Time-Traveller

If there were ever a model born in the wrong era, it'd be Abbey Lee. Of course Freja Beha Erichsen could give her a run for her money as she regularly looks as though she's time-travelled from the 80's, but Abbey's in a whole league of her own.

"Hey Abbey, the 70s called and they said they want their clothes back!" The furry coat seems to be a particular favourite of hers (although personally I think it looks like old carpet) as do the beaten lace-ups but all joking aside, its pretty refreshing to see a model whose clothes have personality.

I love black clothes, infact I rarely wear anythig but black (unless I'm feeling adventurous in which case I'll probably wear a red scarf or something) but if I was nearing on 6ft and had the pins of a super, I'd definitely venture into colour. Monochrome is just so....plain.

Of course there are the Sasha Pivovarova's, Magdalena Frackowiak's and Abbey's of the world and black is arguably the most practical colour for a model to wear, but it's so exciting when you get a hint of the real them. I'd like to think that Abbey is some free-loving hippy lass with not a care in the world, rather than a serial mourner or nun - god forbid.

I'd also like to think that she'd wear everything from this selection I've put together, not all at once of course - well she could but people might think she's on day release or something...

Severe apologies for the notable lack of newsworthy posts, it seems I'm not so great at time management as I once thought! What do you think, should models stick to the all black uniform or should they mix it up like Abbey? Also what is your favourite era? Mine used to be the 90s but right now I'm really feeling the 70's vibes, maaaaaaan.

photos from altamiranyc.blogspot.com

There were never such devoted sisters...

I knew it would happen - Ashley Olsen has finally started dressing well again. I was surprised at her choice of 'coming out' outfit because Johji Jamamoto isn't something I'd have pictured her in, but don't they both look great?

Mary-Kate in head-to-toe Givenchy looks amazing as always but I really wish she'd sort her posture out, she looks so demure and hunched next to Ashley. They were attending to host the Free Arts 12th Annual Art Auction in New York and I just love their whole bag-lady-meets-goth-chic look, it reminds me of Mary-Kate circa 2007 - my favourite Olsen year.

Of course there's been critics, apparently wearing head-to-toe black means you are in mourning, of your childhood...seriously? I always wear black and I'm pretty sure my childhood, or lack of it, has nothing to do with this. 

Ashley wore tartan and leopard print a couple of days earlier so I'm pretty sure she's not mourning anything right now...

I'm glad to see Ashley doing what she does best, looking amazing. I'm not going to be busting out a leopard scarf, leather jacket, tartan trouser-skirt or sandals anytime soon but it's great to see her back on track! I'm going to be away again from tomorrow but I'll post as much as I can. Do you give Ashley a thumbs up or a serious thumbs down?

PS. For all you Dolly Mix bloggers, you will be receiving an email shortly - I promise!

photos from olsenobsessive.net

Where dem bloggers at?

If you've been following me for a while you'd probably know that I like Rihanna and when I saw her in London the other night I wasn't disappointed.

Her outfits were pretty insane, like crotch-loving-PVC-clad-but-cool-not-whoreish insane (with a bit of Gareth Pugh added in for good measure). I'm not going to lie though, when I saw her on X-Factor last year, she didn't sound great live so I was pretty sceptical that it was going to be a duff gig; I was surprised at how good she was. Admittedly I'm not really into the whole giant venue scenario when it comes to seeing live-acts - I'd much rather be at a festival or at a smaller more intimate gig - but our standing spot was pretty good, non?

It kind of goes to show as well that having a great wardrobe is never a bad thing, I mean, until she started dressing good, who really paid her that much attention?

Its funny because in an interview she did with i-D, she kept saying how she hated her early image and that her record label wouldn't let her do her own thing - this makes me feel a bit better about those awful Pon de Replay years.

Good Girl Gone Bad was the turning point for me, Umbrella was literally the best song EVER at the time. She got a cute black bob and started dressing a bit better which kind of made me want to listen to her music - I also had my hair cut like hers, and then again when she chopped it all off completely, talk about Rihanna-tastic.

She hasn't really put a foot wrong since (forgetting the whole Chris Brown saga) and she's definitely one of my fave pop-babes - her videos just keep getting better and better.

Anyway, that's probably enough celebrity gushing for one day, who is/are your girl crushes? What with so many amazing women talents out there at the moment it's hard not to have a girl crush, in fact I think I've got several... 

As I mentioned before, I'd much rather go to a festival than be herded up with thousands of people in a hot-sweaty venue, so next week I'm going to dedicate a whole post to them. The season pretty much kicks off in June so if your headed to one soon, keep your eye out for my essentials page!

photos taken by me (do not use/copy without permission) and from google.com

Cream of the Crop

A few of my favourite shoes were made somewhat redundant over the winter due to the ridiculous weather, it was either a case of wear Dr Martens or get wet feet and clearly, wet feet wasn't an option. Because of this I got stuck in a rut and solely wore skirts or leggings - trousers were altogether out of the question.

Now that the weather's being a bit more reasonable, I can venture back into trouser territory or more dauntingly, the land of jeans. I've always been a bit scared of jeans because they're so hit and miss and the perfect denim usually is something of a myth to me. BUT with the help of my trusty brogues (think Ashish AW10/11) I'm on the hunt once more...

I recently had a look at MiH's AW collection and I couldn't believe how soft their jeans were - I'm literally in love with the panelled Vienna and The Paris is such a beautiful cut. One Teaspoon is another brand I came across on my hunt and OH MY GOD I wish I'd discovered them earlier - their jeans/clothes are to-die-for. I want everything from their online store, check it out - you'll understand why!

My brogues have already had an outing with my Levis 501's but this bunch tells me that they're going to see a whole lot more of London in the near future. What are you looking forward to wearing and what do you think of the whole panelled/coloured jean trend?

Photos from www.mih-jeans.com, www.net-a-porter.com, www.oneteaspoon.com.au, http://asos.com, http://www.topshop.com, http://www.uniqlo.co.uk/

Accidents Happen

Everyone gets the whole 'fashion' thing wrong sometimes; however, doing it more than once tends to raise eyebrows. Collectively, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have my dream wardrobe - there was Mary-Kate's Balmain phase in 2007 which I would kill for, and Ashley's amazing red carpet ensembles.

Saying this, they don't always get it right. In fact, Ashley (usually the more preened of the two) got it horribly wrong at the Art of Elysium/VERSUS event on Friday night.

The shoes, the lace/jersey combo, the leather jacket tied around the waist? It's all wrong. Mary-Kate on the other hand looks amazing - I'm loving the cobalt blue dress teamed with the leopard print jacket. (an MK and A staple).

At first sight Ashley doesn't look that bad, but when you examine the outfit as a whole it just really doesn't work. At all. I said a month or so ago that I wished Ashley would step up her game, because at the moment, Mary-Kate is steaming ahead in the style stakes - and this doesn't exactly help her cause.

I'm optimistic because this is clearly just a phase, she will start dressing better soon; and when she does, I'm willing to forgive and forget. In the spirit of positivity, I've put together an outfit with my new essential, the khaki short, and Ashley's downfall - lace. Will you be wearing the khaki short this summer?

Shorts, Wedges, Crop - Topshop. Glasses - Rokit. Shorts - Urban Outfitters. Bag - Net-A-Porter.com.

I was a bit scared of trying the lace-cycling-short-under-khaki-short trend because I've got short legs but all this sun has given me the confidence. What do you think, has Ashley lost her style or is this just a bad fashion moment? 

Photos from net-a-porter.com, Topshop, Rokit, Urban Outfitters and thefashionspot.com

Es Muss Liebe Sein...

According to Google translator this is German for 'It Must Be Love...', don't worry I'm not going to start posting in German or anything but I really love their latest issue of Vogue. I recently said I've never really bought the foreign issues of Vogue, but their editorials seem so much more exciting than the British version!

I was sceptical when I saw that Victoria Beckham was on the cover (I generally dislike celebs covering Vogue) but her editorial diminishes all cynicism.

Victoria's always going to be a WAG in my eyes (for anyone who doesn't get the WAG abbreviation, look here) but she scrubs up right good and proper; I guess it helps when you have a jawbone that could slice cheese. She also had a hand in Marc Jacobs positioning on the Time 100 Most Influential People list and being the only designer to make the cut, this makes me love her a little bit more.

But back to German Vogue, her editorial was just one of many that were really impressive...

Apparently the issue came in a denim cover, how cute is that? So along with Korean, Italian, French and American Vogue, I now want to buy the German edition - my shelves are literally going to fall apart at this rate!

What do you think of Victoria's editorial? I'm a Victoria convert, are you?

PS. The fact that Marc Jacobs was the only designer to make the Time 100 Most Influential People list is just unbelievable. Miuccia? Lagerfeld? McQueen? Westwood? Why aren't any of these incredibly talented people on that list when people like Taylor Swift and Robert Pattinson are? I can safely say that I haven't EVER been influenced by either of them nor will I be, its embarassing.

PPS. Apologies for the giant post, I'm trying to make up for lost time!

Photos from thefashionspot.com

Shut Down!

I'm not going to lie, I found it hilarious that Tavi got expelled from blogging. I know as a fellow blogger I should probably feel sorry for her or something but to be honest I'm kind of sick of the sight of her - not as sick as I was during Fashion Week, but sick nonetheless.

I'm probably (definately am) just jealous that Comme don't send me stuff and I don't get to wear Japanese designers for fun, but seriously, how does a kid - she's literally so small - have that much style.

Tavi Gevinson http://www.thestylerookie.com/

At first I thought it was just a granny-chic fluke, but it seems that I was wrong to assume this; she is actually cool. Which makes me dislike her even more. I was not cool when I was 13 and I'm still not cool now, where am I going wrong?

I'm looking forward (dare I say it) to watching her grow up, she's already well on her way to becoming an American Susie Lau, although maybe she's already taken over in the style stakes, what do you think?

Susie Lau http://www.stylebubble.typepad.com/

I'm currently doing work experience thus posting is a little few-and-far-between at the moment but I'll do as much as I can. What do you think, is Tavi a super fashion-force or just a kid with the guts to wear everything but the kitchen sink?

photos from vogue.com