Hiphopsideproject

How’s it going? Here are a few tasties from the week past.

• I wish all dirt-tagging was like this. Via ohjoy
• Very sad to hear the news about Alexander McQueen yesterday, he was a true British talent.

• Amazing laser light show at Brighton Pier, sponsored by Tiger Beer for the Chinese NY (it’s going to be the year of the tiger!). Via CRblog
• Failblog, I love you.

• How to make raised beds, via pioneer woman. We’ll be putting a couple of these in the garden in the next month. Woop!
• I went to an interesting conference in Leeds last night, Speak the web. Interesting for the Northern UK digitari!
• Not sure if you’ve been following the latest giant-company-steals-from-indie-designer scandal that hit this week, but one of my favourite etsians, hidden eloise, has had her work seriously ripped off by paperchase. Read about it on her blog.
• Glittery unicorns and shit, cornify.
• I’m now reading the first Wheel of Time book, Eye of the World, which is going to be the start of an epic almost million book journey. Ffs.

Dear Ugg Boots,

I thought it was time we cleared a few things up, I mean, the air between us hasn’t been good for a while now… and I feel like I owe you an explanation. Where should I begin? …

I remember when I first saw you, wow, that was a long time ago. You weren’t as popular back then, or as colourful! heh… You were cute in that short and dumpy way, I’ll give you that — I guess in your own little way you still are. I remember those stories you told me about how you used to hang out with the surfers and swimmers, I’m sure you fitted right in there!  I don’t know whether it was your homesickness from leaving Australia and your attempt to fit in, or some wish to be thought of as ‘cool’, but ever since you started hanging around with that Paris girl, well,  you changed — you never used to wear pink for a start. Then I started seeing you with all her friends too, that crowd of people… why did you do that? I guess I can’t lay all the blame with you for that, they knew you were different… paraded you as some kind of new toy. Even when they dropped you that time for Mukluks? when they came running back to you I watched on as you greeted them with open arms.

Yes, looking back that’s when things started to change. I think it got worse when I saw you hanging out in those cheap high-street shops, you’d really let your standards drop… you’d turned so synthetic, half the time you went by some weird pseudonym or something, too. What happened? I think you might have started to spread yourself too thin, wanting to be ‘in’ with as many people as you could.

And now? Now I don’t even know who you are anymore, one day you’ll be wearing wool, the next you’re covered in laces…and some of the colours… oof. I see you more than ever now, sometimes I think you look like you’re doing ok, other times I really wonder what went wrong. Like the other day, you were hanging out with this girl who was wearing baggy sweat pants and a baggy pink hooded sweater, and she wasn’t even at the gym. Wow. I thought you had a bit more class than that. When I saw you in Australia last year you looked so well! Like your old self again! You’d got your colour back and looked homely again.

Anyway, I’m babbling, I just wanted to let you know my reasons. I hope you can understand. Don’t get me wrong, I still think you’re so lovely, warm and cosy… I just can’t be seen with you anymore. I hope we can still hang out around the house, though.

Yours,

Kim

PS. I don’t know if you’ve been in touch with Crocs lately, but I’ll be writing to him at some point. We also have a few things to clear up.

I loved Betsey’s show last time, held in her studio and peppered with leopard print and heavy makeup. This time we were bombarded with ruffles, dark lipstick, chintzy prints and flashes of neon. Betsey’s shows always look so fun, appearing messy and disorganised with models that actually crack a grin, they’re a total breath of fresh catwalk air! My picks…

The lady herself!

The Marc by Marc Jacobs show at NY fashion week was yesterday. As usual, one of my favourite designs whipped out a great colourful range of outfits with some fabulous head-gear to boot. It’s all about satin head gear lately, be it bunny ears or bows. Here’s some of my picks from the show.

You can get some very similar bows from Lou Lou Loves You who, alongside their delicious knicker line, make versatile bows in various colours.

Yegads! Looks like our summer is slowly coming to an end :( I’m sure you’ve noticed the weather changing, however muggy and random it may be. Alas, we’re almost midway through August, the nights are closing in and the sun’s slowly drooping in the sky (making it fucking horrendous to drive between the hours of 5-7pm) . Sad face. BUT! Look on the good side, we’ll soon be able to don our favourite coats, scarves and hats again (and invest in new bits and bobs, too), and eat yummy casseroles and stews whilst watching the rain outside ♥

Those of you who were early readers here may remember that last year I wrote an article about looking after your skin in the colder months, which is a bit of an epic read detailing the separate areas of skin care and focusing on certain products that keep your skin in tip-top winter condition. I’ve already started making a few changes to my routine in preparation for winter, not just with my skincare but with other aspects of day-to-dayness too. Here…

• Wardrobe
  Without stating the obvious, it’s going to start to get a bit colder. I know it can be hard to lose the summer ritual of stepping out without a jacket, but ladies, do yourselves a favour and grab a cardigan before you leave the house. For those of use who’ve been enjoying this lovely British summer, I’m sure this is something you’ve been doing for the past few weeks anyway! A lot of the highstreet stores have already started stocking their winter coats, too, so why not spend some time investigating the style you’d like this season? Don’t forget your hats & scarves, too!
• Vitamins
  Nothing beats a varied diet of fruit, vegetables and protein to keep your body’s defenses high, but in Winter it can be difficult to get the right kind of nutrients from the food we eat and the environmental changes. Vitamin D, for instance, is created in your skin when it’s exposed to the sun… hello, winter! your general multivitamin should contain a dose of it. I’ve just started on my winter vitamins so I’ll definitely be ready for what the season has to throw at me, starting now will build up a super strong winter barrier! This year I should have probably continued with my vitamins throughout summer seeing as I managed to get two pretty bad summer colds. I’m taking a skin, hair & nails supplement, a cod liver oil tablet (dude, I’m gonna have glossy Labrador hair!) and a general multivitamin. If/when I feel like I’m chugging along with sniffles and a cough I’ll add an echinacea supplement to this, too… and wash it down with a gallon of Orange juice!
• Skin Care
  As I mentioned earlier, my article last year describes a full-on assault into beating a greying winter complexion. The easiest things to do right now are to start switching up your light summer moisturiser for your heavier, skin protecting winter version. If you haven’t already got one, try pick one up with an SPF, it makes life a lot easier! otherwise, check your foundation (if you wear one) for it’s SPF, or invest in a facial SPF. Also, is it just me, or does winter bring with it ridiculously dry elbows? I’m thinking it’s because of wearing long sleeve sweaters that rub the skin. Anyhoo, invest in a small pot of nivea cream – it’s a lifesaver!

• Footwear
  Ok, ok… here’s where I admit that my feet are generally stuffed into nikes, hardly ever seeing the light of day. This year I did wear open flats quite a lot, though, and I’ll be sad to see them go. For me and my sneaker clad feet there won’t be much of a transition, however I have started walking to work and even the best trainers in the world won’t stand up very well to huge puddles and hail. I think this year may be the year of the welly for me! In all seriousness, though, whilst there are those who think that the only way to look fashionable is to wear heels every day, you need to bare in mind some kind of practicality. Opt for cute alternatives that won’t see you slip-sliding down the street., You’ll just look like a douche otherwise!
• Haircare
  Yeesh – rain, hail, snow, wind, central heating. It’s a wonder that we come out of winter with any hair left! Hats, hats, hats, ladies. They will be your winter hair saviors. Start introducing hats into your wardrobe on the windy Autumnal days that are already starting to destroy any idea of a hair style. Prepare your hair-emergency kit, too, a brush, a small tin of wax and some clips will come in VERY handy when you’re out and about and get caught in a gale!
• Looking Foward
  Don’t dwell on the loss of Summer, it’ll be back again (in some form) next year. Instead, spend a bit of time listing the things you love about the colder months, get excited by the changing seasons. It’ll make those dark mornings and long nights much easier to deal with! My list includes pumpkin pies, yankee candles throughout the house, cooking up bubbling beef stews with dumplings, curling up with a book and watching the rain, snow storms, the excuse to shop for new winter clothes, huge heavy duvets.