5 days in angus

I'm off to Scotland for a few days. My best friend's mum is getting married to a lovely Salmon Farmer so I'm heading up to Angus for a few days to stay at Lily's country pad before the Wedding. This is after stopping over in Edinburgh tonight to see Joanna for the first time since we said goodbye at Heathrow Airport after our 7 weeks around America. Please note that most of my friends do not have country houses; Lily is the brilliant exception. I'm relishing the idea of a few days of reading, no phone signal and last minute prepping before the homebased ceremony on Saturday. Her traveling around India means I haven't seen Lily for 8 months, so I can't wait for a lovely tight reunion hug.

Now all I have to do is finish the tedious task of packing. Does anybody in the world actually enjoy packing? I really am curious.

On a side note, I bought this very sweet lunchbox/flask set from eBay this morning. September may be a while off yet but I'm starting to feel the rumblings of that excitable back to school feeling. It's amazing what a gap year and university on the horizon can do for kick starting education enthusiasm..

three lions

And this is about as far as my support for England has gone so far. I'm slightly ashamed of myself, I was excited about the prospect of the World Cup and then realism got the better of me as deep down I know that once half time arrives I'm ready to give up watching and do something else. I'm off to a BBQ at my Dad's house this afternoon so let's see how my stamina goes. The gentle thud of tennis rackets at Wimbledon is far more my bag..

More posts soon I promise!

loot

heads up; my eBay items end tomorrow!
crop tops, loafers, cord shorts, 90s towelling sweaters, nom nom nom.

have a look here

ps, international shipping!

festival season

rachel comey crochet top, lipstick in 'media' by mac, monki savannah shorts, olympus trip 35 camera, rachel comey baron t-strap shoes

monki 'ninni tee' in white melange (on sale), weekday 'grass pant's in charcoal, asos 'hannah' sandals, asos canvas mix satchel

festival season is in full swing with glastonbury celebrating it's 40th anniversary this weekend. I live just a few miles down the road and the hot, dry weather we've been having can only spell good things for a mud-free weekend. and so here is some outfit inspiration if you'll be heading down or have any festivals on the cards for this summer. aside from the obvious like wellies and a lightweight mac don't forget babywipes and dry shampoo. and big litre bottles of water. and leave your demin cut offs at home. for real, if you do that you'll be the only one not wearing them and I shall salute you for it.

born in the usa

ashley smith by roberta ridolfi

It's just as interesting to observe the changing trend in models as it is the changing trend in the clothes we wear. boobs and teeth are GO!

tati cotliar

Tati Cotliar is fast becoming my new model crush. Her off-duty style reminds me of Iekeliene Stange's but perhaps that's only because they share the ability to stray away from the all black forumla. I have also only recently made the link that all along she has been the inspiration behind me growing out my roots; after she covered the front of a Topshop zine with her prominent two-tone hair. Here are some of her 'favouries':

Film: Manhattan by Woody Allen
Band/artist: Pink Floyd, John Coltrane, Serge Gainsbourg
Colour: "Any colour you like"
Place: Tilcara, in the north of Argentina
Person: Groucho Marx, Syd Barrett, Albert Camus, Diane Keaton in Annie Hall, Johnny depp in Edward Scissorhands, Salvador Dali
Book: L'étranger by Albert Camus

image: Otto Vankerkhove
favourites from: Milly Mcmahon

david mackenzie

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, PA

Thank you for:

Introducing me to Harold and Maude and Tilda Swinton.
Reading me The Twits, Danny the Champion of The World, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory at bedtime.
Your rude jokes.
Passing on those thick eyebrows and long legs.
Not passing on your strangely long second toe.
Teaching me patience (you didn't do this intentionally, sometimes your company requires it.)
Too many nights beside bonfires to keep track of.
Too many spiders removed from my bedroom to keep track of.
Insisting we live in a caravan. I now realise how much I loved those years.
All of those guinea pigs when I was 4.
Teaching me to love storms rather than fear them.
Really good hugs.

Love you, man.

vie heroique

I can't wait to see the Serge Gainsbourg biopic Vie Heroique. Sadly no release date for the UK as of yet while it continues it's tour of the film festivals.

Another title to be added to that genre of fashionable films, we can expect very authentic incarnations of some of Birkin's memorable outfits (think her revealing crochet mini and shopping basket combo) and Gainsbourg's mannerisms down to a tee thanks to Eric Elmosnino.

shopping basket search

I'm glad I didn't hit 'bid' on any of those wicker shopping baskets I scouted on eBay last week, because last night whilst sprawled on the sofa I spotted this out of the corner of my eye. it's incredible how items around the house can become invisible with familiarity. this has been lying around for years and was used for small trowels and other gardening tools.

It was my first shift back at Topshop today and before leaving I emptied the contents of my totebag into it. my book, topshop lanyard, some make up, a notepad and pen, my camera.. (the heavy necessities that one day when plagued with back problems I'll regret). Though
Jane Birkin was the obvious inspiration, I felt more like Little Red Riding Hood when I also added Vanilla Rainbow cakes to my load. I made them last night to share with the girls on my floor but in truth myself and Jo ended up gobbling most of them up at lunchtime.

I do recommend carrying a basket. Purely because it's a nice change that forces me to use a bag as a bag rather than a comfort blanket. I'm guilty of that habit of holding onto the strap of my bag to counteract the 'what on earth do I do with my hands?' feeling whilst walking down the street on down days. With a sturdy wooden handle there is no option but to swing it from your arms and adopt good posture.

new listings

some new listings up on eBay:

High Waisted Brown Cord Shorts

Small Leather Loafers

1970s Towel Sweater

See also:

90s Patterned Crop Top
Suede Green Loafers

style notes for the guys

1. robert redford in 'all the president's men' 2. uten silo wall holder by dorothee becker
3. nuclear testing in the nevada desert 4. spike jonze directing meryl streep in 'adaptation'
5. paintbrushes 6. thomas mars 7. martin sheen and sissy spacek in 'badlands' 8. a treehouse

tuesday activities etc

After an 8.30 start for a few hours of painting walls (apparently-and fortunately given current finances-I'm the house mule with my Mum paying me for shitty jobs) I headed into town with money burning a hole in my pocket.

I came back with the following:

-houseplant
-frost/nixon
-frost nixon watergate interviews
-norwegian wood by murakami
-washington dc by gore vidal
-the killer inside me by jim thompson

somehow I managed to justify the spending with the fact that they're mostly materials to kickstart my preparation for reading American Studies in the autumn. after watching 'All The President's Men' last night (and wishing that Robert Redford circa 70s still existed) the Watergate themed films are top of my list.

And in terms of my outfit today; an Obama cartoon t-shirt which I bought off of eBay. I love it because it's beautifully unfunny despite the creator's best efforts. A caricature of Bush is saying to Obama 'I don't think you can fix my mess..' and Obama is grinning back 'Yes We Can!' It's like 'is that the best you could come up with? Well, bless you for trying'. Also my black Monki peg legs which are getting a lot of wear at the moment and my faithful black leather lace ups.

I leave you with 'Caravan' by Blur which was playing as I browsed the DVD section in Fopp earlier.

cinema style: diana christensen

Faye Dunaway as the brilliant and psychotic television producer Diane Christensen in Network.

chloe

sources 1 & 2

Heads up- the first rumblings of the third Chloe Sevigny Opening Ceremony have begun! Yesterday afternoon, armed with her collection Chloe Sevigny gathered together an awful lot of pretty friends (Lesley Arfin, check. Jen Brill, check.) for a session of sunshine playing and dressing up. After last season's unisex pieces, this Pre-Spring collection returns to the girlish aesthetic of her first Opening Ceremony collaboration. Think lots of girlish dresses in leopard, gingham, chambray and polka dot as well as staple cardigans. There is also a hint of casual sportswear thrown in with varsity bombers, tight jersey sweatshirts, leather shorts and baseball caps(!).

From the many photographs from the shoot, I really love this collection. It's further proof that Chloe is a pro at understanding the need for simultaneous comfort and style and the absense of fussiness. Quite predictably I've already created a mental check list of which pieces I'd like with the gingham button down dress (complete with Big Love style pocket and collar edging) right at the top.

see the many, many pictures from the shoot over at the O.C blog..

shopping baskets and fishing hats

american apparel employees, mondaine wristwatch, diane keaton's hair, nike felldin's hair, peonie bushes, brown trousers and long jackets, dudley's personalised fishing hat, shopping basket, jane birkin and her shopping basket, the graduate, moleskin notebooks.

what I wore

suede jacket-vintage, t-shirt-vintage, tapered trousers-monki, glasses-beyond retro, sandals-urban outfitters.

This is what I wore for yesterday's day of-

1. Present shopping (Shuttlecock by Graham Swift, Nine Stories by JD Salinger and a bag of ginger plain chocolates for my Dad's Birthday).
2. Cacti buying (for myself).
3. Refreshingly minimal make-up wearing.
4. Cola lace eating (so much pleasure to be had out of spending 30p on a small paper bag of fizzy sweets to break up a £20 note).
5. Friend visiting (I went to Josh's house where I was shown lots of his recent photographs and provided with the ingredients for a bloody good tuna sandwich.)

I also have good news as it's now confirmed that I shall be returning to work at Topshop after some doubt on the subject. Hurrah! I have until the 19th to continue my current lifestyle of freedom and frugality.

brown and straw

Utterly gorgeous shot from the 'Cote d'Allure' story in Vogue Germany January 2010. Styled by Julia Von Boehm, photography by Horst Diekgerdes.

source

lenseless taboos and the graduate

my friends are going to judge me. I was in London this weekend for a brief stay with a friend and succumbed to buying a pair of clear glasses. It's like a dirty little desire that's been festering away within me. I can't help it, sometimes I wish I was shortsighted just so that I could socially acceptably wear lenses. from here on I must tread carefully; my dear friend Emily, herself a genuine glasses wearer has little patience for the likes of the club I am now enrolled in.

Moving swiftly on; London was lovely. Since my Aunt traded her life in Finsbury Park for a new chapter in Buckinghamshire and Babyraising my visits have been less frequent so I've missed the Big Smoke somewhat. On Saturday though me and Tom met for lunch at Portobello Market and spent the rest of the day wearing our legs out with a walk around the city; through Hyde and St James Parks, Westminster, Trafalgar Sq and to Shaftesbury Ave to catch the afternoon showing of Four Lions. Four Lions was as expected very funny in parts although somewhat tarnished by an overzealous audience member who HAWHAWed at anything vaguely amusing. Later we went back to Dalston and stayed in with a Thali takeaway and watched The Graduate. Which I had somehow never seen and fell in love with it just as much as I would have predicted. The soundtrack was one of my favourites anyway especially after playing it repeatedly on vinyl when we stayed with our Los Angeles couchsurfers.

So for start of the week, a little Simon and Garfunkel in homage to a timelessly brilliant film.

baseballing

Hovering at the back of my head for some time has been the temptation to dabble with baseball caps. Very likely a remnant of my ELLEgirl days when the magazine's creative editorials of models in baseball caps and spaghetti strap dresses left an impression on my tween self. I had a rifle through my ELLEgirl archives this morning and after a frustrating search came away fruitless and unable to present to you the feature I had in mind. Hey ho.

While I love Fedoras and Floppy Hats for this time of year the carefree nature of a baseball cap is currently very appealing and there is a certain sense of irony knowing you're sporting the same headwear as someone's Dad as they stand over a BBQ somewhere. Think of Lisa Corneliusson (hands down one of my favourite bloggers) who regularly wears sporty trainers. While labels like 'Sportswear Luxe' are thrown about this season with sexy lycra crop tops as references and admissions that tracksuit bottoms must be worn with heels this more casual approach is surely more appealing for a sticky summer.

I wore it yesterday for a stroll around the shops with a sleeveless, collared denim dress and some charlotte gainsbourg-esque suede ankle boots. with tiny glimpse of yellow sock poking out. sounds hideous (and perhaps it was) but to me it felt right. Mish mash of style references (see for Ingrid Sophie Schram those yellow socks..)

Now, baseball caps. Discuss.

cedric bihr

rejoice, the weekend if here! happy friday.

source: cedric bihr

a marketing man's wet dream?

Please say that one of you out there is as equally offended as I am by the most insanely bullshit driven reinvention of The Like?



I'm no die hard Like fan, I love June Gloom and Too Late and have always admired their style (especially Tennessee Thomas who I would like to direct the following negativity away from as she seems to have stayed somewhat true to herself.) but am otherwise not a pro when it comes to their back catalogue. But this transformation from cool alt-rock band to fluffy sixties pop fare doesn't sit well with me.

They were incredibly cool as it was and aesthetically they favoured floaty 70s dresses and bed hair over incarnating Edie Sedgewick. Responding during a Refinery 29 interview to who their musical influences are, their answers sound contrived. Citing Motown and 60s Girl Groups is fine but in this case it feels like they are simply namedropping references that suit their new look. What about their own upbringings? Tennessee's Father was Elvis Costello's Drummer with Z-Berg's Dad a Guitarist and Producer whose love of the Rolling Stones I could see having more of an effect on The Like's sound than The Supremes.

True, the band have been changing since last year's line up rejig but over the last month with an influx of The Like press releases in my inbox and sexy jingles on Spotify this overhaul reeks of a marketing man's wet dream. They've been around for 9 years and are suddenly being promoted as a new and upcoming band. I'm all for a band receiving a helping hand of a stylist but when the case in point is The Like who are loved for their unique look I can't help thinking of the phrase Cash Cow.