Girls Like You

Back to Uni soon and this is exactly how I feel at this moment in my life - ready to get out there - meet new people and do amazing things.

Don't you know people write songs about girls like you.

The Naked and Famous.

Girls Like You.

Check out who I'm seeing today...

My final day at Reading festival... and I can honestly say that I'm insanely excited about seeing this band:

Friendly Fires.

Live Those Days Tonight.

Saturday

As Day 2 of Reading comes to a close, here's a second dose of live music...

Crystal Castles.

Crimewave.

Eyes.

While I'm at Reading Festival enjoying amazingly awesome live music - here's some for you

The Naked and Famous.

Eyes.

Lets go skating...

Another of my bootsale finds... vintage roller skates.  

Originally they became part of my 1950s Rollerskating Waitress costume... 

... now they come out at Vauxhall's local roller disco. 

Check it out here.

Welcome to the Circus

Sam the clown with his Diana camera... and me with his nose.

Ben

Megan look gorgeous in her homemade cigarette seller costume.

Flo

Sophie the Mime

Red Bull and circus costumes galore... 

... I love the effect a cheap disposable camera gives... 

... insanely bright flash means bleached out skin and no blemishes... 

... faded colours... 

... plus everything is ever so slightly out of focus... 

... brilliant!

Back to the 80s

Recommended by The Naked and Famous on their blog - I now can't stop listening. 

So this is:

Kids of 88.

Ribbons of Light.

Welcome to Pleasantville!

Pleasantville.

Familiar faces include Reese Witherspoon, Toby Maguire and that women who played the mom in Malcom in the Middle.

"A brother and sister from the 1990s are sucked into their television set and suddenly find themselves trapped in a 1950s style television show. Here they have loving parents, old fashioned values, and an overwhelming amount of innocence and naivete. Not sure how to get home, they integrate themselves into this "backwards" society and slowly bring some color to this black and white world. But as innocence fades, the two teens begin to wonder if their 90s outlook is really to be preferred."

It was truly surprising how many truths about society were laid bare in this film.  Everything about this film was unexpected, and it was an absolute joy to watch - I can't believe I had never heard about it before now!

Sometimes the summer demands feel good music...

Mumm-ra

She's Got You High.

Summertime with Rachel

Her mind's made up...

The Vaccines.

Norgaard.

Bit of a tune eh?

Back to the Twenties...

I am so amazingly envious of this gorgeous 1920s flapper dress... 

... Completely crystallized with glass beads it was one of the most beautiful pieces of vintage that I saw throughout the Southbank Festival.

I love the almost coral yet peachy tones of the dress put together with antique gold glass beading and cream Art Nouveau style patterns.

OH what I wouldn't do to get my hands on a dress like this!

Victory Rolls and Straw Hats

 

I found these two lovely ladies flaunting their purchases from my stall - two gorgeous 1940s wide brimmed straw hats! Whether you're going vintage or not, they really are the perfect summer hat for this season.

They look fantastic with their perfectly coiffed hair and classic 40s look... make up and all! 

I particularly like the original wicker painted handbag... 

... I'll definitely be looking out for one of those!

Today I move into my new house...

... and leave my gorgeous room behind (well until I go back and visit in a few days)...

Vintage G-Plan Wardrobe - 1960s Coat Rack

1960s Covered Mannequin - Vintage Mirrors - 1960s Wallpaper from Amsterdam

Vintage Style from the Southbank... 1950s

I LOVED this gorgeous 1950s dress set!

Its not just the era that I love.

This 50s dress set has everything...

... Print...

... Colour...

... Cut...

... and ultimately style.

Vintage on the Southbank

The last weekend of July was a big one for me (and I'm not just talking about the amazing the Victory Rolls that were my hair)...

... I was selling my heart out at the Vintage Festival on the Southbank.

Organised by Wayne Hemingway, the festival was in effect moved from Goodwood (where it took place last summer) to the Southbank center and the area that surrounded it ... 

... AND WHAT A WEEKEND!!!

We couldn't have asked for better weather or more enthusiasm for Vintage style!

My stall on the Southbank

The 1970s does the 40s - Hat courtesy of 'Kate Underdown Millinery'

The market

There were some great outfits over the 3 day weekend which truly showed off the spirit of Vintage Style.

My mum and I - Photograph courtesy of BlinkLondon.com

There'll be more photos coming soon!

For more information on the Festival visit the website here.

All these young men... these young lions...

The Maccabees.

Young Lions.

Unfortunately its not mine...

Here's some street style for you...

Ty Stewart wears Burberry and Topman

Its no secret that I'm more than I bit in love with Military Uniform, so it would only make sense to be even more in love with any styling involving even the smallest uniform aspect. 

SO the gorgeous surplus green of the V-neck knit paired with a pair of dirty corbeau coloured wool trousers PLUS a chunky soft leather man-bag can only mean one thing - a well dressed guy. 

Perfect really.

Not however what I expected to find on the Royal Wedding Day - way back in April.  

He came with a gig hidden in the back streets of Putney.

Turned up jeans and leather satchels...

Vintage jumpers? Check.

Fixies? Check.

Turn-ups? Check.

Casual day out at Portobello Road.

Daniel

Bat For Lashes.
Daniel.

Old school or what?!?

What a collection of Moustaches and hats...

More recently I've been interested in exploring menswear as part of my Fashion Design BA, and with my love of vintage photography, it was only natural to want to investigate menswear from previous eras...

I purchased this pavilion photograph dating from 1889 at a small garage sale in chiswick...

... (oh what wonders can be found in southwest london on a sunday morning)... 

... the array of shirt and suit details (along with the fantastic selection of men's accessories).... 

... even the aged quality of the photograph is inspirational.

Love is a taste you get on the tip of your tongue...

Unofficial video for one of my favorite bands of the past few years.  Beautifully done and works amazingly well with the song.

So here are the Mystery Jets with the song Alice Springs - from their third album Serotonin.... check it out!

The video was created by Youtuber slicktingify.

Shot in a stop motion style using a Nikon D50(DSLR), with 7 hours of photos across two days in November 2010, South Oxfordshire.

Love Love Love

Patrik Ervell with his A/W 2011 menswear collection:

Oh look - it's a Show report!

As it would appear that spring/ and what we hope is summer is finally here

.... (sort of - give or take a few april showers)...

I figured it would be a grand idea to have a look at what the catwalks of fashion week supplied us with for the new season.


This spring/summer the woman is...

... empowered, goddess-like and ready for anything.  

The models became these women, rarely theatrically made up... 
... the kind of woman that others aspire to be: 

confident

poised 

and oozing seductive style.

Natural fabrics are back with a vengeance with many designers such as Alexander Wang, Donna Karan, Matthew Williamson and even Prada, using materials such as canvas, linen and pure cotton.  

Alexander Wang's collection was noticeably clean this season, with little or no black featuring in the majority of the clothes.

Using natural materials and raw edges, he created a construction theme made up of overalls and coverall straps on the back of smock-like dresses.

The pieces had little or no colour except for injections of pastel foil made to represent duct tape.

  

At Donna Karan, fabrics appeared to have been contoured by the wind, but cut into very urban shapes.  Once again there was no artificial material, instead stretch linens were uses; designs reverted back to nature with sandy tones and all natural fibres. 


Raw edges were seen everywhere including the Alexander McQueen show.  Designer Sarah Burton stayed loyal to the late designer's classic silhouettes, but gave them a softer, more feminine feel.  

Slashing the shoulders and leaving the edges raw relaxed the architectural shoulders that are and have been so prominent on McQueen's runway.

It appears that sheer clothing is here to stay for the long run, with many designers sending feminine and delicate creations down the runway.

The story like feel of an Alexander McQueen show was still there, however with a woman's touch.

Nature has taken the woman back, and Sarah Burton's use of sheer fabrics with majestic and ethereal print gave some of the clothes a more feminine touch... 

... it took away the harshness of the silhouette.

Jil Sander Designer Raf Simons' use of confident colour, such as the bold violet or black vertical stripes on a creamy sheer t-shirt was striking when combined with a block coloured or softer, duksy pink, full-length skirt with contrasting horizontal stripes.

 

Inspiration for S/S 2011 has come from all areas of artistic creation and designs, many key trends have sprung up from key eras such as the 1920's, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s... 

... with designers like Prada, Derek Lam and Marc Jacobs making key references to the glamorous Josephine Baker and a young Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver.

Josephine Baker

Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver (1976)

For Miuccia Prada's collection, ideas exuded from everywhere.  Her prints were evocative of the theatrically sexy costumes worn by Josephine Baker in the 1920s and yet still held the essence of baroque design.  

The fact is clear...

... Prada easily combines multiple trends that have been seen on the runways and in doing so, she created her own unique trend:

a combination of sparse minimalism and the excesses of the baroque.

Marc Jacobs' joyously colourful exhibition of a scorching summer epitomized the 1970s, which are officially back!

The clothes signified the return of the beautiful woman, printed silks were sheer and sexy; whilst maxi-dresses and jumpsuits were off the shoulder with slits up the sides...

... revealing as much leg as possible.

Dolce and Gabbana's almost completely white collection epitomized the lace trend that will still be so popular this spring.  The theme of a bride deconstructing her wedding gifts of lace curtains and table cloths only to create an entirely new wardrobe from them resulted in pure, innocent and almost virginal clothes. 

 

The dresses and playsuits, which were cut from actual furnishing fabrics, were light and delicate just as lace should be and were described as "orgasmic in white" against the black vixen like corsets and clothing.

Pure in the day and then released at night.  

Other designers used lace to great effect as well, such as Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen whose use of brocade and lace were exquisite in depicting women being steadily reclaimed by nature. 

 While Miu Miu managed to feature both neon colours and lace work, by using them as delicate graphic details around the neckline; Christopher Kane took the look too far with his neon lace that appeared to be plasticized.  In fact the clothes were created from perforated leather, which was then coated with vinyl...

... but really, who wants to look like "Princess Magaret on acid" as Kane's sister Tammy so perfectly described it.

Bright colours were a key feature at many of the runway shows this season with labels such as Prada, Jil Sander, Chris Benz and Jonathan Saunders experimenting with a rainbow of brights. Miuccia Prada used characteristically bold prints that ranged from clean-cut stripes to flamboyantly bright rococo motifs.  

While the clothes were created from plain cotton reminiscent of hospital scrubs, the loud baroque prints were rich in colour and line.  

Meanwhile, Chris Benz took us back to the 1960s with his deep and joyfully vintage colours, belts were tied with tassels and coral colours ranged from the very bright to almost invisibly pastel.

Jil Sander's "Major skirts and minor tops" took minimalism to the next level with the haute couture skirts being sewn to pure white t-shirts.  The colours were intense; with multiple jackets being layered over one another (amazingly managing to create not too bulky a silhouette) each a different colour... 

... red plus pink and finally a warm yellow.

 

Stripes were created not only with print and weave, but also with the layering of different garments and colours on top of one another.  

It was as Raf Simons said "a mille-feuille of colour".

For more images and details on this seasons looks check out style.com

Images courtesy of Style.com

Envelopes

Artist Sage Vaughn has used envelopes as a new platform for his mixed media pieces. 

I found the illustrations super inspiring, with his use of both collage and traditional artists materials.

This May Vaughn will be showcasing his work in a solo exhibition at the Lazarides Gallery in London - I will definitely be stopping in to see more of his work.

Check out some of his other pieces at his official website.

Images from Juxtapoz - check out the full feature by Amy Duran here.