Introduction: So today, I will board the ferry (dude, it's so much better for the carbon footprint!) to France, where I will spend my time over the next week or so until we drive down to Bilbao in Spain, where I have never been before! So yay. But this sadly means that I will be absent from blogging over the next two weeks which I am rather sad about.. This is the first time I have been absent from posting for such a long time. Ha.. So please make the most of this post and savour it! If you are still wanting more, check out some of the "olden" days posts. Ooh Circa September 2006!

Ooh, and for all you Brits, there are a lot of changes over the next couple of weeks, rather annoyingly whilst I'm away. Smoking ban and Gordon Brown are the main changes. So briefly, thoughts on our new leader? Personally I rather like Mr Brown, he seems reliable and "sturdy"-just what we need!
Anyway, to all of you who are hawwlidaying, have a great time, and I'll be back Friday 13th. Eee!
Right, and back to fashion...

Bored of Boombox

Most of my friends would probably agree that I'm somewhat a campaigner for individuality, a martyr even. So the fact that I'm feeling a little disillusioned with individualism, has sent me into a deep frenzy of worry.

It seems that since the launch of sites like dirtydirtydancing and facehunter, the dirty pretty things who come out to play at clubs like Wet Yourself and Boombox are able to showcase their fashion talents, and individuality. Thats fine. But it seems that even these unique dressers are looking a little same-y.

I'm tired of the sub-conscious uniform that seems to have been adopted. The lens-free "Little Miss Sunshine" style glasses, the pvc leggings, slogan tees (I heart NY included), the bow ties, neons, scenestar and platinum pixie haircuts, chunky oversize necklaces, and well, quite frankly oversize everything.

And what makes me even more sad is that this is a look that I used to like, and admire, but when the clubbers spend more time in the bathroom preening and brushing their blunt fringes and getting themselves camera ready, than actually enjoying themselves on the dancefloor, It makes me wonder if sites such as facehunter are just becoming a new media tool for the public to use to "market" themselves.
With all the reality television programmes we are exposed to, people are becoming very savy about knowing how to "brand" themselves, and for me, this just takes all of the fun out of fashion.

Of course, I can't say this is the motive for all of the clubbers, and fashion paps like
Yvan are simply interested in showcasing whats being worn (and I enjoy scrolling through the pages of blogs like this, very much), but I think this is when the superficicial nature of fashion really stands out.

Thou Shalt Do As I Say

Lists are always nice. And the same is the case for "how to guides" and the occasional rule. Dictatorships are not nice. But are on a drifty sunday afternoon when they are fashion related, and one needs a little focus, I have concluded that they are completely necessary.

Failed in your quest to be a supermodel? Learn how to be a make model instead!

Feeling disillusioned by religion? Follow a fashion bible instead.. [click on the Browns link below for more...]

Summer is a good time for reinvention, no? And surely, everyone's new years resolutions have failed? I didn't even have any for 2007 because its highly unlikely that in the dark months of winter, and the anti-climax of post christmas that people are going to be able to muster together any motivation to change diets, regimes, blahh. And thats why I think summer is the time to do this!

Take a cue from the JUST JR "50 Things To Change" list. [Jamie seems to have gone AWOL by the way, anyone know where he is?] He suggests:

"Add a playlist for your iPod"
"Read a classic novel"
"Become a geek"
"Become a Robot"
"Be totally unpredictable"
"Start swearing"
"Get yourself a muse"
"Read an encyclopedia."

who said resolutions can't be fun and a little naughty? My resolutions? Study my dictionary, secretly read trashy tabloids, floss, become a movie snob, become a liberal intellectual, resist fake tan...

The Rise of The Celebrity Stylist

The likes of Rachel Zoe have raised the profile of the celebrity stylist, and these days it's assumed that pretty much everyone in the spotlight, with a shred of common sense will have hired help in the wardrobe department. Even celebrities deemed as "Style Icons" have people behind the scenes organising a look for them. Is it fair that anybody with a big paycheck can buy themselves a name as a style icon? Everyone knows in her pre Rachel Zoe days, Nicole Richie's dress sense was.. questionable, and look at her now.

Stylists are now just as important, if not more, than publicists, so what would happen if a star's ultimate tool was taken away? Would Gwen Stefani still be assosiated with individuality and quirkiness? Or would she revert to a disguise of hide-behind shades and sweats?

Meet the teams of stylists behind the A list stars...

Estee Stanley has styled Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, and along with her partner Cristina Ehrlich, she now styles Nicole Richie, post Rachel Z.

Jessica Pasteur is a favourite of Kate Bosworth and Jessica Simpson. She has transformed Kate's look from preppy jean and polo combos and boring premiere looks in her Blue Crush days to showstopping dresses and casual-cool street looks.

Surely Scarlett Johansson would rather forget her Horse Whisperer days, and thanks to Anabell Tollman, she can. Annabell is behind Scarlett's 1950's sex siren trademark, which has catapaulted her into best dressed lists.

Many people love Rachel Bilson's cute style which mixes berets, flea market finds and Chanel handbags with up and coming designers like Brian Reyes. Her close friend Nicole Chavez is also her stylist.

Kate Hudson's boho look is her trademark and is still standing strong after the Sienna Era. Her stylist is Britt Bardo. Britt defended herself when questioned about the state of ex-client Britney Spear's wardrobe by saying "Don't blame me...I make her up and she just takes everything off and does her own thing!"

But has the raised profile of the stylist become a threat to the clients? We all know the reason Rachel Zoe and Nicole Richie parted on not so friendly terms..

Even celebrity hairstylists like James Brown and Kev Paves have made names for themselves. It seems that members of celebrity entourages are taking advantage of their bosses status. Is this OK?

7 Parts of Me

looks like the tagging frenzy is in full swing, and I'm not one to pass down the opportunity to talk about myself for a whole post. Thanks to Coco, Diana Bobar, Ashley Heaton, Fashion Food Culture Life, Jennifer and Memily Edd et al for tagging me. I'm assuming many of you will have been tagged already but mehh, knock yourselfs out Allure Fashion, Cool Like Chloe, The Dressing Room, Wife on Mars, Fashion Orgasm, Fabi, Mash. Oops..thats eight.

1. Carrie Bradshaw

Sex and The City the first time round was bedfore my bedtime, but working mt way though reruns and box sets is incredibly satisfying, and just as I am falling more and more in love with NY, it's the same for Carrie. Her bijous little appartment, funny spontaneous moments and her love affair with NY give me serious lifestyle envy! As a brit, I completely identify with her dry humour, and I always love checking out her fantastic accessories; the infamous Carrie earrings and necklace are perfect. This is more then just a girl crush!

2. NY and Paris

I am currently in the process of planning a trip to New York for next spring, and am also planning (thuogh whether this one will actually happen, time will only tell...) a weekend break in Paris at the end of the year. A cup of peppermint tea and a heap of lonely planet guides before bed is my perfect new sleeping (and perfect dream inducing) regime.
I may post more soon about these trips, in particular NY, so that you can give me some insider tips, as I know that a lot of you are big apple residents!

3. Music.

Fashion and Music are my babies. This is why I always stumble over the "would you rather" senses question (would you rather lose your eyesight or your hearing?..) Of late my Most played list on my iPod has consisted of (mostly french) europop in the form of Justice, Uffie, The Teenagers, Camille, Air. And whilst the Indie/ Electronica genre is my prefered, dabbling in old school hip hop and new school Justin Timberlake floats my boat, too.

4. Summer Holidays

I'm just coming up the the end of the first week of my summer holidays. No more compulsory education for me! I actually forgot how fun holidays are without the stress of offputting coursework looming everywhere. Mornings are now made of dragging the duvet onto the sofa for a day of Sky+ recordings and cat stroking. Which makes a fantastic change from my ex morning hell of itchy school uniform and baggy eyes.

5. Solo Cinema
I love going alone to the cinema. Many of my friends find it odd, but I love the spontinaity of being able to pop in to any film I like and I really appreciate being able to process the film afterwards without the opinions of another person, and taking my time wandering home, reflecting, afterwards. I always remember the scene in Sex and The City where Charlotte is shocked that Carrie went alone to the Little Paris cinema, but I totally identify with sitting alone surrounded by strangers, all experiencing the same thing in silence.

6. Kinder Bueno

Over the past month I have developed an addiction for Kinder Bueno. Thats what nervous snacking during revision breaks does for you. But not many people have an addiction that they actually want...

7. The Ideal Dinner Party...

In this day and age, it's hardly rare to have a mild obsession with celebrities... my ideal dinner party guests range from my style icons (you should know who they are!) to Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot to er...Andrew Marr.

Editoral Revival

Industrial Strength

Each month I'm going to look at past fashion editorials that I think deserve to be put into the spotlight. First up is the "Industrial Strength" by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot which featured in W Magazine.

Model Jessica Stam looks very Femme Fatale in a black wig with an Irina fringe. Decked out in daring pinks, revealing cuts and with an overall sensual mood, I love this shoot. The backdrop of a scrapheap adds a dirty, trashy element reminiscent of David LaChapelle.

I love Jessica's look, its very different to how we're used to seeing her, no?

Yvan paps a perfect look.
This girl is genius.

That is all.

What A spectacle

"Uhhh, wow!" Was pretty much the first thought in my head on seeing this... wonder of a dress. People who live in, or have visited London will be familar with the street entertainers in Covent Garden. With the amount of bronze on show here, Tyra reminds me of one the metallic 'statues' that are often posing around Covent Garden, but...I'm actually rather liking it! Don't get me wrong, I still think Roberto Cavalli is the Jordan of fashion, but its so blingtastic, I love it!

I'm anticipating this will recieve some very strong reactions! Also, what are your thoughts on her new fringe? I was too young to witness Tyra in her "prime", but for you 'older' bloggers (!) I want to know, did it ever happen? Because the way I see it, is that she was never a very classy model (Victoria's Secrets, anyone?) and was generally always second best to Naomi, who actually walked in top shows and that really it's now that she's raised more awareness of her ex 'model status' purely through ANTM...

Onto some other dresses that have caught my eye this week...

I've never seen Demi Moore as style icon material (and I'm not about to declare that she is now..) but she looks so fantastic, and so damn good for her age in this picture taken on Thursday. The YSL dress is genius, though whether she does it justice is still to be proven, but this is undoubtedly the best I've seen her looking of late.

Click here for a little peek (from Stylish Thought) at some of the other pieces from the YSL collection. Perhaps the 1980's paint splattered dunagrees (that my mum is always talking about...) are reviving themselves in a somewhat more acceptable form...




As much as I love Wayfarers, they've always come second place to Linda Farrows, in my opinion (so much so, that theres a LF post coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled...) so a picture of Sienna donning hers will trump a picture of Lindsay, Mary Kate, Kirsten, Nicole, Kate or Ashley (and quite frankly everyone else) in their Raybans anyday. What I particularly love about Sienna's get-up in these shots is that she seems to be relaxing back to her laidback summer look, which is what got everyone noticing her back in '04, yet this time, she's mixing things up with some modern touches, and so looses the folk (yawwwn) edge. The hair colour is looking so great on her at the moment, too.

I do, however feel sorry for Ms Miller, as she looks rather vulnerable and unhappy, and like she's running away from the paps and dashing to take shelter in her house. A big cheesy smile would have made the outfit so much sunnier, no?

>>So much more interesting than Wayfarers (which we're being told will be 'the' sunglasses of the summer. Yeah, whatever.) these square frames are also a lot more complimentary and generally more modern, I'm getting tired of the same trends and designs getting recycled every few years. If I see nautical or the fifties coming back anytime soon, I think I might just check myself into Promises.

Princess Rajzak

Ironically, being declared as a "model of the moment" just seems to make things a little bit dull. As much as I love her, Agyness is everywhere I look! and being a secretive one to watch, just seems do much cooler, no?

So, (don't worry, I won't call her a model of the moment, we wouldn't want to spoil things now, would we?) my "one to watch" of the moment is lovely little Kinga Rajzak, hailing from Slovakia shes not just one of those east european babes. With a name that makes her sound like an extra in Aladdin, laughing and messing around backstage Iek style is her thing, and I love her for it.

Have a peek below at the three catwalk snaps. Could the looks be any more different, she rocks them all down to a tee! (well, she is a model, you'd hope so!..) Still can't choose between them, but I'm leaning towards the Miu Miu (left). Looking at this snap, I feel like shes an interesting character in a book, I want to get lost in. (Stay with me here... its been a long day consisting of long exams, and i'm feeling that my creativity has been 'zapped' from my fingers..) The girl; grew up on a farm with five blonde brothers, but she was always her father's favourite, alternating between milking the cow and writing pages and pages of poetry in her pocket journal, her most prized possesion. God, I really need to read some good literature this summer, I think I'm getting a little book-horny.

PS, Just to reitrate, the whole "Slovakian milkmaid story" was just me going off on a tangent of my own!I know nothing about her past, I was just making the point that it's how I would like to imagine her childhood, because it sounds so perfect, no?

Le Smoking

We all know the risks of smoking and we all know its a complete no-no as far as your health is concerned, but as much as anti smoking charities may try, cigarettes won't lose their glamourous assosiations.

Think back to iconic images of famous fashionistas smoking and who springs to mind? Coco Chanel. Kate Moss. Marlene Dietrich. Is it any wonder that its been one of the ultimate chic fashion accessories over the last century?

Take a look above right, would these images or people, be as cool and effective without the little white baby in view?

A look at backstage photos from any fashion show would reveal models swapping spinach leaves for an extra nutricious pack of fags. Smoking has been a part of fashion for decades, yet today, in the modern society we live in, and now that we are completely clued up on the health implications, is it still OK?



Should young people be allowed to grow up flicking through fashion magazine editorals featuring models lighting up?

In the UK, cigarette and tobacco adverts have been banned for a long time (although things are different in some other parts of the world) and many countries have even introduced smoking bans, so should featuring top models



"Welcome to My World" for W Magazine, March 2007
and celebrities smoking across the pages of our fashion bibles be a thing of the past, too? Or is it stupid to scrap the glamourous connotations of smoking, if we know the risks anyway?

The Winners...

Rosalie
Mrs Fashion*
Cool like Chloe

hoooorah, well done you three!

Thanks everyone else who entered, you mostly got the right answers, so I obviously have true fashion readers! but check back to see where you went wrong, the comment moderation is finally off! Pheww.

The answers were:
1. Victoria Beckham (who else could create such wardrobe chaos over the space of 2 weeks?..)
2. Viktor and Rolf. I have sympathetic towards the models who had to walk in wooden clogs and support lighting! They still magaged to look good though, no?
3. Vogue India will be launched in September.
4. The model is Natalia Vodianova. Hawwt stuff.
5. And Zac Posen was the designer with him eye arm candy in the form of Karen Elson.

Is she pregnant again, Mrs Fashion? Ooh, how exciting, I find the thought of her and Jack White raising a family rather cool. I think we'll be taking a break from the quiz now!...

*Oh, and I'll have that apple please. Braeburn, thanks!

Onto other pressing matters...

[Insert witty, rhyming slogan here]

The overexposure I seem to be sufferering from slogan tees everytime I make a trip to the shops is now at an all time (yawwn) high, and I don't know about you, but these House of Holland high street rip offs (and even the real deal) are becoming about as unrare as the desert scarves that are now thankfully beginning to die down.

All of this "DROP BEATS NOT BOMBS" and "INDIE CINDY" nonsense now makes me wonder where Henry Holland will go from here? He made a dramatic impact entrance and now he just needs to substain his popularity with some fresh ideas. I'm thinking he needs to branch out his designs into lines that can be sold in upmarket boutiques and shops, that still carry the quirkly and humourous edge that we will now expect from him. Or do you think its likely that he'll just fade into the background and bask in the fame that he "once had", on nights out with Agy?
Thoughts?

The next Alexanders and Stellas...

Alumni include cool kids Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane, Alexander McQueen, Marios Schwab...and thats just the start. It would be an understatement to say that St Martins is the ultimate fashion institute. Every year, to showcase the talent, the graduation ceremony will take place, and its often here that fashion bigwigs will gather to predict who will be the next big thing and on everyones minds in the near future.


There were so many fantastic collections from this years graduation (it took part in february), I could have quite easily have copied and pasted all 167 pictures from style.com. Uhh, yeahh, but we all know that gets a little boring, no?
So here are my picks. They're all completely original and very, very 2007. Anyone sick of vintage? I'm after new ideas, new designs and new fashions...

1. Pavel Ivancic. Pavel seems to be very intune with the thoughts of designers such as Nicolas Ghesquiere with strong structuring, bold colours and a 'extra' speciality for volume.
2. Jamie Bruski Tetsill. Ok, what I said before about vintage. Ahem... but this is in a good way, it looks like he's rummaged through his parisian alcoholic grandma's trunks in the attic and recycled them with a whole load of new ideas using a sleek, shiny sewing machine at midnight. Anyone else..?
3. Seon Ju Kam. Many have commented that this collection is reminisent of Chloe, and I agree. Though the mix of feminine frills with the skinny tuxedo trouser add a fresh spin on things, saying out with the folk and in with the new.
4. Mattijis Van Bergen. For me, there is something about the collection that is reminiscent of 2005 Burberry. It's the motherly feminity and the mixture of 'burberry beiges' with new glitz.

Where have all the red heads gone?

Has anyone noticed the absense of redheads recently? It seems that many of the orginals have converted and infamous redhead Miss Cole is the only one left to hold the title. Take a look at the runways and most of the models will vary between platinum (agyness, georgia) faithful brunette (bette, freja) and glossy blacks (irina, hye) with very little representation from fiery haired models.

Elise Crombez, Anja Rubik and Stammy all began their careers a redheads, but have since changed and now seem to blend in more with the rest of the clotheshorses. Personallty, I prefer Jessicas present look, as I think she looks older, though maybe this is simply because I'm used to it. In terms of Elise, along with her redhair her radient complexion has disappeared and I'm missing both. And as for Anna, well put your hands up if you would have known about her "ginger past"?

Lets hope that the likes of Lily Cole and Cintia Dicker stay true to their (ahem), roots.

Quiz Results

The quiz results are here, and it looks like a lot of you have been on the ball this month, fashionwise. Which means there are thirteen winners! Hmm, hows that for feeling exclusive! But fear not, heres a little quick round to determine who will win!

and for the rest of you, "Its the taking part that counts!" uh...yeah. So here are the answers and the comment moderation is now off so you can look back at answers and compare the results. It was very close, yahh.

Also, thanks to those who don't themselves have a blog, but read mine and took part! It's nice to 'meet' you!

The Winners:

dulcie

mrs fashion

mash

cool like chloe

dianabobar

sluchik

ciao bella

georgii

luisa

candid cool

coco

Elle

Rosalie

Quick Fire

Let's whittle this baby down! Please only answer if your name is above! I'll be posting the winner on saturday, so get your answers in before then, aiii.

Hello All!

So exams have well and truly kicked in, and I know a lot of you are also feeling the pain!

And I wanted to say thank you for all the great comments you've been leaving recently and that, I am reading them and "moderating" them, but I may take a while to reply simply because I'm not being the overactive blogger that I usually am! (five times a day, anyone?)

But I've read some pretty interesting stuff. eg, the suggestions for actresses to play Vivienne W in the recently announced biopic, from Fashion Lolita (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and True Supermodel who thinks Sophie Dahl would also do a good job.

And the Vogue debate has been hotting up!
Dulcie is in favour to get A Shulman out and Hadley Freeman in, whereas Roller Girl is standing in the UK Vogue Editor's defence and finds her slight frumpiness refreshing. Personally, I'm now rather torn! I am however, thinking that the 'Vogue Debate' could make for a good post, Its the new Size Zero Debate dahhlings, which quite frankly isn't really much of a debate after 18 months of headlines. So thats in the pipeline..

The results to the quiz are coming before the end of this week, as well as two new posts which have yet to be finished. So hold tight, but in the mean time, have a little flick click through my archives which are ever increasing... I'm now celebrating 10 months of Discotheque Confusion, hoorah!

Anyway, good luck to everyone else with their noses in revision guides, and remember to counteract it with plenty of nose in the fridge moments, as I have!

S xx

PS, One day til Ms Hilton starts her summercamp prison sentence, so lets await the feelgood gossip!

Cartoon Kids

Where do designers get their inspiration from? Street style? Art? Films? Style icons? Music? A mood? The list is endless. But taking inspiration from a cartoon character seems to be a pretty cool way to go!

Just thinking back to your favourite Disney characters...what are they wearing? Alice (in Wonderland) was ahead of times when the alice band was named after her and she why else do you think Pussy bows and pinafores are so cool? The Marc Jacobs 2005 collections seem to be very cartoon inspired.






He said himself superhero Violet Incredible was who the gothy winter collection was based on, and model it girl Irina L has been compared to her also.

His spring collection reminds me of Alice (in wonderland) who was clearly ahead of ties with her pinafore and pussy bow combos. And who else did you think the Alice band was named after?

Minnie Mouse seems to be somewhat a style icon too. And no, I'm not talking about Minnie Mouse pyjamas or merchandise here worn by older ladies who should realy know better, i'm refering to the Comme des Garcons and Richard Nicolls collections paying homage.


John Galliano reinvented the witch from Snow White as an intriguing, corset wearing sex symbol with his 2003 Winter collection. I'll never be able to look at an apple in the same way again...