buttoned up

You know when I was school..not that long ago really..I could not wait for the weekend, not merely because of the respite it offered from the tedium of classes but the respite it offered from that tired and tragic bottle green and navy uniform. The freedom to wear what I like everyday now is one of the things I most enjoy about college - it benefits my mental well being in a way I could not begin to describe, and I mean that in a serious way. Tables have turned though and where I used to wear flouncy skirts and dresses at the weekend, (these have been transferred to weekday attire) the weekend comes now and I throw on the hoodie..yes, I do have a hoodie, and quite trusty it is! Today, with images of last night's movie viewing floating around in my head - Diane Keaton in Woody Allen's Manhattan, think blazers and buttoned up shirts - mingled with a few other things that have been inspiring me lately, I made a little effort despite knowing that the day would be spent in front of the books. The result - skinnies paired with my H&M floral shirt and a black and white checked blazer and my beloved cheapy Zara white brogues. I love that shirt but is one of the most difficult pieces to work with, somehow though, I think the contrast works nicely with the monochrome check.

ps. Delighted to hear that I have been nominated for the best fashion/beauty blog in the Irish Blog Awards. Thanks to all who nominated me. In great company, so do check out the full list here.

i would go out tonight but i haven't got a stitch to wear

I have always thought The Smiths to be an extremely stylish band, in that entirely unintentional way. I remember the first time I saw the video for 'There is a light', I was captivated- the bicycles, denim, quiffs - what was there not to like? I am fully aware that I possess a very silly, romanticised idea of 70s'/80s' working class Britain, but the idea that I do cling to, is a notion that fascinates me. A lot of my favourite bands come from this time and social background and therefore, it is something that I lovingly look too, peering through my rose - tinted specs of course! I think that video has a lot to blame for my dreamy vision of kids hanging out in snooker clubs, showing off their new shiny shoes, smoking out the back and buying records in pokey little alternative record shops before heading down to the chippie to steal a few chips. I probably have Paul Weller and The Jam to blame for all this too..
That video has such an inspiring aesthetic though - 50s' rockabilly quiffs and Elvis emblazoned denim jackets against the dreary red brick background of 80s' Manchester. I love the use of denim, graphic t - shirts and of course, the so very hip nowadays, 'geek - chic' glasses. Indeed, I would class the video as one of my most significant inspirations.

For reasons unbeknown to me, youtube does not like me and will not allow me to post videos on my blog, please do though, check out the link above, if you haven't seen it before. For further inspiration, the 'This Charming Man' video, is great too - don some beads, a loose shirt and swing a bouquet wildly around...

denim turn ups, stripey shirts, oversized cardigans, brogues, buddy holly - esque glasses, and although not pictured here, I'm also thinking denim jackets, baggy jumpers and graphic t - shirts.

all items above Topshop

for the week ahead

there's always room for a little florence...

not to mention Grace...

high buns and neat shirts

a little hedonism.

i like your style

I had been eagerly awaiting Charles Anastase a/w collection, and boy, it did not disappoint. I don't know about you, but I find Anastase always manages to get the combination between simply wearable and daftly eccentric perfectly right. And that is my favourite combination: the usual transformed into the unusual, that's what makes clothes exciting. Saying that though, I think this collection could have the slightest sliver more of the strange than the typical.. Anastase's palette is perfect - bold primaries with blocks of black and white interspersed with coral, peach, navy and burgundy. Crazy headpieces are a sure winner with me as are Anastase's trademark platforms and the hint of a 40s' silhouette here and there. The wide trousers create a subtly 70s' feel and expanses of sheer inject a nice dose of modernity.


I always have to be a little sceptical when I look up Topshop Unique for the first time... it tends to get a bit hyped, and their last collection was not up to much at all. The inspiration for their latest collection was to be forests, campfires and girl scouts, and well it was all forests, campfires and girl scouts..but maybe visited by a grizzly bear.. On first glance I was bit 'Meh..too brown', but second time around..things suddenly seemed to have a lot more potential and beneath all the gimmicks - antlers and furry ears (definitely fun and courtesy of Emma Cook) and random fluffy bits of material - there is a helluva lot of wearability here with that typical Unique cool and well, uniqueness. The thick tights, badges, pleats, cross over bags, owl patterns and cosy knits will certainly all transpire to be happy trends of winter '10. Great stuff.

la belle dame sans merci

Pretty, pretty, pretty. I like pretty things, after all, do we not see enough of the vulgar, ugly and mundane? I like my art to be difficult some of the time..but you know, it is nice for a painting to fulfil its most basic purpose - to be aesthetically pleasing. Pre - Raphaelite art..the second generation included, if not more so (think Burne - Jones and John William Waterhouse) is a particular love of mine...although, who is not overwhelmed by the utter beauty and tragedy; the juxtaposition between life and death of John Everett Millais' Ophelia? Like many females..(Pre - Raphaelite art is, I imagine, possessor of a largely feminine fan base) I adore this paining - the day I will see it in person I shall weep! No lies...paintings have that weepy effect on me..awfully pretentious, but hey, we should all have moments when we are free to be as cheesy as we like! I am not the kind to sob into my popcorn at The Notebook, or go all gooey inside at the mere sight of a bouncing baby, but jeez, those Pre - Raphalite heroines sure know how to tug at my heart - strings. Over the weekend, I was preparing a presentation on Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott which is a painting of the same name by Waterhouse. I spent several days trawling through Pre - Raphaelite paintings, each one making me drop my head to the side and coo: 'Awwww'. It was awfully, unashamedly girly, but those women with their pale, wistful, pitiful faces and wispy curtains of dark/auburn hair and gauzy diaphanous dresses sure do know how to melt my heart just a little bit.

Ophelia, Millais

Of course my silly little ways, have me pining for such an aesthetic. Long, long hair and floor tipping gowns and some flowers in the hair and maybe a jewel or two. Of course, tragic love story entirely optional..not exactly pining for that.

The Lady of Shalott, Waterhouse

Floaty frocks galore!

pale blue eyes

'sometimes I feel so happy, sometimes I feel so sad....linger on your pale blue eyes.'

Today I went for a nap and listened to The Velvet Underground.

images of Nico from the fashion spot

on the run

I made a mental note to post about Meadham Kirchhoff's s/s collection weeks ago, but somehow I am only getting around to it now...welcome to my life as an eternal procrastinator.. hmm I wonder when will I get around to posting about the a/w shows then.. Regardless of my failure to be on top of things, I am still rather in love with this collection.

Stylistically - speaking, there is nothing I love more than some good quality contrast, and that can definitely be found here. Androgynous shoes and boyish socks and neutral basics wonderfully clashed with frothy nude drapes of fabric. There's the lovely sense of the Victorian woman after running through a few fields and catching her dress in a fence or two, fraying the edges of her slip. Indeed, this idea of the escape is palpable in Meadham Kirchhoff's collection - the ripped knees with gauzy layers and tulle skirts create this idea of the female fleeing from some unknown entity that rips and frays her clothing.

The random quality of the layering has me enamoured too - long lengths with the somewhat puzzling addition of sixties' shift - style glitter - speckled tops, puffs of fabric with skinny trousers and diaphanous dresses and tulle and tiers juxtaposed with simple, dishevelled basics

stop all the clocks

What can one say following the death of Alexander McQueen? Like most I am lost for words. There are designers and then there are revolutionaries, extraordinary creative minds like McQueen. His work was certainly some of the most wonderful and creative seen in the industry, constantly breaking down barriers and producing work that certainly blurred the boundaries between art and fashion; a true original. I doubt we will see such theatrical yet technically brilliant works as his again. He will not be forgotten, that is for sure. In all our thoughts today, and long after.

wonderland

Swoon! Lace and crystals, satin hair bows, blonde curls, pastel ankle socks and frothy tutus, this editorial is a dream! I want to frolic about in such fantastical frocks with tulle and ribbons poking out from untamed, childish curls. This kind of editorial makes my mind positively fizzy with ideas. Magical, fun and sweetly- girlish. Denims and blazers and boots are fine some of the time, but sometimes there needs to be more than a mere glimmer of the wonderful in ones' outfit. Clothes should always be like this, sparkling with imagination and a defiance of the common place.
There is something of the Alice in Wonderland about this too. Powder-puff pastels and frills and flounces - could there be a prettier way to dress for spring?

Girls allowed, Vogue UK March 2010, Mario Testino, Patricia van der Vliet

short cut?

Shorts, I don't know, about you, but I find them dodgy by all means. They are one item that I cannot seem to get my head around..should be fairly simple..they are like trousers, but..um..short.. I cannot wear them. I have tried but it just does not work. I see people all the time wearing little denim cut - offs with an envious 'couldn't care less' attitude (see Giorgia Jagger above, ID winter edition 2009), especially cool with a fittingly sloppy wool jumper, preferably found rummaging among Dad's old things, yet somehow it is a look I fail to successfully recreate.

Perhaps, it has to do with my aversion to appearing season - confused..let me explain, it irks me immensely when I see people wearing little dainty summer shoes and blazers, whereas I am wrapped up in scarfs and boots...'shorts are for the sun and seaside, not for trudging through the all types of weather that an average day in college involves ' says the little niggling voice in my head. On the other hand, perhaps, it is something merely to do with shorts and there sometimes questionable length. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with short hemlines, but like how I feel with jeans (I feel way more self - conscious in jeans, than I do in a skirt), maybe, my subconscious thinks them too much for me personally.

Indeed, it is all in the length. The new trendier length of mid - thigh is something I would be definitely willing to try out and as for those fluid, floral shorts at Topshop (above), why yes, of course. Denim cutoffs, I think, will just have to remain for the time being an item I admire only on others - there is no point forcing it.

10.44

black and white check, buttoned up shirts, jackets, hairbands, black mini skirts, badges, loose fitting layers, handbags with crossover strap

images: streethearts, the facehunter, stockholm streetstyle

uh oh

I did a very bold thing. It was Sunday ( a week or two ago) and I was in Tesco flicking through the latest copy of British Vogue. I was more interested in the runway report than the mag, however, and loved the Topshop promotional shoots. Impressed, I considered buying Vogue, but could not part with the money due to that great pastel bore of a cover - Natalia V and lilac equals one helluva yawn. Tentatively, I picked up the runway report...no, I did not have the audacity to take the whole thing...instead, I neatly ripped out my favourite page , the Lolita/Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver style, and you know, did a runner..

I like this a lot, not even sure why. Must be the pastel pink and love hearts and candyfloss style.

behold the crinkle from when this was folded into my bag..