Girls just love clothes! Well, no, I really do...

Last night, I read an article on The F Word moaning about shopping. The author of this article hates shopping. She bemoans the enormous gendering of clothing and in some cases, she does have a point, why are socks gendered? I had never contemplated this before. That is indeed stupid. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I need pink socks, although all my running socks are pink... anyway, I digress.
Her comments about women who are forced into terrible conditions to make the clothes in our throw away culture is similarly concerning. They are issues I am very concerned about and am researching ways to shop ethically. 
And if this lady doesn't like shopping, then fair enough, not everyone has to find it a pleasurable experience.
However, I do. I find shopping a massively wonderful pleasurable experience. It really does give me great joy in life, pretty shoes make me smile.
Does this make me less of a feminist? Does the fact that I like dressing up in clothes that make me feel attractive make me shallow, vapid and a sorry excuse for an educated woman?
Admittedly, my little shopping issue has caused me some financial woe (on a small scale). But no one has forced me into this financial woe, I got into it (and then out of it) all on my own, I just like buying new shiny things too much. I see fashion as a form of art and indeed decorate my little flat with it.
Is enjoying clothing and flaunting your figure sexist? By happily conforming to gender stereotypes are you undoing all the good work of feminists from previous years? Even if you're not an airhead wag (although I wouldn't say some of them are so airhead) but have yourself a very fulfilling career, do what you feel is good, important and enjoyable work and support yourself?
Even if it's 100 per cent for your own enjoyment, you don't dress for men but for yourself entirely? If wearing a pair of killer heels and a nice skirt really does make you feel more confident in a meeting?
Am I just brainwashed? Am I just conforming to this because it's expected of me? Should I not shave my legs or get my hair done or wear a bra? Should I fling my underwear on that mythical bonfire that only existed in the minds of male journalists who tried to demonise feminism?
I have had men in my life ridicule me for my enjoyment of clothes... surely this is just another form of marginalisation? Another way of saying women's interests are not important or significant.
Fashion has given me great bonding experiences with other women in my life. One of my closest friends first approached me because she liked my dress. My mum and I go shopping before every birthday and christmas and it's more than her buying me presents, this way I actually get to spend valuable time with her.
Perhaps I am lucky but I actually don't find 'tight' clothing or high heels particularly uncomfortable and if a pair of shoes are proving uncomfortable, I stop wearing them. Despite appearances, I'm no slave.
It's not like I believe stripping to be empowering or anything (I have read a magazine article arguing that, the mind boggles) but I do feel I use clothes as a form of armour against the world. 
Perhaps liking clothes and shopping doesn't fit the feminist archetype, but you know what, I ain't apologising. I want equality for men and women and I want it while wearing a pretty dress that I can't really afford, simple as that.

Five years ago today...

Five years ago today I was doing a work experience internship at More! magazine and while sitting on a train into Liverpool street had a call from my mum.
"Are you ok?" She yelled as soon as I picked up.
"Yeah mum, I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" I responded, thinking my mum was being a tad over the top. I'd only been out of the house for an hour.
She mumbled something about a newsflash, some trouble on the tubes. I told her to not worry about it. There were delays on the tube every day. It would be fine.
When I got into Liverpool street, there were people running everywhere. I have never before or since seen so many people running in my life - and I've taken part in half marathons.
I tried to get on the tube, but was only met with lots of burly men telling me to get a bus. I tried to get a bus but was only met with empty buses rushing by, doors closed, nobody being allowed on.
I called More! and a panicked receptionist told me not to get on any transport, there were bombs all over the city. I should go home. 
I lived in Essex. An hour train ride from the city.
So, I walked, in high heeled cowgirl boots. Luckily I got chatting to a bloke who showed me the way back to Stratford. No trains running from there, so I walked back to Ilford and then managed to bus it back to Wickford. All the way getting panicked calls from friends, family, my then boyfriend. I finally managed to get home at 3pm that afternoon.
But anyway, this post wasn't meant to be about the bombings. But more about the last five years.Yep, forgive me while I take a narcissistic look at the last five years of my life.
A lot has changed. My once tumbling long curly hair has all been cut off and tentatively regrown into a long bob, I no longer own those cowgirl boots, maxi skirts have gone and returned to fashion, my style has gone from romantic student hippy to retro with killer heels and has now settled at somewhere in between, I have lived in Cardiff as a regional journalist for three years but after getting some bad family news I did some real soul searching and realised that working in charity PR was what I really wanted and so I returned to London to be closer to my family. It's long over with my then boyfriend, two more relationships have followed but sadly not worked out. Friendships have died, new ones have been formed, others have grown stronger. I have lived in four different houses, become interested in things I never thought I would be, been to places I never thought I would, fallen in love with people I never thought I would.
Comparing myself now to who and how I was back then has made me nostalgic for the past five years, and it's funny how it has taken a major event like 7/7 for me to recognise my achievements and all the cool things I have done with my life. I have written for national magazines and newspapers, set up the social media and organised fundraising PR campaigns for a charity almost entirely on my own, run a half marathon in two hours, lived alone, been brave enough to ask a boy I liked out for a drink (in fact, I've done this on numerous occasions!). Things my much shyer 21-year-old self would not have thought possible.
7/7 was a horrible day and I am not ignoring all the pain that it caused many families and my heart goes out to them today. I read a story from a woman who lost her sister in the bombings the other day and had to hold back tears (I am a soppy wotsit and couldn't imagine the grief I would feel if I were to lose one of my sisters.) But what I got from that day was not the panic, the horror, (although I of course felt all that) but actually, how god damn nice people can be. That a man would walk all the way back to Stratford with a girl to make sure she didn't get lost, that so many people cared enough to call and check I was ok. In a time of crisis, I didn't see selfishness or hostility, I saw complete strangers helping each other.
In everything, one thing is always true: Life moves on. And you never know what might happen, who you might talk to, what amazing job you might land when you least expect it, who you might fall for. To quote my favourite Banksy painting: "There is always hope."
My goodness. I am going for the cheese saturation today aren't I.

Frocks of the future?

At the fashion party I mentioned the other day I got chatting to this lady called Alice Wilby. She had a very nice broach on her coat, I told her I liked it and things went from there.

Turns out she is a stylist who runs an online eco lux fashion magazine called Futurefrock (www.futurefrock.com) created to 'feed your fashion fix without compromising your ethics.' 

It's a pretty slick affair, with lots of beautiful on-trend photoshoots and and environmentally-friendly fashion items, all sourced ethically. There is a range of prices from £400 for a pendant to £40 for a skirt.  

I wanted to share this website with the world, and basically, get your thoughts! 

So what do we think? Pretentious rubbish that just makes those of us on the breadline feel guilty because we can only afford a £6 Primark skirt rather than a £40 People Tree one? Or a refreshing beacon of hope that fashion can be planet friendly? 

Is cheap Jimmy Choo a reason to break the shopping ban?

Recently I went to a fashion party where these two new designers, Julia Smith and Joanne Stoker, were opening a shop in Connaught Village.
There was this one pair of very splendid heels by Joanne Stoker that I quite loved: black velvet, covered in zips and with a solid silver heel.
I asked how much they were... £700. (There was also this beautiful, beautiful pink netted strapless corset dress with a little pink net train designed by Julia Smith, which did not even have a price on it. I moved my champagne away quickly.) In a month £700 would pay my rent, all my bills and my travel. That one pair of shoes costs my entire living expenses for one month. And this wasn't even a well established designer, this was a new designer. And you know what, I am so jealous of the posh girl who could afford those shoes (and dress) and then drink a £13 daiquiri in Chinawhites. It's a whole other world that an average girl such as me (who turned up to said party in a £35 dress from Dotty P) will never be part of.
This is why I am very cheered by Jimmy Choo's new H&M collection, out this Saturday. And these are really nice. I especially like the zebra-print strappies (my sister is desperate for them) and the red strappies showcased in Stylist magazine today.
Just as an aside, I've heard Jimmy is a very nice man, I do have a shoe drawing of his alongside an autograph stuck on my wall.
But sadly I won't be queuing up outside H&M for hours and then hitting some women over the head with my brolly to get my hands on a pair. Forgive my lack of dedication, (if they were Christian Louboutin I probably would, despite the ban!) but I have to stay true to the ban. I have to get these debts paid off, I'm so close. That and the whole, can't afford Christmas presents for my family so really shouldn't be buying shoes situation.
So instead, I shall just put a shoe pic on my blog and that will just have to suffice. *Sob*

Someone save Luella!

It's a sad day for quirky British fashion. Luella has ceased trading:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/10/luella-bartley-ceases-trading-closure-fashion

Such a shame, her current ready-to-wear collection is very cute. With all the bows and heart cut outs. Who is River Island going to rip off this season now? Luella is the reason I love River Island so. Will they crumble without her? Or just go a bit chavvy again?
Oh, I hope it doesn't go all horribly wrong for Luella, I hope they get another financier and start trading again. As I have shown in previous posts, (http://sartorialpervert.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-love-luella.html) I have so always wanted to own my own Luella piece, you know, one day, when I could afford it. You always think such brands, especially those with a £9m turnover, are invincible. But the recession has put us all on shaky ground it seems.
If Christian Louboutin goes before I can afford a pair of his heels, I actually will cry.

Dressing my sister...

After reading about some of my combination talents on this blog. My sister asked me to clear out and reinvent her wardrobe and offered to buy me dinner for the privilege.
Let me think, spend the day doing something I love and then get bought dinner for doing it... well, how could I refuse?!
My sister has a fabulous wardrobe and a lot of beautiful things she doesn't wear enough, she admits she often buys things and then isn't sure what to put them with, so she never wears them. Or items get stuck in one particular outfit and she doesn't know how to mix and match, to get more wear out of them.
This was my challenge. To take the items she wasn't sure how to combine and make up some new outfits she may never have thought of before.
To be honest, I would be very keen to have someone do this for me and my wardrobe. A fresh eye is always a good way to mix things up. And if you feel like you have a whole new refreshed and reinvented wardrobe, then you are less likely to feel the need to buy new stuff and thus, you will save money. Hurrah!
For the next few days I shall post my favourite outfits that I put together for my sister.
Day one is this lovely frilled cream and black spotty twenties style flapper top. Nic loves it but rarely wears it as she has no idea how to. I admit, it's a difficult top to wear. It looks like a shirt, so a skirt won't work with it. Black jeans are the only thing in Nic's wardrobe I see working. Along with these cute glittery pumps from River Island, some clashing animal print hoop earrings and a black Carrie Bradshaw corsage gives things a little lift. It's a very 'meet his parents' kind of outfit but would also work for any low key work do.

Other ideas...

Sorry, I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to blog my other ideas for the dress!
Well, I have two other outfits I really like. Here they are:
First up, I figured out a way to make the summery outfit with the blue skirt a bit more winter-esque. I have replaced the open toed sandals with shoe boots and black tights. The butterfly belt with a little black bow belt and put a white shirt underneath the dress. Marvellous!
Another idea is to put a whole other dress like this floral skirt poplin dress over the top of the dress, so cute!
Other ideas suggested by friends include wearing various multi-coloured tights and also, focusing on hair and make up to change your look rather than clothes. This, I feel, is clever as make up and hair is far easier and cheaper to change.
So in all I have created 13 different looks with one dress. Admittedly that is nowhere near as many as Sheena Matheiken (http://theuniformproject.com/) who is wearing the same dress (she has seven different versions to avoid the stinky/ruining the dress issue) for an entire year and is raising money for the Akanksha Foundation for the education of underprivileged kids in India. She has already raised more than $28,000 and the project has only been going since May. And my lord this woman looks cool! I especially love the different coloured socks she seems to favour. My only concern? How the hell would you wear this dress on a big night out to somewhere glitzy? Don't get my wrong, it's a cute and obviously very versatile dress. But it doesn't really scream glamour does it? I saw the outfit she wore for her 6 months of the dress anniversary party and... just not that fussed. However, the whole ethos of the project I especially love. We don't need lots of clothes! Just buy some really good quality black staples and lots of colourful quirky accessories!

Right, where can you buy colourful socks?

Project: Abort

A disaster has occurred.

My dress has a hole in it. At the armpit join, a hole I tell you! I have whiffed so much it has blown the stitches clean away! Or maybe Febreeze erodes the cotton? It's not too much of a problem. I can sew it up for future wear. But it has made me realise the outcome of my project. You cannot wear the same cheap dress solidly for days on end. You will ruin it! I barely even lasted a fortnight. 

This is why Maureen had to go to LK Bennett and buy a super expensive dress. This is why she had to fork out on expensive four hour dry cleaning. My £35 jumper dress is most certainly no longer in a nice condition. And I'm sorry, I'm not going to work with a hole in the armpit of my dress. Not a professional look. 

This is a damn shame as I did have many more ideas! But do not fret because I shall showcase them to you in a blogpost very very soon. And on the plus side, I feel the project has already proved that with just a little imagination and a lot of layering, you can mix and match to have a whole variety of different outfits from just one dress. I've already shown eleven and I have a few more to come. So that old 'I have nothing to wear' adage when you have a wardrobe bursting with clothes will most certainly no longer wash with me! Stop shopping people and get creative! I feel a quote from Maureen's article here would be appropriate: "Style, which is personal and depends on self-awareness and self-assurance, is much harder work than fashion, which just requires you to read magazines and spend heaps of money."

In short: In times of economic hardship, let's all give up fashion and go crazy for style.

Oh and good news I would like to announce. My overdraft is currently only £827!! Just a couple more months of being super careful and then I am free of immediate debt! (Student loan doesn't count.) And I have a saving plan. Once my overdraft is paid off I shall put this saving plan into place. By the time I'm 35, I shall be able to afford a house! 

Day Eleven - clashing animal prints.

I'm all about the animal prints today. Somebody suggested wearing a nice scarf with my dress and some jeans. And I am doing so today. It was a good idea, I never wear any of my rather extensive scarf collection.

It's once again casual Friday so the dress is over some black skinny jeans with black ballet pumps, an animal print scarf (only £2.50 from Primark) that coordinates with my leopard and then a slightly clashing animal print bangle. Ooooh.

However, in the last couple of days I have begun to get fed up of the project. I'm fed up of this dress. I want to wear something without sleeves again. I want to wear some straps! I know it's to be expected and I am pleased with the amount of variations I have already (and can think of many many more) but just right now, rather fed up. The dress is going a bit baggy too, it's no longer slim fitting. Boo. But I shan't give up. Must keep going!

Day ten... and I have been so radically different. Sort of.

Well my dress doesn't smell today, I did manage to give it a good wash. However, I am noticing bobbles on the knitwear. Bobbles! How can wearing the dress ten times and washing it twice make it start to bobble? I am ruining my beloved dress! In fact, I think I may buy a whole new one when I finish this project. Or, does it count if I buy a new one half way through? It's still technically the same dress. Even though that is kind of against the whole money saving ethos of the project a little bit.

Thanks to friends and such for your comments and ideas. I shall definitely put some of them into place. And my lord do some of you have faith in me. You think I am still going to be doing this come January?! Could I last that long?!

Anyway, today I have layered the dress with a... cardigan. Revolutionary huh?! Just a long grey cardie belted over the top of the dress. The red bow belt is so cute, I love it. Some black tights and my lace up shoeboots finish the outfit. It feels a bit short for work, and I was beeped twice on the way to work this morning (I even got a wa hay hot stuff! from one bloke) so I'm concerned I am giving the wrong impression. Maybe this look would be better for the bar rather than work... good to know I look hot though!

Day nine... and I still smell.

Went out last night so didn't get a chance to wash my dress. I still stink. It's kind of like curry. Nice. So tonight I MUST wash the dress. Febreeze just ain't cutting it anymore.

Anyway, today I have gone the leggy route. Red tulip high-waisted mini skirt, black diamond tights (I still have to be fairly respectable for work) and black court shoes.

But enough with the skirt layering, I've done it to death. Tomorrow I am going to attempt something a bit different. What it will be I'm really not sure! Any suggestions? I refuse to run out of ideas already!

Five fashion websites I wish I could afford to shop in...

A slightly different post to go alongside my outfit of the day post. (Don't want anyone to get bored here, especially me.)

I love internet shopping. With not being able to afford magazines, it's the only way I can keep up with what's hot, what I love, what I wish I could afford to buy and which trends I will wholeheartedly ignore. I just thought I would share my five favourites.

1. www.asos.com Well of course, the best online fashion store in the country. Everything looks wonderful and is certainly affordable. Just check out the great dress my sister is wearing in the picture. I love the buttons on the top and as you can see, it's great for summer but can also be styled for winter.

2. http://guardianfashionstore.co.uk This is a new launch but I see great potential. The store links with the fashion editorial content from The Guardian and The Observer. The stuff isn't cheap but it's certainly aspirational. So in short, scope this site out for great stuff and then find a rip off on the cheap end of the high street!

3. www.bravissimo.com You only need to see previous posts to see how much I love these people. They don't have many stores across the country and their stock in store can be rather minimal. So internet shopping from Bravissimo is most certainly the way to go for the busty lady.

4. www.very.co.uk When my overdraft is paid off I will certainly be coming here. What a fantastic makeover for Littlewood's Direct. AND it's affordable. I love their celeb ranges (especially Dita Von Teese's uber sexy underwear selection for Wonderbra) and fashion advice from top fashion journos like Louise Roe.

5. www.faith.co.uk Now, I know there are stores all over the country, but I felt I had to include an online shoe shop. And Faith wins, it wins everytime. Before I gave up shopping I would spend my lunch hour perving at the shoes on the site and then I would go into the shop having selected my favourites... the money this place has made out of me is terrifying. Anyway, I digress, it's an easy site to use and postage and packaging is currently free for orders over £40.

Oh and I have just realised, I haven't given an overdraft update in a while. It's £1,210. Not great, but still on track to be debt free by the new year.

Day eight and I smell...

Yep, the dress definitely smells today. Which is weird because I went crazy with the febreeze last night.

Also, the outfit I have picked today is, well, wrong. It's a summer outfit. I am wearing a spring/summer outfit in the deep dark days of late October. Navy blue open toed heels do not work when it's raining. And although the navy skirt over the dress does work, the patent butterfly belt just makes me think of summer. The fact I have rolled up my sleeves (to show off some pretty pearl bracelets) is just making me rather cold. I want to pull my sleeves back down.

And I can definitely see stains on the dress. Parts are also going a bit thin from the overwear. Oh, this is not hardwearing durable knitwear I have purchased. But then, what do you expect for 35 quid?