a little quote I like...

  

"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence"

             

Christoper Hitchens

 

Us and Them.

For a long time now I have always worried about my chances of entering a career I enjoyed that had a big pay packet. I don't want to end up with job like the ones my parents have (mum - cleaner, dad - predominately unskilled work for agencies, step dad - window cleaner though he did used to be a teacher which I think is a pretty admirable job). There's nothing wrong with these jobs but I want more and I'm not very good at cleaning anyhow. I,  like many people, went to state school and a sixth form college, both of which I'm very fond of but as you grow up you realise that having this kind of education means you have to work twice as hard as those who are privately educated to get into the best universities and then go on and get the best jobs. Statistics prove that those that are privately educated occupy the top jobs (doctors, politicians, heads of the top companies, barristers, journalists etc - professionals if you like). The recent BBC 2 documentary, Who gets the best jobs? explored this. Even though I knew the majority of the content already due to studying inequalities extensively in my sociology A-level class, it did ignite something in me (I'm a sucker for a documentary, they leave quite an impact on me) - motivation! But also at the same time it made me incredibly depressed!

Over the past couple of years anyone who inspires me or even just occupies a high position (generally in the fields of journalism, politics and the arts) I google them to find out where they attended university or if they went at all, it has become somewhat of an obsession, a very weird obsession. And for a long time one of my "working class heroes" has been Alan Johnson (above), he left school at fifteen and worked as a postman and rose up though the trade unions into politics. I was very upset when he resigned from front bench politics, who's going to be my working class pin up now? Aye? Well I have found other examples during my time as an investigator into successful people's backgrounds such as the current editor-in-chief on British Elle, Lorraine Candy - she left school at sixteen and entered journalism working for her local paper. Though examples like this a few and far between, the fashion industry is dominated by the privately educated too from the current editor in chief of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman to the new creative director of Alexander McQueen, Sarah Burton. Now the fashion industry isn't one I want to enter (not that I'd turn an offer to be a fashion journalist down ha...journalism would be my chosen career if I could choose, I know I don't particularly demonstrate the best writing skill or style on my blog but practice helps right?) but many do and I suppose I just wish everybody had access to the same opportunities and  I know that's impossible really but I hope the gap between the haves and the have nots shrinks a little or a lot...There are other problems to do with the world of jobs I have such as the decrease in our manufacturing industry but that's another subject for another rant, another time...

       (image - google images)

Sun Airway - "Put the Days Away"

Cool and Classy...

Sometimes quirky and sometimes head to toe Hollywood glam, Kirsten Dunst never disappoints.

(images from zimbio.com)

I WANT!

£18.00 - Urban Outfitters.

Love it.

Tim Walker

 

I discovered Tim Walker in the second copy of Vogue I ever bought (weird that I remember but his photographs were so beautiful, it remained in my memory). The shoot featured Lily Cole in India and made me want to jump on a plane and explore the country. The photographs were ethereal and a little surreal. He tends to use objects that are bigger than they normally are or lots of one object like the ribbons featured above. I love the sense of fantasy and dream like images.

Beautiful bracelets...

I was on Whitney Port's blog yesterday (Yes, I was a fan of The City) and she posted about the Leslie Offer Jewelry that she had just purchased and I think these bracelets are so beautiful! You could wear them all the time and mix and match different ones as they come in a variety of colours. I checked out the website and you can't buy off the website so I emailed her about prices and if she delivers to the UK and she does but the bracelets range from $150 to $700 so think I may have to save for quite some time before I get my hands on them but here's the website so you can see the whole collection.

http://leslieofferjewelry.com/leslieofferjewelry/Welcome.html

(image from http://whitneyport.celebuzz.com/)

Erdem

I LOVED Erdem's spring/summer 2011 collection, the lace collars, the maxi shirt dresses, the floral patterns and the romantic heidi braids. So beautiful!

(images from style.com)

From runway to red carpet...

Just as I post a piece on brights, (orange/tangerine in particular), I see Drew wears this Jil Sander number. Can summer come to England now please, I'd like to get these bright colours on me now! Preferably a Jil Sander skirt but I have a feeling I can't afford one of those, oh well, a topshop copy will have to do!

ORANGE!

 

Bright colours are splashed across spring/summer 2011 collections, from bold blues, fluorescent pinks to fruity shades of oranges, grapefruits and kiwis. I particularly love the collections from Cacharel, Jil Sander, Christopher Kane and Dries Van Noten (all pictured above). Their take on brights are clean, modern and fresh. Both in Cacharel's and Dries Van Noten's collections there's the look of placing a thin jumper or dress over a buttoned up shirt which I may give a try on cool summer evenings. I'd love some pale pink glasses too like the ones featured on Cacharel's runway show. I think one has to be quite brave to try these colours out so I may just start with a tangerine coloured t-shirt, place it with some jeans or cut off shorts and add a touch of fluorescent pink lipstick to round it off. Ultimately I think I'd like an orange shift dress just like the one in VB's spring/summer collection (above), I do love 60s style. 

(Images from style.com, google and grazia)