THAT necklace

I'm in love with that necklace. That's all. xoxoxo

A 1940's housewife crossed with a 50's bombshell silhouette and 1960's commercial prints with some on trend modern fringing

Ok so forget my previous post. Before I go I HAD to post some pictures from the Lena Hoschek Spring/Summer 2010 collection from Berlin fashion week. The look is...well the title pretty much sums it up and there are some subtle folkloric hints to her Austrian roots is you look real carefully :) Check out the Elvis print on one of the dresses and a shirt: tres chic or tres fou? I'm kinda undecided but I think she pulled it off without it looking tacky...and I'll forgive her cause the rest of her collection is GORGEOUS! XOXOXO

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? BERLIN '09

This may be my last post for a couple of days because as of 3am on Monday morning (what I still consider as Sunday night) I am headed for the German capital of Berlin with my a-level History class. I'm really excited, though a bit annoyed we didn't go last week when it was Berlin fashion week- it's like my school doesn't care about the international fashion schedule(!). I've been to Munich before but never Berlin and it just seems brimming with culture, great music, cool people and definatly an... interesting history. However, we may have the week off school but, despite what SOME people think, it's not a HOLIDAY. My idea of a hoiday is not five days touring museams, memorials and concentration camps and being herded like cattle from one place to another like those poor italian students I see around Reading (only without the orange hoodies) but that won't stop us having a good time and we have most evenings off so it will be cool to explore and I'm going to take loads of pictures and who knows, maybe I'll be inspired.

Enter Mystery Challenger and Sign in Please

Ok don't laugh but I've had a new hobby, kind of an addiction, for a while now....a guilty pleasure I don't really feel all that guilty about. Some people watch I love Lucy re-runs, some people secretly read Pippi Longstocking books and some people listen to the soundtrack of Mary Poppins to unwind after a stressful day. I spend my time on Youtube watching 1950's &60's writers, movie stars and musicians (basically the creme-de-le-creme of the society pages back then) on What's My Line. You're probably thinking "What the fuck?" and if you are, let me explain what I understand to be the general format: There is a panel of so-called experts who are blind folded and then a celebrity personality comes out and they ask them Yes/No questions to try to figure out who they are, in which the celebrity must adopt an accent to disguise their natural voise, especially if it's distinctive. It's a fairly simple concept and hugely entertaining and I bless the person/people who have uploaded these archives for us to view. You can find the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, Salvador Dali, Sue Lyon, Walt Disney, Ava Gardner, Julie Andrews, Lauren Becall, Natalie Wood, Eleanor Roosenvelt and William Holden, among others but my all time favourite has to be Elizabeth Taylor. Her comedic essence and her natural grace are just bought out so well in this clip...

"We're here for the bank's money, not yours."- Public Enemies

Today, Michael Mann's latest film, Public Enemies, was released in the UK so naturally I went to see it. I usually buy dvds or watch movies online (and if you saw the prices of cinema tickets nowadays you'd probably think it a wise decision) but every now and then a film comes along where I think, "You'd regret missing the chance to see this on the big screen" and this was one I had my eye on for some time. I mean a Crime/Drama/Thriller starring the tour-de-force that is the beautiful & talented Marion Cottillard in company with the equally talented & handsome Johnny Depp and Christian Bale...this movie screams "MUST SEE!" I didn't know all that much about John Dillinger prior to this film to be perfectly honest so, even though it's not a biopic, I can't assess how much is fiction and how much is historical fact but that doesn't deter from the fact that this was a superbly crafted cat-and-mouse drama with an excellent soundtrack. The camera work was slightly poor but the acting was no less than powerful to make up for it. I was nervous, initially, about Cotillard's Academy-Award winning performance skills to be wasted as just the "token female" but her role really progressed and, especially towards the end, she became a vital part of the plot. Bale, I mean goes without saying that he was excellent as the determined agent Melvin Pervis and last but not at all least is the living legend that is Mr Johnny Depp. Now I'm not someone who worships him but I can't deny that his body of work, his filmography, is pretty damn impressive. He has that rare ability to carry and command the screen like a leading man but is still an excellent character actor with tremendous range that applies himself to every single role 110% and it damn well pays off, especially as the notorious bank robber John. The relationships between the characters were well structured, especially between John and Cotillard's character, Billie, who's relationship is driven by real love and it's actually believable. Add some nailbiting suspenseful moments and some easy humour and you got a film which is not too shabby. Really reccomend this film. xoxoxox

Immortalised Onscreen Beauty Queens

Clara


Faye


Anna


Mia


Winona


Uma


Michelle


Elizabeth


Cate


Natalie & Emily


Kirsten


Nikki & Evan


Kate


Sienna


Juliette


Rachel


Eva


Keira


Audrey H


Uma


Scarlett


Audrey T


Jean


Angelina



(Yes I know I have Uma twice but I wanted to put in Brunette Uma and Blonde Uma)

Optical Illusions: Marion Cotillard at the Public Enemies Premiere

I am in love with this dress. It's a work of art by the genius that is, Elie Saab. If you go on the Vogue website and use the magnifying tool then you cen see what I mean. It looks like broken glass or a mosaic and looks very structured but is actually made out of drapey soft fabric. I'm almost certain this will spark an optical illusions revolution in the fashion world in years to come. xoxoxo

My messy colage walls

My messy walls filled with magazine cuttings that I've had for years had to be immortalised on camera because I'm soon going to take it all off. It's been a source of inspiration to me and it was always really comforting to look up and see my favourite things up there but I gotta move on. Fuck knows what I'll replace it with xoxox

Do my lips look big in this?

Now that Mad Men is between seasons there is a void in my life that needs to be filled with retro advertising and luckily there's my new favourite cosmetics range: Soap & Glory. I discovered them only last year when I was looking for a lip colour that will double as a plumper so I could attempt to acheive that Angelina Jolie effect. Enter Sexy Mother Pucker which smells great, looks great and, more importantly, works. This led me to discover a whole range of products with tounge-in-cheek names like Glow Job and The Greatest Scrub of All... and I have been seduced by the packaging. It's enough to make me want to don a girdle, put my hair in pin curls and talk in a breathy American acccent.

Down the Rabit Hole, Through the glass elevator, Follow the Yellow Brick Road

I love it when fashion stories adopt a timeless story and the clothes are inspired by them. Some of my favourites have been Keira Knightley as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz and Rachel Weisz as Snow White, both for a shoot with American Vogue. The whimsical and quirky Roald Dahl-inspired shoot in Vogue '08. Then also Alice in Wonderland which provides an endless source on inspiration and has been reworked in Vogue Italia with Amanda Seyfried last year and Natalia Vodianova in 2003 with various designers cameo-ing as the various wierd and wonderful characters. Something that has a great narrative and is an interpretation inspired by something that's already so great.