eye candy of the moment: natalie press

a little homage to natalie press. she's been on my radar since my summer of love in which she played a fascinating albeit slightly scary moped riding northern teenager.

she's one of those women that i find more acceptable to openly love because she falls into the "artist"* category rather teetering anywhere near a phrase involving the word 'it'.

alas, natalie has a stylist on call, but the fact that it is the lovely leith clark, stylist of everybody's favourite girly magazine lula makes this small matter forgivable. and i would like to add, everyone has a stylist (even alexa! cue gasps..)

sincere apologies for the watermarks and for the lack in graphics inspiration. that's what lack of photoshop does for you.

*must be pronounced artiste and preferably this word should be said with a glass of wine in one hand for most authentic arsehole factor.

georgia on my mind

who knew?

ironically, whowhatweardaily often seem to be a little behind when it comes to their "girl of the moment" feature, with the likes of alice dellal and clemence poesy often being spotlighted months after they've trickled through the fashion blogs.

so when i saw that they had featured georgia may jagger, a few things sprung to mind.
in this order.

"umm, wasn't georgia may 12 a minute ago?"

"umm, her style is bloody amazing."

"umm, how did I not notice her?"

cue a loud tapping of the keyboard and steering in the direction of tfs, and i'm in love.

and i don't wish to get into the "but it's only because her dad is a rolling stone" debate, because i'm judging her style, not her credentials.

reasons to love georgia jagger:

she looks like abbey lee

she owns the raddest pair of aqua blue heels

she rocks the lace trend to a tee

this girl is living proof that you can wear red lipstick under the age of 20 without looking like you're dressing up.

that gap in her teeth.

she isn't annoying like lizzie (sorry)

she has that traina appeal, which will have us all in love.

gussh.

candles

click

props to the props, notsomuch the hair

Numéro 95 August 2008

EASY LISTENING
by Sofia Sanchez & Mauro Mongiello

props (ahem) to the props stylist; those shoes in the fridge had me gasping.

not so much to the hair stylist. are you really still channelling youknowhow?

while my saliva glands are screaming yes, i want to shake my head and mutter "no" as cupcakes in fashion just seems a little passe...

and what are your thoughts on the casting of hilary rhoda? can't help but think there must have been someone better for the job. anyone spring to mind?

the knapsack part two

the last post sparked a mixed reaction and some interesting comments, and I felt that it needed a part two so that I could realy clarify the look that I had in my mind, involving the knapsack.. as much for myself as for anyone else!

the whole point is of taking a look than is seen as being "uncool" or outdated and flipping it on it's head. this kind of experimentation is what makes clothes and style so exciting, and keeps everyone on their toes. where would we be without the girls who step out in shiny leather granny loafers or baseball caps, pieces that cause people to stick their noses up and then realise that actually, worn with that dress is ratherfucking genius.

this knapsack isn't to be worn at school, (well, who's to say it's not, but I wanted to steer clear from that stereotype) it's to be worn in the vein of erin wasson, or the kickass girl from goldfrapp's caravan girl video. on hazy days in the summer holidays when a leathery handbag sticks to your arms. with tanned legs, sandals and needs-to-be-washed hair.

naturally the leather knapsack has that geeky stigma; it evokes those 'desperate-to-fit-in-complexs' that the majority of us held onto (or still do; it gets better, i promise) in our school years, and so the idea of finally embracing such a symbol of "loser-ness" seems a little alien. be brave!

to backpack or not to backpack

the idea of wearing a rucksack as a fashion accessory hadn't occured to me until they popped up on the catwalk at Prada and DKNY a couple of seasons ago because, well the idea just seemed downright absurd!

I loved my inflatable backpack when I was 5, but since then they would only be reluctantly dug out for those miserable walks you're dragged on by your parents when you're younger.

Now it seems to be a case of reverse psychology, because not only does the idea of a nice walk in the countryside appeal, so does a little old school baggage. A little something in leather for the madeline look perhaps.

It's worth checking out the post that refinery29 did a while ago as it features a great collection of backpacks, from ACNE to alexander wang but also a little selection of what ebay has to offer.

I'm really craving one, with the idea of popping in my ipod, notebook and usual accompaniments and maybe a bag of sandwiches and setting off for the day.

Having said that, I'm so used to the feel of a handbag strap on my right shoulder.. woah there, comfort zone..

streets of paris

i-D AUGUST 2008, THE ARTISAN ISSUE

"I WANT TO THANK ALL THE WOMEN WHO HAVE WORN MY CLOTHES"

PHOTOGRAPHS PIERLUIGI MACOR

STYLING AND MODEL ANASTASIA BARBIERI

If this isn't consistently the perfect way to be wearing a tux, I don't know what is.

Drag out the smoke machine and do your best Annie Hall impression because we're going to party on down at Yves's grave!

ps, i really apologise for the shoddy picture quality. this is what happens when you're armed with a camera and not a scanner. but it's on my birthday list. which is next tuesday. you know, in case you want to send me a card.

pics: discotheque confusion

dust and flamingos

i think i've mentioned already that the builders are in.
this is both good and bad.

on the positive side, it means that our cupboards are abundant with all kinds of biscuit. a downside is that everything is covered in a layer of concrete dust.

but.. it means that i have found myself the new perfect place to take outfit photos. whereas before this turned into a massive palaver; pushing my sofabed across the room, balancing mirrors and lampshades hap-hazardly, now I can stand on our new steps, perfectly positioned under the new sky lights and above the hallway mirror.

the lengths a blogger will go to to capture an outfit..(!)

the last two weeks have been filled with lovely surprises through the mail as I have discovered the joys of internet shopping. my most recent purchase was a pair of shorts from kirsty lee's store after she alerted me of their similiarity to this pair.

they're pale denim and you know what this means?

double denim time!

also a couple of new purchases from the weekend (even though I'm skint..)

a vintage bustier/waistcoat (depending on my mood) and and incredible cute flamingo pendant.

she had to go wrong sometime soon

after much finger tapping and wondering the august issue of paris vogue is here. but i'm afraid to say that i'm disappointed. maybe it's just that covers like this have spoilt us?

the cover is so overly airbrushed, that is seems to veering in the more classic direction of us vogue, and daria's editorial just seems a little disjointed, jolting from fantastic shots (see floor length fur coat with bikini) to questionable styling choices (the coulottes and heeled boots)

however, the emmanuelle alt-styled editorial seems to be more promising, with anna selezneva nonchalently strutting past the paris boutiques radiating lowkey glamour even in the candid style shots by terry richardson.

then just when i was feeling disappointed by the issue, the an interesting concept waltzes onto my screen..

the editorial featuring raquel zimmerman donning fur and being hounded by animal rights activists is a fantastic concept; it's editorials like this that sets paris vogue (not forgetting vogue italia) at the top of it's league. still, there are only two pictures so far from what I can see, so will have to wait for the real thing.

goodie bags

we can all scroll through the runway pictures on style.com or trawl through the gossip sites to see who was front row. but what we secretly want to know is.

what made it into the goodie bags?

here is the top pick from the fall 08 shows.

can i have them all?

sources: peter mann pictures, oh thats chic, poshbot, sydney morning herald, coutorture

economising this summer

summer is usually a good chance to practise some self discipline to attempt to be a little frugal.

i know how easy it is to flit money away on spontaneous wanders into town and drinks here and there, but this year this seems all the more relevant, with the papers (globally) building up extra concern over credit crunches and mortgage companies folding here and there, and the media creating words like "staycation"; even if our purses don't seem to be in a dire situation at the moment, it feels like they should be.

i find cutting down on my vices really rather difficult, so have come up with a few ideas to give a whirl over the summer with just the right balance of sacrifice and satisfaction.

clothes swapping

rather than a stroll through the shops, where your heart will inevitably attach itself to a pretty little mass produced dress, avoid them for a while and conduct clothes swapping get together with friends instead. i always find the novelty of somebody elses wardrobe exciting and when you consider the percentage of your wardrobe that you honestly don't wear, it seems only logical to share the love.

be a scab

there seems to be an unreasonable stigma surrounding freebies; undoubtedly fuelled by the materialistic messages projected by the world that we live in. ironic seeing as the very same consumerist driven industries are actually giving us stacks of free stuff and it's easy not to notice. are your ears pricking up? have a flick through your magazine archives. shampoo, conditioner, foundation, moisteriser, perfume? a whole collection of samples that can save you a trip to boots.

love your hair

no, not that kind. when it comes to getting my hair cut and i'm finding it difficult to part with the cash, i book myself into a student night at the local salon. it is either free or about a fiver and you can go for a cut or a colour. the standard isn't as high as a qualified hair dresser, but there is always a teacher on hand to help out students so i never worry about leaving with a green crew cut.

rediscover the library.

unleash your inner nerd, and dig out your library card. who said these places were out of touch? these days they supply free internet access, dvds and cds as well as books. not only does this mean you can save all the money you would fork out at a record shop, you also end up discovering completely new genres.

street teams

clothes, appearance and books etc are pretty much covered, but buying tickets for gigs is an inevitable money gobbler, so what's the solution? many bands and venues have street teams that you can sign up with. you may have noticed cool kids wandering around with a clipboard at the start of a gig asking for email addresses or manning the merchandising store. these clever thrifty people are getting to hang out as their favourite bands play, and for free too. alternatively, find out about writing gig reviews for a local paper.