The Arts

There are a few things in this world which I am completely obsessed by: Fashion,

music and photography. If I could do it all again I would throw myself into some

crazy internship, work years for free and sell my soul just to be able to do all of them

together….for minimum wage.

One of the many joys of growing up is you soon realise how valuable money is and

it is that bit of paper with the queen staring back at you that allows you to buy next

seasons brogues. What can I say? I am now accustomed to money in the bank and I

don’t think I could ever go back. Greedy, I know.

So, with my dreams all but a distant…well, dream, I need to satisfy my cravings for

my creative side in different ways.

I go to festivals.

Next week I venture to Secret Garden Party. In between floating around with

butterflies painted on my face and chilling out to the sweet sounds of undiscovered

bands I will be taking photos to document the wonders of this amazing festival.

Peace out.

Fashion, Warrior Queen.

London in the Sun – The Big The Bad and The Fun

For 350 days of the year we walk around looking as though we are about to throw ourselves under a big red bus. Suddenly, the sun comes out and we all start prancing around like we are Mary Poppins.

In the last week I have screamed the words of “This Sex is on Fire” in Hyde Park with KOL and patiently sat in the sun at Wimbledon for 4 hours watching a match.  

It’s official – Sun makes us English stark-raving mad.

These photos aren’t massively fashion focused but hey, if it’s worn on our bodies and alters our appearance in some way it must be related to fashion, right?  

Fashion, Warrior Queen.

Red Lipstick

Whilst on the topic of icons and obsession, red lipstick I feel needs to be mentioned.

There is something about seeing a confident girl wearing red lipstick which just screams sex appeal.

All the stars are doing it, both old and new and truth be told, with the right shade it looks perfect on everyone.

Picture this: The best frock is on, the “Arrival & Exit” shoes are already cramping the feet, the hair is its usual masterpiece, the eyes are sparkling and BAM! Out comes the red lippy. Now you really do look on par with the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

So girls, next time you go out, hold your shoulders high, head up and put on some red lipstick. You will be the envy of everyone in the room.

Fashion, Warrior Queen

Edith, everything I want to be.

I am not one to copy an individual but there is one person who stands out from the rest about whom I absolutely cannot stop thinking. Well, actually two, coming to think now of Audrey Hepburn, but I will save that one for another day.

Edith Sedgwick – The style icon of the 20th Century.

Edith (Edie) Sedgwick had a turbulent career troubled my substance abuse and eating disorders. She was linked with Andy Warhol, had a destructive relationship with Bob Dylan and finally settled with Michael Post before her fatal overdose on prescription medication. She died in November 1971. She was 28.

But what is it about this girl that for years following her death we still continued to follow her style? Sedgwick rose to style icon status when she first appeared on the screen. Even to ever-trendy Manhattan she brought a different look which hadn’t been seen before. She brought us short bleached-blonde hair, black tights, long t-shirts, smoky black eyes, shoulder-sweeping earrings and leopard print.

Sedgwick remains the cover girl for urban hipsters with her simple but classic looks. Fifty years on and her trademark style is still as popular now as when she first introduced it. That there, my fashion muses, is a true style icon.

Style Icon (12tyle n’con3) n 1. An individual who is the face of all things hip and cool for decades after her death 2. Someone who you absolutely detest because they look so cool.

"Only Paris, Milan, London Darling....."

I am fortunate/unfortunate to live on the Fulham/Chelsea border. I do go down the Kings Road because I live just off it, I have eaten at Bluebird (both times someone in my party got food poisoning), I have danced while watching others stand around chatting in Raffles and I have, admittedly, chunderred everywah on the Kings AND Fulham Road. Believe this - I am not actually a fan of the place.  

Where else in the world do you have to look at men in ridiculously coloured jeans, a button up shirt and either a blazer or cardigan draped over their shoulders? All the women look the same: Tight jeans, brogues and blazers. Both men and women wearing the same outfit? Inbreeding at its finest. 

After my little incident in Brighton where I was shot down by an SP I feel the time has come to put them back in their place. 

I completely support and encourage the purchase of good quality clothes. I believe every woman and man should have a designer piece in their cupboard – An Investment Buy – and I completely understand the total blow-out purchase, just because. What I don’t understand is why should a good quality £50 TopShop top be so hugely frowned upon? Even if it is teamed with a pair of Acne Jeans? News Flash – I have seen plenty of SPs prancing up and down the Kings Road in designer outfits that look criminal. They need to be whisked into H&M to balance out their outlandish trousers with a simple top. 

Majority of my clothes are from the High Street (with a few exceptions) and teamed with the right items, I too can look a million pounds for under a hundred. What really gets me fired up is that they spend all this money on nice rags but yet, they all look the same. 

So this is to you, you blonde hair, jean-wearing clones – it wouldn’t kill you to perhaps adopt a more “natural” look and be a little less judgemental of non-100%-designer people. 

Oh, and PS – about 5 of you own the same LV bag. Don’t deny it, I saw you all in Jam Tree last weekend. 

Fashion, Warrior Queen

She said WHAT?!

On Saturday I ventured to Brighton to attend their fashion week. The whole purpose of this blog entry was to inform you about the cool new designers to watch for coming out of Brighton. However, something  a little disturbing happened and I feel I need to share it with you.

Uncomfortably seated in the overheated hall waiting for the catwalk show to start, I notice two "Sloany Poneys" take a seat in the VIP area in front of me. Pretty sure they were discussing their Gap Yah and I swear I heard the King's Road mentioned. A lady approached them and asked them to move because they weren't (shock horror) Very Important People. The two girls started to protest and I (admittedly a little loudly) scoffed at them. Sloany Poney 1 turned around, looked me blank in the eye and said:

"Is that dress from Primark?" 

My reply:

"No, but I think I own that top you are wearing from TopShop". 

Now, the whole expression "White as a Ghost" took on a brand new meaning yesterday in this stuffy hall at Brighton Fashion Week. 

Did a commoner actually insinuate that a Sloany Poney was wearing something from a High Street Shop? 

Sloany Poney 1 looks in horror at her friend. Sloany Poney 2 gives her friend an accusing look and I, the commoner, retreat back to the vintage stand to purchase a cool salmon-coloured blazer. 

There are lots of things that came out of that situation which are worthy of a great debate but I would like to focus on something that just down right bugs me:

What is with the Sloaney Poneys and why isn't a cool 50 pound shop from TopShop considered acceptable attire? 

I need time to word this one properly so stay tuned.

Fashion, Warrior Queen

ps. Just for the record, the dress I was wearing was from Forever 21. 

Quiet adult, I am in charge now

Once upon a time there was a powerful woman who sat in a room filled with mock garments and anxious designers. This woman would walk down the isle of clothes and one by one nod an approval or raise an eyebrow in disgust.

A nod – Next season catwalk.

Raised eyebrow – Start again.

Well well well, how times have changed in this ever evolving industry. Gone are the days of the rich and powerful controlling what we wear. Now, we are at the mercy of online fashion forces such as 15-year-old blogger Tavi Gevinson and 14-year-old Bethany Mote, a YouTube hauler.

So, what happened?

In the age of technology and the dawn of Generation V (V=Viral), we are being exposed 24/7 to peoples’ opinions, thoughts and lives. YouTube has become an empire of people communicating to the world what they had for breakfast, god awful songs about it being Friday and what their latest buy from the mall was. It only makes sense that if we see a rather attractive, cool girl sporting her favourite new pair of shoes that thousands of others will rush out and purchase them. And it’s these teenagers who haven’t even finished school that are influencing what we will wear next season. That is a lot of power to have.

Simply put, if you write the right thing and display the right goods you too could influence the following season’s trends. Perhaps a challenge here I should take on? It’s all very well and good of me to comment and criticise other people’s choices but what am I doing to actually influence the fashion?

Influential (nfl-nshl) adj 1. Being under the age of 18 and setting key trends in fashion 2. Owning a cool pair of shoes which sends girls ballistic at the mall in the search to find them. 

Potential crazy trend? Might put this to the test and see how far I can take it....