it was an interesting weekend.

i started at the launch party for lock up your daughters magazine where i saw only one other person that i knew (something of a rarity, if i say so myself) and could only eye up the ladies due to a severe shortage of handsome men, although i should have known that in the first place. i lamented this fact with a girl in the loos, and after sharing too much information i discovered i had at least kissed a handsome man more recently than she, even if he turned out to be a creep who said i was beautiful and wanted to marry me after about 30 seconds.

i then moved on to big. bam. boom. which was the most awesome night i’ve been to in i’m not sure how long. and not just because i heard don’t mess with my man by lucy pearl for the first time in years.

the next night i ended up at a (terrible, skins-style) party for a young man who was moving to ghana the next day because his father had apparently bought him a goldmine, which is the best reason for a party i have ever heard, even if said event made me feel about 41 years old.

last night i went to see a preview of happy-go-lucky by mike leigh, followed by a q&a by the man himself. i am not familiar with any of mike leigh’s work. from what i gathered at the q&a session, it is fairly diverse.

i didn’t really enjoy the film, although i’m uncomfortable in saying so because part of me wonders if i missed the point. i don’t think i did - a story about a 30 year-old primary school teacher who sees the good in everything around her and doesn’t worry about much, contrasted with people who don’t share her world view, and her effect on them. not especially taxing, very nice. my main problem was that i found the main character incredibly irritating, hard to like and impossible to relate to.

today my body has been crying out for rest, and my purse for a break, and as i neglected to pick up my purse this morning, and slept all afternoon, that’s exactly what i’ve had.

including me.

and especially including i-d magazine, who have five different aggy covers of their may issue. wonderful, although i have noticed that she has her right eye shut or covered in every shot, probably meaning they were all taken around the time of london fashion week when she had an apparently nasty bout of conjunctivitis or it’s a piss take on that theme.

hang on, it’s just been pointed out to me that she is winking because it’s iD (like ;D) and after inspecting the covers of my old issues, this is indeed correct. fool!

the days are going really fast at the moment and at the top of next week, my moleskine says i am to “plan summer”.

i’ve given a lot of thought to it, but i’ve not really connected any of it yet.

so far i know that my exam (and thus the beginning of summer) is may 13th. not a friday.

i also know that i will probably be taking a trip to london with my sister (who is desperate to see qi being filmed) and will most likely be imposing myself upon friends in stuttgart at the beginning of june.

from there, it gets a bit hazy.

in an ideal world, i will jack in conventional work and do as i please for once. the problem being that doing as i please requires money. so first i need to figure out how i’m going to do that (although this ebay thing is going SWIMMINGLY at the moment), possibly by selling some vintage wares on ebay and looking into some freelance work.

once that’s taken care of, then who knows? i would like to go away for a few days on my own. i know i’ll enjoy the freedom of just going and doing anything i like, even if it’s like last week and i wander around edinburgh (i really, truly hate the place. it’s boring and sedate, which could be the same thing i suppose, but i mean it’s boring as in nothing happens, and it’s sedate in that the people and the place are so boring, nothing will happen. and the air quality is worse than glasgow. i don’t care about statistically, i always feel FILTHY when i’m there) on my own and i end up talking to a bag lady in a coffee shop, who claims to be the world raffle champion (she offered me her autograph), amongst other things.

so maybe i have a plan there. not to plan. not until june anyway. i’ll see how that works out.

it comes down to the fact that i’m determined not to “waste” another summer. the inverted commas are for the fact that i always look forward to the summer, don’t make much of it, and then feel sad at the end of it, although months later, it never seems so bad. i have a good feeling about this one.

a little while ago, i wrote an article for the coffee break section of last year’s girl’s magazine, the specialist paralegal about how to go about clearing out one’s wardrobe (page one, page two).

shamefully, it was more of a “do as i say, not as i do” issue - at the time of writing i was hoarding things i hadn’t worn for years. a gander at last months elle while i was in the hairdresser the other week changed all that though. i read an article about a woman who threw out every item of clothing she owned, took £1500 from her savings and bought a 20 piece capsule wardrobe.

blimey.

while i love the idea, i’m not anywhere near in a position to do anything like that, but i took it as inspiration to get ruthless with my wardrobe.

three hours and a lot of dust up my nose later (i’m sneezing just thinking about it), i had around thirty items to put on ebay, about the same to take to the charity shop and a lot of knackered tights, knickers and shoes in a bin bag. i now have a rail of around forty things (this is downsizing, believe me) that i like. i haven’t struggled for something to wear once in the last seven days.

the money i make on ebay will go towards a few other things - i could do with another little black dress or two, and another couple of pencil skirts, some more tights from tabio and a sturdy pair of patent heels. never again am i buying anything from the cheaper end of the high street - it’s a waste of money. it looses its shape, it bobbles, the colour fades, its unflattering. h&m modern classic and topshop boutique are as low as i’ll go. it might mean that i won’t be able to spend as often, but when i do, i know i’ll have something i love and will last for a while to come.

obviously things are a little different for ebay and charity shopping, but i’ve always aimed high there anyway - i have 2 pairs of ferragamos, 3 pairs of shoes from bally, a jaeger cardigan, and various other non-labelled pieces of good quality fabric and a nice cut.

hopefully my ebay selling should result in a nice little wad for me to play with - i know i’ve paid enough attention to my listings this time, and already it’s paying off. here are some tips from the knowledge i’ve accrued:

start everything at 99p, if you can bear it. it creates more interest, and means you’ll have more watchers for the items, meaning more people to get a little attached to it (and anyone who has bid on an item on ebay know how that works!)

start your items on a thursday evening, for a 10-day listing. this means it will end on a sunday, which tends to mean the highest amount of traffic on the site, and gives potential bidders two weekends to see your stuff. i’m finding this is working really well in my favour at the moment, and perhaps especially so seeing as it’s easter weekend.

i’ll not insult you by saying you should ALWAYS INCLUDE A PHOTOGRAPH, but make it a good one. a creased-up garment on a table isn’t appealing. the best photographs are the ones where a dummy has been used, but if you iron the item and make sure it is hanging nicely on a clean background, that’ll be nearly as good. using a decent camera (and knowing how it works) can help too. this time around, i borrowed my sister’s digital slr and my dad’s flash gun, rather than my awful nikon coolpix (incapable of taking clear photographs indoors, too bright flash, rubbish shutter speed) and the results have been fab.

be fair in your description. if there is a problem (a little stain, a little rip) then mention it in your description and you’ll make things easier for yourself later. try to include measurements if the sizing is a little off.

don’t be a postage bandit. this is my biggest pet hate on ebay. i once saw a fairly ordinary dress with postage of £10. to be a troublemaker, i asked the seller why it was so expensive, but i didn’t get a reply. i kept it in my watch list; it never did sell, despite being a nice dress at a low starting price.

i think that’s all the ebay wisdom i have to share for one evening, but there will be other things i haven’t mentioned - it’s all just common sense.

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and speaking of lis, she tagged me for (in?) a meme on her blog a couple of weeks ago. usually i don’t like memes, but this one was a little more interesting than most. it instructs:

What to do: take the book you are currently reading, turn to page 123, skip the first five sentences and quote the next three.

right now i am reading oranges are not the only fruit by jeanette winterson. it is unique in the fact that the edition i am reading doesn’t have a page 123. or rather, it does - it’s a chapter divider, with one word - JUDGES. so there you have it.

oh me, oh my, this has become a bit of a sad affair, hasn’t it? a bit of spare time and some writing talk with my aunt over easter lunch has propelled me to revive my poor blog.

i started this to work on my writing skills and comment on current affairs, keeping away from the personal and the lighthearted - music, fashion, culture, life. i say lighthearted - we both know that is completely incorrect as an adjective in this situation, but it’s two in the morning and the bank holiday insomnia is in full swing, so give a girl a break.

i have found that there’s nothing natural about trying to write about current affairs constantly. it would be different if i were on the job, uncovering the facts, revealing the truth to the world (a career in investigative journalism beckons, perhaps?), but i find it very forced and false to write reams on things i don’t really know anything about. so i’ve had the epiphany that i just write about what the hell i want (which, let’s face it, i had been doing anyway) and be done with it. we’ve all got to start somewhere, and for someone who hasn’t found her niche, there’s no point in trying to be the best at everything, however much it pains me to admit.

i think my pillow is summoning me. i’ll be back. i promise.

on wednesday night, i attended the tremendous glasgow school of art fashion show. the models were gorgeous, and this year most of them could walk. the music was brilliant, although at the nine o’clock show i did see one guy cover his ears. cranked up to eleven i think. and most importantly the clothes were beautiful and inventive.

what stole the show for me though, was miss scotland and her overweight entourage, who swanned in without tickets, took the seats reserved for sponsors, and looked blankly at the organisers when asked to move. i had a front row seat for that particular event, which resulted in said sponsors sitting near the back. my opinion of her has been cemented.

anyway. photo set, sans miss scotland, can be found here.

hello long lost blog.

i’ve been here, there and everywhere in the last couple of weeks (well, mainly paris and bed).

i wanted to make a point of getting to landmark number 50 on my 365, but it slipped my busy mind and now we’re at day 53.

it started well, generally. i didn’t like the first three days worth of photographs, but the next couple of weeks went downhill a little, and since then i’ve felt it to be a bit of a struggle.

part of that is to do with the fact that everything seems so routine to me at the moment, even though i know the reality is far from it. and part of it is self-conciousness creeping back in. and another part is the fact that i hate my camera. it is tiny, and thus hard to control. cue blurry photos.

i’ve also forgotten 3 times, but i’ve always made up for it.

looking at them as a set, it’s a pretty good collection. by good i mean interesting and varied. but when i’m seeking out my subject for the day, i get disheartened by my whinging perfectionist voice, the one that is making life incredibly hard in general for me right now…”how boring. no one will want to look at that. is there even anything that draws the eye? and it’ll be out of focus”.

i think it will get easier as the weather gets better. and in the next few months, as university holidays kick in, i’ll have more free time.

enough negativity. my favourites? this in third place, followed by this in second.

number one:

i don’t know why it’s my favourite. i think it looks quite fashion-y and magazine-y, which is a departure from my other favourites (which also includes this one, but a top four doesn’t flow so well does it?).

anyone. enough of this diversion. back to writing something that is due tomorrow. or rather, start on writing something that is due for tomorrow. i hate my voice on dictaphone.

if i weren’t going on adventures tomorrow, the kind that require a good night’s sleep, i would

a. write a proper post on the issue

b. have gone to an event at glasgow uni which is basically a load of people sitting round watching the events unfold, eating popcorn. heavily promoted around campus in the last couple of days, and a terrific idea.

however, i do need to be up early and work my usual 4-hour shift before i go on adventures tomorrow, and that is tiring enough, so all i will do for now is declare myself part of Team Hilary and give the half-baked promise of some words on the outcome.

ebay is doing away with negative feedback.

for anyone who has had a bad experience on ebay, this is the only small morsel of solace avaliable. from what i understand ebay aren’t exactly proactive in chasing up bad traders, on either end, and i’ve always viewed that as something which is fair enough, given the vast number of people who use ebay, and the fact that not everyone is trustworthy in what they say. if i were mr. ebay, i’d let them sort it themselves too.

but the feedback system was an integral part of that. if the seller of something i really wanted looked a bit dodgy, the feedback rating would be checked, and if there were negatives, i’d check the comments to see if my suspicions were confirmed.

ha, i say “i”, but anyone with a couple of brain cells would.

and that’s what made it good and fair. traders could only go so far in cheating people.

ebay says that they will review any complaint (as above, just try it ebay, you’ll end up with one of the highest payrolls in the world) and also that many buyers haven’t been leaving (true) positive feedback for sellers for fear of retaliation. that is a fair point, i have noticed an increasing trend in my own transactions where buyers won’t leave you feedback until you have left feedback for them, but then, disputing comments made is what the response feature is for.

there is a fair bit of disquiet over this, so my guess is that they’ll perform a u-turn in the coming days, mars/animal rennet style.

i read this interview with jane shepherson in the g2 yesterday.

for those of you who don’t know, jane shepherdson is the former brand director at topshop, and is credited for the huge success topshop has experienced over the last few years. it would be quite impossible for me to convey the impact she had in this short paragraph, so i won’t try - frankly, it is a whole other entry. last year she resigned after arcadia (who own topshop) boss, sir phillip green, signed a deal with kate moss to design a range of clothes for topshop. i must say here that the kate moss for topshop range has been DIRE, in this girl’s opinion. some of the items were okay. only some. but even they were invariably killed off by the people wearing them. a workmate of my ex-boyfriend wore the dress from the first collection, a one shoulder number, to a work night out last summer. it looked ridiculous to the point where i wanted to bang my head off the table and advise her to go home and change. luckily, i haven’t met anyone else stupid enough to buy into the collection.

anyway.

this interview is interesting for two reasons.

first of all, her referencing to the kate moss for topshop fiasco. on the whistles customer, she says:

“She wants to look like an individual, not a celebrity. I feel I’ve done that - though I’ve never wanted to dress like one myself.”

come on now jane, it’s been a year. wouldn’t you be better committing yourself to the actions you say you’re going to take to make the high street better, than making sly digs at your old boss?

the second interesting point is this:

“I’ve been watching the market over the past year and I’ve seen how much it has become polarised,” Shepherdson explains between meetings on her first day in her new job. “The choice is now between discount at one end and very expensive designer at the other. If you want to buy a nice jumper, you usually have the choice between a £12 cashmere-mix version or a £200 cashmere one from a designer collection, and I thought that didn’t seem right.”

one the one hand, she is right. she is looking at joining in on the high street reaction against “cheap and cheerful” shops like primark. in recent months, after a rather long time or dithering, i came to the conclusion that primark is the scourge of the high street, stealing the crown in my personal hate list from topshop (but i will come on to that in a moment). fashion interests me, but i do not consider myself to follow it and i am not interested in anyone who does. i like to shop where clothes that are interesting, cut well, and i use clothes as tools to create full outfits that are stylish rather than fashionable, because dear reader, there is a huge difference.

primark caters to women (for i am talking about women’s fashion) who are, on the whole, scared to think for themselves. they know that they can go into primark and pick up something with their eyes shut that they know will be acceptable to their fashion magazine-devouring, celebrity-idolising peers. better still, they know that it will cost so little that if they decide they don’t like it after a couple of outings, it can simply fester within their wardrobe for the rest of time without bestowing any guilt upon the non-wearer. the low cost to the consumer of these items means that the company can disregard quality of fabric and design, and focus on simply making money, rather than making a good name for themselves.

jane shepherdson, and the rest, are quite right to fight against this.

however, the fact that it is jane shepherdson in particular who is fighting against this leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

i rarely shop at topshop any longer, and i haven’t really done so for the last three years. while topshop clearly pay attention to creating something a bit different, referencing trends, but not following them, the quality still doesn’t justify the price tag. i personally have bought a cardigan from topshop that cost £40. it was nicely cut, and a lovely shade of navy. the first time it was washed (and yes, according to the instructions), it lost it’s shape, the edge of it’s colour and i lost any desire to wear it. to tide me over, i spent £8 in primark on something similar. not cut quite as nicely, but it has now been washed countless times, and if i wanted to wear it now, 2 years after i bought it, it would still hold up.

i do know that this is probably one of few instances where topshop fabric is actually worse than that from primark, but i would imagine that in reality, they are often as poor as each other. no good can come out of hiking up prices, as topshop has done in the last few years, and combining that with interesting tailoring in order for the masses to give it a “quality” stamp. these murmurings have to be followed up with actions if they are to be taken seriously. however, i certainly won’t be holding my breath.