I kept this one quiet but I went on holiday to Dubrovnik, Croatia last week and it so happened that the first ever Dubrovnik Fashion Week was happening at the same time.
Dubrovnik stole my heart and I can't wait to come back there in a few years time. The Old Town is surrounded by the beautiful sea and has a harbor, quirky little side streets that lead off the main road where you find cute little cafes and small hand made jewellery boutiques (I got a beautiful vintage style silver ring as a souvenir with a large turquoise stone in the middle, surrounded by tiny coral stones all around for about £48). The food is fresh, especially the sea food and cooked to perfection. Not everyone can afford to eat at Gil's, it's pretty pricey a Mojito set me back about £10 but I recommend at least popping in for a drink for the amazing view and service.
I also came across FAAR Magazine whilst picking up my passes at the DFW Press Office. Had a quick flick through and liked what I saw - check out the site.
And whilst I'm on the subject of magazines, also check out PUSH IT Magazine. The magazine is Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina's 1st International style magazine mixing the best of the Balkan's with the rest of the world.I've been following their progress for a while and like the look of their photoshoots. Check it.
I've always thought it a bit bizarre how people overreact over a famous person's death and take it so personally, especially when they have never even met the person but I have been deeply saddened by MJ's death as I grew up on his music and still can't believe that we won't be seeing him moonwalk for the last time. Not only was he a musical genius, a revolutionary dancer but a style icon in his own right (I didn't even realize how much people jacked his style until I saw the video for "Bad" on TV again. Two words - Russell Brand). As my own tribute, I was going to create MJ inspired looks on Polyvore but it doesn't seem to be working today (I might try again tomorrow). So I leave you with a photo of his changing style and recomend you watch the live coverage of the Memorial Service right now.
I've been coveting this dress ever since I laid eyes on it as soon as Christoper Kane's SS 09 collection came out but alas:
1) I knew I couldn't afford it 2) It wasn't a dress that I could exactly wear on a regular basis
So I was super excited to find out he had designed a unisex (more affordable) tshirst collection inspired by the hairy apes.
If I had a spare £180 (one tshirt will set you back 224 euros) or so, I'd get the one on the right (the Gorilla I believe) and wear it to death. However if you're in the money (feel free to buy me one as an early birthday pressie), these Christopher Kane tshirts are available at luisaviaroma.com in all sizes - the Mandrill, Baboon, Chimp and the Gorilla.
Whilst digging some more dirt on Paloma Faith for my previous post, I came across this video of her in a little paper world.
This little gem was directed by Petra Storrs who describes herself as "a London based Art Director whose work encompasses, set and prop design and construction, stage design, stage costume design, design and fashion design, for various stills, events and music promo clients". Oo er is there anything this lady can't do?
Her and Paloma seem to have a very close working relationship as this video isn't the first time they have collaborated. Storres also did the set design for "Stone Cold Sober" as well as creating the beautiful tin dress and other various stage outfits for Paloma (also spotted Patrick Wolf wearing one of her creations in her portfolio). Going through her portfolio, the images that stood out the most to me where these from the "Optical Opulence" paper editorial (photographed by Rai Royal and styled by Justine Josephs) she did for Sublime Magazine. Click on the image to see a larger version in another window!
Well when I say "new" I actually came across Paloma about 4 years ago in the dark and dingy basement of 333 when she was still more of a performance artist than a singer. She emerged out of a bath full of feathers and then gave birth to something full of fake blood on stage before unleashing her beautiful voice to sing a song. I instantly fell in love with her then and have been following her career ever since. So of course I got overly excited when I saw her new music video full of familiar East London faces (Russela, Ryan Styles, Amechi & Josh Weller amongst others) for "Stone Cold Sober" being played on TV. She has also made an appearance as an actress in the new "St Trinians" film and was filming a movie with the late Heath Ledger before he sadly passed away. But of course since I'm a fashion hag, what really drew to me to her straight away were her amazing outfits. Miss Faith has already gathered quite an impressive portfolio on her Myspace appearing and modeling for various magazines. Here I've picked out some of my favs. Watch this space!
What better way to get myself out of my non-posting rut then a post about a good cause! If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of swishing/swapping and it has come to my attention that quite a few swapping parties and events are going down in the next couple of weeks.
1) First up is the Accessories Swishing Party on 22nd May (tomorrow):
Futerra Sustainability communications and the Shoreditch Women’s Institute will be hosting the first accessories swishing party on Friday, 22 May. Swishing started with clothes and for the first time will be expanding to include accessories!
Guests will experience a plethora of fun swishtastic activities from a fashion sins confessional booth, jewellery classes and workshops, entertainment by a cool indie band and of course, swishing! Guests are encouraged to bring at least 3 accesories to swish (belts, jewellry, sunglasses, bracelets, necklaces, scarves, hats, shoes, handbags, etc.) Guests who don’t have accessories to swish can bring at least one item of clothing. Unswished clothing at the end of the event will be donated to Cancer Research.
WHO:Futerra and the Shoreditch Women’s Institute
WHAT: First accessories swishing party
WHEN:Friday, 22 May at 7:00 PM - late
WHERE:The George Pub, 373 Commercial Rd, E1 0LA
2) Next up is Grazia's and Mary Portas's "Mary's Charity Shop" held at The Village (the posh designer bit - ironic right?) in Westfield shopping centre on 4th June - 27th June. The concept is simple - give your unwanted, unworn, unused stuff in like you would to a normal charity shop (items do have to have a minimum resale value of £5 though - so try to lay off the Primark) and from 4th June you can then buy all the items that have been donated. All money made goes to Save the Children - more info on this eventhere.
3) And finally it's Feather Duster byHybirdon Sunday 7th June. The clothes swap will run 4-6pm"followed by live, acoustic music from the new and awesome band,Human+ special guests. To participate in the swap please bring at least 1 high quality item of clothing or accessories. There is no upper limit to how many items you can bring, but we aim to keep the quality high, so please, no used sportswear".
The event will take place at: Adriadny's Nectar, 274 Latimer Road, London, W10 6QW.
I also found this article I kept from the February 26th 2009 edition of the London Paper about "Throw Away Fashion". I was shocked to find out that a cute pair of glitter Primark pumps could take up to 1,000 years to degrade and the article gives you tips on how you could help - like taking your unwanted bras to Oxfam, which will then make their way to Africa where there are very few facilities for producing them.
I got an email a few days ago about a free swishing/swapping event in East London this Saturday asking if I could do a post on it and since I'm a bit of a fan, I was more than glad to help.
Here's the deal (more info on swishing events outside London on the website):
Swishing Event at Old Spitalfield's Market , London
Get a new outfit for free at this fun Swishing event as part of East Festival in London. Fashionistas are hunting down the best pieces at Swishing events all over the country. Who knows what treasures you may find...
12noon - 2pm Clothes drop off:
Bring your clothes, shoes or accessories to the swishing area and drop them off, you will recieve a stamp for each item (minimum 1, maximum 5)
2.30pm Browsing time:
Take time to browse the goodies on display - look, but no touching until the Swish begins
3.00pm Swishing officially opens:
There will be a brief introduction to the Swish and it will then be declared open for you to start swishing.
The Rules
Bring at least 1 good quality item of clothing, shoes or accessories that you no longer wear but would be proud to pass onto a fellow Swisher - no rags please!
You can bring up to 5 items, you will recieve a stamp for each, so feel free to take as many items as you brought along.
You will have time to browse the rails and look at the fantastic free goodies on display - but remember, you cannot claim these items until the swish is officially open!
Once declared open, swish to your hearts content! Remember, be kind to your fellow Swishers...no scratching, spitting or biting!
Hey guys, this is officially my 50th post and it saddens me to waste it on something so tedious but it has to be done. You might have noticed that I haven't posted for a while, well thats coz my blog (or blogger in general - is anyone else having problems?) has been buggering up recently - especially the uploading of pics. So soz and bare with me!
P.S I have created a Menswear Fashion Blog section in my listings coz I had a few people ask for some good ones but alas I only know 3. So if your blog or any that you know of fit the criteria (doesn't have to be ALL about menswear, the majority will do) - send them my way!
Due to feeling a bit poorly I only managed to get my arse down to Alexandra Groover and Kling by Kling on the first day of London Fashion Week. I've been following Groover's work for a while now and was really pleased for her when I found out that she'll be showing this month. However I was left a little disappointed in the end - after a 40min wait for the show to start, I was expecting something more. Don't get me wrong it wasn't bad, I just left like something was missing and it wasn't the colour, I liked that she kept it simple focusing on the texture of fabrics and the structure of clothes instead. I could also she the sea reference in her garments (Groover grew up on the shores of California), such as the "jellyfish" strip dress and the hooded "seashell" coat. The pics I took on my shitty digital camera defo won't help matters (in my sickly state I forgot to take my proper Digital SLR), so I will use the pics from her lookbook instead to give you an idea of what she's all about (you can also have a look the show pics here).
Kling by Kling opted for a presentation instead of a catwalk show, which I think was a wise move as there;s more of an interaction with the audience that way. Plus it wasn't just clothes that they where showing but wallpaper, dishes and sunglasses too. Kling started out only using monochrome graphics so it was a brave development to add hues of blue's and greens this time round. The new collection was based around clowns and describes itself as "a magical circus of dreams fresh from Kling by Kling's fantasies". Really liked the idea of the models walking around giving out black balloons as well. My camera died on me right at the end but they all came together on the stage, looking like cute little clown statues.
Ok the TS shosies I wrote about in my previous post have landed....like yesterday (typical the one day this week that I didn't pop in). And now all the size 6 Emma Cook boots are gone. They will be getting some more in this week but I won't hold my breath as there's a waiting list for them. Yes thats right a Topshop waiting list - oh how times have changed! I was about number 20 down the list. And the structured sky blue ankle boots are absolutely gorgeous but impossible to walk in. Gutted.
I remember the days when Topshop was a bit like River Island/Miss Selfridge clothes and quality wise but with better quality clothes comes a bigger price tag. Saying that I'm sooo in love with the new collection and don't mind paying that little bit extra (plus I get a 10% student discount so its not all bad).
The Union Jack blazer will be mine and even though I have had enough of the floral trend, the grey flower one might be making its way into my wardrobe as well. Also I can't seen to get enough of baby blue/light denim at the mo, probably coz it reminds me of spring and I'm so sick of this crappy weather already, so Topshop ticks that box too by the looks of things. And I'm always partial to a bit of grunge - oversized ripped tshirt/jumper? Yes please!
The shoes are looking pretty yummy also - especially the unusual sky blue structured ankle boots. Can see the white gladiator type ones working with a few of my outfits too.
The ones that have been blogged about the most must be the Emma Cook for Topshop ones though. I did not manage to get my hands on the black pair last time so these white ones are on my "must get" list this time - they just look so comfy.
P.S - I asked when they will be coming out, I couldn't get a specific date but was told the whole idea is to release them before Fashion Week, so keep your eyes peeled - thats less than 2 weeks away!
...one of these bad boys! I mean, we've got the same name and hair - its like meant to be right? Also think I just found my Halloween costume right there (one of my friends dressed up as Mary Kate Olsen last year - fake blood is so 2 years ago).
I think I need some stripy tights/socks in my life. Also saw a girl wearing some wonderuss stripy tights during the sale at Liberty's - she tried some red shoes on with them and its looked freaking awesome!
Sorry for the lack of posting recently but I've started a work placement at a magazine (more on that later) and have been ill every other week for 2 months now, so I have hardly had time to READ other blog posts let alone write me own. I did manage to sqeeze in styling a Pierrot/circus inspired photoshoot during that time though.
Inspired by my two previousposts and this awesome shoot from the September 2007 issue of SO-EN magazine I found on Flickr, I decided to come up with some alternative Alice outfits (also I wanted an excuse to spend hours on Polyvore).
The fact that Tim Burton was going to direct a film version of Alice in Wonderland has been on my radar for quit sometime now and I've managed to find some sneaky peek pics on the internet.
I must say, I'm a little disappointed with Alice's outfit - I was expecting/hoping for something more Gwen Stefani like. Also the dress underneath reminds me of the cut out jeans from House of Holland's latest collection - thats never a good thing right?
But apparently, this is an early make-up/costume test for Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, which is more like it but don't quote me on that!
