DIY JEWELED BLACK VELVET HEADBAND

It was pretty clear from looking at the red carpet at the Golden Globes that headbands are having a moment - and not just for the preppy crowd. The TODAY Show invited me to make my version of the black velvet headband worn by Michelle Williams at the awards - you can check out my post and also have a peek at Michelle's Golden Globes headband here. Read on for the most simple tutorial. Ever.

You need:

- Enough black velvet ribbon to wrap around your head.

- A couple of inches of black elastic, the same width as the velvet.

- A rhinestone or beaded feature for the headband. I used rhinestone embellished ribbon but you can also use a broach, beads, glittery belt buckle, single rhinestones or whatever you want to act as the sparkly feature for your headband.

- A needle and thread.

- Scissors.

How to:

1. Cut the ribbon to size by measuring it around your head - leaving a 3 inch gap at the back where you will sew the elastic to make it easier to wear.
2. Sew one side of the elastic to the underside of the ribbon.

3. Sew the other side of the elastic to the other side of the ribbon. You will now have a round headband.

4. Try the headband on to make sure it fits properly. Then look to decide where you want to attach your feature piece. Slightly off centre to the left or right side of your head usually looks the best.

And you're done! Could it be any easier? To wear it, I put in on while my hair is down, and then lightly pin my hair up once it is in place. Looks perfect worn with a breton top and jeans, or on a night out with a black silk cami and bright pink wide leg trousers.

DIY SONIA RYKIEL INSPIRED POM POM HEADBAND

I may be a little late on this bandwagon, but better late than never right? The Sonia Rykiel AW10 collection featured gorgeous pompom headbands which very much inspired me to DIY, but I never got around to it at the time. Recently I saw large clover pom pom makers for sale and decided it was time to get amongst it. I wore the headband to the Asos Tea Party I went to recentl (have you voted?), and it was so fun to wear!

You can of course use two doughnut shaped pieces of cardboard to make the pom poms (as seen here) but that takes a while and the clover makers aren't too expensive. They turn a two hour job into a 5 minute job so aren't a bad investment if you plan on making a few - you can buy them here or in craft stores.

You need:
A large clover pom pom maker - get the biggest you can find
Black wool
Scissors
A headband - pick a sturdy one

How to:
- Open half of the clover maker and wrap it fully with wool.
- Do the same to the other half.
- Close and secure the pom pom maker.
- Use scissors to cut the wool through the middle all the way around the clover maker.
- Pass wool through the clover maker to secure the pom pom.
- Open the pom pom maker to release the pom pom.
- Trim the pom pom of any loose strings and to the size you want it.
- Secure the pom pom to the headband, I tied mine using wool.

Voila! 

On a side note, I recently had the pleasure playing dress ups in the Ascot Hats millinery workshop - owned by my best friend's mum. I was lusting over this handmade pink tulle pompom headband which is a fantastic alternative to DIYing a wool version if you don't have the time or the patience. I'll be doing a post on my trip to the workshop in the coming weeks, but in the meantime check out the other works of art on Pam's blog, her facebook page or email her directly on pcameron@ascothats.com.au for enquiries.

 !!  VOTE  !!

Make sure you vote for your favourite look in the Asos Tea Party Competition to win £250 to spend at Asos! Voting closes 17th October.

Outfit photos courtesy of Carmen Chan and Sam.

ASOS BLOGGERS TEA PARTY | Win a £250 Asos Voucher

Since moving to HK I've been to more high teas than I can count on both hands, and they're always a delicious mix of the quintessentially British (scones, carrot cake and cucumber sandwiches) and oriental deliciousness (egg tarts, pork bbq buns and green tea). I recently had the pleasure of being invited to a particularly lovely afternoon tea with a few of my favourite Hong Kong bloggers, where we got to style our most coveted Autumn/Winter Asos pieces.  It was a perfect afternoon with mountains of mouthwatering food, and we were fortunate to have the talented Carmen Chan (half of How I Met Your Style) on hand to take some pics of the festivities.

The challenge was to style an Autumn/Winter outfit for under £100. For my outfit I chose a plain grey marl sweatshirt which I (naturally) embellished with lace a la Jason Wu, a burgundy suede (very mini) skirt and a pair of ankle boots, all Asos of course! I also made a wool pompom headband to top it off.

OK so here's the best bit. Asos have set up a page on their website for you to choose your favourite outfit out of the 6 bloggers that were there - with one lucky voter winning a £250 Asos voucher! The blogger with the winning look also gets a £250 voucher, so head over and vote here.

I'll be posting the tutorials for the lace embellished sweatshirt and pom pom headband (as well as info on where you can buy a handmade tulle pompom headband of your own) over the next couple of days so stay tuned.

Wearing:

Asos Grey Marl Sweatshirt with DIY Lace Embellishments

 Asos Burgundy Micro Mini Skirt

 Asos Aggie Boots

DIY Pom Pom Headband

A big thank you to the gorgeous bloggers who made it such a fun day, including Sam of Sam is Home, Tania of T Like Bubble Tea, Sybil of The Style Voyager, Christing of Fashion Hedonism and Denise of Superwowomg. A few of the girls worked particularly hard with Asos to make it all happen so a huge thanks to you guys. The food and styling was impeccable - these girls should be paid to style events like this!

Remember to VOTE for your favourite look to win a £250 Asos voucher!

Thanks to Cafe Loisl and VERO for many of the delicious cakes. Photos courtesy of Carmen Chan and Sam.

DIY Pom Pom Headband

This gorgeous pic snapped by tommy ton reminded me of when I blogged a while ago about pom pom headbands (which are the tits!). Matching the colour of your pom pom with your hair is very cute too.