perfect

this is probably the closest visual depiction of my ideal outfit right now. if I could only apply the same dedication to earning some money as I put into compiling outfit formulas then maybe I'd be onto a winner..

cardigan, play by comme des garcons/ gloves and bra, monki/ cord skirt, toast/ birkenstock sandals/ socks, happy socks.

cheers now

Just wanted to say a quick little thank you for all of the lovely comments left in response to the Vice Style video. I really had been nervous in the lead up to it going online and getting such a warm response made me feel even more gushy (if that's possible) about the blogging community. I love finding out about all the interesting and charming people that read my blog by reading the comments left and sometimes it'll even lead me on to discover brilliant new reads (in this case Samantha of Zelig and Jessica i'm looking at you).

To those wondering the nail varnish I was wearing (and which is still chipping from my fingers as I type-though that says more about my lazy reapplying skills than the polish itself) is Rimmel London in Rose Libertine. Sadly I've no idea what I was wearing on my lips. Maybe just a gloss? And the leopard number was a cute skater dress they had for sale at Dirty Blonde, the shop I was nosing around. 

Eenyway, once again thank you, you lovely bunch!

winter

clockwise from left: a sweetiepie redhead modeling chloe sevigny for opening ceremony, suede gloves, pot plants, gemma arterton in i-D magazine, cool guy in a duffle, knitwear, socks and sandals from 'more dash less cash' september vogue, my dad.

found this little collage squirreled away from the summer. ah, god bless those days when I had hours to spend lying on my bed with the window letting in a warm breeze and crafting winter wishlist collages..

and now a few items on my mind. gorgeous little knit cardigan (look at those lovely square pockets!) some men's boots from  a.p.c and a vintage hair comb (which I think could make a suitable stocking present come christmas.)

students dance and students shout

I spent a lovely night on Friday with my dear Joanna. It was my first time visiting Leeds and we replicated the many dinnertime noodle routines we enjoyed when we traveled around America together in the Spring and got incredibly excited about the nighttime snowfall on our way back from a long night of dancing. Joanna has been so brilliant at involving herself in various groups and societies since starting University and this morning we went along to an action meeting at the University about the proposed rising student tuition fees (she's been involved in  occupying a lecture theatre there over the last few days (as many groups of students across the country have been doing) and had stories to tell about sliding around beautiful empty university buildings in the middle of the night. She sent me back home armed with a recommended read (Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman) and renewed sense of drive to take a leaf out of her book and to scream and shout more about the Higher Education cuts. I think it's very easy to passively go about your daily routine and for some to fall into the trap of viewing the tuition fee protests as some kind of political agenda pushing, but the truth is this is something that will affect everybody and after attending the meeting it was reassuring to feel the sense of unity amongst students and the wider public too.

this tuesday sees more walk-outs and demonstrations in opposition to the proposed rise in tuiton fees. I know missing lectures and seminars to be involved can take it's toll but have a word with yout tutors and see if they're willing to reschedule. They're all on our side!

thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all across the pond-ers and fellow lovers of all things American and pumpkin spiced. I'm making a big feast with around 20 friends tonight (around a quarter of us are American Studies students and one is a real life Texan which very much permits a foreign celebration) I am deliriously happy that the tinned pumpkin we ordered arrived just in the nick of time. My evening shall consist of peeling sweet potatoes and sampling for the first time the ultra odd combination of marshmallow with sweet potatoes. Nom nom nom.

kate moss

I think Kate Moss and Juergen Teller will always be a bit of a swoon-worthy combination in my eyes. Juergen's no-nonsense style is perfect for Kate, who always looks at her best when unkempt and messing about. I'm never of a big fan of a glossy Moss editorial. This one is a real gem from the December Self Service (issue #33) though it looks like it could easily have been taken back in 2005. This is the Kate we all know and love.

loveblogging

Holy macaroni. I've been so nervous about seeing the results of this Love Blogging video that I shot with Vice a month ago. Danielle who is the mastermind behind the project has done such a great job on all five videos. As somebody who has been blogging for a long time (and the fact that it feels completely second nature) it's quite easy to plod along without really thinking about what it all means to me and these videos reiterate that; the fact that the focus these days is on real people -blogging has helped fashion to become more diplomatic and to champion the individual and that's such a brilliant thing. Aye, spiel over.. 

Don't forget to play word bingo if you watch my video, I'm going to have to find a way to scrap the phrase 'kind of' from my daily vocab.

You can watch the video here.

a little bird told me

"I remember the two of us being mischievous: we’d do all sorts of stuff. Once we hid a Dictaphone and recorded our granny peeing, then played it back to the whole family. Actually, that was just me — I don’t know why I’m trying to blame him!" Tammy Kane on being naughty with brother Christopher.

november 18th

This is what I've been wearing this afternoon, indoors at least. There is still a lot of trial and error going on as I acclimatise to not only the onset of winter but a proper manchester winter which, let's not beat about the bush, is bloody cold. Maybe I'll start a daily layer count to make it a fair test. Yesterday I wore one vest, and today I upgraded to a vest and a tee under a big jumper. All very well being smug about layering until you realise half way through a tutorial that you're a sweaty wreck.  And so the trial continues..

tourist

Tourist is in my eyes, and likely in the eyes of many of you the 'online magazine of the moment'. Each issue is consistently filled with creative and well shot photo stories; editor Sanna Helena Berger and the contributors have a real knack for creating editorial that feels very now and caters to what we as readers (and lovers of blogs) want. The whole magazine taps into society's current fascination with well, other people-the message of today is anything personal is always better and Tourist agrees. An image of a girl bent over beside her front door, searching for keys in her bag (because how many times a day do we do that?), an ode to a favourite magazine, contributors' holiday snaps are what you can expect from an issue. Hell, it's nothing groundbreaking so to speak, just pretty cool and pretty nice and sometimes that's all that's necessary.

Here are some of my highlights from Issue 11 which has just been released:

juergen teller

Great clip from MTV in the early 90s about my absolute fashion photographer hero Juergen Teller.

Watch him shooting Kate Moss with his then-wife Venetia Scott, talking about Courtney Love and PJ Harvey and the beginnings of his career working for record companies.

that time again..

Every year I tell myself that I'll be one of those terribly organised types who has all of their Christmas present shopping completed before December 1st. Well, I'm not going to lie to myself this year but I will probably be choosing everything online and from the comfort of my room or at least somewhere that doesn't involve optimum stress, a few layers of deodrant, and sharpening of elbows aka 'real-life shops'. 

While on the one hand Christmas shopping can be a bit dreadful it's also really rewarding to be able to choose cool gifts for your friends and family so here are some ideas and stocking fillers to kickstart the process..

Oversized Cashmere Boutique Jacket, Topshop/ The Gentlewoman Magazine, Magazine Cafe/ Stella Mccartney Days of the Week Knickers, Net-a-Porter*/ Black+Blum Lunchbox, Amazon/ Classique perfume by Jean Paul Gautier, Amazon/ Leather Kent shoes, Topshop/ Quince Jam, Turkish Supermarket.

*Days of the Week style is sadly sold out (boo) but the Tourist style is similar..

Saddle Crew Cashmere Jumper, Margaret Howell/ Colette 'voila' lighter, Opening Ceremony/ O'hanlon Mills marl socks, Urban Outfitters/ Wrights Traditional coal soap, Amazon/ The Daily Show 'Indecision 2004', Amazon/ Black+Blum lunchbox, Amazon/ Toothbrush, Paul Smith.

sunday

happy sunday!

 

and a song which feels quite appropriate for this day of the week; one of my favourites from the Vie Heroique soundtrack. 73 seconds of orchestration and bliss.

for the guys

1. damon albarn and graham coxon in new york.

2.  red parka, a.p.c.

3. mountain infantry, 1942.

4. paul mccartney.

5. bruce willis and demi moore.

 to see all previous 'style notes for the guys' posts, click here.

DRG

Check out Disney Roller Girl's amazing yankee sweater and eley nails combo from the Unique show in September! I always look forward to meeting up with Disney Roller Girl during London Fashion Week. She is smart, funny, incredibly cool and a great companion for talking about blogging over a coffee.

Among the sea of black head-to-toe or outfits which seem to have been built in mind to be photographed she never fails to look fantastic yet uncontrived, be it jeans and brogues, a fantastically well cut coat or Eley Kishimoto painted fingernails. She is fuss free and sure of what she likes which are qualities I always admire in people working in fashion as it's so easy to get caught up in the next new trend. Always having a strong sense of your own style at the back of your head and making a trend work for you and not the other way around is to me, what style is ultimately about.

Vice Style have teamed up with Blackberry to make a very cool series about bloggers. (I'm really excited to have also been included-think mine is in the editing suite as we speak) Disney Roller Girl's own video gives us a sneaky peak into her house (think lots of amazing knick-knacks, a boombox and a uten silo wall holder) as well as her wardrobe. The contents of her home alone really sums up what she's all about with her interest in the historical reference points and counter cultural aspects behind fashion. You can watch her video here: Love Blogging.

inspiration on a wednesday

1. black jeans and jumpers and books.

2. freja in dossier magazine

3. the mccartneys by linda mccartney

4. paul and linda mccartney

billy bride

If I had a little more moolah in my life right now, or enough desire to spend money on a ring rather than a holiday then I would definitely buy one of these beautiful numbers from Billy Bride. For the time being though I shall enjoy their prettiness from afar and allow them to stay on their pedestal, in that 'I know I can't afford you but I kind of enjoy the chase' kind of way.

monday nights

best thing to do on a study break:

make ambitious list of out-of-reach guy crushes. just like you did as a 14 year old in french lessons.
et toi? who would you add to the list?

while listening to this:

michelle

the list of 'pretty sixties songstresses' is one that is neverending; it's a whole category of girl crush on it's own.
above: michelle phillips of the mamas and papas

b-a-n-a-n-a-s

Charlotte Dellal is all over the 'I couldn't find my bag so raided the fruit bowl' look.

white

Now, this daily hawking routine I've fallen into is really getting a bit silly. It involves a mid-afternoon slump in which I become distracted from whatever I'm doing and find that scrolling through the Asos White Collection is the only way to alleviate my headfunk. Though this longing causes a conflict as it's tough to justify spending money on clothes at the moment when I'm not working and having to be realistic about the food vs clothes issue. I love Carrie Bradshaw of course but her whole 'sometimes I used to read Vogue instead of eating because I felt it fed me more' spiel really is nonsense as she clearly never fully appreciated the joys to be had of sitting around a table with friends and a huge steaming pot of minestrome/lamb stew/homemade curry or well, eating properly..

Still, the pieces in the new White collection really really are lovely. Think Cos meets Whistles but ever so slightly less pricey. Fisherman jumpers (in a luxe fabric and sensible forest green colour), grey suede penny loafers and numerous well-cut classic tops are all on the menu.

Also on the site are a fetching pair of suede patch leggings. They are £40 but after realising that my old trusty pair of ribbed American Apparel leggings and a cashmere camel jumper is my post-lecture go-to 'vege-out-fit' and that in terms of cost per wear I'm probably now being paid to wear said leggings, the idea of spending that £40 on another pair isn't too painful an idea.

I'm now on the verge of purchasing myself a couple of things on the basis that they'll be my winter buys and the core items to supplement my wardrobe which purely out of neccesity when moving to University is actually quite small and capsule-like. Who knew! After all the 'quality not quantity' closet daydreaming I used to find myself guilty of, I'm now a convert with about 6 or so outfits on rotation.

result

Quite predictably haircut was absolutely nothing to be worried about. Nothing like making a mountain out of a molehill..

valentine f-c

The lovely Pia of The Thinking Tank (a blog I hawk far too often) told me about this Erdem lookbook video styled by and starring Valentine Fillol-Cordier, after I expressed my current shall-I-shan't-I haircut dithering. 

three things:

1. i'm an absolute sucker for cute, well directed lookbook videos.

2. now how is valentine's new sharp bob for an inspiring haircut?
3. had until now been completely unaware that valentine has a portfolio blog which is worth a quick peruse here.

hack it off

 

As predicted, I arrived home to Bristol and my Mum was full of ideas about me getting my haircut. Well, the idea went like this "why don't I see if I can book you in for a re-style on thursday?" and all of the vague haircut orientated thoughts I'd had recently forced me to accept. only now, the night before I'm filled with a sense of dread imagining those scissors. What is it about haircuts, eh? I like to think that I'm a pretty rational person and don't get silly about something as trivial as a haircut but well, they can just be a little upsetting can't they? Of course I can equally swing the other way and often end up thinking after the deed has been done 'That wasn't bad. That wasn't bad at all. In fact I love it so much I'll spend the rest of the day looking at my reflection.' Only the fact that I haven't had anyone else touch my hair for over a year (I've been cutting it and dying it myself in some kind of tiny act of rebellion) means that the thought of handing all responsibility over to someone else makes me twitch a little. And this twitching is also because I'm having a restyle, namely a fringe put in and though I think it's time to try something new, the last time I had a fringe I spent the entire time trying to guard it from being ravaged by the wind and rain. 

Does anybody else find themselves overcome by the urge to crawl underneath the bed and never come out the night before an appointment at the hairdressers? Oh how silly we are. Doesn't help that hair naturally seems to look at it's nicest and most tame when a trip to the old snippers is just around the corner, too.

I know, I know it's very idealistic to walk into a hairdressers holding a picture of a model and asking 'make me look like her?' but this is the idea I'm going for..

what you wore

above: this is how we roll: the camera phone style generation.

last thursday I asked people on twitter to summarise what they were wearing in the obligatory 140 characters. today I'm going to be doing the same thing, so scrimp on words and squeeze a short and sweet summary of your outfit into that teensy twitter box. or send me camera phone detail shots. if you're wearing new shoes and can't stop looking down at them or are still in the honeymoon period with an old cardigan take a snap, @mention them to me on twitter (@dconfusion) and I'll compile a selection into a post. I'm hoping to turn this into a regular feature; a nice sneaky blogging community combined effort, a bit of access all areas cyber curtain twitching, if you will.

to get the ball rolling, thanks to these guys for their contributions last week. camel jumpers, nikes, barbour jackets, clogs, my oh my! and my own outfit description too.

@miss_wooo Grey Uniqlo jumper. Black high waist jeans. Barbour Jacket. White Nike AF1.

@heleneisfor rogan for target button down, black cropped UO jeans, RL mary jane clogs

@dconfusion cos pocket tee, cord skirt, 70s dad deck boots.

@fushiaaa  second skin jeans, camel jumper that somehow stands off at the back and my warmest thick grey socks

halloween

A couple of crappy snappys from Halloween. I was going to go as Dead Paul the Octopus which I personally thought was a streak of sheer brilliance and wit and not to mention very relevant on my part but well, I got too preoccupied by essay writing (that's a sentence I'm not used to writing..) and sewing last minute legs was much too time consuming when I could throw fake blood all over myself and go as a dead bride.

So hey ho, here I am with Seb and Charlie (and everyone else) in Ashling's flat where we evaded indoor fire regulations with lots of supersize sparklers. Take that postgrad on-site snooper tutors!

totally buff

Wonderful editorial in The Guardian Weekend styled by the super-duper 'gee baby, I love you' Steph Stevens. The model's equally super-duper hair is doing nothing to calm my mid-season 'fuck, what shall I do with my hair?' moment. Though I know the answer to this question will come tomorrow when I return home to Bristol (hooray!) for my reading week and my Mum's bimonthly question of 'do you think maybe you'd feel better if you book yourself in for a good cut?' Ah yes, times like this that my self-haircutting policy comes back to bite me.