Friday 5 August 2011

Man Repelling

Here at the fashion office we are completely smitten (obsessed) with blogger extrordinaire, The Man Repeller. She is the sunshine to our rainy Mondays, the jewel in our crowns, the Karl in our Chanel. You get the picture. We like her a lot. In a sea of self-promoting bloggers who take themselves just a little bit too seriously, TMR is one smokin’ breath of fresh air.
After checking her blog for about the fourth time this week, I decided to get my fashion pals involved in a bit of our very own man repelling. The aim isn’t to look repellent as such, but to look the way you want, without the hope of catching the eye of the builders down the road or getting the approval of the discerning bf. So, take a look at my very stylish co-workers rocking harem pants, acid-green nails and blingin’ trophy jackets - all in the spirit of the completely bonkers but ever so cool MR. Well worth an Arm Party salute in my opinion.

























Sunday 24 April 2011

How to lose friends and alienate people




"Frenemy" (alternately spelled "frienemy") is a portmanteau of "friend" and "enemy" that can refer to either an enemy disguised as a friend or to a partner who is simultaneously a competitor and rival.

I recently went through a short, sharp and quite painful breakup. No, not with the Italian but a friend who I’d been inseparable with for over a year. Brought together by our love for fashion, writing and the loneliness of moving to London, we found solace and comfort within each other.

Everything was fine for a while, more than fine. We spent hours pawing through our favourite glossy magazines with aspirations to break into the fierce world of fashion. We saw ourselves as the straight-talking, no nonsense girls who would bring a sense of reality to an industry dominated by private school girls and toffs.

The friendship began to take a turn for the worse when I secured a full-time writing job and she graduated from a journalism course. She was in the soul-destroying role of intern and became frustrated when a permanent job didn't come quite as quickly as imagined.

Meanwhile, my career was progressing well. The support and advice I had been giving her started to seem resented, and I was accused of being spoiled, not earning my place and in one instance, so, so lucky to be where I am.

What she failed to realise was that I’d been working my arse off from the age of 16. Spending Easter breaks with local journalists and radio stations, I had aimed to get as much experience as I could, as this was and still is, all I have ever wanted to do. After doing a specialist degree and Post Graduate course in my field, she had decided on becoming a writer a couple of years after graduating in Law.

Snidey comments and bitchy texts would cast a shadow over my entire day and I began to spend more time worrying about our friendship than enjoying it. News of an exciting project at work was met by a cold and calculated response of, ‘why are they asking you to do that?’

I started to distance myself from her and came to the realisation that I didn’t even care anymore. As time went on the texts became worse and the accusations more serious. “Why have you been speaking to everyone on Facebook but me?’ The answer was simple; those friends weren’t as needy, jealous and quite frankly psychotic. I just wanted her out of my life.

My birthday came as the final blow. Hers had been a few weeks earlier and I’d arranged a day out in London with a makeover and cocktails afterwards. In hindsight, she didn't deserve it and I think it was my last-ditch attempt at salvaging our friendship. A month later she arrived to my birthday party two hours late, dressed to the Nines and without apology or even a card. Her stance on the friendship was clear. She had become the ultimate frienemy.

So what is it that makes some friendships so complicated? With marriage coming later in life and careers taking precedent, many are looking to each other for support more than ever. Now, flat shares and singledom mean women are less at the edges but at the centre of our lives - and at times, expecting a little too much.

According to Huffington Post psychologist Dr Irene S Levine, women are taught and conditioned to overlook, forgive, and forget - and we get good at it. From a very young age, we learn that friendships are supposed to last forever and whether the decision is yours or hers, there's stigma attached to losing a once-close friend. So how long should we hold on, even when the relationship turns toxic?

Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton are one of the most high-profile examples of frienemies. Once loyal BFF’s their relationship became bitter, and in April 2005 Paris Hilton launched a statement reading, "It's no big secret that Nicole and I are no longer friends. Nicole knows what she did, and that's all I'm ever going to say about it." I’d put money on the fact that it involved competitiveness, money and ego.



So when life doesn’t turn out to be quite the Friends episode you expected, should we beat ourselves up and feel eternally guilty for culling the single most negative and unfulfilling relationship in our lives? I’d say not. Move on, learn from it and hold on to the friends you know will never turn their back on you - no matter how much money you earn or how many times you get a promotion.

Sunday 27 February 2011

Bethnal Green Vintage Fair

Today was Bethnal Green's affordable vintage fair at York Hall. The stalls were varied and offered an eclectic mix of homeware, jewlery, cat-eye glasses, fur coats, picnic baskets and vintage magazines as well as lots of clothes. The purple dress pictured below was one of the best pieces I saw but unfortunately for me and most of the girls cooing at the site of it, the waist was as small as Kylie's, so it may still be on the mannequin at the end of the day. If you didn't get a chance to go today check out some of my pictures below.





















Read more at TheCat'sWhiskers

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Cool in color-block


Rihanna shows us how its done in clashing shades of violet and tangerine.

Monday 24 January 2011

Eye-Spy




Counting down the days until spring arrives? Me too. Until then take a look at Prada’s fantasy-inspired eyewear that has Ga Ga’s name written all over it. 500 pairs are to be sold in February from the Minimal-Baroque collection with a further 2 styles hitting stores in April. If they’re a bit too Willy Wonka for your taste,(yep me too) then you can still enjoy the beautiful illustrations set to promote the line. Created by three talented artists, the fashion house has opted for painterly portraits as a refreshing alternative to real-life models. You can pick up these space-age shades in Prada boutiques and Ilori eyewear stores, but be warned - your boyfriend will hate them.
Read more at TheCat'sWhiskers

Sunday 23 January 2011

The bold and the beautiful

Want to work Gucci-style colour-blocking this spring without the designer price tag? Well you're in luck because River Island have created a Technicolor range of separates that are guaranteed to brighten up a cool new-season look. With slouchy yellow pants, violet tapered styles and easy-to-wear tanks and tees, you'll be yearning for the warm weather to kick in. Roll on March the 28th when it hits the highstreet.




Read more at TheCat'sWhiskers

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