Goodbye 2011

It's been an odd sort of year, and thinking back I hardly remember any of it. Starting a new college, getting some gcses, going to Austria... I'm struggling even to think about those. But I think 2012 will be better, at least I hope so.

And so here are some resolutions I hope to stick to, this list I would give to anyone as some new year goals..
This one is more based on me, so I hope I can stick to some of them.

I expect noone will even be reading this as half the world seems to be out celebrating or with friends, the picture below illustrates what I'll be doing later tonight... alone in my room with 4 Winona Ryder dvds and a hoard of junk food.
So Goodbye 2011 you were an odd year, and hello 2012 in a few hours time..

Happy New Year and what are your resolutions?

Cecilia Lisbon

Cecilia is my favourite of the Lisbon sisters in Jeffery Eugenides book The Virgin Suicides.
Cecilia Lisbon, only thirteen, is the first to die, throwing herself onto a fence from her bedroom window after failing three weeks earlier.I think although Cecilia is portrayed as weird or a misfit, she’s the sister I’d get on with most and the one who would be the most interesting as she’s not as keen on boys and fashion as the others and prefers nature and art. I think it is true to today’s society though it’s set in the 1970s with showing the stereotype role of teenage girls and the way they are seen as behaving and acting.

These are some of the quotes I like about Cecilia, the way she's different, and the way she has inspired me to take certain elements from her life (like religion and beaded bracelets) for some Virgin Suicide based photographs."Cecilia was wearing, as usual, the wedding dress with a shorn he,. The dress was vintage 1920s. It had sequins on the bust that she didnt fill out and someone, either Cecilia herself or the owner of the used clothing store, had cut off the bottom of the dress with a jagged stroke so that it ended above Cecilias chafed knees. She sat on a barstool, staring into her punch glass, and the shapeless bag of a dress fell over her. She had coloured her lips with red crayon, which gave her face a deranged harlot look, but she acted as though no-one were there. We knew to stay away from her."Cecilia is a dreamer, “someone out of touch with reality”. She enjoys painting, drawing, keeping a journal and these take away the feelings of her being a misfit, or alone and the pain of shyness. ~Quote from the book.
"Cecilias diary begins a year and a half before her suicide. Many people felt the illuminated pages constituted a hieroglyphics of unreadable despair, though the pictures looked cheerful for the most part."“They found her, afloat in her pink pool, with the yellow eyes of someone possessed and her small body giving off the odor of a mature woman, the paramedics had been so frightened by her tranquillity that they had stood mesmerized.”
"A few of us had fallen in love with her, but had kept it to ourselves, knowing that she was the weird sister." "The trees like lungs filling with air,
my sister, the mean one, pulling my hair."
I think everyone who has read the book (more than watching the film, which is stunning but shows more through images than words) can relate to something in it, or strongly with one of the sisters and Cecilia Is the one for me.

Quotes from the book, screen caps from the film (which is just amazing, thankyou Sofia Coppola), photos taken by me. If you haven't read it- read it. If you haven't seen it- watch it.

Christmas songs part 2!

What happened was I kind of forgot that I was working on a top 10 list and just started making random art to do with some of my favourite Christmas songs.

Merry Xmas Everbody- Slade.

It’s a classic, it’s Childhood, it’s beautiful.

Do They Know It’s Christmas? – Band Aid

I think the original band aid were best, they had the most power and no silly rap part, I love this song, I think it’s important at Christmas to think about others and different parts of the world.I wish we could feed the world and let them know it’s Christmas time.

I wish it could be Christmas everyday- Wizzard.

Another I remember from an old Top of The Pops Christmas special, being terrified of the man dressed up as some kind of glittery Santa (maybe) (It seems pretty cool now). I did love the song, I still do, but I could never live with it being Christmas everyday- imagine how impractical it would be!!

The Little Drummer Boy. (Peace on Earth) – David Bowie and Bing Crosby.

Youtube it for the full magic of the video. What’s not to love about an old man going “barupapumpum”? Bowie is rather beautiful and what makes me sad is after apparently Bing said “Who was that man?” Just no.

Wombling Merry Christmas- The Wombles.

A very odd but jolly song that reminds me every year about the odd little animals (what are they?) that would go about cleaning up litter. They used to be tame little creatures; I fear todays Wombles may be a new breed of media cloned self-obsessed things.

Stop The Cavalry- Jona Lewie.

This scared me too when I was little, purely with the thought of marching men and the loud trumpets, now I really love it. The lyrics are great and I was looking forward to hearing it all year. (I don’t know what happened with the artwork and how it got to become cat related, but there we go).

I hope you all have a lovely fun filled day, and Merry Christmas!!

Wild fairylights oops.

Home made Christmas

Home made is best. (Unless you can find something really brilliant). You can customize things so much better and it always shows more time and effort put into people.
Also it's great if you've forgotten to buy things and don't have much money.

It could just be something bought and made funkier like pick n mix which you can put in a pretty bag or box..Buying a cheap and cheerful disposable camera and adding stickers.. or use the camera over time with a friend taking photos, then print them out for them.Collect little trinkets and stamps, tickets and other bits n bobs.
Then pop them inside a little match box..
Decorated is best, I made my friend Emma a Tardis one with the other side the door to Narnia.
Playlists and mixtapes/mixcds are my favourite things ever, especially if there's a theme involved. I did start to do Christmas songs, but it seemed too obvious.Yay film playlist (see below for tracks) (you may have to tilt your head a little bit)
Pretty pictures of their idols (see a previous post about this)
Hello jazzed up Jordanna..It all depends on the kind of friends you have to how random you want their gifts to be, someone who likes the minimalist approach to presents might not appreciate something as crazy as silver paint and glitter dipped matchsticks..Alphabet bead necklaces and bracelets are the ultimate customized gift.
(Seventy Four as in the Girl Interrupted "Seventy Four is the perfect weight" that my friend loves).The downside of creativity is mess, but MESS IS GOOD.

Nice sequin necklase David!

These were for part of a friends Christmas present, the people that inspire her in a way that I was inspired to decorate them using pens, paint and sequins stuck down with nailpolish (I had no glue.)








Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice, Nicky Wire of The Manic Street Preachers, Sylvia Plath, Jordanna from Submarine, Uma Therman as Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction and David Bowie.

mmhmm coats

I don't own a coat.
I know it's the silliest thing ever, and this winter I really need one, but I think coats are so special. Everyone should have a signiture coat they're recognised for, and I just haven't found mine yet..
Submarine
I originally thought of Submarine for coat inspiration, both Oliver and Jordanna look cracking in their lovely little numbers, but red is creeping back in and I didn't want to compete, especially because Jordanna has the most perfect hair to go with hers.

Get up Oliver, I love yours just as much!!

BECAUSE MENS COATS ARE BRILLIANT. I can always find more nice mens clothing than womens, but I'm always too scared to wear the mens items I buy just incase I ever bump into someone in matching (although that could trigger a chain of events and end up with me marrying my soul mate ha ha)

For example, Sweeney Todd.

How brilliant is that coat, because Men can pull off that battered look (even if this was Victorian)

Snape in Harry Potter

I know this is more of a cape, but imagine swooping round powerfully whipping the air with a huge load of black fabric ughhh.

Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor (Doctor Who)

With a coat that puts Josephs amazing technicolour dreamcoat to shame, the Sixth Doctor had style. Yes it was colourful and creative, and yes I want it.

Frank, Rocky Horror Picture Show

Sneaking onto my blog yet again, not even really in a coat, is Frank. He is one of my biggest style inspirations and I think he just looks beautiful in that green nursey number.

Count Olaf, A series of unfortunate events

Similar to Sweeney Todd in the batteredness (if that's a word), Count Olaf again can pull off a tight dark look and oh I just love the stripes on his.

The Royal Tenenbaums


Because Margot Tenenbaum's style full stop. But her coats fdhdfjdhskdsdfs.
And his.


Which brings me back onto females and fur.

Yes thankyou Morrissey. Meat is Murder, and I'm totally against all real fur~ it broke my heart finding dead animals and fur in my Nans house. Even faux fur I would feel silly wearing, but oh how my idols love their fur..


Alex Drake, Ashes to Ashes- Rocking into the 80s in that brilliant coat just made me fall instantly in love with the character.

Velma Kelly, Chicago.

JUST LOOK. Ughhh *dies*

Edward Gorey

Fabulous man, fabulous coat, fabulous drawings.


Lisa Rose- Girl,Interrupted.

And then just Girl,Interrupted coats in general..

YES LISA, YES SUSANNA, YES TOBY. It must've been the sixties! (How brilliant is Winonas though, another perfect example of the shabby but amazing look)

Which brings me perfectly onto the "Heathers" style.. I would wear any one of these coats if I had the confidence..


ALL THAT COLOUR..

And then there's leopard print coats which are creeping back in..

(An Education)

Edie Sedgwick in her leopard print coat and Sienna Miller playling Edie in Factory Girl..


I do love leopard coats I have to admit, my friend owns one and it just looks brilliant on her, though I'm sure it would look very silly on me.
And I'm pretty sure she got her inspiration from The Manics..



Men, womens, faux fur, leopard print, striped, red.. I love all coats.

(someone buy me one pretty please.)