Things that have made me happy this weekend!

I went back to Sheffield this weekend. Now, I do love living in York and it will always be my home, but there's something special about Sheffield, I was so excited on the train as I saw the turquoise roof of Meadowhall, signalling that I was almost in Sheffield. Here are a few photos from my weekend:

I unpacked all my things into my new student room. The walls were all white and bare so I decided to decorate one of them with photos. I love taking photos and looking at them, so I thought a wall of them by my bed would be a good way to wake up.

I finally finished this canvas after about a year. It's just a map with all the places some of my friends are at or going to uni, just so I know where they all are!

My Kanye West tshirt pinned on the wall. :)

I went on the Sheffield Eye. I never went on the one in York, so decided I should go on the one in Sheffield. I found out some interesting facts; did you know that Sheffield has 3, not 2, football teams? Sheffield F.C is one of the oldest footbal teams in Britain. And did you know that Sheffield has the highest rate of students staying to live there after they graduate? Pretty interesting stuff I thought!

My new favourite clothes! I bought this jacket yesterday and I've had mixed reviews about it, but I love it. And my knee-length boots I bought for 20 Euros in Paris are going to be in fashion this autumn, hooray for guessing fashion trends.

And on a final note, my hair should look something like this shortly:

This has been a random post, but hope you enjoyed!

x :) x

I was thinking yesterday about the link that music has with fashion. One of the reasons for this was that I was thinking how much music affects my life and my mood, which as a result, affects my fashion choices. For instance, if I hear lyrics about certain types of clothing, I automatically wonder whether this would be a good choice for me. Songs such as Jet's 'Are you gonna be my girl' and Kook's 'She moves in her own way'. And maybe not in such a specific way as that, if I'm just listening to a song that's summery, for instance, I feel the urge to wear summery clothes even if it's in the middle of winter.
So I started wondering how fashion manages to link to music so easily, they're quite different subjects but seem to come hand-in-hand. It's always seemed to be this way, with Vivienne Westwood inspiring the punk generation and many music artists starting fashion trends such as Debbie Harry with her bleach blonde hair, Arctic monkeys and other indie bands with their polo shirts and skinny jeans or even slightly tackier, but nevertheless a trend, the Spice Girls with the 'girl power' way of dressing.
I think one of the most important things is how music makes people feel. Music can inspire people to be more confident and this can sometimes reflect in the way they dress. I think music videos also have a strong effect too, if you see an artist or band in a music video dressed in a certain way, and you like the music or the artist/band you are more likely to consider dressing in this way too.
Music will always continue to influence fashion and vice versa. Songwriters continue to mention designer labels and items of clothing in their lyrics, and fashion will always look to music trends to inspire their ideas. I'm pretty happy with this fact, because I continue to love both music and fashion and can't imagine them being seperate from eachother.
x :) x

Old-time fashion

This week I seem to have been watching many films,three of which were Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Coco Avant Chanel. This has therefore made me long for old-fashion glamour to return to our streets again. Audrey Tautou (who played Chanel in the film) and Audrey Hepburn have such beauty on the screen (maybe something in a name?). What struck me about the films were the fact that both characters went against social conventions in their fashion. Chanel refused to wear corsets and hated over-embellishment of garments, with this in mind, she often wore men's outfits and started to make her own dresses out of what she has just to feel comfortable. And even though this was frowned on by the other women, she actually ended up looking the most glamourous person in the room. Also, with Audrey Hepburn and her outrageous dresses in Breakfast at Tiffany's and cutting her hair really short in Roman Holiday, even though it would annoy her family, she still was the most striking figure around.
I don't really know what point I'm trying to make, maybe that glamour today is not the way it should be, to me anyway. The term 'glamour model' is used easily today, but all this means is a half-naked women printed in newspapers on a daily basis. So does this mean minimal clothing equals glamour? I really hope not, because all the work that Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn and many others in the past will have all gone to waste.

I am very happy to see the rise in British female artists in the music charts. For too long it has been male-dominated indie bands which all started to sound the same. Now don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of the indie bands, but definately feel that something new was needed in the music scene, so here are my four favourites:

Florence and the machine - yes, I have already written about her before but she is pretty amazing! The release of the band's first album went straight to number 2, only blocked by Michael Jackson himself. She describes her music as "metaphorical songs that are 'stories with consequences and weird morality issues'. Basically her stuff is crazy, but crazily good. I'm also happy to be seeing her for the second time in September, hooray! She has amazing fashion sense with her crazy dresses and skirts.

Favourite song: 'Drumming Song' or her cover of 'You've got the love'.

VV Brown - This artist kind of just appeared to me when she released her single 'shark in the water'. Her music is described as 'retro pop with indie and punk rock influences'. She has attracted a lot of attention with her unique style, in particlular her signature roll-top fringe. She has her own vintage clothing website, called vvvintage.com. Someone once commented that 'Brown delivers something her retro UK peers have thus far lacked - pure, whimsical fun'. I'm also very excited to be seeing her at Bingley Music Live at the beginning of september!

Favourite song: 'Shark in the water'.

Laura Marling - I still struggle to get over the fact that Laura Marling is 19, the same age as me, she puts me to shame with the amount of thngs she's already done with her life. She used to be part of the band Noah and the whale and has featured on some of the Mystery jet's songs. I absolutely love her album 'alas, I cannot swim' and can't wait to see what she does next. An interesting fact: she was once denied access to one of her performances because she was under age so she performed outside instead. Her music is described as folky pop.

Favourite song: 'Ghosts'.

M.I.A - This artist has been around since 2004, but has sort of gained mainstream recognition after her song 'paper planes' was used on the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. She seems to have many talents, as she also calls herself a graphic designer and has released a collection of fashion designs in 2008. She describes her music as 'other'.

Favourite song: 'Paper Planes' or 'Sunshowers'.

I love the fact that all these artists have also been influential in the fashion world, whether it just being the way they dress or actually getting involved in the fashion business. I hope it continues to inspire new UK artists to release their music, I look forward to hearing more.