Behind the Blog : Style Bubble

There are so many great blogs on fashion and style in the blogosphere. Some may become more successful than others, but each and every blog has something to say and they’re all just as good to read. I’m starting to believe that fashion lies with the consumer and that bloggers, readers and normal people are fast becoming the creators. I suppose that’s what personal style is all about. For these reasons, I thought I’d introduce a new section on this blog - Behind the Blog. It basically involves a me conducting a small interview, with different bloggers, about their blog, views on fashion and their personal style.

To kick off, our first Behind the Blog blogger is Susie of Style Bubble. Chances are if you’re a blogger yourself or an avid reader of fashion blogs, you will have come across Style Bubble at least once. Susie has definitely inspired many people (though I’m sure she’ll deny any such notion) and in her own quirky way, encouraged many to think outside the box in terms of fashion and style.

The basics
Name - Susanna Lau A.K.A Susie Bubble
Age - 23
Blog - http://www.stylebubble.typepad.com
Location - London, UK

On blogging
When did you start blogging and why?
I started blogging in March 2006, probably inspired by the blogs that I was reading and also because I was heavily contributing on a fashion forum called The Fashion Spot and I thought ‘Well, if I have so much to say here… why not do it on a blog?’

What do you enjoy most about blogging?
Sharing new finds, my own thoughts and ideas on fashion with readers. Just generally having the chance to bounce off the stuff going on my head (the stuff being mostly fashion-related….such is the level of my obsession!).

What has been the strangest thing to happen since you began blogging?
Getting stopped in the streets when I happen to be wearing something I’ve photographed for the blog and getting recognised as ‘Oh my god, you’re Susie Bubble!’. Bizarre…well and truly.

What do you hope your readers gain from your blog?
I don’t want the blog to be informative. It’s a platform for me sharing ideas and readers can absorb them but not necessarily have to follow them. A lot of people have commented and said I have shown them another side of fashion and whilst I don’t have such high aspirations (Diane Pernet….SHE shows another side of fashion….), I’m glad that some readers have taken to the blog in that way.

How has blogging changed your life?
On a personal level, I think it’s made me come to terms with fashion and what it means to me. On a professional level, I have been lucky enough to meet some incredible people and made a few friends along the way too!

Do you have any words of wisdom to share with fellow bloggers?
Blog about what you know and love….

On fashion and style
What is it that you love about fashion?
The ability of it to change and mould a person but also because of a person’s ability to take control of fashion and use it to various advantages in the way they present themselves to the world.

What do you define as ’style’?
Something that can’t be pinned down to a literary description but you know it when you see it.

How would you describe your personal style?
Eclectic, experimental and somewhat haphazard. Though everything is considered, it’s pieces of different jigsaw puzzles put together as best that I can.

What inspires you when putting together an outfit?
It’s different things at different times. It might be an editorial I saw, the weather, a girl I saw on the streets, a shop display, a movie I’ve recently seen or just a general mood.

What is capturing your interest at the moment?
Shiny textures that aren’t overly glitzy. I’m very into a contrast of shiny and matt textures so I’m looking at mixing satins with rough crepes or jeans with a high sheen with chunky knits.

Do you have any style icons and if so, why?
I’m afraid I don’t have one and never really had one. There are people’s style that I admire but by icon, it indicates that I might look up to them and emulate them which I just don’t do. Rather, I have people that I admire - Anna Piaggi, Lou Doillon, Daphne Guinness, M.I.A., Leith Clark.

Where do you like to shop and is there anywhere you recommend?
I shop just about everywhere there is shop ranging from dirty charity shops and car boot sales to indie boutiques to department stores. At the moment, I’m really into the vintage section at The Pineal Eye. They pick out catwalk/directional vintage pieces making it all look very contemporary and the selection is small so you don’t need to rummage too hard.

What do you think the future of fashion is?
If I knew that I think I’d stop writing the blog. I like not knowing what is just around the corner. I have no idea what is happening tomorrow in fashion let along the far away future and that’s what I love about fashion - the twists, turns and surprises.

Any final comments?
Thank you for wanting to ask me these questions…not that I can impart any sagely information…

The secret weapon

From my non-posting this week, you can probably tell that I am either a) feeling uninspired or b) a bit busy. Actually, I’m feeling a bit of both, but we shalln’t dwell on that.

I find that with clothes, you have to feel inspired because otherwise it just doesn’t work. At least that’s the case with me. I think that is why I’ve been having so much trouble with buying items lately - I just have no clue what I want to wear, no direction, no ideas. I’m going to blame the fact that I’m a teenager and no matter how much everyone else seems to think they have “found themselves”, it’s just not the case at 16. Of course, this sort of enlightenment helps when it comes to style. Some may think fashion to be frivolous, but in my opinion, it has the power to express you in so many ways.

My enthusiasm has unfortunately been going a bit downhill of late, but I find that one of the few ways to keep it up is to look at how other people are wearing it. Street style blogs, such as The Sartorialist or The Style Scout (there are of course many many others as well), flickr group Waredrobe Remix (which I really ought to get round and contribute to) and even posts on other blogs demonstrating personal style, are all brilliant places to find things like this. I think that fashion is what normal people make of it.

And that is what I love so much about it - there may be trends which probably will have passed by the time you have one sock on, but the ability to put your own spin on things means that anything is possible.

Ethical fashion - Primark scores just 2.5

I apologise for not updating over this weekend. I’ve been avoiding the computer until I finished Harry Potter. I visited London on Saturday, which was quite nice. I’d forgotten just how busy it is (I was about 12 last time I went). Unfortunately, I didn’t take many photographs because the weather was horrid and I feared getting my camera out & being robbed. Maybe next time.

I was speaking to my friend on the phone yesterday and we got onto the subject of clothing & how awful shops are nowadays. We eventually got round to Primark - the shop many love (I personally hate it and have never purchased anything from there) and how, in order to produce clothing for such low prices, their ethics must be compromised somewhere. My friend mentioned she had seen an article in the newspaper (this independent article I think) on how little they paid workers and other such things.

Ethical Consumer, in its January/February edition published next week, criticised the company for not having a code of conduct, selling leather goods and “environmentally-damaging” PVC products and for operating in an oppressive regime - China.

“If people shop in Primark because the prices are low then they must be aware that they are low for a reason,” said Ruth Rosselson, a spokeswoman for Ethical Consumer. “And they must start asking questions: ‘Where is this made? How do I know that this was made under good conditions?’ Then the companies will realise that people care.”

The magazine suggests shoppers buy from charity shops, try vintage clothing and seek out organic cotton. Conventionally farmed cotton is treated with 10 per cent of the world’s pesticides, which the Pesticide Action Network estimates causes 20,000 deaths in the Third World every year.

It must be said, I love a bargain as much as the next person, but honestly, I’d much rather fork out for something that has been produced ethically than spend far less on something that is not. It is one of the few fashion “avoid if you can” things I have (fur being in a similar category). I mean of course, this is difficult because I’m certain pretty much every high street retailer has the downfall of being unethical in some respect.

However, since we are the consumers, the power to change minds rests with us. It’s just a matter of whether we use it to alert retailers to the fact that we don’t agree with what they do to make our clothes. I mean not only does everything look similar in shops, they’re probably produced in the same way was well - cheap materials which won’t last, appalling conditions and sweatshop labour. Everyone knows it, but how much longer must we turn a blind eye?

Free sewing patterns - yay!

On doing my daily surf of different blogs, I came across this posting on Bits and Bobbins.

“burda, the german-based sewing pattern company is behind what i think is an extremely clever idea: FREE sewing patterns one can download off the web! open-source sewing!”

Tricia summed it up in that sentence. Being the cheapskate I am, I shall now have to have a browse of some FREE sewing patterns.

Open letters, lipstick & susie bubble

When you avoid the computer for the weekend, you miss out on all kinds of amusement.

Like this blog post by Lipstick Lady, which I will admit I found through Susie’s blog.

I actually had no idea that there was a open letter trend going around blogs… that’s how spaced out I am at the moment.

Anti-fur protest goes into tech-y times

I regularly check vogue UK, along with many other sites as well, for fashion news updates. Often, I don’t find a great deal of it peaking my interest. That’s probably because recently, I’ve found that my interest in fashion has mellowed ever so slightly. Don’t get me wrong, I do still love fashion; but I just mean that I’ve been feeling that I’m more interested in the overall style of an outfit as opposed to keeping up to date with fashion news. I think the Yves Saint Laurent quote at the top is a good indication of this.

Nonetheless, I do still check because you never know when something interesting may appear. Case in point? Stella McCartney’s latest anti-fur protest.

From the article on vogue, I gather that the latest ploy in the campaign is a protest. But not your conventional protest - it’s a protest which is moving with the times. It’s online.

More to the point, on the online world of Second Life, in which members can visit:

“a Stella McCartney/PETA “world” based on the English countryside and including a lake, tree houses, picnic tables and, endearingly, Linda McCartney mini veggie burger stalls - which Second World residents (known as avatars) can visit to discuss the issue of fur as fashion and donate money to the cause.”

The real question is will this help? I’m all for, as McCartney so delightfully put it, “a bit of humour on serious subjects”; but the cynic in me can’t help but think that no matter how much campaigning goes on, there’s always going to be those odd few who find wearing a dead animal to actually be attractive.

Heaven knows why they do. I personally can’t even touch fur without squealing loudly and making a disgusted face. To me, there is no point to wearing real fur when there are so many good fakes which no animals have suffered and died for.

However, it is an excellent idea and concept which I am all for. So if you are a member of second life (or even those who aren’t), why not have a look and “support the cause”. After all, animals can’t speak for themselves.

History is a mystery

I love learning about the past. History is a subject which really inspires me, though I hated taking history gcse because I’m terribly slow when it comes to writing essays (the time is just not enough - an extra 15 minutes was all I needed). Nevertheless, I still love learning about history because it is the foundation of the present day and I find it incredibly interesting.

For some of that time when I was meant to be ‘revising’, I actually started reading this book that I have on my shelf - “Fashion - The Century of the Designer“. I’d often glanced through it, but I’ve never actually sat down and read it. The history of fashion is something that I do not know much about, which is terribly sad because it is rather exciting. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to finish reading it because after reading up to the 1960s I thought it was best to start doing some revision otherwise I would actually fail (and I didn’t want that)

Fashion as we know it, is a fairly new concept. But all throughout history people have dressed in beautiful clothes. As I was browsing amazon uk for a link to the above book, I came across this book “Four Hundred Years of Fashion“. I can’t formulate an opinion as to whether it is good or not because I have not bought it, but it does look most interesting. I think I will indeed have to buy it to read.

Fashions past are the inspiration of many many collections. And there is no stopping people bringing past concepts into their own styling. I’ve always thought that incorporating different ideas is the way to go - no boundaries, no limits.

Hoops

The second trend related thing I’ve posted this week.Recently, I’ve been noticing an increase in the amount of people wearing hoop earrings. It seems that they are no longer being associated with chavs and people are actually wearing them. I’m not a big earring person really, though I will admit a few months ago I was contemplating wearing hoop earrings. I didn’t, simply because I could not bring myself to wear them (chav associations you see). Anyway, a little bit of predicting/noticing going on here… hoops may be on the rise.

All earring images from either Topshop or Accessorize

A smile on this grey day

After a week of being in an off mood with the world, I am finally feeling positively delighted.

I have been searching for Nylon since I first purchased the November 2006 issue last year. It appeared that the local WHSmith’s had stopped stocking it since that time.

Today however, after being released from school at 10am (study leave started today, we weren’t just allowed to go) and having a mind-numbingly boring time in the park, I went in to buy some sort of magazine and to my joy, there it was. On the bottom shelf, with just 2 issues left. Needless to say I hurriedly bought it.

I know I’ve only read two issues (three if you count the back issues on the site), but having tried several magazines over the past few months, it is one of the very few that I can actually read. A lot of fashion magazines in the UK are
a) pretentious,
b) dull to read,
c) aimed at a different market to myself or
d) just so haute that it doesn’t relate to daily life.

All those living Stateside definitely have it lucky you have something readable over there. I now know I can still buy the magazine for inspiration, but I just wish there was a UK equivalent!

Vintage bandwagon losing it’s wheels?

Well, I’m back! Whether that pleases you or not I have no idea.

There was an interesting post on Style Bubble today about a Times article on vintage clothing. (on a side note: I do love the way Susie presents things on her blog - you can tell she is genuinely interested and a true blogger because she updates often with useful things)

It’s a bit tricky really, because I’m not about to deny that I am unfortunately one of those people who probably only really got into “vintage” when it became a more mainstream craze. I am only (almost) 16 so you know. In all honesty, if it hadn’t been some sort of craze, it probably would have clicked eventually. I mean I used to buy things from charity shops to alter when I was 12 anyway, so it’s not as if I’m being one of those vintage thrill seekers as it were.

So in that sense, I would be a complete hypocrite if I started saying that it really annoyed me that it became a trend to own vintage clothing. And a hypocrite I do not wish to be. But I would like to clarify, I have never once thought that vintage clothing was the pathway to individuality.

Sure, vintage clothes can contribute to personal style, but it’s always HOW you where the clothes not what the clothes are. That’s probably why I don’t buy fancy designers. Although the quality may well be amazing (it should be), to me, it sometimes seems a bit extortionate to charge so much money for a single garment - it’s not the clothes themselves that give someone style, it’s the way the person wears them.

I agree with Susie in that sense, but in favour of the Time article, I do wish that vintage as a trend would go away. I can only imagine how much money vintage shops have made over the past few years. I’m not surprised if many people have jumped on the bandwagon and bought into the trend. I’m sure the number of websites/ebay stores selling vintage has increased over the past year alone, not mentioning actual shops. The thing is although I do wish the trend would go away, it seems to be one of those situations that as soon as it’s been introduced to people, it’ll be difficult to erase it. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem whatsoever with “vintage” clothes or with people who genuinely love to wear “vintage” - I myself have found that the clothes I always seem to turn to are things I’ve robbed from my mother (if she’s planning on throwing them out, I see no problem in this) as opposed to things I’ve purchased from a shop.

I suppose it’s just a question of what people want. As long as there is demand, it’ll be a trend. However, trends come and go like the blink of an eye and soon enough there will be something new. Maybe it’ll be the complete opposite - futuristic anyone?

Memory Lane

The holidays can be dull sometimes. And on one of those dull days where you just sort of amble around the house a bit, a trip through the archives of Foto Decadent is in order.

Of course, that’s exactly what I did to cure my boredom and all I can really say is wow. Some of the dress are absolutely amazing and the photographs are equally stunning. For some reason, I found myself drawn more toward the black and white photographs. Maybe it’s just the mood of the images (or the mood I’m in). Regardless they’re enough to spark some form of fashion interest, even in someone who claims they don’t follow fashion.

Fashion IS for everyone

As I was having my rare browse of different (fashion) blogs (involves clicking links from one blog to another), I came across Too Fat for Fashion. I firmly believe that fashion can be for everyone and the blog demonstrated this perfectly.

Recently, much of the British press have been going on and contributing to the size 0 debate (something that I’ve written about in the past). Whilst they may go on about how awful it is that all these models are so skinny (which they are - and in my view size 8 is still a bit thin for someone who is as tall as models are), I do think that not many of them would not like to see the clothes modeled by models of larger sizes. It is extrememly hypocritical, but unfortunately that is the world. I know very few people who stick to what they believe in or are saying and it’s such a breath of fresh air when people do.

I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of the Gossip. I don’t particularly like the music and I don’t particularly think they are ‘cool’ (inverted commas because this is only what I think is cool), but after seeing the article on Too fat for fashion, it has made me think power to Beth! Many shops do not cater to plus sizes and whilst I am not plus sized, I still view it as a downfall. Just because someone isn’t thin, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to enjoy fashion. It baffles me because it misses out a huge section of the market, so it was really enlightening to see that she also took a stand and didn’t just cash in like I’m sure many other people out there would probably to.

Air stewardess chic?

This reminds me of air stewardess clothing. You know the kind with that really awful looking print, that rarely looks good. Well, that opinion has now gone out of the window! I actually quite like the top and the general styling of the outfit. It’s simple, which is definately what you want in hot summer months.

Photo from Foto Decadent

Topshop browsing

Just had a small search of the Topshop website (I was trying to find something metallic for another post I was doing). Although I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I noticed that there are some lovely things in the Brands at Topshop section at the moment.

All images from www.topshop.com

Shopping in Birmingham

I’ve been sort of like a zombie this past week. I was helping out backstage (doing make-up urgh) at the school opera thing and although I didn’t do a lot, for some reason or another this week has been packed. Thus the no posting-ness.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while, so I thought I may as well really. From all the posts that I’ve done since August, there is one which constantly seems to have the most views. As a result, I’ve been thinking about compiling a list of good shops in Birmingham (UK), because although I often dislike the city, it does actually have quite a bit to offer. (If you know of anywhere I haven’t mentioned in the following post, feel free to leave the suggestion in a comment)

High Street
Of course, there are all the typical high street shops…
Topshop, H&M, Dorothy Perkins, Mango, Oasis, Primark … I could go on, but you’ll find them mostly in the Bullring and the surrounding area.

Vintage shopping
As I posted before, there is the big yellow vintage shop, which is big, but there are also loads of other great places in the city. There’s Yo-yo (they don’t have a website as far as I can see, but this shows you where the shop is) and Urban Village (which has moved from the custard factory to china town I think) which are both really good. Then there is the Saturday Flea Market, which is every Saturday at the Custard Factory, that’s really nice because it’s loads of different sellers. I also recently discovered that there is a vintage stall in the Rag Market (Saint Martin’s market), I did feel it was a bit pricey considering it was in the market (where I think everything should be cheap), but it had some okay stuff. Of course, the Custard Factory does have a few other little shops in it which do sell some vintage as far as I am aware.

Charity Shopping
This is the one area that the city centre does fall down, because I think the only charity shop it has in it is Oxfam. If you venture out of the city centre, I know that Sutton Coldfield has a couple of charity shops, as does Wylde Green and Erdington has tons of charity shops.

Other random places
When I was younger I used to go to Oasis Market. I was never a goth/punk/grudge etc type person, but for some reason I did go there a bit. For someone who is into the whole alternative scene (you probably already know it exists, but nonetheless), it’s somewhere to go.

The Rag Market (Saint Martin’s market) and the indoor market are pretty good for crafty folks as there are tons of fabric stores, haberdasheries, wool shops etc.

That’s pretty much all I can think of at the present moment. I realise this post isn’t incredibly useful to someone who doesn’t live in the Birmingham area and if I’m not too zombie-like again this week, I post something of use.