Olly Murs concert... 4th February

I do have a lot of love for Olly Murs. Apart from being just an ordinary Essex boy (he actually lives not too far from my Essex home) I just love his little dances and his voice. I was lucky enough to get to see him at the O2 in London, courtesy of a Christmas present from my gorgeous sister.

He was well worth getting stranded in London for due to the very fast amount of snowfall. Although I did nearly cry at the fact that I thought I had ruined my new favourite boots on their first outing. I am happy to report that they also survived the night.

One of the reasons I don’t like the wintery months as much as the summer is just purely because you can hide some brilliant clothes under a coat and must admit I’m not a coats girl- they really do get in the way. So I combined warm and fashion in my outfit with woolly, cabled tights, a simple black short high-waisted tube skirt with a new Topshop bunny applique jumper worn with my new tan suede heeled boots, a fur-trimmed hat and coat.

I wasn’t cold even when walking in snow after the London tube stations were closed but I did feel like a walking snowman; with many layers (I added a vest top under the jumper top and small black cardi for extra warmth.)

My sister showed off her long, slender legs in blue skinnies with a printed tee from New Look and cosy knitted long cardigan in a deep purple. She also wore heeled aviator boots with studded detail and fur trim in a grey colour. We did do the ‘cool sisters act’ though I hate to add this with fur-trimmed hats but on the plus side our heads and ears didn’t get cold with all the snow.

So as a fashion student I am always on the lookout for fashion and how other people create their looks. But of course at an Olly Murs concert there were obviously a lot of trilby hats, looking cute on the first few children but that soon wore off there were so many. Some were either a little too over the top in super high heels and tiny dresses- suitable for a night out or looking scruffy and very unfashionable. Like for instance the four women sat in front on me a hopeless case of knitwear that had holes for effect but I couldn’t help feeling it was more destined for the bin and the most awful top they gushed over for a number of minutes all while I looked on in disgust. To be honest I didn’t really see anyone I really thought looked truly amazing; there was a young mum with her little daughter who both looked very nice. The mum wearing a tidy black dress of which the cute little daughter tried to pull up much to the mum’s distress with low heels and thick black tights.

About a Stylist

So it may seem like a dream job. Rocking up to work, where you style a shoot dress a few models and hey presto job done, but actually the truth of a stylist job is a lot more work.

At university the next unit is to style, photograph and create a fashion photo-shoot for any publication of my choice. Although it’s always been about fashion journalism I do really like the idea of styling. By doing this unit I got to really understand their job and value it for more than just the surface.

A stylist has to understand what looks good, be able to pick bang on trend clothes even before the catwalks and have an eye for what will work within the frame behind a lens.

So what I’m trying to say is there are a lot of myths about the fashion industry. Yes it is glamorous. Yes it is bitchy. Yes those in it do have fun. But they work bloody hard too. You only have to look into a stylists kitbag to understand how much goes into their job and all the little they think about. For instance that very bag will include anything from safety pins to thongs to tit tape to tampons.

I will keep you posted with how the shoot continues; hopefully the pictures will be taken next Wednesday; it’s very exciting but there’s a lot of preparation to be done.

Chelsea sheek

Our world is very commercial one, one that is largely influenced by the celeb culture. Some may go as far as to say what we buy shapes us. There is for sure one thing you cannot escape from, when turning on the television: a reality TV show. X Factor, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Strictly Come Dancing and the latest trend in reality shows: The Only Way is Essex, Geordie Shore, Made in Chelsea and Desperate Scousewives.

Now I don’t really watch it but I must admit amidst all the horrors of reality TV, the girls of Made in Chelsea do dress themselves well most of the time.

To achieve that Chelsea sheek of course a timeless dress; they tend to favour the 1920s flapper sequin style for evening or either tight and fitted or a short shift dress with a classic blazer. Think black dress and Chelsea red blazer rolled up at the arms to casual the attire; a bucket bag for all everyday essentials and a nice pair of heeled boots or high courts.

Above: Image courtesy of Topshop.com- Blazer £65

  Above: Image courtesy of FrenchConnection.com- Texas Tassels dress £160.

Alexander McQueen Tribute

Two years ago on this day, the fashion world lost a legend… the inspirational talent of Lee Alexander McQueen.

Today his legacy still continues on with Sarah Burton taking the brand to new levels and even designing the dress of last year for the Duchess of Cambridge.

Alexander McQueen stood for originality, creativity and of course staying close to his heritage taking on British style.

The designer who landed himself four British Designer of the Year awards; was also recognised by the Council of fashion designers in 2003 as being the International Designer of the year.

About the very last collection he designed (for Autumn/winter 2010), the McQueen Fashion House stated “each piece is unique, as was he”. How very true.

Henry Holland mock suspender tights

The new trend of suspender style tights I really like. I’ve just ordered a pair from House of Holland (Henry Holland) and cannot wait for them to come. They have to line that mocks the suspenders on a nude colour pair of tights but the line spells the words ‘I’m laddered’ on the lower calf.

For someone who always manages to put a hole in her tights, these are brilliant. It achieves the trend in more of an unusual way. I really like them and cannot wait to wear them with a cute, girly dress and some super high courts.

They are available online on numerous websites; retailed at £12.

Printed leggings #disgusting

I have to admit I do like a bit of Topshop and most of the time Miss Selfridge but both have got a line of printed pattern leggings that I think are just disgusting.

Miss Selfridge’s new chain print leggings seem to have sold out very fast with the online store only having sizes 4, 12 and 16 available. Yet I think they are awful. They do not look like they would flatter any figure and I just think the print is too much.

Topshop has transformed the classic scarf print into its £20 legging. Again, I think they are the most disgusting leggings. With a gold colour scheme and tiger pattern they are very in your face. 

Now, I know pattern is very in fashion but these bold leggings are just not my cup of tea I would rather stick to simple, plain black leggings. But to achieve the look of pattern go for a skirt or printed top; not so over the top but keeps it fashionable and still nice.

Miss Notorious

This May, Miss Selfridge will launch a new collection: ‘Miss Notorious’. Working with the Saturdays; who often wear Miss Selfridge’s slogan tees, Miss Selfridge will launch the range mixing the brands name and one of the Saturdays songs. The collection expected to feature many slogan t-shirts that the Saturdays favour with tiny denim shorts will be available in stores and online from May 2012.

But you can still buy the current T-shirt with the lyrics ‘Whatcha doing Saturday girl?’ from Miss Selfridge for just £22.

2012 Spring Summer!!!!

Snow may be the picture outside your windows at the moment, but to lift the spirits from the coldness of winter there are the new trends for Spring/Summer 2012 to think about.

So uplift your mood, distract yourself from the freezing February by reading below a list of trends:

·         Out of Africa- The tribal theme is reborn with that Aztec print continuing throughout the Spring and Summer months.
·         Pretty pastels- The softness of the Spring/Summer months would never be the same without a few light pastel tones. Remember sweet ice-cream tones just like Mulberry’s Spring 2012 campaigns.
·         Dazzling white- Think gleaming, clean, bright white; minimal style clean splash for summer.
·         Sportswear- With the London 2012 games just round the corner, sportswear is key.
·         Punk meets summer- The mix of leather and sun is very 2012; giving a different angle to the soft summer season.
·         Modern lace- Update lace with elegance. Keep it minimal and simplistic with a classic shape like a blazer or pencil skirt but updated in lace.
·         Make your wardrobe stand out literally- Make your summer wardrobe come alive with frills, peplums and pleats.
·         Jazz it up- Reliving the twenties glamour of flapper dress and sequins or fancy fifties with fitted bodices and full skirts.

Well Spring/Summer is definitely more my season. I hate the cold weather, the fear of falling over in the ice, wrapping up and hiding lovely clothes under coats. I think I will close the curtains, turn up the heating and try to forget about the potential snowfall that could be heading our way whilst preparing for my Summer wardrobe.

February wish-list

My excuse for being constantly on all the fashion websites and at every available opportunity is being a fashion student. But that’s exactly it, being a student sometimes you have to dream so here’s February’s wish-list.

·         Lace insert playsuit- Topshop, £46. http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=4607985&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208531&parent_categoryId=203984&pageSize=20
·         Vicky cream dress- Jones and Jones, £65.
http://www.jonesandjonesfashion.com/products/Jones-and-Jones-Vicky-Cream-Dress.html
·         Lime cutie pie tank top- River Island, £15.
http://www.riverisland.com/Online/women/t-shirts--vests--sweats/vests/lime-cutie-pie-print-tank-top-617370
·         White zebra heart print jumper- River Island- £20.
http://www.riverisland.com/Online/women/t-shirts--vests--sweats/long-sleeve-tops/white-zebra-heart-print-top-612971
·         Aztec print jersey leggings- Urban Outfitters, £26.
http://www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk/aztec-print-jersey-leggings/invt/5743423193600/&bklist=
·         Sparkle and fade teal Intarsia skirt- Urban Outfitters, £28.
http://www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk/sparkle-+amp-fade-teal-intarsia-pull-on-skirt/invt/5120428386499/&bklist=
·         Skater dress with lace back cross-over- Asos, £40.
http://www.asos.com/ASOS/ASOS-Skater-Dress-with-Lace-Cross-Back/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=1880278&cid=8799&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=200&sort=-1&clr=Jelly+bean+green
·         White low converse all star- Schuh, £40.
http://www.schuh.co.uk/converse/womens-white-converse-all-star-oxford-white/1902721070

The true power of fashion

So in my opinion fashion has helped to revolutionise society. I believe fashion helped to evolve our world into what we see today. Cliché a little but it did help to bring about that change for women’s rights. One of the leading designers for this I believe to be the magnificent Coco Chanel; one of the reasons I love her brand is because of the power her designs had and still have. That simple use of jersey material back in the 1920s and the androgynous theme to her designs, gave increased freedom and movement to women, shocked the world but ultimately assisted in securing gender equality.

Yet it shows just how much influence fashion has on the world.

Simply, you can see that power every-day. For instance, the current big trends are making your waist exciting with peplums. First seen on the catwalks for Spring/Summer 2012 back in September last year from designers including Alexander McQueen, Vera Wang and Yves Saint Laurent then making appearances on red carpets around the world with celebrities such as Emma Watson, Miranda Kerr and Blake Lively. Now peplums are well and truly here in every high-street store.

The power the fashion industry has is shown when that influence, is used in a different way to just spreading the newest trends.  It’s when one of the most arguably successful models Erin O’Connor, steps up to support a campaign that wants to explore the media’s portrayal of women it is highlighted. In the campaign ‘All Walks Beyond the Catwalk’ the aim is to discover how fashion can be used to promote wellbeing.

The campaign comes as news of Erin O’Connor’s Fashion Sanctuary has been forced to close for this season. The Model Sanctuary has been invaluable for young models since it opened in 2008. I personally think it’s this act of kindness for the welfare of the models that carries fashion. There are a lot of people involved in that setting of a trend; the inspiration, the designer, the manufacturer, the press but the model is the one that showcases it to the rest of the world. Therefore the biggest fashion should become to care for those who are the key to setting the trends.

I think that is one of the reasons that drew me to fashion. There are a lot of misconceived ideas that fashion is all about bitchiness, but it isn’t always so negative. Fashion does have the power to achieve a lot and influence so many on the basic level of the high-street and further than that society can also change due to it.

February

The first of the month the day of jokes… prank, April fools and of course the classic pinch, punch jokes. On the first of every month, I will post a series of important fashion history dates for that upcoming month so enjoy the first of many more to come starting with February:

·         Lauren Conrad was born on 1^st February 1986.
·         Seventies icon Farrah Fawcett was born 2^nd February1947.
·         The world lost Alexander McQueen on 10^th February 2010.
·         Mary Quant was born on 11^th February 1934.
·         New York Fashion Week (for autumn/winter 2012) 9^th Feb-16^th Feb 2012.
·         Cindy Crawford was born on 20^th February 1966.
·         London Fashion Week (for autumn/winter 2012) 17^th Feb-22^nd Feb 2012.
·         Dakota Fanning was born on 23^rd February 1994.
·         Paris Fashion Week (for autumn/winter 2012) 28^th Feb- 7^th March 2012.

Look out for the next month’s key fashion related historical dates on 1^st March.