Nude is Good – The Current Trend.

Grazia Go Nude

As nudes, pale pinks and khakis rule the catwalks and enter the shops I have a look at who’s selling what and get creative with my colouring pencils.

 Obviously, by nude, I don’t mean going outside, bearing all, completely starkers. I am of course referring to that pale, peach slash beige like colour that appears in many different shades and in many different forms. At the moment, its everywhere, and I love it. Grazia recently did a fashion shoot of some of the latest nude trends to be taking the fashion world by storm, so I’ve got in on the act and had a little look myself.

   Topshop are stocking these great trousers, called ‘Chino Pants’ by Richard Nicoll for £60.   

Chino Pant by Richard Nicoll - £60

 A tad steep for students, I won’t pretend, but gorgeous none the less and would really add that fashion element to a simple white top or blouse. I’m also a huge fan of the Topshop utlity trousers that are mixing the nude theme with the re-emergence of the combats. (I’ve mentioned them before, see it here..)   

Also hitting the spot with the current trend are New Look and River Island. Just a couple of the items they have on offer to complete your new nude look are pictured below, but have a look at the extent of their collection, its impressive! You don’t need a huge bank balance and a career in modelling to try out this look, just head to the high street to go nude. (That sounds like I’m encouraging streaking, I’m sorry, I’m not.)   

River Island Sack Dress - £29.99

New Look Waterfall Jersey Jacket - £22

H&M Nude Tunic and Katie and Charlie working their bold prints.

 

To prove I’m not all talk and no action, I recently dabbled in this nude trend myself. I found this simple nude tunic dress in H&M for the ABSOLUTE BARGAIN of just £13! It only comes in one size so for really teeny people it may be slightly too big, but for size 8 and above it looks great as a dress with bare legs or as a comfy but sophisticated top with leggings or skinny jeans. Katie and Charlie are also wearing another popular trend for the coming summer, bold prints. We’re already seeing summery slips and maxi dresses hitting the shops and it seems vibrant is just as cool as nude this season.

 

To round off my nude-themed learning experience I whacked out the colouring pencils and indulged myself in a fashion illustration inspired by the pages of Grazia’s shoot. My advice is, if you are feeling brave, take off your safe black dress or your worn out dark denims and go nude (colour wise) for a day. If you don’t like it, your black dress will forgive you and take you back, I’m sure of it.

Nude Inspired Fashion Illustration

 

 

 

 

Crime drama script – The opening extract

Another of our Professional Writing assignments was to create a script for television in a genre of our choice. We were asked to write the opening eight to ten minutes of the programme and specify which channel would be suitable for the show. I chose to create a crime drama that I named ‘Forensic’ to be shown on BBC One. As a HUGE fan of programmes such as CSI:NY, Criminal Minds, Silent Witness and Waking The Dead, I was eager to try my own hand at crime writing.

Below is a small extract from my script, if you would like to read the full piece (which of course, you would) you can do so by clicking here.

INT. SCHOOL KITCHEN – DAY
A friendly, plump DINNER LADY, who looks to be in her late fifties, is bustling around the kitchen. She is by herself, finishing up after the school day. The large, stainless steel kitchen seems very empty and quiet. She carries two large, fit-to-burst bin bags towards the door.

EXT. SIDE ALLEY, SCHOOL – DAY
The dinner lady heaves the bags on to an already over flowing pile, misjudging her efforts and knocking the bags to the floor.

DINNER LADY
(muttering)
Tsk, damn bin men. Easiest job in the world and they can’t even do that properly, leaving it all here in a…

She stares at the cause of her abrupt halt. A YOUNG, DARK-SKINNED BOY’s body lays lifelessly in a pool of blood beneath the scattered bags, his school uniform stained deep red around an unnatural whole in his stomach.

DINNER LADY (CONT’D)
(screaming, backing away frantically)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! SOMEONE, SOMEONE HELP!

 

Hooked…? Read on.

A Blooming Affair – A Short Story, Part 2

      WAIT! If you haven’t read Part One of this short story, please do so before you read any further! You can find it by clicking…HERE. Wouldn’t want to ruin it for yourself, would you? If you have already read Part One you are very sensible and please continue. I would also be very grateful for any constructive criticism you may have regarding my short story, although nothing too horrible please, I’m not sure I could handle it…

      On this particular evening I was admiring the woodland with my children. They bounced around beside me, happy and content now winter had passed. Their rich golden heads – a hereditary gift from both their mother and I – bobbing dizzily from side to side, occasionally bumping into each other as they enjoyed the sun and the gentle breeze. The woodland was calm, my family and I the only company for the newly emerging bluebells, interrupted here and there only by a tiny bird or mouse, until I felt her footsteps through the earth below me.

            As the dog-walker approached I watched as the small, cream dog bounded alongside her. She was accompanied today by a tall man, a fellow dog-walker I presumed, as also added to the pack was a large labrador, his big pink tongue lolling casually from his mouth. I talk here of course, of the labrador’s tongue, not the man. I considered quietly the idea that I should perhaps get a dog of my own to attract the attention of this beautiful woman, the only woman to have ever caught my eye since my wife. She was so different from my wife that I could scarcely believe I had even noticed her, her hair was dark and seemed to capture and keep the light, a stark contrast from the glow of gold my wife had radiated, and her skin was pale, like beautiful, smooth ivory. Her elegance emitted almost a sense of coolness which you might imagine to be unpleasant, but as I watched her walk and chat amicably to her acquaintance I lost myself in her, and felt a warmth I’d never felt before almost washing over me, trickling through me like new life in my veins. As she swung around sharply to face me, however, I snapped out of my dream like state and realised two things, very fast, and at the same time. In my preoccupied condition I had failed to notice the small woolly creature approach me, sniffing and sweeping its nose from side to side along the soil, to finally reach a standstill in front of me and do none other than cock its leg. I’d also failed to correctly identify the warm, relaxing sensation that washed over my entire body as I gazed at the woman I implored to acknowledge me. Now, as she looked directly at me, turning her graceful body towards my family and I and striding purposefully back the way she had come, I realised my mistake.

            “Harvey!” She addressed the small, lamb-like dog. “Stop pissing on that poor daffodil!”

A Blooming Affair – A Short Story, Part 1

 I wrote this short story for a recent assignment as part of our Professional Writing unit. It revolves around the grief the narrator has had to deal with in the past and looks at his new love interest, a mysterious woman who catches his eye in the woods. This is part one of the story, part two will follow shortly. The story is named ‘A Blooming Affair’ and hopefully you’ll find an interesting twist to the tale of this flowering romance. Oh, it was also a great excuse to put up pictures of my adorable Bichon Frise – Hugo, who features in the story but under a different name. I wanted to protect his privacy, you see, didn’t think he could handle all the press and papparazzi outside his door… enjoy.

            I saw her almost every morning and evening, strolling through the woodland with her small, woolly dog. So woolly, was he, in fact, that on first glance I mistook him for a sheep. She was beautiful, this dog-walking lady, in my eyes anyway. Yet she never noticed me, and we never spoke. She’d come close but never close enough and I would find myself static, surrounded by my family; invisible to her and unable to talk. I studied her when I could, picking out the graceful detail on her face and in the way that she walked. I was captivated by her despite the overwhelming realisation that she was out of my league, a completely different species. Through her beauty I attempted to derive her age and I’d hazard a guess that she was in her late thirties, although sometimes when she’d pass me on one of her evening walks, perhaps after a stressful day at work, her attractive face edged elegantly closer to her early forties. But anyway, what was age? I’d lost track of mine many years back. 

            I wouldn’t be lying if I said I was lonely.  An onlooker would question how I could possibly feel such an emotion, because, amongst other things I was part of such a massive, beautiful family. I had brothers and sisters and cousins and second cousins, aunts and uncles and even an ancient old grandma. Bless her, we all thought she’d give up the ghost long ago but year after year she came back fighting. But this supersized family, as loyal as there were, for they rarely left my side, couldn’t replace the gaping, aching hole that punctured my life; the real core of my loneliness – the death of my wife. Four years ago, during a particularly long and deadly winter she had contracted a fatal illness in which she simply could not withstand the icy depths of the harsh season, and although much breath-holding was carried out by my relatives for a new lease of life as winter faded, my soul mate passed away and spring arrived with a fresh wave of grief and loss. I found myself left not only without a soul mate, but without a soul.

            As the years passed I withered through the dark winters, crippled by the cold and the memory of what had happened, curled into myself and hidden, distanced from my family and friends by the heaviness of what held me down. Every year I’d think I’d reached the end, that I couldn’t possibly bring myself out of this. I felt the weight of the earth above me and the cold froze my soul, the hard frost of winter and of loss immobilised my senses as I struggled through the pain. Seasonal affective disorder stretched to its extremes, tautened by the grief and memory of my wife.

“Keep trying, Dad” the children would whisper through my dark veil of mourning and the dirt and debris of things I couldn’t deal with, and I’d withdraw even further into myself, believing surely that I would let them down and never make it through the cold. But each year spring would arrive and I would feel my heart begin to beat again. The weight would lift and I would push through the depths of my grief until I could feel the sun on my skin once more.

(For Part 2 click HERE because it’s really exciting and you can’t carry on your daily life without knowing what happens…)

Five things I want from Topshop RIGHT NOW

As a student I am plagued by that wretched feeling that you can never afford what you want. Never mind that I can only just cover what I need to survive in a week, I am more obsessed with the fact I can’t afford new clothes. Topshop in particular at the moment is taunting me with its amazing stock and I’m a cat’s whisker away from blowing my loan (thats loan, not load) on these beauties. 

Topshop Utility Trousers in Stone - £38

I am IN LOVE with the idea of combats coming back into fashion. They remind me of when I was a little girl dashing around in my baggy combat trousers (with long cotton tassles on, if I remember rightly..?)  looking WELL COOL and loving life as a mini fashionista. They’re making their reappearance in a skinny-leg manner however, and I’m visualising these babies with my brand new Office shoes – tan leather, wooden heel… a match made in fashion heaven. I’ve seen snaps of Cheryl Cole wearing similar utility trousers with a plain back tee, and I’m loving the pairing. These would look great with a simple top and I can see perfect summer outfits with these, a plain white strap top and some black or tan flippy floppys. (AKA Flip Flops.) 

Also scoring in the trouser department (see what I did there) is these pretty-in-pink cotton three quarter lengths. These caught my eye when I was mooching around in a Topshop store the other day, but, alas, I had no time to try them on. 

Panelled Sports Joggers in Rose - £22

For the best, maybe, as I may have bought them in every colour. These are another pair I can see looking fab with some plain tees or strappys, and some pumps or flip flops. Another chilled out summer look… 

Speaking of summer, I adore the new shape thats proving to be all the rage this year for sunglasses. The butterfly shape is a charming twist on the oversized shades look and these ones from Topshop are available for a reasonable price. I’ll take seven pairs. (I have a habit of breaking sunglasses.) 

Butterfly Ombre Sunglasses - £15

This year I’m really keen to try the baggy fisherman type pants that began to creep on to the streets last summer. I may seem a year behind, but I simply didn’t have the courage to wear something last year that looked as if it would make my bum appear to drag along the ground. I have since had my mind changed by witnessing them look amazing on others, and I’m up for giving them a try. These will be my first pick of the bunch and we’ll see how it goes… I can already see them paired with the butterfly glasses. 

Cotton Trousers by Boutique - £45

Finally, on a more glam note, this chic black tunic has got me dribbling. I LOVE tunics, they look great with heels or flats, night or day wear and they even make you feel good on one of those dreaded fat days. There is nothing worse than stepping out of the house knowing the first thing people will notice is the bulge of your bloated tummy. Tunics flatter the figure and hide the lumps and bumps you wish didn’t exist! Another item that I can picture with my new shoes…surely a reason to get it, right? 

Silk Tunic by Boutique in Black - £55

I think its time to do some maths, check my finances, and work out what I can afford to spend. Then triple it, forget about food and heating bills, and go to Topshop waving my debit card above my head. Hello overdraft, you’re too good to me. And who cares if I’ll be horrendously poor afterwards, I’ll look damn good in the process.

Starbucks Marketing Campaign

As part of my Marketing unit at Bournemouth University I was required to carry out an analysis of Starbucks in the UK to evaluate the state of business at present and make recommendations on how to improve sales and increase growth throughout the UK.

On the assumption that the technicalities of my business report may be fairly weak – business was never my strong point – I concluded that adding some creativity into my recommendations may make up for my lack of economical knowledge. As a result I sketched 8 new ideas for carry-out cups that Starbucks could hypothetically introduce to their UK stores for consumers to choose from. After analysing (albeit probably not very well) that Starbucks had lost their fashionable edge and the exclusiveness that the brand once stood for, I wanted my designs to reincoporporate the element of fashion into drinking coffee and attracting a younger demographic. Below are my 8 ideas for new cups, drawn with coloured artist pencils and black pen which were then scanned into the computer so that each slogan could be added.

‘The Original’

My first sketch was simply a cup that held the original design that has been a part of Starbucks since it first began. It seemed imperitive to me to keep this design to appeal for the members of the market who were happy with Starbucks just the way it was.

‘The Green One’

 

This design was created on the basis that Starbucks need to regain an edge over competitors on the ‘Fair Trade’ side of things. As Fair Trade becomes more and more common throughout the world, companies are required to make an effort to show that their business has ethical grounds. This cup would also allow the consumer to feel like they are doing a good deed, and a green and brown colour scheme was used to tie in with the environmentally friendly side to this choice.

‘The Classic’

‘The Classic’ used a blend of the trademark colours that are associated with Starbucks to create a new and sophisticated carry-out cup for consumers to choose from. The prominence of the dark green gives this choice an elegant edge. It was also recommended in the report that Starbucks used subtle celebrity-endorsement, with the idea that if certain celebs were ‘papparazzied’ holding the cup of their choice, their fans would follow suit. This cup would look good in the hands of a male, sophisticated actor, suggesting a fashionable twist to the already cemented colours of Starbucks.

‘The Striped One’

Following the idea of celebrity-endorsement, the idea was proposed that the minute a female celebrity known for having immense fashion sense, such as Cheryl Cole or Kate Moss stepped out wearing an outfit that matched this carry-out cup, everyone would want one. The nautical theme makes this choice an excellent one for summer and really brings the fashion element back into the coffee drinking experience.

‘The Red One’

 

This red cup was supposed to bring a romantic feel to the choice available to consumers. As a passionate colour this cup would be easy to market in terms of romance and love, and would appeal to younger consumers who are dating but are unable to go to pubs or bars. As a single, bold colour it also offers the chance to make a fashion statement with your cup of coffee.

‘The Leopard Print One’

 

This design was the quirkiest of the lot and really relies on consumers expectations of a sense of fashion and exclusiveness from the coffee drinking experience. Being marketed as a ‘wild’ design also enabled this idea to mention the effort they put in to sourcing the best coffee beans from around the world.

‘The Black One’

This simple sketch shows another idea that is meant to ooze elegance, and the colour black hopefully would appeal to a male demographic as much as a female one.

‘The Cosy One’

This design was my ultimate favourite of the 8, based on the classic print of pyjamas this cup gives consumers the choice of a relaxed, chilled out drink in or out of the Starbucks restaurants.

Overall I was proud of my designs for the new Starbucks range of cups. Knowing that the business element to my report perhaps wasn’t as strong as I had hoped, I at least wasn’t ashamed at my efforts to draw my ideas. Personally, I’d definitely visit Starbucks more often if their cups looked like this! But then, I am a lover of the coffee shop chain anyway, and also, I am biased…