In training.

Jumper: APC Skirt: Whistles Bag: ASOS Trainers: Zara

It's been quite sometime since I donned a pair of trainers, I've never been one to sportily dress and therefore have shunned them in the face of fashion. That is until they began showing up alongside outfits they didn't belong and because they didn't belong, they looked good and running shoes with suits no longer belonged to Ellen Degeneres.

I now find myself putting together outfits in my flat, facing myself footless in the mirror, thinking trainers would make this outfit. Something I would never, a few months ago, believe I would ever again say in my life. Now the issue is just choosing among many, which ones I desire the most.

Tshirt: Weekday Trainers: Zara Dungaree Dress: Cheap Monday
Dungarees: Topshop Check Blouse: Topshop Boutique Trainers: New Balance

Next time I come in here, I'm cracking skulls

'Movie makeovers that should never have happened' is the name of Stylist magazine's recent online piece that had me stirring with feelings of curiosity so strong it could comatose a cat or two. It isn't a secret to know how much I adore films and how out of the way I will go in order fill myself up with knowledgeable information on the world that surrounds them. So for me I found myself eager to see the selection they had put together and the reasons that had lead them to such a definite array.

For a magazine, that to me, has always centred their universe around women's equality comfortably alongside fashion, travel and anything else independent women could put their hard earned wages towards, I felt let down. The piece comes across as so narcissistic alongside articles on the Girlguides support of the No More Page 3 campaign and Stirling Moss V Susie Wolff, on the fight against sexism in sport. I am an avid reader of other magazines which are predominately fashion focused and to me finding this among their daily online articles, although would disappoint me, wouldn't surprise me. Yet, on the pages of Stylist's site just seem misplaced.

I initially caught sight of Laney from She's All That which threw me back to my teens and then captured a glimpse of what I expected I'd find, Allison from The Breakfast Club. I find it difficult to appoint a top ten of my favourite films ever because it's hard to discriminate against so many but I'm a firm believer in thinking that The Breakfast Club ranks pretty high up in the charts. It is the epitome of teen high school flicks and you might shout at me from the bleachers, '...but what about Grease?' or 'Dead Poets Society is so much more dramatic!' and other such remarks but The Breakfast Club is able to generously offer both comedy and drama better than any other. Filled to the brim with moral messages on teen angst, the film (apart from the introduction and ending) is confined to the walls of the high school's library and surrounding hallways and will have you identifying with each of the five characters at one point or another during the film.

It's what makes me so fond of the film; there is so much to recognise in their teenage worries, issues and conversations, which is hugely satisfying considering you spend the majority of your teen life feeling alone and as if you are the only one suffering. It needs, simply, little more than a few rooms/sets and five different teen examples to show the viewer as much as you think no one else understands the plights of your teenage years, in fact everyone goes through the same motions and emotions regardless of what music you are into, how you dress or where you rank on the popularity scale.

Stylist's argument for why Allison shouldn't have undergone a makeover all comes down to the fact that she looked better beforehand with her dark moody black eyeliner instead of her floral alice band and flicky fringe. Now I understand their article does state their decisions are beauty based but for a film that zones in on many important issues, I have always seen it as the films largest albeit only fault, in  that Allison; the basket case, is made over by Claire; the princess, in order to fit in. I find this an inconceivable message to send out to viewers, that in order to be popular and make friends, you have to change who you are, as well as dress and behave a certain way. Especially considering Molly Ringwald's Claire and Emilio Estevez' Andrew (the two popular ones) open up about the emotional pressure and struggles they battle with to look and be the best in order to be popular and respected by those around them during the film.

I have always believed 'hate' is too strong a word to throw around in a sentence or conversation and therefore, rarely use it but for a film I love so much, I genuinely hate this element of the storyline. It goes against everything the film tries to teach us within a matter of moments towards the end. Disappointing it is then to read Stylist pose such a materialistic reasoning behind it's choice regardless of whether they were strictly speaking in terms of 'beauty'. I agree it is a makeover that shouldn't have happened but not due to the fact her hairstyle looked worse afterwards but because it is telling us in order to be liked and even noticed (Judd Nelson's Bender is only attracted to her once she has been made over) we need to change who we are and what we look like.

Will she still eat cereal & Pixie Stix sandwiches when she's popular?

Homecoming.

I'm perpetually caught in a reverie where I find myself intrigued by bygone eras to the point I swathe myself in outfits to look as though I'm from a certain time or place. I also tend to read books, both fiction and non fiction, normally based during a period of time I never experienced, as well as searching the internet for candid achromatic photographs to admire of Hollywood movie stars or snapshots of a past culture (most typically 20th century American teens for me) via Life or somewhere similar. I can't honestly say why I feel so entertained by history to the point I want to live and breathe it, feed my mind with knowledge of it and encapsulate it within my wardrobe but I do. Perhaps the fluffy almost exaggerated ideological interpretation of it, far from the negative issues of yesteryear, appear to us all as a simpler time.

I believed this right up until just a few days ago when I read an interview via Interview magazine's website. The singular female (who also happened to be the interviewer) on the topic of living in another time, quite decidedly without hesitation, informed the three men that she wouldn't. I was quite frankly shocked. I spend my days aimlessly and hopelessly looking to fill the gap disappointment has created from not being able to time travel and yet here was a woman who assertively and openly proclaimed she wouldn't want to be in another time. Was she delusional? We live in an age where vintage and retro (University brainwashed me into acknowledging these are two completely different things) products are a booming (both authentic or replicated copies) and she says no? But why I asked in a bewildered frenzy, and lo and behold her answer was the simplest of answers, much more simple than I believe the past to be. '...because I am a woman', she had stated and if there's something I want more than to live in a fluffy bygone era (with Fifties sundaes at the local ice cream parlour or Gatsby-esque Jazz age parties) it is to be a woman with equal rights. Feminist is too much of a debated word for me and unlike some, I don't believe we could survive without men and/or are superior to them but more so, do I believe in equality. (In that case, I shall call myself an egalitarian). She was right, by goodness me she was right. In all of history, I wouldn't be treated better than I do now, (that isn't to say I think equality is where it should be yet) so why would I wish to go backwards? I'll admit, that hasn't dissolved my desire completely but it has given me a fresh outlook and left me battling for a few days on whether she is right or wrong.

Today, I was hit with a classic lightbulb moment wherein I realised, there are women throughout history who are extremely admirable for being strong and independent. Society always has it's restrictions and that's something that is never going to change but to say no to living in a previous time because she was a woman? What about Amelia Earhart or Rosa Parks who pushed at those boundaries. They are the women that are still remembered today are they not? Role models for young girls of their time and ever since, showing them that they can believe in and desire much bigger dreams outside of the box society has created. Without pushing those boundaries, we wouldn't evolve. Without the fight of the suffragettes would we still live in a place where women aren't granted the freedom to vote? Would we have female MPs?

What I am trying to say is, why would you say no to living in the past because of the way women were treated. Why not instead say yes, to be a woman that changes the face of history. A woman that pushes the boundaries and proves society wrong? Or why not just push the boundaries of society today whilst we quietly wait for Marty and Doc to show up on our doorsteps?

Under African Skies

It's lovely to have pennies in my pocket but why is it that when you have got some dollar, you can't see anything to spend your money on. I turn into such a frugal little creature and can never seem to find anything I like and when I do, I have to question myself up to 10 times for a couple of days as it gathers dust in the online shop's basket. 

This weekend I have my boyfriend's uncle's 40th birthday to attend after work so I wanted to treat myself to something new. Feeling vibrant colours and through my appreciation of lady-like lengths and shapes I discovered this beautiful skirt on ASOS.

It is a part of their ASOS Africa range and I am just so damn excited for it to arrive. Always inspired by Natalie Joos, I know I needed to branch out and be a bit more adventurous with clashing prints and colours so I am still on the search for a suitable top half of the outfit. Any ideas?

I fear that I will end up with a simple, plain t-shirt up top but I don't feel discouraged by that having been inspired by this image from Lucy Laucht I discovered via Pinterest.

Pretty, pretty. 

Venice.

Hello stranger. It's been sometime, I have been so busy, caught between working a day job, interning of an evening and freelance writing on top of that. I'm exhausted the majority of the time these days and it doesn't take long for my eyelids to flutter and shut up shop for the day, when I get in from work. 

Whilst I have been busying myself, my parents decided to fly to Venice last week for a few days and get away from this terrible weather. They had a fabulous time and took some beautiful photos which I edited for them on their return. They are so lovely and colourful I had to share them. 

Getting super inspired by colours and nature at the moment so these photographs were a warm welcome into my life, I am so excited to share them with you. They have embellished my wanderlust. 

As I have been so busy, you can always keep up with me via Pinterest, Tumblr or Instagram. 

 

Trickle or treat.

The catwalks trickle down onto the high street is a wonderful thing for us mere mortals who can't afford such lavish treasures but sometimes it's just a pain when certain shows you love don't find there way into a cheaper alternative. 

I've been drooling over Christopher Kane's collection recently. With the sunshine out I've been dreaming about his clompy and comfortable sandals that you would never dream of wearing normally. When I had an operation a few years back on my feet I had to wear something very similar but I didn't fall for them in the same way I do these. 

Does the high street think they won't get sales? I can understand why but dear gosh I would do anything to get my hands on these items.

Finally...the winner is revealed.

So I've had such a busy past few weeks and the time I've had to dedicate to my blog has been minimal. However, I am finally back to reveal the winner for the Bear & Co. competition. I didn't want to just enter them into a randomiser like on some blogs, I wanted to pick them from a hat and so I did just that. 

Congratulations to Gloria for winning a custom fitted Bear & Co. cat print dress, there will be a message in your email's inbox pretty soon so keep an eye out.

I am so sorry for this being a bit belated, it has been very hard to find the time but thank you so much for your patience.