Inspiration Interlude

This week has been MENTAL in college, I have deadlines coming out my ears. So here’s a collection of things that have caught my eye over the past little while I think they are pretty and hopefully so might you! Happy Weekend, hope you are taking it easy and not tits-deep in dreaded thesis work…..FAIL!!!! Have i mentioned that it’s due on Valentine’s day too? HA!

images via behance.net, designsponge.com, and patternobserver.com

The brand above are called Seneca Rising, and images from their lookbook were on Pattern Observer. I think their aesthetic is really strong, and I love the way they make graphic prints look quite soft. And the colour and styling is really gorgeous too.

So, there you go. Little mini post til I sort my life out!

xx

The biggest Fan

Fan(n.): an instrument for cooling things, also a person who admires someone or thing greatly. C/Fan is Christina Fan’s label, which I admire greatly. Her floaty printed dresses manage to be more Acne than Cavalli, which is no mean feat (trust me as someone who is trying to do it at the moment, start playing with pattern, silks and maxis and it’s VERY murky water).

Her lines are clean and her palette assured. I like that she uses LOADS of silk. I like silk. I can’t wait for the weather to get a bit nicer so I can wear it more. I also like the aesthetic she has for her look book. I think we might be friends if we knew each other.

This is what C/Fan does with her time. I wonder if she secretly wanted to be a rapper, and thought of the name ages ago. And then she discovered that she sucked at it, and became a designer instead. If that’s the case (and I have a feeling I am RIGHT ON THE MONEY here, lol), then she made the right decision.

AW10 collection

AW10 Collection

images via cfan-designs.com

You’re a Sham

I have been doing a bunch of research for college projects at the moment, which basically gives me free reign to trawl the internet to find interesting designers. Such as Leila Shams. I would describe her Spring Summer collection as tribal disco, with plenty of skin prints, feathers, floaty shapes and, eh, crocodiles. While I am not a big fan of her AW10 collection, I think she has summer just right.

Tribal disco? Yea, I know. But seriously, that’s the closest accurate description I could think of. I have a feeling that this stuff would go down very well at festivals too. Is it too early to start thinking about festivals?

This thesis might destroy me…

Here’s what I wore the other day to college. It’s not big, or clever, but it IS warm and I finally reheeled my favourite boots, so I’m happy to be wearing them again. Eh, yea. The other day, I looked like this?

Y

Nice Ad Campaign…

*Insert gushing sentiment about Proenza Schouler here*

Proenza Schouler is a company I want to work for when I grow up (read: four months, when I finish college, eeek!). Last season they did their first advertising campaign, and it was great. Here’s this season’s one, beautifully shot images with equally beautiful clothes.

There is a simplicity that runs throughout everything that Proenza Schouler do. It’s a confident and daring decision to leave so much out, but the result allows what is there (amazingly cut clothes and unreal prints) to shine through with understated elegance, modernity and, well, deadliness.

I also love the makeup in this shoot, did someone say orange lipstick for this summer? Don’t mind if I do….

images via Fashiongonerouge.com

From Kenya with Love

Suno make vibrant, wearable clothes. The prints often form the main focal point and that is what initially caught my attention. However, when you start reading the story behind the brand, it gets better. The aforementioned prints are based on founder Max Osterweis’ collection of Kenyan textiles collected over the years which explains the overriding African craft vibe from the collections. However, even better is the fact that Suno is dedicated to sustainability and ethical treatment of workers (which are by no means the same thing), and produce more than 70% of their stuff locally in Kenya. Now, to be upfront, I know Kenya is pretty huge, and I don’t know the name of one city, so I have no idea what local means in this context, but the company seems to be very focused on using indigenous talent and upskilling people to create a better local (there’s that word again) economy and providing skills and commerce to areas that are often overlooked. Which is never a bad thing.

What I especially like about Suno is that they are a fashion company first. Their ethos is built into their designs, but not on the surface of them, if you get me. I believe in working towards a more sustainable fashion industry that works along more ethical guidelines, but I think one of the main reasons that puts people off buying from companies who are heavily involved in sustainability is that design comes after their beliefs. And with the exception of slogan tshirts, very few people want to wear their beliefs so literally. I think to really enact change, companies like Suno are the way forwards, where what they are trying to do just IS. It’s almost a given, and then they focus on creating garments that the vast majority of people want to wear. By selling them as fashion, instead of a social conscience, they are giving people what they want. Just in a more responsible way on the back end of things. If bigger companies just WERE socially conscious, I imagine consumers would be massively supportive. People are lazy. I’m lazy. And I am aware of the problem far more than most. I don’t believe that people purposely buy things to spite workers or the environment, but too often the greener alternative is too difficult to access (in comparison to highstreet stuff), or the design quality just isn’t there.

So, before I rant on all day, here’s to Suno and their company and what they stand for. Great clothes, that is.

all images via sunony.com

If you want to learn more about what you can do to make a difference, no matter how small, go to re-dress.ie. The girls that run it are great, and run courses and talks and loads of good stuff, as well as providing information.

All that glitters, eh, is the golden globes??

So here’s my take on the Golden Globes style. But first, a confession. I looked through the style.com pics, and out of 78 pics, I recognised about 10 faces. And most of those were men. And I didn’t know most of their names. So, instead of me telling you who wore what, let’s cut to the chase. I’m pretty sure noone gives a crap about the minor celebrities inhabiting the dresses, they just care about the dresses. And by noone, I clearly mean me. I REALLY don’t give a crap about minor tv stars or people in films about vampires (no offense to them I am sure they are great at what they do, I’m just not into it).

So, here are the dresses I liked, that I thought were event appropriate. There was another Marchesa one that I liked but left off the list because it had a flare/frill/pleat thing at the hip (I can’t remember what they are called), and it’s one of my design pet peeves right now. I also excluded a few other dresses that were nice, but either too much (massive train? you’re on tv? REAAALLLLY?), or too plain (it is like the Golden Globes after all*)

Alberta Feretti dress on some bird. She's rocking it tho.

A fairly famous bird (Anne Hathaway??) in Armani Privé. Love it.

Blonde bird in Badgley Mischka. Classic SilverScreen glamour, so event appropriate.

Another blonde bird (is she in Glee?) rocking classic Silver Screen glamour, this time J. Mendel.. Love it.

Marchesa. Love the 20's inspired shape. The neck is unreal. Oh, and another blonde bird with an updo.

Brad & Angie. Looking ridey. Angie's wearing vintage Versace and KILLING it.

Another blonde bird (the brunettes just didn't bring it) in Versace. Looks amazo. Also, Donatella clearly "borrowed" this neckline from Christopher Kane's Versus collection. Just sayin.

*I actually don’t know what the Golden Globes DO, apart from getting famous people in the same room in fancy dresses. Like, who gives the awards? Who cares? What does it mean? Am I just looking for reasons to justify a fancy piss up? Ok, grand.

You’re a Saint, Nick…

Ok so I know it’s a bit late in January for festive puns, but I don’t really care because I just got a pair of Nicholas Kirkwood shoes. Nicholas Motherfucking Kirkwood. The master of architectural heels now resides in my wardrobe. And by that I mean the shoes, not him. And by wardrobe I mean somewhere on my floor amidst all the other crap…..They are UNREAL. They came from the Brown Thomas sale, and were seriously reduced, which makes them a bargain, and everyone knows that the only thing better than amazingly designed things is heavily discounted amazingly designed things.

So, here they are. They are HUUUUGE. But I don’t care, for Mr Kirkwood, I’d happily be mega tall. Now all I have to do is find something to wear worthy of them…….

365…366…

Yesterday last year I decided to start a blog. It was raining and I was bored, and spending most of my time on style.com looking at runway shows. I had thoughts and opinions on them, but all they were doing were taking up space on my hard drive. I never thought I could be so vain as to have a blog, but as it turns out, I could be. Lol.

I would like to thank you all for taking the time to look at the pictures of things that interest me. And even bigger thanks to those of you who actually read the words that go with the pictures. And a supermassive big thanks to my friends for their encouraging words and for not taking the absolute piss out of me for having a blog.

In the spirit of January and new years resolutions and all that, I hope that in the coming year I will expand the amount of my original photography I am posting (I recently started a photo diary, so we’ll see how that goes), along with the other procrastination driven musings on things I come across on the internet (and sometimes in real life).

So, eh, thanks. And Happy Birthday to me, I suppose…

 

image via cackaloo.com

Actually, do you think it would be ok if I got an actual cake? Would that be weird? Or DELICIOUS?!

Oh, and my birthday present to you is Marco Suaraez, a photographer I came across on Design Sponge. He has an etsy store and sells images like these….nomnomnom. Also, on an interesting note, these images were taken in Ireland. Go us! How is it relevant for a birthday post………….eeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……I was out last night and I don’t really have the brain power to think of somethign birthday-ish….Oh, oh…I want my birthday cake to be iced like these images??????? No? ok. well it is what it is.

Image source: Etsy.com

I’ll leave you for today with what I started with – Phoenix. I love love love them. They have been one of my favourite bands for years, and they provided the soundtrack to my summer this year so I guess it’s only right. Hope you like them even a little bit as much as I do!

I REALLY should be doing college work….

The external examinator is coming to college to meet us this afternoon. I am a little bit paralysed with anxiety so instead of doing loads of deadly college work I am looking at stuff on the internet………..

Here’s what I wore to college yesterday. I find I tend to dress up a bit more on tutorial days. I use my clothes and makeup as a shield; as in, I feel like even if I get really bad feedback, I am still projecting a strong image. My mum had this notion that you should always wear your nicest clothes when you feel really crappy – coz then noone will know that you feel like poo, and also, by doing yourself up a bit, you feel better on the inside, thus helping to elevate your mood. A double whammy of positivity, inside and out, if you will!!

So, that’s why I generally don’t wear jeans and a tshirt to tutorials – if they slate my work, I feel more protected in nicer clothes!

Yes, I know, I am weird. But it DOES work.

Skirt: Uniqlo, Shirt: Urban Outfitters Vintage, Necklace: Some shop in New York, Shoes: Ebay, Jacket: Found in the back of my wardrobe, Scarf: Spittalfields Market, Cardigan: Some charity shop

Thank you jules for taking pics, especially the ones where i’m not looking and doing silly things at one of our friends passing by. They’re my favs.

Dear GOD i REALLY need to do some work..