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…

A Short Story – The Confectionary Aisle

Below is a short story I wrote last year for an assignment that focuses on a young girl as she makes a shocking realisation. It’s titled ‘The Confectionary Aisle’  and probably needs some work, but it’s a start. I’m planning on developing it into a novel, as soon as I can get control of my will power and stop feeling the need to eat a hundred mini scotch eggs and drink mug upon mug of tea every time I write something. I spend more time in the bathroom than clattering on the keyboard of my laptop. Once that’s sorted though, I’ll be a great author. Honestly. Now, enjoy.

I realised what she was doing to me far too late to stop her.

It seemed such a normal day when I first met her, but thinking back on it now, something couldn’t have been quite right, something was slightly off-balance, and that’s why I bumped into her.    

I was weaving my trolley round the aisles in Asda, attempting to feed myself within the constraints of my student budget when I stumbled across the confectionary shelves; the shiny wrappers of countless chocolate bars and bags of sweets winking cheekily at me, begging to be eaten. As usual, when presented with a situation such as this, my mind began a minor war with itself; one side telling me I really didn’t need the calories and the other side reminding me of the sensational taste of that first chocolaty bite. The taste-sensation side was just taking the lead when a voice behind me interrupted.

            “If you look at them for long enough, you won’t want one.”

            I couldn’t see her at first, the owner of this soft, female voice. I span around and came face to face with a girl who on first glance looked roughly my age. Although on closer inspection you’d be forgiven for thinking the lines on her face represented a fair few more years than my nineteen.

            “I’m sorry?” I replied after a few seconds of suspended silence.

            “When I’m tempted by something I shouldn’t eat I spend a long time looking at it, and I convince myself I don’t need it. Try it, it works.” The girl flicked her eyes from my face to the chocolate bars and as I opened my mouth to stammer a response she cut in authoratively. “Try it.” 

            My initial confusion seemed to evaporate and I was compelled to do as she said. It may have had something to do with the fact she looked shockingly similar to me, same height, same blue eyes and same ash blonde hair, the only immediate, noticeable difference was her frame; she was a much skinnier, wirier version of me. Or it may have simply been the controlling element in her tone of voice, whatever the reason, I turned instantly to the stacked shelves and looked properly at the content. I didn’t want a chocolate bar. The girl, my almost-parallel, registered the change in me, and held out her hand.

            “I’m Ana.”

To this day I still don’t remember how we got quite as close as we did in such a short space of time, but within days of our introduction, Ana played a huge part in my life. We did everything together as teenage girls often do when they’ve formed a close friendship. We spent countless hours poring over magazines, obsessing over the appearance of celebrities; Ana had a particular interest in their weight and I wasn’t disinterested with the size of the girls in the images in front of me. We made sure we stayed healthy by visiting the gym and jogging regularly – Ana was there when I felt like I couldn’t run any further to spur me along those last few steps. We never found time to sleep or eat, we were far too busy with our active lives to consider food, and when I stopped for long enough to let the hunger pangs kick in, Ana always whipped a new distraction from the sleeve of her over sized sweater.

Roughly a month after the day we met, I was sitting alone in my room, amongst the mess of discarded clothes and shoes with a chocolate bar in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I was momentarily content, savouring the taste of both and thinking how long it had been since I’d tasted chocolate, when a small, unfamiliar notepad caught my eye between the jumble of fabric. Simple curiosity led me to pick the notebook up and it was mere seconds before I wished I hadn’t. Flicking through the pad I found page after page of recordings; what I had eaten on a daily basis, how many calories I’d gorged on, and endless lists of my bodily measurements. At first I recognised the handwriting as my own, but it was scribbled, far too frantic and messy.

“Put that down!”

            I moved my head so fast my neck cricked and I came face to face with Ana. I hadn’t heard the door open, I was almost certain it hadn’t, yet there she was, tiny and white in front of me.

            “Put that down!” Her eyes were wide and she looked as terrified and angry as I felt. This was her writing. She reached to snatch the book away from me and brushed her arm against my cigarette, and as she did so, I was half aware of a burning sensation on my own arm. The book fell to the floor and there was a tense silence, I hadn’t a clue what to say to her. Ana, my most trusted friend…

            She rubbed her arm and glared furiously at me.

            “Get to the bathroom, now.” She grabbed at my wrist but before she had even reached me I was up on my feet, I didn’t need her physical touch to persuade me, I couldn’t fight her control anyway. “On your knees, head over the toilet.” I hesitated for less than a second before her hand was on the back of my head, pushing me towards the toilet bowl. She moved my own hand towards my mouth.

            “Don’t,” I said feebly but I knew it was no good. I had nothing on her.

            “Make yourself sick, I saw that chocolate bar in your hand. Have I taught you nothing?” 

She left me no time to respond as she shoved my hand into my mouth and further down my throat, and then I was violently, violently ill. After what seemed like a thousand years I lifted my head from the toilet bowl, weak from expelling the one morsel of food I’d had for days from my system. I turned shakily and slowly to her, barely noticing the cigarette burn on my own arm, hoping for the angry look on her bony face to be replaced with pride, but she was gone. And once again, I hadn’t heard the door open.

   She stayed with me for years, though not in the same way as that first month. We were no longer friends; she was simply a leader, a dictator. She would come and go like a ghost, she could walk through walls and break in doors without making a sound. I’d see her in the confectionary aisle, staring at the chocolate. I’d see her in the gym, sweating on a treadmill, glaring at me if I wasn’t doing the same. More than once she found me eating and the toilet scene was repeated. In my darkest moments I tried to hurt her, I’d go at her with blades but the cuts appeared on my wrists instead. I tried to put my cigarette out on her arm again during an argument, and the day after found I had two burn scars instead of one. She always, always won.

            Eventually, my friends and family became suspicious. They packed me off to a rehab centre where I was told on a daily basis that I had an eating disorder, and on a daily basis I told them I didn’t. Ana didn’t conform to the regulated visiting times, instead I’d find her sitting on my bed, waiting to tell me how clever I was for denying the claims. At first, I was glad to have her as a back up, someone that believed I didn’t have an eating disorder, but eventually I began to resent her presence. I’d shout at her until she evaporated from the room in her own special manner. I’d beat her until I couldn’t see her anymore. And I told everyone about her. My name’s Lily, and I have Anorexia.

            I beat it after four years of help, relapses and more help. I haven’t seen Ana now for six and a half years. I became too strong for her, I stopped turning down food and when I looked in the mirror I saw me, minus her skeletal figure hovering next to me. I saw only me, and I liked me. Against its best efforts, anorexia had lost.

Happy Birthday GaGa…

An illustration for the current ‘Queen of Pop’.

Apparently, Lady GaGa turns 24 (maybe?…24ish…) today. So as a present to her that she will never know is here or exists at all, my bamboo pen (if you still don’t know what this is, get up to speed here, SLOW COACH) and I collaborated to produce this. GaGa in one of her most peculiar outfits yet – in fact I’m not even sure I can refer to it as an outfit, because quite frankly, it scarcely exists. Who knew someone could look so fashion-tuned in that horrible CRIME SCENE – DO NOT CROSS tape that frequents less on the catwalks and more in CSI:NY. Nevertheless, she’s rocking it. Happy birthday Lady G.

Celebrity style made possible from student wardrobe

A picture-story compiled to get your creative juices flowing with your very own wardrobe.

It is a well known fact between women of many ages that if you wanted to avoid feeling disgusting and ugly you should strongly avoid publishing yourself on the internet in direct photo comparison with Cheryl Cole. Therefore no person in their right mind would do it. Which is why I can only conclude that I was not in my right mind when I did this. However, the original point of this madness was to see if I could recreate the styles of some of the best dressed celebrities from my very own wardrobe, without looking like a desperate wannabe. I personally think the styles came off quite well, I will leave the desperate wannabe deduction up to you.

I chose five celebrities that – A) I think are beautiful and B) I can imagine would spend a bucket load of money on each of their day to day outfits. I then rifled through my own clothing collection to find similar items, roped my housemate Jasmin into helping me, and set to work on recreation. And as I know you are dying to see how I got on, here they are:

Cheryl’s figure is so annoyingly to die for that anything looks good on her, this outfit is just one of many that oozes sophistication as well as sex appeal. To re create it we teamed wet look leggings with a cream ruffle t-shirt and a black boob tube, finished by simple black heels. We know we are no Cheryl…but we think we did pretty well here. Plus, her outfit probably cost her a fortune. This costs £56 all together. Lovely.

Cream ruffle top – H&M, £15; Black boob tube – New Look, £6; Wet look leggings – Topshop, £20; Black heeled shoes – New Look, £15

Another Chezza beaut. Simple and casual in a t-shirt and blazer. Matched by my wardobe with a folded-up t-shirt dress and finished off with wet looks. Total cost of mine: £58

T-Shirt – H&M, £8; Blazer – H&M, £10; Wet Looks – Topshop, £20; Bag – Brighton Market, £20

I LOVE this. Cheryl’s really pulling off the all black look. Admittedly, I’m not pulling it off quite so well, but the style is a near perfect match. The leather jacket sexes the look up and the grey heels finish it perfectly. Love it, £125 for mine. (I know this seems alot, I’m sorry, but compared to Chezza’s we’re probably making a MASSIVE saving.)

Wet looks – Topshop, £20; Shoes – Office, £40 (sale); Vest – Zara, £5; Jacket – Miss Selfridge, £40; Bag – Brighton Market, £20

Next, to Katy Perry. I’m undecided as to whether I like this look or not, but the fact is, it’s working for Katy. Jas pulls it off in her own knee high socks, thigh length grey vest and cream bobble hat. Total cost of outfit – £60

Knee highs – New Look, £4; Hat – Miss Selfridge, £8; Vest – Topshop, £12; Jacket – Miss Selfridge, £40; Bag – New Look, £6

This is one K-Perry style I am sure of and I was V. excited to find items of my own to pull it off. Even better, the total outfit was a New Look hattrick, and being such a good value store, it totalled at £37.

Crop top – New Look, £6; Skirt – New Look, £6; Shoes; New Look, £25

From K-Perry to K-Moss, and Kate looks bangin’ (pardon the slang) in this sophisticated yet casual number. Considering her super model status we don’t expect anything less, we also don’t expect her outfits to anything but extortionate in price. I, however, did find this nifty little combination in my wardrobe which imitates Kate’s look pretty well. The boots were a bit of a killer for the bank balance but the whole outfit still only cashes in at £195. Actually now that I’ve written it down that doesn’t seem so cheap, but pretty none the less.

Blazer – River Island, £40; Vest – Zara, £5; Scarf – H&M, £10, Jeans – Topshop, £20; Boots – River Island, £75

Keeping with the model theme and moving to Sienna Miller. The fur jacket in this picture is what caught my eye, and Jas shows off her own as we match our clothes with Sienna’s. I dread to think how much money Sienna is wearing here, but Jasmin’s outfit comes together at just £119. Not bad for the super model image.

Fur Coat – MuuBaa, £25; Beige Cropped Jumper – Topshop, £28; Black Vest – New Look, £6; Wet Looks – Topshop, £20; Boots – New Look, £25, Bag – New Look, £15

And finally we come to Vanessa Hudgens in one of my all time favourite looks for summer; an over sized white shirt and brown accessories. I absolutely adore this and am proud to say I’ve recreated it almost exactly. Vanessa’s probably came with a hefty price tag, whereas mine rolled in at £75. Absolute bargain.

White Shirt – Primark, £7; Shoes – New Look, £50; Belt – Topshop, £18

So it seems it truly is possible, you really can emulate your favourite celebrity without having to aquire a small loan from the bank. (Unless, perhaps, if your favourite celebrity is Lady GaGa.) I’m proud of my efforts, and will be walking around with permanent sunglasses attached to my face, shouting ‘NO PICTURES’ to random strangers from this moment on.

Capturing my bad side – My hobby VS my addiction

Michael - The Photographer

I’ve mentioned Michael before in my blog, he’s very, very, VERY good at photography – he’s currently studying it at Lincoln University and he’s doing very, very, VERY well… Yes, I am sucking up to him, and why? Because he holds the power to make me look exceptionally disgusting on Photoshop if he wishes. As it goes, he actually manages to make me look alright. I probably wouldn’t have helped him this time if he had made me look bad in his previous work, I’m pretty vain and won’t bother lying about it.

His current project involves photographing people from two perspectives – the first, something they like about themselves, a quality to be proud of, or ar least, not embarrassed about. The second, something they don’t like about themselves. Ouch.

He chose my good side – he wanted to take a photo that expressed my creativity. But when it came to chosing my bad side, he pretended he couldn’t think of any, possibly for fear that if he insulted me in anyway I would refuse to help him. Luckily, I already knew too well what my negative aspect could be, I get it alot from, well, everyone. My addiction to fake tan. Don’t laugh.

So followed a day of us turning my room into a studio, or attempting to. Me perching precariously on a window sill, until deciding that I simply wasn’t model-sized enough to fit properly. (My rear end was too large.)  Michael taking about four hundred attempts to get the lighting JUST RIGHT. Me standing in my sunny, but undeniably cold garden getting splatted (there is no other word to better describe it) with brightly coloured paint. Me trying to look at a dead flower like I loved it and that it was my dream to cover it in pink and yellow paint.

It did, however, all pay off. Apart from the insane amount of paint that was left in my hair when we were finished, we managed to get two lovely shots without TOO much trouble, one for my good side, one for my bad side. They’re shown below, and I have labelled them just incase Michael and I are deluded and you can’t tell which one is which. 

My Good Side - Creativity

My Bad Side - Tanorexia

Bright and Bold Make-Up – The Current Trend

As bold is beautiful right now in the fashion world, when it comes to make up at least, I look back on a couple of cosmetic snaps my photographer friend Michael took a few years ago.

My day to day makeup is fairly plain, its got to be said, I don’t walk around town in broad daylight with excessively bright colours on my eyes. Saying that, I LOVE it when other people do it, although it needs to look good, not like you’ve had a fight with your make-up bag. And I love a good old splash of colour on the eyes on a night out, coupled with HUMUNGOUS eyelashes. Or dark bronzer on your cheeks that can make the chubbiest of faces look defined. Not to mention a dazzling colour on the lips. Perhaps not all at once, but you get the jist.

So anyway, reading this week’s copy of Grazia (issue 254) I learnt that bright colours are back and your face can wear them just as well as your body. They advise that bright pinks can work wonders on the eyes, and that a navy blue looks delicious with a tangerine orange.

This sparked a memory. Two years ago, my friend Michael and I were piddling around with his new camera and I was in the middle of a make-up related art project. We took photos of my eyes after I’d made them over.

Clearly, me and Michael… waaaaay ahead of the times. For some of Michael’s other stunning work have a look at his DevianrtArt page here.