"Lingerie Is Part Of My DNA...

...and my heritage." Thus spake Jean Paul Gaultier, before he embarked on a collaboration with lingerie royalty La Perla.

JPG Spring/Summer '10 collection

This is very exciting news for lingerie lovers such as myself. I have always been a huge admirer of the elegant La Perla line, so when I heard that one of my favourite fashion designers was teaming up with them, I could barely contain my excitement!

Gaultier is famous for the lingerie influences that are a constant theme in both his ready-to-wear and couture collections, so he is the perfect choice to produce a collection créateur with La Perla. It is a natural - if not inevitable - move for a designer renowned for his appreciation of couture lingerie techniques (remember Madonna's iconic cone bra corset? Pure JPG.)

Madonna and those cones

For this collaboration, he has produced some incredibly beautiful pieces, including a waist cincher and high waisted knickers in classic pale pink and black colourways. The highest quality satins and embroidered tulle are hallmarks of the La Senza brand, and I'm sure the JPG pieces will be equally fabulous.

Just a taste of what we can expect from the collaboration...

I adore Gaultier's ability to celebrate a woman's curves in an incredibly elegant way, whilst still retaining his unique sense of playfulness. Judging by the sneak peaks we have been allowed, we can expect great things from the full collection.

The collection will be previewed at next week's Jean Paul Gaultier A/W10 couture show (for those incredibly LUCKY enough to be going!) and will be available to purchase from November 2010 from La Perla boutiques, select department stores and fashion boutiques. Start saving now!

GL

www.laperla.com

ww.jeanpaulgaultier.com

(Images Style.com, La Perla/Jean Paul Gaultier)

Guest Post Alert

Some Glitterbird witterings to come later, but in the mean time, have a ganders at my latest guest post as Fashion Junior at Large...

http://fashioneditoratlarge.blogspot.com/2010/06/sooo-crazy-for-coco.html

We are going loco for Coco (Sumner)

Enjoy!

GL

Image: The Guardian

Sun, Sea, Sand, Socks and Sandals

My new place of residence.

At the moment, there are a few pressing issues in my mind, and they are as follows:

1. Moving to London in a few weeks - I will finally be a bonafide city girl, not one whose heart is in London but whose home was well and truly not. Watch out Shoreditch...

2. This recent sunny spell means I am going through factor 50 spf like nobody's business, in a quest to stay fashionably pale. Ah, to be an English rose of the Florence variety. I unfortunately can feel myself tanning as we speak...grr. Long sleeves seem to be the only option left for me.

3. Glastonbury has turned my thoughts to my own festival experiences coming up later in the summer. Vintage at Goodwood which you already know about, and another smaller music fest called Reading, which you also may have heard of. I cannot WAIT!

You'll find me at the front for Paramore.

Numerous other summer activities, which now the sun has come out, seem so much more plausible. I cannot sleep at night because the sense that anything is possible when the sun shines literally takes over my brain. I have even found myself driving around where I live, as the sun goes down, drinking in the scenery and getting excited about...nothing in particular, just life!

Sorry I came over all rom-com there. I'm not usually this cheesy!

Anyway, I have finally unearthed my summer wardrobe properly now. It is great to experiment and try out new combinations in the sunshine, just because you can. Old t-shirts that looked scruffy during the winter now become your staple items, teamed with denim cut offs and sandals.

Or maybe not, if like me you find choosing a pair of sandals Nigh On Impossible. I threw out a pair of Primarni sandals last summer on the principle that as much as I liked the style, they looked cheap and had no grip, which led for some really classy slipping over incidents. Now I would cherish the opportunity to slip over in them, because I am yet to find anything to replace them with! I know this might sound a little controversial (then I have never fallen into the 'wear what everyone else is wearing' category) but I don't like gladiator sandals.

Essential footwear? Not for this Glitterbird.

Yep, that's right, I have an aversion to what seems to be the ONLY style of summer sandal available (on a less than £50 budget, anyhow). They look fine on other people, but they just go against my personal style; too faux hippy for my liking. I like bows, vintage styling, pretty colours, leopard print...not just a bazillion straps. Also I am getting sick of walking down my local street only to see three or four girls all wearing the same Topshop/River Island/ASOS style. Are they even that comfortable?

On a night out last weekend, I obviously missed the memo about the floral playsuit/gold gladiator dress code (I was wearing some lovely new DMs, gifted by a very generous benefactor, probably not the best choice of summer footwear but I didn't care). I was literally about the only girl in the club not wearing strapy sandals. HELP! I need to find some soon...at the moment I am rocking the socks and brogues look, which is fine, but my feet are going to look like they have been dipped in bleach by the end of the summer.

The only shoes I have found that vaguely tickle my fancy are these lovelies from Office. They are kinda ridiculous, but they are also kinda amazing. With metallic leather, massive jewels, crazy detailing, at least they have some character! And they are in the sale. Hmm...tempting!

Less Gladiator, More Cleopatra. Me Likey :-)

GL

http://www.office.co.uk/

(Images BBC, me, New Look, Office)

I Need To Go To AAA (American Apparel Anonymous)

I have a serious problem, that, like most of my problems, stems from my childhood. I have a Crayola complex. I can be suckered into buying sweets, makeup and clothes, if they are just organised in colour order. (I have even been known to colour-coordinate my pic n mix with my outfit, subconsciously)

My wardrobe at home is arranged my clothing type and colour order, for practical reasons, if nothing else - I have to be able to find things! And I will colour-coordinate anything, given half a chance; books, crockery, family members...

It all comes down to my time drawing with felt tips and crayons as a child: I loved colouring in, especially if it involved some sort of fairytale princess dress that I could 'design'. My parents bought me a little plastic suitcase that contained an array of Crayola crayons, all lined up neatly in colour order. I flipping loved those crayons! However, to my great sadness, it is not socially acceptable to be colouring in at the age of 23, so I have had to channel my colour obsession into fashion.



I realised that I can be suckered into buying anything as long as it is designed to appeal to my colour fetish. Working in London it is hard to escape American Apparel, which seems to have a store on every corner. I don't understand this brand's mystical ability to style window displays using only 3 colours that make you instantly want to buy an entire outfit!

I am always drawn in by the voodoo power of their colour skills, intent on making myself look like an American Apparel girl. You know the ones, top knot hair/long hair with a fringe, pale, look a bit like they were doing some sort of barely legal drug last night, skinny, and uber, uber cool. THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME!!! Where have American Apparel found this army of scenesters? I don't understand! I fall for it every time though. "If I just buy this massively expensive pair of shorts/leotard/t-shirt, I will be instantly transformed into an American Apparel goddess.

Then I get home and realise it's just me, in a massively expensive leotard. Gawd...Just when I realised I needed some colour therapy, they went and stuck a knife straight into my good intentions. Browsing the store the other day (just browsing this time, my purse was firmly locked away) we went up to the counter, only to be confronted by a beautiful, colour coordinated vision.

They have only gone and done their own range of nail varnish! And in the same array of colours as the clothes! This was just unfair, especially as they were displayed next to a nice selection of Sharpies...also colour ordered. There was just no hope for me...I broke out into a sweat, my decision-ometer started swinging into overdrive and I had to leg it from the shop before I dropped £15 on three bottles of polish (I would never be able to just pick one).


I really have to avoid that shop in future. But just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water, I was doing some research the other day (no, really, it's my job to be on fashion websites) and I realised that AA now stock my perfect shoe. Small heel, vintage inspired and generally GORGEOUS these little beauties have got my name on them. And the best bit? As they are neutral colours, they'll go with everything. Ah, American Apparel, it's like you can see into my soul...

GL

All images American Apparel

A Bonafide Fan Girl Moment

Myself and pal Cressida Meale, a fellow aspiring writer

First and foremost, let me just put it out there that this post ain't about journalism. It ain't about being witty or perceptive or intelligent in anyway. It is a small wonder that it didn't get written at 1am last night when Sailor Jerry was still very much my friend, in which case it could have been a darn sight worse. So if intellectual musings are what you are after, avert your eyes now. I have just one thing to say and it is this:

IMETFLORENCEANDSHEWASLOVELYANDSHEHUGGEDMEANDSAIDSHELIKEDMYOUTFIT. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And...breathe. I'm sorry, but this was a major 'tick' off the list of things I wanted to do with my life. I may not have had an indepth conversation with her (it went something along the lines of: "I'm not even gonna try and be cool, I just had to tell you that I love you and your songs make me cry" - smooth) and the girl is the same age as me, for goodness sake, but I can't help it. I have worshipped her ever since I first heard her FILL Brixton Academy with her beautiful voice. She is enchanting and her music is very, very special.

Florence, before I accosted her.

So yeah, just a normal Wednesday night where you meet one of your idols in the loos of a VICE Style party. Yeahhhhh...I'm a very happy bunny today

GL

Images: Vice, for the full set see here

My Own Personal Brand Of Heroine

I noticed recently that a certain Miss Perry is the most tagged thing on my blog, which is just a little bit embarrassing! Although to be fair, I have never tried to disguise my infatuation with the girl.

In order to rectify this, I thought I should disclose my other musical heroines. These ladies inspire and excite me, and without them my iTunes would look a lot different! I love them for their talent, their beauty and their style, and their music provides the soundtrack to my life. In a world where our entertainment is provided by largely talentless airheads (Speidi, anyone?) I am thankful that I have amazing women like these three to look up to.

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam a.k.a M.I.A.


My first encounter with M.I.A. came at my favourite indie club night 'Goo' down in Bognor Regis (yes, it is a real place). The lovely DJs Stu and Liam always introduced me to life changing music and M.I.A. is a particularly choice example - I was so blown away by the tracks 'Galang' and 'Bucky Done Gun' from her first album Arular (named after her Dad) that I rushed up to the DJ booth to scribble down the names of the songs.

And then came 'Boyz', a heart thumping, electrifying beat with a chanting, playground rhyme of a chorus. That song made me go crazy and cemented my love for M.I.A. forever. She never fails to push political, social and cultural boundaries and is always four steps ahead of the current beat. Her latest single 'XXXO' is an on the money observation of modern life (youtube radio rip here).

Karen Elson a.k.a Mrs Jack White

I first fell in love with Karen after I saw her in the pages of a fashion magazine. Years before Lily Cole was walking the runway, Karen was bringing her unique, extraordinary beauty to the fashion world. She is entrancing and bewitching and truly special.

Which is probably why she caught the eye of Jack White, one of the greatest guitar players of all time and an all round rock god. They met on the set of a White Stripes video and fell madly in love, now they make one hell of a stylish, talented couple. Apparently the magnetic power of Jack's musical gift inevitably affected Karen and she began performing with political cabaret 'The Citizens Band'. Last year she began locking herself in the marital closet to write songs in secret, but eventually Jack demanded to hear them and has gone on to produce Karen's critically anticipated debut album The Ghost Who Walks. She is phenomenal.

Listen here

Hayley Williams a.k.a no introduction needed for this voice

This may sound melodramatic but I can't imagine life without Paramore. Probably because they provide the soundtrack to my life - it is very possible that I have listened to a Paramore track at least once a day since I discovered their music four years ago. Their album Riot is in my car and I don't ever feel the need to take it out of the CD player - I never get bored of hearing Hayley's astounding voice. Her lyrics resonate with genuine passion, hurt, and love, and the power of her singing voice knocks me off my feet.

The connection that I feel with their songs is something pretty special and I know a lot of people who feel the same way. Singing my heart out with Sophie on Friday to some tracks from their first album, I remembered why they mean so much. Hayley is a good Christian gal from Tennessee, a tiny firebomb of immense talent, who marks the band out from the crowd with her ability and bright orange hair. Plus no-one can belt out a note like she does.

http://www.paramore.net/

GL

(Images: Nylon, Third Man Records, Nylon)

Jump In The 'Pool

(Glitterbird and Sophie Determann - remember her name, she's gonna be a famous architect one day)

Posts will be of a personal nature this weekend, because I have immersed myself in the student culture of Liverpool for three days, so I am going to be happily 'out of the loop' for a while.

However it is impossible for an obsessive fashion fiend like myself to switch off completely (much to my friend's annoyance/amusement) so I was observing the street style out and about in Liverpool. It seems some of the cliches about this amazing city are completely true - there I was, schlepping about in my Converse, whilst there were girls in full on, platform heels, a layer of orangey makeup and a cloud of Britney Spears/SJP/J-Lo perfume (it is impossible to distinguish between those celeb fragrances, they all have the same top note. That being disgustingly, sickly sweet florals).

Another strange thing that I noticed was an abundance of top knot hairstyles - not the scruffy, London fashionista top knot (you know what I'm talking about) - but a perfect, precise look that definitely involved one of those doughnut hair accessories, essential for extra 'oomph'. Everywhere I looked, girls had these doughnuts on their heads, which gave them all an odd, alien look - it was as though Krispy Kreme had invaded Liverpool's salons. There were so many of them, I was starting to feel very out of place with my pin up fringe. Unless it was scraped back (ideally to show off your bald patches from where hair extensions had ripped out your real locks - nice) you just weren't down with the kids in Liverpool.

In case you are wondering what this look entails, I found a perfect example of it on a great street style blog, called Hoy fashion. It's good - and shows some of the more diverse, indie-inspired people that are around in Liverpool (you just have to look hard enough)

(She looks quite cool, to be fair)

I felt very alien as it was, with my milky white legs white hair and emo girl clothes - I just don't cut it with the wannabe Wags of this town. God I hate that phrase. But it is true - the majority of girls from the 'Pool are a fusion of Colleen Rooney, Vicky Becks and Chery Kerl.

I may have even been influenced by the pervading air of 'glamour' as I wandered round the new Kurt Geiger boutique and set my heart on these incredibly ridiculous shoes:

Glittery and bow-tastic they may be, but at £160 they were staying firmly in the shop. Sad face.

Thankfully, my lady friend Sophie was on hand, looking effortlessly stylish as always, to show me around the town and to introduce me to a bevy of well dressed women (all of whom are also super brainy architects - beauty and intelligence, it makes me sick!).

I was instructed that heels and a glamorous dress were requirements for our evening out, so I braved my most ridiculous Topshop numbers and a vintage 80's frock from Rokit. Granny pop-socks, the ubiquitous pin-up flower and glitter all over my face generally gave me the look of a demented Barbie, but I kinda liked it :-)

Don't ask me what happened after we tottered down the road in our stilettos - because I can't really remember the details! I can recall feeling like an actual albino amongst the bronzed limbs of my peers and drinking an immense French Martini at a beautiful converted church. It all gets a bit blurry after that - but hey, that's Liverpool for you, and so far, I love it.

GL

(Images Hoy fashion, Sophie's camera)

Nailed It

Just a picture to illustrate what the amazing ladies of WAH (in particular, Afia at WAH Topshop) can do with a little bit of Essie 'No Pre-Nup', a nail file and some superfine nail pens. I haven't exactly got the worlds greatest nails (In Afia's own words, "They're a bit...bendy") so it is a miracle she could do what she did.

It took me ages to settle on a design, mainly because the WAH blog is hugely addictive and inspirational. What is great is that it seems the girls are willing to take on any challenge! We had fun tweaking the design as we went along (to be honest, I just wanted a go with the nail pens myself, they were appealing to my inner Sharpie addict)

Terribly emo with the heart/broken heart on my thumbs but hey, if you are gonna get WAH nails, you might as well do it properly.

(Thanks to Sharmadean, owner of WAH and Afia for just being awesome)

GL

Watch Out! David Cameron Is After Your Wardrobe!

Bad, very bad...

...and how it should be done.

Usually politics and fashion are a dire combination (colour-coordinated party ties, anyone?) and I got sick to the back of my very back teeth of reading about the clothing choices of politician's wives during the election.

However it appears that our new Government is holding sway over fashion at the moment, and there is an unmistakable Tory look on the streets of London.

Rocking the 'Hackney Farmer' look. Nice

Read more about it here, in my first 'official' post as Fashion Junior at Large!

http://fashioneditoratlarge.blogspot.com/2010/06/fashion-goes-tory.html

GL

(Images: Politicalbetting.com, Babble.com, Kayode Akinola)

Spec-tacular

(If anyone can pull them off...)

As a child, I was DESPERATE to wear glasses. Maybe it was because it made my spec-wearing friends look intelligent and grown up, or maybe it was because it was a non-uniform accessory that was actually allowed in my school (we even had regulation backpacks, so self expression was extremely limited.) I would gaze at beautiful tortoiseshell frames in Specsavers and play dress up with my Nan's amazing transparent, pinky purple glasses on a delicate silver chain.

Alas, my quest for geeky, grown up style was thwarted once I had my eyes tested. 20/20 vision, that's me. Nights of reading books by torchlight until I fell asleep had made no difference - my eyesight was perfect. My only eye flaw is a microscopic scar on my eyeball that I probably got when I was being born - now there's an anecdote for you. I must be the only person in the world who left the opticians disappointed that I wasn't going a bit blind.

Now that I am grown up (kinda) my love for glasses has not abated. I adore geeky boys in specs - maybe it's a Clark Kent complex, or maybe it's because they just look really cool. Luckily, it has now become acceptable -nay, even trendy - to wear clear-glass frames, even if you don't need vision correction. The geek chic trend doesn't seem to be going anywhere, and fashionable clear-lense frames are filling up the highstreet - they are unavoidable! Once my vintage/retro fashion obsession took hold, I realised the perfect accompaniment to any 50s outfit is a beautiful pair of cats eye spectacles.

Thus my search for the perfect specs began last summer, as I trawled London's finest vintage emporiums, as well as every charity shop under the sun. The wondrous One of a Kind in Portobello had the perfect pair - sadly at a very imperfect price (my freshly graduated non existent budget could only stretch so far). Charity shops proved fruitless, and even my beloved Ebay was failing me in my hour of need.

That is until I stumbled across a set of listings from a church in the American deep south, one Christian fellow was selling off the townsfolk's old glasses to raise money for charity. And there they were, my ideal silvery gold, diamante, completely authentic vintage specs. A 2am alarm call meant I won them for the princely sum of $13 (£9) including postage! Yes, I did have to pay a further £15 for the lenses to be replaced with glass, and yes, people do stare at me when I wear them, but I don't care.


At last...the perfect 50s geeky girl in the corner look, nailed. And maybe if I squint through them on a daily basis, straining my otherwise A.O.K. eyesight, I might end up needing the real thing one day.

(Is there some sort of clinic people can go to to cure them of insane fashion obsessions? Let me know!)

(Looks like I'm not the only one...)

GL

The NEXT Next Big Thing in Nail Varnish

"What a trivial and shallow post title!" I hear you cry. "Who gives a flying flip about what colour is 'the' colour to be wearing on your nails?" Well, clearly a lot of women do give a flip, because the nail industry is booming and there are websites solely dedicated to reviewing, analysing and comparing the latest pots of polish.



The in colour seems to change every 5 seconds at the moment - recently we have gone from jet black, to jade, to pastels, to greige (which, sorry nail fans, does make you look like you have the hands of a dead person)



I can remember when, not long ago, nail polish was simply a matter of personal preference. Some ladies were from the Wag school of nude polish and white tips, others stuck to a classic deep purpley red and schoolgirls bent the 'no polish' rules by sporting clear or iridescent shades from the Natural Collection. Magazines would recommend a hot new colour for summer, but most of the time girls would ignore beauty editor's advice columns and stick to their favourite polish.

Then at some point over the past three years, everything changed! God looked down at the world and thought that women weren't giving enough thought to their nails. He decided it wasn't sufficient for them to obsess over whether they had the right shoes, the right hairstyle, the right second-mortgage-inducing It bag. Oh no, His minions should be even more concerned as to whether their fingernails were the right colour.



This decision co-incided with some major nail-related events. WAH! Nails in Dalston started churning out the craziest manicures in the U.K. from their 'badass' salon (see above for one of their typically understated designs.) Essie, the ultimate fashion polish brand from the US, was plastered all over the trend pages for being one of the only companies offering the neon colours that were so hot in 2007. Katy Perry (yep, her again sorry!) started to make it big, and if there is a girl who knows about co-ordinating her outfit and her nails, it's this lady:



I'm also going to use the dreaded R word to say that the recession has been a major influence in the rise of nail fashion. Painting your nails a particular shade has to be one of the cheapest ways of expressing your fashion sense or following a trend, so it makes sense that skint fashionistas are hitting the bottle, so to speak.


As it seems to be a case of 'can't beat 'em, might as well join 'em', I'm going to stick my neck out and predict a new nail trend. Usually I leave this kind of thing to the experts, but you have to know your nails to get ahead these days, so Glitterbird is sticking her beak in.


After months and months of heavy matte polishes that resemble poster paints, magazines are gradually starting to wean us onto frosted polishes in deep metallic shades. However I think girls are going to get fed up with heavy, saturated colours and are yearning for something more feminine. Cue sheer polish, a perfect example of which is Essie's Cherry Pop:

It looks delicious and summery, and a little bit like my favourite fruit jelly from M&S, which is never a bad thing. There is something new and modern about sheer nails, which is why I am offering them as an alternative to the ubiquitous matte shades. 'Cherry Pop' makes me think of parties, picnics and pic n'mix. This colour also harks bark to the days of wearing varnish that was clear enough to escape the beady eyes of a Mrs Trunchball-esque Deputy Head, who would dip you in polish remover as fast as you could say 'Boots'.

There you go - an awfully long post to talk about a seemingly trivial subject, but one that is actually a matter of fashion life or death. Take your nails seriously...or else!

GL

Have a look at all of Essie's amazing range here and buy it, well just about everywhere!

(Images: AllLaqueredUp.com, polishlounge.com, WAH, Katy Perry, Essie)

GFW Madness

A little sneak peak at the work of Rebecca Thomson, from Manchester University, who won the Gold Award at GFW last night. The collection was a mass of elegant, wearable neutrals that had a strong commercial feel. She looked seriously chuffed to be accepting the £20,000 prize which will hopefully give her a chance to begin her fashion design career.

It was an exciting evening, especially for a fashion newbie like me! More pics and stories to follow later today.

GL

Calling all Knit-Wits!

(A-MEH-ZIN)

I know plenty of my readers are fans of a novelty jumper or three. Fashion Editor at Large suggested I unleash this trend on the unsuspecting public this afternoon, so pop on your shades and prepare to be dazzled by general garishness of this post:

http://fashioneditoratlarge.blogspot.com/2010/06/novelty-knit-wits.html

There is also a little peek at Rankin's campaign for Graduate Fashion Week, including a shot of Sera Ulger's puffin jumper dress. I'm sorry, I'm not sure you got that - it's a PUFFIN on a DRESS.

Birds and fashion - doesn't get much better than that!!
What are you waiting for?

GL

A Tale of Three Tribes...and The RAGE Factor!

(JB, to his friends)

Yesterday the there were some very strange sights to behold in the city of London. It appeared that the youth of the UK had descended on our capital city, but certainly not en masse - there were three very different 'tribes' roaming the streets.

I present to you;

- The ASOS Summerball goers, also commonly known as teenyboppers. Commonly seen wearing anything from ASOS, with straightened hair, a cloud of Impulse body spray and a high temperature, attributable to Bieber Fever.

- The GFW contingent: a posse of svelte, stylish twenty somethings who were wearing anything that could be labelled 'edgy' 'uber trendy' or 'beyond fashionable'.

- The Rage Factor attendees: a swarm of slightly older, black t-shirt clad rockers, emanating a faint aroma of warm beer, weed, cigarettes and heavy anticipation (a.k.a my Dad's worst nightmare)

It was truly surreal to be on the Tube, surrounded by theses groups, who are, basically, each other's worst nightmares. I had the pleasure of sitting behind three borderline hysterical Bieberettes, who spent the entire journey from Sussex to London planning the best moments to screech their declarations of undying love in JB's direction (I can call him JB. I am down with the kids.)

He was playing at Wembley alongside JLS, Usher, Chery Kerl and Alexandra Burke for the Capital FM - is anyone else incapable of thinking of that station without saying it in the 'cap-it-al effff emmmm style they do on the jingle? - Summertime Ball. I don't know why it's called a ball, because it definitely isn't, it's a pop concert. Misleading. I do hope no one turned up in a prom dress.

My lovely Bieber obsessives were busy troweling on the slap on the train, getting ready to meet the man himself (and presumably to offer up their lives, virginities etc etc). They had drawn 'We <3>

Anyway my day continued with a trip to view the red hot talent on offer at Graduate Fashion Week, where there was a lot of amazing work on show, and cool people to chat to - more on that later. Personally I felt a little out of place in my rock groupie circa 1986 outfit, because yes, I was heading off to RATM straight away.

(Gogol Bordello warm up for Rage)

Finsbury Park really didn't know what had hit it yesterday when 40,000 rock fans descended. The pubs were packed, Tesco Express smelt like a nightclub toilet and Subway had run out of bread (great planning guys!). It was BRILLIANT walking into the site, because boom - I was in festival mode. Nothing existed outside of the park - everyone was so happy and excited to be there, the beer was flowing and the amount of junk food consumed doesn't bear thinking about.

There was some great alternative fashion on show, as well as the copious band t-shirts. I really wanted to snap this girl, but I had been staring at her so much I think she thought I was stalking her, so I only managed to get this picture:

(Cool Girl)
She had lots of black makeup on - black lips, eyeliner, eyebrows, which looked amazing with her white hair. Yeah, she is clashing and mismatching, yeah, she is wearing a La Senza nightshirt out, which I know because I do the same with the same shirt, and yeah, she is a bit of a mess. But I think she looks awesome.

It was so nice to be around a bunch of weirdos again. Bring on Reading 2010 :-)

PS The band were brilliantlyamazinglygreat, as always. Especially when they played out 'The Climb' before scratching it off and launching into 'Killing In the Name Of'.

That'll be you put back in your box then, Cowell.

GL

Bettie Page Hair and Katy Perry Lovin'

I really should just admit I am a saddo fan girl when it comes to Katy Perry. She never wears anything that is less than awesome - and the red carpet is the ideal showcase for her showgirl style. The reason I adore her is that unlike so many other slebs, she generally sticks to her own style rather than conforming to trends. She is kooky, unique and adorably up for making a prat of herself - this is the woman that has previously dressed as a watermelon, a strawberry and human sushi (complete with nigiri nails).

I am eagerly awaiting the video for her new single, 'California Girls' which is set to be a summer hit, in the way cheesy, ironic pop songs sound so much better when the sun is out. In the artwork she is sporting some gorgeous blue Bettie Page bangs - and although logic tells me such a hairstyle is unattainable, my heart makes me want to try.

**Oh to have a job where it doesn't matter what colour your hair is**

She rocked up to the MTV Movie Awards last night looking like Wonder Woman for the 21st Century, all sparkles, fierce yellow nails and the perfect blue hair. If only she and I were friends. That is one dressing up box I NEED to spend time with!

LOVE HER.

GL

(Image borrowed from the Daily Mail)

Beautiful Flowers for A Beautiful Lady...

Doesn't she look pretty as a picture? Gosh darn it I love flowers, especially the ones that don't cost a fortune from a florist, last forever and look great in your hair!


Silk roses, lilies and orchids have long been a mainstay of pin up gal hairstyles - they add the perfect finishing touch to any kind of retro 'do. They provide a soft, feminine touch to balance the strong lines of a Bettie Page 'bang' or a Dita-esque Forties wave. Summertime is the perfect opportunity to showcase your best blooms - somehow a vibrant lily jauntily tucked behind an ear works better when the sun is shining. Roses are are very glamourous evening look, especially in darker shades of ruby red, violet and sapphire. Most rockabilly girls are never seen without some sort of floral adornment - and I am sure even more will be looking to extend their bloom collections as exciting vintage events loom on the horizon.

It's not just retro divas who love a bit of blossom. The style seems to appeal to all the style tribes, because it works with pretty much any summer outfit. It is a very 'holiday' look, and I guarantee that a floral addition to your barnet will make you feel feminine and flirtatious - you can't be coy with a massive orchid on your head!


I have long been a fan of floral accessory experts Johnny Loves Rosie, who made their name back in the day when SJP style corsages were all the rage. They now have a flower for pretty much any occasion, in a range of gorgeous, vivid colours. They are relaunching their iconic red rose range for 2010, including the perfect rockabilly double bloom hair clip.

The range of roses includes a deep violet blue and fuchsia, which will be fun to clash with summer dresses or just to wear on the beach, with a retro bikini (Important note: never match your flower to your outfit unless you are trying to look like the mother of the bride!)
The Johnny Loves Rosie range is made from silk and all the pieces are pretty much perfect. It is
available here and in concessions across the land! However if you are looking for something a little more crazy, Ebay has a huge range of stores dedicated to retro accessories - when I need a blue Tiger Lily, or a ridiculously large orchid I turn to All The Cute Things. Her handmade pieces are to die for!

Go-on, add a little Hawaiian flower-power to a dull English summer.

GL

(Images: Jimmy Jeong, Johnny Loves Rosie, FlowerPinUps.com)

Ophelia Fancy...Naughty but very, very Nice!

Roll Up, Roll Up! Please let me introduce to you the magical wonderment that is lingerie brand Ophelia Fancy. A few of you will recall me raving about them over a year ago, when I interviewed founders Emma Sandham King and Stevi Jelbart for my lingerie fanzine Bombshell. Back then I met them in their Brighton studio (in a seriously grotty office block) where they create all manner of beautiful confections.

Emma
Stevi

These two lovely ladies have been friends since college, forming their business partnership shortly after graduating in 2005. An instant hit at Portobello market, the brand is now stocked in numerous luxury lingerie boutiques, including Coco de Mer and She Said. But anyway - enough of the boring business stats, what is important for you to know is that Ophelia Fancy are tirelessly devoted to producing collections that are a vision of vintage glamour, fun and creativity. To put it mildly - no-one does it better than these girls.

I have been following their progress intently since meeting them and hearing about their tireless work ethic - most of the pieces are produced by hand in the studio, they style all their own shoots from the OF dressing up box and design three collections a year, with limited runs of special edition pieces (sequinned spider Halloween nipple pasties, anyone?) Not forgetting their many bespoke commissions from burlesque performers and brides-to-be who are after a little 'pizazz'. (If I ever find anyone mental enough to marry me, I will be getting my showgirl on with a little help from these two ladies - for sure!) When they are not working themselves to the bone, Stevi and Emma are stalwarts of the Brighton events scene, always on hand to provide an element of ghoulish glamour - it's nice to see people who take dressing up very seriously....


Each of the collections is given a back story - their Ophelia Fancy alter ego lives out mad cap adventures involving the circus, caravan parks and of course, Brighton itself. The most recent, 'Queen of Hearts' launched last week and features an array of raspberry pink and ruby red silk creations, including a corset, ruff and frilled knickers set that is truly breathtaking. The red sequin heart fascinator, hand made by Emma, would take pride of place in any pin-up gal's wardrobe!


To buy Ophelia Fancy pieces (and why wouldn't you want to?) and to see more from these creative ladies, visit their website here. If you fancy buying your favourite blogger a pressie while you are there, Glitterbird will have one of everything please!

GL

(Images: Sam Horn, Ophelia Fancy, Garage Studios)