Stylesight Day 2

I definitely spoke too soon yesterday as today the sun went back into hiding and the typical British rain clouds came out to give me a nice morning shower as I left the house.

Found it much harder to retreat from my snuggly sofa lair today, especially as it was such a dull day and I wasn't woken by the sunshine at 5am like usual.

Decided to go with a slightly more wrapped up outfit today and put on my Vera Moda mustard knitted jumper with my black flowery Urban Outfitters skirt AND took my jacket with me.

I saw the newer version of my last season leather jacket in Topshop today. Exactly the same only this time with a soft fur collar... I was tempted to buy it again, not going to lie. I even contemplated attaching the fur to my current jacket but then thought stealing in Brixton probably won't go down too well... plus it had its own security tag on! They know what people like me are thinking...

Definitely going to invest in some fur and re-vamp my old jacket though, especially since my Mum has now bought the same one as me!

I tried to be more positive at work today and sat up straight at my desk and went about my task with strained enthusiasm. Soon after I found myself slumping back down, however. I just can't really get exciting about researching foreign textile magazines and putting their sales figures into excel...

Interning is something that we all have to do in the fashion industry, unless you are EXCEPTIONALLY lucky or your Dad is Ralph Lauren or something, but I wonder whether there is anyone that truly enjoys it? It's a bit like Emily Blunt in the Devil Wears Prada when she is constantly muttering to herself 'I love my job, I love my job'.

Kate Moss for Rag & Bone

Anyone that knows me will be aware that Kate Moss is undoubtedly my style icon and I can be borderline obsessive with her...

She has recently been criticized for her age and comments have been made such as 'yes she was great in her time but now it's just all getting a bit old' - old being the operative word.

However, I feel that she is looking better than ever and in her recent photo's for Rag & Bone, the New York brand's first ever advertising campaign, she shows that she has still got it in every shape and form!

Its a little embarrassing to be honest that at 38 and after having a child she is still in better shape than I am at 20!

The brand couldn't have chosen a better model really with her rock and roll image (and lifestyle - previous moments including her relationship with Pete Doherty, getting photographed taking cocaine, a rehab stint etc).

Shot by Craig McDean, the campaign is simplistic with Kate standing alone, wearing minimal make-up, on a North West street in London's Kentish town.

David Neville and Marcus Wainwright, founders of the brand, explained that the concept behind the shoot "was to create stripped-back images featuring Moss caught in a moment" and to maintain their ethos of "keeping things real".

If you didn't already want to buy a pair of leather shorts, I'm sure the sight of Kate Moss in these would be enough to rapidly change your mind! Although I may wait to see how good Topshop's replica are as my student loan budget doesn't really stretch to $325 at the moment...

So why Kate Moss? Of course, yes, she is an internationally renowned supermodel but she is also beautifully British with her soft features and pale complexion.

The campaign is of course strategically timed to coincide with the opening of the first European Rag & Bone store on Sloane Street in London, but David Neville also added "although we are essentially a New York brand, our English roots have always influenced our aesthetic, and casting Kate was another nod to our heritage". 

And who wouldn't want Kate Moss as the face of their brand? I challenge anyone to say that she doesn't look as good here as she did 20 years ago.

Stylesight Internship Day 1

7am. This is definitely the earliest that I've had to get up since 6th form and even then 7am was a rarity. The sunlight is streaming through the curtains on an abnormally sunny day in Britain (even if it is July) and all I want to do is snuggle back under my sleeping bag and go back to sleep on my brothers sofa... the glamorous life of an intern!

Today is my first day interning at online trend forecasting and analysis company, Stylesight. I couldn't have picked a worse week to start really with the London Olympics literally just getting underway. A quick check in the Metro also told me that Old Street was going to be 'exceptionally busy' today which was something to look forward to! But the sun is shining and my hair decided to be good today so I had nothing to really complain about.

As I rummaged through my mini suitcase (which I had to forcibly sit on to close) I began to wish I'd done what I always say 'I'll do next time' and chosen my outfits for the week beforehand. Who would have thought that packing for 3 days would be so difficult? I've ended up bringing about 10 different outfits for all weather eventualities and I can guarantee that I will still make a de-tour to Oxford Circus on the way home to see if Topshop can entice me into buying anything new.

For my first day outfit I opted for a maxi skirt from Miss Selfridge (which I recently bought and LOVE because it can be worn with pretty much anything) and a floral top from Topshop which occasionally makes an appearance from my overcrowded wardrobe. Gave a jacket a miss because I decided to be optimistic (although I did still pack an umbrella in my bag - just in case).

The tube was surprisingly less crowded than I expected and I definitely over-estimated how long it would take me to get from Brixton to Old Street, as leaving an hour and a half before I was due to start left me with an hour to kill... Fortunately there was a Cafe Nero for me to stop off at and have my morning dose of Green Tea.

I was very glad that I had come to the Stylesight office beforehand as Old Street has about 8 different exits which can be very confusing for someone that has lived in the Midlands countryside all their life!

Zetland House was of course getting in to the Olympic spirit (like the rest of London) and there was even a huge projected TV screen in the courtyard which I'm sure I would appreciate more if I had any interest in sport... I must have looked like a lost tourist taking photo's of everything.

The Stylesight office is a very open plan, modern space with Mac computers and laptops dotted around everywhere and it is split into two halves for the forecasting teams and the marketers. As a marketing assistant I made my way to the further half and found Victoria, the Marketing Director and my senior for the next 2 months.

Friendly as always, we started by going downstairs to a small coffee shop and had a drink together while we discussed what I would actually be doing (something I was quite unaware of and still am a little to be honest).

I spent the rest of the day getting settled in at my little desk and used my time (of not really doing a lot) to take a look at the Stylesight website. I had very little prior knowledge of Stylesight if I'm being honest as the internship was awarded to me through University (yes, I actually spent first year working!!) so it was probably a good idea to see what the company actually do to give me a better understanding...

All in all it was a very chilled out first day with a visit from 'the Stylesight dog' (a Westie that did nothing but bark and growl) and I got to leave at 2.30 to "avoid tube traffic".

Hoping that the days will perhaps get a little more exciting and I will be doing something that's slightly stimulating, but how much can you expect from interning? I suppose there are worse things to do in life than make tea and coffee all day, although I don't even seem to be responsible for doing that at the moment!

Company Magazine Competition

I recently got the opportunity to go down to London during Graduate Fashion Week to meet with the team at Company magazine in a bid to win a competition to guest-edit the October issue. 

I was picked as one of the 20 finalists after sending in an Autumn/Winter 2012 trend report. 

I chose to represent my trend report as a moodboard and contrasted what I feel are going to be two poignant trends - hyperculture and radical neutrality. 

I have learnt to love the mooboard after being introduced to photoshop and indesign at University (I had very little prior experience with these) and at some point will probably try and purchase the Adobe package rather than opting for the illegal download route...

So a week after I sent in my trend report I got an email back from Victoria White herself, who is the editor of Company magazine, to say I had been chosen as a finalist! And so off I went to London.

After getting past the initial dread of getting up at 8 o clock to get the train I excitedly made my way down on a ridiculously busy train where I had to stand for the entire journey, which is not so comfortable in a short dress and ankle boots. 

When I finally made it, it was all a lot less daunting than I expected and as I sat and chatted with the other finalists I felt very at ease.

The process consisted of getting into teams to create a front cover for the magazine which we did while each of us were individually interviewed by the Company team about some ideas that we had for features that could be used in the October issue.

The interview itself went well and I had pages of ideas to reel off! They particularly seemed to like one that I suggested about University street style (taken from my own experiences from being on a fashion course and seeing the competition everyday!)

Below is us all busily working away... you can see me hiding behind my hair on the far right!

 A great day and great experience. Even though they did decide to go with another candidate (the competition was strong I will admit), I will definitely be aiming towards some work experience at Company in the future and I now love the magazine even more after meeting the team!

Summer 2012

I have always known that I wanted to do something in fashion. My ambitions have ranged throughout the years from wanting to design, be a buyer, a stylist, etc, but something that has stuck with me for the past 5 years now is my aspiration to become a Fashion Journalist. 

My journalistic experience has somewhat peaked since starting University as I have written a weekly fashion segment for the University blog, I came runner up in a Young Fashion Writer competition (and won myself a new digital camera which was an added extra) and also began to write for a paid blog to encourage prospective students to the University of Southampton.

This is the first chance that I have got to begin a 'proper' blog though, one which is controlled entirely by me. My first attempt on tumblr wasn't a great success as I found it to be much more image based and I am usually wanting to ramble on about this that and the other!

With Summer 2012 now upon us I thought this the most appropriate time to start, especially as it now seems that my fashion career is finally starting to begin (and therefore I actually have something to write about!) 

I hope that you enjoy my posts!