Thursday, October 04, 2012

John Rocha at London Fashion Week

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Posing with my very stylish friend Simeon
Sorry this has taken so long to get out - it's been in my drafts for ages but in between travelling and sorting myself for uni I haven't got round to putting it up til now. A while ago now I was lucky enough to go to the John Rocha show at London Fashion Week. In light of the occasion I decided to go with something a little more directional than my usual style, dabbling in the double print trend. Prints are something that I have found myself gravitating towards more and more lately as I find they really lift a simple outfit and fit in well with my desire to wear lots of colour. Although I have owned this vintage 80s suit for ages this was the first time I had worn both halves together. I normally just wear the jacket but really liked the effect of the whole outfit and found the large print and muted tones meant it wasn't too overwhelming. I paired it with a simple back stiletto, silk vest and gold belt to give some extra polish without distracting from the main event.
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 I arrived early and had a wonder round the courtyard checking out street style although I didn't take many pictures, feeling insecure with my obviously inferior compact camera. I also spotted a few people from blogs that I read such as Stella from Stella's Wardrobe and Diane Pernet from A Shaded View in her usual veil and sunglasses. Of course I was too shy to say hello but it was still funny and a little surreal to spot people who's lives you have read about so much - it is different to a celebrity sighting.

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In the Vodaphone Lounge
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My friend had got hold of Vodaphone VIP tickets and we were finally allowed into the lounge to gorge ourselves on prosecco and nibbles before the show began. Suddenly the doors opened and we rushed out to get the best position. We were standing at the back about halfway down the catwalk but had a surprisingly good view.
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Waiting...
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The collection was beautiful, with a big emphasis on texture and femininity. All the models were crowned with headdresses made out of organza which almost like roses and gave the show a whimsical feel. The prevailing silhouette was demure, flaring at the hips into skirts that fell to the knee or below or were layered over cigarette trousers. Although the show started ebullient with brightly coloured dresses embellished with fringing and ruffles which were layered with charming sheer jackets and coats it quickly progressed into muted pastels, yellows like old newspaper, to a second half that was much more somber and had a much more minimal feel. Some of the detailing remained but overall silhouettes were sharper and more tailored with a palette of black and white. Set against The Kill's 'Pale Blue Eyes' this gave the feeling a love affair unravelling; optimism and enthusiasm fading away into sadness and resignation.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

A la Parisienne

Paris street style, simple
Simple Paris style from The Sartorialist
I had an absolutely wonderful stay in Paris last week. It was my second time visiting Paris and I was staying with friends from university so it was wonderful to be able to go beyond yseeing the tourist sites and to go off the beaten track. I have never quite comprehended the admiration that surrounds French women, or at least their clothes. Yes, they are well groomed and presented, seeming to be universally blessed with clear skin and great bone structure. They also supposedly don't get fat (although my childhood holidays in the south of france so not support this), have successful, sexy marriages and well-mannered children. But stylistically it all seems so...safe. While one may appreciate the elegance of classic style and see its beauty. Provided you have the funds to buy quality it is not difficult to pull off. It is the kind of clothing I pull out in a hurry on a lazy day in order to look 'put together'.

White shirt and jeans with bright accessories, Paris street style
Edgy accessories elevate a simple white shirt and jeans
An art teacher of mine at school used to say that he could teach anyone to be a good draftsman but the sign of artistic talent is the ability to use colour. It requires a certain eye for putting things together that cannot be taught. Dark jeans + simple top + blazer or leather jacket is a great formula but, especially when in monochrome, not adventurous. This does not stop one aspiring to this effortless and simple style but for me I am much more impressed by risk taking. Be it layering, colour, accessories or print. Even a simple variation of an interesting cut or accessorising can elevate the chic to stylish cool.

Paris street style, orange jacket
Pops of colour give an outfit a wonderful lift
More on what I got up to in Paris, as well as fashion week notes, when I get back from Cornwall. And yes I'll probably be writing about that too so at this rate my writings will be turning into a travel blog!

 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Dropped into LFW and nipped across the channel

What a whirlwind few days, on Saturday morning I received a text from a friend asking if I wanted to go to London Fashion Week. Of course I responded "yes!" and a few hours later I was watching models stomp down the John Rocha catwalk. It was such an amazing experience and also slightly surreal, having read about this since I was at school! to suddenly be there. I will write a proper post about this and my stay in Paris which I just returned from. Another spur of the moment turn of events! I booked my Eurostar tickets on Friday after chatting to a uni friend who lives there and suggested I come over for a few days. I really want to do more of these kind of impulsive things from now on. For too long I have hesitated when opportunities come up for fear it will go wrong or that I cannot justify the expense etc, etc. I want to take life by the balls and grab all the amazing opportunities that I am fortunate enough to have come my way.


 

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Rustic Apple Cake

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Sometimes all you want from a cake is something easy and tasty that will help use up a huge glut of apples. Okay so the latter part is a little uncommon but the first two are very much true here. I first came up with this recipe a few years ago to use a bumper apple crop as I had tired of the usual tarts and pies and it rather delectable if I say myself. Moist and dense with sharp chunks of apple and polenta for an unexpected crunch it works well with a cup of tea or warm with a dollop of cream for an easy pudding. Plus the high fruit content means you can dupe yourself that it's practically one of your five a day if you have a large enough slice!

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

Call of the Wild

Leopard in Yala National Park Sri Lanka
A real stand out experience for me in Sri Lanka was visiting Yala National Park. It was the country's first national park, established in 1900, and is home to a large variety of birds and mammals. We were extremely lucky during our Safari as although the driver of our Jeep was young and did not seem very good at the job (he kept on driving past animals that we spotted and then by the time he reversed they had been scared away) we saw all of the main animals. For the first hour or so we seemed to be driving though lifeless scrub land but finally the sightings started with a few peacocks and water buffalo and kept on coming. The major attraction of Yala is the leopards - it has the highest concentration of the shy animals in the world. It was a real shock to be driving away from an elephant sighting and see one crossing the road to a waterhole in front of the vehicle! It stayed at the water drinking for some time, evidently thirsty from the baking hot day. When it stopped it looked up and, seeing vehicles queued up to watch it, sprinted back across the road and into the bushes.
Leopard at watering hole in Yala National Park Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Elephant, Yala
Our first wild elephant sighting next to the beach
Sri Lankan Tusked Elephant, Yala
This sighting was a complete surprise as we came to a Jeep in front of us and a tusked elephant next to the road which then walked right close past us
Sri Lankan Tusked Elephant, Yala
It came extremely close as it walked past, reaching out its trunk to touch the Jeep
Mugger Crocodile in watering hole at Yala, Sri Lanka
It was fascinating watching the crocodiles at this watering hole, when we first arrived we could only see a couple lying motionless with their mouths open on the bank but as we sat what we had thought was some mud breaking the water moved and came out and several others emerged from the depths
Water buffalo in Yala, Sri Lanka
Water buffalo
Water buffalo and peacock at a watering hole in Yala, Sri Lanka

Deer at a watering hole in Yala, Sri Lanka
As the sun went down more animlas came out to drink at the watering holes such as these deer

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Camouflage

Now that I'm no longer on holiday and Britain's mini heat wave is over I am trying to get myself back into covering up and breaking away from short, light, bright things. I absolutely adore this field print top from Zara, the colours are perfect for the end of summer and it is in a lovely silky fabric. I paired it with a pair of Miu Miu jeans that were an amazing find on clearance at TKMaxx a few years ago. When I got back to my parent's it suddenly struck me that i would be perfectly camouflaged on the recently harvested fields on our farm so I persuaded my mum to take a few pics.



And When the Day Comes it Will Have All Been Fun...

The XX at the Empire Shepherd Bush
What a great weekend this has been. Saw two artists that I absolutely adore live; Perfume Genius on Thursday and The XX on Monday, in between basked in the sunshine in the Kent countryside. If you don't know Perfume Genius then you should, he has a beautiful soft voice and sings amazingly written haunting songs. But I'm afraid you can't. I liked him first and he is already becoming far too popular - I missed out in his London gig this winter because too many people share my view on him. Yes, I am one of those people who listens to independent music and gets upset when it achieves greater success. I know it's selfish but I don't want to loose the privilege of intimate gigs and cheap seats (his gig was at The Union Chapel in Islington). No one will care when I say "I liked them first". The XX on the other hand need no introduction. Despite a sound that is very different to the majority of chart music they have become extremely popular, particularly since winning a Mercury Award for their album 'XX'. I was be lucky to get tickets for their gig for their new album 'Coexist' at The Empire Shepherds Bush since it sold out in minutes. In fact, after refreshing the page incessantly for about an hour before tickets were released I missed out on getting standing tickets in the time it took to enter my credit card details!
Perfume Genius at Union Chapel London
Perfume Genius at the Union Chapel

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Adventure Continued: Colombo, Baby Elephants and Kandy

Traffic speeding by below the apartment
After the beach we headed to Colombo for a day or so. The heat there was astonishing as the sun beat down and reflected off the buildings. It is not a beautiful city but it was still interesting to wander round. We visited a fascinating Buddhist temple that seemed almost like a museum, with shelves filled with jewellery or watches or coins or some other valuable that had been donated over the years. We were staying in an apartment block in what seemed to be the city's equivalent of South Kensington, sandwiched between the presidents house and expensive hotels. One of my favourite places was the Galle Face Hotel, which exuded old-world, colonial charm and is a perfect spot for a couple of (very reasonable) cocktails with the sea lapping at your side. It is one of the oldest hotels of its kind, predating Raffles in Singapore and has hosted many famous people over the years such as the writer Chekhov.

Bath time for the young elephant at the temple

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Faces of Sri Lanka

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East meets West, my friends and I, drivers, security and plantation superintendent all take in the view
 Sri Lanka is a country that has faced much hardship in recent years, struck first by civil war and then the devastating tsunami, but this does not seem to show on the faces of its people. We were stuck by the warmth and optimism of the people there. From the smiling face of the man who met us at the airport onwards we ...

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Everywhere we went we took photos of Anoura so he would be able to show his wife and children
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Saturday, September 08, 2012

The Wanderer Returns

The holiday was typified by amazing views such as this one over the sea from our apartment in Colombo

Yet another sudden absence, just when I thought I was getting the hang of this blogging lark I get out-of-sync again. At least this time I have a good reason, at the end of August I went to Sri Lanka on what was probably one of the most wonderful holidays I have been on.

And the other direction
I decided to visit the country as one of my friends' family is from there, although he grew up in England, and another has recently moved there for work. I have to admit that before deciding to go there it was a place I knew virtually nothing about other than flickers from the coverage of the civil war and the tsunami a few years a ago. However, as soon as I had got up the Wikipedia page that mentioned its status as a place of leading biodiversity and seen a few pictures I knew I had to go.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Lemon Incest

Yellow mood board

I'm experiencing a craving for all things yellow. When I'm out sales shopping my eyes are constantly drawn to the colour. From floaty sherbet-coloured skirts to mustard vests I can't get enough of it. It's strange for me because it is a colour that has not done a lot for me in the past. Until recently I was convinced it was unsuitable for me, causing my naturally pale skin to look jaundiced. Now I've decided that I don't care if it does, plus it's much less of an issue with coloured trews and skirts. The first yellow item of clothing I owned since being a small child was a dark yellow jumper from Uniqlo and I just bought a pale yellow pleated skirt (something else I can't get enough of) in the Massimo Dutti sale.

I love this song, despite the rather disturbing lyrical content, particularly with the father/daughter duet - they both have great voices though

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Goodbye to Gilda

Still from the Rita Hayworth film 'Gilda' that the brand takes its name from
Since I've been writing this blog I've brought up my work a fair few times. Since October last year I have been working in the Covent Garden boutique of a wonderful jewellery brand called Gilda's Tryst who make pearl and gemstone jewellery that takes inspiration from classic vintage styles and adds a modern twist. Due to various reasons I have decided to move on to pastures new. Taking some time out to recharge before looking for work again - if any one wants to offer me a job please don't hesitate to contact me!

Instagramming myself at work - I've acquired so much black clothing because of this job!
But in all seriousness, I'm really sad to be leaving. Not only because of the loss of staff discount but because of how much I've enjoyed working in the shop. Although I've mainly worked alone in the shop I've still been fortunate enough to meet some of the other girls who work in the shops who are all lovely, as well as the owners; Shireen and Amanda who are just about the nicest bosses I can imagine having. The boutique was always a relaxed place to work as the customers were always really pleasant and it was great to be selling something I liked so much. As a final goodbye I've picked out some of my favourite pieces that I'm debating getting before I go.


Goodbye Gilda

Saturday, July 21, 2012

East Street, Cheap Pan-Asian on the Hoof

Bright signs form the background to eating at East Street: Tom Yam soup, Summer Roll and Gyoza
East Street, the new pan-Asian joint off Oxford street aims to recreate the experience of an east Asian hawker centre in London. Hawker centres are the original street food markets selling traditional delicacies fir low prices. They are the thing that my friends from Singapore, a country whose citizens seem to universally be foodies, say they miss most often.

 In order to create a similar atmosphere the interior of eat street is what you might expect if you had taken a Wagamamas and put the designers of legoland in charge after a fact finding mission to a Moroccan souk. A large open space is populated by wooden tables, bright plastic chairs and neon signs. I can't speak for the authenticity of this but I couldn't help but like it. It was fun, with some humour in the signs breaking up what could otherwise be a cold space.

Early Learning Centre meets industrial chiq
The place seems designed to be a chain and I could see it being rolled out to other locations with ease if people take to the food.

The other half and I ate there a few weeks ago en route between work and the pub to watch the football final (well, he watched). As we were in a hurry we went for the express menu which offered a main dish and side for a very reasonable £7.50.

Service was a little abrupt but efficient and our starters arrived quickly. My summer rolls were as I would hope; fresh and crunchy with a good amount of prawn although I did miss the usual peanut sauce to dip them in. Gyoza were also decent enough, though the filling was a little bland. Soon after arrived two steaming bowls. Tom Yam soup was almost overpoweringly flavoured with sour/spice with a lack of veggies and noodles to temper it but still quite satisfying. I'm told that the coconut curry was rather bland (though the spoonful I had seemed pleasant in a creamy, comforting sort of way) but he enjoyed it after adding a good dose of sriracha (a good selection of sauces was provided at the table).

The East Street sweets provided at the end of the meal were a very sweet touch
Overall it was an enjoyable meal and I have no complaints given the price. Although the food is not stand out if I am in the area and needing a quick meal or going out with a big group I would certainly bear it in mind: the food is well priced (the main menu dishes are generally under £10) with good portions and a lot more fun and variety than Wagamama or similar which I would place in the same bracket. I'll be really interested to see the future of this one as it seems perfect for expansion into a chain as Asian cookery other than Japanese and Chinese is gaining popularity.


East Street Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Friday, July 20, 2012

Here we. Here we. Here we f***ing go!

T in the Park day 1
DAY 1: Dress up Friday was Fairytale themed. DRESS & EARRINGS: H+M, HEADBAND: random stall at the festival, WINGS: Angels
Hello again, sorry for the absence. I went away the weekend before last to T in the Park and have only just got caught up with things back here! I've wanted to go to a festival since I was still at school  but till now I've not been organised enough to get tickets. So when my friend texted the night before T in the Park tickets were released to ask if I wanted to go I didn't hesitate, practical considerations of getting from London didn't cross my mind.The title for this post is the Scottish chant that happened for pretty much every act, as first we were quite confused what they were saying (especially my Ukrainian friend) as it changed based on the name of the act. Also please excuse the dodgy poses in these photos - I wasn't doing outfit photos per say and these are the only shots that show what I wore!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Twilight Zone

Viperfish
When I was small nature programs were one of my favourite things to watch. every Sunday afternoon I would tune in to whatever animal-related show was on. My favourites were those presented by David Attenborough, there is something about his manner and soothing tone of voice which means that to this day I could happily listen to him for hours. Coming accros the book for the BBC series 'Blue Planet', which looked at life in oceans accross the globe, brought all of these memories flooding back. The program was a joy to watch aesthetically and though it did not have the emotional pull of some of the more 'cuddly' wildlife shows it was fascinating

My favourite episode was the one focusing on the Deep Sea, featuring animals that live below 200m where there is little or no light. They look so alien and exist in such inhospitable climates that it is hard to believe that are not the product of a sci-fi writer's imagination. In fact one species 'Cystisoma' was an inspiration for the creature in the 1979 film 'Alien'.

 

Many designers took inspiration from under the sea in their S/S '12 collections. Most of these took a lighter tone, with seafoam hues and bright corals, fishy prints, drapes and sparkling scales.