it's been a while

I'm sorry that it's been ages since my last post! However, the internet's FINALLY been set up in my house so I'll be posting more regularly.

I absolutely love this image of Natalia Vodianova, shot by Mert & Marcus and styled by Grace Coddington for its sense of romance and glamour.Find the rest of the shoot here.

moving house and street style

I haven't posted in a while because I moved to Worthing from Exeter on Saturday and the internet isn't set up in my house yet! So I'm at a friends' house at the moment. I start my Fashion Media and Promotion course on Monday, pretty excited now.

This is Will, I took his picture just before I left Exeter:He's wearing a shirt from H&M, jeans from Topman, Harley Davidson belt from a vintage shop and Fred Perry trainers. His style is smart-casual, and his wardbrobe staple is checkered shirts. I think his outfit is pulled together well by his retro hair style.

i love LOVE

Issue 4 of LOVE magazine is out, with 8 incredible covers shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. I bought the Giselle-fronted issue today and haven't had time to have a proper read of it yet but having a quick flick through, as always it is jam packed with beautiful photoshoots, interviews and articles on celebrities, stylists, photographers and musicians (amongst others) and the latest advertising campaigns (63 pages of them before you even reach the 'contents' page). The magazine is so thick it's more like a book, and it's elegantly presented - many pages with white borders. Definitely my favourite magazine!

Bristol!

For mine and my boyfriend's first anniversary together we had a one night stay in Bristol which was absolutely lovely - we went shopping in Cabot Circus, Coal Grill & Bar for dinner and went to Bristol Zoo. The weather was perfect too, so sunny!

So here I am in Cabot Circus, wearing a top from River Island, leggings from Topshop, shoes from Primark, bag from Primark and bomber jacket again from Primark, after our meal at Coal.


I spotted this watch on the first day we went shopping in Urban Outfitters and could not stop thinking about it, I think I went back in to look at it about three times. So on the last day I handed over my £24.00 (in debit card shaped form) and walked out very happy with a lovely brown leather vintage-inspired watch.

Burberry's aviator platform boot

Featured in the A/W10 runway, these calf leather, shirling-wool lined, platform Burberry boots may just be the shoe of the season as not only are they stylish, they're practical too (if we ignore the 13cm heel) - the sheepskin lining no doubt will keep your toes toasty and they have gripped army soles to perhaps give you a chance of keeping upright in the hazardous winter weather conditions.
However, if the £695 price-tag is a bit much, the high street offers a brilliant alternative - check out these New Look aviator boots £34.99.Gorgeous with chunky knitwear in khaki, slate or cream. This jumper dress from Topshop £40 would be perfect, with some black leggings or tights too.

my favourite summer buys

colours: grey, cream, black
prints: floral, butterfly and tie-dye

New Look lace and eyelet-fronted hanky-hem vest - £18


Primark boat shoes - £6



Matalan studded heels - I think these were about £16


New Look hanky hem vest - I bought this in pink and charcoal too because they were only £6 each


All Saints tunic - I think this was about £28 in the sale


Mango high-waisted shorts - £4 from a charity shop


Primark floral jeans - £14


New Look platform suedette heels - £20


Topshop eyelet-fronted with corset detailing summer dress - £25

The Lost Explorer by Tim Walker

I've just read in September 2010's Vogue that Tim Walker will be releasing a film titled 'The Lost Explorer', based on a short story by Patrick McGrath, which will be released on DVD in the new year. The story follows Evelyn, a 12-year old girl who finds a Victorian explorer in a tent at the bottom of her garden. I can't wait to see Walker's film ability which I do not doubt will remain true to his surreal, elegantly beautiful style - Vogue's article reveals that the film includes 'a dream sequence in which 300 canaries flit around a huge glass armada', and that the explorer's tent is 'filled with fluttering moths'. The photographer comments "Fashion photography works in fantasy and escapism, which is what film deals in too. With photography, you're always freezing a moment rather than liberating it. There have been so many times when I've been taking a picture and I see something beautiful happen, like wind blowing through the set, and I thought, 'If only we were filming that'".
read about it on the vogue website

Glamour magazine

Bought the latest issue of Glamour today which is a 'bespoke' special south-west issue, focusing on Bristol. There are 8 issues each featuring a relevant place to which area you buy an issue from (Bristol, Northern Ireland, Manchester, Newcastle, London, Scotland, Birmingham and Cymru), with Katy Perry on the cover modelling a tshirt of the relevant place. I think this is a really good idea as it's like a 2-in-1 tourist guide and fashion magazine, and I'm going to Bristol in a couple of weeks so the vouchers will be ideal!
check it out here

Looking through the masses of adverts, I find that Vivienne Westwood's Accesories ad causes me to stop and look at it a while longer than the rest of them. Shot by Juergen Teller, the image appears to have a similar effect to using the flash on a digital camera - blown-out lighting, with the 'make-up' similar to halloween face-paint, and messy hair. I find this campaign so effective as instead of portraying a flawless subject who I can hopelessly aspire to be like, it catches my eye by how different it is to the other adverts. Would love to see more designers using quirky imagery in their advertising campaigns.
This isn't the same image I saw but has a similar effect:

today i wore...

crop top from Topshop, black vest from H&M, jeans from H&M, boat shoes from New Look (they're actually men's, i only realised once i looked at the size printed inside and it said 6/40, i thought this was a mistake and was meant to be 39 but then my shoe knowledge from working as a shoe sales assistant came flooding back to me and i realised i had actually bought a pair of men's shoes... maybe i'm going for the androgynous look)

final major project

these are 4 images from a series of 9 from my art foundation self-initiated final major project titled 'explore the ways in which household activities can influence fashion'. i displayed them by hanging the photos on a piece of string, hung using mini wooden pegs. i created the aprons using household items such as paper doilies, j-cloths and clothes pegs
model- Annabelle Lowes
photographer- Timothy Durkin
hair&make-up- Chelsea Shiels
location- The Spring arts&heritage centre, Havant





influences included 1950s household items advertisements, pin-up girls, Desperate Housewives, Tim Walker's 'Make Do and Mend' photoshoot, Anne Taintor...

i wanted to create that household pin-up type of look but with a modern edge using pose and attitude to give off that frustrated housewife vibe. thanks to everyone who contributed!

good evening

This is the beginning of my fashion blog! I'll be using this to share my influences as well as interesting pretty little things I might happen to see/purchase.

First proper post will be up tomorrow.
Lara x