in today's illustration might seem too eye-catching ~ but don't be fooled.  Violet is well versed in the art of distraction so no doubt they serve a purpose for which we can only hazard a naive guess.  After all, in Paris, one never knows when one might need to secure a surreptitious stash of brandy-laced macarons that can weaken an adversary's defences after dark.

Shall we tail her and see where she leads us ?  Let's not dilly dally, though, as she knows how to slip into a chocolatier and vanish without a trace.  On y va.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you ! 
  

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Fashionable Friday : Paris Poise and Vintage Vogue

Fashionable Friday : Paris Poise and Vintage Vogue

19.6.15

{Fashion and Fluffballs illustration : Paris Poise and Vintage Vogue © Shell-Sherree}

Come on up. The view is lovely from here.  While Workplace Health and Safety might whip out their notebooks and bypass brow furrowing in favour of writing me up for a hefty fine, Chez Shell there's no such red tape.

But for the sake of prudence and an excuse to use the word alacrity, I'll err on their side of caution and position a round, plump, cherry-red mattress thingo on the footpath below.  Not that I plan on us needing it.  How inelegant.

Today's Paris fashion illustration is inspired by this vintage Vogue number from 1956.  It's kind of School Marm meets Victoria Holt Equestrian ~ a temporary departure from our usual ruffles as the degree of difficulty perching here was advanced enough without adding them into the mix. Petit fours will be delivered by carrier pigeons momentarily.  A recipe for disaster but I'm hoping they will rise to the occasion.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you !

ABSEIL OVER TO MY PETITE BOUTIQUE HERE

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Fashionable Friday : My Fair Ladies

Fashionable Friday : My Fair Ladies

12.6.15

{Fashion illustration : Eliza and Dover - My Fair Ladies © Shell-Sherree}

With Royal Ascot preparing to enter the mounting yard next week, today's fashion illustration honours a well-loved and long-retired but never-to-be-forgotten favourite.  The expression,"Rooster one day, feather duster the next," was certainly not made for Audrey Hepburn or Eliza Doolittle ~ even though some bemused men folk might wonder if the hat is a combination of both.  {They know not what they do.}

Not so long ago, I illustrated Audrey Hepburn in a different costume from the Royal Ascot scene in My Fair Lady.  It's lovely and all ~ but nothing can rival this breathtaking magnificence Cecil Beaton concocted especially for her ... somehow primly elegant and wildly extravagant all at once.  There's a rare gift in successfully combining both.

We feel we must apologise for inflicting hat hair on you yet again, and indeed, it is a requirement of Royal Ascot's official style guide that we do.  But we have arranged for distractional brandy in sterling silver hip flasks should one's hat come adrift at any point in proceedings.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Friday to you !

CANTER OVER TO MY PETITE BOUTIQUE HERE

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Fashionable Flashback : Royal Ascot and Almost-Audrey

Fashionable Flashback : Royal Ascot and Almost-Audrey

19.5.15

{Fashion illustration : Royal Ascot and Almost-Audrey © Shell-Sherree}

When this Audrey Hepburn inspiration leapt out at me, I illustrated first and asked questions later. 

This felt like My Fair Lady ~ but didn't seem right.  I turned to my Golden Age of Hollywood 'go to' person and she came up with the answer, as I knew she would.  She's modest, so I'll leave her to put up her hand if she wishes ~ meanwhile, "Thank you again, my sweet !"

Turns out Audrey is modelling a costume from the Royal Ascot scene ~ but it wasn't one of her costumes in the movie.  Cecil Beaton {designer, photographer, illlustrator and generally artistic bod} asked her to model his other creations, to the chagrin of director George Cukor or so the story goes.  Mr Beaton's designs are exquisite and even more so on Audrey, so it's easy to forgive his mildly eccentric request. 

One of these days, I will illustrate Audrey in 'the real costume' from that scene, in all its iconic magnificence.  Meanwhile, let us move our bloomin' proverbials onto a spot of tea and cucumber sandwiches.  And on that note ...

Happy Fashionable Flashback to you !

GEE-UP TO MY PETITE BOUTIQUE HERE

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