Own Clothes Day: What I Wore

The own clothes day. Or, as I prefer to call it: the sudden-realisation-I-have-nothing-to-wear day. Occurring approximately 4 or 5 times every academic year, the 'own clothes day' is, in theory, every fashionista's best friend- a chance to show off the season's latest trends, to show off those new boots, to find the skinniest jeans in your wardrobe and parade around the school knowing that your waist will be squeezed tighter than anyone else's in the whole school. However, sadly there is a thin line between the own clothes day being your best friend and your worst enemy, and it should be every style-conscious student's priority to avoid crossing this line at all costs.
One wrong move on own clothes day, and your image can be tainted- for a lot longer than a good outfit will enhance your image as well. I can painfully recall many an embarrassingly awful outfit on own clothes days past. I must admit, I wasn't really into fashion when I was 13, hence I thought nothing of wearing a navy tracksuit with a grey striped jumper and white trainers- on each and every own clothes day that year! (sadly that is completely true- the memory still haunts me!) Since then I have done much to rebuild my reputation, and, if nothing else, my sartorially disastrous youth has at least taught me to be aware that own clothes day is not an occasion to be taken lightly.
Unfortunately, whenever it is the evening before own clothes day, and I peer hopefully into the depths of my wardrobe, the washing machine monster comes along and swallows up all the clothes I really want to show off. Then, inconveniently, all my back-up, plan B, fail-safe essentials (black skinnies, chunky cardigans, v-neck tees etc) have either disappeared off the face of the earth, or have some sort of hole or tear in them, which I belatedly realise I was supposed to sew up weeks ago. Then I am forced to venture into the wilder realms of my closet- the place where home-made experiments lay strewn about, half finished, over the wardrobe floor, and where daringly risque patterns hide at the back of draws. Such was precisely the case on this own clothes day. This is what I went for:

   Let me take you through my clothing choices. I'll start from the top down- so first, I went for a classic band tee. I bought this Guns 'N Roses tee about 3 or 4 years ago when I was going through something of a rock phase. I love the contrast of the colours on the black, and I've always had a thing for cross shapes and skulls, so the combination of the two in an almost religious fashion was just irresistible. I cut off the sleeves, and lowered the neck line, partly because it was too tight, partly because low cut tops are very on trend (or at least were when it was a little warmer!) and partly so that I could show off my two tone necklace (also made of skulls- wooden ones).
 As tempting as it was to compound the crucifix look by wearing a necklace with a cross on it, I went for something a little more exciting in the form of this spiky chain necklace with some sort of shapes on it (still not sure exactly what they are). Whatever it is, I think it's really jazzy, and a bargain at £6.
 Working our way further down, we come to the jeans I chose to wear. These are a little personal innovation of mine. Originally cheapo £10 skinny jeans from Primark, I first ripped these jeans, then decided they weren't interesting enough, so I bunches them up with elastic bands and stuck them in a tub of bleach for a week. Annoyingly, they refused to go white, but the yellow is a little different to most bleachers I suppose, and I love the random swirls and patches the bleaching process creates.
 I played it safe with the footwear by picking out a sensible pair of docs. I had been waiting for an opportunity to wear my beloved teal brothel creepers, but decided against this move when I saw the rain clouds gathering before I had even left my house. Still, I think the dark green goes nicely with the darkness of the top, and contrasts sublimely with the yellow of the bleachers.
 And here's a picture from behind, because my bum is obviously exactly what you want to see!
There, then. I hope you like what I wore this own clothes day, and I hope I have convinced you that own clothes day is an opportunity for creative expression which is not to be missed.

My Christmas wishlist- Fashion!

The beginning of December seems to me to be an appropriate time to start considering what I might like to find in my stocking at Christmas, or, as I prefer to call it, the-prelude-to-sales-mas. A plethora of seasonal goodies spring to mind: christmasy jumpers, winter boots, chunky cardigans, woolly scarves, cozy gloves- the list of warm winter garments goes on.
However, as a penniless student, I must face the reality that it's very unlikely I will coming home from the boxing day sales with all of the above items in tow. To comfort myself, I've made a hypothetical list of all the items I'd very much like to own by 2013. If there is some sort of style Santa out there somewhere (in Paris or New York, I would imagine), I hope he hears my plea!

Without further ado, let's proceed with the list...

Admittedly, this isn't really a woolly scarf, but what it lacks in wool it makes up for in sheer gorgeousness. Of course, the same can be said for most scarves, if they bear the Louis Vuitton insignia! Louis Vuitton ranks highly in my list of up-market, designer fashion houses- largely due to the fact that Marc Jacobs is creative director there. The cost for this product of his genius: quite a lot (£495 to be precise). It comes in three other colours, but 'camel' is my favourite shade for this lezard print scarf. 

There is nothing I would not do if it meant I could buy this £1,585, feather print, wool jacket (I don't even want to think how much the whole suit would cost, but it would be lovely to have the trousers too!). It would certainly make my prom a memorable evening! And anything that's done by Mcqueen is worth every penny (even the £120 feather brooch that goes with the suit!)

This really is the bag to travel with. Prada's men's section is often overlooked when considering men's designer brands- with no good reason! When travelling somewhere, it's always difficult to find a bag which says 'stylish', but is also actually distinguishable from other, not-so-stylish, regular travel bags; there's far to much dull grey and black in the bag world at the moment. But no-one's going to mistake you for just another boring tourist when you've got this beautiful, brushed calf leather briefcase with funky red bits on it (still not entirely sure what they actually are!), a bargain at £1,200 (NOT) from Prada.

Considering that my total costs have reached up into the thousands, I think now would be a modest point at which to end my (brief) wishlist. The scarf-jacket-bag combination is a little odd, I'll admit, but I didn't want style Santa to think I was being to greedy by going for a full outfit- then I might just end up with a sack of reindeer print winter socks from Matalan!





  

Denim Jacket Customization

By way of apology for not blogging in god-knows-how-long, I thought I'd give you another insight into my own wardrobe- not my school wardrobe, for a change. The item I'd really like to draw your attention to here, is my self-customized denim jacket.
I decided a few weeks ago that a plain denim jacket was simply too boring, and looked a little bit too 1970s for my liking. Hence I decided to jazz it up a bit- nothing too special, just some fairly standard modifications which you can apply to virtually any garment- be it a jacket, top, shirt orpair of jeans- to make it a little more interesting.




(on  a practical level, I went with a simple, colourless printed tee shirt, so as not to draw attention away from the jacket; bright red skinny jeans, which I think contrast well with the blueness of the denim; some colourfull bracelets and cross necklaces; and a basic black pair of boots)


In terms of the jacket itself, I found some cheap leopard print material, which I imagine you could find at any local craft store, and sewed it into the front pockets. I also put some studs on the pockets. I adore studs- I just think they're a fantastic way to put some detail into an outfit. They're also a great conversation starter- whenever I wear studs, I'm always asked: 'did you do those yourself?' They never fail to impress people- probably because most people don't realise how easy they are to do! I buy my studs from Love Craft haberdashery (check them out, they have a fabulous range of stuff! @ http://www.love-craft.co.uk/ )


Denim is just begging to be bleached! I mixed some standard household bleach with water and put it in a spray thingy (one of those things Cilit Bang comes in) then sprayed in patches on the jacket. It doesn't have to be obvious, but I think it gives the jacket a nice sort of washed-out look.



Spikes- very fierce!

Oh dear, Elizabeth!

American actress, Elizabeth Banks, hit the horse races this weekend wearing this curious, strikingly bold sleeveless dress:
On first glance, I must say I actually approved of the dress. I thought: ' navy houndstooth- nice, a little less elegant-ascot-finery, more couture-chez-Topshop. Only, this isn't houndstooth. In fact, I'm not sure exactly what it is. For a start, I can't work out if its grey on navy or navy on grey- I'm going with the latter. Onto the pattern itself- I like to call it batman meets butterfly. I still can't work out why the pattern changes direction bellow the belt- I can only assume that the belt is designed to go with the outfit, meaning she didn't choose the belt herself, meaning she didn't make an effort as far as creativity is concerned. Not cool. (it wouldn't surprise me if the bracelet came with the belt either!)
In fairness, the necklace is lovely, but it would have gone a lot better with a darker dress- something quieter,  maybe plain black or red. Also would have looker nicer if half of it wasn't awkwardly hanging over the dresses' neck line!
Then there are the boots. Admittedly, they look rugged and rustic, and I'm sure they were very practical at the race course. Practical, that is, if she were a jockey; in which case she would certainly have no need for that dress. As it stands, she's not a jockey, she's a prestigious actress, and as such should not be seen prancing around a race course in boots. A sensible pair of heels would have been preferable.
All in all; a disappointing look!

Outfit of the Day: School Uniform (part 4)

So, today I felt like going for a bit more of a classic look. More conventional than some of my school outfits in the sense that it's a little plainer and less unique, but it still sticks out like a Prada handbag in Primark when I'm amidst the see of 2 piece grey and black suits that are commonplace in the sixth form common room. This outfit is also much cheaper than a dull £120 pinstripe suit from M&S. The tweed jacket is ancient- at least 40 years old I'd reckon, considering that it used to belong to my Granddad (shocking, I know). I found the tie in a vintage charity shop for about £2 and the light blue shirt is only £7 from Tesco. In fairness, the chinos were a little more- about £30 from Topman, but when you wear a hand-me-down jacket, you have an excuse to splash out a little on some nice chinos (and, *cough* a £50 pair of brogues *cough*).

White Is The New Black (and vice versa)

Since the revolutionary beginnings of the 1960s, one colour combo that has retained its commercial popularity and stylistic appeal is perhaps the simplest: black and white, or monochrome. The monochrome look is a simple, fashionable and chic look which fits any season. It has a certain timeless quality to it- it can be reinvented in different shapes and lines to give a totally new, but equally striking look.
 
A classic Quant monochrome creation, ca 1962
Although the monochrome colour scheme was an integral part of Chanel's designs (particularly in her felt and tweed skirts) since the 1920s, it did not attain widespread appeal until it was popularised by the likes of Mary Quant and Andres Courreges in the late 1950s/ early 1960s. Unlike Chanel's designs, which had a sort of elegant quality, the designs of the 'Op Look' were cut in striking shapes and bold patterns. This was cutting edge fashion- the designs of Quant and Courreges and their contemporaries were totally revolutionary and unprecedented.
Ever since the days of the 'Space Age' fashion of the early sixties, the monochrome colour scheme has remained very stylish. Here's a slightly more modern variant of the monochrome style:
Louise Gray A/W 2012

Talbot Runhof A/W 2012
I love the clashing patterns of the Louise Gray design. I think that the print demonstrates the ethos of the 60's designers really accurately- that monochrome should be used to create a bold, striking look- whilst giving the look a slightly more modern twist with the crazy, futuristic graphic print combinations. The Talbot Runhof mini dress also has a sort of retro style to it- the shape of the dress is quite angular and straight- the dress renders the wearer virtually figure-less. The checked-cum-gingham print really draws attention to the dress and the feathery collar is a welcome addition to the design.

 More evidence for the timelessness of the Gingham look- almost 100 years since she pioneered the look, Coco Chanel's label is still producing elegant and sophisticated monochrome outfits.

My Wish list- casual high street look

As I am currently suffering from a slight cash flow deficit  I decided I would make a wishlist of the clothes I like, rather than actually buying them. And seeing as I've been somewhat enthralled by vintage looks recently, I felt as though a return to the high street was in order. So these are some of the things I would really like to buy- I've tried to keep to a fairly realistic budget, as though I were actually buying the clothes, though you'll notice I let fantasy get the better of me with some items... 
Navy striped vest top- £12 (River Island)
Red slim fit trousers- £14.99 (H&M)
Dark green cardigan- £14.99 (H&M) (yes- £14.99!!!)
Unsung hero devon men's casual brogue boot- £60 (Very)
Orange aztec belt- £15.99 (River Island)
Armani Leather bracelet- £165 (the Jewel Hut)
Grey cable knit Beanie- £10 (River Island)
Tweed flat cap- £10 (Boohoo)
Braces- £12 (Topman)

Altogether, I think the outfit combined to give a very contemporary, chic, stylish look. It's also rather cheap- the H&M items are an absolute bargain, and if you exclude the fancy bracelet and replace the brogues with something a little cheaper (though £60 isn't bad for brogue boots!), then you have the basics of an outfit for about £50 (a little more with the braces and belt). Each item has its own merits- the aztec print belt is very funky, and will create a nice contrast line between the bright, bold red of the trousers and the stripes of the vest top. The darkness of the cardy will go nicely with the brightness of the trousers, and guarantees the wearers' warmth. The hats are lovely too- the Beanie says edgy indie, whereas the flat cap says smart sophisticated. I hope you like it!
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