DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK! LATE NIGHT STYLE CHALLENGE: PEOPLE MAKE GLASGOW

Guess who's back...back again?

Kirsty's back...tell yer pals!

I wonder just HOW MANY blogs I've started with a grovelling apology for yet another extended leave of absence? At least 4 in the last 6 months I'd reckon, and it has GOT TO STOP!

Like a long term relationship gone stale, I’m ashamed to admit I got bored and just stopped trying. I neglected FFS and found that the more I did, the guiltier I felt, and the harder it was to make the first move. Naturally I began to look for my kicks elsewhere and sought comfort in the shape of Netflix and, God forbid, real life people and experiences. I know, I feel dirty. Whenever I DID have the slightest inkling to blog, I did what every guilty person does and ignored it. It was just easier to stay away than try and fix things gone so wrong…

But, HEY, last week I had an epiphany and I realised I’m not ready to give up on my love for FFS (EVEN WITH its dodgy, dated layout), I’m ready to fight for it. So here I am, being the mature one, making the first move, and telling you guys, IT WASN’T OVER, IT’S STILL NOT OVER!!

What prompted this turnaround? Last week I received an email asking if I wanted to take part in a late-night styling challenge at Buchanan Galleries in celebration of Glasgow city centre shops staying open later now (till 7 instead of just 6…which is convenient). Initially my reaction was OW HELLLL NO. Styling a street-facing window of Buchanan Galleries for Spring/Summer, and AGAINST THE CLOCK no less? Pretty much as far out of my comfort zone as I could get at the moment.

You see, I’ve become somewhat of a fashion hermit, and I’m not sure what happened. I still scour loads of blogs obsessively, all my old faves, and read magazines, watch YouTube videos, all about fashion, style and trends. But when it comes to putting any of it into practice, I find myself in black leggings, long jersey tops and a parka most weekends, and skirts and shirts most weekdays. SIMPLY PUTL: THE DEFINITION OF A RUT.

Something needed to change, and maybe this could be it?! Time to start saying YES to things. Time to start running towards fun, challenging opportunities, instead of away from them. I’m tired of declining invitations and picking the easiest option. It’s just BORING. I replied that I would do it before I could change my mind…

And last night was the night. Armed with a few willing helpers (see bezzie and bf) I hopped to it, perspiring excessively with anxiety throughout. TMI, don’t act like y’all can’t handle it.

One hour to pick three looks for Spring/Summer 2014 and some background props, and one hour to style. I had no clue what I was doing, except from a few vague ideas like “pastels” and “girly” and “florals.” The reality turned out a little differently, but I’m still pretty pleased with it…

  

Hiya AWKWARD

The finished window.

PHEW. Yes, it was stressful. But ultimately HUNNERS of fun, which was sort of the point.

I ended up grabbing loads of brightly coloured block pieces and bold florals, which wasn’t really what I had planned beforehand, but those were the things that jumped out at me most. And I figure eye-catching is key for window dressing, right? Although, who the hell knows – I’ve never done it before! I had notions of styling the whole thing around the Pantone colour of the year, Radiant Orchid, but I found it hard to find enough pieces in this very niche lilacy pink... Never mind!

I think my favourite elements are the chunky pink jumper draped over the slinky orange top, and the pink leopard-print fine-knit top tucked into the silky floral shorts. The mixture of those two elements really appeals to me, and I have GOT to start playing with contrasting patterns and textures in real life. I wanted it to look like a fun and maybe slightly heightened version of stuff I really would wear, or at least really WANT to wear, when the nights start getting longer and warmer.

I found myself stressing about the background more than anything else! The little step ladders and fake flowers looked good, but what I really wanted to do was hang bunches of flowers tied with ribbon down from the roof at odd angles and lengths, but frankly that was beyond my capabilities and impossible in an hour. But still, how COOL would that have been?!

Anyway, yes. That’s what I came up with in 2 hours. Not a long time, and those mannequins were a frickin NIGHTMARE, let me tell you. Major snaps to Visual Merchandisers everywhere.

A new blogger is taking on the challenge every night this week. Last night was the formidable Claire from Bee Waits and tonight is the turn of Ann from Frock Trade. Head down for moral support if you’re around, and if you take a SELFIE in front of the window, tweet it with the hashtag #latenightstyle @peoplemakeGLA for a chance to win £50 vouchers. Free monies innit. The winner of the challenge will be announced at the weekend, but to be honest I’m just proud I didn’t say no to this, like I was really tempted to do. That’s winning enough for me.

So. Safe to say THAT chucked me back in at the deep end, but I’m determined to keep FFS afloat, so thanks again for sticking with me. I’ll be posting way more regularly from now on, and it feels GOOD J

X



TAVI FOR VOGUE NIPPON

If you follow me on Instagram (kirsty44susnets) you'll already have seen some of these shots of Tavi for Vogue Nippon channelling a 60s vibe in her typically awesome, off-beat way...

Favourite person blogger in the world. Ever.

Can you believe she's 16 now? I remember reading Style Rookie (before it was even called that) back when she was just 13 and dressed like a mentalist/the coolest old lady you'd ever seen. It might sound creepy but I'm really enjoying watching her grow up and seeing her style and tone of the blog evolve. These shots are GORGEOUS - she's gonna be a total heartbreaker, no?

That did sound kinda creepy.

And yes, I DO read Rookie Mag even though it's aimed at girls ALMOST TEN YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME, because deep down I have the mental/emotional age of an adolescent. Fact. And seriously, some of those articles are downright HELPFUL.

STREET STYLE INSPO

A completely shameless filler awesome-street-style post for you today. Working all weekend and finalising deets for the International Women's Day blogger get together I've been HARPING on about for like decades, so I've been pretty busy, but been collecting these photos for a couple of weeks cos I reckon they are pretty rad, tubular, dope and even fetch.

Thanks to all who registered for the meetup by the way, all FORTY of you! Totally blown away by the support :) Some supplies arrived today from Oxfam so I'll send you all out your official invites next week.

For now, enjoy these TOTES AMAZE pics for some sartorial inspiration.

ONE LOVE

OOH, also, Glasgow gals mind and pick yerself up a copy of the Sunday Herald tomorrow - it features a special Valentines-inspired shoot I assisted on and it's pretty banging, if I do say so myself.

x

REGISTER TO ATTEND: IWD2012 BLOGGER GET TOGETHER

Hello ladies! Super excited to let you know how you can register to attend the Get Together I'm currently planning for Oxfam's International Women's Day 2012. (Original post here).

I've called it a Blogger GET TOGETHER but if you want to bring a friend or two, that's great and you totes can :)

Non-bloggers are more than welcome too, you can all still register in the same way.

• The event will be held in Glasgow on the evening of Thursday the 8th of March
• It will be a tea party-style event with an optional clothes swap, raffle, quiz etc.
• There will be a few surprises on the night - gotta keep schtum at the mo ;)
• The event is free and non-ticketed but you MUST register to attend
• There will be goody-bags!
• Kind donations are expected - it's for charity people!

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To register please email k-mclaren@hotmail.com with your name and address, and those of any guests you plan to bring, by Friday the 10th of February.

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The address part is so I can send you out your official invites from Oxfam :)

I'm really excited about this event and I KNOW we can raise some serious moolah for some amazing womens charities. Plus, I do love a blogger meetup and I missed the last few so it'll be lovely to see you all again in the flesh and meet some new faces :)

Don't be shy, get involved!

I'll reveal the location and some other tidbits nearer the time... don't you love the suspense!


x

Ps if you want to blog about the event yourselves to help spread the word, that would be TOTES AMAZE. thanks dolly-bids x




EDIT: Registration has now closed, thanks to everyone who got in touch! Due to overwhelming demand I've had to change venues so that all 50 of us can come! Watch this space over the next few weeks for more details!

H&M X THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Warning, I rant in this one!


This fairly unassuming collection of grungy jeans, hoodies, leather jackets and boots might actually be one of the most controversial high street collections ever. That's because H&M have teamed up with Trish Summerville - costume designer for newly-released American remake The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - to create a collection inspired by it's brooding, hard-assed, punkish heroine Lisbeth Salander. And some folks are WELL offended.

In the original trilogy of books by Stieg Larsson, Lisbeth's unique, gritty style is hinted at embodying an outward representation of her traumatic past (interestingly this is speculated at by Blomkvist, never confirmed herself). She is not only a kick-ass investigator, rebel and all-round awesome female lead character, but also a rape survivor. Because of this tenuous link between her harsh, relentless, genderless style and the years of sexual abuse she suffered, many are up in arms with H&M's decision to create a collection which directly emulates her signature look.

Rooney Mara plays Lisbeth in the remake which is out now.

None moreso, it would seem, than journalist and rape survivor Natalie Karneef who posted an open letter on her blog (which then found its way onto fashionista.com) in which she criticises the collection for being 'irresponsible' and claims it 'glamourises gender-based violence and rape:'

"H&M have created a line of clothing based on her character: a woman who has suffered a lifetime of abuse, who is violently raped, and who is hunting down a man who violently rapes and kills other women.  Lisbeth has been through hell, and her clothing is her armour.  That's her choice, and it's an understandable choice.  But [they] glamorise it, putting a glossy, trendy finish on the face of sexual violence and the rage and fear it leaves behind.

"What message is H&M sending to the world? "Look at the trendy rape survivor? Look how strong she is, that she can get through all that hell and still wear cool leather jackets?"'

But I have to say, neither this collection, nor the interpretation of it's inspiration offends me.

Firstly, I would never dream of disrespecting Natalie Karneef's opinion and obviously I am not drawing on any personal experience of rape to form my own. But nevertheless, I am as equally entitled to it as she is. I say this because I was recently publicly chided on Twitter by a blogger who told me I was essentially stupid and childish because I wasn't morally outraged, as she was, by the collection. What a silly girl...

Number one, when Natalie Karneef's describes the character of Lisbeth she places her SOLELY in the rape victim box, and ONLY in this box. This is extremely one dimensional, and, as far as I'm concerned, wrong. While Lisbeth's traumatic past is perhaps a contributing factor towards her style, it is not the only factor (her difficult childhood being the far greater factor in my opinion), and 'rape victim' is only once facet to an extremely complex character identity. In fact, I have a hard time even using that word at all when describing someone like Lisbeth - survivor feels much more appropriate. It seems to me that H&M have chosen to focus on her independence, strength, survival instinct, willpower and rebellious nature in this collection, rather than her portrayal as a victim - of ANY kind, rape or otherwise. It's a mistake on Karneef's part to assume that we all identify Lisbeth as first and foremost a rape victim. Because I certainly don't, and never have H&M mentioned that this part of Lisbeth's character had anything to do with the collection. In fact they say completely the opposite:

"Though we think Lisbeth is a strong woman who stands up for her ideals, we are not trying to represent her specifically. Our goal is to rather offer a collection that we see in today’s trend picture that will appeal to many customers."

Number two, if we are to take the message Karneef is preaching as gospel, then where on earth would it stop? What about goths and goth brands, should we hassle them for emulating death and horror? Likewise, what about brands like Topshop who sell t-shirts emblazoned with pentagrams and upside down crosses on the front - should we boycott them completely for glamorising the Satanic and occult? Of course not. We buy these things in their droves without placing the inspirations and connotations on trial. Obviously Karneef's particular issue with the alleged glamorisation of rape since it is what hits home with her in particular - which is tragic and genuinely heartbreaking - but it is wrong to again assume that it's something which will resonate universally. Rape is neither the first thing I think of when I think of Lisbeth, nor does it come to mind when I see this collection. And that's OK.

Number three, as I told whoever it was on Twitter (I can't remember now, it was a while ago but she was swiftly unfollowed due to her condescending attitude, willingness to shove her opinion down my throat and general odious nature), I feel an opinion like this grossly underestimates the general public's ability to tell the difference between FICTION and FASHION. I can tell the difference between a made up character, a fictional series of events, and a collection of clothes which I can hold in my hand. My issue here is not so much with Karneef's opinion but with that blogger who attacked me on Twitter, who seemed genuinely affronted when I told her I was intelligent enough to know when something is and IS NOT glamorising rape. 

The crime of rape is despicable, horrific and can NEVER be taken seriously enough, but I believe some reationaries to this collection have taken the inspiration of Lisbeth Salander too seriously, too literally. The blogger in question's reaction in particular smacks badly of jumping on a  bandwagon. Give some of us more credit - we weren't born yesterday and can tell this from a mile off. How about instead you do some research and form your own opinion. Perhaps this blogger also has an issue with the apparent heightened sexuality of the American actress Rooney Mara as compared to Noomi Rapace as the original Lisbeth in the Swedish films - does she think rape victims portrayed in films should look or dress a particular way?  Why should this be? Or what about the popularity of the books in general - does she balk at the millions of dollars the worldwide franchise has doubtless made? Does she consider all of this to be profiting from the glamorisation of rape? I wouldn't have thought so.

It's been pointed out that it was perhaps naive of H&M not to expect some sort of backlash to this collection, but whether they genuinely didn't, or did and went with it anyway is irrelevant. Potential for a minority to create controversey is no reason not to do something.

Anyway, I fear I've digressed. Congrats if you've made it this far! To sum up, I like this collection and I might well purchase something from it. It doesn't glamorise rape for me, and neither do the books. I've yet to see the film but I suspect it doesn't either. And I'm more than a little upset that Lisbeth has been reduced to ONLY a rape victim/survivor by all this controversy when in reality she is so much more, and would never dream of referring to herself as such.

I sympathise with Natalie Karneef and empathise with her opinion, but I don't share it. And to the aggressive blogger who thought her opinion was much more important than mine, pipe doon hen. You had no idea who you were dealing with, which is forgivable once. But don't cross me again.

Peace! I really hope I haven't come across like a total cow - it's just my opinion and we are all entitled to one.

Oh, and let me know what you think, please! It might  not sound like it but I do genuinely appreciate a good debate. Have you seen the film yet? What do you think? Will you be buying anything from this range?

BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT: SELF CONSTRUCTED FREAK

Today my blogger spotlight falls squarely on the wonderfully-quirky Marlena from Self Constructed Freak...

I first became aware of Marlena after reading her cute collar tutorial over at Rookie mag...Yes, I KNOW it's an online magazine  (started by Tavi from Style Rookie - hero) for teenage girls and I haven't been a teenager for FIVE YEARS (omg) but everything about it invites me in. The content, the articles, the styling, the photos, the guest bloggers... WHY didn't this exist when I was 15?

Anyway, so Marlena was one of Rookie's awesome guest bloggers a while back and I've been creeping on her insane, grungy, teen-witchy, girly, pastel-gothy style ever since. Here's why I love her:

Here she is as Roy Lichtenstein's old school comic strip Crying Girl for Halloween. I mean, that's just RAD.

Pink eyebrows much? Hell yeah!

One of the best put-together outfits I've seen in a long LONG time. Every single detail is perfect!

The things I would do for this T-Shirt...

80s-eyes-tastic.

I rest my case.

I don't know about you guys but when I'm creeping on personal style blogs I always get so much more pleasure out of ones where the blogger has a really strong, statement, individual style that can't easily be copied by the masses. Of course, I do also like the ones where the gal is decked out head to toe in designer/highstreet finery purely for the lust factor, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE blogs like Marlena's for genuine style inspiration. These pics make my heart happy. Or something less cheesy. But, yeah...

Definitely go check her, AND Rookie out. Maybe you'll find it appeals to your inner emo-girl teenager as much as it appeals to mine. Which is A LOT.

Also, Scottish folk, if you're planning on attending Scottish Ballet's winter spectacular - The Sleeping Beauty - keep your eyes peeled for a wee article in the programme written by yours truly. Don't want to give too much away so I will leave it as cryptic as that for now...

Oh, AND, if you're out and about in St Enochs, Buchanan Galleries, Princes Sq, Silverburn or pretty much any Glasgow shopping centre, remember to pick up a copy of the recently-rebranded UK Beauty Guide... Here's a sneak peek of my article:

Check me, pure banging on about trends like I know what I'm on aboot!

BLOGGER LOVE: FASHION LITTER

*warning* extreme fangirl creep alert...

Holy Hell, you know how sometimes you come across a fellow blogger and think "JEEEEZE I love this girl," and "I wanna be best pals with her cos she's do damn FIERCE!" etc etc?

Well let me introduce you to just about my FAVOURITE personal style blogger, Margaret Shaw of FASHION LITTER.

25-yer-old Texan Margaret is as mad as a box of frogs, and totally adorable with it! Alongside her innately awesome outfit posts she likes to ramble on about her husband Joey, her best pal Casey, her family, her cats, and just about anything and everything else. LOVE IT. Rambling blog posts? Something I can get on board with!

Despite having a modest following (madness!) she's been featured in WhoWhatWear, NYLON Japan, NYLON Korea and Free People.

Here's why:

OK, this was all a little creep-tastic, but I just HAD to let you guys in on my current crush.

Mags, can we be pals?

(And can you gimme a loan of those Philip Lim 3.1 quilted shorts and a shot of your Litas? CHEERS!)

Love her.