Unreal City...

Below are some photos I took of the cityscape of London whilst staying at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge over Christmas.

Unreal City,	60
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.	65
Flowed up the hill and down King William Street,
To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours
With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine. T.S.Eliot The Wasteland, I, 'The Burial of the Dead'

(And this is a sneaky photo of the snowed over golf course where I live)

Single-handedly keeping the economy afloat (and rinsing my student loan)

Today I have been out and about in the fabulous city of London, getting in some good retail therapy with my mum. Today's purchases include:

• a peppermint green cashmere cardigan with leopard print collar. Recycled vintage from the downstairs boutique of Topshop on Oxford Street. Very 50s, I'm hoping to wear it with some sort of black shift dress- my housemate Sam has just ordered Mad Men on DVD so I'm going to take inspiration from the character January Jones plays- Betty Draper. I know this is set in the '60s but I'm going for the subversive prim look.
• a Vero Moda neutral sleeveless tunic- it's double layered; cream stretch cotton tight fitting tank style top underneath with an overlay of sheer, floaty, pale mushroom fabric which I'm hoping will create a Valentino/Givenchy style ethereal image once I move about in it. I'll experiment with styling options once I'm back at Uni, it all depends on how short it is- as I am verging on 6ft things (annoyingly) tend to end up being a lot shorter than they were designed to be.
• A chunky gold chain knot necklace from Oliver Bonas- it hangs down straight until boob level then has a swirl knot detail. I plan to wear it with my black zip up leggings and either one of my striped long tops or a slash neck black tshirt.
• A khaki satin jumpsuit from Zara- bring on the glam utility look!
• A navy and white striped long sleeved top with heavily gold beaded and appliqued shoulders from Zara- VERY much imitation Balmain but at approximately 0.000000001% of the price! BARGAIN!
• Bumble and Bumble hair products- surf spray, thickening hair spray and tonic lotion. My hair is going through a current limp and lifeless stage- I'm trying to grow out my layers and so it has the appearance of being thicker but it seems that all hairdressers just want to chop away at it to make it look 'textured'- aka. shit.
• A range of REN skincare products- mostly facemasks. Now that I am in final year and apparently all I do is study (and blog) I needed some pampering treats for when I spend my evenings watching tv and movies with the girls.
• Magazines- 10, Elle collections and Nylon. Tried to buy the Paris Vogue Collections until the news-stand vendor asked me for £43- damn you importing costs!!!!
• Chanel radiant glow highlighting powder (as blogged about below) plus the nailvarnish 'Inattendu'.

I shall try everything out and take photos asap!!!

And the finishing touch...

To top off the Givenchy couture Tisci had the models wearing.....ANKLE BOOTS!!!! love them, love them, love them!

If I was your vampire...this is what I would wear

Riccardo Tisci's work at Givenchy has caused the label to massively grow on me. Throughout his time as creative director Tisci has ensured that the collections are always chic and ladylike but with a slightly dark twist which makes the clothes seem slightly gothic in a modern Edwardian way. The Spring Couture collection was everything I would love for an evening dinner party or solitary meeting with a lover over cocktails in Prague. That's how I would wear it anyway! The collection including many stylistic elements which I'm loving at the moment for eveningwear: sequins, lace, sheer panelling, feathers and ruffles. Not all at once though, obviously.

Pantsuits. They're making a comeback and I'm loving it! A far more modern and less obviously sexual way to look glamorous. It takes a lot of confidence to pull off a pantsuit, especially ones with sheer lace and sequinned panels like these ones! A woman wearing one of these outfits is displaying her self-assurance and edgy attitude without having to expose an inordinate amount of (not-tanned) flesh. Chloe Sevigny and Leighton Meester have recently pulled off pantsuits with aplomb- this says a lot about the type of girl you need to be to work this look to its full potential.

Sheer panelling is also a strong motif in 2010 collections. Christopher Kane worked it well into his gingham creations for ready-to-wear, but Tisci shows here how to work the sheer panel for evening with the underwear as outerwear style- make sure to invest in a very good bra!!

I LOVE the over the top glamour of this outfit. If you had said to me sheer panel, ruffles, exaggerated shoulders, beading and feathers all in one look I would be horrified and steer you well clear, but Tisci makes this look delicately feminine and elegant. It seems like a natural evolution from the Parisian oh la la look of last year pioneered at Louis Vuitton. I would perhaps tone the look down with nude sandals to make it look less cluttered and overdone, but then this look is all about drama, so perhaps the boots work in this context.

This many ruffles on a dress can only work in a neutral shade, anything stronger and you stand a good chance of ending up looking like a cheap flamenco dancer. Tisci shows here how to work the deconstructed look by keeping the colour palette very muted and simple. Instead of looking garish and overpowering this dress gives the impression of ethereal beauty. Very similar to the chiffon creations at Valentino but with a slightly less flouncy edge.

Definitely all very ME.

A peppermint sorbet with a topping of sherbet and glitter

I distinctly recall in a previous post declaring that I would not be swayed by the feminine pastels of the Spring collections. I lied. I had most definitely not anticipated my extraordinary love for the Chanel Spring 2010 Couture collection. For starters Alexa Chung sat front row. Instant street cred and anticipation for the outfits to come. Although I did quite like the silky satin beaded dresses and frothy chiffon creations which closed the show it was the opening array of short suits which drew me in. Style.com and Vogue called them 'cullottes' but I think that's a far too ugly word for what is clearly a summer city short. I really did never think I would like pastels, but somehow in a light sherbet shade on a delicately embroidered short suit it really works. Lagerfeld made a statement that this is his first collection without any black, any navy and any gold- silver was the colour detail of choice and it made an interesting touch. Not as garish or opulent as gold, silver has a slightly irredescent, translucent shimmer to it, especially when used for wonderful accessories like a fingerless metallic glove or a pair of tights.

This would be my outfit of choice for Miss Havisham's daywear; a chic but feminine and fun cream short suit. I especially like the neck detail- it's almost a floaty chiffon ruff with a slight corsage type detail of folding.

This would be Miss Havisham attending a ladies luncheon/tea party: a beautiful shade of peppermint (green is my FAVOURITE colour, besides black if you count that as a colour), with elegant yet intriguingly modern (almost art-deco like) silver piping detail.

So, now the accessories. It continually amazes me how Lagerfeld manages to maintain a strong theme throughout a collection and keep it fresh and fun with the details of hair and accessories styling.

The hair is shockingly Gaga-esque! I've read that it was intended to look heart shaped but I can't get the image of Minnie Mouse out of my head!! I'm a big fan of hair accessories- I have an entire box of various hair clips/bands/corsages etc so I am extremely envious of this oversized hair bow with lace and flower detail. I think it's interesting that streaks of colour are becoming increasingly predominant in the 2010 shows- I haven't thought about getting a blue or pink streak in my hair since the age of 15 but this look is definitely re-igniting that desire!! Pastel blue/ baby pink may be the next request on my trip to Toni and Guy!

The metallic fingerless gloves. Like wearing a piece of molten metal body armour that shimmers and glistens in the sun. I ssssssooooo want a pair! they can't be that expensive, surely??

The silver booties. Sculptural/artistic heels have been an unusual new trend over the last year and I have to say these are reminding me of the Prada sculpted sandals- definitely in a good way because I loved them!! They are kind of almost space boots but with an elegant underwater marine life detail. Not sure if that description makes sense, but then again these are pretty unusual boots!!

I love it all. I just want everything.

A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life

So Romeo and Juliet is the greatest love story of all time; to me it's the second greatest Shakespeare play (after Macbeth- Hamlet is seriously overrated), and my love for it as a story is most probably due in large part to Baz Luhrmann's epic film adaptation of '96. But, in my endless internet/book/magazine research I came across the pictures below and my heart went all a-flutter for it once more in a sighing, heart aching, oh my dear god that's so beautiful kind of way. The photos are from an American Vogue December '08 spread titled 'Love of a Lifetime'. The lovers in the spread are Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha and ballet dancer Roberto Bolle. Aside from the obvious exclamations of impeccable styling and fantastic art direction from the one and only photographer Annie Leibovitz, I just have to say how sincerely palpable the emotion is between 'Romeo' and 'Juliet', especially in the final 'death scene' frame which is just...stunning. It's the current inspirational background on my laptop. The set design is faultless- maintaining the perfect balance between traditional classicism but with a modern edge- I love the emphasis upon architecture and the vegetation which if you notice carefully goes through a similar life-death transition in the photos from green foliage, to delicate flowers (Juliet's hair in the wedding scene) to fallen autumnal leaves. I've really enjoyed looking through Leibovitz' portfolio of fashion spreads, especially the more 'fantasy' based ones such as the Marie Antoinette, which I posted about previously, the Alice in Wonderland with Natalia Vodianova and the Wizard of Oz with Keira Knightley, but this spread most definitely is on a whole different scale of emotion and beauty. Breathtaking. Truly.

The Balcony scene-

JULIET

What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?

ROMEO

The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.

The Wedding scene-

ROMEO

Ah, Juliet, if the measure of thy joy
Be heap'd like mine and that thy skill be more
To blazon it, then sweeten with thy breath
This neighbour air, and let rich music's tongue
Unfold the imagined happiness that both
Receive in either by this dear encounter.

JULIET

Conceit, more rich in matter than in words,
Brags of his substance, not of ornament:
They are but beggars that can count their worth;
But my true love is grown to such excess
I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth.

The Fight scene-

ROMEO

Now, Tybalt, take the villain back again,
That late thou gavest me; for Mercutio's soul
Is but a little way above our heads,
Staying for thine to keep him company:
Either thou, or I, or both, must go with him.

The Death scene-

PRINCE

A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head:
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished:
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

More, more make-up!

So, these are the items of Spring make-up which I am hoping to add to my look once they are released later this week:

This is from the Chanel Spring 2010 make up collection: 'Les Impressions'. It is radiant glowing highlighting powder- I'm hoping it has a similar sheer iridescent finish to it, like the face powders I already own, but that it has a stronger sandy gold colour which will work really well if and when I ever get a tan. (Unlikely)

This is from the Lancome Spring collection, and is Colour Fever gloss sensual vibrant lipshine in 'sand'. This looks like an ideal nude sparkly lipgloss as long as it isn't too sticky- I hate glosses that cause your lips to almost just glue together or even worse cause your hair to permanently attach itself to your lips.

These items are from the Givenchy Spring New Impressions collection called rouge interdit shine in 'coral impression'. These look like perfect pink neutral lipsticks as long as they are not either too orange, too brown or too matte. Yeah, a lot can go wrong with a lipstick shade or texture. One wrong move and you can either severely age yourself or just end up looking ill, so watch out! Ooohh...the joys of weekend make-up shopping!!

Pretty in pink

My traditional evening make-up look will, for the foreseeable future, remain the same- the classic smoky eye; admittedly sometimes it's with predominant tones of green or blue but inevitably it is the same neutral black/grey/brown look (expect a post on this at some point in the future!).

But for the daytime I like to mix it up a bit depending on the season- and guess what? as we are heading into Spring it's going to be mostly pastel pink/peach- but, for me, with a bit of a difference. I have embraced Spring make up which has either a sheer or shimmery finish with undertones of gold so its not too matte and not too boring. I like neutrals, but they are far more interesting when mixed in with some sparkle or counteracted with a dark slick of eyeliner. So, right now I am using a varied combo of the items below:

SO, details- The two items below are my eye looks: the palette on the left is Estee Lauder signature eyeshadow quad in 'rose gold', and on the right is Mac eyeshadow in 'engaging' in mineralize finish. With both sets I use the lighter colours (on the top half of each) all over my eyelid and then shade closer to the lash line and in a slight extended wing outwards with the darker more gold pigmented shades. I usually add definition with eyeliner- either Mac eye pencil in 'taupe' for a soft, blended look, or Bobbi Brown long wear gel eyeliner in 'black ink' for a harder line with a feline flick.

This is what I use for cheek and lips- the circular pot is Mac mineralize skinfinish powder in 'petticoat', and the rectangular compact is new (thanks mom!) Dior Illuminating lace effect powder for face in 'rose dentelle/pink lace'. Both of these give a pearlescent glow but are quite sheer (don't try and use over a tan!) so I add more colour with a candy pink blush like Chanel blush duo tweed effect in 'tweed pink' or Bobbi Brown shimmer blush in 'pink sugar'. The lipsticks are on the left Dior Addict lipcolour in 'beige dandy' and on the right Mac frost lipstick in 'creme de la femme'. The Mac lipstick is probably my favourite and most used colour, it has a strong enough pink shade to create impact but isn't so overpowering that you can't use it with a darker eye. The Dior lipstick is great if you want something that is a neutral beige but that doesn't look flat- it has just enough shimmer to catch the light.

Le monde merveilleux de Paris!!

I can now officially say, more than ever, that my mum is truly pretty damn awesome. As a treat (motivational bribery) for working hard towards my degree we are going on a strictly girls only trip to Paris!!!!! WWWOOOOPPPPPEEEEE!!!!!

Although I've been to Paris before it's been expressly for sightseeing with extended family or uni, so now I am super super excited to be able to go purely for THE FASHION!! We shall sit and have coffee or wine whilst people watching, stroll through the streets, do some (A LOT) of shopping and, most importantly, see some Chanel!!! Now that I have my big profesh camera I am hoping to get loads of shots of Parisian street style a la king of street fashion photography Scott Schuman aka the Sartorialist. If I could manage to have even 1% of his talent for capturing natural light, beauty and style then I will die happy.

For now, I am feeling nostalgic and looking through the many photos I took on my last trip in February 2009. As I was on an Art History study trip they are all art/architecture based- but they epitomise the classic grandeur of Paris and the overwhelming beauty of the city. Enjoy...

To wear or not to wear vintage fur??

Yesterday was a tad crazy, to say the least! My friends and I went to the Church (NOT the 'house of god' type church before you read any further!) dressed as Circus freaks and lifeguards (random combo I know). So, as we left at 8am and didn't get home till half 9 I didn't get the chance to blog!!! But whilst we were waiting for our train at Clapham Junction (and slowly dying of tiredness/hangovers) I was people watching as always, checking out the style of the boys and girls of good old Londres. One particular girl amongst the sea of jeans, boots, dull and blah caught my eye- she was wearing a pretty damn awesome flecked grey and white fur jacket which....prepare yourselves.....had enormously accentuated, Balmainesque pointy shoulders!! I know, this sounds like a crazy mish mash of styles but believe me, she looked stunning.

So this got me wondering about fur and the apparent comeback into fashion which it is making. Of late I've noticed many a girl on campus and in the general brum area rocking one out. I'm sure most of the items I've seen are fake-fur takes on the trend from high-street stores- I own a gorgeous 3/4 sleeve leopard-print fur coat from Topshop which I loved snuggling up in over Christmas with a little dress, tights and knee high booties. But I've also noticed a resurgence in vintage and hand-me down fur. Two of my close friends have recently raided their mum's wardrobes for old fur, and other girls I know have purchased vintage items from London markets. Sadly my mum's fur coat from her 20s was moth-eaten and subsequently abandoned a fair few years back, so fake or vintage seem like my only options. I'm an animal lover so would never commission any real fur or buy anything which was made from farmed or otherwise exotic animals, but vintage rabbit fur (which seems to be the most common) doesn't seem so bad. I grew up on a farm with gundogs (shock horror, I know, please don't tell anyone) so had plenty of experience with wild rabbits (dead and alive), plus with vintage, it's only going to waste (or another customer) if I don't buy it. Watch this space, there might be fur in my future.....

A sneak peak into my world...

I've never been one for bare walls. For one thing they're bare, boring, empty and let's face it you won't get excited or inspired by a patch of magnolia. My walls are never bare, they're a forever growing collage of photos, mementos, gig tickets and magazine clippings (I've also got about 4 boxes of magazine clippings that are constantly being looked at, sorted through and made notes from). So, here is a look at my uni walls....

This is on a big pin-board above my bed. The large black and white photo is a still from an old school Bollywood movie, there are magazine clippings of Gucci and Prada ad campaigns from last year, a few of my favourite models Rosie Huntingdon-Whitely and Sasha Pivovarova, of course a clip from the Elle spread with Mary-Kate Olsen, Tiffany rings, Manolo Blahniks, some photos of me and my friends plus a few shots from my art history trip to Paris last February.

These are part of one continuous collage across the wall opposite my bed and include the promotional poster from the V&A 'Golden Age of Couture' exhibition, some postcards, drawings, posters and more photos from Paris and a small oil painting from Prague, more photos of me and my friends, posters of two great paintings- Millais 'Ophelia' and Waterhouse 'The Lady of Shalott', plus a small fashion collage which includes pictures of Mary Kate Olsen, Nicole Richie, Fearne Cotton, Olivia Palermo, Mischa Barton and Julia Restoin-Roitfeld.

This collage is within a glass frame so sorry for the reflective light. More photos from Paris and pics of Mary-Kate Olsen, plus Christian Laboutin for Rodarte studded sandals, Nicholas Kirkwood sandals, Luella and Chanel bags, ticket stub from a flight to Dubai to see my model friend Jess Chudasama, and gig tickets for Kings of Leon and Projekt Revolution.

Just like me, a little mix of everything!!!

Back to Black

As much as I am aware of the new season colour palette conversion to pastels, and as much as I may on occasion indulge in a wee floral print and the odd splash of sequins my perennial comfort zone will always be black. It's slimming, it's always in fashion and you can style it up and accessorise it for any occasion.

One of my recent major fashion crushes perfectly epitomises the versatility and sexiness of black- and the glam-grunge (NO, I shall not revert to calling it 'glunge'- bad word merge) aesthetic that has been in and out of the spotlight over the last few years: LEIGH LEZARK. She's a model, AND a DJ (part of the NY trio the Misshapes) so she is basically a dream. A sleek and super cool dream.

Leigh never strays from her signature blunt black bob, which is so shiny it's practically its own glitter ball; her hair and make-up always reminds me of Selma Blair in that it's simple but still smouldering- she's not one of those girls who needs a lot of make up to look hot (damn you). Leigh shows here how she can work black fur, black leather and black chiffon without looking dull all in one colour, or like she is too consciously trying to work a gothic or rocker look. She's the dark twin to Alexa Chung's cute preppy look. Lovers of black take note- this is how to work effortless sexy chic.

No, I'm not Pippi bloody Longstocking

Plaits are back. I'm not talking about schoolgirl braids or last years mini-plait along the hairline look (single handedly kept alive by Lauren Conrad) but a full blown plait. This summer it's all about one thick, slightly dishevelled plait worn to the side and preferably done (if you have the skills) in an inverse french plait. Now I am sadly lacking in skills, and also my hair is a) thin, and b) only shoulder length, so the most I can manage is a very short, messy little plait but I am considering buying some clip in extensions purely to rock this look out. Alexander Wang pioneered the look this season as a playful accessory to his athletics-vibe collection, but shows exactly how it needs to be worn- distinctively NOT girly girly. Not too neat, not too polished, it needs to look like you rolled out of bed (leaving Johnny Depp sleeping behind you...) and just did it- 'cos yeah, you're that laid back.

Diane Kruger, as always, is way ahead of the pack and has perfected the look already.

The Greatest Villain of all time

The mind is its own place, and in itself

Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n

Anyone who knows me from Uni will probably be laughing right now; the reason? My extraordinary obsession with Milton's Paradise Lost. I'm doing my English dissertation on Satan as the tragic-villain, and I really do think the poem is the greatest work of literature ever. If you can be bothered to read it (all 12 books and thousands of lines) then do so and bask in the greatness.

Awake, arise, or be for ever fall'n

Do me a favour, call me jerk one more time

Yet another reason why I love guy's street style is for the footwear- yes brogues are in fashion for women (I've got a gorgeous pair of black patent leather ones) but what I'm talking about is sneakers. I've got several pairs of Converse and a few of the classic check Vans slip-ons, but I really wish I had the attitude (read that as: the confidence) to carry off the totally sweet bright Nike hi-tops. My housemate Krissi has just bought a pair of girls white ones with pink detailing which I'm pretty jealous of, but what I really want is the acid-bright multi-coloured ones or the classic black with white tick as sported by current teen-wolf-crush Tay Laut (Of course I know him well enough to abbreviate his name- ahem). I might just bite the bullet and buy a pair to rock out with skinny jeans and a classic white T- I'll have my Ray-bans on....no-one will know it's me....

Don't ask me how I came across this video- I'm no way near ghetto enough to pull this off- but if I was a guy, this would be my Sunday-brights street style:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv9VKKXwVxU

True blue, baby I love you

When it comes to the Olsen twins I've always been a bigger fan of Mary-Kate for her grungier, more dishevelled style, but two red carpet appearances later and I may just have been converted to Ashley. In the past week Ashley has perfected the blonde 'Bardot' bedhead look with a center parting, volume at the roots and streaky but NOT tacky golden highlights. I used to think (and teen dramas Gossip Girl and the City definitely confirmed it) that Americans were firm advocates of the heavily styled and polished hairdo- you wouldn't ever see Blair Waldorf with a curl out of place and without a perfectly co-ordinating headband. But it seems that the youth of America is catching on to our mussed up Brit hair- the look Alexa Chung so effortlessly epitomises. Ashley has also successfully reminded me just how good blondes look in blue; whether it's dark indigo with beaded detailing or ruffled satin cerulean, the girl did GOOD!

Gonna dress you up in my love

Saturday's fancy dress outing was my friend Flo's bday, themed 80s/Madonna. Now, I have always been a MASSIVE 80s Madonna fan as the Immaculate Collection was played on repeat throughout my mum's pregnancy and when I was little so clearly I went all out in my get-up. Inspiration was the video for 'Lucky Star' and the wardrobe from the 1985 'Virgin Tour'. SO this meant wavy (fake-perm) hair, enormous hair bow, lots of black and lace, multiple rosary beads and other crucifix jewellery, patterned leggings and some killer retro dance moves. Sadly as I am always the resident photographer of the group I don't have a full length shot but to me it was all about the hair and make-up anyway, so enjoy!!