Who Wore What When

Portas Binge.

Having only recently discovered the wonders of Mary Portas Queen of Shops in the current third series, I have been catching up on the first two, during late night binge sessions. It troubles me slightly that some of the shops from series one cannot be found anywhere online (I've obviously been google stalking them all!). I hope this doesn't mean that they are out of business!

One that I did find online is the homewares shop that featured in the most recent episode. I looked at their lovely new site, that reflects the same design as the shop and was surprised to see some of Miso Funky's fab samplers in their gallery images! Go Claire!

 

Maybe the shop should bring out a range of dressing gowns! I have never laughed so much at Mary's expression when she saw the owners' son sitting behind the till, turning up for a meeting with the Editor of ELLE Decoration, and generally being happy to be seen on TV in such a state wearing his checked dressing gown!

Retail Therapy

I had some disappointing news the other day regarding the location of the shop I was planning to open. Everything was going very smoothly, too smoothly in fact, and now I have hit a brick wall. Words cannot convey how gutted I am. Everything seemed so perfect!

But onward, and upward, I say! Going to see a new possible location over the weekend which is bigger and cheaper!

Motivated by my pending shop refit, I had a wee looky online for inspiring images. Here are some fabby shops:

Supermarket Sarah:

 

 

Images from Apartment Therapy:

   

 
 

In Glasgow, I have a lot to live up to with innovative shop floors from Che Camille:

and Butterfly Kisses:

Clashing in Cacharel

I was scouring eBay for a nice cheap summer dress, when I found the same vintage Cacharel dress that I had sold on eBay a while ago. I had hacked off the hem turning it into a mini dress and mine definitely wasn't a size uk6-8 so, OK, it wasn't the exact same dress, but seeing it again made me want it back! I sold that dress on eBay for far more than this ebay seller is asking so maybe someone out there could grab a funky wee bargain.

 

 

Cacharel was never a brand that I was overly interested in but prompted by my discovery, I had a wee look at Cacharel's Resort 2011 collection and was very impressed. I love the clashing prints and neckline details!

Chicks who don't smoke (but pretend they do)

Inspired by Claire's quest to give up smoking, I thought I would share a blog I came across a while ago called Chicks Who Smoke via a couple of posts on Style Scanner. Now, I openly HATE smoking, and think it is a stinky, nasty habit that will eventually kill you. HOWEVER, conversely, I actually think in a grossly immature way, totally unsuitable for a mother with a small, impressionable child, that folks who smoke do look pretty cool. The ultimate proof is, of course, Sandy's reinvention in Grease and the fact that when inhaling and exhaling that nasty stuff, it gives even the most hamster like faces, killer cheekbones! Reading Claire's post reminded me of being at one of my mates houses who smokes, me being a little worse for wear, and shouting ' quick take a photo of me pretending to smoke so I look cool'. Oh dear.

 

Cue worried phonecalls from the parentals demanding to know when I started smoking.

So uninterested actually.

So the Scottish Fashion Awards came and went, didn't really hear or read that much about them and on the whole, was pretty uninspired by the same old categories, nominees and eventual winners and the fact that it is just a big ol' faceless, money making venture at the end of the day.

I have always thought that it would be great to have an alternative to the fashion awards, that was not about endorsements or Z list celebs, but more about real people with real style and fashion industry peeps who are actually doing something exciting and different in Scotland. But then again, I thought about organising an alternative to the dreaded GFW too and never did anything about it. One day, one day.

Some of the 'fashionable' outfits at the SFAs:

I wish I could 'unsee' these jeans.

Wagtastic.

POSED - Thumbs up or Thumbs Down?

So after reading all the comments, some good, some bad, regarding Scotland's new glossy fashion magazine POSED, I managed to blag me a free copy at the GCU fashion show. I sat down the other day, tea in one hand, mag in the other for a proper read. I almost wish I hadn't read any of the other blogger's comments, or heard friends' opinions as I would have loved to have read it with a clear mind - a blank canvas on which to make my opinions, unswayed by those of others.

What struck me first of all, before opening the magazine that this was a proper, glossy, high-end fash mag, that could rival the Vogues and Elles any day. The cover image was very strong, regardless of the age-old-stylist-rule that black and red together are a cheap colour combo, and the paper seemed to be of good quality, perfect bound and everything! I LOVED the simple style of the cover, just an image, the title and four sneak peaks. It has always bothered me that fashion mags, seem to cram as much info on the cover as possible in the hope that at least one thing inside would appeal to the shopper.

On the whole, the fashion spreads were fantastic. However, in a March issue, the spreads should have been focusing on Spring/Summer trends rather than scarves and woolly jumpers. Maybe a touch out of season, but still beautifully shot nonetheless. It soon became apparent that this magazine was not going to be in the same league as Vogue, but far more similar to Glamour or Looks in terms of stores advertised and brands used in shoots, which is no bad thing at all. There is a market for these magazines after all. Contrary to what I had heard through the grapevine, they did use Scottish designers including bebaroque, Sandra Murray and Christopher Kane (uncredited).

My overall feelings after reading it were really positive. I think that for a 1st issue, it was fantastic, considering the limited budget and experience the team behind it have.

Had I not started a magazine from scratch myself, maybe I wouldn't be so understanding about spelling errors, and the other issues people had noticed. I felt a wee bit that reading those comments on blogs, hit way too close to home for me and definitely made me question the motives behind, and the challenges facing my own editorial endeavors.

Here are my favourite spreads:

Pure happy and colourful! Made me smile instantly!

Very reminiscent of GAP adverts. I see this as a good thing - I always like them on the TV.

And a wee bit of S&M thrown in for good measure!

These old timey polaroid/art pieces were very intriguing! Love the treatment.

Thumbs up. Can't wait for Issue 2!

Cheap as Chipped Nails

Saving like a lunatic at the moment for my top secret retail venture, so haven't done much in the way of clothes shopping. However, during my break at work, I snuck into Tesco to buy some dry shampoo, and had a wee gander at the clothing. On the whole, it wasn't up to much, with lots of Markus Lupfer rip-off tees and ill fitting denim shorts, but their accessories were actually OK. I was due to go out with some mates from work (flung out the Buff Club, then onto the casino if your interested) and the bag I had with me, was just too small.

For £12 I got this beauty. I absolutely love the zips and it reminds me of my favourite Jeffrey Campbell ankle boots!

 

My true star bargain, however, was this tacky as, chain belt for £2.50!

(Ignore the chipped nail varnish!)

Seek and ye shall find.

You know that way, when you are reading a blog, and you click on a link, that takes you to another blog, then to another, and you finally end up in an online shop, and when asked, you can't quite remember how you found out about it in the first place?

That happened to me recently with Heidi Seeker.

The site has it's fair share of plastic charm bracelets that seem commonplace at craft markets and on the high street, but where they really shine, is their screen-printed clothing. It is very unusual and affordable too!

Here are my favorites:

GCU Fashion Show

I don't normally go out on a Tuesday night anymore. There was a time when I rarely missed Killer Kitsch in The Buff, but these days, I am all about getting into my jammies before 9pm! Last Tuesday night however, was a busy one! First I had the GCU end of year Fashion Show in St Andrews in the Square and then my boyf and I went to see Supergrass in the Barrowlands as part of their Farewell  *sniff* Tour.

In sharp contrast to the Cardonald Rocks shows, with their loud and annoying CBBC presenter type hosts, it was quite a sober affair hosted by the Vice Dean. Even though I had turned up to the earlier show instead of the 'VIP' one (their words, not mine!), and clearly caused a hoo-ha in terms of seating, I managed to get a seat at the front and get some great photos!

The paper shopping bags and leggings teamed with the 2nd year designs were a little distracting, but overall, the standard was great! I really wish I had got a picture of the back of the middle design (below) as the impossibly low backline was completely unexpected and made what seemed like a simple puff sleeve top, way more exciting!

 

I was really looking forward to the third year designs as, via the power of facebook, I had managed to get a sneak peak of a couple of the designers pieces. My favourites, including the pom pom dress by Roisin Sara Higgins and the Luella-esque checked coat dress with distressed full underskirt by Basma Khalifa can be seen below:

 

 

A piece that I would wear tomorrow is this 'Free Love' goddess dress by 3rd Year Gillian Farrer, (although I would wear it with opaque black tights ankle boots and messy hair):

The fourth years made everyone 'ooh' and 'ahh' with their childrenswear collections using fabrics sponsored by Barbour. All the child models were the sons and daughters of the GCU teaching staff which made it all the more fun!

After I had necked some booze at the show, and got my goody bag (containing a copy of POSED magazine - the first time I had seen it - more on that tomorrow!), I made my way to meet the boyf and his mates in Blackfriars and then onto the gig.

The gig was FAB! Supergrass were on top form and played most of my favourite songs! The only shocker was that the neanderthal security jobsworth at the front door took my camera off me, claiming that it was 'too professional'. Er..no it's not...how many professional photographers do you know that use £150 cameras?!

 

Photo by Michael Gallacher on flickr

While I was drinking copious amounts of Strongbow (on a school night, I know!) swaying along to the music, not caring that I was a hot, sweaty mess, I realised something: Cue Jerry Springer style Final Thought: I have always been the sort to prefer getting ridiculously sweaty while singing along at a gig than attending swanky events where it's all about networking and remaining upright! I also noticed recently that I tend to dress the same, no matter where I am going. Looking at some recent pics from a mate's wedding, I noticed that the outfit I wore, would also be the sort of thing that I would wear to a gig, or to a club, or to a fashion show! Usually some indie designer that noone has ever heard off, or a vintage dress that I have hacked to bits, worn with ludicrously high shoes. No shopping at Coast or Monsoon for me. Actually, can you think of anything worse? I just wouldn't look right!

Ally B Vs Les Garcons

One of my most favourite peeps in the world, Ally B was photographed by Les Garcons recently. Ally manages the Bernardo's Vintage store on Wilson St, Glasgow and we met while working together in Topshop about 7 years ago. She truly has the best, individual style and doesn't give a rats ass about what anyone else thinks! I miss you Ally!!

Here is one of the images taken from the boys' blog: