saturday morning

Ah, working in retail means that sadly most of my weekends are spent hustlin at Topshop and I'm always sad to leave my house in the morning where my parents are planning their day around the sofa and papers and various lovely meals to punctuate the weekend. So I am fully embracing having the day off today. I mean it. So this is what my weekend looks like thus far. My faithful Nigella Lawson recipe for American pancakes, a fairly early start with The Guardian crossword, Best Coast on repeat and an outfit consisting of clogs, a checked shirt and high waisted jeans (that jeans quest I spoke of the other day has finally and abrupted come to an end, hurrah!)

Please indulge the details of your weekend and what you have planned. I'm nosy like that.

where the thinking gets done

Something makes me think Todd Selby is missing the golden ticket with his interiors photos. Because of course, where do the creatives do their thinking? More lav snaps please, Richard Nicholl is onto a winner sneaking us a peek into David Bailey's loo. And the air freshener is such a nice touch..

Via Richard Nicholl's Vogue blog

supersized

spot the difference: last season's bag compared to the SS10 supersize edition.

Yesterday morning my not-so-glamorous state of sleep (which involved a dog-eared jumper for nightwear and those valuable minutes of alarm designated 'snooze') was interrupted by a courier ringing on my doorbell. A groggy trip to the door and a semi-conscious exchange later I was in my room and holding a large packet from Yves Saint Laurent. I must admit my reaction upon opening the packet mostly consisted of stifled giggling. Have you seen the size of the SS10 Manifesto totebag? It's comically large! Double the size of last season's which is a shame because I'd love to empty into it the contents of my current handbag only I think it may be better suited as some kind of high fashion apron? My Mother actually brainstormed some very convincing pillowcase options and I do believe I heard the words 'You could just Granny to sew along here..and here.' Around 2,000 of the totes were distributed about cities worldwide last Saturday (which would explain the whirlwind of red strawberry printed manifestos around Convent Garden as I made my way to the Unique show..) and if desire one for yourself I'd recommend you take a sly trip to eBay, though I do warn you, you probably won'tbe able to tote it around without feeling like a bit of an eejit!

Also included in the parcel was a very pretty (and naturally also supersized) Manifesto magazine, a little like a luxe version of the poster specials free with Smash Hits back in the day, if you will. Just with Natalia Vodianova instead of Richie from 5ive.

And thanks to those interns over at Yves Saint Laurent (lucky things!) for popping my own Manifesto into the mail.

burberry prorsum AW10

I was positively gutted to have missed the Burberry AW10 show today after receiving an astoundingly last minute invite yesterday afternoon. Sadly not being able to get to London in time and having to work meant that my afternoon was spent painfully checking my watch as I served customers and dreaming up fantasies of running for trains to make the show when I knew all along it wasn't going to happen. Hey ho, being invited for a second season was fantastic in itself so please don't mistake my disappointment for ungratefulness. Thank lord for the brand's current romance with technology as we can all rewatch the show and attempt to pretend we were in the audience all along. But I know I'm preaching to the choir and most of you will have watched the show live if you managed (unlike myself) to successfully tear yourself away from work/school/or what have you for quarter of an hour.

I'm fast coming to the conclusion that the Autumn/Winter shows are always more enjoyable, the inevitable layering and need for warmth makes for richer styling. Though perhaps this is more about the off-kilter style seasons which mean that just as the trees are preparing to bud in time for spring, my fashion calender is already craving next winter.

I won't delve too much into the collection itself, as I'm sure you can make up your own minds, but it gets a thumbs up from me. It's interesting to see the fresher direction Christopher Bailey and his team seem to be taking Burberry in. And rather impressive that the brand has clung onto that quintessential British charm while appealing to a younger and more daring customer. Shearling jackets (already a clear trend for next winter thanks to the London collections alone), a beautiful mustard hue and seemingly neverending thigh high boots are how I will remember the collection. The handbags get a wee wrinkle of the nose if you ask me and I was surprised by my reaction to the furs, as I cringed at their unashamed animal quality and teddy bear resemblance knowing full well the fur's source. As I say, have a watch, or perhaps a re-watch for a full show experience. As an attendee last year, I can vouch that the recorded video is a pretty accurate representation of the show itself and you actually get a much better idea of how the clothes look.

An afterthought. I am amazed that none of the models fell in those heels! A few teeters and a subtle wobble there but they still glided down the ultra polished runway with awe inspiring expertise!

http://live.burberry.com/

charlotte gainsbourg

Charlotte Gainsbourg's latest album IRM takes Beck's Californian flare and Gainsbourg's chic Gallic nonchalance and fuses them together into a perfect summer soundtrack, one that tells stories of traipsing through Mexican dust and dreamy falling elevators. And what will you wear as you listen to such a record? Charlotte's trademark suede western ankle boots naturellement, to be worn resting on a sunny windowsill as the rays warm your Big Love style blouse, I'd say. Nicely done.

APC suede ankle boots from totokaelo, monday jeans vintage wash from weekday, yellow fringing blouse from topshop, Rousseau: A Very Short Introduction from amazon, road suede jacket in beige from weekday, broderie anglais camisole in rust from topshop, marit shirt in pastel from monki



And see also, this editorial from Self Service 27 which is perhaps more current weather appropriate. Styled by Suzanne Koller and photographed by Venetia Scott, it's a kick up the arse to play dress up in Fair Isle knits and Patti Smith style shirts, possibly in a Cotswolds cottage or your very own drizzly back yard.

image credits from The Fashion Spot, all above mentioned sites and google images.

travelling in style

Images, Chloe Sevigny traveling back from the Golden Globes, via The Fashion Spot

Photographic evidence of Chloe Sevigny mastering that ever elusive airport oxymoron of 'travelling in style'. Her highwaisted jeans are the sweeetest pair I've ever laid eyes on! The longwinded process of finding the right pair of jeans is always something that leaves my quest unfulfilled but these pictures cause me to want to scramble back into action. I welcome the day when I may bend over without fear of revealing midriff (or vulgar, I know but what can only be described as 'Jean Crack.')

PS, Time to hunt for some old school Kickers shoes, I think. The plastic chunkiness of Chloe's shoes (already attributes that get the thumbs up from me footwear wise) have inspired this.

unique

Rather at the last minute stuffing some clothes into a bag to spend the night with a mate in London before the Unique show tomorrow. When it comes to 'Show dressing' I've learnt that one should always opt for the tried and tested formula by wearing an outfit you frequently wear and feel comfortable in. And accepting that slight feeling of inadequacy while standing in a sea of editors decked in well cut trousers and new season heels is always part of the course! Having a new haircut feels like I've made a bit of effort though (and not too shabby at the price of £4) and I've also been experimenting with DIY nails. (Fingers currently looking like 1970s upholstery in orange with brown tips.)

Very much looking forward to the show though, it's always lovely to catch up with the fellow bloggers and people watch in the showspace before everything kicks off. And this season's cute woodland animal sketched invitation is a little clue of what to expect, so I hear. Struggling to remember where I actually heard that Cub scouts, campfires and brownies are on agenda, but by this little indicator, I think it could be my favourite show yet (I'm praying for brown cord dungarees..)

co-pilots in dying

Tonight my girl Ellis came over to mine and helped me to dye my hair. I sat on the perspex chair in my bathroom and I think we progressed into the next level of comfortable friendship as she massaged ammonia into my scalp. The original gameplan was to redye my hair from 'strawberry brown with strawberry blonde tendencies' to 'kind of, sort of a little bit ginger reddish' and to create some big dark roots and get Ellis to give it a bit of a snip all over to neaten it up. Didn't have high hopes that the 'natural golden auburn' dye would take that well to my hair, but am pleasantly surprised by my new orangey ginge hue reality, hurrah! Think the roots will 'go in' later in the week.

Rather hard to convey through these photos but am going to dedicate the rest of my days to cruising around under strong lights to emphasise the colour. Ellis had a sudden lightbulb moment as we sat on my bed and hit up my inspiration folder dedicated to 'dye jobs done good' and has settled on going grey silver. I have prodded her into following through with this promise and if you guys are considering a change of hairstyle, I urge you too, to stop fannying around and buy a cheapo packet of dye.

marc by marc jacobs AW10

Until further notice I'm sticking with my 'nothing spectacular' New York Fashion Week stance. The Marc by Marc Jacobs collection has, however, just caught my eye. Nothing mindblowing, but certainly leaves me with some ideas to apply to my own wardrobe. The striped jumper and leggings combo in particular. With Style.com's Tim Blanks summing it up the perfect nod to 'the moment when stylish boys and girls were picking up Iron Curtain army surplus after the Wall came down', the Berlin art student as muse springs to mind. With droopy jumpers, fur lined parkas and all in one rompers (human equivalent of draught excluder, methinks?) the collection is refreshingly thoughtful when it comes to the sensibilites of winter dressing. And with the Mother of harsh Winters just coming to an end, I say 'clap, clap, clap' to that.

mother's daughter

Do you know about Mother's Daughter Vintage?
If plaid trousers, 60's equestrian tops or some guy's old Tennis shoes from the days when a bowl cut and physics homework was on the agenda sound like a good idea, then why, go and explore!

mothersdaughter.com

there's a brand new dance but I don't know it's name

picture, childhood flames

I know, I know, as a blogger it should really be me telling you what I think about Fashion Week, but the truth is, I've had little time to keep up with the goings on over in New York and what I have managed to see hasn't quickened my heartbeat or had me scheming ways of affording pieces from the runway, it's all just looked dare I say it, the same (fur, check. well cut trousers, check.).

But hopefully you can prove me wrong (let's blame it on my mind being elsewhere; I finally booked the flights for my 6 week trip around America last night!) and tell me which designers have whet your AW10 appetite. I'm holding out for Proenza Schouler!

style notes for the guys

clockwise from top left: quetzal saunders via backyard bill, james dean, best picture of owen wilson and wes anderson ever, james stewart in hitchcock's rear window, couple of my guy acquaintances rich smith and ashton launcherley, johnny depp, bill travers in 'born free'.



I've been meaning to dedicate more posts to style for the guys. Partly obviously for the guys themselves, but also on a selfish level for myself and the side of me that wishes to spend my days as a dapper gent in camel jackets and desert boots or maybe even resembling Matt Damon in The Talented Mr Ripley. Let's make this a regular thing. And if you're a guy who currently reads the blog, do leave a little comment and say Hi, as I'm used to assuming it's only the girls frequenting!

schwartzman and dunst

Take Jason Schwartzman, Kirsten Dunst, the Opening Ceremony spring collection and a shady little cottage in LA. Add cowboys and indians, Gia Coppola, a myserious little romance and a little sprinkle of tomfoolery, and you end up with this, a video that is in some places cheesy but will no doubt having you sighing 'Awh'.
(and wanting to frame the screengrabs)

february calendar

February is the shortest month, yet in the Fashion World is still manages to be one of the busiest. Here are some of the important dates to note down, from film releases to Fashion Week and some little recommendations in between.

11/2/10

photo from style sightings

What a shock, eh? I'll keep this short and sweet because I always feel that after a well-loved person dies there seems to be an awful lot of people preaching about their genius and how missed they'll be, and somehow the moment becomes about oneself and their own connection to the deceased, and the words of sentiment lose their value. It goes without saying that Lee McQueen leaves the world and the Fashion industry a little dull; it's crazy to imagine fashion week without him or the shows that are both spectacles and talking points. It'll be interesting to see how his legacy will continue from here. Thank you Alexander McQueen for your resounding impact on the British fashion industry and for your fusing of beautiful art with enormous fun. This weekend, myself and the girls at work will be scrawling your name across your knuckles and possibly donning tartan as a thank you for your part in our love and appreciation of modern British Fashion.

lights out

Jesus, I really didn't plan to be running around to all of these different places but tomorrow morning I'm hopping on a train to Manchester with my Mum. We'll be spending a couple of nights there so that I can attend the University open day. I've been offered a place to read American Studies and I'm pretty set on studying there. I'm torn between taking time to make a well informed and adult decision or just thinking 'fuck it' and hastily accepting my offer so that it's done.

Either way, I'm looking forward to spending some time with Mum as our timetable clashes these days and I haven't seen much of her lately. Incidentally, if anybody has any tips regarding second hand bookshops in Manchester, do let me know (she's going through a crazy phase of getting through novels like they're going out of print..) and the same goes for Curry houses. I hear good things about the 'Curry Mile'? In the mood for some good comfort nosh, innit.

pania rose

I've mentioned model Pania Rose a couple of times now. Flicking through the blog that she keeps over at Modelfeed is always a pleasure as it's a nice window into her world outside of modelling. I must say I'm much more interested in snooping through the candid shots she uploads rather than her editorial work which isn't quite my cuppa. Afternoons spent washing her old Falcon car and working in the vegetable patch, or cycling with friends around upstate New York, are downtime hobbies that I could happily replicate.

The blog hasn't been updated for a couple of months, but if any of the above sounds up your street, have a look anyway! Click here.

formspring

With all of the 'add-ons' and millions of cyber dimensions out there, blogs are becoming like little empires in themselves, each with branches leading to twitter accounts, tumblr pages and now the increasing addictive formspring. Perfect for short and sweet Q&A's I've gone ahead and created my own formspring page. Is this further evidence of a sea of self indulgent bloggers? Perhaps it's healthy that we're turning the attention onto ourselves; more real people rather than celebrities. Who knows, and really, does it matter? I know I'm always interested to know more about the people behind the blogs and if you feel at all the same, then hit me up with a question!..

www.formspring.me/dconfusion

And something to tap your feet to while you're at it. The old faithful 'I Get Around' by The Beach Boys.

dungaree days

Couple of snaps of the dungarees that I snapped up from eBay at the start of January. I'm still on the lookout for another pair though. Maybe something in Khaki to be worn this summer with tanned legs as a nod to Virginia McKenna in Born Free.

Note to self: must stop gorging on cake and pasta to prevent any more risky camel toe situations..

stockholm snaps

Ellis, who is still in college (and not yet having to save for Gap Year adventures) and can afford such luxuries as the One Hour Photo service has her Stockholm snaps ready and developed, while I on the other hand shall have to wait until tomorrow to pick up my own. Until then here is a little glimpse of what we got up to.


Arriving into Arlanda Airport.

Myself equipped with Ice Skates in search local park's rink.

I clung to Jo for the most part but this was mostly because a strange 6 year old boy (not pictured) seemed intent on gliding around after us and attempting to knock us over. Comedy Gold.

The harbour which was covered with frequent hunks of ice. This was during the amazing boat trip.

Ellis and myself in our winter finery.

My role was map reader during our stay. Jo and Ellis's navigation skills were pretty dire.

Typical views at Beyond Retro.

And Stockholm architecture which I found to look surprisingly modern.

More photos from Paris and Stockholm to follow! And just a note to UK readers, keep your eyes peeled for my mention in The Mail on Sunday tomorrow; there's a Bloggers feature in the You supplement, how very exciting!..

nearly here

Ah, the wait is almost over as next Friday sees the release of A Single Man..

image from warningdontreadthis.tumblr.com

Tom Ford was just ahead of my time in the fashion world, as I started to become fully aware of designer brands and their creative directors just after his departure from Gucci and YSL (though I do remember falling in love with his Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche cherry heels back in 2003 when the sheer concept of wearing high heels seemed very adult indeed..) Aside from Ford's fashion connection, I have been truly excited about the release of this film for quite some time on my film geek side. (Ah the hours I while away on Internet Movie Database keeping up to date with my favourite directors' next projects..)



With Julianne Moore who registers simultaneously on my mental 'woman crush', 'style crush' and 'actor crush' lists, Colin Firth (I've a sneaking suspicion my soft spot for him will only be enhanced by his 'sensitive gay professor' performance) and Mad Men's production designer all in the mix, I'm confident that it can only be a beautiful spectacle of a film, and certainly in the style stakes.

click here to check release dates for your country

back home

image, kim noorda in vogue nippon, fashiongonerogue.com

I'm back home after my short stay in Stockholm. As lovely as it was there it's a relief to be back to a place with clear skies and forgiving temperatures. Updates on the trip soon, though to be honest it was all quite chilled and I may not be able to fufill any expectations of extenseive shopping recommendations.

Did I miss anything while I was away? Why don't you give me a head up of some of the things currently on your mind- a standout magazine editorial, a song, a red carpet look, a flawless blog?

After a couple of weeks of far too much in the way stodgy carbs (pasta being the cheapest travelling food option..), second portions and of my invention of the word 'check' (finally, a name for that unflattering merging of the chin and the neck into one body part..) I'm now determined to get back into healthy eating habits. There is nothing like a city of beautiful Swedes to kickstart such a regime..