Chanel's quilted bags. Creation of Rue Cambron, they remain and continue to grace the top of every girl's wish list.  This spring, Chanel has launched its East West collection which offers three sizes of the bag of heaven: shoulder pouch, accordian bag and shopping bag. Quilted, soft to the touch and the personification of beauty, only the price tag stands in our way.
It was as if they can do nothing wrong.  Until the arrival of the jaw-dropping anklet.  This perfectly formed, gold number would be the perfect little night bag but instead has been designed for around the ankle. Certainly eye-catching but I dont think this one will take off. 

Flushing the fashion...

Is this a piece of irony?  Just when the world seems set at its most paranoid regarding the state of global warming, fashion, which has seemingly become increasingly conscious with the growing use of organic materials, has taken things to a new level.  A fashion designer in Lima, Peru has been creating outfits made out of toilet paper and paper towels.  If this wasn't strange enough, the show has been organized by a paper company.  It certainly has captured enough attention, but surely a waste of paper? Lets hope its recycled...

How to embrace the transparent trend without suffering a complete loss of dignity and respect?  Let your hair down but without going wild.  Busy fabrics will detract from your lack of clothing, or a sheer top can be with a longer sleeve to give the impression the more skin is covered.  Pick your timing. Flashing bras during work realistically isn't a plausible option, instead sheer fabrics can be combined with a camisole underneath, or a waistcoat over the top.  Whereas a night on the town, who needs those extras when the lights are dimmed anyway?! If you go for a translucent top or bandeau, wear a longer skirt, or raise the length and pick a less revealing upper garment...

Please

My greatest battle throughout my life, one that has brought on tears, tantrums and sheer agony, has been with my hair. Unlike the 99% of the population who claim to struggle with the stuff, I actually do have the worst hair ever. Not only is it curly, its limp, lifeless, frizzy, thin, untamable and is hated to such an extent that quantities of it have actually decided to leave me (as much as I wish I had a new head of hair, there is nothing worse than having to unclog your drain from hair of almost animal-like proportions almost daily).

To be honest, I'm not surprised.  I have suffocated it with potions, smothered it with lotions, pulled it and burnt it that no wonder its had enough.  I would give anything to have long, flowing locks that you see on the L'Oreal ads, and I'm not ashamed to say it.

SO it came as such a blinding shock when splashed on the headlines was 'THE PERM IS BACK', subtitled with - 'someone is very bored and we've run out of ghds backstage, lets go WILD!!'

I'm not quite sure who decided to come up with such an idea, but it is genius. I have caught myself smiling at the thought that I will not be the only one out there with a frightful hairdo. I almost want to suggest it to my nearest and dearest who have always told me they would die for my hair as I see them silently pray to God that he blessed them so otherwise.

Lets hope this trend literally takes off.

Stripping the grout

When I bought my flat, it was with such a happy-go-lucky manner that never did I stop to imagine the nitty gritty, the subsequent fights, disagreements and let-downs that would come of our future relationship.  I failed to see that a couple of calls to the bank could be associated with walking down the isle, placing my head in a strangling yoke and saying 'I DO!', meaning forever, for better or for worse...

6 months later, I find myself punching it, administering doctors and therapists, pouring liquids and solids down its very veins and spending never-ending cash flows on its upkeep and general health. Although I do not deny the pleasure it gives me, it is not an easy ride. Yesterday, for example, I found myself in the hardware store purchasing some silicone filling and a gun with which to fire this filling around my leaking shower. I cant say it didnt give me a feeling of power and dominance, which it did, but I learnt that firing a gun is not what my marine man would consider easy, especially around tight corners and tricky angles. 

I almost consider myself to be the man of the relationship. Just as one problem is fixed, she goes and throws something else at me - I said thank you for not letting off nasty smells from the drains - But its not what I said, its the way i said it, so the smells come back, this time more pungent than ever.

Still, she is certainly worth it, especially in the future when I reap the rewards of my souls investment...

The Musician, Mr Perfect or The Soldier...

Forgive me if I'm wrong, or would it be true to say that if you ask any woman what they're looking for in a man, it simply comes down to the downright boring, Mr Right. Right size, right job, right for me, right for now -  its right right right. 

But what is right? From personal experience my idea of who I'd like to boogy with has already changed direction so many times that I have pretty much lost any sense of my particular taste. One minute I want adoration, the next I need space, one minute I want money, the next, all that matters is having more that one bloody night a month to cuddle, canoodle and squeeze. 

I've dated talent/musician, who I once caught actually giving his instrument a bath, Mr Perfect, who ticked so many boxes that I spent more hours ticking them than seeing him, and I'm currently gunning for the body, um, I mean soldier, who has been on the front line for so long that I've almost forgotten his name.

So, what do we do when you're compass has lost all sense of baring and all you want is just Justin Timberlake to realize he loves you? Find Mr Right for right now, and whatever you do, don't settle just due to the fear of being left on the shelf...

Work Experience

You need it, you love it, you hate it.  

I'm not talking about your boyfriend, I'm referring to the dread that is work experience, or as I like to call it, temporary slave work.

Fresh out of nearly a quarter of a century of top-notch education, it can be painful to accept that you are once again the bottom of the pile: the envelope stuffer, the tea-maker, the photocopier, the burden and the general dogs body.  

As if things couldn't get worse, trying to look enthused and raptured, when you realize that you have to once again cross off a potential career in your ever-shrinking career wish-list, is somewhat almost as difficult.  Whilst you may be working for a company that certainly you feel is worthy of your greatness, there is no denying that 3 As at A level is certainly not a ticket to leap into the decision making roles.  Good grades - who cares?!

Shut up and get on with it, you're no different to anyone else...

Fashion reflecting society's concern with the natural environment

Spring Trends

Feathers, flowers & animals

Nature is beautiful and should be preserved...

For me, the fascination of fashion lies in placing changing trends within a wider social, economic and historical context; the relationship between fashion, society and culture. My degree in Human Geography at St Andrews University helped me gain an understanding of the manifold affiliations between people and the world in which they live.  This can not only be investigated and understood through literature and history, but also by experience of the cultures and societies themselves. Within this context, fashion is a distinct medium in which social feeling is visually and vividly expressed in often weird and wonderful ways. Similarly, lifestyle journalism records the meshing of our changing understanding of sociological, political and scientific trends.

Kareem Iliya 

Perfectly capturing the delicacy of femininity, Iliya's translucent and watery illustrations rely on their striking colours and faded silhouettes to captivate the imagination.

Jump on the bandwagon

For those who can publically emerge bare faced and nude lipped, what better way to rub it in our faces than to sport a simple bandeau that is usually reserved for make-up application rather than the framing of the un-masked.  Sweeping away any stray hairs and acting as a mini-facelift, this miraculous bedroom-turned-chic accessory that screams 'back-stage model' is the honest alternative to the choppy bang which many of us prefer to hide behind.  Whilst the beauty may be found wearing the classic, dark version, those of us who aren't so blessed and are inevitably struggling with a bad hair day, are seen to port the more elaborate versions, be them bolder, brighter and busier than the next.  However, this accessory may act, except for the lucky few where it serves to enhance, as an emphasizing tool that frighteningly exposes any facial hiccups that are best left softened by a shapely hair-do.