Friday 30 April 2010

Advertising At Its Best

There are always those brands who are part of ours lives from when we’re tiny to when we’re old… John Lewis is one of those brands for me, and many others in the UK. I remember when I was very young, having my haircut at Trotters on the Kings Road and going for a ‘sticky bun’ at the café in Peter Jones afterwards… This ad tugged at something in me, just as it will, I’m sure, for many others… Beautiful work, and appeals to the best in us, even if it does take advantage if the sappy consumer in us!

The Gap Between High and Low

Gap is collaborating with designers such as Alexander Wang, Rodarte, and Thakoon to dress guests such as Jessica Alba and Kirsten Dunst for the Met Gala on Monday...

Eyes peeled, everybody. These are some collaborations not to be missed...

Another Girl Crush...

Mary-Louise Parker.

I am obsessed with The West Wing. I've seen every episode, most twice or three times. I still believe it to be the smartest and best show ever made. And Amy Gardner in her capacity as powerful political lobbyist and the First Lady's Chief of Staff, makes me fall more and more in love with her with every passing episode.

I read on People today that while she was seven months pregnant, her boyfriend Billy Crudup left her for Claire Danes... Not knowing both sides of the situation, one can say with confidence that Mary-Louise must be as strong in her personal life as she is in role of Amy.

Also, she's absolutely stunning!

As a drug pusher on Weeds, she's infinitely watchable. And I'm ordering 'Angels in America' and 'Fried Green Tomatoes' from Amazon...

She's won a Tony, a Golden Globe, has a song written about her by the Counting Crows, starred in her boyfriend's music video, and adopted her daughter, Ash, from Africa... What's not to love about Mary-Louise Parker?

Thursday 29 April 2010

A Worrying State of Affairs

Let it not be said that fashion is shallow. The Cut – the New York Magazine fashion blog – reported that, at the funeral of civil-rights leader Dorothy Height, Michelle Obama’s hair… was "voluminous".

Firstly, was it worth adding that to an industry blog? And secondly, is that really the story to draw from the occasion? Dorothy Height was an extraordinary civil rights activist, and spent her whole life fighting for the interests of African American women, but Michelle Obama’s hair – which, it fairly nondescript – is the story they chose to focus on?

Michelle and Dorothy are both incredible role models for young women, hell for women of all ages! I love fashion, but let’s prioritise the exceptional lives of these women, above the more than usually abundant volume of their hair!

The Beautiful and the Damned

Bridal spreads are always predictable… Until now.

I like the original approach to bridal couture, not the cookie-cutter, cutesy, polished bride, but screaming, paint-stained, high-fashion bridal edge.

It may not be commercial, but it’s eye-catching!

Wednesday 28 April 2010

The Same But Better

Britney Spears' ads for Candie's shoes (yeah, we don't have those in the UK to my knowledge... not a huge loss!) have been virally circulating in full before-and-after glory... The get air brush debate continues to rage on, but right or not, the more before-and-after shots we see, the more evident it becomes that reaching this level of physical perfection is not possible without the help of some clever software...
Even those with the time, money and inclination to work out for three hours a day with the help of navy seals/olympians/ex-Gladiators aren't able to live up to their own, better selves. The selves that sell shoes. It must be surreal, and horrible, to look at a picture of yourself, perfected, and then face the reality in the mirror...

Tuesday 27 April 2010

Write a World for Me...

Today I discovered that Nancy Meyers wrote my favourite film. Every time I'm sick, or feeling childishly vulnerable, I watch 'The Parent Trap' and immediately feel better. I could care less about the first part: long lost twins meet in camp, so what?

Nancy Meyers' films, such as 'The Holiday', 'Something's Got To Give' and 'Father of the Bride', feature highly in my favourite feel-good movies. And it seems to have a lot to do with the "lifestyles and settings she creates". Erica Barry's perfect white house in the Hamptons, Harry Sanborn's Manhattan bachelor pad, Iris' Surrey cottage, and especially Elizabeth James's London town house.

There's something about Meyers' worlds which make romance and interior design mutually exclusive. Make your world beautiful, and beautiful things will happen...

Sunday 25 April 2010

The Seductive Smell of Leather

For my 21st birthday, I was given a Mulberry Bayswater. It is the perfect bag. Mulberry has a unique way of designing bags which last, and last... Good quality leather, not easily scuffed, and classic styles which transcend season-to-season trends.

The current collection is no exception. My grandmother left all of her grandchildren a little money in her will, and I think she would approve of it being invested in my beloved handbag collection... A PS1 bag is a pipe-dream, and from what I've heard, wouldn't be able to withstand the extreme conditions my bags face day-to-day... But a Mulberry bag, with its way of always being on-trend, and classic at the same time, is a very agreeable alternative...

The only question now, is... Which one?

Alexa Chung with the 'Alexa'

The 'Alexa' - looks a little structurally unsound...
Kate Bosworth with the 'Leah'

The 'Leah' - definitely in the running, but in Hazelnut instead of Kate Bosworth's 'mushroom'!
Fearne Cotton with the 'Daria'
The 'Daria' Hobo - enormous... good or bad?

Saturday 24 April 2010

Think Before You Ink....

I have been considering my second tattoo for a while now, and my flat-mate is pondering her first... We had the bright idea to use kids' fake tattoos to test out some ideas for placement, got the giggles and covered ourselves in them... They were Claire's Accessories finest 'Bad Girl' selection... We looked ridiculous.

I saw these images on Style Me Pretty, and thought they were pretty amazing. I love tattoos, but I'm weary about placing my own in place where they can be easily hidden. My wedding day, and job interviews, were two principle reasons for wanting them hidden, but here women have incorporated their body art into their wedding outfits. I just love how bold and beautiful they look...

Wednesday 21 April 2010

Sheer Brilliance

There are elements of Spring Summer '10 that I love, but can't figure out. Lace, sheer blouses, longline bras in creme and dusty rose...
Here, in simple perfection, is how it's done...

Sexy Back...

I was reading this Anna interview, and it pointed to this Penn image of Nicole in Lacroix... It's too beautiful not to share. Absolutely stunning...

It reminded me of a Vera Wang that I saw last year, and fell completely in love with. I'm cynical about marriage at the best of time, but if I ever do make it down the isle I will be wearing this...

Source: Penn, Vera

Tuesday 20 April 2010

Mario, The Master...

I'll admit I half suspected that Mario Testino was loosing his touch after that god awful spread in The September Issue. But this is fan-bloody-tastic! Colourful, exotic, unusual... beautiful.

Source

Saddle up...

I desperately want this saddle bag! I love a Chanel bag as much as the next girl, but the bag on the right is really something… Where is it from? How can I get one?!


Chain Me Up

Why is it that whenever I try to layer gold chains, it doesn't look like this? I LOVE it...

Sunday 18 April 2010

Dear John's Notebook

This morning I watched ‘Dear John’, curious to see how the wartime break-up letters and Channing Tatum’s jaw were related. The small part of me that is a romantic thought it was not a waste of a rainy Sunday morning (even when factoring in that my first degree exam starts tomorrow morning!), but overwhelmingly I thought it strongly resembled ‘The Notebook’.

As a student of Literature, I am obviously aware that it is impossible for any writer to entirely abandon a recognisable ‘voice’ that runs through their works, but really, Nicholas Sparks, the two stories are EXTREMELY similar, if not fundamentally the same!

None the less, I love letter-writing (despite being hopeless at it) and Amanda Seyfried’s hair, and therefore, will not entirely discount ‘Dear John’ as a movie experience…

Photo Source: IMDB

Wednesday 14 April 2010

Rachel, Is That You?

There’s no other way to say it. Glee fills me with GLEE!

And look how HOT Lea Michele is at the dawn of a new episode… Holy crap!

Tuesday 13 April 2010

Wowey...

Sometimes it’s ok to post just because it’s pretty… Wowey! What a face!

More Power To Ya!

For those who know me, it will be unsurprising that I love this shoot. Vogue and power dressing - what a combo! And Liu Wen is gorgeous. And the whole thing is just great and fabulous and amazing. And this is the most excited I've been about a shoot for a long time! WOO!

Monday 12 April 2010

Tick Tock Tick Tock...

Time is the enemy. Time is something I've studied in literature, always in the sense of time running out, or the incomprehensible nature of infinite time (and if you're going to spend eternity in heaven or hell, then that's a long, long time).

At the moment, it is the enemy of real life. I am living through three break ups at present, one of them my own, and in each case, all there is to say is that in time, all will heal and fade until it is just a memory. But time moves so slowly when you're begging it to pass. When you want a moment to last forever, it is gone before you can grasp it, but when you need time to hurry by and heal the pain you feel, it moves torturously slowly.

And all we can do is wait... And listen to Leona Lewis' 'Better in Time'

Thursday 8 April 2010

Upper East Side Fun

This shoot is fantastic. I love Coco Rocha. I love her face. The Irish dancing might be a big much, but her Celtic colouring is stunning…

Wednesday 7 April 2010

Killer Combo...

What could be cooler than the fabulous MAC pairing up with Liberty's (one of my favourite stores) to produce a Limited Edition make up line? I can't wait to go and check out the shades - I can already tell that the packaging is amazing! Liberty's certainly seems to be on a partnership kick - first Target, and now this!

I can't get enough floral print - keep it coming!

Monday 5 April 2010

Wow Wow Wow...

Oh. My. God. Have you SEEN these SHOES?

Marc, you have stolen my heart... And put them on your shoes...

I want them all, and I want them NOW NOW NOW!

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