Category: fashion

Jazzy Lemon saves the day!

I’d meant to take a picture of my outfit for The Prison Library single launch at the Cluny 2 last night but headed out the door without thinking.

I don’t take a picture of every outfit I’ve worn, but I wanted a picture because it featured a few items I picked up from the Metro Centre on Wednesday. (I’m also having a wardrobe clear out and am in the midst of deciding what looks good and what would be best placed else where!)

Luckily Newcastle’s staple music photographer Jazzy Lemon was out in force and happened to take a few snaps of me at the gig (which you can see below). You can check out the full album (amongst literally hundreds of thousands of rock and roll moments) here. There’s plenty of great shots of all the acts; this Sunday’s Amazing Folk Roots Show guest The Lake Poets, Let’s Buy Happiness in disc jockey action at the decks, soulful Indie four-piece Grandfather Birds and headliners The Prison Library, who managed to put fears about the departure of brilliant Frankie & the Heartstrings guitarist Mick Ross totally at bay.

Blazer £29.99 by H&M, cropped t-shirt £9.99 by Zara, skirt £11 by Primark, headband by Stone Bridge

I saw this t-shirt on Zara’s website and experienced one of those “HAVE TO HAVE THIS” moments where I wanted to leave my desk and flee to this shop for immediate purchase. I didn’t notice I’d picked up a larger size until I got home but I think it will still work tucked into skirts or with faux leather skinnies. The blazer is one of the comfiest I own and was a complete impulse buy when a band practice was cancelled last-minute.

Shoes by Office, socks by Primark

I decided to brighten up the muted colours, ‘chic-up the geek’ and raise myself off the floor by a good five inches with my Office platform heels. I got these in 2008 when I was paid for my performance in Days of Hope by Howard Goodall at Birmingham’s MAC theatre. Although most of the money went on student rent and a new electric piano, I just couldn’t resist these. They made me at least as tall as most of the audience which meant that I could comfortably see the bands for once!

Satchel by New Look (all photos by Jazzy Lemon)

I’m starting to get rather impatient for Spring to arrive now. I’m resisting hiding in big coats and layering cardigans and my unlined parka in an attempt to be ready lest we be treated to a sunburst or two. Tomorrow I’m heading off to Tynemouth (a bit of the coast to any Southerners reading this) so I’m hoping to find a treat or two. I’ve never been before, but I’m gagging for some good ole seaside chips!

Thanks again to Jazzy Lemon for letting me use her photos!

Get Frank’s Feather… literally!

In my last post I mentioned that the lovely Melissa and Claire from luxury hair accessories company Stone Bridge had sent me another fabulous box of goodies from their online emporium of hair combs, alice bands and hair clips.

I featured the Rose Alice Band they sent me in my last post, and I thought it was time to show of the shine-tastic Crystal Feather Slide I was also sent.

"Off the face"

I usually wear small hair flowers to assist in keeping my curls out of my eyes, but this feather makes a pretty change, and adds a touch of glamour at the same time! The clip is also cleverly designed in that it features various shades of pink crystals to add depth and extra sparkle. Such a feature might make one fear that the hair will be weighed down, but the clip is still light enough to be worn without irritation – it sits comfortably and happily on my head (when worn as in the picture above).

"Bun"

I also had a go at using the clip to hold all of my hair in a textured bun (yes, there’s no hair elastic utilised in the above photo). I’m not great at putting my hair in a bun with a headband but I might have a go at some of Stone Bridge founder Melissa’s tutorial videos as I think she could teach me a thing or two about using accessories for more than mere decoration!

"Half-up, half-down"

(Obviously the clip can be used for the more obvious ‘half-up, half-down’ style! I just couldn’t get the camera angle right!) The clip isn’t a spring clasp but a simple wire fastening which means that you can get inventive and use the clip for other purposes! I imagine it would look good with the bar threaded through knitwear (such as a scarf, beanie/beret or jumper) or even through a jacket buttonhole.

Crystal feather hair slide by Stone Bridge

And guess what? If you fancy one of these clips for yourself I’ve been given access to ‘Get Frank’ exclusive offer by the Stone Bridge team… All you need to do is follow this link and you can get this twinkly treat of a hair clip for a £14 which is a bit of a bargain when you consider it was originally £32! It’s the first offer I’ve ever posted on this blog so needless to say I’m excited!

Hope you enjoy your hair slides!

Faceless.

I just watched Cycle 15 of America’s Next Top Model in two days.

This cycle was called ‘ANTM Elevated’ due to the incorporation of more top fashion houses (such as Versace and Roberto Cavalli) and a prize that included a spread in Italian Vogue.

Rather than ‘make like a model’ I thought I’d have a gleeful dig through my wardrobe and mix old and new bits and pieces together. I’ve been to the shops a few times since Christmas but haven’t found too much sales wise – I’ve still got Zara and Top Shop vouchers to splurge – but I’m biding my credit ’til I see something I “simply have to have, darlings!”

Trousers £14.99 by Zara, Shirt and shoes both by H&M

One joyous miracle happened recently on my 22nd birthday when I found a black version of my favourite camel trousers reduced in Zara to £14.99 from £19.99. Anyone who knows this blog at all will be aware that I’ve been trying to find ‘cigarette pants’ for an absolute age so to find them for such a bargain was rather pleasing! (Particularly as I used a Christmas voucher to buy them so it cost nada – thanks Tony!)

Jumper knitted by Deb, leggings 'freecycled', shoes by Dune

I borrowed this jumper from my Dad when I was cold at Christmas and his wife Deb gave it to me ‘because it suited me more’! I’ve wanted an oversized jumper for a while (thanks Deb!) but it doesn’t belt well so I have to wear with leggings to avoid looking too shapeless – I think it works though. The American Apparel style leggings were a free find at a Friends of the Earth Freecycle event I went to before I left Birmingham. Although I was primarily there to offload old clothes I couldn’t carry, I couldn’t resist these! The heels are also a thrift from my shoe hoarding mother. All in all a budget-free look.

Shirt from Oxfam, skirt from Cow Vintage, headband £1.25 (sale price) by Peacocks and boots by Melissa for Anglomania

I held out all holiday season for these boots by Anglomania (one of Vivienne Westwood’s diffusion lines). They arrived as a last present miracle from my fabulous sister Charlotte. Weirdly enough they smell pleasantly fruity so I lay around with my nose in the boots for an alarming amount of time! I shortened and hemmed the skirt so it was of more wearable length but accidentally burned a hole in it… oops! And I’ve not yet worn the shirt out of my room, so I should probably start getting more use out of it!

Dress from PDSA, heels by Office

I got this shift dress for about £3 in 2008 when I was doing work experience as a BBC Blast reporter. I had no money but a desire to spend it, so the PDSA charity shop was a good place for me to browse! The heels were my extravagant purchase from my short spell acting at Birmingham’s MAC theatre during a break from University. They are rather high so I don’t wear them out much, although I wore them for graduation. There were concerns that I’d fall over in front of everyone, but actually it was my oversized mortarboard hat that caused the issue.

Now… to the Top Shop sale! (Suggestions of what to buy, anyone?)

The Velvet Choir

Next Friday (10th December) I’m playing a festive gig with The Union Choir at Newcastle’s Cluny.

It’s for NARC magazine‘s annual ‘Stars in their Eyes Xmas Party‘ event where a selection of North East acts perform three cover versions of songs by a band of their choice.

Anticipation for the event is high, with acoustic folkers Rainfalldown performing (sadly June Carter-less) as Johnny Cash (and band), post punk revivalists Cult Image as The Ramones, Holy Mammoth as Blink 182 and us, The Union Choir, as The Velvet Underground and Nico. Amazing Radio‘s Tom Cotton will also be DJ-ing… as himself.

Velvet dress by George @ Asda, £14

[Post bath I decided not to leave the house hence the absence of makeup/decent hair. I did try to make myself ‘decent’ by removing the red eye in this photo, but it’s left me looking even odder!]

With every gig comes the occasionally frantic question of what to wear. I’ve decided to take our incarnation as The Velvet Underground (and yes, technically I’m ‘Nico’) quite literally by wearing this velvet number by George @ Asda. I found it online and headed into the Heaton Asda Living store on a whim after snow rendered me unable to travel to Birmingham. I’d decided to get some bubble bath and have a sulky soak as i’d taken the day off work for my journey to the midlands, but then this dress was too tempting to resist trying… It was reduced from £24 to £14 and is a beautiful shape, texture and colour. It’s not too risque lengthwise (but has a slit at the front so could be if I’m not careful!) You can find it online here.

I haven’t accessorised fully in the photo but I’m wearing pearly mary jane style shoes (with a ribbon tie) and a charm bracelet pendant necklace that my dad got me as a graduation present. I’m also wearing a fake pearl headband by Accessorize but I think I’ll ‘toughen things up’ with my leather jacket, smokey eyes and loose hair for the gig itself.

Hope you can make it down!

The worst customer service ever?

Over a week ago I got ridiculously excited about the arrival of American fashion store Forever 21 launching an online UK store.

The brand has opened their first store in the UK in Birmingham (which I was hoping to visit tomorrow if I ever manage to make it to Birmingham). Although I wouldn’t travel that far simply for a shop, I was prepared to take the risk and buy online from the shop.

This risk I speak of is not necessarily delivery related, but more in terms of size. It seems that their sizes in Forever 21 land are quite strange – a ‘small’ is a size UK 4 – 6 according to their site (rather than an ‘extra small’ as you’d expect) whilst some skirts in a size ‘small’ have a 27″ waist, which doesn’t quite correlate for me.

To ‘play it safe’ I decided to order some Christmas presents from the site. I’m on a budget and Forever 21 are known stateside for their fashionable bargains (like a more upmarket Primark, you might say). I found a few things I thought my friends would love (and I quite fancied myself too!) and headed to the virtual checkout. I popped in my billing address, set my delivery address to my work (in case the postman couldn’t deliver to an empty house during the day) and paid via Paypal.

What happened next was the most confusing part. I received an instant notification from Paypal about my payment, but did not receive the expected email from the online store. After a few hours I was concerned and tried to find a contact for customer services.

The customer services section of the site was confusing and unhelpful. I looked at the ‘order’ section of the contact area and it had a contact form. This form required a customer order ID, but as I hadn’t been send one, I couldn’t actually use it! I tried to use a form that did not require an ID but it refused to actually send.

I couldn’t find an email but eventually managed to find a number for the site… however when I rang this there was no recorded messages or an answer – just rings that rang empty and answered.

The next day I logged back onto the site to find that my cart had been refilled with the products from the day before. I checked my Paypal account and noticed that the money had been authorized to leave and I couldn’t cancel the transaction. Wondering if I’d ever get the items, I tried to complete the order (as the items were still in my ‘basket’). As I tried to change my delivery address to my work address the browser refused to respond to my request. After a few attempts I noticed that I’d just received an email from the store. It was an order confirmation dated for that morning claiming that I’d paid by card and requested my delivery to my billing address.

This new email was confusing. I hadn’t entered card details and I had not confirmed this second attempt at an order so why was it delivering items to an address I had not wanted in my previous attempt at ordering and why was it saying I’d paid by card? It felt like a totally different transaction that had no even been ordered.

Again I tried the phone but received no response. I managed to find an email after rooting through the site and send an email detailing my problems and requesting a phone call with an explanation of where exactly my goods would be heading.

I got the following response:

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for emailing us with your concern.
According to our records we received your order today, Nov 23rd and it has been shipped out today.
The following items have been ordered:
ITEMS 1-4

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you experienced while using our website.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us at ukonline@forever21.com.

Thank you for choosing Forever 21.

I received this email on November 24th, something they acknowledged in a second email:

Dear Valued Customer,
Correction to the previous e-mail: Your order was received yesterday, Nov 23rd and shipped out yesterday, Nov 23rd.

Contrary to this email, I do not feel like a ‘Valued Customer’ – I feel ignored and very, very pissed off. My items have still not arrived, despite paying nearly £4 for postage. It was been over a week and although there has been snow, there has also been post so I do not see the weather as a reasonable excuse.

I have sent another email to Forever 21 informing them that the items have no arrived but still have received no response. I desire a personal service, not someone imitating a robot. How can an apology be sincere when no effort is made to address the customer and their concerns directly?

Has anyone else had any issues with Forever 21 or another online store?

Check off my Christmas list?

I haven’t thought too much about Christmas too much, although there are a few ‘dream’ items I’m er… day dreaming about.

My birthday is December 27th so I often get ‘joint presents’ – or simply none at all. I mean, it’s not all about the gifts of course, but this is a ‘lifestyle’ blog type thing so I gathered I might as well pop some pics online!

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania & Melissa booties

Now, these boots may seem excessive at £80 – £90 a pop but they’re exactly what I need to get me through the next four months up in the snowy, snowy North East! I’ve been walking in the snow for the past few days and it seems that my flowery George @ Asda wellies just aren’t going to cut it anymore. I hate having to carry spare shoes around with me too – but with rubber booties this glam and special I simply wouldn’t need to!

Anglomania and Melissa Cream Bow Bootie
Aglomania & Melissa Button Detail Glitter Ankle Boots

I’m not sure which design I prefer most! I originally wanted the gold version but having just found the cream booties I’m beginning to sway in my preferences!

River Island hooded fur coat

I found this ‘fantasy fur’ coat in River Island on an emergency winter coat shopping trip the other day, but alas! They did not have my size – in the picture below I’m wearing a coat three sizes up!

 

River Island hooded fur coat

I love this coat because of how amazing and large the hood is. The coat is gorgeous and amazing to touch. I’ve not seen too many fake fur coats that I’ve felt I could wear because of the sheer bulk of them, but this version is sleek, smooth and lovely. I’m a tad depressed that I can’t find it online either – as usual, I’ve hyperlinked all photos to the ‘home’ of the products but I had to link this picture to a cream version.

Hohner soprano melodica (in C)

I sing, play glockenspiel and melodica for The Union Choir

Hohner soprano melodica

This melodica has ‘button keys’ which keep the melodica nicely neat and compact in size. I could easily keep it in my handbag for gigs too! (Plus loads of my favourite bands, such as Tuung, use this particular model for gigs and recordings.)

So yes, these are my top three!

The perfect LBLD?

I’ve always dreamed of finding that ‘perfect Little Black Dress’

I thought I found it for a mere £9.99 in H&M today but when I got to the dressing room it just didn’t fit right.

I had places to be so had to leave the strapless, shiny black pleated bargain behind with the shop assistants. Feeling down I moved to leave the shop but stopped in my tracks near the exit… By Jupiter! I had found it!

It was wrinkly, not in my size and made of fake leather! I had to buy a size up but it means it will be perfect for casual winter layering (for the Amazing Radio office) whilst not being a too tight and ‘fetish’ looking. Once off the hanger and on my body the wrinkles disappeared and gave an almost smooth look.

Faux leather dress, £14.99, white shirt both by H&M
Faux leather dress, £14.99, white shirt both by H&M

It’s the perfect day-to-night dress too. Here I toughen it up a little with my Peacocks grey hiking boots.

Boots £20 by Peacocks

I quite like it with my red heels too; there’s plenty a pair of shoes that would work with this dress which is why I adore it so.

I have a gig with The Union Choir in support of The Winter Hill Transmission’s single launch next Friday (19th November) and I’m not sure if I should wear this or the Primark dress below…

Dress £15, by Primark

The flash of my camera has made the underskirt of this dress look a lot shinier than it actually is. It reminds me of a Peacocks dress I saw in a magazine (but it’s a lot nicer in the lace detailing department and £8 cheaper.) I have to wear it with a belt because the empire line design into the full skirt is so unflattering I was tempted to take it back. The swift addition of the belt made me have a sudden change of heart.

I think that the leather look dress might be better for The Union Choir gig, and the crochet dress for my first Get Frank gig on the 25th November – but again, I’m not sure.

Help me out? Which one for which occasion?!

Anchors and flowers

I’m having a bad face and hair day today…

There are some reasons why this is extremely bad timing, but I won’t bore you with those.

I seem to be having a great run of bad luck recently – like the world has said to me “right, we’ll let you record with Get Frank after two and a half years of desperately trying to organise something, but we’re going to have to compromise on everything else.”

For example, last Saturday morning at approximately 2am (I went to bed before 11pm in the hope of being ‘refreshed’ for my Halloween gig with The Union Choir), I woke up with severe stomach ache which was followed by vomiting etc… I got food poisoning on the morning of the night of the gig I’d been looking forward to for six weeks! And I’d missed the previous gig with tonsillitis. Wonders never cease.

Top by Gap £7.99, Shoes by H&M £14.99, Capri pants £19.99 by Zara, Bag £16.99 by Interacionale

Yes, in this picture I look distinctly unhappy with the universe. I’ve decided to try and cheer myself up by wearing red heels in the daytime. I’m not standing very well here and something distinctly nappyish is going on with the trousers… I attempted to iron them. (It’s not my strong point, ironing.) The trousers are a bit big on my legs but they’re one of the best fits I can find. I really love the Gap t-shirt though. Gap t-shirts are the best quality I’ve found on the high street, with a nice comfy fit.

Hair flowers £1.99 a pair by H&M, 'Frankie necklace' bespoke by ladyluckrulesok.com

My mum gave me the cherry earring after one of her many fancy dress events (she’s a fancy dress genius, and I do not use those words lightly! She is incredible.) I only have one ear pierced so always get people being ‘helpful’ and telling me I’m missing one etc… The necklace is from Ladyluckrulesok.com. I followed the site for seven years before designer Leona Baker decided to move onto a new project. The shop was hugely successful so maybe she wanted to feel more independent again – who knows?

The light is deceptive in this picture too (thank you attic sky lighting!) My hair and face are both messy today. I appear to have developed acne at the late age of 21. The flowers are a desperate attempt to look like my hair is deliberately big and ‘fizzy’ (I hate that word but feel it’s appropriate here. Vogue may get away with it, I do not.) ‘Rah’ girls spend ages backcombing, hairspraying and boofing up their roots to get ‘just out of bed’ hair to match their uggs and jogging bottoms. Again, they and their Jack Wills jumpers are part of an exclusive club that I just don’t get.

Thank goodness I’m off to the cinema, at least!

Also, Get Frank recordings are just having final touches and changes made and will be online very soon. Our first gig in Newcastle is at the Northumberland Arms on the 25th November. Hope to see you there (details to follow.)

A terrifying musical debut!

I’m playing my first gig as ‘Member No.11’ of The Union Choir tomorrow at The Star and Shadow Cinema with Brilliant Mind, O’Messy Life and John Egdell tomorrow… and I can hardly contain my excitement.

For this isn’t any old gig… this is a Halloween special!

Wig by Smiffy's, jacket by Religion, top by H&M and faux leather trousers, £38 by Topshop

I was going to go as a convict before realising that I should probably have some kind of matching stripy hat. I’d already ordered the handcuffs for less than a pound from Amazon so I invested another pound in a bandit mask. I don’t think I’ll wear the mask over my eyes much because it covers my nose and is a bit too wide for my face! I decided to keep the handcuffs for my costume by pretending that I’m a robber that has been ‘picked up and put in a police van in cuffs, but escaped en route to the cells.’ My amazing manager Kev at Amazing Radio found the wig in a cupboard and said I could have it so I’m wearing it to ‘up the bad girl status’.

If there’s any night of the year that you can go ultra vampy with deep, dark lips and messy black eyes it’s Halloween so I’m preparing to go all out with my crayons!

The Union Choir are playing last and I’ll only be practicing with the some of the band for the first time on the afternoon before the gig so personally, it’s going to be nerve wracking stuff! I’ve also been known for writing and interviewing bands for the radio so to suddenly make my Newcastle stage debut in front of a lot of them will be quite terrifying.

Me and Anna, the cellist from The Union Choir will be carving a couple of pumpkins before practice tomorrow so I’ll pop some photos of them on shortly. Apparently South Shields (where many band members are based) is all out of pumpkins so we may be a few jack o’lanterns down!

The doors for the gig open tomorrow at 7.30pm so I hope to see you there! And don’t forget to leave a comment telling me what you’re dressing up as!

Crazy for Peacocks

Regular readers of this blog (and people who know me) will probably know that I’m a massive Peacocks fan.

I often look online to check out for new products (and am a regular in both the Gateshead and Newcastle stores.) I recently bought these loafers in brown and these Victorian boots that I’m itching to wear more.

Pearl Lowe's new Christmas range for Peacocks, released November 14th

I’ve been indulging in X Factor and Facebook this evening, and earlier on noticed that the Peacocks Facebook group was getting active over the fashionable side of X Factor. It was then than I noticed that preview pictures of Pearl Lowe’s new Peacocks collection had been revealed and a few new bags. The picture above has really excited me… I am obsessed with the dress on the far right. It’s beautiful! I hope that champagne colour will suit my skintone… I also really hope I’ll manage to get my hands on one. I have some purple 5 1/2 inch Irregular Choice heels that will go perfectly with it! Fingers crossed.

 

The Beatrice bag... arriving mid November

This bag is also on my wish list. I absolutely love the colour, the fake ostrich texture and the clasp – the perfect Mad Men inspired bag combined with this season’s ‘it colour’ of red (check out Jess Cartner-Morley’s Guardian article here). I haven’t really got any ‘little’ bags so for me I have an excuse to run out and grab it the day it hits the stores…

I really am obsessed aren’t I?

On a music/fashion note I’m looking for band T-Shirts to start ‘styling up’ for this blog so if you’d like me to write about your band and wear your t-shirt then please get in touch!