i hate

missing someone so much you can feel it in your stomach and your chest

teen angel

Screams and streams,
Of harsh blunt purity,
Leeches of the night,
Spite me and curses of pursed
Cracked lips,
Screeching for well-being
Lunches of tobacco stained
Hunches,
Brunches of terrific profound conversation
Flares and
Perishes.
We are all one,
All tendrels of one new,
Hip,
Crop.
Dance with me stars!
We are born again,
Dying beautifully every time.
Need the beat breaking hearts,
The teeming and dancing of youth,
Perish
Perish
Perish
Stagnant beauty.
Oh! Stagnant beauty

The King's speech

I watched this film for the first time on Tuesday. I did what I always make the foolish mistake of doing and plan to see a film I know is extremely promising and I know I will thoroughly enjoy at the cinema and then forget.
My best friend has it on dvd so admittedley the cinematography that I fell head over heels in love with wasn't done justice, even with a flat screen LCD, however it was satisfying to finally watch it.
Let's start with the clothes. The events are true but obviously decorated and perhaps enhanced for cinematic purposes and the result is a heartbreaking and heartwarming tale of relationships, trust, self-confidence and speech impediments.
I was already bound to love the film as it has Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter as lead roles and it's set in the 1930's, (which is arguably my favourite decade in fashion terms). The sweeping fabrics, lustrous embroidery and, who could forget, THE HATS.
Helena's wardrobe was what should be expected of a woman of her stature. Always covered and clean cut but with the uptmost grace and poise. A lot of powder blue and beige and pastels reflecting the decadence and perhaps sweetness in her character was beautifully executed and i was very impressed with how, not only the clothes worked just by being so beautifully created, but also, how they reflected each character.
Bertie's character, (the more personal name for the king), was dressed in very dapper and stiff suits and ties only ever in plain colour: black, grey, white, sometimes brown, reflecting his own demons about his insignificance and how inadequate he felt. You may think I'm reading a little too deeply into the connotations of fabric and cotton stitches, folds, pleats and decoration but this is why I love cinema. Everything has a connotation. Much like a novel it seems that every little aspect of the film, or indeed the book, has a subtle reference to a character trait or idiosyncracy we're supposed to either fall in love with or dismiss. Wallis Simpson for example was much more risque in her wardrobe choices and this was an obvious decision. Wallace, with her sultry glances and flirtatious manner in her few scenes, are enforced by the naked back that's encased in a more glamorous choice of burning sultry shades such as aubergine at the cocktail party. She was renowned for being quite the woman with men falling at her feet and under her thumbs so needless to say she needed a wardrobe to match her sexual nonchalance.
The cinematography was also beautiful shot deliberately with strange angles and beautiful use of colour. In the actual room where they work on Bertie's voice, (played by, sorry I failed to mention, Colin Firth, and wonderfully so), the room in which Lionel, (Geoffrey Rush), makes 'the magic happen' was filled with turquoises and warm ambers which seemed to create such a warm feel despite the room being half empty and lacking in wallpaper.
Over all, needless to say after that rich tapestry of compliments, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and feel any film buff would, or even somebody who just loves a good story and loves some escapism into a world of wealth and decadence.

So, as all us budding fashion geeks know, Chanel is the epitome of class, glamour and elegance. For years the hardworking people at Coco’s infamous brand have churned out collection after collection of stunning garments that have graced the most burgois and beautiful of people from Paris to New York in chic and classic clothing.

However this season Karl fancied a change. An image springs to mind of him sitting in his leather empire frowning behind his dark sunglasses twisted and untwisting the handle of a 2.55 wondering what his next collection should say. Tough sex. That’s what I, personally, took from the collection as i was desperate to join in and certainly was seduced by the way in which the classic ruffle was put next to grungy folds flecks of leather and padded black. The collection is for a different kind of woman. Looking at the shaped and chic of the past collections one wonders why the change? Is a new woman on the horizon? Are we finally letting go of the stereotype we can’t help but shed that the idea of beauty is donned in a long lake of hair and a petite dress made of flowers, ruffles and all things nice?

I've always had the same impression from Chanel. I've fallen in love with collection after collection but always felt my boyish crop and grungy side wouldn't take well when wearing the beautiful slopes of decadent fabric and the cutesy side to the innocence of the looks. However this has changed my mind. Even if i had the money,(which, alas, i do not), to buy Chanel i felt i would have to combine in with tougher elements making the garments more me but this collection is powerful, gritty and snarls at the aristocratic undertones of previous collections. Stare in awe as your idea of Karl's frilly, fancy ladies is transformed into something with a double dose of sex appeal.

Who better to pioneer this new vamped up biker chic than Freja?

Did i mention i can't wait for winter again?

So

I haven't done this for a really long time. Especially for someone who has misplaced teenage fantasies of one day actually achieving what i want to do and becoming a fashion journalist. I should probably learn to capitalise my 'I''s in the middle of sentences before i even begin to think this is plausible. College. Stress. Parents. Holidays etc and all the other excuses a desperately introspective teenage girl will use to convince herself that she's only taking a break from journal writing, creative writing and blog posts.
Well I'm here to correct myself and prove myself and everybody else wrong.
I love fashion week. Duh. Who doesn't. When the first shoe steps out on the catwalk i want one day for it to be MY embarrassing audible gasp that the magazines laugh at in reports. I'm humungously excited to be wearing what the designers have forseen and prescribed. A healthy dose of clashing patterns, outrageous tailoring and beautiful fabrics ahoy.
Here are some of my favourites:

Prada

alberta ferretti

alberta ferretti

alberta ferretti

alberta ferretti

mary karantzou

creatures of the wind

burberry

burberry

simone rocha

simone rocha


prada

Old school beauty queen

I've always been fascinated with the past. This obsession is probably rooted in the idea that I'm never going to be a part of the 1920's, 30's, 40's, 50's or 60's so in my head they will always be enhanced, romanticised and only the brilliant parts dwelled upon. It's even seeped into my literature with a growing obsession with Richard Yates, a writer who's dower and supressed characters usually live in 1950's America downtrodden and beaten by the pressures and stereotypes of the era. Also by becoming interested in literature set in post depression years after the crash. I even glamorise this and think of how people would gather in downtown secret clubs to sway to Ella Fitzgerald or hustle and sing in their trinket town made of cardboard and scrap metal. This was a terrible time but there's something glamorous about a time that you were never part of.
This, obviously, boils down, mainly, to women and the fashion world of the time. In the 1920's the boyish frame was popular and drop waist straight dresses embelished with beads and sequins drapsed over the slender bodies of the wealthy women of the time. The 30's brought us gigantic flared pants and even more glamour in a time that money being spent on clothing was the last thing on the mind's of the people desperate for bread and a home.
50's of course brought us Dior couture at it's best rejoicing as the fabric rations were abolished and the huge swinging skirts and lady-like obsession struck the world.
All of these eras have something in common. They were all filled with women who looked the part. "I'm just nipping the shops it doesn't matter", was not something a lipstick lady of the 50's would ever mutter whilst still wearing her cleaning clothes.
I was talking with my mum about this just yesterday and she said that my nanna never left the house without pantyhoes and lipstick. This seems ludicrous of course to me, a child of the generation that wears pyjamas tucked into ugg boots to nip down to the post office or the mothers who never stop wearing jeans. This is not necessarily a personal boycott on comfort but I'm nostalgic for the glitz and glamous that, sadly, I feel is lacking from 2011's women.
I think it's disheartening that we don't take such pride, (I'll agree the strain on etiquette in the 1950's was a bit strenuous and this is not a bid for the return of this), in how we look.
With the return of the womanly form in a/w11 we saw Prada recreate some beautiful 60's tailoring and louis vuitton return filly to the curvaceous and sumptuous form that's very rarely celebrated nowadays. However nobody seemed to adopt this trend at all. Shearling jackets took off well, shearling boots followed, sixties casual shifts were bursting out of the seams of Topshop and river island. So where was the brilliance of the busom? The to-die-for-frame of the curvy housewife?
It's a shame we don't want to dress up. So next time you're deciding what to wear and you're having a confident day where you feel good and positive, show it in your clothes! Throw on something a bit glamorous and don't be afraid to be looked at. Because those looks are those of awe and wonder and a misplaced sense of 'I'm sure I've seen that somewhere before'.

a new woman

This is something i become every season as i decide which look i'm going to adopt or plural, because most of the time, of course, i'm in love with more than one collection/style/characer.
Last summer i wore maxi tee dresses with a leather gilet over strapped and buckled sandals and, when my feet could bear it, boots with a variety of patterned socks. I went super girly as well with layers of florals, chiffons and light and pretty colours. I liked the summer me however i feel that this summer grunge is coming back with a jumble sale beautiful twist.
This time round, whilst still remaining feminine, things are going a little edgier for summer fashion and I.
My attention was drawn to junya watanabe and kenzo and J.W Anderson layering and the boat feel was beautiful at watanabe. Combining this with the print inspirations from kenzo and i've got myself a look.
To coin a summary i suppose i'll be a nautical aztec traveller who hangs our with kurt cobain and rides on a boat sipping whisky and listening to the pixies. It's a good look in my mind and fingers crossed it'll be one that works out and doesn't turn out too thrift store mess.






This is JW Anderson and it's just divine. The colours surprised me as they seemed to range from good-enough-to-eat oranges and purples to dusky colours that looked washed in delicately. The pleats in the skirt gave it a stylised look rather than looking jumbled and the arrangement of everything was the key to it's success. AND THOSE BOOTS! They look as though they've been dusted with snowflakes or some kind of magic dust that grants people wishes. And the fringing on the others was something to die for. The metal, pagan looking circles reminiscent of dreamcatchers, and the sweeping chiffon all contributed to quite a witchy vibe but updated for summer as the sheer maxi's in-which is something i'll be making and trailing around in with the summer blossom skimming the edge. The witchy vibe is something i've been channeling in winter with layers of wool, chiffon, lace and velvet and i think it's something that can be well translated to summer with less layers and lighter ones. These colours really work layered on top of one another as each one shines through the fabric. Stunning.



This is wonderfully nautical junya watanabe who is one of my favourite designers anyway but with the relaxed stripes and the layered feel it's definitely something i'll be using ebay and charity shops to attempt to replicate. The stripes are used in different directions which creates a great sense of pattern and stops them becoming repetitive. I could go on about how much i love this but they speak for themselves. This woman is quite high society i image as though she fools everybody of how nice she is when actually she enjoys a shot of tequila and singing irish folk songs when the yaught parties get boring and she sails off in a pea green boat.


Kenzo's possibly my favourite. Layering is always hard to do in summer as it can quickly become hot if you employ the wrong fabric on top of another however they seemed to do it whilst making the pieces look fresh, light and a breeze to wear which could, of course, be part of the whole illusion of how the fabric is cut and put together as, after all, this is the genius of a designer. The patterns reminded me of the lawns of doll houses and how quaint a stately home's tapestry's may look like. The hint at a silk bralette under it all was perfect to tie it all together and there's the naughty streak to employ and exploit in it all, after all it's always the innocent ones.
It all looks so easy and soft and delightful to wear and i'm made up that there's somebody who created something that means i can be inspired and wear my favourite floral jumpsuit which is divinely soft and loose enough to layer.
So as you can see i'm excited about summer fashion but i don't want snow, presents, family times and real coal fires to end just yet so i'll be inspired subtly by these and employ perhaps an ahead-of-the-time winter version.