White Godiva, I Unpeel

So, today I heard the news that Sylvia Plath's image is going to be featured on a commemorative stamp. Yay! I loved her poetry when I was a teenager and (if I can get over my adult self-consciousness and fear of the melodramatic), I am still startled by the beauty and emotive punch of her verse. But this is a blog about frivolous things, so I just want to say a few words about Plath's fashion (rather than literary) style.

I think that the disjunction between Plath's outward appearance and all of the myths about her life and work can be a real source of cognitive dissonance for some. I mean, novels have always taught us that we can tell something about a person's nature just from their outward appearance. How can she look so composed, so pulled together, and so all-American, and yet have so much desperation and intensity within her? It sounds callous and absurd to say it, but it can feel just a little hard to believe that those shoes and that hair could belong to the poet behind Ariel.

 
Her style is very of its time, I think; a classic example of that 1950s, early 1960s look which has been popularized by the Mad Men phenomenon. It's very high-maintenance and a little too 'done' for my contemporary eye, but I do love her full skirts, and the way that she uses her double-buckled belt in the last two photos.

Really, though, Plath's look speaks of both the power and the limits of style. By dressing in a certain way, she is able to project an image of competence, contentment, and togetherness. Clothes can help us all to perform a particular persona; they can help to change the way that we hold ourselves, the signs we give off to others, and even the way that we feel; and yet how much can an outfit really shape the terrain of our mental landscapes? Ultimately, our personal style may be linked to our mindset and to elements deep within our character, but an outfit can ultimately still function as little more than a costume to conceal and protect that within ourselves which we feel we cannot expose.

I'm aware that I'm being very glib and un-rigorous here, but it's just something to consider.

The Colour and the Shape

As a follow up to yesterday's post on design-your-own digital prints, I just have to mention the most recent Basso and Brooke collection. Shown as part of London Fashion Week, the collection was lavish, zesty, and overwhelming in the best possible way. In a season in which lots of designers have been dabbling with pattern, Basso and Brooke remain the go to guys for colourful, maximal prints. Below are some of my favourite looks, but you can check out the whole collection over at Style.com.

Images from Style.com

Adventures in Fabric

So, I've been watching episodes of the US version of Project Runway recently, and they have this thing where the contestants get to design their own textiles. Most of the stuff they come up with is a bit lame, but the process itself always looks really fascinating - I mean, the chance to determine your own raw materials! Very cool. So, I thought I'd give it a go.

Obviously I'm not fortunate enough to have the fancy, intuitive, user-friendly technology suites used on Project Runway, so I scoured the internet for options. I figured there would be loads of websites offering a 'Design Your Own' kind of service, but I actually only managed to find one or two. My favourite so far is the American site Spoonflower, which allows users to upload their own designs, select from a range of materials, and even to put their work up for sale. It's an amateur's dream, and I have quickly come to find it wholly addictive! Below are some of the digital prints that I've come up with in the past few days.







They aren't much, but I feel quite proud of myself! I really like the last one (based on a photograph of a marigold that I took with my iPhone), and the way that the repeated lines of the image form something like a plaid. The first one is definitely at the top of my wish list, though! It reminds me of some of my favourite Basso and Brooke prints; I'd love to make a pencil skirt or something out of it. And if even I can come up with these after a couple of hours of playing (and without any knowledge of Photoshop), just imagine what somebody with real design chops could achieve... If this kind of thing takes off, the streets will be singing with print and colour. Amazing! I certainly plan to continue experimenting.

Images from the Basso and Brooke website

I dress like a nerd, but I did get the grades

My vibe was more librarian than neon today - an old pair of taupe paperbag waist trousers from Zara, a burgundy Asos polo neck, and some nerdy, tortoiseshell-framed glasses. I finished the look with the ultimate geek chic accessory, too - a PhD thesis. Yes, after approximately three years and two weeks of exhausting, frustrating, and massively fulfilling doctoral research, I today handed in my magnum opus. Winner!

Besides the all-important thesis, I accessorized my look with some little brown loafers (£14 from Peacocks!) and a fruity Kenneth Jay Lane necklace. I am still waiting for somebody to look at this piece and say 'Nice pear.' Come on people! It's a Carry On gag waiting to happen! 

Right now, however, this outfit is in a heap in the corner, and I'm slumped on the couch in a fleecy onesie. I was up until 6 o'clock this morning proof reading my work, and I only managed to get about three hours sleep before I was up and on the train to uni. Now it's most definitely my bed time. I just hope I don't have nightmares about my Viva...

Trinkets and Baubles: Anton Heunis

The private sales website Cocosa is currently flogging a bunch of Anton Heunis jewellery at a big discount. I love the rich colours, and the contemporary reworking of vintage shapes. It's perfect for an eccentric, ladylike look. I've put a couple of the pieces on my PhD submission present wish list, but it turns out that a PhD submission present isn't actually a thing. Rats.

Pendant, £85

Earrings, £59

Ring, £55

The sale is open for another 19 hours as I write this, but if you miss it, you can check out new season Anton Heunis jewellery over at my-wardrobe. There are plenty eye-catching statement pieces but, sadly, no enormous discounts.

Print on Demand

I'm loving the images coming in from New York Fashion Week 2011. I am particularly mesmerised by all the gorgeous prints - pattern and colour galore! It's right up my street. Check out these images from the Vogue website:

Derek Lam Spring 2012

Preen Spring 2012

DVF Spring 2012

I particularly love the Preen collection, with its pixelated pastels, lacy details, and miniaturized peplums. My absolute favourite so far, though, has to be Thakoon. The blazing brights, insistent prints, and gorgeous gold-tipped booties blow my mind, whilst the sugared almond hair is dreamy and delicious.

I'm less keen on the cowboy-style hats and some of the cross-body sari details, but there is a lot of this that I would just love to wear. It would certainly cheer up a long day in the library! I am particularly inspired by the extravagant, exploded paisley print which crops up throughout the collection, often placed in juxtaposition with other lavish fabric choices. 

It's given me some great ideas to try out with my new Asos shirt (pictured below). I've been working it with brown suede shorts, grey tights and Chelsea boots, but I think it's time to draw inspiration from Thakoon and pair it with something a little bit bolder. Bring on the Spring 2012 print clash!

Pink - A - Boo: How to do a Neon Brow

I never used to be very brave with make up, suffering as I do from a lack of patience and a tendency toward cack handedness. I've never perfected that perfect eyeliner flick, and I'm prone to stabbing myself in the eye with my mascara wand, so for me, less has traditionally been more; a dib of concealer there and a dab of Vaseline there, and that's usually my lot. This summer, however, something's changed. With the advent of easy-to-use lip pens like Revlon's Just Bitten and Max Factor's Lipfinity Lip Tint, I've felt more confident trowelling on the slap, and have started incorporating elements of bright colour into my make up (as you can just about discern beneath all the filters in the images below).

But for all the pinks and purples and orangey-reds that I've been trying out on my lips, I've been content to let the rest of my face remain relatively sober. Perhaps it's time to take a leaf out of Chanel's books, and introduce some crazy colour into a less expected facial territory. In the Carine Roitfeld-styled autumn/winter 2011 campaign, the ever-lovely Freya Beha Erichsen can be seen sporting a fine pair of neon pink eyebrows.

I am quite possibly the only person in England foolish enough to think that this might actually work beyond the confines of a glossy magazine, but damn does she look fine. I am honestly tempted to give it a go (minus the Tavi-grey hair). My clothes seem to be getting exponentially brighter as the days get darker anyway, so a garish brow would really just be catching my face up with the rest of me. Plus, Australia's Next Top Model hopeful Izzy has been rocking less-than-subtle pink eyebrows for a while now, and every time I see her I think how incredible she looks.

Amazing, right? And according to this video tutorial that I found up on YouTube, I could easily give the bold brow look a go without having to commit to a full-on dye job; just a little bit of magenta lip-liner and I'm away, apparently! Is Brighton and Hove ready for me to add even more neon into my look? If the advice in this brilliant little tutorial works, we might just find out.