London fashion week? couple of days? weekend?..

Yesterday i bought myself a couple of papers to catch up on London fashion week (which i need to do this morning) as i am no longer on this universe as i dont have the internet still! And i read that this maybe the last official London Fashion Week. Apparently New York and Milan want to put their dates further back meaning we only get maybe 4 days at a push next year!

So, i have the week off to try and blag my way into fashion week (before it will no longer be called London fashion Week) and i'm unsure as to how to do this. I have a friend that last year made some fake business cards and in a very hair stylist way asked to be let through as her model was about to be on the catwalk..and she got through, if its this easy surely i will be able to do it! There isnt just this worry nithier-what will i wear?! Should i wear clothes that are on trend now, should i wear something that i just like for liking sake or should i look at the last couple of days to check out Londons spring/summer 09 trends. Anyway whatever i wear i have to be there so, i have scheduled wednesday in my diary to be the day i go for it. I've decided too that if i don't get in (which is highly likely) i am gonna try and take some photos of cool street style.

I will keep you posted, wish me luck..

Well hello..

I really, really love this, anyone else?...

Vivienne Westwood album.

Is there anything that this woman hasn't done....Vivienne Westwood is launching Catwalk Breakdown on the 15th september exclusively launched at Selfridges, in the Wonder Room which will be almost a gallery exhibition showing pieces from her collections, so if your a huge fan of her work definately go to the launch which has ever so cleverly been launched along side fashion week-think of all those fans! Basically the album is a huge mixtape of Viv's favourite tracks including many that have been heard during her crazy catwalk shows. The album is very eclectic with every thing from contemporary up beats to classical pieces. Westwoods explanation as to how the mixtape came about included..

'My clothes always tell a story... And I choose the music accordingly. Sometimes the music can just be sexy, it can let you relax, look at the clothes, put people into a fantastic mood. Then it might just have to swing back and lift you up to the final triumph of the fashion show. These are some of the pieces that I’ve relied on over all these years –my classics. They’ve never failed me.'

Distill magazine.

I came across this magazine around 2 weeks ago and i should have blogged about it sooner but with packing, moving journal etc..i had no time (altough i did have time to read it!) Anyway, ye, 2 weeks ago was the launch of Distill magazine. When i first picked it up off the shelf my immediate thought was that from the front cover, which shows you 10 differnt covers of mags around the world, i thought the mag would be an international mag for people already in the fashion industry and maybe the mag would be full of numbers and facts, blah blah blah...so when i opened it i was really pleasantly surprised.

If your a fashion student then this is serously like a bible for you (it saves you tones of money too!). The concept of the mag is basically pulled from mags all around the world. The editors and amazing guest writers help in deciding what is picked to put in the magazine. They choose different things from magazines, such as photo shoots, illustrations, styling ideas: their choice is based on what inspires themselves in the hope that it will inspire you. And it really does!

The magazine is divided into sections so its easily readable.

I especially loved the material girl shoot Distill picked from a magazine.

As im in the libary now and i don't have the mag with me- i will blog later about my thoughts on the mag but for now you can read this review of the mag from the independent website and also just buy it you wont be dissapointed.

Uni...

Hey ho so im back at uni, and i don't have the internet but should be getting it soon so there will be a little loss of blogging..as you can see sorry!

Lets get to the fab stuff...

My last blog i posted was about the autumn/winter trend-tartan, and like i said if you want some tartan get yourself off to primark, some of the tartan lovelies they have there are amazing. I bought Look mag yesterday and there was this really cool quirky shoot from Primark (not a huge shoot but a shot of some of the goodies they have in their a/w collection!) and the dresses there are amazing! They are so on trend! With their peplum esque dresses and huge bows on just about everything. If you have bought yourself any high end fashion mag you will have definately have seen the old english, D&G advertisements with every model wearing tartan! They are fabulous!

Whilst being at uni too i have noticed nearly everyone wearing the stuff, this gives me a rebelious attitude but the stuff is so cool and easily worn with anything i find. (Make note to self-Ashleigh take your camera around with you!!) Next week i am gonna try and blag my way into fashion week and if not take some little street style shots of the people trying to get in!

Check your Tartan.

I've already got myself some Autumn tartan (will post photos later); 2 shirts (that are stupidly similar-well i just wanted them in 2 colours!) in red and blue check. The material is so comfortable, you can dress the shirts up with a patent waist belt or dress them down and clash with the red tartan belt i got from Primark for £2. If you love the trend and don't know how to put or what to put together take a look at D&G's catwalk show.
Domenico and Stefano certainly know how to set a trend- their A/W 08 collection was dripping with the stuff! When you have checked out their collection take a look at the NOTW site to see where to get your pretty plaid pieces.

"Deer Friend"... any more collections?

I saw another Topshop range in this weeks Look magazine, named (so apt) Deer Friend, and i think its gonna be very popular! I kinda got a mad hatter feeling about the range; the pieces look really playful, there's plenty of colour and lots of graphic prints. I specifically like the blouse shown in Look- it has a repeated graphic print all over, the colours are quite neutral, the print is a small black deer with an added shot of bubblegum pink and violet. The blouse has a huge black bow just below the scooped collar. At £32 too! Bargain! I'm not usually one for colour but i see a little change in style for me! I'm unable to find photos of the collection on the net so buy Look and you will see it in there, page 5.

Leather trousers: friend or foe?

Leather trousers are apparently back for A/W 08. When i read this in last weeks grazia mag i immediately thought of the Friends episode where Ross is on a date and unfortunatley gets himself in a bit of a muddle. He gets himself stuck in his leather trousers, he uses everything from soap to talc to get himself outa them but nothing moves! Leather trousers though were actualy seen on lots of the catwalk shows including Alexander McQueen, Preen, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs and MaxMara. The style was anything from tight almost sprayed on pants to well structured wide leg at Marc Jacobs. This trends fits very well with the glamour goth style thats gonna be huge in A/W 08, but if you aint feeling the goth style then leather trousers will more or less go with lots of pieces in your existing wardrobe, pair them with slouchy knits for a mix of yummy fabrics or put with ruffle blouses for a punk feel (don't forget the chunky, layered necklace!)
Leather trousers have been seen on the very style gorgeous Ashley Olsen and 07-08 model Agy Deyn, you can bag yourself a pair from Topshop unique collection or M&S at bargain prices!
My favourite catwalk pair are from the Louis Vuitton catwalk a/w 08 collection.

Is this a trend you will follow or run away from?!

Stunning, simple Styling

I just had to put this small post in. I was checking my email today and i just saw something that caught my style searching eye...
I love the styling of this outfit, yes it is very simple but its very chic and in a way it reminds me of power dressing. The tucked in black vest, the check skinny trouser with added skinny patent belt and the peep toe heel! F A B U L O U S....

Music Gigs-literally!

OMG how amazing are these! They're pretty pricey but they look and sound so worth it! (Prices range from $399-$249) All the technical stuff outa the way....

-they have a memory of 512 MG to 2 GB that can include 240 songs, audiobooks or any other files you may need to keep that close! So when you're going to uni and think god damn i forgot my memory stick, it's that hot your hair is stuck to your face and your half way there, well if you have your gigs on then there you go- your files on there. You dont have to worry about packing your slouchy bag with any memory stick or cd!

They're made by Oakley and there model name is Split Thump Sunglasses, they're available for men and women. On eithier side of the glasses there is a O logo that looks so disguised no one would realise that they were musically enhanced! These are perfect for an excercise too as a fully charged pair will last you 8 hours, what a workout! Personally i think the idea is great, as sunglasses are a huge business spesh in the summer and when you go to that summer bbq you could throw a silent disco! The only negative i think there is is that they could maybe make the pair look a little more stylish but other than that i would definatley want a pair!

NYLON Denim issue...

I know im so late with this but i was out the other day in sunny, busy Leeds shopping for some uni clothes and i strolled into WHS to buy the paper and i saw the august NYLON issue on the shelf. I have read NYLON in the past and i do like the magazine. Its great for quirky advertisments and its very up to the minute in that it has a very indie style. Also i think the NYLON team are great and very admirable, at the beginning of the issue it shows you the readers opinions of the mag and NYLON have shown some of their bad reviews, at first i didnt really get this but i do admire them to show the comments, i mean nobody is perfect! I really loved the issue too because of its focus on denim! I love too that the mag is american and as i really wanna move to New York once i have graduated i can begin to look into New York fashions. If you havent bought the issue and it is still in your mag stores near you buy it, especially if you love your denim pieces!

Street Style

As a fashion student i really should take my camera with me everywhere, and today i learnt my lesson! I went into leeds to do a little shopping (+ visit 3 cities-more in a bit) and i saw what can only be described as a brown leather dress shoe in the middle of the city and then weirdly i saw in my hometown, a jacket on the street floor! Maybe there is a naked guy running around leeds?!! Street Style communicated- literally!


Yeh like i just mentioned i felt like i had actually visited 3 cities today. Leeds to start with-strolling down the central road looking in all the lovely high street stores-Topshop, H&M, Lush oh my! Then secondly Tokyo, we went to the fab restaurant Little Tokyo-the food was unbelievable, i ordered Crystal Prawn duplings to start, then my main (i felt very greedy!) was Teryaki beef in a food box-the presentation was stunning and the food was so good, if you ever can get to a Little Tokyo i would definately recommend buying one of these. It consisted of japanese salad which was stunning:coated in rice vinegar, tempura vegetables with soy sauce, rice with seseme seeds and finally the Teryaki beef-mmm..

Then in the afternoon i bought (very late i know!) the denim issue of Nylon (which is obviously american). So i travelled millions of miles in a saturday!



What a fab day! x

Hooch autumn Collection, glamorous?

The brand Hooch is very well hiden, or is it that bad a brand that you just don't hear of it? So when i saw an article in this weeks Look magazine stating that Hooch has a new 'grown-up glam autumn collection coming out i decided to look for the store on the net, and it really didn't come up with that much. When i was younger i bought my first piece of Hooch clothing from the clotheshow live, it was an ochre hoody! When researcing the webpages selling Hooch clothing, i was a little confused as to the statement in the mag because when i was looking through the cothing most of the items are very street wear and the garments looked like young fashion pieces, maybe this is their way of saying 'hello we are still here!'. This almost image overhaul i think will bring in new customers, maybe this is what the brand needs because if i didn't pick up this weeks Look magazine (as millions of other ladies do!) then we wouldnt have even thought of the brand as being glamorous, or we may not have even thought about Hooch. I gotta say though the images in Look mag showing the new collection looks fab, the clothes are well on trend with the checks and the pretty prints. Also well done Hooch for getting your hands on it model of the mo Portia Freeman!

Madonna Style

Well, Madonna turned 50 last weekend and Look magazine did a double page spread on her everchanging fashion styles, and i just wanna say wow! Madge has constantly changed her look, i also noticed that she didnt really follow trends, she set them (im sure everyone owns leg warmers!-not a trend now but it was!). Its almost like she gets really bored very quickly and just decides thats it lets try something new-see if it works, and lets be honest some things didnt really work but they did for madonna. When you think of a style icon what do you think of? What they wear? When they wear it? How they wear it? Someone who is stylish 24/7? In madonna's case i reckon she isn't a style icon as such but she does have a sense of playful and brave style! ( remember the Hung up Video with her fish net tights and pink leotard, ekk!)

Anyway some of my favourite fashion moments that i just love of Madonna's include; her punk days in the 80's all the fish net tops and bushy eye-brows looked like stylising fun; in the 90's that pointy bra, that's a must have for a fancy dress madonna costume and also a very stylish burlesque garment; her new, modern look in the 00's with her Hung up video; her appearence at the Oscars, she looked stunning on the red carpet and finally her recent look in her collaboration music video with Justin Timberlake, i think she looks younger now than she did 20 yrs ago!

When looking back at her style her looks are iconic in that they are remembered so much and this is one of the reasons madonna is loved all over the world, for her ballsy attitude and her amazing music. Not only is madonna energetic on stage, shes energetic with her style.

Here's to another 50 years of Madonna.

Spring/Summer 09 Ldn sneaky!

After seeing Richard Nicoll's inspiration page for s/s 09 im really excited to see his collection also to wet my appetite, his words as to what the collection is about really got me excited too. With the influence of harmony and disfunction etc you just know the collection is gonna be full of opposites-something i love loads!

"This collection is about harmony and disfunction, liberation and repression, fluidity and structure.”

(image Fall 08)

Iv'e never really seen his work before so i checked him out on style.com. His fall 08 collection was very structured and the subtle colours were stunning, his mixed use of fabrics too were just gorgeous. I cannot wait to see s/s 09! (image Fall 08)

Also another designer im very excited to see is the gorgeous, simple fashions from Preen. Now this label i have loved for a long time, ever since i saw an article in Vogue about the designer i have kept an eye on the brand. Their clothing is stunning, its so simple but very beautiful. Preen spoke of their spring/summer 09 collection;

"A development of our easy relaxed dressing style with a new sense structure."

(image Fall 08)

It should be very interesting to see how the designers have played with their usual simple structure. I cannot wait!

(image Fall 08)