in her own mad mind she's in love with you

It is so weird not having any sort of real schedule at the moment. School used to be so regimented, and revision so inundating that even my weekends had a sort of structure and routine. With sixth form, you have so many different free periods and such a varying workload that your time seems to oscillate between going out every day or spending a whole week without seeing anyone at all. I quite like it though, as I am a terrible creature of habit and like the way I now have to be spontaneous and do things without planning for them in advance (which is actually so much nicer, as without expectation you can never really be disappointed). It has also made me become much more of a 'yes' person - I have spent the vast majority of my life being a bit of a homebody and so it's been really nice seeing the other side of that, and actually enjoying going out as often as I can (although the fact that my friends are so accepting of my weirdness has definitely contributed to that). 

Also, the work I am doing in college at the moment is actually really nice, if you get my drift. It's still work, but it's nice work - the sort that is equally interesting and relaxing, and not too demanding just yet. It's such a nice break from last year, and I kind of wish it would just stay like this for a while but I think January mock exams are really going to put a dampener on all of our good moods (which in my case is literally just because I never have to do maths or chemistry ever again). 

Anyway, these photos are actually from before Fashion Week (and actually before I started college) but everything has been a little hectic recently in terms of posts and so I haven't had the chance to share them until now. As is custom, I spent a day wandering through the Camden Passage market in Islington, browsing through all of the gorgeous vintage shops and wishing my jewellery collection was as vast as the ones for sale on the various stalls. I love taking pictures in markets, for some reason they strike me as being particularly photogenic, I think maybe because everything is so perfectly arranged (or perfectly disarranged).

I never seem to buy that much there, but the recent decorating of my tiny little workroom has led to me becoming much more interested in vintage homewares as well as just clothes and jewellery. It's nice to be able to try (and amazing when you actually achieve) an all-round aesthetic with all three, but as my style is the opposite of minimalistic there always seems to be space for one more frame or one more ornament, leaving me with a terrible amount of clutter. It's nice having my Etsy now though, as I can start to sell off pieces that I don't feel that I need to keep anymore.

I wore a top from Rokit, skirt from Beyond retro, socks from Topshop, tights from H&M and shoes from the Vintage Attic in Brighton. The bag is from People Tree. I've had this top for almost a year now, but have found it's length difficult to wear as it's too long to wear with jeans or shorts, but too short to wear alone. It led me to a six month long hunt for a brown skirt to wear it with, which finally resulted in this Beyond Retro one which not only gives me a way to wear the top but also goes with pretty much all of my wardrobe.

I've mentioned my little workspace quite a bit recently but I don't think I've ever actually posted any proper pictures of it. I was originally going for a very clean, blank slate kind of approach, however I keep finding cute little oddities to add to it. I love how bright it is - my room is dark grey so working in natural light after all these years is the best thing.

And last but definitely not least, I was asked to interview Si Cranstoun, a singer signed to Warner records who has had a big impact on the underground vintage scene. He has played festivals such as CarFest and Twinwood, and has a very catchy, r'n'b meets rock and roll kind of style that I'm sure will be a big hit over the next few months. His latest record 'Modern Life' will be available to buy from the 13th of October.

Hi Si! Your new album is going to be released in early October, could you tell us a little bit about what inspired it, and what it sounds like?

Yes it's out on the 13th October - can't wait to unleash it !! The inspiration for new album 'Modern Life' came about from how the vintage sound/ lifestyle seems to always play a part, whether it be big or small in in our modern lives/ what we class as modern.

You seem to be quite heavily influenced by Vintage. How does his affect your style, and how does this work when trying to get on in the modern day music industry? 

Old school roots can be a real blessing but they can also be a bit of curse too - so it's crucial to get the balance right while at the same time maintaining my identity which I think centres around my voice which I don't try to change  !! ..I can't really sing in a modern style  !! besides theres plenty of young singers who have the contemporary approach to singing fully covered - so hopefully my roots help me to stand out.

Who are your musical inspirations? 

Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke & Nat King Cole.

Do you have a particular genre you like...

Yes the one genre I really like ( and please excuse me as I failed at maths) is : doo - wop,  vintage gospel, 50's R&B, Jamaican Ska, Rock & Roll, Western Swing .. 

 ...or one specific artist you admire? 

...like I said excuse the maths here : Etta James, Ruth Brown, Lavern Baker.

What can we expect from you in the next year? 

My expectations are based upon radio and TV exposure .. if they are kind and gracious enough to shine their wondrous light my way then you can expect to see & hear a man singing at the top of his voice while grinning like a Chesire Cat!!

 You played Twinwood and CarFest, are there any other festivals or venues you would like to play at? 

Glastonbury - MAIN STAGE 

What is your pearl of wisdom? (The one piece of information you have picked up that you now live by (like a motto) and would pass on to others?)

There is only this moment - so accept it for all that is, breath it in a make your peace with it..

I hope you all have a good week!

just let me hear some of that rock and roll music

 It really doesn't feel like a week since my last post - fashion week was all a bit of a blur and it's taken some time to adjust back into the calmer, more structured routine of college. I like being back though, I like my subjects and it's quite nice not to have the constant pressure of updating this page / social media that you have when you go to events like last week. Instead I've been attempting to keep on top of my schoolwork, listening to my Beatles Rock 'n' Roll Music record that I adopted from my Aunt's old collection and failing to keep my room neat (I seem to have an ongoing floordrobe issue that does seriously need addressing).
Anywho, this last weekend was actually a really good one - the sort of weekend you wish would come at the end of every long and tiring week. I saw The Riot Club with some friends on Friday evening, and although I really disliked the subject matter and wasn't expecting it to end so soon, I thought it was worth seeing as it's the first film I've ever seen to show the wealthy in such bad light, and possibly unearth a few things regular people have not yet been aware of about the sort of people that currently run our country.
I then went to the Victoria and Albert museum on Saturday for lunch, and to try and get some drawing practice for art. Our current project is on anatomy and I really want to actually learn to draw a little better...we've been doing life drawing in class, but I found drawing from the statues at the museum just as helpful (if not better as they didn't move!) I then met some friends for the evening, and was woken up the next day to find out my cousin had her gorgeous little baby while I had been sleeping. The remainder of my Sunday was spent making fabric bunting for the little one, visiting him and his mum in hospital and then going out for celebratory pizza with the rest of the family. A weekend well spent, in my opinion.

The V&A is probably one of my favourite place to go to in London for several reasons: it's free to get in, meaning you feel better about paying for the exhibitions that are always on, it's bright, airy and has an amazing café/restaurant, and has the best collection of artwork, fashion displays and textiles, photography, pottery and all sorts of artefacts from around the world. I personally see it as an art gallery, but one that displays a range of art forms, and not just simply oil paintings. I've found it to be really helpful over the years with both art and textiles, and like just sitting and drawing in one of the many benches or chairs scattered around. There is also a whole host of patterns in everything, from fabrics to tiles and china, so as you can imagine it's like a sort of heaven for me.

 

 

I spent the time getting some art done, trawling through the pieces on show and then getting in to the Horst exhibition for free because of the art pass my parents bought me for my birthday (which is in a few months...the early bird gets the worm, I suppose). There are always amazing exhibitions on, for example my absolute favourite David Bowie one a year or so ago (I nearly cried it was that good). This one was no exception, and is really worth seeing as I never realised just how big a role Horst played in the development of Vogue, fashion photography and style in general. The way he captures light in his photographs is amazing, and of course the clothes are incredible.

I was quite pleased to find my outfit matched the museum's aesthetics fairly well, as I am a bit obsessed with patterns/colours and any sort of matching whatsoever. I wore a shirt from Blitz, tights from H&M, socks and bag from Topshop, shoes from Rokit and my new favourite Francesca dress which was sent to me from the lovely people at Boden. I'd had some Boden clothes when I was little, but wasn't aware of the range of pieces they still do for teenagers and adults. I couldn't resist the schoolgirl vibe of this dress, and loved the smock-like fit and button-up detail. It's definitely going to be an autumn staple for me - it's so comfy I'm going to need to be coaxed out of it. I also wore my fox necklace from Tatty Devine. I'm a huge fan of the brand, and foxes are sort of my spirit animal as we share a hair colour. It's such a sturdy and reliable piece that just seems to go with everything I own...I think that could be said of all of their collections, though, as however bold or creative something is, they always find a way to make it just the right colours, design and size to still be a practical and wearable piece of jewellery. 

 Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely week! I will be back posting a little more normally soon, and hopefully will do a little LFW recap at some point just to round up on all the madness (and day 5 which I didn't manage to post about!)