Vogue Italia - imparare la lingua con la moda

On the way home from il supermercado this afternoon (after buying a kilo of spaghetti for 80cents) I stopped to buy Vogue Italia. I am going to prove that fashion is good for one thing at least - learning foreign languages! I plan to read it from cover to cover, bearing in mind that I only learnt the present tense yesterday. Then I'm moving on to Elle, Marie Claire, etc and so on. Are there any Italian fashion magazines or sites out there, in the style of Dazed and Confused, or Wonderland, that anyone can recommend me?

There are words as well as pictures. That is a huge article on the actress Ursula Andress (Bond girl in Dr No). Maybe it'll teach me how to wear a white bikini without looking like a pale English ghost. That would be ideal.

(Note to self: paint fingernails gold like the model on the front cover...)

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Zadig et Voltaire

Zadig et Voltaire Autumn Lookbook

I almost had a fit yesterday when I realised that Montpellier is home to a lovely Zadig et Voltaire store. I have huge love for this French brand, half way between the chicness of another highstreet(ish) French brand The Kooples and the glam rock aesthetic of Balmain. The hefty price tag is well out of my student budget, but I plan to spend a lot of my time browsing there, and hope for some serious sale reductions. Although, if I have some money saved at the end of my stay, I may invest in a top as a little present to myself. If nothing else, I will try to save enough for this barrette, which will be perfect for Christmas.

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Montpellier

Heading off to Montpellier in four days, beginning to stress. I'm away for a month, and hopefully will come home a bona fide French speaker, which will be brilliant. I still haven't completely confirmed accommodation, which has got me a little worried, but I hope it will all work out. It's bucketing it down at the moment, hail and everything, so I hope the weather is better!

I will probably be doing lots of this.

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photos from tumblr

Crushed Velvet Gold Fish

Newest addition to my wardrobe, plus a necklace that I bought about two years ago (on sale for £1!) that I still haven't got round to wearing.

crushed velved skirt - UO; fish pendant - Topshop

The London Film Festival finishes on Thursday, and I'm flying out to Montpellier on Sunday, which gives me about two days to pack for a month away! It's going to be tight. I don't even have time to go shopping for a new pair of boots (shock horror). Still, now that I've finished sorting out university application stuff, it's good to finally be starting on my gap year antics. Oh I have another question - Siena or Perugia, as a destination for three months in Italy? I can't decide...

I won this award from both Meg's Budget Boutique and Lions and Tigers and Makeup, and I couldn't be more chuffed! I'm so happy (and amazed) that there are people who actually read what I write and value what I have to say. Thanks so much for being so supportive, it really is amazing!

And so to send it on to more people with under 200 followers, I have chosen:

• http://flattt.blogspot.com/ - literally found this blog this morning, after a comment on my wall, and can't believe I haven't come across her amazing photos already
• http://skyhigheels.blogspot.com/ - okay so she has slightly over 200 followers but I love her whimsical blog
• http://samalamode.blogspot.com/ - for her generally very cool and interesting posts

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55th London Film Festival

I've just been told that my application to work at the BFI 55th London Film Festival was successful! I have a meeting on Monday with all the other volunteers, where they'll hand out festival programmes (and our T-shirts!)

Vanessa Redgrave, Tilda Swinton, Ryan Gosling, Rhys Ifans, Michael Fassbender, Rachel Weisz, Madonna, Kiera Knightley, George Clooney, Freida Pinto, Evan Rachel Wood, Carey Mulligan

Think of this as a style and talent moodboard of extra-special inspiration from people who excel in their chosen profession

- have I mentioned that I want to be an actor?!


photos from tumblr

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No more braces!

jacket - ted baker, button shirt - UO, belt - thrifted, trousers - San Francisco, boots - Zara

Today is a good day for two reasons. 1) my last visit to the orthodontist EVER which means no more brace/retainer! 2) I've just had an interview at a local lifestyle magazine for work experience/interning, and they've said that they would like to take me on! It's a monthly publication, and in about two weeks they are shooting the fashion spread for their November issues, and I think I am going to be working on it-they're going to contact me soon. I am so thrilled that they have agreed to let me come and work at their company for a bit: I really NEED magazine/editorial work experience if I am to do anything fashion-journalismy in the future, and so this is definitely a huge step in the right direction.

In other news, I am still having camera issues, but I am getting there (hence one blurry picture, one not). I have already decided that a good camera is number-one-top-priority for me to spend my money on - even more than clothes!

Also - I urge you all to go and see Jane Eyre with Mia Wasikowska and the glorious Michael Fassbender. Although I think maybe more could have been done by the director Cary Fukunaga about keeping up the tension and general drama of the piece, it is superbly acted, with a brilliant screenplay from Moira Buffini, and the cinematography of the film is simply exquisite. It's as if every frame is a painting. Plus, you have to look out for a scene-stealing Judi Dench, who bustles around with a sort of lace napkin on her head.

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Fuzzy camera

jacket - all saints, daisy dress - reading festival, shoes - UO

Hi all, apologies for the lack of posting, but I have been trying to figure a way to take a credible outfit photo that I won't be ashamed to upload. I've finally alighted on a scheme which involved me sticking my camera to my brother's music stand with a bit of bluetack - if anyone has any better methods (I'm sure they do!) please say! I could do with some advice. Also, I took these this evening in rapidly fading light, hence the fuzzy, awful quality. Will do better next time.

bangle - vintage

I bought this dress at Reading Festival 2010, with my last £20 (I sacrificed supper for it) and it has become my failsafe outfit if I am ever too tired/hurried to decide on what to wear. Like this morning, for instance: I went to a farewell-before-uni breakfast with my friends at the local cafe and woke up FIVE MINUTES before I had to be out the house. oops. So flung on my dress and ran.

I saw possibly the worst/best film today - William and Kate: The Movie - about the origins of the happy couple. It was absolutely dire, and therefore possibly one of the best movies I have ever seen because it was so hilarious. It deserves a watch, simply to check out Kate's awful collection of hats, or laugh at how woefully weedy lovely Prince Harry is.

Other things I have done recently: WORKED a lot and I can now make the best ever cappucino, went to Wagamamas with the gals from my drama group (recommend Cha Han which comes with miso soup-yum), housesitted some Labradors and decided that dogs aren't actually that bad, wrote my personal statement (!), went to London to visit the new mall in the City/attend a Shakespeare workshop, read the whole of Caitlin Moran's 'How To Be A Woman' - brilliant book! 

Oh and I've applied to volunteer at the BFI Film Festival in October, and filled out an application form for the Montpellier language course in November. Hopefully both of those will work out, and ta dah! my gap year will be sorted up until December - phew!

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