Sunday 29 March 2015

How Did You Style That?: Linzi Shoes Cleated Sole Shoe Boots

Hey everyone! Hope you're all having a wonderful lazy Sunday... I'm here with a new concept for my blog, 'How Did You Style That?'. 

Styling is so incredibly subjective and what works for one person may not work for another. In all honesty, when I need to style, I go with what I think works for my body type but also what goes with my mood that day. I really don't pay much attention to trends when styling myself, trends have never actively influenced my looks as I find them to be a bit of a faff. Don't get me wrong, I like paying attention to what's in but I just think fashion is much broader than making sure everyone is wearing geometrical prints one season and monochrome pieces the next. 

That being said, my first piece to style is these gorgeous White Nappa Cleated Sole Sling Back Shoe Boots from Linzi Shoes! I was so excited to learn about the brand at their press day, which I reviewed here. I was so shocked at the range they had! What's more, I found that they were able to keep up-to-date and fresh with all their styles, often displaying concepts I'd not come across before in the ordinary shoe stores. Because all of their styles were on-trend, I found it much easier to pick what I liked instead of going around and thinking, 'Haven't these been worn to death?', 'Will I actually pull these off this season?'


Linzi kindly gifted me with a pair of these oh-so-chic boots and I was so pleased because I don't have anything similar in my shoe collection and I knew the cleated look has been in for a while and is going to stay in throughout the season.

I decided to wear them to the Bloggers Love Fashion Week event, which I will write about shortly. I thought that the pop of white broke up the darker colours I was wearing and really added to the edgy look I was going for. Normally I would probably go for some black ankle boots but I loved changing it up. I think it's good to experiment and try something new once in a while, especially with shoes!


Faux Fur Jacket: Forever 21 Premium
Crop Top: Trapstar London
Watch: Marc Jacobs
Trousers: New Look
Bag: Carvela, Kurt Geiger 

Overall I LOVED the comfort of these shoes, I had no problems with them at all. The mid-heel is perfect for giving a bit of extra height without the pain of wearing heels and the cut-outs at the back of the shoes are really flattering.

These are perfect for the warmer months, especially if you're planning on going on holiday as you would think these shoes would be super heavy but they're actually a lot lighter than I thought!

I would highly recommend checking out Linzi Shoes, particularly because they are so incredibly affordable and I think the quality you get is amazing! 


Saturday 21 March 2015

Neon Moon: The Sexy, Empowering Lingerie Line YOU Need to Back!

Women are women. Full stop. 

I think over the last couple of years I have tried to push this idea as much as possible. Whether it's through reading a bit more Judith Butler in my degree or meeting confident women in all different sizes at events, I definitely think that we need to keep reinforcing positive feminine attributes to try and overshadow the vast amount of hate and ridicule that females receive in the media.

The female body is special in itself and everyone has the choice to use theirs in their own way. That's not something that anybody can take away from a woman. If she wants to be a size 20, she can. If she wants to show off her scars, she can. I just find it aggravating that there are still such ignorant people in the world who want to dictate how a woman should look and present herself. Ironic that the REAL insecurity and anxiety is in the person who is ridiculing, no?


Neon Moon = A Way Forward

So baring in mind my thoughts on female empowerment, I was SO pleased to hear about Hayat Rachi's lingerie line, Neon Moon (how chic is the name!) I met Hayat at the Petit Miracles Launch at West 12 Shopping Centre last year. She had a gorgeous personality and ever since I've been following her progress with the brand, I have been amazed at how much of a hard worker she has been. I really believe her passion behind the ethos that she wants to promote and I think that's why it's important that we start to support authentic brands rather than ones who are purely out there for profit.

Neon Moon aims to counter the objectification and sexualisation of women through comfortable and original lingerie pieces which will fit women of all shapes and sizes.


Cellulite, acne, rolls of fat... it doesn't matter what you have going on with your body because Neon Moon aims to transform your so-called 'flaws' into features to be proud of and show off in colourful soft-cup bras and knickers.

As the days go on, Neon Moon is getting more and more recognition from press outlets such as The Telegraph and rightly so! I hope the brand goes onto dominate the industry, I really do...  As a curvier woman, most of the time I don't feel represented when I see media campaigns for Victoria's Secret or Ann Summers. Those women do not look like me at all. When we continually perpetuate the same over-sexualised images, can we blame women for feeling insecure and unhappy with their bodies? Why are we not embracing the reality of most women's bodies instead? I don't know about you but it doesn't make sense to me. Thankfully there is a brand to help combat these riveting problems.


'We want to shock the lingerie industry and work with the people who reflect what women’s bodies really look like. Girls should not have to question why they look a certain way or feel that they have to conform to society's pressures. It's important for girls to not compare themselves to unachievable standards of 'beauty'. Rather, they need to reclaim the right to their bodies and decide how it should look for them and not for others,' says Neon Moon Founder, Hayat Rachi.

Help Make it Happen! 



So how can you help? Neon Moon has launched a Kickstarter and with 19 days left to go, there is more than enough time for you to make a pledge to support this feminist lingerie movement! With plenty of promising rewards, there really is no excuse. From £5 to £500, give what you can, it will all be worth it. I feel strongly that women should come together and really work towards supporting brands that are genuinely here for US as real women and not super thin, airbrushed models. Let's bring back reality. 

Social Media: 

Neon Moon Facebook
Neon Moon Twitter
Neon Moon Kickstarter

Monday 9 March 2015

Personal Update: Work, Fashion, Boys & Lifestyle

In all honesty when I made this blog I really didn't intend to bring anything personal into it. I was solely going to focus on fashion posts. That's it. However, after learning about the successes of other people's blogs and how they've managed to captivate a global audience, I learnt that there is a clear key thread amongst (most) of these bloggers: personality. 

Don't worry, The Rebirth of Fashion is not going to turn into my personal therapy session at all, I wouldn't drag you through that hell. I just thought it would be nice to share some things that are going on in my life and in that warped head of mine, especially as the most personal posts seem to be engaging you guys the most. Let me know what you think of these and whether you would like to see a personal update every so often. All feedback is gold dust to me. 

You Better Work B*tch 

Yes, that subheading is there purely because I've been listening to a lotttt of Britney recently. I know it's really sad but there you go. Anyway, you may or may not have seen my guest post for The Blogger Network entitled 'Degree + Blog + Internship = Fashion Crisis or Fashion Miracle?' Everything I said was true. At one point I was trying to balance university work with two internships and a blog. As you can imagine, this all just got too much and I have reached a point in life where I just feel like I should be focusing on less and really putting my all into a couple of things and doing them well instead. 



So newsflash, I am no longer interning! It actually feels really weird not being an intern, I've gotten so used to having lots of tasks on my plate but in all honesty, I just need to focus on uni right now. That's not to say that I won't intern again, just not right now. I've been lucky to work with so many amazing people who have given me fab advice and have really taken me under the wing where I've been able to see the good, the bad and the ugly of the fashion industry. I cannot recommend interning enough if you are looking to get into the fashion industry, or any creative industry for that matter. Even a short month-long placement can teach you a lot, trust me! 

I've always been prone to forgetting my age and have always been called wise beyond my years or an 'old soul'. I somehow always identify myself as older than I am and for this reason I feel like the pressure to always be doing lots which simply does not have to be the case anymore. I have so much passion for blogging and writing that I want to collaborate more with specific brands, build my audience and post content more regularly. In order for all these steps to happen I have to really take a step back and think about how I'm managing all my time and where my energy is being focused. 

Hoodrat Realness

In terms of fashion I have gotten so incredibly lazy with style recently. Today I literally wore trainers. Like trainers with grey leggings and a black coat. I know this is obviously not the end of the world but it's not really like me, although I'm really embracing the casual look. In all honesty, if I'm going to dress up properly I better have a decent place to go to or some decent people to impress. If that's simply not the case why should I bother? 



I am so okay with wearing a Trapstar mesh top with leggings. I like being comfortable. Comfortable is GOOD! 

Not everything has to be statement necklaces and leather, sometimes it's good to be more relaxed. I guess I'm realising that a lot of people who ooze style are icons because they can pull on a loose-fit tee and jeans but still have that chic air about them that carries it off beautifully. Also I know that fashion is amazing but life goes beyond what people are wearing and it's okay to have an off day, let me tell you! My advice? If you're like me and have to know what you're wearing beforehand, try and have a day or two where you simply wake up and throw some stuff on. Anxiety much? It's not that bad.... is it? 

'No, I Don't Want to Join Tinder Again'

At present, I'm single. It's not exciting by any means but not depressing either.

I know I tend to throw shade a lot and this is not directed at anyone (cough) but in all honesty, I sometimes have a hard time with people who jump in and out of relationships like their lives depend on being with someone, especially at this age. I think romance is great and there are lots of couples who really make it work. I think everyone wants to find a companion at some stage, serious or not, just to have someone there to make life a bit better but the desperation to find a guy at this age (20) is just sad in my opinion. 




From what mentally unstable people I've been subjected to, I realise that it's definitely better to wait things out and keep busy on other parts of life. I'm just not here for the bullshit to keep it 100. 

So... My Diet Starts Tomorrow

There are times where I feel like I'm at the point of no return with my weight and that is simply not the case. I know that if I put in the effort, I can shift it but I have literally had no motivation recently. I went through a really good phase where I cut out all fizzy drinks and really paid attention to everything that was going into my body. I think my negative eating habits today are definitely reflective of my bad moods. I sound like I'm depressed all the time, don't I?

I do tend to comfort eat more than I should. When I don't feel emotionally stable or happy, I quite frankly don't care about pigging out on junk food. I always regret it later. I'm honestly so annoyed at myself but I have it in my head that I'm going to take it more seriously in three weeks (after I finish this semester). Let's see how that goes... 

I've never been slim as such but never 'fat' either. I'm at my worst now I would say. I look back at times where I was a size 12 and I thought I was big then but I really wish I could have had the mindset to preserve that figure. Unfortunately, when life puts lots of pressure on you in all directions, sometimes food choices just simply aren't top of the list. 

The good thing is that I am doing small things to help. I used to be a HUGE Diet Coke girl, like one a day, always. Now, I've practically cut it out.



I know I'm not the best at giving health and fitness advice but I would like to tell people in my position that it is possible to change slowly and to try and do things one step at a time. Cut down little by little instead of depriving yourself of one of your guilty pleasures and your body will adjust much better that way. 

Sunday 1 March 2015

#TheDress: The Impact of Togetherness on Social Media

I was on Twitter the other day and as soon as I pulled up the app every single tweet was saying 'BLACK & BLUE!', 'WTH IT'S WHITE & GOLD!', 'Omg I'm colourblind!'. So naturally I was in a natural 'what the eff' state and tried to backtrack tweets to find out what everyone was going on about. Eventually, I realised that people were actually getting so incredibly hyped up about a dress....

A. Dress. 

I'm talking about grown men (who probably have a serious criminal record) ready to kill on my timeline because they couldn't see white and gold in this mediocre bodycon creation. I was bemused, startled and most importantly, very intrigued. 

The infamous dress.
Before I go on, you're probably wondering what colour I saw in the dress because your life revolves around this right? Well truth being that I initially saw black and blue for a whole day but the next day I saw white and gold. No joke, I freaked the hell out. I saw some explanations saying that it all depends on your mood or the cornea of your eye- blah blah, look I don't know why this all came about. 

I'm more fascinated with how my Twitter and Facebook revolved around a dress for 24 hours +. Immediately, one of my first thoughts was about brand ownership and how the tanned PR girls behind the brand are already planning their next Ibiza trip because of the freakish surge in publicity. What, it's true! Look... 

34.7?! The price of the dress (£50) makes it so incredibly accessible so it makes sense that people want to buy into this hype.



It's even rumoured that the brand, Roman Originals are going to create a white and gold version of the dress because of the overwhelming interest. Can you imagine how much they are cashing in right now? Who had even heard of the brand before (no offence)... 

This all started from a girl on Tumblr who posted the infamous image because a group of her friends couldn't decide on the colour. Who knew that one image could turn into a viral phenomenon so quickly? Instantly, the hashtag #TheDress was created and everyone and their mother was debating online. 

Even Kim Kardashian joined in! She's now back showing off her arse some more but hey, she still tweeted about it...

From Taylor Swift to Cara Delevigne, every celebrity had an opinion. For 24-48 hours, the realm of social media had an air of togetherness. Everyone was talking about the same thing and it just wouldn't stop. The bridge between celebrity and average human being was almost broken because everyone pushed aside their hate for Kim's bank account and laughed about such a light-hearted topic. 

Recently, I was at an SEO event that Tug Agency held for bloggers. It was such a good experience as I got to learn from experts in the field about their tips on having a worthwhile social media presence and building a following. 

Can you spot me? I look half-asleep but I promise I was engaged! 
It was so interesting to me that I took away something that everyone (including myself) is missing out on: social media = SOCIAL interaction. It works best when people talk to each other and tap into people's personal lives instead of sharing boring information on their brand or merely tweeting a blog post/new product and hoping somebody reads or buys it. I thought I would mention the event as it has really got me thinking about the power of social media, especially in light of #TheDress frenzy. 

Because this was such a personal debate and it involved every individual's opinion and eyesight, it made sharing opinions very natural and easygoing. For a moment, people weren't fighting over terrorism or the next election but rather an optical illusion and with this sense of togetherness came branding success for Roman Originals. 

I truly think that this a learning experience for brands and PR agencies. It takes just one person anywhere in the world to share an image and it could spark an international debate. When we have these personal, cheery surges of conversation and real social interaction, it can do wonders. I think we will see more instances like this in the future. Probably not as large-scale as #TheDress but it does get you thinking... Who will be the next brand to cash in on the power of social media debate?