THINGS GET FOREVER BETTER

Hey everyone, I'm a featured blogger for Miele's ForeverBetter. The whole interview is featured below. Many thanks to Lauren for the interview!

In our latest installment from ‘You and Miele’, Vivian from Lola Re talks about why garment care is so important to her, and what we should all be wearing this summer. USA football kits anyone?

1. If Lola Re were a book, what would the blurb on the back of it say?

If you asked Lola Re her interests, she’d say ‘Cultural revolution, fashion, forward thinking and my hair - but not neccesarily in that order.’ Her blog reflects that; it’s a unique mix of musical refererences, profiles of emerging young fashion designers, daily style photos, and skin & haircare product reviews. She’d say it’s a work in fashion progress.

2. Aside from fashion and beauty, what other passions / interests do you have?

Dancing, holistic health & independent film. I also love camper vans, tea and my family.

3. How important is garment care to you? Do you have favourite items that require special care?

That’s a great question and one I think should be focused on more by young fashionistas. If you’re going to build up a collection of unique and significant pieces, then you should take proper care of them! Ironing is a good start… Miele makes a Rotary Ironer that is incredible. You sit down at it and feed your clothes through, and it has multiple settings and a little arm that swings out to hold the items you’ve just ironed without creasing them. It’s brilliant!

4. We noticed you’ve been getting involved in the World Cup festivities. So, who’s going to win it?

I am probably the least qualified person to say! I do however wish I could meet whoever designed the USA’s team uniforms. How dashing is the white sash detailing across the front?! It makes the players look like princes.

5. We at Forever Better could do with some fashion pointers… What sort of clothes and accessories should we be adorning ourselves with this summer?

I am currently infatuated with chunky wooden heels and clog sandals. Now, these can be quite tricky to style into an outfit, so I’d recommend an open toe design and tousled, windswept summer hair to balance out the bulk of the shoe. I like the ones I stole from my sister.

I think one of the bright crocheted dresses from Jasper Garvida’s S/S 10 collection would look incredible with chunky wooden clogs and a brown leather bag on a Saturday afternoon in some London market… Dreamy.

6. You graced our presence at last year’s Jasper Garvida catwalk show. What kind of events would you like to see us run in the future, for Fashionistas like yourself?

I loved attending the Sparks Miele charity fashion show last fall. I realised that we fashion bloggers can use our newfound influence to help causes. Let’s get everyone in a room, throw a fashion show, raise some money and maybe even donate some clothing. We could call it Charity Shop 2.0. That would be so much fun!

Thanks Vivian. Head over to Lola Re to see all of her latest outfits and find out more about Lola Re.

QUELQU'UN M'A DIT QUE TU M'AIMAIS ENCORE

A song I've been listening to today.

[Song: 'Quelq'un M'a Dit' by Carla Bruni]

I KNOW MY CHICKEN. YOU GOT TO KNOW YOUR CHICKEN.

I met Maria Allen at Brighton Fashion Week when I visited her stand, and I was very excited by what I saw. When I first started chatting with her, I thought she must be the designer's assistant because she was so young. Not at all - the work is all hers. The pieces are affordable, wearable, and quirky, like the necklace that says 'Oui' on one side and 'Non' on the other. Sweet!

Here's a pic of one of the necklaces I picked up; click the thumbnails below to see what's on my wishlist! And for more info on this designer's work, visit mariaallen.bigcartel.com

[This post's title combines the lyrics of a Cibo Matto song from their 1996 album Viva! La Woman. The songs is called 'Know Your Chicken']

[FTC: I bought my handcuff necklace with my own money, and have no business affiliation with Maria Allen]

[Photos: From mariaallen.bigcartel.com]

THIS IS NOT THE REHEARSAL

Last Thursday the lovely Yolande Letshou invited me to a fashion event organised by La Geneve North. It was a showcase of four up-and-coming fashion designers: Kerry Knowles, Chantal Gibbs-Jones, Leeanne-Ripley Garret, and Rae-Emily Smith. I've included short descriptions of what I saw, but I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Chantal Gibbs-Jones' collection 'All About the Cupcake' Was full of flirty pieces with unexpected Elizabethan flourishes like a ruff necks and solid pleating peeking out from 50s hemlines.

Leeanne-Ripley Garret had a fantastic collection of structural pieces inspired by the contrast of deep symbolic meaning and Disney-like fantasy (you should have heard the music!). It was outrageous and very striking.

I didn't know what to expect, when I heard that the next designer's collection was all lingerie, but these pieces by Rae-Emily Smith were divine. I loved the colours and I'd wear any of these.

Kerry Knowles' 'Permutation' showcased androgynous pieces that could be worn by men or women.

Then, my good friend Maria (pictured in the 1st photo) and I went backstage to speak with the creative forces behind the event, including makeup artist Anna Orkiszewska.

MANY thanks to Yolande Letshou for the invitation, and also to Maria Ling for the stunning photographs she took for the blog. Keep a look out for these four designers -- you never know where you'll see them next.

AFTER THE DOORS OF MANY STRANGE ROOMS HAVE BEEN BOLTED AND LOCKED - WHEN YOU COME BACK DRAGGING YOUR DAY DREAMS BEHIND YOU - I'LL GIVE YOU A NEW SHINY FACE.

oversized shirtdress - unknown shop in camden

handcuffs necklace - mariaalen.bigcartel.com (met at brighton fashion week)

platform wedges - stolen from sister

[This post's title comes from the lyrics from 'A Child's Guide to Good and Evil' by the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band]

HAS YOUR FAMILY TRIED THE POWDERED MILK?

dress & belt - a cool stand in camden town
shoes - aldo
earrings - mariaalen.bigcartel.com (met at brighton fashion week)

[This post's title comes from a recurring song on one of the best and longest running shows in radio, A Prairie Home Companion on National Public Radio (NPR) in the USA. The song is a jingle for Powdermilk Biscuits, which "give shy persons the strength to get up and do what needs to be done. Heavens they're tasty and expeditious!"

And the whole song goes:

"Have your family tried the powdered milk?

have your family tried that powdered milk?

Well, if your family's tried 'em

You know it satisfied 'em,

They're a real hot item, powdered milk!"

Sweet :o) ]

PUSH THE ENVELOPE, WILD CHILD. C'MON! I KNOW YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE DIVINE.

I noticed this weekend that most photography sets are basically a random room with a green screen or draped backdrop. That could be anywhere, really... that could be.... my bedroom... So welcome to my new photography set.

dress - thrifted
cropped jacket - bik bok
necklace - miss selfridge
shoes - aldo

It's not perfect but I think it's the best I've done so far, and it's cool to have all your pieces there and be able to pull things in and out on the spot and play music! Delicious.

[Post's title comes from the song 'Push the Envelope' by Danish group the Asteroids Galaxy Tour, in their 2009 album Fruit]

THE ISLE IS FULL OF NOISES. SOUND AND SWEET AIRS THAT GIVE DELIGHT AND HURT NOT. SOMETIMES A THOUSAND TWANGLING INSTRUMENTS WILL HUM ABOUT MINE EARS, AND SOMETIMES...THE CLOUDS METHOUGHT WOULD OPEN AND SHOW RICHES READY TO DROP UPON ME, THAT WHEN I WAKED - I CRIED TO DREAM AGAIN.

On Saturday, I moseyed on down to lovely Brighton

for Brighton Fashion Week

It was covered by the BBC, and the shows were extraordinary, but what I really enjoyed most was speaking to individual designers who were dotted beside the catwalk, with wares to sell and stories to share. Here are some hilights of the folks I spoke to:

I really liked the designs of Ness Newman, who described her style as 'Pinup Cowgirl.' Lovely.

I also spoke to Liam from Vintage-Reclaimed.com.

He's based in Nottingham and makes really cool jewellry by combining unusual finds. Take this little beaut, for example:

Had my makeup done by freelance artist Henrietta, from Henessy85.blogspot.com:

My favourite designer of the day by far, was Maria Allen, who sells her designs at mariaallen.bigcartel.com. She calls her work 'a mixture of pretty and random' - I think I'll show you what I bought separately, but here's the table, woo!

Then, it was off to the restroom to take akward photos of my outfit. Here goes:

floor length skirt: thrifted, laura ashley

black tank top: h&m
white crop top: topshop unique
cardigan: h&m

necklace: gifted

customised earrings: gifted

And theeeeeeeeen, after all my hard work, I did the same as these guys -

I went to the pub, had a pint, ate a pie and watched the England vs America World Cup match. A draw! Sounds good to me!

[This post's title is a quote from Caliban, in the play The Tempest by Shakespeare]