Pictures from Paris

Please excuse my lame photographics skills. I guess that's what you get with a journalism student! Here are some of my favourite snaps from my trip to Paris last week.

I'm dying to see the Coco Chanel movie.

I'm having trouble finding when it's released here in the UK, but lucky Parisians can set their sights tomorrow.

Designer of The Month - Ioannisdimitrousis

This was a university project - We had to make a 500 word short designer profile on a new designer, using press clippings and other resources other than a face-to-face interview to build up our peice. Mine was in the style of Elle magazine.

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This Greek-born London-based designer is making big waves in the innovative London fashion scene. Elle charts the rise of Ioannis Dimitrousis.

The atmosphere was a lot calmer than expected backstage at the Ioannisdimitrousis London Fashion Week show. All eyes were drawn to the two garments made entirely of fine crochet knit and needles, and fear for one model’s eyesight was high as several dressers squeezed the young girl into her hazardous dress. The show went on - fashionably late - and once again, Ioannis received great reviews for another unique collection.

Ioannis, known to his friends as ‘Yannis’, graduated from the London College of Fashion in 2005, and after previously working alongside Roland Mouret and Jonathan Saunders, he made his personal professional debut at On/Off during London Fashion Week in February 2006. He now shows at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout event in London each season, where I got my first glimpse behind the scenes of his show. It took me a while at first to realize which of the many people in the room was the designer; he is a fairly short, ‘regular’ looking young man, and was dressed down in Reebok Classics and a stonewash denim jacket – not what I expected of the person behind these daring and extravagant collections, and not your typical ‘wacky looking’ designer.
He started designing at a young age, “but I only realized (I wanted to become a fashion designer) when I was twenty, after I finished my army services”. He works with his skilful mother, who is an expert with the crochet knits his collections are well known for, as well as the little details such as intricate beading. Born and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece, he now calls London home, but still regularly visits and takes inspiration from his native country, “The fact that I’m coming from a different background makes my collections different, giving them something unique,” says Ioannis, “I lived in a different culture and I incorporate that into my work”. His bold use of colour is certainly eye-catching, and helps transform the typically gothic crochet knits into something more playful and dramatic, “My feelings for certain issues are very strong, therefore that drama goes into my collections.”

His most recent collection, named ‘Untitled’ is his darkest yet, consisting of blacks, greys and reds, and chains and needles dangling off many of the garments. The clothes accentuated the female body, with tight knitwear and fish-tail skirts, with revealing garments. His designs are often compared to Rodarte as far as knitwear is concerned, and if their success is anything to go by, that is a huge compliment.

Ioannisdimitrousis is becoming more and more recognized in the fashion press, so this is definitely a name to get your hands on, “Most of the pieces of my collections are collectable, and it’s worth owning one piece of Ioannisdimitrousis as I don’t make big productions”.

Oh dear...

I haven't posted in SO long! I just seem to have deadline after deadline at the minute, and I visited my boyfriend for a long weekend too, so I've neglected this poor little blog. I must get into the habit of fitting this in.

Anyway, I'm feeling a little uninspired by the A/W shows, so maybe i'll wait a bit before I reference them on my blog again. I'm just getting worked up for the summer and wearing pretty colourful dresses, so I'm not in the frame of mind to accept all the grays, blacks and navys floating around and merging into one dark wooly coat.

I'm posting the final 3 images from the photoshoot that my friend Vicky and I shot and styled for a university project. In the end we decided it best suited Plastique magazine...

The theme is underwear as outerwear - a trend you may have noticed me blog about previously.
MASSIVE THANK YOU to Emily ('Between Peace & Happiness'-blog), our dear friend, who insanely agreed to model in lingerie at midnight in the freezing cold. We love you for it, and you look amazing! I'm sure everyone will agree...

To finish off, I have awesome news: I have bagged myself a placement at my number one dream magazine that I've always wanted to work for - Glamour! Ahhhh! It's only a month long but I am so excited. I can't actually believe it will my first placement at a magazine, and at my favourite one too. My love for them clearly came through very well in the cover letter, which I put my heart and soul into. Just as I was about to give up on the idea of getting a placement at a magazine this summer as well...

Hope everyone is well x

London Fashion Week...

Yesterday, I was given the chance to help out backstage for the Ioannisdimitrousis Vauxhall Fashion Scout show. Katy Lassen - the fashion editor of Let Them Eat Cake - was styling the show, and my friend who interns for her asked for the help of my friends and I to dress the models. It was my first backstage experience, and I was a total bag of nerves when I got there, but all was fine; the clothes were fabulous (tricky, but fabulous) and everyone was really friendly. I did feel a bit sorry for some of the models - particularly those who had to wear the garments made entirely of needles, but it all made for a great end result. There was a lot of standing around, and the show started an hour late, but that's the world of fashion I guess.

Here are some of the pictures I sneaked.

It was all about the chains, needles and fine knits at this show. The dresses in this last image kind of remind me of Rodarte. There are plenty of beautiful dresses here that I would definitely wear if I had a models figure, along with the bravery to wear nipple bearing dresses...

Thanks for reading, will be posting much more this week! Promises...

Look Fashion Swap - Freezing Toes

So, last Saturday a friend and I dropped off around 10 items off clothing/footwear that we no longer wanted. We gave some really nice stuff in, still in good condition. Basically, I could have sold it all on eBay and made around £50 for the lot...

Yesterday (and today) is when you go to the boutique on Broadwick Street, armed with the points you recieved based on what you gave in. I don't know why, but we never imagined there would be a queuing system, so that the store didn't get crammed and rowdy. There was. It was long. We queued for 1.5hours, until we were on the verge of tears with no feeling left in our toes, (as i say we were no prepared for this, so didnt dress appropriately to stand practically still for this amount of time on a very cold winters day).

When we finally were let into the store - it was a one-in-one-out system - we actually smiled/laughed/squeeled with joy using all the energy we had left in our bodies and scuffled into the store, which we imagined would be heated and heavenly. Not quite. We also expected to get armfuls of fabulous things in return that just weren't right for the previous owners anymore.

Again, disappointment. Imagine all the stuff in your mums closet that she's just kept hold of since the 90's but hasnt worn in over a decade. I think a lot of mums decided it was time for a clear out, and they chose the Look Fashion Swap as their location.



To sum up: I stood for 1.5 hours on a cold winters day dressed inappropriately, gave in really nice clothes that I could have many money from, only to find there was nothing even worth taking, as id just be armed with more stuff I'd never wear, and my clear out would have been pointless.

Moral of the story?



Never again. Next time, (NEXT TIME?!), I will stick with Oxfam/eBay.







Of course, while in London, we needed a little pick-me-up after this traumatic experience. Where better to go to Hummingbird Bakery in South Kensington? Although it was so busy that we were queuing outside, in the cold, again. This time it was worth it though...



I may have started off with three...

Grab Yourself a Bargain

Calling all Londoner's - The Topshop Oxford Circus sale does still have potential. I haven't really bothered with the sales since boxing day; I never usually find anything worth buying anyway and it's all a bit too hectic/jumble-sale-like for my liking. However, whilst in Topshop on Thursday (yes I know I've been meaning to do this post since that very day), I thought there'd be no harm in having a gander, and I'm glad I did. A pair of gold shoes that I had my eye on a while ago were reduced to £10!

Score! Very rare to find any decent shoes left on the size 8 rack this far along... Plus, a gold dress I found was reduced to £25. Unfortunately they only had size 12's left so it's a bit baggy...

I also found another dress, in exactly the same style, in the new stock, which was only £32, and they actually had a size 10, thankfully. It made me so happy inside when I tried it on that I had to buy it... even if I do have to wait several months at least until it's warm enough to actually wear it...

Long time no post...

So, I'm going to post a piece of work that I handed in on monday. It's based on the Colin McDowell's 'Fashion Moment' prices he used to write for the Sunday Times Style, and we had to do our own, based on his style. I ended up doing the platform shoe. I have to say I personally don't like it... It didn't go as planned... I think once I'd gotten it done I just wanted to be happy with having work out of the way

Here goes...

Funky, chunky, clunky; the platform shoe has many admirers, and just as many loathers. It is a style that divides a nation of women. Long associated with the seventies, this style truly emerged many years before in Ancient Greece to raise the height of important characters. It is believed they were revived in 18th century Europe to avoid the grime on the streets, and again in the thirties, forties and fifties in America and Europe.

The arrival of ‘disco’ - with wide-legged pants and sequins - asked for something high and something outstanding to accompany the outfits. This revival, however, seemed to lack the glamour and femininity of the forties, and perhaps this is why the seventies is referred to as ‘the decade that taste forgot’. In the beginning, they were merely blocks of wood or cork with leather straps to stop them from falling off the wearer’s feet, but as the decade progressed, so did the variations of the platform. Even men caught onto the trend, and the likes of David Bowie and Elton John were wearing their own sparkly versions. The trend soon calmed down and platforms sat quietly in the corner waiting for their next big come back.

We have Vivienne Westwood and the Spice Girls to thank for the platforms of the nineties; despite Naomi Campbell’s infamous fall and Emma Bunton breaking her ankle, the fashion forward and devoted fans still hobbled along in their super sized soles. Then once again, the stiletto took over as a more glamorous option - that is until Louboutin platforms became the hot red-carpet shoe and the YSL Tribute shoes were the next ‘must haves’. Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham is still inspiring many women with her love for insanely high heels, and this trend isn’t going away anytime soon. As the fashion focus has become more about the ‘statement’ shoes - as opposed to the ‘statement’ handbag – designers are going to many lengths to create the shoe of the season, sending many a model tumbling down the catwalks for the likes of Prada and Gucci. Better put the chiropodist on speed dial.

PS. Please buy me the Kurt Geiger's. I've been lusting after the navy diamante ones since September, and now this pearly pair have grown on me... £300 though?

Fringe Benefits

I accidentally had a full fringe last summer (2007). Yes, accidentally. A side fringe cut disasterously short. But once I got used to it and shaped it a little I kinda liked it. I did grow it out however, but have been longing to have it done again properly ever since. And over the next couple of weeks I will be doing so! I have gathered a few images that have inspired me to just go for it. Despite the fact that I'm supposed to be giving up on the GHD's to save my poor hair. I suppose I could just straighten my fringe...

I do currently have dark brown hair like Camila Belle's, but would really like to eventually have it dyed a la Rachel Bilson. But only when my hair has grown longggg. It's damaged enough as it is from all the heat I apply to it...

A Wall of Inspiration...

I have wanted to do this forever, so when I came to uni I finally plastered the wall with some of my favourite magazine cuttings (those I didn't mind cutting up, that is, or had two copies of)

I like to think of it as a scrapbook on my wall. Were supposed to be doing something along those lines for my course but I want the prettiest pictures to decorate my room with.

Has anyone else done anything similar to this? I would like to see pictures!