louboutin

Louboutin high-tops? Fierceeeee. Not usually into high-tops at all but I would make an exception for these, for sure. 

thug life

I want a thug life hat for Christmas...

asos marketplace

peace corps vintage swedish army parka

alice lee leather knit dress

ease the squeeze western shirt

i can make shoes winter wooly platforms

soundtrack

current soundtrack to life after watching notorious last night

i'm baaaack

After a great deal of financial difficulty for the last 3 months rendered me too poor to afford the internet, I can safely say that I am now back in the modern world and have finally topped up my internet dongle. Good, good times. 

Zara Trousers

I went shopping yesterday for the first time in months and got extremely frustrated because I finally had money but couldn't find anything I wanted. But, a trip into Zara proved fruitful. I tried on the trousers up there and they were pretty rad but I ended up getting a spectacular pair of shorts instead (I know it's winter and all but I am going to Australia in two weeks and I can't fit into any of my other shorts!).

Zara Shorts.

I am pretty sure I made the right choice. I am feeling them with oversize t-shirts and sandals in Oz, and then back home in freezing cold Plymouth, definitely thermal tights and boots.

vintage hats

Laquered lace eye shield

John-Frederics chantilly lace nose veil

I have been doing some research into vintage hats, particularly veiled ones, for my first project at college. We have to make some sort of garment/textiles product out of mainly plastic bags as some sort of comment on climate-change and sustainability and all that other garb. We had to choose one or two words from a list as a starting point for our ideas/research. My words were 'reveal' and 'secret'. I'm thinking some sort of beret type thing with an elaborate veil (a la Piers Atkinson) would be pretty fitting. 

I have discovered an interest in millinery that I never knew I had, which is quite good, and I think I am guna do pretty well in this unit. I hope so anyway...

leopard print coats

Images from Le Smoking, Hoy Fashion & weheartit

I neeeeed a leopard print coat for Winter. It is definitely on my list.

cat ring

Picture from Le Fashion

Best ring ever.

ELLE talent contest

Reading Elle the other day I saw that they are having a talent contest thing for writers, and the winner gets published in the magazine which is cooool. The criteria was that the piece had to be around 900 words, had to begin with 'Do you really need another pair of shoes?' and had to show 'intelligence, wit, elegance, style and a convincing argument'. Dunno if I nailed all those and it's a loooong loooong shot but this is what I submitted (I added the pictures in so it doesn't look boring!):

"Do you really need another pair of shoes?" my mum always asks, with a hint of mischief twinkling in her eyes that really tells me that, although I don't necessarily 'need' them in the same way I need oxygen to breathe or water to live, she wants me to have them just as much as I do. 

This is because if there is one thing my mother knows, it is the importance of a vastly impressive and covetable shoe collection. I remember being four years old, looking up in wide-eyed awe at the hundreds of shoes, piled precariously on top of each other, proudly displayed along the top of her old, mahogany wardrobe, and knowing that if I tried to release a pair or two to play dress-up with, I could very well meet my demise on the recieving end of a stiletto avalanche. Some of my earliest, and fondest, memories are sitting with her, watching Brookside and Blind Date, while she readied herself for a Saturday night out on the town. She would go through five or six, or ten, pairs of shoes; kitten heels, sandals, stilettos, sandals again, flats, square-toed, pointy-toed, square-toed again, then back to the kitten heels, always asking my opinion before finally deciding on the perfect pair. Of course, I didn't know it then, but this is undeniably where my approach to dressing comes from: always choose the shoes first, and work around them. The first, and arguably the most important, life lesson my mother taught me was that shoes can make or break an ensemble. The correct choice of footwear is, undeniably, the glue that holds an outfit together. 

 It wasn't until my late teens that I started to realise the true importance of this early style master-class. I was infinitely unstylish throughout secondary school (well, who wasn't?) and I truly embraced the fact that the idea of 'fashion' never featured on my radar. As well as being unstylish, I was also embracing teen angst. My rebellion manifested itself, as it does with so many other teenage girls, as pushing my mother as far away as was humanly possible. The turning point for our strained relationship happened when I was seventeen years old, on a shopping expedition that was orchestrated by my father, in an attempt to encourage some much-needed mother-daughter bonding. We were in a generic high street shop, and I picked up a pair of stunning black and white brogue-style lace-up heels and announced with pure glee, "These remind me of a pair of shoes you used to have, I love them!" and my mother proceeded to nearly cry and take them to the till immediately, while telling me "These are your first pair of proper shoes! You will love them forever!".

I know that it would be ridiculous to claim that a pair of shoes 'saved' my relationship with my mother, but they weren't far off. Since that pair of shoes came into our lives, our bond, as well as my growing shoe collection, has gone from strength to strength. Every birthday and Christmas, and sometimes in between, my mum treats me to a new pair to add to my blossoming assortment. We heatedly debate over the merits of square-toe versus pointy-toe, hidden platforms versus wedges, kitten heels versus towering stilettos, ballet pumps versus plimsolls, and of course, the ultimate battle, flats vs heels. As well as being the glue that holds together an outfit, shoes are quite definitely a huge part of the formula that holds my mother and I together.

Following in the footsteps (there is a definitely pun in there somewhere) of my mum, I have started to display the true gems of my collection, proudly, on an old bookshelf on my side of the bedroom that I share with my boyfriend. I like to think it is the centre piece of the room, although everyone else just thinks it's a tad excessive, and I am often faced with the questions, “Is that really necessary?” and, more commonly, "Do you really need all those shoes?". The obvious answer is no, of course. Those shoes don't contribute hugely to my ability to breathe, eat, sleep, reproduce or any of the other things integral to the fabric of life, although I do like to think that I sleep better knowing that they are next to me while I snooze. A gigantic collection of shoes may not be a necessity, but my life certainly feels enriched whenever I look at the variety and ferocity perched on that dusty old bookcase. The fact that when my parents emigrated to Australia earlier this year, my mum had more boxes of shoes to ship than the rest of the household items combined, goes a long way to illustrate the true connection that so many women, including myself, feel with their 'excessive' and, of course, unnecessary collection of footwear.

So, next time someone poses the question "Do you really need another pair of shoes?", I will think of the poor removals men who had to lug four boxes, containing just my mother's brown and tan boots, around, and reply with a resounding "Yes!", and I think you should do the same.

acne

Troj 1 silk shirt blouse - Acne

This shirt is so good. I'm not mad keen on the colour, it's described as 'stone beige' but looks kinda khaki almost, but that's probably just the picture. But yeah, this is too good. The asymmetric hem is genius. And the shoulder pads make a real interesting silhouette. Also the sleeve pocket is perfect for a pack of cigarettes which eliminates the need for a handbag which is always pleasing.

vogue russia

Image from fashioneditorials.net

From Vogue Russia's Horoscopes shoot. Rad.

'School house rock'

Rad editorial from Teen Vogue (just found it on fashioneditorials.net). The leopard print jacket from the first picture is toooo good. Also the denim on denim and camel coat/mac thing in the second picture. 

...

 

I been gone for a minute now I'm back at the jump off...

       Richard Nicoll A/W '10

More Richard Nicoll A/W '10

I have been neglecting my blogging duties lately, not that anyone reads this or cares in the slightest! But I do so I am going to rectify this starting now. I have been busy trying to do my college Summer project, which I am never guna finish in time but nevermind, trying to write something decent to send into Elle magazine for a competition, and battling in an ongoing war of wits with the jobcentre.

But, yeah, anyway. Keeping up to date with this blog is a priority again as of now.

Richard Nicoll's A/W collection is pretty much the shit. I neeeeed a gingham shearling jacket badly.

autumn outerwear

Labrador Jumper - Ebay

Overboard Chambray Jacket - Nastygal

Safari Style Jacket (?) - stylescout.blogspot.com

Oversized Bomber - Acne

Jean Net Jacket - Cheap Monday

Sheepskin Flying Jacket - Topshop

Fishtail Parka - ASOS Reclaimed

Utility Mix Pocket Shirt - Topshop

TFNC Vintage Military Style Parka - Asos

Also on my list are pale pink/grey oversized cable knit jumpers, hideous brown grandad jumpers, and lots of cheap jumpers bought and DIY'd to have a laddered effect. Pretty much all of the above items are about a million pounds out of my price range so I will be improvising and stealing my boyfriend's army jackets and wearing them with skinny waist belts instead of buying a new one that fits exactly the same but just costs £9649745745... I am also tempted to try and DIY a version of the net jean jacket by Cheap Monday. Seems simple enough really!

sunday

leopard print dress - ally (?) in australia, belt - primark, bracelets - primark

Today has mostly consisted of eating coconut macaroons, painting my nails and waiting for Nolan to get into Plymouth so we can decide if we have enough money to have some cheeky Sunday night drinks.

Painted my nails a beige colour, as you can see <<<. I think nude nails are guna be a big, big trend this autumn so I'm getting in there early and I'm really feeling it. Beige nails make me feel like a weird mannequin type thing and I quite like it. One thing I like more is coconut macaroons, though.

Now I am watching come dine with me and still waiting for Nolan because he missed his bus...

pizza night

shirt - paddy, mdc top - stolen from an ex, jeans - paddy, shoes - new look

I have been struggling to find a way of wearing these jeans for like 2 weeks. There is definitely something unflattering about wearing 15 year old men's jeans that make you look like you have a gunt/penis. I decided really the only way I could ever attempt to pull them off is with a shirt to distract from the puffiness of the crotch area, which is fine really cos I rarely don't wear a shirt anyway. The idea to wear these (hideously difficult) jeans came from watching Flashdance and deciding that 80s jeans are brilliant. Dunno if I still agree with this, time will tell.

Today has mostly consisted of doing not very much, getting angry about the aforementioned jeans, eating pizza, looking forward to new housemates in big brother tonight and cuddling.

a/w 10 - secretarial simplicity

Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Batman Returns

Browsing through the A/W catwalks online, one thing became extraordinarily apparent: the secretary look is definitely back and is more beige (sorry, 'camel') than ever. This season the secretary look differs from the one we've seen in seasons past, as in the shy, yet sultry, understated vixen that resulted in everyone and their dog donning a pussybow blouse and high waisted skirt, a la Maggie Gyllenhaal in the fierceness that was Secretary. No, no, this season the look is largely more refined, more edgy and on the whole, more purposeful.

Céline A/W 10 (pictures from elle.com)

Phoebe Philo's new vision of controlled cool and minimalist glamour at Céline last season was still very much in play for A/W. Forget all that subtle thigh-flashing secretary chic has taught us to covet, this new grown up, pared-down thing is all about being self-assured, not being the typical office minx. This is power dressing without the obvious 'LOOK AT ME, I'M POWERFUL' shoulders and all that stuff, this is power dressing for the woman who is powerful and knows it, without needing the reassurance that comes with everyone else in the room knowing it too. The matte leather skirt and masculine-style blouse is a dream combination, I'm sure, for so many women who want to feel fierce in the workplace without ever having to try too hard. The key to Phoebe Philo/Céline's success is a clear lack of excess which is being welcomed with open arms, and heralded as a new era in high fashion. This shift in attitude, largely caused by the global recession, has seen designers stepping away from the fantasy element usually so prevalent on the runway and instead considering actual consumers and their wants and needs as real women. This has created a new focus on simple, wearable clothing, without scrimping on the luxury aspect.

Chloé A/W 10 (pictures from elle.com)

Showing a collection made up of a largely cream/camel/sand/whatever else you want to call beige palette, Chloé made it clear that they are also on board with this understated, more consumer-led, trend. The collection was full of spectacularly wearable separates, which is perfect for the level-headed consumer who wants not only 'investment pieces' to covet for eternity, but pieces that can be mixed and matched for a laid back approach. Another dominant feature of these looks was the pussybow that adorned practically all of the blouses in the collection (there's that secretary influence again!). I think this was Hannah MacGibbon's way of showing that this new era of simplicity can go hand in hand with a classically feminine approach, rather than having to be completely rigid and austere. There are turtlenecks a-plenty, and hemlines are never above the knee here, but these are not conservative clothes for boring women. These are not strict, serious clothes, they are just clothes that mean business.

Marc Jacobs A/W 10 - pictures from elle.com

Marc Jacobs' vision seemed to be a lot more traditional secretary/librarian girl than the subtle hints at secretary chic that I mentioned before. From the knit/skirt/socks ensemble above to the more night-worthy look comprised of a chunky grandad knit paired with a slinky full length skirt, this collection is definitely 'geeky-slightly-awkward-bookish-but-still-hot-librarian-secretary-girl' steeze. This is the kind of look I could really get into, especially if it means it might be acceptable to wear a comfy jumper with a skirt on a night out (the look was big across a lot of collections!). This completely effortless, warm and comfortable take on secretarial style/Autumn fashion in general is, again, another nod to the fact that consumers want clothes that are wearable and practical, as well as fierce, and is something entirely achievable without needing a Marc Jacobs appropriate budget. And that, my friends, is definitely something I can get behind.