Music Monday

It's the first Monday of the New Year, a time for detox and resolutions. I am doing neither of those. I find both to be a waste of time, particularly in January, which is by far the bleakest month of the year. I am all about positivity this year, 2012 is the year my ship will come in. So here is a Monday tune for the new year. I am addicted to this song after hearing it on a BBC drama advert, so I thought i would share. Granted it isn't particularly up-lifiting, but it doesn't make me feel sad either. Shelter by Birdy (original by The XX - also worth a listen).

All I Want For Christmas is...

I love Christmas. It is without a doubt my favourite celebration of the whole entire year. I wait 365 days just for Boxing day, which is the best day simply because you get to eat cold cuts, jacket potatoes, green salad, then cheese and all whilst drinking lots of red wine. I love everything about Christmas, the singing, the food, the wine, the weather (as long as it is cold and crisp not rainy and mild), the films, the festive tv, the festive adverts, champagne for breakfast and port for supper. I love everything except the giving and receiving of gifts.


I appreciate that this is weird, that I am missing the point of a capitalist Christmas. I'm not saying I don't want anything, having nothing to unwrap on Christmas would make me kinda sad but it doesn't need to be big or fancy. This isn't me pledging my allegiance to the hemp-wearing-hippy society, believe me I still like stuff and I still love presents, particularly shiny things. I just can't cope with the Christmas pressure.


Any other time of the year, without fail, I can list about 10 things I want just off the top of my head - this ranges from the uber expensive (hello Celine bag) to the not so expensive (hi there hair brush). Yet come December, specifically Christmas and I get stuck. The expensive is too expensive to ask for on a whim (yes, you, Jonathan Saunders jumper) and the rest seems silly. It's like a Christmas related performance anxiety, the more that is asked of me the less I deliver.


Before you think me too shallow, there is nothing more I love than a good book or even better a voucher. So it is not about the "item" itself, more the pressure attached to it.


The only solutions I have come up with so fat are not give gifts at all on Christmas, which goes against all of my most materialistic beliefs, or to create a year long wish list and add to it every time I see something I want or like. Then come Christmas family, friends and secret admirers could just consult the list.


Ohh I like the second option... Givenchy, Celine, Chanel, Oh my!

Picture with thanks to google. Not mine.

Out Into The World

So I don't update very often, as anyone who ever swings by here will know. I have decided this needs to change and like most people I need an incentive, in this case... the world (or you know more than my boyfriend and friends who read this). So I have joined bloglovin' in the hopes that people might actually stumble across this blog might make me update with regularity!

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Also, since I am pimping myself out (so to speak) check out my tumblr, oh-darlingheart for all the prettyness that I don't want to put words with.

Heinz Variety

Isla Fisher in Confessions of a Shopaholic

After about 5 years of thinking about it and 18 months of talking about it, I finally did it. I dyed my hair red (well I paid someone to do it, I'm not a total fool). So now I am officially a red-head. The comments have been positive, ranging from "oh have you dyed your hair" to "It looks so pretty" - though of course no one is going to flat out tell me my hair looks crap. The colour itself is not a problem, I like it, it's what I wanted so all good. The problem is, I don't know how to dress as a red-head.

I've tried getting inspiration by looking to my fave red heads; Emma Stone, Isla Fisher, Bonnie Wright, Julianne Moore but it isn't much help. They all look great on the red carpet but their personal day-to-day style is not my thing. Although I wouldn't say no to Bonnie's jewellery and Emma's (alleged) boyfriend. Generally my style is a bit of a mix of things. The aim is to be french chic meets park avenue prep with a hint of Aussie laid back surf style on any and all beach holidays and long sunny days. The reality is casual separates (dictated by budget and what I can steal from the boyfriend) with occasional attempts at girly/pretty. None of this works with red hair.  

I am in a style crisis. I knew how to dress as a dirty blonde, hair colour people not character – get your minds out of the gutter. I even knew how to dress as a brunette but a casual red head, it is not going well. Suggestions would be very welcome. 

I want, doesn't get

Jonathan Saunders SS12 - I will have this in the peach or green colour-way in case you are interested.

One of the problems with working in fashion is that you become a bit complacent and can start to take things for granted. For example, the other day flowers were sent to the office as a congratulations for our birthday issue and someone on the team (oh fine, it was me) complained that flowers were lovely and all but you have to find a vase or get someone to take them home, so actually they're a hassle and cake would've been better. So far, so un-grateful.

Also we go to press days to look at all the new season items, all the while compiling a mental wishlist (mine currently reads: Jonathan Saunders jumper, Valentino bag, paint and snakeskin effect Louboutin's). 

Often at these press days you get gifts, a lot of these gift get re-gifted to family and friends. I personally give mine out as Christmas presents, but I'm honest about it and actually I think my mother appreciates them more because she knows they are free, rather than me spending my hard earned cash on gifts. Occasionally we get given vouchers for money off, this then turns into conversations like this:

"Everything on this site/shop is sooo expensive."

"I know."

"I almost wish they hadn't given us a voucher because it's making me want to buy things that I can't afford."

Once more, un-grateful. It's like the saddest little princess crying tears in her Chanel couture gown. 

I like to imagine all industries are the same. Michelin star chefs, craving beans on toast because the idea of eating yet another meal with a Velouté of something makes them fed up. Sound engineers who want to go home and listen to the today program instead of the latest offering from Coldplay. Or racing drivers who occasionally wish they could take the bus so they don't have to drive. Yeah, that last one isn't likely but you get the idea. 

We all get complacent, so I think we should organise an annual job-perk swap. Chefs could swap with bankers, sound engineers with fashion folk. I'm not proposing a job swap, the country is in enough of a mess as it is without me taking the helm at HSBC but maybe we could have a day where we all get each the perks of someone else's job.

If for no other reason than it might make us all appreciate ours a little more.

5 weeks 'til Christmas but thinking about Summer

It is November, which in the real world means jumpers, thoughts of Christmas and red wine by the fire. In the fashion world it means SS12 and Trends. Ask any fashion assistant and they will tell you the most dreaded part of show season is not the ticket requests (which is a pure form of hell) or the shows themselves, but weeks later when it comes to creating trend reports. They are exactly what they sound like, a report about the trends. You go on style.com look at ALL of the shows and put different looks from different designers into trends. I have just done this. In case you care next season you will be wearing, white, candy colours, sport luxe and fifties styles - though hopefully not all at once.

The good thing about the trend report is I get to look at my favourite shows, see my favourite designers and generally invest time in the pretty. My top 5 for SS12 are the usual suspects, but as the saying goes "if it ain't broke..."

Givenchy

I don't know what Mr Tisci has for breakfast, but I would certainly like some. His shows are always so well crafted and beautiful. I've always wanted to be a mermaid and I would gladly be an urban one based on his vision.

3.1 Phillip Lim

I have multiple versions of my grown up self and this is one of them. Crisp tailoring, soft colours - the perfect summer look.

Preen

Every season they get it right and every season I want it all. That dress is my perfect go to dress, or would be if I could be trusted to wear white.

Jonathan Saunders

LFW may be stuck in between two financial power players, but Jonny proves season after season why he deserves his fashion place. I am already dreaming about owning this jumper (and if the waiting list is anything to go by, so are the rest of the London fashion scene).

Stella McCartney

It is my life long ambition to go to work in my PJ's and if I was wearing Stella no one could say I wasn't work appropriate. Win Win. 

9 to 5 or AHHHHH!!

I am not someone who needs an outlet to rant, that is what friends and family are for and if they don't want to listen to me, that's fine, there will always be someone around. Recently however, I think I may be testing the patience of ALL of my nearest and dearest by droning on about the same subject, no not The Gosling, work. Or to be more specific the lack of it and lack of appreciation for my brilliance.

My job is a temporary contract, I knew this when I took it, so the fact it has to end is no surprise. However, the fact it is ending in approximately four days time, is somewhat surprising. I imagine this is what getting married is like, you wait and wait for the day and yet as it gets closer you are filled with something akin to fear. I would ask my married friends if this is true, but frankly listening to another sermon on weddings is liable to send me off the deep end right now.

Sorry, got lost in another ran there for a moment, back to the task at hand, the job. I have four days until I leave my job, I have had 11 months to prepare for this so it will all be okay, I'll just move onto the next thing… Except the next thing doesn't seem to exist. I hear the world out there is a pretty bleak place right now, I say hear because I live in West London and work in fashion which is essentially a bubble of complaints about not being able to get a table at the restaurant you want or being on the waiting list for the new Johnny Saunders jumpers. Not exactly signing on.

Yet being the news junkie (and generally not stupid) person I am, I know the situation in the wider world is dire right now. I know people are losing their jobs and can't pay their mortgages, I know things aren't good. I also know I have my health, my rented home (lets be realistic here, I live in London and am in my mid-twenties, of course I rent, I'm not Tamara-freaking-Ecclestone) and my family/friends and worse things happen at sea, but (cue the rant) - I work effing hard and have done since uni. Not only that, but I have worked effing hard at this job and all I am asking for is the opportunity to go somewhere else, earn a decent wage and do a job I enjoy and continue to work effing hard. I am apparently good at my job, I'm not work shy which is a constant surprise to my parents and those who grew up with me, so where is my bloody job. Why isn't it out there? And if it is out there why is no one phoning me to let me know! It isn't meant to be this hard. Or maybe it is meant to be this hard but I was hungover and skipped lectures the morning they explained that. I didn't screw up the economy, granted I didn't get the chance, but I shouldn't be penalised for not being old enough to mess up.

The problem with this rant and the reason I have had to resort to blogging to get it off my chest is that there is no solution and the people in my life, although they are too kind to say so, are getting sick of me talking at them and going round in circles.

There isn't a quick solution that I can see, it is just a case of sending out applications, waiting for the phone to ring and contemplating working in Waitrose over Christmas. I went for Waitrose based on the standard of food that would end up in the reduced section. 

So, for now, rant over. Thank you for listening nameless, faceless blogosphere. You've been a wonderful audience.