one day I'm gonna write a poem in a letter

It feels like absolutely ages since I last sat down and wrote a post for this page - it's only been about two weeks, but for some reason the lack of twice-a-week blogging has really affected me. It's been a real break being able to walk around pretty streets without feeling that it is compulsory to take outfit pictures; to get dressed without trying to wear something I haven't worn before or recently; and of course to take pictures for myself and myself only, and not just to post straight on the internet. Ironically, those pictures are exactly what I am now posting straight on to the internet - I took my Zenit film camera to France with me, and thoroughly enjoyed trying to improve my photography a little (and trying to make sure I didn't use the film up too quickly!) It used to belong to my Dad, and is surprisingly good still...or at least, it is when you focus it correctly (something that still takes me a few tries each time to perfect). I thought I may as well post them here as I quite like how most of them turned out.

 

We have started staying each year in a really beautiful, green area of the Dordogne region in France, which not only has lots of pretty towns and beautiful scenery, but also a fair few antique and bric-a-brac markets and shops. The markets are actually quite well-priced, and I accidentally ended up buying a shelf, two paintings of wild birds and the rose cloth in the photo above. Markets really are lethal. I also blame recently buying Apartamento magazine, which is full of amazing interior inspiration and has made me just as interested in furniture and objects as I am in clothes. 

I also love French markets just for the atmosphere - full of busy locals buying their groceries, speaking with the most wonderful and ear-pleasing accent; the smell of cakes, warm breads, olives and flowers filling your senses; stall holders offering you pieces of sweetbreads, tarts or pastries to taste. One of my favourite days was definitely market day, as I wore the red-themed outfit above (Topshop flower crown, socks and shoes, Beyond Retro skirt, charity shop top). There was a baker at the market who sells amazing cookies, breads and pastries and always wears a straw hat with big sunflowers attached to it, and we sort of silently acknowledged each other's flower adornments and he showed his approval by giving me half a chocolate croissant for free with a wink. It felt like we were in some kind of secret pro-flower-wearing society. I loved it.

 

 

 

Another holiday outfit...charity shop top, Beyond Retro shorts, gold jelly shoes from Author in Spitalfield's. I sort of gave up with my hair and started wearing it in a half-up topknot to hide my awful messy gingerness. I quite liked the way it made my hair feel bigger and fuller, compared to it's usual light, flat feel...I am definitely considering it for Reading Festival (two days oh my god).

 

 

 

The house we stay in is really close to Aubeterre, which is a really lovely village-y town with many of it's shops and houses built right into a cliff (so they are all basically caves). The above outfit is the same Beyond Retro shorts, same Author shoes and a top from a charity shop (it's Topshop and was £3 and I was so so so happy to find it).

 

I was unexplainably happy when I saw this picture had come out - I passed the brave little cat in Bergerac and couldn't help trying to capture how carefree and sleepy it was despite it's precarious position. It was just asking to be photographed really, and even closed it's eyes for the shot.

 

 

It was definitely nice to be away from everything for a while, but now I'm home I kind of can't wait to get back into everything again. I want to make more of my Etsy site too, and am going to do a discount code next week which should be good. I do miss the pool though - being able to swim all day is something I would adore to be able to do at home.

 

 

Also, I'm sure most of you know already that I was in Company Magazine's September issue! We shot the outfits a while ago and I had the most amazing day with the team, and was amazed to actually be given a double page! I am devastated they won't be in print after October, but so pleased to have been able to build up a collection of issues over the years to keep and refer back to when I miss it too much. 

I hope you all have a great week!

do you remember how sweet it used to be

It is so weird trying to write scheduled posts. I go away to France tonight but by the time you read this I will be long gone, and buried deep in the green countryside of north-west France (that is, unless we get lost and end up in Germany...that did actually happen to my parents once). Right now I've just finished a really awesome day working with the lovely ladies at Motel and helping out with their vintage pop up shop (which I hope you went to...it was so lovely!) I am half packed and have four episodes of Orange is the New Black left that I am determined to watch until the channel tunnel blocks out my internet access. I'm not a big series-watcher but you have to admit, OITNB is addictive. I'm also trying something new in France this year as I want to try and go without my phone (and therefore social media) for the whole two weeks. I'm thinking of it as a sort of 'internet detox'. I love keeping this blog but after a while the constant pressure to update so many different websites can get quite tiring, so I am looking forward to a little break from it all for a while.

 

 This outfit was from a lovely pre-holiday day out to get our nails done in the morning, have lunch and see Matilda on stage. I loved Roald Dahl as a child and so it was really nostalgic to see one of my favourite books of his adapted for the stage. It was a really good production, and has made me want to go to the theatre more often. I wore my new skirt from Pop Boutique, with a white shirt from blitz, a white vest that belonged to my Mum, a bag from Rokit and shoes and socks from Topshop. It was one of those outfits you just feel comfortable in...I loved floating around in the skirt and felt very vintage in the sense that I'm sure my Nan would have worn a similar outfit when she was a teenager too. I also loved layering the white-on-white...I'd never really considered it before but I loved the effect.

I may or may not have matched my glasses to the skirt. I love matching a pair of glasses to my outfit, and it really helps encourage me to actually wear them and not wander about in the sort of blurry haze that is my regular eyesight. I am determined to carrying on growing my collection of vintage frames...you never know, one day I might have one pair for every day of the week.

NOTE: This post was scheduled before I left, and now I am on holiday and so will answer all emails, reply to all comments, and update properly when I am back in England! I hope you are all having a great summer!

But lately I see her ribbons and her bows

I'm one of those people that loves schedules. I love plans, I love being busy - doing nothing feels like wasted time to me and so I'm definitely at my happiest trying to balance all sorts of things at once. Even on holiday I rush about from place to place as I'm terrified I might miss something, although I'm not sure exactly what there is to miss (we go to France every year and the place we stay at is literally in the middle of a field...the only thing to see is clouds and the occasional chicken from a nearby farm).

Anyway, Monday was a typical busy day for me. I've been wanting to see the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition at the Barbican for such a long time, but for some reason have just never managed to get myself over to see it. It finishes while I'm away and so I took the opportunity to go on Monday morning. It was definitely worth the trip - I couldn't believe the scale of work on show, and to be around so many famous pieces worn by so many famous people was amazing. I also just really liked him...he liked to show all types of models and avoided the typically pretty, and worked to try and equalise the genders in fashion by sexualising menswear as well as women's. I loved that idea, as why can't there be 'sexy' clothes for men too? And why is it only women we see plastered on the front of grubby magazines in fake leather and bondage straps? I thought it was clever and worked well, and was an interesting take on feminism and liberation for men. 

 I wore a new shirt from Pop Boutique with a skirt from Beyond Retro that I bought last summer. I bought the shirt on a whim because I can't leave a dagger collar behind and loved the colours, and was so happy to find it matched a few cute skirts I have that I haven't been able to wear that much. The socks are American Apparel, the bag is Rokit and the shoes are from Topshop.

 

I love exhibitions, but I think I love them even more now as they all remind me of the David Bowie exhibition at the V&A that I went to last year. It was possibly the best night of my life (I do enjoy a bit of Bowie) and ended in a very emotional Rock 'n' Roll Suicide sing-a-long with some complete strangers. This felt similar in the fact that there was so much to see, and it was a real celebration of such a talented individual. I wasn't aware just how ground-breaking and revolutionary some of Gaultier's work has been, but to see it all up close was amazing. Then again, that comes from a desperate ex-textile student who gets excited over french seams (they are just such a good idea).

 

  

Each collection was so different and yet distinctively his; there is a sort of rough rawness to his pieces, a detailed edge or double layer that really makes each design stand out as something exceptional. A white mesh top, on closer inspection, was entirely made from beads, while a corset was hinged and made from plastic, tulle and netting formed realistic flowers and a fan was converted into a top for men. It was like looking into someone's sketchbook, and being able to walk around all of their ideas and experiments.

 

 

 

I particularly liked the way he stuck to a theme; his punk collection was punk with tartan, leather and studs, while his denim collection was almost entirely denim (I have never seen so many inventive ways of styling double denim in my life). Even the lingerie didn't seem that degrading, as it felt more like expression or art, a way of playing with our ideas of feminine beauty and attraction and what that really is.

  

 

 

 

The techniques he used were incredible and so varied - often designers have set embellishments or details they know and stick to, but he seemed to dabble in everything from wedding dresses, crochet, knitwear, lingerie and so on. It made me want to start making clothes again, which I have been meaning to do but just haven't actually sat down and started.

Anyway, after the exhibition we went to Brick Lane for a bit of last-minute summer shopping, before having tea and cake in Pretty Cuppa. We also may or may not have had a feast of a dinner in The Diner but I don't think I'm emotionally ready yet to admit to eating the huge amount of food that I ate. 

 

NOTE - I have now left to go to France on holiday, and scheduled this post before I left. Therefore I will reply to all comments / answer emails / post more relevantly when I get home! I hope you are having a great summer!