state of sunday

After the show, Moscow

2012-02-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

How to wear a winter coat?

2012-02-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

So its been FREEZING in London.. snow and everything! And it is always so hard to make a winter outfit look cool. So I thought I'd pull out these "oldies but goodies" from my trip to Moscow last year as evidence that even a winter coat can be cool... well as cool as they get without becoming impractical.

Random Friday Morning...

2012-01-31T13:47:00.000-08:00

This was a bit of an impromptu shoot - Magdalena and I basically grabbed some clothes and went to Hyde Park on a random Friday morning to play with light. I'm obsessed with shooting into the light at the moment but unfortunately rarely get it right... mostly I end up with multiple atrocious lens flares. But what can I say... I sure do enjoy the process :)

These shots were done a while ago - back in November and I have been holding off posting them as had a grand plan of attending a Photoshop course right after Christmas but as it tends to happen, other things take over and here we are in February and still no Photoshop skills. Other New Year's resolutions include: a cooking course at the Waitrose Cookery school, taking up French classes (yet again), various photography courses, a gym membership and reading lots of books. So far... well I'm planning to sign up at the gym tomorrow :)

A little on the subject of bags...

2012-01-23T15:54:00.000-08:00

Mia Stoelen, Paris

2012-01-15T10:09:00.000-08:00

Mia Stoelen - Paris based blogger MiaMarionette

Ece Sukan before Carven, Paris

2012-01-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

Winter Wonderland shoot for StyleMews.com

2012-01-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks before Christmas, Aleksandra (Jeliza Rose) and I got together for a shoot for StyleMews. We shot these at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park trying hard to dodge the crowd on a busy Saturday morning. You can check out the accessories at the Features page at StyleMews.

Shirt dress #2

2012-01-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2012-01-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! Cannot believe 2011 is already gone and 2012 is now in full swing!

New year's resolutions? Shoot, shoot and shoot some more!

Arizona Muse, Paris

2011-12-29T05:16:00.000-08:00

Arizona Muse is one of my favourite models out there at the moment. This shot was taken as she was running to the Balmain show in Paris. Taken on the fly I was amazed at how amazingly intense Arizona's eyes looked in this photo. I guess that is what sets the really really good models apart from just models - you look like a model anytime anywhere, ready for your picture to be taken.

All in the detail...

2011-12-27T08:43:00.000-08:00

Simple grey

2011-12-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

The Shirt Dress

2011-12-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

The Perfect Mulberry

2011-12-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

Content warning: please only read this if ...

a) the names Kelly and Birkin mean more to you then just a first name and a last name

b) you promise not judge me for my Theory of Bag Relativity

When a couple of days ago The Boy I had been dating for the last couple of months announced he was to move countries in the nearest future, I was caught somewhat off-guard and was not even sure what to think of the situation.

Until that point in time I hadn't really thought much of him at all, since a million other extremely important things had occupied my mind. As it normally happens with me, I do not seem to think about my relationships (romantic or otherwise) much until something 'major' happens.. Since moving to London, I find that people generally drift in and out of my life. Friends, dates, colleagues, acquaintances… Some people get comfortable and stick around for a while, others drift on. I guess that's the good thing about living in a big city, if something or someone is not quite right you just move on without the hassle of constantly bumping into them or having to uphold civility or exchange pleasantries.

So when this particular individual, whose presence in my life I do acknowledge but rarely think of it as defining or significant, announced that he was moving to another country I was left a little confused.

On the one hand, I never thought of it as more than a fling but on the other I felt like something that is mine is being taken away from me and I don't even have a say in it! I mean what if that something might have actually been very important but I just hadn't realised it until now??!!!!

Then one day on my way from work I walked past a Mulberry store. Seeing the wonderful Alexa in the window made me a little bit sad because I was once again being reminded of how much funner and cooler my life would be if I had an Alexa of my own. May be in the classic oak… but possibly in the black suede leopard.. it might be two seasons ago but I still think it's soooo cute…

And then it occurred me…. The Boy is in fact an Alexa! Let me explain before you think I've gone completely mental…

The Boy represents something that would make my life funner and cooler and more exciting but at the same time, I had been wanting an Alexa but living comfortably without one for a couple of seasons before this 'situation'.

I mean an Alexa is not a Kelly or a Birkin which of course is one of my aspirations in life.. A Kelly or a Birkin - both a loyal, smart, classic choice that has been around for years and is above seasons and trends. You do not need your friends to approve of a Kelly or a Birkin - it speaks for itself. It has earned its respect in society by being exclusive, not readily available and monogamous. It only gets better with age, it is good quality and it is for life. Lets be honest now….EVERYONE eventually wants a Kelly!

Then there are of course the cute loveable 'du jour' bags from Zara which you will absolutely adore and take everywhere for one whole season but after a few years you probably wont even remember the name….

Then there is the "inbetweeners" - the Michael Kors' and the Love Moschino's of the world… slick, stylish, bright and attention grabbing items. A little pricier but totally worth it and a great companion for whilst you are gaining life experience and working your way up to the Moschino main line.

And of course we cannot forget the Chloes - pricey but a great investment… French charm and sophistication and they are so good at making you feel young yet accomplished.

Then there are the Mulberry Bayswaters… an ideal for everyday.. a very corporate piece.. very practical indeed but some consider them too conventional and almost boring.

And finally there are the Mulberry Alexas…So cool, so young, so British… A perfect investment for a number of seasons to come. The perfect item to put on the wishlist… The perfect eye-candy… If you don't see one on the street or someone's shoulder for a while you forget how great they are and how cool they look. Then you walk past one and remember what great times you've had together… Then you realise that SS2012 is just around the corner and wonder if they will release some kind of "new and improved" Alexa for the new season! I wonder what it will look like… better start saving up :)) xx

Leather Cool, Paris

2011-11-29T16:43:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Blues, Paris

2011-11-23T09:08:00.000-08:00

Alina - after Rick Owens, PFW 2012

2011-11-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

The problem with wearing black is that black is very difficult to photograph. Often when shooting street style you do not have time to choose the best lighting or location so we have to deal with what we have. I really wanted to show you the intricate detail of Alina's dress so the easiest way was to turn it into black and white. Look at how many panels the dress consist of and how well it fits her body... I think it is a very simple yet a very interesting dress... Thoughts?

Ceylan Atinc, PFW

2011-11-16T04:54:00.000-08:00

Ceylan Atinc, Stylist

www.thestylebyme.com

Autumn shoot just for fun!

2011-11-16T02:49:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago on a gloomy Sunday afternoon Aleksandra and I decided to venture out for another quick shoot (you can see our previous collaboration here), this time in Notting Hill. Battling the lazy rain that couldnt decide whether to start or not, Aleks and I wondered the streets of Notting Hill looking for some nice scenery. Here is the result! Hope you like it. As usual, any suggestions and comments (positive and negative) are very much encouraged.

About this shoot:
Model - Aleksandra from Jeliza Rose
Styling - Aleksandra
Shot with a 50mm/1.4f lens on a Nikon D7000
Post-production - Minimal colour adjustments on i-photo, no photoshopping

The Z Factor.. Rachel Zoe at PFW

2011-11-14T04:47:00.000-08:00

Before the show, Paris Fashion Week

2011-11-09T16:30:00.001-08:00

Super short shorts, Paris

2011-11-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sharing the love - New Vintage Shopping Experience BLITZ

2011-10-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

I very much love vintage shops... but to be honest with you every time I walk into one, I feel somewhat overwhelmed - heaps and heaps of clothing impossible to sift through, the smell of mothballs, small space. Generally all of these factors result in me browsing the shop and leaving empty handed. Beyond Retro has long been one of the Londoners' favourite vintage shopping destinations. I mean lets face it - they are the biggest and the best known in London, they even took vintage online. Kudos to them...
Oh and there is another thing... on most of my visits to vintage shops I cant help but feel like im shopping for a fancy dress costume... I mean the last item that I bought and actually wear day to day is a vintage scarf which I had to dig out of a gigantic scarf basket at Beyond Retro, everything else is worn.. well, to fancy dress parties..

Now one of the reasons why I enjoy hanging out with David from Nyanzi Report is that every time I see him, we go to Brick Lane, but every time we go to Brick Lane he shows me something or somewhere I havent seen before.

This time it was BLITZ Vintage Department Store - the new, the ultimate vintage shopping destination for Londoners. BLITZ is one of those stores that you walk into and you are not sure whether you are in a normal store or a vintage store. There is no mothball smell - love! There is a coffee cart - tick! There are couches and vintage books so you can hang out for as long as you want - tick-tick! And there are two floors of carefully selected, wearable vintage clothing. Oh and did I mention there is also tons of other exciting stuff - jewellery, bikes, teapots, lamps... And before you say anything, NO it is not at all cramped or cluttered because the shop is so damn huge!

I can truly say that this was the first time I truly enjoyed a vintage shop and literally did not want to leave. The atmosphere is great, the sales assistants remind me more of your neighbourhood friends that are just hanging out and always willing to take time to talk even if they know that you wont buy anything.

What's also great is that the clothes are in great condition, are clean and relevant - there are vintage looking pieces but also just plain cool looking pieces like leather jackets, skirts, funky hats, etc, etc.

So if you are ever in London, I encourage you to take a trip down memory lane... to BLITZ, trust me you wont regret it!

Diary of a fashion intern - Part 5: Last days and FAQ

2011-10-31T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hello there! So here is the final part of my fashion intern diary.

Click here to read the Russian version on Look At Me.

p.s. read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Finally, the Paris Fashion Week has come to an end. The last two days were almost unbearable - everyone has run out of steam, stamina, clothes and patience.

The night before our last day in the showroom we went out for a VERY extravagant dinner at one of Paris' finest restaurants - La Societe. Surrounded by the fashion crowd and sipping our bellinies we were exhausted to even talk. The dinner was eaten in record time and we headed back to the hotel. By the end of the week you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and all you can think about is "how soon can I get back to London and sleep in my own bed?".

The last day is quiet and the appointments finish at 3pm.. after that there is stocktake of all the items that are in the showroom - everything is checked off, organised into piles and packed into a million suitcases. When I say EVERYTHING is packed, I really mean everything - hangers, bag stands, plastic mannequins, chairs, telephones and printers - next week all of this stuff will make its way back to the London showroom. Everyone is so keen to get out of there as quickly as possible that everyone is involved in checking and packing - normally it should be the interns doing it but tonight even the director of sales is running around packing things. Models and Paris interns are saying goodbye, hugging each other and exchanging phone numbers and emails. Every now and again someone yells out: "Bye! Add me on Facebook!"

Stocked up with bottles of french wine, cheese and macaroons we board the Eurostar to head back to London. It feels somewhat like the end of a school camp. Everyone is looking forward to going home and is chatting excitedly. The sales team haven't seen their better halves for 21 days between NY, London, Milan and Paris sales campaigns (apart from one of the girls whose husband came to Paris to surprise her for her birthday).

And so it's over until December - there are 4 collections a year so this madness happens every three months. All of a sudden December seems not so far away at all! Until then, we are back in the office and back to relative normalcy...

___________________________

I thought I would also use this opportunity to answer some of the questions that I get asked by my friends - if any of your questions are not here, please write your question in the comment section and I will do my best to answer them.

How did you get your internship? Can you get it if you don't know anyone in fashion?

I applied for a lot of internships - I sent applications to at least 20 internships. I got called back for 3 interviews. I did try to get an internship through friends of friends in fashion but the interviews I did get were actually off my own back and had nothing to do with friends or connections.

How many people apply for an internship?

I don't how many people applied for this particular internship but one of the other brands I interviewed with had 200 applications for one role from people all around Europe. Having multiple languages really helps.

What did they ask you in the interview?

Each of my 3 interviews was completely different - one was almost 1.5 hours long, the other just under an hour and the third (the one I ended up taking) was approximately 30 minutes. The questions are very similar to a normal job interview - tell me about yourself? why our company? why fashion industry? On top of that you have to be prepared to answer questions like Who are your favourite designers? What do you think about the current trends?

One of my interviews was with a major accessories brand and since I own a pair of their shoes (which I bought about 2 years ago) I decided to wear the shoes to the interview. The interviewer noticed the shoes and asked me if I knew the name of the model of shoes I was wearing. I didn't. I thought that would ruin me but I got an offer from them anyway. The lesson is - do your research!

What did you wear to the interview?

You have to wear something that you feel comfortable in and that reflects your style but you also have to think about the brand you are interviewing with. For one of the interviews I wore a white silk cami, with a flowing bright orange skirt and a jacket. High heels - of course!

How long is your internship for?

My internship is for 3 months and covers two sales campaigns September and December.

How much do you get paid?

The internship is unpaid but trips to Paris and Milan are completely covered by the company - accommodation, travel, lunch and dinner.

What perks do you get?

Every month we get a piece of clothing to a certain value.

How do interns live? How can you afford to work for free?

Everyone is different - most interns are straight out of university so are still supported by their parents. I planned to make a transition into fashion for a while so I saved up for the internship. I also work in retail on the weekends.

And then of course there are those whose better halves are kind enough to support them. Depending on how extravagant your lifestyle is you may need the support from your better half even when you are on a salary as the first couple of years in fashion always pay very little due to the intense competition for the roles.

Are the girls in your company all very skinny?

Our office does not have any anorexic looking girls but everyone is very health conscious and tries to eat healthily. Favourite lunch is some sort of salad.

What do you wear to work?

You can wear whatever you want but generally people put in a fair bit of effort. Not everyone wears heels but people do dress nicely - I think it is only natural as people working in the fashion industry are all very interested in fashion. It was a big change for me because at my old job I would often roll-out of bed, put my hair in a bun and wear whatever is the first thing that I pull out of my wardrobe that morning (only grey or black of course.. ahh the corporate world). Here I have to think about what I am going to wear because what you wear is very much part of who you are.

What happens after the internship? Do you get a job?

The company does not guarantee a job at the end of the internship and they make it clear in the interview. However, because the industry is so fluid and people are constantly moving from one job to another, there is a chance that you may get a permanent position. My company is based in NY and the London office is very small and hence the prospect of a job is unlikely. However, having a big brand name on your CV is a big deal and will make other potential employers consider you more seriously. I even noticed it when applying for weekend retail jobs - big name showroom on your CV makes you a more favourable candidate over others.

Do you make many contacts during your internship?

It really depends. It depends if you get to work with buyers and if they remember who you are. You will not make a huge number of contacts because as far as buyers are concerned you are merely an intern but it only takes making one good contact to open future doors. The biggest lesson to learn is to never burn your bridges because the industry is in fact very small and everybody knows everybody so pissing one person off may have implications on your future professional relationships.

Was your internship what you expected it to be?

I didn't expect it to be so physically demanding and I most certainly did not expect to be working such crazy hours and give up my weekends during the sales campaigns. However, I do like the people that I work with - they are very cool and I enjoy their company which for me is an important factor. I have heard a lot of stories about how bitchy and mean the fashion industry is so it was a nice surprise that the people here are actually very normal - everyone has a personality but there isn't any intense bitchiness or politics. Apart from that I had very little idea of what the internship actually involved so I am learning a lot and I am enjoying it.

Hope you enjoyed it! xxo

Diary of a fashion intern - Day number…i've lost count "Bonjour Paris!"

2011-10-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! Here we go - Part 4 of my fashion intern diary. Click here to read the Russian version on Look At Me.

One more to come, enjoy xx

p.s. read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

****

Tomorrow we leave for Paris! Half of the interns are going straight from Milan and it is only me and two other girls who will be going from London. Preparation for Paris fashion week is a serious matter but rather than packing fabulous outfits we are stuffing our bags with food - chocolates, biscuits, chips as well as other necessities like pillows and towels. It is going to be a looooong week so you want to be as comfortable as possible - your own pillow is a must!

I'm catching a 5.25am Eurostar from London which means I get somewhat 3 hours sleep that night. Luckily we have the first day off so after dumping my bags at the hotel, I grab my camera and head straight for the Tuilleries where Paris fashion week shows are starting. During London fashion week I was really sad that I didn't get to shoot street style as I normally absolutely love being in the midst of the fashion week madness. So when the opportunity presented itself to have a day of shooting in Paris, of course I jumped at it. Who cares about sleep anyway… it is so overrated.

For next 10 hours I am running around from show to show all over Paris, by the end of the day I know the metro map like the back of my hand. Get back to the hotel around 8pm and spend the next 4hours editing photos and catching up on emails.

The first day at the Paris showroom is quiet and we spend most of the time organising clothes and training up Parisian interns. Since I had already done the London fashion week, I'm all of a sudden the big boss and get to tell other interns what to do and I don't even have to get my own Starbucks anymore… :))

Paris fashion week in the showroom is different from London in two ways - firstly the showroom is bigger so you work harder and secondly you eat A LOT. The morning starts with croissants which are followed by mini macaroon towers and coffee which are followed by lunch then by fruit and then by biscuits in the afternoon. All the girls are worried about gaining weight but everyone continues eating anyway.

During the day the showroom is an absolute mayhem and you have to adapt to hearing and understanding different languages. There are 10 sales executives who meet clients from all over Europe. As I walk through the showroom with a stack of clothing towards the change room someone asks me for a coffee (in Italian) another table asks for photocopies of something (in French) and the third table throws more clothes my way asking for them to be tried on (in Spanish). By the time you get to the kitchen you need to still remember who asked what and what it means in English and not go crazy.

On the second day, two of the Parisian interns do not turn up - apparently it all got too hard for them.

Do you remember the scene from the Devil Wears Prada where she is balancing coffees from Starbucks in one hand, documents in the other and her phone doesn't stop ringing the whole time?? Well that's me. I get sent to the photocopy centre to make copies of line sheets, whilst grabbing coffee (soda water, toothbrush, cigarettes) for someone on the way and my phone is going off constantly.

Many many years ago I used to take French classes. All of a sudden I find myself at the dry cleaners speaking some weird combination of French and sign language trying to explain that my colleague dropped off a dress in the morning (SHOOOORT, BLAAAACK, LACEEEYYY - I tried to speak slowly and loudly .. as if it is going to help!) but we have since lost the ticket and I now need that dress NOW to take back to the showroom before someone gets very angry with me. The queue behind me is trying to contain their laughter as I am acting out my charade. The lady at the counter looks at me and probably (highly likely) thinks I'm crazy.

The only thing that gets me through the day is the nice dinner at the end of the night. Every night all the interns from London get together and go out for a nice meal and a bottle of red. On the third day to say thank you for all our hard work our manager makes a booking in one of the trendy restaurants in Monmartre. As we finish our entrees, a lady with a blonde crop enters the room and joins a loud (and amazingly stylish) table next to us. Kate Lanphear, editor of US Elle. I literally can't stop staring. Four days ago I photographed her exiting the Balmain show in Paris. I absolutely love her style. And here she is hanging out with her friends looking fabulous as always (and you cant even tell she spent the whole day hopping from one fashion show to another in 30 degree heat).

Paris is growing on me, that's for sure…

To be continued xx

Dana Rogoz, Paris

2011-10-25T15:18:00.000-07:00

Dana Rogoz - actress and blogger from Romania

The Summer Dress... Paris

2011-10-21T17:05:00.000-07:00

Diary of a fashion intern - Part 3 "Guess who's going to Paris"

2011-10-21T16:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the delay! Here is Part 3 of my interning diary. The Russian version is running on Look At Me (and I must say I find it so flattering that someone finds this blabbering interesting enough to publish :))

You can also read Part 1 and Part 2.

...By my third day at the showroom I'm starting to feel somewhat comfortable with what I am meant to be doing during my time here. We are constantly being reminded that we are the face of the brand and to look and present ourselves well. Today I'm blending in well - wearing all black (do you know how hard it is to find a good matching black outfit?! you know how they say there are 30-something shades of black? well it's true!).

Today it feels like finally all the interns are getting comfortable with the process and everything is starting to fall into place. The showroom is running smoothly and I'm trying to concentrate on getting all my tasks done perfectly.

Having said that, there are certain tasks that I am desperately trying to avoid… For example, every morning we get a new set of "line sheets" from our head office in New York. Line sheets are essentially catalogues of the current collection and get updated every day depending on the brand's decision to cancel or modify the production of certain items. Anyway, so every morning we need to make multiple photocopies of these fresh line sheets and I am literally avoiding eye contact with anyone who is remotely involved in the process. If you are pulled into this task, you will essentially be stuck in the back of the office, by yourself, next to a hot photocopier.. for hours…Not ideal! The trick is, like I said before, not to make eye contact.. the reason being is that the more senior members of the team might still not know your name and hence will think twice before calling out. On the other hand, once you have made eye contact, they start with a polite "excuse me…could I ask you to".

At the end of the day, every intern wants to be on the floor, meeting buyers and learning from the sales team.. not photocopying or dressing the models in the back room.

Oh and about the back room - the back room is essentially a space that is separated from the rest of the room by a screen and that's where the models are 'based' all day as well as the interns who are responsible for dressing the models. Occasionally, the action in the showroom dies down and we all get a break, during which you essentially just plant yourself on the floor (wherever there is space) and pray that you have enough time for a proper 'long' cup of coffee. Some of the models curl up on the floor and fall asleep, others are typing furiously on their phones.. Sometimes I wonder - is it even possible to spend that much time on the phone or do they just not want to socialise??

The interns generally spend their breaks chatting to each other about themselves and all things fashion. One of the most popular topics is 'what do I want to do when I grow up'. Everyone is sharing their experiences in the fashion world and trying to figure out what they need to do to get a grown-up (i.e. paying) job.

I was actually surprised how varied the internship group is. The ages of the interns are between 19 and 32, one of the girls has a toddler at home which makes long hours difficult, the other one is currently studying a masters degree in fashion management, whilst the youngest is doing this as part of her european baccalaureate program where you have to do an internship somewhere/anywhere before you can graduate - she is the only one of her friends who chose to do an internship in fashion. This is her first job and she tells me in secret that for the first couple of weeks she often felt like crying because she didn't understand what she was required to do. One thing that we all have in common is that none of us are Londoners or even from the UK, I find that fascinating!

In the afternoon the pace picks up a bit. A team of three buyers from a kind-of-a-big-deal online shop come in to look at the shoes and accessories. I decide not to tell them that I am currently a recovering shopaholic and used to spend a considerable amount of time and money on their website. I cant help but stare - I love their webshop so much and hence I instantly love them too because these are the people who used to (back when I had a paying job) make me so-so happy : ) All three are perfectly tall, thin and immaculately groomed. Wearing only the latest trends and super-duper high Louboutins. They are what people think all buyers look like.

As I am shamelessly checking them out whilst they are checking out the collection, one of them says that she would really love to see what the shoes look like on and looks directly at me. For the next hour I find myself in intern heaven - trying on every shoe in the collection and having a photo of my foot (in the shoe) taken. That's right ladies and gentleman, I am now officially a shoe-model!!

Tomorrow is the last day of London Fashion Week and the most important question of the day is 'who is going to Milan and who is going to Paris???' The newer interns who have not yet done a season are buzzing with excitement, the old dogs are rolling their eyes and trying not to ruin the mood - they know that above all Milan and Paris are both HARD work and if you thought London was intense… well.. lets just say London was a warm-up. The trips to Milan and Paris are fully covered by the company but then again I cant imagine us having much spare time to do any sightseeing.

I am yet to find out if I am going to either as I was the last intern to join the team. Although it is hard work I would hate to be left out as the whole sales team would be away and I'm pretty sure I would feel like I'm missing out on an awesome party and yes I do realise it's not going to be a party at all but I guess I just hate missing out!!!

By the end of the day my boss puts me out of my misery and tells me that I will be joining them in Paris. Not sure why but I feel a sense of relief..

To be continued...xx

Simply French...

2011-10-18T14:06:00.000-07:00

I cant put my finger on it, I dont know what makes me think this is such a french outfit.. maybe because only a French girl can make it look so cool?

Jael, Paris

2011-10-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

The Magic Joos, Paris

2011-10-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

Natalie Joos of Tales of Endearment

Shoes, shoes, glorious shoes!

2011-10-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hanneli Mustaparta, Paris

2011-10-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

The ever gorgeous Hanneli for the 100th time gets the award for the most stylish street style blogger at work. I mean I run around in my converse shoes all day and cant feel my feet towards the end... I can only imagine how Hanneli was feeling after spending the entire day shooting in these ubercool Alex Wang heels.. aahhh things we do for fashion!

Outside Carven, Paris

2011-10-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

Coralie Labat - Paris Fashion Week

2011-09-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Details from LFW for Look At Me (Russia)

2011-09-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

My second set for Look At Me is up and running! Click here to see the post. Here are some of the shots:

Diary of a fashion intern - Day 2 "To Market, To Market"

2011-09-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

So having survived my first day I was feeling a bit more comfortable heading into work on Monday. For my second day I decided to go with a more casual look - red jeans and a denim shirt.. casual yet has character, cant go wrong really!

We were asked to get there by 7.30 am, I hadn't been to work that early since… well since I moved to London actually!

When I got to the showroom that morning I, for the first time in my life, realised what visual merchandising actually meant. The night before we left the clothes hanging on the rails in random order which seemed normal… Our visual merchandiser stayed in the showroom until some ungodly hour to make it look… sellable. It was actually amazing how arranging clothes in various colour combinations made such a difference.

Anywho… so I get to the showroom that morning to find a bunch of interns having breakfast… dressed in all black with full make-up and hair done. Awkward. I guess my red jeans are no longer a 'cant go wrong' item. I enter a mild state of panic. They all turn around, see my get-up and one of them draws a long 'I'm gueeeesssing no one told you to wear black…" The showroom manager enters, looks me up and down, realises that he forgot to tell me to wear black, quietly walks off [im pretty sure he may have had a tiny heart attack when he saw my bright red jeans in the sea of "all-black" interns]. Im perspiring. A lot. It's 8am so none of the stores are open to go and buy a quick change of outfit. The first appointment is at 9am. I am iiiiinnnn trouble.

I am sent to photocopy a bunch of stuff - obviously to get me out of sight before the first customer gets here and before the 'head honcho' sees me.

I'm photocopying stuff and literally counting down minutes until 9am when the stores open. Unfortunately the closest store was Next which seemed to stock strictly the ugliest clothes (they should've put a sign up - Normal Clothes Not Allowed). I end up in an ugly black jersey dress (that ugly cheap black colour.. you know what im talking about), which is possibly a size or 2 too big. I make a mental note to burn it when today is over.

Head back to the showroom and see the manager breath a sigh of relief. Crisis averted. Then the craziness starts. The buyers start arriving one by one. There are four models in the backroom trying on clothes and modelling it for the buyers. The interns are running around like crazy. All of them red in the face… by this stage we need to know and remember if not all then a lot of the pattern names and style names of this season's collection.

As an intern you are expected to do whatever is required to ensure the smooth running of the showroom - dress the models, greet the clients, make coffee, do a mountain of photocopying, get the clothes requested by the sales team, chat to the buyers and make them feel warm and fuzzy and most importantly remember the order that the clothes, bags and shoes were in this morning (as the visual merchandiser intended it to look).

After a quick lunch break we are all back on the floor. By night time you literally can't feel your feet. Thankfully coffee is in unlimited supply so everyone is on a constant caffeine buzz. Throughout the day interns rotate in their duties. I am now following a girl from the sales team around. She is showing the new collection to a buyer, explaining the inspiration and the stories behind the collection. I am carrying a tonne of clothes to and from the change room every 2 minutes. My favourite part is putting outfits together - a member of the sales team passes you an item of clothing (like a shirt or a top) and you have to find bottoms, jackets etc to form a presentable and cool outfit in the right colour scheme. And you have about 30 seconds to pull the outfit together and drop it at the change rooms - I feel like I'm in an episode of America's Next Top Model (you know the ones where they need to demonstrate their personal style?! except obviously i'm not a model… obviously).

In between appointments I'm running to the backroom to have a quick coffee. Everyone only drinks espressos because you don't have time for a normal cup of coffee. Then back on the floor to listen (for the 50th time) the story about the inspiration behind the collection. Every time a new appointment starts the sales guys look like this is the first time they've ever told the story - full of excitement, big smile, sky-high heels. The buyers don't need to know that most of them haven't had a chance to eat lunch and have had about 30 cups of coffee and take their heels off for 2 minutes in between appointments. You can hear snippets of Italian, Spanish and French being spoken around the room, the whole team including the interns is bilingual (trilingual in some cases) so everyone is comfortably switching between languages.

The day ends around 10pm and we literally crawl out of the showroom. Everyone is excited because we don't start until 8am tomorrow… extra half an hour of sleep! Yay! : /

We have another 3 weeks of this between London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks. Oh. My.God.

To be continued… xx

p.s. you can read the Russian version on Look At Me

Diary of a fashion intern - Day 1 "The Scary Sunday"

2011-09-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

Since I'm not hanging out at London Fashion Week this season and hence don't really have anything to show you, I thought I might share with you about what I am doing instead of LFW.

The truth is, I am doing LFW but from the inside… the less glamorous inside that does not involve hanging out at Somerset House or dressing up. In fact, my official 'uniform' these days is all black. Here is why…

Do you remember a few months back I wrote about quitting my job and bla bla?

Well after I did that, I spent the following weeks applying for every single internship under the sun. Luckily, my timing was good and I started the process as the brands were heading into the SS2012 season.

So I scored myself an internship with a pretty-big-deal brand and was absolutely over the moon about it. The first (official) day was set for Sunday the 18th - smack bang in the middle of LFW…

As it generally happens with me, I over-committed myself and promised Look At Me 'x' number of street style shots from Day 2 of LFW. So the day before my big internship I was hanging out at Somerset House snapping away the fashionistas… after spending a good 8 hours running after people and chasing celebrities from venue to venue, my feet were killing me and I spent the night feeling sorry for myself whilst editing the photos so that I could meet my deadlines.

When I finally got to bed, I couldn't sleep.. guess what was bothering me??!! WHAT SHOULD I WEAR TOMORROW?????? I mean think about it.. I'm an accountant.. going into fashion.. whilst being slightly older, shorter and less savvy than my potential co-interners. Intimidated? Me? Noooo…. ok, may be a little.

So the next day, I got up early, got ready and headed for the showroom - I felt like it was the first day of school! I also felt terrible about missing the hoo-hah at the Mulberry presentation which was happening literally down the street from my new 'job'.

The first thing I saw when I arrived at the destination is a huge bright room full of stuff! I was like a fat kid in a candy store - bags, shoes, scarves, wallets - you name it! I felt like I had just discovered Narnia… except I was finally 'out of the closet' and loud and proud legit fashionista.. interning in fashion'n'all…

It would be an understatement to say I was delusional about what a fashion internship involves. I thought I would head in for a couple of hours, hang out with the cool kids, look at some clothes and then head to the afternoon LFW shows (even brought my SLR camera in the bag).

Errrm think again!

The first thing that I saw when the initial shock had worn off were three massive bags that had just arrived from NYC… hot off the press so to say. The bags contained samples of the new collection… so the next 3 hours were spent steaming, labelling and hanging the clothes in the correct order etc etc.

There were 6 other interns working in the showroom, all had been with the label for different length of time.. mostly fashion students. Some were there just for the couple of weeks to help out with fashion weeks, whilst others had been there for a number of months.

The first thing I noticed about the interns is that they weren't at all glamourously dressed as I had expected them to be (based on my extenssive knowledge of The City and The Devil Wears Prada). Most of them were dressed in jeans and converse shoes… obviously because it was a Sunday and because we had to unpack, steam and sort the clothes. Obviously.. I didn't get the memo.

At first I was picking up every sample and admiring the beauty, appreciating the fabric and thinking how lucky I was to be surrounded by all these beautiful clothes. By the third hour every other dress was just a piece of fabric that had to be dealt with and I stopped noticing all the wonderful things about them.

By about lunch time it became clear that it was highly unlikely that I would see any of the shows that afternoon or even make it to Somerset House. The rest of the day was spent studying the new collection and listening to the 'head honcho' of the office talk about each of the pieces and how they fit in with the rest of the collection and how best to market it to different clients etc. It was like being back at uni… but amazingly interesting… I was mostly fascinated by the fact that the poor 'head honcho' probably hadn't slept for a number of days during NYFW and yet was so with it and spoke for hours non-stop and knew so much about so much.

Every now and again the team shared their opinions on the pieces and there was a lively discussion. The interns were mostly quiet.. taking all of the information in and trying not to interrupt the flow of the evening with stupid questions.

I'm not even going to pretend that giving up a big fat corporate job and becoming the newest kid on the block is easy. It was crap. I am used to being listened to and knowing what I am talking about, to people respecting my opinion and being interested in what I have to say. There in that showroom no one cares if you are a doctor or a lawyer or whatever… if you don't know about fashion then you are at the bottom of the food chain. So I pretended to be mute and spent the rest of the day trying to absorb as much as I could about everything that was happening around me.

The day finished at about 9 or 10pm.. Im not even sure.. I was delirious by the end of it and was only capable of dragging myself to the nearest McDonald's to celebrate my survival of the first day.. well almost survival if you don't count me stabbing myself in the eye with the corner of one of the sheets in the lookbook. My eye went all red and started watering and mascara was running down my cheek as I was frantically trying to 'blink myself better'. Since no one saw what had actually happened, a few people seemed perplexed when they saw me 'crying' - they exchanged inquisitive looks but decided not to ask the obvious question as (judging by the looks on their faces) they'd decided that they couldn't have possibly upset me that much since no one really spoke to me much that day in the first place. I'm pretty sure that almost 90% of the people in the room didn't even know my name which was quite obvious because they referred to you as 'daahling' or 'hun' or 'lovely' if they need to speak to you or get your attention. I thought that was actually quite endearing since thinking back to my corporate job, it would be days before I would actually start properly speaking to the new interns at all…mostly because i didn't know their names and partly because they all looked quite scared. At least I got called 'nice' names :)

To be continued ...xx

LFW Street style for Look At Me (Russia)

2011-09-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

This season the lovely guys from Look At Me asked me to shoot street style for them at LFW. Here are a few of my favourite looks of the day. To see the whole line up click here

p.s. Apologies in advance for the lack of LFW coverage this season on my blog. I just started my super exciting fashion internship and trying really hard to do a good job and "keep my head above water" (read: loooong days and aching legs). Hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) I get to go to Paris for PFW and sneak some time for street style shooting!

Matthew Zorpas in Vivienne Westwood

Karina Vilas Boras

Stella

Christopher Kane clutch... Love

2011-09-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

A Sunday at the Tate

2011-09-05T16:04:00.000-07:00

Not proud to admit that a lot of my Sundays are accompanied by either lack of sleep or slight hangover... which naturally means that I am slightly more relaxed about what I wear... especially if it's raining! Last Sunday as I was playing 'couch potato' at home, my lovely friend J convinced me (despite the rain) to get off my backside and do something exciting. So off we went to Tate Modern to catch the last couple of days of the Miro exhibition.

If you do have a chance and you are even remotely interested in surrealism you should most definitely go and see it for yourself - 13 rooms of breathtaking and extremely varied art. Joan Miró's work was influenced by his political views (in a BIG way) and his work reflects that - at times you feel like you are looking at the work of 3-4 different artists and his style changes dramatically as you travel through his career in paintings and reach the most dramatic point - the Spanish Civil War. Surrealism is not my favourite type of art but I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition and would strongly recommend it. If not for the art, go for the colour.. Miro's use of colour to express emotion is beyond belief! I'm no art connoisseuse but this man made a white canvas with a line across it look like magic. No wonder André Breton, the leader of Surrealists, called him 'the most surreal of us all' (ok, I confess that last sentence I may have borrowed from the exhibition booklet!).

So back to the clothes.. I'm always a bit conscious when meeting J as she is what I would call a closet fashionista (a person with a serious corporate job who is secretly obsessed with fashion). This time was no exception - as I was miserably licking my ice-cream in the rain, I saw J floating towards me and looking fabulous.. correction - I heard her floating.. more specifically I heard the jingle (the chime, call it whatever you want really) of her Burberry necklace (I looooved that necklace - it is such a statement!). I didn't have my big camera with me but happened to have my Fuji point-and-shoot in the bag from the party the night before, so I thought I would take a couple of shots to share the love with you. Hope you like it xx

The Leopard Coat - Michelle Harper, Paris

2011-08-27T16:45:00.001-07:00

Baby Fashionista

2011-08-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Lu Flux

2011-08-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

As LFW 2012 is getting closer, I (and I'm sure all the other bloggers) are madly working through the backlog in their archives in order to get all the photos out before the new season hits us. The trouble with shooting at fashion weeks is that you take hundreds and hundreds of shots per day! and sometimes it takes me forever to get to certain shots. I'm glad I got to this one though!

I spotted Lu as she was exiting the LFW Exhibition, it was raining and no one really wanted their photo taken on this yukky rainy day. I convinced Lu to pose under the rain so I could take a shot of her beautiful coat which I think is so special!

As we started chatting, I found out that Lu was the designer behind the Lu Flux brand which is in my view one of the most creative and fresh brands out there today. Lu's designs are like no other and what makes it better is that her brand is ethical. Every piece in her collection, from dresses to shoes, has its own story.

Later that week I had the pleasure of attending Lu's AW2011 presentation, which was so different from any other fashion event on the LFW calendar - chilled out atmosphere, friendly PR ladies (I didnt realise that type even existed ;P) and a band to fit the mood of her "Sea & Be Seen" collection. If you ever get to see Lu's amazing pieces 'in person' you will no doubt notice and appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into her work. Check out Lu Flux website here.

And here are some photos from the presentation (btw I love love loved the organic rose lip balm in the goody bag):

Feather skirts...

2011-08-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

I shot this picture in Paris earlier this year and ever since then I have been trying to find a feather skirt because I just love how in this case it spiced up an otherwise all black outfit. So a few months back, I travelled to Rome with a friend of mine and in one of tiny shops there I discovered a wonderful mocha colour feather skirt. I ended up buying the skirt but havent actually worn it yet because every time I was going to wear it, it just seemed too dressy for the occasion. Anyway, to my great disappointment, last week I walk into Zara... only to see stacks of feather skirts in various bright colours.... And there I was, thinking I was special... I guess good things catch on!

Shades of orange..

2011-08-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

It's a shame about the quality of this photo, but I thought the skirt looks so pretty that I had to share it with you... Im very much into maxi skirts this summer..

A model's pose..

2011-08-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

This photo is from a while back and I came across it by accident when I was clearing out my archives. I don't necessarily like what she is wearing in this photo but I absolutely love her pose.. it is a model's pose.

Gypsy Bride

2011-08-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I got together with the beautiful Aleksandra from Jeliza-Rose blog. We spent a few hours at Hampstead Heath and it was a ridiculously hot day but we went ahead with the shoot anyway. I wish we started shooting a bit later in the day because the sun was very strong and the photos ended up with very harsh shadows. Aleksandra styled this shoot and picked this gorgeous dress from Monsoon and the jewellery from Topshop.

I really struggled with post-production for this shoot (as I still dont use Photoshop). The originals were very rich in colour and I felt like it was a bit much. After playing around with the hues and colours for a while I ended up with this.

Let me know what you think!

Orchid garden...

2011-08-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to photograph J in this beautiful Matthew Williamson number for months! And finally, perfect location for a perfect dress. We didnt have much time so this was a little rushed but I'm still pretty happy with the result.

Ciao Bella!

2011-07-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

What's been happening?!

2011-07-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

So I almost feel like I owe my readers an apology for doing such a half-hearted job lately. The truth is, I havent been out shooting street style for absolute ages! So much has been going on in my life, that I feel a permanent lack of time to do "the creative stuff". The combination of summer, travelling and work over the last couple of months has made it impossible to keep up with the blogging.

The true problem is that once you get a taste for the craziness that is fashion week, you want to see and know more about it. Fashion week is just the tip of the iceberg really. So after struggling with myself for the last twelve months or so, I have finally decided 'to grow a pair' and take a leap into the unknown, resign from my big fat corporate job and do something different with my life.

So at the moment my life consists of a lot 'figuring out' and lots and lots of job applications (and of course .. lottery tickets). The plan is to try and do something (whatever I can get) in fashion and then take it from there. So stay tuned, you will be hearing all about my struggles!

The good news is that now that I have made up my mind about what I dont want to do, the pressure is off and I'm back to the 'creative stuff' until a new opportunity comes along.

So in summary... no, I have not disappeared from the face of the Earth. I'm here, I'm back and blogging away. You would also be pleased to find out that I finally got my hands on Photoshop software and am now frantically trying to figure out how to use it :) xx

Lovely in Chanel, Paris

2011-07-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Raining men, London

2011-07-09T23:11:00.000-07:00

Pleated Skirts

2011-07-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

An old friend...well sort of

2011-07-05T16:38:00.000-07:00

Being a blogger is a strange thing. You share your thoughts. You share your vision. But most of the time it feels like you are just sending 'stuff' into an empty space.. the internet.. whatever that is.

What you don't realise is that on the other side of that empty space are real people reading your thoughts, experiencing things with you and sharing your vision.

I guess it's not uncommon to become used to certain blogs, you feel like they are your friends (and no i'm not that sad, i do have real friends too) and every now and again you like to "pop in and say hello". Garance Dore is one of those "old friends" for me. I check her blog every day and really enjoy both the photos and the writing. I guess it is her writing that makes you feel like you really know her. After following her blog religiously for about a year, I finally ran into Garance at one of the fashion weeks. To be honest with you, I felt a bit lost... On the one hand you feel like you practically know this person since you essentially read their thoughts every day. On the other hand, you don't necessarily want to come across as a crazy person by waving your arms in the air and screaming "how the hell are ya!?"

I chose to stick with the less crazy, albeit slightly stalkerish behaviour of acting like I don't know who she is but staring at her continuously hoping she is too busy to notice anyway. I just loved watching her in action. On the blog we only get to see the final product, but watching that 'product' be made is a different kinda high xx

Gentlemen Style, Paris

2011-07-05T16:02:00.001-07:00

Vanessa, London

2011-06-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Vanessa from Petit Monstres

Photoshoot: Rock'n'Rolla

2011-06-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Skirt - Zara/Top - Sass & Bide/Bra - Manning Cartel/Necklace - Agent 99/Shoes - Topshop

Shorts - Topshop/ Shoes - Topshop/ Necklace - Topshop/ Leather Jacket - Swagga & Soul

Shorts - Urban Outfitters/ Top - People Fabric (Australia)/Bolero - Zara/Shoes - Topshop/ Sunglasses - Rayban/ Bangle - Jessica Kagan Cushman

Dress - Urban Outfitters/ Denim shirt - Antipodium/Shoes - Topshop/ Necklace - Agent 99

Shorts, T-shirt, Earrings - all from Urban Outfitters/ Braces and headpiece - Beyond Retro/

Cowboy Boots - Model's own

P.S. Model: Erica/ Make-up and Hair: Laura Goya/ Photos and styling: Me

for this shoot I really wanted to do something tomboyish, a little bit daring and almost aggressive. I also wanted to contrast the aggressiveness of leather against sequence and softer fabric. When I think of rascals and tomboys, I instantly think of cowboys and indians but I wanted to present it in a more modern way. We shot this at Clic La Mode Studio in Woolwich. This is my second organised photoshoot so I would be very interested to get some feedback - both positive and negative - about the styling, the theme and the photographs.

A little bit hairy...

2011-06-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

Random photo: Master and commander

2011-06-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

P.S I don't know if you feel the same way but to me this photo is SO FASHION. It has a photographer, photo equipment, a mulberry bag, a skirt made of feathers, a skinny girl, a magazine, and fast-paced (almost anxious) movement forward.. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that these two are heading to a fashion show xx

Spot the Spotter, Paris

2011-06-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

Dressing by numbers

2011-06-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

Random photo: In the light

2011-06-15T16:51:00.000-07:00

P.S. I took this photo through a window of a moving bus in Paris. We were turning the corner when I saw this beautiful girl standing at the lights. I just thought it looked so romantic. And yes I know the angle is wrong and it's overexposed but sometimes random moments like these remind me why 'this whole photography thing' came about and became part of my life... Hope you've all had a good week! xx

Sama or Haya? Paris

2011-06-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

Monochrome, Paris

2011-06-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

Graduate Fashion Week- Gala

2011-06-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Graduate Fashion Week closing Gala show. I was incredibly impressed by the talent. The ones that stood out for me in Womenswear tonight were Christina Economou, Charlotte Waters, Meg Cornwell, Dominique Kral, Shirana Chavda, Rachel Cogley, Ume Sacraine. There were definitely some amazing designers-in-the-making present there tonight. It's funny that CSM is the school that immediately comes to mind when you think of new designer talent but there are so many great schools in England that are nurturing great talent.

And of course congratulations to Rory Longdon for scoring the George Gold Medal award tonight!

The GFW exhibition itself was held at London's Earls Court convention centre and here are some snapshots I got before the Gala show:

Photoshoot: Drama Queen 1969

2011-06-08T02:55:00.000-07:00

Dress - Topshop

Earrings and Boa - Claire's

Dress - Skirt worn as a dress Topshop

Shawl - Nightdress from Topshop

Belt - LK Bennett

Shoes - Dune

Earrings - Hair scrunchies worn as earrings from Topshop

Top - Mink Pink from Urban Outfitters

Earrings - Topshop

Skirt/Ring - Vintage

Socks - Urban Outfitters

Shoes - Dune

Dress - Zara

Earrings - Claire's

Belt - Celyn B

Shoes - Kurt Geiger

About this shoot: inspiration for this shoot came from the divas of silver screen of the 1960's and 1970's, Twiggy, Edie Sedgwick, Musical Theatre. We shot this at the American Musical Theatre Academy studios in Shoreditch.

Model: Jessica

Make-up: Patricia Moroney

Assistant and endless ideas generator: David Nyanzi

Photography and styling: Me

P.S. This is my first every photoshoot, so I would be very interested to find out your thoughts - both positive and negative. Feedback on lighting, processing, styling, theme execution are welcome and appreciated! I will upload more photos onto my facebook page later this week xx

Models off duty - AC/DC style

2011-06-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

Zanna Roberts Rassi, PFW

2011-06-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Current obsession: Cat eye sunglasses

2011-06-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

Natasha Goldenberg, Paris Fashion Week

2011-06-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

By the way, I thought I would take this opportunity to also tell you a little bit about the young lady in the photos above. Unfortunately, I have never met her personally but I really like what she is doing and I am keeping an eye on her. She used to be a fashion buyer who later turned into a stylist and dabbled in fashion journalism. As it oftens happens, and what often seems to be the natural progression, Natasha decided to take her love of fashion a bit further by launching her own label. At this point I should probably tell you that Natasha is based in Russia which essentially means that launching a brand and getting people to buy is twice as hard as it would be say in London. This is not due to lack of funding (I'm pretty sure she doesnt have issues with that as this lady is quite well connected in the Moscow fashion circuit) but due to lack of fashion culture on a mass level. Once you manage to get the funding, the next challenge is to come up with something that is trendy and stylish not just by Russian standards but also by rest-of-world standards.

Natasha's debut collection carries the name TzipporahNG and is brilliant for a number of reasons. Firstly it is wearable, everyday and 'young'. Secondly, and what possibly impressed me the most, is that it is affordable. When you are part of the 'privileged circle' in Moscow I think it would be easy to fall into a trap of making clothes aimed at your privileged circle of friends. It is good to see that Goldenberg is smarter than that and went for something that will appeal to a wider audience. Thirdly, the promotion of the label is veeery clever. Natasha got the crew from Slickwalk.com, which is probably the top and definitely the best known street style blog in Russia, to shoot the lookbook for the label. The shoot is done street style and uses 'real' girls rather than models. The promo film was done by a mate of Natasha'sm, a musician-turned-journalist, Kirill Ivanov. It's simple yet super effective PR formula that surely will yeild some brilliant results!

The website and online store will go live shortly at http://www.tzipporahng.com/

You can view the photoshoot by Slickwalk, the promo film and the interview with Natasha (for those of you who speak Russian) at Look At Me by clicking here

Miss Pandora..

2011-05-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

Ebel Louise aka Miss Pandora

Fruit Hat, Paris

2011-05-31T03:48:00.000-07:00

Random photo: Walk The Line..

2011-05-31T03:47:00.000-07:00

Model off duty, after Sonia Rykiel

2011-05-30T04:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not too sure who this model is but I'm pretty sure she is 'kind of a big deal' judging by the number of photographers around her. I sneakily took this one when no one was watching. My wild guess would be Caroline Brasch Nielsen but feel free to share your suggestions xx

p.s. sorry about the lack of posts last week - I got this obsessive idea to do a proper shoot and start building my portfolio. So I spent the entire last week trying to figure out the logistics and the endless bits and bobs..You will see the results shortly

p.p.s correction - thanks to Polkaways we now know that the model is Ruby Aldridge!

All Black, Paris

2011-05-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

Today is such a yukky rainy day in London that I felt like posting a more wintery look. I generally don't like photographing all black outfits because they often blend into one big black photo but this one is an exception - I love her cheeky smile!

Susie Bubble, Paris

2011-05-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Anastasia Shershen, Moscow

2011-05-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Dressed for Spring, Paris

2011-05-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

Iliya - Stoleshnikov Pereulok, Moscow

2011-05-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

Anne-Catherine Frey, Paris

2011-05-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Braided Snow White, Paris

2011-05-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Jessica from Snow White Gone Wild. I love her hairdo and wish I could actually do one like that myself.. sadly I cant :(

Current obsession: seeing red (Part 1)

2011-05-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

I have recently been obsessing with red. "Red what?" might you ask... well red everything really. Currently wearing red nail polish. Recently purchased a new red Mac lipstick. Recently purchased red jeans. Thinking about where I could wear my vintage red a la Blair Waldorf dress. To celebrate this obsession here is my collection of red in 3 parts.. How many red can you spot? Red jeans, red pants, red scarf, red sunnies, red skirt, red legwarmers, red top, red tights, red lipstick... have i missed anything? (all photos by me, click on the image to enlarge)

Current obsession: seeing red (Part 2)

2011-05-15T14:53:00.001-07:00

Here is the second collage on the subject of red. This time it's red and leopard.. Tres chic!
(all photos by me, click to enlarge)

Current obsession: seeing red (Part 3)

2011-05-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

Final collage to celebrate my obsession with the colour of passion, love and strangely...communism :)
(all photos by me, click on the image to enlarge)

NB: Who are they? ...in the middle picture - blogger Anne Catherine Frey, picture on the right - blogger Imogen. Does anyone know who the girl in the red scarf is?

Vika Gazinskaya, before Viktor & Rolf, Paris

2011-05-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

Clean Cut - Rue Saint-Dominique, Paris

2011-05-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the poor quality of this photo, but I could not keep this one to myself - I just love her style! Her style reminds me of Olivia Palermo's - clean cut yet edgy.

Red Collar, London

2011-05-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

Catherine Fuller from Coco Le Freak C'Est Chic . For those of you who are wondering how to get your hands on a scarf like that... let me surprise you by saying it is in fact a sweater! I don't know where from but isn't it just so so cool?!

p.s. it feels strange posting winter outfits when its warm and sunny outside.. but i have so many wonderful warm outfits still in my library that i just can't help myself!

Black Leather Cape, London

2011-05-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

Model citizens, Paris

2011-05-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

Caped, London

2011-05-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

Peony Lim, Somerset House, London

2011-05-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

Silver shoes, Paris

2011-04-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

Model off duty, Volvo Fashion Week, Moscow

2011-04-30T06:05:00.000-07:00

Julia Vydolob - London Fashion Week

2011-04-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Oh Mr Raaaabbit! Palais de Tokyo, Paris

2011-04-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Doesn't her outfit make you think of Alice in Wonderland? There is something about the combination of colours in this outfit that I just love.

Valentina, Gostiny Dvor, Moscow

2011-04-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

This outfit is so complex and quite hard to pull-off. When wearing such a statement suit not many would dare accessorise but in my opinion Valentina has managed to pull-off this bold look beautifully!

Fashion Photographer, Paris

2011-04-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Smile! Palais de Tokyo, Paris

2011-04-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Maria, Ilyinka Street, Moscow

2011-04-24T16:35:00.000-07:00