Alternative Chrismas Consumerism

I've written a guestblogpost for Wales Online on Alternative Christmas Shopping in Cardiff, featuring Mulled Wine, Baby Jesus and Buffalo Boutique.  Go check it out...

Incidentally, Buffalo Boutique's on tonight at 7pm and it's always worthwhile visiting if you're in the area.

(Image: Buffalo Boutique)

Monday Musings

Currently listening to this and this and pondering a variety of things, from future plans (should I save for an internship on a magazine or a South American adventure?) to whether or not to buy these shoes:

 

Their kinda ugly, kinda clunky but I'd pretty them up with a dress, which is the kind of utility style I like.

Any thoughts?  On shoes or the future, I'm up for any ideas...

Wild Cat

The fact that I was absolutely frozen before my visit Urban Outfitters Cardiff shop yesterday probably alludes to why this item, over any other instore, predominantly caught my eye:

It's so padded and warm, it's like a handheld sauna. It also handily hangs from your neck, a plus for someone who has already lost three pairs of gloves this winter.

(Images: Urban Outfitters)

Urban Cardiff

Urban Outfitters (UO) opened in Cardiff last Thursday, to much less fanfare than the same-day-opening Spitalfields store, which had Coco 'Hi I'm Sting's Daughter And I'm Cashing In On My Dad's Success' Sumners playing with her band.  

Hi Coco.

She's wearing Urban Outfitters in this picture.  Convenient.

On a recent London trip my friend bought this dress, which I love, from UO Kensington High Street.

She was deliberating over buying it because the price was a bit steep but then Annie Lennox walked into the changing room as we walked out and it just seemed like fate.  Yes, we slightly clutched at straws when jumping to this conclusion, but now whenever she wears the dress she'll think of the time we (sort of) met Annie Lennox.

Annie was trying on fake fur leopard print coats, in case you were wondering.

And yes, of course we're on first name terms, in case you were also wondering.

Anyhoo, back to Cardiff UO.  I took this picture last week, pre-opening.  What does Heluo and Helluo mean?  I'm fluent in Welsh and I'm 93.66% sure those words are made up.

Oh, I just got it. Hel U O.

Doesn't that guy with the coffee cup look like he's posing for me?  I think you've got the wrong shop dear, Hollister is in St. David's 2.  Just up the escalator and turn right, it's the one that looks like a middle class Brazilian brothel.

There's a far more informative post by Cardiff Fashion on the opening if you want actual information rather  than incessant wittering (pictures are from the CF blog too, apart from the one above). 

 Also, I'm venturing into Cardiff tomorrow so will let you know what I think.

Feel free to comment if you've already been in to the shop, a head's up would be super.

(Images: Cardiff Fashion)

Of Books And Bags

After reading my post on how much I was drooling over the Olympia Le-Tan bags, a friend of mine did a spot of research and pointed me to this little piece of homemade craftiness.

Turns out other people do put in effort to gain their desires.  Anyway, isn't it twee?  Here's the post on how to make your own clutchbook.

Black Swan

In my previous post I make reference to a bag Natalie Portman carries at the Hollywood premier of her new film, Black Swan.  It’s directed by Darren Arofonsky’s, who was also responsible for the notorious Requiem for a Dream, a film I mentioned  in a previous post; the romcom that is definitely not a romcom?  Well, he’s releasing the much talked about Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis (Jackie in the completely underrated That 70’s Show).  

I love the starkness of the posters below, you don't see that quality often in the world of Hollywood film.  If these art-deco inspired  the posters are anything to go by, the film is going to be darkly beautiful.

With Arofonsky's genius direction and the sisters behind Rodarte designing the costumes, there's actually no doubt that this is exactly what it'll be.  Roll on February 11th...

Judging A Book By Its Cover

Someone somewhere needs to win the lottery soon so that they can buy me this Olympia Le-Tan for Christmas.

It looks like a book but is in fact a bag.  Genius, eh?  Plus Catcher in the Rye’s always been one of my favourite books, even though I only read it because I wanted to appear a precocious teenager.

I’m fond of 1984 too so if anyone would like to supply me with this, it wouldn't go amiss as a suitable Christmas present.

There’s something about touting your (self-believed) intellect in your sartorial choices, it’s simultaneously both nauseating and charming.

Natalie Portman’s got the Lolita version, which I’ve also taken a liking to.  I’ve never read Lolita so probably shouldn’t covet the bag too much. I imagine if (in an alternate universe where I was rich/ a film star) I managed to own it, I’d get know-it-alls everywhere snootily asking my opinion on the novel.  I think this as a vainglorious girl myself who would relish trying to trip Natalie Portman up in this way. Yes I'm a terrible and crap person.

Rather than making me want to read Lolita though, the bag’s made me want to take up embroidery so I can make an appliqué version of that Valley of The Dolls cover I recently posted.  Or plan to rob a local shop so that I can afford the £895 price tag that's on the Olympia Le-Tan.

Effort. I should just buy a book instead and carry it around, pretending it's a bag.