Juicy Couture Does Cupcakes

Today I spent my day preparing  for my birthday extravaganza. Involving me making 24 cupcakes (pics coming soon). I napkin folded, table prepared, piped frosting, and made goody bags all for the sake of my 20th. While I am waiting for the besties to arrive, I thought I would do some window shopping of the online sort. I decided to have a peek at ASOS as I haven't paid them a visit for a while.

As my eyes lingered over the snoods, jeggings and shoeboots I came across this beauty. It said Juicy Couture - £57.00 which I had to read thrice. I am not a huge fan of Juicy, I loved them when I was younger but it is another brand that have been sucked into the Kingdom of Chavdom. Along with Burberry, Playboy Merchandise and dare I say it Tiffany & Co. Although I still love Tiffany <3. So back to the necklace, it is divine but that's obvious as I love a bit of silver, pink and cake. So it's pefect. Hmmm... Christmas present me thinks so.

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Beijing: Where to shop

Going to Beijing, all the guidebooks urge visitors to shop at the markets, where stall after stall of vendors hawk camera batteries, fake designer bags, and gaudy cell phone accessories. To see the best of Chinese design, and find a few souvenirs actually worth carrying home, it's best to avoid those tourist traps.

The latest, brightest, and shiniest mall in Beijing is the Village at Sanlitun, which boasts an Apple Store, a Vero Moda, and a Uniqlo alongside Chinese brands such as b+ab, izzue, and G2000. Hidden in the basement, behind the cinema, is a sprawling design shop with housewares and T-shirts by local designers; while not named on the mall map, it's more than worth the trouble of finding it.

In the Gulou neighborhood, a pedestrian street called Nan Luo Gu Xiang has become a favorite of fashionable locals and expats alike, with its many bars and coffee shops, including the Pass By with its retro-Communist-style T-shirts. And don't forget the boutiques, with local brands such as NLGX and Plastered sandwiched between ironic, kitschy souvenir shops.

For Balenciaga and Alexander Wang, the place to go is Lane Crawford, which offers a concierge on every floor of their ultramodern department store, and plentiful shopgirls to assist in selecting items. They also stock Asian fashion designers such as Undercover, Commuun, and Toga whose wares are hard to find in the West.

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Beijing: Eating and drinking

There's really no comparison between Chinese food in the United States or Europe and Chinese food in China. One is typically cheap, greasy, uninventive, and sometimes bland; the other is a smorgasbord of different cuisines, from Uighur to Sichuan to Cantonese, with an astonishing range of flavors and textures. In Beijing, the ever-present street vendors hawk all sorts of stuffed pancakes, roasted vegetables and nuts, and sweet or savory pastries, all for under a dollar; while restaurants range from tiny local dives to ultra-fine dining, with minimalist décor and maximalist prices, attentive waitstaff and jewel-like confections served in course after course. Beer is the usual drink with dinner, often Tsingtao or Nanjing.

The types of tea are innumerable; it's worth stopping by a tea shop to marvel at their selection, and possibly to buy gifts to bring home. In hipper neighborhoods, the abundant cafés offer bubble tea, along with wi-fi, espresso drinks, and a comfy couch for students or freelancers to lounge with their laptops. Unlike street vendors, brick-and-mortar establishments tend to charge something closer to Western prices; and Western chains, which include Starbucks and Coldstone Creamery, seem to charge about as much as back home.

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Beijing: Architecture

After the blanket-thick smog, the second most striking thing about Beijing is the contrast between old and new. Construction sites are everywhere, and most of the city's old courtyard buildings, or hutongs, have been torn down to make way for mammoth, gleaming buildings that hardly even qualify as skyscrapers, since they're often as wide as they are tall. Many, if not most, of these structures house shopping malls, which provide an air-conditioned respite from the grimy air outside.

The remaining hutongs radiate out from the Forbidden City, and while some have been remodeled and gone upscale, in most of them life looks much as it has for ages: laundry hung out to dry, songbirds singing in their cages, old men playing games on folding tables, deliverymen on bicycles hawking handmade brooms and coal for fireplaces.

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'Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels' - Erm, What About Cupcakes?

Kate Moss does make me laugh. The quote, oh Kate. We live in a politically correct, hypochondriac society. So the quote wasn't such a food idea. But as per it was taking out of context and if they published the rest of the article which included lil things such as jam making there would not be a furore. But the media love blowing things out of proportion. Hold on - As I am studying to be a Fashion Journalist does this include me? No. Anyway, they always look for excuses to blame the Fashion Industry and models for eating disorders and the cliched 'size zero' debate. I don't agree with what Kate said, particularly as she is a role model and a source of 'thinspiration' for many. But give her a break, she said one thing and this does not mean that she is now advocating eating disorders and body dysmorphia.

Which all made me think about how much I love cupcakes. I am snowed under with work from uni, I'm writing an investigative piece called 'Crudites to Cupcakes'. (Sorry about missing accents my MAC is not functioning today.) The piece is about the cupcake phenomena and if it has led to women turning their backs on diets. There's also discussion about women's relationship with food, and craving sweet treats. I had to do a photoshoot with the help of my BFF's who modelled : ). So for this one assignment I have been photographer, stylist, journalist and graphic designer. How I love being a fashion student. But it was great fun as me and the BFF's did all of our shoots in a couple of hours plus fitting in jacket potatoes and House Bunny...again. So I thought I'd post some the pictures from the shoot I took which were from M&S. They looked good, taste not so much...

Photographer: Me

Models: BFF's

Cupcakes: M&S

Please do not copy these images, or any images taken by me on this site without permission

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And I go Back to Black...

I am partial to having a bit of black in the wardrobe as soon as it hits October. I really like black clothes, there timeless, classic and if the right pieces are worn quite elegant. You can't go wrong with black, hence why every girl has an LBD, black boots, black coat and black gloves. Now I just used the word 'hence' I just remembered one of my favourite House Bunny clips. Which I can't find on You Tube but thought I'd post this even funnier clip. Before I get to the actual post.

Me and my friends think that clip is hilarious... how embarrassing if no-one else does. Oh well, on to fashion. These are my 3 favourite, black winter wardrobe pieces for A/W 09.

Betty Jackson Black: The Mother persuaded to go to a special Debenhams cardholders late night extravaganza. Why do Debenhams always have sales, and extravaganzas? I do worry. So I thought I would be sitting down for hours on end with the throngs of rejected and deflated boyfriends and husbands. As Debenhams is not my favourite place on Oxford Street especially as Selfridges is just a pretty skip away. But I persevered and found this gem of a cape. It was in the Betty Jackson diffusion line for 'Designers at Debenhams'. It is cosy and warm, and looks great with jeggings, black trousers and black leggings. <3. £95 or £90 me thinks. We shall see when the statement comes...sigh.

New Look: I have been looking for Thigh High boots since last Winter, and had failed dismally until now. I didn't want OTK boots as I already had some brown ones plus I wanted them HIGH a la Pretty Woman. Minus the whole prostitute thing. I saw these in New Look ages ago and though no I shall wait until I see some leather ones. Since then I have tried on approximately 20 pairs all the way from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch (whilst avoiding Primark at all costs.) I saw some amazing ones in Topshop and Office and Russell & Bromley but they were either too plastic, too leathery, not high enough or the wrong heel height. Then I went to New Look today and voila my boots were back. They are perfect, I  doubt very much that they are even real suede but I don't mind seeing as I will probably be bored of them in about a fortnight. January at the latest. Plus they're £40. Plus student discount = £36.40.  OMG! <3 And they look less slutty as they're a bit slouchy.

Zara: Every girl needs a pair of long, black, leather gloves. I found these in Zara after searching yet again for what seemed liked years (in reality about an hour). They look great with my cape and my fur cape. They complement a vintage look perfectly and is a match made in fashion heaven for my lil vintage brown mock-croc bag. £29.

<3

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Lip Smackers - The Review

A couple of posts back (scroll down) I mentioned my delight at having seen the Lip Smackers Flavours or as they call it 'Flavors' range in Claire's Accessories. So I bought them today, I bought the multipack which includes the Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Vanilla, Fanta Orange and Sprite Lip balms. I really do love a gimmick, and a lip balm.

All in all, they smelt enough like the real drinks. It was not like opening a can of coke, but near enough, plus it's a lip balm.

Coca-Cola: It smelt fizzy. Fizzy is not a scent I know, but some things really do smell fizzy. Reminiscent of cola bottles from the sweety shop, not the haribo kind but the ones with the sour/fizzy coating. Delicious. Feels good on the lips, has the right consistency and is not sticky, doesn't leave a colour. I am sure I felt a little tingle hmm probably the fizz again.

Sprite: Homemade Lemonade on a Summer's day... In reality, Still Lemonade from M&S. I see what they did with the whole lemon and lime flavour here. Is it just me, but I really can't taste lemon and limes in Sprite or 7-Up. It's just fizzy. The F-word pops up yet again, I should have called this post Fizzy. The lip balm has a slight tint, quite matte. Would look good over a sparkly lip gloss to tone it down or a lipstick.

Fanta Orange: Have you noticed that nobody eats the orange flavoured sweets in the packet? One they never taste like orange, it is always that synthetic, Sunny D-esque taste. Which oranges do not taste like. I always leave the orange ones in a packet of starbusts... or as I like to call them... Opal Fruits (Eww that really shows my age, 20 next week...sigh, bring on the anti-wrinkle cream). But, yes it smells like all of the aforementioned which is exactly how Fanta tastes and I quite like Fanta, strangely enough.

Coca-ColaVanilla: How I miss this... I loved this drink. Yum. I am in major craving overload. I shall have to google it very soon, 'Coca-Cola Vanilla: UK stockists.' Which I seem to be googling with everything these days as England seems to be on the bottom of the list for distribution of yummy goods. This is my favourite balm it smells oh so sweet, and vanillary and cola-ish. It is delicious. I am sad to say that I was bitterly disappointed after licking my lips ferociously all day the taste wasn't as satisfying as the drink, but close enough.

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Daul Kim: Rest In Peace

The fashion world is mourning the death of Daul Kim. She was recently seen at the Christopher Kane for Topshop collection and has walked for Chanel and Dries Van Noten. Daul was only 20 years old and will be a great loss to the fashion industry. My thoughts are with her family and friends <3.

Photos: www.models.com

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What is fashion?

 Fashion... a word that has so many connotations. It is often belittled and put into a box along with other things that are not seen as intelligent or worthy enough for people to care about. Fashion is not about clothes, clothes are functional, they keep you warm, they keep you cool, they keep you covered in a society that dictates that you need to wear clothes. Fashion goes beyond that. Fashion is communication, fashion is expressing yourself, showing your identity and being you. Fashion is an art and should be seen as such. Designers are artists and their creations should be respected in the same way that paintings are. Fashions transcend time. Postmodernism might dictate that nothing is new and fashion is often criticised for having the same trends. Everything you create is inspired by something, something you might have seen, heard, read or touched this gives that creation another dimension. Using the past as an inspiration and starting point to create something new should be celebrated. Fashion is all around us and most importantly it gives you the opportunity to show off who you are. 

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Lip Smacker & Swizzels Matlow Lip Balm

During a late night shopping spree with The Mother, I decided to have a little look in Claire's Accessories. Why am I in a pre-pubescent shop you ask? Well, I was on the lookout for things to put in my goody bags for my birthday sleepover, and thought I'd have a little peep in Claire's. After much looking and The Mother complaining I saw something that my eyes cherished... Lip Balm. I am a sucker for flavoured lip balms, the crazier the flavours the better. So to my utter joy and delight I saw a range of Lip Smackers flavours and Swizzels Matlow. The Lip Smackers range included coca-cola, coca-cola vanilla (THE best coke flavour EVER, bring it back! or is it still here?), Sprite and I think M&M's as well, basically well known flavours, they come separately or in multi-packs so i will be purchasing one very soon eeep! Obviously they have a much wider range in America, if you find yourself over there.

The Swizzels Matlow flavours (They made Refreshers, Drumsticks, Rainbow Drops, all the childhood faves) they also have lip balms! I saw a Lolly one, Refreshers and Rainbow Drops. How amazing is this your favourite sweets, drinks and treats on your lips (minus the calories) but I would literally be licking my lips all day everyday.

Well when I decide which flavours I want I shall let you know if they were any good, after all the hype I've given them.

Photos: Wiki 

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For the people, by... Adidas? The €1 shoe.

Having already pioneered the simplified 7-piece sneaker for their edgy eco-spin-off, SLVR, Adidas would seem like an excellent candidate to make the $100 computer of footwear: the €1 shoe. Toms Shoes are currently at the forefront of ethical footwear; but fresh off last year's scandal over underpaid workers at its Chinese factories, Adidas is looking to rehabilitate its image, and a charity shoe project could be just the thing.

Based in Bangladesh, the project would benefit that nation's poor by creating new jobs, as well as a product people just might be able to afford. Adidas would keep prices down by selling the shoe at cost, but no promises on the price just yet: €1 is "more of a concept," according to the company, and could change as the project develops. Following hot on the heels of the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, this shoe seems to be the latest in a string of products targeted at third-world consumers. Slightly more expensive than the free shoes being given away by Toms, it does give the world's poor one more option for protecting their feet.

At least, as long as they have the equivalent of $1.48 to spend: as of 2005, 880 million people were still living on less than $1 a day, and 80% of the world's population was living on less than $10 a day. On those budgets, free is still sounding pretty darn good.

Cream via PSFK

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MBF exclusive: S/S 2010 runway report out now!

As promised, here's a preview of MBF's exclusive look at the Spring 2010 runway shows in New York, London, Milan, and Paris. We've broken it down for you by theme and specifics, so if you were wondering which colors, silhouettes, fabrics, prints, or embellishments are going to be big this season... look no further!

The full report is available for $300 as a high-res PDF; email news@mbf-trend-consulting.com to place an order.

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Fashion goes digital with an LED gown

As a lower-powered alternative to conventional lightbulbs, LEDs have lately emerged from the stuff of blinking signs into many aspects of our daily lives. Times Square and Las Vegas are already famous for their flashing, colorful LED billboards, but lately we’ve been noticing a few NYC buses and subway entrances festooned with LED advertisements. As fashion channels developments in the world around us, it is no surprise that designers have been adapting this technology into their collections.

Hussein Chalayan tried it first, creating seemingly magical LED-lit dresses for his fall 2007 collection, and now, the Galaxy Dress, a new project from London-based smart textile company CuteCircuit, sparkles with more than 24,000 LEDs and 4,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals. Its circuitry is hand embroidered on a layer of silk, creating a soft, fluid fabric. Although this dress is lightweight, ironically, the heaviest part is not the lights, but rather the 40-layer pleated silk organza crinoline.

The Galaxy Dress is still in its prototype stages, but demonstrates how clothing can create new forms of communication as technology pushes fashion into unmarked territories. Although it may not yet seem realistic to wear LED lit shirts or dresses as an everyday look, current developments like headphone wiring in snowboard jackets and solar-paneled laptop bags might have seemed crazy a few years ago, too!

via: Ecouterre

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Victoria Beckham & Harper's Bazaar

I love VB. She is one of my idols. I love The Spice Girls. I love her style. My friends think I am obsessed with her, I am not I just love her. Wow, that whole sentence completely contradicted my last statement but whatever I just like her, most people don't but I do. So imagine my joy when I popped into M&S and saw her gracing the cover of Harper's. As a true fan and magazine-a-holic I really should have known this...but I didn't which made the surprise even better. Unfortunately, I left it at BFF's house so I haven't read the article...sigh. But I took pictures of the shoot, which is one of my favourites from Harper's this year. Yes I am biased because it's of VB but I love the imagery and inspiration behind the shoot. It's quite dark, sexy and moody which really suits her and I love the lingerie and hoisery in the shoot. These pictures may be making an appearance a white wall in my bedroom very soon....

Victoria's Secret

Harper's Bazaar

Photo: Harper's Bazaar, UK

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Jimmy Choo for H&M Pre-Launch

Just got home from the Jimmy Choo for H&M launch. Amazing, amazing, amazing.

Firstly the event started at 6:30pm and we got there around 5:10. The queue was already quite long, but a lot of people were just queuing because there was a queue and they didn't have tickets.

The doors opened, and at first there wasn't that much of a rush, on the way to the collection we did catch a glimpse of Nicola from Girls Aloud. The collection was quite big and the rush hadn't started yet...

But there was downstairs, everyone was civilised probably due to the flowing champagne and canapes which were yummy ( especially the macaroons). Everyone had piles of boxes and shoes in their hands and lots of handbags. The clothes in the collection were very popular. I think the most popular things we saw being bought were the zebra print bags, pink capsule clutch and the sequin dress. I didn't see many people with the over the knee boots so maybe they weren't very comfy. So Must Haves to pick up tomorrow are the jumpsuit which fits really well, I got one. The bracelets are very good quality and are only 19.99 or 24.99 which is very good. BFF got the leather black coin purse which is a steal at 17.99, the leopard print scarf is also cute. Shoe-wise, the patent strappy heels were gorgeous as were the zebra print ones. The bags were everywhere, the zebra oversized clutch was on everyones arms as were the black leather totes. All in all a very very good night of shopping, people watching and champagne. Enjoy the mayhem from the comfort of your seat below:

(The bracelet we got in the goody bag : )

Me and BFF with our purchases.

Good Luck tomorrow if you dare brave it!

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