New and Exciting.

So I've been away for a very long time now. I know that it isn't entirely professional from a bloggers perspective: believe me, I have cursed my favourite bloggers who have taken breaks. I actually finished all of University about 10 days ago or so and I've found it incredibly difficult adjusting from working constantly to having absolutely nothing to do. Finishing Uni was all very anti-climatic. It didn't even end with an all-nighter completing my final essays: they were completed the night before. And then I handed them in the essay box and there you go... you face the brink of the unknown. What now? I can't even go out tonight because nobody else had really finished!! I just felt a bit deflated.

Apart from going to the gym and trying to losing the weight I had previously lost from all my healthy eating and hard gym sessions (dear god I'm telling you nothing is less motivational than trying to get back to the shape you were again!), I have spent most of my time pacing the house like a little tiger trapped in a zoo with lots of new creative thoughts about life and life plans.

I've been itching to get back into the blogging loop. I'm not one who is content with chilling and relaxing, I need something to do all the time and keep me focused, entertained, and challenged.

But my set back with blogging has been organising the exciting new change my blog is having.

I know I changed a few things relatively recently but this time something bigger is happening.
Days spent in the library studying fashion blogs and blogging for my dissertation created some crazy inspirational brain waves that pointed me in a new direction. A restyle under a completely different name and URL will see my blog having a bit of a different edge. Something sleeker.

Content wise, I'm going to be including about three outfit posts a week. And this past month of being sat at a computer has resulted in MANY internet purchases that I have been so excited to share with you.

I'll also be adding extra things each week, just to give a little more depth to the blog. Make it all a little more multidimensional!


So there you have it! I hope you are as excited as I am about all of the new changes.

I really hope you like what's coming...



Sophie x

Back Soon

No I haven't caught unsuccessful syndrome and quit blogging.

OH THANK GOD I hear your brains collectively sigh in relief.

My blog has been thrown to the back burner for a while whilst I face death by dissertation and other university deadlines.

It's my final term at Uni and for now I'm focusing all of my energy into my work to pull my grade up as high as I can. As of the 14th May I will be free of University and face the brink of the real world so my blogging and writing will finally get all the attention they deserve! I can't wait to get back into the blogging loop.

I have even been struggling to find the time to go to the gym which means with all of this work anchoring me to my student-house work-station I am slowly turning back into the vile troll I once was (I'm talking countless takeaway boxes, dry-eyes glued to laptop screens, gel manicures grown half-way up my real nails, endless half-drunk tea and coffee cups, a serious lack of makeup and tan, a lazy study-wardrobe consisting only of numerous boyfriend hoodies, and absolutely no recollection of the last time I showered).

There is nothing stylish about the accumulation of bin-juice and stress wrinkles.

Keep leaving me your blog links or tweeting them to me because I'd love a bit of a distraction before I go insane and start thinking that Ugg boots are now fashionable enough to wear in public and should not only be confined to the deep dark pits of a student house.

Sophie x

Fur Faux Pas?

I'm stepping away from my usual light-hearted, ironic, sarcastic, materialistic and oh so slightly vain personal style posts to write about something with a little more significance to the larger Fashion Industry. After looking at reports from last month's Fashion Weeks', I tweeted my concerns about the amount of fur designs showcased on the catwalks and what this means for the industry. I think I got about one retweet so I assumed that my concerns were not particularly shared. That, or everybody that follows me actually really just hates animals. This weeks Grazia unearthed this issue for me with their article 'Would We Still Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur?' on how the fur industry has managed to claw its way back into the fashion industry despite the work of organisations such as PETA, celebrity campaigners and anti-fur designers. Has fashion culture and society really changed from the 90s when anti-fur campaigns were so prevalent? Is real fur no longer a taboo subject? 

 (images from Fur Insider)

I love animals. My idea of a perfect date is being taken to the zoo (not that I have high expectations or anything…). So I find it hard to fathom how people can enjoy wearing something that was brutally killed for it’s pelt.  

Now I can hear you all thinking 'Do you eat meat?' and I'm sure this is bound to spark comments condemning me as a hypocrite but I'm going to be honest and confess that yes I do. Do I feel bad about it? A little. But meat has been part of our diet since we were grubby little Neanderthals and protein is essential. I know there are alternatives because like most animal-loving girls I had a stint at vegetarianism but after a year the bacon got the best of me when my doctor recommended I should start eating meat again. I’ll only eat welfare-approved meat now.

            I know this now opens me up to criticisms that fur has always been used to keep humans warm against the weather and lets face it, a fur coat would seem far more practical than my Topshop Mac and Asos Snood in these Baltic condition we’ve endured lately, but we've come a long way since we had no options but to skin a bear to make our knickers. In today’s industry it seems that the only reasons fur is fashionable is because of vanity rather than practicality. Why are we reverting to more primitive times when there are so many alternatives? 

Okay, so if you are about to throw a shoe at your screen screaming ‘what about leather? Your shoes are made of animal skin!’ then let me stop you before you cause any damage to that computer screen. Most leather is a by-product of the meat industry and would just be wasted if not used for fashion. I never intentionally buy leather products. In fact, my inner bargain-hunter rejoices when something I like is faux-leather because that means it’s cheaper and I have more money to buy that cute bag to match my new leatherette shoes. It’s a win win. If fur was a by-product of the meat industry too I might not have an issue with throwing my fox stole around my neck because I turned him into a damn tasty pie for dinner last night. But that’s hardly the case.

(image Jeila Farzaneh)

The fur industry has been given a makeover. Marketing strategies are promoting the grand oxymoron of ‘ethical fur’ with talks of ‘humane farming’ and ‘strict regulations’. Marketers seek to align themselves with same anti-fur campaigners who hate fur and promote real fur as a ‘green alternative’ to synthetic versions that are difficult to dispose of and environmentally harmful to produce. Yeah I can kind of see that…
So wait, killing an animal to wear its fur is ethical now?
Wow. These marketers probably need a pay rise. Very clever.
It seems that they are just promoting an excuse to mask the vanity of farmed-fur consumers and condone their love of a luxury product that is usually seen as a taboo.

Vintage Fur. There is a very fine and blurry line of what is acceptable when vintage fur is added to the equation. Is it okay to buy and wear fur if it is vintage? As Karen Kay wrote in her Grazia article, many people opt for vintage fur because soothes their conscience a bit and you get the whole ‘but it was already dead anyway’ reaction. Besides, there's something a bit special about vintage garments. I can sympathise with this to an extent and it seems a waste to throw out something of such worth but with a 30% increase in fur sales between 2010-2011 I cant help but wonder if this is because of the acceptance of ‘already dead anyway’ vintage furs. Has this led to fur being generally more accepted within fashion culture? Is it not just promoting and condoning the production of new fur? 'But it's vintage darling'.... 

(image We Heart Vintage)

But I just don't care...

But it's not all about our love affair with vintage. Fashion is always changing and fur garments are wanted in the hottest new styles. Clearly that requires new fur production. This could then easily lead to people seeking out cheap alternatives from Chinese fur traders. I’m quite sure everyone has seen the notorious PETA adverts. How about the videos on the Chinese fur trade? Yes, the one where the dog gets skinned alive and he's blinking at the camera all like 'hey wheres my skin gone'. Now I’m fully aware PETA use severe shock tactics and provocative campaigns to get their opinions across and their PR team probably deserve a high-five just as big as the Fur Marketers for all their hard and successful work, but this does not mean there is no truth to the videos and this love affair with luxury and glamorous fur could create a larger demand and more animals will be cruelly captured, beaten, crammed in tight pens, killed or skinned alive for their pelts.

 (image upi.com)

I’m going to stop there before this begins to sound like a post sponsored by PETA as part of a more subtle anti-fur campaign. Remember that episode of Friends when Phoebe gets that fur coat? And she ends up loving it? I know I can’t relate to those who may have inherited furs and faced their own issues of what to do with it. Fur WAS a sign of luxury and class but that was in a time where the class system was far more relevant. Does the fashion industry really even need fur? If you like wearing real fur then good for you. If everyone shared my opinion I would get bored of talking to people. Personally, I can’t see myself ever wearing real fur. I just love animals too much. In fact, I feel a little bit uncomfortable when I touch real fur that isn’t on the back of a living animal. You know, that kind of uncomfortable feeling you get when somebody with breathing issues and serious B.O sits next to you on the train or when you accidentally receive a dirty message or snapchat from your best mate that was meant for their boyfriend. It just feels wrong. 

I'd really love to know you'r opinions regardless of where you stand. Is fur really worth all the controversy? 
Here's a picture of my cat to stare at whilst you think.

Tomato Red

Topshop Jacket

Zara Trousers

Topshop Top

Primark Heels

River Island Beanie

I know these trousers are a little old now but I still think they're beautiful. There's something about Zara clothes that seem so effortless, elegant and timeless. If I had bought these trousers from another high-street or online store there'd be something just a little bit too Cher Lloyd about it all... 

I usually pair these with muted tones like greys and blacks, but I thought with it being Spring to add a burst of colour with bright Tomato Red. 

Just about to do a very naughty little ASOS buy... so expect more outfit posts early next week!

Sophie x

Primarks High Summer Hits

Monday is usually the day we wake up and think "I hate Mondays". I'm pretty sure there have been t-shirts sold in high-street shops that have "I hate Mondays" emblazoned on them,  and if having a statement written on a T-shirt doesn't make something true then I don't know what to believe anymore.

But this Monday the sun was shining, I did well in an assignment, got my press pass for High Street Fashion Week and Look Magazine have featured Primark's High Summer collection on their website.

You can check out the full collection here but I've picked out a few that I will definitely be putting in my big blue basket in the next few weeks... No surprises at my first choice...

Levi's

Vintage Levi 501s

Topshop Jacket

Topshop Crop Top

Zara Clutch

Primark Sandals

So right, there was this one time in school (well, college) when I probably went about two years without wearing jeans. 

'I don't do jeans' 

It was all about skirts, pretty florals and chiffons with roughed up leathers, and a little bit of granny chic here and there. Jeans just didn't make the cut. They were just boring.

Maybe it was just down to the poor selection available?

Your average skinny jeans in about 5 different denim washes: it's enough to make your eyes glaze over. But the recent re-invention of the 90s denim love affair has seen high-street shops and designer runways overflowing with denim designs. 

As one lovely reader wrote about my last outfit post, my look was a combination of 'grunge meets glam' and I think that whole concept has really stuck in my head. The leopard Zara clutch adds a bit of girly glamour to the outfit that my friends originally described as 'butch 90's feminist'

Thanks girls!

I know I've complained before about how laborious I find vintage/charity shopping, but when you find something special you know it's worth it. 501s are such a classic and although they are the first pair of jeans I've worn since I was 14 that aren't completely skintight, I think I'm going to be living in them with crop tops this upcoming season. And if you can't be bothered to track down a pair for cheap in a charity shop, just head to Urban Outfitters renewal section for a slightly pricier yet probably finer selection. 

Once again, if you really love what you see and read here, nominating me for Company magazine's 'best personal style newcomer blog' award would be real sweet of you. Just click the badge in the top right on my blog to go through to Company's website!

Sophie x

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Crop Tops in Winter

Topshop Joni Jeans

Topshop Crop Top

Topshop Jacket

Primark Heels 

River Island Beanie

Topshop Clutch

Crop Tops in Winter. Choosing to wear one is probably as ridiculous as stores stocking them in months when you rarely venture outside of your onesie. 

But today I wore one anyway. 

Crop tops in winter are just like the heavy hoopskirts of the 17th century and hairline plucking in the 16th century: it's no pain no gain.

Or maybe I'm just a bit delirious from the cold...

I know this outfit is very very Topshop Heavy but I did warn you a few weeks ago how I had a little bit of a spree when I was in London! As much as I love Topshop's Joni Jeans (who couldn't love a denim version of disco pants? who???) they're doing a pretty good job of highlighting how short I am here... 

Also if you haven't already nominated somebody and you enjoy my words/clothes/face then please nominate me for Best Personal Style Newcomer Blog Award by clicking here or the on the image below!