Lookbook? Fuckbook.

Please excuse the poor photography layout of the last post. I'm working on an essay and the deadline is kicking my ass and my computer abilities.

I'm not sure how I feel about lookbook.nu. I used to frequent it with the kind of passion and frequency usually reserved for cat videos and failblog, but now i'm not so sure.
I mean, I remember being 14 and seeing Vampire Freaks for the first time and to be honest, I wasn't enamored with the idea of rating and being rated. This has basically the same format of Lookbook without being under the perhaps false pretense of fashion.
 Lets be fair, I am all for judging on first appearance, we all do I, I do; in fact I spent an entire Friday night doing it last weekend. But sitting on the internet and judging people by their appearance, just not for me.
I feel like this is what lookbook has become. It's intents were admirable, giving hundreds of people, surprisingly both men and women, the ability to share their love of fashion (and a tiny bit of vanity and self-love) with the rest of the internet. As with Tumblrs easy blogging style, it is all 5 clicks and you are away and I get it, trust me I do. I like things that are easy, so sue me!
But the trouble is that it's all turned into a bit of a popularity contest. The vainest, the skinniest, the prettiest and the most handsome receive the pandering comments of the non-lookbook-elite. I don't think it helps that you have to prove your blog's worth to be excepted either; it just makes it an alienating and non-inclusive experience. Perhaps i'm just disillusioned with the idea of buying a camera and standing on a street corner in order to have a boyfriend/gaybestfriend/photographerfriend take my photograph in a 'i didn't take any time, just all of the day putting this outfit together', kind of way.

I enjoy the inspiration of the outfits and some of the incredibly talented people that exhibit their style on there, but I just think that the website needs to raise it's game and get rid of the exclusivity that makes you feel like a schoolkid who just can't dress their way into the cool crowd. At the risk of sounding like i'm trying to write the next 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', can't we all just get along?
Nah, i'm a massive bitch.

New Love, New Job.

No, my new love is not a person, it is Zara's latest collection. However, the new job is real. You are now reading the words of the new Creative Intern for the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. Brilliant right?
Minus the twice weekly commute and the distinct lack of time that I am going to be having in the future for things like sleep? eating? having fun? I am very excited.
This however, brought up a conundrum, how do I not dress like me, that is, smart, feminine, respectable (that means no jeans shorts, vests with no sides or beanie hats) and still manage to retain my individual style. This is where Zara comes in. Minus the stupid sizing, in which as a size 12, I am an XL, they have produced what is a competitively affordable range this season. It is all about the simple lines, the tailoring (which is actually surprisingly good) and the monochrome for me at the minute. A simple colour palette works well for me because I can't open my eyes enough in the morning until after coffee to recognise anything, let alone colour. But also, the shapes are interesting but not too 'alternative'. Fashion forward workwear, to the rescue.
I own the leather top and long-line waistcoat, but these are some of my favourite picks from their website: