Ariella..

..I cannot wait for your arrival!

Fall '09

H&M Fall '09 preview:





Can you please drop already! As I fear I may be over studs and hard black by September.

2002

My day entailed high school nostalgia after agreeing to 'model' for Georgia as part of her College project on re-branding.
I got to skip lessons and change numerous times in the girls' toilets whilst staff and students looked on in amazement.
It was nice to make use of some of my wardrobe items that I neglect and bring them to life once again.
Here are a select few of the final shots.







Everything feels extremely rushed at the moment, I have exams in a month lasting a week and then I am free but I can't shake the feeling of anxiety.

Life and style?

The dress arrived on Thursday! I teamed it with a Zara grey blazer, tights and Marni inspired block heels.
I Imagined it to feel similar to the floral dress from Kate Moss' first Topshop collection but surprisingly it was poles apart. It really is as nice in the flesh-and as short!

Rather dissapointed to stroll into work wearing it that same evening to be faced with about twenty of the same. Seems Bromley did in fact get the collection, however it isn't selling at all. After the failure of Moss' collection in recent months in the store one would assume that once they had chosen to stock Hulanicki's collection they would advertise and promote it more to enhance sales.

In other news, it looks like I will in fact be going to University of the Creative Arts in Epsom to do fashion Journalism, and not pursuing style advising full time. I'm thoroughly excited about the opportunity but am very dubious about moving outside London again. A year simply hasn't been enough time to do all the things I wished to do. Am contemplating living in Wembley or Clapham, but this would come with it's on complications too. Time will tell...

Biba reigns..

So, I finally got to order the dress I have been lusting after since I saw it in the preview lookbook for Barbara Hulanicki's collection for Topshop.
After a wakeful sleep through sheer panic that I would awake at 9, missing College and the entire collection altogether, I woke at 7.20am, 20 minutes after the collection had dropped online.
When I went to purchase my chosen dress my size had already sold out! I knew I had to have it anyway so promptly purchased an 8 before that too sold out!
The buzz of knowing it was soon to arrive wore off rather quickly however, knowing that I would have to get it taken in to get the desired effect of nipped in/oversized shoulders without a belt etc.



However, on my arrival home at lunchtime today I thought to myself, I will check it again anyway, afterall you never know...and luck was on my side! After being notified that the site had been having technical difficulties earlier it all made sense.
With a sneaky phone call to track my order and subsequently cancel and reorder whilst on the phone I managed to snag my desired size. Hurrah!



Barbara Hulanicki, alongside husband founded the clothing company Biba in 1964. Throughout the 60's and 70's it was at the forefront of the British high street and was the Topshop of it's time. Biba closed in 1976 whilst Hulanicki continued working in fashion for some time before progressing into interior design.

The collection itself features body con dresses, oversized shoulders, buttoned, nipped in waists, wide legs and bikinis all adorned with either Hulanicki's own interpretation of leopard print through a coral/grey colour way or her youthful linea cartoons. For the less daring she has produced scarves and shopper bags.

A couple of other items from the collection:



Source: Topshop.com

Family Affair

Barca cont...
Day three and we were graced with ray upon ray of sunlight. After the hearty breakfast we had now become accustomed to we set off for shops galore!- And they did not disappoint! First stop was a basement Zara Home. I now know where I will register if I ever get married and do the American gift norm. Purchased a simple white candle for mum and lusted after gold cutlery. Thought twice about purchasing the cutlery as student living will never quite live up to it's gold utensils. Next up was the shop Trust Nobody located just off the busy Las Ramblas we were met with a serene calm bathed in shadowy sun. Unfortunately the shop did deliver, but not in sizing, so I left empty handed with no holiday gift for J. Next up was the vintage search. Having done a little research prior to the trip I had found a couple of places worth a look. Again, I left empty handed, choosing against buying faded slogan tshirts and army surplus just for the thrill of the purchase.
Found the compulsory Topshop(why do they get the new Kate Moss collection in a tiny store when our megastores don't?) and numerous more H&m's, Zara etc.
A break was in order, after making our way up eight floors of Barcelona's most famous department store we picked up a cake and coffee and sat ourselves down infront of the cafe's panoramic view of Barcelona.



We were then met with a crowd surrounding some talented individuals showcasing their break dancing skills. Have to fault them on their choice of music however: Prodigy? No.



The final evening was accompanied by yet more tasty delights and strolls up and down Passeig De Gracia, looking into the window of the YSL store and admiring the light reflecting upon the cage heels.

Lovely casual Sunday spent with boyf to prepare myself for the ensuing torture of College this week. After the confusion from waking at 7am and driving into the so called nature's garden that is Kent needlessly we strolled down row upon row of wallpaper paste tables to view other's unwanted wares. I left with a pair of genuine Rayban wayfarers for £5!!, a cosy, gold embellished jumper dress and beautiful candelabra.
With the arriving of the sun we zoomed to Chislehurst for a bite of lunch at Cafe Rouge.

...Currently continuing in my role as ultimate procrastinator through overindulging in five episodes of Come Dine With Me, painting my nails, writing to do to lists and gorging on forgotten Green and Blacks easter eggs. Just waiting for the new episode of Louis Thereux to round off a lovely day.