Sunday, 29 March 2015

Song of the Week

Hey Guys,
I have just discovered the band Amber Run who are a British band from Nottingham and they've only been together since September 2012. My favourite song of theirs is 'Noah'.


And as Holly has previously mentioned when we were on our geography trip a lot of music was being played, my favourite being Four Five Seconds, not only cause it's one of the few songs I actually know the lyrics to but because it brings back happy memories - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt0g4dWxEBo

Love Daisy x

Friday, 27 March 2015

K - Kitsch

Hi Guys,

For K I have decided to do Kitsch Style, as it is so cute and totally underrated. A lot of people seemingly don't know what kitsch is/means so here is a definition...


'Art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.'


e.g. "the lava lamp is a bizarre example of sixties kitsch"

I love kitsch clothing, but am not sure if I am brave enough to wear it. It is such a fun and colourful style category, this is exemplified by Meadham Kirchhoff, particularly in their SS12 catwalk...


and their 2013 collection for Topshop. I wish I had known about this collaboration as I would have loved to buy so much from it. Below are some examples of just some of the 80 pieces that featured...


In the past few years kitsch home decor has been becoming increasingly popular due to the current retro/vintage revival. This decor is typically bright and garish with lots of 'cute' animal pictures, particularly deer, birds and cats.
In Harry Potter Professor Umbridge's office epitomises kitsch decor. It is full of pink, a typical colour for use in the kitsch style and the walls are covered in moving kitten plates. These plates are so ugly that they come full circle almost becoming pretty, and it is this that makes them kitsch.


Perhaps one of the most kitsch shops around at the moment is 'Irregular Choice', which is a mainly shoe based company. Their designs certainly are 'irregular' and they are so fun, hence why they seem to feature in many magazines every year as an alternative to boring, bland shoes. The most kitsch shoes that they are producing at the moment, in my opinion is the 'Baah Baah', pictured above, which can be bought for £125.00 a pair.

www.irregularchoice.com

I saw the 'Baah Baah' in the window of an Irregular choice shop in Brighton, and instantly fell in love with them, and although I can neither afford them or would be brave enough to wear them, that shop window is where they will stay, well at least for now!

Love Holly x

Monday, 16 March 2015

Song of the Week

Hey Guys,

Sorry we didn't do Song of the Week last week. This is due to us being on a five day geography trip to Bude from Wednesday. Whilst on the trip we listened to loads of music, and did a lot of singing (especially on our 5 hour minibus journey). Consequently I have so many ideas for Song of the Week, so I have decided to just share a few things this week instead of choosing one particular song.

First of all we sang a lot of Sam Smith, and I know you are probably thinking 'how mainstream!' but I honestly think he is so talented and that it is hard not to love him. My favourite song of his is probably 'Lay Me Down', it is so beautiful.

I am not as keen on his version with John Legend as I think this is less raw and emotional. My favourite part of the original version is when it changes about 3/4 of the way through, if you have listened to it you will know what I mean!

Sam Smith - Lay Me Down (Youtube)

On the journey home we played a lot of rock music, and my newly formed friend introduced me to Gary Moore, who was the guitarist for Thin Lizzy. He sadly passed away a couple of years ago but his music lives on and I have never been so interested by an electric guitarist, he was so talented.

Gary Moore (Youtube)




For a few days I couldn't stop singing James Bay's Hold Back the River, it is so catchy! I really like his voice, there is a really nice softness about it. I also think James has a great style, I particularly love his hat, which Radio 1 claim is 'superglued to his hair'. Since hearing this however I have seen at least two photos of him without his hat on, so we can safely say it isn't!

James Bay - Hold Back The River (Youtube)

Hope this rather random Song of the Week post makes up for us missing last week.

Love,

Holly x

Thursday, 5 March 2015

I & J - Ice Cold & Jean-ious

Hi Guys,

Although the weather is warming up a bit, February was still a chilly month. The cold weather has inspired me to do a post on 'Ice Cold' Style, its time to explore those wintery colours! However I couldn't find much for this so have decided to do J in the same post and for this I have gone with Jeans - simple but so so important.

Ice Cold style inspiration is featured below, the style icon for this look has to be the Snow Queen (the White Witch) from The Chronicles of Narnia, played by Tilda Swinton.



(all from tumblr. - a great source of inspiration) included above are works by John Galliano, Giambattista Valli and Christian Dior.

Now onto Jeans, which are an absolute staple in almost everyones wardrobe. I absolutely adore jeans, and the effortless look that comes with them. The type I wear most is skinny, although I have been pining after some Mom jeans for a long time, unsure if they will suit me.

My absolute favourite jeans are my Topshop MOTO Black super high waisted Joni jeans, I love them so much. I wear them all the time and honestly don't know what to wear when they go in the wash. What I love so much about high waisted jeans, is how comfy they are and how long they make your legs look. I mostly wear them with a stripy t-shirt or vintage jumper tucked in, as I like the vintage/modern mix that brings.

The only thing that annoys me is that they don't have front pockets so I never have anywhere to put my phone or purse. Topshop jeans are great quality and last for years, I plan to buy many more pairs from them in the future.

 

My friend loves Superdry Jeans and she says they are also uber comfortable. I think it can often be tricky for tall people (lucky!) to find jeans and trousers,  Superdry however seem great for my friend, who is tall. So if you are tall and have been struggling to find jeans then perhaps this is a good place to look.

www.topshop.com/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay

www.superdry.com/womens/jeans

For inspiration on the jeans front you can visit Harper's Bazaar's website, which shows off 'Celebrity Jeans (they) Love'. It is a great gallery, featuring 73 images of different ways celebrities have worn jeans.

www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/trends/celebrity-jeans

My favourites are on slides 26, 33, 43 and 64. What are yours?

Love Holly x

Tuesday, 3 March 2015

Song of the Week

Hey Guys,

I was so excited when I heard that The Vaccines would be releasing their long-awaited new single and it is finally here. The song is called 'Handsome' and although on first listen I wasn't sure if I liked it as much as some of their previous music, it has really grown on me in the last few days.


If you don't know The Vaccines, they are a 4-piece band, who are typically classed as playing music from the genre of Indie Rock. Their debut album,  'What Did You Expect from The Vaccines?' became the best-selling debut of that year (in 2011), their second album 'Come Of Age' reached number one in the album chart. The Vaccines next album is expected to be released later this year, and I for one can't wait!

'Handsome' - The Vaccines 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV6eODKYHXI

Love Holly x

Sunday, 1 March 2015

Song of the Week

Hey Guys,
Recently I've been loving listening to musicals, a few of my favourites being 'Wicked' and 'Sunshine on Leith' which both Holly and I thoroughly enjoyed. But what I've really being enjoying the soundtrack to 'Matlida'; obviously growing up I saw the film production (which I still own on VCR) and I remember it being one of my favourite musicals (apart from Beauty and the Beast). I only recently stumbled across it because I've been writing my English coursework on the Dahl book 'The BFG' and if you didn't know Matilda is also written by Roald Dahl. My favourite song from the musical has to "When I grow up" the original and the reprise, but you have to listen to it off the original theatre soundtrack, not the film one.


If you're interested in the other musicals I'm interested I've created a spotify soundtrack (which I listen to the majority of the time when doing my art coursework).

Love Daisy x