Trains, Planes and Shop Reports

I travelled back to my home town of Bath this week, for a much needed visit to my parents, and more importantly, my cat!

While there I did a shop report, commenting on the differences between the lower end of the high street market, through to mid-end shops and designer shops and boutiques. Bath is perfect for this. Although small, it has always been a highly fashionable destination, and one of my earliest memories from moving to Bath from Bristol when I was 8, was being taken shopping by my extremely glamorous God-Mother, Jenny. She took me everywhere, to all the boutiques and designer-gear shops, and bought me my first "grown up" clothes, which were probably a little too grown up for an 8 year old!!
It was a little difficult getting the pictures I needed as when I had asked I always got the same result... NO. However, with a little bit of clever texting-but-actually-not-texting with my camera phone, I managed to get quite a few shots.

It's amazing the things you see out of a train window that can inspire you. It had started to sleet when I left Bath, but as I travelled further into the countryside the snow started coming down like grey and white feathers floating through the air. Through the mist and trees we I saw some horses running along a ridge of grass, it looked just like something from a film. The whole atmosphere was just magical.

As for the planes, I lied about the planes.

Will you be my Valentine??

Jónsi - Go Do from Jónsi on Vimeo.

I am really loving the whole imagery and styling of Jonsi's (the singer from Sigur Ros) video for his new song Go Do.

I've been thinking a lot about music and the influences it has on my work. Or is it just that my ideas seem to gel with the type of music I like? Do I like these ambient tunes because they reflect what goes on in my mind?! It's hard to know where an idea really stems from, or whether people are connected with like minds. A quote from the official merchandiser to one of my all time favourite 'bands' (I inverted-comma the term band, as they are not really a band...) Boards of Canada seems to sum up my general outlook and feelings in everything that I do or create:

Bathe in a forgotten sonic dream-scape...

My Goals

I thought I'd write a little about my goals, as we were discussing them in Professional Practice at Uni last Monday. Sometimes it's good to put them down in writing...

So, I've had a lot of time to think about what I want to do, but I still feel undecided. I want to do something creative. My plan has always been to write for a big fashion publication, or at least work for one doing layout or, well, whatever! I'd love to work in Japan and San Francisco...

If that doesn't come through, or something drastically changes, I can see myself working in the theatre, working on costumes, set design, or even management. I absolutely love the theatre! Again, I would still want to work in Japan etc. at some point! Travel is important to me.

At the moment, even though it's only the first year of my degree, I am thinking ahead and trying to do all I can to make my dreams reality. This course is the first step, but I can not be naive and think that it will be enough. I have to be 'proactive', and make the most of my time.

Fashion Design Practice

We have a new module this semester: Fashion Design Practice. So far it's turning out to be one of my favourite modules! It's everything I'm interested in - it kind of feels like all the best bits of Media Studies A Level... I haven't done Media Studies for about 4 years now, so this module feels great!

Yesterday we were de-constructing magazine covers from various different genres. Here's what I came up with:

Title: (Japanese) Elle
Genre: Women's Lifestyle and Fashion
Issue: November 2007
What do you like about the cover?: The pink and white text really stands out on the more neutral background. Obviously everything's in Japanese, but the content of the magazine seems clear from the cover. ヶイト・モス　is Kate Moss in Katakana (Japanese script), while the main image is of Kate Moss herself.
What don't you like about the cover?: I'm not keen on the way Kate's forehead and neck are a pinky purple colour. It makes her face seem odd. I'm also not a fan of Kate Moss, so I would not be interested in buying the magazine based on the picture, I would go on other content.
Who is the target audience?: Mainly young professionahttp://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=4198411342439223071&postID=153703728239197424l, fashion conscious women in their 20s to mid-30s.
What font has been used?: While the main title 'Elle' retains a traditional, sophisticated feel by using an elongated serif font, the rest of the text appears to be a san-serif font. Perhaps a UK equivalent would be Arial. Plain, neat and modern.
Comment on the typography: The text is mainly left justified, with the more important bylines in the centre or on the right. Although the text frames the picture, the title in particular seems a lot more prominent than the actual image itself.
Comment on the general composition: The main focus here is the title of the magazine, and the main story at the foot of the cover. The image - a portrait of Kate Moss - implies that the magazine is not only about fashion, but also about celebrity.


Title: Games TM
Genre: Video Games Entertainment
Issue: January/February 2010
What do you like about the cover?: The image is not just a photograph, but is artwork created especially for the magazine, inspired by the featured game of that month.
What don't you like about the cover?: The barcode is placed oddly!
Who is the target audience?: Primarily male gamers, probably of a wide age range - late teens to mid-30s.
What font has been used?: The majority of the text is sans-serif giving it a modern, clean feel. While the title is in lower case, highlighting the 'TM', the bylines use capitals, as do the descriptions. This again makes everything seem clean and clear.
Comment on the typography: There is a mixture of both left and right justified text, that utilises the 'empty' parts of the image. The white stands out, while the yellow ties in with the image.
Comment on the general composition: Unlike 'Elle' The main focus here is the image, and the title sits behind the prominent parts of the artwork. The "God Of War" feature inside the magazine is given just as much importance as the main title of the magazine, suggesting this is the selling point.

GlassJAw: a gig, a girl and what it is to be a spectator in a room of introverted exhibitionists...

Last week my boyfriend and I went to see GlassJAw in Nottingham. It was really interesting to see how people dress depending on where they are going - I mean, there are those of course who wore exactly what they would wear on a normal day to the gig, but then there were the guys and girls dressed up for a night out. Not heels and sparkly tops, like you might see on your average night out on the town; this was completely different. One girl I took a particular interest in had clearly spent a lot of time thinking about what she was going to look like that night. She managed to fit in with her (all of them male) friends, whilst retaining her femininity. She wore baggy jeans, low slung, with a red gingham shirt tied in a knot to show off her tiny waist. Her hair was a mass of bleach-blonde dreadlocks up in a bun, but she had wrapped a floral scarf around her head, which framed her petite face. I couldn't see her shoes, but no doubt they were trainers - perfect for dancing. I suppose you would describe her style as a kind of modern rockabilly.
Meanwhile, I felt oddly different and slightly alienated. I usually dress slightly differently to my peers; I like to be noticed, even if it's because people think I look weird! It's nice how in my normal day-t0-day setting I can be appreciated for taking fashion into my own hands, even if it's not others' style. However, at the gig I felt judged for being a 'conformist' despite the fact that I was dressed differently from everybody in the room! "Fashion" to a lot of the people there, goes hand in hand with being "shallow". Little do they know that they themselves conform to their own fashion, and aspire to 'fit in' with their own peers.
It's interesting to see how there are trends within trends, and how style is affected by so much more than just what's "in fashion".