At the end of the rainbow

After the storm
Originally uploaded by lipsticklori

I'm fealing rather under the weather today but was reminded, by this photo I took last year in Sweden, that at the end of a storm there is often a rainbow. I know my dodgy tummy (too much info?) is no doubt due to the cheap meat-based products I purchased as part of my lunches this week in order to save money, so I can help my insides recover by not having any more of that. Another bonus is that, for the first time in ages, I don't actually feel hungry. This should assist my wallet and waistline, even if it's only for a day!

The next few months are going to have to be frugal, while I soothe my bank account and leave it feeling revived. No more clothes (unless I exchange some stuff at Bang Bang and so can aquire more at no cost), and no unnecessary lunches at Pret, Costa or Caffe Nero. I don't smoke or gamble and rarely drink much, so can't cut all that stuff out, and I have an annual travel card so can't save money by walking or getting the bus instead of the tube. Staying inside at lunch time really will help though, as the internet has more than enough free stuff to keep me out of mischief. Like, for example, Retro Chick's recent blog post on the meaning of vintage. Great stuff.

Speaking of style blogs, thank you all so much for voting for me in the British Style Bloggers poll. In the end, I came second to the fantastic Sarah's Scribbles, but was a little surprised that they announced this yesterday when I thought the poll was open until the end of the month. OK, so one day might not have made much difference, but I would have mithered you all a bit more for some last minute votes yesterday, had I known. Still, I may have news soon about something even better. Stay tuned!

Knockout Knickers

Last night I returned to The Make Lounge, with Rae this time, for a workshop called Knockout Knickers. I don't necessarily want to make my own underwear, but I do have a need to learn how to sew elastic onto fabric without jamming my machine and ending up with an expensive disaster, so I thought this would be an excellent way to learn. Not only would I have three pieces of elastic to practice on during the class but, if all went well, then I'd have something to wear at the end of it. OK, so you can find instructions and videos on the internet for doing all sorts of craft and sewing things, but nothing beats learning in a room full of other friendly people with an expert on hand to answer questions. Ruka Johnson of Sugarlesque was our resident knicker expert for the evening and The Make Lounge's own Jennifer Pirtle was also on hand to assist with the machines and provide much needed help with pinning (two hands just aren't enough when you need to stretch your elastic!).

After adjusting our patterns, selecting our fabric from the lovely printed cottons on offer and working out how to cut on the bias, we all sat down at an overlocker to stitch our pieces together and sort out our edges. Rae somehow ended up with a duff machine but, with two tutors and so many to go round, we all ended up ready to select our elastic before long. Overlockers really are rather time-saving. I may have to come up with a few projects of my own for these machines now too as they now have open studio time!

Once we had measured and pinned our elastic in place, it was time to use the sewing machines to get the waistbands nice and stretchy. This was far more difficult than Ruka made it look so we all hoped that the legs would look a bit better, and in most cases we really did improve. Before long, people were hopping up from their machines with squeals of delight and running off to find somewhere to try on what they'd made. Anyone wandering past 41½ Barnsbury Street last night will have been rather puzzled at why so many women appeared to be flashing their underwear at each other! After the addition of some lovely satin bows, we were done and Rae even got a photo of us with our handiwork. All in all it was a great evening... and even Topper seemed slightly impressed with the end result.

UPDATE: I've now added a photo of the finished knickers to this blog post. The spots aren't quite straight, but not bad for a first attempt, eh?

Peepshow playlist

For a recent party, I agreed to do a peepshow-inspired performance and so set about building a playlist of songs that would put me in the mood for such a thing. I searched through the music that Topper and I already own for tracks that were dirty, filthy and sleazy sounding, plus I added in a few that were just plain fun. Inspired by some of these, I also hopped on to iTunes and bought a couple more to finish off the list. It was played from my iPod on the night and it has stayed there ever since. Some tracks worked for the performance and some didn't, but I think it's a nice set so I can't stop listening to it. After I tweeted during a handful of tracks on my train journey this morning, I was asked what else was on the list, so here you are.

1. It's No Good - Depeche Mode
2. Supermassive Black Hole - Muse
3. Filthy/Gorgeous - Scissor Sisters
4. Chinese Burn - Curve
5. The Heart's Filthy Lesson - David Bowie
6. I Feel Loved - Depeche Mode
7. Bad things - Jace Everett
8. Human Nature - Madonna
9. Original - Leftfield
10. Power Lunch - Har Mar Superstar
11. Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie
12. Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
13. Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
14. Sin - Nine Inch Nails
15. Lullaby - The Cure
16. Dirrty - Christina Aguilera
17. Diesel Power - Prodigy
18. I'm A Slave 4 U - Britney Spears
19. That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings

Defining sexy

Due to a small number of purchase from their stores over the last few years, I am on the Agent Provocateur mailing list. Despite the fact that I have found far better underwear and stockings for sale elsewhere, I have refrained from un-subscribing because, well, I like looking at women in underwear. This week's email may mean I have to revise my opinions, however, as they've produced some startlingly un-sexy video trailers for the AP collections. The lingerie may be hit and miss, but I've always loved AP's sauciness until now. In my opinion, these videos of dead-eyed writhing models are not very sexy at all, and don't get me started on the ribs on show in the swimwear trailer!

It's not necessarily the lack of curves, as women of all shapes and sizes can be sexy and AP clearly don't design for the more rounded of us anyway, it's the vacant stares that they are assuming look hot. Tell me, what is sexy about someone who looks like they couldn't care less? Where's the fun in that? I like people who are enjoying themselves, or who look like they're about to enjoy you. It's all about the illusion of sex, and clearly AP models don't have the skills to create that illusion. They don't want you, they don't want me... they don't want anything! I think I'll stick with Katy Perry having fun in the California Gurls video, looking like Bettie Page with a couple of cans of squirty cream, and biting the head of a gingerbread man with a saucy look in her eye. She may have thought it was all just an "experimental game" when she recorded I Kissed a Girl, but I reckon Russell Brand has opened her mind a bit since then. (nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more!)

Wardrobe categories

I'm not an especially fashionable person, but I like to think that I do my best to be stylish. Stylish people do, of course, spend an awful lot of time thinking about their wardrobe and so today I pondered a few of my favourite things. My most loved items of clothing often fall into one of the following categories:

1. So attractive, practical and comfy that I wish I'd bought more, in different colours.
2. Not in fashion any more, but I just can't bring myself to get rid of it.
3. Sadly long gone, but I remember it well and often wish I still had it.

Today I am wearing two garments that fit into that list. My skirt is a 1. It's the tulip skirt I bought from John Lewis during my style consultation last year and it's an all-round winner as it's even machine washable! Why I didn't look round at the time to see if they sold them in other colours is anyone's guess. My jacket, however, is a 2. I bought it from Next in the early 1990s when denim was rather fashionable and couldn't bring myself to send it to a charity shop in recent years, even though it had sat unworn on the coat rack for a while. I now feel officially old as I have now kept a garment so long that it has come back into fashion. Not quite the right cut, but it looks pretty good anyway. The problem is... when space is limited, how do you decide what to keep?

Addicted to The Make Lounge

When I first discovered The Make Lounge, I was like a kid in a toy shop. There were so many things I wanted to do there that I didn't know where to start. I was most intrigued by Creative Alterations though, so booked myself in and headed to the venue with a bag of old clothes that just needed that extra something. It was interesting to see what everyone else had brought along - from a bag of things that only needed a little bit of work, to one dress that was handed down from a grandmother and was just too big - and the fantasticly stylish Nin Castle gave us plenty of ideas and expert advice so we were soon on our way with project number one. I shortened and shaped a boxy long 90s smart skirt and started to add cap sleeves to a strappy top that was hardly worn, but the best thing about those evenings was setting aside time to make things and doing it in a fun friendly atmosphere. It certainly means you can't stop at one class! Especially if, like me, you just can't seem to find the motivation when you're home alone.

Next I did the beginner's overlocking workshop, which was run by the same tutor and really made me want to own an overlocker, despite the fact I actually do very little sewing these days. The machines are far less daunting than they appear to be at first, and look like they'd be extremely useful for finishing seams and speeding up alterations. Not sure if I can justify buying one but, if I manage to do more sewing this year, perhaps it would be sensible to add one to my Christmas list. The Make lounge now has its own shop which sells overlockers, in amongst all the other pretty things. I'll be back there in less than two weeks for their Knockout Knickers workshop so no doubt I'll end up going home with some pretty fabric and a load of ribbon from the shop as well as the briefs I make in the class. If I make some suitably burlesque ones, perhaps my alter ego will model them some time.

Google is your friend

At lunch time, I checked out Perri Lewis' article on how to make a perfect dress on the Guardian's website and found some useful links for when I ever get round to dusting off my sewing machine. I then rummaged around in the Making Time section to see if there were any other articles I'd missed, where I came across Perri showing us how to make fabric bows and roses. I was utterly stunned to discover two people in the comments who not only don't know what a running stitch is (it's basic and in the photos!), but they also clearly have no idea how to even look it up in Google. Seriously, WTF is wrong with people?

Vote for Rarely Wears Lipstick

If you have a spare moment before the end of the month, please vote for me in the British Style Bloggers Blog of the Month #8 poll. It costs you nothing and will apparently win me "eternal fame and love and stuff". There's some stiff competition this month so it'd be fantastic to win... or even to come second. If you vote and want to be thanked in my acceptance speech (aka blog post), just leave a comment below. Thanks!

Blogmeet or tweetup?

A number of years ago, when this blog was in its previous incarnation and had lots of readers (perhaps due to the lack of more exciting things on the internet), there was a gang of excellent bloggers who I followed on a daily basis. We frequently commented on each other's blogs and felt we knew each other well, due to the little insights we had into each others' lives. One day, a Manchester blogmeet was suggested, so a handful of us headed off to Fab Cafe and proceeded to drink and swear our way through the evening. There is photographic evidence of this somewhere which I may put back online at some point, should you care. After a handful of these north-western meetups we were invited to a Blogger's Braai in that there London, where I met even more of the glittering stars of the internet. Well, they were all A-list in my eyes anyway, and really lovely people too it turned out.

Last night, in a mini recreation of those days, Topper and I met Lyle, Sevitz and Pixeldiva (with TFH) for drinks at Fire Station in Waterloo. Unlike the old days, this little reunion was co-ordinated via Twitter. Perhaps we should have found London's equivalent of Fab, but Sevitz marked the occasion in a suitably geeky manner (sadly, before Pix arrived) by videoing us on his iPhone and uploading it to vzaar. It's just as well he wasn't filming later on as it got a bit loud in there and, well, let's just say I'd had a few G&Ts by the end of the evening. Still, much to Gordon's horror, we were all home/back at the hotel by midnight. A very good night indeed. We really must do it more often.

Are you a secret feminist?

Stylist magazine continues to puzzle me. I am infuriated by its constant promotion of assorted 'on-trend' fashion, home and beauty items that are way out of the price range of someone who reads a free magazine, and am often astounded by the poor choice of photography and headlines that can accompany even their most well thought out articles. Yet some of the content is great and so I continue to pick up a copy every week in order to while away some time and support a growing publication. Today they did something that infuriated me but, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if it was actually really quite clever.

The cover of the magazine I was handed looked like the cover of any women's glossy, with a dead-eyed vacant looking model showing off her airbrush perfect skin and long blonde hair. However, on closer inspection, this is merely an advert for John Frieda hair products and was concealing the real Stylist cover which asked, "Are you a secret feminist?" No, I'm not a secret feminist at all! I was so outraged at the idea of covering up the first overtly feminist magazine cover I have ever seen in the mainstream, that I ripped the ad wrap off and proudly sat on the tube flaunting the real cover for all to see as I read.

Now I've had a chance to calm down, I've started wondering if this was actually all a clever plan, or if they have even just inadvertantly done something good. After all, if you were a secret feminist, you might not be be too comfortable sitting reading a magazine whose cover shouted that fact. Inside Stylist this week are six pages of feminist thoughts and ideas (well, four if you discount the huge images), with a full page introduction, an attempt at rebranding the movement and a discussion with four 'new wave' feminists. If wrapping a haircare advert and several pages of mindless consumerism around that means some women who would say "I'm not a feminist but..." will read that article and perhaps start using the f-word for themselves, well, perhaps it's not such a bad thing after all.

UPDATE: I have heard that some magazines get little or no say as to when an advertising wrap appears on their publication, so I apologise for initially getting so cross with Stylist. I'm extremely impressed that they devoted so many pages to feminism this week and hope they keep up the good work!

Flip-flops will turn you into zombie-food

There are so many things I could write about this, one of the worst forms of footwear I can think of. Every now and again, I ponder writing a blog post on the shuffly evil that is flip-flops/jandals/thongs and I'm usually so seething with rage that I put it off. So here, finally, is a small list of the many reasons I dislike them so much:

• You have to change the way you walk so that they don't come off
• Fit-Flops aside, they provide no support for your foot
• You can't run in them (out-run a zombie? I think not)
• They are easy to lose (not a problem on the beach, but bad in a city)
• They make a nasty nasty sound
• People can easily stand on the back of them in crowds
• They pretty much all look horrid (especially on manky feet)

Some people wear them all the time and they're not designed for that. Aside from the fact that they look inappropriate in certain social situations, as Barbara Kantrowitz said a couple of years ago in Newsweek, "Questions of etiquette aside, flip-flops may not be the best choice for health reasons. [...] researchers at Auburn University found that flip-flops actually alter the way wearers walk. That change in gait can cause persistent foot and ankle pain—the kinds of problems usually associated with a fondness for Manolos and Jimmy Choos."

Suffering discomfort for something that looks good is one thing, but what's with shuffling around on two flimsy bits of plastic only to complain when your feet hurt and people keep stepping on your toes? Just don't get me started on the shuffly absorbent outdoor slippers known as Uggs.

Image via the_moog's Flickr.

One In Four

I found out about One In Four last year when a friend said she was doing the stage management for a charity burlesque event and suggested that I come along. I checked the Facebook event page for details and was quite surprised to find that the charity was Mind (as I'd naively assumed it would be a breast cancer charity), and even more stunned by the quoted fact that one in four adults experience mental health problems in any one year!

On the afternoon in question, our donations were taken at the door and we had a number written on the back of our hands to say we'd paid. On discussing this with friends, we realised the numbers only went up to four to make us think about the 'one in four' statistic. This, combined with the Mind beer mats and postcards on every table, had us thinking about mental health issues even before the delightful Des O'Connor (no, not that one!) came on stage to educate, entertain and introduce us to the acts who'd given their time. Throughout the show, Des asked us to raise our hands if we'd done some very common things - more hands were raised when he asked if we'd ever been depressed than for anything else.

The acts were varied and extremely entertaining, ranging from the cheeriness of our two hosts, Duchess Divine and Bea DeVile, to something a little darker from the special guest. After our compère asked us to smile at him if we'd ever put on a happy face to cover how awful we were feeling inside, Goodtime Mama Jojo came on stage with a beautiful masked dance to a melancholy song, cleverly illustrating how some people hide their mental health problems away. It was extremely moving and very thought-provoking, which wasn't something I've really
seen from burlesque before.

Far from just raising a bit of money for a worthy cause, Naughty Sorts presents One In Four really educated the crowd to the wide variety of mental health issues and the way they affect people's lives. We thought about the inappropriate language we all sometimes use and the way the subject matter is treated as taboo within society in general. I do hope that more events like this will be organised in the future to help continue the good work.

Image of Jo King via The London Academy of Burlesque.

Reclaiming the F Word

Last night I went to the launch event for Catherine Redfern and Kristin Aune's book Reclaiming the F Word at The University Women's Club. When I signed up to the event on Facebook, I just assumed from the name that this was perhaps a part of the University of London and was expecting to just wander down the road from where I work and into a student union building. On closer examination (i.e. after some Googling) I discovered it is a private members club in Mayfair, and perhaps an unusual place to host a gathering of rowdy young feminists! Slightly pleased I'd worn a nice frock for the occasion, I set off from work to catch the tube to Green Park and finally meet a woman I've admired for a long time.

When I first discovered The F Word website in 2001, it was quite a revelation. Full of articles by young women on a variety of subjects from a feminist perspective, it satisfied my need for something intelligent and 'bite-sized' to read and also inspired me to write. I wrote 17 feature and review articles for the site over the next couple of years (you'll find me listed as Lorraine Smith on the contributors page) and every one was sent to Catherine Redfern before publication. We never met, as I lived in Manchester at the time, but we chatted a bit via email and so I was a little bit sad to see her step down as editor in 2007. However, this was because she wanted more time to devote to writing a book with Kristin Aune and so I was keen to see the results of all her hard work.

Last night I got my hands on a copy and Catherine kindly signed it for me. Everyone in that room was there to celebrate the work Catherine and Kristin had done, but also to celebrate feminism. The mood was one of excitement, hope and optimism. Now the book is out there, we can all help to promote it and get the message across that feminism is not dead or outdated. After finally getting to say hello to Catherine, I caught up with Helen and Hannah and then, surprisingly for someone who is usually extremely shy in many social situations, I chatted to a lot of new people. People I've encountered online but had never met in person. People I admire.

I met Sarah Barnes who is the brains behind the fantastic Uplift Magazine. I said hello to Holly Combe who has written an outrageous number of articles for The F Word site over the years. I chatted to Suraya Sidhu Singh, editor of Filament Magazine, about the magazine and the lack of decent 'boylesque'. I said hi to Jess McCabe and promised to write for The F Word again soon. I even approached Laurie Penny and told her how much I enjoy reading her blog. I'd been discussing with Hannah earlier in the evening about how it was Laurie who helped me understand my privilege, so it was wonderful to be able to say hello in person... although the wine seemed to help me forget all the eloquent things I wanted to say!

I started reading the book on the train home and I'm really impressed so far. However, as I'm a notoriously slow reader, please don't wait for a review from me before you buy yourself a copy. You can get it from Amazon. Come on, join the gang. Let's reclaim the f-word!

In praise of the summer dress

Ultra marine
Originally uploaded by lipsticklori

As I, inexplicably, seem to have too many clothes for my wardrobe, I always pack the garments which are not season-appropriate into my suitcase and pop them out of the way. When I resurrected my summer wardrobe this year, I found a couple of vintage dresses in the pile, plus a casual one from H&M that is perfect for lazing around the house. For some reason I was disappointed that there were not more dresses and so resolved to acquire more.

Dresses are perfect for lazy girls like me. Especially in the summer. Choose your dress, pick your shoes and... well, that's it! I find jumpsuits and playsuits impractical, plus also deeply unflattering on me, so the only one-piece that will ever grace my wardrobe is the dress. Having tried on a Liberty-print Jeff number at the Black Truffle boutique, I vowed to find something as perfectly cute and comfortable for half the price. A few weeks later and I found Joules' Jennifer dress at John Lewis which ticked all the boxes. I must remind myself in future that there really is no need to buy the first thing you see. Think sensibly and do some research - there's more out there than you think.

However, now I think about it, I also have my Vivien of Holloway summer dress. After being worn to countless weddings and photoshoots, it could perhaps be relegated to the everyday wardrobe now (without the petticoats!). And I also have a vintage maxi-dress in with the 'posh' frocks. Perhaps I should wear them more often now, and simply add lipstick and a hat if I need to smarten things up.

Tradition, not romance

I have never understood how something as seemingly important as marriage could be proposed rather than discussed. I have never understood how people can spend hundreds (often thousands) on an engagement ring rather than, perhaps, an engagement sofa (or car). I have never understood the point of 'being engaged'. These things may have had a point years ago, but these days it's just fake romance, tradition and an excuse to spend money on jewellery.

So, you can imagine my shock when I read 'A man's guide to marriage: the proposal' in yesterday's Guardian. Thankfully there was a brief flurry of sanity in the comments, but I'm still astounded that it appears that a lot of women wait to be asked yet will not let their partner choose a ring to mark the occasion. Seriously? You don't trust him to choose a diamond you'll like yet you think he'll be able to translate your telepathic messages about getting hitched? If you want it, ask... just like you'll do with the ring.

I only want to get married if it's legally necessary to do so and, hopefully, by that point civil partnership will be available to all. Either way, I still don't get the ring thing. Surely wedding tattoos would make much more sense as a true sign of mutual devotion? Or perhaps I just watch too much sci-fi.