Glasto, peeling skin, and zinesss...

My mate Laura always finds a way to get to Glastonbury, and next year, I'm gonna be right there with her (I hope!)... I mean, I come from Somerset, surely I should be going to Somerset (and Britain's) biggest festival?! Festival fashion intrigues me. It's a bit like when you go backpacking - you have to pack light, while at the same time preparing for every eventuality, because obviously, when you pack wellies, fisherman's waders and a storm proof mac... it's going to be el scorchio. On the other hand, if you pack flip flops and a bikini... you can bet your bottom dollar it will be hailing all weekend! So, some first hand spying is needed! That, and I'd love to go to such an established festival... who knows, with the current recession, if it might end?

Speaking of Glasto, watching some of the highlights on BBC 3, I saw Edith Bowman interviewing Florence (of '...and The Machines' fame) wearing the most amazing dress. She can be described as statuesque; a tall willowy woman, with fiery red hair and paler than snow complexion - dressed in a long floating white dress - she was more than striking. She described the outfit as something you a woman explorer might wear in days gone by, and re-watching Lawrence of Arabia today I could just imagine her gliding over sand dunes on a camel!

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a full length picture of her most wonderful backstage attire... But her on-stage outfit was just as magical:

In other news, it has been awfully hot and sunny recently, and, much like dear Florence I am of fair complexion. I do not tan; I burn, peel, then return to my post burn colour... It's really not a good look! I am trying to embrace my pale skin and make the most of it - if only my hair was a little redder! However, in summer it's so difficult to pull of pale legs unless, of course, you are a 6 foot tall glamazon. Roll on Autumn when I'll be rocking the greys and navys with my golden hair and white white face.

Meanwhile, I am staying inside during the hotter hours of the day to save my poor skin, and indulging in pouring over both Vogue and Harper's Bazaar both of which I subscribe to, and multiple women's fitness monthly's in an attempt to inspire me to slim down for those Autumn lovelies I spy...

How good does this look!?

Someone give me a couple of hundred quid (some for the tickets, the rest for the designer bargains!)

Haha...

... Excellent!

Paris?

Today I have been mostly...

...getting ridiculously burnt.

Don't you just hate when you wear factor 50 suncream and you still get burnt(!) Still, I had a wonderful day researching a possible trip to Paris with my friend Gemma. February is not only my 24th birthday, and my 5th Valentines with my Valentine, but also Premiere Vision in Paris! Oh, I so want to go! Prices at the moment seem very reasonable, and with the money saved from not going to New York it is totally do-able! Now to brush up on my French...

The afternoon was spent enjoying the sunshine and ice-cream in Markeaton Park with my friends Amelia and the aforementioned Gem. After a good couple of hours of gossip, the girls left, but with nothing at home waiting for me other than a football watching boyfriend, I decided to stay a bit longer to indulge in my favourite pastimes - people watching, and enjoying my natural surroundings. From where I was lying, the grassy ground seemed to contour, much like a body, and the trees with their silvery leaves rippled like water when the breeze caught them. I spent time wondering about how different photographs are from the naked eye, and whether two Muslim passers-by found it hot, dressed in headscarves and black.

Summer is a great time to relax... about fashion! It's pretty hard to follow fashion exactly in the Summertime, as depending where you are, the weather can be so different. And when it's so hot... there are only a few choices really. This is why I love it so much, because people tend to make their own fashion rules. The vintage comes out, and the hippy vibe is released! The stylish are most definitely separated from the rest. Autumn, Winter, Spring... the trends of the season are always wonderful, inspiring, and lust-worthy... but the Summer... every gal (or guy) can create their own wonderful image, without fear.

United Nude and all things Shoes...

Yum. I just love United Nude shoes! I have been watching them for quite a few years now, and know that they deserve a blog mention! They have grown so much in the last year or so, now featured on ASOS.com and other mainstream websites. With their architectural beauty, they are definitely shoes for the individualist. I've yet to own a pair, but know that if I ever can it must be the Lo Res.

Speaking of shoes, and ASOS.com... I found these beauts! But, of course, Out Of Stock. And such a bargain, why they sold out is a mystery(!)

Gosh! Long time, no speak fashion friends!

I have been busy busy busy!

First there was...

The Wedding
My friend Kelly, and her partner Nathan finally tied the knot after many happy years together already. I was honoured to be invited to the reception, and have been excited about attending since I received the invitation in the post last year!

My L.K. Bennett Buddies
The Dress
High, high heels... or flipflops?
The first Dance

The Fashion Show

One of the most fun experiences of my working life! After this, I have no doubt that I have chosen the right career path, and feel secure in the knowledge that I can do so many different things within the umbrella of fashion!

All the first years became dressers and runners for the Final Year Fashion Show. We were placed into small groups and given a model, and their running order (which designer, when they were on the catwalk etc.) I was paired with 2 girls from the other fashion group, one of whom I'd never spoken with before! So, you can understand I had some aprehension. I needn't have worried however, as both Kayleigh and Michelle were wonderful - we made a great team! First we had to find the rail with our designers garments on and choose an outfit, followed by the correct accessories. Having modelled herself several times, willowy Michelle quickly advised us to choose mainly dresses, and items with large neck holes! This was to prove important later on... We got ourselves and our rails organised very quickly, as both myself and Kayleigh are quite organised people (at least, I am when it comes to work... the less said about my private life the better!)
Unfortunately, our model Jane was running 20minutes late due to traffic, but I texted her to introduce myself and make sure she knew we were all ready!
Here's Jane:

see more here: Boss Models
and here: Model Mayhem

The dressing, on the 2nd of June, went fine, apart from a few minor problems, and one pretty big one... a neck hole too small for Jane's head! But we managed to get everything sorted, with a little bit of cutting here (by designer Raza) and a little bit of sewing here (by me... hope it looked ok!). I was running around like a mad person making sure the designers were happy, and knew what was going on.

Then it was the day! Friday 3rd of June. The first show also went without a hitch (for us at least), with none of the designers picking at anything we had done! I think this was mainly due to the fact that we had a great backstage system we had devised. Kayleigh (who was also a runner for the hair stylists) was responsible for keeping the rail tidy, and preparing the outfits for dressing, as well as rehanging the outfits coming off the model. Basically, we just threw stuff at her as soon as it was off Jane! Michelle and myself were the actual dressers, with Michelle (being tall) sorting out head pieces and jewellery, and me (being SHORT) doing shoes. It also happened that I was the only person that seemed able to put shoes on another person and do the straps etc. and Michelle was an expert at zip fastening (I didn't want to trap skin, argh, or worse... break the zip!)

The evening show was hot, sweaty and fast paced, but immensely exciting. What a buzz!

See some of the fun here!
forgive the bad quality... I only had my phone!

The Results

After a very disorganised couple of hours... we finally received our results on Wednesday the 9th. I didn't do quite as well as I'd hoped, but then, I'm a perfectionist! The good news is that I passed everything, and am ready for next year, as well as averaging out at a 2:1/2:2... Gives me something to improve on!

We also received Summer Holiday Homework... Haute Couture! Goodie! I will keep you posted!

The Trip

A trip to New York has been organised! Well, partially organised. 3 weeks ago we were told that it would go ahead if at least 20 people could get a deposit of £300 in by Wednesday 9th... quite a feat! Embarrassingly, I had to borrow some money from my mum... but a trip to New York is worth it! I just hope enough people manage to find the funds. Without my family's generosity I know I wouldn't have been able to go, so I understand if people can't find the money, especially with such short notice!

Please, please, PLEASE...

Somebody buy me this!

Not only is it one of my favourite prints ever, not only does it seem to sum up my feelings on style and fashion, NOT ONLY is it a poster from my favourite city, San Franscisco, NOT ONLY signed by Scott Hansen himself... but the show was on my birthday - 愛してるよ。

I think I need it to live...