Gift Guide For Him

As promised, here is my Gift Guide for Him! I always find it so hard to buy for boys, even though there are 3 boys in my family and a boyfriend... you would have thought I'd mastered it by now!

As always, image quality is poor af so I'll list them all below, but I think this list is a lot more varied than the Gift Guide for Her!

Reclaimed Vintage Classic Mesh Strap Watch / ASOS / £30
Ted Baker Essentials Fragrance Gift Set / ASOS / £15
GOPRO HERO5 black action camera / Selfridges / £349.99
Sandqvist Stig Backpack, Multi Blue Grey / John Lewis / £95
Wireless Touch Speaker / preezybox.com / £16.95
HUGO BOSS - BOSS The Scent (100ml) / John Lewis / £63.50
Immerse: Virtual Reality Headset / ASOS / £21
Christmas Trunks With Reindeer Pug Print / ASOS / £5
Black, Grey and Orange Intarsia Bobble Beanie Hat / Topman / £12
Calvin Klein Grey Dressing Gown / Topman / £84

Georgia.xo

Gift Guide For Her

You may remember last year when I did blogmas and tried to blog every single day of December. One of my first posts were gift guides and I absolutely loved putting them together! Going through all the different stores online and generally making myself excited for Christmas. So this year, after seeing Corrie's (dizzybrunette3) amazing gift guides (and I mean literally incredible you have to check them out), I thought I'd do a couple again!

Although most of them are around £20 - £30, I have tried to include some lower and high price options too, and I'll list them below just in case you can't see it in the picture. It's just a general mixture really of things that caught my eye, thinks I would like myself and things that I already have such as the Burberry perfume and the teddy bear blanket which I LOVE!

Sali Hughes - Pretty Honest book / ASOS / £22
Lulu Guinness Doll Face phone case / ASOS / £35
Crushed Velvet Backpack / Missguided / £25
Nude Power Bank / Primark / £6
Burberry 'My' eau de parfum / Debenhams / £40.50 - £81
Large Fleece Throw / Matalan / £20
Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones - Rose Gold / Apple / £249.95
The Burgundy Palette - Kyshadow / Kylie Cosmetics / £33 *subject to change due to exchange rates
Benefit 'It's A Gal's World' gift set / Debenhams / £24.50
Nails Inc Prosecco Is Always The Answer gift set / John Lewis / £20
Makeup Revolution Iconic Nudes Brush Collection / Superdrug / £20

I will have a men's gift guide up very soon!

Georgia.xo

Editorial In The Style of Craig McDean (& Other Influences)

Last weekend, we set up a photoshoot as part of our 'Execution Stage' project. Our aim was to create an outcome, which took inspiration from the editorial 'Game, Set, Match' by Craig McDean, which featured in British Vogue in March 2016. The editorial was quite androgynous, yet contrasted with the femininity from the enlarged roses in the background, with elements of geometric shapes and urban culture. Saying this, we still tried to make our final outcomes our own, by including references from surrealism and the popular 80's fashion label, 'BodyMaps', and most importantly keeping the bag the main focus.

A huge amount of preparation went into our shoot and we took quite a hands-on approach, where every member of the group was included. For example, pre-shoot, we went out and collected holographic backgrounds, cardboard boxes and the lighting; then we hand-made the graffiti backdrop and spray painted cardboard boxes to create some dimension to the photographs. We then took our photographs onto Photoshop where we chose our three favourites and came up with our final outcomes.

I'm super proud of what we've created within just two weeks! It was one of the most exciting projects I've done this term and our group worked really hard in making sure that we'd all had an input in the process.

Georgia.xo

Fishing for Tights

Fishnet tights are one of those trends that you either love or hate. You think that you won't be able to pull them off but you can style them in so many ways, as I've been seeing a lot in the last couple of months. Admittedly I haven't got a pair myself, but I know I will be very very soon!

To dress up a pair of overstressed jeans
One of the girls on my course styled something similar the other day and even though all she'd done was stick on a pair of tights underneath her jeans it looked so cool. I think sometimes torn jeans can look a bit shabby and naff like your mum's baggy jeans that she's torn by accident while doing the gardening sort of thing, but adding the tights takes them to a whole new level. They give off a kind of bad girl/cool girl vibe. You know what you're doing.

Pulling your fishnets above your waistline
This is another style that can change your outfit completely. I can imagine it's quite a hard one to pull off because my tights always roll down without fail, but it just adds something if you're not keen on your bare stomach being shown. With a cropped jumper or t-shirt this looks super cool and just adds some texture to an outfit.

Fishnet socks
These obviously aren't tights but I've seen these around so much lately. I suppose these are like the above-the-waistline style but for you ankles, because if you're rolling up your trousers or wearing low-top shoes it just adds something rather than just skin... You could definitely wear these with ankle boots too or a pair of Vans.

Actually as tights
Or you could just wear them normally! They look great with a leather skirt or even dressed down with a simple t-shirt dress. Although it is getting colder now, they're a great alternative when you don't want to wear opaque tights yet.

Big holes
I think that bigger holes (no innuendos I promise) make more of a statement than your classic fishnet. I suppose it puts more emphasis on the legs and looks great if your outfit is quite simple, say just white and blacks for example. As Alexa Chung has beautifully shown us here, it makes an outfit look effortlessly cool.

Or small, classic holes
As I said before, these are a lot more classic and discreet. They give more of a classy/chic vibe than others on the market. The model in this photo is wearing quite bright colours and different textures like leather against cotton, so she didn't really need to make a big effort with her tights. It probably would have looked just as nice with opaque tights but leather against fishnet is to die for.

Georgia.xo

5 problems when you're not part of the modern dating scene

When I first met Harry (just as friends lets add) Tinder hadn't even been born yet and MSN still existed. It was a huge thing if you just hugged, Justin Bieber was just embarking on his 'My World' Tour and we were all whipping our hair back and forth...

It's safe to say that I've never had a taste of the modern dating scene. I met Harry through mutual friends.. face to face.. without having to like 20 of his Instagram photos (I don't think he even has 20 photos) all at one or swipe right (or is it left?) just to get his attention. But now I'm at university surrounded by single people, and with him not here you notice it way more. So here's 5 problems I feel like I face all the damn time just because I've been in a relationship for 3 years.

1. The only swiping you know is up and down...
I would literally have no idea whether you have to swipe left or right. How is such a simple concept so confusing?!! Think I'll just stick to Instagram thanks...

2. What does "pulling" even mean? 
Can you pull the same person more than once? Can I pull my boyfriend or doesn't that count? These are questions I frequently ask when I'm faced with the 'pulling list' at uni. So. many. questions.

3. Nights out
Seriously boys, there is no joy in having a guy try to dance right up against your arse all night... I'm not a crab, I don't need a shell...

4. Sometimes you just want to netflix and literally chill
More like Netflix and no chill. I think Harry knows full well that if you stick me in front of PLL with a box of Morrison's mini chocolate rolls I'll be just as.. pleasured...

5. SO MANY expectations 
Apparently girls these days are contouring their legs. THEIR LEGS. WHY? Do guys really have this many expectations? I can't even contour my face properly let alone any other body part.

Georgia.xo

Game, Set, Match - Craig McDean

game, set, MATCH is an editorial for the March 2016 issue of British Vogue, photographed by Craig McDean and styled by Jane How. As part of FCP, we have started looking at this editorial as the key point of inspiration for our own photo shoot.

Craig McDean is renowned for his influential fashion images and portraiture. His career began in London as a photography assistant to Nick Knight; this then took him to onto becoming a picture editor for i-D magazine, before freelancing for The Face. Craig has photographed for well established brands, such as Christian Dior, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Estee Lauder and Calvin Klein; as well as this, he regularly contributed to W magazine, American/French/British (as we can see in this case)/Italian Vogue, Another Magazine and Interview. Throughout these projects and his career, he has regularly shot with models Amber Valletta, Guinevere van Seenus and Kate Moss, this lead to his 4th book 'Amber, Guinevere, and Kate Photographed by Craig McDean: 1993-2005' (2013), whereby he focuses on his relationship with the three models. Other books include 'I Love Fast Cars' (1999), 'Lifescapes' (2004) and 'Sumo' (2011). Craig has also directed the music video for Rhianna's 'Kiss It Better', was the 2008 recipient of the ICP Infinity Award and is one of the Business of Fashion 500.

·       

     “With models, it’s your editorial idea. You create the story, and it’s your idea of how the hair and makeup should look. It’s the transformation of the girl to a story.”

At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about this particular editorial. I originally thought that it would be styled around the idea of tennis, hence the title, therefore it didn't seem to make sense. The clothes aren't sportswear, however there are hints of high street casual "sportswear" such as Palace, Adidas and Umbro. This contrasts with some floral, more feminine pieces, such as the green, frilled dress from the Vetements Spring 2016 collection. As well as this, there is also the contrast of geometric and surrealism, therefore linking historically to surreal artists such as De Chico and Man Ray. Give the editorial a second look and it began to make sense. The phrase 'game, set, match' could link to the positioning and look of the models who look mentally strong, as if they have 'won' fashion.

(Photo sourced from Vogue.com)

Georgia.xo

Christmas in Nottingham

Look at Nottingham looking all cute and magical and christmassy! Last night it was the Christmas light switch-on and it was all very photogenic. Back home, switching the lights on isn't a huge deal, but it was proven to be very popular up here. Apparently a couple of Paralympians turned up to turn them of, as well as the Lord Mayor, the Sheriff of Nottingham and the official Robbin Hood - they looked like ants from where we were standing but Notts should be proud of themselves.

It's definitely Christmas time now and I cannot believe it's only a month away 😯

Georgia.xo

Nocturnal Animals

Interesting, sophisticated, intense, aggressive, violent, lust, intertwined and romantic. Without sounding too much like Shay Mitchell in her PLL farewell video, that's the only way I can describe Nocturnal Animals - the second film from designer Tom Ford.

The film is basically about a wealthy yet troubled art gallery owner, Susan (Amy Adams), who reads a manuscript sent from her ex-husband, which is dedicated to her. The story follows a middle-class white male, Tony, who finds himself in a struggle with a gang in Texas (starring Aaron Taylor Johnson) during a road trip with his family (Isla Fisher and Ellie Bamber). The gang take his wife and daughter, rape them and kill them, before Tony goes on a quest to find the gang and make them pay. During the film you see Susan come to terms with her troubled relationship and her lust for her ex-husband.

It was a very complex and non-linear story-line with a stellar. The beginning of the film was interesting to say the least. It doesn't leave much to the imagination, however it did create a number of enigmas. The middle then starts to make sense as the three narratives (the present, past and the book) intertwine and relate to each other in an arrangement that I think worked beautifully. However, the ending was very sudden and left very open! I suppose it left the audience in a position where they could use their own imagination and decide for themselves what happened. Personally, I'm not a fan because it reminds me of those reading tasks you had to do at primary school when you had to write an alternate ending or another chapter!

I think Amy Adams did a fantastic job at portraying a lead female protagonist who appeared to be strong and empowering on the outside - a lot like a lot of women in the creative industry - however, on the inside she was struggling and was easily influenced by the men in her life.

Tom Ford has also done a fantastic job alongside producer Robert Salerno, who also produced Tom Ford's first film 'A Single Man'. His signature dark hues and linear lines are evident in the film, and it's quite the stellar cast. Would totally recommend watching it!

Georgia.xo

Fast Fashion Vs. Fast Food | Fashion Sustainability Part 2

After watching The True Cost, we were given a brief whereby we had to research fashion ethics and environment further, by partaking in both secondary and primary research. Once we had our research we then had to come up with a ‘big idea’, which raised awareness of the issue to NTU students.

It’s actually disgusting what farmers and garment workers have to go through in order to satisfy the expectations of the employer. Garment workers, for example, work for up to 12 hours a day, for as much as $2 a day. Cheap labour at the bottom of the value chain means cheap prices for consumers at the top of the value chain. In a book I read called ‘What Am I Wearing’ by Kelsey Timmerman, garment workers express their opinion on the situation. One girl told Timmerman that they don’t want people to boycott the brands because they don’t want to lose their jobs; what they do want is less working hours for higher pay. I think that’s fair enough. Therefore, in order to solve this issue, consumers need to stop purchasing so much so often, meaning that demand decreases.

With this in mind, as well as an interview with one of my group’s flat mates who told us he is obsessed with eating organically but doesn’t care when it comes to fashion, we came up with our idea: #fastfoodvsfastfashion. We wanted our fellow students to realise that it was just as easy to live organically in other aspects of life, and that there are alternatives to spending money on high street brands. Only 1% of all cotton grown worldwide is organic, but why should that be acceptable? We made a list of comparisons between Fast Food &  Fast Fashion and An Organic Food Lifestyle & An Organic Fashion Lifestyle; from that we came up with our campaign:

The Main Event

• Place a giant, open, burger box by the student union
• Inside the top lid there will be a hanging rail with cotton t-shirts hanging off
• The branding will be our hashtag
• The box will be covered in shocking facts

Supporting elements to our campaign include:

• A second hand fair where all the local charity and vintage shops can promote themselves
• A swing label, which has a list of how the garment was made (underneath the size/barcode/price) and will be found in local shops
• A slide including photos and facts before lectures start, which students can read while they wait 
• Cups with the hashtag printed on
• The hashtag in the form of a sticker to stick onto mirrors both at home and in shop changing rooms

Georgia.xo

The True Cost | Fashion Sustainability Part 1

The true cost of the fashion industry is fairly unknown. Many don’t know that the fashion industry is the 2^nd most harming industry to the environment, after oil. I didn’t know this until I watched The True Cost – a documentary highlighting the negative elements within garment production, directed by Andrew Morgan.

“Greed and fear, power over poverty”

Watching The True Cost gave me an insight into areas of the fashion industry that we will call the ‘dark side’. For example, the Indian city of Punjab is the largest user of pesticides in India, which they use on the cotton crop. Effects of the large pesticide use include cancer and “physical retardation”, yet many people can’t afford treatment. This isn’t just a case of “don’t use so many pesticides” however, because when a farmer can’t produce the right amount of cotton, the companies can buy the land off of the farmers leaving them jobless. This results in over 250,000 farmers taking their own lives each year. That’s 1 farmer every 30 minutes. I know this is a lot to take in, but this was only the start of my journey through discovering the ‘dark side’ of the fashion industry.

It’s hard to comprehend how many deaths happen in order to make your outfit. In 2013, the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh collapsed after factory owners ignored cracks in the building pointed out by workers. 1,129 people died. They were manufacturing clothes for Primark. In the same year, factory fires killed over 100 people. Imagine that being a member of your family, or one of your friends.

Long story short, this is basically because we, the consumers, want cheaper prices, and the only way our favourite brands can satisfy our needs and make a profit at the same time is by finding cheap labour in developing countries. Workers are only paid $2 a day for a 12 hour working day. Maybe it’s time we changed our spending habits.

Georgia.xo

Kenzo X H&M Collection

At 9am this morning, we finally got the opportunity to get our hands on the latest H&M collaboration: with Kenzo. I've been looking at 'first glimpses' for a few week now and it's such a contrast to anything H&M have done before, but it works! It's bold, colourful, enriched with animal and floral prints, and really reflects the classic Japanese style of Kenzo. Many have described it as a "kaleidoscope" and I couldn't agree more! 

Although I personally haven't brought anything from the collection *yet*, the collection is relatively affordable, with prices starting at £7.99 for a pair of patterned socks, to £49.99 for various tops, to £299.99 for a patterned maxi dress. As a result, the prices aren't my main concern. Are people really ready for such a bright colour palette? Neutral and muddy tones are most popular right now and moving to such a contrasting colour scheme seems all a bit too sudden since we've been wearing black jeans and khaki tops for the past 2 years. In an article by The Guardian, a 20 year old fashion designer, Yves Alawe, was interviewed. He actually said that he had brought his budget down after seeing the colour scheme from £1,000 to £600.

"The jackets are nice but the colours are a bit much"

Saying this, people still queued up in their masses outside stores in London, New York, Paris and Sweden to get their hands on thousands of pounds worth of garments and millions more caused the website to crash.

Maybe I'm in the practical minority!! I don't know. Are you with me? Or are you as desperate to get your hands on the collection as the millions of people who camped outside in the early hours of this morning?

Georgia.xo