Oh Sun, hurry hurry

In an attempt to get more use out of my wardrobe and actually wear the items that are hidden under my favorite, shorts, trousers and shirt, the night before last Tuesday morning I came across a last year spring buy.

In a stab to get the flirty feminine gingham that Christopher Kane had us gagging for in his S/S 10 collection I bought a black gingham casual bandeau dress from Primark last year. Not quite with the bra cups or the sexy cut outs and thigh splits of Kane's collection but I fell for the grown-up approach to gingham.


With all the spring collections wowing at me from my magazines, I felt I should follow and indulge in some flirty springy garb and bring out the gingham.

Above is what I wore. Clinging to the knits from winter, I wore my chunky from George, Asda over the dress so that the skirt popped out underneath, grey leggings and then my biker boots.

Alas, as the fashion gods wouldn't have it, my gingham re-release was swept away with one foot out of the door. Attacked by hundreds of rain as I trudged with my camera case off to a friend's halls to continue with the filming of our first TV package, I arrived with wet hair and slight mascara misplacement, a lot more grunge than soft and feminine.

I say roll on sun and spring. I am in serious danger of getting stifled by the winter knits and cardies. Although my room has had a dose of vibrant spring through the delivery of some lovely roses from my flatmate after I casually stated I needed some to put in a pretty Chenet bottle. Unfortunatly, I threw the bottle away before the delivery, so glass will do.

After the gingham mishap, a possible sign to move one, I look towards what I will be wearing when the sun does poke out from behind the clouds. The pleating 70's S/S trends have already started trickling down towards the more affordable and I have my eye on this top seen below in the March ASOS magazine. Love the way it peeps out of the cropped jumper with feminine folds. But it has to be right! I don't actually know what it looks like underneath as it is not available yet. Underneath the jumper I want it to be loose and flowing and perfect to be teamed with some short shorts and bug-eyed sunnies a la Jil Sander S/S.


And dance like this ...

Tights and Stripes

Having gotten frustrated with the lack of jest in my wardrobe and instead being usually engulfed in flat blacks, greys and blues, (boory bory boooor) last year I went out determined to bring back some pattens, if not just some colour to boost the view into the bland wardrobe.

This resulted in the purchase of some questionably cheap looking white loose trousers from Primark covered in small black misshaped spots which could be mistaken as leopard print. But believe me... it is NOT leopard print.

I also received some similar style trousers from my parents for Christmas from H&M which are deep purple with white Harlequin-esq marks.

Great... patten and colour are ticked off, but the hardest task seems to be able to find the confidence and items to accompany them.

I would love to admit that I am so confidence savvy that I am able to step out of my halls in Bournemouth in the head to toe patten trend that designer John Galliano for S/S11 says is OK...

...with a sheer draping waistcoat to mute the eclectic patterned blue and tangerine

Or in graphic prints plastered over Missoni's collection...

...but somehow I don't think Bournemouth is ready for quite such a collage of crazy acids and lines

My compromise is the combination of tights and stripes, the lovable Breton with monochrome patterned tights that have become so popular. Cute little hearts spread over legs or spots, or bows contrasting against the unified lines.

Below is a proportionate collage of what I wore...

...A loose Breton top from TopShop, underneath, peeping out, a long vest top from New Look, TopShop honeycomb patterned shorts to add to the whole theme, zigzag tights from Accessorise (compromising holes a plenty), and tough biker boots.

A dose of drama taken to class.

New Year, New Stuff!

OK, so is has been a criminal amount of time since I have written for my Blog and seeing as I am an aspiring fashion journalist, this just isn't on! Turning 20 last weekend has made me seriously get real about my future and where I am going. Not writing about fashion is not going to get me where I want to be.

So my excuses?

I have spend the last few months figuring out my Bourne identity. I am now half way through my first year at Bournemouth University studying Multimedia Journalism, conducting a variety of interviews, including talking to Elle magazines features director, struggled to find an original news story, reviewed Tinie Tempah, got to unit 25 of Teeline shorthand for journalists and completed a number of uncreative law and theory assignments.

During the Christmas holidays I became very frustrated with my work, writing instead about Naomi Campbell's drug addiction intrusion rather than the clothes draped around her. I had such a craving to write fashion, that I am now trying to balance writing what I want to write about with my assignments. Although, sometimes the two converge easily. Today I compiled a historical timeline and key moments of the high heel during an online journalism seminar.

So being my birthday not so long ago, a lot of new items have entered my life.


My lovely friend brought me these two exciting magazines, Lula and Oh Comely, which I am sure I will devour quickly. It will be a good change from my Vogue stubbornness. Although, another problem with my university life is that it caps the time spent on not only writing, but unfortunately reading aswell. Over my first term at Bournemouth, my Vogue pile grew to an embarrassing height, October, November, December and January waited. I have now got it down to only January, but with February's presence close. I will make sure I allow time to read these two beauties though. I promise!

This gorgeous book was a present from my parents. A book by fashion designer, Luella Bartley, on what encapsulates our original English style, the clothes, the icons and the ideology behind the English girl. It might be enough to get satisfaction from just looking at it, but it has already been flicked through thoroughly, primed for complete exposure.

I have always admired the quirky jewellery inspired by the Scrabble game, from full name necklaces to simple letters for rings. Always wanting a name necklace after lusting after Carrie's in Sex and the City, my simple but different white on black gift is perfect. (and doesn't give too much away about me)

After buying into a lot of Breton at late, it was refreshing to receive something stripy but different and more intense. The placement of line around the collar and buttons in contrast to the main body reminded me of an article in January Vogue about the way stripes can transform and shape the body. Championed especially by Prada, these manipulated stripes look fun on the dresses, tees and skirts, if not alluringly comical. Inspired by linear optic artworks I could readily walk out of my halls in such a miss mash of colour, direction and confusion...


Yet I could easily slip into this Jil Sander. Simple, classic and very versatile.

Lastly...
With the thought of turning 20 looming I decided with a little help from girlfriends and white wine, to do one last slightly crazy thing before the big day. So I went and got the top of my ear pierced! Being adamant that I would not get any more piercings than my two ears, this was a BIG THING! A rush of youth bundled into a tiny piece of metal, that I am reminded of with every accidental catch of a t-shirt or when I try to fall asleep on my left side.

Take a pinch of imagination and a dash of no-nonsense!

Elle magazine’s recently appointed Fashion Features Director tells of her ideal reporter and her admiration for fellow fashion writer, Robin Givhan.

Thirty-two-year-old Alice Wignall’s position at Elle is at the other end of the journalism spectrum to that of a reporter, yet she took little time to consider the necessary criteria for such a job.

Within her role at Elle, she appreciates the need to keep to deadlines, although she hasn't personally experienced the ‘news rush’ during her career.

‘Professionalism is very important,’ she says, ‘such as punctuality and responding to e-mails quickly.’

She also values the essential knowledge of the world combined with the initiative to express these opinions. Yet from a features perspective, she believes creativity can also make a good reporter.

‘They still need to be a good writer; stylish and funny.’ Perhaps a way in which all manner of journalists can unite in a need to please and entertain the reader.

Alice joined Elle’s team in June 2010 after freelance writing for the Guardian and working for a number of women’s magazines including Bliss and More.

Throughout her career, the Fashion Features Director has admired Robin Givhan, the 45-year-old fashion editor for The Washington Post. ‘She reports on fashion as a serious thing – not just pretty clothes,’ Alice explains. ‘She can relate it to culture and politics yet still keep it accessible.’

Yet, perhaps it is Givhan’s reputation for being radically blunt with her words that makes Alice think of her. Another element for a budding reporter to add carefully to their checklist – to be remembered.

Men, Einstein or Sweats?

Everyday we endeavour to get that effortless look, to appear to have just thrown something on but still look fabulous. But its hard, when we are bound to dress codes and clothing rules; sadly and ironically, it can take much time and struggle. There is the classic no red with pink and the double denim rule is tricky to perfect. Then there are those harem type items that have their own how to wear rule book. Its exhausting!

But the main problem is facing far too much choice. Being offered cheap and accessible mass produced clothing has resulted in our wardrobes becoming full and incomprehensible. Its no wonder we fall back on our favorite reliable pieces, wearing them again and again. But what about the rest? I have many beautiful clothes that deserve to be worn yet are overshadowed by ease. Can we ever take the effort out of effortless?

Taking lead from the men in our life could be the way in. Possibly not by substituting for a thoughtless jean and t-shirt/check shirt ensemble but instead adopting the psychology behind their clothing decisions. There will be no umming and arring, just a simple 'pick up the first thing you see' and put it on. However, I found it too hard to become so easily negligent after years of thought, and after all I find it hard to agree that this version of 'effortlessness' is a good thing when men only strive to step out in Hollister and Abercrombie.
Alternatively, after reading a piece in Vogue not all is lost with men. Could Einstein have the answer to not only modern physics but fashion as well? He wore the same thing everyday without thought and with ease. We should make it like cartoon characters and have one signature outfit. One dress or a pair of trousers that look so good you would never want to wear anything else but. If only it could be this simple in our celebrity filled world where clothes are disposable and it is deplorable to be seen in any item more than once. As a person I find this unnecessary, as a student, it is impossible. Ah! So now I know what to blame for my piled Primark filled wardrobe in an attempt to always look fresh. But hold on there, we could be on the right track. Quality seems surely better than quantity, so buy less clothes but spend more on them. They will look so much better than Primark mush and you end up with less clothing in the wardrobe to search through.

What if we do overcome this preliminary wardrobe quandary; still, how do we overcome the working look of effortless? Body cons may make my legs look great but when walking up a steep hill, fidgeting my hands towards the ground to pull the fabric down every few steps hardly screams graceful woman. But if we did give in to comfort and ease rather than perceived fashion, we would all be happily walking around in sweats and baggy jumpers. Although an unrealistic fantasy, it holds some truth as my confidence is often stemmed from the simple comfort of jeans and a jumper.

So lets take a look at the queen of effortless. The Moss knows how to dress well and always does it simply, never looks too forced. She uses denim well - we should all have the perfect pair of skinnies and hot pants for the easy, thrown on look. You don't always have to brush your hair to make it look good and her love of clashing looks is so desirable. Though designers love to dress her, she doesn't always look on trend - "clothes go in and out of fashion, but that's not style. Style has to be classic," says the Moss herself. I say choose clothes that you love and make you look great. From this point onwards, I will never think when looking in the mirror, is this now? Only does this look nice?

Kate Moss with opposing tough Christopher Kane leathers with a delicate floaty blouse

Yet it is hard to stay away from trend when it does look good. Perhaps the new season minimalist feel holds the answer to our clothing qualms in the morning. A reduced palette of colours with simple shapes - where can you go wrong? My first purchase into ladylike elegance is the highly coveted Topshop camel cape, my compensatory purchase as I grudgingly welcome the colder months. Yes it may be the last thing you think about putting on, in that so it doesn't solve the first layer problem but it will elegantly slip over my chunky winter knits and jumpers. So ample it will smooth over any lumps or bumps while the light timeless camel hue works with anything. So effortlessly chic, I can fling it over my shoulders, leaving the sleeves loose, running out the door without a last glance in the mirror to face the freeze.

Topshop camel cape

After all this is the epitome of effortless. Knowing that you look good without needing that check in the mirror, or that trip to powder your nose. Only a slight pinch of energy is needed to choose clothes that you know suit and fit you well. And of course have fun with your clothes, even if designers want us to grow up so fast!