Blooming stupid

Ever since Carrie Bradshaw graced our screens as the formidable fashionista, it made the ideal of experimenting with fashion into a reality; socks and sandals, spending $400,00 on shoes, insanely huge corsages...

Which brings me to my current bugbear, why oh why are we told that wearing giant plastic flowers looks good? Now I know that the shoreditch set favour them attached to a simple elastic and worn in that infuriatingly cool way, which despite having tried to copy (I bought that white ready made one from h&m - I'm such a follower), I just don't have the cool girl credentials to pull it off. I know my limits.

Wearing these ever-blooms on your actual clothing however makes me cringe. "Just slap one on a simple outfit, it makes all the difference and gets people to look at your bangers" (I am of course paraphrasing) says the highstreet guru Gok Wan. He makes his own, and in his opinion the bigger the better, given the option I think he'd have us all walking around looking like unpotted giant dahlias.

This is all well and good until you see how it actually ends up on the every day girl. On the train today: purple vest top, denim skirt, black leggings, white trainers and Huge White Plastic Flower pinned to said vest. Gah! (Unfortunately taking a picture on a crowded train is impossible, so you'll have to take my word for it.)

I agree that looking good can often come down to how you accessorise an outfit, but corsages aren't a bandwagon you should jump on unless you're a super confident styler. Accessories should accentuate the look you've already created, not look like a huge dollop of frou frou on an otherwise mundane daily ensemble...

You might run the risk of inspiring bloggers to take to their pages telling you that you look frankly ridiculous. You've been warned.

Drool...

Now that I am gainfully employed, my eye keeps wondering. This is my current list of obsessions, which by my calculations will still take me a fair while to save up for. At least its finally an option.... This lot will set me back a slightly gulp-worthy £1350 but something deep down inside tells me its worth it.

The Preen Line jumper (£305) is probably my best bet, but then again I should probably be saving for a deposit or a holiday or other wonderfully grown up things. Why can't the highstreet seem to provide things that spark my attention any more? Come on people.

Evolution hearts women

So today I read an article on the front page of the Sunday Times which said that women are progressively getting more beautiful as each generation progresses. They are more likely to attract a mate and have beautiful babies, so rather than all of future generations flocking to go under the surgeons knife, they will all be naturally gorgeous. No more of this campaigning for 'real' beauty bollocks, we can live in hope that our female offsprings will all give Megan Fox a run for her money.

Beauty is taking over the world, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for the boys, they are 'still as about as unattractive as their caveman ancestors' and are showing no signs of changing any time soon. So alas no world of Abercrombie & Fitch models for us, but it appears that as we will always need men, in baby-making terms at least, it doesn't matter one squib whether we find that package pretty or not, a need is a need.

We have to remember that evolution takes time, but as beautiful women are more likely to have daughters, and that they in turn will be beautiful, could it be possible that once beauty is a standard (although i'm suspicious as to how this will ever be quantified) perhaps women will finally be on a level playing field with each other.

We would have to be judged on more than our exteriors as they would be a boring shell, the same beautifully sculpted features as everybody else. Somehow though I'm sure that due to our innately bitchy instincts, we'd still manage to find ways to put each other down, instead of supporting our fellow 'sisters'. But when you have a face that can launch a thousand ships (and an ass that can crack walnuts) I'm not sure we'd much care.

H&M fun and nonsense

New season new H&M fun... this wonderful collection will only set you back £100.94, not bad for 6 items. Could definitely cure the post payday blues, especially with that floaty little skirt.

Another challenge

After meeting the wonderful designer behind Ashish on Friday, I am inspired to try and copy one of his upcoming AW09 designs. As my couture beading skills are lacking somewhat, and unable to actually use a sewing machine, I am going to go for: buy jumper + glue + pom poms = ?

Potentially a mess, but we shall see...

Also I may just look like a complete loony, as a jumper with pom poms perhaps isn't the most sane option to begin with...

Things I learned this week

So my week of new things never really got started, but instead I thought that I'd just note down the things that I have learned this week:

• That you should never ever lean your back against the glass partitions on the tube... squashed bottom = even bigger bottom. (I was the one sitting by the partition)
• Weight Watchers meals have tiny calories because of the tiny portions.
• Swine flu is closer than you think.
• It is an amazing feeling when you use a Biore blackhead strip and there are no blackheads on it when you pull it off.
• Draping things together haphazardly isn't always a great style plan.
• Sexily disheveled hair on me is just disheveled.
• You can see good and bad versions of socks and sandals in one day.
• More people wear Fitflops than sanely possible.
• Matching your nail varnish and your socks (grey, girl on the train) can actually work.
• Pink lipstick is ridiculously hard to maintain.
• Some people think that ice blue metallic leggings and pink hot pants are suitable daywear.
• Your makeup can slide off your face between the morning train and arriving at work.
• Spending the day looking at things you will never ever afford, but still adore is now just a part of life.
• Friends will always choose to tag you on Facebook in photos from a million years ago to torment you. Its nice that you can see how much you've changed... and you hope to god its for the better.
  

Kimberly Ovitz

Great from the front, even better from the back, these are some of my favorite Kimberly Ovitz pieces for AW09. Inspired by her equestrian past, her minimal gorgeously draped pieces are actually to die for. Definitely out of my meagre price range (even with the new job) but please join me in salivating over the deliciously draped and futuristically cut pieces. Sticking to a greyscale pallette, everything goes together effortlessly. My personal favorite, although its hard to choose, is the slashed-back jumper, something I shall desperately try to emulate but sadly I fear that highstreet equivalents shall forever fall short.

I live in hope that Topshop will create something passable... and more importantly affordable.

Feast your eyes on the sartorial splendour.

(Images courtesy of www.kimberlyovitz.com)

I found them!

Hello lover. I have finally found the perfect black and white brogues, and they're only £25 from good old Dorothy Perkins. Completely not leather, but as they're so pretty, I might be able to overlook that this time.

*Sigh*

I'd really love to work this look. Alice in Wonderland meets teenage geek chic, I'd probably try for a shorter skirt, but the belt looks reasonably easy (John Lewis sells those curtain tassles i'm fairly sure).

Getting hold of the perfect tee might be the biggest challenge as it needs to hit the right note of 'cool' and style irreverence... if you know of such a top please let me know!

Here is my terrible attempt to copy it on Polyvore...

Beatnik chic

Today, I threw a t-shirt over a pair of black leggings and topped it off with a slouchy beanie. Perhaps not everybody's cup of tea, but it got me thinking about beatniks and their much-parodied style of dress.

Jack Kerouac's "The Beat Generation" created the inspiration for the beatniks, whose aim was "to characterize the underground, anticonformist youth gathering in New York at that time" (Wikipedia). A social movement based on an underground literary movement, they came to be parodied as know-it-all art types who read out their own post modern poetry to the sounds of bongos.

Their personalities might make you want to throw up just a little bit, but on close inspection the clothes aren't all that bad. Think Jean Seberg in Breathless, plenty of eyeliner and cigarettes, or even Audrey Hepburn. It's a mixture of French insocouiance and monochrome everything-matches-cos-its-black-and-white just thrown together glamour, I took to style.com to investigate...
As expected there are many takes on monochrome for AW09, I was most impressed with Giles Deacon's traditional take on the beatnik look, D&G's face printed tee and Alexander Wang's oversized white shirt, black trousers and slicked back hair (so good I put it on there twice!).

It seems dark shades, even darker clothes and a face like thunder will never go out of style. I'd better brush up on my poetry, take up smoking and start to ponder the meaning of space and existence...

This week's challenge...

I feel as though I have been neglecting my poor little blog recently, so in an attempt to inspire myself, I want to try and do/wear something different every day. Not sure what form this is going to take, but I shall at least endeavour to appreciate how little things make a difference: wearing lipstick and keeping it on, not picking off my nail varnish, wearing matching underwear, moisturising, trying to do something different with my hair... All of these, except perhaps the latter seem feasible. Probably won't make fascinating reading, but hopefully might get the creative juices flowing once more.

Sonia by Sonia

I'm a lover of all things quirky, kooky, cute and French (as if you hadn't already gathered) and I have fallen in deep Parisian love with the Sonia by Sonia Rykiel collection. Truth be told, I'm a huge fan of the main label, with its bright colours and catchy slogans and oodles of hair, but as her diffusion line is much more within my price bracket, this will be my current obsession.

I'm particularly fond of the rainbow jumper, perhaps it's my second chance to get my hands on one, seeing as the Peter Jensen one was just out of my reach. For those that find the £175 price tag a little steep, there is the Leopard collar tee for £60.

The 'darling' sweater is completely fabulous and perfect for my non-existant 'school girl chic' look. Yet another item I add to the amazing wardrobe in my head, where I wish my style was concrete and not as runny and changeable as porridge.... fashion porridge, but porridge nonetheless.

Leiber love

Leiber Love by Ellie_Girl featuring Leiber clutches

Nomads and super luxe layers

I realise that a disproportionate amount of my posts revolve around whats coming up this autumn, but I guess that even in my limited exposure to fashion, there is always that focus of what is coming next. The season ahead promises to be super exciting, and thanks to a talk today at work, I am now looking towards DVF.

Once a bastion of middle aged 'yummy' dressing, with her wrap dresses to suit all figures, she's evolving her brand to encompas the young (albeit with a large income). As we were informed in a presentation today, her looks are all about layering, designed to look fabulous on their own, worn together, and made of fabrics that are virtually indestructable, no matter how many times you scrunch them up in a suitcase.

Her evolution is based on an all-around wearability. Where once you wouldn't have worn the dress below on its own without the whole ensemble, you can see how the above pieces all work individually, the photo hardly does it justice. The smooth flow of the dress in contrast to the sumptuous chunkiness of the knits, work beautifully together, but also would stand out apart.

More relaxed in its tailoring, this is what will appeal to the young, fabulous and loaded, especially as we shall be embracing luxe grunge with arms wide open.

(Images courtesy of www.style.com)

(Yet another) Luella sample sale

Just as I was beginning to believe that a Luella sample sale was a rarity, last week I was faced with the dilemma of a sale that was boasting actually really really huge reductions. I know that every time I go to these I'm faced with the dilemma of reduction + designer vs bank balance, but I seem to always manage to justify the expense in my shopping addled brain.

This time was no different, I went a little mad truth be told, but I walked out with a veritable feast of goodies thanks to blagging my way into the exclusive press morning (yay!). In the cold light of the following day however, only two of the actual purchases are still as attractive as they were whilst surrounded by their brothers and sisters with £25 labels.

My purchases are as follows (for those of you who are interested):

• A coral/ white purse - very pretty, a little large, but I will use it.
• A floral and black striped SS08 blouse (was actually on the runway!) - a little small on the bust...
• A white Gisele bag (above) - Gorgeous soft white leather, have already dealt with the biro mark on the back, and am waiting for the rain to stop to actually wear it.
• The absolute best piece, and the cheapest at £15, a one-of-a-kind batman print hoodie, a sample in the true sense of the word as it was never put into production - amazing!

Fifi Lapin

I've only just discovered this beautiful blog, thanks to a Luella search on Polyvore and I found this wonderfully dressed bunny who has opened up a world of fashion and fun and rabbits.

Fifi is a bunny well travelled and well-versed in style, she has a endless wardrobe to compliment every mood and every occasion (being an illustration this seems to be much easier than for the average girl). I feel an affinity with her already seeing as her favorite labels seem to be Luella and Marc by Marc. I've added her to my favorite blogs, so please do take a look, its too cute for words.

Last one I promise...

Amazing.

www.teefly.com

Shoes with a soul

I usually gasp in horror when people mention 'vegan' anything. Its not that I disagree with what they do/eat, its just that I can't imagine a life without all the things that vegan chastity would require I give up. Being the leather fascist that I am, I have surprised myself by falling in love with these gorgeous 'Sole' pumps by Beyond Skin. I first saw them at the press day months ago, and having seen them again, I think I'm hooked.

Made from swatches of vintage fabrics and with cushioned soles, there will only be a few of each style made, adding a level of exclusivity which always brings out the shopping demon within. They will be stocked in the new Anthropologie store opening on Regents Street in September, and in October they will be on the website and in stockists around the country.

Retailing for £65, think of it as a moral investment in sustainable fashion... or just a super amazing find which makes your toes tingle. Can't believe I have to wait another 4 months!

www.beyondskin.co.uk