Monday 30 November 2009

Star Style - Fearne Cotton



















Radio 1 DJ come TV presenter Fearne Cotton is really starting to make a name for herself amongst the fashion elite, with her own unique style. Her look is a mixture of high street combined with some vintage rock n roll inspired pieces.
So if you love Fearne’s look, you can get your mitts on her woven studded Atena Clutch at Angel Jackson, after all no rock chic outfit would be complete without a few studs.

Saturday 28 November 2009

Star Style - Aleandra Burke



















On a recent trip to America Alexandra Burke was spotted wearing an iconic lips print Rolling Stones tee from the design duo Elegantly Waisted. Alex’s tee has been customised with an appliqué rose, using real vintage buttons. Elegantly Waisted are well known for customising classic rock tee designs, by adding tassels, fringing, buttons and appliqués, making each tee featured in their collection a one-off.

Star Style - Beyonce

















Beyonce can have her pick of designers, which I’m sure she no doubt has on speed dial, so you can imagine my surprise when she was photographed, during a recent trip to London, wearing a New Look tee.
It’s no secret that she’s one of the most successful and richest singers on the planet; topping the list as the richest star under 30 by earning an estimated 55 million.
But it seems that just like the rest of us, she can’t resist a bargain too.

£20, www.newlook.co.uk

Sunday 22 November 2009

River Island presents…T’s For The Trust.





























Pixie Lott, Alesha Dixon and Kelly Rowland, all of whom are Prince’s Trust Ambassadors, are supporting their new tee campaign called, T’s for The Trust.
Alesha feels that, “It’s fantastic when fashion merges with charity, it’s a winning formula. People love shopping and if they know the money is going to a good cause, to help somebody else, they don’t need to feel guilty about it. It’s the perfect scenario! I’m honored to be involved.”
Designed by River Island’s top young designers each tee has been made to reflect the star’s own personal style. Pixie Lott’s T-dress is available in two designs, classic black and zebra print, both come complete with fringe detailing, to reflect her signature punk rock style. She describes her design as being “…cheeky, fun and cool.”
Alesha Dixon’s T-dress is all about being the ultimate disco-diva. It features purple sequins, a belted waist and feminine flower embellishments; perfect for the Christmas party period.
“My T-shirt dress is fabulous - it’s really me - and I can’t wait to wear it on stage or for a night out partying.”
Kelly Rowland explains her style as being “classic meets contemporary with an edge of sexiness”. Her T-dress is a glamorous asymmetric structured design, with stunning crystal detailing. She says, “I have always loved things that sparkle – you’ll see that my River Island T has gorgeous crystals all over it.”
The collection includes three T-dresses for women and four men’s t-shirts and is available to buy at River Island stores and online at
www.riverisland.com. All the profits will be going to The Prince’s Trust, to help change the lives of young people.

Alesha Dixon T- £59.99
Pixie Lott T – Zebra / Black - £34.99
Kelly Rowland T – £99.99

Thursday 19 November 2009

Nail it with ASOS


Asos, who are the leaders when it comes to online celebrity shopping, have now added a new nail polish range to their beauty department.
Victoria Beckham, Pixie, Gwen and Katy are just a few of the celebrity names given to the nail polishes created by Ciate. If you like your nails dark go for Alexa’s deep navy or Daisy’s charcoal black. If bights your thing, then go for Paris’s hot fuchsia pink or Cheryl’s coral shade.
So why not treat yourself and give your nails the celebrity treatment they deserve.

£6,
www.asos.com

Tuesday 17 November 2009

The Variety Club's 57th Annual Showbiz Awards 2009





The cold temperate didn’t stop Alesha Dixon, Pixie Lott, Kelly Brook and The Saturdays from wearing their most glamorous and revealing outfits, when they attended the Variety Club’s Annual Showbiz Awards, now celebrating its Diamond Jubilee year.
Pixie looked very elegant in her Temperley LBD, while Kelly Brook opted for a more bold cobalt blue asymmetric dress. And with Girl’s Aloud off doing individual projects and the Sugababes busy deciding who’s actually in the band, it was the Saturdays that everyone was buzzing about. In particular Frankie Sandford, who decided to flash some flesh in a rather daring Swarovski covered dress complete with cut out detail. She even joked about it later on Twitter, “Met some awesome people tonight! night night.....I am now fully clothed as opposed to before! ha.”And poor Rochelle avoided a possible wardrobe malfunction by taping herself to her Jasper Conran dress; although she did admit that if it was up to her, she would be quite happy to be wearing her thermals, well it was a cold night.

The event was hosted by Jon Culshaw, with a performance given by Pixie Lott who sang her new single Cry Me Out. A song she describes as having a positive message about staying strong and moving on.
The Variety Club in partnership with The Co-operative, also announced that Alesha Dixon would be the new face of the 2010 Gold Heart campaign.
The awards honoured the most talented individuals from the world of entertainment.

Some results on the night included;
Justin Lee Collins, Television Presenter of the Year,
Faryl Smith, The Classical award,
Pixie Lott, The Caron Keating Breakthrough Talent Award
Spandau Ballet, Outstanding Contribution to Popular Music
Simon Cowell, The Daily Mail Best British TV Judge
Sir Ian Mckellen, The Bernard Delfont Award for outstanding contribution to show business.

Monday 16 November 2009

Star Style - Emma Watson












Harry Potter star Emma Watson showed her love for the USA, when she was snapped wearing her I love New York tee at Heathrow airport.


Log onto to www.truffleshuffle.com and get yours for £24.99.

Saturday 14 November 2009

Happy 40th Birthday to our favourite characters on Sesame Street.






















Famous Forever tee (24.99) available from www.truffleshuffle.com

November 10th marked the 40th anniversary of America’s longest running children’s TV show, Sesame Street. Alicia Keys, Oprah, Serena Williams are just a few of the famous names that have made an appearance on the show. Even the first ladies of America including Barbara Bush, Laura Bush and Hilary Clinton have featured in episodes. Most recently Michelle Obama made a special appearance to help mark its 40th Birthday.



Memorable moments include;
1. Cookie Monster going on a diet to promote a Healthy Habits for life initiative.
2. In 2002 Whoopi Goldberg appeared in the South African edition Takalani Sesame, alongside the first HIV-positive Muppet Kami. Her name comes from the word Kamogelo, which means acceptance in several African languages.
3. Sesame Street also addressed the 9/11 tragedy by having the New York fire fighters appear on the show, during a fire that started at Hooper’s store. During the episode they were shown helping children to develop coping strategies when dealing with loss and fear.
4. They also addressed the subject of bereavement, when the actor who played Mr Hooper died unexpectedly.
5. They even released an album Sesame Street Fever in 1978 that parodied the hit film Saturday Night Fever.
6. In 1985, Sesame Street tackled the issue of adoption when they introduced the character of Miles, son of Gordon and Susan.

Here’s what your favourite character says about you.

Big Bird is a control freak in rose tinted glasses. But because he sugar coats it you will never know his true intentions.

Bert & Ernie are in reality stuck in a co-dependent relationship. Bert has a depressive personality; he's a classic glass-is-half-empty person.
Ernie is indecisive and has a tendency to live vicariously through others. Although he can be creative, he lacks the ability to put things into action.

Cookie Monster is all about me me me. His insatiable appetite for more cookies could just mean that his hungry for more experience, hungry for attention or just plain greedy.

Count Von Count displays OCD tendencies with his need to recount things; this is often brought about through stress and anxiety.

Elmo is actually a well-balanced character, even though he likes to refer to himself in the third person. His emotionally secure and loves to surround himself with his many friends.

Grover can be quite emotional but also very compassionate; who sometimes has trouble understanding the world around him. He is a determined character with the ability to pick himself up, every time as Super Grover, when he falls from the sky.

Telly Monster is focused but he can lack emotional direction and can be seen as being unfeeling.

Snuffleupagus is Big Birds best friend. He often gives up easily and needs to be encouraged to take on difficult tasks.

Oscar is even more of a depressive than Bert. He is a permanent grouch, the ultimate pessimist who hates anything nice or sweet. He’s only happy when he’s miserable and yelling at people.

Friday 13 November 2009

Sindy in the Sixties


Helen Carter has turned her love of collecting Sindy dolls into an exhibition, which is being displayed at the Museum of Childhood. Sindy was launched by Pedigree in 1963 along with her friends ‘The Sindy Set’ that also included her boyfriend Paul, named after the famous Beatle.
Here she talks about setting up her exhibition and why Sindy isn’t the girl she used to be.


What made you start collecting Sindy dolls, don’t you like Barbie, or Tressy?
I think that somewhere in my subconscious there is something about Sindy that fired a spark that Tressy or Barbie failed to do. I had Barbie as a child, only one, and one Tressy, but Sindy was my first doll in 1964. I love Barbie as a fashion model; she has the right proportions and looks great in clothes (her proportions height-wise are similar to how fashion drawings are constructed, not human at all, but fabulous as a visual). Barbie’s early fashions are wonderful as a look at American fashion culture at that time – they looked very much towards Paris couture, but Sindy had her own very British look, especially as the 1960’s progressed (a London look which was copied by Mattel for “MOD” Barbie) and for that reason I prefer to collect Sindy dolls.

Why did you decide to do the exhibition and how did it come about?
I began researching as an academic in the archives at the V&A Museum of Childhood, the curators are very supportive and there are some interesting things in the British Toy Making Archive. My academic research is tied up with Sindy and teenage fashion dolls in general.
In my exhibition I wanted to show how underestimated her influence as a fashion trend maker was.
I have always wanted to do something more with my dolls than just collect them, and when it was suggested to me that I could put on a display, this was my opportunity to demonstrate my theory.

How did you come up with the concept of doing the 60s theme, and why did you chose that decade?
I chose the 1960’s because that was when Sindy was released (1963) and the decade that spawned the teenager as we know it, alongside a lot of the popular culture that shaped the end of the 20th century and beyond.

Who helped you design and put together the exhibition?
I designed it, came up with the concept, did all the research and the graphics, got all the dolls together – basically it is a one woman show! Esther Lutman, the curator that I was working with, suggested something visual from the 60s decade using the dolls, and I took it from there. I had help from a friend to actually set it up, the graphics are printed on huge sheets of card and had to be handled carefully.

How long did it take to put together?
The whole process took months of work, the picture research was very time consuming and I had to get copyright permission for all the images that didn’t belong to the V&A. I travelled around researching and collecting things that I did not have in my collection, from other people. I researched using 1960’s catalogues like Freemans and Grattan and because they proved to be such a fantastic resource, I included some of their images in my display.

Are the Sindy’s from your own personal collection?
Most of them, I had to borrow 3 Sindy dolls, 4 Paul dolls, and some of the accessories

Do you have a favourite?
My favourite dolls are definitely the early ones, the Made in England with the Weekenders outfit, and I also love the 1968 Side parts.

Have you designed any outfits for Sindy?
Only OOAK (one of a kind) commissions for people. I have had ideas but time is limited, I work full time in my teaching job as a Programme Leader of the Fashion Design programmes at the University of East London. I would love to create iconic vintage pieces on OOAK Sindy dolls, maybe one day!

How has she changed today?
Today she doesn’t exist as far as I’m concerned, in fact I don’t think that Pedigree are making Sindy at all. She was changed so much in the late 1980’s that to most collectors she became a different doll, they might as well have renamed her. They gave her the smaller head and California smile of Barbie, instead of sticking to their USP (unique selling point) which was her side glancing eyes, more human proportions and very British style. They could have taken so much from our changing culture at that time, the way that fashion, music and street style was being fused and influenced by all the multi-cultural influences around us.

Vintage Sindy or New Sindy?
Vintage hands down!

http://www.museumofchildhood.org.uk/

http://www.sindy-repro.com/

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Jimmy Choo Coming To A High Street Near You

Fashionista’s everywhere can now rejoice as Jimmy Choo will be bringing their designer collection to H&M on Saturday November 14th. Normally you can expect to pay anything from £395 to £800, so to get them for £79.99 has got to be every woman’s dream come true.
Famously known for designing shoes, they will also be adding accessories and clothing to compliment the collection. Accessories include evening clutches and larger day bags, wide and long studded belts, long choker necklaces, bracelets, cuffs and earrings.
Expect to see lots of 80s-inspired clothes that include one-shoulder dresses, jumpsuits, leather leggings, sequined cardigans and embroidered tops. The shoes come in animal prints with lots of crystal embellishments and stud detailing.
Make sure you get there early, because I don’t expect the collection to be around for long. Enjoy!
(0207323 2211)

Sunday 1 November 2009

Star Style - Beyonce



She's the global superstar married to hip hop legend Jay Z. Made millions from her career as an actress, solo artist and as part of Destiny’s Child; but it looks to me like she's still a Top Shop(£200) girl at heart.