kurtcouture

How I achieved...Pastel Goth

2015-08-13T17:04:00.001-07:00

I've always been mesmerised by gothic makeup in film and music. The theatricality of shadowy eyes, dark lips and pale skin shrouds the wearer in mystery. Do they want to be noticed? Or are they trying to hide in the shadows?

Rooney Mara's portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Robert Smith of The Cure, Nancy from 90s teen witch movie The Craft and Siouxsie Sioux all rock this dark and enigmatic look.

Clockwise from top left: Lisbeth Salander, Robert Smith, Siouxsie Sioux, Nancy Downs.

And it seems to be having a bit of a renaissance in the form of a new trend: pastel goth.

If pastel goth was a movie, it'd be Edward Scissorhands. The contrast between the mysterious, scissor-clad being from the eerie mansion against the perfect, pastel-coloured suburban homes highlights society's attitude to outsiders. But the pastel goth trend seems to have found a way for goth and pretty to finally get along.

A bit of a Tumblr sensation, usually consisting of girls who dye their hair pastel colours and wear clothes vaguely referencing goth culture (666, inverted crosses yadda yadda). Sometimes referred to as "soft grunge", pastel goths are often bitched about by grunge fans who accuse them of being posers. But I'm happy to embrace it, it's pretty fucking cute.

Since my hair is currently a shade of candy floss pink, I thought now would be a good opportunity to have a dab. So here goes:

Phase one - BASE

Moisturise and prime, apply a foundation 1-2 shades lighter than your skin, then apply a translucent powder over the top to set it. I used No7 Beautifully Matte cool vanilla foundation and Collection sheer loose powder. If like me, your skin resembles a warzone, dot concealer on to any scars or red marks before you apply any foundation. I swear by Kryolan Camouflage Creme Derma Color quintett palette, and use the greyish colour for masking any redness. It's AMAZING.

Phase two - BROWS

Choose a very dark brown or black eye shadow/brow shadow from a palette. You want the brows to be quite defined, so the darker the better. If you have quite thin brows, this is perfect for you! Remember the 90s when we just pluck, pluck, plucked? Mine are quite full, so I just took my Collection brunette eye brow kit, brushed the brows straight across rather than upwards, and used the black shadow to take the arch up a bit further than my natural line, to give the illusion of thinner brows. I'm not entirely sure it worked but I'm standing by my advice so there.

Phase three - EYES

The main event! Take a black gel liner, like Collection's lasting colour gel eyeliner and apply it to the upper and lower waterlines. This might feel weird compared to using a pencil, but it stays put for much longer. If it feels uncomfortable, just apply a little at a time and blink it out. Then take a black kohl pencil (I used Barry M super soft eye crayon) and apply a line to upper and lower lashes. Don't worry about it being neat as we're going to blend it out. Then take your gel liner again and apply over the top of the pencil lines. Do one eye at a time as you want to start blending it out before the gel dries. Take a small brush and blend the liner towards the crease of your eye. You don't want to go any higher than this. If you want to add more depth, repeat with more gel liner and blending upwards. You can't really have too much eye liner on for this look!

Now to add some warmth. Take a peach or matte gold colour eye shadow and apply to the lower part of the brow bone. I used the gold colour from the Barry M Eye Shine shadow and glaze palette. Blend this with the black from your eyelid. Apply a lighter brown in the inner corner of the eye and blend this with the black too. I used the 5th colour from the left from the Barry M Natural Glow shadow and blush palette. Then take a darker brown and apply to the inner V of the outer eye, remembering to blend, blend, blend. I used the darkest brown from the Natural Glow palette. Take a black shadow (Collection Work the Colour smokey eye palette) and apply this to the outer V of your eye. BLEND! Feel free to add more liner at this stage, if you fancy. Finally, add TONNES of black mascara (I used Rimmel Scandaleyes in extreme black).

Phase four - LIPS

To finish off the look, take your black eye pencil and over line the lips. This means applying the liner to the outside of your lips, which makes them look super full. Before you've applied anything else, you WILL look mental, but trust me. Take a nude lip liner, like L'Oreal Infallible lip liner, and blend with the black. Take a cherry red lip colour (I used Revlon ColourStay Ultimate liquid lipstick in Top Tomato) and apply this to your lips, sweeping in any of that smudgey black liner in with it. The finishing touch? A little more black liner to the corners of the lips.

Now, I was running a bit late and meant to be meeting my Mum in the pub in 25 minutes, so it was a quick dash to scrub all of this off before reapplying some slightly more "local pub-friendly" makeup before heading out the door. My face cloth was a very interesting colour...

I hope you've enjoyed my pastel goth tutorial! Please let me know if you have any questions about this look. You can find me on Instagram at @kurtcouturemakeup, Facebook at KurtCouture Makeup or Twitter at @k_couturemakeup. Alternatively you can drop me an email at kurtcouturemakeup@gmail.com.

johnny's bird revisited

2015-08-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

I should be working but instead I'm rekindling my love affair with johnny's bird. I originally discovered this beautiful collection of photographs back in 2010, a mere 6 months after beginning kurtcouture (yes, my blog is 5 years old now!).

The photographer is Moni Haworth, a London based photographer who shunned the professional, well-lit safety of the studio and turned to the gritty, vintage, non-models who just don't give a fuck. You can practically hear the Hole soundtrack that would perfectly accompany these photos. You can smell the musty dinge of the grimey bedrooms. And you can sense the undeniable freedom. Moni chooses her models on their carefree attitude, and this jumps out of the shots and slaps you right in the neat and tidy face.

Her influences are trashy americana, David Lynch movies and the whole boy/girl on the run kinda vibe.

And did I mention how adorable the couples are?

Procrastination at it's sweetly grubbiest.

And on the 8th day women created porn.

2015-07-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

"Feminism and porn go hand in hand" - Casey Calvert, adult actress.

Let's talk about sex, baby. More specifically, the debate of objectification of women in the pornography. Yes, the industry is seedy as fuck (no pun intended). And there are adult actors and actresses getting ripped off left, right and centre. But you could be subject to that no matter what your job or who you work for.

Casey Calvert, i-D Magazine

Social media has exposed young actresses - or female actors if you wanna get P.C,. bla bla - within the adult film industry who have been born in to the millenial generation. Why have one career when you can have 5? These gals are porn stars/fashion models/DJ's/jewellery designers and whatever the fuck pies they wanna get their fingers in to (sorry).

FFFFound.com

Artists like Japanese fetish photographer Nobuyoshi Araki have long since been lambasted by the general public for their perverse artistic vision and wholly recognisable S&M style. Yet it's been creeping in to the fashion industry for a number of years, perhaps without your every day consumer even noticing it. Alexander McQueen, Helmut Newton and Marc Jacobs have all taken inspiration from Nobuyoshi's erotic work, with the inevitable trickle down to the high street meaning you can't move in a bar for a girl in a skimpy caged bralet and choker.

Lady Gaga by Nobuyoshi Araki

Sexual gratification is a basic human need. OK, so it's only a physiological one, (although certainly required for the existence of the human race, but let's not open that door), but the urge for sexual activity springs, for most people, from impulse and desire. Why shouldn't girls exploit this to their own advantage?

S&M Campaign by Alexander McQueen

Internet memes, hash tags and trends will come and go. But pornography in the digital world is here to stay. It's society's attitude towards it that needs to change. Let's stop burning our bras and start embracing it.

Army of Me

2014-12-21T17:14:00.000-08:00

I'm about ready to explode! I seem to be having some sort of creative burst and I need to write (fine, type) it all up before I go nuts, so here goes.

So we've just had this years Winter Solstice, A.K.A the shortest day. This day comes on 21st December every year and it usually kick-starts a lot of complaining from the general British public - I guess we'd have nothing if not the weather to talk about. I actually find the Winter Solstice quite exciting though. The shortest day can only mean the days are about to start getting longer again, right? Although I think Winter is under-rated. So the trees are bare and it's a bit grey at times but there's some real beauty to be found too. Especially if you look up.

I've got some soul-searching to do, so I've taken some inspiration from the Winter skies and decided to go on a solo mission to Iceland for my birthday in March. Weirdly John Grant was on 6 Music this afternoon and did an hour long show called 'Songs from a Darkplace'. It was about how Iceland is a hot bed for creative talent. It was a wicked show with guests like Bjork and Damon Albarn talking about their experiences of this dark island of fire and ice that sits atop the world. Needless to say, it's cemented my decision to go.

I've always been fascinated by Bjork. My Dad used to have a few of her albums on tape back in the day, I'd never heard anything like it! She was experimenting with unusual instruments and was never afraid to try something against the grain. Like any music that goes against the status quo, her first solo album 'Debut' wasn't well received at first - it came at a time when the music industry was swamped with men playing guitars. But today I think it has more relevance than ever. Instead of looking back to the 90s for inspiration, new artists should look to the innovative way that Bjork used disparate genres to a record without losing her sense of identity. I think this is something that Icelandic artists generally do very well.

I learnt today that John Grant actually lives in Iceland, and owes a lot of his creative abilities to his inspirational surroundings. Damon Albarn wrote 'Beetlebum' during his stay in Reykjavik (in my opinion, one of the finest Blur records) and Led Zeppelin wrote 'Immigrant Song' when they did part of a tour there in 1970 -

"We come from the land of the ice and snow

From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow" - Led Zeppelin.

It sounds as though the beautiful landscape coupled with long, dark Winters brings out your creative side. Get me there!

A close friend of mine went to see Bjork in concert in Reykjavik a few years ago and raved about it. He said he'd take me there to see the Northern Lights and do some partying in the city but sadly he died last year and we never got to do it. So Benji, I'm gonna live up to our promise.

He stole all hearts away. He stole my heart away.

2014-10-10T04:35:00.002-07:00

The World discovered that Morrissey has cancer this week. Now I know it's not a dead cert (inappropriate pun, of course, intended) that he's gonna feel the soil falling over his head any time soon but I can't help but feel, in typical Morrissey style, very gloomy about this prognosis. I'd kind of always hoped Morrissey would live forever and this is a painful reminder that only vampires are immortal.

I've had the good fortune to see Morrissey live twice and they were the most emotive gigs I've ever been to. Like, I wept, for real. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why I love him so much, I'd like to say it's something to do with my own miserable upbringing but I didn't have it half bad as a kid! The first time I heard Morrissey's voice was when I was about 16, and he really did steal my heart away, keeping it locked in his impressive quiff ever since. He made me laugh, he made me cry. That was all it took.

From that moment on I indulged in standard fanatic behaviour - buying the back catalogue of CD's from The Smiths to his solo albums (OK haters, The Smiths also introduced me to Johnny Marr, but that's another story), seeking out posters, basically researching the shit out of him on dial-up internet. I even got "There is a light that never goes out" tattooed on my right shoulder when I was 18. My friends didn't really share the passion, not that it mattered. Then I went to University. A wealth of indie discos and equally indie friends. We were dead cool obviously.

As the years have gone by I've drifted in and out of interest for other bands and musicians, and admittedly I've gone through phases of fighting Morrissey in the never-ending iPod shuffle war. I haven't even explored a lot of his new albums, although I'm impressed with his ability to stick to his ethical and artistic guns. But when all is said and done I'll never tire of him. We've come too far. My love for this handsome devil was reignited again late last year when he released his autobiography. This was a comprehensive chance to really get to know him. I laughed, I cringed. It cemented my opinion of him - that yes, he really is a prick.

So Moz, babes, please don't go. Everyday will be like Sunday. Every day will be silent and grey.

Feel better my love xx

90s Movie Babes that made me wanna be a 90s Movie Babe

2014-10-06T02:31:00.003-07:00

I enjoy nothing more than a daily dose of 90s fashion inspiration - which usually leads me no further than these movie babes of yester-year.

These beauties contributed to my passion for grunge as they showed me how to wear the look. From Dionne's (Clueless) wacky take on tartan to the childhood nostalgia of Mathilda's (Leon) chokers I've taken inspiration from these 90s movie stars and applied them to my own style. So thanks ladies!

Starting with everybody's favourite miniature femme fatale we've got Mathilda (Leon). Her signature denim shorts, black bob and sun choker spawned many'a fancy dress costume for years to come. But if like me you're a fan of the grunge look this is a style that'll incite some memories of your youth but still work on you as a adult. Mathilda is wise beyond her years so it's quite a mature look for a kid anyway - minus the fluffy bunny!

So while I'd listened to a few Nirvana tapes and outgrown Ladybird clothing by the age of 10 (ok, ALMOST), I still didn't know what the next step was for me in the style stakes. Until a neighbour a few years older than me invited me over to watch her new video - Clueless. This coming of age teen film awakened my interest in fashion (THAT wardrobe!) and I went on to pester my Mum for clothes far too old for my age. I settled for a fluffy pen in the end. But while Cher gets the lion share of the style credit, don't overlook Dionne's courageous fashion efforts that make her a total Betty. From her braid accessories to that Dr Seuss hat Dionne can pull off even the most outrageous fashion statements. Which is why she like, totally made the list.

I couldn't make a movie babe list without including Bianca Stratford (10 Things I Hate About You). She may have been undateable in the movie - only because of those damn house rules though - but she had the boys flocking after her and I developed my own girl crush on her outfits. I still WANT WANT WANT her prom outfit! Those flashes of mid riff and super cute strappy 90s mini dresses made her a firm idol of mine.

Nobody does 90s trash like Alabama Worley (True Romance). Now while her style is more call girl than grunge, I have to give her credit for her animal print pieces! I'm a firm favourite of leopard print - faux of course - and her unconditional love for Clarence from the very first moment that she meets him makes it impossible not to adore her on the inside too. And you gotta love those electric blue sunglasses.

Light as a feather, stiff as a board - many a sleepover was spent repeating this incantation with the hope of levitating a friend (being the smallest, I was usually said friend) just like the girls from teen witch movie The Craft. But it wasn't just the appeal of having magical powers that made me love this film, it was the gothic schoolgirl outfits of Nancy, Sarah, Bonnie and Rochelle that have secured them on my movie babe list. I love a good crucifix and this powerful symbol usually finds it way in to my jewellery collection in some way, shape or form.

And last but not least (although this is in no way an exhaustive list of 90s movie babes!) I've chosen Janet (Singles). This is a movie about a bunch of twenty-somethings living in an apartment block during grunge-era Seattle. So how could the female lead NOT make it to the list? Janet's classic grunge-girl look of plaid, ditsy floral, 15 denier tights and leather jackets made her the icon to end all icons for me. I'm pretty sure that if this was real life, we'd be friends.

Who's your favourite 90s movie babe?

oh my god i'm totally buggin'...

2013-10-29T08:54:00.001-07:00

thought i'd share a few pics of my 90s girl crush alicia silverstone.

remember the Aerosmith video for "crazy"? i think everybody fell a little bit in love with her then, and this was the catalyst that inspired movie director amy heckerling to cast her as the lead (cher) in pretty much my all time fave film ever, "clueless".

she had such an innocent, girly vulnerability about her which made her perfect to play cher. i first saw 'clueless' when i was 10 and i've NEVER got sick of it, despite being able to quote word for fucking word. who could forget her great advice - "dionne when your allergies act up take out your nose ring" and her mis-pronunciations "And so if the government could just get to the kitchen, rearrange some things, we could certainly party with the hai-tee-ans". just a few examples of the life lessons i learnt from cher.

to top it off alicia was a bonafide grunge icon. just check out my pics for the proof

happy birthday edith head

2013-10-28T03:33:00.003-07:00

a little off the subject of grunge but i'm remembering edith head today as it would have been her 116th birthday (thanks for the memo google).

edith was an american costume designer who dressed the main players such as grace kelly, sophia loren, audrey hepburn and liz taylor. she was a fave costume designer of alfred hitchcock as she chose to shun short lived costume fads, resulting in timeless outfits and have reflected the classic films.

as a young woman with no experience in either costume design or illustration edith blagged her way in to paramount studios using someone else's designs at the interview*. the blagging paid off as edith went on to scoop 8 oscars for her costume designs on movies such as sabrina and rear window.

check out the pics for a glimpse in to the glamorous world of edith head.

Audrey Hepburn

Ginni Adams

Edith with her 8 Academy Awards

Edith Head

Edith Head quote

Edith Head

Liz Taylor illustration

Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina

*note to self, lie at interviews...

leather love

2013-10-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

so last night i was invited along to the i love 2 love leather jacket blogger event. BUT that's all i'm gonna say about that for now cos i have pics to upload and a full post about the event coming tomorrow so just sshhh!

but it inspired me to take a look through the kurtcouture archives - with a little help from google - at just a few of my favourite leather clad idols.

i don't see leather ever getting old (not literally, just in the context of style, obvs). leather is just synonymous with cool, unless you're jeremy clarkson. are you jeremy clarkson? if you answered yes then hello and why are you reading my blog? from johnny & kate to madonna a simple leather number can be worn in so many ways and it never fails to add edge to any outfit (again unless you're jezza clarkson).

more on this tomorrow, but for now here's a kids you'll know looking super bad ass and rocking a leather: if you don't recognise them then you'd better go home.

when courteney cox ruled the world...

2013-08-30T15:00:00.001-07:00

today's inspiration comes in the form of 90s girl crush courteney cox. from her early appearance in bruce springsteen's 1984 music video 'dancing in the dark' (apparently the inspiration for carlton banks dancing!) to her memorable performance as monica gellar in 'friends' CC had that 90s grunge girl look down.

it was baggy jeans, john lennon glasses and tea dresses all round for courteney during her hey day and with that super slim bod she could always pull off the look.

i love her character monica - can totes relate to the OCD! but it was always the clothes i noticed. as for the hair, well, let's just say there were some dodgy do's. but we can forgive when we study her finer moments. here are some of my faves:

instyle.com

the hair is amazing here. and the hooped ear rings, perfectly shaped brows, piercing blue eyes and the brown lippie. sigh.

tumblr.com

this is the sweetest photo! loving the sunnies here.

fanpop.com

white vest with high waisted black trousers = YES

ew.com

staple 90s ditsy print strappy dress. i'm constantly on an eBay hunt for ones like this

imdb.com

i'm not crazy about the hat. but another ditsy print gets the thumbs up from me. although this outfit is clearly overshadowed by ace ventura's Hawaiian shirt, white vest and high wasited red trousers combo - winner.

hotcourteneycox.blogspot

where the heck can i get those glasses from?? love them.

sweetandtalented.com

slightly cheeseball shoot here. but how much are we diggin that red leather dress and pocahontas hair?! HOW!

ultimateclassicrock.com

and of course i've thrown this one in for good measure. although the jury's still out on this one...

inspired by work today...

2013-08-27T05:12:00.001-07:00

...so the content team just sent out an email requesting our fave cover songs to post on the blog. a few good ones being thrown around like all along the watchtower by jimi hendrix, originally by bob dylan and pale blue eyes by the kills, originally by the velvet underground.

this one was an easy one for me. i first heard nirvana's cover of the man who sold the world by david bowie on my 13th birthday as i had the nirvana unplugged in new york album from my friends (thanks guys, game-changer!) and i've never looked back. i know i've harped on many'a about nirvana and the grunge scene and how it shaped my musical tastes bla bla BLA but this also introduced me to david bowie - pre-labyrinth days!

i was catapulted further in to my appreciation for nirvana but i think the introduction of bowie minus goblins and tight leggings was the most exciting part of this prezzie. although don't think for a second that i don't like labyrinth.

so anyway here it is:

ryan gosling and puppies...

2013-07-17T08:48:00.005-07:00

god could ryan gosling get any more pant-moistening? he recently wrote a news article for canadian 'globe and mail' about the rights of pigs in his native canada. something about them being in cages or whatever but that's not important...the important thing is he's not only ripped, beautiful, talented and - notoriously - a feminist, but he wuvs widdle animals too!

there are no words.

who stole the show at glastonbury festival 2013?

2013-07-03T07:57:00.001-07:00

...if you ask me it had to be the smashing pumpkins. billy corgan and the gang (albeit no longer young cherubs and barely even the original line up) performed a surprisingly retrospective set on the last night at glastonbury festival 2013. pulling out the old fave's like 'tonight, tonight, 'today' and a flawless cover of david bowie's 'space oddity' the crowd didn't even mind the big screen glimpse of corgan's beer belly peeping out of his too tight top. enjoy...

“There's an old Italian saying: you f*ck up once, you lose two teeth.” - Tony Soprano

2013-06-21T03:31:00.002-07:00

yesterday somebody died who i felt was almost part of my family. james gandolfini AKA tony soprano genuinely had the biggest impact on me of any other tv character before or since. the sopranos perfectly encapsulated 21st century living and I was hooked from the first time I saw those hunched shoulders and heard that heavy breathing that defined the man himself, T. not exactly a likeable or particularly charming guy, but the one thing tony had was that he was knowable. i really felt as though i knew him and so the death of the genius who played him has been a shock.

i spent about 6 months watching the sopranos and i regard it as a turning point in my life. it taught me some life skills. i felt like i grew with the characters, if they were moody, i was moody. and no one could do moody better than tony. he was so well played by gandolfini, all he had to do was throw a look or breathe differently and it would change the whole atmosphere of the episode. i liked the way he’d have a conversation with himself in therapy, muttering his frustrations away. he was very vulnerable in that psychiatric chair yet he kept at it because he needed the release, and the sexual tension between him and dr melfi was undeniable and addictive.

in many ways tony was just your average family man. difficult kids, high maintenance but desperately loyal wife and a secondary family that extended amongst his friends and “colleagues”. the episodes where he found out that Vito was gay were particularly poignant for me as it was apparent tony had evolved beyond his usual tough guy reflexes. he showed a tolerance towards his choice when others wanted him whacked. it was these times that he hinted at a softer side. a human side.

i could literally go on forever about my favourite scenes, episodes and tony-isms but this isn't really what this post is for. there were many up’s, many downs, many meals and many mithers for tony during the six series that The Sopranos ran. and if you haven’t watched it, you should. it completely changed the dynamic of tv shows to come and james gandolfini became the HBO king with his portrayal of tony. never has a man worn vests and cheap polyester so well.

RIP.

in preparation for glasto...

2013-06-14T04:11:00.001-07:00

pre-glasto warm-up...

2013-05-21T07:34:00.000-07:00

...essential while this weather refuses to let up! so depressing when we get a peep of sunshine for a few hours followed closely by...whatever the hell this is. anyways. i thought i'd upload a few images that have inspired me today. they look warm and summery and transport me to a place i wanna (and soon will) be - officially now on countdown in 3...2...1...GLAST-OFF! praying for sunshine, praying.

24.media.tumblr.com

sunkissed-summer-skin.tumblr.com

etsy.com

coleoptere.us

my pal jess in india? (correct me if i'm wrong pal!)

absquatulations.tumblr.com

tides.tumblr.com

alifepoetic.tumblr.com

i'm going to glastonbury!!!!

2013-04-23T04:00:00.001-07:00

...ok so not the most imaginative post title ever, but it's straight to the point! after approximately 54 minutes of anxiety, reapplication of deodorant, 2 cups of tea, Frasier, a disgruntled sleepy boyfriend and finger burn (from hitting 'refresh' countless times) the pals came through for me and got me that all important ticket to Glastonbury Festival! I've spent the last 6 months since the first release in october trying to avoid the hype from pals who'd already got tickets, line-up announcement and the go outdoors shop, just in case i didn't get lucky on sunday, with only one slip up where i bought what can only described as glasto-apprope clothes on a recent trip to primark. so needless to say i'm extremely happy to have got a ticket as i know how lucky i am to have managed it! emily eavis tweeted that 'demand far outstripped supply' meaning that many were left disappointed (as a successful demandee, i am smug to hear this). so as a newly smug twat i have allowed myself the pleasure of mentally making lists! what to wear - god what to wear?! - how many baby wipes will be truly neccessary, how much beer to take etc. and as a first time glasto-goer (that's right i'm a glasto virgin!) i feel it's important to be prepared!

but since this blog is about fashion i think it's appropriate to share some of my clobber ideas, rather than bore you to death with my practical ideas (note to self: take olbas oil sticks to shove up my shnozz when i go to the toilets to mask the smell). since festival fashion, and in particular glasto, allows you to dress as absolutely ANYTHING you feel like from one day to another, i think this will be a great time to experiment with some different looks, here's a few ideas:

jasminevillegas.buzznet.com

i could channel my inner gwen! 90s stylee! although i think i'd have to grow my hair A LOT to achieve those twisty buns...

houseofjeffers.blogspot.com

one of my favourite stevie nicks looks. this is definitely one i'll be rocking! who knows where i can get a top hat from? american apparel bodysuit, with lots of jewellery and a scarf. done.

guardian.co.uk

leopard jacket, polka dot bow tie, oriental scarf, stripy t-shirt. keith richards is ticking all the boxes here for me

bridezilla.com

on the subject of the stones, who i don't need to mention are playing at glasto, i know i just did it anyway...bianca jagger, queen of studio 54 and ex wife of our mick had great style, making androgyny sexy! all i need here is a long silky dress that i don't mind ruining (would need a serious chazzer shop drop on but when there's a will there's a way) and a feathery headband and i'm good to go!

typotees.blogspot.com

i'd look quite the fool if i didn't include my blog's namesake in my outfit inspiration! here's kurt wearing THAT flipper sweatshirt. second only to baby wipes as a festival must have

tumblr.com

and no festival outfit inspo would be complete without some madge so i've thrown her in for good measure. plus i seriously want those brows

winona wednesday...

2013-03-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

guardian.co.uk

mademoisellerobot.com

samanthavalentine.blogspot.com

adeenmagazine.com

anothermag.com

huffington post

huffingtonpost

wake up henry...

2013-03-10T15:17:00.001-07:00

...karen hill from goodfellas. if somebody should ever ask about my favourite female characters i would say karen fo sho. she's got balls but she's really vulnerable, and we see this from the first few scenes that she's in where henry stands her up. with all intent in the world to give him shit she clearly falls for his charms instantly. a wedding, kids, a couple of affairs, a gun to the head, a disastrous drugs bust and a new identity later and her love for henry never dies. savour some of her great quotes and images and fall in love with her like i did!

stinkylulu.blogspot.com

who do you think you are frankie valli or some kind of big shot?!

maxseesmovies.blogspot.com

wake up henry...(sitting over him, points a gun at his head)

Our husbands weren't brain surgeons, they were blue-collar guys.

totalfilm.com

I know there are women, like my best friends, who would have gotten out of there the minute their boyfriend gave them a gun to hide. But I didn't. I got to admit the truth. It turned me on.

tumblr.com

i flushed it down the toilet...

be. my. bloody. valentine.

2013-01-20T09:59:00.001-08:00

actually not my bloody valentine related, sorry if i've mislead anyone! was just having a sunday afternoon ponder about the impending "romantic celebration" that is valentine's day. not that i ever celebrate it! for a romantic kinda gal i choose to boycott this time of year. well, we did go for a meal last year. but it was with another couple and not all lovey dovey or expensive or gay. but since the 14th feb is normally preceded by weeks of red splattered tat in the shops i couldn't help but have a google at some of the more "tasteful" gifts to give our loved ones on that most cringeworthy of pointless days. call me scrooge or the unfestive equivalent of - jack dee? buuuuuut if one of the following was at the bottom of my bed and it just so happened to be valentine's day, by some happy coincidence, well then i guess that would be ok...

www.cambridgesatchel.co.uk

hmmm, could use this to put all my really awesome girl crap in...absolutely adore the cambridge satchel collection (introduced to me via google advertising!) and the cuteness of this family-run business. great to see small businesses flourish during these difficult economic times! for a valentine's promo the cambridge satchel company are offering free embossing (yes this company also offer an embossing service, for that authentic back to school look!) on selected red and navy satchels. for every satchel purchased you'll also be entered into an automatic prize draw to win a satchel yourself.

https://www.cambridgesatchel.co.uk/valentines-comp/ for more details!

available at www.amazon.co.uk

love this. it has some really beautiful poems about love, the birth of a baby, earning a living and saying your final goodbyes to life. this is a great gift as it's a present for life and shows a bit more thought than a me to you teddy.

doc martens available at www.office.co.uk

if, like me, you're new to dockers, you'll now want a pair in every colour of the rainbow. not found in a rainbow of course, but still brightening up a rainy day, are these black patent 9-eyelet doc marten's with pink lace and stitching detail. exclusive to office, a pair of these are perfect for the girl in your life who prefers stomping in dockers to side-stepping in kitten heels.

so don't find yourself buying red roses or a heart shaped box (of chocolates) this year. think about buying something your girl genuinely wants! stay away from the seasonal aisle in tesco! put down that musical card! or just don't bother at all, i won't!

january body envy...

2013-01-12T03:09:00.001-08:00

...bar refaeli, victoria's secret model, brazilian babe. woke up this morning and thought i'd sweat out the january blues with a gym sesh. followed by a slathering of dove's summer body moisturiser with gradual tan. i'm on my way to this! slowly...

mail online, 2012

check this out...

2013-01-09T05:37:00.000-08:00

...lookbook.nu

my pal simon kyle (on the edge of becoming a major movie director btw!) dropped this on to my facebook wall this morning, it's a street style website - always a fan! - created in san francisco in 2008 by yuri lee. taking inspiration from other street style successors the sartorialist and the cobrasnake this site has developed into an open service for anyone and everyone to post looks, outfits, trends and more recently conduct interviews with fashion "memes"!

here's a few of the best (that i could quickly gather together while the systems are down at work, WIN!)

camille co, fashion designer

this is camille co, a chinese fashion designer who lives in the philippines. she has a rtw clothing line called coexist and also creates custom made gowns and dresses. by the looks of what she's wearing in these pics i reckon i want summa that!

camille co

by lua p., kid from the past

really like this outfit. the creepers with the anarchy t-shirt and satchel make this chick mega dega.

by violet e.

this was me when i got back from wonk on new year's eve

by morgan j.

i need your clothes. your boots. and your motorcycle...

by stacey b. cat lady from pittsburgh

this girl got's el barto!

caroline e.

loving tribal at the moment. and the double denim/pink cons work well. is that a greyhound bus i see?!

ah shucks been told to get back to work, enjoy these and don't forget to visit their site! lookbook.nu

i'm in the mooood...

2013-01-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

...for 90s. nothing new there then. but what i'm really feeling today is 90s tv. how ace was 90s tv?? so i thought i'd share a few images of some of our beloved shows that got us through life during those years of teenage angst. from the smurfs before school (ok, not really 90s tv, but i enjoyed this every day for YEARS with my lucky charms while i heated up my school uniform by the fire!) to EVERYTHING on nickelodeon when we FINALLY got that life-changing yellow company installed in to the living room 'cable and wireless', i was defo more of an indoor kid in those days. my friends would say "wanna come play kerby in the street?", errrrr, no? sister sister vs kenan and kel is on back to back all day, all weekend! come on in!

take a few minutes to reminisce, you'll wonder what the hell happened to kids shows once the noughties reared it's weird ben ten head...

1. sourcefednews.con

1. boy meets world. who could forget the rocky relationship between corey and topanga?! they got married when they were about 16! it was proper dead good! i loved this, i wanted to be all grown up like them. i was about 7 when i first saw this! memories

2. rugrats. thought i'd put up the theme tune to rugrats, courtesy of youtube, cos it's a real blast from the past and in this case better than putting up images! i really hated angelica! she was so shady on chuckie! ha! a tv show about babies going on adventures, just around the house or garden. hiding from dustbunnies! the creators of this show really went to town with the imagination and let us see the world in a way we had all but forgotten about. amazing

3. fanpop.com

3. two of a kind. the hair, the clothes, the olsen twins! i can't even begin to explain how much i wanted to be them. and to be honest, i still feel pretty much the same about these gals! unfortunately this only ran for one season so the ongoing tension between their dad kevin and the student babysitter never materialised into anything, shame! but at least we'll always remember their love of clothes! nothing changes

gameofroles.com

4. the smurfs. yes i know, this is a cartoon from the 80s. but this was the kids cartoon that was the equivalent of a good breakfast for adults. it set me up for the day. can't really remember what they were...or what the point of them was...but still! it was moral central! plus they released smurf cd's and i had them all!

femalefirst.co.uk

5. kenan and kel. WHYYYYY?! oh my god this was just so funny. it was a bit different in the way that it was filmed in front of a live studio audience of which the characters kenan and kel would discourse with the audience before the show began, which would always finish with kenan (knowing the tale would end up in disaster) saying 'ah here goes!' who could forget the very first episode (probably most people but for some reason it really stuck with me and i still actually laugh out loud about this now) where they try to sue the tuna company after kel chokes on a screw he found in the can, only to end in court with kel admitting "IIIIIII! DROPPED THE SCREEEEEEEEEEW! IN THE TUNA!" i have provided a clip of this moment, because it really is that funny...24 seconds, kenan's face, priceless

thefader.com

6. sister sister. actually my fave characters from this were ray and lisa (featured in image above, both middle, well just not the twins. it's quite obvious really...), i always wanted them to get together too! think that was the pull of 90s tv, will they won't they?! obvs not very memorable though cos i can't remember if they did ha! but i do remember when they changed the theme tune, this is when tia and tamara were getting a bit older and a bit fitter! loved the banter they had with their neighbour roger as well! hilare! he was in love with them both but they had fitter boyfriends, then one day roger turned up all grown up and dead fit! haha fit is the word of the day here...

au.zeebox.com

7. sabrina the teenage witch. can't mention 90s tv without this show. salem the talking cat, the goofy but good-hearted (and quite often confused!) boyfriend harvey and the intrusive but loving auntie's! sabrina was the queen of teenage angst! homework, boys and harbouring a massive secret - she were witch! - equalled a huge headache for sabrina most of the time. i loved this programme, especially the bitchy cheerleader lydia! classic high school drama...

i really could go on forever baby! and if anyone wants to comment about their fave 90s shows please feel free to leave a message! for now it's back to 2013 and to face those january blues, but at least i can always have a quick daydream about these shows to get me through it!

ArtSound Collective Showcase, Stoke

2012-12-13T12:23:00.001-08:00

So last Monday was the first of (we hope, many!) Art Sound exhibitions. This was an evening to showcase stokie talent! From ceramics to bumbags to barbie doll fashion it was a night to celebrate local artists and appreciate fresh ideas.

Alice Thatcher (BA HONS Glass and Ceramics) displayed her beautiful bird illustrations and the ceiling hangers are a great interpretation of the ancient Chinese art of origami. You can find more examples of this on the Alice Thatcher Facebook page.

Freelance fashion designer Lou Marshall showcased her collection at the event with a catwalk show (a bit of a giggly and wobbly! Catwalk mind!). Her designs reminded me of French design brand Celine with clean lines, on-safari colours and tapered mac's.

Raver gal Daisy Thomas from Nottingham uni WOWED me with her funky tie dye backpacks and lamee bumbags. Essential raving gear! Visit www.daisythomas.net to stock up now!

Fashion designer (and recent winner of a stall at The Clothes Show 2012!) Jessica Shaw brought a large sample of her grungy Barbie collection to the event. I did some modelling for her earlier this year and the designs are fantastic! Really beautiful sheer fabrics in tie dye and with an influence from barbie meets curtain tie backs! Visit the Jessica Shaw Facebook page for stock.

A massive shout out to Mel Dixon who drove us to this event, without which, this blogpost would not have been possible. ;-D

The event organisers intend to make it bigger and better next time! So any local artists from the Stoke-on-Trent who want to display their work don't hesitate to get in touch with me for details! Absolutely any form of artistic creation is welcome!

- kurtcouture

Location:Fat Cats, Hanley

smiths sunday...

2012-11-25T03:06:00.002-08:00