Around The World On A Wall

How fun are these wall maps? Working around bikini's and beach wear all day its hard not to dream of holidays and travel all day long! We love looking at maps and planning our next vacations, its so easy to get lost in thinking about what is actually there! They make a great alternative to art or picture frames and can act as a statement piece which will get your friends talking about holidays and travel over dinner. You can find old maps at vintage fairs and markets, the ones in Paris are to die for! We at Odabash especially love the image below of the map covering the bathroom walls - where would you put yours?

Here are some cool, quirky ideas for your maps, although the vintage ones can look super chic, we love the idea of playing around with colour and art.

Images: Tumblr & A Pair & A Spare

Melissa's NYFW Round Up

As the Spring Summer 2013 show time kicked off with New York Fashion Week last week, we have had our eyes placed firmly on the catwalks in the fashion capital across the pond! Here's our round up and an exclusive look at Melissa's favourite shows from New York SS13.

A host of white and nude tailoring was the order of the day at Victoria Beckham's 3rd runway show which didn't fail to impress amongst the fash pack. Here are a few of Melissa's favourite pieces, including a sport-luxe nude pencil dress, very VB!

As one of Melissa's go-to brands in her personal wardrobe, Melissa was particularly impressed with the plethora of stripes and optical oppulence at Micheal Kors. Stripes are a wardrobe staple and an absolute classic that will never go out of style. Channel the look with our California Top or Jamie Dress which are now on sale!

A show which won major praise from fashion press globally this season was that from design house Marchesa. The Odabash girls loved the decadent embroidery and regal beading on the couture pieces. We also spotted British 'It' Girl and model of the moment, Cara Delevigne, strutting her stuff down the catwalk!

Zach Posen's Spring Summer 13 presentation caught the eye of the Odabash team and Melissa herself not only because of the ultra femenine prints and shapes, but because Super Model Extrodinaire, Naomi Campbell starred in the line up! Leading the way for Alex Wek and a whole host of fresh faced models, Naomi glided down the runway like a pro!

Not only do we love watching the live streams and reading all the runway reports, but one of our favourite parts about the Fashion Weeks is the Street Style spotting! New York has its own unique style where a mix of polished Upper East side styling meets a more relaxed, edgy Downtown New York look. This season we noticed that hats were popular among the Big Apples' fashionistas. Perfect for both holidays and at home on those Autumnal sunny days, get the look with our Jemima Hat or the ever popular Cameron Panama, a favourite with celebs like Eva Longoria and Kate Moss!

Here are a few more of Melissa's favourite street style looks from the streets of New York. 

Of course no Fashion Week would be complete without a star studded FROW! We loved seeing Kim Kardashian and Kanye West cosying up to each other and the beautiful Tyra Banks at Marchesa. Another favourite was at Vera Wang, where the front row was adorned with A-listers including Beyonce and sister Solange looking vibrant in pink! They were joined by beauty Diane Kruger working heavy flowing blonde locks and autumnal mustard. 

So after a whirlwind of American fashion we are now enjoying the special buzz of London Fashion Week in our city. We can't wait to see what our creative and world leading designers will produce for SS13! Stay tuned also for an exclusive Sneak Peak of the Odabash SS13 Collection! 

Cocktail Hour

This fresh and thirst quenching cocktail is perfect for entertaining your holiday guests or as a lazy afternoon tipple for poolside fun! Really easy to make and seriously delicious! For a fun and stylish twist, serve in a clean used jam jar!

Mint Syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

12 mint leaves

Start by combining the ingredients in a sauce pan, bringing it to a small boil over medium heat. Make sure u stir the mixture all the while. Once the mixture boils, turn down the heat to low for an minute or two more. Then remove from heat and let it cool for about 20 minutes or until the mixture is at room temperature and has a syrupy texture!

Blueberry Mojito:

7 mint leaves

11 fresh blueberries

1.5 ounce simple syrup

1-1.5 ounce rum (more if your a lush)

Juice of 1 lime

Ice

Soda Water

more blueberries for garnish

Add the blueberries, mint, and simple syrup to the jar. Mesh the mint leaves and blueberries until the berries have burst and are mixing well with the mint. Add the rum, lime juice, and some ice. Drop in some blueberries for garnish and add the soda water to fill up the jar. Stir the cocktail and add a sprig of fresh mint for garnish! Perfect!

Beach Beauty Tips: Spotlight on Fishtail Braids

This summer season, the girls at Odabash and Melissa herself have been loving the fishtail braid trend on our beach holidays. Super simple to do with maximum wow factor! Also great for keeping your hair off your face on the beach and protecting it from the suns rays. The other great thing about fishtail plaits is that you can style them however you want, whether it be a simple low neck braid, to a side plait or swept up do. We recommend working the fishtail braid on your holiday with our cute India Bikini or team it with our Francessca Dress which are on sale now! Here are some of our favourite fish tail looks!

Models across catwalks from Milan to New York were working the fishtail braids for SS12. We love the messy, relaxed, beachy style, no need to be neat on this one! We particularly loved the fish tail theme at Tory Burch Spring Summer 2013 catwalk show check it out here.

The fishtail braid can be seen on many a red carpet and at various high profile events too, so you can work it for evening cocktails by the pool or out for dinner after a relaxing day on the beach. Its a favourite with recently wed Blake Lively, the beautiful Diane Kruger and style icon Mary-Kate Olsen. Talk about Day to Night versatility!

This DIY video from The Beauty Department featuring the gorgeous Lauren Conrad is our favourite tutorial so you can learn how to get the look yourself! Happy Braiding!

Maison Objets Paris Weekend

Last weekend Melissa travelled to Paris with friend and fellow fashionista Julien Macdonald, to wander the halls of 'Maison Objet', the largest interior design exhibition in Europe! With a flare and passion for her home Melissa captured some of her favourite pieces to share with you to get you inspired about your abode, whether it be at home, or away.

Lighting at Kelly Hoppen - love the Art Deco gold piece!

First up to visit was Kelly Hoppen's booth, interior stylist and designer to stars such as Sienna Miller, The Beckham's and Elton John, and of course a close friend of Melissa's. With such incredible taste it was just so hard to choose one standout piece from her range! The lights especially were amazing. As you can imagine Melissa was very excited to get Kelly back into to her house in London to finish off more rooms! Click here to check out her website!

More lighting and fox fur rug - super cosy!

 Walking around the show there was so much to see, this fox bed cover caught Melissa's eye at an eyewatering £15,000 (trade price!!)! It was incredibly soft but Melissa is strongly against real fur so set out only to look for a faux one, let a lone a more purse friendly option! Perfect for cosying up on the sofa or in bed on those cold winters eves that we will be sure to experience soon!

Amazing garden furniture perfect for making your holiday home a serious destination!

On a more 'Summery' note, the garden furniture and outdoor pieces were really inspiring and really got Melissa dreaming about her holiday home in Miami. She loved this hanging 'cave' that can either go on the ground or be hung in a tree, imagine what an amazing 'tree-fort' it would be, slightly different then the ones we all made as kids! This springwater jacussi was also popular, the exhibition halls can get really warm so Melissa was definitely tempted to throw on her Odabash bikini and have a dip!

Maison Objects takes place in Paris Click here to check out there website for more information.

Melissa Hits Miami.

Last week saw Miami taken over by bikini-babes at the annual Swim Fashion Week 2012. Check out some of Melissa's exclusive pictures taken throughout the week, and promise you we'll be giving you a sneak peek of the new collection very very soon.
Starting of a fabulous week Melissa Odabash and Julien Macdonald checked into their favourite hotel - The The W Hotel South Beach, Miami! See below the gorgeous decor of the amazing suite overlooking the most beautiful beach in Miami.

Melissa's incredible suite - how to do Miami Swim Week in style!

The view from Melissa's room @W hotel - a little bit easier to get out of bed, compared with rainy, gray London

Cocktails at the new SLS Hotel with partner in crime Julein Macdonald

Our exclusive event at hot store Scoop with gorgeous bloggers

Melissa  and Julien Macdonald at the Scoop event

The hotel lobby @ W hotel - so chic!

Watching the catwalk going up over the pool for an amazing show

Melissa and Julien getting the party started at the beautful Casa Tua Miami!

Amazing  food at the incredible Casa Tua restuarant

Cooling off at the W Hotel Pool!

Melissa Takes Morocco!

It's been a bit quiet of late as far as the Melissa Odabash blog is concerned - May-August is my busiest time, so everyone has been busy busy working hard to make sure everything is ready to launch my 2013 collection. Two weeks ago, we flew off to North Africa to shoot the look book, keep reading for a full run-down & behind-the-scenes pictures...

I can’t even begin to explain the one week of pure bliss that was my week at Mazagan, Morocco, where we shot the Melissa Odabash 2013 look book this month. I have never met such incredible welcoming & friendly people in all my travels, anywhere in the world.

Nothing could prepare us for the level of luxury we were greeted with when we arrived. We were taken immediately to two beautiful villas, mine having a long marble swimming pool outside & even its own hamman, having been greeted by everyone who would be working with & for us throughout the week. After making ourselves at home, we made our way down to the dining rooms where we were presented with an incredible ten-course dinner – thankfully after a long journey behind us we were all quite hungry to say the least - & the food was unbelievable.

I was placed in the care of the sweetest butler that never left our side the entire stay. From arriving on our set with freshly squeezed orange juice & croissants every morning to never even letting me lift up my own sunglasses, & chauffeuring us around the resort on a golf cart, every request was met with ‘as you would like’ - & best of all he knew all the best places around town to eat & drink that the tourists didn’t know about – recommending a different place to go every night we were there. Of course, it wasn’t all luxury – the shoot was hard work, sometimes working long hours late into the evening to get the perfect shot, so it was amazing to know that when we got back to our rooms we would be treated to a massage with real Moroccan oil – not a pretty sight afterwards, but our hair & skin was glowing - we really were spoilt!

The massages more than made up for the super-early morning shoots on the beach, & the early morning wake-up call was worth it to see the Arabian horses running through the surf at dawn. The sunsets were also like heaven - the entire sky would be luminescent in all shades of oranges (very on trend for next season!) & we got some incredible shots around these times – I love Morocco in the evening. When the carved doorways & lanterns are lit up it is one of the most beautiful places. We were lucky enough to be taken on a tour into a souk where we watched a man making bread & discovered some amazing waterfront hotels, before being taken to some incredible underground caves where Gucci shot their last campaign – very cool.

Mezagan is also known for having the best spa in Africa, so of course, it would have been rude to not have made sure this was the case! After a tiring five days, I waited until the last night to have my ‘relaxing’ hamman experience. Imagine my surprise when I turned up & was ushered into a men’s hamman! Not the most relaxing of experiences, but definitely by far one of the best hamman I have ever had. He began with intensely scrubbing my body so not even the tiniest amount of self-tan remained before a full massage after which I didn’t have a single know left in my back. I ended up walking out feeling like I was Moroccan with my hair in a turban & freshly scrubbed skin - I definitely gave everyone back at the apartment a good laugh, but it was well worth it.

Keep your eye out for the Melissa Odabash 2013 look book, I think the collection is my best yet - & the location definitely made the pictures super-special.