Audrey

Les Ajummas, kézaco ? Il s’agit de certaines mères sud-coréennes, reconnaissables à un style vestimentaire très… hum… spécial et à un caractère bien trempé ! Quand on pense aux Sud-Coréennes, nous avons un peu tous tendance à imaginer une belle jeune fille en fleurs avec une jolie petite robe, de longs cheveux et de grands [...]

Entrée

On Sunday I met the most amazing Mary of So Outrageous who had come to York for the weekend. Well, we met on Saturday as well, for drinks but it was on Sunday that we took these photos. May I just say how refreshing it was to meet a lovely, intelligent, awesome woman I could really talk to, after the string of underwhelming guys I have been meeting here since I came back! I had really really missed female company. We talked about a lot of stuff and we bitched about a lot of stuff. It was brilliant.

One of the things she got me to think about was our aesthetic. We share a very similar aesthetic, as you can see. It’s super femme, lolita-inspired in many ways and girly to the point of being childlike at places. In fact, it is very childlike. I haven’t seen anyone apart from her and Georgina who has adopted this aesthetic. One of my main gripes with plus size fashion is the emphasis on sexiness. I can sort of understand why this happens - after all most fat women go through a lifetime of being told that they can’t be sexy. But is this the only option? I see so many fat fashion bloggers who have adopted the ‘sexy’ aesthetic - lots of bling, high heels, bodycon, short hemlines and low necklines. Very trend oriented too. I will probably make a ton of enemies by saying this but I feel that it all gets a bit same-y after a point. Apart from the two people I have already mentioned, I find it hard to draw inspiration from my fellow fat bloggers because my style is just so different from theirs. In this, I find a lot of straight size bloggers to be far more inspiring, and it’s always such a bummer when I find them wearing clothes I want to wear but can’t because they just don’t come in my size. I would always prioritize ‘cute’ over ‘sexy’. I wonder why this is. In my case, part of it might come from how I engage with my sexuality. 

I think I can pinpoint the time my style changed from ‘sexy’ to ‘cute’. It was with this outfit for my former blog (man I used to look so different then!). Delving into very personal matters, I was obsessed with S&M at the time, especially the Daddy/little girl dynamic. I liked how that made me feel. And I wanted to feel like that in every sphere of my life. And so I dressed in ways that made me feel little, without going into full blown loli territory. With time, the S&M part of it changed, but the way of dressing remained there. I found that the way I wanted to dress started getting more and more influenced by the books I had read as a child. 

I grew up reading books written for little English boys and girls from a time when the world order was still very much colonial. That majorly influenced who I became and it wasn’t until I went to university and studied postcolonialism that I had the tools to analyse and unpack what was going on. In many ways I am the typical postcolonial subject. Lots of anxiety, and a lot of trauma, dosed liberally with a big helping of guilt. It’s the reason I study it as an academic now, because I engage with it on a very personal level.

That aside, though, I grew up wanting to dress like the pictures I saw in those books. I even did an inspiration post last year when I found an old copy of Ballet Shoes while doing a module on Children’s Literature. However as a child, due to some very personal stuff, I was kept dressed as a  boy. A late 80s/early 90s boy. But the way I really wanted to dress was like a little girl from the 40s. Lots of cute dresses, peter pan collars sticking out of jumpers, sailor dresses, plimsolls and t-strap flats. It was a desire that remained unfulfilled for a long time. But sometime in 2010, I realised that I had the means to fulfil that desire. And so slowly I began to gravitate towards that. I spent my childhood drawing pictures of blond haired, blue eyed children in the clothes I wanted to wear. Now that in itself is worthy of some major analysis, but now I could be the black haired, black eyed, much older girl in those very same clothes.

Now, I realise the dangers of favouring an aesthetic that has youth at its core. It makes ageing a scary process and gives rise to a lot of ageism. I have been consciously trying to avoid that. I was really really tempted to Photoshop out the laugh lines around my mouth and nose and my dark eyebags that show up in poor light in this post. In fact I edited this batch of photos four times before I finally decided to be honest. I hate it, I hate how I am showing my age. I hate how my makeup process needs to be more elaborate with every passing day to pass me off as youthful. There’s that pitfall of trying to cling on to that youthfulness with everything you have and dreading ageing. I’m trying to strike a balance though. I’m trying to be honest with myself while being true to my aesthetic. It’s a difficult line to tread. I wonder how I will feel 10, even 5 years down the line. Will I have to remake myself dramatically? Or will I become even more of a curiosity? 

So there you go. That’s why my aesthetic is ‘cute’ rather than ‘sexy’. It’s the reason I am so into vintage. I know it is true that if you are beyond a certain size, vintage clothing is really hard to get hold of and this is something that stops a lot of fat women from wearing vintage. I myself have to do a lot of hunting through Etsy and eBay to find pieces I want to wear, and I am kind of on the smaller side of fat. Even then it usually is an agonizing process. Plus size stores don’t make this easy either. So much of what they have to offer is ‘sexy’ instead of ‘cute’. Straight size fashion does not have to rely on ‘sexy’, so why should fat fashion? If there are straight size brands like Dahlia and Dear Creatures and TBA, where are their plus size counterparts? Answer : there are none. Fat women are given one and only one script to follow. I believe that even if any fatty wants to explore ‘cute’ instead of ‘sexy’, the fashion world makes it very very hard. I have found that there are very few options from exclusively plus size stores that I would personally wear. The Clements Ribeiro collection from Evans is one of them, even though it is wholly out of my budget.

Another plus size store that has been doing some interesting things is Simply Be. I was contacted by them recently, and they asked me if I wanted to do a review. I thought about it and went to the site, expecting to find nothing. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. They had a few things I was very much interested in, including this bird print blouse and this sequin t shirt. Infact I am still dreaming of the sequin t shirt. But what really caught my eye was this bobble heart jumper I had seen on Bethany earlier. Bobbles in the shape of hearts in peach! So cute! I decided that it was totally my style. 

It arrived a couple of days later, packed beautifully with a white ribbon tie. I loved it at first sight. What made me really sad though was that it was too big for me. I got the 16/18 as I wear a 18 but I was just swimming in it. I am just not used to wearing oversized things, but if that’s how you like your jumpers, get the size you normally wear! Otherwise size down. I wanted to send it back and get the 12/14 but it was sold out. More sadface. My original intent was to wear it with my sequin knickershorts but it enveloped the shorts completely. In the end I paired it up with this skirt which has pink roses on it to go with the colour of the jumper. Despite the sizing issues though, I really really love this jumper, and I am not being paid to say that. I would pay for it gladly if I hadn’t got it for free. Simply Be - I am really impressed! 

Jumper: c/o Simply Be// Skirt: ASOS (similar)// Tights: Levante, c/o Tightsplease// Coat: New Look (somewhat similar but more awesome) // Bag: Cambridge Satchel// Hat: 50s vintage hat from Dalena Vintage// Shoes: M&S via eBay

Mary and me. Aren’t we just so adorably retro?! 

Her outfit. I loved the skirt and the collar! 

A photo I took in the fog after I dropped Mary off at the station. 

Ce lundi 27 mai, le tribunal de grande instance d'Arras jugeait le propriétaire médiolanais d'un husky. Après un signalement d'une femme de ménage surprise de voir le quadragénaire lui répondre que le vieux journal roulé servait "à faire quéquette avec le chien", une enquête a été diligentée par le Parquet d'Arras.

Le président de la société de pêche « La Jeumontoise », qui s'est éteint le mercredi 15 mai, était connu pour sa grande générosité et son franc-parler. Aujourd'hui, il laisse un grand vide dans le monde de la pêche sambrienne et à Jeumont.

There’s also something about the skater-dress shape that’s good for us pear shaped folk I find. So when Shitty Chic brought out this range of basic cap-sleeve skater dresses in every colour of the rainbow last year, I had to get me a green one.


Hmmm.....I probably should have ironed it before taking these photos....but then on the other hand, fuck that. 








So, what I’m wearing:
-    Green skater dress from City Chic
-    Giant black dinosaur necklace from Tatty Devine
-    Black Extreme Cat-eye Sunnies from ASOS no longer available sorry :(
-    Black strappy shoes from Evans I got them a few years back so they’re no longer available but I’ve noticed these similar ones on ASOS at the mo.

maddieonthings:

Party Nose

I thought…

- Matignon, Bretagne -

Un LOLcoiffeur repéré sur Le Libr’Hair :)

Mardi 21 mai, les membres de l'association " Liz and the golden girls " ont appris que leur local, situé au sein de la salle Steinmetz, dans le quartier du Fort, à Hautmont, a été cambriolé et vandalisé. La cinquième fois, selon la vice-présidente de l'association.

Après le succès de «Ferme en ville», l'an dernier, Maubeuge accueille cette fois une nouvelle manifestation, directement issue de la Fête de la ruralité de l'Agglo.

- Albi -

Une contribution de Raydacteur

Either that, or I've mugged a professional ice-skater and stolen her costume.



Today's accessories are a tribute to pleather, which I figure is ok for this week's Aussie Curves theme as there's probably a few others out there doing the same. Also it has leather in the word :-p.

I'm officially in love with my spiky back-pack from MadPax and have been known to hug and kiss it in public. So be prepared to see it again (frequently) on this blog.


The spiky bag and my imitation Docs from Raben footwear make up the pleather portion of the post.

Is pleather even a thing any-more? I'm pretty sure that since the application of the word 'Vegan' to clothing was birthed to the world by Stella MacCartney's very clever marketing team about five years ago, it has since gone viral and now applies to anything - from canvas sneakers that never contained 'Meat' in the first place to clitoral and septum rings.


The cheap white imitation Docs from Raben footwear are awesome as they are super-comfy unlike the real thing which I have in red and still haven't managed to break in despite having them for nearly a year.

This is mainly because I can't be bothered applying the 14,000 bandaids required every time I put them on to prevent them shredding my legs apart. Ezmae from Flashionaffair and I are having an ongoing argument about this on Instagram. She insists that they are super-comfy. I insist that she is clearly deluded and insane.




Attention must also be paid to my arm-candy. How cool is this giant resin bangle? It's filled with googly eyes that go all googly as you move! I scored it on my recent op-shopping trip around the Wollongong/ Illawarra region with my cousin Kate. It wasn't from an opshop but rather from Fairymeadow antique centre and hence was the most expensive purchase of the day: an extravagant $20. Sigh, I love opshopping.


And finally, the awesome velvet ice-skater dress was from the same op-shopping trip with my cousin Kate. I wasn't gonna get it but she talked me into it and I'm glad she did. Thanks Kate :)

Vingt-quatre heures de Cannes et tous les ingrédients sont déjà là. Du classique et du bling, des coups d’éclat et des coups de mou, des corps sublimés et des orteils torturés. On rembobine.

Une Nicole peut en cacher une autre. Etonnamment glam au photocall de l’après-midi, en robe noire, coiffure romantique et make up léger. Et super rigide sur la montée des marches. Avec une robe Dior de plus (OVERDOSE) et une coiffure épouvantable.

Quitte à la jouer punk, un mi-long wild à la January Jones aurait été de bien meilleur aloi. Dommage.

Mais la catastrophe de la soirée, c’est à une icône quasi intouchable qu’on la doit : Julianne Moore.

Je ne sais pas quelle marque l’a chaussée hier soir, mais ils doivent raser les murs, jusqu’outre-Manche on s’insurge.

Elle avait remis Balmain et les robes courtes à la mode à elle toute seule à Cannes en 2006, autant dire qu’Audrey Tautou vient de mettre la talentueuse Yiqing Yin en orbite. On a déjà oublié son discours d’ouverture, lisse et convenu, mais ce somptueux écrin d’organza et de soie, lui, a fait le tour du Web. Qu’on aime ou qu’on déteste.

Contrat joaillerie rempli pour Cara Delevingne (en Burberry), qui n’a pas oublié de montrer tout le package aux photographes.

Chez les Gatsby girls, jolie allure pour Solange Knowles, petite mine pour Carey Mulligan, qui a inexplicablement cédé à la panoplie robe fade / décolleté / longs cheveux blonds adoptée par 99% des actrices sans inspiration sur red carpet.

Faut-il s’habiller n’importe comment pour être à l’aise sur les marches ? Peut-être, à en juger par la banane de Florence Welch et Lana del Rey.

Chez les tops… eh bien top pour Georgia May Jagger en rouge fatal, bof pour Cindy Crawford, bloquée dans les 90′s. Et flop pour Inès. J’avais adoré la robe vestale de l’année dernière, là c’est le coup de vieux.

On finit par deux jolies pépées, Freida Pinto en Gucci et telle qu’en elle-même, ravissante et sage sage sage. Et Naomie Harris, la bombe de Skyfall, dans ce que j’aime vraiment sur le tapis rouge : robe qui tabasse la rétine, zéro accessoire et mise en beauté minimale. Pas donné à tout le monde, certes, de quoi savourer doublement quand ça arrive.

Ce soir, alors que j’en attendais beaucoup, j’ai trouvé Emma Watson et Marine Vacth timorées sur tapis rouge, mais j’ai adoré les tenues de Robin Wright et Bérénice Béjo au « Grand Journal ». Je n’ai pas encore trouvé de photos, vous les avez vues ? Cannes c’est aussi ça, le « daywear » monte en puissance, et les plus beaux looks se croisent de plus en plus en dehors des marches. Cf Nicole. Je prends le pari sur ces prochains jours.

Photos : Daily Mail, Just Jared, Pure People, Tendances de Mode

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Si pour quelques personnes le tatouage permet de niquer durablement sa vie professionnelle, vous savez que ce n’est pas du tout ma façon de voir les choses, j’avais déjà abordé le sujet il y a quelques temps ici.

L’artiste dont j’aimerais parler aujourd’hui est Thomas Hooper, un jeune barbu anglais ultra talentueux qui a fait ses classes à la London Institute of Art & Design, et qui office aujourd’hui à NYC chez « Saved tattoo ». Au delà du fait que je trouve cet homme sympathique (oui, parfois je porte un jugement uniquement sur une impression totalement dénuée de fondement), son univers me parle énormément, pas uniquement ses tatouages mais ses peintures et ses recherches. Très symbolique, géométrique, symétrique, précis, il mêle différentes influences qui oscillent entre nature, ésotérisme, religion et inconscient. La pureté qui s’en dégage me donne envie de chialer (oui, carrément).

Voici un petit aperçu.

La triste nouvelle est tombée le mercredi 15 mai, au matin. Simon Blanchard, président de la société de pêche "La Jeumontoise" s'est éteint à l'hôpital de Lille, vers 5h, suite à un malaise cardiaque. Connu pour sa franchise et son dévouement dans le monde associatif, dont celui de la pêche, Simon Blanchard, 62 ans, laisse un grand vide auprès de tous ceux qui l'ont côtoyé.

Le commerce « Comptoir Provençal » a fermé ses portes. L'établissement était implanté à Feignies depuis 35 années.

C'est une affaire hors norme qui va être jugée ce mardi 9 avril devant le tribunal correctionnel de Valenciennes. Le prévenu, le sulfureux radiologue belgo-syrien Farid Alsaïd, est poursuivi pour un exercice irrégulier de la profession pouvant entraîner d'importants risques sanitaires (en ne désinfectant pas les sondes vaginales par exemple), mais aussi pour une fraude à l'assurance-maladie d'un préjudice estimé à plus de 2 millions d'euros..

Les hordes de pigeons qui prennent nos églises pour des hôtels 3 étoiles sont souvent un problème auquel sont confrontées les communes.

A wrapped juvenile camel rides between packs on a camel’s back in Western Australia, December 1916.
Photograph by C. P. Scott, National Geographic

Après vous avoir alléchés samedi dernier avec les photos de mon brunch, je me devais de vous donner la recette au plus vite pour que vous puissiez tester dès ce WE… J’ai pompeusement intitulé le concept « Œufs fleur de bacon »...