Monday 29 September 2008


I am currently experiencing a fashion melt-down. Having being bombarded by too many images of beautiful clothing I now have absolutely no idea which way is up and which is down.

My final lecture of the day finished at 4 o'clock so I have come home to my usual routine of facehunter, stylebubble, stilinberlin, style.com followed generally by a mish-mash of other websites of note (at the moment my new favourite is the cool hunter) which fills my daily quota of fashiony stuff. Today there was far too much for my brain to deal with and it has gone into overdrive. Do I want to blog about Susie Bubble's adorable outfit that was captured by facehunter (with added motorcycle, which I like to think is actually Susie's)? Or do I want to blog about how I agree with her post about Fendi? I saw the photos of the new collection on style.com last night and I totally fell in love, which is suprising since I am in no way a Fendi-fan.




Also, style.com today is very exciting and I feel somewhat compelled to tell you how in love I am with Gareth Pugh's new collection and how innovative I think it is to be mixing the medieval aspect of ruffs with some very futuristic outfits - even futuristic ruffs. The whole thing is slightly reminiscent of Victor&Rolf's violin ruffs, which I also adored...I am slightly tempted to go out and invest in some pretty neck-adornment. Still, my head also wants to share with you all my delight at seeing someone wearing my dream shoes on stilinberlin - I have wanted these Miu Miu wedges since the first time I saw them and I really don't care that they aren't 'this season' because they are quite simply beautiful.


So you see my predicament - what on earth should I be blogging about today?

Saturday 27 September 2008

Excuse me while I rant

I would like to rant, please. Just a short rant, nothing too major. The topic is very similar to another recent post - the one about wearing cur-ray-zee clothes out and about in everyday life.

Last night I went to a society social at my university. It isn't the most social of socials as most people stick to their cliques, but that isn't my rant. Not today anyway. What I would like to complain about right now is the fact that nobody seems to take fashion seriously. As a serious interest, I mean, like classical music or modern art.


I mentioned something about wanting a pair of sequinned black skinny jeans from Topshop and this elicited a laugh. I wasn't joking, obviously as these jeans are amazing. Then I said that I'd rather like a (fake) fur hat - like the Russian ones. Once again, people laughed. I would really like it if people could take my comments on what clothes I am currently lusting after seriously, because I don't laugh at them for their interests.


Sticking with this rant, I would also like to know why people prosume that if one is interested in fashion one must also be vapid, insubstancial and a little bit dim. I will admit that I can be somewhat superficial, but I also am a culture snob - I like to make sure I have read/seen/heard the things that are expected of a well-rounded and cultured person. Plus, I like University Challenge (although, granted, that is partly to laugh at the students with beards. Especially the women.)

I am well aware that not everyone can share my interest in fashion, and that some will be bemused by my passion for Paris Vogue or StyleBubble, but I don't think that it is necessary to belittle my interest/hobby (there must be a less trainspotter-esque word for it, sadly it eludes me at the current moment).



Rant over.

Take a Bow


You, my dear devoted reader, may recall my post about the delights of fascinators and simply headwear in general. I am now very happy to inform you that I appear to have pre-empted a new fashion trend. Note the very exciting hair decorations being worn by the models in Luella's Spring 2009 show, for example.


I mention Luella first because, and I do intend to boast here, just weeks before she unveiled the veils, so to speak, I invested in a UFO hairpiece and veiling. I like to think that this means that I am so cool that I am ahead of fashion, it is far more likely, however, that by pure chance my ecclectic taste has coincided with what is considered on trend. Either way I am very excited about wearing my new UFO out and about in Edinburgh.

This brings me to my question of the moment: is it possible to wear crazy headwear without looking like a prat? I ask this in all seriousness because here in Edinburgh a lot of folk do tend to be rather conservative about their atire (I use conservative with a small c but as many of the men do sport outfits somewhat similar to that of David Cameron I believe that a Conservative dress sense would be an equally apt description) When all around you are wearing bland, drab and "normal" clothing, putting something on your head and proclaiming it fashion would, on the whole, be considered mad, be it a watermelon or an oversized bow that you are balancing on your bonce.

Now, I am never one to be ashamed of my fashion, but neither do I appreciate the looks of "what on earth is that girl wearing?" so I have been trying to create low key outifts which can be given that extra punch by way of one of my headbands or scarves or the UFO. This sort of outfit is along the same sort of lines as wearing a prom dress for everyday atire - another feat which I am hoping to pull off this semester without looking totally OTT. I love fashion, but I have no wish to look like a fashion victim.


Perhaps one day I will go all out and dress Harajuku-esque...I do have a hair bow bought from that very Tokyo district...


Clash! Part 2


I am well aware that I have just minutes ago posted about a clashing collection, but still I feel that I need to tell you about another. This time the look is oriental rather than tribal but still the clashing aesthetique is prevalent. I'm talking about Basso & Brooke's Spring 2009 collection shown in London Fashion Week.

As I have mentioned in a previous post, loud colours appear to be imminently becoming in vogue, and this particular collection encompasses all the hues you may wish to don this coming season, the twist being that they all appear together in burst of crazy colour.

Many of the pieces in this collection do seem to be rather shapeless - the dresses especially - and accentuate the waiflike structure of the models. I don't think that this is a fashion than should be copied by those of us who eat enough to be visible from a sideways view. In terms of fashion as an art form, however, it does not detract from the beauty of the fabric and cut of each dress.


For some of the more extravagant outfits I feel that someone with a bit more flesh would give a bit more (for want of a less ridiculous term) va-va-voom to the overall look.

The items I am coveting most fervently from this collection are the belts. I can just imagine how they could bring a bland outfit up to being (once again I am failing to think of a non-ridiculous term to convey my feelings) super-wicked-brilliant. The quirky shape and mix of colours and shapes reminds me of the stereotypical image of modern art, which makes me want to wear the belt with an ironic red beret (and perhaps a curly, pensive moustache).


All in all I'd say that clashing couture is a style from the catwalks that definitely needs to be brought into my everyday live...all I have to do is channel some of the sophistication to prevent the colours from giving me a kids-television-presenter look.


Clash!

I used to be a big fan of clashing prints. I still do like to dabble in a bit of mix and match but I am more afraid of looking like an explosion in a paint factory than I was a couple of years ago. The Spring 2009 collection by Duro Olowu has the wow factor of clashing, yet at a closer look does not clash at all.


The patterns are loud, as are the colours, but instead of a crazy juxtaposition Duro Olowu manages to make the outfits look both co-ordinated and somewhat debonair.

Overall the look is more tribal than I tend to go for, but I feel that the pieces could easily be worn without being accompanied by clunky wooden jewellery and conversations about elephants and giraffes.



Although it may not always be evident by the way I dress, I am a big fan of simplicity. In this collection the fabric speaks for itself by way of the fantastic swirling patterns so the clothing does not have to be outrageous, but instead is subdued and sophisticated.



Oranges are the only fruit


It seems that colour is back. For Spring 2009 we must ditch that gothic look we've been cultivating and replace it with hues which may make us look somewhat like an ice cream sundae. Happy colours to help us through the credit crunch, perhaps.


The stand-out shade making itself known from show to show is orange. Don't recoil in horror, I'm sure orange can be wearable...somehow.

Christopher Kane's latest collection is still allowing us some of the doom and gloom with a smattering of black pieces, but wearing a monkey on my chest (go look at the collection and you'll see what I mean) seems just as happy and fun as wearing bright bright colours, so I figure that depression really is out.


I Heart Topshop

While I have been away I have found a new obsession. It's an expensive one, but fun all the same. I'm talking about Topshop.

Since I was working over the summer I actually had some money and therefore endeavoured to purchase a hell-of-a-lot of new clothing. I don't like the idea of buying everything from there, especially not snazzy outfits for going out as I am deathly afraid of ever bumping into someone wearing the same dress as me, however for cardigans and skirts and beautiful beautiful plaid shirts I cannot think of a better place to shop.

Before this summer I used to be somewhat sceptical about Topshop. It appeared to me to be the place to go for those girls with the blonde hair and the perma-tan. Those girls who dress to look hot for guys, rather than to feel good for themselves or because they love the clothes they're wearing. I'm now happy to admit that I am wrong. Well, to a certain extent anyway. Those girls still shop there, as do your plain-Jane types and pretty much anyone and everyone else. That is the beauty of Topshop - you can pick up something in the store and wear it in the way that you want. So with the same shirt you can look edgy or straight or kind of trashy.

My problem now is that I have returned to my poor student status and cannot afford the loveliness of Topshop and yet I still have the cravings. There are items that I covet but cannot have. It's a horrible feeling, and I realise how vain and shallow it makes me to feel this way, but I really really do want the boyfriend-blazer and the shiny black skinnies, not to mention the soft cardigans and big comfy jumpers. I am still drawn to the jewellery like a magpie, but sadly now I am a broke magpie and all I can do is look.

I'm crossing fingers and toes that I can find a job asap (I have even applied at the mecca that is Topshop) and can start again my purchasing. Less than over the summer though, I need beer money too now...ah, the student life!

My New Obsession


It took me a few days to get around to buying Vogue this month but as soon as I did one little picture spiralled into a new obsession : Roksanda Ilincic. According to Vogue, the new collection was inspired by a trip to Brazil, and if that really is the case then I want to be on the next plane out there!

The shapes are amazing, it's all about big and bold and corners and colours and wow! I don't think it's very wearable in day-to-day living but I'd be happy to just sit and stare at the photos of the fall collection for hours on end. Collections like this one really prove that fashion is an art form, I've got the urge to print off the photos from the internet and stick them all over my house so I can let the wonderment seep into my subconscious.

Alright, alright, so I might be going a little bit over the top, but I honestly am in love with these clothes. The photos shown with this blog are of my personal favourite pieces, and yes I do realise one of them is fur. I am totally anti-fur but I'm going to pretend that this is fake fur (I could do some research and find out what fur it is really, but as we have already established I am a very lazy blogger) as it is such a

stunning outfit. In my opinion, the pink and black dress could be worn in everyday life (if I was one of those uber cool people that goes to uber cool parties in London/Paris/Milan/somewhere else hip'n'happening then I would happily wear the whole collection day in day out...sadly I live in Wakefield and probably couldn't even afford

one sleeve of one dress) and the one with the gold shoes feels very 80s to me. The good 80s fashion, not the lycra. And, while I'm mentioning the shoes may I just say - aren't they all fabulous?!

Ok, gushing over. Must breathe now...


Alice in Wonderband


Today I found out that I was cooler than I originally thought. Walking home from town I was thinking about what to post about next and somehow my thoughts turned to headwear. Not hats, I don't suit hats. I mean headbands and headdresses and all that malarky - Bat For Lashes style shall we say. So, I get home and sit down to read The Guardian and there it is in The Measure - headgear is cool. Specifically Bat For Lashes. Now, there is no way that I can prove that I was thinking about crazy headbands before I read they were cool, I'm just going to have to hope that you believe I really do have the fashion know-how.

So, crazy headbands. At the moment my hair is a very annoying length; that point when you're letting your hair grow out and you realise that, at that current moment in time, your hair looks like a crazy hairdresser attacked you with shears generally used to make sheep bald. All in all, bad hair times. Bearing this in mind, I've decided that what I need is to jazz up my locks is, well, something to stop people looking too closely at my hair. And, to do this, there has to be something else on my head to look at. This is where crazy headwear comes in.

I'm thinking coloured hairbands, hippy style. Feathers might be a little bit too

much, but depending on the occasion I could go for that. I mean, Feathers and Sequins is where it's at afterall. A very simple and understated outfit can be made snazzy and super super cool with just the addition of the right headband. Nice and easy, don't you agree? Plus, you can always make your own so that you can be sure not to see someone else wearing the same one (whenever I spot people in the same top/skirt/hat/whatever as me they always look better than I do, it is extremely depressing).

Alice in Wonderland had the right idea, that little headband really made her look so much cooler. I'm not sure whether the headband was Lewis Carroll's idea or whether it was a Disney idea, but either way they had pure style.

I also have a rather large love of those hats that aren't really hats. My Mum is currently trying to think of the word for them, she's offered "fancies" but that doesn't sound quite right. What I mean is those hats you have to pin on your head, the ones with lace coming off them. From the 1940s I think - good era. Possibly the 1930s. Gosh, I'm very bad at this describing malarky today. If by some amazing chance you are on the same wavelength as me and understand what I mean then well done, and I really hope you agree that they are quite

wonderful hats. Or rather, non-hats.

Now, I do think that for the good of mankind (and to save the fashion police some work) I should make it very clear that I don't think you should all go out and buy hairbands that would be better suited to a soap wedding, all big plastic flowers and stuff like that. No, no, no. Neither do I think that bandanas should come back in fashion. I am simply of the opinion that perhaps your head is there to put pretty things on, not just to hold your brain.

Aggy Again


I haven't decided yet what this post is about. I'm weighing up the pros and cons of discussing the fact that I love Grimmy (and Agyness for that matter) with the very important issue of Grimmy's hair. Put quite simply, I'm finding it hard to tell the difference between him and Miss. Dean - granted this is due to grainy quality and those crazy sumo suits but still, Grimmy what are you thinking?!

Maybe this is the point where I start talking about how I love Nick Grimshaw. I can't really give too many reasons, it isn't that he's been linked to at least one if not both of Pixie and Peaches Geldof, and it isn't (as already mentioned) that crazy Agyness-style blonde mess of hair. He just strikes me as a rather nice bloke with good fashion sense. And really, what else matters when it comes to men?!

Yeah, so. That's all really. I know, I know, there were no clever insights or even anything remotely resembling a point. In fact I don't think I even mentioned anything fashion-related. But really, who needs witty words when you have that video.


An Open Letter to Everyone

Dear All,


Please stop having your hair cut into the same style as Agyness Dean.
It is not cool, hip, happening or alternative if everyone else looks exactly the same.
Get your own look.


Love Ciara

P.S. The same rule applies for Luella style flowery prints : Keep. Well. Away.

The Long and Short of it

It doesn't matter how many times I read that it is vitally important to learn how to dress for your own body shape, I still find myself drawn to items and outfits suited to the tall and willowy types among us. The problem here being that I am five foot three and (due to excessive peanut butter eating at university) slightly on the doughy-side. I am currently rectifying the second issue, but still there is no way on earth that I will ever find myself growing those extra inches (as well as getting rid of some genetic curves and pretty much changing my body shape completely) to be able to wear the the clothes I crave.

I covet the wardrobes of Alexa Chung and Daisy Lowe, Chloe Sevigny and even Keira Knightley (although not the hats) but deep down I know that I just couldn't emulate their style. And what makes the problem worse is that both my best friend at home and my flatmate at university are both tall and thin and could totally wear the clothes that I spend my time window-shopping for.

What I need is some short fashion icons, so I've been having a ponder and


seeing who I can come up with that doesn't have legs that go on forever. The Olsen twins are my height, they do make some serious fashion mistakes from time to time and end up looking like they were caught in an explosion in a charity shop, but generally they look pretty good. And pretty individual - especially to say there are two of them.

I saw a lovely photo of Rachel Bilson the other day; she was wearing a body-con dress and looked fantastic. Plus, she managed to bag Adam Brody (and let him go, but we won't dwell on that) so she must be doing something right, although she does often look a bit too all-American-girl-next-door for me. (Said photo would be shown here if it weren't for the fact that it keeps crashing my work computer.)


And how about Zooey Deschanel? She is a good three inches taller than me, so would that put her out of the running to be a style icon for me? Do I even need a style icon? Mainly I just need to program myself not to fall in love with clothes that would look so incredibly wrong on me. I wonder if any willowy girls have the opposite problem and tend to plan what to wear if they ever find themselves short and cury. If such a person exists and wishes to trade outfit ideas then they know where to find me...

Hubble Bubble Toil and...Chanel


It may not be anywhere near Halloween right now, but it seems to me like witchcraft and wizardary are on the way up in the fashion stakes. Chanel have just announced Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, as the new face of their Coco Mademoiselle perfume, after a long and careful consideration as to whether she has the right look. She's young, she's rich, she's beautiful - and she's a bit posh, which doesn't go amiss - obviously she was going to be perfect for Chanel. There was the minor scandal of her partying with Jonny Borrell, but let's be honest here, what 18 year old doesn't let their hair down with a slightly sleasy rock star every now and again?

Having just signed a two-year contract with Chanel worth £3million, and with the rumoured £2million she earns for each film in the Harry Potter franchise, Emma definitely has the means to go flashing the cash. Perhaps she will stick to her magical roots and drop a few thousand pounds at Luella on the Fall Collection - you know the stuff I mean, the runway show began with a model wearing a fabulous witches hat and some pumpkin-orange tights. Not entirely appropriate for day-to-day wear but such headwear would make a big splash on the red carpet - just look at the media coverage that Sarah Jessica Parker got for *that* hairpiece at the SATC premiere.


Sadly, I think Emma may be too classy and elegant to rock the witches hat, but there are tamer pieces in the collection and, really, isn't Luella a more suitable and fun designer for an 18 year old to be wearing than Chanel? With this particular collection Luella brings together a folky look with her trademark dresses and the overall effect is one

that is quirky, youthful and fun. Agyness Deyn is a big Luella fan, I reckon Miss. Watson should take a leaf out of Aggy's book and mix it up a bit - and go party with some cooler rockers, or Nick Grimshaw. I can't imagine anything better than a party with Grimmy.

So, pretty much it seems to me that we should all take some fashion tips from the magical community for autumn, not that all of us can be the face of a fabulous advertising campaign and therefore able to afford the best, but authentic witches don't go to boutiques and neither shall we.

P.S. On the subject of wizardry, I saw a photo of Daniel Radcliffe the other day. His chin is all stubbily; not a good look. He isn't even 19 yet, someone buy that boy a razor!

Important News

So, I have been using a different website for my blog (I know, I know, I should be more loyal), but sadly this website is shutting down so I'm back here on blogger. I plan on moving all my posts onto this blog, so expect a lot of new stuff (unless you were reading my blog before, in which case feel free to read everything again!)