MORE NYC PLANNING

Whilst having a brief idea of the things I want to do, I have researched further by using different platforms such as YouTube to be able to get a feel of what New York is really like. Here a few of the most useful ones I have found:

So here are more things that I want to do...

Go to the High Line, Grand Central, shop on Fifth Avenue, Little Italy, China Town, the list goes on... With just over a week until I go I am getting more and more excited. It is about time I began to pack though, I'll keep you updated on how that one goes!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Firstly, Merry Christmas!

This is just a quick post to wish you all a Merry Christmas and share with you my favourite Christmas advert of this year. It is not one that is plastered over the TV, yet a Mulberry tradition for the past year or two.

I just find this advert quite hilarious yet very clever. It takes the famous Baby Jesus narrative and turns into something of their own. Magical, and quite the #MulberryMiracle

Once again, Merry Christmas!

NYC PLANNING

With only a few weeks until I go on a trip to New York, which has come around quicker than imagined, it is about time I began planning on what I hope to do whilst I am in New York!

BROOKLYN:
Trust me to start with the one that is the furthest away! It is an area of culture packed with exciting things to do, eat and see. For me, visiting Brooklyn Bridge is a must, and being able to experience the subway to get there is another bonus!

UPPER EAST SIDE:
I can completely fan girl and pretend I am Blair from Gossip Girl, what more could I want?! This is one the areas I am most excited about going to, not only for the Gossip Girl reasons (try to believe me) but there are plenty of things to see and experience in and round this area also. Near to Central Park, so I can ice-skate and obviously visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art to then doing a spot of shopping and go to the ever famous cupcake ATM!

AND EVERYTHING ELSE TOURISTY...
like going up the Empire State, or The Rockefeller, or going to Times Square and obviously going to Sephora!

SUMMATIVE BRIEF - ADVERT COMPARISON

As part of our overall module grade, we have been set an individual brief to do over the Christmas break based upon brands and retail. The brief is called 'Market Visual Awareness' in which we visually analyse different aspects of the fashion industry.

From our previous trend work that we have done, we have been asked to choose one category to focus on for the whole of this brief. From our research, we had the choice to choose from check, herringbone, fur, the wrap coat or the trench coat. I have chosen to look at fur as the main category as I feel that it is an opened ended option in which I will be able to explore and look into at a further depth.

The brief is split up into three-
1) Brand and Retail Promotion Visual Analysis
2) Visual, Historical and Cultural Analysis
3) Contextual analysis, Idea and Concept

Further to this, each task is then split up into further tasks. The one that I am focussing on first is task 1a, in which I have to compare two adverts from a different market level.

Through research, I have found a variety of examples from a high end market level. I have found for sourcing these images, the best way personally is to search using pinterest, then click on an image example. This takes you to the original source/website which then houses more examples.

A website which I have found particually helpful is:

http://www.fashiongonerogue.com/best-fall-winter-2015-ad-campaigns/

As it has picked out some of the best current advert campaigns. With such a choice and variety of ads, it made it easy to clearly see which ones included my topic that were still edgy and interesting enough to analyse!

I found finding advertising campaigns at a mass market level to be much more difficult. When searching on Pinterest it was only ever editorials on offer, with the odd advertisement that didn't fit my category of fur. I resulted to doing a simple Google search, and after a while I began to find a couple of examples. Here are the best two that I felt were appropriate for my research:

TIME MANAGEMENT

Every Thursday, we have a 45 minute session with Teaching Assistants, who have not long graduated off the FCP course themselves. This allows us current students to be able to relate to them, and talk about any issues we are concerned with, instead of speaking to our course leaders.

The session last week was on time management, as this was a subject that a lot of people felt they needed help with. It can be hard to balance going to uni, doing the work outside of uni both independently and within a group, having a job and then trying to find time to have a life and go home.

Personally, I feel that my time management is fairly good. I can meet deadlines, get the work done and still find time to relax at the end of the day. Although, after work- the end of the day is usually 9pm! But none the less, it's still time.

As with everything, there is always room for improvement. The best way for me to organise myself is to write things down. I always know exactly what I have to do, but when it's wrote down, I know I can't forget. Seeing a list of things to do, and being able to tick them off throughout the day is very satisfying! I used to just do this on a bit of scrap paper, but I have now found an alternative- this 'Daily Journal'. Not only is it beautiful aesthetically, but it is very practical as well!

Each page is split up into sections. You can add the date yourself, which I find handy, because you aren't restricted. If there is a day where you're doing nothing then leave it out!

It has a notes section, a to do list, a time table and objectives section. There is room for everything. Here are some examples of how I use and fill this out...

I use pencil on the timetable section to block off the times that I can't do something. Basically the times I have committed to other things like going to uni and going to work. The blank spaces are free time for me to manage and organise myself.

I've decided to not only organise my time better, but prepare better as well. By writing things like a meal plan, it allows you to keep track of what you're eating. This also helps me budget wise. As by writing down everything I eat, I then know what I need to buy instead of buying things I think I need, that only end up being thrown away!

This journal is quite big with lots of pages. It will definitely take me through my first year of uni, if not my second as well.

I hope you enjoyed looking at how I like to organise myself, and how I spend my days!

This is available at Urban Outfitter at £13.50 with student discount!

COTTON CAUTION

Cotton is a white fibrous substance which surrounds the seeds of the cotton plant, which is then taken and made into a textile fibre and thread for sewing. It goes through a long process before it becomes usable or useful.

It is a material which is used in so many garments. Nearly everything I own is made up of a percentage of cotton. Its ready and easy to wear nature makes it an important material in the fashion industry due to popularity. However, you would never expect a bit of cotton to cause any sort of problems. It's just cotton, right? 

Well no, because conventional cotton is one of the most unsustainable fibres in the world. Picking the cotton is a job which is classed as forced labour. Making it tedious and dangerous. To produce the cotton, just one shirt uses 2,700 litres of water and a lot of pesticides. These pesticides cause 350,000 deaths of farmers a year, leaving a further million hospitalised also. 

It is shocking how you never hear about these disasters that happen from producing what is seemly an easy material for the sake of fashion. It is almost a secret that happens behind the scenes. I feel that it is important to raise awareness of the issues within the environment and society due to the cost of fashion and fast fashion. It is unnecessary and could be easily prevented if there were more regulations and people took more care.

THE SECRETS OF DENIM

Everyone owns a pair of denim jeans. They are a staple in our wardrobes. An everyday essential. But have you ever wondered where they were made? Even, how they were made? Like the majority, this isn't something that would cross your mind. You buy something because you like it, and that is it. Nothing else. No thought given to how the garment has been manufactured You've spent your money you eared on it, so it doesn't matter. With denim being an in demand fabric, and jeans an in demand garment; the production of this item is vast. It needs to be quick.

This is where a province in China comes in, an industry town called Xintang. This is most known for being the "Jeans Capital of the World", producing over 230 million pairs of jeans each year. This is an outstanding amount, counteracting for 60% of China's total jean production. 

Everything from spinning, dyeing and weaving, to cutting, printing, washing, sewing and bleaching- Both children and the elderly fill the streets full of factories, all participating in at least one of these roles to produce the same product day in, day out, by hand. 

The dyes used to create our favourite jeans are extremely toxic. Heavy metals are present throughout the whole process. Cadmium, Chromium, Mercury, Copper and Lead, all extremely dangerous; which can cause problems within the central nervous system and vital organs. Not only is this worrying, but worse, the people surrounded by these toxins are more likely to die from cancer than anywhere else in the world, according to the World Bank study.

Chromium is extremely harmful. Chromium 6 used to be used in furniture production, but they soon realised how this dye used on cottons and leather, could be absorbed into peoples skin over time, causing dangerous after affects. Meaning they stopped using this chemical. So why is it OK for the people in China to be exposed to this? They are putting their lives at risk for the sake of a pair of jeans.

These people can never escape these circumstances. Being at work is no different to being at home. The town is plastered with dye, both on the streets and in the air. This is evident through the protection masks they wear. As you can see below in the images, what would have once been a plain white mask, has now turned blue due to the dye in the air sticking to everything. 

All of the waste-water used during production isn't reserved elsewhere and filtered either- it is just let loose into the rivers, leaving a sea of indigo. This water is used to wash with, cook from and drink from. This is allowing every harmful chemical from the dyes into their bodies. Again, causing severe health issues. 

                                             








It is important for people to realise the impact that a simple, everyday item can affect someone else's life. To the point it causes death. This can change with the help of people supporting the toxic-free fashion campaign over on Greenpeace. The campaigners are challenging some of the world's most popular clothing brands to work with their suppliers to help eliminate all releases of hazardous chemicals into the water, improving conditions for the workers.

Read more about the campaign here: http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/news/stories/toxics/2010/textile-pollution-xintang-gurao/

STREET STYLE FINDINGS - KEY PIECES

As a follow on from a few posts ago- We put our retail analysis into practice this week by doing a street style task. This task meant we had to go onto the streets of Nottingham, and find examples of the trends we had identified at the start. The most successful pieces of street style we found, came under the Key Pieces section.

One of the main trends under the Key Pieces category was the wrap coat. We were expecting to find a lot more of this style - however their were only two examples, with the exception of another jacket which was a hybrid of trends:

(image on the right)-
This is a hybrid between a wrap and a trench coat. This is due to the fact it has the neckline of a wrap coat alongside the tie detail in the middle which indicates this. Furthermore, it has a double breasted effect, which again, is a nod to the trench coat trend. The texture of this coat is also interesting as it is marl/grain-like, again something that seems to be popular with consumers.We didn't get round to asking her where the coat was from or when she brought it- this would have been interesting to know as we could of judged whether this was brought specifically for this years trend or for practicality. To make a judgement, I would suspect the latter; as by the rest of her outfit, I feel that she is dressing for comfort and to be warm- not to make a conscious fashion statement.

Similarly to the wrap coat, we were expecting to see a lot of the Trench Coat on the street. However, we also only found two - but were both for very different purposes.

(image on left)

This was a more practical take on the Trench Coat. The lady wearing this trench told us that she had had this garment for 5 years. This shows how much of a classic piece this really is.

It originated in World War 1 for the use of the soldiers. Before the trench coat, they used to wear heavy greatcoats, which were made from wool. This was clearly impractical due to the conditions. In contrast to this coat, the trench was much more practical. It was lightweight, shorter and waterproof. It was far easier to clean, and easier to be able to camouflage due to its beige colour- this meant that the soldiers would not stand out or draw attention to themselves. Since this era, the trench coat has slowly changed its nature and become a fashion staple that is both stylish and practical. This shows how much of a staple piece this has been since 1914.

(image on the right)
We can see that this is a much more modern take on the trend. This is mainly because it is oversized and much looser in comparison to the fitted ones that we've seen before. This trench coat has clearly been worn as a deliberate fashion choice. We know this to be true through what else she is wearing- the girl has kept it minimal by only wearing black yet added a bit of colour through the scarf. The fact that this coat wasn't lined or overly classic suggests how it hasn't been worn for practical use. The flowy an thin nature of the material suggests it is used as a fashion statement and the girl is clearly much more trend aware.

THE BEST OF CHRISTMAS - BEAUTY

When going to events, I sometimes find that many people forget that it isn't just about what you're wearing that counts; it is also about your make-up as well. Christmas always reminds me of red or berry lips, with a classic eye and a hint of gold. Whilst looking for inspiration- this image alongside the video are very season appropriate and work well for any event this time of year, as they can easily be played down or glammed up:

I love trying out new things and looks this time of year as many brands put together mini collections that can be used for gifts! It's an excuse to buy yourself a gift, that may be a bit besides the point but any excuse is a good enough excuse to treat yourself! To try out some of the looks featured above, I have put together a variety of items that are suitable and versatile enough to be used daily- for daytime wear alongside a night-time look. These are some of the items that I am currently lusting over from my favourite cosmetics brands:

   Urban Decay                                                  Charlotte Tilbury                                        Sleek Highlighter

 27/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil Set                   Six Shades of Love-Ecstacy                     Eye Palette in Solstice

 £25.00                                                              £49.00                                                           £9.99

  

Nars Cosmetics                                             Benefit                                                        Bobbi Brown  

One Shocking Moment Palette                'Get Your Party On Set'                          Secret to Stand Out Eyes

£49.00                                                              £39.50                                                        £69.00

  Mac Cosmetics                                               Hourglass                                                     Nars Cosmetics

  Enchanted Eve: Face Palette                    Ambient Lighting Edit                             Killer Heels

  £42.00                                                              £65.00                                                            £29.00

I hope you enjoyed my beauty gift guide edit! There's plenty of options here for all ages ranges and budgets; and they all make great Christmas gifts too (...for yourself!)

THE BEST OF CHRISTMAS - SHOES & ACCESSORIES

Following on from the previous post, I am now doing a post about all of my favourite shoes and accessories that I'm loving at the moment, that you can bring into the party season!

Zara £22.99                                   Zara £29.99                                    Zara £29.99                                 Zara £12.99

Missguided £15.00                   Missguided £8.00                    Topshop £29.00                      Missguided £15.00

Topshop £22.00                           Missguided £45.00                 River Island £10.00            Topshop £22.00

Reiss £50.00                               River Island £20.00               Reiss £85.00                             New Look £24.99

THE BEST OF CHRISTMAS - DRESSES

With the Christmas party season starting any time now, it's always nice to have something new and sparkly to wear to any event you have coming up. I am going to be doing a series called 'The Best Of Christmas' over the next week, in which I will be sharing my favourite finds of dresses, accessories and shoes, and make-up and hair. To kick start, I am starting with the main item- the dress. With a few alternatives if a dress isn't for you.

Whether its a staff party or New Year's Eve, all of these dresses are appropriate and add a little Christmas sparkle to any occasion. These dresses range round £25.00 to £220.00- so there is something here for everyone. Hope you enjoy looking through some of my favourite dresses in store right now.

         Topshop £80.00                                           Topshop £60.00                                    Topshop £55.00

 French Connection £110.00                                 Zara £39.99                                 French Connection £165.00

       Missguided £28.00                                    Whistles £220.00                                   Missguided £25.00

ROUSTEING ON THE PARIS ATTACKS

After the shocking and terrible news of the attacks in Paris last Friday; I came across this article on Vogue, which talks about the scene in the perspective of Olivier Rousteing. I feel that it is so lovely for such an inspirational person to keep up the moral of those around them both in and out of Paris. Rousteing himself lives in Paris, so can relate to the scenes happening. But for him to be able to spread the message and send his love worldwide is encouraging as it allows us as a community to be able to come together and support those amongst the tragedy.

Read more about what Rousteing had to say here

AW15 MATERIAL TRENDS

Following on from last weeks post about AW15 outwear trends- For the past week or so, I have been researching alongside my group into material, key pieces and pattern trends. The PowerPoint presentation we had to create had to include information about market levels (Value- Primark/F&F etc, Mass-Topshop, Zara, New Look etc, Middle- Reiss, Whistles etc and High-luxury brands such as Tom Ford and YSL) as well as looking at the '7 Ps'. The 7 P's is something that we refer to on our course: They mean product, price, promotion, place, process, people and physical evidence. I chose to look into the material trends. Below are some screenshots of the work I did for the PowerPoint-

This is a slide reiterating the key trend categories-

This slide talks about where we found inspiration and how we noticed the trend-

This slide is full of examples online at middle and mass market level. 

The first store that we went into to find examples of fur was Primark. This is a value market level, alongside the other store we went into, Select. Underneath shows our findings using the 7 P's-

These are examples of the clothing at a middle market level

When going into a middle market level store, such as Reiss, we only found one example of the fur coat. It appears that it is much more popular online, compared to in store. 

Shearling is another key trend. Here, we can see examples of a shearing texture at high, middle and mass market levels. 

In store, this trend translated at a value market level also. 

At mass market level also, there were examples of this trend. They were all similar in colour, yet varied in styles depending on the store.

I found doing the task and putting together the PowerPoint really fun. It was interesting to see how the different market levels portray the garments and trends online and in store. I found that for fur, all of the market levels had at least one item of fur instore and more online. This suggests that this trend is popular at all levels and is available to everybody. Whereas with shearling, there was more available online with high-end retailers such as Acne. In stores, it was much harder to find this exact material, yet instead it was more a variation of shearling at both value and mass levels.. At middle market, we didn't find any shearling material coats in store at all. This shows how the demand for this trend is not as high as others, and is only something that would be available online, instead of in store.

AW15 WOMENSWEAR TRENDS - OUTERWEAR

At the end of last week, we were put into groups and we started a new trend project. We were given the task to look at the AW15 trends for womenswear. We chose to look at the sub category of outerwear. Through research and looking at a selection of different images, we had to find evidence of at least four of the following trends within outwear- colour, material, trims, print/pattern, graphic, silouhettes/cut and key styles/pieces to then be able to collate our findings as a group and piece the key trends together. In the seminar we put together our images on the wall and sectioned off each sub trend:

One of our silhouette trends included the trench coat. We noticed that brands were beginning to have a new take on the classic double breasted style trench. As instead of keeping it classic in simple colours such as camel, navy and beige. Brands were beginning to use more innovative materials such as a snake print coated effect and metallic finishes.

After looking at some of the trends, we were asked to quickly come up with a potential story for our sub trend. Due to new take on the classic trench coat, we decided that 'mac gone mad' would be an appropriate way to describe our trend story, as the classic has taken a drastic turn into something much more wild and crazy, hence the use of the adjective 'mad'. 

Our next challenge is to do a retail analysis of our findings. We are going to go into stores and find examples of how the trends we have found have been adopted and communicated to the consumers, as well as looking at how this has been done online.

£2 MANICURE

I have always been into nails and making sure mine look clean and tidy. For me, there is nothing worse than unkempt nails. I have tried and testing so many different brands of nail polish from cheap to expensive. One of my favourite brands is Nails Inc. - They offer a wide variety of colours and formulas which last for days before chipping. Every now and then, Nails Inc collaborate with various magazines, in particular Glamour; offering their readers a free nail polish with the magazine.

In this months Glamour magazine (November 2015 edition), you get a free nail varnish by Nails Inc in a choice of four colours. I chose this pale colour in the shade 'Colville Mews'. I find a nude colour is perfect for every occasion. It is simple yet elegant and matches everything. For the cost of the magazine, which is £2- you can't go wrong as these polishes retail price starts at £11!

Find more shades from Nails Inc here

Get a copy of Glamour now, before the next edition comes out on November 6.

NEWS APP

For as long as I have been following the news; I have always had an individual app for each source, or had to go online to read specific articles. Since the new update on the iPhone, one app in particular has caught my eye- the 'News' app. This app allows you to choose topics you are interested in, keeping a feed of recent articles all under one roof. The more you read the articles, the more tailor maid it becomes to you, as it begins to notice your reading patterns and interests- eventually over time, showing you specific articles. It's a great free app which has everything in one space, instead of having to use multiple platforms and apps to keep up to date!

TOPSHOP BRONZER IN SALUTE

For a while I have been looking around to find an alternative bronzer for everyday use. As being a student, I feel I can no longer justify or afford to use my favourite luxury bronzer Nars Laguna on a daily basis. As an alternative to this, I have been trying to find something that allows me to save time when doing my early morning makeup routine, and find something that multi-tasks as both a bronzer and a contour. After trying a few, I came across the Topshop bronzer in 'Salute'. 

This shade is very warm in tone. In the packaging it looks almost orange, however when you blend it out onto your skin, you find it is the complete opposite. It is a pigmented product therefore you don't need a lot if you are looking to just add a healthy bronze to the skin. However this is very build-able due to the smooth and creamy texture. By building it up layer by layer, and consistently blending, the product creates a more intense and darker contoured effect, but still looks like a natural hollow due to the matte finish. 

If you are looking to create a more intense look, it is crucial to set your base makeup with a setting powder before applying as it can almost clump together in places where the foundation is still setting resulting in the bronzer looking slightly patchy. However, if your base is set, it applies very evenly and smoothly, lasting all day. Another great thing about this product, is that it doesn't oxide throughout the day. When trying out other low end products, I have found that this has been a problem and never looks the same 2 hours later after application. 

To apply a light dusting all over the face to add warmth, I like using the Mac 187 Stippling Brush. It picks up a small amount allowing you to build your desired coverage. When I want a more intense look, I like to use the Real Techniques Blush Brush, as the slightly tapered end to the brush distributes the product directly where I want it, and then I am able to blend it upwards- creating a natural contoured face.

For £9.00, this is an affordable alternative, which does everything that I want it to. 

Buy the products mentioned by clicking:
Bronzer, Mac 187 Stippling Brush, Real Techniques Blush Brush

PLASTIC SURGERY - JI YEO IMAGE ANALYSIS

During our lecture last week, we began to learn about Semiotics. To start with, we talked about meaningful communication through images. Below is an example of my analysis of an image. I have denoted the literal meaning behind the picture, followed by the connotations that we can take from the denoted information.


"People find beauty in the most difficult circumstances, during chaos and disorder..."
- Ji Yeo, Beauty Recovery Room

Ji Yeo is a Brooklyn based artist who graduated from Korea in Visual Communication Design, followed by a master’s degree in Photography at the Rhode Island School of Design.

This image is from a series called the ‘Beauty Recovery Room’, produced in 2014. The series is about the wounded faces and bodies of the women who have recently undergone plastic surgery in Korea. By taking these shocking images, it shows the physical cost and pain plastic surgery causes just to adhere to social pressure in Korea. For women in Korea, it is typical of the culture for women to have to look a certain way. The only importance and priority is for them to be beautiful and look perfect at all times, this forces these women to undergo these huge changes to conform to social expectations.

In this image, we see a woman in a nude body suit. The purpose of this body suit is to protect and conceal. It morphs to the shape of her body to suck it in. Her underwear is still on show so that we can clearly see her exposed cleavage. By covering herself up in this body suit takes away and hides the fact that she has just undergone plastic surgery. It is like she doesn’t want anyone to see her new body, which is ironic considering she has been through so much pain at an expense to look this way. The irony and the fact that she doesn’t want to show off is reinforced by the nude colouring of this body suit. This colour suggests a skin like look, so that it blurs in with her natural self, this allows her to appear to be much more natural and pure.

The idea of hiding yourself away is strengthened further through this ladies face being hid and not shown. The fact that she is hiding her identity suggests that she is ashamed and wants to protect herself, because even after all the surgery she is still not comfortable or happy. To the audience, this point contradicts the purpose of plastic surgery. It is always perceived to be a good thing, as it will make you feel and look better. However, I feel by hiding the fact you’ve done it contrasts to this point, as it shows an element of denial.

On the other hand, the posture of this woman is almost forced as she is stood with her hand on her hip. This pose is almost provocative and exposed; like she wants to show off, yet not be seen.

Whilst viewing this image- it is initially shocking, yet we come to terms with the fact that this is the reality. Yeo’s main message by creating this series is to expose the truths and pain of plastic surgery. We can clearly see this physical pain through the bruising on her right arm. This makes you wonder is it really worth the pain that you are putting yourself through all for a social ideal? Yet even though she did go through with this, it is suggesting that she is still not happy. Although their body is perfect, the rest of them may not be. You can’t change everything. By looking at this image I feel that these women in the series are not in a mental state of mind due to the pressure. They live in a culture where they are so pressured; it becomes all they can think about. And when you only want to be perfect all the time, it makes you even more uncomfortable with yourself, hence why this women would rather hide and only expose the positive things. Which in her case are her breasts.

The reality of this culture is overwhelming yet it is happening everywhere. Plastic surgery is becoming so socially normal, people do it so often, to the point it becomes obsessive. This has made me think why do women feel like they have to do this? No one has the perfect image; it is just created to look like there is a perfect look due to models and celebrities being enhanced with software such as Photoshop. These representations that are thrown at us through the media are not a real representation. People fail to remember that we only see an end product as a consumer of the images shown to us in the media.  There is a huge process that professionals have to go through before the final end image is produced. By viewing this image, it confirms my beliefs that plastic surgery does not fix everything, instead only leaves more scars; both mentally and physically. 


view more of Yeo's work at: jiyeo.com

PITCHER & PIANO

In the heart of the lace market, and next to the Nottingham Contemporary Gallery lies the Pitcher & Piano - a pub, bar and restaurant. This stain-glassed church with an elegant and stylish, yet rustic interior is the perfect hang out place with a chilled atmosphere. It offers everything from small bites to pub classics and from beers to cocktails - it is appetizing to everyone's tastes. It is a great place to go if you ever find yourself stuck for something or somewhere to go. Here a few photos from my visit with Lucy who is also on the same course as me. A link to her blog is here.