Monday 28 September 2015

London Fashion Weekend; An Alternative View...

Hi everyone!

Yesterday I was lucky enough to visit London Fashion Weekend, and I'm always going to be completely truthful in this blog and not plug things I'm not interested in - but I was actually pretty disappointed. Although some of the designers were wonderful, the event itself really didn't deliver. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.



Now let's do the more positive parts first! Complaints aside, there were a few designers that really caught my eye, such as Markus Lupfer, the ever brilliant Sophia Webster, Rogues, Antipodium, Cambridge Satchel Company x Vivienne Westwood, Julian Hakes, and Wolf And Moon Jewellery. Now these designers and collaborations all had something in common; they were all quirky, unusual and above all fun. You can always tell when a designer really enjoys making their work and it's evident in the outcome - an exciting collection that practically oozes passion. I really fell head over heels for Markus Lupfer - glittery pink joggers and sequin turtles may not be what I usually go for but MAN these were something else. Although I love sleek, chic pieces I definitely found myself more attracted to bright, colourful, loud prints and patterns this year - pieces that were just a little bit more unusual, as you can see from the photos. I also found myself lusting over the INSANE Julian Hakes shoes which appeared in the Georgia Hardinge show during fashion week, and are currently on show at the V&A in the 'Shoes: Pleasure and Pain' exhibition which I can't wait to see. Definitely following in McQueen's footsteps, isn't he?!

Amazingly, a few of my favourites were actually affordable (when I say affordable I don't mean to me, because I'm a poor graduate, but say if I actually had a little bit of money) - not anything ridiculous like Marina London, Asudari, and Solace London, which I truly loved but could never bring myself to spend that amount of money on, even if I had it. 

Mouth-wateringly delicious favourite pieces and brands:

Marina London 



Asudari



 Rogue


Wolf and Moon



Sophia Webster


Markus Lupfer





Julian Hakes

Fashion Weekend at the Saatchi Gallery


Now, I normally LOVE the Saatchi Gallery, and I normally LOVE fashion week at Somerset House. But combining the two just did not work. The new location for the fashion week event was incredibly crowded, hot, and basically just unpleasant. Not only that, but there was just much less stuff to do there. A few years ago we had the bueno lounge to relax in, sponsors giving away refreshments, stylists and fittings going on - but this year it was simple clothing rails, accessories, and the catwalk. I used to love the location of Somerset House too - it was always buzzing with a great atmosphere, without being so incredibly crowded that you actually couldn't move.



Onto complaint number two... Never Fully Dressed would have made the cut onto my list of favourites above, but my body had a falling out with them... I fell absolutely head over heels in love with an organza lace dress, and was elated when I saw the price tag read £40 (my budget for the day). I rifled through the dresses, confused that I couldn't find any size labels, and asked the sales assistant who mentioned that they only stock one size. One size. Now, as you can imagine, that one size is made for models and stick insects. She said it would fit an 8-12 and encouraged me to try on the dress, which didn't zip up and left me feeling incredibly disappointed and sad to miss out on the dress, but above all terribly self-conscious and concerned about my figure. I'm a size 10-12. The dress didn't fit because although I fit within it's 'size margin', I actually have boobs and hips, like a LOT of women do. However, determined not to give up, I figured that they had just stocked sample sizes for the event - most designers tend to sell seconds or sample pieces for cheaper, which are usually made to fit models. I browsed their website, determined to find this dress in my size - but surprise surprise, they really DO only stock one size, even online. Maybe this makes sense to them if they want only a certain body type wearing their designs, but honestly it just makes people feel terrible about themselves. Especially at an event such as London Fashion Weekend where anyone can attend, they need to cater to everyone and not just stock these 'one size fits all' bodyshaming pieces. I wonder how many other people left feeling the same way as me. Later that day, I challenged them about it over instagram and was of course ignored - I wouldn't be surprised if they had the same response from many other people. I should point out though that this is of course not just limited to Never Fully Dressed, many brands are guilty of the same issue - it just becomes a problem especially when fashion is supposed to be continuously moving forward, not back into a world where only size zeros are celebrated and rewarded.

The culprit:



Am I being too harsh? What do you think?

London Fashion Weekend, although I usually love you, I think this will be my last visit unless I'm ever lucky enough to get invited to the main events at Somerset House. Although most of the designers and brands were wonderful and very exciting to see, after being there for about an hour and leaving empty handed, my sister, mum and I left before even bothering to sit down to the catwalk show. We instead went into town and window shopped, drank tea, visited some friends, and ended up having a much better day.





xxx



Saturday 26 September 2015

Pink Hair & Blue Vanilla

I'm super excited to have collaborated with the lovely Blue Vanilla and Chase PR for today's outfit post. I chose Blue Vanilla's gorgeous monochrome poncho because although I normally don't go for bright aztec prints, I love navajo in black and white (especially with all those tassels that are bang on trend right now) and I definitely wanted to experiment with a new look to match my new locks. This piece is the perfect cosy yet stylish cover up for this in-between weather we're having - transitioning from Summer to Autumn to inevitably the bitter Winter in styyyyle.






As beautiful as they are, ponchos can  sometimes be quite difficult to style because of their shape, but I think I FINALLY nailed it! A plain, cream, embroidered long sleeved dress was perfect as the ends of the sleeves poked out of the sides of the poncho giving you a glimpse of the floaty outfit below, and the length of the dress matched the length of the poncho perfectly. As the poncho has quite a loud print I felt it was better to wear something subtle underneath, and the contrast of the delicate embroidery with the vibrant aztec print created a lovely contrast.  I normally struggle with outerwear during Autumn; a denim jacket is too light, and my furry or wool coats are just too heavy and I end up being a sweaty mess on the tube. Enter, poncho! Because it's obviously not as restricting as tight jacket sleeves, it feels much lighter but it's also great to snuggle up inside for warmth (especially this one which is super soft and thick). Plus, it's really fun to run around with and swish all the tassles everywhere. Which I did end up doing, for a good hour. Seriously. 









As for my accessories, well - you can tell I clearly wanted to play up my new pink hair! I also wanted to wear something quite brave on my head to match the brave print of the poncho, and even though floral crowns are quite Summery I love wearing them all year round and they again added to the girly hippy/aztec contrast I'd concocted. I was dubious at first, but I ended up really embracing this unusual mix. Finished off with some black and white heeled sandals to tie together the colours of the poncho and emphasise the pink (I didn't expect the grass to be so wet, apologies for muddy toes) and done! Happy as a clam. Check out Blue Vanilla's stuff here, I'm already eyeing up my next purchase (hurry up payday...)








And now I'm snuggled up in my comfy poncho watching The League (a new obsession) and blogging away. I'm also anticipating a warm bath with some newly purchased eucalyptus oil from Holland and Barratt. I swear, baths are just not the same without some relaxing scents and tealights dotted around. Anyway, I'm heading to London Fashion Weekend tomorrow so I'm sure a post will be up about that VERY soon! Till next time x

Friday 25 September 2015

Embroidery & Sunset Eyes

Hello everyone!

This WILL actually be a short post this time because I've had an exhausting week and am so t i r e d. Today's featured outfit is what I chose to wear to the Jiterbugg launch event. Jiterbugg is a new platform for emerging designers where they can easily sell their work as well as blog about their pieces and connect with other fashionistas. The event itself was lovely and held at Dirty Martini in Monument - we got to meet some fab people and I got to give out my cringey new business cards...

Anyway, I was delighted to finally break out this H&M skirt after having it for a few weeks. I adore embroidery and this is just such a perfect statement piece, and for once one that I'm actually brave enough to wear. I normally wouldn't spend this much on an item of clothing to be honest (about £39) but I fell in love with this and really haven't seen anything quite like it lately. Because it's so bold I paired it with my favourite go-to top at the moment, this little floaty number from the Urban Outfitters sale. Whack on a simple gold collar and boom, good to party. Unfortunately I stupidly forgot to photograph myself with the STAR of this outfit - my mama's Lulu Guiness clutch bag. Well it's more of a purse because it's so teeny tiny, but I think it really pulled the outfit together. I've added a photo from the same night where I had it on my lap, it's just a shame you can't see it with the rest of the look.

Now, onto pictures, dinner, shower, bed. Night.








Ps. side note - last outfit post with my brown hair, as I've just had it dyed PINK! Well, to be honest it's not that pink yet as I have very dark hair and there was only so much the colour would lift with one session of bleaching. So it's kind of pink-tinged, but in a few weeks when I have bleaching part 2, hopefully it will be a lot more vibrant! Exciting. It was definitely time for a change.

I've also been learning more about alternative healing - now before you immediately close this page, I'm aware of how much I sound like a hippy quack right now and I swear that's not the case. I'll be doing a post on it in more depth soon, but it's just about more unusual but apparently highly effective ways to treat physical problems where medication just doesn't work (like my IBS) and mental issues too (like my anxiety and depression). I've never tried it myself, but I had a very inspiring talk with a friend last night and I'd love to get your further opinions on ayahausca retreats. Supposedly the plant has a chemical that opens up certain pathways in your brain and can allow for certain perspectives and viewpoints that you previously may not have experienced, and allow you to look at yourself in a whole new light and basically learn to love yourself as you do someone else, as cheesy as that sounds. Which is incredibly important for mental ailments, and it's so much more easier said than done.  Anyway more on that soon, but for now time to sleep. Night!


Monday 21 September 2015

Monday's Inspiration

Ahhh some Monday inspiration. I should be working, so I'll keep it short...


Holy flouncing lace and mesh, Burberry. As much as I love all the crazy colourful sequin goodness of my last London Fashion Week favourites post, this is something I'd be much more likely to wear. Although preferably with something underneath all that lace, and this is all if I hypothetically won the lottery/married a millionaire/robbed a bank to be able to afford some B. Normally my style is very print-focused and quite girly, but I love the combination of this light, feminine lace with a badass edge. The chic, sleek cut silhouettes of the monochromatic tailored jackets and heavy chained sandals are a stark contrast against the delicate lace, and create an extraordinary juxtaposition of styles - resulting in one intensely beautiful look. Let's be honest, this lace against leather/tailored cuts isn't exactly anything new - but Burberry have perfected it, with every last outfit styled to perfection, creating a transcendent AW15 collection.









'Cosmology' could not be a better name for Mary Katrantzou's LFW collection. These sparkling pieces pretty much floated down the runway in an out-of-this-world fashion, an offering to the fashion gods up above I am certain of it. Did I mention that I love prints? And sequins? So prints made up entirely of sequins...yep, that's me pretty much done. Huge heart eyes, blown away. The holographic and metallic colours were a strong throwback to Summer 2014s holographic trend, only this time the colours are brighter, bigger and better and with a much darker edge. This designer is after my heart - sparkles, bright colours, and alien space goddesses - she never did get it wrong though, did she?











And now, for my non-fashion related heartthrob this afternoon. I have fallen in deep lust with the work of Henry Hargreaves, a photographer and food artist who creates visually stunning, thought-provoking pieces and seems to have a lot of fun doing it (which I've always felt is important to great work). This morning I read an article (possibly on Dazed & Confused or Konbini??) featuring his 'No Seconds' series - a collection of photographs where Hargreaves recreates the last meal of a selection of infamous death row inmates. This touched me in a way that I didn't expect; seeing the choices of favourite foods humanised these prisoners and evoked a sympathy that I didn't expect possible for people who had committed such heinous crimes, as well as sending a chill down my spine that they were once just one of us. Of course, it brings up the whole debate over the death penalty and the photographs were a way of touching upon the subject through evocative visuals, focusing on something that I doubt has ever really crossed that many peoples minds. 








Another series that grabbed me in more of a purely visual way, was Hargreaves' print series entitled 'Game Over', where iconic games lose their signature colours and become beautiful 'readymades'. Something about the simplicity of the completely smooth, delicate colours is just gorgeous and I literally cannot stop staring at these. If I had $2000 one would be up on my wall right away.








I said I would keep it short but as usual I'm incapable of doing so, apologies. Back to work! xxx