Archive for January, 2010

Why is it that a new pair of shoes can brighten up the darkest of days? Not that I’ve been wallowing in any dark places recently, but still.

I very rarely buy new shoes. I don’t really know why – I’ve always had this misconception that new shoes are pointless because people are only ever checking out your top/jeans/handbag anyway. But the truth is, we ladies always check out the whole package. And if a lady is donning a pair of beautifully hand crafted Jimmy Choo’s, we know.

I didn’t really buy these booties out of impulse, however. I’d needed a decent pair of heeled boots for quite some time, and there was something about the casual coolness of this particular pair that caught my eye. Thankfully a refund on a terrible shagpile cardigan I did buy on impulse (pictures later…) meant I could just about afford these. Not that they were particularly expensive anyway… if they’d matched up to River Island’s usual ridiculous price range I would have thought twice!

Oh, and I realise these dodgy webcam shots don’t really do the boot much justice – the tongue has somehow hidden itself in the picture. But the tongue is cool. Really cool. I’ll post some outfit pics soon!

There’s no doubt that the brains behind Topshop are good ones. Sir Philip Green and his empire have worked incredibly hard to provide us (the average everyday consumer) with high fashion pieces at affordable high street prices. And now, with Green’s favourite high street retailer making itself known stateside as well as over here, more and more of us fashion-conscious people are immersing ourselves in the greatness that is the Topshop brand.

But whilst I have very few negative comments to make with regards to Topshop and its endless collections, I can’t help but feel that its infectious spread on the consumer nation has resulted in the rise of the “Topshop Tabitha”s.

“Topshop Tabitha” is a young girl, probably between the ages of 16-23, usually still financially dependant and scrounging off her parental guardians, though she may be partial to a little part-time work in the customer service department of a well-known superstore. Tabitha is fashion-conscious, but not necessarily fashion-savvy. She reads well-known fash trash such as Look and More, yet she could never tell her Balenciaga from her Bottega Vaneta.
As the name might suggest, Topshop Tabitha spends what little money she has on… well, you guessed it… Topshop. Everything she wears is Topshop. The skirt, the shoes, the jeans and the tops. All. Bloody. Topshop. When Topshop Tabitha goes to flaunt her latest trendy finds at yet another college friend’s party, she finds herself surrounded by similarly-clad Tabithas. Sound somewhat familiar?

I think I was a bit of a Topshop Tabby at one point. Scratch it, I was. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with proving your loyalty to your favourite retailer sometimes. And believe me, I’m in no way making a mockery of the Topshop Tabithas out there – better to be fashion conscious than completely fashion indifferent, no?!
But when it comes to originality, us ladies can never win with the big brand names, no matter how lovely they are. There’s only one way to avoid wearing those same damned key pieces as everyone else – and that’s to vary where you shop. Vary vary vary. Oh, and throw in a bit of vintage too, that’s always original.

So, I admit, with this very lacy, very ruffly outfit all courtesy of Topshop, I was a little worried I might be joining a whole host of other Tabithas as I handed over my debit card. Thankfully though, I made sure the pieces were selected from the “Last chance to buy” rail, which hopefully might mean they’re somewhat limited edition…?! Or maybe I just need to stop worrying about everyone else having the same clothes. If I was really that bothered, I’d stick to my mother’s hand-me-downs or something. I hope you like the outfit by the way – I’m planning to wear this with patent black heels and black opaque tights for mine and Julius’ first year together.

Question time: How do you feel about Topshop? Are you a fellow Topshop Tabitha, or are you far more varied in your wardrobe choices?

I’m a little late to point this out, I know, but nude definitely seems to be the way to go this season. And the next season too, it appears.
I like nude (the colour, not the naked sort). I like how it’s a refreshing change from the oftentimes too-painful-to-look-at neon brights which dominated the catwalks of the past few seasons. Believe me, looking like my favourite Stabilo Boss Highlighter pen was not a flattering look.

Whilst nude is nice, it does have the rather annoying ability to drain the paler variety of person of all colour and lustre. Basically, if you’re lucky enough to be dark-skinned, then embrace the nudeness, because you can’t go wrong with this shade.
If, like me, you’re more milkmaid than exotic goddess, then you need to be careful with this trend. I recently made the horrific mistake of wearing a so-nude-it-was-almost-white ruffle dress courtesy of H+M without any hint of a fake-tan to balance it out. Essentially, I just looked washed out. Not good.

So how to get this tricky shade just right? You have two choices. The first choice is: get a tan. Preferably out of a spray tan or bottle, because I won’t condone skin cancer on this blog. As long as you’re not frightfully orange, a light glowing tan will help to add contrast between your skin and fleshy-coloured garment(s), a point I didn’t manage to consider whilst wearing that damned ruffle dress.
Now for your second choice: be picky. Believe it or not, nude comes in a variety of shades, from the almost-white to the slightly tangerine varieties. The paler you are, the more tangerine-nude you should go, unless you’re willing to go for the tan option. Also, adding contrasting colours such as black to your outfit will really help to define the difference between the garment(s) and your skin.

So, there you have it. How to embrace one of this season’s (and next season!) hottest trends, without washing yourself out. And now, for some show off pictures of my most recent nude buys… (yes, I’m turning into a nude-hoarding whore, I should really stop it now). Look out for these item in future outfit posts! :-

(Clockwise from top left: top: Topshop, ruffled waistcoat: Topshop, necklace: Primark, bracelet: Primark)

Question time: what’s your view on going nude this season?

So the other day I got to be a model, courtesy of Covergirl Studios, London. It wasn’t an opportunity of a lifetime or anything remotely exclusive, especially considering that anyone can just pop along, have their hair and make-up ‘reinvented’, followed by a fifteen-minute shoot.
Despite my opinions on modelling (I despise the idea of it, and the industry), I decided to go along for the sheer laughs and experience. Plus, I figured it would be a great day out for my best friend and I, who I hadn’t seen in almost forever.

So, it turned out the photoshoot experience was a good one, aside from the constant nagging to purchase at least one digital print of myself. I mean, the photos were brilliant, I’ll give them that. But £70 for one photograph?! Really?! You see, I really honestly truly think that these personal photographing companies are a bunch of conning nitwits. Firstly, they try and con you out of your fully-refundable-deposit by burgeoning you with offers and photo packages galore. Then there’s the makeover, prior to the shoot. After having every strand of hair tonged and sprayed in the most painful way possible (I think my scalp was still throbbing the next morning…), they dab at you and brush you and poke you with a million bacteria-ridden brushes, ’til every pore is clogged and caked with every foundation, highlighter and concealer of cake-like substance. Even then, after all the effort made to my face and hair, I decided I preferred my own styling anyway. Didn’t tell them that, though.

As for the photoshoot itself, I felt like every pose, every position, and every prop was cliched to perfection. “Ahh, the infamous legs draped over the chair look”, I’d think slyly to myself, wondering how Kate herself would work this pose. Looking back at the pictures, I decided they resembled every other professional portrait I’d seen splayed over friends’ Facebook profiles. Definitely not worth £550 for the whole lot. Still, the latest special offer provided me with one free photograph of my choice, which turned out to be the photograph pictured here. It’s very racy, in my opinion. But still, cliched much? I certainly wouldn’t have paid anything upwards of a tenner for it. What do you think?

Question time: Have you ever had any professional pictures taken? What do you think of these studio companies? Do you think their prices are justified?

P.S. It’s lovely to be deadline-free again and free to post at my own peril. Stay tuned for plenty more updates and thank you all for the lovely comments!

So Christmas and New Year majorly got in the way of my posting on here. I don’t really know how or why it has taken so long, but I’m thinking the icy conditions and the 6000 words to be handed in by Wednesday has something to do with it. So, ’til then when I’m roaming free minus the massive 6000 word weight on my shoulders, here’s some wonderful clog-inspired Kurt Geiger heels which will prove absolutely perfect for Spring/Summer ‘10! And yes, I am longing for the warmer weather to come… I’m sick of layering like an onion!

KURT GEIGER KARENZA PURPLE COURTS

P.s. sorry for the lack of outfit postings – I’ve left my camera at home so give us two weeks!