Strike a pose

British Vogue. April 1989 & January 2010

I spent a rather chilly morning at Portobello Market today with a friend. Browsing through vintage shops, I came across one that sold old Vogue magazines from the late 80's / early 90's. Funny, seeing as one of my "new years resolutions" is to collect Vogue magazines. I was lucky to get the 1989 Vogue as a gift , with a then 35 year old Kim Basinger gracing the cover just 2 months before the release of Tim Burton's successful Batman film and might I add a year before meeting Alec Baldwin [ ongoing custody battle ..blah blah... who gives a shit, eh? ]. And oh, the other chick is Rachel Weisz for those of you, who like me, were too busy drooling over Ralph Fiennes in The Constant Gardner to notice anything or anyone around him.

So I thought let me browse through the two and see what has happened in what is pretty much a decade between the two covers. So here are a few things I noticed:

1. There is shit loads of text on the cover seeing as we live in a world were advertisers and "10 ways to blow his mind" are needed to sell a magazine
2. Beauty giants are using younger people to sell products ... no brainer
3. Folks are still holding on to a "safe" and rather repetitive look with their ads. Look at the Coco Chanel ads
4. Models are skinnier (gasp!) and look more pissed off. Makes sense if no one fed you on set. Ha ha
5. MALE MODELS used to have a few editorial pages! But now they are pushed into the background, used merely as sexual props, and can no longer put their vogueing to practice like they did back in the day ... moment of silence
6. ... and the size of the magazine is smaller, with less pages. I guess we started caring about trees more at some point between 1989 and 2009

Winter wonderland

fur coat. vintage, Camden Market. jeans. Topshop. bag. Sanghera Usmani. boots. Marshmallow Mountain vintage

It's so nice to live in the center of London. Hyde Park is a five minute walk away. Topshop Selfridges and St. Christopher's Place are close enough to brave walking in high heels. And this evening my friend and I had the pleasure of venturing to the Winter Wonderland carnival in Hyde Park. a.k.a This is where parents and their offspring congregate. If it wasn't for the hot mulled wine or alcohol for that fact, I most certainly would have attempted suicide because on one side were the sounds of grown men screaming from the top of some Tower, and on the other some raging 3 year old letting the whole world know he is pissed off about something.

I love his big ego ...

Arena Homme +. Winter/Spring 09/10. makeup. Yves Saint Laurent

Today I went shopping for makeup. Something I rarely wear. Then I headed over to my friend's house to be greeted by Chuck the-future-father-of-my-children Bass laying half-naked on the couch. OK, technically he was in a magazine. But I decided to smuggle him into my purse. Anyone who invites people over to their house with a semi-naked Ed Westwick lounging on the sofa, should know their ass will be missing a certain Bass.

xoxo

Girl counting down to when she gets her presents ... !

It is better to give than to receive

Theory "Robena Airy" leather jacket
Chloe silk mousseline full-length gown
Alexander McQueen clutch
Cesare Paciotti "Dita" shoe
Alexander Wang suede and rib-knit biker jacket
Eddie Borgo bear claw zig zag ring
La Perla cocoon lace bra
Acne leather-look jeans.

So here is my Christmas wish list! If only you knew the number of times I practiced placing these items in an "online shopping basket", ready to hit the purchase button, knowing full well it would not go through. I know to some of you it may look meager but that's because in February it's my birthday and that's when I plan to go American psycho with the gift list. What do you want for Christmas?

Editorial: Pride Magazine Dec '09

coat. Aquascutum. dress and jacket. Chanel. tights. Woolford

I had the pleasure of doing a 10 page editorial for Pride Magazine. Styled by Charles Adesanya at WOUND Magazine. He pulled some amazing clothes! We shot at Hampstead Heath park in north London and let's just say it was not St. Tropez mid-august. Adding to that I had 5 men acting as the walls of our make shift changing room in the middle of nowhere. So you can only imagine what people walking their dogs were thinking when they bumped into us. LOL.

2010 //

[ images from theselby.com ]

In less than a month, we will be entering another decade. Kind of like a fresh start. Everyone asks each other about their new year's resolution or what they have done so far until now. What have I done? Well nothing other than the things I've had to do. like the time I had to go to kindergarten, and after that I had to go to elementary school, then middle school and high school. And my parents said I had to go to university.

Now what do I feel like doing come 2010? What do you want to start doing next year?

Have the courage to end that lousy relationship you are in?
Cut your hair?
Tell your family that secret you've been hiding?
Take a leap and move out of your town? that goddam country you've been living in all your life !?
Quit your job because despite there being a recession you can't stand that lousy office cubicle !?

Because we all know all of the above is easier and quicker than tryin' to lose weight ... again

The Last Emperor

shoes. Valentino

I had the pleasure and sometimes border-line traumatic experience of working at the Valentino Sample Sale this past weekend. Shoes and clothes from his previous fall collections were selling for a fraction of their original price. There was, however, the handful of folks who came in demanding VIP treatment as if they were the son of God but still went on to ask if there would be a further reduction. So naturally you direct them to the rail of cheap items, which happen to be accessories. But I was just happy to own a piece of Mr. Valentino at the end of the day and rest my poor feet in these lovelies

Velvet Underground

dress. Rare at Topshop

Remember that TV soap opera Dynasty? Late 80s? The one about a rich oil family. Remember the cat fights? Yeah OK we were all between the ages of a fetus and 3 years but still I remember being dumped at my grandparents house and looking up at the TV and being greeted by big hair and the mother of all shoulder pads. Power dressing as they called it. At least now I know where to stash my clutch when I get tired of holding it whilst dancing.

Boys will be boys

© natasha ndlovu

This is a photo of a moody-yet-scrumptious English male model I took last summer here in London. He is doing very well for himself. He was my first feature on skewed magazine:issue one. I am going back to taking photos. I don't know why after saving for my expensive camera I then stopped. I am hoping my trip to Milan and Amsterdam from tomorrow till Tuesday will inspire me. Have a look at my photo blog.

http://studiono4.blogspot.com/

This is like a flashback. This is like a dream

photo by: Taylor James. taylorjamesphoto.blogspot.com

I am contemplating going back to the days of short hair. Well, my agency is also contemplating. I am going through this "fuck it" phase and thinking about all the crazy shit I should have done in my teens. Tattoos. Piercings. The boyfriend with the motorbike. But my mother was pretty much the equivalent of those evil Catholic nuns you see in movies like Doubt with Meryl Streep. Ok I had a belly button piercing but that was about as rebellious as stealing candy from a baby. Then the whole 8th grade went and got a belly button piercing. Lord.

**And congrats to Matthew Burditt Photography for winning the Topshop shoes**