Sleepwear : Outerwear

Before sharing the piece I wrote for this post a few days ago, I'd first like to briefly speak about the horrifying news that the world woke up to yesterday morning. It's hard to collect your thoughts together about circumstances like this, because the mere thought of an act so sickening shouldn't even be possible. But it was - it was sickening and completely inhumane. Those words can't even begin to express it. News like this will always hit you hard - and this hit me because it happened so close to home, in a venue that many happy memories were made for me as a child. Concerts - they're wholly ecstatic events that people go to for their own experience of pure joy. And for children in particular, pure joy in the most rewarding and innocent form imaginable - joy that remains with them forever. So the action of shattering a blessed experience for so many in the most horrific way is true inhumanity. It can't be fathomed. Whilst I could write for days about the matter, I won't say much more. I use this website as an open platform to share my thoughts, so I wanted to shed a piece of my opinion on the news - news I need not describe in detail because everyone reading this is sure to feel as equally disgusted. My thoughts go out to all those affected during this terrible act of inhumanity. But let us not allow it to diminish the dreams that should come from the wonderful experiences that are made through pop culture. Let us live out the dreams of those who are no longer here to pursue them.

Rural Recluse

When I was five years old, I viewed the world through frames of fantasy. I remember travelling with my parents to the Lake District - a national park in Cumbria, northwest England - for a short recluse away from the city which was our home. The suburban beauty of its pure nature affirmed its undeniable charm, and as a young child mesmerised by the simplest of things, many of its traditions compelled me. One particular episode worth noting was a storyteller's garden I visited in a small village called Grasmere. Families would gather around a fantastical storyteller who would immerse each and every soul present through recounting traditional fairytales. You'd sit on ornate wooden chairs and feel at complete ease surrounded by torches and braziers, which only served to amplify the tales told before you. It was a mesmeric experience to my youthful, dreaming self - I felt part of a world far from reality. Maybe that's a reason I grew to study and love literature - I always enjoyed the feeling of escaping to an alternative world.

Feminine

People often ask me why I want to work in fashion. Is it just for the sake of saying how much I like clothes? No, it's much more than that. The power that the fashion industry holds means that it is able to incite change and spark propaganda, which is something we're seeing more of in the wake of social and political agitation. But at the same time, fashion can serve as a display of who we naturally are, and as a female, I enjoy using fashion as a mode of celebrating my femininity. When observing the recent fashion frenzy associated with feminism, it appears as though there are different ways to proclaim your gender, something that I am going to shed opinion on today.

The Observer

I've long been fond of observing people. As an only child, I grew up with an appreciation of independence, yet I think that part of the ability to accept independence derives from having an understanding of others. I believe that immersing yourself in a crowd of complete strangers who you are able to observe somewhat comforts your self-liberty. I frequently love situating myself in my own little bubble, whether it be through strolling around the city or sitting in a coffee shop. Yet despite the literal state of being alone, I find it hard to ever feel truly lonely, or lonely with the negative connotations associated with the word. For me, being alone stimulates being an observer - something which I want to share my thoughts on today.

In with the new

The fashion industry is one which depends on turnover, on new ideas, innovation and trends. The return of fashion week to London demonstrated the constant innovation across the new collections of British designers, many of which I was fortunate enough to discover. Below are some of my favourite shows and presentations I attended across the short albeit sweet period of London Fashion Week.

D I O (R) E V O L U T I O N ?

Haute Couture has long been honoured for its extreme attention to detail and utter craftsmanship which transports its wearer to another time, another environment, and another identity. During the assertive march on Saturday for women's rights in the wake of President Trump's inauguration, the proclaiming T-Shirt from Maria Grazia Chiuri's debut SS17 collection for Dior - 'We Should All Be Feminists' - was worn by many figures including Rihanna and Natalie Portman. Establishing a modern take on the zeitgeist of feminism with strong slogan shirts, it was anticipated that Chiuri would present her first couture collection for Dior in alliance with her revolutionary statement present in Ready-To-Wear: stressing that of female empowerment and equality in a bold, innovative way. To the surprise of all, her messages were not quite so point blank - instead, she offered a homage to couture's origins in her collection rather than obviously proposing a revolution. Yet, amidst a flurry of enchanting, mesmeric gowns with fine detail and delicate craftsmanship, there was an undercurrent of influential messages concerning femininity, empowerment, beauty and the inspiration deriving from dreams.

What to Wear: Autumn/Winter 16

Happy Saturday everyone! With Autumn well and truly established and temperatures quickly dropping, it's time for our wardrobes to change. In today's post, I'm going to be talking to you about the hottest runway trends established in AW16 collections earlier this year, and how to try them out for yourself with the help of some superb high street brands, in particular ESPRIT. For my own personal style, when the new season arrives, I'll often take inspiration from magazine editorials, and then find the best equivalents at affordable prices. When searching amongst the hottest editorials across international titles, I discovered multiple reigning trend motifs apparent for this season. Want to know how to channel these trendy motifs? Keep on reading!

Archive By Alexa: Season 2

Good evening everyone, and Happy Halloween! I had so much fun celebrating the occasion over the weekend, and spending hours creating the coolest make up looks! But turning my attention to the focus of this post: Archive by Alexa. Back in April, I published a post on Alexa's collection with Marks & Spencer, which is one of my most popular and most read posts to date! So I'm back with a new post in celebration of her new collection.

The Street Style Debate: A Response to US Vogue

This morning I woke up and opened Instagram, as I do every other day. Though today, my feed was flooded by opposing argumentative responses to a US Vogue article. Noticing that these responses were strongly defending the role of both bloggers and street style photographers, I instantly took to finding the piece online. What I read from US Vogue was both saddening and disappointing.

Stealin' Street Style

Street Style: a show which is now equally as popular as those occurring on the runway. Street style serves as a form of endless inspiration for each of us; there's nothing I love more than admiring the bold looks gracing the streets of London during fashion week, from which I take great influence. Thankfully, we are surrounded by both shops and online boutiques which faithfully match those naturally snapped outfits which we dream of, due to their effortlessness and clear style. In this weeks post, I'm going to be talking about my top street style trends from fashion week this year, and how you can re-create these looks with items from a superb store: ESPRIT.

Miracle Aligners

Imagine you're standing in an outdoor venue, anxiously waiting for two of your favourite musicians to walk on stage and perform a setlist of effortlessly cool, witty songs. Then they walk on, accompanied by none other than Johnny Marr, iconic guitarist of The Smiths, and open their gig with Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me. I was fortunate enough to witness this as I travelled to Manchester's Castlefield Bowl to see The Last Shadow Puppets perform on Sunday night.

Bill Cunningham: An Icon

Bill Cunningham. The name instantly sparks the most pleasant image in ones mind; an individual, charismatic man, riding his bicycle through Manhattan. And in his additional backpack, that essential item which illustrated his artistic projections of society: his 35-milimetre camera. This morning, the world awoke to the news that this legendary photographer had passed away at age 87, and with this news, a sense of great sorrow arose. This is due to the fact that, quite simply, we have lost a true icon to the fashion industry.

The Vogue 100 Festival

Situated in the heart of the Kensington Garden and the Royal Geographical Society, this year's Vogue Festival was as grand as ever, and a perfect way of celebrating 100 years of an iconic fashion magazine.

Don't let print die

One of my favourite films of all time: The Devil Wears Prada, questions Andy Sachs when asking:

"You think this is just a magazine? This is not just a magazine. This is a shining beacon of hope."

For a society consumed by technology, it's safe to say that magazine failure is a likely threat. But should it be? Should we allow digital media to serve as the only way of publicising fashion? Most certainly not.