SS14 Inspiration

I am so excited about the SS14 collections that are in stores now! Spring is my favourite season because it's so versatile, in other words you can team a pair of shorts and a boyfriend coat and no one can say a word! SS14 has also seen the introduction of some of my favourite colour schemes, including pastels!

Some of the things that I am very excited about this season are the pastel fur coats that I have seen on MissGuided! I particularly have my eye on the baby pink faux fur bomber jacket! I'm going to continue to hint because my birthday is just around the corner!

Another thing that I cannot get enough of this season are two pieces (and no I don't mean 'onesies!') Topshop and Miss Selfridge is particular have some great short and blazer combos! Perfect for every occasion! I especially like anything embellished and with a bit of detail!

I have always been a big fan of androgyny when it comes to women's fashion! Anything with a collar and big, chunky shoes are my best friend! This style of dressing has been inspired by my love for Isabel Marant and her chic, laid back style! She also uses herself as a muse, which is very unusual for many fashion designers! It's safe to say I will be adding lots more shirts and flatforms to my collection this season!

Finally, I love a play suit! Similarly to my love for two pieces really, because I am not one to wear a dress at all, so play suits are my alternative! I purchase way too many (especially from Topshop because they are not too expensive and I love them) however, I have seen some lovely unusual designs in Bershka, which has the potential to be my new favourite shop this season!

26/365

It's only January, but this year has already gone so well for me in variety of ways!

1) I got an interview (and then a CONDITIONAL OFFER) from University of the Creative Arts to study BA Fashion Journalism! This has been my dream for several years now so to have a confirmed place is amazing and has really motivated me to try hard in my A-Levels and most importantly, look forward to September! I feel privileged to have been selected for such a competitive course in order to prepare me for a equally competitive industry.

2) My 18th birthday is in 2 months time so I'm really excited for my birthday, and then my party, and then I've been promised a weekend away to somewhere in the UK (I chose Liverpool) to do my favourite thing! Shopping!

3) I have a part time job at Tesco, which some people might see as boring, but I absolutely love! Having a job where you have to adapt yourself in such a versatile environment  is challenging, but has taught me so much, so I am hoping to develop my skills in the workplace as much as possible in 2014.

4) The introduction of pastel colours for the Spring collections in many high street stores has really both surprised and excited me! I'm very guilty of wearing everything in black so hopefully I will take a bit of a 'fashion risk' and buy some baby pink and blue items in the near future!

5) Finally, PROM! Prom is finally this year and I am so excited! Even though it is seven months away I keep sneakily looking at dresses online and I cannot to go shopping and pick one out! It'll be so good to finally leave sixth form, start university and allow me to change and mature for the future.

UCA Epsom Interview

On Friday the 10th January, I had my interview for BA Fashion Journalism at UCA Epsom. From a young age, writing is all I have ever wanted to do, so as I became increasingly interested in fashion during my teenage years, I have had my heart set on this course (which intertwines the combination of my passions) for what seems like forever. The interview required us to prepare a written portfolio which could be seen as a 'task' for some people, but for me it was more like a fun challenge. I decided to include a Photography essay that I had recently written based on the theme of Street Photography, a English Literature essay which I thought showed off and highlighted my strong writing technique and communication skills. I also decided to include some visual responses that I had done to an artist called John Stezaker, a blog from this blog, and a fashion collage.  As we had be warned on invitation, it was a group interview, meaning we were 'up against' other potential candidates that would be attending. At the time, I could not recognise whether this was a good or a bad thing, but upon my nervous arrival, I discovered that it was definitely a good thing, as I immediately clicked with the girls that I had been placed with due to our similar interests. UCA immediately felt homely and welcoming as we got a tour around the campus from a third year Fashion Journalism student who answered all of our questions and set our minds at ease.

Then came the interview, we were introduced to the eccentric lecturer who told us about the interview process before we got started. This seemed to be over very quickly before we were watching two catwalk shows: Marc Jacobs (one of my favourite designers) and Louisa Grey (a funky Westwood esque designer) and writing all about the colours, visuals, materials, lighting and models etc before feeding back to the group. We were then asked to pitch ideas for a up and coming fashion magazine called Velour, where I suggested a spread should be done about taking inspiration from unusual sources such as kitchen or electrical appliances. Finally, we were asked to write down our favourite blogs, websites, films, musicians, designers, stylists, photographers, etc and explain why this was the case before we could take a breath of fresh air and the interview was over! I felt like it went quite well and  that I had contributed as much as I could.

I know that Fashion and in particular, Fashion Journalism is a competitive course that prepares you for a competitive industry, but hopefully I done enough in order to be receiving a conditional offer from them very soon.

Outfit of the Day: Monday

This week I am going to post what I wear each day. I am back at sixth form so it is the perfect opportunity for me to show off my smarter side (ha!). I am also still thinking about what I said in my 'Adapting to our surroundings' post and how we adapt our fashion to our surroundings, for example, I will dress smartly this week because I am at sixth form. Here is my Outfit of the Day (or #ootd in Instagram language!). 

Shoes: Topshop 

Dress: Topshop 

Jean Jacket: Vintage GAP 

Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs 

Notting Hill Carnvial Extension

Here are a series of frames that I made in order to 'push' the boundaries within my work. I decided to use the photographs that I took at Notting Hill Carnival during the summer because with the amount of people in the photographs, there would be a lot to work with and develop on. I decided to pick a theme of 'thoughts and feelings' to pursue within these four photographs and came up with the idea of picking out a single person in each picture and creating questions about what they are thinking or how they might be feeling. I then took each of the photographs on to Photoshop and wrote the questions out in a suitable font, over and over again. I then changed the opacity of the text so we were still able to see the photograph that was layered underneath. After I had done these, I placed each photo into a clip frame and drew around the person that I was talking about in the questions with a Tippex pen. This highlighted that although they may look strong willed or sad or joyful, even, what is going on inside someones head is usually a completely different story. This is a message that I hope I successfully highlighted in my work. 

Music Video: First Draft

This is the first draft of the music video that I have been working on within my A Level Media course. My contribution towards the video includes performing, editing and filming, each of which have required technological knowledge for me to carry out. To edit our music video, we have been using Adobe Premier Pro, a programme that I did not know how to use at first, but have managed to adapt to along the editing process. Because this is only our first draft, we are aware of the ways in which the video needs to be made better to fulfil the criteria. The things that we need to add in are, more close ups, quicker cuts, less static shots and to ensure that there is equal weighting between the narrative and performance shots.

Enjoy! 

Adapting to our surroundings

Last month, my family and I went to Altea in Spain for a week to celebrate my Dad's birthday. When I was there, I was astounded by the people and how they had such a 'carefree' attitude towards fashion (which I half expected in the hot weather!). As you can see in some of the photographs above, the generalized style was casual, colourful and comfortable! This allowed me to gain a deeper understanding about how we adapt to our surroundings when it comes to fashion. For example, when I was in Miami in Florida last year, I longed to be beachy and chic, just like the locals. When I travel to central London for a shopping spree I am inspired by the urban architecture, different types of people and built up surroundings whereas when I am at home on a daily basis I am left to think about my own style which I would describe as girly and vintage and smart. This adaption that we subconsciously adhere to is just another reason to add to my never ending list of why I find fashion so interesting.