Diary of an Intern by Rachie: Day 3 & 4 - "I feel like a paper doll" / "Hole-puncher madness"

Swiping Joys - I like to look like I smeared Vaseline all over my face.

Today (Saturday) is the 6th day I have worked in a row, and there is going to be another 8 days before I get a well earned day of rest. You see, I have a retail job that provides me with a shopping allowance. Stephie was complaining about how tired she is from waking up at 6.30am for 4 days...well I have to work 14 days in a row! At first I felt fresh and was skipping along the pavement on my way to work, but now I am feeling the strain. I am so tired and practically dragging my legs to get to work.

I have finally got my Emap pass...and it says I am a freelancer! (Picture is above).I feel so professional now...kind of sad huh!? Swiping Joys. Not too happy about my photo though, it was taken in the afternoon and the office gets hot which results in me looking like I have smeared Vaseline all over my cheeks. Not to mention, in between my eyebrows.

On my 3rd and 4th day at Drapers I finished doing the Indicator for the week, so in total I wrote 4 panel's for that section - which accumulates to about 400 words. Yay, and this will be printed (hope hope). I am so excited! Even if this does not have my name splashed all over it, I will definitely treasure that issue with my life. I also did the "What to Visit..." section which was 117 words. Hopefully that will be published too, but I am not going to get my hopes up. I wrote about The Supreme's (60s girl group) exhibition at the V&A's which is running through the summer. I enjoyed writing that and although it is a mere amount of words, I still fell proud. We will just have to wait and see, I will keep you updated. To be honest with you guys, I did not expect to be writing so much, and I am so happy that I actually get to do it. I would have thought I would be the tea/coffee girl, the office runner, but luckily that is not what being a intern at Draper's entails. Phew.

Actually, I did do some filing. Which was painful and stressful. I had to go in the cupboard which has all the back issues of Draper's. My task: To log all the features that have been written in a database...from January 2007. Bear in mind this is a WEEKLY MAGAZINE. I did not mind doing this task, the problem was the door to the cupboard. Me and fellow friendly intern struggled for about 5 minutes trying to open this password-locked door. The password was no problem, but it would still not budge. We pulled as hard as we could, my hands were sore and red and it still did not budge. A nice man offered to help us. Only then did we realise we were supposed to push. After logging everything, my next task was to file all the magazines. They are relatively thin magazine but it was still a struggle to hole-punch them. I made a huge racket which was no fault of my own but the hole-punchers. And after making holes in all the magazines the hole-puncher decided to explode and send out little circular confetti-pieces everywhere.

Vest: Men's H&M (£3.99), Belt: Primark (£2.99), Skirt: Home made, Socks: Topshop (£2), Bag: Aldo (£6.99), Jaket: H&M (£29.99)

The outfit that made me feel like a paper doll. I felt feminine and oh-so-pretty. And I do adore that Primark belt, I wear it with everything I have. The Aldo bag is one of my latest purchases which I got in the sale shop, after seeing it on my friend. Yes. I copied her bag! I am a bit vary about how much work I will be able to write on Monday, as there will be 3 new interns starting-one of which is Stephie-totaling 5. The other 2 are supposed to be fashion interns so hopefully they will be doing different things from the rest of us. Wish me and Stephie luck! xoxo

Diary of an intern: Steph's last day at W&H. Gone but not forgotten. Or so I like to think...

Over! No more waking up at 6.30am (do you know what 6.30am looks like? quiet.)!! Well, until next week that is. On my last day I did the post, still my favourate job, and wrote two reviews and a blurb type thing about Rhys Ifans, amongst other admin type things. I also called up publishing houses and 'called in' books which were prizes for a reader. You know they don't have to pay for them? When I work at a magazine, I'm going to call in books. Just for me. Its gonna be so cool. Anyway, at lunch I met my friend who is working at Now magazine, although she isnt having as good a time as I did. She just has to upload stuff onto the server for the web editor to publish online. We went to the second from highest floor (10) where they have a roof garden! I can't believe I only discovered it today! You can see like the whole of london. As it was the place where the fashonistas of IPC media go to smoke I dont think they were interested. They were getting their fix. But I never get tired of looking at the london skyline. Its just so cool and pretty. I was going to take a picture, but then my phone died. Before I left, they asked me to stay for another 2 weeks, cause someone cancelled, but I have Drapers so I cant. If any of you want magazine exp. you should email them quickly! You get paid too! Only £10 a day, but still. If I'd stayed I would of got £140. Darn it. I also got...free stuff!! Is there anything better then free stuff? I dont think so. It wasnt the Creme de la Mer, but its the thought that counts. I got a v. interesting book, some rimmel nail varnish and lipgloss (and you know I love make up), fake tan (are they trying to tell me something?) some Sally Hanson stuff, some chocolate and randomly, a cereal bar. Oh and a load of bath stuff. Free stuff is great. Rachel did that taggy thing already but I want to do it too. Cause I like forms and quizzes. I'm a freak.

5 things found in my bag:
1.Money. Mostly pennies.
2.Lipgloss
3.Ipod
4.Random recipts from oyster top ups.
5.Diary

5 things found in my purse:
I don't think this question applies to me as I have not yet replaced my purse, nor have I found it.

5 favourate things in my room:
1. My lamp (from the coolest home shop, pussy home boutique. Yes I know. Google it and see what you get...They also do clothes, jewelry and other stuff) which has half melted
2. My photoframes
3. My bed
4. My old old old falling apart chest of drawers/dressing table
5. My artfully painted walls (by moi)

5 things I've always wanted to do:
1. Be able to read minds (wouldnt you love that? That is my ideal superpower).
2. Skydive
3. Set up a teen magazine that isn't as superficial and 'lad' (urgh) oriantated as the ones in the UK.
4. Stop the scientologists.
5. Be featured in the contributers page in Glamour magazine.

5 things I am currently into:
1. Sleeping
2. Heroes!
3. Carrie's Vivenne Westwood dress (one day a designer will give me a dress too. Maybe).
4. Brown eyeshadow
5. Ribbons

5 impressions of the person who tagged us
1. She lives in NY
2. She has the kind of flat stomach I'd hoped skipping would give me before I 'forgot' about it.
3. She can wear shorts and boots.
4. She wore those AA lame leggings and it looked nice (a feat)
5. I like her main blog picture and her starry curtain.
This is a long post to rival Rachie. I shall leave you with this picture:

Look how cute. Carrie and Big. And a naked man minding his own business. How cool is her dress?? (This is not from the film btw, its a vogue photo shoot. Go find the other pics, they're so cool)

xoxo

Tagged...We're It! The certificate of "Official Blogger"!

Finally, success! We have officially been tagged (whatever that means...!) by Emma of All in your Innerspace! I agree with Miss Emma and feel like an official blogg-ee now that me and Stephie's blog has been tagged. I'm on my lunch break at the moment at Drapers and super bored eating a sandwich so I'll quickly do this, seen as I never got a chance to post yesterday (Sister over took the PC!) Hopefully the Hanger Girl aka Stephie will too soon!

But first: The Sex and The City Movie. (LOOK AWAY IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SATC MOVIE) Oh. My. God. I watched it last night and loved it. Not only that, Stephie is now a SATC convert (I take full credit!). I had mini heart seizures watching this film-just by looking at all those clothes. Advice: do not watch if you love clothes and have heart problems. I laughed, I cried, I Ooo-ed, I Ahhh-ed and most importantly I gasp-ed - at the amazing outfits darlin'! I do not want to spoil it for you guys, but seriously, get your scrawny butt down to the cinemas A-SAP! I know all the ladies will be lusting after certain designer garments, but, what really done it for me is Lily's bag. Yes, Lilly: Charlotte's adopted daughter. Jewel encrusted cupcake bag...with a mini gold chain. That is what I want most of all! I can't seem to find a picture...let me know what you think when you see the bag, and if possible send me a link.

Taggage - Here it goes:

5 things found in my bag:
1. Wild Swans book by Jung Chang
2. A Mickey Mouse diary- my life, my everything
3. Trusty slick Kodak digital camera
4. Water - always!
5. Clinique pore minimizer - my pores are more like holes

5 things found in my purse (which is giant and Hello Kitty...looks more like a clutch):
1. A book review cut out of my favourite childhood book ever - A Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken
2. Nando's Loyalty card - what! Free chicken!
3. More receipts than you can imagine
4. Various student discount cards
5. A nice piece of illustration by God knows who

5 favourite things in my room:
1. My Disney snow globes collection
2. My Minnie Mouse phone
3. My Munny/various other vinyl designer toys collection
4. My Cinderella book ends
5. My bed and its occupants (over half of my single bed is occupied by my beloved soft toys)

5 Things I've always wanted to do:
1. Learn to walk in heels
2. Curse Big like Charlotte from SATC
3. Have a walk in wardrobe like Carrie SATC
4. Write for a magazine, although when I was younger I wanted to be an archaeologist
5. Even better, start up my own magazine and for it to be the most successful magazine ever

5 things I am currently into:
1. Skirts-of all kinds
2. Gold- the bigger and faker the better
3. Writing - for this blog: it allows me to express myself and be myself, and also for my internship: the thought of potentially having something published puts me in a dream world-even if my name is not on the by-line
4. Sex and The City - why did I ever stop watching it?
5. Olives - YUM.

5 impressions of the person who tagged us (All in your Innerspace) :
1. She can pull of Maxi dresses AND wide legged flares
2. She looks great in those shiny AA leggings
3. She has great hair
4. Dam, forgot! She can pull of a leopard print (my kinda gal!) full fur jacket
5. She even poses in bloody showers-fully clothed of course-and rocks it!

The adventures of Hanger Girl: aka Steph's intern diary: day 3

I've been to one photoshoot before, for Sugar magazine. Let me tell you, it wasn't so professional. The clothes were on the floor, makeup and hair done on the arm of a sofa, and a general lack of order and control.

Today was differant. So after getting lost (as usual) on my way to the studios in Batersea, I managed to find my way there against all odds. On time. And with the help of the TFL journey planner and an A-Z. What a hectic time. For those of you reading this who think the day of a fashion stylist is champagne and parties think again. I have never had so much to do, and so little time to do it in. BUT I learnt a lot today. RULE ONE: Don't take the tags of the clothes. Well, I did. This is how the incident went:

Steph bites the label off Brooks Brothers shirt (there were no scissors). Steph places label on table top. She picks up next item, then says to Gilly-the-Stylist:
"Do you want me to take the labels off all of these?"
Gilly: (looking outraged and irritated) "No! You never take the labels off!!"
Steph: "Oh. Okay..."(Steph slowly and inconspiciously reaches out and grabs label sitting in plain site on table and hides it in skirt waistband)

I swear, for the next hour while I waited for her to discover my crime and eat me, my hands did not stop shaking. Then we she disapeared somewear I artfully (not) tied the label with its plastic stringy thing into a buttonhole and prayed to the universe to spare me. And it did. So, to recap, NEVER TAKE OFF THE LABELS.

The shirt that almost ruined it all. And it's $135.

Another thing I learnt is to bring redbull/coffee/amphetamines to all shoots in future. Becuase when it gets to 3 and youve been working non stop since 10am, you get tired and when you get tired you start doing things wrong. I put the wrongs clothing/shoes/jewelry into the wrong return bags (which could of cost W&H a lot of money). And I kept doing it. Gilly-the-Stylist would say "Hobbs shoes. They go into the Lee PR bag." And into the LK Bennet bag they would go. I'm sorry to say that I was a slight liability, I was getting so panicked I was doing it wrong, I made it worse. So, rule number two: Stay Calm.

Rule number three is: Don't pass judgment. You think the outfit looks like a lawyer at a funeral? Don't even think about saying it. Don't even say you dont like it. No-one cares. I have a tip too. Its a lot of work, you have to unpack all the clothes and stuff (20 bags of them), hang them in sections, lay out the jewelry and shoes and help the models with zips while hanging the clothes back up as fast as they hit the floor. But freelance fashion stylists like Gilly don't have assistants because the magazines won't pay for them. They have to do all that themselves, and a lot more. So if you want experience, offer your assistance for free. You'll be building up your CV, making contacts and learning all at once! Plus, they get caterers to do lunch, and its nice! I offered my free services to Gilly, but as I was self admittedly a liability (Gilly: "Only at the end!"), with this being my first real experience of it, I doubt she will be taking up my generous offer.

Although at least I didnt lose a £800 bracelet like last weeks intern apparently did. Ha. Oh, and she gave me two free tickets to the Vintage Fair which will be in Chelsea and Hammersmith, on the 8th and 15th of June. If you want, I'll give more details. Or as much as I can anyway.

Fun fact: Gilly once worked at Harpers as Fashion Editor where Anna Wintour was her assistant!

Diary of an Intern by Rachie: Day 2 "The Google Spell Checker"

Stephie had a blond moment yesterday and, I guess, today it was my turn. "How do you spell Gina?" This question was in my head for a good minute, is it "Jenna", "Jena", "Gena"? I could not think-they all seemed wrong (at least I knew something), so I sucked back my pride and whispered the question to my fellow intern hoping in vain none of the feature writers on my team heard me. She tells me "G-I-N-A". Oh my. How very stupid! I knew that, that's the name of the lady who sung 'Ooh Ahh Just a little bit' (Gina G?!). What kind of (wannabe) journalist am I? When have you heard of a journalism undergrad who uses Google as a spell checker, who also cannot spell bloody Gina? Well, urm...Hi that's me, yes me over here! The Google spellchecker. I realise I am not as confident as I thought I was, especially working alongside professional journalist and interns who are uni graduates . I feel intimidated, is that really bad? I feel like I do not know what I am doing and have absolutely no confidence in what I am doing (though I doubt I am doing anything wrong). This is what I want to do as a future career but I ask myself, can I really do this? Maybe this has something to do with my young and naive 19 year old mind trying to work along side those who are experienced in the field and fearing I will fail.

This is quite an intimate post, no idea what has come over me. In general being an intern at Drapers is not as bad as I feared. Stories of making tea and coffee for everybody are non-existent at this publication (thank God-I make crap tea AND coffee. Ask Stephie). My fellow interns are great and its so fun working alongside them, much more relaxed and easy going. Although my friendly interns has told me bad stories of past experiences at certain publications. I now know what to avoid-but desperate times call for desperate measures, as long as it looks good on paper right? Hopefully tomorrow I get to help put together and write little bits for the 'Indicator' section for the next issue! This is what I wore today (apologies in advanced-photoshopping is poor, and I have yet to find a good place to take my 10 sec timer photos!). Also, seen as smart/casual is not that bad, I have gone back to wearing my gold chains. Phew!:

Shirt: H&M (£14.99), Skirt: H&M (£9.99), Belt: Primark (£2), Pumps: Primark (£6). Deary, my wardrobe is a H&M/Primark warehouse! (but I like what I wear so I do not give a dam)

P.S I want to avoid making my posts full of photos...but out of curiosity-does anyone actually read what we write, or is it mainly the photos you concentrate on? Comments please! I hope everyone reads what we write, and if you are new to Leopard Print and Lace, feel free to read old posts (^_^)! And thanks for the comments, they are definitely picking up and I get very excited when I read them...is that so sad? This is like my new Facebook.

P.P.S I get my Emap photocard tommorrow...EXCITABLE! I get to swipe. Swiping joys!

Diary of an Intern by Steph: Women and Home - Days 1&2

Oh god.

This may be a good time to say I don't have a job, nor have I had one before (although I notoriously worked selling kitchens on the phone with Rach for approximately one hour before walking out). But I just cant take it. I get home from Southwark at around 7pm with the blackened hands of a Dickensian orphan (from sorting through newspapers and laying them out prettily for Madam Editor), have dinner and then lie down, and don't get up.

I cant even be bothered to eat junk food. How do people have lives AND jobs? How? I am in awe of them. Well, anyway. Day One. It is a tradition of mine to get lost wherever I go, and this time was no exception. Still, I was early so I managed to be there half an hour before I was meant to, good in an intern I think. My favourite part of the day so far is doing the post. Someone called Tracey gets a lot of packages and invitations to shop openings. I wish I were Tracey.

My trademark blond moment of the day (and one day I'll enlighten you on my top 10) was being asked to get the editor a skinny coffee of some kind from the cafe...and then forgetting what it was and having to guess. She hasn't asked me to get her another one, so I'm guessing I got it wrong. Sigh.

Today I had to transcribe some interviews and I have some gossip: Jan Leeming, of 'I'm a celebrity...' fame...talks shit. She said there was no fashion or magazines in the 40s and 50s!!!! Hello, Vogue? And if not Vogue, then The Lady has been dragging itself onto shelves for the last hundred years. As for no fashion! Pah!

Who else? Oh, some actress whose name I don't recognize or remember used to pee in the bath..in the days when they shared the bath...and she was first. Yes. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't share that in an interview. Also, there are cool things hanging around magazine offices. Like Westwood. And Creme de la Mer. I want it. But if i stole their £100 moisturizer they wouldn't want me back. I have to remember that. Tomorrow...I'm going to assist on a photo shoot! Woo hoo! I'll tell you how it goes. Now I'm going to collapse on the sofa.

P.S. What do I wear!?
P.P.S How do people with jobs go to the gym????

The Diary of an Intern by Rachie: Drapers Day 1 - "An Attempt at 'Smart/Casual'"

You may or may not know this, but Stephie-Pie and I have got internships at magazines and today was our first day (Click Here to read our struggle). Woo. Stephie is at Women & Home for the week and then she will be joining me next week at Drapers, where I am undergoing my first ever magazine internship (Hopefully more to come!) For the next two weeks or so we will mostly be posting a sort of daily diary as an intern: "The diary of an intern". With, of course, any interesting snappy snaps of outfits. Please do not get too confused if you see two 'diary entries' in a day because one will be from me and one from Stephie, and maybe more posts actually - if we have anything non-internship wise to say!

Meeting Stephie on the Tube, magazine where she will be an intern in hand.

I don't know how many of you guys out there have heard of Drapers, but it is basically a weekly Fashion and Business trade magazine with fashion jobs, trends and news. When I first got my email conforming my placement I was a bit vary as to what 'smart/casual' actually meant (Read this). Today I tried my very best to be this smart/casual Rachie - as you may have noticed I'm not that kinda gal. I didn't want to lose "me" when attempting to dress smarter and opted for a sunshine yellow skirt. Well I say skirt, but it is another one of my 2-in-1's - it is a dress I nipped and tucked into a high waist pencil Esq skirt. It is bright and it is me. I was...urm...the most vibrant dresser today but I did not stick out too badly. In fact, no one looked overly smart. This is good as I can basically dress how I normally dress. There was this one girl in this lovely Topshop multi-coloured paint splatter romper and a gold chain - you go girl! I toned down the yellow with simple grey tee, black tights and grey pumps (which also had an inkling of Rachie's style via the gold chain detail). I had to tone my jewellery down too. Sob. I went for small twisted gold hoops and two (one is never enough I tell you) gold name necklaces - simple yet effective (you know my name biatch!)

Earrings: H&M (£1.99), Necklaces: Argos and Tatty Devine (£20, Present), Tee: Primark (£2), Acrylic belt: Primark (£2), Dress/now skirt: H&M (£20). This snap does no justice for me or the skirt - trust me its cute!

Pumps: Primark (£6), Various Lino Mats : Mother's Private Collection

When I got to the offices I was a nervous wreck. I'm not very good at small talk nor am I good at making lasting first impressions (I know, how am I going succeed in the world of Journalism). I waited in the very lush Emap reception (talk about comfy chairs!) for the features lady and when she arrived I held back my nerves as much as possible, and said "howdy partner" (well...that would have been cool but I said ''Hi, I'm Rachel" with a beaming smile. Blah.) I was given a quick tour around the building and shown my desk. Woo a desk. I met another friendly intern and she informs me another is working tomorrow, more people my age yay! So down to business and talk about throw me in the deep end - phone calls straight away. Yikes! I know this is the only way I will learn and I am greatful for being given a proper task on the first day. I was procrastinating for a good 10 minutes after a run through of my task because I was, basically, scared of the phone. The only thing to do was listen to the experts and copy them. My task, by the way, was to help compile data for the weekly 'Indicator' section of the magazine - The topic: Young Fashion (my forte?!). This task reminded me of the dreadful days working in a call centre trying to sell kitchens, but an easier, less stressful and more fun version. This is what I done all day, I called around 60 stores and only 13 took part in the survey. Time went so fast, maybe a 9-5 job is not that bad after all? The toilets are quite nice. I have a thing with loos in buildings. But it is no way as nice as the ones at Disney, where I done a week's internship in the PR and Mrketing department. Although Drapers has a cool hand Dryer. More 'Diary of an Intern' tomorrow! Hopefully Stephie will start hers! xoxo

On another note:

Skirt: H&M (£9.99)

I thought I deserved a treat after a 9-5. Well, hello, I'm 5 minutes away from Camden. I got this navy high waist cotton skirt. I fell in love with it straight away, its adorable. And the buttons are cute too. I know it has a slight resemblance to my UniQlo top which I made into a skirt, but its has a totally different personality. It really does.

Also, my sister has finally made that skirt out of that barginlicious material. But trust me, I was not the one with the whip in hand as I thought I would be-she was in control all the way. And a bloody perfectionist. Geez, it was fine the first time. And I got a good smack in the knee for "not standing straight." I feared to say anything back in case she decided I did not deserve a skirt. For £2 worth of materials this is definitely a yummy bargain. Here it is:

Excuse my Lollypop head

I'm too lazy to photoshop. This snappy snap does not depict the full detail of the skirt, or the fullness actually. Its way more puffier!

Close-up. Fluorescent Floral Print. Me Likey!

My new obsession: Skirts. Dammit!

Could this be the Coolest item in your Closet?

Pictures from Anzeveno and Florence

I was on the 'Pretty Legit' blog and saw a post about these changing colour vests. Are they not amazingly super cool? I have always been fascinated with colour changing things, such as the cups (the naughty ones where one minute she has clothes on and once hot water goes into the cup she is naked!) and the Puma Trainers (which changed colour with the heat of your feet-very original and the first of its kind. I used to play with them at work). But this is by far the coolest vest. And before you worry about sweating armpits and the embarrassing colour changes they have a solution - the huge armpit holes. Which just adds to the appeal of this vest. At $84 all I can do is wish and dream about the vest. Or find a cheaper alternative.

Talking of closets. This customer who was buying Converse for his daughter said 'You have nice closet' to me yesterday at work, I am sure he meant clothes. I was flattered nevertheless and smiled politely and said 'Why thank you!'.

Another 2-in-1 goody

I forgot to mention the cushion I made. I bought a (fake) Dragonball Z kids shirt (£3-hence why it is fake!) at the comic convention with the intention of turning it into a vest. Hoping no-one, aka hardcore Dragonball Z fans, would notice the blue stars which are supposed to be orange and the blue fin of the dragon...ahh the shame. I got a bit scissor happy and ruined it. So I made it into a cushion instead for Lovely Superdan...who is a hard core fan...but doesn't mind the fake-ness as I had made it, I'm quite proud of it although it is so simple. I even restitched the top label onto the outside to make it more 'authentic' (^_^) (though it got cut out in the snappy snap):

Comic Convention Expo 2008

This is what I wore to the comic convention. Note the Hulk tee...I tried to fit in...But it matches my skirt more! (you may have notice I have lots of superhero tees....do not know why...this is my fav though) Excuse the 'sun in my eyes' look.

I went to the MCM Expo at Excel London yesterday. How very boring. It is a movie, comic and media convention that runs twice every year but it may as well be called Naruto convention. Every single stall has Naruto merchandise which sucked as I am not a Naruto fan. Nor am I into cosplay, which everyone there was into (obviously)-they went to great lengths to re-create their characters look which I must give them a high 5 for. Last year my sister went and got a couple of sweet Sanrio things but this year had zilch. Which also sucks because that is the only reason I went. I queued up for 1 and a half hours and paid £9 with my lovely superdan and brother and then we left an hour later. We did make a few purchases: Lovely superdan got 2 giant Superman statues for £20-we later saw it at Forbidden Planet for £115 (he is a comic geek), a Superman cup and Astro Boy cup for £1 each. I got the Astro Boy cup, and a couple of Japanese doughnut key rings. We did, however, meet the amazing go, go Power Rangers. They rocked:

Me, Lovely Superdan and my brothers friends (who let us push in the queue) with the Power Rangers. Either blue ranger Billy has got me in a headlock or he is hugging me.

I will win an award for 'cheesiest smile next to the Power Rangers' one day

Me and The Incredible Hulk...Woo snap! My tee! My foot is the size of his toe. WOW-ZA

Me and the Soft Puft Marshmallow Man. He is quite cute-if only he wasn't so scary in the movies.

My new additons. Only£2 each...The big choc doughnut is squishy!

A giant light switch in the middle Piccadilly Circus, where it was once Burger King. Don't know what it is promoting but it is tres cool. This is why I love London...you just find random amazing things...like the giant plug and switch at the back of Carnaby Street. Stephie has a pic.

Barginlicious Day...Me Likey!

It is so annoying that me and Stephie's blog only shows 7 posts on one page! No fair! I want everyone to read all the posts not just the new ones!! I think I need to change the banner so that it is wider. Must do that soon when I can be bothered/have time to use photoshop. Sorry for my 'living room mess' photos lately...I'm too lazy to edit!
My barginlicious day...I got 2 skirts from the jumble sale for £1 then she gave me another one free, I got three old school Disney framed cartoons 3 for £1 and a free Mango purse for my mum. And about 25 gold buttons-some cheaper than others (6 for 50p interest anyone!?!), cheap fabric (Purple tartan £1 a metre!) so I can stand over my sister and whip her whilst I demand she makes fabulous skirts and waistcoats (Hopefully soon so I can show you all!). Ooo and me and some friends got a £15 appetizer for FREE in TGI Fridays, We officially ROCK. Enough chitter-chatter, lets let the pictures do the talking:

3 for £1 skirts: This has a weird Chessboard pieces Print (My Fav). They are all old 'Head' sports brand skirts. I think it is originally Tennis Skirts. They have that tennis skirt cut and style. They are also pleated which I love. Sorry for dark pics!

Random Print, That is why I love it. It is too short at the back though! Ah well its only like 50p!

The one the kind lady gave to me for free. Don't really like this one! She was shocked I liked them and must of wanted to get rid of them quick time. But hello! Who wouldn't love these!

My Buttons. They get cheaper as my day continued! Set one: 45p EACH (Expensive)! Set 2: 65p EACH (Expensive!) Set 3: 25p each (Wow bargain), Set 4: 6 for 50p (Amazingly cheap-almost fainted), Set 5: 15p Each (OMG!), Set 6: 6 for 60p (Officially overdosed on cheap gold buttons). Now I do not have a reason for having so many buttons but I am sure they will come in use!

That Dress

That Dress indeed. Let me just say it is from Primark and it has a gingham print. Yup. That dress. So originally they had three colours, blue/white, red/white and black/white. I bought the black and red one. Two of the same dresses in different colours because two months ago I was adamant that I would wear That dress to my deathbed. Fast forward to this day and I have worn the red one once and never the black one, in fact its in my wardrobe with a label. A couple of days ago I said I was going to blog about a dress. Primark has seen how popular the dress was and has tempted me YET AGAIN. This time in a fabulous green/black and bright pink/black. So now I have four of the same dresses (SAD!). I like colours and there is no way in hell I would have left these items in Primark for another eager beaver to have. So I got both of them (this was the dress I got stuck in). It is the most obvious Primark dress ever and everyone will want/have one just like the old one, but I don't care-the print and colours are too nice. I have yet to come past any bloggers who has got the two new colours, so I will be the first to show you on the blogsphere (^_^).

Modelled By Stephie. Dress: Primark (£12)

What I wore today. Tee: H&M (£9.99), Bow Belt: Primark (£2), Bow Trainers: Reebok FS Paris (£55), Bow Bag: Zara (£6)

The dress is too 'dressy' for everyday wear that it deserves to have so I have turned it into a skirt. Much more casual and wearable! Don't worry I never cut it, just a simple tuck-and-zip and voila a fab skirt. I love 2-in-1 clothing's. I did chop of that horrendous bow. That is what makes the dress so recognisable! By the way I returned the red dress even though it is 2 months old. I am ashamed! Sorry Primark. I will never do it again. I needed the money!

I Saved Myself 15 Quid by Doing it Myself

Firstly a reply to Stephie's post. She reckons the outfit looks better on me because I am slimmer. I am not slimmer than Stephie, I just don't have her hips. It looks good on both of us. She wants black tights because she likes to dress 'safe'. You should see the other outfit. It’s nice because it’s safe. Sometime you just have to take chances and be a little braver and wear the non-usual, non-you, outfit, in this instance the electric blue tights. They are fab. And even more fab with the whole outfit. It adds that needed touch to bring it from 'safe and blah' to 'me likey!' (/Rachie approves). And it looks good on her...The short skirt and cute heels makes her legs look longer...in her mum's words, "Maybe your legs are just too long". Now if that isn't enough to make you wear the blue tights with the outfit, then what is?

Are you wondering how I saved myself £15? Okay everyone has seen/heard of that American Apparel skirt, this one. The high waist interlocked black skirt (that says £17 online but I am sure it was £18 in store). I really wanted one. But I refused to buy one because I detest "AA". Why? Because they are too expensive, they make nice clothes but it is not worth the money because of the lack of hardship put into the work, it is easily recognisable as an AA item and also everyone wears it head to toe and probably buy their soap there too (they do sell it) just to say they wash with American Apparel. I do agree some things are very, very nice, Leggings and socks for instance. But the tees, I am sure it is not necessary to have a £12 plain cotton t-shirt. Before any AA lovers start saying this and that about their love for the brand, this is just my opinion! And I am sure many can see my reasoning- a London student with parents who are not rich who lives in an area where Atlantic Clothing (EVIL!) is the shiznett and where many have never heard of American Apparel, will agree. And plus what money I do have to spend on garments/kick-a-licks must be worth the money otherwise it will not come home with me.

Back to how I saved the dosh. I really liked that skirt. I knew if I spent £18 I would most probably wear it for a couple of months and never wear it again. It would have been a waste. I wanted a cheaper alternative which isn't, to put it bluntly: BAIT. I considered making a similar one but I did not realise stretch jersey was quite pricey. So whilst in Primark yesterday I came across millions of boob-tubes. Brain Wave. The light bulb switched on. I saw the black one. It was stretchy. A decent length. I got my size, and in full view of the sweating Primark-ers I put it round my legs. Yes ladies a boob-tube is now my alternative AA skirt-minus the interlocking part (a mere sacrifice to save £15, no?). Magic. Genius even. And wait for it...£1.50. I moved around in it, it was not too tight, nor was it too short. Dare I say, Perfect? Of course there was one glitch. The light shined through the cheap material and it made it a teeny-weeny bit see through. Easily solved: get another one and sew it together. I was going to get another black one but a friend suggested something better. Get another colour and make it reversible....! Absolutely genius. So I got an electric blue, went round to Stephie's today and made magic, Skirt magic. Ultimately I have two skirts, which is not recognisable as AA or Primark for £3. Barginlicious.

Please excuse my lamo poses and non photoshop-ness! And also excuse my man like shape (where are my hips dammit!) But here they are..not bad huh? I wasn't overly keen on blue but its quite nice now. (^_^)!

A quick tip if you do the same thing: Buy one, one size bigger and one your normal size. It will fit nonetheless because of the stretch material but it will make the sewing much neater and they will fit together better. Bare in mind its Primark and one may be slightly longer than the other. I sewed it at the bottom so if one is longer you can tuck it in at the top. That ladies, is how you make magic; money saving and quick fashion fix.

Some Bastard Stole My Purse

While I'm up, I may as well write about the Bastard Who Stole My Purse (or wallet, as Rachie insisted on calling it) yesterday. Yes. I don't care about the money, but I lost my debit card, driving licence, my NUS card and most heartbrakingly, my Boots card!!! It had a billion points on it! So sad! But yes, I was pickpocketed. Or bag-pocketed. In the one minute my bag was open while leaving stupid primark and going to stupid new look, the Robbing Bastard stole my Mambo purse. But let that be a warning to everyone, even londoners, be careful! It doesn't only happen in Charles Dickens!

Another Robbing Bastard.

Close your bags! So if any of you spy my purse around central london, maybe discarded in a bin, because Mr. Bastard was disgusted with the solitary £5 that it contained, please, bring it back to me. And if, by some miracle, Mr. Bastard is reading this: A plague on your house. I hope you contract an STD of some kind. Maybe Shyphillus. I hear that's deadly.

xoxo

To wear, or not to wear, that is the question

Rachie is making me post this now, although I am extremely tired after a long day of doing nothing. So I have this family party on sat. And I bought this really niiiice skirt from ASOS.com, that doesnt seeem to go with anything and looks strange on me. Which is upsetting. Because I love it. But I also got these electric blue tights, which (in my opinion, look horrendous on me). I think its because I am what you would call curvy, and curvy people dont look good in these skirts, especially if your waist is a size 8, and your hips are size 12, like me, the freak of nature that I am. So here is the outfit on me.

And here it is on Rachie:

Will you not all agree that the slimmer person looks best in this outfit? Plese do, I like being right. It looks better on me with black tights, a waistcoat and a waistbelt, a la Sarah Jessica Parker. Not perfect, but better. Like this (excuse the face):I eagerly await your verdict.
xoxo

A Sunny Morning Trip To the Dentist...then the Dreded Dress

The joys of the dentist. The joys of having two sets of hands in my half numb mouth (by the way my ear went numb), a suction tube and a mini-hairdryer looking thing that shoots laser radars into my teeth. Oh. And the joys of the lovely drill. Did I mention they forgot to write my appointment down in their diary? Then they charged me a ridiculous amount of money which I could of spent on something else. The 3 fillings was unnecessary. I made an appointment for one and some how they made me get three. I didn't even have time to have breakfast, I had a stomach full of old fillings that escaped the suction tube. Yum. I couldn't even eat until after 5 hours. During which time my numb mouth started to FOAM whenever I spoke for a long period of time/got excited. I luckily noticed the foam when I was on the phone and looking in the mirror whilst waiting for Stephie. How shockingly eww. Imagine it foamed more and I never saw.

So Stephie & co. finally arrived at meeting point: Primark, when the dreaded happened. I got stuck in a dress. On the shop floor. In front of the massive queue. In the Oxford Street Branch! I always try stuff on on the shop floor in Primark because I cannot be asked to queue for half an hour. I thought I was an 8 in that dress. Obviously not. A teeny struggle to get in, but not so much that would have made my alarm bells go off. Then I tried to get it off. NO SUCH LUCK MATE. It would not budge, it got stuck on my hips for a good 10-15 minutes. I don't even have big hips, I am narrow shaped! Stephie suggested I waited for her friend to help me. I am not having three sets of hands trying to pull a dress of me. Stephie then suggested I try to get it off upwards, through my head. No way was this going to happen as my shoulders are wider that my hips!! I would have been stuck and wouldn't have been able to see people laugh at me with my arms in the air. The shame. So I done it. I ripped the dress. Just a centimeter. Its bad but I had no choice.

I still went and got the dress (Pics soon). Only in a bigger size. I do adore the dress.

All Things Sweet

I have this thing for buying things. I like buying things which resemble food. Especially sweet foods. I have keyrings, bubbles, lip balms and urm...a necklace which are all in the shape of some sort of cake or chocolate. I think this is like my subconscious feelings about my love of food coming through my conscious spending habits; my need, and desire, to buy all things wonderful. Well today I came across Alice from The Cupcake Diary Blog, and she makes Cake Jewellery! And hair clips! They are just too adorable, here is one set she has:

Aren't they delicious?! Yum Yum me want some...! Her store isn't fully set up yet but it will be any day now...click here for more of her goodies!

These are my collection of 'oh so sweety sweet' bits and bobs:

Number 1: My doughnut keyring. Which is totally battered now; paint work has cracked and I have filled gaps with cotton wool and cello tape, oh and a coat of brown nail varnish. I wished it still looked like this. Sigh. This is from Portobello Market.

Number 2: My ice-cream shaped bubble blower thing from Zara (I know...I was thinking the same thing). It amazingly smells of MINT to match the flavour of the ice-cream. I love it. Good bubbles too. The two mini cupcakes are lip balms. Flavoured to match its cake type. Yum. I got it cheap from a website, and they sell it for double the price in Urban Outfitters! They were supposed to be Christmas presents but I loved them too much so I kept them!

Number 3: My Hobnob keyring I made (^_^)

Number 4: My giant chocolate mirror. I got this from a Japanese website. This is my equivalent of a 'pocket mirror' which I carry around everywhere. I get verbally abused by my friends whenever I take this out. They question why the need for such a huge mirror. My answer: Why do I want a tiny mirror which can only show one eye? With this I can see my whole face and view my flaws properly. AND fix my hair if needed. This is a replacement of my old giant Boots mirror which I got for 50p. I tried to rescue it with cello tape too but no such luck. RIP mirror.

Number 5: My bitten Hershey's chocolate necklace. Also from Portobello Market. Its made from some rubber and its so cool. People thinks its real. That's how cool it is.

Ugly Top, Now Lovely Skirt

Erggg! I have been feeling ill and poorly since yesterday, so much so I couldn't even blog about my new purchases. I must have been really ill for that to happen. I could not even take any snappy snaps because my muscles were aching, my throat was sore and I was hot and cold all day. That post will just have to wait until another day. I blame my brother and the stupid person who set of the fire alarm at my University rave (which meant we had to wait in the cold for 40 minutes at 2am) for my illness. By the way I wore the green Asda dress (^_^).

I have been awake since 5.30 am, and have watched America's Next Top Model, Cycle 10, from episode 9 since then...I am currently waiting for it to load on You Tube. This is the worst cycle ever. Too much product endorsement, its so fake and cheesy, just like the winner. This whole cycle seems to be based around advertising, getting freebies and making the girls tell viewers how much they 'Loovvveeee Apple Bottom jeans!' and how they are going to be using their free bag everyday...I've only seen them use it once. Its so annoying and scripted...'Ooo I love such and such phone because it has all these amazing features like blah blah and blah...'. Anyway enough whinging.

I have been meaning to write a post about my £2.99 Uni Qlo top that I have now turned into a skirt.

I bought this 'top' a couple of weeks ago on sale. When I first saw it I noticed the barginlicious price, then I thought, 'Oooo pretty skirt'. But I was fooled; it was no skirt. The straps were tiny and it was obviously a top. But that wasn't going to stop me from wearing it as a skirt. No way josé. From the picture above you can see it is a pretty bland vest top. And it was a couple of sizes too big. So I went on the sewing machine, took it in, and voila! Behold a high waited, nautical (because it is navy with a white strip), cotton skirt. I love it. I was a bit unsure what to do with the straps so I done this:

I criss-crossed the straps which adds a waist band to the skirt, making it look more high waisted. The problem is, my mum has turned the white of my skirt pinkish. She likes to mix colours in the wash, hence why I own tonnes of supposedly white vests and tees. I think it has now lost its nautical touch. But I will definitely wear it again when the Sun decides to appear high in the sky.

Songs that Make My Big Head Bounce

The first one is by M.I.A. called 'Jimmy'. I realise I may be late seen as this song has been around since 2006/2007, but its a good song nonetheless. I first heard it at work and thought it was a funny song as my colleague is called 'Jimmy'. But one day, very bored standing around doing nothing, I listened to the song properly and loved it! I am not a huge fan of M.I.A music, although she is stunning and her style is the shiznette (She is also in the Marc by Marc Jacobs Ad campaigns). But I got her album and gave it a proper listen and her music is really good. You see, I have this thing of not listening to music properly. I don't really give it a chance. Which I promise I won't do ever again. Here's the video for 'Jimmy':



The next song is by 23 year old Futuristic Rock 'n' Roll and Soul artist, Janelle Monáe. Whilst browsing through the million and one blogs I normally read, I came across her on the Better Never Than Late blog. At first I thought who is this amazingly, super-cute, flawless 1950's actress (girl crush alert: in a strictly admiration of God's creations kind of way!) After further reading I discovered she was actually from our era and a singer. I headed straight to her Myspace page and heard her songs. I love them. Once again I am late in discovering 'new music' but I can guarantee someone out there is later than I am! Her music reminds me of Outkast's style, and she actually has a track with them. Listening to 'Violet Stars Happy Hunting' really makes me to want listen to Outkast's 2003 album Speaker boxx/The Love Below. Now where is that dusty CD?
Here's 'Violet Stars Happy Hunting' (Its not the actual video...its about the music baby!):



Finally, I want to spread the London Love for one of my top 3 bands (after Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Arctic Monkeys). For once, I feel like I am one of the earlier 'discoverers' of new music! The awesome foursome consists of two brothers and two school friends from Brixton, South London. Their music is Indie/Rock, which reminds me of the likes of the Arctic Monkeys, but they add their own unique touch to it. I highly recommend their EP and you can get it here for a barginlicious £4.99. You won't be disappointed! Whilst you are at it, join their fan page on Facebook.
Here's the video for my one of my favourite songs, 'My Everything':



That's the break down of what I like to listen to, music which makes my Big Head Bounce and my Muffin Top Wobble (seriously need to do something about that!) ENJOY (^_^)!

'Campbell's Soup Can'

Please excuse picture quality. My little sister stole my camera and took it to Spain without permission. This is a phone picture...a 5mpx Camera phone that is (^_^)

Campbell's Tomato soup will never be the same again.

I studied art in secondary school since I was 11, and every year Andy Warhol's work would always pop up. Especially his famous, 'Campbell's Soup Cans' piece. The other day, I went food shopping in Morrison's and picked up some Campbell's soup because they were buy one get one free and I noticed that they are changing 'Campbell's' to 'Batchelor's'.

When I first discovered this piece of artwork by Warhol and found a can of Campbell's, I was so excited. I was holding the subject matter of one of the most famous pieces of pop-art in my hands. But, soon it will be Batchelor's. And now, this simple can of 50p soup will no longer be as iconic as it once was. Batchelor's Just Does Not Have the Same Appeal.

This teeny weeny note on the trolley made me giggle...Sounds kinda cute...a little trolley voice saying "please so not take me away from Morrisons". I wonder how effective this note actually is?

Roussau's genetic mirror theory...

There is this theory called 'Roussau's genetic mirror theory'. This theory suggest that everyone in this world has a mirror image somewhere in the world, in other word a 'twin'. I don't no precise details about the theory apart from the above. I think this is interesting and I have always believed in something similar since I was 10 or 11. Back then I didn't know there was an actual theory, it was just something I thought.

So this morning I was watching Gossip Girl episode 17 online (it has not aired in the UK yet) and then watched the season 7 finale of Smallville where I noticed some, urm, similarities between two actors, namely Rufus Humphrey and Clark Kent!

Don't you agree?! haha! Father and Son.

A few weeks back I was watching Cycle 10 of America's Next Top Model online (again not aired in the UK...It seems sad that I watch so much online..pah well!). It was episode 6, the music genre photo shoot. And during the panel when judge Nigel Barker sat next to the week's photographer, Russell James, I noticed that they were also secret twins. Russell IS Nigel with hair.

Can you keep a secret?

I have a secret. It's a good one. Well really, I have no idea if it is a secret, since I have told only Rachie, and maybe everybody else knows but is also keeping it secret. You know what I mean? Anyway, the 'secret' is...Catwalk to Closet. The reason I have been keeping it secret is because, by my reasoning, if everyone new about it, the prices would go up, as soon as new items came in they would be snapped up, and I wouldn't be able to stare at the beauty that is a £600-off bag. It is an online shop, that sells designer clothes, bags, shoes, etc for loads of money off. Missoni, Chloe, Anna Sui, Cavalli, True Religion, Miu Miu and my personal favourate Marc Jacobs, all on sale. All the time. I love it. Although I haven't bought anything yet, because, well, they may be on sale but the good stuff is still expensive and at the moment I am broke. Its one of those websites where you browse through, and after a while £200 doesn't seem like that much for a shirt. Because, hello, its Chloe!! Also these shoes, which I would seriously consider cutting my toes off to wear. But I am biding my time, waiting till by some miracle that Marc Jacobs dress comes down some more and I will swoop in with my debit card. Which is why I'm warning you: If I post this and my dress goes, I will hunt down whoever bought it. It's a size 8, looks like a big black bag and I don't care. Its £650!! Down from £2750!!!

I just want to look at it. And I could totally make it work.

So remember: with great power comes great responsibilty. Use this information well. (And any other secret cliches you can think of) And please, for the love of Marc, don't tell everyone! xoxo

Decisions, Decisions....RIP Leopard Print Tights

Leopard Footless: Bought of friend (£5), Green Dress: Asda (£17), Zebra Footless: H&M (£1), Black Stretch Jersey Dress: H&M (£9.99)

I am going out tomorrow night and I can't decide which dress combo to wear.

I adore my Asda dress, and am sad that I have only worn it once. It's one of my special occasions dresses. Sadly; Very Sad actually - I do not have that many special occasions to go to. Ahh the shame. So anyway I recently bought these leopard print footless tights of a friend because my other pair died (the pair I am wearing in the banner/title picture). I only wore them out once. And a ladder secretly crept up on me and it grew. I loved them, though a little too big (What! They were the last pair!). I must go Primark and see if they have more, only a pound! The new ones, however, are the best leopard print tights I have ever seen. They are sheer, has gold and silver glow to them and then the faint leopard print. The combo looks good together and my plaid black/white/green Nike Blazers will go super well with it.

The other option is less 'in ya' face'. Its a black dress. I hardly ever wear black. But I love this dress too. More casual but I will bring it to live with the barginlicious Zebra print footless tights (No I am not betraying my leopard prints!) and some bling-a-ling. I think its really cute dress. I recently bought it so I have not worn it. What if I never have a chance to wear it?! Definitely need to bring it to New York. And the Asda one actually. Oh My. I may bring everything. Even though I said I wouldn't. Dam.

So what should I do? Go cute or go funky?! AHH. Decisions, Decisions!