Where I’ve Been…Thailand

It’s been a few months since I last blogged but I’m back!

I’ve spent the last few months spreading myself between two jobs – one at BBC and another with Miss Patina but as of next week I will be a full-time Brand Manager with Miss Patina. There are lots of exciting things happening in the business so I’ve decided to start writing again to share all the behind the scenes fun!

In June, I spent three and a half weeks in Thailand with two of my best friends. We started out in Bangkok, traveling north to Chiang Mai for a week then south to Koh Phi Phi for a week and Koh Tao for another week before heading back to Bangkok for some last minute shopping. If you are going to Thailand, I would warn you that it’s quite touristy especially on the islands. It’s hard to get off the beaten track and have a different experience to the norm. Thai locals seem to be sick of tourists and we found many people in the service industry to be quite rude. Chiang Mai was my favourite place and we heard wonderful things about a town nearby called Pai which seems to be recommended through word of mouth amongst backpackers. We didn’t have time to go there but that would be my travel tip for something a bit different!

I am very excited to tell you that Thailand and in particular, Bangkok is a great place for shopping! The Khao San Road which is a strip of hostels and tacky bars, street stalls and tourists actually has many shopping gems!

Firstly silver there is really cheap and there are many stores on and near the Khao San Road, for example I bought two lovely silver rings for approx £5. You have to do a bit of haggling of course. There are also a few stores selling wholesale leather and bone jewellery – all that cool stuff that is synonymous with backpacking style. I got some great leather bracelets and wooden earrings and got a great deal. These jewellery stores sell wholesale so it was interesting to see how little they can be bought for in Thailand but how expensive they would be in a store in the UK.

Next vintage….which is possible to find on the Khao San Road! You have to be savvy however – there is one lady who sells really cool shirts on the street for £2 each. She won’t bargain however as these really are rock bottom prices compared to the prices you’d pay in London vintage shops. I bought 10 of them so you can expect to see them popping up on the blog! She only has one rail on the street and she doesn’t start selling until around 11pm. Here is one of my favourite shirts…

You can also buy vintage Levi shorts for about £8 which are perfect for these shirts. This combo is a real East London look. Also wearing lots and lots of bracelets on your wrists is a mark of the backpacker and you can pick them up really cheap. The more you buy, you can negotiate a better discount. Here’s an example of a leather bracelet and some colourful ones…

As you go down the Khao San Road there are little turns off to the left and right and if you go down the alley opposite Susie Walking Street (great name!) right to the very end – there is a couple who have a stall to the left and right. The left is all vintage and to the right is really nice and comfy “hippy” attire – think yoga pants and layered tops. This lady is reluctant to bargain as well – they know how popular vintage is in the Western World so they expect a good price for their pieces. I got the below contrast collar dress for approx £8. Can’t complain!

There’s not only shopping on the Khao San Road – Bangkok has one of the world’s biggest indoor markets called Chatuchak Market. This is only on at weekends so I didn’t manage to visit it. However, there is a big indoor market daily at Siam Square – most of these stalls sell variations of the same thing – very girly, cute clothes with pastel colours. Lots of blouses and shirts with coloured shorts and pleated print skirts. If you go to Camden Market, the style is quite similar. I was again on the hunt for vintage and got a cool studded black leather shoulder bag for £14 and a cute lime green summer dress for £3. I will feature them in a post soon.

My advice to you for shopping in Thailand is not to shop on the islands – there were nice stores on Koh Phi Phi but prices of dresses were about £40. While many people advise to get out of Bangkok as fast as you can, I would definitely say to give yourself a day or two for shopping!

If you have any questions or comments about Thailand, please feel free to leave them below!

Kob Koon Ka! (Thank you in Thai)

Sarah x

Fashion Journalism @ CSM + Urban Outfitters

On Thursday evening I began an evening course at Central St. Martins in Fashion Journalism. As you may know I’m applying for internships at the moment so I’m trying to build up as much knowledge and experience as possible at where better to get that knowledge than the school that counts Alexander McQueen, Matthew Wiliamson, Paul Smith, Zac Posen and Stella McCartney (to name but a very very small few) among its alumni?

The class is being taught by Hywel Davies who has written for Elle, Vogue, The Observer, Dazed and Confused, Nylon and Grafik to name but a few. Here is a link to his bio on SHOWstudio (http://showstudio.com/contributor/hywel_davies). There is a great mix of people in the class with many different nationalities and backgrounds – one girl travels the world as a model while another girl from Japan interned at Japanese Vogue. I am looking forward to learning a lot more about the industry.

This week’s outfit choice is this dress I bought at a store on Camden High St which is full of lace and very feminine ethereal pieces. The dress  looks like two separate pieces when in fact it’s an all-in-one.

The eagle necklace is from Topshop. I’ve put a leather look belt from H&M around the middle to make it look a little edgier. Over the dress, I’m wearing a leather jacket I got last weekend at Spitalfield’s Market in Liverpool Street. I was looking for a new leather jacket, particularly one with studs and am thrilled with this find. It’s great to buy pieces in markets that not many people will have.

Stud Inspiration Burberry Prorsum Spring Summer 2011 Biker Jacket

(Source: http://frillsandthrills.blogspot.com/2011/05/celeb-style-burberry-biker-jacket.html)

The shoes I am wearing are my Winter indulgence Kurt Geiger boots. I had been admiring these for ages before I gave in and purchased them. I am hoping these will last me for a few years if I only wear them occasionally.

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Urban Outfitters have some lovely stuff at the moment and I couldn’t help but make a few small purchases today. I haven’t committed to buying any winter coats or woolly jumpers just yet but it’s nice to pick up some accessories to add to what you already have.

It was on display in the store over this pink jumper and a blazer so I’ll be copying this look.

I also bought these earrings:

These are next on my ‘winter wish list’ so I’ll be saving for these:

Wide brimmed hat

Popcorn knitted scarf

Bow tie necklace

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I went to see ‘Drive’ this week with Carey Mulligan and Ryan Gosling (not actually physically with them!). The soundtrack was really good so I thought I’d share this song with you – enjoy!

Sarah xx

Chanel Inspired Tweed + Stella McCartney

More Summer outfits – tah dah! (And some really poor camera angling on my behalf – hello doorknob!).

This denim crop shirt is A-Wear, the skirt is Miss Patina which comes with this cute key and buckle belt. The bag is from Camden Market, the socks are Topshop and the slip-ons are Miss Selfridge. The skirt is so unusual and inspired by classic Chanel tweed however uses white mixed with bright pastel colours. It is high-waist and very comfortable to wear.

Gotta have some shades – these are also Chanel inspired sunglasses from Polaroid (yes they make sunglasses). These are called ‘Seduction’ and are part of their classic range. They have a vintage inspired ‘heritage’ range also that do quirky shades inspired by previous decades.

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Stella McCartney debúted her Spring Summer 2012 collection at Paris Fashion Week yesterday. The venue was Opera National de Paris and in attendance were newlyweds Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevall as well as fashion royalty Rachel Zoe, Mario Testino,  Anna Dello Russo and Alexa Chung.

(Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk) 

Profits have soared this year for McCartney and many A-Listers have been spotted wearing her mesh polka dot dresses including Kate Winslet, Liv Tyler and Jane Fonda.

(Source: http://stingystyle.blogspot.com/2011/08/get-stellas-dots.html)

The look for Spring Summer 2012 is comfortable, flowing and sports inspired. Materials are a combination of mesh and lace. The patterns are paisley or simply nude or white, very Stella. It’s an unusual combination of what looks like pajamas, tennis dresses and over sized suits…

Stella has collaborated with Adidas for a special sports range in honor of the London Olympics 2012 and you can see this influence in the SS12 collection. However, what I liked most from this collection were the dresses. Feast your eyes!

(Source: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/galleries/)

This is my favourite one:

As you can see this wave design features in a lot of pieces in the collection.

So what can us high street folk take from Stella McCartney Spring Summer 2012?

• Matching pattern trouser suits are going to be a big look
• Body con is staying around but Stella has put a classier twist on it with a looser fit as opposed to a bandage style
• Paisley pattern is making a big comeback
• Colour blocking in neutral shades will be popular as opposed to colour blocking bold colours

Spotlight on the FROW: Dasha Zhukova – love this!

Until next time.

Sarah xx