I'm Stealing The Thunder

TOPSHOP Unique Live

2012-09-16T08:15:00.003-07:00

I just watched the live stream of the Topshop Unique show on their website, and I loved it! That's not to say it was my favourite collection that they've done, because it wasn't, but I loved the actual experience of watching it.

At the risk of sounding far too old and boring, it was really beautiful to see so clearly how our experience of fashion has been affected by modern technology and social media. While you watched the live stream in the centre, you could also buy what you were seeing on the runway, buy the make up that had been used, take pictures from the show and publish them straight to Facebook, and directly download the soundtrack from iTunes. All from the same page. Call me old-fashioned, but I thought that was pretty incredible.

As for the actual show, I loved the atmosphere, with the spaceship-esque runway and the eerie music, but I couldn't help feeling that the clothes weren't that exciting in comparison to previous years. I know they were going for simple and minimalistic, but I think it came off a tiny bit boring. Having said that, I did love the manly, oversized jackets and trousers, and the muted colour scheme with bright yellow every now and then was amazing. My absolute favourite look was the black and white chiffon-y dress with the yellow jacket (third picture down).

Anyway, I hope you're all enjoying LFW, and I'll probably end up posting again soon, since there are so many shows I'm looking forward to!

P.s. I'm sorry about the fairly awful picture quality, but I "shot" them myself, according to the Topshop website, so I felt obligated to use them.

Inspiration Friday: Je ne sais quoi.

2012-09-13T23:53:00.005-07:00

I thought it was high time I brought back "Inspiration Friday", because it has been far too long, and hey, I'm feeling inspired.

With my new hair (which is even shorter now), everyone keeps telling me that I look French. I take this as a big compliment; everyone wants to look French. When I say "French", I mean the good kind of French. I have been to rural France enough times to know that not everyone wears sleek black roll necks and block heeled ankle boots, and has the skin of a baby angel. But you know what I mean.

And now that I think about it, I have been wearing an awful lot of stripy t shirts lately...

So here is an homage to my hair, to stripy t shirts, and to what I think will be a lifelong dream of turning into Marion Cotillard or Audrey Tatou overnight.

Sources; weheartit.com, A.P.C., the Chanel apartment in Paris, Audrey Tatou in Coco Avant Chanel, Parisian street style from The Sartorialist.

Summer School at CSM: A Photo Diary

2012-09-12T07:15:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I did a course at Central St Martin's again this summer, and it was incredible! Although I enjoyed my first one the year before, it was a pattern making course and was very technical. It was brilliant in its own way, and I loved learning those skills, but it didn't allow for a lot of creativity.

This year, I took part in their Street Style course. I had SO much fun, loved the work and met some amazing people. I got to experience the whole design process, from research to making, and it really rekindled my motivation for getting into a great art school.

Day One: Brainstorming and collaging to come up with ideas on the theme "Signs and symbols"

Day Two: Research trip to Brick Lane

Day Three: Fashion illustration class (my own drawings)

Days Four and Five: Design, making and presenting finished product.

Fashion's Night Out!

2012-09-07T13:08:00.003-07:00

Hi everyone!

I've finally sorted out the camera issues I've been having, so I can actually put photos onto my computer now, and all in time for FNO!

I love Fashion's Night Out; I think it's such a brilliant idea, and having gone every year since it started, I think that each time the atmosphere just gets better and better. Highlights this year included...

Seeing BB from Dirty Sexy Things for the second year in a row, that man looks like a statue, I'm not even sure he's real.
The pink grapefruit cocktails at Vivienne Westwood.
Talking to the sales assistant at DKNY. The people they employ are always the friendliest people in the entire world.
The swing dance show outside Hermes.
Bumping into an actor my auntie knew serving champagne at Dior (she's a casting director).
Getting 20% off the most incredible new coat on the planet at Cos.
Having Alexandra Shulman walk right by me!!!

Here are a few photos I took in between all of the champagne drinking and shopping...

Bond Street at sunset

The DJ at Vivienne Westwood

A gorgeous woman (who I didn't get the name of!) who looked so fabulous in the Vivienne Westwood suit and top she was trying on

The Hermes swing dance show, which turned into a street party

Darkwah Kyei-Darkwah, of Staple For The Cool Kids, wearing his own designs. He was absolutely lovely, go check out their website!

An accordion player on the corner performing the French national anthem (?)

The crowd at DKNY waiting to pounce on the champagne servers

And finally, me at DKNY!

Boots, Deena & Ozzy; Shorts, Zara; Silk Top, The Kooples

A Royal Romp

2012-07-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

Romper, Silence & Noise; Boots, Deena & Ozzy; Necklace, Accessorize.

Hi!

I know it's been a long, long time, but since it's FINALLY the summer holidays for me, so hopefully my posts can now become a little less sporadic.

I thought I'd start off with something that has been requested a lot, both here and on tumblr - an outfit post! I got both the romper and the boots in the Urban Outfitters sale; I went in intended to spend no money at all, an idea which, I can now see, was a bit optimistic. All of you UK people should go and check it out though, everything that has been marked down in the sale is also buy one get one free!!

Other than that, a few little updates on my life and upcoming posts;

I do indeed have new hair AGAIN. I am finally a human girl once more, instead of an alien mermaid.
This week I am attending the Central St Martin's fashion summer school (I went last summer as well), and I'm absolutely loving it again! So there will be some posts about that over the next few days.
Since I last posted, I've been on an incredible trip to Lisbon, so I'll be posting all about that too in the near future.

I have a few ideas for some other posts, but if you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know via comment, email or tumblr!

xoxo

Marrakech

2012-04-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

Dress, Mink Pink.

Hello everyone!

Sorry, again, for another ridiculous absence. But when I was stopped today on Oxford Street by a street style person who asked for my blog, I thought I'd better actually post. And it's lovely to be back.

I think I promised a little while ago to do some more outfit posts, so I'm trying to keep my word. My real problem is that I have no tripod or decent camera, and it feels a bit egocentric to ask someone to take photos of me, so I have to make do with my macbook webcam. So I apologise for the terrible quality! I'm sure my furniture would be grateful if I curbed my shopping habit for a while and invested in a proper camera (the doors of my wardrobe quite literally will not shut, and I've just had to buy a second chest of drawers), but I can't see that happening in the near future...

Anyway, this is my beautiful Mink Pink Marrakech dress, which I received this week courtesy of the Easter Bunny, and which, I think, is far superior to chocolate. The print is beautiful close up, it has bits of lilac and baby blue which you can't see above. Also, although is looks warm and is long sleeved, it's actually thin and floaty, meaning that it's definitely wearable in spring and summer. And honestly, spring in England is pretty much everyone else's winter anyway.

P.s. Yes, I've changed my hair colour again. I think my attention span is shrinking when it comes to my hair, but I've earned myself lots of disapproving stares from old ladies, which is always fun.

Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame!

2012-02-06T13:29:00.000-08:00

Me photographed by Lily Sansford

These were taken a little while ago, in the Putney Heath woods by one of my best friends, Lily Sansford, for her photography project. It was very cold but, despite the strange looks I was given by people walking their dogs upon spotting me up a tree in a leotard, it was tons of fun and I was paid with a cup of tea. I think she's a stunning photographer, so enjoy.

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

2012-01-17T16:09:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Todd photographed by Mara Zampariolo, 2011

I found this in my drafts from ages ago, and I can't think why I didn't post it. I love the kaleidoscopic shots, and the whole story has a really majestic feel, which is contrasted with the fact that in none of the shots is she wearing shoes.

Getting back into blogging is slowly reminding me how much I love fashion photography, but also how it's important to actually read magazines, rather than float directionless around the internet. See it in the flesh, so to speak. I feel like it's time to go back and look through my pile of magazines that is almost as tall as I am. If I'm honest, I haven't been reading magazines very much at all lately. Vogue UK bores me to tears and just looking at it makes me want to not pick up another magazine ever again (suffice to say, I will not be renewing my subscription). However, whenever I feel lost on the fashion magazine front, I find that going to the magazine section of the Tate Modern shop helps to restore my faith. They have such fabulous, obscure publications, alongside more common ones like i-D, and it's nice to just sit there and sneakily read for a bit (because nine times out of ten I'm going to be too broke to spend £10 on a magazine).

In one year and out the other.

2012-01-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Even if it is the 15th of January. Not one to break with tradition, even my "Happy New Year" to all of you is late. And it's been a while, hasn't it? Maybe "a while" is too mild a description of four and a half months devoid of posts... can you guess what my resolution is?

But despite this long period of silence, in the last few months I've had more people come to look at this blog than ever before, so I figure I'd better give you something to look at. I won't waste time with the usual "sorry I'm so useless and unreliable", I'll just get right on with letting you know what's been going on. Which really isn't very much at all.

I suppose the only really significant thing that has happened is that in September I started sixth form, which it turns out is a real time-suck, and where I am now studying Art and Design (Fine Art), Art and Design (Textiles), French and English Literature. I am really enjoying all of my courses and feel that I have made the right decisions, despite having to give up some more academic subjects which I used to love. I like the freedom of being in sixth form, as well as the direction that only doing my chosen subjects gives me, and am just about managing to keep up with the increased workload. That being said, I do have school tomorrow and I have tons of work I should be doing right now. I highly doubt time management and organisation are ever going to be my strong points.

Oh, and I turned 17.

In other news, my hair has gone from my natural very dark brown...

To bright purple (thanks to the wonderful people at Bleach London)...

To.. well I'm not entirely sure what colour this is...

To very pale blonde..

There are lots of other places I've been and things I've done (and clothes I've bought), but I think I'll give the interesting ones posts of their own.

I mostly just wanted to say that it's lovely to be back and thank you, because I still find it inexplicable that anyone looks at this at all, and I will be posting very soon!

Lily. x

P.s. I have a few plans for upcoming posts (including, hopefully, more outfit posts!), but let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions, I don't want to unknowingly bore everyone with my rambling. It would be nice to know what you want to hear about.

Lingering in the golden gleam.

2011-08-28T15:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right, a real outfit post. I shall say no more.

Bralette, Topshop; Gold trousers, Silence + Noise; Boots, Christopher Kane for Topshop.

Long time no see.

2011-08-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

So hello again, it's been a while.
The causes of my lengthy absence are many, although the main one is that I have been having an amazing holiday, and have therefore been out doing what a person should be doing when it's their sixteenth summer instead of sitting at my laptop boring you all. Although it does seem that you haven't actually gotten bored, judging by the page views (which have not diminished at all), despite the fact that I haven't written a thing in over two months. Anyway. The point is that as September is fast approaching, this should hopefully be the end of my little hiatus. My two new-school-year resolutions for the blog are to post at least once a week (nothing new there, then) and to do more outfit posts.
Here is a little look at what I've been doing whilst you've all been missing me.

I love you Andrej Pejic.

2011-06-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

Because....

You blur gender boundaries further than anyone has done before you, and make me wonder conventions fashion has left to defy.

You have the most camp voice I have ever heard.

You are a curious creature, and I find you wonderfully beautiful as a man and as a woman, something which I'm sure further confuses my sexuality.

The controversy surrounding your androgyny does not detract from the fact that you are extremely successful and talented as both a female and male model.

Suck me dry.

2011-06-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

Lizzy Glynn photographed by Craig Owen for Black Magazine, Fall/Winter 2010

I love this beauty story. The make up is intense and strong, which is beautifully contrasted with the plain white clothing and background. I am not familiar with Lizzy Glynn, but she seems very talented. She keeps the shots varied and exciting in what is essentially a very short and simple piece.

Is it time to go home yet? I keep clicking these damn shoes, but nothing happens.

2011-06-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

Velvet wedges, Michael Van Der Ham for Topshop; dress, charity shop (altered by me).

Once again, my posting has been sporadic recently, and once again, I'm sorry. Keep your fingers crossed that my unpredictable blogging motivation lasts this time!

Yesterday, these beautiful creations arrived, and I felt that they deserved a post all of their own. If you have been reading I'm Stealing The Thunder for some time, you'll know that I have a little problem with shoes. It has been a while since this post, and since then the situation has worsened, the collection grown. I continually convince myself that one more pair can't hurt. And hurt this pair certainly did not, both literally and figuratively.

For those that haven't heard, Topshop flagship stores in London and New York, and also topshop.com, have opened "Secret Stores" for a limited time. These pop-up stores sell hand-crafted, limited edition pieces - the products of collaborations with prolific New York and London designers, as well as items from the Topshop Unique archives and limited edition Topshop Boutique. I visited Oxford Street this week and loved the atmosphere of the miniature store, the door to which was hidden behind a colourful florist curated by Meadham Kirchhoff. Inside the little room the lights were dimmed and the interior had a gypsy-ish vibe to it, but of course the first things to draw my attention were the stunning velvet wedges - the love-children of Topshop and Michael Van Der Ham. I refused to stop stroking them (the velvet is so soft) whilst I struggled with the inner turmoil of really, really wanting them and really, really not being able to afford them. As difficult as it was, I walked away.

That is until I got home and they still had my size on the website.
I borrowed the money and bought them before I had time to think. It seems my passion for beautiful shoes overrides all common sense. I am now in debt, and blissfully happy.

Truths and roses have thorns about them.

2011-05-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

All clothing, Lindsey Thornburg.

Lindsey Thornburg is an American designer who has rather enchanted me. She studied philosophy in Santa Barbara, but then went on to design school in L.A. where she created her first dress collection. However in 2006 she visited Peru (having already moved to New York) and returned inspired, going on to produce a collection of cloaks. And that, I believe, is where things got really interesting.

Cloaks bring to mind witches and wizards and mystery and magic. A cloak can be sexy or geeky, playful or mysterious, funny or dark. Cloaks represent what I love about good fashion - they enhance character and still allow for experimentation. And with an entire collection of them, each one different and beautiful in its own right, I am happy to say that Thornburg does this noble garment more than enough justice.

In F/W 2010, Lindsey Thornburg released her first RTW collection which only extended the charm of her cloaks to dresses and trousers and jackets and all number of wonderful things. As far as I can tell she is continuing to blossom, and is showing no sign of slowing down any time soon.

Inspiration Friday: Searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn't there.

2011-05-13T03:46:00.000-07:00

Sources; weheartit.com, google.co.uk

Today is Friday the Thirteenth, so the theme for today's Inspiration Friday is all things superstitious.

Superstition has always fascinated me, the idea that a tiny action or charm could change a person's luck for better or worse. In a world that is obsessed proving things through scientific evidence, it's amazing that millions upon millions of people still believe in these traditions that we have no logical explanation for. But although I admit it's probably silly, there will always be something that stops we walking under a ladder or opening an umbrella indoors. Just in case.

Let the rain fall down and wash this world away.

2011-05-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Georgina Stojiljkovic photographed by Ben Hassett for Vogue Germany, May 2010.

I have returned! I cannot apologise enough for absent for so long, a combination of a trip away, looming exams and a hectic personal life are responsible. I will just say how lovely it was to see that you all kept checking ISTT and didn't give up on me, and I'd also like to thank you for the positive response I got to my last post. Both of those things mean a lot.

Now, let's move on to the actual post because this is starting to sound like an award acceptance speech. This fashion story is from exactly a year ago and I love it just as much. I still haven't seen a better use of water in a shoot since, and I think it deserves a lot of credit for managing to look sexy, fashionable and classy with a dripping, naked model in almost every shot. Plus, I love the contrast of the shoot being so dark and wet as we are just getting into summer, and it reminds me of a lovely walk I took in the middle of a thunderstorm while I was away. It was magic.

Heavier stuff.

2011-04-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

Just a warning that this post is not at all fashion related and is a little more serious than my usual posts, so if you're not interested, look away now. I promise I will be quick to follow up with posts of a more light hearted nature.

I have been thinking for a while that I would like to write about a recent accident I had, as there are some aspects of it that I have found fairly difficult to come to terms with, and I find that writing can often be a very therapeutic release. Today, I did that. I find it very difficult to talk about, and often end up backing out of the conversation or making jokes when I try, but I think that I would like to put what I wrote out there to help me feel more comfortable discussing my feelings on the matter. So here it is.

"It is a strange thing to experience an instant physical change. To look into a mirror and see something suddenly different. It could be a change in hair colour or in make up, or indeed something more dramatic such as the loss of a limb, but I suppose that it is likely that everyone has felt that moment of disorientation that comes with not entirely recognising their own reflection. It changes, to whatever degree, the way we perceive ourselves - our definition of the term “me”.

Personally, my most negative experience of physical change has been a six inch scar across my throat, a result of surgery after a burns injury, along with a small burn scar on my chest which was not operated on. It has been three months now and yet I am still not sure how to phrase it. Do you “acquire” a scar? That seems like a choice. “Suffer” one? That seems to suggest ongoing pain, and I, surely, cannot be described as suffering. In my experience, a scar is just a happening, something that is irreversible but which must be accepted and tolerated. Positive or negative feelings have no impact on its existence, it will not be argued with.

Our appearance is the cover to our book, and despite proverbial preaching, it is on this that those around us judge us. As a teenage girl attending a single sex secondary school in London, I have felt the truth of this statement perhaps more than many. In my world, a rather small place considering the relatively short time that I have been around, but also in the vast majority of Western culture, appearance manages to hold an unjustifiable significance. Although we can be as righteous as we want about inner beauty, realistically it is not what counts in our society. I have grown up having it instilled in me from all directions that beauty equals success. Further than that, since childhood the media has taught me to specifically associate scars with evil - from Freddie Kruger and Frankenstein’s monster, to Scar in the Lion King, a film made specifically for very young children. With scars having so many negative connotations, I believe it is inevitable that my accident has brought about feelings of insecurity and self-doubt.

“There are people that have it so much worse”. I have heard this from others as well as frequently from myself, and it is true. However, these anonymous “people that have it so much worse” exist in every bad situation in life. I want to make it clear that I am not excusing self-pity, merely making the point that these people do not alter the fact that we have what we have and we must deal with it. My injuries are not the end of the world. I am alive. In practically every sense of the word, I am healthy. I was told that I would have to have my head shaved and a scalp skin graft taken, and coming round from surgery to discover that they had found a way around it was more heartening than I can begin to describe. I know that I am lucky.

But I cannot deny that undergoing what I have, however comparatively insignificant it may seem to those looking in, has changed me. It is certainly a process, but I hope that with time my relationship with my scars will become more positive, or at least less disorientating, and that I will be able to erase the divide that I see between “me before” and “me with scars”. I also believe the way I feel points to a much larger issue, and if I take one positive thing away from the experience, it will be that I am now much more aware of how we are subconsciously affected by society’s illogical values on appearance and I will do my best to change these values in those around me."

If you would like to help support people who are in a situation far worse than anything I could imagine, please donate to the Katie Piper Foundation. The work she does is utterly inspiring.

Gravity is a myth.

2011-03-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Sophie Srej photographed by Vince Baráti for Indie, Winter 2010/2011

I was going to post this whole editorial (which you can see here) but then I realised that the only part that really hooked me was this one photograph. The styling for the whole shoot is great, with platforms like blocks of flats throughout, but this shot is so futuristic and grunge-y and physically impossible that I just love it to death so here you are, sharing is caring.

Inspiration Friday: I love you more than being seventeen, in the evening sun.

2011-03-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Sources: Foam Magazine, Numéro, 10 Magazine, Amica, Pop, weheartit.com

My Inspiration Friday is very simple this week - sunshine.
There was so much of it today and it just put me in such a unceasingly brilliant mood. It wasn't uncomfortably hot, but just the right temperature to drink iced coffee and wear sun glasses and lie on the grass on Wimbledon common. There isn't much else to say on the matter, except that it has got me looking for the ultimate giant, floppy sunhat.

All I can think about is summer, and I hate summer. I conclude that this will be a short-lived phase, so I will enjoy it whilst it lasts.

P.s. I do realise that it will probably rain tomorrow, such is England.

Musing.

2011-03-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Arizona Muse by Paolo Roversi for Vogue China, April 2011.

This has to be my favourite editorial in a very long time, I love absolutely everything about it.

The styling is incredible. My personal favourite is the lingerie from the collaboration between Gaultier and La Perla. The whole thing is so soft and airy, and with such an unbroken colour palette it takes serious creative talent to keep it engaging. This talent goes by the name of Nicoletta Santoro, who has worked with the longest list of awe-inspiring photographers, and whose work is always so beautifully elegant but still edgy. I especially like she has used flats for every look, which is something of an anomaly in pretty much the whole of the fashion industry.
A lot of the magic in this shoot is provided by Arizona. The brilliant name, the innocent face, the magnificent eyebrows - she's captivating. And here, her hair looks like she's just climbed out of lake, which I think only adds to her charm.
Of course it would be hard to be negative about an editorial shot by Paolo Roversi, but I think his style really stands out here, especially in the eighth shot. The way he captures her eyes looking so piercing quite strikingly reminds me of that photograph of Natalia Vodianova looking back over her shoulder from 2003.

What youth deemed crystal, age finds out was dew.

2011-03-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

Earrings and Necklace, made by me.

I managed to get some things done yesterday, which is hugely unusual for me on a Sunday.

I actually got a bit of my never ending pile of art homework done, although that did mean I spent the entire day in my pyjamas eating cereal. In the middle of this weird, motivated spell I was rummaging for oil pastels and I found a little bag of crystals that I had been generously allowed to keep after being forced to sift through mud on a school trip to Derbyshire when I was thirteen. By this time, my concentration on my art homework was waning and I thought it might be fun to put them to good use and I made these really simple earrings and necklace.

I know they're so very hipster, but I rather like them.

Sweet lilac air.

2011-03-15T15:02:00.000-07:00

Silk tie top, Gap; Tie-dye jumper, Gap; Bag, Market Stall in Venice.

A real clothes post! A rarity, I know, I'm sorry.

The last week or so has been largely bright and sunny, and everything looks so pretty in the light. I've kind of found myself drawn to pale, icecream-y colours, specifically lilac. And, of course, my absolute inability to control myself has led to a sudden swell in reckless, mauve-centric shopping. Give me a few weeks and I'm sure I'll get sick of lavender, but I do think my love for this bag will be pretty enduring.

I LOVE YOU LEIGH LEZARK.

2011-03-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Because...

You do soft-core gothic really, really well.

You make being involved in both the fashion and music industries work.

I have a soft spot for people with really dark hair. And I want yours.

You own those Chanel gun heel shoes that I've been in love with forever.

You are beautiful.

Source; general googling.

Inspiration Friday: Those who tell the stories, rule the people (Navajo proverb)

2011-03-11T14:19:00.000-08:00

Sources; google.com, beemanjewelrydesign.com, flickr.com, medicinemangallery.com

My inspiration this week are the Navajo people, the second largest Native American tribe of North America. As well their rich and interesting culture and history, the area I find most fascinating are their two main forms of art - silverwork and weaving.

The Navajo people have been creating silver jewellery since the 1800s. I love the chunky designs which often incorporate turquoise, and I think the pieces show such incredible craftsmanship and talent. Navajo weaving traditions go even further back, to the eighteenth century. They weave on upright looms and the blankets and fabrics show brightly coloured triangular designs. I'm very rarely one for bold colours, but I think they're stunning. I also love the thinking behind them - that the common four-fold symmetry represents traditional ideas of harmony.

And despite supposedly giving up shopping for a while, I'm very much tempted by this backpack.