Snippet #4: Leather Baggin'

Maybe it's because I love baking - I love making things from scratch - but I suddenly have an urge to make my own leather bag. I would love to have the kind of money to buy multiple Birkins and customize them a la Lady Gaga..

...here with Japanese written on with a Sharpie pen...

...and here with sharp sharp spikes studded into the leather. Actually it is the studded look which I would love to create, in a soft, slouchy black leather bag. The problem is, I just can't find the right bag. Which is where my temptation to MAKE my OWN comes in. I feel a bit wild just thinking about it. 

The geniuses at London College of Fashion make it look all too easy in this handy video: http://www.fashion.arts.ac.uk/31532.htm

My next hurdle: where to buy the leather?! I have looked on ebay and a million fabric shops online, and they only seem to sell leatherette, which is essentially just a step up from PVC.


Once i've jumped that hurdle, I plan to follow this step-by-step guide to stud my bag to within an inch of its life: http://fashiontribes.typepad.com/fashion/2009/10/stud-it-fringe-it-biker-babe-it-heres-how.html

For now, I will just continue to lust after these ready-made beauties:

1. Alexander Wang Rocco

2. Versace

3. Miu Miu

4. Lanvin Ketu Sac

Snippet #3: It's an A for A-Line

The fashion houses have spoken. A-line is the new line. What was wrong with the old line? In fact, what even was the old line?

Actually, I do love a bit of A-lineage on a skirt here and there. The sad thing is, I just can't wear it. I'm like an upside-down pear shape, which does not get on with the A-lining. 

Oh, the jealousy. Oh, the pure ADORATION of the gorgeous models at Prada who look oh so Ace in the A-line. Just look how happy model-in-the-middle is!

I love the hair, I love the prints, I love it all. Its like a step back to the 70s with the benefit of hindsight.

Here are some other A-lining skirts which I love.

1. Topshop leather skirt

2. Balenciaga contrasting A-line skirt

3. Another Balenciaga

4. Richard Nicoll cashmere and wool blend maxi

5. Alexander McQueen wool-crepe maxi

These nicely bring me onto another trend - LEATHER. We all wear leather shoes and carry leather bags. Why not make it more of a feature? Out for a drink the other night in my not-so-fashion-forward town, I saw a girl wearing the topshop number above. A skinny minnie, she looked amazing. She teamed the leather a-liner with a loose sleeveless tan-mustard shirt buttoned to the top. Could wearing a leather skirt even be considered as environmentally friendly? Leather has got to have a certain amount of durability. Not sure how the cows feel about it though.

For any vegans out there, the no.2 Balenciaga is made from wool, cotton, silk, acetate, and a teeny bit of polyamide, which creates a beauuutiful sheen somewhat akin to a shiny piece of leather. 

If only I could afford it all.. Sigh!

Snippet #2: Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

This week, a very close friend of mine is leaving to go to Spain for a year. In honour of her departure, I organised a surprise picnic (something quintisentially British to remember us by). 

It also gave me a good excuse to bake something. I love baking, but I find it so much more rewarding when I can give something I have made to others.

The cupcakes ready for bakin'.

Happiness in a mouthful! 

They went down a treat :)

Snippet #1: A Pitter Patter of Silent Feet

Location: Yunnan Province, China.
Each pair of shoes has been lovingly washed and laid out to dry in the sunshine.


To most people, I suppose they just look like random old pairs of shoes, but to me they are so poetic. The lady in the hostel I was staying at laughed at me for taking the photos - but I love the poetry behind the images. 
For me, the threadbare old shoes represent the lives of the people who wear them; their experiences, their hard work and their fun. 


Just like handwriting, don't you think that you must be able to tell a lot about a person by their shoes?