London's Burning

If you've been paying any attention to the news over the last couple of days then you'll know that London is currently in a state of chaos. At the end of last week, a man was shot by the police in Tottenham, north London. There is a fair bit of mystery surrounding the incident and as a result, riots erupted culminating in the destruction of several homes and businesses. Over the weekend, more riots started in Brixton and then yesterday spread across the capital hitting: Hackney, Peckham, Deptford, Camden, Ealing as well as other parts of the country entirely. This behaviour is absolute insanity and is representative of a very small minority of London, mainly youths with too much time on their hands. Sadly, these events make me feel very ashamed to be British - especially as a nation that so arrogantly assumes control in other countries. 


Let us hope that these mindless yobs get their just-deserts (optimistic, given that our Prime Minister waited the entire weekend to come back from his trip to Italy, how noble). As one of my friends put it, "these guys are destroying their own ends! How long will it take for the realisation to set in?". Hopefully the madness won't continue for a third night...

If you want to keep updated, check the BBC or Sky News - there is some sickening footage that makes you realise that these people have about as much brains as a can of tuna. Here are just a few Tweets from last night - there's a distinct air of discontent, no?

The Kids Are Alright...

On Friday, I was invited to don my wellies and attend the Underage Festival in East London, courtesy of Claire's Accessories. Although I'm definitely not underage (the festival is only open to 13-17 year olds) I went along to check out a few bands and get style-envy from some of the girls there; seriously, when I was that age I was so un-stylish it's not even funny - these girls are really on it! I didn't have the chance to go to any other festivals this year so I was actually rather excited (despite being about 4 years too old).

They had everything on site that a regular festival would have (although I think they slightly underestimated their target age with a mini-carousel) but Claire's really upped their game and whacked a styling caravan in for good measure. Now, I haven't set foot in a Claire's Accessories for years, but after visiting the store and checking out the quirky little style-mobile, I have to admit I'm rather impressed.

The lovely Amy from Wolf Whistle and myself we're well on the obligatory festival uniform of hair-plaiting/face-painting that took place in Claire's caravan; I mean, when else is it acceptable to regress 15 years and actually have an excuse for drawing a butterfly on your face? Some ass nicked my favourite pair of vintage sunnies (sorry mum) from the VIP area so the Claire's girls came to my rescue with the bad-boys from the middle picture - how fun are they?? 

I only really saw a couple of bands (including an intriguing trio whose lyrics "she must be a lesbian" made us all cringe/laugh quite a bit) but the day was massively fun either way. Sadly, the sunnies aren't available on the Claire's Accessories website so I've pulled 3 of my favourite things instead, what do you think?

What has been your favourite festival style this year? Mine was (and probably always will be) the whole crop-top/denim cut-offs/Dr. Martens and coloured hair look - it never fails! On to other news, I paid for my apartment in Williamsburg today so if anyone has any 'must-see' tips for when I'm in New York then please share!

Pretty in Pink

Katy Perry is one of those celebs I just can't get my head around; sometimes I think she's really great (her music definitely falls into the so-bad-it's-good category) but then others times I think she's a right idiot (the whole comment about Lady Gaga being blasphemous in her Alejandro video is a bit rich coming from someone who 'kissed a girl and liked it'). Anyway, recently, she's kind of just fallen off my radar - until I saw this photo...

And so, Katy Perry has jumped on the crazy-hair-colour-bandwagon and is currently sporting this washed out pink look. If you've been anywhere trendy recently (East London/Williamsburg/Berlin - you get the picture) then you'll already know that coloured hair is so last season; however, I'll give Katy brownie points for trying because I actually think it really suits her. 

Having coloured hair is great (mine is currently red, original I know) until you realise how much maintenance it requires. Obviously, this isn't an issue for the super-rich but for the rest of us, well, we can't all afford to go to the salon every time we have a fading dilemma. My advice then, is to invest in bright accessories that you can wear without fear of staining your white top every time it rains. Here, ladies and possibly gents, are some fun pink things to stop you from doing a Katy the next time you get bored...

Clockwise from bottom left: Balenciaga Paper A4 bag, Alexander McQueen clutch, Swedish Hasbeens, Selima Optique glasses and Topshop blush in Pinch.

It's fair to say that colour-blocking isn't going anywhere fast so mix-and-match for the best 'end of Summer' looks. For something a bit tougher, I'm absolutely obsessed with these adorable pink Dr.Martens - how great would they look with lacy white socks and denim cut-offs??

Not so long ago I mentioned that I had some very exciting news and so, on the 4th September I'm moving across the pond to New York to build up my CV within the big bad world of PR; I'll try and blog when I'm out there so keep checking back! What do you all think of Katy's new hairstyle; does it suit her or should she leave the pink locks to trendy hipsters?

LOVEstruck

LOVE is one of those magazines that I find so hit and miss (along with Wonderland, Indie, Dazed and Confused...) but their AW11/12 issue actually looks really good. I sound surprised only because previous issues have featured the likes of Justin Bieber which lets face it, is never going to be the most exciting of reads. In true LOVE style, they've gone all out and created a load of covers, of which Elle Fanning's is definitely my favourite.

Now, I don't actually know anything about Elle other than she's the younger sister of Dakota Fanning and that she's another teen-actress (did someone say pushy parents??) but this cover shot by Mert and Marcus is really rather charming, don't you think? I've previously harped on about how I hate seeing celebs on the cover of magazines all the time but maybe I can make an exception for up-and-coming actresses... The other covers do in fact feature models (Lara Stone included) but this was, for me personally, the standout. 

As well as having several covers (eight, to be precise), the issue has some stunning editorials - I didn't want to post about each and every one purely because I want to actually see them in the magazine first (I'm a proper magazine hoarder, fellow collectors will understand). However, I figured I'd share a couple of images from Super Natural featuring Lara, Kristen McMenamy, Daphne Groeneveld, Mariacarla Boscono and Nyasha Matonhodze.

Until I actually pick up a copy I won't hazard a guess as to why everyone is crying in this issue, I'm sure there's some deep and meaningful/political/social reason...It's been a while since I've actually looked forward to buying a magazine and whilst I never expected to get excited about LOVE, I'm pleasantly surprised. What do you all think and has anyone actually looked at it yet? 

photos from thefashionspot.com

Friends with Benefits...

I'm not going to lie, until I saw Black Swan I didn't have a girl crush on Mila Kunis. In fact, I couldn't even pronounce her name properly. However, us girls are fickle creatures and as soon as I saw her being a total babe getting down and dirty with Natalie Portman (I'm not a lesbian, but she is a hotty) my new girl crush was born. Since then, I've been really looking forward to all things Mila related and Friends with Benefits, despite my rom-com induced nausea, actually looks quite good; plus Justin Timberlake in it and he's pretty cute. This photo, shot by Carter Smith and taken from the August Issue of US Elle, perfectly sums up the whole 'relationship' fiasco that comes about from the slightly dodgy, friend + sex territory.

I for one was hoping that the rumours about Mila and Justin hooking up were true because aren't they just the cutest couple? I thought I'd stick to a film related post because I'm going to see Harry Potter at the IMAX at midnight tonight and I'm insanely excited. Is anyone else seeing Harry Potter this evening or am I the only one? What do you think of Mila and Justin as a couple; they'd definitely take over Brad and Angelina's hotspot as Hollywood's cutest couple...

photos from fashiongonerogue.com

Summer Lovin' with Jacques

I don't know about you but when it comes to Summer, I go a little bit crazy for a drink or two; nothing beats finishing work then heading over to the pub for a cheeky bevvy. That said, I've slightly exhausted the whole beer thing (spirits and me don't mix particularly well and wine makes me loco) which leaves little in the way of yummy drinks; Jacques, however, knows the way to a girls heart.

Give me a fruity, iced (alcoholic, of course) cider and a dressing up box - complete with in-house Beauty Parlour - and I'm one seriously happy bunny. The Jacques Townhouse, a vintage frock and fruity cider haven, is back again this Summer for a limited time from the 19th to the 28th of July and I seriously recommend you pop down for a visit.

This year, the Jacques Townhouse has a variety of cutesy features from the aforementioned Beauty Parlour to a vintage dressing up box and even an Enchanted Garden where you can get a massage and drink all at the same time; sounds perfect, no? To secure an invite head over to their Facebook page - the venue is being kept a secret until places are registered so get over there now!

How is everyone spending their Summer this year? I've just had some VERY exciting news but will let you know all about it at a later date!

Couture?

Haute Couture is often considered the pinnacle of fashion; it represents excess, elitism and craftsmanship more so than even the (not so) modest ready-to-wear collections. At least, that's what I thought. Obviously, the majority of us would never be able to afford a couture gown (unless we married into royalty) but to me, it always used to represent something completely unobtainable. It's a symbol of wealth - the fashion houses are never going to make a profit from couture collections because only the richest of the rich can afford to buy them and even then they probably would commission bespoke, one-off pieces anyway. With this is mind, couture should be the most ridiculous and excessive show of fashion, not a sombre and boring display of mindless expense.

As you have probably gathered, I'm thus far entirely unimpressed by Couture Fall 2011....

Left to right: Valentino, Jean Paul Gaultier and Chanel

Valentino, Jean Paul Gaultier and Chanel all showed collections as dry as Ghandi's flip-flop - ok so there were a few good looks but on the whole, each designer didn't exactly pull it out of the bag. Last season, I was equally as uninspired, maybe I've got the whole idea of couture wrong? Regardless, I was really quite disappointed by all three - especially given that the ready-to-wear collections are usually so brilliant. Dior was interesting as it was the first show without Galliano at the helm and sadly, it was really quite obvious; it all felt very amateur and lacked that great sense of Galliano decadence.

The only collections that I liked so far have been long-term couture favourites: Givenchy and Elie Saab. Last season, I would have died for every single Elie Saab dress because they were all absolutely stunning and Givenchy, well, Riccardo Tisci is just a God, no? This season both collections felt very 'high fashion wedding' but they were gorgeous nonetheless...

Elie Saab

Givenchy

Tisci can do absolutely no wrong in my eyes - every collection from the past year has been nothing short of amazing and although Fall 2011 is quite similar to last season, I still love it.

I know I went off on quite a tangeant but I just don't feel as though Couture is anything to get excited about anyone, is anyone else of the same viewpoint or I am just being slightly ridiculous? What has been your favourite Fall 2011 Couture collection so far?

photos from style.com