She Shall Go To The Ball!

If I'd have written this blog 48 hours ago, or even less, like I had been planning to, then it would probably be a whiny rant about the dire state of the British fashion retail outlets and how they seem to completely disregard about 90% of the young female market. Since finishing Japanese (woohoo!!!) and my weekend off (more about that later, maybe) I intended to resume my textiles revision. Instead, I have spent a large part of the last week trying to finally find a dress for my upcoming leavers ball. To be perfectly honest, I had practically given up before the week began and was mentally preparing myself to make a dress, and to be honest I was actually looking forward to it. Never the less, since my nanny was over from Ireland I tried once more to find a dress. 

Well let me tell you, I would never have guessed dress shopping would be so stressful! It has been the bane of my life for past month! First of all, I have trawled my local shops (no surprises there wasn't much there) then moved onto London and Westfield, which I made several trips to at various points in the year, and finally a nearby large shopping center. What I found was a severe lack of dresses suitable (at least what I or my parents deemed as suitable) for a ball. The few dresses that were suitable were well over £300 or even £500. There were a few mid range dresses that were about £200, but paying that for a glorified evening dress seems a bit steep for me. Then, the odd time I did find a gem they didn't have my size. Typical. 

Oh, I said this wouldn't be a ranty blog, let me get back to the point. Well, Murphy's law, yesterday I ended up going back to my local shop and buying a dress I'd tried on there weeks ago. It is an amazing dress and, thanks to some haggling due to a broken zip, it only cost £48! Why didn't I buy it in the first place, the males among you may ask. Females might understand;  the truth is, it was nice on me the first time I tried it on but, since I hadn't looked at much else at the time, I thought I'd find something better. Going back to it after weeks of joyless shopping I realised how amazing it really was, and since they still had my size (2 of them!) after all these weeks it must have been fate. 

The funniest thing is, the most stressful thing about trying to find a dress is the pressure everyone else seems to put on you. That's why I like shopping alone, or at least with a friend who understands. Having to justify every time why you don't want to even bother looking in "Jacques Vert" or the like (for the last time, 18 year old's don't shop there!!!) or why you don't want to buy a dress that fits you and they think looks nice, gets extremely tiring, much more so than trying the actual dresses on! Maybe it's just me, maybe a future fashion designer in the making is the hardest person to go shopping with. In fact, that's exactly the thing, isn't it? I said earlier about how I had resigned myself to making my own dress, I had in fact a few sketches already penned. I would still love to make these dresses, they were pretty amazing, if I must say so myself! Anyway, they were at the back of my head the whole time, I even knew exactly where I'd buy the fabric and knowing that it would cost about 10% of the price was an attractive feature! So I basically compared every dress I tried on to that, so of course nothing could beat it!

It's really got me thinking, the UK needs a prom dress supplier, not like those cheesy, tacky American ones though, that the average teenage girl can ship at, ie not over £200, under £100 even. Something that sells long formal gowns, and shorter flouncy prom dresses, and everything in between. There are too many retailers bringing out the same old dresses every year. Oh and another thing I noticed, considering the fact that girls going to these leaving balls are between 16 and 18 years old, why are there so many so called "prom dresses" that look like frumpy bridesmaid dresses, that age you so much? You're only 18 once and there'll be plenty of opportunities to wear more serious dresses in the future. I think there is a serious gap in the market there!  

I have rambled for waaay to long, more about my amazing weekend next time, I'm off to catch up on Mock The Week and have some coffee cake!

Lyric of the Day: "Haven't you people ever heard of closing a goddamm door?" - I Write Sins Not Tragedies, Panic! At The Disco 

I feel like I've been trapped in some sort of Japanese mind prison recently. What with having a near impossible, 3 hour Japanese A2 exam tomorrow morning, and my next exam being another 2 weeks away, I have spent almost all of the last two weeks living, breathing and practically eating Japanese. I really hope it pays off tomorrow. Oh well, to late to dwell on that now.

Anyway, due to this I have not really had a lot of creative things on my mind, or anything . When I do suddenly feel inspired I have to fight the urge to pursue the idea and push it to the back of my mind. I find this rather annoying, and it's made me realise that I really do want a job in the creative industry. I've really reached the end of my tether with this revision. I just find it very difficult to sit and try and retain information, my mind tends to wander, a lot. 

I comfort myself in the fact that this time tomorrow Japanese will be over and the only thing left to revise will be textiles which I don't mind as much and isn't quite as pressured as Japanese is (mind you I bet I'll be eating my words this time next week). Plus I've got some really great things lined up for the following 3 days after the exam! Firstly, on thursday I will be going up to Ravensbourne, where I could have been this evening if it weren't for Japanese, to see the end of year show for this years art foundation students and getting a taste of what next year will have in store for me. After that I'm going to stay up in London and try and go dress shopping. The last time I did this I gave up after one shop, so hopefully it will go a bit better this time. Although as it stand I will be window shopping as I have no budget. Anyway, on friday evening I am going to Wagamama's (which means selfish in case you were wondering, and I mustn't forget that for tomorrow's exam!) to see my favourite waiter, oh yeah, and not forgetting my friends, one of whom's birthday it is, which is why we're going.

But the to top it all off, and possibly the best news I've had in a while, I am going to the L.E.D Festival in Victoria Park this saturday!!!! And do you know why? Because my amazing mother WON us tickets!!! I had actually entered 3 separate competitions to win tickets to this, including one my local paper was running which both my mum and brother also entered. Well who would have known it but the local paper is worth reading after all! They called up my mum yesterday and told her she'd one! I know she'll be reading this at some point so I would like to say THANK YOU again!

I'm going to take this opportunity to say thankyou, to whoever might be out there, for reading. I know I tend to ramble a lot, but for some unknown reason this had record viewings last month (and by "record viewings" I mean about 150, which to be honest is the total viewing for the previous 4 months or so, so yes by my standards that is record!). So what I'd to say is thanks, and keep reading! And don't be scared to follow or comment!

Lyric of the Day: "Turning Japanese I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so!"- Turning Japanese, The Vapors

(note: my Japanese exam was actually this morning, I got distracted before posting this last night but wanted to post it anyway. I'm sure this post is long enough already without going into the details but let's just say I am relieved, to say the least!)

So I officially left school this time last week, wow how time flies when you're revising Japanese all day! I know I left compulsory education two years ago but that doesn't really count, the following two years are practically the same as school. So this means no more lessons EVER!!! I don't think the enormity of that concept has really hit me yet. To be honest the only real lesson I had was Japanese and since I'm still doing that all day very day for the next 6 days I haven't really realised yet how much of a relief that is. Art is not really a lesson and we all know I'm far from finished with THAT. And well, the pathetic excuse for a lessons that is textiles, don't even go there.Whats more, the last day was the most unemotional last day in the history of the education system. Even my year 11 leavers day more sad, and I wasn't even leaving! That, in addition to the fact that I will still be going back there for at least another 6 or so days and we still have presentation evening and prom and all that jazz to get emotional over, means I don't even think I've realised I've even left school.

However, last night it suddenly dawned on me that without lessons, I will never see certain people again with a definite excuse. i.e. from here on in people who want to stay friends will need to make an actual effort to meet up. From here on in, you find out who your real friends are. Wow, that sounds dramatic. But it's true isn't it? Well, only time will tell what's going to happen from here on in.

On other news I am seeing my beloved White Lies again! (apart from Reading, which they'll be at and so will I!) What's more, it's at another intimate venue, Kasbah Coventry! Since York Hall was practically pure heaven I have high hopes for this one and I know they won't let us down! I'm actually getting really excited! Roll on the White Lies roadtrip!  

I'll leave with another photo I took from when we saw then at Shepherd's Bush this February, to remind you, in case you forgot, of how amazing they are (and how much a Dish of the Day Harry McVeigh is ; ) )

you don't know how long it took me to choose, there were too many good ones!

Lyric of the Day: "And just because he's had a couple of cans he thinks it's alright to act like a dickhead " - A Certain Romance, Arctic Monkeys

 

Moar? YES PLEASE!!!

I don't really know how well my last Blog post regarding Matt Bellamy's fashion sense went down but I'm sure there a few people who want some more so here it is! (I also quite like this as a break from revision and school and exams and just generally everything that's going on right now)

Matt on a magazine cover in 2001, image from microcuts.net

For my first full blown feature on the fashion sense of this legendary front man I am going all the way back to 2001, a full 10 years ago. It's funny how it wasn't that long ago that I though that 2001 wasn't really that much in the past but looking back on it now things, and especially fashion, have really changed. I personally feel I have been doing a lot of looking back recently due to the fact that I am leaving school (which I'll probably expand upon in another post, so you can look forward to that!).

Anyway, here Mr Bellamy is seen wearing a long-sleeved, black top with a round neckline and panels of black netting, or tulle for us "textile nerds "( I do hope this counts as revision!), in the sleeves. He teams this with the standard red spiked hair of the Origin of Symmetry era, which ladies I think we can all agree was the best era for hairstyles! This top particularly reminds me of the early naughties because it was around this time that me and my friends were starting to rebel against our parents clothing choices for us, well as much as you can when you're 8. Being a goth seemed cool back then and I particularly remember my friend having a top similar to this one, which I loved. The closest I got was a black and green striped top with safety pins and skulls. Oh well, maybe there'll be a goth revival and I can finally get my chance to wear some netted sleeves. 

Hmm, this has turned into more of a nostalgia fest than I intended. On a completely opposite note, I received a letter from Ravensbourne today with some very exciting news! It had the dates of some pre-September events for future events and the starting dates for the new term. Unfortunately, due to my Japanese exam, I can't attend one of these events and the first day is a week earlier than I thought it was. This makes it an extremely close shave with Reading; I start the morning after Muse, which will not be fun. Getting off a train after four days in a tent with barely a shower is not exactly the first impression I was hoping to make...

Lyric of the Day: "When I saw you last night I wanted to say run away with me...but all I could say was 'Hey'" - Mercury, Bloc Party    

Riddle Me This, Textilenerd

Exactly a month today, as any A level textiles student will know, the A2 textiles exam will take place. This would fill me with joy as it is also my last exam, if it weren't for the fact that we have not been taught any of the syllabus. It's a very long story as to why which I can't be bothered to go into right now. Anyway, one lesson a few weeks ago I humored my textiles teacher by pointing out to her that we had missed one part of the syllabus out. Here's where the problems begin, and the main reason we haven't learned anything this year; the AQA GCE Textiles Unit 3 does not have a textbook (why? God knows...) and our teacher doesn't actually know anything about A Level Textiles. This meant that she had to trawl google for source materials for the topics, this particular one was global and cultural woven traditions. 

Whilst doing this she came across an "A2 Textiles Revision Site" called "Textilenerd". (She felt the need to point this out to me in front of the entire class, sparking laughter from my friends. My own teacher calling me a textile nerd?) This instantly caught my attention as since there was no revision book, perhaps a revision website would actually be useful. However, when I looked at this so called "revision site" I found it was a fellow blog. Now it would be hypocritical of me to abuse a blog but the particular post that our teacher had printed for us simply copied out AQA's specification for textiles. I could have read that myself. 

I was intrigued and when I got home I looked at the blog in more detail. From what I could see the posts were mainly a collection of websites with useful sources to learn from. This is fair enough, but that is what our teacher had already been doing, rather unsuccessfully, for us. What we were searching for was something more concrete to revise from. As good as the internet is, there is something slightly untrustworthy, and certainly unreliable, about it. Call me old fashioned, but the only dependable way to revise is from a book, especially an exam board approved book - which is frankly the only way I can be given peace of mind when learning. But there lies the issue: AQA has no approved textbook! So where else does one look?

The mark schemes provided by AQA are quite possible the vaguest things I have ever seen. The average "answer" given goes like this:

Limited description and poor quality answer 0- 4 marks
Reasonable description and a quality answer 5 - 7 marks
Detailed description and an excellent answer. 8 - 12 marks

WELL NO SH*T SHERLOCK! This kind of thing in a mark scheme would be tolerable if it came accompanied with an actually answer to the question, which in some cases is given but at an extremely basic level which if you were to write you would probably get 1 or no marks. This means there are virtually no resources to refer to when revising for this near impossible exam. No wonder over 50% of candidates get C's and D's.  

So it appears that it is not only my teacher who is poorly equipped to teach a lesson; AQA need to learn a few things about writing an A Level. God help us all. 

Lyric of the Day: "They're gonna clean up your looks with all the lies in the books, to make a citizen out of you" - Teenagers, My Chemical Romance

    

Remember many moons ago when I was talking about my art coursework final piece? (the recycled materials dress) Well you'll never believe it but I actually finished it this week! And after having spent the best part of the last two weeks in an art lock down my sketchbooks are actually finished as well it seems! It's a miracle! Well here is the final product:

The front view

The back view

In other fashion news I had a rather serious "wardrobe malfunction" today. It happened just as I was getting into the car to go to school, which I suppose was a good thing, it would have been beyond bad if it happened AT school. Basically my skirt hitched up as I was getting in to the car but I ignored that and proceeded to stretch my leg in to the car but as I did the entire back seam of my skirt ripped all the way up! There was barely a thread holding it together at the top! I assumed I must have imagined the massive ripping sound but when I went to check sure enough my entire backside was on display. Luckily my Dad very kindly drove me to my Mum's house where I picked up my other skirt and I got to school earlier than I do on most mornings which was rather strange. All's well that ends well.

Lyric of the Day: "Anticipation has a habit to set you up" - The View From The Afternoon, Arctic Monkeys

Oh procastination, you temptress!

Matt Bellamy: front man of rock Gods Muse, four time winner of NME's sexiest man in music, nominated for both best and worst dressed at the NME Awards, the male Lady Gaga?!? (well, maybe not that extreme) Over the past 12 years his fashion sense has certainly changed a lot, for better or worse though, is debatable. He has been known to wear such fashion atrocities as a feathered coat,  a Hawaiian shirt and flashing LED glasses, to name a few. His onstage outfits alone are worthy of their own blog. Incidentally I did wonder if someone had done this before, because if not there would surely be a gap in the market for one! Turns out there is: http://wtfismattbellamywearing.tumblr.com/ It's not quite what I had in mind, but it's a fashion blog of sorts I suppose. Well, if this post goes down well I may make a weekly (or whenever I can) feature of analysing the many fashion disasters, and the few successes, of Mr Bellamy.

Muse in 1996, oh the simplicity of the 90's!

Matt Bellamy performing at Wembley Stadium, September 2010, showing his love of glitter, donning a mirrored suit with his (late) Glitterati guitar (image from www.muse.mu)

You may have gathered by now that my lifetime ambition is to become a fashion designer. You may also have gathered that I am a massive Muser. What few people know is that one of my other ambitions is to design suits for Matt Bellamy to wear on stage. (or any of my garments to be honest, I'd be happy if he wore a scarf I designed!) What no one knows, I think, unless I have actually told people and my memory is failing on me yet again, is that I once had a dream that I won an award for a suit I designed for Matt Bellamy and I walked onstage to collect it with him and after wards him and the rest of Muse performed Uprising. Some, namely my sibling, may laugh but someone has to design his clothes right? So watch out, my designs could very well be coming to a stadium near you soon!  

Lyric of the Day: "Fashion! Put it all on me! Don't you wanna see these clothes on me?" - Fashion, Lady Gaga