Dubai

The last two weeks of 2010 were the best of the year, possibly one of the best weeks ever...

The offer to go to Dubai came out of nowhere; a friend asked me a week before if I was free to go, which of course I said yes to, then tickets were booked and suitcases packed and before I knew it we were on the way to the airport after a sunbed and a pamper.

Once we arrived it was 30oc which was an amazing change to the piles of snow England had had for weeks and it was amazing we could even fly. After a flight with thousands of films, food menu and limitless drinks we had our own chaperon to the hotel we were staying at for the next four days, The Fairmont Hotel.






















The Fairmont is one of the most incredible, prestigious hotels I have ever stayed in, with roof top pools, impeccable room service and mouth watering food.

Once we had arrived we got straight into our bikinis and headed out onto a private yacht to drink cocktails and sunbathe.













The rest of the days were spent sunbathing by the pool, getting tans to make friends jealous back home and making the most of the free room service. The nights on the other hand made it a holiday I will never forget.

The first night we got all dolled up and headed to The Cavalli Club, Roberto Cavalli's lifestyle concept club, and I can honestly say it is the most amazing place I have ever been in my life. To sum the first night up we partied in VIP with Roberto Cavalli, his son, Kelly Brook to name a few, we drank £12,000 bottles of vintage champagne before heading to an after party in top floor penthouse.

Happy New Years Fashionistas!

Happy new year to one and all. I hope the new year brings you everything you could hope for.

Taking a look back at 2010, it's had its ups and its downs but over all was one of the best years so far. Let's take a look back...

The year began with blagging myself an audition for Britain's Next Top model. Although I didn't make it onto the show I still came 25th out of thousands of applicants. After that confidence boost I left my 45hour week job that I despised and got myself a job at Topshop which I loved. Being surrounded by clothes and learning about the latest fashions was the ideal job for me and just what I needed to keep me going after my two year relationship with a guy I thought was 'the one' fell apart. My new job confirmed that the fashion industry is where I wanted to be and began applying for work experience on the fashion desk of every magazine I could think of.

Summer was approaching and I was rejoined with a friend who I'd lost contact with. I became promoted in my job and given more responsibility. The summer was spent with friends, attending concerts, festivals and going to Mexico and meeting the most beautiful man I had ever set eyes on.

Before I knew it summer was over and I was off to university. The nerves evaporated within seconds and I made the best group of friends I would wish for. My local hangouts became Mayfair and the West End and was often invited out to celebrity parties where I met my latest obsession, a 22 year old South African model. I had got myself a job at Hollister as a model and soon my year would go off with a bang. Wait for my latest entry on Dubai, meeting a famous fashion designer and my progress on work experience....

Topshop's latest trends

You didn't think I was going to abandon Topshop all together did you? If you did, shame on you. Don't think that just because I don't currently work there that I didn't download the Topshop IPhone App or that I don't check out the website for the latest trends and pieces. I need to keep on top of my game for when I go back over Christmas and show them how it's done.

Demi Couture

Like the Rough Diamond collection. Demi Couture is inspired by the 60's boasting candy colours, embellishments and accessories which reflects the playfulness of that era. Key pieces include pussy bow blouses, baby doll dresses and Mary Janes to top it all off.



















New Puritan


Black, sophisticated and glamorous. New Puritan includes all the things I love and lust; lace, velvet and leather. Delicious.





















Snow Queen

The name says it all; icy blues, crystallised embellishments and faux fur create this magical wonderland with rosy cheeks & pale lips to complete the frostbitten feel.





















Abigail's Party

Were heading back to the 70's with nipped in waists, bell-bottom trousers and plunging necklines. So come on over to the tea party with finger foods, Abba hits and cocktails and join the party!





















The Outsiders

Here's an updated version on the trend the outsiders, just in case you'd forgotten it's a collection inspired by the great outdoors with jodhpurs, Aran knits, tweeds, sweater dresses and over-the-knee socks.

Hello blogging world, guess whose back...

Like the beginning of my last post, my life has been a complete non-stop whirlwind. And I've missed this blog to the moon and back.

RECAP.

Moved down to Kingston, my new home. And I love it. Minus my sickly coloured yellow walls in my room, my new home is close to perfection. My walls are covered in pages from Vogue and photos of my friends. And I love being in complete control of my life. I can choose what I eat and when I eat it, who I want to go out with, when I want to come home and with no one to tell me that I can't, no boyfriend and no family members shaking their fingers at me for smoking or drinking too much.

So, what have I been up to? I found out that I'm good at my course, at journalism, at writing. Really good. That's not coming from me by the way. The woman hardest to please in the world told me so. Her methods to make you work harder are to tour the room, loudly criticising your work in front of everyone. When it got to me, I shut my eyes and prayed she wouldn't obliterate any of the inner self confidence I had. She made it all way through the article, right down to the very last full stop without uttering a word. Until she said, "you can write." And that was all I needed. Since then I haven't looked back since.

Socially, I've met some amazing people and some very good friends, ones that have made me broaden my horizons, made me think differently about a lot of things and ones that have made me realise who I really am. I thought going to university would be a fresh start, to be whoever I wanted to be, reinvent myself. But I've learnt that I like myself just the way I am.

I've also got a job. I miss Topshop, to the extreme. I tried to get a part-time job there but there were a few thousand applicants and as much as I knew I was more than qualified to work there, I knew it was a sign I needed a new challenge, a change. Plus, I knew I could go back there over Christmas, which is now nearly only a month away. So, I decided the best place where I could combine fashion and modelling was Hollister. I managed to land myself a job as a model, which I was more than surprised at, if I'm completely honest.

In between studying, working and socialising, I now need to find the time to join and attend a gym and fit in this blog. Another piece of news is I had to get a new blog. It's for university and based on journalism, technology and the future. I can't say I enjoy writing it to say the least, especially as it's taken me away from writing about what I really enjoy, fashion. No worries, that blog I can finish in just over a month and this once again will be my main priority.

Oh, and I also reapplied for work experience in every single fashion magazine I could think of, so fingers crossed. Watch this space.

The Manic That Has Been The Last 6 Weeks

Ever since our plane touched down in England, my life has been a non stop whirlwind. Regarding work I'd been working almost every day. Why you may ask? Our store was one of only five others that were being remodelled. Exciting stuff, I know. It meant that the store was being turned upside down whilst builders, decorators, surveyors, brand managers and very important high rankers from the flagship store were in and out every minutes meaning we had to be on our very best behaviour. To top it all off, we also had model store and our mystery shopper plus the launch of the four new A/W10 trends.

Trend 1: Rough Diamond. Inspired by the 60's, this trend is filled with leopard print, camel colours, brogues & kitten heels, lots and lots of red, bows galore and complete with smokey eyes and backcombed hair.















Trend 2: Into the Wild. The name says it all; over sized knits, ragged faux fur, clogs & boots. But this trend has its own little twist. Into the Wild is all about mixing rough, over sized accessories with pretty pieces underneath - that's delicate dresses, crystal detailing and flowing fabric for that fairytale feel with tousled hair and crimson lips to finish.






















Trend 3: Dark Nouveau. My favourite trend as it is the complete opposite to how I usually dress; a miss match of grunge and glamour - consisting of every shade of black alongside greys, crimsons and deep purples, the main pieces include leather shorts, skirts & jackets, slouchy knits and sparkling jewellery with tattoo inspired prints and a lot of lace alongside a large dash of kohl.






















Last but not least, trend 4: The Ousiders. With similar pieces to that of Into the Wild, The Outsiders supports, well the whole outside look; plaid & tweed, a splash of fur, jodpurs and riding boots and again some oversized knits, anything remotely relating to the British countryside sums up this trend.





















So far, my A/W10 Wardrobe consists of a beige trench, leather jacket laced with fur, lace tights, military boots, black, grey & crimson nail vanish, oversized knitted cardigan, grey brogues, bow earrings, a leopard print coat, boots laced with fur, a black waitcoat with a lace back, a collection of vintage over the shoulder bags, leather shorts, a strapless lace dress, a huge supply of eyeliner and an embellished headband to top it all off. My wardrobe is almost complete.

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Outside of work, I attended two leaving dos which were thankfully more enjoyable than sad and also had to begin getting my things together for university. Away from work, I was busy out enjoying seeing my friends who were all finally back from their travels and there was also V festival.





















V festival was indescribable. Saturday was filled with sunshine, cider and the most amazing artists around. We managed to get through the gates at 12.05 and walked straight out onto the set of The Pretty Reckless which I'm glad I managed to catch as we watched the teen rock out in a teeny tiny dress complete with suspenders to one of current favourite tunes Make Me Wanna Die.

After grabbing a quick lunch of cheesy chips we headed over to see Passion Pit perform on the main stage, who were my new favourite up & coming band. Nothing beats hearing The Reeling, Little Secrets, Cuddle Fuddle and Sleepy Head performed live by Michael Angelakos, who bizarrely reminds me of Roy from the IT Crowd.

Next, we headed into the Virgin Union Tent to see another of my new favourites, Chew Lips. Why are they one of my favorites? They are currently in Topshop's playlist and although I should be fed up hearing them at work, in fact I love them even more. On an even sadder note I realised I knew every single lyric to every single song performed. Tigs, the singer of the group was most mesmerising to watch as she pulled out some crazy dance moves in her shimmery silver hot pants to Salt Air, Play Together, Solo, Slick and Karen.

Briefly stopping to top up on cider the next act we saw was Temper Trap. Certainly not a one hit wonder, Fadar was one of my top summer tunes, in my eyes better than Sweet Disposition. We then sprinted over to Ellie Goudling who was beyond sensational, was extremely surprised at her incredible drum solo. Running back and forward between tents we somehow managed to get just six rows from the front for Florence and the Machine, with a lot of pushing and shoving the view we had was fantastic and so was her performance. What I had been exceptionally surprised at was how good the bands and singers were live, but Florence topped every live performance of the day.

Thankfully we'd already had the pleasure of seeing Kings of Leon perform so didn't have to make the gruelling choice between them and David Guetta and we were beyond happy we got to see one of the most incredible sets I have ever experienced at V festival. The atmosphere at his set was like no other, and although in a tiny dress and jacket at ten that evening I should have been cold, there was no one in that crowd that wasn't sweating. Everyone was dancing, jumping and raving to the most outstanding hits; it was like being in an outside club and I didn't want it to end. The base, the lights, oh and the laser, firework exploding robots were the cherry on top of the performance.

Although I didn't want the day to end, I was so glad we heading home to our own comfy beds that night and not sleeping in a tent, as boring as that sounds, I knew I didn't want to wake up with a hangover after a short nights sleep on a lumpy ground. Bring on tomorrow.

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Today, we decided to take it a little easier. We sat in the sunshine with of cider and pizza slices and waited for Plan B, who started off with Faith SFX, an incredible beat boxer and ended with his old school song Charmaine. Just as it was starting to rain, we were thankful we were headed over to the Virgin Union tent for Eliza Doolittle's set. Not only were we right at the front, in the middle but I was also approached by a scout from Select models which made my day.

We went to see Jamie T next, who unfortunately we weren't too impressed with so headed over to see The Kooks, who are a classic favourite and thankfully didn't miss Naive and She Moves In Her Own Way.

We then rocked out to Calvin Harris before completing a toilet, food & drink stop and heading back to see the Prodigy. All I can say is I'm glad we didn't make it to the front. The audience were insane, no one knew whether it was rain, beer or worse that they were being covered in but no one cared. Everyone was completely smashed and bouncing off each other, it was the best way to end such an amazing weekend.

Day 14 - Home Sweet Home

Over night my feelings had turned to anger, and after shoving my clothes and bits & pieces into my suitcase I stormed down to talk to Nick about why he hadn't showed. As soon as I saw him in all his gorgeousness I couldn't feel angry and tried to hold it together as I walked up to him. He read me like a book and immediately ran towards me and held me tightly. As he asked 'where were you', I couldn't help feeling confused. He explained how he'd waited from just after nine until quarter to ten and thought I'd changed my mind about coming or was lost so he'd headed into town to see if I had lost my way but decided to head back in case I'd just been running late. We must have just missed each other within minutes and I soon found myself cheer up a little as I realised he hadn't stood me up. He gave me his email address and gave me one last hug and a kiss on the forehead and wished me a pleasant flight.

I spent the next hour or so sitting on the beach with my feet in the sea, listening to some sad but relaxing music. So, I hadn't had a holiday romance that I'd hoped for, maybe I should have 'gone for it' but at the end of the day he had a girlfriend and even if that night had gone well, maybe it would have been even harder to say goodbye. Now, what I wasn't looking forward to was exchanging the sun for rain, the beach and scuba diving for work and endless cocktails for coffee to get me through the day.

Leaving was difficult, no one likes to come home and thankfully I managed to sleep all the way home on the flight. Once touching down in England, we were welcomed with a heavy down poor of rain. We were home.

Day 13 - Last chance

I jumped out of bed this morning looking forward to the last day of the holiday, this time less nervous and more anticipating the day ahead spent with Nick. This was my now my third dive in two days and this mermaid was really getting the hang of it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Nick had no other divers for the day and today it was just me and him. Under the water, I lost myself again but this time Nick pointed out corals and fish he spotted, making me laugh several times which was difficult to control underwater.

After the mornings dive, I felt a huge wave of sadness, knowing that this time tomorrow I would be leaving for the airport and more so, a feeling of regret for not asking Nick out sooner, which crept in as he ran around the centre spraying me with a hose. As we showered out the back together, sounds more kinky than it was, he turned around and asked me if I wanted to go out with him that night. I calmly replied 'yeah, go for it' whilst inside my head I was screaming oh my God, finally! We agreed that tonight he would meet me in Playa Del Carmen at 9.30, after I enjoyed a final meal with my family, before he picked me up on his motorbike(!) and took me out to a few bars etc. He gave me a cheeky smile and a wink and said 'he'd show me a good time' which sounded more than promising.

Once out of sight I ran off down the beach to tell my family the good news, which my sister was extremely jealous about and I spent the remainder of the afternoon pampering myself and planning what to wear. Once at our last meal, I was way to overexcited and nervous to eat anything and made small talk whilst daydreaming over how the night would pan out. The journey was supposed to take just fifteen minutes so I headed down to the bus stop at 9.10 to wait for a bus which were supposed to appear every five minutes. It reached 9.15, then 9.20 and I was beginning to get into a bit of a panic as I didn't want to spend money for drinks on a cab, when finally the coletivo bus arrived which cost a mere $3. The only glitch in our arrangement was that I didn't have a phone to contact him if I got lost or late, but Nick explained it would be easy to see where to meet (a shoe store at the end of the bus station) and he'd wait all night for me if he had to, (I know, what a sweetheart.) The bus seemed to take forever as it stopped at every single stop along the way but I finally turned twenty minutes late and couldn't wait to run up to him and give him a huge apologetic hug.

Once off the bus, I wandered down to the end of the bus station to find a small alley with many closed down shops and a small shop selling shoes and belts. But Nick was nowhere to be seen. By now it was very, very dark and there were not many people around as the main strip was a ten minute walk in the opposite direction. Instead of waiting however, I decided that Nick couldn't have meant here as it seemed too isolated and headed off into the main town in hope I would see him on his motorbike. I soon realised, being a young, blonde female, alone in a foreign country was not a good idea, as men leered and shouted at me in the street. I soon started to panic, as I do as it was now an hour since we were supposed to meet up and it was the final straw when a Mexican man asked if I was a prostitute, the cheek of it! I sobbed, assuming I had been stood up and headed back to the hotel.

Crying my eyes out, I ran into my parents room and they hugged me whilst I explained what happened. They suggested I should have got his number beforehand and used a pay phone, which would have been a sensible idea but of course I had been too overexcited to think about that. My last night had been ruined and I went to bed feeling betrayed, hurt and embarrassed.