Her clutch fell to the ground unnoticed. Lucinda quickly swiped it from the floor and ran off through the closing doors of the tube. The District line at Victoria station was always a busy place. A place to meet up, a place to change lines, a place to blend in and a place to lose things. It was a busy place. Lucinda was shaking, from the adrenaline or maybe it was the crowds, large groups of people made her nervous. Yet she relished in them. She followed the signs to the Victoria line and she took a seat on the platform’s benches.
The bag wasn’t really a clutch, surely, it was too big and it didn’t have any handles however. Her blackened finger prints remained in contrast on the white leather. Lucinda pulled it open uncivilly. She found a copy of a British Vogue magazine in it folded opened on page 143, the August 2014 edition. Nothing else.
She put the bag beside her and sat up straight as though she were awaiting a train. She wasn’t waiting for a train because there was a train stood before her, doors wide open. The carriages were mostly empty too, but she didn’t take the getaway cart. She pulled her large, grey, felt hat down over her collection of blonde straw that tickled her eyebrows. Her hat and everything else she wore was grey and felt. Like an inmate of a grey- felt wearing secret society.
Lucinda chuckled and stood up for the pregnant lady who stood beside her. ‘Sit’ she said. The woman told her no because the train is now due, but Lucinda had walked away too soon to hear it.
She had decided she preferred the District and Circle lines and so she went back up to the platform. When she got off the stairs she stared up at the large gaping whole ever present in station celling. She changed her view to look at the information screen. The next train was delayed apparently. That was a first, she thought. She continued to stare until the information changed. And then she heard a woman crying and saying she was sure. Lucinda looked down toward the woman. It was her.
A few feet away the hysterical woman was pointing directly at Lucinda, shouting, “it was her she took my Lanvin clutch,” crying and clinging onto the Transport for London Customer Service Team Member. “I promise I’m sure. It was a big white bag with no handles. Get it back! Please.”
Bare wrist was a detail the grey-felt wearing inmates took pride in. And at that moment Lucinda was out, because a pair of sterling silver, metropolitan police hand-cuffs squeezed at Lucinda’s wrist.
Category Archives: Fashion
ZigZags and Selma
Tulisa had only a few minutes to pick a pair of shoes. Her pre-booked taxi driver had called 5 minutes ago reminding her of his presence. The extra charge was not the problem, her company directly paid for the costs, if he decided to leave, that would be the problem. Drivers had left her stranded in her closet on a few occasions. They often placed bets on which unfortunate soul would be summoned to drive Miss T. Rose to and from work in the week. She used to have one permanent driver, but he died and since no one would settle to be her driver. It was Abdullah’s week again. Miss Rose did not like Abdullah because he was the first driver annoyed enough to leave her stranded, which then set the pace for all preceding drivers.
HONK! Tulisa frantically spun around to face the full length mirror that stood at the entrance of her closet room. She wore a Tiffany white, cap-sleeved peplum dress and her hair fell down on one shoulder, like a fountain of lush chocolate. She thought about tying it up. The cough of the engine awoke her from her trance. She grabbed the brightest shoes that she could reach, her Nicholas Kirkwood Zigzags and ran barefoot through the hallway to the front door. She forgot her bag; she turned back to go to her room but immediately turned again to pull the door open. She waved at Abdullah and chucked her shoes on the floor. Holding up one finger she mouthed, ‘one second’. Abdullah gestured something back and put his foot down on the accelerator, the sound startled her.
“Please,” she shouted, holding her hands together as if she was praying to him. Before he could accept or decline she was already back in her closet room, pulling together all the bits she’ll need for her day, into a pile on her bed. ‘iPad. Blackberry. Bank card. Keys. Keys, keys, keys. Oh my god, where are my keys. Okay. Ruby. Filofax.’ She stood for a moment motionless. Should she take the mandarin Selma because it was already out? Or should she take the white bag because her Kirkwoods were statement enough?
She took the mandarin Kors Selma bag because Abdullah had made her. He started shouting something into the house. She threw everything into it and ran to the back to the door, frowning. Shaking her head at him she lowered herself to pick up her shoes. With her large Kors bag unconventionally clutched under her arm and her Kirkwoods dangling from the other hand she attempted to pull the door shut with her calf. But her middy dress would not let her separate her legs enough.
Abdullah looked on from the car. Tulisa dropped the pair of shoes onto the floor once again, while she slipped her foot into one of them she pulled the door shut with her free hand. She turned and smiled at Abdullah as though she had done something genius. With both shoes on she headed over to the cab. Abdullah pushed a button on the steering wheel and the back door automatically opened as Tulisa approached it.
“Miss Rose” Abdullah said.
“Hi” she replied.
Copy – Cat – Walk
Keeping a keen eye on the AW13 Fashion Trends, I have managed to re-work the layered skirt look almost entirely by fluke. Today I was frantically in and out of my London wardrobe trying to pick out an outfit for Church. You see, I have a London wardrobe, because I have moved the majority of my clothes to my flat in Bristol, where I live temporarily while I study. This makes it so difficult to piece the perfect outfit together in your head, because when you get to looking for the outfit, one piece is many miles away in another city.
Anyway, I’ve re-worked, what I believe to be, the Emilio de la Morena Layered Skirt trend.
This image was sourced from FASHION156 at http://www.fashion156.com/issues/the-london-fashion-week-aw13-review-issue/fashion/prominent-trends/prominent-trends-london-fashion-week-aw13/#18.
My Re-work
So I pulled out an A-line dress from many years ago that I had never worn properly before, mainly because it had always been too short. This acted as the main body of this Layered dress look. A midi skirt I brought a just a few months back of a very similar colour acted as the under layer.
Shades from Next Clearance
Necklace from Matalan
Blazer from H&M
Dress and Skirt from God Knows
Bag from Primark
Sandals from John Lewis, FitFLop
I will definitely be sporting this layered skirt look throughout Autumn, it is such an easy look to piece together and it can be dressed up with a blazer and heels or dressed down with a cardi and flats.
I do wonder if this would work in a Colour Block, hmm.. I guess we’ll see.
Why don’t you try re-working some of the trends you see on the AW13 catwalk.. Please do comment or send me the links to your reworked pieces.
Remember if you love it, you can pull it off!
Cj xx
300p for LV
I’m sure we all lust over those iconic designer pieces that we see celebrities flaunt about carelessly. But there’s always a small detail that means not all of us can have the privilege to flaunt our own too. The Price! With the price of Louis Vuitton bags starting at £1096 going up to £94,829 there is very little hope for a lot of us.
But you see, the reason why I am focusing on Louis Vuitton is because I got my own!! I mean yeah there may be a zipper missing and really worn out leather in places, BUT I have my own real Louis Vuitton bag! The best part of it was that is was on sale from its original second hand price in a Boutique in Hammersmith, London. For one day only they marked all their prices down to £8 for dresses and leathers and £3 for everything else. When I saw the neglected, little treasure sitting there in a pile with other vintage bags my heart skipped two beats. I knelt down and rescued it from the dreary pile with a gentle touch I could feel the authenticity. My heart skipped another two beats, I had to lift my head and double check the sale signs pinned up all over this gold-mine.
When I went to pay, I asked the cashier if they took card.
“Yes, of course we do” he smiled back, “that’s twelve pounds please.”
I was going crazy inside, but I had to keep a composed outward mannerism.
This reminds me of the Chanel Beauties I got from a store in Fulham, London for £13.
The Student Lock-in, Bristol
Here’s another spectacular date for your student diaries! Get ready for a night out on the town, with The Student Lock-in at Cabot Circus, Bristol*.
Monday the 14th of October 2013 poses an evening jam packed with discounts and FREEBIES from your favourite high street and high end stores. When shops close all over the country a 6pm, Cabot Circus will be beginning its show. For one night only, for three whole hours the Circus’ will dedicate this shopping arena to students only! What a perfect time to stock up of AW13 right?
2013 marks the third year The Student Lock-in is taking place in Bristol, which was formerly known as The Big Student Takeover. With over 50 retailers throughout Cabot Circus hosting exclusive discounts for students, with price reductions in selected shops and restaurants ranging from 10 to 50%, Student Fashionista’s, or any student looking for a decent bargain can find it all under one roof.
“It was like being in a shopper’s paradise” says one keen shopper, “the shops were so full the security had to stop people from going into some shops, and made them wait in queues. And there were red carpet entrances which were just breath taking”.
Just one small word of advice.
As tempting as it may be, try not to break the bank. With this being the first shopping event of the new academic year, with the first instalments of student finance, one might get just a little over excited and forget they have the rest of the term to bare in mind, financially. I definitely did back in 2011, when I was in my very first year. I went into every shop that would let me in and brought something in each one, towards the end of the evening there was very little left in my size, but I brought things in other sizes. Why? I don’t know. I guess I just love the look of the genuine shopper, you know, that girl or guy with the most bags, from the most prestigious high street stores. Anyway, I spent a lot of my money in this one night, and had I not started a new job, I would not have been able to afford the necessities that term.
In 2012 I was too stingy, thinking about my rookie mistake the following year, I probably didn’t buy anything.
But, with loads of entertainment and give-aways, be sure to save the date, and make sure you don’t miss out on what has been called ‘the biggest student event of the year’!
*Even if you are not a student in Bristol, you are still welcomed and entitled to the discounts and freebies, just as long as you ARE a student 🙂 So tell a friend to tell a friend. See you there, Cj x
see more at http://www.studentlockin.com/index.php?event/city/bristol
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Welcome Fashers!
With less than a few weeks away until the first of the Freshers will be landing into their new towns, cities and campuses, and the first of your student finance loans will drop into your accounts, it’s about that time you started to think about all the woeful and wonderful fashion Do’s and Don’ts.
Fashion is, as I repeatedly say, about expressing yourself the best you can with the textiles you are provided with. Even those of you who claim not to be to interested in fashion, that self expression is oh so seen in your swagger.
Definitely..
Copy what everyone else is doing and wearing if you don’t like it
There are so many Hashtag Trending styles today, but they may not (all) tickle your fancy, don’t force a fashion style just because you see everyone else doing it. Copy-cats are not cool, and you definitely will not feel comfortable doing it.
Change who you are, style and other wise, to fit in with other people
If you happen to fall in with a group of friends who all have a similar style to one another, but you seem to stand out, be sure to keep to your true self. Don’t try to blend in by dressing like these friends. Again, I will say Copy-cats are not cool and they are the most likely to feel uncomfortable in their forged clothing.
Wear the same thing everyday
This might be a harsh thing to say, but the few people I had seen in college and university really didn’t help themselves by doing so. It understandable if money is tight and new styles are not as affordable as you may please, but be sure there are alternatives to wearing the same outfit daily. There’s a small range of basics every wardrobe should have and these can be worn in so many ways, people won’t even notice you are re-re-repeating pieces. We could have a look at some of the basic ‘Re-Style’ pieces.
Borrow everyone’s clothes
There is nothing more annoying than that friend who takes all your clothes, all your house mates clothes, all her friends clothes and so on. I guess it is okay to borrow now and then for a good reason, but to over do it… not such a good idea. I have seen some of the worst ‘bff’ breakups over borrowed, broken and/or ‘stolen’ clothes.
Spend ALL your money on clothes
MY MISTAKE! This is probably one of the biggest rookie mistakes for a fresher. You get to uni, you open a student account and now you have money up to your ears. There the student loan and the interest free loan sits. You spend, spend, spend on things that will be out of fashion next season and then your left with no or very little money to live on for the next term. Luckily, I never did open a student account, but I did make the mistake of seeing “MO’ NAY fah days” in my account and well.. I got a little excited at Bristol’s Big Student (shopping) Takeover @ Cabot Circus. It’s not nice struggling to live through your very first term with no money. Especially when you are meant to be socialising to make friends
Follow fashion trends that suit you
There is inspiration all over the place, and anyone can pull of anything their heart beats to. If it helps to express who you are or how you feel, do it.
Stick to your own style, and fit in with those who accept you for you!
Even if you are the only one who dresses that certain way, stick to it. It will draw people to you. I remember my very first week at uni, everyone had either the grunge or bohemian style sense and I decided to keep to my ever changing style, which was predominantly Chic. Till this very day I have people comment on how much the love my style, and every time I run in late they always find themselves admiring what I was wearing.
Mix and Match, your limited student wardrobe
Like I said, there are a number of ways to re-style basic pieces every wardrobe should have, no matter how limited you wardrobe is.
Have a budget for your style-spending
Do budget for shopping, this way you wont over spend and you will be sure to have a scope and an aim whenever you do go shopping and it will help prevent impulse buying, which can be a bad bad thing.
Think about function as-well as fashion
When you do buy clothes, or plan to wear something, think about its function. For example, beanies for when it’s cold, Light scarves for when it’s only chilly, sandals for when it’s warm. Not only would it look a little odd, but it could be uncomfortable and harmful to ignore the season and the functions of the pieces you plan to wear of buy. For Instance, if you wore sandals in the snow, frost-bites are not nice. Or a beanie in the sun, sun stroke is dangerous. You see what I mean?
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- Here Is The Best Fashion Advice On The Web (slideshare.net)
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- Five Wardrobe Staples For Women (christoferson.com)
Bristol’s Vintage Fair
Get your diary out and pencil in that all important appointment with the Bristol Vintage Fair. You’re now officially occupied on Saturday the 21st of September!
Lou Lou’s vintage fair is the UK’s largest roaming fair and has been ‘Winner of Best Vintage Fair in the UK’. And it’s coming to Bristol!! How exciting. Make sure you get your due dose of the nostalgic past, with the most popular Fashion and Home design trends from the last six decades.
Vintage inspired looks are so hot right now. With sales in charity shops booming, and Vintage boutiques seeing more and more customers, it is so obvious that Vintage Fashion is standing firm at the forefront of the Fashion world.
With the streets playing host to the sights of Colour Blocking, Double Denim, A-line midi’s, Pencil Skirts, Flares, Disco Pants, Large Spectacles, and Winkle Pickers, Fashion throughout the decades have re-submerged taking over 2013. Its a beautiful thing to be able see a variety decades all at the same time.
There’s nothing like a vintage fair to come across some of the earlier and the latest fashion trends. There such a variety out there that any style is capable of finding something to suit it (up).
Check out the official sites here http://www.facebook.com/events/320003964800123/.
Remember if you love it, you can pull it off!
Cj xx
#TrendingNow
There are so many fashion trends all over the place. The Trending Now hashtag is being blasted left, right and center with all the latest and most popular trends. But do you know what’s trending the most, your Individuality.
We can find ourselves so caught up in the latest trends that we lose ourselves, who morals, our values and our style. The most important thing you can own in this booming fashion industry is your own personal style. Your style is you and you are you style. They say that fashion is the outward expression of your inward self.
You wear things to reflect your beliefs and to show how you feel. When you are dressing a certain way that you don’t particularly like, just because everyone else is, you have become overwhelmed with the latest trends and your have abandoned your style.
I’d say fashion is dependent on the individuals ability to pull of the latest trends in keeping with their own personality.
The trend that had slightly alarmed me, putting it nicely, was the beanie aka woolly hat.
Its the middle of July, the sun is beaming down on this earth with its strongest rays since 1961 and these girls are wearing beanies, as though to keep their head warm? I think it stood out most to me when I saw a girl lifting her beanie, in July, to wipe away the sweat from underneath. With beanies selling from anything between £5 and £610 people were going crazy for this fashion trend. Imho it was a trend seasons too early.
If we follow these kind of trends continuously the hashtag #TrendingNext will be full of people wearing vests in the Winter, Watches that can’t tell the time and onezies on the beach.
Related articles
- Korean Fashionistas Loves a Beanie! (kpop911.com)
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Prixing People
WE INTERRUPT THIS PRINT TO TELL YOU TO #embracethespots! Haha what a #loud #noise. #leopardprint up against a #fuzzytv #screen. #duno what else to call it. #monochrome #contrast. #fashion is about #breakingboundaries #boundaries and #rulesaremadetobebroken. #myskirt #myshirt #mystyle #mystylemonday #beautiful #happymonday #black
This morning I woke up, took a look at my swag rack and decided to go to my overflowing ‘chesta draws’ for some inspiration instead. I took out this skirt because I wanted to be free from jeans or trousers for a day or two, and then I wondered what I could wear it with. I always wear a solid colour top whenever I have put this on before, but today I was opting for a change. Most people wouldn’t think to pop two similarish prints together, so I thought I’d have a go and see. And I LOVE it!
Mixing and Matching Prints is #sohotrightnow. This is been known as ‘#Prixing’ of late and again it is so hot and so trending! From the catwalk to the side-walk you will find someone somewhere Prixing.
Take a print or two and put them together to make a LOUD statement. For those of you who aren’t as comfortable in such a LOUD attire, why not pop a blazer or a cardigan over the top. This way you can still be a prixer but subtly.
Remember if you love it, you can pull it off!
Cj xx
The Swag Rack
Do you ever feel like you stand in front of you wardrobe every morning for about (half) an hour, repeating to yourself ‘I have no clothes… I have nothing to wear‘? Or decide maybe when you get out of the shower you will have thought of something, and then you still have no idea? Well me too! It is the most annoying thing, and everyone believes I have so many, too many, clothes but I just don’t see it.
Until very recently this was a problematic daily for me. I would have to wake up that extra half an hour to an hour early just to sort out my clothes for the day. (This is what made me miss school uniforms, although I always argued against them while at school).
A few days back I brought a clothes rack from Ikea, it was the cheapest on going at £6.50. I don’t intend for it to last very long but I thought it wont hurt to try out the concept of ‘The Swag Rack’ I had heard a bit about.
And I must tell you, it has brought nothing but ease. My clothes are never creased any more so it saves me time on ironing out the fold-lines and creases. Also, if I know what I am doing in advance I can just put a weeks worth of clothing out for the specific events that are to occur.
The ‘swag rack’ has helped me plan out my fashion life so much. For example, I will have my dinner dress for my date on Monday night, my sweats for the gym on Tuesday. A small selection of my colourful-casual tops for my trip to the movies on Wednesday with a pair of jeans, or leggins or a skirt, which I can pick out on any given day, depending on the weather. And finally my business dress clothes for work on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. – Chaneen
You see what I mean, your personal fashion week is planned and prepared. There’s no more waking up in the morning crying to yourself because you can’t find anything to wear in the piles of clothes in your chest-of-drawers and wardrobe. All you have to do is get on that cat walk you strut you beautiful self throughout the days. Stress free!
And if you want even more ease, why not make a jewellery rack and a sun/glasses rack.
> These not only bring ease and organisation, they add a stylish look to your closet or bedroom.
This has been a style saviour, why not try it yourself. You can’t go wrong with £6.50 (Price correct at time of publishing, subject to change)
Remember if you love it, you can pull it off!
Cj xx
Chan's Jazz 