The Brightest Star

Your star blazes so bright that it blinds,
Temporarily dazzled by the luminosity of the sparks it is easy for one not to see that despite your light,
Your wish for us is to remain in darkness
Shrouded in pain and insignificance,
For you steeled your heart to light this fire and all that is left inside you is ice.
You will not let the flame diminish and you don't care who you burn in order to ensure that
You
Burn
The
Brightest

But you have forgotten
That people are afraid to of being burnt so they won't get too close
And they will retreat completely once it dawns that you want to destroy their star,
Lest it detract from yours.
I wonder if you will regret your choices when all that is left are the embers of a brilliant life, cruelly lived.

All The Fun Of The Fairfax Flea

The first time I visited Los Angeles I was told I should like, totally check out the flea market at Fairfax. I fell in love with it straight away, so when I was back in La la land last month I just knew I had to fit it in. The Fairfax Flea Market takes place every Sunday and I was out there for two weeks; perfect, 2 opportunities to go and get rummaging. Except the first Sunday bucketed down with rain (and I was very hungover) so I didn't leave the house. Luckily the next Sunday, a few days before I flew back to London, was a gorgeous sunny LA day, so I spent a few hours down there.

The flea market is held in the parking lot of the Fairfax high School, right on the corner of Fairfax and Melrose, conveniently two of my fave shopping streets in West Hollywood. With the weather being so lovely and all, the market which is open from 9-5, was incredibly busy. It has 2 manned entrances where you pay your $2, get a stamp and you're good for the day. The aisles of stalls seemed endless and there is lots on offer.

Vintage everything is everywhere; numerous stalls selling vintage clothes, shoes and jewellery or you can kit out your place with unique antique furniture and cool art and posters. They have a huge sunglasses stall there and lots of stalls that customise stuff too. I managed to get a cute cut off T-shirt with a college mascot on for $3 and and incredible black jumpsuit with epic shoulder pads for $5...expect to see me rocking it at an event soon! I really wanted some vintage Levi shorts but didn't find the perfect pair...I will be back!

I wanted this dress!

The crowd at Fairfax is a nice mix of family's, tourists and cool locals. There were lots of trendy young things strutting about on their search for something different; half the fun is peeping the relaxed chic style of the LA hipsters and getting inspiration. I'd definitely recommend heading down there if you're ever in the City of Angels.

I asked these two if I could take a snap and they were Scots! Flying the flag for British style, they looked very cool.

Pin Up Girl



This was one of those fun, experimental shoots that just kinda happened perfectly. I have a great working relationship and friendship with photographer Paolo Casseb and we had been planning to do a shoot together for some time. When we were batting ideas around I mentioned a 1950's type theme and within a few hours, Paolo had come back to me saying his friend, Kirsty Maltby, a designer, had lots of pieces we could borrow for the shoot. So far so good!

Paolo and I had never done a studio shoot together before and we were under a lot of time constraints but we worked fast and the pictures came out brilliantly! As soon as I put on this vintage red swimsuit I felt like a modern day Marilyn Monroe and I would have tried to sneak the vintage YSL sunglasses away with me, except they belong to his mum!

Angelina knocked these hair styles up in about 10 minutes flat and I remember a lot of Kreyshawn (!) playing in the background.

Photography: Paolo Casseb

Styling/Art Direction: Kirsty Maltby

Hair: Angelina Bianchi

Make-up: Lexxy

P.D.A

P.D.A's. Public Displays of Affection. The Tube is the place to spot them it would seem. This 'affection' can be displayed in a number of ways, and like most people, some of these ways make me want to throw up my breakfast. For me, full on tongue sarnies on the Central line are not cool, ever. Watching a couple swap saliva opposite me on the Underground is awful; finding somewhere to avert your eyes suddenly becomes a necessary skill for travel or a weird curiosity might take hold and your eyes can't help but flicker over at exactly the wrong time..is he...oh my God he is...his tongue is in her ear! 


A late train home on a Friday or Saturday night has even more x-rated sights on display. Bolstered by a few cocktails, inhibitions are lowered, people are bolder and less bothered about an audience. You may see a hand disappear under a mac and people begin to believe that lap dancing is acceptable.

But on the other hand. Sometimes I will glance up from my Metro to see a couple sharing a secret smile across the carriage and you can tell that no matter how pressed up they are into somebody else's armpit, they really can't see anybody else. Recently I saw a young tourist couple standing in the crush of commuters and the guy gently brushed his girlfriend's hair from her eyes and kissed her cheek. It was a genuinely tender moment that made me smile instead of feel sick.

The cutest moments though are when I see old couples together on the Tube and the old man will be a gentleman and ensure his wife gets a seat and she will smile at him gratefully. Makes me believe in love. Even on London Underground.

 

MONKI Business

Last week I went to the launch of the flagship Monki store on Carnaby Street, and if the store is anything like the party was, it's gonna be very successful! Monki are a cool relatively new Swedish brand and the concession in Selfridges has done remarkably well, so obviously London are crying out for a stand alone store.

A cool mix of fashion-y types, stylists and the like as well as up and coming music artists such as Cleo Sol and Etta Bond were all in attendance showing Monki definitely have eyes on what's hot next as well as what's hot now.

How sick is this T? My toilet queue friend said she got it here

The 2-floor concept store 'The Sea of Scallops', is very cool, lots of mirrors making it look very futuristic stylistically. I particularly loved the curved stair case where I took this photo.

The shop was filled with black and silver Monki balloons and as well as the standard rails there are a double of table stands dotted about, all of which had a few copies of the Monki magazine. I saw a lot of pattern and print, some luxe jersey in khaki tones and some funky rings and chains caught my eye too.

The cocktails were flowing (my fave was the apple sour) and if you went upstairs you could get crazy eye lashes or make up done. Unfortunately I wasn't brave enough so I have no snaps of that!

DJ Yasmin was spinning on the decks, plenty of 90's and early naughties R'n'B and hip hop had the crowd partying hard...well I certainly was!

The top I have on in the picture is the Malaena top from Monki and says 'Welcome to the Jungle'.

And You Don't Know Why You Cry...

I'm so wrapped up in my heartbreak
I don't notice that your heart aches
So you find solace in a bottle and the
Nicotine that fills your lungs
On those late nights in the arms of
Someone who treats you with disdain and
Is immune to your pain
And you don't know why,
Why you cry
Or you do know, you just don't want to think about it,
To dig beneath the surface and be forced to address
The things about your past that make the present so dark
Because that might be worse than emotionless sex or running back to your ex
And I don't even see that you
Don't know why you cry
But I'm supposed to be your friend
It's you that I turn to again and again
To discuss everything from the life changing to the mundane
But when I ask you what's wrong
Your eyes fill with shame
And you tell me you still don't know why
Why you cry
And to forget it, just you being stupid, nothing to worry about at all
But now I'm afraid every time you don't answer my call
And I envision you sitting with your back against the wall
Tears falling into your vodka
Thoughts rushing that you don't want to decipher
And you certainly can't explain
So you breathe in the smoke to anaesthetise the pain
Tomorrow you'll wake up and do the same thing again
Because you still don't know why
Why you cry
I didn't see the tears in your eyes because of your smile
Or the escapism behind our drunken nights
But now I know it seems glaringly obvious
And I can't help but wonder how I missed this
All I want to say is
I don't care why
Why you cry
Just please know that you can cry with me.

Graffiti Girl

I love going down to London's Southbank, there is always such a vibe and usually some kind of free festival going on. These pictures were taken down by the skater ramps and I even managed to borrow some guys skateboard! The lipstick I've got on here is called 'Pink Shock' and was only a couple of quid from Collection 2000 but it really pops. Sometimes it's fun to play around with different shades and you don't wanna shell out £30 only to find out it doesn't suit you after all...