camel.

that whole camel trend really seems to be making some ground, huh?

though the "grownup"/simple/minimal things will likely evade me; maybe the camel things will catch on after all. well; maybe i'll wear my cream tee with these shorts and coat and some point this autumn/winter. oh, and my tan shoes.

still no chelsea boots. sigh.

vintage shorts+belt+burberry trench//THE PERFECT (thrifted) GREY JUMPER+scarf//asos shoes

that second shot is me mid-putting on my coat; fun fact.

saturday post.

a veritable feast of post arrived for me on saturday morning. an ink cartridge (already emptied), my free copy of Vice, and the motherload: my Model's Own purchases.

lilac; purple grey; top coat; the pastel pack (fuzzy peach, lime green and feeling blue) and a black mascara (which is great, thanks for asking)

...and then me and Ana went to Tynemouth Market. we bought a variety of things (she got some homemade jam, which I am reliably informed tasted goooood, and we both went jewellery mad. also i found some flying-based things for the sketchbook....)

epaulette; RAF badge thing; vintage ring...

and this. which you will have already seen if you follow me on twitter.

amazing ring/bracelet/thing.

i was sure i'd painted my nails lilac already by this point but evidently not; they are still buff pink.

the lilac, top/base coat and mascara are all i've tried out as of now, but the base coat performs it's function and the mascara is great (rather robust brush) and definitely a bargain at a fiver, and the lilac is probably the best nail polish for colour/coverage i've used.

thick, but not too thick; bright but not too bright. i could've gotten away with one coat, but slapped another on for luck. about half of my nails have chipped in 2 days, but then the only really noticeable one is the chunk missing from my right thumb, which is more than likely a result of having to wash up.

think i'll take this one off and see what one of the other colours are like this evening.

the plight of aa.

American Apparel is renowned for a number of things. whether that's for being a blogger favourite - a well publicised brand in this currently rather internet reliant industry, a mainstay in the eyes of communities like chictopia and lookbook.nu; for their somewhat over-sexualised ads or for their somewhat oversexed CEO; or more recently for their ever increasing money problems.

the highly sexualised reputation of both AA and Dov Charney are, mostly, taking the blame for what could be the companies demise, but is that really the cause? I MEAN REALLY? it's not like this is a new development - in the beginning, there was the image. at the height of AA-fever, there was the image. AA is the image. there is no escaping the image.

we are to blame, if anything, that ol' fashion-foe, the economy.

of course, here's some personal experience: i have but one AA item, a moss green tube dress which has rather lost it's elasticity, and cost me 22 of my best british pounds a couple of years ago. good quality, ill give you that. a great basic. a good jersey piece. despite its tendency to slip down now when i wear it as a dress, i keep it in my wardrobe. it makes a good skirt when belted and twisted into some sort of shape. i still like it. but two years later, £22 wouldn't get me much in AA. take, for example, the lace trim cycling shorts.

they've become quite the must-have item, especially for this modesty-concious cyclist, but a pair of (shiny, and therefore not ideal) shorts in the covent garden AA store (oh yes, i've done my research) would've set be back a whopping £28. TWENTY. EIGHT. POUNDS.

FOR SHORTS.

FOR CYCLING SHORTS WHICH WILL BE WORN UNDER THINGS.

FOR, ESSENTIALLY, AN ITEM OF UNDERWEAR.

WHAT?

....you can get similar lace trimmed cycling shorts, in a lovely matt jersey, in H&M for under a fiver. i think it is obvious where one such as myself would rather purchase my shorts.

once could argue that AA have their ethics and USA-produced garments and that's the reason for their high prices, but when one has increasingly high debts and clothes that are approx. 7 times more expensive than your competitors; maybe it's time for a rethink. the hipster vote isn't going to help you now, Dov, no matter how you try to change your image*

---------------

*what with new product lines and such. you may have noticed that AA is no longer merely where spandex goes to die, but also home to sheer loveliness (maxis; blouses; frilly tu-tu affairs) and other gorgeous non-jersey pieces (i really, REALLY like the tailored trousers in store atm); and i will forever be a fan of the huge range of colours available, but alas, AA, i and many like me can't afford most of your wares, and as such, you are doomed. additionally, your sizing is a little mental. i'm 90% sure the aforementioned tube dress I own is a medium. i'm a size 8/10. surely only children fit into the XS size?!?

close to home.

style icons come in many forms. example: who knew ms. benes would be such a fabulous muse?

but while fictional characters and celebrities are all well and good, sometimes inspiration comes from mere mortals. note the huge rise of street style: it's in blogs, it's in magazines, it's in books; one assumes it's inspired dissertations and the like. a trip to the town centre could get your creative juices flowing (or, of course) make you curse your town's lack of style). but how about inspiration EVEN CLOSER to your own person?

i stole this picture from facebook.
i assume mam won't mind.

my mam, some time in the 80s.
i will update this when she comments on this post telling me the exact year. she will. ; in 1984

dear mam,

i covet your top, with its adorable collar (lace? crochet?), and can only wonder what 80s-tastic garment graces your lower half. i am, however, quite aware that you no longer own any of these wondrous vintage items and so can't pass them to your daughter, however much she would've appreciated it.

there are some charity shops that gained some great pieces a few years ago; a mere few years before my interest in such items peaked.

OH MAM.

WHAT ARE YOU LIKE?

kthnxbye

jenn.

the benes effect.

in relation to a previous post, i give you a new acquisition.

i call it 'the elaine dress'.

dress+jacket from ebay//shoes from select//moody face

as is common knowledge, selling half your wardrobe on ebay* inevitably leads to perusing the vintage section, which inevitably leads to bidding on this and a(nother) leopard print dress.

but who could say no to a vintage, calf length, silk, blue, polka dotted laura ashley dress which is a couple of sizes too big and therefore the perfect amount of slouchy?

though, it is actually ankle length. and i hoiked it up over the belt. hoiked is a word, shutup.

also, here is that sheer cardi thing i was blabbering on about the other day. ahhh rspca.

amazingly that H&M skirt continues to reside in my wardrobe, through all the clear-outs. well done, old chum.

*there is a link, under shop venturess on the side bar. do it. i have over 50 things to sell, including a pair of amazing Bally loafers. yesyes.

inspiration.

stills from Jean Luc Godard films, scanned from various books.

inspiration (along with certain Mad Men looks) for my Abercrombie project....

rusty.

adventures in charity shopping. amazingly not from RSPCA Byker (rather, Salvation Army Byker. oh Byker, how I love thee.)

thrifted jumper+shirtdress+belt+necklace//tk maxx shoes//H&M necklace+ring//

primark ring//bored expression//hole in toe of tights

silky shirt dress and great rusty-red jumper = great finds. ALSO i found a sheer cardi effort (clearly a slinky dressing gown); which i'm currently wearing. i've been looking at getting in some great jumpers for winter, necessary as they are.

y'know what are great?

to-do lists.

i've got so much done the last few days just by writing stuff on a list. crossing things off is majorly therapeutic. everything feels like a massive achievement; even 'do nails'.

in other news, i'm sad that the new klaxons album isn't all as good as echoes; and i am VERY HAPPY that the new interpol album leaked. ♥

i need to play it more, but i'm still playing the suburbs on repeat. damn you arcade fire.

thus concludes my inane ramblings.

woolly.

yeah, yeah, another editorial. what?

Cato van Ee by Dancian for Marie Claire Italia August 2010

off of fashion gone rogue, of course.

man, fashion magazines are really trying to make knitted shorts happen, huh? i don't think it's gonna take off, sorry. (do you disagree?)

it's kind of got that retro, mad men feel that loads of editorials have really been hammering lately, but they've taken that feel and brought it right into 2010. it's modern, but it's got these retro undertones, which is kinda what A/W10 is all about, yeah? and i love the proportions and silhouettes in this one. AND all the coats, and generally thick, woolly stuff. given what it looks like out of the window today, warm, woolly layers are totally approps.

mountains beyond mountains.

unrelated title!

arcade fire!

ouioui!

a night out outfit. thursday. finally wearing the sheer maxi i found at the charity shop to end all charity shops. oh, RSPCA Byker, how i love thee.

thrifted skirt+shirt//H&M leggings//topshop top//garage shoes//vintage rings

dilemma: flash pictures are horrible, but non-flash pics don't come out well.

OH DEAR.

these shoes are falling apart, but i bought some similar (and non patent) ones off of ebay and they are currently waiting for me at the post office. speaking of ebay, i'm selling stuff. yet again. jus' sayin'.

elaine.

woah, woah, woah. cue slap bass.

img from geometric sleep.

sorry, is that the pic from my sidebar?? i think it is.

this past week has seen some Benes-loving in the fashion world, at least in the above clipping (i want to say it's from the new york times? shrug.) and up on my twitter feed. i can only approve wholeheartedly. if my hair was long enough for a huge front fringe quiff bouffant... thing accompanied by some serious frizz, then it would be happening.

i like to think i'm ahead of the curve, or that i secretly have a mental connection with downtown NYC, but it's likely that the reality is either this is a shortlived/microtrend, or it will totally not catch on. (SADFACE.)

that said, the length is really something that's big right now (or at least, maxis are still in for a/w and will probably keep going till next summer, but a move on to a calf or ankle length would make sense), and collars - especially the high necked/buttoned up variety - are something i'm seeing about the blogs these days. whether it's the Elaine effect or not (which I doubt given how many people around my age have actually seen Seinfeld. boo at being in a minority.), this is a relatable trend and seems totally approps right now.

EXCUSE TO POST THIS GIF, YES!

err, wait, does that mean i'm actually appropriately dressed for something? this can only mean that the rapture is upon us.

...brb, bidding on calf length dresses with long sleeves and collars on ebay.

elle II.

questionably scanned editorial! i loved the styling here, and hoped FGR had posted it so it would be in good quality, but it wasn't there. sadface.

so i scanned it in in the middle of scanning pictures of french new wave films for my sketchbook (not the things that fly one. clearly french new wave films don't fly).

khaki!

shearling!

capes!

haider ackermann! (8th picture down....♥)

then there's this page with its great colour combos (khaki; navy; bright yellow//grey; bright pink; berry)