Tut Tut Terry

I read this article in The Gaurdian on Saturday about Terry Richardson being accused of sexually exploiting girls in his work. Please read..!

I am a massive fan of Terry Richardson as he has produced some of the finest images I have ever seen, may that be Fashion, Art, Musicians, his Mum... it all works for me, but I do not doubt for a second it would be awkward being shot by him as he himself has admitted " he has issues".

I know that there must be a great deal of exploitation in the fashion business, I have seen it and it is awful to think of young girls being used as they might be naive or intimidated by photographers, stylists and even agents but Terry Richardson has produced the same quality of images since the beginning of the 90's and has been snapped up and used by all of the biggest names and campaigns.

So I know that this incident will make people more aware of the exploitation of girls in the industry and people should definitely look after models in the business and give them choice to say no, but when you hear the name Terry Richardson, you can probably guess what you might be getting into.

Here are some of his sexiest shots that may have got people thinking..

I chose these particular images to show how he has always been risky and these are images that have been seen in his books, on his website and in fashion campaigns. He is extreme and quite controversial and that is what got everyone's attention. Sex sells.

Oh and here's his proud mom.. photo's taken by Terry Richardson.. see more of this here.

And like he said, he never makes anyone do anything that he wouldn't do himself, going by this image I can't imagine he asks for much.

Angelique My Balls

Here is a lady that draws, paints and tattoos and is pretty damn good at it all. My closest friend brought me a book of hers as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago and I couldn't put it down. So the year after I received another and I hope to keep them coming. Each image in there is so cleverly simple yet completely detailed and every time you take another look you find something new.

Angelique Houtkamp is an artist originally from Amsterdam and she has worked hard to get the recognition she deserves. She is visually beautiful with tattoos almost all over her body and each representing something she loves or has a meaning which is important to her. This is nice as there are so many tattooed people around nowadays with not much thought put into them anymore, myself included.

She specializes in old school style and does it so well, her paintings are so interesting and you can see obvious influences from so many times and her classic titles for each piece just show that the image does all the work. Here are a couple of my favorites...

"DAMITA"

"EMILIENNE"

"SWEET HEAVEN"

Here are a couple of her tattoos that I love.... I know there is nothing new about old school tattoos and it is probably one of the most common style to find on people, but it is just so very classic and each one can look so similar but be so different.

And if tattooing is not your thing but you want a piece of Angelique's work, why not go all out and buy one of these amazing baby skulls that she has painted old school phrases on. It's a baby's skull for god's sake.. of course I want it!

"TRUE LOVE"

"DEATH OR GLORY"

You can nip down to Columbia Road in East London at Nelly Duff on Thursday 4th March where she has an upcoming show and if you can't afford to buy her prints, I bet you can pick up some pretty sweet postcards to stick round your house. Quick though because it's only on for 3 days!

Pleasant Things

Burberry Prorsum Autumn/Winter 10/11.

Fur, check. Leather, check. Olive Greens, check. Mustard Yellows, check. Buckles, check. Oversized Collars, check. Yes Please.

..Can You Get It Up..?

I'm not a Rihanna fan at all, but I was cleaning the spilt milk out of my fridge when I heard this playing and I thought, Black Eyed Peas..? No..? Looked up and saw the bright new rave style video and thought.. MIA..? No..? Then there she was, Rihanna riding an animal and singing about rude things and I quite liked it. She also looks amazing and I don't think I have ever noticed this before.

I'm not too happy about the scene with the fake Keith Haring style body paint but I like the camouflage effect with the back ground. You are not and never will be Grace Jones, but well done for trying and the good catchy song and looking slutty but not in a horrible way and making me think of summer time.

But still All Hail Grace..Yeah!

Roksanda Ilincic

I was lucky enough to get to some of the shows this Fashion Week, I was also lucky enough to help out backstage at the very wonderful Roksanda Ilincic Fall 2010 show.

Roksanda is not only a brilliant, classic designer who never fails to bring glamour to any show, but she is also the nicest woman I have ever met. I was assisting Victoria Young, who styled the show (and is also class) and got to help putting the looks together and over seeing the dressing backstage. It was great to work with Roksanda and I think everyones hard work paid off at the show. Here are my favorite looks but you can see the full show here.

I have never seen a pair of tapered leg trousers fit so well and I have never wanted a winter coat more than the long grey wool coat or the wool coat with fox fur sleeves. God Bless this woman and her amazing team of crafty sewers that have made me want so many beautiful things.

My Favorite Moment of Fashion Week!

Not only was the Pam Hogg A/W 2010 show absolutely BRILLIANT as expected. But a tear was nearly parted when I saw NIck Cave's beautiful son Jethro and his stunning girlfriend Sophie Willing having a smooch as they passed on the catwalk.

I was very happy to see Nick Cave sat on the front row cheering them both on too, what a Pa!

London Fashion Week

Let's all watch and enjoy from the comfort of your own chair. Click here to follow the Live stream and not miss a tiny thing.

RIP Alexander McQueen

After the tragic news spread quickly today about the death of Alexander McQueen, I would just like to say that this is a great shock and a devastation to the fashion world. He will be truly missed by every one who admired and appreciated his brilliant work and who he had inspired along his way to becoming the best fashion designer ever.

McQueen is dead.. Long live McQueen

Candle Extravaganza

I have found a new love of candles and waxwork.

It all started at the beginning of winter when it became too cold for me to sit outside my backdoor to smoke, so I would stay inside and burn a few candles to burn away the smoke. Then I went a step further and bought some scented candles, which evidently produced a nicer smell than smoke. Then after a visit from family who saw I had candles, I received a lot of candles as Christmas gifts, all different shapes, sizes, scents and colours and I was most grateful. Sometimes it is a shame to use them though.

Then I came across DL & Company who produce collections of some of the most beautiful products I've ever seen from candles to stationary. It all has quite a gothic feel about it and their stuff would make great gifts.

Here are some of my favourite candles that I would like to receive. They are quite expensive though if you were to actually use them, but I'm sure they are more for decoration than covering up smokey smells.

This black skull candle with the snake (quite an obvious choice of mine) is amazing and would sit perfectly on my cabinet in between my white skull candle and my scientist skull.

Then you see this hand candle ( A.K.A 'The Hand-le'). I used the burning image because it is just so brilliant!

But this is my absolute favourite and I want it so bad! It is an actual size head and neck candle and is more like a sculpture of wax. It has the size and the weight to make me want to splash out $450 dollars on it.

And the wick is on the inside so she crys wax out of her eyes! Oh my, if there is anything I want this year it is this! I would definitely burn it once to get the wax down her face and leave it as a talking piece, then just burn tealight candles from the pound shop.

Dear Saint Valentine,

Please send this to me!

It's The Shoooes

Maybe not as extreme, but these are a great, more wearable way to wear this animal skin trend through the summer without any snapped ankles.

Good ol' Jeffrey Cambell.

Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2010

Or I am also tempted by these classic, red hot, black strap wedge boots by Sam Edelman. They're the perfect kind of equestrian/ bondage that I could really get used to.

I really would just feel like a true HOEmie in these and the new Ashish sweat pants from the Topshop collection.

Excited!

Black is the new Black

As a swift follow on from the last post, here is a band that I do love and deserves mentioning. After accidently stumbling upon a Black Sabbath tribute band last night in Dalston, I have realized how I have been neglecting my passion for them. I got there just in time to hear this brilliant band do all my favorite Black Sabbath songs extremely well and just drunk enough to get as close as possible and really enjoy myself. The bottom half of my legs and my neck are paying for my enjoyment though.

Here is my tribute.

Kesha...

....NO!
That is enough now. No more music that sounds exactly the same and does not have any point to it at all, apart from this young girl who might have fun for about a year and carry on brushing her teeth with "Jack" which will probably lead to a crack habit. So NO I will not put my hands up and NO the party doesn't start when you walk in. So F**k Off.

If you want to find out more about this girl, watch a lot of T4 or Viva music channel.

Pastels Darling

So S/S 10 is definitely upon us, not outside but in the fashion world and is fast becoming Autumn/ Winter again but I love to see the positivity and freshness of summer and got very excited when I opened Dazed and Confused and saw this quite spooky use of Spring/ Summer done beautifully by Katie Shillingford.

I absolutely love the idea of all the pretty pastel colours and pretty floaty fabrics, with whimsical prints, but it isn't me and I would love to show images of myself in this trend, but I won't as I don't (as of yet) own anything in this, but I am getting more and more drawn to it for some reason. I'm guessing as it's a new year and a lot of things are changing for the better in my life, that I am going to just go with it and introduce more than tones into my wardrobe.

I'm excited about this and as I grow my hair out and welcome all change I think I will start my journey straight to the shop and break myself in with a packet of my favorite pastels, then by taking inspiration from summer, mixing it with some classic pieces, a splash of talc and bobs your uncle.

Oh Dior Couture...

... There will come a day when I don't just long to view the images of the Dior Couture shows, but I will be there and I will cry..

.. And I'm not ashamed of that.

A Taste of DOOM..

So, after struggling to get in after a grand night out this weekend, I half remember being woken up by the boyf asking to use my bank card for something... I was very sleepy due to the early hour and celebrating a new freedom of mine with friends, left quite intoxicated, so I must have said yes.

The next day I kind of remembered and thought it was a dream and when I asked about what exactly had happened and what had I just bought I was answered with this...

Excited squeals of MF DOOM playing at Camden Roundhouse on March 5th that we are both attending! Yeah. Now I have a constant struggle to remember who MF DOOM is out of many names that get thrown at me in conversation about hip hop, I do think I am getting the hang of it all though, he's Madvillain with Madlib, Danger Doom with DangerMouse and something else to do with J Dilla. Anyway even though I was tricked into buying these tickets for the show I am actually quite excited now.

The whole weekend is a Taste of Sonar mini festival that gets everyone ready for the actual festival which happens every year in Barcelona. Since I am not expecting to go to that festival, (unless I unconsciously buy tickets for it another night) this one will be a great substitute.

As you may have guessed I am not an extreme fan of this artist, even though you think I would be by the amount of records I am made to listen to but I am sure it's going to be amazing.

That is he even turns up, I heard he doesn't own a passport and when he has played at other gigs he has just sent other people to mime to his records, he can get away with this because no one will know as he always wears the Gladiator mask when performing. Which is good in one way because he is a true Villain and can do as he pleases but not so good for his true fans that pay good money to go and see him.

So all in all, I hope he's there and this is one of my favorites...

ASH!SH

I am absolutely Loving Ashish and everything they do, from the catwalk to the high street Topshop collaboration, I can't get enough!!

I know that everyone has seen them and knows how good they are, but still not having bought these boots makes me very sad and I am sure they are the first things I will buy as soon as the christmas pocket sore is over and I can happily get back to buying gifts for myself all year round.

And so now they are bringing out a new collection for Topshop (around the beginning of Feb) and producing even more things that I cant get enough of (black, comfortable, studs) I am even more confused as I don't know what I will be doing this year but I know I must be wearing this spiky biker jacket each day that I do it. Maybe even these trousers too.

The collection also includes some luxury jersey sweat pants and cropped jumpers, simple shapes and cosy fabrics. I like the idea of being extremely comfortable in joggers and jumpers, hopefully I would look more superstar than sports casual.

I have been thinking of avoiding Topshop for a long time, for many reasons, but I may have to succumb to the power of the green and painfully hand over cash for this one!

Marc Jacobs has said he is "tired of seeing young girls wearing black and studs. "It's not such an individual expression," he said after his terrific Spring show, the underlying message of which could've been, duh, be an individual."

I do also so have a real soft spot for the ol' Marc Jacobs but I always have and always will be wearing black and studs, whether it be on trend or not, it's just a bonus when it is and I just get called a goth when it's not! Oh fashion, how you mock me.

Del Largerfield

Not everyday you go back up to Sheffield and after preparing to dress for a fashionable New Years Evening come down to get a swift vodka and vimto then bump into the one and only Karl Lagerfield.

Happy New Year All x

Where The Wild Things Are...

...So Yes, I went to see Where The Wild Things Are and I loved it.
I do kind of remember having the book as a child, or it was my big sister's, but either way I recognised the book and story when I first heard the movie was coming out. From then I have heard all the details from my boyf, who was and still obviously into the story and before I found out the Tagline for the film, I honestly do believe there is one in all of us, but mostly him.

I was feeling bad suffering from another extreme head cold in the independent cinema that we went to but it wasn't busy in there and although I wasn't disturbing many people, the sound of my snotty roars were louder, until I learnt to disguise them behind the screaming that was on the film. I like how the film was so simple, with only the same characters throughout and so little actually happening, but so good to watch, I think that's what gets your attention for so long.

Not going to go into too much detail about this, except I loved it so much I cried quite heavily at the end and the beginning scene was my absolute favourite where the main lad is just going mental all over his house and that's the kind of thing I could relate to, this is also mostly what I remember from my childhood. Funtimes.

Material Girl

I recently got the chance to spend a lovely day down by the riverside, taking in good food smells, people watching and hanging around the Tate Modern. The Pop Life: Art In A Material World exhibition was on and with a sneaky blag (of my boyf's mum being a member) we got in to see it for free.

As I have mentioned in previous posts I know nothing about art except what I like, which is mostly funny art, or art that mocks life or art itself. So this exhibition is probably the most perfect for me to visit. From the minute you walked in, to the minute you walked out was so bright, rude, funny, disturbing, politically incorrect and just so wonderful. There was so much to see and remember so I suggest you might just want to read through the rooms here.

My favourite rooms were definately the Keith Haring Pop Shop, Maurizio Cattelan, Pruitt Early and Jeff Koons. Jeff Koons private Over 18's Only room was one of my favourites, just because it was quite "hard" to enjoy, ha, "enjoy" being a very "loose" term as the whole room was full of oversized pornographic pictures. The awkwardness of looking at anal entry and knowing how long to stare at a, more than life sized, ejaculating penis was fascinating and funny to me. Trying to watch other people's reactions at the same time was hilarious. Oh and me tripping over the clear perspex barrier into the huge sculpture of "lovers"in the centre of the room. I am 25 now but maybe I shouldn't have been allowed to go in there.

Keith Haring's Pop Shop was an exact replica of his Pop Shop that he opened in 1986 in New York, the whole room was completely covered in his graffiti style scribbles and drawings, it was so simple and at the same time, there was so much to look at. His work was brightly framed and hung around the walls with, a small booth in one of them for purchasing classic t-shirts and pins.

I am struggling to get hold off any good examples of this exhibition to share my excitement, so I just think you should go and see for yourself.

Tate Modern:1st October 2009 - 17th January 2010

Illness

Thought I would catch up on the blogging, I've been pretty lame since I have been working many late nights, discovering Ebay takes up a lot of time and also fitting in some kind of life in between. Well all this has come to another holt as I have taking up not going to work for a couple of days due to illness which is beyond my control and I cannot explain.

Symptoms: Fever, Nausea, Shakes, at first I thought I may have been wearing myself down thinking too much about "life" and what is what and where to go and what to do. These thoughts have been taking up a lot of my time recently. Then I thought maybe because where I work it is 1000 degrees and running around all day sweating, then walking outside and waiting for buses in the cold wind and rain has probably taken is tole.

All the factors are probably just moulding into one feverish problem now that I have to get myself out of. Today, I will try to tackle the illness by bathing out the sweats and not let this beat me. I will get dressed and drink tea and maybe try and go to the shop for some goodness.

I will mostly be wearing these:

Maybe on my way out I will find the other half to wear these snuggly all in ones! I don't know how my actual other half would feel about that, but until he lets go and embraces the thermal onesie's I think I'll keeping my eye out...and so will he if he ever saw me in one.

What's Black, White and Red All Over..?

Marc by Marc Jacobs. S/S 10


Luella. S/S10

Josh Goot. S/S10

..Ok, not necessarily red, but Black, white and a bright colour is the new black for Spring/ Summer 10 collections, these are a few of my favourite combinations.

All polka dot...? Who would have thought. Well, stripes are allowed too!

Miss Van

Last night I was invited to an exhibition at StolenSpace in East London, to see thee Miss Van from Barcelona (and her work). I almost changed my mind because after a hardcore day, my feet were hurting and I was very tired from my week of early mornings. Anyway, I did go and I was pleasantly suprised. Now I am no artiste and have no knowledge of the good, the bad and the ugly, but I will just say what I liked and why.

Miss Van had one room with her new collection of gothic, cute, twisted fashion style drawing, paintings and illustrations titled LOVESTAIN. The style was beautiful and still quite raw, with messy pencil lines coming through the paint and ink. The Lovesatin collection looked great on the walls, with antique frames for some and paintings on wooden logs for others, there was also a section with a repeated image framed and each face had been decorated in different masks, make-up, hats and other interesting things. In the bigger space there was an archive of her older work, which wasn't my fave as some of it was a bit too kitsch for me and the really early stuff was too girly.
For anyone that enjoys fashion, art, make-up, theatre, fake hair and funny faces you should definatley check this out.

As I don't didn't know anything out this artist, I have had a snoop about and she has also buddied up with designer and goldsmith Katrin Bauer to create a selection of jewellery using the "le biche" as the main inspiration, as well as wooden pins and cute nik naks.

I don't actually get art, it actual makes me quite nervous. My boyfriend is an artist and I know many other artists, who are all completely different. I like funny, simple art. I like things that make me laugh and almost mocks art. I get very wary of "artists" that rip everything apart and pick at tiny details to create a meaning. This means I am wary of being in a room full of artists talking to me about the meaning and the work, when all I want to say is I like the colours or the lips and not have to justify it.

Free booze is always a bonus though.