Sorry for the recent absence. It seems my posts have been coming in in dribs and drabs, and i do regret not commenting back all of you, so i'll try to do my best today to reply, and to add all of you i said i'd link exchange with. (Please do alert me if i need to add you, or if you would like to, as i'll be leaving in a few days)

Anyways, its the summer holidays for education in England at the moment, and to be honest i think i'm busier than when im at school. For one, i've been bundled with coursework that needs to all be finished (seriously, you'd think 6 weeks was enough to get it all done...) along with my sibling babysitting and house clearance duties (mother seems to think holidays are an excuse to treat us like slaves). But happily, the end of this week will hopefully be a break from all this labour. Tomorrow im going into London to look at Tim Walkers photography exhibition, and then to do my mums 'Lotte Berk' exercise class. Friday, im going to a watersports center, then on saturday, i'm spending two weeks lapping up the sun and surf in the south of france.

To round things up for the next two weeks, i'm catching up on the tags/awards ect. that i've missed out on doing.

Lovely Romany from The 16 Diaries tagged me.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

Possibly making daisy chains and watching endless repeats of Hannah Montanna.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list today?

1. Pack for holiday

2. Start coursework for art (great...)

3. Tidy room, wash floors, become general house slave.

4. Pre-download Gok's Fashion Fix

5. Cook dinner. And not burn myself in the process.
3) Snacks I enjoy

I am rather fond of Vienetta ice cream (consuming whole packets to myself is rather satisfying), although i'm equally satisfied by fruit, particually grapes and apples.

4) Places I've Lived

I'd love to say i've lived somewhere exciting, but since i've been born i've always been Molly from East Anglia, England. Although Australia and Paris are high on the living agenda's for the future.

5) Things I'd do if I were a billionaire.

- Buy my dad a private surfing beach

- Donate to charities

- Buy a house in london thats walking distance from the V&A

- Get my mum her own studio that she can practice Lotte Berk in.

6) People I want to know more about

Myself. I feel i don't know enough about myself.

I'm tagging Ashcan Rantings , Couture salope , maveri_ck<3 , Plain Jayne + This is adele and anyone else who wants it.

Also, thanks to the wonderful (and creative, check out her sketches!) Debbie from I<333design, for this award.

Which i'm awarding everyone in my links list.
Have a good summer everyone, and i look forward to hearing from you in two weeks!
Mollyxo.

I know that alot of you probably have a ritual or regime that comes into play whilst shopping. for example, my mum likes to start off with a skinny latte, and i know an awful lot of my friends who have an order as to which shops they visit, or as to which floor/section of the shop they look at first. My personal shopping trait is to visit the magazine section of borders before boarding my train/bus.

At the very back of the store (behind the manga/anime books) is the most wonderful magazine selection you will possibly ever come across. Borders is the only place in which you can find magazines from all over the world, whether they are independant or not. Each month they introduce a diffrent magazine, and alternate a few of the lesser selling ones each time. It is here i have come across some of my favourite magazines, such as the gigantic 'Paper' magazine, aswell as other more known magazines such as I-D and Dazed and Confused, and a selection of american magazines such as teenVogue and Nylon. The latest offering is 'Zoo Magazine' of whoms cover features the model Irina Lazareanu (why is she so badly recieved by bloggers? I find her ghostly bone structure quite enchanting...) and the musician Sean Lennon.

This editorial is one of the best i've seen in a while, and the accompanying article is a good read too...

*NOTE* however great the magazine is... how unfortunate it is to have to share a name with a lads mag...

Agh. I was on my morning run through my village, and a bleeding wasp stung me. At the point in my run where im furthest away from home. I wasn't at all impressed, as running and insect bites are high on my least-favourite-thing-to-experiance list.

Anyway, I have had an allergic reaction which has caused my arm to swell up. Which isn't pretty, nor pain-free. So todays post is unfortunately just a quick one.

I WORE TODAY:

Top, Topshop. Skirt, Zara. Belt, Accesorize. Bangles, H&M.

Molly xo.

I have always been neither-here-nor-there on my opinion of british favourite store, Primark. Since their opening in Oxford street in early 2007, it seems everyone has fallen head over heels for the cheap prices. To me, primark is the epiphany of chav-iness. The nearest Primark to me is in Stevenage, possibly being the roughest area of the entire east side of the UK, having a regular supply of girls dressed head-to-toe in burberry checks, and high, tight, tight ponytails. All of which you will find in Primark, picking out the most hideous things possible. The other major reason is the poor quality, surely its better to fork out on something that will last forever than lots of things that will last a week each?

Dont get me wrong, i am a sucker for the cheap-ness, and the nice designs, and how everything you could possibly want is right there for you in one double-decker store. But its just the little things that make it so offputting. The way everything seems to break/rip/tear, how whatever you want is only ever in a size 16+, and how everything sells out so fast. Also, with all the hype around the slave labour thing, Primark has recieved alot of bad press of late. But now the overseas slavery has been fired (infamously...), and it seemed the spell of terrible publicity was over.
But still, Primark comes up trumps. How is it that the cheapest store in the universe (bar Poundland) can come up with identical copies of every designer possible, and regular, ordinary priced shops cannot? I think Primark may be worth a visit...

(chanel s/s 08, Primark £12)

(Luella S/S 08, Primark £12)

(Micheal Kors S/S 08, Primark £15)

Molly xo

I have fond memories of raiding my grandmothers wardrobe as a child, having been a fan of 'dressing up', with a specific desire for jewellery. I would pile it on, whether it be silver, gold, pearls, or simple rings, and i would love it. Since then, i have continued on my magpie-esque love of jewellery, and now i admit, i am obsessed. 60% of what i buy is jewellery, often from small boutiques near my aunt's house. However, now i fear my love for jewels has spiralled out of control.

Grandma's Jewellery perfection: Mui-Mui's Jumble sale necklace. And at £155 a pop, i guess this delight will only ever appear in my dreams...

Oh Net-A-Porter, why do you have such painful allure...?

I went shopping yesterday. It would have been a nice day, (sunny, bought some good sunglasses, didn't fall for anything ridiculously expensive...,) but i ended up seeing half of my school there, and of course it was the summer sales. Admittedly im a bit of a sale-o-phobic, and whenever i see a sale sign adorned to a shop window, the inner Mary Queen Of Shops takes over and i'm onto the next shop as quick as you can say "50% off". I like my shops to be tidied, and set out so i can see nice things from afar. So it didnt go so well. However, i did find this lovely nautical top and necklace, which i am wearing today.

top, gap. jeans + bangle, h&m. necklace, accesorize.

Molly x

I've always thought as Art as a form of fashion. Throughout my education, fashion design has been catagorised under the subject art, and i have continued to study it this way. However, over at TIME magazine they have an article against my view, and has made me rather optimistic about the whole prospect of the fashion/art debate. Jeff Chu says:

"while fashion may be artsy, artistic, artful, enjoying an art-infused moment and even (gasp!) influential in certain art circles, it's not art."

But surely if fashion is so thouroughly linked to the arta, shouldn't it be a form in its own right?

Ingrid Sisley, creator of the Florence Biennale show 1996, states "The conventional wisdom was that fashion was the enemy of art." Which is an odd concept seeing as art has played such a major role in many of the major designers collections for S/S '08.

(artistic prints at chanel + luella)

This season more than ever, the art and fashion world has started to merge together like never before. Summer stated the return of the print, whether it be stars at chanel, Florals at Luella or the-soon-to-become-iconic balenciaga print. Im sure not many people will argue with the artistic aspects of Prada's S/S '08 collection, following up from the online inspiration video, Trembled Blossoms. The charming pixie print was created by artist James Jean, who also has worked in the art industry (specialising in captivating paintings of mythical/fairy-like charachters) since 1999.

(picture sources jamesdean.com) Another collection that has formed a solid link with the art world is Viktor + Rolf, whom's fashion designs are more a work of art than something you could bung on to go to the corner shop. Recently the fashion duo have opened an exhibition at an art gallery (barbrican)to showcase some of their more influential peices. A good point is that fashion is often included in art galleries, and are some of the most popular exhibitions are those which link to the world of fashion, and I know i love my visits to the V&A's Fashion Through The Ages gallery, in which they have fascinating talks and lectures about the history of fashion, aswell as the links to art.

(Balenciaga's structured suits have been strongly linked to the world of archiatechture and was mentioned in Vogue June. Balenciaga, Viktor + Rolf S/S '08.)

A final word is that i do believe that fashion is very similar to art. I see fashion as very visual (well, who would shop with their eyes closed?), and i also apply this to art. They are both subjects I very much enjoy, and i hope one day the art world will recognise fashion for the wonderful art form it should be classified as.

Hope you are all well, sorry for the lack of posting,

Molly x

As of late, the most important event in the fashion world is The Sex And The City Movie. Last week, [after the premiere] there were FOUR newspapers with a picture of SJP on the cover, and i haven't seen many blogs that haven't posted about it yet. This is all great, and i'm not saying that i won't be one of the many queuing to see the film, but unfortunately, this is distracting attention away from what is called the 'Resort Collection'.

As soon as the link for the 'Resort Line' popped up inside a Style.com email, i was confused. I am relatively new to the world of fashion beyond shopping, and so had to resort to Vogue + *gasp* Wikipedia to help me define the third fashion season. It turns out, besides the Spring/Summer and the Autumn/Winter, there is a reasonably new semi-season, a 'cruise' or a 'resort' collection, and the more wearable sibling of the fashion seasons. The concept of the whole idea is a fashion line thats summery, will last throughout autumn and summer, and essentially, holiday-ready.

CHRISTIAN DIOR.

Dior is certainly the most elegant of the resort collections. Christian clearly took his inspiration from the sixties, and has incorporated it into the cruise-wear in a way that's very 5-star-hotel-in-Paris. Throughout the show, it was clear that Dior wanted to cater for all the Holiday-maker's needs. There was Day, Beach, Night and Formal wear, to make sure Dior is the full package. The collection is literally bursting with gorgeous colours, particularly Orange, Mustard, Fushia and Deep Purples. Paisley seems to be on its rebound [oh joy...] aswell as vertical stripes, bows and heavy, heavy jewellery.

VERDICT: 6/10. Classy, and fantastic colouring, although many of the formal dresses were too snow-bunny-ish and the prospect of Paisley has put me off...

Chanel.

What does amazing clothing, surreal scenery and hot male models create? A very, very jealous blogger. I totally agree with Laird Borrelli-Persson from Style.com observation of Karl's own style influencing the beginning of the collection, with his trademark black tie + shirts. Other influences was Coco Chanel's cream and black, and of course her tailoring and elegance. The whole collection was very rock and roll meets masculinity, elegance or tribal wear. It also played homage to the S/S 08 collection with Americana, featuring wide legged denim and pearls. As an extra, the collection featured possibly the NICEST chanel bag EVER, which not doubt will have its own post soon.

VERDICT: 9/10. Loved it. Loved it all.

Fendi.

I think what i liked about this was how it was so simple, it was extreme. It certainly isn't a groundbreaking collection, nor chanel-esque scenery, but the simplicity of the two combine to create a resort line of Gap-meets-seventies/sailor. I did adore the gorgeous long waves and simple makeup as seen on the models though. Its all neutrals, and in classic shapes, but oddly, is what i know i'd wear if i were rich enough to 'cruise'.

Verdict: 8/10. Liked the simplicity, loved the hair.

P.S-

I don't mean to yet again bore you with my excuses, but i am back for this week. Next week i will be on holiday, and so unable to post, but after that, and know my exams are over [oh the joy...], i should be back to normal.

Thanks for still reading, i will reply either today or tomorrow. :)

Have a good evening.

Molly xo.

I know, i know, i've been bad on this whole posting every three days thing. Im sorry, i will try to keep up from now on.

The subject of this post comes from my trips to facehunter. Usually, this street-style sanctuary gives me inspiration and style ideas. But alas, today was diffrent.

Upon log on, i found LEGGINGS. Leggings are simply the worst fashion statment in the world. [Besides Crocs and Uggs]. So i've decided. Now is the time to stand. All for the ban of leggings say i?

CASE STUDIES:

If only these girls weren't so chic... Molly xo.

They said i couldn't do it. They said it would be impossible to turn my rugby-mad brother into a fashionista. And now hes referencing to America's Next Top Model. Im a genius, i really am.

Today in the unpredictable land that is England, it has been 25 degrees. Here i am, sitting in my shorts as taken by my twelve year old brother. That's family for you!

T-shirt & cardigan- H&M, shorts- originally jeans from peacocks, pearls- accesorize.

I've been kindly tagged by clutch22 , Cate & e.jay , so here are only 6 of my many quirks.

1. I watch crap on tv to help me sleep. it works alot better than counting sheep.
2. I am a sim-a-holic. As molly knows, i am pretty much obsessed with my sim-families.
3. I have a paper round. And i often deliver to the wrong houses without noticing.
4. I listen to 'chav' music. Even though i am the farthest thing from gangster.
5. I smile pretty much all of the time. I've been told off for it on many occasions, been told i remind a friend of a '4-year-old' and asked if i've ever been miserable in my life.
Now i have to tag 6 of you lovely bloggers, and as i could pick lots of you, im going to say if you want to be tagged, then you are officially tagged by fashionyou.

have a good day everyone. Molly xo.

Okay, so this is going to be a bit of a 'pickle' post. [Its basically adding together a couple of my posts with my new camera and creating what i hope will be a reasonably good read.] I am sorry that i've been providing pretty crap posts this last week, but my computer/coursework issue is all sorted, and from now on its back to regular Fashionyou.

Firstly, i would like to mention that i now have my camera. I was pretty pleased i could get one for so cheap, even though it isn't as good quality as my last one. Its by Samsung and it was £69.99, which isn't at all bad.

Anyway, moving onto the actual post.. This weekend, after purchasing my camera i had plenty of time to browse the shops [3 hours to be exact] which meant i had the opportunity to check out some of the high street items I've posted about in the last couple of weeks. If you think back to my post about jumpsuits [the one asking for your advice on a certain Gap ensemble?] Alot of you told me to get it, and probably more were not so enthusiastic. So, i went to check it out, and was vaguely pleased...

I always find it nice how everything is laid out in nice 'colour zones' in Gap so you can find everything you need.. but its equally annoying that the sizes are so strange. Think you're a size 8? In Gap you are at least a 4. The jumpsuit turned out to be a bit baggy and as many of you said, did make me look like i was 4 years old. I didn't buy it, despite the staffs persistence [and surprisingly good looks...]. But i think i may check back to see if they have any smaller sizes.

You may also remember the Marimekko post? If you do, then you'll remember how optimistic i was about the range? I liked the colours, but not all of the shapes & cuts etc...?

Unfortunately most of it was gone, but i did manage to try on this short/t-shirt outfit. As Coco said, unfortunatelty it was very poor fabric, so much so i couldn't imagine it holding together for long... But hey, it did make me feel summery, although its probably not what i'd spend my money on...

I guess i shoudn't really be taking photos in changing rooms, but i was too excited to get my camera out...

I hope you are all well. Mollyxo.