COOL BRITANNIA -Behind the scenes of our AW16 photoshoot

Delve into what happens behind the scenes...

 

Hi there, it's Emily here, founder of Bluebella. I want to share with you what's been going on lately at Bluebella HQ!

Bluebella's AW16 photoshoot was all the way back in December, and having designed what we feel was our most gorgeously amazing collection to date - we wanted to get even more ambitious in how we created imagery to accompany it.

A brainstorm by the Bluebella team determined that we wanted to create imagery that embodied two things. Firstly - the organic inspiration behind the collection: watch out for beautiful new prints, unusual trims and geometric new fabrics that mirror the beauty of nature whilst reflecting the modernity at the heart of Bluebella. Secondly, we wanted to capture the directional, strong and cosmopolitan heart of Bluebella that is deeply rooted in the city we all love the very best - London.                                                                                             

Sadly for our brave model, the idea that hatched from our creative little minds was to set our imagery on the windswept and wintery banks of the Thames. We loved the idea of an urban beach with a cityscape in the background, of bare trees creating organic shapes that reflect the collection with a touch of winter sun creating beautifully crisp silhouettes.

Amazingly, the British weather held up and we were blessed with a cold but sunny day which we maximised with a super early start. Our vision was brought to life by the fabulous all-female team who we adore working with. Having now worked together on so many shoots we - as usual - worked calmly and harmoniously together with lots of laughs in between. And with nice hot cups of tea and coffee on tap!

Alisa our photographer, furry hood firmly up, captured stunning moments and turned the wintery light into the most beautiful scenes. And our model, the extraordinarily professional and lovely Eva kept smiling right until the last shot despite the freezing temperatures, whilst the dynamic duo of Nikki and Lara somehow managed to keep hair and make-up in check despite the unforgiving winds.

                                                     

Our only disappointment? That you'd have to wait until now to see the results! But fear not, the wait is over and the collection is available for order on site now!

Looking back on the final edit in the office, I feel immensely proud of the Bluebella team for bringing such a creative and inspiring collection to life! We celebrated with gin & tonics and bubbly at our Christmas party the other night!

New Season - Bluebella Inspired by Nature...

We could not wait any longer to show you our gorgeous new season… so many beautiful styles are now on our site to make you feel fabulous.

 When thinking about this season, here at Bluebella HQ, we wanted something that would tie femininity and nature together in beautiful lingerie pieces.

The new collection was inspired by the cold breeze of an Autumn morning and the softness of the falling leaves. We thought about the most enchanting aspects of nature and created beautiful lingerie and nightwear pieces, that will be a timeless addition to your wardrobe.

Fresh autumn air inspired the Valentina – a collection as timeless as autumn. The rose dust edging is the perfect representation of the last bits of colour of the season and a delicate nod to femininity.

The delicate light of dusk in winter made us create some of our favourite lace pieces.

The Emily, Esme and Odele sets are perfect when worn for a fabulous winter night. Be it to show them off or as a delicate detail of your favourite outfit.

As the new seasons roll around, your body will need that extra bit of love. Treat yourself to fabulous piece like Fleur or Gia for the perfect combination of lace and subtlety for when winter jumpers get a bit too much.

Shop now for your perfect Autumn Bluebella look.

Best Things About Bestival

Bluebella Loves Bestival

Our current competition is all about BESTIVAL! We're giving one lucky winner a pair of weekend camping tickets - just simply enter here. Not that you needed any persuasion, but we thought we'd put together our favourite things of Bestival and why we think you'll love it just as much as we do... Good luck! 

Awesome Line-Up

The line-up as usual is incredible with an eclectic mix of artists including Years & Years, Major Lazer, Hot Chip, Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox plus many more. With hundreds more to mention, it's set to be an incredible weekend catering for all music tastes - from established DJs to underground bands, you'll definitely find something for you!

The Atmosphere

Bestival has earned a reputation as one of the most fun and liberating festivals around, and you'll totally see why when you get there. Its energy is incredible and everyone is super friendly. There's so much more than just the music too - amazing food, comedy and crafts mean that there's so much to do that will keep everyone occupied. 

Not All About The Music

The festival offers a whole range of comedy, crafts and lots of weird and wonderful stuff to get your teeth into. The infamous Chuckle Brothers are hosting their very own show, there's hot tubs, yoga and even an underwear UV glow party (yep you read that right). 

Food

Food is a pretty big thing for us so we want our festivals to provide the very best in street food... and boy, will you be treated at Bestival! From coffee campers and craft ale bars to the chocolate kitchen and a dedicated pop-up to local produce, you literally can get anything your tastebuds desire. Yummy!

Find out more about the festival over on www.bestival.net and don't hang about entering out competition! 

The Best Beauty Festival Looks

Festival Beauty

We love a good festival! And even more, we love dressing up and getting ready for a festival. We've spent the summer admiring some of the hottest beauty looks around and thought we'd put together some of our fave looks so you have some inspo for the rest of the festival season. From stand-out bloggers (we LOVE Sophie's style, above) to MUA tips, where will your festival beauty looks take you?

Team the Gia with dazzling blue lips and hair just like Sophie Richardson and you have yourself an super stand-out festival look in no time. If your hair isn't actually dyed, you can grab temporary glitter and colour sprays and you instantly have different hair by the day... a colour for each festival we say!

Fashion blogger Saranda Reci looks gorgeous in the Aria and cut-off denim. Channel her Boho-chic look by keeping make-up simple but adding accessories to your hair. A slick of nude lipstick will do just the trick!

Nothing says festival ready like a good set of rings and on-point nails! We love blogger Em Sheldon's look - her perfect pink nails are a great way to bring about some femininity to your festival look. Her rings are her own brand called LVNDR and we love them!

When the sun beats down whilst your dancing... there's probably nothing better! Make sure you keep cool and chic by keeping your hair out of your face. We love In The Frow's gorgeous and full ponytail and oversized sunnies - an easy way to look super stylish! 

All this talk about festivals, have you heard about our exclusive Bluebella Loves competition? We've got a pair of Weekend Camping Tickets for Bestival to give away to one lucky winner! All you have to do is sign up to our mailing list to enter, it takes no time at all! 

www.bluebella.com

Bluebella at Lovebox - our summer festival look inspo

Our amazing Bluebella girls went to enjoy a fantastic sunny day at Lovebox and fell head over heels for all the amazing festival looks styled with lingerie.

With summer in full swing the best way to enjoy a sunny festival is to combine your shorts with some lingerie to channel the festival spirit. Stay chic but deliberately eccentric with our best festival pieces.

Take inspiration from our amazing team and if you are feeling extra stylish tag us in your Bluebella Instas with #mybluebella.

The Claudia Shirt in Ivory can be the perfect throw on for any look, and will instantly make you feel extra comfy. Regardless of how rough your tent situation is ;)

The Emily top (coming August 2016) can be a perfect finishing touch to your look to compliment your figure and let your skin absorb that extra bit of sun.

If you prefer a more discreet peek at you favourite Bluebella pieces you can wear the Shiloh (coming August 2016) underneath your favourite summer shirt to perfectly capture attention. Alternatively show off the Gia as a statement piece of perfect festival inspired lace.

If you are lucky enough to escape the gloomy British weather and enjoy some sunshine near a beach while chilling to some music the Sephy and Jessica (coming August 2016) are the perfect chemises to thrown on for a simple instantly finished look. Pair with some cute sunnies and a smile.

We also met some new fabulous friends rocking out their lingerie. Here are our suggestions on how to recreate these looks and make it all Bluebella.

For a classy compliment to a white shirt and denim short look you can go for the Ella soft cup bra and wear it to show it off!

For a more daring look pair the Julianna top with a long skirt and rock it to some great tunes in the sun.

Even guys love rocking some nightwear for extra comfort. Check out this fabulous look that can be made Bluebella with a Claudia shirt or for a softer look choose the Abigail in pink.

www.bluebella.com

Bluebella's Beach Playlist

The Sun-Kissed Tracks You Need...

As holiday season hits us (seriously, where did it come from?!), long lazy days on the beach reading books and drinking mojitos are well within reach. But what about your soundtrack to the sun? You need a good Spotify list for sure, so we've rounded up some of our favourite tracks of the moment to see you through those hot sunbathing days... Bliss!

Shura

With Shura's debut album out, Nothing's Real, she is a singer making real waves. We've loved her for a while - her gorgeous, tropical infused R'n'B melodies make for a perfect poolside paradise. Her latest song 'What's It Gonna Be' is all about having a massive crush on someone and it's a great introduction to what to expect on her album. Download and relax...

Disclosure 

The most important thing on holiday? To feel good! There's nothing like pumping out some tunes to really get you in the mood and British electronic duo Disclosure are the best place to start. Back this summer with a surprise EP, the boys have bounced back from time away in the studio to produce another set of dancefloor ready hitters. We love 'Boss' - it's the perfect sunshine track! 

Izzy Bizu

Izzy is our new favourite soul singer and if you don't know her name yet, you soon will. Hailing from South West London, Izzy's sounds have summer drenched all over them. With her debut album on its way, tracks we're loving are 'White Tiger' and 'Sweat (A La La..)', with the latter a gorgeous beach-inspired song that is just what you'll need for a day in the sun. 

Metronomy 

If you want an injection of fun indie-electronic tunes, then Metronomy's fifth studio album Summer 08 is a must. Their first track off the LP is 'Old Skool'  and is the best place to start - it'll have you wanting to bop along the beach in no time. Hit their back catalogues too if you like what you hear, they don't disappoint. 

Roisin Murphy

Ever since Roisin Murphy came stomping back into the music scene with her Mercury nominated 'Hairless Toys' last year, we've loved every minute of it. The singer of Moloko, she's now a fully fledged solo singer and is perfect if you're looking for experimental electronic fused with gorgeous vocals. She's already released another album, 'Take Her Up To Monto', this year so she's definitely around to stay. A holiday must-have! 

Happy Holidays! 

Q&A with our #BeStrongBeBeautiful athletes

We Chat to Stef, Amber and Bryony...

As you've probably seen across our website and social channels, a couple of weeks ago we launched our summer sporting campaign called #BeStrongBeBeautiful, with the aim of starting a conversation around strength and beauty. 

We've teamed up with three amazing athletes to celebrate the strong female form and to hopefully encourage women of all abilities to feel confident in enjoying sport and be proud of their bodies. We chatted to Bryony Shaw, Amber Hill and Stefanie Reid about their individual journeys and what strong means to them...

Q: How did you find taking sport seriously at a young age, was it difficult?

A: My mum remembers me when I was 15 saying I wanted to go to the Olympics, which is quite young really. It was around then when I started really training and the more and more I trained, I'd get more muscular legs and shoulders. At that age, rather than celebrate that physique I ended up being quite timid about it. At school, being sporty wasn't the 'cool' thing and I didn't like being labelled as a 'Tomboy'.

Q: How did that affect you?

A: At the time it meant for me that even though I was serious about this sport, I was actually going to cover up parts of me that I didn't feel were feminine. But in the end, I was able to escape that kind of attitude and be with like-minded people who really celebrated that physicality.

Q: How do you feel about your body now? 

 A: I love looking at my body now. I'm really proud and I'm happy to show it off with sleeveless tops and things. It's definitely a shift in my own self confidence and it's really helped me blossom as a person. It's quite tough for girls in sports to feel comfortable in their own skin and what I'd say for young girls getting into sport is instead of trying to fit in, try stand out... and don't be afraid to be different. 

Q: What do you love most about sport? 

A: I think what I love most about sport is the ownership it gives you over your body... you just learn to how to inhabit this space [of your body]. For me, I'm most satisfied with my body when I feel it reflects who I am - I want to be someone who is strong, confident and competitive and not afraid to go after what I want. Once I started realising I could do pull-ups, squat racks etc, I noticed a change and I felt really strong. 

Q: Do you think that there is a wider problem that so many people don't think femininity and strength go together? 

A: It's tough... but I think strength is gender neutral. I believe in equality but not sameness, males and females are different and that's fantastic. But men do not have a monopoly on strength. 

Q: Why to you is strong beautiful?

A: It speaks of a quiet inner confidence. It tells a lot about a person if they are strong and where that strength comes from... it doesn't come from circumstances around them, it's internal. You can't fake it,  it is something you have to live out every single day. 

Q: When you first started training for shooting, did you notice any changes in your body?

A: I used to be quite shy and didn't have a lot of confidence but I think getting involved with sport and training at the gym three times a week made my confidence grow massively. I started to feel like an athlete in myself, started to feel strong and feel in the best shape. 

Q: Why do you think school girls are more likely to drop out of sport teams than boys are?

A: To compete at a high level, you need to train hard and a lot of girls see that as changing their body shape, not seeing it as feminine. I think that's where we need to start changing perceptions - strong is a normal body type. A lot of girls want to emulate what they see on Instagram, but I think we have to teach girls that you've just got to be comfortable with who you are and don't worry about what everyone else thinks... worry about what you're doing and what makes you happy. 

Q: Why is being strong important to you?

A: It's the confidence that it gives me to know that I've worked hard to look like I do. My body isn't perfect but I'm on a journey and as long as I feel confident now, that's what really, really makes me feel good. 

To watch our full length Q&As with each girl, click here.