What a Difference Three Months Makes

There are only so many times one can apologise and promise to change before the words become meaningless. I think I'd passed that point by the start of July, so I'm not even going to bother anymore.
I've been meaning to get back to this for a while, but with every thing that goes unposted I'm in need of a yet more awkward re-introduction (i.e What you're reading right now.)

Anyway, before I go further into a self deprecating ramble, here's a brief catch up of what's been going on in my life:

- I was back at House of Holland for Fashion Week, and I was working with Steve off of STR. After how I'd spoken about him on here, you can imagine how embarrassing that was. Oh, but before you say that of course he wouldn't have read it, he had. (Thanks for that Ruan.)
He was actually really lovely abut it, saying it was really well written and quite funny, and wholly agreed with what I'd said about some of the other people from the show, but I won't be bitchy and repeat exactly what was said (well, not here, but give me a couple of drinks and tell me how pretty I am and I may be less discreet.) I also met Zainab from the show, who was equally pleasant.

- I proceeded to make a drunken tit of myself at post-show drinks, so may not be back at HoH; well, not for a good few years anyway. But that's not my fault, what do you expect when you give a boy access to unlimited free prosecco and margaritas?

(Really, who uses red-eye correction nowadays?)

- I've spent most of first term on a menswear group project collaborating with Albam. Granted, the whole conservative, practical, outdoors-y influenced thing isn't really my style, but the designers from Albam have all been really lovely, attractive and supportive of my group's collection, so I can't complain really. The group work aspect, on the other hand, is making me want to die. Again, my group are (on the most part) lovely, but the whole concept just doesn't agree with me, especially the way my course goes about it, but I've ranted about that enough without going on at you too.

- I have developed a bit of a thing for sweatshirts, although that's begun to fade; I'm more about knitwear now. Slightly dreading the day I have to return the jumper I stole from Maeve, but then again, any excuse to go to London for a few days.

- I've finally begun to grasp the idea of layering, about a month and a half late.

I think that's pretty much it for now; I've just got back to Belfast for a few days before I head off to New York, but more on that to follow.

DSH. x

p.s. Who doesn't love getting death stares from a lipless Nicola Roberts?

Styled To Rock #3

Go Team Steve! Team Steve is great. We love Steve.

Also, fuck off Ricky.

Personal Winner: Team Steve forever and always.
Who I would have sent home: Ricky (for the usual reasons, plus being a dick to Anam), or possibly Jacqueline (for her team leader responsibilities, and ignoring Anam's complaints about the team dynamic. Also, her presentation seemed to be 86% "Our stuff is great.")

DSH. x

Who Wears Short Shorts?

Not me. Well, not often.

I've finally done it. After a year of plans for various T-shirts, jackets, leggings, etc, I've finally pushed through the laziness and made myself a pair of shorts.
I've been thinking about doing a cycle short kind of thing for a while (since I realised actual cycle shorts aren't particularly attractive, or generally acceptable daywear), and I refound a pair of trousers I've been looking to upcycle for a while, but haven't been sure what to do with; they were a straight leg, low crotch affair my dad had bought somewhere in London in the early eighties, in an odd woven stretch material (I couldn't find a care label when I was taking them apart, so I have no idea what exactly it is), so it all came together quite well.

While I'm thinking about the trousers; I'm a bit pissed off at myself for not taking a before pic of them, I always forget to do that in my rush to get started. I've left mother to keep an eye out for any from when dad first had them, so hopefully something'll come up.
I can't seem to find anything about the brand either, which I suppose isn't particularly surprising 30 years after they were bought, but if anyone has heard of Alphabet Clothing, or has any idea where I could find out about them please let me know.

So, yes, cycle shorts, had these trousers... yea. I was originally going to do a straight forward, vertical stripe, but I didn't have enough fabric from the trousers for that to work, and I think I like the multi-directional panels better; and although the french seams were a purely practical detail (so the seams between panels didn't bulge), I think they work quite well, although they can make the fit around the bum look slightly dodge from a couple of angles, but I don't think it's something anyone else would pick up on.
They're the first thing I've ever made for myself, and generally the first real, wearable garment I've made outside uni, and, apart from the slightly rushed zip, I'm really happy with them. They've definitely given me a much needed confidence boost going into the menswear project in October. Talking of menswear, I really need to get on with that research...

Only one slight issue: no pockets.

DSH. x

White T: H&M, Striped "7" T: House of Holland AW12

Styled to Rock #2

I found this week a little uninspiring. I think it might have been something to do with it being Rizzle Kicks (don't get me wrong, I like them, but nothing about their brief particularly excited me), maybe the fact that it was another menswear challenge, or maybe it was to do with the way the designers were behaving.

My first note was "Ugghh... Fuck off Zainab", so you can kind of see what mindset I was in from the start, followed closely by a "Fuck of Jacqueline".
I did feel sorry for Heidi being stuck with Madame J when they went for fabrics. I understand where she's coming from with the whole finding beauty in sorrow thing, but everything about Jacqueline just seems so OTT that I can't help but think it's all a complete affectation. Heidi's lovely though; she seems a bit thick and excitable, bless her, we can keep her.

Chanelle didn't start off particularly well either: Not knowing who was who in the Rizzle Kicks was just ignorant after they'd stood talking to the designers, saying their own names several times throughout the brief. Also, she seems to be fulfilling the archetype I hate most in competitions, that of the contestant with child. I am fully supportive of independent adults who choose to have children, but they shouldn't define who you are and what you do. It actually sickens me that she used them as her defence for why she fucked up. If you cannot cope being away from your children for less than two weeks, and that is affecting your work, you shouldn't be in the competition. If this were a work environment, and she was breaking down and making excuses based on missing her children - something which, I'd assume, she knew would happen - I'd expect questions to be raised as to why she took the position in the first place. There are now nine other designers on that programme, all of whom have some form of friends or family who they may be missing, and Chanelle should not have special permission for her actions because she happens to have children. Let's hope she changes her tune, and dials down the cockiness, before next week.

While we're on the subject of the people up for elimination, I was really surprised by how clueless Brett was acting with the mentors. I was liking her early on in the show, but from the moment I saw her finished look I knew she was doomed. I liked her concept, but it's like she just didn't listen at all to half the brief. Then when it came to defending it she seemed to have no comprehension at all of what was being said to her. It would have been so easy for her to say what the mentors wanted to hear, and she would have had such a better chance of staying in, but unfortunately that didn't happen. I can't quite figure out why they kept Chanelle because they "saw something" in her, when Brett clearly has so much more potential when it comes to the kind of stagewear they're meant to be designing.
It really was the same reasoning for the bottom two as last week: one played it too safe and missed the mark, the other designed more for their own aesthetic than the client, and yet again I disagree with the decision.
I also have issues with Ricky going from almost being sent home to almost winning, but that's more to do with his behaviour. His bashful 7 year old girl impression when they complimented him was sickening. That, combined with his accent, may land him in the camp of people I will never like, with Zainab.

On a lighter note, on to the winners: I like Steve, I don't think he's been given enough screen time, considering his great work both this week and last. I thought the hand painted cable on the T was a really nice detail, and a good way to introduce something a bit interesting, but keep the quite plain aesthetic that the client wanted.
I'm a bit disappointed with him presenting a garment in pieces at the mini challenge, especially considering he could have won it, but I'm not the best with time management, so I can't really judge (not that I'm particularly qualified to judge on any of the stuff I'm judging).

We all know by now that I'm not a fan of Jacqueline, but I did think there were some quite good ideas there. I thought the shirt was a tad Agi and Sam. I really didn't like the waistcoat, but I have something against corals.

Personal Winner: Steve
Who I would have sent home: Chanelle, for making excuses, or Ricky, for being Ricky.

Any Other Business:

• When the voiceover (Reggie Yates?) says "mentors" it sounds like "mentals". Lolz.
• I'm not liking the "Get The Look" feature on the STR pages of Living's website. Like many similar features, it gives you details of alternatives to what the mentors were wearing. If I want to know where I can get the shirt Henry was wearing, I want to know where to get that shirt, not a totally different high street alternative.

That's all for now. I'm considering putting up some stuff from the menswear project prep I'm doing, and I still have that BINTM rant to finish, so you may be seeing a lot more of me in the next couple of weeks.

Oh, and hello America. I've been getting an oddly large proportion of my views from the US this past week.

DSH. x

Styled to Rock #1

This isn't what I meant to blog tonight, but when I started watching it I couldn't resist.

So, since I've had a bit of trouble when commenting on TV fashion competitions before, I feel I should start with a disclaimer:

These are purely my opinions, based on the edited footage of the contestants that I have seen. What I write may bear no resemblance to what they are actually like in real life.

Now that that's out of the way, I'll thought I'd start with a few notes on the designers themselves. With it being the first episode, it's all very introductory, so it only makes sense to give first impressions:

*Spoiler Alert*

"Madame" Jaqueline  - Ok dear, we get it, you can tone down the dark and mysterious thing; we all like the odd serial killer docu-drama, but there's no need do go all princess of darkness about it. Also, enough with the hats. I like a hat as much as the next flaming homosexual, but it just looks try hard. No one can pull off going from huge fuck off headdress, to Minnie Mouse ears, to Bride of Frankenstein veil thing in three days. Apart from Gaga, but she's the exception that proves every rule.

Meganne - I understand where she's coming from on money being a big advantage when starting in fashion, but if she goes on about it too much the good points could get lost and she'll just come across as angry at the world.

Zainab - One of her first words in the programme was "fierce". I have therefore written her off as a human being.

Sally - She seemed ok, if a little cocky, but starting with "I don't do menswear" just made her look like she was making excuses from the start.

Chanelle - I like her messiness. 

Ricky - The fact that he has adopted an American accent having grown up in London annoys me. Also, the way he presented his own backstory just made me think "token ghetto contestant".

Ben – Seems like he could be interesting. Back story,without it being forced down your throat.

Red Hair Girl (Who I later discovered is Brett)– She may become my favourite.Not seen very much of her, but I like what I’ve seen of her personality.

Heidi – *Love* her! She could be a little too enthusiastic in person, but I love the mess that her brain seems to be. Not a fan of the breakdownthough. After 2 weeks of running around, trying to franticly pull a project together,fine, but not on day 3.

On the subject of the programme as a whole, I liked the fact that they started with menswear, even though I'm by no means a Kanye fan. Also, I think the way that it's being judged is great; the way it's being shared between Rihanna and the mentors keeps it more objective, and means it's harder for people to overpower each other, as is common in other shows. (The judging of competition shows is something I take great issue with, as you will find out in the next few days.)

Now, on to the final looks....

(Sorry about the photos; I did try and get some good head to toe shots of just the final looks, but this is the best the Living website could provide. Will go through the show again and try and get some decent screen shots.)

Meganne – Ehh. Didn’t excite me. Liked the contrast fabricsleeves, but that’s nothing new. Agree with Henry – Good shape, not so goodcolour combination.

Sally – Yea, I like it. Love a bit of leather. I’d definitelywear those jeans. To me, it fits the brief very literally, although the jeans may be a bittight.

Oh, and what's with Lysa's comment that “A midriff on a man is never a good look”? Fuck that; when Istart getting near my target torso I’ll be all about the cropped Ts.

Zainab – No particularly strong feelings. It’s safe for thebrief. I do like the texture of the jacket.

Ralph – I like. Very much appeals to the bikewear phase I’mgoing through. As Henry said, more Will.I.Am than Kanye.

Chanelle – Fur, yes; gold, no. There seems to be too much and not enough, bothat he same time.

**This photo seems to have been taken post-comments, so the original levels of gold aren't fully represented.

Steve – YES! Like the shiny, like the sheer, like theharness, like the sleeveless, like the DMs. Ticks so many boxes for what I’mlooking for atm. Just give me it all, now.

Anam – Not at all flattering. There’s baggy, then there’spossible fatty.

Brett – Shiny! Rubber! KILT!!! <3 From the little bit Ican see of the legging they look like the sexiest thing ever.

Heidi – Really like what she did with the shorts. Wouldn’t bemy sort of thing, but I like.

Ricky – Looks good. Simple, but still powerful enough. I’ddefinitely wear both pieces (with a few minor changes), but not together.

Jaqueline – Yea, it’s nice, there are good ideas there andlooks to be made well, but fabric choice looks a tad cheap to me, andit’s totally wrong for the brief.

Ben – Don’t like the purple print, especially with the orange, but am a fan of thecrossover section on the trouser. It’s risky and different, but I think itstill works for the brief. Clever interpretation of brief.

In terms of the mentors, I love Nicola in her big pink sweatshirt and Lysa’s halfscraped back, half fringe thing. I’m liking Nicola a lot more than I expectedto actually; I've thought she's come across a bit cold the last few times I've seen her, but she seems really natural and friendly. And when it comes to Henry we all know I'm a fan anyway, so there's no point repeating the obvious. 

Personal Winner: Brett

I would have sent home: Jacqueline, for straying from the brief. Or Ricky for his accent.

DSH. x

I Just Called to Say...

Evening all. I shouldn't really be writing this now, if I'm honest; I have nothing in particular that needed urgent posting, and I have to be up in about 6 hours, but oh well.

I would love to be able to say that I'm a bit late posting my photos from the Opening Ceremony launch on Thursday night, but the closest I got was mum being oddly rude to the door staff. I would explain, but every time I think about it I feel thoroughly ashamed, plus I don't think anyone would really benefit from it, and if she ever reads this, I don't think she'd be too pleased about me mentioning it as it is. It's nothing momentous anyway; if it had been I'm sure there would have been coverage of it elsewhere by now.
While we're on the subject, the OC pop-up is lovely. It's great to see a good balance of mens and womenswear, with the more interesting pieces not just confined to the womenswear. There was a rubber top, very similar to my H&M sleeveless T in shape and colour, that I would happily further bankrupt myself for. I'm actually feeling confident enough to wear sleeveless things without jackets now, which is fantastic considering how hot it is. I'm not saying I'm willing to walk about topless (sober, anyway) but I've lost most of the awkward areas of fat that were prone to bloating, and what look to be stomach muscles are almost visible. I'd highly recommend an internship to anyone looking to do those last bits of pre-holdiay toning without the excessive gyming and dieting. I have noticed my food intake lowering, but I think that's more to do with not having time to snack.
Sorry, I promise this isn't going to become a thoroughly homosexual "Abs Watch" diary of any kind, I just felt it was relevant to personal style development.

Oh, also, I can't say very much, but as you may have seen on twitter I got a present in work today. :) One of the design guys was telling me about what's been going on with SS13, and since one of the ideas that I liked has been scrapped, he gave me one of the artwork ideas. I can't show you it, or tell you too much about it now, as it's still collection relevant, but it will definitely be appearing alongside my show bloggings come September.

Anywho, I feel better now that I've have a wee catch up. N'night,

DSH. x

Spotted

Of course, the week I sleep in every day that I'm interning is the week I pop up all over the HoH interwebs. 

On Thursday I crashed Maggie's HoH On Trial feature on the blog...

I absolutely love this goat-sleeved coat from AW12/13, it may be my favourite piece from the collection. 

Perhaps not my best angle, but again, I love these leather cycling-inspired caps from the same collection. I know I say this on twitter all the time, but I would seriously consider becoming an escort, just to get my hands on one of these hats; although, considering the slogan, perhaps rent boy may be more appropriate.

Then, come Friday, before it all got a bit hectic towards the end of the day, I inadvertently became the poster boy for "Dress Down Friday" on Instagram.

I may have lied earlier when I said the other coat was my favourite piece from the collection. This all goat piece is absolutely amazing in real life! Plus, the fact that they're sized a bit big and I could fit in a 6 gives the extra confidence boost that could make you fall in love with anything.

Oh, I also broke up the general running and sorting on Friday with a bit of pattern cutting, so it was a pretty good end to the week. Hopefully now that the design guys know that I can do it they might throw other bits and pieces my way. Having said that, I still have to go in tomorrow morning and sew up the sample I cut, so let's hope nothing goes drastically wrong there.

Might be another quiet week from me; the Drama lot are coming down for a visit tomorrow, then Mum's down towards the end of the week, and I'm back up to Nottingham on Sunday to finally move out of the flat, but I'll be back when I can. Hope you all have a good week too.

DSH. x

Photos 1-3: Shirt from Zara, jeans from H&M, necklace from Topman and shoes are Converse.

Photo 4: T-shirt from American Apparel and jeans by Cheap Monday.

Oh, and my glasses are Prodesign Denmark. Yes, they are prescription, before you start thinking I'm so horribly affected and "hipster". H off of Steps has the same ones. :) Not sure why that makes me so happy, but I like having the same glasses as a famous.

This Is What Happens When I Drink With Actors

Evening all, this promise to post more regularly really isn't working out, is it? If I'm honest, I've been in a bit of a work-sleep-drink-recover-repeat cycle since I last posted, so I've not had a huge amount of time in which my brain was functioning highly enough to write.

Not too much of note has been going on with HoH that would be of interest to you; I've been doing a bit less running about the place and more studio-based stuff. Oh, and I went out to the Apple Store in Stratford for them last week, so got to tick "See the Olympic Stadium" off my list of touristiness. Not that I'm that hyped about the Olympics, but it's just one of those things I felt I should be able to say I'd done. Probably the best thing about that day, though, was Henry saying I could have the £70 Apple Gift Card I was given in the store, as a thank you for going, which was fantastic. So, not only was I actually speaking to him a bit (I am seeing him as a bit more of a person now, by the way, but it's still really exciting working with him), but I also had a major iTunes binge. I only got the necessities, of course, such as Never Been Kissed, and the Buffy Once More With Feeling soundtrack, which only affirmed my desire to do a project based on late 90s/early 2000s American high school aesthetics. Not quite sure how I'll work that in, considering (apart from two 2 week projects) second year is all group work, but I'll find a way. There's always my 3rd year collection.

Oh, talking of uni, I passed first year. :D I hadn't realised the results were out, so luckily I hadn't had time to get myself worked up about it. Overall, I got a 2:2, which I'm thoroughly happy with, considering I thought I'd utterly failed my colour project. Plus, I got a 2:1 in my essay, which is only 1/6 of my overall mark, but having prided myself on my English coursework throughout school I was happy to see I could still knock out a decent essay after a year of minimal writing.
Now I'm ridic excited for menswear; if only it wasn't group work. (I'm saying "ridic" a lot now, for some reason.)

The main thrust of this post though, is the photoshoot I threw together with Hannah and Elisabeth (two of the girls I'm living with) a couple of Sundays back. The night before I was helping Hannah get ready to go out (because that's what you do when you're the fashion student of the house) and she suggested it, so the next night we piled half of our clothes on the landing, cracked open the gin, and this is what happened.

Making Onsies (or is it onesies?) Sexy 

All clothes models' own

Cleaning or Gin? 

Sunglasses by Spitfire (mine), rest of clothes models' own.

There's something slightly Frisky and Mannish to me about these ones.

All clothes models' own.

Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better

 All clothes models' own.

It's a Boy Girl Thing

Waistcoats, Shoes, and Dress models' own; Sunglasses by Spitfire and Trousers by Principles circa. 1980 (both mine).

At this point it all got a bit too much for Hannah.

The Eye Glitter That Started It All

Eye Glitter from Anne Summers.

What Happened Last Night?

Shoes, Shorts and Bra model's own, Jacket by Stark Realism circa. 1980 (mine).

Elisabeth Gets Patriotic 

Dress and Boots model's own; Jacket by Gap (heavily mutilated), Sunglasses by Spitfire, and Hat Military Surplus, bought from my school's drama department (all mine).

Oh Boy...

Shoes and Top model's own, Shorts by Unconditional (altered to fit) (mine).

I Don't Speak Spanish, But I Like What You're Saying.

Shoes and Skirt model's own, Hat and Scarf (worn as top) by H&M (mine).

Oh, Cheeky!

All clothing models' own, apart from Hat by H&M (mine).

I also did a great slightly military/chains/leather and lace thing with Hannah and Helen for pride, but sadly we didn't really get any good photos.

So, that's pretty much it from me for now. Hopefully I'll be in contact again soon, but with meeting halls friends on Saturday, then Drama people on Monday, and going up to Nottingham next weekend to finally officially move out of the flat, I'm not sure when that'll be. Ah well, I wouldn't be as fun if I were predictable, now would I?

DSH. x

I Am Intern, Hear me Roar

Finally, I have internet access, battery in my laptop and enough time to give you an update. Apologies for the long wait; I really have missed writing this, even if you may not have missed reading it particularly.

Anyway, back to what I meant to talk about: I am now officially interning three days a week at House of Holland, and will be until the end of July. I know that was a bit anti-climactic after my OTT secrecy, but I wanted to get a bit of distance from my angry ranting of a couple of posts ago. It was all my own frustration and didn't want anyone to think it was directly aimed at any individual. Everyone I've been working with has been lovely so far, and the person I called an assistant is most definitely not an assistant; in fact, she verges on scaring me slightly every so often, so I *really* hope she never reads that.

Well, I say everyone has been lovely, I have developed a deep hatred of a couple of the staff at Brown's Focus, one of whom laughed in my face because I was unsure about something that I had no reason to know. Fair enough, I'm an intern - which we all know is the lowest one can be within the industry - but I'm an intern from the designer, and he's basically a shop assistant selling the clothes, so he has no authority over me or right to laugh in my face.

*Aside: Sorry, I'm trying to not get too venomous too often; if I get into the way of it this could very easily be come a forum for my frequent ranting.*

I've mainly been doing that sort of thing: running between the studio, shops, fabric suppliers and factories, with a few bits and pieces of packing, sorting and quality checking thrown in. It may not seem too fun on the surface, but I'm really enjoying it; just being in the studio is such great experience, seeing how everything is done; and after hearing horror stories of people with other designers spending their placements picking up pins and dog shit off studio floors, I know I'm lucky to be doing what I am. 

Plus, the fact that I'm working with Henry Holland does make the whole thing quite exciting*, in a startstruck 14 year old girl kind of way. Ok, so he's not there all the time, and I haven't actually worked directly with him, or had a conversation with him, but he's smiled at me, apologised for being in my way, and asked if he could take a chair I was carrying, which makes me happy*. I thought working in the same space as him, seeing that he is in fact human, would make me less of a fanboy, but if anything it's just regressing a couple of years. He was my hair-spiration when I went from heavy fringe to textured up-do. (I don't know why that's relevant, but you never know, it might be useful in a pub quiz some day.)

Oh, also, I'm loving getting all the inside info. I'm used to getting everything from twitter first, so I felt ridiculously smug having heard about Agyness Deyn's wedding long before I saw the first tweets about it. And, I won't say too much, for obvious reasons, but what I've seen of SS13 looks *amazing*.

Outside HoH I haven't been doing too much: Last week was a bit rushed to begin with, finding out I got the placement on Monday, then starting on Tuesday. On Thursday (I work Tues, Wed and Fri) I went to the Ball Gowns exhibition at the V&A, which was good, but I'm not sure how strongly I'd recommend parts of it; already having a good idea of mid-late 20th Century fashion, a lot of the context stuff downstairs was a bit same-old to me, but I loved seeing newer pieces from designers I knew of, especially things like the silver leather Gareth Pugh piece they have (I'm still in a bit of a Pugh obsession), and I kept going back to the Atsuko Kudo lace-print latex dress. It's definitely worth seeing though. Oh, and then I was in Covent Garden and saw Gok Wann. I feel that my self restraint in not punching him is a sign of my emotional maturity. I did fantasise about using the easel he had with him to stake him, Buffy styley, but that's not the point.

Then I was back up in Nottingham from Friday through to Monday trying to pack up my life into as few boxes as possible, which didn't quite happen. Let's hope Abigail's offer to store my stuff for a month extends to a large suitcase and approx. 10 boxes.

Today was pretty chilled; mainly revolving around frapuccinos and scoping out the Lush store I have a trial in on Saturday. As much as I'm liking having most of my week as a wee holiday in London, I'm going to need to get a paid part-time job to fund the extravaganza of pineapple, cherry coke and tacos that my life has become.

I think that's about it from me tonight; sorry it's been so rambley and unstructured, that should improve when I'm posting more regularly again. 

My New Obsession (And for those of you who who follow me on twitter, these are the ones that got chilli in my eye.)

DSH. x

P.S. I saw this piano on the South Bank this afternoon. Am I the only one to see it and think of the Glee Purple Piano Project?

*No, I do not mean "exciting" or "happy" in any libidinous manner. Shame on you for thinking such things!