UAL Wimbledon (Theatre) Degree Show

My best friend just completed a degree in Costume Design at UAL Wimbledon, so my trip to see her last week ended in mooching around the degree show and seeing her and her coursemates' work, as well as the work by other theatre courses, such as set design and special effects. I spent four years honing my research and essay skills; what these super-talented people achieved was incredible. I forgot to write down these people's names, and unfortunately the show has finished now, but I still wanted to show them all off a little but, just because they are seriously cool.

The Little Things

Moving home and moving into a new bedroom has taken up a lot of my time, and the final touches are falling into place now, starting with my wardrobe, now organised by colour thanks to its open front (who has time to roll the 'door' up and down every day? Not me)

Pre-Fall Resort

Style.com still has a quick-link to the Resort collections on its home page, but today Louis Vuitton tweeted a picture of its Pre-Fall collection with a link to the rest of the lookbook. Even though the Resort and Pre-Fall collections are just as appealing as the 'main' collections, this overlap seems a little ridiculous. I checked, Louis has a Resort collection that was reviewed on June 13th. I know all the outcry about the pressure designers are under after the Galliano incident subsided a while ago, but I can't help but wonder if the constant stream of new releases isn't overkill at this end too? Or maybe Louis has released its lookbook ahead of the game, precisely because of the almost saturation of images once it's actually time for Pre-Fall to be released?

Summer Tracks VII

Justin Kline's style is all upbeat tracks with less upbeat lyrics -see also 'I want to be normal' from the Doormat EP (available freeeeeeee now). I've played it on repeat while I've been travelling the last few days, and this final track will loop through your head constantly for the rest of the day. It's all a bit silly really, as the label 'powerpop' would suggest, but, since we're heading into another grey summer, something that makes you feel like dancing as you walk down the street is going to be necessary, since the sun apparently won't be making an especially frequent appearance in our lives.

Currently Loving... Wrought Iron

Wrought iron is all heaviness and old-school romance to me; it screams of ornate bedsteads and sweeping staircases. The bannisters at Hampton Court Palace are exactly my cup of tea, the range from the simplicity of these ones to the flourishes on the King's and Queen's Staircases, with the marble and dark wood panelling. Even though, in true old-timey style, it was a little gloomy, the grandeur and the dramatic contrast of the dark and light materials more than made up for it. 

London Not-So-Cool

I traipsed around London for a couple of days in essentially the same outfit - the benefit of staying with my best friend is that I can borrow her tops and travel super light to maximise time together. I tend to pick something simple that I can copy without it seeming splashy. Even those these shorts are distinctive, they're a pretty classic shape and easy to find a match for in her wardrobe. Plus, in all the muggy warmth lately they're just the right weight. What else wasn't 'cool' though? The goofy photos we took with the amazing toadstool-esque trees at Hampton Court Palace...

Sunnies River Island Jacket Charity shop find, Jumper ZARA, Vest borrowed, Shorts Joules, Shoes New Look Generation 915

The One That Got Away

 If Daphne Guinness is making me hanker after art-punk, The Civil Wars are making me really glad I live now, when it's totally 'normal' to switch from said-punk to country-inspired sadness.
The news that there'll be a new The Civil Wars album in under two months is equalled in happy-music news by the release of a new single. If this is representative of the new record, there's a little more of an edge to the actual sound this time round, but still with that longing-tinged sadness in the lyrics, melody and Joy William's vocals.
I don't think I can include this as a 'Summer Track', it goes too well with the sudden return of wet weather and my decidedly un-summery mood, but I couldn't wait until August 6th to talk about it...

Un-Fatal Flaw

This week's Wonderland internet round up included this gem. Everyone know Daphne Guinness for her hair and her dramatic style, but this is almost out of step with the image I have of her in her mind. If style iconsare turning to music, then I hope more of them do it like Guinness than del Russo (sorry, but 'Fashion Shower' just hurt). Zing Tseng compares this to The Velvet Underground and Nico, and something in her ethereal chant is reminiscent of that. Although the video is uber-modern, the sound is pared back and retro. The trick to appreciating the genius is to close your eyes and wish you were in the Seventies.

In terms of fashion mimicking punk, as is all the rage these days, this is how it's done right.

Boyfriends are for Wimps...

Jacket Joules, T-Shirt Zara, Jeans Gap, Shoes Clarks/K, Handbag Matt and Nat, Belt H&M, Scarf Vintage

...and jeans. Even though a lot of the time I prefer to look more feminine, some days call for comfy clothes. I headed to Cardiff to continue my latest shopping quest, and so despite my instinct screaming for slouchy boyfriend jeans and my favourite t-shirt, the day called for something more. I grabbed brogue-y heels and red tweed and headed out of the door with my game face on. And by game, I mean shop.

Break-Up Cake

I haven't technically gone through a break-up, it just feels like it, and there isn't a recipe for this cake, but today I adhered to my best friend's rule of break-ups - eat cake. It's reminiscent of some of the final lines of Marty McConnell's poem, Frida Kahlo to Marty McConnell -

"Don't lose too much weight.
Stupid girls are always trying
to disappear as revenge, and you
are not stupid. You loved a man"

Not that this is encouragement to eat badly, it's just to say that sometimes, cake - in this case peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes drenched in chocolate fudge frosting - goes some way towards lifting the heaviness that weighs on your heart. Shop first, but when that hasn't worked, make cake your next port of call.

The only problem I find with break-up cake is that baking always goes much smoother when you're happy. Although these are wonderful taste-wise, they are, alas, a little dry. But, teamed with clotted cream and strawberries, they're making these lonely evenings a little less depressing...

Summer Tracks VI

Usually when people announce that a song is 'the song of the summer' or something equally vomit-inducingly cliched, I groan inwardly at the thought that I'm going to hear something that will kill my soul a little every time, over and over (that might be hyperbolic, but I really don't like 'I Gotta Feeling', 'kay). However, this year, people started calling Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' the song of the summer. I'm not usually one for ADM, and I'm not pretending to be a Daft Punk fan, I can't listen to more than two songs at a time ever. But this song is just... I'll except this as a Summer Track. In the past couple of months I have got up and stayed up and been in a good mood about it because this song was on the radio when it switched on as my alarm. I have snapchat video-ed the hook in the Daughter cover to my best friend. I have decided that this song playing was the time to start dancing at a party. I have, I freely admit, listened to it on a loop to cheer myself up. It's fun.

Bulgar Wheat Salad

I'm not entirely sure what to call this dish, it's a mish-mash of inspirations that I tossed together and discovered is delicious. Usually bulgar wheat/couscous (I use them interchangeably) seems Moroccan-inspired, as do bell peppers at times, but the olives and feta are very 'Greek' and then the rest seemed like a pretty standard English-garden salad. It was just the right mix of warmed vegetables and cold for a light dinner on a summer day, as well as being quick and simple but tasting grown-up! The quantities here are my usual dinner guesswork, and it really depends on taste; I know some people are very against radishes.

1. Prepare a portion of bulger wheat/couscous
2. Chop roughly a quarter of a red pepper, 5 cherry tomatoes, a quarter of a red onion, a handful of olives, about 4cm of cucumber, a couple of radishes and a wedge of feta cheese.
3. Lightly fry the onion, then toss the tomatoes and peppers into the pan for a couple of minutes, and then the feta for about 30 seconds
4. Combine all the ingredients and drizzle with an olive-oil based salad dressing (I used a Canadian garlic and parmesan bread dipper)

Not So Serious

Dress H&M, Shoes George at Asda

Full disclosure, I borrowed this outfit from my sister. All my party dresses seem to be dark all of a sudden, and that was exactly what I didn't feel like wearing to what counts as a fancy party for students. Dinner, a mini awards ceremony (it was the drama society end of year do last night) and dancing called for something a little...happier. Even though I'm giving some serious bitchface in this image, I had a lovely evening, a lot of it spent with a much cheerier facial expression. I took a leaf out of Chanel's book and followed Harper's Bazaars's advice to put black tulle bows on each wrist, a much less fidgety way to accessorize than a stack of bangles. Mercifully, the 'studded' heels stopped the outfit being uber-girly.

Wishlist - Banana Print

I know Prada did a grown-up version of this a few summers ago, and they were such 'it' pieces that they became one-season pieces for the fashion set, but I'm still hankering after this Topshop skirt. The bananas are more Pop-art than Prada, and it's clearly a casual skirt, but it's just so fun. I have a weak spot for fun prints at times, for my more adventurous days, and I can already think of ways to style this into my current wardrobe. White tops and stark red lips, 'combat' boots and a denim jacket...

Long Summer Daze

Dress Fat Face, Sandals Office, Sunglasses H&M

I'm not a huge fan of summer, or at least not the heat and the glaring sunshine that occasionally appears. For the past week I've been in a sticky hell of heat and suncream. I burn easily, so I don't dare risk being out in the sun without it, but it's just so uncomfortable... To be honest, it hasn't gone above 21C yet, and I somehow survived about 30C for prolonged periods of time last summer, but that's beside the point. It's almost miserable, and a real blight on lovely outdoor plans like watching Much Ado About Nothing in the park, but then I'd probably complain if we didn't have a summer at all...
Unbearably hot days like me make me reach for loose-fitting clothes that let my skin breathe a bit, sunnies and sandals, and super-basic, not really there at all make-up (with a poppy-lip because it's magic for the complexion).

Summer Tracks V

This is an 'old' song, from a couple of albums ago for the Gaslight Anthem boys, but it sounded out through my car speakers (motorway driving in summer is the absolute pits, yuck) and headphones and something about the wistfulness of the lyrics, addressing old girlfriends, always strikes me as fitting a summer evening as you walk back from the beach in the fading sunshine, that nostalgia for things that you've left far behind you, the almost wistful nature of looking back each summer. Maybe I'm the only doing that right now, thinking back on the past six years of sixth form and university, because I'm moving back to towns that are almost exactly the same and disconcertingly alien, because today I retraced old steps several times and memories flooded back like yesterday and forever ago. Even though I am determined to look forward, I'm saying goodbye to Swansea me and Beechen Cliff me, kind of like Gaslight are saying goodbye to all their past loves and the selves they were with them.

Tales from the Weekend

I'm on a mini-hiatus while I'm back at my Mum's house for the weekend to celebrate her birthday. Even though usually I find doing nothing quite frustrating, there is something oddly luxurious about not doing much at home. It might be *shock horror* the fact that I haven't been in much contact with my laptop, or the mini-projects that mean I've done tangible activities rather than a lot of walking/internet-ing, but even though I'm moving back here for the long-haul soon, this has been oddly refreshing. I'm heading back from North-East Somerset to Swansea tomorrow, so there are hopefully a few more wonderful non-adventures to come; a planned walk through woods to see if the bluebells are still out, birthday dinner and cake, lunch with a friend...

Things I've been doing that aren't living on my bed:

Living barefoot as I run from the house to the garden

Making steps towards reupholstering an old chair - electric sanders make the job so much easier

Enjoying a constant stream of cake (pictured: banana muffins and millionaire flapjack) (not pictured: cheesecake, Victoria sponge)

Raiding sister #2's wardrobe for a party this week

Chillin' with my Mum's adorable Yorkiedoodle puppy, Paddy

Long family Sunday lunches with assorted siblings of both generations

Girl Crush: Anne-Catherine Frey

Anne-Catherine Frey is a Paris-based blogger and designer, whose ever-changing cropped hair and flawless androgeny, and position in one of my most coveted labels, The Kooples, make me really wish we were friends. She seems so effortlessly cool, in that very French way (Frey is from Luxembourg), her wardrobe is to die for and her hairdresser, who she discusses in this interview, sounds like a genius for short hair who I want to let loose on my locks. Plus, it sounds to me like we're pretty similar, so surely we'd be good friends, right?!?