Saturday 28 April 2012

Last Night's Outfit


A brief post to show you my outfit for last night's launch party for www.vice.com 's free magazine. And it was awesome! Victories at Sea and Tall Ships played (Victories were better because they really made you want to get up and dance....but as a band Tall Ships are so hot! Blimey, the lead singer...like a sexy rugged tree surgeon with a modelling contract. ) As a night it was extremely hipstaaa, which meant for some great clothes- watching; I don't people- watch, I clothes- watch. The amount of BOY London paraphernalia was incredible! The piece I most coveted was a black BOY baseball cap- oh if I'd only remembered my camera to take some street style snaps. Oh well.... there's always the next magazine launch! 


Shirt, Topshop
Shorts, H&M
Brogues, Office
Collar, H&M
Hair styled with Toni & Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray



Friday 27 April 2012

Summer Dreaming: The Perfect Wardrobe


      With the university year drawing to a close and the only things occupying our minds are last minute essay deadlines and the looming exams, it’s safe to say we all need a little escapism from the correct use of the subjunctive, and all those relative pronouns.

    And what better way to use all the spare time during revision procrastination than with the planning your summer travels? Or, even better, the planning of your summer travelling wardrobe.

     Whether you’re InterRailing around the capitals of Europe, dancing your heart out in Ibiza or backpacking around the eastern Mediterranean, (Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro are the new France, Italy and Spain) it’s vital that you inject your holiday wardrobe with the same adventurous spirit that you have whilst planning your travels.

From African tribal prints to nostalgic 50s silhouettes, to the sporty surfer trend, there is something for everyone this summer. So kick back, put those exams out of your mind for just one moment more….and start dreaming of sun kissed skin, endless horizons and the open road.




Sandals, £40, Office
Printed Dress, £65, Warehouse
Sunglasses, £12, ASOS
Bralet, £24, Topshop
Shorts, £14.99, H&M
Swimsuit, £19.99 H&M
Top, £18, River Island
Tie-die Dress, £35, Topshop

p.s. I originally wrote this article for my university's languages magazine, The Linguist, of which I am the Life & Style editor (and co-founder, wooop!) Check us out at thelinguistmagazine.org

Friday 20 April 2012

In Great Company


Faced with a 3 hour journey back to my center of intellectual pursuits, Birmingham, (otherwise known as back to university) I decided to branch out from my usual selection of glossy magazines and try something new. So,standing somewhat perplexed and somewhat excited in front of the stand at WH Smith, I said goodbye to Vogue, Elle and Dazed & Confused and selected Company magazine instead.

And the verdict? An inspiring and innovative glossy with lots and lots of great, unusual features....and some not so great.

I love Kate Bosworth on the cover... she has such a great style (stylist), simple and ultra cool. She just seems nice, y'know? Plus she's always on the 'worst dressed' list for the best possible reasons- hot off the catwalk Jil Sander, Stella McCartney and Chanel looks that the catty tabloids are just unable to comprehend. You go girl! Kate is also a great one to Google on those days when you have absolutely no idea what to wear. 

However, this cover leaves a bit to be desired. I'm not loving the dip- dyed hair; maybe if it was this time last year, but now, two years after we first saw this trend emerge, it just looks a bit... over. Boring. Next thing please. And the outfit, although being a relatable, accessible look for Company's target market, with just enough trend boxes ticked to give in some high fashion kudos (love the pink trousers and Isabel Marant trainers!) is just not 'wow' enough to compete. Compare with Vogue's May cover with Charlize Theron in a Versace gown; Company, if you want to compete with the big boys, this is what you have to do. 


However, enough with the bitching! What I loved about Company was its showcasing of the best of ultra-cheap high street brands and low profile mid-range designers- some of which even I'd never heard of! What I especially love though, was their profiling of the gazillion Primark designer rip- offs that are out there and up for grabs! Take this orange- print bralet; a carbon copy of the one from Dolce & Gabbana's S/S 12 collection, shown below. Perhaps taking 'inspiration' a little too far? I fail to understand why there aren't more copyright law suits in the fashion industry! However, as long as Dolce & Gabbana are happy with it, I going to go get me some of their intellectual property for only £6! Kerching!

Image from: style.com

Departing from these happy copywright- fuelled musings, there were elements of Company that weren't so great. As per always, the first thing I flicked to upon opening the magazine was the editor's letter. I gave it a quick scan: informative, a bit funny and generally a great start to the following sartorial binge. Apart from the massive spelling mistake half way down the page. Come on girls- turn the spell check on. Although you really shouldn't have to for 'whether'. Very, very awkward. 


And to top it off? A disgusting article from possibly one of the most annoying people in 'fashion' (does she have any experience/ knowledge/ qualifications to credit her writing about the fashion industry, or anything else come to that?), Jameela Jamil. Urghh. I'm not even going to dignify this piece with a long rant; I think it can be summed up by its tagline. 'Feminism. Confusing, isn't it?' For those who want a clearer, more coherent view (rant) on articles like these, please head to vagendamag.blogspot.co.uk. I promise you that you won't regret it. 


I'm afraid that I've given a rather horrible account of Company in this blog post, which really doesn't convey how much I actually really enjoyed the magazine! Maybe it come from writing too many English Lit essays recently... the criticism comes easily. If you're a young, fashionably adventurous girl (or guy) on a budget, who wants to read about trends, youthful fashion entrepreneurs (I particularly enjoyed the article on bloggers making it big in the web editing world), DIY projects, and Tokyo street style interpreted on the British High Street, then you're in for a treat!

Monday 16 April 2012

The Wish List



Bag: ASOS Bowler Bag £40
Dress: Topshop Tie- die dress £35
Jeans: Acne £190
Sunnies: Alexander Wang £237
Shorts: Lover, £225
Stilettos: Zara, £29.99
Dungarees: Topshop, £38
Slipper shoes: ASOS, £30

Just a quick little wish list to let you know what's floating my boat at the moment. I actually (this morning!) bought the leopard print slipper shoes, which I am totally and utterly obsessed with. I'm also planning on buying the black Zara stilettos as soon as I return to the big city; I can feel my bank account wincing at the very thought. As for the Acne, Wang and Lover pieces, they are more for inspiration than for giving me any hope at all that I could buy them. (Although if I had the money...) I actually prefer the dungarees I've pasted below, but the picture didn't fit in with the style of my lovingly- crafted collage! They're from Pret-a-portabello, and you may see them on this blog very soon!


Friday 13 April 2012

Coloured lace and patterned shirts


Valentino. Louis Vuitton. Prada. When three of the largest fashion houses in the world showed a trend as distinct, incisive and original as this season's penchant for coloured lace, it was immediately obvious that it would make waves in the fashion world. Combined with the other big trend of Spring/ Summer 2012, natural craftsmanship, and several celebrated exhibitions this spring ('Lost in Lace', at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and Grayson Perry's 'The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman' at the British Museum) the artisan approach is having an effect that is impossible to ignore in the worlds of fashion and art.


To achieve the effect celebrated by Valentino et al, I have combined a vintage coup d'oeil shirt with a colour pop of orange lace shorts. Paired with my trusty Chelsea Boots and sad Chanel-esque ASOS bag (I really, really need to find a replacement. Look forward to a future shopping list of possibilities) this outfit saw me skipping around town, through the puddles, running countless errands. A gentle take on a megalithic Spring/ Summer trend.



Shorts: Topshop
Shirt: The Cow Vintage Warehouse
Blazer: H&M (in the sale for £7, yessss!)
Boots: River Island
Bag: Horrible ASOS one that I'm going to change ASAP (when I have enough money)

Saturday 7 April 2012

The Lust List

Miu Miu's metal frame bag in appliquéd leather. What is it exactly about this seductive bag that makes it so desirable? Maybe it's the combination of the 50's shape and vintage Memphis design with the thoroughly modern, simplistic aesthetic. Maybe because Miu Miu is currently the hottest fashion ticket, and has been for the last few seasons (remember the sparkly Miu Miu pumps, the lifeblood of all hip editors, last Autumn?). Either way, this covetable little number is definitely on my lust list.



Thursday 5 April 2012

Fashion Failure / I have nothing to wear blues


Ever seen something that you want so so badly that you think that you'll die if you don't get it? Ever walked up to said item, picked it up, looked at the price (eek), looked at the queues for the changing rooms (hmm), check out (ouch), and sadly put the dress/ coat/ shorts down and walked off? And then thought about said item every day for the next six months, as it magically pops up in your mind, in wondrous outfit combinations, every time you're standing in front of your wardrobe naked and screaming I have nothing to wear!!!

For me, I am currently regretting:

- A pair of raspberry pink, cropped, tailored trousers from Topshop (on sale, £18) that I never tried on due to spotting a girl I vaguely recognised from an old school, and desperately wanting to avoid the inevitable awkward 'hi, how are you' convo. I think I think about these trousers every day.

- A calf length pencil skirt of black lace layered over a cobalt blue slip. Simply and utterly divine, Topshop again (and £18, again). Like Jonathan Saunders clashed with Dolce & Gabbana (this season) in a wondrous, sexy and divinely chic skirt. Gah.

- Nude, pointy court shoes with a stiletto heel and bedecked in golden studs. Yum yum. I think they're still available from Zara (£39.99, I seem to remember), so when I get my next installment of lovely, free (hahaa) money from the Student Loans Company I may see if my budget can stretch to these little beauties.


But anyway, what was I talking about? Ah yes, things that you really, really, desperately want but may potentially never possess. What put this little musing in my mind was the new collaboration between the superstar blogger The Man Repeller (loveee you!) and Dannijo, purveyor of jewellery to the stars. (Blake Lively, Rihanna, Beyonce etcetera). Needless to say the collection (entitled Mr Dannijo) is mindblowing amazing. Prettyful. Edgy and a tad rockstar, just as I like it. I'm now going to shut up and let you see the pictures. Enjoy, please. I may hopefully, one day, in the not too far distant future, own a few pieces myself. One can dream.



Mona Lisa Ring




Betty Davis Statement Necklace


Umbilical Bracelet (geddit?)

Photo credit to:

www.manrepeller.com (Check it out, she's insane!)

www.dannijo.com (Cooler than cool)


Wednesday 4 April 2012

Rainy Day Blues


The title is a lie, actually. I had an insanely nice day pottering around with the boyfriend, even though the weather has been weird weird weird. I'm getting bored of dressing for winter now... due to my rule of never wearing the same outfit twice, I feel I have now pretty much exhausted every sartorial option that my wardrobe offers up to me. Summer now pleaseeee.

I call this outfit '90's grunge mixed with flapper mixed with Audrey Hepburn'. Two spring 2012 trends combined with an all time classic, plus the ubiquitous Chelsea boots*. The trench is H&M, the dress is Zara* and the two shirts are vintage, from the COW Warehouse in Birmingham. My Chanel 2.55 rip- off bag is from ASOS.




* They're from River Island and started breaking a MONTH after I bought them, after about 5 wears. Y'know, just after the last date when I could take them back from a refund. Typical.

** I love my Zara flapper dress, which I found in the sale for £15. It's already a Spring/ Summer staple! Zara, unlike River Island, would never rip you off.

*** Excuse the last photo, due to the pelting rain it was the only outfit without trench photo that we could take before having to sprint back inside, where it was warm and dry.

Monday 2 April 2012

Pajamas and Jesus Sandals


So here I am, making a triumphant return to the blogosphere in an outfit entitled jesus- in- pajamas- attempting- to- look- nonchalant- on- a- farm. No I am not Jesus, but I am wearing PJ trousers and I am on a farm. Well, technically they're not actual real life PJs, they're some trousers I picked up in Forever 21 in an attempt to master the 'pajamas as daywear' look that's so now, darling. They're pretty awesome for £14.99 I've gotta say....but impossible to style. You'd think graphic monochrome tailored trousers would be easy to work with, but I'd far rather prefer some vibrant, print smashing, esoteric wonders from the likes of Stella McCartney or JW Anderson. Print clashing, for those who want to know, is actually pretty simple to achieve. The clues in the name really. That wild clash of tie-die, paisley and cats' eyes sunnies is a real sartorial winner, I assure you; just pile it all on, artfully dishevel your hair and boom.Outfit done. As for this look? Graphic monochrome tailored trousers go with nothing, you'll find. Apart from a plain cobalt vest and Jesus sandals, that is.