February 24

Today Faye and me did our shoot for our three-page spread. Our theme was denim. Due to the rise of the denim on denim trend and all the buzz Alexa Chung is creating with her Vogue article (not to mention her take on the trend at LFW) it seemed fitting. Everything turned out really well - after fidgeting with a lot of different ways to produce a shadow effect and soft lighting, we got there. A bit of cropping and some photoshop (terrified!) and they should turn out great. Harriet was an amazing model, so that made the whole thing a pleasure. Here are some of the shots...we took 330, so I've just uploaded a few. To pick just three is going to be a challenge.

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February 18

I keep seeing these boots everywhere lately, even though they're a little old. (Chloé Pre-Fall 2008) I want them, although knock-offs don't even come close to looking as good. Office made an admiral attempt to recreate them with silver studding, but it's the gold that makes them so dreamy.

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February 10

Today was a good 'un. I had the privilege of visiting The Guardian and The Observer offices at King's Place, King's Cross. I got invited on a little tour...and what a lovely tour it was! The building itself is beautiful, obviously super modern...with loads of quirky furnishings and hundreds of desks on each floor with writers covering the usual international news, sport, politics, music and fashion in blocks throughout each floor. The building is beyond huge. I had a chat with the picture editor, Helen over coffee and exchanged numbers, I hope to see her again soon. She gave me a lot of helpful tips.

On my walk back to King's Cross station (in the snow!), I noticed a HOLE in the black jumper I was wearing. The seam had come apart on the sleeve. And the armpit. How professional. So naturally, I did what any woman would do in my situation. I went shopping. It was so cold that I had to set some limitations - Oxford and Regent Street only! I went to Primark first, rubbish. Don't go if you're planning on, nothing too interesting at the moment surprisingly..and that's a tough statement to make in relation to Primark swag. Then on to New Look, since it was on the way back from Primark anyway. Tarty AND Rubbish. Where is all the good, cheap clothing? So I went into H&M, old trusty. I got a new round neck black jumper (seams very much intact) and the ripped and studded dark denim waistcoat in the image below.

Hawt.

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February 9

Just a thought. I know this story is a little dated, but I was reminded of the size issue of V Magazine browsing around Issuu.com. I get what they're trying to do; the size issue (clever!) seems to be featured everywhere in the media lately, so why not jump on the bandwagon? Everytime I open a magazine, there is a feature on Crystal Renn. What's more, I remember reading the exact same story about three years ago. If you didnt know already (though you probably do, due to the HIGHLY unnecessary volume of media exposure) Crystal was a former size 0, decided she couldn't do it anymore, and for the good of her mental and phyiscal health gained weight and became a plus size model.

Below is a model featured in the issue, who is a similar size to Crystal, and it simply doesn't look right. Not for me anyhow. Clothes look and sit better on thin models. Fact. I think it's simply down to preference, like many things in life. There is no cause for argument! I think that average bodied women represent the majority, all of us regular people - we don't need to be a size 0. Which is fine by me. Models, however, represent the fashion industry. The industry is all about an image and that image is sold and glamourised by models. Women and men everywhere aspire to own designer pieces and through that aspiration, the industry itself makes millions. So why toy with a good thing?? Imagine going online and seeing the infamous American Apparel banner ads with large models in leotards and tights. Yikes. I can guarantee some unfortunate repercussions....

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February 7

Short but sweet. I didn't do very much today, which is exactly what I wanted. I woke up late, read books and blogs and only decided to get dressed and move for the simple reason that I badly needed to visit the laundrette. My laundry basket was tipping over and couldn't possibly hold anymore and I need to stop cheating by simply buying new underwear and tights! I also got around to hanging up clothes so I could actually see the colour of my carpet and it made a huge difference to my mood, surprisingly. I felt better immediately afterward and it inspired me to brighten my room up a bit, so I printed off some new pictures for my wall. One of the images I used (shown above), is from http://www.blanaid.com/, a blog I found today. A very talented Irsh Interior Design and Fashion Writer, it suprised me to read shes one half of The Stylebitches duo (http://www.thestylebitches.com/). Go visit for some inspiration...

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February 4

Below is my fashion moment article on Francoise Hardy, submitted just before Christmas.

Francoise Hardy

‘French Women Don’t Get Fat’, an age-old critique; though often cited, would fall to a ready challenge. No one would question the assertion that women of the Gallic region are born with an innate sense of style, subtlety and elegance that embodies chic. The Parisian, Francoise Hardy - a charming, poignant beauty - validates this assertion in her seemingly effortless casual way.
Hardy, with her razor-sharp cheekbones and eye-dusting fringe was thrust into the limelight as part of the Yé-yé movement that was emblematic of 1960s France. Her effervescent and popular single, ‘Tout Les Garçons et Les Filles.’, captured the spirit of Yé-yé music, a genre spearheaded in Europe by young, winsome females. During her heyday in the 60s, Hardy captivated audiences with her soft voice, while notably enamouring legions of women with her enviable style.

Hardy has the ability to make simple, otherwise seemingly average outfits look quirky and edgy. She embodied biker-chic and kept makeup minimal – a stroke of black eyeliner along the lash-line was her signature look. With a dash of voguish sashay, a pinch of alluring mystery and a whole lot of Savoir-Faire, everything worked. This exemplified the singer as a true fashion icon of the 60s – influential and timeless.

Fast-forward to the present day where her style resonates in models like Kate Moss and Irina Lazareanu and indie/blues singer Cat Power, who have all paid homage to Hardy’s look. She is also the muse of Nicolas Ghesquière, the current creative director of couture house Balenciaga. Hardy became interested in astrology in the early 70s and has since become a specialist in the field, publishing a book, ‘Les Rythmes du Zodiaque’. She released her final album; ‘Clair Obscur’ in 2000 and in recent years has collaborated with musicians Iggy Pop and Brian Molko.
Undoubtedly, French women come in all shapes and sizes just like the rest of us cellulite-fearing mortals. Regardless of dress size, they have a natural sense of style that seems to be a fundamental part of their self image; their expectations of themselves. And with fashion leadership and everyday icons like Francoise Hardy, is it any surprise?



I'll leave you with some nice images for the day...

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February 3rd

I will readily admit that I experience girl crushes. I go through phases, whether it's down to the style, voice or general presence of the crushee. This month I'm being greedy with two - Willa Holland and Rose Byrne. Both actors, Willa Holland I first saw in The O.C., where she played Kaitlin Cooper...then I forgot about her. Then she played Agnes in Gossip Girl and I forgot about her...again. Ok, not really selling my crush here. ANYway, I noticed her on a website featuring images of the premiere of her new film, Legion (which I think looks awful. Probably just as awful, if not worse than Daybreakers was). I have decided I very much like her style, classic hair and makeup. She seems to be able to pull anything off.

(willaholland.net)

Rose, on the other hand, has been in Troy, Sunshine and 28 Weeks Later. Her style is quite simple and the dress she wore to the Golden Globes this year happened to be my favourite - a strapless eggplant Lanvin dress with a Neil Lane diamond hair clip. It's a bit fuzzy. Unlike Rose.

(whowhatwear.com)

While on the topic of the Golden Globes, I wasn't impressed with Diane Kruger's dress at all. She is usually one of the most stylish in Hollywood, but this sickly sweet Christian Lacroix is W-R-O-N-G. Reminds me of a cupcake.

(whowhatwear.com)


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February 3rd

February already...that didn't take long. I have no classes today so I've just been lounging around. I woke up at 12.30 to our doorbell hoping it was the books I ordered from Amazon but the postman tends to mash all the buttons when anyone, anywhere in the building receives a package. Thoughtful to a fault, that man.
I ordered The Sartorialist, a book I've seen mentioned a few times online here and there. It's a composition of various street styles from around the globe from the blog of the same title. I have a few books just like this, Nylon Street being my favourite. This one got such good reviews on Amazon and was only £10, so I threw it in my virtual shopping cart. It's also quite new, released in July '09. Scott Schuman is The Satorialist, a fashion marketer who turned to photography after the effects of 9/11. He photographs men and women of all ages. His blog is - http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/. Though you probably already knew that. I'm a late Sartorialist follower.

The second book I ordered was Three Nights in New York, written by Michelle Jackson. I keep reading biographies and stories that I need to be in the mood for, so I thought I'd read something light-hearted. I'll review both when I read them.

Since for the most part of December and January I was home in Dublin, I got used to having a fully stocked fridge. I went out drinking a lot and went out for dinner, so I've started a health kick since I got back. I started off with porridge and jam, for lunch I had made chicken caesar with quorn and I'm just about to make something for dinner...no ideas yet though.

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