I have a feeling Saturday will be a lazy day, but must stick to the Jovember rules.
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Day 4 - Don't Rain on my Parade
I have a feeling Saturday will be a lazy day, but must stick to the Jovember rules.
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Day 3 - Pinstripes
Today was a smart day with a pinstripe Oasis dress & Irregular Choice tape measure shoes. The dress I love as it's a bit Vivienne Westwood looking, plus it was the dress I wore for the first interview I had for the job I have now. Unfortunately, as it was raining this evening I had to wear trainers home.
Was told I wear a lot of black today, so think I may have to be colourful tomorrow!
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Jovember the second
The dress was a recent impulse buy. A lovely sixties style royal blue shift dress with 3/4 length sleeves by Whistles. I only really bought it as I had a 20% off voucher from Grazia magazine! It's a classic flattering shape and think it went well with the shoes & grey opaque tights. I must admit I wish I could afford more things from Whistles. They seem to know how to cut clothes to flatter all shapes. Not only that, but they are comfortable and smart enough for work without being boring.
So yesterday's colour scheme was monochrome, with today's blue & purples. Am thinking tomorrow may involve black or green. Planning ahead is quite fun as it saves early morning indecisiveness!
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
First day of Jovember
Have gone for monochrome - Ted Baker, Tara Starlet & Irregular choice. Not sure what colour scheme will be tomorrow, but it won't be black & white.
All today's clothes are firm favourites of mine - though I've not worn the Tara Starlet skirt in a while. Shoes are surprisingly comfortable for ones that look nice!
There will be more monochrome this month though, there's too much in my wardrobe for it not to appear more than once!
All today's clothes are firm favourites of mine - though I've not worn the Tara Starlet skirt in a while. Shoes are surprisingly comfortable for ones that look nice!
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Jovember - my November project
I recently moved house & had to downsize on wardrobe space and it made me realise I kept far too many clothes & shoes for 'best' and haven't got much wear out of them. So I've decided that in November I am going to spend 30 days wearing different clothes & shoes, all from my own wardrobe but never wear the same thing again in that 30 day period. I also must not buy anything new. Of course I don't need anything new as I have at least 40 pairs of shoes, and amongst them at least 12 pairs of ballet flats! In terms of clothes, I'm ashamed to say I still have items in my wardrobe that have the tags on them, although they have been purchased in 2011 at least. I also feel I've neglected my blog recently, so thought this was a good plan to get me blogging every day, with photos for each day being posted on the blog.
I'm not what you would describe as a 'fashionista', as I'm not someone with an obviously quirky sense of style, but that doesn't mean I don't love fashion. I've also lost some weight in the last year which has contributed to me buying some new things (some un-worn as yet), and I've gained a bit more confidence in how I look. I know I can be lazy and wear plain & boring things sometimes; my staples seem to be a top & jeans with ballet pumps or jersey dress & leggings - all while other lovely clothes sit hanging in the wardrobe waiting to be worn. This is why I think I should do this project for no obvious purpose, but to just let my clothes live! In some way I would like to raise some money for charity, as I have done recently by selling old clothes on eBay. Aside from selling clothes for charity at the end of the project I'm at a loss as how to do this, as I don't really want to sell my nicest clothes off just yet!
Some rules have now been set as these need to be stated before the project begins:
1. Different clothing and footwear must be worn each day between the 1st & 30th November 2011 inclusive.
2. By clothing I mean top, dress, trousers, cardigan, so this does not include leggings, socks, coats or undergarments. I certainly don't own that many coats! 3. Clothing & shoes worn for gym visits & playing squash / badminton will be exempt from the project. As much as I plan to go to the gym more in November, am not sure if this rule is that relevant! This also applies to outdoor shoes in bad weather on a work day. I walk over a mile a day between my place of work & the train station and don't really fancy potentially ruining a nice pair of shoes in bad weather just because of this project.
4. Handbags should not be used more than 4 times over the course of the project, although gym bag is exempt.
5. If separate evening outfits are required over the course of the month on occasion, these must also be something not worn at any other time in the 30 days.
6. No new clothing, shoe or handbag purchases can be made in November. eBay purchases may be allowed, but will face that issue if it happens.
7. New rules can be created as time goes on when situations arise - this is meant to be a fun project after all!
Suggestions for how I can raise money for charity would be welcome - as long as they are reasonable! I will also probably think of more rules before I start, but the general rule is not to wear the same thing twice in 30 days. To keep with the fact I love music as well as fashion I'm going to set a song or album of the day. With all this blogging, I wonder if I'll actually have time to do anything else!
I'm not what you would describe as a 'fashionista', as I'm not someone with an obviously quirky sense of style, but that doesn't mean I don't love fashion. I've also lost some weight in the last year which has contributed to me buying some new things (some un-worn as yet), and I've gained a bit more confidence in how I look. I know I can be lazy and wear plain & boring things sometimes; my staples seem to be a top & jeans with ballet pumps or jersey dress & leggings - all while other lovely clothes sit hanging in the wardrobe waiting to be worn. This is why I think I should do this project for no obvious purpose, but to just let my clothes live! In some way I would like to raise some money for charity, as I have done recently by selling old clothes on eBay. Aside from selling clothes for charity at the end of the project I'm at a loss as how to do this, as I don't really want to sell my nicest clothes off just yet!
Some rules have now been set as these need to be stated before the project begins:
1. Different clothing and footwear must be worn each day between the 1st & 30th November 2011 inclusive.
2. By clothing I mean top, dress, trousers, cardigan, so this does not include leggings, socks, coats or undergarments. I certainly don't own that many coats! 3. Clothing & shoes worn for gym visits & playing squash / badminton will be exempt from the project. As much as I plan to go to the gym more in November, am not sure if this rule is that relevant! This also applies to outdoor shoes in bad weather on a work day. I walk over a mile a day between my place of work & the train station and don't really fancy potentially ruining a nice pair of shoes in bad weather just because of this project.
4. Handbags should not be used more than 4 times over the course of the project, although gym bag is exempt.
5. If separate evening outfits are required over the course of the month on occasion, these must also be something not worn at any other time in the 30 days.
6. No new clothing, shoe or handbag purchases can be made in November. eBay purchases may be allowed, but will face that issue if it happens.
7. New rules can be created as time goes on when situations arise - this is meant to be a fun project after all!
Suggestions for how I can raise money for charity would be welcome - as long as they are reasonable! I will also probably think of more rules before I start, but the general rule is not to wear the same thing twice in 30 days. To keep with the fact I love music as well as fashion I'm going to set a song or album of the day. With all this blogging, I wonder if I'll actually have time to do anything else!
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Women in Music
Over the last 20 years the rise of the female artist has been growing. In the early 90s there were virtually no girl bands, and the only major female singers in the chart were Kate Bush and Annie Lennox. They were the exception rather than the norm, but they sold lots of records, so why were there so few women selling albums back then?
It's pretty obvious to say that the music industry is rather male oriented and sexist. If you're a woman in the industry, whether as an artist or behind the scenes, you have to be tough and very thick skinned to even be treated on the same level as men. This used to be an industry where it was commonplace to have meetings in strip clubs. It's not so archaic a concept as this was still happening in the early noughties.
As more and more talented women move their way up in the world of music, the behaviour surrounding them gets a little better. This really isn't much to do with men in the industry treating them better, but the fact that record companies don't have the disposable income to spend on hospitality they once did. These days the people that are actually still selling the records are women.
Why has it taken the world so long to realise that there are just as many talented female musicians out there? Well as I mentioned earlier, men have always dominated the industry. They have it easy really, as long as they have some talent and the singer has a bit of charisma, that's all they need. Women have to look the part. Unless of course their talent is so astounding their appearance is overlooked. This is the exception rather than the rule. Janis Joplin was a supremely talented singer who was very insecure about her looks. She never felt pretty enough and took a lot of drugs to feel better about herself. Unfortunately her life was cut short due to her overdosing at the ripe old age of 27. She could have gone on to do so much more, but never felt good enough.
Personally I think the main reason there are more women selling albums these days is because more women buy music than men. Of course this is a generalisation and I'm not going to say that men are more tech savvy so download more music illegally. I wouldn't know, I'm quite a tech savvy woman and know a fair few less technically able blokes! A few months ago the top 5 albums in the UK chart were all by female artists. Ok, it was the week after Amy Winehouse died and two of the albums were hers. The other three were by Beyonce and Adele who's had both her albums in the top 5 for most of 2011.
These women are (were in Amy's case) very talented artists who've worked hard to achieve their success. The other thing they have in common is that they stick to their own agenda. They also have strong personalities which endear them to fans. I think female artists are more comfortable with bearing their souls a little more and admitting their mistakes. So many of the songs on these top 5 albums speak to women (and men) about love and life and relationships. It will be interesting to see how Beyonce's career changes, or not once she has her baby in 2012. Obviously she won't be a typical working mum with all her millions. She probably will never need to work again, but I have a feeling she'll work just as hard as she always has done with her music, as that's the kind of lady she is! I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up on the American Idol panel in a few years, though in some ways that is kind of beneath her.
What I'm basically trying to say is that it may be easier for women to break into the music industry now than it was 20 plus years ago, but it's still pretty difficult. If you want to perform, you still have to 'look right' more than the men do. You also have to be pretty strong willed and have a tough exterior, preferably more so than blokes. It's a really difficult industry to break into for anyone, but if you're just average looking and not super confident, it's hard work. I personally think one of the reasons the music industry is slowly dying in a lot of areas is because many people working in the industry have got there on charm and confidence as opposed to having the ability to motivate and innovate. Obviously that's a huge generalisation, but none of the big companies really embraced downloading until iTunes had already taken the marketplace. That's what happens with old boys networks, if only they'd employed more women in the first place!
It's pretty obvious to say that the music industry is rather male oriented and sexist. If you're a woman in the industry, whether as an artist or behind the scenes, you have to be tough and very thick skinned to even be treated on the same level as men. This used to be an industry where it was commonplace to have meetings in strip clubs. It's not so archaic a concept as this was still happening in the early noughties.
As more and more talented women move their way up in the world of music, the behaviour surrounding them gets a little better. This really isn't much to do with men in the industry treating them better, but the fact that record companies don't have the disposable income to spend on hospitality they once did. These days the people that are actually still selling the records are women.
Why has it taken the world so long to realise that there are just as many talented female musicians out there? Well as I mentioned earlier, men have always dominated the industry. They have it easy really, as long as they have some talent and the singer has a bit of charisma, that's all they need. Women have to look the part. Unless of course their talent is so astounding their appearance is overlooked. This is the exception rather than the rule. Janis Joplin was a supremely talented singer who was very insecure about her looks. She never felt pretty enough and took a lot of drugs to feel better about herself. Unfortunately her life was cut short due to her overdosing at the ripe old age of 27. She could have gone on to do so much more, but never felt good enough.
Personally I think the main reason there are more women selling albums these days is because more women buy music than men. Of course this is a generalisation and I'm not going to say that men are more tech savvy so download more music illegally. I wouldn't know, I'm quite a tech savvy woman and know a fair few less technically able blokes! A few months ago the top 5 albums in the UK chart were all by female artists. Ok, it was the week after Amy Winehouse died and two of the albums were hers. The other three were by Beyonce and Adele who's had both her albums in the top 5 for most of 2011.
These women are (were in Amy's case) very talented artists who've worked hard to achieve their success. The other thing they have in common is that they stick to their own agenda. They also have strong personalities which endear them to fans. I think female artists are more comfortable with bearing their souls a little more and admitting their mistakes. So many of the songs on these top 5 albums speak to women (and men) about love and life and relationships. It will be interesting to see how Beyonce's career changes, or not once she has her baby in 2012. Obviously she won't be a typical working mum with all her millions. She probably will never need to work again, but I have a feeling she'll work just as hard as she always has done with her music, as that's the kind of lady she is! I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up on the American Idol panel in a few years, though in some ways that is kind of beneath her.
What I'm basically trying to say is that it may be easier for women to break into the music industry now than it was 20 plus years ago, but it's still pretty difficult. If you want to perform, you still have to 'look right' more than the men do. You also have to be pretty strong willed and have a tough exterior, preferably more so than blokes. It's a really difficult industry to break into for anyone, but if you're just average looking and not super confident, it's hard work. I personally think one of the reasons the music industry is slowly dying in a lot of areas is because many people working in the industry have got there on charm and confidence as opposed to having the ability to motivate and innovate. Obviously that's a huge generalisation, but none of the big companies really embraced downloading until iTunes had already taken the marketplace. That's what happens with old boys networks, if only they'd employed more women in the first place!
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
The Joy of eBay
Is eBay the best online store ever? If you're looking for different things to wear than what's on the high street, eBay is the place to go. Thanks to eBay I've sold lots clothes & accessories I no longer wear but are still in good condition. I've got good prices for things I've not expected to and not sold things I think are really nice! From a buying point of view, I've managed to buy some great accessories I couldn't afford full price when they were on sale in shops.
As far as buyers are concerned, there are three types:
1) Those who think they can get something for nothing - they only bid on items that start at 99p, or make offers on products for less than half the 'buy it now' price. A message to these people: sellers are trying to make some money on here, you wouldn't go into a shop and offer £20 for a handbag with a £60 price tag now would you!?
2) Those who watch but never buy. I've listed things that lots of people have put on their watch lists, but by the time the item has ended it's not taken any bids.I'd like to know the psychology behind this. I generally only watch items I might bid on, or they are similar to things I want to sell so like to see what price they go for.
3) The snipers. These people tend to be a little more tech savvy and have software that puts a bid in for you at the last millisecond. I know if I really want something I should probably get some of this software, but I never want anything quite enough to do that!
My best recent purchase from eBay has been a pair of Vivienne Westwood shoes I wanted to buy a couple of years ago. I could never afford them at the time and they were never in a sale that I could find. I managed to buy a good as new pair for half the original retail price. I think the seller may have bought them in a sale, but at the end of the day I got some lovely new shoes! Friends of mine with children have obtained some really good bargains on clothes etc for their kids. It's an expensive business, so keeping the costs down is very important. One friend of mine got a pack of 10 new plain baby grows for 99p! You certainly couldn't get that in Mothercare!
I can spend hours just browsing on eBay. If I lived somewhere remote far from any decent shops I think I would buy lots more on eBay. A lot of things I've sold seem to go to smaller towns in the UK. I've recently sent a couple of things to Cumbria, not exactly a remote part of England, but not exactly a high street shopping mecca either! The great thing about the internet is it means that all shops are accessible anywhere, as long as they have a decent website.
eBay really is the online store to end all online stores, with new stock every second of the day!
As far as buyers are concerned, there are three types:
1) Those who think they can get something for nothing - they only bid on items that start at 99p, or make offers on products for less than half the 'buy it now' price. A message to these people: sellers are trying to make some money on here, you wouldn't go into a shop and offer £20 for a handbag with a £60 price tag now would you!?
2) Those who watch but never buy. I've listed things that lots of people have put on their watch lists, but by the time the item has ended it's not taken any bids.I'd like to know the psychology behind this. I generally only watch items I might bid on, or they are similar to things I want to sell so like to see what price they go for.
3) The snipers. These people tend to be a little more tech savvy and have software that puts a bid in for you at the last millisecond. I know if I really want something I should probably get some of this software, but I never want anything quite enough to do that!
My best recent purchase from eBay has been a pair of Vivienne Westwood shoes I wanted to buy a couple of years ago. I could never afford them at the time and they were never in a sale that I could find. I managed to buy a good as new pair for half the original retail price. I think the seller may have bought them in a sale, but at the end of the day I got some lovely new shoes! Friends of mine with children have obtained some really good bargains on clothes etc for their kids. It's an expensive business, so keeping the costs down is very important. One friend of mine got a pack of 10 new plain baby grows for 99p! You certainly couldn't get that in Mothercare!
I can spend hours just browsing on eBay. If I lived somewhere remote far from any decent shops I think I would buy lots more on eBay. A lot of things I've sold seem to go to smaller towns in the UK. I've recently sent a couple of things to Cumbria, not exactly a remote part of England, but not exactly a high street shopping mecca either! The great thing about the internet is it means that all shops are accessible anywhere, as long as they have a decent website.
eBay really is the online store to end all online stores, with new stock every second of the day!
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