Golden Lady

Meryl Streep was definitely the leading lady at this year’s Oscars. Giving her peers a master class in dressing for your age, I would have awarded her look of the night as well as ‘Best Actress’. She oozed Hollywood glamour in this gold Lanvin creation, and as every fashion conscious girl knows always match your outfit to your accessories, and what better accessory than a shiny gold Oscar?

Well done Meryl

Very well deserved

Louis Vuitton SS12

In the shoe department Louis Vuitton is not something I would usually get excited about, I normally only look to the iconic brand for handbags, but I love what they have produced for this season. SS12 sees a simple court with a fun little twist.

 The metal detail they have added to the toe cap is just enough embellishment to make a classic court interesting. At £600 a pop though I doubt I’ll be splashing out so lucky for me that the Great British high street has come up trumps with their own little versions.

This version from Zara comes in at a very purse friendly £49.99 and the added rose metal detail is a very warming colour that will add depth to this seasons cool pastels.

Topshop haven’t done too badly either, their offering is more of an evening shoe that will look great with both pastels and AW11 darker shades.

So whether you have a designer or a more modest budget the toe-capped court is definitely a trend worth taking a look at for SS12.

Love your Style

This isn’t the largest Blog ever written or a rant its just a little pat on the back to someone who I believe personifies style.

Every once in while I think we should take a sit back from the glamour of fashion magazines and celebrity culture and applaud someone who stands out in the style stakes.

I think it’s a great thing to congratulate that normal girl who has managed to achieve her own sense of style. I’m quite  fickle when it comes to defining my own look, I don’t think anyone could accuse me of having one unique look, don’t get me wrong I know what suits my frame and what compliments my albino like complexion but to put it bluntly I’m a bit of a fash whore!

The object of my style crush is my good friend, well lets just call her China Doll in case I embarrass her.

Some of you cynics may say she looks a little bit like Jessie J, well let me tell you this picture was taken when Jessie J was no more than Jessica Ellen Cornish.

She has no stylist and there’s not a single piece of designer in her wardrobe, what she does have is Personal style and confidence and I think she looks great!

We probably all have a friend like China Doll, she doesn’t fit the normal mould but she’s always that girl who catches your eye. She’s also the girl who can enter Primarni and find that one item you would never have noticed and make it unrecognisable from the mass produced lands of horror which it came. China Doll has that personal sense of style that means whatever she’s wearing the style shines through.

Not all of us are lucky enough to have designer sized clothes funds and china Doll is testimony that true style has no price tag. She’s a credit to fashion on a budget and demonstrates superbly how amazing the British high street can be.

So the next time you see a regular girl with the kind of look that stopped you in your tracks, don’t let her walk by compliment her. I guarantee you’ll make her day.

UGG Rewritten

So I’d best be honest from the start, I had intended to write this blog about my hatred of the most staple wardrobe classic since denim Jeans the UGG boot, but then I foolishly began my research. After asking friends what they thought about UGG boots or as I used to call them Greggs pasties for your feet , one girl friend said the sentence that made me huff and puff like a wayward teenager

“Why don’t you try mine on?”

Me try on UGGs? At the time I’d have rather let a Blacksmith perm my hair with a piece of wrought iron! Begrudgingly I gave in, after all it wouldn’t be fair to publicly slate without at least trying them on.

Well to say I wasn’t prepared is definitely an understatement, WOW my feet had never been treated to such pleasures, the soft sheep wool caressed my toes as I slipped my foot in, instantly being moulded once set in place. I now feel like the most fickle person to have ever tried on a pair of shoes, less than 10 seconds it took for me to go back on  nearly 10 years of hatred.

So where did my hatred come from?

Well lets be honest any trend started by Pamela Anderson was never going to fair well in my books. But if my memory serves me right it was Kate Moss who was the first to grace our magazines wearing UGG boots, and like most things worn by Kate Moss everyone else looks crap in comparison.

By the late noughties the trend had really set in  that’s when the realm of the cheap look alike began. You know the ones I mean, they usually cost around £15 from low end high street chains. £15 too much I say!

It’s the collapsed backs that get to me the most. It cant be good for your feet to scrape your soles along the ground in boots that provide no support, now I know I now sound like the lady at Clarks that used to measure your feet on that nifty coloured gadget but she was right! And to top it all off it looks terrible.

 Ever heard anyone say:

“oooh you’d have to prise my UGGs off my feet I live in them”

That’s because you splashed out all of a weeks worth of Boots meal deals on a shoe you’ll wear all winter, the bacteria has probably began to spread so badly the boots are now officially a parasite that need to remain attached in order to breath, I hope your eating for two now and not starving your new growth of nutrients.

Now I realise that authentic UGG boots are far from cheap but lets do some maths, the average UGG costs around £200 lets say you wear them 5 times a week for 4 months that’s £2.50 maximum per wear surely worth the investment.

But now I feel so foolish, I’ve spent so many years with nothing but snide remarks to say about them that if I turn up one day wearing them my friends are going to think I’m the biggest hypocrite ever! Its only the past week I’ve not referred to them as UGGLY boots (see what I did?) Gulp! If I’m ever going to be able to treat my feet to the most comfortable footwear ever to grace fashion there’s only one thing left to do, brace yourself friends

“my name is Merille and I love UGG boots!”

'Just Primark'

Primark’s story began in 1969 in Ireland, back then it was called Penny’s and it was a one unit venture. By the end of 1973 there were 18 stores in Ireland it was then that Penny’s became Primark and moved to Great Britain. The downfall of company’s such as BHS and C&A allowed Primark to inhabit the majority of the units they left empty. Primark now trades as a European company and in total has 226 stores as of 27th October 2011.

So what’s all the fuss about? On the outside Primark’ journey may read as a success story but it has been plagued with controversy. In 2008 the infamous BBC show Panorama aired “Primark on the Rack”, which claimed to show three young boys being used to manufacture clothes sold in Primark. After 3 years, a lengthy investigation by Primark and a comprehensive review by the BBC Trust, the BBC Trust confirmed that this footage was fabricated and the programme should never have been broadcast. Of course apologies were made but those are heavy accusations, and how many people have visited Primark’s website to learn the truth about this accusation?

Looking at Primark’s website now it would be difficult to imagine that 3 years ago they were accused of being such an unethical company, the site is basically an advertisement for the good things they do with talk of building communities, sustaining the environment and differences they make to businesses. All in all its pretty positive and what have they done that’s so bad?

When I ask my friends what they think about Primark the reviews are mixed;

‘Its always so busy’
‘the queues are huge!’
‘the clothes are on the floor’
‘some of the customers are questionable’

To that all I can say is go first thing in the morning, the people on those tills are rapid, don’t buy the clothes on the floor and to the last one stop being such a snob! I think people believe that because its cheap it must be rubbish. Doesn’t Primark source its products from the same places as the rest of the high street? Isn’t Primark just charging what its actually worth without adding such ridiculous margins? Why does cheap have to insinuate that its at somebody else’s expense?

I wanted to write this because I want people to see Primark through my eyes. I’m a huge fan of Primark, not because I like generic fashion but because its gives me the opportunity to experiment with trends. Every month my subscription magazine turns up and after drooling over the luxury for a few hours it’s the high street that I hit to find my fix. I can’t afford a designer wardrobe that’s going to go out of fashion in six months. Sure we all like to save for classics and staple pieces but lets take this seasons Miu Miu glitter heels, they look amazing but they’re an evening shoe and if I was to pay the £370 price tag I would have to go to my Christmas party in my bra and knickers like first school when you forgot your PE kit. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not naïve I’m not one of those people who convinces themselves that there’s no difference but I can’t have it all and that’s why Primark is so great for me.

For the masses Primark has been a bit of a saviour, if you love fashion or not it has provided affordable clothing in times when even Topshop’s prices can make you wince a bit. And for those who love fashion its provided an opportunity to experiment with trends at a low cost.
How many times have you stopped a friend because you loved what they were wearing only for them to respond in a coy manner

‘its just Primark’

We’ve all done it and yeah like me I’m sure you went looking for it only to be told its out of stock, isn’t that a good thing? We all presume that billions of the same thing are made like Star Wars droids they’re all hanging in a warehouse with no one to love them, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Take a chance, customise a bit, change the buttons or the belt, don’t wear head to toe or team with more expensive pieces. I’ve given you my tips why don’t you take a trip to Primark and see it in a different way, block out the crowds and tunnel vision your way around and enjoy the treats it has to offer like this seasons ‘Gucci 1973’ inspired pieces.

And the next time someone compliments your Primark outfit don’t whisper coyly because it not ‘just Primark’.

Inspiration Spice

It all started in 1996, it was the school holidays I was 13 when something happened that would change my life forever!

The Spice Girls

Now I’m not saying that musically they broke any boundaries, but they gave me and my peers a female inspiration my generation had not witnessed before. Endless conversations of “which one are you?” “Girl power” and “what are they wearing?” Even now it’s the fashion that inspires me most, the Spice Girls were so care free and fun it’s hard to forget the dress made from a tea cloth, the neon’s, platforms and leopard print all a visual treat for every girls eyes. 

It was an image in the press lately that really caught my eye, Geri wearing an updated version of one of the most iconic dresses of all time. 

This made me think how responsible the Spice Girls are for modern day fashion. Were the Spice Girls the ape-like creature to our fashion evolution?

 

Take the infamous Buffalo platform trainers, haven’t they just been replaced by Ash or the Isabel Marant heeled trainers sported by on trend celebs this season?

I’m sure not many a designer would admit it but is Sporty Spice the back bone of Sports Luxe? It’s not hard to visualise that this is where the inspiration could have come from. Sports Luxe is surely a more sophisticated version of Sporty’s tracksuit.

Obviously all trends have a predecessor albeit a less appealing one but doesn’t it make you feel good to look back fondly on memories, and for me the Spice Girls are something I will always look back on through romanticised eyes.

Love them or hate them the Spice Girls have definitely left a legacy, I would love to see Victoria Beckham take inspiration from her own background and add a little Spice to her own collection. Obviously her brand is more classic but even a hint would appease my fashion cockles.

As far as I am concerned there will always be room in my heart and inspiration for a little bit of Spice.