where the boys are.

you may recall a while back, when i posted some images from Jean Luc Godard films which were inspiring one of my sketchbooks...

well, the theme changed (becuase it's for abercrombie and influences should be american...).

sticking with the 60s, and looking at what was happening with the youth then, i found this film from '61 - Where The Boys Are, a tale of 4 college girls from the chilly midwest heading to Ft Lauderdale for spring break. i promptly downloaded it, kinda expecting to be bored but hopefully inspired.

and inspired, i was. and not bored at all. i kinda loved it, infact. and i took 57 screencaps (a couple purely for blog purposes, not for sketchbooking), of which there are a bunch below....

it's just so kitsch! and 60s! and the colours! and that black and white gingham bikini which i couldn't for the life of me get a decent cap of but it was stunning! there was a lot of gingham. and stripes. and all four of the girls sported a peachy lip throughout (see Merrit, in the last cap) - which means i am now searching for a peachy lipstick, of course.

visual diary.

so, a friend linked me to this photo the other day:

i was instantly drawn to it, so the oblig 'full internet search' commenced - meaning i glanced through her flickr and followed the links to her tumblr and blog (all linked below!) to see what other delights lay within.mischelle evan broy's flickr/tumblr/blog are full of shots of everything - some fashion-y, some not; what would best be described as a visual diary (hence the title) and well worth a look/follow. similar pictures to the one above (the most intriguing in my eyes!) were to be found, and so posted:

imgs by mischelle evan broy

you can find her here at flickr, at tumblr, or at her blog, playground strokes.

good trouser wearing; part II.

it's more like part 4 or 5 or something, but whatevs, right?

some trouser action was going down at wayne tippetts the other day. including on a guy! which is kind of expected since they don't have much option when it comes to legwear. right guys?

i'm finding trousers in unconventional shades a lot, too. salmon? well quite.

the second girl down is painting the roses black, who is, annoyingly, 14 and fabulous. (i say annoyingly, because, of course, i was not wearing trousers in such a fabulous manner at that age. i wasn't doing much of anything fabulously at that age. sigh.)

must stop posting about trousers, or indeed, anything that i can't afford until a later date.

i would post some outfit shots but i'm mostly sitting at my desk, bundled up in clothes, sketchbook-ing and shall be continuing to do so for the foreseeable future. le sigh.

inspiration.

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

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

suggested reading.

today is a slow day; a day when i am not doing much of anything, even though there are so many things i could be doing. currently watching come dine with me, and i haven't seen this one before, so it feels like an achievement.

something i've been meaning to write for a short while now is a little about some of the blogs i read - i am, as one would expect, a fashion blog reader first and foremost, but there are others (or ones that aren't just about fashion) that i hold in great esteem.

the way i follow blogs is pretty much broken down into categories too - those i follow purely for the pictures are confined to bloglovin, where i can see the pics and view the blog if the thumbnail catches my eye...

pictures
if not for my personal style, then for my sketchbooks and design work...
the point, readers, boils down to "here are some great personal style blogs, yeah?"

- another day to dress up is quirky and often vintage-y, which i guess means she isn't averse to wearing a turban, is a fan of a 70s-esque dress, and she wears trousers well. i'm in a trousers mood today, so anyone with the ability to wear trousers well makes me smile.

- zoë cullie or 'haiku ambulance', as my browser tells me, is another good-trouser-wearer. also headscarves. of all the blogs i read, hers is the one that speaks to me and inspires my personal style more than any other. i mean, while i might greatly admire the style of, say, queen michelle (scroll down, scroll down...), zoë's style is much more 'me', in an 'if our wardrobes got mixed up somehow, i think i'd be fine with that' sense.

- stylorectic is a lot more 'here's a bunch of similar pictures of me in an outfit' than the others (the type of blog i rarely find enthralling), but her use of scarves, sequins and leopard print is enough to keep me entertained. that, and the fact that she's pregnant right now and hasn't given up any sense of her style.

pics from another day...//zoe cullie//stylorectic

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words and pictures
from here on in, my google reader contains inspiration, but also, sometimes, things i do care about reading.

- outsapop is your one stop shop for diy inspiration. if you're a diy-er or a designer of some sort and don't already follow for inspiration or otherwise, get on it.

- of the "big blogs", kingdom of style is my pick over, say style bubble. while susie's style is awesome and all, she's sometimes a little overly girly in the designers she posts about, and i'm more interested in purveyors of leather, chiffon and feathers in neutral shades than i am those of pastel fringing. that, and queen michelle's personal style is awesome.

- ganymede kids is a recent addition to my reader, and i haven't much to say on it thus far, but there's a nice mix of wordy posts and photo posts. the right balance, i think, and a balance i hope i strike here...

- ...whereas nice & shiny is often quite picture heavy, but also relevant to my interests. Kylie shares my thrift-love more than most, and has awesome hair.

- i promised myself i wouldn't pimp out my friends too much, but since Ana is the only one who both a) does fashion-y things and b) posts once in a while, you should definitely look at one fabulous thing after another, even when there's some crossover when she's in newcastle.

- coincidently, we're both fans of white lightning. i don't know what it is about WL that i love, but love it i do.

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words
as one might expect, this section contains little in the fashion arena (though it is not a fashion wasteland, nono)
the blogs in this category are the ones i actually read - where as others are sometimes skim-read or flicked through depending on post, these ones are sitting back in my chair, slowly sipping my coffee, nodding and laughing at appropriate sentences type reading.

- tom & lorenzo, aka project rungay is a tv/media/fashion blog all rolled into one. as a fan of project runway, mad men, lost, and bitchy gays, this is in my top blogs and probably always will be. the one blog i read in a different way to the others (as the posts are published, as opposed to first thing on a morning over coffee and breakfast), T&L do some mean red carpet judgery, and have opinions about a great deal of reality tv. their 'mad style' pieces are like costume psychology on the women of mad men and are a great read.

- the man repeller is a blog i recently fell across but is completely relevant to my interests and probably yours too, if you're a fan of fashion first and attracting a man second.

- and i found that blog via the medium of godammit, my one stop shop for ranting and what i like to term 'random hate', in which one might display a completely unprovoked feeling of hatred for an individual. ok, so, hate is a strong word but 'random dislike' doesn't sound as good. anyway, sister wolf's 'comments for jane', directed towards the sea of shoes blogger, and her general disdain for the niche of vacuous, 25-pictures-of-the-same-outfit type bloggers sits right with me.

- nogoodforme is a blog i've championed for a very long time. i've been reading for about a year (...?) but i'm plugging away again if purely for newish feature 'DO AS I SAY' (...not as i do), in which laura jane (one of 3 ladies writing for ngfm, or a third of the nogoodforme troika, as they put it) doles out advice which isn't necessarily based on her personal experiences. said coloumn is genius because it provides soundbites such as the following:

"There is no point in maintaining relationships, romantic or non-, that overcomplicate your life. Complications will arise in any relationship, but I think it's very easy to tell when a relationship only complicates things. Those relationships are bad relationships. They are not relationships. They are simply "ships." Sink those motherfuckers."

- i keep banging on about men i wish i hadn't slept with, but it really is a fantastic and hilarious read and if it takes you 5 links to click on it and read then it takes 5 links. between the one liners and the parallels to either my own life or that of my friends, this could be written by someone i know.

- which is where i heart ncl steps in. northerners should almost definitely click and read and follow, but everyone should take a gander - not only because my upstairs neighbour aaron is the author, and he has a way with words, but because a blog about life and love in newcastle is a great idea. also, he started it merely yesterday and has already done 4 posts, one of which is a lil' interview with yours truly, which will, apparently, be a regular feature. with other people, of course, not just interviews with me. i have high hopes for i heart ncl, primarily because i haven't seen him this excited since he found crusty bread on sale at morrisons.

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perhaps you've found a new favourite today; perhaps not. perhaps your favourite isn't represented and you think i should read it. perhaps you should leave a comment.

the palladium sound

On occasion, Vice will send me random emails about stuff they've done and affiliates and stuff. That's how Vice roll. That's how being a student ambassador goes.
Often times, this stuff isn't fash related and I'm like...meh. Then there's the times there's an Uncle Karl interview.

Today, there's a video about pirate radio, here, which isn't on Vice TV, but on Palladium. They also had a video about Berlin a few weeks ago, which of course, I only mention cos errr, I love Berlin. Actually, they have a bunch of awesome videos. One of them is called "The Ruins of New York". I might devote some time to watching some of these older vids...

There's a mixtape, too, which is epicly not my thing, but if you like grime-y electro kinda stuff, give it a whirl.

But the reason I posted this; the reason I was interested, really, was the shots Vice sent over:

They're like editorial shots, almost (the third one, anyway), and I'm a big fan of architecture and cityscapes, so I find these pretty awesome. And the first shot; the rust and decay was something I looked at in my sketchbook last year. Sweet-ass.

(Also, hey, it's my old friend, that fucking gherkin!)

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Palladium also happen to sell boots (flat boots; like Converse but cooler. If I wore flat boots, y'know? These guys.)

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doodles

Having a little bit of writers block/apathy (mostly the latter...), hence a rather swift decline in post quality, if nothing else.

Anyways, I can blame it all on having lots of work to do, so I shall. I assume you've seen the big poof of poofiness that is/was my "ultimate piece", so this is the follow ob - a capsule collection and a sportswear. We have 60 sheets of development to do - most people are doing their capsule then their sportswear, but I'm just drawing and drawing and I'm on 19 pages after 2 weeks of classes so I think it's a safe bet.

A little inspiration.

And a party ring, which, I have deduced, is the PERFECT biscuit.

Low in calories & fat (...for a biscuit), tastes goooood, only 44p for a pack of 20 in Tesco. ULTIMATE WIN.

Some doodles. Crappy iPhone pics; do apologise.

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who makes "the rules" or, where's my fucking maxi skirt?!

I'd like to know something.
Who is it who dictates what we can and cant wear?
Who makes The Rules?
Who says fat birds cant have cake AND bodycon (quote Ana...), and who says short girls can't do full length or hareems? (And yes, this is related to the ode to the maxi post....)

While it would be simple to scapegoat the media, from the gossip mags who demand "what were you thinking??" of celebs, to the high fashion bibles which set the trends, it isn't necessarily they who set these Rules. Quite the contrary; the answer, it seems, is you and me.

We (by which I mean women, primarily. And the gays. The gays always have an opinion on the fashion), are destined to give each other the once over and declare "that dress makes her look fat", or "those jeans are doing nothing for her arse".
While yes, it is likely that such publications as heat, and the tabloids, have influenced the way we think, it is our own mentality, and our modern day society, which forces us to judge others.

Not that that's always a bad thing - style is subjective, everyone has different tastes, if we were all the same it'd be boring, blahblahblah - but often turns into public ridicule, and herein I draw the line. There is, quite simply, no need.

I'm ready and willing to put my hand up and declare myself a little guilty. We all are. It is, to quote Prince, a sign o' the times.
Personally, I think you look ridiculous in your Ugg boots; tatty from walking in the rain/snow/ANY WEATHER IN THE UK*, and with jogging bottoms tucked it. Yeah I'm looking at you, rah community.

But equally, you more than likely think the same of me, in my skirt lengths which aren't necessarily made for my height (care?), tapered trousers which only emphasise my already massive hips, and my heels come rain, shine, or 2 mile walk to uni and back (a mile each way; steady now).

I always bring it back to the height issue, because it's relevant to me, but this goes for any body shape. We are conditioned to believe that we can't wear certain pieces if we're built a certain way. No taking into account styling, or, y'know, whether we care for The Rules.
The Rules are there to dampen creativity. They probably were created by the media, for the style "challenged"; those who now rely on Gok to supply them with dressing ideas; in order to give them a vague guideline. To box them in. They'll look good, sure, but they'll look the same as everyone else. As you will look the same as everyone else if you only shop at Topshop (cue more ridicule.). The Rules are there to make the world a "prettier place", if you will. Where everyone dresses "well".

But I, for one, am not interested in "pretty".
I'd much rather have "interesting".
Why else is it that blogs so popular right now? Because they are full of people breaking the rules, and keeping it interesting.
Queen Michelle @ Kingdom of Style dons lingerie as outerwear on the regular.
Arabelle @ Fashion Pirates has been known to wear a tablecloth as a skirt.
Susie Bubble throws on, like, 25 different florals in one outfit.
Do these people care about the rules? No. Are they criticised for it? Quite the opposite.
They pull it off because the have confidence (having a blog and sharing your style with the internet world = confidence, in my eyes.), and (I hope), they don't have time for the people who tell them they look all wrong.

If there is one thing I've learnt in my time immersed in the fashion world, it is this: there's no such thing as The Rules.
Make up your own rules, goddammit.

Even down to designing. Quote Tim Blanks off of the Vice interview; the most interesting designers are those who aren't afraid to fail. I put it to you, Internet, that also, the most interesting dressers are those who aren't afraid to fail.

In the end, unless you have achieved a level of fame where you could end up on a Worst Dressed list; you are dressing for yourself and yourself only, so who gives a shit what anyone else thinks? And even if you ARE at that level of fame, you are pandering to people who have different tastes. One gossip coloumns' worst dressed is another's best dressed. Any press is good press. Good lord.

But, of course, to throw away these Rules; for everyone to accept that they don't really exist... well, that would create chaos.
See, in Rule-following, there are two camps.
Non-followers (denouncers, perhaps?) deem followers unimaginative; sheep; boring. Label whores. Trend-a-holics.
Followers deem non-followers ridiculous; over the top; crazy for crazies sake. Try-hard. Weird.
What neither camp takes into account is that all of these people; every single one; when dressing on a morning, puts on what they feel comfortable in. Or at least, I hope this is the case.
I think I can say with conviction that there are no Rules. There aren't! There is but one, and it is as follows:

Thou shalt dress in what thou bloody well wants, and thou shalt not judge others for doing the same (at least not out loud.)

And, y'know, I reckon caring what others think isn't a desirable character trait, yeah?

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Hey! Some related posts around the internetz!

teh rulez @ Nice&Tacky
an awesome maxi look on a 5'6"-ish lady @ Fashion Looks North
ana done a post too, @ one fabulous thing after another

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* seriously, what weather are the supposed to be for? Sheepskin boots don't do well in wet conditions, aka winter, and are too hot in summer, surely? I will ne'er understand...

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body image is a pretty serious matter, actually.

This might be the most serious article I've done, ever. It probably will remain the most serious post on this 'ere blog for a long time to come.
I warn, it's lengthy - there's an intro rant, a link which you MUST read before continuing, a lengthy dissection of said linked article, and a bit of a pimp to an on-going campaign which is very much connected, but I guarantee you it's worth it, and I hope you do read and leave your thoughts.

I was at home this weekend, which is the only place I tend to read non-fashion magazines. Now, not to say that body image hasn't been addressed in fashion publications, cos I'm sure you've all seen, at least online, the articles in ELLE Canada [here] and V [here] and [here], mostly involving the gorgeous Crystal Renn. If not, of course, click the links above and have a little look see - all provided by the very opinionated and fabulous Tom&Lorenzo. They pretty much share my views on these editorials.

So yes, at home, I tend to read heat, and the magazines that come with the Sunday paper. Fabulous is the mag that comes with the News of the World, and had an interesting article this week.

As it happens, the article is online, although I was going to scan it. Click the link. Read the article.
I'll wait.

Done?

Good.

If you read the comments, you might've noticed me. If not, I'll reiterate/edit what I said forthwith - as advice to the 4 gorgeous girls featured, as well as anyone who battles with the way they look on a regular basis.:

"You are all beautiful.

I can only draw on my own experiences here - despite what my mam told me at that age, I was also unconvinced, and thought of myself as an ugly duckling of sorts. Big nose, big thighs, bad skin....

I'm now 21, and am absolutely confident in myself, my body and my looks, despite working, somewhat, in the looks-obsessed fashion industry. (Studying fashion and blogging count, right?)

And though I've changed my hair a few times, pierced my nose and my chest has increased in size somewhat, I'm essentially exactly the same (my nose, thighs and skin are just as they were 7 years ago...).

Please, I beg of all of you, don't commit yourselves to surgery, nor take what boys your age claim to like. At 14/15, they probably don't know any better than what they've seen in magazines; don't know what 'real women' are like.

People do grow into their looks (and you will! Although you are all beautiful already, even if you don't believe me! The best people get better with age, I heard.) and often (again, drawing on own experiences), the 'pretty, popular girls' are the ones who end up living in the same town their whole lives and never really moving on after leaving school. A generalisation, perhaps, but as of my old school, a true one. Trust me, I've done the leg work (on facebook...)

You don't need to me 'slim and pretty' to be successful. Success is measured by hard work and talent, and you can get everywhere with those - looks can fade, but personality, drive and intelligence do not."

Honestly, I think not growing into my looks until my later teens was the best thing that ever happened to me. Not attracting boys until the age of at least 17, and not acquiring one of those proper boyfriend things until 18 and a half meant I threw myself, really, into work and friendship - I passed every single one of my GCSEs, mostly with A grades, and at college I passed my Art course with a Triple Distinction (the highest grade) and got into my first choice of uni... I made a lot of friends at school, despite not being one of the 'popular' kids, and most of those relationships have stuck, too. More so the ones from college. I currently live with a girl I've known since I was four (Gemma), a boy I've been good friends with since Year 9 (Dean), a friend I made in college (Luke) and a friend I made through that friend (Aaron)...

I've gone a bit off topic, I think, but I think the point of that paragraph was meant to be, I think, that re:boys, they're not all they're cracked up to be. And they can, potentially, put your future in jeopardy...schoolwork and stuff, yknow.

And that all leads into success! Success is achieved by working hard - those that are famous just for 'being pretty' rarely stick around too long (no matter how successful a model, unless she's Kate Moss, she tends to have a fairly short modelling career; and glamour models are a flash in the pan type too. I assume these are the kind of girls teenagers compare themselves too). Those who are actresses and musicians and such usually have the talent to back it up, and anyway, they have full time personal trainers/nutritionists/stylists/hair and makeup types.

I think I've done enough rambling, now, but I will include, for shits and giggles, some pictures of me in my teen years. I am digging through the old pics, gimme a minute...

OK, apologies for the dodgy pic quality of some of these, and the sheer number (there are 23. yeah.)...

2002, age 13 - I would be the one in the denim maxi skirt on the right...

2003, age 14, on holiday with the family...

2006, age 17/18, going to a Horrors gig, incase you couldn't tell/pissing about in college - dunno how I did pass with DDD, but there you go/me & Charlotte at an AFI gig...

2007, age 18/19, night out involving Luke/Patrick Wolf gig with Ana&Hana (&Aaron&Loula, off camera)/more larking about at college, including with Luke at our final show, after the blonde/and some blonde/and some 'last college trip', involving me&Deanne&Kim&Lou&Rach&Ange...

...and me&kim, Halloween 07. Told you Corpse Bride was my go-to outfit.

2008, age 19/20, in New York/at the beach in summer/at Latitude festival with somewhat dishevelled hair...

2009, age 20/21. You already know this was the best year of my life. In order: Me and Aaron, a night out in January/in a cafe in London, around the time I started this blog/me and Luke in our best model poses (black&white is my friend)/on another night out in Newcastle - look, I'm even reeling the gays in these days/Daniel being beautiful, followed by Luke being beautiful, after the hair dye...if I can feel good about myself when surrounded by such beautiful people as this, as all of my wonderful friends, then everyone can, non?

And these days (this is about a week old) - age 21, with some of best friends, at 4 in the morning. Proof, if proof were needed, that if you have awesome friends, you need little else.

Thankyou friends&family who are in these photos, for being amazing.

Thankyou friends&mam whose facebook profiles I've stolen these off.

Man, that long natural coloured hair was doing me no favours.

This all neatly ties in to British Style Blogger's Body Image Campaign - do what you can, especially you Brit bloggers. They've already been featured in ifb's link's round up...

And kids, remember, the most beautiful thing you can be is to be confident within yourself.

ah, nice&cheesy. ;)