002: recently i've been..

Briefly retreating to the countryside.

Travelling in style.

Restoring normality by returning to London to career / job / house / life hunt.

Educating myself on the world's conflicts.

Hangover cure in red cups.

Swooning / devouring / appreciating.

Receiving LFW show ticket confirmations.

Feeling SS12 spendy.

Rating h&m's SS12 display.

It's been a good'un.

x

still DAZED & CONFUSED.

poster girl: kate moss

Twenty years on since delayed, adolescent boys Jefferson Hack and John Rankin Waddell gave birth to the brain child that sparked a 90's hunger for hispster guidebooks, they claim to still be Dazed and Confused. Another, nonsensical claim is that they made it up as they went along (they so hipster) - the strap line to their Somerset House exhibition which accompanies a book of the same name. Making It Up As We Go Along is a reminiscent celebration, charting the twenty year lifespan of the first, go-to, 'heroin-chic' fanzine.

The original perpetrator that corrupted youth culture with his glamorising of drugs and glorifying of death (according to Clinton), documented on the pages of Dazed & Confused, Hack harvested that poignant first platform to young creatives across the art - Corrinne Day, music - Bjork and fashion - Kate Moss disciplines.

Forget the controversy, they kept it neo-real and the current exhibition remembers and pays tribute to the great talents that earnt Dazed its notorious, irreverent 'rep placing it at the epi-centre of new age, Brit press. I would hate to spoil it for you with streams of visuals but I'll give you at least a taster to persuade you to take a creeeep on down to SH. You're taken on a chronological journey through means of the strongest of visual images representing the iconic covers, legendary talents of the moment and beyond, the breakthrough artists, designers and photographers, compelling, alternative beauty.. and everything else Dazed stood and still does, stand for. It really does illustrate the lucrative, British creative scene at its best. And of course, the nonchalant casual 'tude of the hipster subculture eludes each piece and resonates in equal capacity, throughout the three rooms. I revelled in it.

To be dazed and confused twenty years later, I can think of worse d an c adjectives (and nouns) to be.

The exhibition ends on Monday, catch it before it goes. If you're a magazine fiend (definitely me) or a so called 'hipster' (definitely not me), its compulsory. Bidding the exhibition fairly well, Jefferson Hack and Jo-Ann Furniss (editor of the book) will be in (a sold out) conversation tomorrow night at Somerset House.

Unfortunately, its one of many things I shall be missing out on, in London, this weekend.

Send my love.

x

#LFW: the basics.

source.

The hash tag has (prematurely) reappeared, the check and to do lists penned on various scraps of reporter's notebook. Four measly weeks - Y U COME ROUND SO FAST FASH WK? So, what am I doing resting on my lorrells when I should be typing out show requests to 100+ PRs? I come baring 'Fashion Week Survival Advice' for the virgins out there, among you.

I write this as second-timer so please don't take me as some sort of Fashion Week pro. Bloggers, buyers and press unite for my favourite season of the year -Autumn/Winter baby. Not harmoniously as you'd think though - there was outcry among bloggers, in September regarding their restricted access to the main venue. The BFC have obviously listened to this outcry as they have installed a separate bloggers lounge in Somerset House, for Feb.

This is what I wish I knew pre // what I learnt during my LFW début : 

* shy bairns get nout

    Talk to anyone and everyone - in the courtyard, press or bloggers lounge, Tom's kitchen and the queues.
    Am I telling you to queue for shows? That's right; put your best fearless face and hautest shoes on, you
    have as good chance as any of being granted the privilege. Even if it is in the photographer's pit - you'll get
    better runway shots and less of that supposed, big, fashion name's backside profile.

    'the more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it.'

* stock up

   A school boy error of my Fashion Week, first time.

   Business cards - avoids the "my blog is are u dressing up or.. etc"

   Food and water - fashion people do eat.

   Flat shoes - even just for the journey to and from the venues.

   Phone charger - it will inevitably die on you. Mine did day after day but I never learnt that lesson.

* you are not super(wo)man

    It's fashion; things overrun, start late, get re scheduled. Guaranteed you will not be able to make every 

    presentation and show. It grants the opportunity to find content that not every fashion editor will be 

    covering. Spend time absorbing the exhibitions, talk to the prs and designers, interview street style 

    subjects... Great journalism is all about finding a new angle. Also, few spots come better for people
    watching - soak it up.

Put your hands up if you're joining me?

I hope I have helped more than I have patronised.

See you on those cobbles in your sumptuous sorbets.

x

001: recently I've been..

Oh hi there unannounced hiatus. What can I say, drunk-ing and dancing have been higher up on my agenda than ferociously typing away to tell you about all the clothes I want but can't afford. Due to a losing combination of depleted funds and only collar and jumper (winning) combos within my creative grasp, my recent fash game needs to sort its life out. Hence, the lack of blogging. What is a fashion blogger without a fashion sense? A vacant one. Anyway, back for a quickie.

With London Fashion Week within frighteningly close touching distance, a best friend in tow and excruciatingly exciting prospects for the month of February, I say no more other than - it's going to be a friggan good one.

What have I been doing with all this FREE time? In between floating around London in all my freelancer glory I have gotten acquainted with my new ends some more and fallen a little bit more in love (read: become even more obssesed. I joke it is love of the truest sort).

Less fashion, more life :

Sampling the cuisines of some tasty eateries.

Discovering the joys of paying £10 plus for a Martini when you totally meant a Mojito.

Losing my 'Photo a Day' challenge V plates.

Still rocking the bowler hat.

Prepping for fashion week i.e. commencing the wardrobe overhaul. First step - mental mood board making.

x

street style spotlight: love aesthetics

HELLO 2K12. I come baring something I meant to post last year and way more extra baggage than is cool.

Ivania Carpio is the beaut and brains behind Love Aesthetics  - a fashion blog that documents her fashionable life through means of outfits, attainable inspirations and ingenious DIYs.

Hailing from Deutschland, Ivania ain’t no frivolous fashion follower, she formulates her own dressing rules. Experimental proportions coupled with twisted, scrunched and draped fabrics, she is her own mannequin.  

Iridescent, mermaid hair and perfectly painted lips provide the backdrop for this head to toe, blue hued ensemble. Sea blue angora wool and statement slicks of gold. Her blue suede shoes (well, nearly) are the token, thrifted finishing touch. Photographed neatly on the complimenting palette of concrete, I urge you to add this girl to your blog shelf / bookmarks / coffee table reads.

Ivania extends her talents to make up artistry; she is worth keeping in mind for her nail art ideas and MAC product recommendations. She has also recently posted a sweet DIY which is worth a look if you fancy getting all arts and crafts-y slash appreciate that sort of thing.

Here's to a year fulla giggles and galavanting. And a bit more blogging.

x

p.s. I have caved and given into the photo diary trend, admittedly a few days late. I am partaking in the Photo a Day 'challenge' via instagram. I am documenting it on tumblr tots.

retrospect: 2011

So I didn't really do the whole yayayay its Christmas thing did I? I am not all that keen on New Year either, if I'm honest. Yes, I am a total scrooge. No, this post hopes to dispel that misconception.

The celebrations might be a disappointment but I totally buy into the let's look back on months previous deal. I would like to think of this as a snapshot into the behind the scenes life of ayduodd. It's as good excuse as any to bring the nostalgia.

What did I do in 2011?

I practically got married. I dressed up. I dressed down. I saw Usher (I know right). I graduated. I moved a lot from York ---> countryside ---> London. I made a loyal friend named Gordon. Hendrick's on super special occasions. I LFW'd - backstage and FROW (ok, SCROW). I Notion'd. I went short. I press day debuted. I turned 22. I wore a collar with everything. I bet, and won. I discovered people queued for the library?? I got a bowler, and never took it off. I moved to London. I threw a friggan time capsule into a lake. Most of all, I had a ball with the best friends.

Here's the proof:

See, I'm not a total party pooper.

What are your NYE plans? I am back in the big smoke with not the foggiest idea of what to do. 

Shoot your suggestions this way. 

Less resolution making and more ruckussssing. I'll drink to that.

x

so this is christmas.

Seasons greetings, all the best, bla de bla de bla. Hope you all had a lovely day etc.
What to do now? What even is boxing day? One of life's many mysteries. I know fo sho I ain't stepping an inch near a shop.

ANYWAY, this is what I got up to (ate, drank and wore) yesterday.

So much food, not enough of an elasticated waistband. Not gonna lie will probs spend today chomping on cheesecake and cupcakes washed down with copious amounts of tea and Moët  daahaling.

x

INTRODUCING:Charlie May SS12

In the throes of Christmas present panic (still not one purchased, I'm chilling) and the accompanying colder climes, it's absurd to think we're longing for barely there spring / summer collections while we hug onto our flat whites and nuzzle into our faux furs, cashmeres and angoras. That's fashion for you, dah-ling.

Forget the ghosts of fashion week past, said designers have had their air time. I want new and not heard of and I want it now. Thus, I give you Charlie May - more than just a street style pin-up.

I have religiously followed Charlie's rise to fashion fame. She was one of the first blogs I formally followed, I poignantly remember a comment she left on (one of many) intern discussions. It read: "if you can't find a job in the industry make one for yourself." Kudos to her, she has made the dream a reality. Her glittery pins continue to stride from the cobbles of Somerset House to exclusive, invite-only press days. I have anticipated Charlie's début collection for as long as I can remember. The SS12 lookbook has been floating around the fashion stratosphere since early October, but it is only recently that she has officially cut the ribbon to her virtual shop.

Slick, audacious proportions? Check. Studded pony skin? Check. Eerie, derelict hospital? Check.

Photos by Daniel Nadel via Charlie May

Seasons greetings, etc etc.

x