Fit or Fashion?

Posted on May 19, 2014 by spentland

As I begin to write my first blog in a while, there is a thought that crosses my mind constantly, especially as the golden days of Friday and Saturday draw closer.

If anyone reading this is like me, you will forever have on your mind ‘What to wear?’ and unfortunately this age old question comes down to two areas ‘Do I go for fit?’ or ‘Do I go for fashion?’ It pains me that this is sometimes the choice, however for me 99% of the time, the answer tends to be the latter.

As women we are often forced to confirm into types of behaviour and appearances to allow us to find our place in society. If a woman wears a tailored suit to the office she can be branded a feminist or manly, if she wears a skirt and blouse she is at the mercy of the men around her. A recent campaign caught my attention Ban Bossy, it delved into the mental affect calling a young girl ‘bossy’ can have. Whilst little boys playing in the school yard leading friends in a game would be called a born leader and girl doing the same would be branded Little Miss Bossy.

So as a single twenty-something, when beginning my Friday night drinks in South London I have to ask myself whether I am going to dress to capture the eye of a potential suitor or whether I will dress to capture my own imagination. Of course we all have the one friend ‘If you’ve got it flaunt it!’ Not usually my style. But every now and then I think I wonder if it would make a difference. Does wearing my oversized vintage tartan and velvet blazer with black jeans over a bandeau dress and court shoe really impact what a guy would see? Probably.

Every once in a while I gain the courage to don a ‘revealing’ dress and it is only down to the constant and often dominating encouragement from my best friends that I will go through with this kind of attire. However it seems my choice of fashion over the generic outlined format of ‘fit’ is simply my choice.

#banbossy

The pressure is on, or is it?

Posted on September 28, 2012 by spentland

Since coming home from a trip of a lifetime, reality has indeed set in.

Seven countries in four and a half months, all offering new experiences, new opportunities and new life lessons. The beauty of South East Asia is undeniable and by beauty I don’t just mean the postcard beaches and screen saver sunsets, but the beauty within the people of these countries and the strength they show. The Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot regime, S21 were all things I am slightly ashamed to say I had never heard of before I decided to travel to Cambodia. The Cambodian genocide was a travesty and only happened a few decades ago yet my generation seems completely unaware of what happened. Half the population were wiped out and therefore in some way everyone still in Cambodia has a connection to the tragedy that took place, although you wouldn’t think this upon visiting the country and meeting the people.

Poverty is an inescapable realism you face throughout all these countries and yet some of the major topics of conversation between myself and friends were ‘I need a job when I get back’, ‘I need to pay off my overdraft’ and so on. The pressure of working and earning was still with us when we were thousands of miles away. I was having a conversation with my parents just the other day and they described what their work ethic was like when they were my age and it was more I’ll get money when I get it, rather than I need to get money now. With debts hanging over most of our heads and the ideal of being a successful 20-something always in our thoughts, I don’t think we can help the way our generation now thinks.

I have been lucky enough to land myself a fantastic job and will be starting next week, and thanks to reading up on New York, London, Paris and Milan fashion weeks my need to go shopping and spend the money I have earned doing a temporary job is growing simply too great and will be heading to Westfields to get my own pieces of the latest trends (military and biker are looking like the favourites at the moment). Earning money is a great feeling but when I’m thinking about what I am going to spend my pay cheque I want to try to remember walking round the killing fields of Cambodia in the blistering heat, listening to the stories of what happened there. It is only a little something but for the first time in my life I have set up a regular donation to both the WWF and RSPCA and that at least gives me a small amount of satisfaction that some of my pay cheque is going towards better things. I don’t mean to preach, however I can’t feeling like we need to let go of some of this pressure and sometimes just sit back and take it all in, before we get to 50 and wonder where the fun, excitement and spontaneity stopped and all consuming work began.

A million miles away

Posted on June 13, 2012 by spentland

So it’ s been a long time since my last post and I’ve done a lot in that time. New Zealand was beautiful beyond words, a stunning country with so much to offer. From the skydiving, bungy jumping (obviously Nevis, go big or go home!) to white and black water rafting it was an incredible month, not to mention all the great people I met. The Maori people have an incredible history, I learned about them on a trip and my personal highlight was hearing about their tattoo traditions and how their tattoos paint a story of their lives, on their body. I went to an exhibit in the Te Papa Tongarewa museum in Wellington and was able to learn about the short but great life Vogue New Zealand had for 10 years, a few decades ago. The sample gowns were incredible and it was interesting to see what New Zealand brought to the fashion table all those years ago. I have now been in Thailand for a month and what a culture shock. The country is brilliant and you are never short of a good night out or beautiful beach or interesting character!

By making the decision not to bring out my beloved iPhone 4gs I made the decision to be relatively separated from what i know and love back home, (bar sharing my friend’s phone on the odd occasion). It made me realise that even though I am the ultimate phone addict I can go without for what will be four and a half months. I have struggled with is the separation from family and friends, needless to say it’s natural. However one other thing i struggled with is the separation from BBC Radio 1 and Annie Mac’s Friday night show, or Vogue news and updates daily in my Hotmail and general news. You become so consumed with what you are doing you forget about what is going on elsewhere. Traveling is incredible, exciting and you learn so much, along with university I sincerely recommend partaking. It tests you in ways you can’t imagine from bursting a blood vessel in your eye and looking like a zombie for 3 weeks, courtesy of a bungee jump, to breaking a toe courtesy of a drunken night in Koh Phangan, you learn to focus on what’s important and loosing something like a top is so insignificant compared to being able to contact home.

The next stop is the crazy place that is Lao, then onto Vietnam and Cambodia, to be filled with museums and war memorials, which I am so excited for. Then home. Four and a half months soon to be over and I am curious to see what that feeling will be like.

Fashion forward

Posted on March 28, 2012 by spentland

I finally managed to get hold of my very own Vogue Australia…… the first thing that struck me was the incredibly clean front cover with the title ‘Free Spirit’ and featuring the mesmerizing Julia Frauche, which relates to the overall impression of the Vogue Australia April 2012 issue. The letter from editor Kirstie Clements, describes what she loves about the current issue and that is two things the first being personal style, that it is now created and not just something you follow and imitate because a celebrity or familiar face is wearing it. The second being the confidence women can and should embody, with Stella McCartney and Kate Winslet leading the way.

A stand out element of the magazine for me was the brilliant article on one of my idols, Stella McCartney; the article was an interview with the 40 year fashion designer, activist and mother and delved into the mind of a fashion genius. Well written and accompanied by a stunning portrait of the woman herself, looking sleek and interesting by the great David Bailey, it was a perfect read for me in my hostel in Noosa, East Coast of Australia.

Stella McCartney as I have written in the past is fashion forward, not only in her designs but in her outlook on fashion, how she creates clothing for women and not just for her models but for the average woman in order to help her feel as confident as she should feel.

My next stop will be the country of New Zealand and will be filled with adrenaline pumping activities including sky diving and bungee jumping. However through all the mayhem I will of course be scoping out the New Zealand fashion and can’t wait for it all to begin.

The Land of Oz

Posted on March 12, 2012 by spentland

So, I haven’t done a post in a while because I’ve only been traveling the world. Started off in Sydney, which is an incredible city, needless to say it’s pretty pricey, but beautiful and a city lover’s dream. Moved onto Byron Bay which was a laidback haven, people were nice, tanned and rarely wore shoes. Watching the sunset on the beach on my last night there was a highlight and it all sunk in that I was finally doing something I had thought about for as long as I can remember. Now we are in Surfers Paradise which is a fresh and vibrant place, hoping the sun makes more of an appearance so that I can get this tan on the up so that my Englishness doesn’t seem so obvious around all these golden brown Ozzie’s and fellow travelers. One of my goals of this four and a half month trip with 3 of my best friends, is to collect a Vogue magazine in each country I visit. I want to get a deeper understanding of what all these different countries have to offer the fashion world and hopefully broaden my horizons. So far no luck in the Land of Oz but I will be searching every newsagent I wander past in the hope of finding Australian Vogue.

To be continued…..

Bondi Beach

A clash of loves

Posted on February 24, 2012 by spentland

As Fashion week is in full swing in Milan and London fashion week has now come to a close, I have two reflections on my mind. Looking back over LFW and some of my personal highlights, including the British influence throughout many of the shows and the eye catching and mouth watering colour combinations. Emelia Wickstead created an English infused, lady like collection; the collaboration of scarlet and blush pink was neither garish nor over-the-top,

Penelope Cruz for PETA

instead it slipped in perfectly with lady of Britain theme. Continuing this British influence Corrie Nelson’s A/W collection with the beautifully crafted designs and beautiful over flow of tartan patterns onto the models faces, bought some drama to the catwalk and the gorgeous use of collars and bows in Bora Aksu (collars being a personal love of mine) with the stunning flower patterns, as a stark contrast to Nelson, were simply beautiful. Both Zoe Jordan and PPQ stood out for me for the great use of texture, the designs were all rich with detail and luxury, with the embellished tights of PPQ and the fantastic Spanish hats of Jordan, the collections did not disappoint. The beautiful prints, colours and fabrics applied within the Moschino Cheap and Chic show, were an absolute highlight to LFW, the colours were pieced together in such a fun and elegant way that you could feel as if you were watching some of your grown up dress-up fantasies come to life. One show to be commended for its signature architectural design is that of Holly Fulton, in three words the designs were intricate, rich and stunning, and one would expect nothing less. Of course, I wouldn’t feel right commenting on LFW without the mention of Vivienne Westwood Red Label. A show with such a great range, with influences ranging from British punk to tribal, androgyny to draping dresses, it was difficult to find fault. Since the last Red Label show Westwood has raised £1.15 million for Cool Earth, giving the show a deeper meaning and influence, that reaches further out from the beautiful fashion.

However my second reflection upon LFW sprung to my mind when going through the Mulberry A/W 12/13 Ready-to-wear collection and that was fur. All my life I have been an animal lover and along with being a bit of a self-confessed feminist, I am a firm fighter for animal rights and this is the dilemma. I love fashion and culture and every element, the expression the unique ability to portray your mood, feelings and attitude through the clothes and accessories you adorn, however in the 21st Century we are still resorting to using fur as a statement of luxury and wealth. Faux-fur has come a long way from the costumes you would find in the drama cupboard at school; it can make the same statement, create the same image and portray the same glamour without the slaughter (to many this may seem a strong word, but for me it is quite apt) of beautiful innocent animals. On safari at seven years old I was lucky enough to see in the flesh a majestic elephant with incredible ivory tusks as big as me at the time; I hope that this elephant stayed how I remembered it and was not the victim of poachers, after its tusks to be made into someone’s grand piano keys. I plea that the ‘I would rather go naked than wear fur’ campaign created by PETA, continues to flourish and that more designers follow the path of Stella McCartney in going against the grain to create fashion without suffering.

What dreams are made of

Posted on February 17, 2012 by spentland

Marchesa Autumn/Winter – 2012/2013 – RTW

Marchesa A/W 12/13 NFW

Every now and then a show comes along, which in a phrase takes your breath away, this year for me Marchesa encapsulates this. Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig have created a brand filled with grace, glamour and sheer excellence, and this years catwalk show at NYFW simply re-affirmed this and then some. The contrast between the beauty and shine of half the collection and the impact and darkness of the other half collection were so perfectly combined that it is no wonder that in this years 84th Academy Awards we will be seeing these creations on the crème de la crème of Hollywood talent. As LFW kicks off I can only anticipate what the rest of the fashion world has to offer and I look forward to checking Vogue.com first thing every morning to get my daily intake of fashion.

Young ladies, are you going to vote?

Posted on May 5, 2010 by spentland

Votes for Women

1928, 82 years ago, all women finally recieved the vote, all thanks to the incredible women of the Suffragettes. Founded in 1897 by Millicent Fawcett, the Suffragettes fought for the right to vote for women, by 1918 women over 30 obtained the right to vote however it took a further 10 years for all women to recieve the vote under eaual terms as men. The Suffragettes achieved this by using any means necessary. Emmeline Pankhurst said in her autobiography,

‘this was the beginning of a campaign the like of which was never known in England, or for that matter in any other country…we interrupted a great many meetings…and we were violently thrown out and insulted. Often we were painfully bruised and hurt’.

In some cases they were more than just bruised and hurt; during their hunger strikes whilst incarcerated they were force fed through tubes and most famously Emily Davidson actually lost her life when at the June 1913 Derby she supposedly through herself under the kings horse and died.

The time to vote is coming up very quickly and the competition between the three major parties Labour, Liberal Democrats and Conservative is very close.

Through all this it must be said that in our current culture we have the responsibilty to vote. I personally am still undecided, however when i do make my descision i will be making the most of this power we now have.

My Short Story – ‘His Footsteps’

Posted on May 5, 2010 by spentland

His Footsteps

One of my interests includes writing and i hope to pursue this once i have finished my BA Hons Communication and Media course, as part of the second year course we were assigned the task of writing a short story. We had free range of what the story could be about and i chose the two main themes of family relationships and losing a loved one. Below is an extract from the story, at this point a young girl has travelled to America with her sister and Mother to spread her Fathers ashes with his two sisters, Nancy and Pat.

‘ “You should not play with things that do not belong to you, child”, I could not believe it, in all that was going on, that was what she had to say to me. I looked at her in shock and could feel my cheeks warming up, my chin start to quiver and my eyes fill with water. I walked out of the shop with a blur of people calling after me. As I’m walking down the clean street of this small town, I do not know where I am going or what I am doing, all I knew was I had to get away from it, from everything, especially my aunt. I refuse to show any kind of weakness in front of her.

My senses came back to me and I sat down on the nearest bench. I put my hands in my lap and looked down as they filled with small droplets of salty water. I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them tightly, resting my head on my knees.

I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and as I looked up the sun was shining behind this stranger’s head hampering my view of who they were.’

The young girl who is the narrator of the story, Jennifer has always struggled to have a good relationship or any kind of relationship at all with her aunt Nancy. One of the main aims of the story was to give people some hope that relationships within a family can be improved mainly with good communication. ‘His Footsteps’ resolves at the end with Jennifer and Nancy finding a common ground and Jennifer deciding to follow her Fathers footsteps and travel the world. The story was written for a magazine such as Take a Break, which regularly run short stories, and as most of us have lost someone close to us at one point or another i felt the story could be relatable to most readers.

You-take-over-tube

Posted on April 26, 2010 by spentland

This generation has fast become used to the technical wonders we have nowadays, mobile internet, mobile TV, the ability to watch, dare i say it? Anything we want on the internet. But this take over could be said to be the easiest way to get your 15 minutes of fame.

Music seems to be the greatest running theme of internet fame, new artists started off in recent years by having a myspace page in which they could publish their music for all to hear, without a penny to pay. Now it has taken a step up with the creation of You Tube, artists can post their videos on here and become an overnight sensation. Take Justin Bieber, his music video on You Tube ‘Baby’ featuring hip-hop artist Ludacris has recieved nearly 100,000,000 hits and has shot him to fame. One could even go to the other end of the spectrum to the less chart hitting music of a man called Tay Zonday, whos song ‘Chocolate Rain’ has recieved over 50,000,000 hits and has become a cult sensation. With it even being parodied in a recent South Park episode in which

: You Tube Generation

they illustrate (in their own distinct style) the You Tube take over.

It seems to be that gone are the days when artists will work for years to have their video seen, instead our media empire has grown to enable us to do it with an upload and a click of a button. We will just have to see who the next Justin Bieber or Tay Zonday will be.