Whoahh stop, wait a minute, Mr Postman...

Not the most thrilling of posts, but this one's mainly about what I received in the post today!

The first item being a copy of the fabulous Rookie magazine...

Rookie is due to be an online magazine (there's a countdown to its launch on the website!) but my fellow blogger and BCU'er Laura was kind enough to send me a free copy ahead of the launch.

Also an aspiring journo like myself, Laura's done so well to land herself the role of Fashion Editor at Rookie.

** Job hunt update- promising stuff for a position as Social Media Assistant for a start-up fashion company (similar to ASOS apparently!) and I also have an interview for a Revolution bar! Not the media dream but it's a job nonetheless.

Anyway, I was really keen to read Laura's fashion pieces because she's an amazing fash writer (she wrote a piece on vintage shopping for me which was printed in Trashion). The magazine contains lots of fashion stuff which was good to see!

Some fashion pages

You may also notice a rather lovely ring I'm sporting in the second picture; is it an Arty you ask? Of course not!

Excuse the 'doing nothing day' lack of effort that's gone into my appearance today

I call it my 'farty' ring! (fake + Arty, geddit?). It's a pretty good copy to be honest, well worth £15 from eBay.

I decided to get it after seeing one in a post from Kavita's i heart vintage blog. When the YSL ring first hit the scene I scoured eBay (and everywhere else) for a copy- hey, I'm not paying over £100 for a ring that ain't even gold and tries to pass off glass as a real stone! Though it seems that now they've been around a while there are loads of fakies cropping up.

It's all good for a brassic graduate like me!

On that note, something else I'm due to receive in the post is my uni results! My friends who live in Birmingham got theirs today and all got firsts and 2:1s so I'm very proud! Though because I'm back in Yorkshire, I couldn't really justify 'popping in' to Birmingham to collect them so I guess they'll take a few days to arrive. I'll tweet my results as soon as I get them, or if they're worth bragging about I might even mention them in a post ;)

Foxy

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I'm back!

Wow I've been on hiatus for some time, ey? I put this down to possibly the busiest time of my life!


I'm afraid this post might not be very interesting, but thought I'd let you guys know what I've been up to!


The past month I have literally ate, slept and breathed dissertation and my uni project. My dissertation was actually quite interesting once I got into it! My question was;

“Have user-generated fashion blogs provided a viable platform for enthusiasts to participate in the constructions of fashion ideas and practices? In what ways might this new media platform be changing contemporary fashion journalism?”

My method was a discourse analysis (argh! actually pains me to use that term again!) of some popular blogs, which were: Style Bubble, Style Rookie, Wish Wish Wish, Kingdom of Style, Park & Cube, The Stylish Wanderer, Glam and Glitter Forever and The Flying Saucer and I also did a few interviews with some bloggers: Jazmine of Jazabelle's Diary, Sadie of Sadie's Wardrobe, Ella of Belle Vintage, Selina of The Flying Saucer, Jessie of The Velvet Bow and Nadine of Bimbo Beautiful. These girls gave me some fantastic material and I really enjoyed reading their insights into blogging and the journalism industry so thanks a million ladies! 

If anyone is interested in this sort of thing, I could look into posting it online somehow for people to read- bear in mind though, it is 13,000 words!

My project I think has gone pretty well too! I've spoke about it quite a bit, but it is basically a creative fashion magazine. I was essentially the editor put a lot of my time into it; I've started selling them as there was quite a bit of demand, so nice now to start getting feedback :) 

If you click on the image, you'll be taken to the blog I was (and hopefully will continue) running alongside the print issue. Also has details on buying a copy if any of you fancy that!

So yeah, things have been pretty hectic and I've pretty much been doing nothing since handing in my project on the 20th- well deserved rest I say! How I've missed lie-ins...

But I'm very keen to get back to my blogging and there's a few bits and pieces I've been waiting to customise/make and now that I have the time, hopefully I can get on with it!

It's not all over though- oh no; I have a fake job interview (the most pointless assignment!) and an exhibition where my whole course will showcase their projects (all media-based). If anyone fancies coming along to this it's open to anyone so I can post details if anyone around Birmingham wants to come and have a look.

I also wanted to share another group from my course's project- a series of 'webisodes' on fashion bloggers. Purple Boot Media have interviewed a few bloggers and industry people including Jazmine of Jazzabelle's Diary, Jack of street style blog Uber Brum and various people at Aigua Media, who run sites like Catwalk Queen and OSOYOU.

They filmed little old me for their episode on the industry- my part is pretty short but I was very flattered! Please don't laugh at my terrible voice which is now a mishmash of Yorkshire/Brummie! Oh and bedroom/laptop are borrowed- not actually mine!

If you click through to YouTube you can also view Jazmine and Jack's episodes too. They're really well made and definitely worth a look.


And have you guys properly seen my hair now it's red? 

Yeah- I'm not really known for taking great pictures!


Speak soon.


Foxy x

Lately.

Todays post is more of a picture montage.

As my regular readers may have gathered, I'm rather busy at the moment! I have so much uni work it's untrue, but everything will come together- I hope. 

Not one to leave my little blog in the lurch though, I've taken a few pictures of things I've been up to/ buying/wearing recently. Enjoy!

I went charity shopping a few days ago so most of this stuff is what I bought on the trip (I went to Harborne, Birmingham by the way).

Scarf (worn as turban), £1.50, charity shop

I'm a bit obsessed with wearing vintage scarves as turbans at the minute...

I can't find the tutorial I used, but there are some great video tutorials on YouTube.

Another scarf (£1) and vintage Jane Shilton chain bag (£3.99) I picked up charity shopping:

Vintage Chiltern bag from eBay- only £3.50!

Finally bought the Barry M nail effects shatter polish. I've heard the Models Own one is a bit shite- have you?

Soon to be baking, when I get time. Pink cake tins (£4.99 for two, Aldi), cake stand (£6, vintage home fair, Birmingham).

And here's another picture of me to cheer you all up- me rocking dissertation chic, i.e. grubby tied-up hair, baggy men's shirt, boyf's tee with sleeves hacked off, leggings, flip flops and geek specs (I assure you they have real lenses, so a necessity rather than an accessory!) 

And do check out my project's blog to see how it's coming along.

Hope everyone's enjoying the sunshine- I'm not!

Foxy

x

P.S I just wanted to say a little thanks to everyone who reads my blog. I'm still amazed by how many views I get even when I go walkabout for a week or so and don't post anything! I've just gone over the 50 follower mark and I'm chuffed :) so yeah, thanks to the people who follow me and leave comments on my posts- I'm very grateful! 

She works hard for the money...

Well, not the money, nor the love- just the degree!

As you've probably noticed, I haven't posted on my blog for a while; not because I can't be bothered but because I am literally drowning in a sea of uni work!

As a final year student, it's all getting a bit much at the moment but fortunately, it'll all be over soon- either via a triumphant hand-in, or death by stress.

As I haven't really had time to do anything for myself, I thought I'd give you a little update on my project (a creative fashion magazine- have a look at the blog!)

I've been all-over the place this week, out on location for the magazine's photoshoots (there's some behind-the-scenes posts on the blog)

Today I was in the studio, where we photographed the various fashion DIY's featured in the magazine.

I wanted to show you this one in particular, because I think it turned out really well!

It's my take on the AMAZING McQueen knuckleduster clutches. You'll have to get hold of a magazine for more details, but it was a hell of a lot cheaper than these beauties:

£1,140, Alexandermcqueen.com

£835, Net-a-porter.com

£1,157, zappos.couture.com

I got my makeup done at the shoot for my little 'Editor's' picture in the magazine- first time I've ever had someone else do my makeup! I don't think our MUA was too happy with me; I'm a bit funny with people poking things in my eyes and kept blinking, not to mention the watery eyes!

It was a bit heavier than what I'm used to, though I was assured it would come out lighter in the pictures!

The makeup was heavier than this at the time, I've smeared over it with several tissues and washed the lipstick away with a much-needed brew since!

I also posted this picture as I realised I haven't put one up since I dyed my hair red. And yes, it doesn't look very red in the picture! It's been red a few weeks and inevitably faded quite a bit; I'll be sure to post one as soon as I re-do it!

In other news...


I remembered something interesting I did which wasn't to do with my project- but someone else's!

The fabulous Purple Boot Media are creating a series of 'webisodes' on fashion bloggers and asked to do an interview with little old me! (have a look here). I'm quite nervous to see how it turns out; I hate how I look AND sound on camera (hideous voice, thank god I work with the written word!) so it should make for, erm, interesting viewing!

They've already filmed some awesome bloggers like Jack of Über Brum (a Birmingham street style blog) and one of my personal favourites, Jazmine of Jazzabelle's Diary.

Exciting!


Foxy

x

A bit of leather (nearly)

First off, sorry for neglecting this little space for a while, I've been super busy with uni (final year- sure you understand!) and in particular, my project, which I'll tell you a little about at the end of this post.

I wanted to share a recent (easy) make with you.

I've wanted a pair of leather shorts for a good few months and, after having a little look around, I concluded that they're pretty expensive things- I'm talking to you Topshop!

So I decided to grab myself a cheap pair of unwanted leather trousers and make some myself. I got a pair from eBay which were great leather, but unfortunately more like a size 8 than a 10.

I nabbed another pair in a size 12; however when I checked the label, I found that they weren't real leather! Pretty good imitation though (Marks and Spencer PU no less), plus the seller gave me some money back so they only cost me around £2!

First I chopped a big chunk of the legs off.

Then I tried them on, turned them up (I planned to have them as turn-ups), and estimated how much more I needed to snip.

I then hand-sewed the raw edge up- only making a very thin hem as I got a little scissor-happy!

Then I turned them up once more, and here they are! I'm hoping they don't look too plasticy!

I didn't sew up the final turn-ups so that I can alter how short they are easily.

Earrings: gift (boyf/camera man), All Saints Necklace: gift (boyf) Blouse: £2.29, charity shop Belt: 50p, charity shop Ring: Primark Shoes: Office

Also thought I'd do a few close-ups.

Probably my favourite shoes ever- and the most I've paid for flat shoes!

Necklace

Earrings

A few of you wanted to see a close-up of the shaved section of my hair. It's grown quite a lot now so when I re-do it, I might post a little tutorial.

My Project

Okay so now let me tell you about my 'baby' which I'll be nurturing for the rest of the year!

I'm producing a creative fashion magazine as my third year uni project. The magazine celebrates money saving, recycling, creativity and individuality in fashion and is concerned with all things crafty, vintage, thrifty, customised, handmade, quirky and cool.

I thought I'd let you guys know all about the magazine as I think it'll interest most of you!

My blog is also going to take a bit of a backseat due to the workload so I thought I'd share the magazine's official blog (also run by me). Just click the screengrab below to go to the site. It'd be great if you could give it a read and if you like it, add it to your reader or subscribe.

It'd be great if you could follow the magzine's twitter too: @TrashionMagazine or join the Facebook page here.

Thanks in advance for any support and any feedback would be appreciated :)

Foxy
x

Beautiful readers! Please help!

This post is a bit of a cheeky appeal for you guys to help with my very exciting third year uni project- you wouldn't want me to fail would you?!

I am basically planning to produce a national contemporary ‘craft’ magazine focussed mainly around fashion. The magazine will uphold the values of money saving, recycling, creativity and individuality. I will call the publication, 'Trashion'.

What I'd like you, my marvelous readers, to do is to help by completing a very short survey as part of my research.


The survey is for females aged 18-30, but don't be too disheartened if this does not include you. This is just my target audience for the magazine and does not in anyway mean that I would not value your opinion.

To reiterate this point, I read many blogs by writers outside of this age range and regard them as just as fashionable, interesting and inspirational as the next.


I'd love for everyone to enjoy my final product, which may be, but I must have a target audience in mind when creating my project and unfortuately, that targeted group cannot be too broad.


If you are a female aged 18-30 and interested in fashion in any way (that may be high/designer, high street, vintage, secondhand, thrift etc.) or crafting (sewing, knitting, customising, making things...) or both! Then please consider helping out a poor student and complete this quick survey.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

I've attempted to embed it above, but it may be a bit annoying as you have to scroll across to view its entire width. If in doubt, here's a link.

I'd love your feedback on the magazine- the concept, the name- anything!

If you'd like to know more about it then feel free to contact me on the magazine's official email address: trashionmag@gmail.com

Thanks in advance my loves.

Foxy
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