The wierd and the wonderful.

this slightly weird, pretty wonderful, and most certainly unique, fashion film is from Topshop. And from my understanding it is there Christmas/new year cinematic interpretation of there coming collections and garments. This video consists of everything from glitter encrusted mini dresses and sequin sparkled shift dresses to toasty leopard print coats and feathery capes and jackets to keep you cosy if you’ll be venturing outside on new years is it quite obvious there a lot happening and being shown in this film.


But within this other than just the fashion there are some extremely intricate and obscure make-up ideas in it too. With smoky grey eyes and lashing of black mascara which is then teamed with mountains of glitter as well as being loaded with sparkly gems which over all is teamed with the more demure and sophisticated red lip.

I think the model in this lovely piece of cinematic fashion is Georgia May Jagger who is definitely known for her statement red lips and the gap in her front teeth which I now think she wouldn't look like herself without it, do you know what I mean?

So what do you think of topshops fashion film?

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And though I'm far away I still can hear them say.

My own interpretation of the uniform this is also my second attempt, my first being in my journal was just a very messy sketch this is much more refined and detailed. I genuinely like the style of the jacket and tie. I am thinking or incorporating this influence into some of my designs.

This uniform was worn by Marlene Dietrich while she was touring Europe during the war. She was visiting all the soldiers at there different stations to entertain them and to brighten up there spirits. What I initially found appealing about this uniform is the high waist band of the trouser (which is similar to how the land army wore there's) but as I looked into the more detailed parts of the uniform I saw the style of the shirt and tie, the structure of the jacket and how it all fastens together.

Another aspect of this touring uniform is the pockets not only are they practical but they also add detail and definition to certain area's. There are many parts of this individual uniform which I wish to take inspiration from for my own designs and garments. such as the buckles and the style of how the pieces fitted along with the little details such as badges and medals which for my own garments i plan to put a modern twist on.

Once I have done more designs I'm just wondering if you would like to see any up on my blog?

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There'll be love and laughter and peace ever after.

This is my second attempt at drawing the dress below. I also did a quick sketch in my journal then transferred it onto a model so the shape flowed better. The drawing still isn't finished I
need to add colour and possibly photoshop it if I have time.

This dress is a uniform for a radio operator in the Second World War. The woman that wore this almost got caught by "the enemy" while carrying her suitcase with her radio equipment in, luckily she was quick thinking and sharp and thanks to he uniform being a pale blue with white trimming she told them that she was a nurse and "the enemy" told her to get out and leave, which means her outfit saved her job from being found out and also her own life. This makes me think can the way we dress really save our lives? well it seems in this instance it can!

The style of this dress is very much like a tea dress its easy to wear and comfortable and if your decoding radio signals 24 hours a day you don't want to not be able to breath in something very fitted. This is what I especially like about this dress, the simplicity of the shape and style. I think its the slight a-line from the waist and the cute intricate detailing on the chest and collar just make it a little more interesting. I am taking some influences from this uniform for pieces in my own collection such as the collar and structure of the dress.

What do you think of this uniform, would you wear it?

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There'll be bluebirds over, the white cliffs of Dover.

These photographs were taken in the "women at war" section in the Imperial war museum in Manchester. I have to say a big thank you to the old fella who works there; he saw me drawing the uniforms and tapped me on the shoulder to tell me I could take pictures in the section. He then came back when I’d finished to ask me what I was doing it for and when I said fashion he seemed surprised then told me to go downstairs and tell one of the learning staff there what I was doing and that they would give me some of pieces on the women at war, unfortunately I couldn’t find these people so my dad’s offered to take me again, so anyway thank you sir!

The reason I ventured out to the museum is because I have chosen the women’s land army as my theme for my final major project. I am concentrating on the women of the war and especially the Land Army of the Second World War because my granddad was in the army at this time my late grandma was a nurse during this time (how she met my granddad, he was sent to her hospital after being poisoned by water) and maybe the most important for my collection my granny who was in the women’s land army and this is where my inspiration came from.

But unfortunately the imperial war museum does not have a large amount on display about the land army but it has a collection of uniforms lining the side of the wall as you can see in my pictures. I have a number of other images from my trip to the museum which I will use in another post where I shall try and talk more in depth about what I would like to take from each uniform such as the structure or form of the pieces. I found a large amount of information at the museum which was really interesting and I am planning another visit so I can really take it all in. In the next few weeks i will be posting about the land army and the film I watched (which I loved!) and the television series I’m also re-watching parts of to refresh my memory.

Have any of you been on your trips this Christmas?

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If santa gave me one last wish...

The Cambridge Satchel, Urban Outfitters £108



I would ask for a satchel. I have been searching far and wide for a vintage satchel but they seem near as impossible to find. And what makes this more annoying is I know of so many people who had these as school bags in the sixties and then either threw them or gave them away my mum being one of these people. Luckily for me my dad seems to have kept many number of things at my Gran's and has offered to find his old leather briefcase he had for school for me and get a long leather should strap added. I may have to take up his offer even though its not a satchel, I am really grateful dad, did you catch that? As I do not have a stable job or monthly income I shall still keep on hunting the charity shops and vintage Fayre's but for now I may acquire this bottom one. Which I still feel is a little pricey for me but I've been after one of these for ages! The top Photograph is the ever so beautiful classically handmade leather satchel from The Cambridge Satchel Company but with its hefty Price tag of £108 it will only EVER be on my wish list. But if the vintage fairy is reading please let me find something like this in one of the many charity shops I rummage through for preferably under 20 quid!

River island Men's, Light brown satchel bag £26.99

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Evans...

Here's just a tiny little post about The blogger profile Evans did about me a week or so ago.

So anyway The lovely people who manage Evans and were kind enough to let me be put on there blog roll and be a Evans blog partner also asked if i would be interested in doing a post about my blog and my style for there site http://blog.evans.co.uk/

I used the photograph from my before the blizzards hit post. I would just like to say thank you ever so much Evans for letting me be a blog partner and doing the post on me which was ever so lovely!

so get and check out Evans fashion fix blog!

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And when she shines she really shows you all she can.

Yes the lyrics which are the title of the post are from Duran Duran's song Rio, I saw the vinyl in a charity shop today and I've been singing it since! These photographs were primarily taken for Evan's "Tis the season..." competition for the chance to win £100 worth of Evans clothes! The bits and bobs on how you could enter are just here but I am afraid to say I only just managed the deadline for entries! The deadline was Thursday and I managed to submit my picture at half past ten at night, but if you missed out I know asos curve are doing a competition which is similar to this (wear your favourite piece(s) from there range and submit a picture in a chance to win vouchers).

I entered one of these photograph's in under the title of "tis the season to colour co-ordinate" because how often (especially at Christmas) do yo use women with matching shoes and bags or even the whole outfit being matching? I'll answer you quite a lot. I decided to go ALL out for this outfit post but wearing everything to match right up to my lipstick! For you who are followers of my blog you may have already noticed this, for lovely people who have just found me, listen and listen well. I hardly ever wear pink! Even though its not that I do not like the colour its just something as a palette that isn't very extensive in my wardrobe, recently I am becoming more at one with the shade. I now own the most awesome eighties hand knitted pink cardigan which I got from the ever so lovely messycarla from her selling blog a few months ago. When I'm out shopping or even just prowling the Internet for new things my eyes seem to be more drawn to pale pinks at the moment i think its just because in England we are having our judgments frosted over by snow! haha so check back with me in a few months to see if I'm still into it all.

So what am I wearing in this darling photo? As they were mainly taken for the evans competition this is my main focus. The skirt I bought a few summers ago from evans and I just really love it the fabric's stretch, the shape its self is really lovely and of course it looks good in summer and winter though unfortunately its a little more snug my me than I would like it still looks and feel great to wear. My lovely patent low heeled Mary Jane styled shoes are also from evans it is the only shop I really go to for my shoes. For girls who are chubby you tend to have wider feet and this can be a real pain if you want really nice shoes but your foot doesn't fit in to believe me! My plain black long sleeved t-shirt is one of my wardrobe staples from Dorothy Perkins and the pink bow is also from Dorothy Perkins and was found in the sale about a year ago for little less than a pound.

I said I'd really gone out for the co-ordinating theme and I really did! My lipstick is the magic one from Barry M. If you do not understand what I mean I shall try and explain, when you buy the lipstick it is green in the tube but when you put it on your lips like a lipstick it comes out a pink shade and the more layers you add the bright the pigment becomes. The reason for the colour change is that theres something in the lipstick which reacts with the heat of your skin. Though i do have to warn you it does not come off easily!

So do you think this outfit looks okay? I have to say i froze my bum off outside while I'd nagged my mum to be the photographer. arghh its Christmas eve tomorrow is anyone else not at all ready?

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suitable for an evening?

I am so sorry this is such a pathetic outfit post but these really are the best of a bad bunch. I though I'd try something different and use my white walls in the loft, which wasn't the best idea there is not a lot of head room up there! The photographs are also really bad quality and this is what you get for rubbish lighting and having to use the web cam on your laptop. I took some much nicer ones on my camera but it seems to have gone walk about and is still yet to be found (most likely lurking in the bombsite which is my room)

This possible part outfit was what I was thinking about wearing for my friend Charlie's 18th. I knew it had to be pretty much also make me look a little older or more used to going out in general. In the end I wore my black and red floral culottes which you can see in a post from September here , because if the truth be told I'm not really a dress person which probably sounds strange to you as I quite often show up on my blog sporting a dress or skirt of some kind but Its often with thick tights or leggings and when I'm at parties I am always conscious that my bum on show, which for a girl like me really isn't a good look.

The dress is from Dorothy Perkins way, way back it could be three years old I tend to layer it a lot so it can be smart or casual I'm going to try it with some fun coloured tights and a long sleeved stripy top for Christmas...maybe. The lace top underneath is from tesco, I am really not keen on the tops of my arms but I feel fine going out in this! You may be able to to see a little box bag in the corner of the second image I bought that little gem from a second-hand bag shop in Antwerp it was originally a little sewing box I think, but really the upholstery on it is just utterly adorable.

I do apoligise for the lack of outfit posts and what-not recently! hopefully there will be a few more over the coming week or so and I promise to try and post up before christmas.

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Why have a book when you can read a webpage?

Online magazines are one of the sources that greatly use Digital technology for example ZOOZOOM fashion magazine (http://www.zoomzoom.com/ ) which presents multimedia fashion features using photography, video, music and animation. They have used a large amount of digital technology on there magazine such as the layout and fonts used as well as there photo shoots on the fashion tab which have been tweaked by editing and air brushing. One of the only limitations of using an online magazine is that only people who have access to the Internet and a strong Internet connection can see it. Also with the Internet often sometimes being unreliable for crashing and freezing if the online magazine went down then nobody could read it but with having it actually able to hold and carry it can be much more wide spread in my opinion. I also see the potential for and online magazine able to hit global proportions thanks to anyone being able to link them or pass it on over networking sites such as twitter and facebook.

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Is blogging the new?

I have ever so sneakily copied a few pieces of advertising of a number of my favourite blogs, so ever so lovely blogger's I hope you don't mind!

This top piece of digital advertisement is from Keiko Lynn's blog where she has well over 4000 followers. She also advertises her sponsors by wearing pieces from them on images on her blo

This last image is taken from Kaelah Bee from the wonderful blog called Little Chief Honeybeewhere sponsor's send her pieces which match who she is as a person.

A large number of blogger's also use digital technology on their blogs. For everything from the background, layout to fonts and tags as well as icons, many other more popular blogs also use advertising on the side bars of their sites to either promote other blogs or small boutiques and designers. An example of this is on Keiko Lynn’s extremely popular blog (http://www.keikolynn.com/) where a large amount of her boarders are full of vintage stores and websites advertise.

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Photoshop.

This is an example of photoshop being used for a before and after of how they have changed the colours and sharpness of her features and the background the figure is situated in.

Photoshop is not only used for editing the style on a photo it can also be used to clear up someones complexion of completely change the shape of a persons body this is called 'airbrushing' which is used to almost mask the person underneath.

This is an example of how photographers photoshop bodies, In my opinion this is sometimes sort of warped, because these celebrities don't look any worse in the majority of there original images. You can see where they have 'trimmed' in her waist as well as airbrushing her skin to give an even and more smooth tone.

Photoshop can be used to edit images for example correcting colors, adding text to image, reducing size and enlarging images. Many Companies now use this digital technology to clean up images of models in magazines this method of photo editing is called airbrushing. It clear the model or person in the image of imperfections and can even alter there figure. Photoshop can also be used to create logo's for company’s and other design manufacturers it can now even be used to work with 3D content.

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Rag Doll, livin' in a movie.

These beautifully crafted Rag dolls are made by the wonderful Rai of Blargle Fargle. Where she blogs about life as a uni student, cute artwork, lovely photos and her love for fashion.She also does almost daily outfit posts where Rai is nearly always wearing a lovely dress or really kitsch jewellery. I first found Rai's cute little blog thanks to her rags dolls another wonderful blogger Claire of French for Cupcake who did a little post on what she does and everything, just like that I'm almost doing now!




Rai's little rag doll of herself. There really adorable!

Another little drawing of another blogger (but I'm not sure who! sorry)

A selection of Rai's rag dolls.

As far as I am aware these could either be drawn in pencil then scanned into photoshop to colour and edit. Or alternatively Rai may quite possibly draw these beauty's all on photoshop or some from of editing software, She is a a talented lady indeed and also a lovely girl. How rai creates the rag dolls is that you can send her an image of you and she will draw you as a little doll! I think they really cute and quirky way of portraying yourself or showing a different side of yourself across your blog. I am very tempted to have one made as they truly are adorable.In my opinion the mood of these pieces is innocent they also show a child like and fun perspective, which makes these a joy to look at.

What do you all think of the ever so wonderful Rai's cute little rag dolls?

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Picture me with you but you couldn't do it.

This is Alice Rose Verney she a freelance illustrator who primarily focus's her talents on fashion and lifestyle. She uses a lot of mixed media, mainly collage and experimental photography which includes traditional and digital . Alice enjoys experimenting with new techniques and media which had led her to hugely developing her individual style of illustration.

With Alice's work I really admire her use of fabric incorporated with the pencil sketches. And how she likes to mix it up between photography, drawing, fabrics and papers. In my own work i would very much wish to take inspiration from Alice by using a stronger mix of media as well as adding pieces to the more traditional sketches I produce. I have taken inspiration from some of Verney's work with a piece which is in my file.

Alice Rose Verney tends to combine traditional and digital by originally hand sketching out the shape and basic structures of her piece out, then by scanning it into a photo editor (which could be photoshop) She has been known to edit magazine or 'clown' head onto the models bodies showing how Alice plays with scale. In my opinion I perceive some of Verney's work as quite dark. Such as the clown and deformed faces she uses for a range of her work, to some people it may be seen as disturbing to others original it just depends on your taste?

These to bottom Images are my favourite style of Alice's work. She says on her website that she realised early on that doing collage was her calling and that as she developed her own personal style she realised it was one of her biggest strengths. Alice Verney also likes to play with the positioning of the anatomy and repetition. Which is extremely clear when you look at her almost x-ray like collages. On the mood of Alice's work i see her collages here as almost glowing? or midnight by this I mean like glow in the dark . It also views as possibly a rave or techno style.

What do you all think of Alice Verney? Is she your cup of tea?

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Can you get fashion in a can?

This post is all about a new illustrator I found while searching for another illustrator of the same name (confusing I know). So this is Natalie Hugh's I am unsure if she is the Natalie Hugh's I was searching for but she will certainly do.

Natalie lives in London with her ever increasing wardrobe which is buckling at the seams. she works as a writer by day and by night she draws wafer slim girls in expensive outfits. Which Natalie all documents beautifully on her blog Canned Fashion. (http://www.cannedfashion.com)
She also draws everything from pugs with rabbit styled ears to designer garments. ( you can see them on her flickr here http://www.flickr.com/photos/nataliehughes ) she uses a mix of pen, ink and photoshop. For the photo editing she edits in pattern and block colour as seen on these two lovely examples of her work which i 'borrowed' off her own drawing page on her blog. In my opinion I think her illustrations envisage a mood of innocent and simplicity but with a splash of glamour. By the term simplicity i do not mean her drawing are plain but the structure oh her 'models' is simple clean lines so all the detail and attention is kept on the garments which the girls in the drawing are wearing.

I am very much looking forward to seeing the outcome of Natalie's blog in the future!

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Rainbow Paperclips.

This is my final edit of this drawing. I also have some other photos I'll be scanning in and editing which will then be able to view at your leisure. I did this as a sort of collage I used double sided tape to attached the paperclips in this style to fit for the vest. I then used fine liner to fill in the pockets and headband.

I edited this on photoshop by altering the levels of the shades and colours so it cleared the uneven background. And then I also altered the hue on the paperclips to produce a deeper and richer tone. I can see this being used for a trendy stationers, because of the stylised choice.

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Once again inspired.

For this drawing I used the paintbrush option on photoshop to colour in the lines of her hair. I wanted a contrasting shade and this is one of my favourite tones when I am doing hair as it is vivid without being over powering. I think fr these two edits I have kept the mood still remotely innocent and feminine but with a vintage twist, for examples the tones and hues of the vest and the old newspaper clipping for the pockets and hairband.

These are my other drawing in ink inspired by Natalie Hugh's original drawing. I also used the traditional technique of cutting out and replacing the white paper with either patterned fabric or as I used here wrapping paper and newspaper.

This is just my original cut out image which was all done by hand I then scanning it into photoshop and cleaned up the image adjusting the colour levels to make to background whiter. While changing the levels I also edited the flowers to produce a much richer shade on the pinks, purples and greens in the paper and Then I washed out the yellow slightly to make the Flowers more prominent.

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Inspired.

These drawing were inspired by The fashion illustrator Natalie Hugh's, unfortunately there is number of people with this name. So google in fact showed me a number of Natalie's who were creative in one form or another, all wonderful I promise but the original image in a way portrays a mood of innocence and simplicity because the image is small on detail, Natalie just originally used ink and then photoshopped a matching pattern on the background and shirt which then made the "prada headband" stand out.

For my own interpretations of her image, I have made them much more busy with a number of patterns using traditional as well as digital techniques. These are my first interpretations of this chosen image I also have paper cut out versions and a paperclip collage.

These Photo's Have been created by using collage of ripped strips of magazine cuttings and silver card for the pockets and headband. I scored the silver card to add detail to the silver headband. For my bottom image I just cleared up the image and rotated it 180 degrees. As well as clearing up the image I also photoshopped her hair, to produce the psychedelic eye entrancing surface pattern.

The very top image I have edited the headband and pockets with a detailed pattern. I did struggle to begin with on managing to get a neat edge around the shapes and pieces i wanted to fill. But after using parts of this unit i feel i have improved my photoshop skills and would like to use it more in the future to make my use of it stronger. I feel i have changed the mood for this image from something sweet and maybe innocent to something much more edgy and possibly controversial and I could see one of these images being used for adverts for websites such as the make up brand eyeko or even for a independent clothing company.

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