TOPSHOP

As uncool as it is to admit, I've always been a big fan of Topshop. I even got a job there after I graduated from university in 2008, just so I could get staff discount (I lasted 6 months and 6 huge credit card bills). Even though it's the height of summer, this gloomy English rain makes it the perfect time to look at the new A/W'10 collection. I LOVE it all.

R. Berkley

I came across a fair few amazing items when I was gift hunting for my other half before our six year anniversary on 4th June. One thing I will say is that I'm glad Urban Outfitters has branched out into strange, retro framed animal portraiture. I don't know how I lived without them. I also love the realistic photography avec carefully chosen chairs.

(source)

Catty

WANT THIS!!

Chrissie Abbott for Jaguar Shoes mug available at Far Fetch or at No-One boutique in London.

P.S. for those wondering, I did keep my hair long after all. Taken on my cat holga whilst very drunk in Paris (from one cat to another)-

Hair

I am getting a long overdue hair cut this afternoon, at the awesome VIVA salon in Soho. The question is, should I stick with a version of my current look-

with the ultimate goal of having SUPER long hair and a pouffy bun that is as big as my head-

seen above is also my chosen colour. Or should I go wild and chop off the efforts of a good 2 years slow and painful growth, for a haircut that might look extremely cool on this girl, but I am sure to regret after half an hour-

What do you reckon?

BB

(source unknown)

I had my hair cut yesterday, not at my usual amazing Soho guy but at a 'trendy' chain in Fulham... which is basically the diagonal opposite side of London to where I live and work. Needless to say it was at a very discounted rate, and although it's a technically good hair cut, he really didn't understand my vibe. I always wash my hair and then sleep on it so it's as messy as possible, and absolutely never use any product. It is currently poker straight and way too shiny. My hairdresser didn't chat to me, at all, and the music was mainly funky remixes of Justin Timberlake songs. It was generally just a very weird experience. On the plus side, I don't have any short pouffy layers, a sticky out fringe or a chin length bob... so my quest for mermaid hair (a la Jane and Brigit above) continues.

The Selby is in Your Place

I was just having a look at The Selby website, as you do, and noticed that he is bringing out a book. I love his photographs, but don't look at his site that often because to be honest I'm a bit too lazy to click through the hundreds of images. I always balk in the face of too much choice. Needless to say I'm really excited about this book- I got the Sartorialist book for Christmas (I'm sure I wasn't the only one) which is equally lovely, and much nicer to flick through than the website. Sadly it's not out until MAY, but when it's finally released I will be purchasing it from here.

Opening Ceremony

In my updates so far this decade I seem to be making a lot of definitive statements on things I do or don't do. That spirit continuing, something else I HATE to do is shop in sales. I can't stand crowds of people or rifling through stuffed, messy racks, and the sale clothes always look like sad, ugly rejects. Which essentially they are. I am far more tempted by the new season, prettily laid out clothes. Stuff a bargain. Below is the one sale item I'm considering this year:

Find it here on Far Fetch, reduced to £24.

Alexander Wang

(source)

Now I've been in two minds about whether to write this post, in case this amazing piece of leather sells out before I have saved enough to buy it, but I just had to show the one item I absolutely need to own this year. It reminds me of the Luella flower bag from A/W '09, which I was equally obsessed with last year and stared at daily when I was interning there. It's the perfect neutral colour to take from Winter into Spring, and for a designer bag is really quite versatile. Unfortunately for me I have just spent the entire cost of the bag on a security deposit for my new flat, and so will have to wait a few months before investing. I really, really hope it's still around! I LOVE it! (this must be the most gushing post in the history of the blog).

The irony is that I've actually grown to hate shopping. I haven't seen anything I really like for at least 4 months, besides this bag, and the fur lined ankle boots I bought earlier that make me look like a goth ice skater. Considering the cost, this is probably a good thing...

Kitty Cam

....what could it be?

(source)

Going straight to the top of my Christmas wishlist is this ltd edition winking cat Shironeko Holga camera by Superheadz. It also meows and has flashing lights, which Urban Outfitters tells me is sure to make everyone look in the right direction when I take the picture. I've had a holga before (which I lost or someone stole), with limited results/interest level. But this one is so cute that I'll use it every day! (thanks santa).

Reem

(source)

This collection from Reem is a dream accessories rack for me. For as long as I can remember I have been vigorously searching for OTT Tom Binnsesque jewellery that doesn't cost the earth. Apart from my friend Amee's amazing Topshop necklace (now broken, and I'm still mourning), I haven't even come close. You can imagine my excitement at discovering the existence of the Tom Binns/Alice in Wonderland collection, at least as excited as one can be who has yet to discover when it comes out, where it is stocked or even really what the pieces look like. HOPEFULLY in time for Christmas, says the girl who knows her boyfriend scans her blog for gift ideas? (edit: a small amount of research tells me that it arrives at the same time as the film in 2010, it's a collaboration with Disney Couture, and that prices start at $50) Unfortunately for me I believe the necklaces above were made for the Reem catwalk show, which does not help me price or availability wise. All suggestions welcome.

Gentlemen of Bakongo

(source)

"SAPE: Society of Ambianceurs and Elegant People. At the start of the 20th century when the French arrived in the Congo, the myth of Parisian elegance was born among the youth of the Bakongo ethnic group, who were working for the colonisers. At that time, many considered white men to be superior, due to their sophistication and elegance. In 1922, Grenard André Matsoua was the first Congolese man ever to come back from Paris dressed as a genuine Frenchman. His arrival caused great admiration among his fellow countrymen; he became known as the first Grand Sapeur. Supported by the respect and admiration of their community, today’s Sapeurs consider themselves artists. They add a touch of glamour to their humble environment through their refined manners and impeccable dressing styles. Each of them is unique, each possessing a particular and individualised repertoire of gestures. They all share the same dream: to go to Paris and return to Brazzaville as the ambassadors of supreme elegance."

(words and more pictures)

Je T'aime

Want this RIGHT NOW.

Good Hair

"When Chris Rock’s daughter, Lola, came up to him crying and asked, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” the bewildered comic committed himself to search the ends of the earth and the depths of black culture to find out who had put that question into his little girl's head!

Director Jeff Stilson’s camera followed the funnyman, and the result is Good Hair, a wonderfully insightful and entertaining, yet remarkably serious, documentary about African American hair culture. An exposé of comic proportions that only Chris Rock could pull off, Good Hair visits hair salons and styling battles, scientific laboratories, and Indian temples to explore the way black hairstyles impact the activities, pocketbooks, sexual relationships, and self-esteem of black people.

Celebrities such as Ice-T, Kerry Washington, Nia Long, Paul Mooney, Raven Symoné, Maya Angelou, and Reverend Al Sharpton all candidly offer their stories and observations to Rock while he struggles with the task of figuring out how to respond to his daughter’s question. What he discovers is that black hair is a big business that doesn’t always benefit the black community and little Lola’s question might well be bigger than his ability to convince her that the stuff on top of her head is nowhere near as important as what is inside."

I have never thought Chris Rock was funny and I don't know why I want to watch this but I really do!! Please please release in the UK.

Apartmento

From the look of these pages if I could get my hands on a copy of Apartmento it would quickly become my favourite magazine.