YES!

you know sometimes when a high street store completely reads your mind?

yay for dotty p's!

but mum, isn't warehouse for chavs?

the immortal words of my younger sister there, who, with her slight emo-tendencies and hate of chavs, would much

rather head to the nearest topshop for her new school-tote (which will most likely break with the sheer weight of yr-8

books after the first week or so). not that i blame her, after all, as anyone could tell you, the warehouse totes, along

with the jane norman totes, are the failsafe, chavtastic option for schoolgirls nationwide.

however, in terms of clothing, it has to be said that in the past few seasons warehouse have stepped it up a notch. this

gucci-inspired number was the dress of the season, and was featured in every mag from vogue to grazia...in fact, i think

the only thing that has stopped me from going to warehouse in the past is that even though there are stand-out pieces

such as that dress, its still too expensive to be worth the catwalk-copy at all, and warehouse's chavvy, yet still expensive tendencies combined to put me right off shopping there.

anyway, back to the point of the post, just check out warehouse now! their stonkin' a/w range is fit to burst with what are actually reallyy covetable pieces;

cute!

darling!

retro!

elizabethan? i like!

er...dark!

and the piece-de-resistance;

damn girl... look at dat hat!

i am officially all for matching big mo-fo chunky-knit hats with mini satchels now. thanks warehouse!

jackets on the mind

i don't know if its the influx of autumn/winter editorial in magazines, or simply the dreary weather that is keeping me indoors - seriously now mr. weatherman, august? - but i am thinking about my most-likely next big purchase of a jacket. i have a thick black winter coat from last year that will do me just fine, but i do feel a need for a lighter jacket to see me through those chilly months before and after the depths of winter itself;

military jackets seem to be having a bit of a comeback this winter, which is good news for me, being someone with a penchant for shiny brass buttons and epaulette detail, but equally bad news in that military jackets will always remind me of middle-aged + ladies in beige tescos equivalents - particularly one ex-friend of mine who matched her own with her mother's. truly, truly, horrible.
anyway, i feel i could get over this fear with this baby from topshop, which is contemporary enough for every day wear but still has a certain touch of class.

however, this discovery is a bittersweet one because despite my instant like of the jacket, there are two points on which i am distinctly peeved off about

1. 3/4 length sleeves? so it will keep me warm up until just below my elbows? do you want my poor little wrists to freeze to death? c'mon, topshop, i'm a teenager! i need loooong sleeves to clutch and stretch over my hands in an insecure, teenagery fashion!

2. £60? the materials aren't that luxe! plus, surely it should be a little cheaper due to the fact you have FORGOTTEN TO SEW MATERIAL BELOW THE ELBOWS

rant over. dudes, this is why i shall be heading over to my nearest primark, pronto.

wa-wa-wawawah-wa-wa-wawawah, that's right, it's PINGU

it would seem that fashion is seeing a resurgance of the cutesy for aw 07, and the oh-so-cute penguin is a big part of that. chanel sent models down the catwalk in an array of karl's traditional tweeds in red, white and black; teaming pencil skirts and chunky gilets with penguin embellished knits, for both the laydeees and the stylish man about town.

lets face it, it was only a matter of time before karl looked to the humble penguin for fashion inspiration - after all, just like the fashion god himself, they have always stuck by a classic monochrome look, and so, teamed with their icy cool (geddit? no, me neither) demeanour, they are certainly a fashion force to be reckoned with.

you work that look girrrrrlfrienddd!

why i still luvluv i-D

i counted no less than ten, thats right, TEN fashion editorials in this month's i-D...and thats not including the six page spread for ickle twins duke and joe (who i have indeed spotted down at the underage club many a month...i plan a post on kiddies in fashion later), nor the shoot with cobrasnake kid cory kennedy, nor the shoot with kate bosworth in proenza schouler (did i spell that right? do i really care?), nor the shoot with up and coming designers ohne titel. they're luvvly chunky monkey editorials at that.

and doesn't ol' wardy look just a bit gorgeous?

now that's what i call value for money!

n.b. also, new look-layout on the i-D homepage, which was always a bit confusing but now has an added feature of a giant eye that winks from time to time. no fancy graphics that savage my computer memory here...just gemma wardy's delicately made-up eye having some sort of spasm every now and then - suffice to say, it's pretty hilaaarii (or is the funny spasm just with my computer? i wouldn't be surprised)

this is as well as the little video of a hand flicking through the latest issue, page by page, not pausing to actually peruse any of the articles. ahhh those crazy kids over at i-D...what a lol

operator? yes, please

in case you haven't heard what is only the sound of this whole summmerrr, duuuude, i present to you cute as five-piece operator please. the banging tune in question is that certain catchy ditty 'a song about ping pong', which has been ripping up underage dancefloors up and down the country for what, weeks now. mini soul sistaaa amanda, who makes beth ditto sound like yo' mangey nanna's bathtub crooning, heads up the operator crew, which also includes ashley on bass, (tiny) tim on drums, sarah on keys and taylor on electric violin (yup, there are such things as electric violins).

annnd to get to the actual point of this whole blog (the fashiony bit, thats right), i wanna tell you how much i am diggin' these ossies' style.

okay, so yes the i heart ny tee is a tad generic, and the black and red combo of the girl on the left is a bit puke-tastic...but her pixie-cut is cute, and c'mon, check awt the attitood on this lot. they're young! and it's like they don't care that 80's style has been waay overdone, or that the pinnys make them look chunkier than they are..

i really lovelove the blonde one's check dress and plain white-tee combination, and i covet amanda's shiney wet look leggings.

and, the piece-de-resistance of all things operator and please is their video to that song about ping pong...look at it! it's so bright! and fun!

operator please truly make me want to dress up in neon sports socks and latex capes and run up and down stairs in an alternate, yellow dimension. it's true.

oh no she didn't...stacking it!

okay, so this has popped up on a few other blogs, but this little fashion tv compilation did hold my interest for a few minutes at least. i've never been one to presume that a model has the easiest job in the world, and i truly belive there is an enviable skill to sashaying down a runway with such ease in 6 inch heels. of course, even these six foot tall goddesses (or alien lifeforms, however you like to look at it) have a few human qualities, and these include making slip-ups from time to time.

looking at the video, i certainly think some ways of handling a classic stack are better than others; the models that give a little shrug and a cheeky smile (and then promptly get on with it, albeit a little slower second time round) come across the best i think, whereas those who milk the little applause they get for too long with a manically embarassed grin across their faces are simply cringey. but it is definitely better to acknowledge the fall...some of the models, as you can see, keep their stone cold faces so straight that it is a little unnerving.

so moodeeellls, just keep that in mind next time you find yourself face down on the cold runway floor!