choices, choices...
like kids in a candy shop we oooh'ed and ahhh'ed for ages, walking around, poking at all the different ones... trying to decide, trying to narrow down our options. it was so difficult. but in the end we were triumphant... both of us found two pairs we wanted to take home. sadly one pair that i was after happens to be sold out in my size so i will just have to wait until they get more in... you know when you are told you can't have something and all of a sudden like a wave a furry you must have it.... and suddenly your life just isn't complete anymore? okay okay, i may be acting a bit dramatic, and alas, it's not as if i left empty handed. quite the contrary.
lovely a4 size carrier bag that not only fit my shoes but also my new april elle. also, since it isn't paper it didn't disintegrate when i was cycling on my bike in the pouring rain. i was totally worried that my shoes would be soaked but there wasn't a drop on them.
tah-dah! my lovely 'green luella brogues'. these were my favourites straight away on the website but then i wasn't sure if green suede-y shoes are really my thing... i mean, do i really want green brogues? it turns out i really and truly do. can't wait to wear them because not only are they totally adorable they are so insanely comfortable. they are so soft and squidgy inside - seriously they are divine and more perfect than i had anticipated.
p.s. photos of the very cool interior/exterior coming soon.
'i have never eaten a cupcake...'
say what?! never eaten a cupcake?! it is true, believe it or not... at the first blogger cupcake party, which was held today in covent garden, we had a cupcake rookie. it was so great and very exciting. much to her dismay though we insisted on documenting the incredibly momentous occasion...
actually Hedvig was a total trooper and didn't even mind being photographed while biting into her massive cupcake... such are the kinds of moments that modeling prepares you for! while some of us were more acquainted with the cupcake world we weren't as poised when it came to the photos! i for one just gobbled mine up as quick as possible, and as you can see Jill insisted on hiding behind hers... they are so gorgeously delicious though, can you blame her?
so while the cupcake party was a great success we did have a few inevitable issues - Jill and i were running late, because we were ridiculously infatuated with a shoe-candy-shop and had difficulty pulling ourselves away from the place. Hedvig arrived at Ella's only to discover that it was closed. being short staffed, i.e. 1 employee and errands to run, doesn't bid well for hungry customers. it worked out in the end though. we all found each other and Ella's reopened... we even had another very special birthday girl join us... but i'll post more on that later. for now, just remember if you can get to london save this date for the next cupcake party: 2nd April. you wont regret it.
it's all a blur...
london fashion week ended ages ago... but i'm still sifting through photos and finding out surprises about who the people are that i shot. i didn't ask a lot of names, there just isn't time always. it has been so fun to have people contact me to say that they are 'that person' in one of the photos or even seeing pictures of people i shot on other sites and discovering who they are. the girl pictured above is one such example: i saw her before the eun jeong show, but didn't manage to get a great photo. lots of people and lots of movement - so it was nearly impossible to shoot anything decent. with that said, i still tried... she had on the most intense shoes (super high wedge with crystal straps), spotty tights, leopard print coat and big (geeky) black frames. all things i love. she was totally working it and looked like she really wasn't too fussed or self-aware. i think i spotted her sitting in the front row during the show and wondered who she was... anyway, thanks to Vanessa Jackman and this post i discovered that she is Magalie Suvelor the editor of DIRRTYGLAM magazine. although fashion week is long gone i still feel like i am sifting through all the images and continue to be surprised by the whirlwind of it all.
with the blur of fashion week to the side, i am back to my real life... i.e. studying and writing lots of essay (14,000 words worth over the next 5 weeks to be exact). so if you are ever wondering where i am or what i am up to... just picture this building: the radcliffe camera. situated in the centre of oxford. not too shabby to look at, right? it's gorgeous inside, and so beautiful when the sun is shining. so, i'll be spending my lunch breaks sat outside, drinking coffee and people watching. am going to try to capture some oxford street style for you while i am sitting there... and when i meet people i can hand them this little beauty. wahooo... new blogger cards!
which, brings me to my last point: i have been overhearing a lot of seriously negative people lately (two example: young girls talking about how un-pretty their friend is and a guy that cycled past me today and shouted 'stupid people' at some individuals that were crossing the street - but not at a crosswalk). i know this isn't anything new, and that i probably moan a lot about people too... but it just got me thinking. when i first started this blog it was kind of critical - poking fun at people who didn't really dress to suit their shape or just wore things i thought were pretty hideous generally. my brother-in-law (michael, you know who you are) mentioned to me a couple times that maybe it wasn't that nice and maybe i should try to be a bit more positive... but 'come on, michael', i said... 'some people really do look bad' (for example: a girl i shot wearing white linen with her underwear showing through... these people should be saved from their fashion sins, right?! - by the way, we even made a little video of him documenting his adamant belief that everyone has their own sense of style and shouldn't be judged for it - pretty hysterical because he got camera shy at the last minute). back to the point, it wasn't really a conscious change, but my posts have become more positive.
anyway, basically these two things (negative people & new cards) just sort of got me thinking about my blog. i know it is still kind of a baby compared to some others out there, but i am totally chuffed each day to read all the comments you guys leave and to see how many people have visited. so thanks for popping by when you do and leaving your thoughts. on the topic of your thoughts: what do you think about the whole negativity/critiquing thing? and is there anything you especially like seeing on here?
p.s. i know this was a text-heavy post so congratulations if you made it through the whole thing. i will eat a cupcake in your honour tomorrow...
dear mom, i need some new shoes...
i feel like i have just been let in on the most fabulous secret. a shoe secret that is. a shoe secret so great i feel it has the power to totally transform my shoe life. have you heard of kate kanzier? honestly, it's my new shoe fairy... delivering ridiculously beautiful shoes that are affordable. i thought i must have made some mistake when i looked at the website. surely, surely, they meant to put a 1 in front of that 30?! her shoes are totally gorgeous, practical, come in a plethora of colours, and are oh-so-stylish... and from what i can tell could easily be mistaken for a pair of churches (which come in at 350GBP instead of 30). so basically it's a match made in shoe heaven. i feel like these are the kind of shoes my mom would want me to have, don't you mom? don't they just remind you of the shoes you wore back in the day? it is so hard to pick favourites... these are seriously like brightly coloured sweets in a candy shop.
are these babies london's best kept secret? did everyone out there already know about these, have you all been keeping me in the dark? they've been featured in all sorts of magazines so i really don't know how they managed to slip past me. so i haven't actually tried on a pair yet or seen them in person. but if they are half as good in real life as they look in the photos i think i will be in for some serious trouble. am going to pop over to the shop in london after my class (it just happens to be a 10min walk away) on friday so i will let you know how they are! oh, and if menswear inspired shoes aren't really your thing they've got a big collection of ballet flats (starting at, brace yourselves, 20 pounds), heels, and handbags.
p.s. incase you have forgotten mom, i wear a size 38.
hyoni kang...
like a flash of light... she was gone before we hardly had the chance to realize she was running past. but from the 'ooo's' and 'ahhhh's' that came pouring out of everyone sitting under the umbrellas i had enough sense to turn around and try to get a shot. she was clearly in a rush to get somewhere... or at least get out of that nasty rain. hyoni kang won the ford models supermodel of the year contest back in 2008, being the first east asian model to do so, and i am sure she had important places to be. a while later she came walking back by again, on the phone and looking determined to get somewhere. none of us got up to take her photo, she was nearly out of sight when shini said, 'i've got to go try' (or something along those lines) and ran over to talk to her. then i realized (earth to jen, get with it!) that i should go take shini's photo taking hyoni's photo... sadly my heels slowed me down (lesson learned), i was a bit late, and once again she was off in a flash: such is the life of a supermodel i suppose.
you're invited: blogger cupcake party...
Where: Ella's Bakehouse in Covent Garden
When: 12pm Friday 19th March
Who: any bloggers or friends
Okay, so it isn't really a party. It is basically exactly what I do every other Friday afternoon but hopefully with a few new faces. If you are in the area and want to pop by it would be lovely to see you. Ella's does the most incredible cupcakes in London and they are located right at the heart of Covent Garden. You can sit outside, shoot the stylish folk who pass by, sip on a latte, get entranced by their cupcakes... honestly, this sounds like the perfect way to spend a Friday afternoon, right? I will be there until 2pm. Who knows, it may just end up being Jill and I... but it would be lovely to see any of you that are kicking around London. Aren't these bad boys too good to resist?
bathed in black...
blending in does not seem to be the overall goal of most individuals at london fashion week. you don't want to be a fly on the wall, you want to be that stylish person, front and centre who has a flurry of photographers on them. you want to be noticed and remembered. not easily forgotten and not one of a crowd. you want to wear something that stands out, that has people asking, 'who are you wearing?' with such anticipation that when you mutter, 'uhh... h&m' they are left flabbergasted. only a total fashionista could find such a great designer-inspired item at such a great price. alas, the case was not such for this black-clad on-a-mission fashion pack. which makes me love them all the more. their united blackness somehow wound up looking fresh and unique.
cheap & cheerful...
as my birthday is fast approaching (okay, it is over a month away, but i can't help it... i am already in the mood for presents - it's not my fault there are seriously way too many beautiful things out there in the world). what i really want for my birthday is upwards of 500GBP (a new canon camera) and since i am slightly skint at the moment i have been informed that that is not going to be happening. while i will, of course, continue to hold my breath that i might just be lucky enough to have the stars align and somehow still get my #1 birthday wish... i have decided to put forward a few alternatives. now, this is beneficial both to my family (in case you are reading and want some birthday present ideas) and to the wider community of you lovely readers. because, let's face it... we all love having beautiful treasures unearthed to us. especially when they come in at under $2o. so, here you go, my monday cheap & cheerful gift ideas unveiled.
pyrite necklaces ($16 each) and sailors knot bracelet ($18) both available here.
the masked avengers...
when asked what they were doing with those masks on their reply was: 'we can't tell you.'
hmm... intriguing? or just an elaborate way to cover up a pimple?
'oh my gosh... oh my gosh...'
seriously the best sunday i could have ever asked for... first of all didn't have to go to work (which is a treat), there wasn't a cloud in the sky, didn't even have to wear a coat outside, ate chocolate croissants, drank good coffee, read the paper with my love, and then found out i won a blogger giveaway! i was freaking out a little. thanks so much to the lovely pearl of fashion pearls of wisdom. you can check out the details of what i won here. basically it involves a new gym kit and some bum-toning reebok easy tone trainers. woop woop. thanks again pearl, i'm totally chuffed.
the boys are back in town...
while girls tend to get the bulk of the attention at london fashion week (after all there is only 1 day devoted to menswear) there certainly are a lot of fashionable men trotting around. there are those who are trying to make a statement (i am sure you have seen a few on here already) and then there are those who look so blatantly unconcerned with the faff of it all. i got this feeling most strongly from the gentlemen pictured above. they just look so cool and so nonchalant about the whole thing. i love it... and seriously, can i borrow that black and white check shirt please?
these two guys are rocking totally different looks - but one thing key thing that they both have? perfectly worn in brown leather boots.
some more cool kids... totally love the fact that this guy in the white fedora is wearing a white fedora. hats in general were pretty rare which i found a bit surprising. kudos to him for wearing a summer hat with sunglasses on a seriously miserable and rainy day (i definitely feel like doing that sometimes.. dressing how i feel regardless of how ridiculously inappropriate it may be - i.e. my constantly nagging need for bare legs despite the fact that it is still dipping below freezing at night... boo england why must you crush my every desire?). anyway, basically all these boys are just oozing a sort of 'not really bothered' vibe which i totally adore, and i can't help but think it is remarkably refreshing when so many of the men at fashion week looked a wee bit on the extravagant side... welcome back boys, i like your laid back style.
Patouf: one to watch....
simple, chic and covetable... and made from glorious fabrics. totally unique and slightly off-beat. meet patouf. a swedish company that was founded by designer Anna Angseryd and combines sophisticated French cuts with 60/70s vintage inspired shapes - creating a feminine collection that has a scandinavian girly touch.
on day 1 of london fashion week i spotted Anna with one of her models mingling with the press under a tent. they took photos and did some interviews - but stood out to me predominately because of Anna's carefree and effortless style. that cardigan, the skirt, those blue wedge shoes... totally gorgeous. i pretty much would like to dress just like her. so i was totally chuffed when on day 5 i came across her stall in the exhibition hall and got to rummage through the rails of her collection.
the thing that stood out most to me was the fabrics... they really are stunning. Anna mentioned that she wants her collection to be the sort that her customer will want to keep and wear for a long time. she is committed to getting the best fabrics that are not only stunning but ethically sourced - that means no child labour, which is still common in many companies. so she makes sure there is nothing dodgy going on at any of the factories she uses. she tries to use organic materials when possible, and her dedication to handpicking the best fabrics from around the world is clearly evident in the quality of her products.
i'm totally in love with the whole collection and have already e-mailed her to find out how soon i can get my hands on some of my favourite pieces from the fall collection. which, in case you were wondering, are the faux fur jacket (pictured below) and black and white cardigan (that she is wearing above). plus all the dresses and skirts... ok ok, i seriously love it all and need to narrow down my choices.
this collection is not going to hit stores until september but you can check out the spring/summer collection on the patouf website. also, the online shop should be set up by April so for those of you who aren't lucky enough to have a shop in your hometown you can get your patouf filling online. i'm telling you guys - this is one to watch. in 2009 patouf was awarded the 'rookie of the year' award by the Swedish Fashion council... so clearly i'm not the only one who thinks so.
*sob.sob* 'I can't believe someone stole my bike...'
i feel like i am going a bit mad lately*. last week i burst into tears at the train station, after searching for my bike for 20 minutes, because i was convinced someone had stolen it... only to remember later that i had left it at the bus stop not the train station. my house is a mess, i have a stack of books a mile high to read, essays to write, and dishes to wash. but instead of doing those things i would rather hang out at cafes, check out blogs, get excited over hair donuts, take photographs, cook new meals and snuggle on my sofa in front of a good movie. soon i'm going to start going to the gym, soon i'm going to start spending my 9 til 5s in the library... soon. but for now i'll just show you this photo of me... in all my silly glory, riding around oxford on my bike with my fabulous hair donut in tact. i think that maybe it is just that time of year... a good spring clean is in order and some serious sunshine. does anyone else feel the same way?
wearing: barbour jacket, UO pull on jeans, fry harness boots, j.crew gloves, alexander mcqueen bag, and bike - given to me as a wedding gift from a friend.
*on the topic of going mad... even alice was losing it a bit, and her father told her that all the best people are a bit mad. i will rest assured in that little fact. oh, and if you haven't seen the new Alice in Wonderland you should, it is very sweet and a visual feast for the eyes.
'you were on that show with gok, right?'
there weren't many people around and out she came walking from the the centre tent, all on her own... i ran over and asked, 'can i take your photo? you were on that show with gok wan, right?' oh my gosh. why am i such a loser? i can't believe that with such a lame introduction she was as nice to me as she was. you were on that show with gok wan?? oh geeze. somebody slap me. how about... you were a member of the The Fall and lead singer of The Adult Net in the 80s? or you launched the london boutique Start? anything other than the fact that she was on a show with gok wan*. oh, cringe worthy moment aside... she was so surprisingly nice. i don't know why this caught me off guard so much, it's not like other people at fashion week were horrible or something. i guess i just expected something more scarily fierce.
oh, i just realized you might not know who this woman that i am going on about is... she is Brix Smith-Start (former band member of The Fall & The Adult Net, now runs Start boutique in London, and appears on a plethora of British television shows ranging from, yes yes, gok's fashion fix and animal planet's top dog). she is american and has a bubbly and hilarious personality that she flounces around while totting her adorable little puppy with her, all the while wearing sickeningly beautiful designer clothes.
shortly after our encounter there were a number of stylish young men who trotted over to her to show their support... which, don't get me wrong, i was doing too. she is pretty fab. i mean, do you see that gorgeous fur and alexa bag??
* on gok: i used to like the man, i used to think his shows were amusing and i always liked laughing at those poor women's entire wardrobes strewn up on a line in a public place only for him to pull off 90% and point out why she should never wear them again. but, if i have to see one more naked english body on 'how to look good naked' i am going to lose it. also, seriously, for all the fashion advice the boy pours out surely he could wear something other than black harem pants and jumpers?
