Favourite things of this month...

Favourite woman: Florence Welch from Florence and the machine

Coming from pretty much nowhere, Florence and the machine released a few singles over the past year, including 'Kiss with a fist'. She has the most powerful voice live and was probably one of the best people I've seen live this year. Her strange fashion tastes has also been a topic for discussion, especially as Topshop designed three unique outfits for her to wear at Glastonbury this year. Plus, her album is soon to be released, very excited!

Favourite man: Johnny Depp

With his new film, Public Enemies coming out soon and looking pretty good, I had to have him as favourite man, who doesn't love his randomness?!

Favourite artist: Lenka

Again, I hadn't really heard much from the artist until recently. But after hearing her in Radio 1's live lounge a couple of weeks back, I've started to look into the music she's been creating. It's all very cute and easy to listen to. However, her voice is amazing and her cover of Friendly fire's 'jump in the pool' was amazing. She's also big on arts and crafts and makes decorations for her performances on stage, so that's another thumbs-up from me. :)

Favourite photo: Emma Watson for Teen Vogue

Teen vogue do do amazing photo shoots, in particular, their more obscure ones. Emma Watson's also appealed to me as she is British so it's good that she's getting recognition in American magazines. This was the best photo, in my opinion.

Favourite thing: Babyglow

There's a new invention in the baby clothing world = babygrows that change colour when your baby is too hot. It was designed to give you warning, in order to spot serious illnesses as quickly as possible. The clothing's ink contains a pigment with heat sensitive molecules, which means that when the baby is too hot (37C or above), the clothes turn from a colour to white. Designed by Chris Ebejer, this clothing seems a bit pointless as you'd probably be able to tell if your baby was too hot, but still the idea is quite interesting.

On a final note, I'm looking forward to seeing the film Sunshine Cleaning, starring Emily Blunt and Amy Adams, both of which are pretty good actresses and the film is made by the creators of Little Miss Sunshine.

x :) x

mmm, pretty shoes!....

I have a love affair with one certain type of shoe.... Keds.

It all started when Mischa Barton became a spokesperson for them, having being an influential style icon on the OC and in real life, to see her wearing the shoes made me pay more attention to them. And then Office started selling them, it was perfect timing!

They're cute, stylish but simple and so comfy. I wore my first pair, navy with ducks on them, all summer 2 years ago. And even though they look a bit battered now, they still are decent enough to wear. And my new pair have a patchwork design on them with different patterns of material, they're going to be my shoe choice of this summer.

Not only this, in 2008, they started up a new thing on their website in which you can design your own patterned shoe, I'm so tempted to try it out. And in 2009 they have brought out their own range of green shoes, with environmentally friendly cotton, recycled rubber soles and non-toxic dyes, hooray for Keds!

x :) x

Could this be the end of size zero?

Hooray! This week, someone in the fashion world finally made a stand against size zero. Alexandra Shulman, editor of Vogue, wrote letters to major designers such as Prada, Versace and Chanel. She criticised the designers, saying that the sample clothes they made for photo shoots were far too small for even slim models. Also, they were being forced to use models with 'jutting bones with no breasts or hips' and air brushing them 'to make the models appear larger'.
This seemed like a welcome change to me. For years, there has been arguments about size zero, with it getting to extreme cases of models suffering from malnutrition and even losing their lives. There is constant outrage from the general public when, season after season, designers choose the underweight models to walk their catwalks. But it has only ever been from the general public, never anybody so high up in the fashion world. Finally, there is a glimmer of hope.
As someone who is hopefully going to end up working in fashion, it really didn't sit well with me that painfully ill models were being used for catwalks, fashion shows and advertising. I would never want to conform to this ideal and think it is ridiculous that designers actually think this looks good.
But it is just accepted as the norm, quite a few people you speak to in the fashion world don't see anything wrong with size zero. In the past it was never like this, clothes were still designed for slender people but what about icons such as Marilyn Monroe who were curvy, were they automatically not fashionable because they had curves? I think not.
Even though this seems to spark a new season in the fashion world, I have my doubts. The only way something is seriously going to change, is if the desingers do something about it. If a major designer was to start using healthier models, then I believe that we would see a huge change in the fashion world. Until then, I don't see much happening, but hopefully this letter has given the designers something to think about.
x :) x

Marc Jacobs Adverts:Good weird or Bad weird?

When reading various fashion magazines, you'll often find an article or an advert that just makes you feel that little bit uncomfortable. Marc Jacobs adverts does just that to me. First of all, all the models used look slightly too pale, slightly too skinny and quite ill. Not only is this highlighting the fact that the fashion world has a serious issue with the size zero debate, it doesn't make the garments look good. Probably because the only thing I can concentrate on is how scarily ill-looking these models are. Then there's the use of Dakota Fanning, (top left), who was 13 when she did her fashion shoot for this brand. I just find it a bit weird that they used someone so young to advertise their clothes, no one that young should be wearing designer clothes, and seen as they're aiming at an audience of about 20 and above, using a model 7 years younger seems a strange way to go. And finally, there was Victoria Beckham. I have nothing personal with her, it just seemed a bit unusual that after years of having pale, slightly scruffy looking models they chose a highly polished, fake-tanned person to adorn their posters. And especially with her in a bag, what was that about?!

Marc Jacobs have done a few good advertising campaigns with people such as Sofia Coppola and M.I.A, which were not as weird, but I think that their advertising campaigns will just continue to confuse me.

x :) x

p.s check out the man in women's clothes = strange, very strange

Vintage bargains!

As I was getting my monthly fix of Vogue yesterday (note:this month's issue is great, if you want something to read, buy it!) and I started to read a piece about vintage clothing and how it tends to only be younger people that wear it nowadays, and whilst it was an interesting article, the pieces they tended to show were of the more expensive variety, the cheapest being £45. Granted they were designer pieces, so it would be amazing to own something like that, but it made me realise how much I enjoy vintage shopping. I love vintage shops and charity shops. People tend to frown on them so much, saying that they're dirty and horrible, but there is such a thing as a washing machine!

Some of my favourite pieces of clothing and accessories are from vintage shops, such as a brown bag, knee length black boots (from Paris) and some amazing shoes that are embroidered with thanksgiving-inspired things such as turkeys, I love them, and what makes them that bit better is that they're so much cheaper than high street stores would charge. And also like the fact that someone owned them before, that may sound a bit weird, but I often wonder where these things have been and where they have come from.

And having been inspired by vintage shopping again, my friend and me visited two while in York today, she got a dress for £15 and I got a skirt for £8, amazing!

x :) x

Avast m'hearties!

Well, I was watching Pirates of the Caribbean for roughly the 20th time tonight. And I was again inspired by pirate (and nautical) fashion. Obviously, we went through a period in Autumn/Winter 2007 of pirate-style clothes and are still in the nautical phase now, but I don't think that this style should be forgotton. I've always had a special place in my heart for fictional pirates, with their big leather boots, lots of eyeliner and a fascination with treasure. This is probably something to do with the fact that I'm a magpie myself, drawn to anything shiny and sparkly. The return of pirate fashion would mean that I could wear my shiny things with pride!! Ok, maybe this seems a bit crazy, but who doesn't want to let pirates influence their fashion styles, maybe an over-the-top necklace, coat with shiny buttons, or just a bit more eyeliner than you'd normally wear will do...
x :) x

Sorry Ne-Yo fans....

So I was watching the new single from Keri Hilson the other day, featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo, and it just became apparent that, to me, Kanye West is so much cooler!

He's probably one of the most fashionable rappers around today, GQ named him most stylish man this year. But not only that, he is a regular at front-rows of catwalk shows, including John Galliano and Dior Hommes. And to top this, is bringing out his own line of shoes in collaboration with Louis Vuitton, which in true Kanye West style are a bit mental but nothing less would be expected.

Kanye West has been influential in fashion for many years now, in particular with the brightly coloured trainers and shutter glasses, which can now be found in most high street stores.

Fair enough, he may come across as arrogant about his music, but you're always going to find people like this in the fashion world, they come hand-in-hand. What I find different about Kanye, is that he's not afraid to wear random stuff and doesn't care that it gets negative comments. One thing about Mr West is he's here to stay and I hope he continues to influence the fashion world with further collaborations.

x :) x

Men's fashion - one step too far?

First of all, welcome to this blog! I hope you enjoy the randomness and please join in with the ramblings.

So while I was researching my summer project today, I started to read Vogue Hommes International - basically Vogue for guys. And I came across an article saying what's in fashion for guys, and I quote: 'sequins,lace,see-through silks - let your inner woman express herself'. And being surrounded by fashion, I know that it always goes to the extreme, but even I think this is too far. If I saw a guy wearing any of the above or pink jeans or bomber jacket (which was also suggested) I would be quite scared. No man should wear these things!! I'm all for expression in fashion but I can't imagine sequins looking good on any guy, or any man I know considering wearing these things. But who knows, maybe it's the future for fashion, watch out guys!
xx