Something that has really got me going, is the project Nick Knight has going on with the whole SHOWstudio/i-D magazine project. It's been running for about a week I think now and I was thinking of posting the photos from everyday, that was until life took over and consumed me. These are the ones from day 6 and I'm pretty sure everyone is salivating over Jethro Cave. I know a boy who looks just like him, has the hair and everything. All very delicious.

The fact that Knight is undertaking a huge task of photographing 100 of Londons elite is not just admirable, also pretty intriguing. Logging onto the site everyday has kind of got me excited for the new photos and seeing which people have graced the reflection of his magical camera lens. So far, I feel like each photograph eerily captures the essence of each person. There's emotions that you don't normally see, extrovert stances and just simply beautiful photography. I think that throwing in a few members of the public couldn't hurt seeing as a lot of the greats of this world go unnoticed. Don't you just look at people sometimes and wonder if they invented macrame or something wondrous like that?

As far as the Lady Gaga shots are concerned, it's difficult not to love her a bit more. She's styled simplistically, her personality is put on a plate and frozen in a still that is just hot. That was some serious oxy-moron action right there. I love the controversy she causes and the way she makes people think. Positive comments have no thought behind them, but something negative just shows how a person has taken time to process what they dislike about you. Her whole aesthetic is making people think and consequently judge, on film, this is just captured perfectly. To see them just browse the SHOWstudio site and you'll stumble across them.

On a slightly stress relieving note, I didn't included the 'Jedward' photos seeing as just looking at them makes me want to eat my eyeballs on toast. That's right, not just organs, BREAD. Even calling them that name just gives life no meaning. Oh brilliant, now I sound like every member of the british public that devotes their Saturday night to X-factor. Oh brilliant, now I just offended pretty much everyone. Nevermind! Is there anyone out there who has some credibility and doesn't watch the mind-chewing show either? Now my rant is over. Life can resume.

It's the blogs 1st birthday tomorrow and to show my appreciation for everyone who reads it, I'm doing a giveaway. I have three of these bags, all different designs to give away. One of them I'll give to one of my favourite bloggers, the other two are going into a little prize draw.

To win all you have to do is post a comment here by Sunday telling me your email address and what your biggest dream in life is. :) Simple, right? I'll pick the winners out of a hat on Monday evening on video.


Thank you to everyone who takes time to read what I write, it means the world to me. You're all amazing.

[ebayshirt,h&mdress,irishmarketnecklace,ebayedTopshopshoes]

The common cold has struck me once again. To cheer myself up I put on my new sheer shirt from ebay with the H&M dress of dreams. I can't express how much I love pleather, there's something about being shiny and resembling a couch that just appeals to me. I've been looking for the perfect pleather bustier and skirt to complete the collection. What can I say, it's just a sick sick addiction! I wore my huge collared wool jacket over this that I don't think I've ever shown on here. It was one of my finds at the Angels of London sale and it's such a keeper. The fact that an actress must have worn it in something like Little Dorrit just makes me a bit happier. There's even a little burn mark on the collar, ever more intriguing, I know!

I've worn these ebayed Topshop shoes down so much, that I'm happily surprised by the quality of them. Life is like walking on marshmallows with them and the extra height is a total winner. I think looking like a scruffball is just how nature intended me to look. Maybe it's the cavewoman hair, the ability to ladder every pair of tights, or just ruining shoes in general? Either way, I think I should embrace it.

My second Taylor experience of the year. It was truly awe inspiring. Marching band outfits, surprise pop-ups and literal dancing in the rain made it one of the best shows I've ever seen. The down-side to seeing Taylor is the total amount of inadequacy you feel. She's only 3 years older than me yet she's achieved the most incredible things. One day, we'll meet and it'll be beautiful. :)

If there's one person I love more than Taylor Swift, it has to be Barbara Frankie. That's right, the pretty baby behind BFR mag that never ceases to be the most magical zine on the blogosphere. Barbara in general is just very cool. She's the kind of girl everyone sees at school and wishes they could ever be as snazzy as her. All this adds up to a humourous, truthful, dreamy mass of writing and drawing that makes you squeal a bit when it arrives in the post. Being so young, I bow down to someone that finds the time to make something so pretty when coursework and dragon lady teachers are constantly on your back.

From pages about the denial everyone goes through about loving Topshop (it's ok! we all can say it's mass produced and unoriginal, but it's still hot!), to understandable love for Coco Sumner, it's a mind reading kind of zine. Therefore, I propose that the whole world hops on the BFR bandwagon and shows it's appreciation for the only person I know that can rock a Fawlty Towers tee!

I haven't blogged in such a long time and I feel terrible! Not venting ideas is unhealthy, I feel like my brain is compressed. At the moment I feel pretty glum and not myself. Everyone knows about Daul Kim passing, but it's strange how much it affects you. It sounds so pathetically ridiculous, and I hate it when people say things like this seeing as I never knew her as a person or met her and had life experiences. But sometimes, someone influences you so much that you can't help but feel connected. Daul taught me so much about the magical side of fashion and also the stupid hypocrisy. I remember a post she wrote on her blog about going into high end stores when she wasn't dressed completely in designer and being treated like shit for it. She wasn't about image at all yet that's what her career was all about. Everyone oohed and aahhhed about her beautiful photos but never thought about what her life might really be like. I hope her family and friends get through this. Rest In Peace.

These are way too crazy to even talk about. I can barely find any information on Éva Nyíri, so I'll just let these amazing pieces talk to you instead.

[google]

Groundbreaking moment of the day. Journey are in the Official UK Top 20! How crazy is that?! Okay, so it's for 'Don't Stop Believin', which is the most cliche Journey song you will ever find, but this is EXCITING. My favourite has to be THIS baby, also known as my Dads most hated song. haha. I still remember the first time I saw them when Jeff Scott Soto was fronting, crazy singer! Is anyone a fan?

This photo is dedicated to anonymous commenter. I know you LOVE my advanced Kristen Stewart jaw so I thought I'd give you a bit of a treat right here! Also completed with end of the week hair, no make-up and stupid facial expressions! Hope it satisfies you. :)

Okay, so this has driven me a bit crazy. Just found the Glovedup shop and I'm seriously loving this 'Sequin Armour Jacket'. I'll let it slide that Vogue featured it in their November issue because it's intensely numbing my brain. At £320 it's a bit out of my reach. Fine. It's so far out of my reach that I could cry over it, but that isn't gunna stop me from caressing the computer screen! I love me some sparkle, but mix it with some Halo gaming kind of armour and you will never have to say another word to me.

On to a more realistic thought, I really need some leather gloves! The weather has gotten to that stage where your fingertips start to look like beetroot and you can't zip up your coat as they're too numb. The best part about these babies is the way that they look like a little shell for your hand. That would probably ensue in myself giving my hands names and having turtle wars but really, everyone thinks I'm a bit weird already. Although these wouldn't keep my fingers warm, I'd like to imagine paying over a hundred quid for two pieces of material. If anyone knows of any beautiful, cheap and not so plain leather gloves, give me a shout!

Carrying on the shibori theme, I thought that I'd let you guys in on one of the arts best kept secrets. Masae Bamba creates the most amazing pieces using just fabric within the frame of shibori. One of the best aspects of this technique is giving fabric structure without having to add physical supports. The series of tights all made from bobbling fabric before heat setting it just makes me feel a bit inferior. The thing about shibori is, it takes WAY too much brain power and energy to stop the fabric from looking over worked, especially placing things without bunching up the fabric. The fact that she created these tights whilst bearing in mind the shrinking of the material and the definition of the shape is all too much.

The cutest addition to her work is the mushrooms sprouting from your average floor boards. I envisioned this working in a hallway as random funghi grows in the gaps. I'm pretty certain if I showed this to my mother that would end up happening in our poky entrance way. This piece is probably one of the most acheivable seeing as it just requires a large flat disc to shape the material with. Unlike her other work, this one has no transfer dyeing included, making it a lot easier to replicate.

My most loved piece of Bamba's has to be the orange tentacles. I mean, really? Tentacles? Probably the coolest things ever created anyway, but ones made of fabric just push me over the edge. The colour she used also makes me a bit happier too, seeing as apart from my usual muted tones and black, orange is the only colour I truly love. Yes I know, I have orange hair so it's one of those fashion 'faux-pas' (I HATE THAT SAYING), but who really owns colour? Wow, that was a pretty hefty tangent to follow. This is he final FULLSTOP, I swear!

Hey Santa,

Just wanted to give you a heads up on some things that I'm pretty sure you're desperate to give me. You know I love a bit of Mark Fast and shoes that resemble lego, remember those Marni's? I know you do. All I'm saying is, if these happen to end up in my stocking, I'll be the happiest ginger kid alive. If not, at least you have a good gift idea for Mrs Clause.

Love

Lauren

In textiles we've been learning how to shibori. It's a way of dyeing or shaping synthetic fabrics by steaming them. I've been experimenting a bit and I plan on making screw shaped shoulder pads and maybe a few stud shaped ones too. I thought I'd do a how to because this is ridiculously easy and anyone can go crazy on it.

1- You need to start with a synthetic fabric, organza is what I went for and it's ridiculously cheap. Anything that feels quite shiny or looks tacky is normally synthetic so it's an easy thing to find. The fabric has to be this way so that when you steam it, the plastic fibres melt and mould to the objects you've used.

2- Tie in any objects you want to shape your fabric with by binding it tightly with cotton thread. Using a different colour makes it easier to cut off at the end of the process.

3- This is what your fabric should look like after you've added all you little snazzy pieces to it. Be sure not to add anything that will melt when heated, that really isn't too fun.

4- Boil a pan of water and place a colander or any metallic grate over it, I used a fat drainer. Place your fabric on top and then shove a lid over to steam it. Keep the water boiling for twenty minutes and then remove your little baby.

5 - After around 7 hours the fabric should be dry, if it's not then DON'T unravel the thread. It'll be a huge let down. Unravel each object and take out.

6- Your fabric should look like this, and when you pull it and prod it the shape will be retained. The elasticity is the synthetic fibres working their magic.

Yeah, I know, pretty much everyone and their mother has hopped on the Topshop X Kane band wagon, but I cannot help but love these precious little babies. I love how each boot is kind of an evolution of the one before it. I can't decide whether these would be worth buying, seeing as my feet are strangely narrow and always slide down unsupported heels. It's a sad sad thing, but I'm sure many bloggers will be straight there, caressing the eyelets and fringe. Short post today as I am crazy tired and just spent ages making this collage, yes I know, brilliant way to spend a Friday night. I have to preserve my energy for work tomorrow, even though I'm kind of screaming inside at the fact I won Taylor Swift tickets (!) on ebay this morning. ANXIETY.

My day just got SO much better.

As soon as I saw that gold body cage from Gemma Slacks latest collection, I knew it would be my kind of thing. Anything chunky, obnoxious and metallic will always win me over and I can only wish that my brain will instantly know how to make one for myself. The collection has the perfect print to leather ratio going on with the smoke and shoulder adornment. I've never seen a smoke print quite like this one and it's definitely one of the major beauties of the collection. The shirt in the last shot is absolutely genius for it's shape that fits perfectly with the smoky print. It's the perfect lack of colour in a print seeing as normally they're just loud and full of fuschias and aqua marines. The leather jacket that pairs with the shirt is also a must-have kind of item. The little details are what makes every piece here, especially the leather patches on this jacket, complete with gold studding as a fastener. I don't think the glove is attached to the jacket unfortunately but the way that it looks as though it's been pinned to a notice board is beautiful. I love those little pin studs!

The tubular additions to the collection act in a way of breaking up the prints and metallic hardware. I like how they're kind of cushioning the collection from being a bit too hard edged. The cream jacket with the matching gold fastening is so frighteningly adorable and the way it just totally switches up the other garments is pretty snazzy. Really, I would wear everything in this whole shebang without ever wanting to take it off. Slack has an aesthetic that is completely her own and that's the best thing about a designer you can find.

[gemmaslack]

The day was spent well in London. We popped to Selfridges to check out the Jimmy Choo pop-up exhibition and it was so beautiful! They had an in-house dj, staff decked out in the Choo-ness and jazzy 80's music. We stayed there for nearly half an hour waiting for the photos to appear on the screen, it was a GOGOGO situation where we ran for the shot. The guys were lovely there and gave us free Choo 72 tote bags. Selfridges is so amazing, especially the food hall. Red velvet cupcakes for me and Georgia which were intensely delicious! First time I've spent time with her and she's amazing, beautiful fashion knowledge and future model career.

We raided Carnaby street for Kingly court and the vintage shops there. Found the most amazing black parker/trench baby. It was way too overpriced which seems to be a reoccurring event when you vintage shop. Went to Beyond Retro and only found a few things that made me go crazy. The guys found genius shirts and sweaters that were actually reasonably priced. Men have all the cheap pricing! Unimpressed that my camera deleted half my photos though.

These are just a couple of shots of my sister from a shoot I did earlier for my art. I'm doing expressionism at the moment so it's just been getting different emotion for my final pieces inspiration. You can see the magical shoulders of my new dress too! I'm in love with it way too much that I give it a stroke every time it greets me in my wardrobe. I can't wait to play around with it a bit more seeing as I'm a serial layerer. Did I just invent a word?

Tomorrow I'm off to Fundon (Taylor Swift language there) to see the Jimmy Choo 72 pop-up in Selfridges, Oxford Street. I'm super excited that I get to see a tiny piece of me in somewhere so huge! Then in the evening it's off to Battersea for the Vivienne Westwood sample sale. It's at 30-40 Elcho Street in London on Friday 30th October, between 6.30pm-9pm, and Saturday 31st October, between 10am-4pm. Christmas presents and personal treats will hopefully be aplenty! I hope we can find it okay, if anyone else is thinking of going, email me and we can struggle together!

First of all, I have to say a HUGE thank you to anyone who voted for me at Jimmy Choo 72. They have my photo on a digital slide show in Selfridges, London for the JC72 pop up exhibition! If you haven't slipped a vote my way yet, I'd be so grateful if you would! The competition isn't over until the 7th of December when the final winner is announced. I keep talking about this to everyone, it's becoming ridiculous as I look more like a self-absorbed freak everyday! Is it wrong to get excited over having a tiny photograph of me in Selfridges? Probably. I should try to stop.

Anyway, today I went to see MJ's, 'This is it' after having a delightful udon serving in Wagamama. I swear their food is beyond the delicious mark, it's so quick and fresh it makes me very happy. It was my preparation for the sight of Michael again, food always helps any situation! I don't know why, but every time I see something connected to him, I feel like crying. I'm such an unemotional person that it scares me! I think it's down to the fact his music is basically the only thing that has a universal love factor to it. EVERYONE is an MJ fan. The film was amazing, if that tour had happened, it would have been incredible. They re-made the Thriller video, new movies and a Michael army. Far too genius.

It was inevitable that Topshop would come in eye view and sweep me and the gang into it's treacherous depths. I tried on the dusty pink dress, about as colourful as I can handle, and the all over sequinned shoulder padder. The ruffley dress looks much worse in this photo so I'm quite pleased it didn't come home with me. However, my willpower could not resist the sexy star wars character look, and I went ahead and bought it. It was one of those moments where you walk towards the counter and your heart starts to beat a bit faster knowing you're gunna own something this snazzy. I'll get some better photos tomorrow, and you'll all see why I fell in love with this baby!

P.S. We all know about the Fearless Platinum Edition from Taylor. We all know I pre-ordered it. We all know I screamed for five minutes before ripping the package open with my teeth when it arrived. We also know that life is now complete.

When Fashion Confidential hopped on the e-magazine train I must admit, I was a bit dubious. Not because I didn't absolutely adore every little e-mail I ever received through my subscription to them; but simply because everyone seems to be creating one. You know how it is when another one of your favourite websites decides that they have to keep the up with the pace of competitors and jumps on the bandwagon. It normally upsets me, but this time I kind of felt like it was a match made in heaven.

Ever since I clicked the 'subscribe' button to FC it's kind of been a fling. Now that there's a compilation of everything snazzy happening in the fashion world it's a bit more serious than a fling. It's more of a dating scenario. When I saw the magazine was covering 'style heroes' I was so blissfully happy to see Leigh Lezark there, I skipped straight to her page. There's something about her stone cold features that cut you like a knife whenever you look at her. That's DEFINITELY not a bad thing. She's the kind of girl we all hope to be as cool as secretly, well, not so much a secret anymore. The little pop of fuschia that bursts into the frame every so often is delightfully impressing and always a surprise. Mostly, I just love the way she rocks black. I'm such a colour phobic that I only resort to dark navy blue and dusty pink if I'm 'feeling wild' nowadays. I challenge anyone to make me hit the colour, only as I know they'd fail.

Moving on to Vanessa Traina seems like the perfect transition. She's so effortless and colourless in her clothing that I feel compelled to love her forever. I really like how FC threw in a bit of Markus Lupfer here that DOESN'T involve those sweaters. You know the ones I mean? Sequinned motifs? Yeah. Annoying. It's designer fashion beyond cliches. Then the Phi dress on this page is a total lusting piece for me. The simple, clean cut silhouette is the perfect kind of dress that will always make you feel better. It stares me in the face as a star trek imposter that looks way too hot for the space ship (please don't kill me trekkie nerds for that less than correct term). Either way, Traina just makes life more beautiful.

[fashionconfidential,style.com]

Such a poor blogger at the moment it's hurting me! My laptop has gone down again and unfortunately, this delightful family computer doesn't let me copy html! haha. A cyber nerds nightmare, right?

Went to the Knitting and Stitching Show on Friday at Alexandra Palace in London. Yes, about 80% there were female and over 70 but there were some super jazzy sections! There was a section for graduate collections specialising in knitwear (naturlich) which was so mind numbingly genius that I actually got excited after all the cross stitch magazines made me question the event. I'm such a dodo that I totally forgot to take down any names, but these were way too good not to post. The jelly fish looking, cream dress was BEAUTIFUL in real life and I wished I could have touched it. Damn, no fabric touching policies. The jump ring dress was a bit of a Mark Fast, Christopher Kane love child which still managed to entice me even with it's samey feeling. Finally, I reached the messiah of knitwear. FRINGE. Everyone knows I love a bit of sparkle, but fringe always takes the first prize. SO much salivating I thought I'd be transported out the building.

One of the best parts of the day was meeting some of my favourite textile artists. I was such a little fan girl, it was quite pathetic. 'You work is so amazing', 'how do you do that?' and 'WOWWWWWWWWWW' were pretty much the chosen phrases for the day. Meeting Kerry Mosley was pretty much the cherry on top, her work is so ingenious that I will HAVE to post them tomorrow.

The shopping section was way too artsy craftsy for me, with too much scratchy wool and cross stitching your pets going on. I'm pretty sure I offended most of my textiles class by calling this tacky. Well, I'm sure the look of wonder on their faces was because they were in awe of my dazzling orange locks?No chance? I thought that too.