The joys of being a Young Adult

I noticed this film a while ago and thought it looked like a winner. Mainly because the title struck me, Young Adult? That’s pretty much my frame of mind completely. It’s out on the 9th of Febuary, and is about Mavis Gary (played by Charlize Theron), a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). But when she gets home it proves more difficult than she thought. However, Mavis meets former classmate Matt (Patton Oswalt) who was beaten almost to death at high school by a group of boys who thought he was gay. The two become close friends, with Matt being her voice of reason in her quest for getting back with her ex.  As this film is by the makers of Juno, I’ve no doubt it will be a little off-key, and hopefully a bit different from the normal chick-flick. Plus with Charlize Theron as the protagonist, I’m hoping she’ll be a a bit more edgy than the usual female character in Hollywood films. I’m interested to see how Mavis tries to win back her high school sweetheart who is happily married, with a baby on the way. We’ve all wanted to go on a winning-back-the-ex-rampage, but (hopefully) have not done anything about it, so god knows how this will end!

Lola Vs Hells: Cher Lloyd

Got an opinion of Cher Lloyd? Well so do Lola and Hells. We thought it only right to get the girls together, show them photos of Miss Lloyd and scream “3, 2, 1… FIGHT!!!!!”

LOLA: Why I hate Cher Lloyd:

I hate Cher Lloyd because she looks like a rat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, ok, I understand I can’t use the girl’s unfortunate aesthetics as a reason for my detestation, so what is it about Lloyd that makes me want to cut off my ears and gauge out my eyes?

Yes it’s plausible to argue that a 24 year old is simply too old for Cher Lloyd’s dulcet tones, but here’s the thing – I have no problem with adopting the mindset of her target audience – that of the 11 year old girl. I will happily join Willow in whipping my hair back and forth and no truer word has been spoken than “i just need somebody to love”– preach Beiber preach. Heck, I can even enjoy the Twilight saga if absolutely necessary. It’s not a question of being outside the demographic.

Is it the ever-tiresome X-factor formula?

Maybe it’s the choice to use her very normal name and the supposed realness this brings to the star. I have no interest in stars being ‘real’, especially not when the ‘reality’ of X-factor usually equates to dull and shit. And surely everybody knows by now if you want to ‘make it big’ you choose a stage name (first pet name + street name usually does the trick.)

Perhaps it’s the fact that she is the spitting image of the nations sweetheart Cheryl Cole. Or maybe it’s that I literally cannot physically say the words Cher Lloyd and Cheryl Cole without one name morphing into the other.

And now I realise.

Despite the obvious sights and sounds of Lloyd making me want to vomit, my reason is pure and simple…

How dare Cher, share her name with the one and only Cher.

It depresses me that when I type ‘Cher’ into youtube to perhaps listen to such classics as ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’, ‘Believe’ or  ‘The Shoop Shoop Shoop Song’ the first five suggestions are that of Lloyd.

For those that perhaps aren’t familiar with the fabulous Cher here’s a photo for reference…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing as Lloyd doesn’t seem to want to remove herself from my TV screen/my radio/my magazines and seeing as it’s doubtful she’ll be changing her name any time soon, I have some words of advise for Lloyd…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re going to dress like trash, do it properly like Cher did.

If you’re going to sing when you cant, don’t waste my time with autotune, do full on robotics like Cher did.

And finally, don’t just try to keep facial movements to a minimum in an attempt to hide an uncontrollable sneer, sort it out properly and permanently like Cher did. You know it makes sense.

HELLS: Why I (Kinda) love Cher Lloyd:

I love Cher Lloyd because she is pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, I know that’s not a reason to love someone, but fuck it, I like her hair, her face is pretty, she’s got a cute button nose, and beautiful eyes.

Now, before you get all “Fuck Hells, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about!!” let me say this, I’ve never got behind Cher in a big way until I was confronted with Lola’s pure hate for her. I’m a lover for the underdog, if someone is hated for nothing in particular then my little heart breaks for them. I find myself defending their every movement, even if those movements include going against the person that made them who they were (Really Cher, do you think bitching about Cheryl is going to get you far?!)

I decided to stick up for little rap-stealing, Cheryl wannabe, fake-ghetto-ass Cher Lloyd.

So, let’s look at her…

Rap-stealing: Yes it is true that on the bootcamp performance of X-factor Cher made a point to tell the nation that she had worked really hard to write original lyrics for a rap to include in her cover of Coldplay’s Viva la Vida. I was as excited as a mother-fucker to hear her original lyrics, and hoped with all my might that these lyrics would be Miss Elliot-girl-power-type shit. My heart sank when she opened her mouth and Swizz Beats’ lyrics came flowing out…

Really Cher?

Did you really just go there?!

Yes, yes you did….

I can’t condone stealing other people’s shit, however if you’re going to do it, you better do it with balls. If you are going to rap someone else’s lyrics then fuck it, chose to steal from one of the biggest hip-hop stars and do it on National television!

GO HARD OR GO HOME!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheryl wannabe: Ok, so she seems to have copied pretty much everything Cheryl has done, but is it her fault?! If you looked exactly like Cheryl it would be damn near impossible not to look like you were copying her. And on top of that, the poor lamb got Cheryl as a mentor… I’ve had a female role model, and I’ve been a mentor to a couple girls in the past, and there is no denying that no matter what you do, shit rubs off. If Cheryl is teaching Cher the ways of the world, it is no wonder that Lloyd became a mini Cole (or is it Tweedy now?).

Fake-ghetto-ass:Cher is from a cute little town in Worcestershire, not really Harlem is it?! So I can understand why people hate her “Urban” look and “Hip-Hop” act. But fuck it, if the girl wants to wear doorknocker earrings, sweatpants and trainers then let the bitch do it!! According to Wikipedia, Her Mama is of Romani ancestry, so Cher was often called “pikey” at school, maybe this has made the girl a little ghetto, lord knows when people bully you at an early age it makes you a tough little cookie. Poor diddums had to be tough to survive life in the picturesque town of Great Malvern.

Ghetto Bitch from day one!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can hear most of you log-off in disgust at my defence of Miss Lloyd, but like I said, I can’t stand to see hatred against a little 18-year-old who really has no effect on anything or anyone.

Especially if said 18-year-old is so pretty!

Japanese matchbox labels 1920s

Matchboxes aren’t just handy for writing your number on, or (the obvious) to light match, they can also be a mini canvas for some lovely works of art. Be it a nice bit of typography, a cute illustration or a bangin’ logo. Don’t believe me? Check out this collection of Japanese matchbox labels from the 1920s.

Click to enlarge

Charlotte Olympia “To Die For” Fall 2011 Look Book

Charlotte Dellal created this beautiful look book for Charlotte Olympia autumn/winter 2011 collection. The Look Book is inspired by Agatha Christie and is entitled “To Die For.” It stars Portia Freeman as Lady Webb, Madame Rouge, and Miss Chambers. Stunning!

This one isn’t about you either.

Mike Monteiro is a man after my own heart. His work is simple, direct and speaks from the heart, while keeping a sense of humour about life. Click on the images below to enlarge and make yourself smile!

Burgers & Nails

I know I shouldn’t say this, what with being a nail technician and all, but some times I really do get bored of looking a photos of nails. It’s not the nails themselves that bore me, but the set up; always a close-up of a pretty hand holding a bottle of nail polish, or an embellished phone case. So imagine my utter delight when I came across Burgers and Nails. It does exactly what it says on the tin, shows pictures of beautiful manicured hands with fantastic nail art holding delicious looking burgers. I’m not sure what gets me off more, the talons or the food, but either way it is like porn that I can look at at work! To top it off, you can submit your own images, which means only one thing; girls, lets get our nails did and eat our weight in burgers! Hallelujah!!!!

Spice Up Your Life!!

Remember that scene in Spice World when we saw in to the future to see what the Spice Girls would look like in years to come? Well I decided to spend waste my time putting together a little “before & after”… Fun right?

How we thought they would turn out:                    How they turned out:

Love Cath

I do enjoy a colourful bit of illustration, especially when said illustration includes a lot of girls and greasy food. There is nothing better (apart from maybe greasy food in real life!). I’ve seen Cath Love’s stuff about for a while, and always though to myself that if I had any talent whatsoever, then I would produce work like hers. I adore the face that all the girls in her pieces look healthy, sexy and fabulous, while not being to damn skinny. Beautiful!

Paris vs New York, a tally of two cities.

Graphic designer and art director Vahram Muratyan has been keep a tally of the differences between the two cities he spends most time in; Paris & New York. Seen as he’s a very talented graphic designer, his tally is in the form of beautifully simple illustrations. Luckily, Vahram has been generous enough to make these into prints, and a book. Check out his blog for more info.

Stolen Girlfriends Club

It’s not often that I come across new clothing companies that really appeal to me. But I bumped in to Stolen Girlfriends Club in a odd way. I came across the name on twitter, and thought it was some fantastic club for girls who have strayed from their men to love others (I know right? That would be the best club ever!!). Low an behold, it wasn’t a weird cult/club thing, but in fact a great boutique brand that offers beautifully put-together pieces for men and women, including some of the nicest jewellery I’ve seen in a while! Their current collection includes some beautiful shirts, shorts and boots for women that have a  laid-back cowgirl feel to them, and stunning pendants that keep things fun by using words like “Your French won’t save you now” and “The end has no end”.

Check out my personal picks from their collection (click to enlarge), then take yourself over to the website to browse through more fantastic pieces.

Cruisin’ in Versace

Incase you missed the Versace Collection for H&M, Donatella has been so kind to release a second collection; The Cruise Collection. Think Champagne on a yacht, think Summertime in Cannes, think chic, chic, chic at a fraction of the price!

The collection is on sale online from tomorrow, but you better be quick! To give you a head start, here is the full collection, with prices so you can browse now, and shop later!

Girl Crush

Girl crushes; aren’t they wonderful!! I’ve had many a girl crush in my 23 years…

Thessaly la Force, founder of Girl Crush Zine (does what it says on the tin), has written this great piece for W Magazine, all about the the joys of having a little love for a female. Read it below then take yourself to the GCZ site to enjoy more!

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Everyone can use a role model—especially one who’s smart, stylish, elegant, and fun. Thessaly la Force explains the same-sex love that dare speak its name.

I developed my first girl crush—on the illustrator and ­writer ­Leanne Shapton—three years ago, when I was working as a Web producer at The New Yorker. A colleague of mine had Leanne’s second book on her desk, and one day I picked it up and slowly started turning the pages, transfixed. The book—­Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of ­Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry—is a mock auction catalog that tells the story of a deteriorating relationship through the deacquisitioning of the ­couple’s possessions. It’s capricious, intelligent, and delicately done. ­

According to Google and my close interrogation of those who knew her, Leanne ­appeared to have a most enviable life: She lived in a stunning West Village apartment, all antique rugs and Farrow & Ball paint; wore a Dries Van Noten skirt as effortlessly as she did a painter’s smock; and was happily engaged to the handsome and successful publishing executive James Truman. I adored her from afar, and I suppose a part of me wanted to be her.

A generous friend who knew Leanne found my obsession amusing and arranged for the three of us to have a drink. On the appointed day, I stood in front of my bathroom mirror a cliché of a nervous wreck: rehearsing what to say, fretting over what to wear. Should I go understated and elegant in a black Maria Cornejo dress and Margiela booties? Or maybe something a bit more romantic, like my floral-print Mayle dress with Chanel flats? Should I lead with a handshake? A cheek kiss? A hug? And if she ordered a martini, should I get one, too—or would it be wiser to stick with a glass of Sancerre? More important, why was I treating this like a date?

The “girl crush” may sound ­silly, but sometimes it takes something ­unserious to get us talking about a serious subject: the ambitions of young creative women and the need for ­worthy role models. Among my own nominees for inaugural members of the Girl Crush Hall of Fame are Zadie Smith, with her daring, brilliance, and wild success; Joan ­Didion, with her cool, spare prose; Patti Smith, with her soul and wisdom; Sofia Coppola, with her chic grace and unmistakable taste; and Tina Fey, with her goofy smile and razor wit. Each of them has accomplished something the rest of us dream of doing. And because they’ve done it, we feel we can too.

There’s a distinctly nineties flavor to the term (think Riot Grrrls), but the idea of the girl crush is much older than that. F. Scott Fitzgerald had something to say on the matter in an essay he penned in 1930: “  ‘Crushes’ were once a boarding-school ­phenomenon—now any sort of courageous individualism makes a woman the center of a cult…What effect has this woman worship on the young girl herself?”

When my good friend ­Jenna Wortham—a New York Times ­reporter—and I decided to start a zine called Girl Crush last spring, we thought of it as a chance to be frivolous, irreverent, and earnest all at once. We created a website, ­Girlcrushzine.tumblr.com, and began soliciting personal essays. We e-mailed novelist Jennifer Egan, This American Life contributor ­Starlee Kine, New Yorker writer ­Amanda ­Fortini, former Missbehave editor Mary H.K. Choi, and other women we admire.

As varied as the submissions we received were, the answer to ­Fitzgerald’s question was clear: Woman ­worship, girl crushing—whatever you want to call it—is a positive trend. ­Fortini’s took the form of a singular ­devotion to the journalist Janet ­Malcolm, whose work she faithfully read and followed when Fortini was an assistant at The New York Review of Books. To Choi, a girl crush is a creatively inspiring friendship born of mutual respect and admiration—like the one she established with the sassy Times columnist Cintra Wilson. For Egan, it represents that moment in girlhood before boys have entered the picture.

After two months, we had dozens and dozens of submissions—more than either of us had anticipated. Had we struck a chord? I can’t help but believe our current generation’s embrace of girl crushing signifies something larger: evidence that a professional world once dominated by men has evened out—maybe not totally, but to a reassuring degree. When ­Didion first set out to become a writer, she copied the sentences of Ernest Hemingway; today, my friends and I copy hers.

That night, when I arrived at the bar to meet Leanne, I instantly forgot everything I had prepared to say. She asked me about my life. I asked about hers. We slipped into comfortable conversation almost immediately. We talked about books, travel, our hopes and dreams for the year. At the end of the night I walked her home. “Dear Leanne,” I wrote to her the next day, “So fun to meet you last night. I must bashfully admit that my girl crush is undiminished. Hope I played it cool. :)” Over the next year, we gradually moved from being acquaintances to friends. And that’s the thing—a girl crush doesn’t have to be purely aspirational. Still, I’ll never forget what Leanne wrote in response: “Your crush is reciprocated!”

– By Thessaly la Force