Obsessed with being nude?

Just three of my recent purchases- ASOS, Zara and River Island respectively. I think I have nude issues. Camel, stone, beige, natural, nude...if it comes under these categories it goes in my wardrobe- (punctuated with the occasional pop of red). I'm not ready for Nudes Anonymous just yet so heres hoping the high street keep churning out my favourite colour...

There is no place like home...

Wearing black to a wedding

There used to be a long list of fashion rules. Don't wear socks with sandals, avoid double denim and never wear black to a wedding. However, after seeing socks with open toe shoes on the catwalk (not quite sandals but very nearly...), double denim covering the pages of fashion mags, I thought what the hell I'll wear black to a wedding! I bumped up the hair, vamped up the lips and whacked in the Bet Lynch-esque earrings before slipping into a Topshop Boutique backless silk dress. I was happy with the look but initially very nervous that others would deem it innapropriate. Nevertheless, once I arrived I saw others had had the same idea. Black is classy, sophisticated and timeless afterall. After a few drinks and a couple of Spice Girl songs I must admit I didn't think too much about the fashion rules and just concentrated on throwing some shapes!

Angel with a Devilish Streak...

Look positively angelic is this season's Smock dress but dirt it up a little with the Henry Holland Mock Stock for a real Angel/Devil clash! Filth.

Today, I am going to wear my good deed!

I am one of those very smug students that does not have any 9 o’clock, in fact, I only have 9 hour contact time in a week, please take in account I am an English Lit student and therefore have many a classic novel to read (well, I read their summaries on the internet!). I also have Wednesday and Thursdays off, as hectic as these free days could have been by filling them up with sleep, eat, Gilmore Girls, I decided, ‘No Clare, you must do something more!’. There must be over a thousand societies at my Uni, so I set out to join one. I chose LUVU, Lancaster University Volunteering Unit. I work on two different (albeit similar) schemes called Voltage and Energisers and I love it! Working with College students to help them set up their own Social Enterprises. Some of their ideas are so inspiring, and I could not believe how organised and successful some of these groups are. As you can imagine though, there is usually around 4-5 groups a term that focus on ‘fashion’, be it recycled jewellery to vintage and sprucing up boring clothes, but I lie to you not, they are amazing.
Of course I am so bias, I honestly believe my team, ‘Jeanius’ (Blackpool and Fylde College) are the best! I spent an hour or so on Wednesday helping transform various pairs of jeans into bags, iPod cases, purses and anything you could possibly think of. These students are utterly fantastic (lead by their truly inspirational teacher), every single pair of jeans have been donated, and the students spend time helping design and cut the pattern for some lovely ladies to stitch! I have to say, I was so very impressed with a little tartan and denim number I battled with (of course with the help of Chris!). Every single penny of profit will be sent to a small charity called Helping Hand in Blackpool, one of their aims ‘includes walking alongside and befriending those with life controlling issues’.
So where is this blog leading to? I honestly believe that whether Climate Change is happening or not, we need to stop wasting clothes! We need to re-use and re-cycle! Revamp, stitch, change and dye if needs be! You know that buzz you get from doing a good deed? Imagine being dressed in good deeds, imagine the skip in that walk. There are so many social enterprises out there, and one of my favourite is Kresse Wesling’s. She makes the most amazing bags out of old Fire Hose and disregarded material from office chairs. Sounds mental? They work. These bags are expensive, but gorgeous, and once you have got bored of it, send it back to her and she will make you other things from the bag. Say a smaller bag, a belt and iPhone case! You have to check out the website, and I defy you not to get tingles. This women is amazing (I really need to stop using superlatives). I love you Vivienne Westwood, and I love your Ebury 4690 Floral Bag , I truly lose breath at the mere sight of it, but I am sorry, I want a bag made out of Fire House so much more.


I want the messenger back because it is more me, but she does have various designs, including a nice tote. Check it out. Please....

http://www.fire-hose.co.uk

Fashion with a heart

How many items have you got in your wardrobe still with the tags on? I'm too embarrassed even to answer this question myself, especially when I think of the number of items that have only been worn once, that sit snuggly next to them (Totally lying here, pretending all my stuff hangs neatly in the wardrobe when in actual fact they decorate ever inch of my bedroom!)

Now, I've mentioned before that my mantra is 'if it's so last season, then let's consider it vintage'- I'm not a strict fashion follower, if I don't like it I won't wear it no matter what Vogue says and if I love it, then ninety-twelve seasons later it will still be out for the airing. However, we all get fed up of the same old, same old from time to time and thats where e-bay comes in...

We have all heard the saying 'One man's trash is another man's treasure'- and never a truer word has been uttered than when that trash is Sienna Miller's! GMTV's fashion presenter Mark Heyes has worked his magic and had managed to prise clothes and handbags from some of the era's biggest fashion icons and is just weeks away from whacking them up on e-bay. The reason? Fashion with a heart. Heyes is carrying out a campaign to get the British public recycling their togs all in the name of charity. The money made from this goes to help charity and from Friday 26th March you will be able to bag yourself, to name a few, Peache's party frock, Geri's jeans or even Jonny Wilkinson's woolley socks if that floats your boat. These donated items will be auctioned off on e-bay for Haiti so if you're interested get yourself prepared by following this link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/updates.php?id=289871911408&sent=1&e=0#!/event.php

and see if you can bag yourself a celeb...erm, bag!

Also, check out my listings, over the next few weeks I'm having a clear out... search mori_085 for a few fashion bargains :-)

The Imagine Game: Let's Pretend

There a lots a versions of this game.

1. The first you play usually with a partner... "Imagine I woke up one morning with the nose of a pig, would you still love me?"- It is a game that never gets boring as the 'imagines' get sillier.

2. Next is the one you play when you walk in to Harvey Nicks, Selfridges or Viv Westwood's with nothing but your student loan to your name (or rather, your overdraft). You are clad in Primarni but this doesn't mean you are not looking hot. In fact, you are looking more than hot because you'll be damned if you're gonna walk around that shop looking like you can't afford, being sneered at by the snooty shop assistant. (This does not apply to all shop assistants- I must say the ones in the Liverpool Viv are lovely!) So, you imagine your bank account is filled to the brim. This 'imagine' is short lived and as you pass your card over and your heart starts pounding as you imagine how embarrassing it would be if it was rejected right now...one of those moments when you pray to God and promise that if he helps you out just this once you'll go to Church and pray to him more often and not just when you want something.

3. The last, I played when it was my 21st. I was treated to my lunch by my friend in the Selfridge's food court. As we scoffed our faces and discussed the joys of birthday celebrations and champagne drinking, a man dressed in a dapper suit came over. "Sorry for interrupting," he said, "I couldn't help overhearing that it's your 21st birthday..." before presenting me with a bottle of pink champagne! I couldn't believe it, but not wanting to look like an absolute nerd I took it in my stride, stayed cool, calm and collected and pretended this happened all the time. Yet all I really wanted to do was jump up and down and scream, "Did you see what this man just did? Did you? Have you seen my present? I don't even know him. It's not a cheap bottle either. And it's PINK!"

4. However, tonight I am imagining just one thing... that these babies belong to me!Michael Lewis- Doroteya £450

Michael Lewis- Dahlia £475

Find these, and more on the new Hervia Bazaar website: www.herviabazaar.com. A very sexy new website full of very beautiful things...

xxx