Tiny Dancer's FASHIONOSOPHY

STYLEFINDER.COM

As a shop customer I am usually a very impulsive buyer, the untamed horse going crazy in shops and buying whatever impressive item comes on the way without really putting much thought to it. This time around however I am really making a effort to do strategic shopping work for me, to actually identify the needs of my wardrobe and try to fill in gaps rather than just grab whatever comes in my way. And that's where StyleFinder comes along.

Featuring over 5000 fashion finds from over 450 labels, hand-picked by the StyleFinder crew, the site can actually help you find exactly what you need by using key words on trend, type,colour or label. You name it, you get it! But it does not just stop there. There is the street and celeb style that you can check out, the StyleFinder fashion blog with daily updates, the SF beauty department and even the special section with fashion advice from stylists. Just the perfect thing to sort out your bad shopping habits, if used wisely of course!

STYLE DIARY GOES ON SALE

I first discovered Style Diary about a year ago and since then I have been so totally hooked. Style Diary brought the street fashion experience to a whole new level, allowing users to organize their own personal diary of outfits and of course to us, the rest of the surfers, to enjoy creativity and original style from all over the world. Having already declared my love for the fashion of "the real people", I must say that out of the pages of Style Diary came some of my biggest style inspirations.

Style Diary's founder Patricia thought it would be a good idea to utilize its popularity to raise money for charity, and does what most girls her age would dread doing: getting rid of all of her beloved wardobe for charity. She is actually auctioning off on Ebay almost every fashion piece she has collected over the years, with proceeds going to The Joyful Child Foundation, a foundation created in the memory of in memory of Samantha Runnion, a beautiful five year old who was kidnapped, raped and murdered. The proceeds of the Style Diary wardrobe auction will contribute into a bigger effort to start conversations about how technology could be developed to help find missing children and track predators.

You can make your own contribution by taking a look at what’s on auction and judging from Patricia's own style diary of outfits there's going to be some really nice stuff, both high street and designer, to snag. Some of the items have already been listed on Ebay and there's a lot more to come, and while bids might be starting rather high we should all keep in mind that it's all for a good cause. So just click on this Ebay link and start bidding!

AN INTERVIEW WITH MARC JACOBS

While browsing the net i discovered this very interesting info on designer Marc Jacobs. It actually comes from a recent interview conducted by Laura Craik (the Evening Standard's fashion editor) on 16/02/07 several hours before his first London show, and several days before he admitted himself to rehab, which I thought was interesting enough to get here.

"THE SCENE: a top floor drawing room in Claridges. A large oak table, set with a large water jug and six glasses at evenly spaced intervals. MARC JACOBS dressed in a T-shirt and leather jacket, combat pants and sneakers. He orders an espresso and sparks up a Marlboro Light.

On his health:
“I had this condition, osteocolitis, bothering me for years, and I treated it with hydrocortisone, and through herbs, and being careful with what I eat, but along with the diet was exercising every day, perspiring every day, cardio, yoga, meditation, sunlight, laughter – all these anti stress kinds of things. I lost 20- something pounds in 8 months. Physically, I’m more fit than ever. If I could get rid of the cigarettes I’d be really healthy."

On Top Shop:
"Everybody always asks me that question [whether he has been] but I don’t really see the point of going to the Top Shop" (sic)

On Top Shop being so “inspired” by him:
“Well, again I think it’s totally flattering. Robert and I have always thought that if we could do it for the price that they do, we would, but we can’t, so we don’t.”

On success:
“I define success by being able to continue doing the things that I love to do. I don’t think success is a completed act. It’s not like the destination. Success isn’t a final thing. I don’t think I am successful, I am more successful than I was 20 years ago. It’s a continuous daily thing”

On his last show (a/w 07)
“I was so happy, and I very rarely say that. I mean, I was happy with the execution of that show.”

On his Marc line
“We’ve over the years established a style and it’s a wardrobe for boys and girls or men and women, its clothes that people actually use every day – in the street, in restaurants… there can be a shift in the style from season to season as there usually is,but they just seem like clothes people actually wear as opposed to a seasonal fashion statement. They’re usable, not just a special occasion thing, people really do use those clothes. Even though it is more affordable we try to maintain some integrity.”

On his favourite bag for this season
“ I loved all the patchwork bags we did – pieces of metallic kangaroo or pieced together in a of degrade crocodile, and they had a funny kind of chain. There were several different shapes,  but I just liked any of the things  that were pieced and seamed.”

On the Stam
They’re always named after someone. I don’t usually name them and I don’t know whose ultimate decision it is to name them as they do, but Jessica’s  very happy that the bag is called the Stam

On the size zero debate:
“Well I’ve avoided really contributing to this conversation only because I think its so ridiculous. I think any kind of eating disorder – any kind of addiction or disorder is serious, and it’s not something that’s unique to the fashion industry. And I think when something happens, like when someone is so severely sick like some model dies of an eating disorder, and there’s this ridiculous thunderous response by the fashion industry and I think its all such hypocrisy. Eating disorders are a huge problem but it’s certainly not unique to the fashion industry. And because one or two girls suffer from it that are models, it doesn’t mean all models… some girls are naturally skinny and they’re healthy skinny. I mean I feel like I’m healthy skinny right now.”

On obesity and addiction:
“In the states, obesity seems to be a bigger problem than under eating. How is this helpful? I think of that thing in Bowling for Columbine; that moment where they ask Marilyn Manson what he would have told the kids,  and he said ‘I would have listened to them. I wouldn’t have told them anything’. And having had some experience myself, not with eating disorders but with other things, if you don’t have a parent who is watching or opening up to their kids or allowing them to open up to them, …One can care and one can be open to listen to someone who is trying to say something, but you can’t stop people from doing what they do. So much of what I know about eating disorders is hidden, so I think the best thing to do, from my experience is to listen. Instead of a bunch of people who don’t really understand and maybe can’t really relate on a first hand basis imposing or telling people what to do, like put carrot sticks out for models if they work past eight o clock.”

On blame:
“I don’t think we can blame anyone. You can blame their parents, blame their environment… you can’t argue but you can listen. Anybody with any kind of disorder, like with an alcohol problem or a drug problem, needs to talk to other people who have the same thing about overcoming it. There are so many ways to get help when one is ready, and when one is not ready, well, you just cant force anybody to do something they don’t want to do. You just cant. And blaming anyone for anything is pointless.”

On his health:
“I had this condition, osteocolitis, bothering me for years, and I treated it with hydrocortisone, and through herbs, and being careful with what I eat, but along with the diet was exercising every day, perspiring every day, cardio, yoga, meditation, sunlight, laughter – all these anti stress kinds of things. I lost 20- something pounds in 8 months. Physically, I’m more fit than ever. If I could get rid of the cigarettes I’d be really healthy."

On Top Shop:
"Everybody always asks me that question [whether he has been] but I don’t really see the point of going to the Top Shop" (sic)

On Top Shop being so “inspired” by him:
“Well, again I think it’s totally flattering. Robert and I have always thought that if we could do it for the price that they do, we would, but we can’t, so we don’t.”

On success:
“I define success by being able to continue doing the things that I love to do. I don’t think success is a completed act. It’s not like the destination. Success isn’t a final thing. I don’t think I am successful, I am more successful than I was 20 years ago. It’s a continuous daily thing”

On his last show (a/w 07)
“I was so happy, and I very rarely say that. I mean, I was happy with the execution of that show.”

On his Marc line
“We’ve over the years established a style and it’s a wardrobe for boys and girls or men and women, its clothes that people actually use every day – in the street, in restaurants… there can be a shift in the style from season to season as there usually is,but they just seem like clothes people actually wear as opposed to a seasonal fashion statement. They’re usable, not just a special occasion thing, people really do use those clothes. Even though it is more affordable we try to maintain some integrity.”

On his favourite bag for this season
“ I loved all the patchwork bags we did – pieces of metallic kangaroo or pieced together in a of degrade crocodile, and they had a funny kind of chain. There were several different shapes,  but I just liked any of the things  that were pieced and seamed.”

On the Stam
They’re always named after someone. I don’t usually name them and I don’t know whose ultimate decision it is to name them as they do, but Jessica’s  very happy that the bag is called the Stam

On the size zero debate:
“Well I’ve avoided really contributing to this conversation only because I think its so ridiculous. I think any kind of eating disorder – any kind of addiction or disorder is serious, and it’s not something that’s unique to the fashion industry. And I think when something happens, like when someone is so severely sick like some model dies of an eating disorder, and there’s this ridiculous thunderous response by the fashion industry and I think its all such hypocrisy. Eating disorders are a huge problem but it’s certainly not unique to the fashion industry. And because one or two girls suffer from it that are models, it doesn’t mean all models… some girls are naturally skinny and they’re healthy skinny. I mean I feel like I’m healthy skinny right now.”

EBAYING ONCE AGAIN

I have already mentioned my ebay addiction in a previous post, and there it bursts again tonight! But this time it's not shoes, my addiction is taking over a whole new area: necklaces.

I am not a particularly big fan of accessories. I used to really like to pile on dangly boho earrings, different bracelets and huge crystal rings at some point (well, just to clarify, not all together), but i guess the excess made me get over them soon (thank god). Right now I 'd rather spend a considerable amount of money on a unique piece of clothing rather than a strange necklace or something, and I  like to keep the jewellery and accessories minimal. I can't bear having any bracelets on my wrists, and i keep my earrings simple and neat, a pair of two diamond-like ones i should say. My love for necklaces however still lurks around, and since the shops have nothing special to offer, my hopes for getting hold of something really nice and unique have once again turned to ebay.

I  was actually urged to do some searching when reminiscing one lovely white perspex bird necklace from River Island, that I had spotted in the Manchester shop a few months ago, just before I left the UK. That day however, i stupidly listened to some male friends and did not get the necklace (male and female asthetics and concept of fashion and beauty often differ), only to regret it later, when it was too late for me to get one.

While searching ebay, i found a few good alternatives though. Falling into the usual trap, I have already bidded for four of them, whereas i only need one, but i really like the bambi perspex necklace and the angel wings one! As for the two heart necklaces, well that was not such a good movement as I already own three of them (a gold, a silver and a pink one), so I really hope that I won't win.

I also like these perspex necklaces, especially the Lee Riot / Steven Shein girl necklace, as worn by Victoria Beckham! Well, there are plenty of those on Ebay though, so this gives me the option of having second thoughts before bidding on one. Then again, after taking a second look at all these little findings, I think it will still be a tough choice to make!