Pink

Yesterday, I finally took the plunge (or the dip hahaha) and dyes my hair pink. Its been a long time in the making but I am very happy with the results, even though it took me and my neighbour, Paige, about 3 hours! I took these photos in the garden this evening when the sun came out- this is just a casual school outfit although I must say I'm absolutely loving the silky pajama trousers- comfy, on-trend and shiny- what could be better?! 

So here I am wearing: 

sandals- Topshop

trousers- United Colours of Benetton

t-shirt-AndFinally @ Topshop

cardigan (in my hand)- courtesy of SP Diffusion more on that below

The rucksack is what I am using as a school bag these days and its my bag-crush (if thats even possible, then again, this is my blog and if I say bag- crushes are possible, they are). Its by a designer called Kate Sheridan and I picked it up at London Fashion Weekend back in February. She has some amazing other stuff and I distinctly remember driving Susie crazy (not that she showed it) by having to carefully examine each colour option before finally buying the printed one! Plus the fact that its survived my History of Art folder and various Art hardback books is a sign that it is capable of withstanding almost any weight! (Sorry, this looks a tad like an advertisement but seriously!)

Ignore my hair's unstraightened state- its a bit of a mess but I figured a back view was needed! The one below kinda shows how bright it is but doesn't quite do the neon justice.

Hair aside, even though it is rather distracting, I have much to report having spent the week doing work experience at SP Diffusion. To most, that may not sound much but to those in the know, they are the knitwear designers for literally all the highstreet shops we love; Topshop, Asos, River Island, Oasis, Monsoon, Debenhams... as well as designers like Jonathan Saunders and Henry Holland...the list goes on. I was lucky enough to spend the week with the designers and through endless swatch sorting and identifying, can now identify the yarn and colour of most jumpers I see, a handy skill! Aside from the swatches, of which there were rails and rails (now nicely organised I might add), I colour coded the wardrobe, which is even better than the famous Carrie Bradshaw because we are literally talking a room crammed to bursting point with amazing knitwear picked up from travels all over the world (who said being a designer wasn't glamourous!), I had a slightly weak knee-ed moment upon entrance!  I sorted samples, made mood boards and was able to go to a fitting at the Asos office. This, I think, was a highlight as not only did I get to sit in the fitting room with the buyers and technicians, which was fascinating because I saw the different stages of the garment and previous drafts being altered to fit the 'Asos customer' under the command of the buyer who commented on the garment and watched as all obeyed (such power!), but I also got to see the Asos office, which one cannot help but be deeply impressed by: Its massive, three floors of a huge building. Everyone who works there seems to be young, beautiful, well dressed and skinny and drinking Diet Coke! Its like walking into a version of Ugly Betty's Mode office! The SP Diffusion studio was also amazing but different- spacious, quiet and more...arty? I dont know if thats the word but there were clothes rails with amazing knitwear on them and horse print wallpaper, mannequins and ornately framed mood boards- again, everyone young, beautiful and oh-so well dressed. I was amazed at how few people are behind all that knitwear and how much they got done! Through sorting out samples, I also got a very sneaky preview into what is coming into shops soon, and I must say, I'm already preparing my bank account for the damage when this stuff hits stores! To make one of the best weeks even better, I was given some gorgeous knitwear to keep (before it hits the stores!!!). I honestly thought I would cry with happiness and I still cant believe my luck!  Overall, an amazing week- any doubts on fashion being my path have vanished and I honestly did learn more than I ever could have expected- I dont think I'm ever going to be able to thank them enough for having me!
Alas, now back to school, my borrowed fabulous fashion mini career is over and I am back among my fellow teenagers. Speaking of which, I'm nearly 17!
Let me know if you have any questions about the work exp and if you like the hair?
LBxx

Roof

Its been quite a week: Exams are over, the sun has been shining non stop and I have been doing some pretty awesome work experience!

First and foremost, the end of exams means I will now be able to leave the house and will, therefore, be able to blog more (because I wont be dressed like a weird Duckie/ Angla Chase hybrid everyday). The presence of the sun in my life means that the shorts have come out and S/S is truly being embraced. As for the work experience, I will speak of that in my next post!

A number of factors contributed to my need to go shopping yesterday- my ever changing style, a need to spend money on something that is not starbucks and the fact that all my summer clothes have accidentally been given away (through no fault of my own I might add). Either way, with M in tow, I took the high street by storm and summered up my wardrobe!

 This is a pretty funky blouse from Zara that is really nice and silky. I wore it with denim shorts from Topshop many many years ago (actually its a wonder I can still get into them) and some new sandals, again from Topshop. They are making me very happy right now- they have a tiny black shiny wedge on them which makes them look a little different and extremely comfortable. A very worthwhile buy I would say! Plus, I have banned myself from purchasing any shoes in coral, as that seems to be a popular colour amongst my shoes and is limited by colour clash issues... The sunnies are Marc by Marc Jacobs and the hoop earrings are Accessorize.

 Thats me again, with my friend Anna, who seems to be drawing dress inspiration from Strawberries. We are in the roof garden of my grandparents' flat and in this weather, is a perfect place to sunbathe/ eat with wonderful views of..um John Lewis.

Maral and I, having a little pose- this was the most serious picture I managed to get of her so I figured it would work!
Another thing I have been trying is the backwards baseball cap. Its still not catching on. I should probably accept defeat- I have been laughed at by all of my friends because I'm not 'street' enough to pull it off. And thats fair enough (seriously I sound more like the queen than anything else when I speak) but now its become a bit of a personal challenge. It will most probably be my downfall and I wont share another picture with you yet!
With exams over, the time for pink hair has arrived. The dye has been purchased and I now wait for my work experience to finish to get going on it! Very excited of course- who knows, it might even help me with my baseball cap struggles!
Thinking of doing another month of 'Today I'm Wearing...' - any thoughts on that?
 Either way, I shall be posting more (for DeAvenue too) so watch the space. My twitter is always there if you cant get enough (I'm sure the wait between posts has been agony, my loyal loyal fans)
Also thank you to all my new followers and to all those who have emailed!
Enjoy the sun!
LBxx

Roadside

I am dressed literally like a man here but I guess thats ok:

shoes- my brothers from when he was younger, not sure where from

jeans- vintage Levi 901s

jumper- one of Davo's outcasts but very luscious cashmere!

shirt and jacket-topshop

Firstly, 100th post yayyy!!! How exciting is that- for anyone who has read all 100 of these rambling posts, I thank you! Also many many thanks to my new followers!! Leave comments and urls so I can check out any of your blogs!
Not a very attractive picture I know but what can ya do- ignore the bin! AS exams next week so slightly panicked to say the least, Art done over the past few days however so one down!

Its been an otherwise extremely exciting week as I went to the opening of the Christian Louboutin Exhibition at the Design Museum on Monday and saw the man himself! Possibly one of the most exciting days of my life and you can read about it here!

When exams are over things get exciting again and I have some awesome work experience and my 17th birthday (and lets just say there are some celebrations planned that will most certainly be blog- worthy!)

Best of luck to anyone else with exams in the near future!

LBxx

Long Time No See

Hi! Remember me? I used to update this blog but I can understand why you wouldn't remember as its been ONE MONTH since I last posted. I know. I'm hanging my head in shame and looking away in my guilt. I suppose half of it is that I am leaving the house increasingly sporadically these days and the few times that I have gone out, it has had to been in some costume (literally- this month I've been neon, a crocodile, a super hero...) not worthy of PT! But what is the reason for my reclusiveness, you ask? AS levels my friend, thats what. Still thats no excuse.
Endless revision aside, it has been a rather exciting month for me! A number of highlights (ooh I sense a list coming on!) would be my Wednesday evening Life Drawing sessions I have embarked on for a bit of light portfolio preparation, the constant streams of art exhibitions I have been dragging family and friends to, tea at the Ritz to celebrate my dear friend Stan's birthday (and that was quite demanding on my wardrobe, but alas I forgot to take photos), Yorkshire, neon orange/red hair and my ongoing writing for DeAvenue, which is keeping me on top of the fashion world despite my blog absences (Im sorry OK!!).
Thats all I can think of for now...
I always find when I'm not blogging quite so constantly, that I spend a much greater amount of time checking other people's blogs so to honour all the beautiful, more dedicated bloggers across the world who inspire me so much , I have updated the side bar of blogs to visit and I strongly suggest you do, particularly if, like me, you are finding revision to be a strain. As my Twitter followers will have gathered, I have found myself doing a number of things in the madness of revision to break from the work, like re-categorising my extensive fashion magazine collection, as well as tweeting a couple of times a minute (well not quite) so if you miss me (and I really hope you do!) you can be updated with my mundane life through Twitter.
Anyway, so this is what I wore yesterday to the Lucian Freud exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery (which was very good by the way). It rained a lot, as it has done 24/7 recently so had to go for a coat and whipped out the dungarees again.

 I am wearing Topshop blouse and dungarees, Dr Martens (my gallery shoes, being most comfortable), coat from Spitalfields market and a vintage bag.
Below is a snapshot from Yorkshire, note the grey sky, from a lovely dog walk I took to escape the Italian Unification.

 Another Yorkshire snapshot, Teebs and Davo pose in front of a waterfall. If you are wondering why I was not down there too, it is because I was having a minor panic attack about whether the dog would leap into the violent rapids. Something he would do without a second thought. So I decided I would rather not watch. It was all fine in the end and the dog displayed a rare burst of intelligence by staying on land.

Around Easter time it is lambing season in the Yorkshire Dales so in most fields there were these adorable lambs which are literally the cutest things ever! That is until they grow up into sheep...

 This is a skirt I made sometime ago in about February! I will do another post featuring it soon as I am yet to photograph it properly but I thought I would share this picture now. I made it using a pattern that my Grandma gave me from I think either the 60s or 70s and for once, I actually stuck to it (well, more or less). Valuable skills I suppose but they still drive me crazy!

 A few weeks ago, the weather was bizarrely good. We are talking over 20 degrees here. So for a few weeks, I was actually able to embrace S/S 12, which as I have been writing about it for months is actually very exciting stuff! This is a peachy topshop dress I scored for £15 in the sales last year with a vintage belt and a topshop cardigan with marc by Marc Jacobs sunnies!

Not a good picture I know but I simply had to share the hair. Excuse the skater t-shirt and the backwards baseball cap too. The sunshine made me decide I was going to follow in the footsteps of Lana Del Rey and Rayanne Graff and attempt to pull it off. I suspect I didnt manage as all my friends laughed at me, and rightly so, but I will hang in there to continue to try it out when the sun returns (hopefully soon, but realistically never). But the hair, lovingly spray dyed by Maral (to whom I owe so much- not only did she dye my hair this time, and successfully, but she dyed it black, well grey actually, in my 'emo' phase aged 12) This unfortunately washed out soon after however I have made arrangements to repeat the style, perminantly and in pink after my exams and am really looking forward to it! My Mum doesnt seem to think its a good idea- cant think why....

Anyway I will try to blog again soon, and definitely sooner than a month, but I probably wont have anything to say. I guess I can always fall back on the costume parties...

Thank you to all new followers!

Much Love!

LB xx

London Fashion Weekend S/S 12

London Fashion Weekend came and went a few weeks ago and, as always, was a highlight! Apologies for the amount of time it has taken me to get this post up but here it is! 

It was a sunny day, so out came the cat eye sunglasses and just a jacket (not a massive coat for once!).

Here me and Susie are, as is the tradition, posing in front of the big sign!

 I am wearing:topshop chelsea boots,AA skirt, UO skirt (underneath), topshop jacket, uniqlo tank top and marc by marc jacobs sunglasses.
The showbags were designed by Holly Fulton this year and are shocking yellow (alas I do not have a photo) but truth be told, the contents was somewhat disappointing, apart from some rather ahem...realistic looking stick on nails, which despite their hot pink colour, successfully cover up my real nails which I am yet to stop biting (nervous habit, what can you do!).
The catwalk show delivered once again, although for the first time in a while we had to accept 3rd row seats which unfortunatly had a fairly large impact on the quality of my photos but we must make do! I can rant for a while about why Vodaphone VIPs should not get the front seats (I applied and I actually like fashion, unlike that bald middle aged man looking bored in prime position, mere centimetres away from the clothes)but I will restrain myself...for now...

 What made the catwalk show special this year was the incorporation of full designer collections as shown back at the S/S 12 shows at LFW. Those included Holly Fulton, Antipodium and Jasper Conran. I know right! Antipodium particularly impressed me as Ive been a fan of the brand for a while and their collections are usually pretty synced with my personal style.
Holly Fulton too, had many beautiful pieces which really made me long for better weather, or should I say, more consistent better weather.
As per, the trend collections, immaculately styled by Miss Molly, highlighted some key trends for the season. Since writing for DeAvenue, I have grown rather good at identifying trends, influences, links etc in shows and my knowledge of S/S 12 has reached new hights so I was seeing the show in a somewhat different light. Most certainly in a good way!
'Prim Rose' brought together Louis Vuitton inspired cute, dreamy pastels with traditional silhouettes and collars galore. As the programme said, when in doubt- cardigan and brooch.
'Game On' was sporty and olympics orientated, based on Stella McCartney and Isabel Marant. Eighties inspired cuts, techno prints and anoraks. Plus heels. Naturally.
The presenter this year was Caroline Flack, who we saw after the show on her way to an interview. My favourite presenter to date!

Straight after we had finished spending money (literally broke for the next month- great budgeting Louise...) and dont worry I will show you what I bought in the near future, we headed to the Royal Academy to see David Hockney's exhibition! As expected, I thought it was amazing- particularly some of the drawings he did using his iPad/ iPhone. The best I seem to be able to achieve on a touch screen is a stick man (albeit a very handsome one!)

More from me to come, a lot going on at the moment- the work load is getting ever so slightly out of control and Ive had a music exam (you really dont want to know how badly that went) and Ive been ill... basically any spare moment is spent slouching around on the sofa or sleeping! But have no fear. I will be back to normal soon. Maybe.
If you are really longing to hear from me in my long absences from PT, you can follow me on twitter (see the side bar!) but I probably ramble enough on here to last you a while....
much love, and thanks to any new followers!
LBxx

France

Its been a while...

I have a lot to catch all of you up on but I will start here!

Let me set the scene for you: its half term, about 3 weeks ago, and we arrive bright and early at 5 am, fresh off the over night ferry! Its -15 degrees and I'm very very happy I packed a lot of knitwear!

This photo is Deuville in the early morning, the sun just rising...

 The holiday was spent revising for my AS mocks so I didn't really leave the house very often but when I did, I have a photo to prove it so I guess its all fine!

 Above are pictures of the basilica of St Terese, which has, as you can see, a lovely art deco interior. We went there on the second day (i think) and there was lots of snow everywhere (I think there is a photo somewhere below!)

 This photo was taken from the top of the castle where William the Conquerer was born and it was, if I may say so, a really good museum- the curators should be very proud!

 Thats me, buying baguettes in the morning. I know, so French! Im wearing: Dr Martens, Vintage denim jacket, topshop trousers, H&M elvis tshirt and a topshop shirt.

 Taken on the beach, in the cold. I'm wearing Davos's sheep skin coat, a topshop snood, topshop dungarees and H&M ear muffs.

Thats all I really have to report on the holiday, firstly because its was a long time ago now and secondly because I really didn't do very much other than work reclusively in my room!
If you are wondering why I have been neglecting PT, exams can be blamed. I have also been kept busy writing for DeAvenue (check it out by clicking on the word!) so spread the word!
I have other posts lined up for you, such as London Fashion Weekend S/S 12 so stay tuned!
I love to hear what you all think as always so comment away!
I will post more I promise!
LBxx

DeAvenue

So, the exciting news I have been promising can finally be announced!
I am the new fashion writer for online magazine, DeAvenue!
We launched today (thus why I saved the news for now) and can be found at:
http://www.deavenue.co.uk/
There is loadss of cool content about all things fashionable and look out for Trends posts (which I write) and a couple of others dotted about!
I can't express how grateful I am to be given this opportunity and I still cant get over how exciting it all is!
So, everyone go and check it out right now!!!
You can like on facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/deavenuemag
You will no doubt be hearing much more about all this is the future so on that note i shall get back down to my English Coursework (wooo)
LBxx