Happy Feet

Shrug, vest (barely seen yet still vital), bracelet - Topshop

Lace dress, ring - Primark

Shorts - H&M

Spot Tights, socks - courtesy of Tabio

Loafers - Office

Belt - Battersea Boot Fair

Necklaces - random Brooklyn

Now I'm back to keeping things feet related (don't worry, no fetishes in sight) with a delightful surprise from Tabio.  I've been following their tweets about the new slideshow and an envy-inducing trip to Japan and recently received the e-mail of my dreams asking me to choose some of their fabulous tights and socks. How could I resist?

Some picks for the Christmas list, need to remind my Mum of this blog address...

I used to think of Tabio as being on the pricey side, though through logical realisation their offerings are pretty comparable to some of the House of Holland and Topshop styles I've bought already, making them a worthy future investment when looking to increase my stash.  I am in love with the quality and attention to detail as well as the unusual patterns and colourways pushing me out of my sock comfort zone.  I wasn't always an ankle sock fan but was slowly convinced after absorbing numerous street style and runway images.  Now I see them as a way to make tights even more exciting, whilst keeping the tootsies nice and toasty.  I can't wait to style up the other pairs!

Velvet leotard - Forever 21

Skirt, bracelet - Topshop

Necklaces - random Brooklyn

Tights - Calzedonia

Boots - Asos

Me and the Asos clearance section seem to get on very well indeed.  Almost too well; I can spend many an evening searching from low to high, with the knowledge that eventually everything I love manages to go in the sale. I love online sale shopping; there is none of that rummaging on the floor, struggling to find your size before realising that the perfect cream blouse is actually covered in someone else's fake tan (online sales present the illusion that the clothes are brand spanking new and not tried on by thousands).  Precisely ten weeks after these boots were first spotted at the budget breaking price of £110, they had since plummeted to a far more reasonable £36 (with the magic NUS number) and were swiftly added to the virtual basket before doubt set in.  First of all they were suede, so could be ruined easily by the elements.  The colour scheme was unusual and could limit their styling possibilities, plus they seemed like a day shoe and I rarely wear heels during the day.  So far, so confused.  After some frantic tweets (and the anxious wait because they went completely out of stock, only for one size 41 to emerge) I ordered them. Once they'd arrived, I started to pair them with various different patterns; I think the fact that they don't necessarily 'go' makes them work and quite versatile with neutrals and other shades.  They are fairly comfortable (given I'm not the best at lasting multiple hours in heels) and secure, so hopefully the elements will spare me and keep them in good nick.

Do you have happy feet this Autumn?  Which shoes, tights and socks have you bought recently?

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Here's one I made earlier...

Now I'm back to my regular student guise, I've been trying to absorb all things knit. There's no shortage of designers specialising in knitwear at the moment or dipping their toe into the tangled waters with the odd knitted piece and it's great to see (or in my case study at length much to the dismay of non-knitters).  However as a student, it's no use trying to replicate what has gone before  or compare your work to others and that's the challenge I'm finding when trying to create my own designs during my final year.  We were set a four week project to create a garment and to be honest, I was confused and slightly distracted  for the first two (I blame the internet), but luckily things gradually started to fall into place.

Gotta love a bit of Jackson Pollock, especially close up where you can really see the layers of paint

I decided to create the theme 'Chaos' (some might say this represents my personality) and look back at some of my New York photos to single out inspiration.  I really loved the Big Bambú sculpture at the top of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and tried to translate it's complexity into my design. 

This is one of the machines that makes it all happen (and ruins my nails).  People tend to associate knitting with those pointy needles and balls of wool but most garments  tend to be produced by industrial machines rather than a factory full of grannies (though the latter is also possible).  The machine pictured is a domestic knitting machine, which is temperamental at times, but probably my favourite way of working due to the ease of manipulation.  Basically, if I disappear from the blogging world for a while, this is where I'm most likely to be!

Is anyone else on a creative course or a knitting fan?  Would love to know how you keep yourself motivated and inspired!

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Shoes, Glorious, Shoes!

It took me a long time to become excited about shoes, which probably stems back to many an anxious Clarks visit as a child, where my feet would seemingly grow longer and wider between each visit, meaning the pretty 'Girls' section was often out of bounds.  If the The Shoe Galleries at Selfridges had existed then, the feeling of dread would have been replaced with wonder.  Normally I'm prone to admiring shoes online, but this emporium is like Asos, Yoox and Net a Porter combined, with several rooms housing housing Chanel, Opening Cermony, Office, Rick Owens and as well as far more obscure brands (and even those darned Uggs).

Shoes pictured, Tory Burch, Viktor and Rolf, Office, Rodarte x Nicolas Kirkwood

I guess that my current shoe relationship status is 'The Ugly Shoe', the antithesis of  the coquettish narrow heel, serving to make my feet as alien as possible.  The perfect example are my Alexa wedges, boosting my average height by five whole inches as well as making me feel somewhat badass (at least for an hour or so).  If I had unlimited funds to update my collection, I'd definitely go for the Viktor and Rolf tyre-like creations above, though a more likely pairing are these Office desert boots.  What's your current shoe obsession?  Are you devouring desert boots, wishing for wedges or flat happy?  I think I might just be all three.











This is far from your typical shoe department, with several rooms full of character for the High Street, mid-range and designer product.  Although I would have to go without food for several years to buy most of what was on offer, it's worth coming to observe the conceptual styles in these accessible surroundings, as opposed to a snooty boutique elsewhere.    Have you visited the Shoe Galleries yet?  Maybe next time I'll try some on, as opposed to salivating! 

Couldn't help indulging in a few photobooth pictures of my new shoe friends and I (it was the flattering lighting that sold me), before I got all teary-eyed and had to leave them on the shelf.  Before asking my Mum for Selfridges vouchers for all future Christmases and birthdays, I dragged her and my little sister in for a quick picture as a cute memento.  Although my sis at nine years old is the same age as Willow Smith, she's previously shown zero interest in fashion (or music for that matter), but my heart was warmed when I saw she'd chosen some patterned Marc Jacobs pumps for the photo.  Is this the start of my sibling's shoe obsession?

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I met them off the internet...

Currently I'm snowed under with Uni work, but lets cast our minds back to the more carefree time of mid-September.  One of the things I miss most about London Fashion Week is the amount of bloggers in the midst.  It's hard to get us all together sometimes, what with education, employment and location playing havoc with any meet-up plans, but most can make a bit of time for a slice of London Fashion Week.  Our conversations mainly take place online so when we meet up, the awkward 'getting-to-know-you' phase is made redundant, as random subjects like stalker neighbours and tights collections have already been discussed on Twitter.  Even the bloggers I hadn't 'met' before and previously just read, seemed delightful in real life and I truly feel you can tell a lot about a person from their blog and whether you could actually hold a conversation with them.  Here's a trip down memory lane with some previously unpublished photos documenting some excellent style as well as personalities.

I need me some high waisted skinnies; I've always been rather scared of them but Jen's relaxed styling with the loosely tucked in shirt has convinced me.

Geneva sported some excellent vivid red trousers and is a thrift and DIY fanatic (I love the tutorials on her blog). I snapped her whilst she was also being snapped by Vanessa Jackman!

We watched Shini consume her first scone ever in the press room, what an honour!  However there is no photographic evidence of this fact so you'll just have to trust me.  I passed on this skirt at the yard sale as I was bewildered by it.  Silly me.

I loved how simply yet chic this outfit was on MJ, with a nod to Autumn's key trends of knotted belts, ankle boots and vintage satchels.  It's a shame that bare leg weather is but a distant memory at the moment (unless I can end up in Jamaica again), but I can't wait to sport a variation of this look with colourful tights (of which I have a plenty) and a mannish coat (of which I have none...grrr).

Jazmine always looks great and it's no wonder she was snapped by Italian Vogue in this outfit; I love the ease of the knotted tee over the maxi.

I just love Fi in general.



The way I've taken this photo makes Winnie's tights look slightly ombre (Topshop please sort it out), though despite the imaginary effect, the wine colour suits my mood perfectly at the moment.



It's hard to pull of various patterns at once, but Yishyene pulls it off with aplomb combining a D&G style knit, leopard print skirt and some fabulous booties.

I touched on this earlier, but you'll never meet a more photo-obsessed bunch, of people with the perfect location for outfit and destination photos always in the back of our minds.  What I found even more interesting was taking photos of people taking photos or having their photos taken (same thing really), for a behind the scenes sort of shot.  In fact I was snapping Reena, when a random guy approached us and wanted to snap her too, so I decided to document how the situation unfolded.  Interesting fact: I've now known her for just over a year which is quite a milestone!  Here's a few more candid snaps of random Fashion Week moments.

Winnie and Jazmine admiring the pretty dresses of Felicity Brown

Jazmine, MJ and Saskia taking a picture of Gem sorting her shoe out

Jill taking a picture of Shini in an awesome Masha Ma coat

Adele taking a picture of Reena; she's currently in Italy as part of an Erasmus year, but hopefully we'll cross paths again and she can help me translate Italian Vogue!

I'm extremely glad that I could to meet so many friendly people in such a random way; bring on February!

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Connected

Finally, an internet connection in the comfort of my own home!  I know realise how totally reliant I am on the internet for news, entertainment and inspiration and although the tiny Blackberry screen helped, though it was no substitute for my trusty Macbook.  Despite the feeling of utter abandonment, I managed to do a fraction more work and figure out my dissertation topic. It will now be about the effect of fashion blogging and social media, making all of this posting, reading and commenting vital research.  Hopefully the 5,000 word limit will be a doddle what with the amount of articles and material out there, as well as being fully immersed in the blogging community; I'm almost excited to start writing!

Leather Jacket, top - Topshop

Velvet shirt, boots - eBay

Skirt - Yard Sale

Necklaces, bracelet - All random, but definitely some Gogo Philip!

Tights - Missoni

I've not really been as adventurous with Uni outfits as I could be, but tried a little something different with this skirt/trouser hybrid from the yard sale.  Bewildered as I was when I got it home, I soon realised that you can adjust the leg to to make it more midi than maxi by introducing a bit of asymmetry. 

The lovely Amy of Wolfwhistle fame also contacted me about trying out some Gogo Philip jewellery, a brand that just seemed to spring out of nowhere in my local Topshop.  I already own one of their heavier chains, so was delighted to receive a lighter, golder, layered design to provide a complete contrast.  My necklaces are somewhat impractical for all the machine knitting I'm currently doing, but I feel quite lost without them nowadays and I'm sure the number will continue to grow after browsing the lookbook.

It wasn't easy to settle into my Uni house, what with my random packing and restricted heating but it doesn't change the fact it's the nicest home from home I've ever lived in.  Everything is brand new, clean and there's plenty of space for everything, especially my clothes, shoes and accessories. This photo of the wardrobe doesn't do it justice, it is twice the size of my closet at home and I can actually hide inside it if needs be.  I'm hoping that by seeing all my clothes, I can make the most of my wardrobe instead of sticking to old faithfuls.

Despite this intention, I did end up treating myself to these bargainous Zara cords after Winnie tweeted about them, perfect fodder for my dissertation methinks.  Have you bought anything featured on a blog or twitter?  I guess it makes you easily aware of what's out there if you can't be bothered to wander around the shops, though extremely lethal for the bank balance!

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Goodbye London...

Some recent London images, taken in Bermondsey, New Bond Street and Dover St during extreme weather conditions.  I'll be popping back now and then for exhibitions and meet-ups.

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm off to Uni this weekend and may not have 'bloggable' internet access for a while.  I fully intend to abuse the free wi-fi somewhere so I can try and post a little and catch up on a few blogs but it won't be with the ease I'm used to, so bear with me.  I haven't even scheduled anything as I'm that disorganised and left a lot of non-blog related stuff until the last minute!  I blame fashion week...  Hopefully some time away from constant internet will allow me to spruce up my room and do some much needed final year work.  Is anyone else making the dreaded Uni trip with an overloaded car this weekend?  I hope my parents forgive me for the inevitable tyre damage...

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