What's Portabello with no Tanique?

It was a bright Saturday morning, and I had no clue what to do or where to go. Since Fiona is arriving here shortly, I thought I'd leave all the festive stuff til she's here. I decided to head to Portabello road.

I've never been there on a Saturday..
Let's take a stroll through what was going on in my head..

Well holy god (as Fiona would put it)...I've never seen so many tourists clustered in one little road. Cameras were snapping at anything and everything. I'm speaking here as if I'm a local.. I should shut up.
I feel a bit claustrophobic walking through the market. When is this road ending!!? Where are my lovely market finds?!
Ooh, hummingbird bakery! Will I get a red velvet cupcake? Em, no, the line is too effing long.
At last, I see clothes and accessories. I finally belong.

And then, I saw this stall from a far.. Massive ruffles, fringed trims, asymmetrical sleeves on boyfriend jackets, more denim and leather ruffles, jersey strings a la necklush style.

My heart skipped a beat and I hopped my way over to the lovely Tanique Coburn, an independant self taught fashion designer/stylist originally from Jamaica. Here are some snaps at some of her work.

All of her pieces are one of a kind, as she recycles old fabrics and material to create her garments. I fell in love with two pieces in particular, the navy ruffles jacket with black fringed trim, and the grey boyfriend blazer with an asymmetrical ruched sleeve. I still can't believe that she is self taught, and she's oh-so-lovely. Here are more photos of Tanique and I modelling some of her pieces..

For more information, email Tanique at tanique_coburn@hotmail.co.uk . As for me, I will love and cherish my grey Tanique boyfriend blazer forever. Thanks Tanique!

xx-LJ

The comfort zone..

I thought my Melissa shoes were the comfiest shoes I've ever owned. OK, I'm exaggerating a bit..The most comfy shoes that look nice.

WRONG.

As much as I love my Melissa's, last weekend has proven my theory to the contrary. With Jen and Cathal visiting, we've done so much walking and travelling all around London. And both Jen and I were wearing the same bubblegum smelling plastic shoes, in different colours. We came home with new blisters, and very very sore feet.

We needed a new reasonably priced solution..and opted for these comfy shoes..

On LJ: White canvas shoes with black leather trim from H&M on sale. I went for the cheaps (£5)
On Jen: Violet plastic shoes from F-Troupe (£20). I think I may get myself a pair too.

But Melissa, darling, I still love you.

xx-LJ

SOS! Interviewed by Dream Sequins..

Thank you Dream Sequins for interviewing us!
MWAH!!

xx-LJ & Fi

And her shoes were like a Disco...

If you remember back to a previous post of mine, I needed shoes to wear to graduation. Well, I found them. And wore them. And I like to think I rocked them a bit. I managed to find shoes at work, (which meant Discount. Sweet!). They were extremely secure and I loved the interesting shape of the wedge heel, ending just beneath the heel of my foot with a flat edge. Lot's of straps and a zip to ensure I would not fall when I collected my degree.

But that wasn't enough for me. Yes, they had height, and lots of straps for security. But they needed something. And then I remembered, LJ had told me something the awesome Susie Bubble had done with a pair of her shoes. She had stuck beads from a bracelet onto the heel, providing an interesting heel. I decided to go along this vein of thought, but instead of beads, I got mirror and blue glass mosaic pieces and some super glue...

It was like having a Disco on my feet. The effect was awesome. All day the little pieces of glass lasted. Until I started dancing. But I walked up to collect my degree with them, which was what mattered. And a friend's mum told me I won her award for best shoes.

Anywho. London next weekend, with LJ. (Anyone want to meet for tea&a cupcake?? Holla at us via twitter/f'book/email!).

Peace, fi xx
ps I miss having regular internet. The country sucks when you have no broadband.
pps I miss ye bloggers too.

It's a boy!!

Well, her name is Lilian, but it's Lilian by Christian Louboutin.
Boy...girl...who gives a shit.

Say hello to my new baby..

PS: Congratulations to my partner in crime Fi and my amazing friend Jen for graduating today. I love you guys xxxx (also congrats o the rest of class of 09)

xx-LJ

Specs-tacular!

One of the benefits of living in London is that you get to watch Channel 4 catch up online. I used to be addicted at one point back in Cork to programs such as Supersize vs Superskinny, 10 years younger, The world's ... & me, etc etc. And I was quite furious when they stopped the catch up service for Ireland. But anyway, I'm happy now, because over the space of 2 days I managed to watch Gok Wan's 'How to look good naked' and 'Gok's fashion fix'. He's so lovely that man, and is excellent at what he does best..styling.


We were delighted when we heard about the following..

Jam, a social media agency and Specsavers have joined together to launch their Spectacle Wearer of the Year competition. And with a pinch of ASOS touch, they’re scouting the streets and the internet to find 2009’s Irish Spectacle Wearer of the Year.

The winner will receive a modeling contract with Assets Models, the current home to top Irish models Andrea Roche, Pippa O’Connor, and Sarah Morrissey. They’ll also receive an all expenses paid trip for two to Thailand.I ain't no model, but I won't say no to a free trip to Thailand! So I'm sending my photo in for sure.

Gok Wan himself will be one of the judges at the competition final in October, 2009. If you have any questions you would like to ask Gok, please leave a comment with your questions on this post!

Questions and model entries should be entered by June 30th, so chop chop girls and boys.

I also just realised that there's no decent photo of me with my glasses on. This is probably because I tend to quickly whisk them off my face if I were ever wearing them and a photo is being taken. For example, there is this retarded photo..

xx-LJ

"i i i i i i like you very much.."

I have a confession. I was an H&M whore last weekend. I think I went a bit mental in there, but I I came out with pretty good finds in my opinion. I got 10 items in total, including a skirt, a shirt, some tops, 3 dresses, a fruity necklace, and a mini bowler hat.

I've been another kind of ho recently as well...an accessories ho. Have you noticed? I fell in love with this eye popping charm chain. The charms contain the following: Fruit (which I'm very picky about), insects (ultimate fear), and balls (which I don't mind). However, the multi bright thick yellow chains, bulkiness, and massive sized charms were a definite win for me. So I'm ignoring my fears and pet peeves.

The fruitiness reminded me of the beautiful Carmen Miranda, which inspired the title of this post. But I ain't no Carmen Miranda, and I don't think I could ever pull off a fruity headpiece. So for now, I'll stick to my necklace..thank you very much.

Back to my H&M buys.. I got this navy blue floaty layered skirt as well..on sale, woo! It swooshes on movement, and twirls like a carousel. I've always loved twirling..

silk & cotton white tee (Zara), navy blue skirt, socks and necklace (H&M), shoes (Melissa), hairpiece (Chapeau Claudette)

xx-LJ

Dolled up..

I've always been a doll/Barbie girl. And there's still a little child in me that gets excited over girly dolly things..

Cherry Hurren, fashion illustrator and graphic designer at UCA Epsom, displayed fashionable fabric dolls at the GFW exhibition last week. What I loved about the dolls is that not only were they soft and pretty, but they were wearing trendy designer outfits a la Luella and Henry Holland..

xx-LJ

The country side exclusion..

Breaking news:
Fiona is stuck on a side of a mountain and dictating messages to Lujain. Thank goodness for Skype. She has no sort of communication what so ever to the outside world, so please forgive her.

Fi xx

GFW shenanigans..

Small rant:
Because of the ridiculous tube strike, it took me two hours to get to Earl's court yesterday, and it cost me a disgraceful amount of money to get to and from the venue. My cream tulle skirt got caught in the cab's door, and now there's a horrible black oily patch on it after only wearing it the second time. I wasn't feeling too well yesterday morning, and had eaten pizza for all 3 meals. Pretty sick.
Rant over.

Now..the positives! My exposure to the Graduates Fashion Week was amazing. I was actually contemplaiting whether to go or not, because I didn't know anyone who was going initially. I went anyway, and thankfully, Reena from Fashion Dreamer, happened to be going as well!

With the crazy traffic, I arrived at 7 and had half an hour to roam around the exhibition and take as much as I can in. I couldn't remember which designs belong to which university if I even tried to squeeze it out of my brain. Some designs were ok, some great, some that make you gasm. Being there and seeing the graduates' work, made me wish I was a fashion student/designer in London. Shucks!

Here are some of the ones I liked, and apologies for not having the designers/college names..

The show started with some award giving, small speeches, yada yada..
Presentors included Amber Le Bon, Claudia Schiffer, Zandra Rhodes, Giles Deacon, Lorraine Candy, and Matthew Williamson (3 of them were judges as well).

And the show began...

Emily Horwood's collection (University of Northampton) was sophisticated and soft in terms of the floaty fabrics and the draped sillhuettes. . However, the scribbly floral print gave the garments more of an edge..

Ashley Farall (Manchester Metropolitan University School of Art) used 3 primary colours: yellow, red and blue, contrasting with black and white. The designs were voluminous one pieces paired with tights, leggings and comfy trainers..

Charlotte Simpson (Northumbria University Fashion) was the winner of the Zandra Rhodes Catwalk Textiles Award. Charlotte's work showed great attention to detail when it came to panelling and intermixing different prints and textures. All models wore printed arabesque leggings with shift tops..

The Pringle of Scotland Visionary Knitwear Award was given to Pandora Bahrami (Nottingham Trent University). And the designs speak for themselves..

Mehmet Ali (Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication) won the Men's River Island Gold Award, and fair play to him. He constructed the garments beautifully. The suit looked supersleek, and I fell in love with the oversized jacket and ever-so-slightly drop crotch pants. He also used serene soft colours such as cream, grey and dusty pink, and had massive vintage style suitcases accessorizing his lookd. I will say this one more time: I want a boy to borrow boy clothes from..

April Shmite (UCA Epson) actually made me gasp with excitement when I saw her first piece walking down the runway. Circle cut outs tied her pieces together, and some even looked like lovely scalloping..

Akosua Afriyie-Kumi (Kingston University) made me think "How did she do this?!". It was very obvious that a lot of work went into the pieces, even though it looked effortless on the runway. The garments carried loud and bright colours, which is almost always a good thing for me. There was a knitted helmet, which made me want to ride a motorbike. The designs were very structural, and accentuated body curves (bust, hips, shoulders..). There were 2 leather pieces, the yellow raincoat with indigo blue trim, and the marroon body piece..

Ana Merono (Nottingham Trent University) used metallic sheer fabrics along with tough black exoskeleton-like pieces..

Sarah Benning (University of Westminister) collection was very striking (in a good way). She incorporated sheer chiffons with massive knits and plastic tubings..

I think I enjoyed Hannah Taylor's (Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication) runway show the most. The designs, the music, the styling..everything was just right. There was a comedic side to her designs that reinforces the fact that fashion shouldn't be taken too seriously. She was the other menswear designer nominated for the award. Big bulky rainbow coloured knits were used to make massive oversized jumpers and jackets, and were teamed with cropped pants. The head/face pieces were very cool I thought.. one of them was a hound face surrounded with yellow,orange and blue wool strings..

Myrto Samuo (UCA Rochester) was the winner of the River Island Gold Award, and I have to say.. She's the one I was least excited about and least expected to win. But maybe because I'm more into "crazy" designs as opposed to "soft" designs.. But hey, I'm not an official judge. Congrats Myrto!

Yi Le Hunag (Kingston University) made a navy/circus-esque collection that used midnight blue, soft pearl pink with contrasting popping yellow. I really loved her headpieces..

Sarah Burton (Manchester Metropolitan University of Art) reinforced my love for fringing..

Nicola Morgan's (Northumbria University Fashion) collection is perfect for powerwomen. I loved the capes, the suit, the fitted dress, and every little detail..

Congrats again, Myrto.

Some of the amazing people I met last night, all of which were so so soooo lovely..

Erin O'Connor, Susie Bubble, Zandra Rhodes, Fashion Dreamer

Fabulous night. Too much fun.

xx-LJ

Guess who gave me a hug today?

.....

Pam Hogg did!

(from vmagazine.com)

I won't explain what the circumstances were, but let's just say, I'm a fashion freak/nerd/geek. And let's leave it at that.

When her pop up shop opened on Carnaby Street, It was one of those many frustrating times when I think to myself "Why aren't I living in London?". Lovely bloggers have already covered details about her shop and her intergalactic metallic space jumpsuits and con dresses. They were more lively when I saw them myself in the shop, than I have previously in photos.

Here are some of her future forward slick suits from her A/W '09 show..

I was pretty pissed off when I read about Pam Hogg's PR response to Susie Bubble's post. But fuck 'em, it's their loss anyway.

There was a small rail with a 50% discount, so if any of you had a piece in mind that you wanted to get, it might be on that rail. Unfortunately, even with the 50% off, I still could not afford some of the items. It's pretty sad.. and as well, I don't think my "curves" would compliment the garments much. Toight like a toiger doesn't work well on me.. But uhh..it breaks my heart to face reality.

As much as I wish I had a hot metallic Pam Hogg bodysuit, I'm afraid this is as close as I'll get for now..

leather jacket and Pamm Hogg-esque shorts (H&M), shirt (Yuki), tights (Topshop), shoes (Melissa), earrings (N2), glasses (Chanel)

Thank you Pam Hogg for my lovely squishy hug!
xx-LJ

Joli cul!

If you do speak French, and you're wondering about the title. This post has nothing to do with lovely arses. However, I learned that phrase from our French friend Matt last year...and it stuck.

My nonexistant French would probably be best described as this, or worse even. I should learn to improve it, because I pretty much love everything French.. examples would include Paris, Chanel, croissants, french music, Amelie, Laduree macaroons, French boys, French accent, etc etc. These are only silly examples.. but really, i love France and the French and all things French.

But anyway, I've always been a fan of Les Neraides/N2. I first discovered it when I was trotting down King's road in London a couple of years ago, and was mesmerized by the use of little animal toys in their accessories. I spent ages in the shop! I don't even know if that boutique is still there? I came out with cute little buys including a pearl necklace with a pink chain that has a tiny toy bunny and other animals attached! Tres tres cute (see how I inserted my crap French here?).

I was then super ecstatic when I went to Paris and saw loads and loads of their accessories around Paris.. and I couldn't resist buying some pieces from their Alice in Wonderland collection, along with other things too.

I was walking around Covent Garden yesterday, and headed over to their boutique. Best surprise ever (although not as good as Fiona's drunk surprise).. there was an 80% sample sale. WOOHOO!! There's nothing better than an unplanned session of retail therapy..

I ended up getting 3 pairs of earrings, a brooche, and a lovely purple pearl necklace.

Voila..

Bisous bisous..

xx-LJ

"It's THE necklace!"

So here I am standing outside French Connection on Oxford Street waiting for a friend.. a girl passes by, and points to her friends saying "Look! It's THE necklace!" (talking about the massive chained one..).. smiles were exchanged and everybody was superduper happy.

I've mentioned before that I get a bit impatient when it comes to ordering stuff online. I literally could not wait to receive my Giia necklaces. I've spent too much time adoring her work, until I finally placed my order to satisfy myself.

Here are the pieces..

All pieces are architecturally handmade and made out of felt/wool, and she can customize you a necklace in a different colour if you wish. The neckpieces are even more beautiful in real life in comparison to photos..nom nom nom.

Thanks Giia!

xx-LJ

Get your hair did. Part Deux.

It is common knowledge that LJ and I share a special connection. We have been known to unknowingly coordinate our outfits on occasion. And it was not a huge surprise when we both booked hair appointments for the same day...
I got a more cropped version of my last blonde bob. I have decided to continue channeling the same look I had when I was 5: Blonde Bob, floral dresses and silly smile. (Add some oversized specs and it's me en route to a birthday party 17 years ago.) Voila..
LJ is currently growing her gorgeous hair, so instead of a change of cut, she went navy. Suits her and all her Nautical Nonsence of late. Here is her awesome new 'do
Unfortunately, the time has come for us to seperate for the summer holidays. The college year has been good to us. We danced, we baked, we mischiefed, we roofed, we dined, we drank, we loved.
SOS! will be apart for a while, until we reunite in London for fun-filled trip. In the meantime, we will share our thoughts, ideas and lust-worthy items apart. But with buckets of love in between.
Have a lovely weekend. Have wonderful holidays if you are getting some.
And also.. best of luck to Fi's baby sister who is currently sitting the Leaving Certificate (irish equivalent of A-levels or SATs).
Peace,
xx- LJ and Fi

Waves and seashells..

"Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me so nervous." - Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 1

It's been so beautiful and sunny in Cork recently. Some people have been complaining about the 20 degrees weather here, not knowing that in Kuwait and lots of other places, it's actually over 40. However, I did get an unintentional tan line from just sitting in the park. More importantly, no one has taken me to the beach yet. So here I am sitting here.. dreaming about the sand, seashells, and waves.

Colombian designer Juan Carlos Obando called his latest A/W 09 collection "a tribute to women who love fashion.". I fell in love with his mini dresses that were twisted, pleated, draped, and splashed with colorful shades of pinks, blues and greys. The scalloping techniques in his dresses almost definitely resemble seashells and sea waves..or maybe I'm just missing the beach too much? The dresses were all clean white with splashes of colour.. very breezy, very summery, yet very elegant. Ok everyone, close your eyes.. and imagine you're at a fancy shmancy beach party..

You can open your eyes now. It was nice, wasn't it?

The rest of his collection consisted of pinches of sportswear, along with colorful silk structured smart wear, ruffled dresses, and floaty white maxi dresses.

As for me here, here are a few things I got in the mail today..

I received my lovely package from Giia today, and the necklaces are even more amazing in real life. I think they will satisfy my sea/beach hole now. There are 2 more pieces from Giia, but I'll show you more later..

xx-LJ

Music illiterate..

I need to get myself a Music and Opera for dummies book, because I'm quite music illiterate. It's funny that all my close friends here in Cork are very much into the music. Jen plays the piano and flute, Fu plays the piano and violin, Fi plays the violin, Eoin plays the guitar and piano, Cathal plays the double base, etc etc etc.. while me, I just dance? That's as music involved as I'll ever get, but I'd love to learn playing the guitar.

Anyway.. I was just reading about Victor & Rolf designing for the opera. The opera part doesn't really concern me much, but their creations are amazingly theatrical and dramatic....typical, and that's what I love about them.

V&R have collaborated with Robert Wilson and have created jaw dropping costumes for the upcoming production of "Der Freischutz” (The Freeshooter) by Carl Maria Von Weber at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in Germany (May 30th).

The costumes have been bling blinged with more than one million Swarovski crystals to catch the light perfectly in every angle. V&R used organza, silk, satin and lurex in bright eye popping colours. They were inspired by traditional Germanic dress, including Dimdl and Lederhose fashioned from black neoprene.

I suggest you read the interview on The Moment, and watch the video behind the scenes on Dazed & Confused.. pretty damn amazing.

Oh how whimsical.. I think it's about time I went to the opera. Would someone like to go on a date? Perhaps we can dance outside the theatre and have McDonald's afterwards a la Sex and The City?

xx-LJ

Nautical nonsense..

With this beautiful sunny weather, and with the exams all done and over with, we've had plenty of time to do whatever pops into our heads. After being a hermit for almost a month and a half, barely seeing the light of the day, I've finally had the chance to get my Vitamin D from the lovely sun rays.
Most recent activities include trips to the park, long walks to town and around town, a delish alfresco, home made music videos (don't ask....), nights out, sushi, junk food, and Wagamama. Surprisingly, I've been very good resisting shopping.. I'm saving it til London. MUAHAHA.

Last week, Fu and I went on a road trip to Cobh. I'm shit with directions and locations, so I'd say your best bet is to google the place if you're not from Ireland. It's on the coast of east Cork, and it was where Titanic last stopped before it sank. Yes...the real Titanic (Oh Leonardo, why you so purdy?). It was such a nice day.. so sunny, lots and lots of people were out, plenty of doggies and puppies, cute little stalls selling crepes and hot coco, live music playing, etc etc.

A phenomenon we've been seeing lately..
Have you noticed that girl friends travelling in groups all dress similarly? (In general).

It's a bit bizzare.. Do they decide what to wear together before they go out? Is it coincidental?

Unfortunately, even though I can go on bitching about this phenomenon. On that day when we went to Cobh.. Oh but surprise surprise, Fu and I were wearing the same colour scheme. Bleurgh. Ah well..

Here are some photos from our sea trip..

Dress, bowtie, and glasses (Vintage)
tights (Topshop)
shoes (Vivienne Westwood X Melissa)
bag (Octopus)

dress (ASOS.com)

shoes (birkenstock)

cardigan (new look)
necklace (a boutique in Spain)

The title of this post was inspired by Spongebob Squarepants' theme song. And speaking of Sponegbob, who lives in a pineapple under the sea.. My friend Cathal, also known as Piney, has created his own blog today called Pineapple Xpressed! Go on...give it a click..

xx-LJ