First Lady ... Belle of the inauguration Ball

As this week saw Barack Obama become US President, I thought it was only fitting to pay tribute...to his wife Michelle.

I won't claim to be an expert on politics so instead I want to pay homage to Michelle Obama and her beautiful Jason Wu gown and Jimmy Choo shoes worn to her husbands inauguration Ball in Washington this week. It's nice to see a younger, more down to earth couple in the White house, bringing a touch of style into an otherwise stressful and highly powerful role. Could this First lady be American's new answer to a style icon for the middle class, middle aged American women? (goodness knows its about time!) Could she be the twenty first Century Jackie O?

I suppost this post could be described as 'frivolous'; discussing anelegant women's style when her husband's effectively controlling global issues, but hey...she is the most famous 'other half' in the world at the moment...and I am a Fashion student after all......

Wholly COW...it's a lock in

The Nottingham Branch of Cow opened it's doors tonight for a student Lock-in that promised live dj sets, free beer and a 10% savings on all vintage apparel and accessories found in the infamous blue fronted shop in Nottingham's Lace Market. It certainly didn't disappoint either... (although I have to admit now that no purchases were made by me as earlier today I was let loose in Topshop and decided to buy myself some early birthday treats...Credit crunch Amy, credit crunch...)

If you haven't already checked this Vintage delight out, get yourself down there for some great key vintage finds(the Birmingham Branch is equally as good...perhaps, I hasten to say, better)

All in all a good night. Ta ta for now..........

Phoebe Philo went to MY art college...does that make me famous?

I've always loved Chloé. beautiful, well cut, Parisian chic in colours to salivate over. But i'm sure part of my love for the brand came from knowing that Phoebe Philo also went to Wimbledon School of art for her art foundation year as I did, studying under the delightful Anne (who of course always name dropped her favourite famous ex 'prodigy'!) Perhaps it was my warped sense of judgement that by sitting in the same room and pattern cutting on the same tables she had, I could potentially become her? Take over as creative director of Chloé perhaps? So it was just my luck then that it turns out that I truely suck at clothes making (although I wouldn't say no to dabbling in a bit of Fashion design illustration... any offers? Yes? No?)

So anyway, my best mate - Miss Philo, credited with make Chloé 'cool' again has this week been snapped up as creative director of another French design house...Celine. Good on her I say. It's nice to see a British girl showing the country that invented couture how to wear beautiful clothes!
(Her first collection is due to be revealed in October....I wait with baited breath Phoebe!)

(This beauty pictured is from Chloe's Spring '09 collection...there's no chance my love for this brand is lost yet!)

Recession Depression

I've heard the words ‘Credit’ and ‘Crunch’ thrown about more times than Grange Hill has served hot dinners and frankly, although I should be worrying about the 'pinch', i'm just finding it a little tiresome now. Do I need to be concerned before I make my latest purchase? Is this economic downturn only something ‘grown-ups’ need be concerned with (whilst I aimlessly let my debit card ‘accidently’ slip and stumble into the chip and pin slot at Topshop?) Does having a student loan and an interest free overdraft make it justifiable to purchase fashion items because it’s ‘not really my money… is it?’

To skip the technical inflation jargon, Britain is definitely facing a time of recession. Even high street titans are feeling our pain (yes poor BILLIONAIRE Sir Phillip Green – he must really be feeling the pinch!)

According to Green himself, the owner of Arcadia (whom I'm positive you know provides us with some of Britain’s most popular high street stores; from Topshop and Topman to Miss Selfridge and Burtons) has recently admitted that “nobody is being excluded” from a “market that is probably as tough as I’ve even seen it”. So far, several banks and huge conglomerates have hit hard times, but with the retail market so hugely led and influences by consumer spending, (who, these days don’t really have the cash to be spending out willy-nilly) we are likely to see many of our best know brands and fashion businesses go through similar financial turmoil.

I got talking to my flat mate about all this nonsense the other day. She suddenly made me realise that if I wasn't more aware of my purchasing decisions and the sliding economy, even as a student, then i'm on a slippery slope to largely empty pockets. After getting into financial talks far beyond our years, she mentioned her 'make do and mend' mentality. You know, where we make the most of what we've got already (seems hard sometimes when, particuarly this season the high street has well and truely satisfied my craving for all things Black!) We then chatted about how she frequently revitalises old clothes and shops around in order to find a bargain but will still look at her wardrobe and think ‘do I really need something new or can I make the most of what I’ve got now by making alterations to my existing clothes?’ (Good point...duly noted)


Ironically ‘Make, do and mend’ was a handbook first published in Wartime Britain in order to guide women on how best to survive and make the most of the limit of rations. But with an unlikely recession hitting the affluent noughties, this trend is never more relevant and women and men alike are beginning to adopt this ‘make your own’ mentality to getting the most for their money. This can be seen by the rise in vintage, thrift and charity shop sales as people try to express their individuality for a fraction of the cost.

Websites such as Miss Thrifty! have been set up to encourage a ‘waste-not-want-not’ approach to fashion describing themselves as a ‘label maven with a beady eye for bargains and a craving for saving,’ even stating ‘credit crunch? PAH!’ I had a good nosey through the site the other day. Miss Thrifty offers advice and bargain tips from 'which magazines have the best high street discount vouchers' to ‘Vintage shoes – a buyers guide’; helping us to save a few extra pennies each month on our outgoings.

But I’m sure you are wondering why it is that I haven’t yet mentioned Primark? For goodness sake, every article you read these days is either celebrating or condemning the brand. So you’re probably now thinking, in this time of recession, why are people so concerned about saving money when you can buy a £3 tee shirt and £9 jeans from Primark? This is just it I guess. With fast fashion retailers like Primark offering affordable throwaway fashion we are literally doing just that – ‘throwing’ our money at clothes that realistically won’t last us much more than a year, so we end up ‘throwing’ them out anyway. This in-turn sends us back into Primark to buy a replacement, plus 12 other items we slung in our basket because they ‘only cost £6 each’. And sooner rather than later our purchases have tallied up to the same price as a few good quality investment pieces from somewhere else. The House of Lords Science Committee has even condemned the British fashion industry for encouraging a "throwaway society" (oh goodness...politics on my blog!)

So despite the recession and the credit crunch, I am trying not to become one of millions of Britons still thinking that managing their finances is "too boring" and that they don't have the time to budget. I guess its time I had a good look in my wardrobe (or even my mums for that matter) and see what i've already got and how I could give it a 'fashion fix' worthy of Gok himself.

Well Hello There...

I attended a Trend Briefing by the trend consultancy firm 'Future Laboratory' once. Useful stuff its got to be said. What resonated with me was their description of how women in particular like to be welcomed into a website, instead of hit immediately with charts and figures.

Of course I will not pigeonhole this blog to a feminist-only rant; welcoming only those of the female persuasion (Boys are most certainly allowed)... so here you have it, I extend my hand of friendship to you all and send salutations on my first day as a style blogger!

My Aim? Stay tuned...