we’re all your guilty pleasures
ISSUE ONE £7
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“people
regurgitate the same old cliches and it becomes like a photocopy of a photocopy of something that's vaguely interesting� - steve coogan
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what’s inside Welcome to Cliché Contributors Editor’s Letter 07. Tweechés 09. Embracing the past 11. Top 10 clichés 14. Vintage or plain old? 15. ‘Oh no please’ 18. Just a cliché 19. The next Cath Kidston 21. Shop the hype 23. Blogger’s influence on consumer clichés 28. Cliché tattoos 31. All dressed up with nowhere to go 41. Miss Dollie Deville 51. Searching for authenticity 53. Syrup 60. Cliché fashion moment 61. Cupcake hype 67. Icons - who should inspire a girl? 75. Playlist
COVER / photograph by JEMMA LAMBLE model LOUISA JEWES
editor jemma lamble jemmalamble@hotmail.com
contributors POET emily arnold ILLUSTRATORS jaymie o’callaghan philippa vernals PHOTOGRAPHER: lily-fulvio mason MAKE-UP ARTIST sophia lauren
thank you MODEL louisa jewes TUTOR paul tierney LIFE MOTIVATOR robert de Niet SAMPLES wonderland wigs dahlia fashion crown and glory
All rights reserved. For educational purposes only. Cliché is a BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism project for the University for the Creative Arts, Epsom and has no commercial value. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission from publishers. © 2013 Cliché. The views expressed in Cliché are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the publisher or the University for the Creative Arts © Epsom. These parties cannot be held responsible for them. Cliché is a one off publication.
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Welcome to our first issue, I hope you are as thrilled as we are over the launch and are ready to delve in. Cliché magazine was born from the many years of living life as one, however as of late it has been about learning to accept the fact that a cliché is merely who I am, and discovering that I’m not the only one living under this title. There is that old cliché ‘I wish I knew then what I know now’ and it’s one thing that many find repeating at some stage, and something that is underlined throughout our content.
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This magazine says it’s ok to drink tea out of comely teacups while wearing head-to-toe floral prints, and dabbling in the occasional clichéd cupcake, but instead of dwelling on a cliché’s passing, we aim to give you something new by forecasting the next generation of things to get your clichéd taste buds tingling. Most importantly we have had fun while producing and want to entertain each of you with a pinch of cynicism and the ability to laugh at us once in a while. On page 11 you will find our top 10-cliché items that you just may well recognise as something that is hanging from your own wardrobe (shabby chic no less), and on page 23 you will find forecasted clichés ready for that much awaited purchase. Page 53 delves into the rickety subject of authenticity and fracases with its being. Are we striving too hard to be different? As someone on the verge of accepting the cliché status we have made utmost effort in making everything sickly sweet. Something, that as a cliché, you’re sure to appreciate. Make yourself a cuppa, grab yourself your floral slanket and jump on the cliché bandwagon. Peace and love always,
jemma lamble
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#newobsession
#tweechés #lol #BBLOGGERS #wtf
#vi n tage #nailart #TODAYIMWEARING #love
#�life#bored #OMG #cats
#shopping 07.
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#
#followback
#throwbackthursday
#yum
#winning
#yolo #foodporn #ontrend
#fail
#partay #blogged #swag
#TWEEGRAM
#FASHION
#ootd #FLORALS #ravinorbehavin
#beiber
#perf
#style #girlytweet
#musthave
#ladies
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embracing the past because it embraces you? 09. cliche6 copy.indd 10
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embracing the past because it embraces you
e a L i k I have , n e m mbrace er o e w , d alike many n a * ly wond n fashio regular ast simply r I fo l. e n r a p t passio ns and app ace the differen s shio e embr ciated fa e w e r iz t e s p a n p o r th a g u by may be istinctive eras is typically fo past for It . is e why this braces us. D of le of th clothing em ly a sty ecade in fear on intage v b it ta e h o s g n u u d o ti is h t a s lt e d beca r a a n e p d , th s fou of a pes, an y attire er time ist, creating hapes li s r l a e ia body ty n modern da r a t in arto tha man’s w ber tha at that s the s smaller Many dismis od to remem cinch in a wo size 14, and ay . o f us is g be a odern d sed to each o rectly. It irdles were u roe claimed to ize 8 to 10 in m modern r o c g s re ttin dg yn Mon e her a the mo it not fi ke corsets an e to e. Maril er, would mak li t to say , you just hav m o ti ts n e n s e th t’ v a f e e o w th style m o e garm r, ti f h p e o a s ll ired sh rements previou t just one type lly sma the des as, her measu re dramatica dress from a o n is e ew vintage sizes w ctacular in a time sh nd that e hough ta p lt s s r A e k . d o g your n’t lo nd un clothin ing with ne e would uld suit you, a k r p o a w h s defi s into body at wo ll come ey is to . re of wh them a e fifties; the k skirts g s be awa an’t wear it all n u ti o a g th c lumin o ccentu in u v r a o u s es y d d e d n ti n ly e a a ide res s. Fif p dr ss er featu s celebrated w to other area eventies wra ar, you tt e b r u s n pe lass wa ch material o reas, as will ising yo us: the s Recogn pe. The hourg mu f all of ht a o o or flare ig n to r s o g g e a e m h in th tl s d m o ll d o y o a c a d b , t t o s s s b ou mo lder tuate ntie ist with s, seve l accen y is the ur shou o your wa vest wil ts. If your bod ts and dresse at broaden yo als t h u g o y ti skir coa ngle ts th with a e s swing es with A-line es boxy jacke wn like a recta th e f ti o ix s s and style sixti d do r eighti p n e o d a p h n p p s a a w u , no need to nce out hips ou’re straight ost. Beaded fl l ever k la one wil e m . If y ts o s e th n k ip ; r that ba c h s a y ja r e you t wa and an w the righ houlder suits levelling fear – you c ll ll a a o g in s an mustn’t s will grip you Forties wide d you c sion, an skirts from lu il twentie k the curves. d e eed s or you lac ate a much n t mod dresse . will cre y with straigh sixties Twigg coveted the style 10. cliche6 copy.indd 11
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TOP 10
C
001. Slogan T-Shirts: This refers to those tees that have ‘Geek’ or ‘Dork’ written on them. Let’s influence those who stereotype further, shall we? 002. Crosses: Especially if they’re upside down. If you aren’t religious don’t wear it. Understood? 003. Macaroons: Oh let’s bring Paris to London? No. Just no. Who wants to eat sugar that tastes of roses anyway? You force yourself to eat them because they look pretty. 004. Scouse Brows: What is coined by Liverpool should stay in liverpool. 005. Ombre Hair: The first step to looking like a clone. Go you!
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CLICHES 006. Leggings: When worn as trousers, specifically. You’re attracting crotch watchers, and seeing the cheap lace panties you are wearing is not attractive; put a tee over that thing. 007. Jelly Shoes: Should only be worn by children paddling in the sea. Seriously, they’re not even comfy. 008. Socks and Brogues: Brogues are over. Personally I think black tights and socks is the step forward. 009. Creepers: You missed the boat if you’re still wearing them so please stick to your Dr. Martens. 010. Girls’ in snap backs: Wearing one doesn’t make you a ‘bad girl’ and boys wont fancy you more.
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vintage or just plain old? cliche6 copy.indd 14
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A
s we kiss goodbye to the brash winter winds and that foreign object in the sky decides to make its seasonal debut, vintage summer trends and girls flaunting these trendy* ensembles are springing up faster than the daffodils in the nearby green fields. Upon the picturesque cobbles of fashion week is a prime spot, it’s quick to notice the rollered hair, fifties polka dots, or sixties florals. They come in an abundance of styles. ‘It’s vintage’. Two little words that cause more eye rolling than two words should and a phrase that causes more heated discussions than whether leggings should be worn as trousers. I adore vintage clothing, I really do, but the market is consequently saturated with stock that is referred to as vintage, and this has started to make my nose turn up and crinkle. You may well be thinking ‘why is this girl moaning? She has just said she loves vintage clothing and now there’s a market full of it, surely that means more clothes for her, right?’ Well let’s ponder this. Putting it bluntly, no. There is a fine line between something that is vintage and something that is just plain old and more importantly, ugly. Brands and ‘vintage’ businesses are taking full advantage of the fact that because of the continuous hype around the vintage, kitsch or unique ‘look’, anyone will buy into it, especially if the garments are a. floral and b. have the word vintage sprawled over the tag - incidentally this will most likely be made from recycled brown paper. It’s the vintage ‘thing’. Shopping for vintage clothing is difficult to master if you are a vintage snob and want to do it correctly. Some may argue that the classification of vintage is subjective and that all an item has to do to be given this label is to be part of a past fashion - the
year isn’t as important as the style being passé. Personally I feel time needs to have severely passed before a garment can be dusted off and revived; otherwise it is just tastelessly dated. Commonly the vintage time span is known to last from 1920 to 1980, concluding an item vintage if it is over the twenty-year mark. Notwithstanding, those who were born in the eighties would beg to differ. Then there is retrospective clothing. That is an entire other matter. If something is labeled as retro, more often than not, it is a replica. Retrospective identifies itself as looking back. It is a way of dressing with an appreciation of nostalgia. You’ve not got the original; you’ve got something that is made to be similar. Ironically, you have a look newer than the outdated look you were going for. It is difficult to comprehend when something is more old than vintage. Vintage garments should be special, a one off piece for example, not something that was massproduced in the era of your affections. I think people fail to remember that just because something is from the sixties, it doesn’t mean that there is not an abundance of other exactly the same items gathering dust in a closet of the unknown. Welcome to the industry of mass-production, it’s far from novel. Furthermore before anyone asks: nineties clothing is old, not vintage. Nothing riles me more than seeing a threadbare-cropped t-shirt that features a rather scratchy Mickey Mouse transfer. If we’re going by the twenty-year mark, technically 1993 is vintage, however the fashions are not, in my opinion, worth that label. Tie-dye was not ever cool, and it’s still not now. This reasoning may be because I remember the nineties, just like those who remember the eighties, which emphasises how vintage can be subjective. Let’s just say vintage isn’t an arbiter of taste and good quality. It’s just a word.
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CONCEALER AND CLEAR GLOSS.
PUTTING EGG ON YOUR HAIR. Washing your tresses* with a natural food source appears to be something from the past that people are clinging on to for dear life, and is still a part of many girls’ beauty regimes. The recommended application is to mix egg yolk with apple cider and essential oils, massaging it into hair and leaving it to soak. But seriously… we’re in the twenty first century; we have conditioner and it sure smells a lot nicer.
This has got to be one of the ugliest trends from the noughties, so why didn’t it stay there? There are better ways to create a nude lip without washing out your complexion and looking, in simple terms, ugly. The overall look works with putting concealer on your lips as a base, then some ultra-sticky gloss over the top. The result? You will have plastic and dirty looking lips while decreasing the chance of the perfect lip-locking kiss.
‘oh FAKE BEAUTY SPOTS.
TEA BAG TAN. With summer fast approaching, having a tan is somewhat a big deal and many have turned to the old tea bag affect to do the job. Black tea is meant to give the skin a subtle brown stain, but who can really be bothered to blot a tea bag all over their body? Yes, there is a big risk with sunbeds, and for those with a heightened lack of melanin in their skin find themselves frustrated with their pasty looks, however there is such a thing as professional spray tanning, or even a bottle of the fake stuff.
Inspired by both Marie Antoinette and Marilyn Monroe, the fake beauty spot is something girls still try to recreate, but generally fail at doing so. Done by accentuating a faint one that already exists, drawing them on, or buying beauty spot transfers. They are usually put on cheeks, on the lower side of the chin, or on the upper or lower lip. You can usually tell they are unauthentic and very unnatural looking, however some people go as far as tattooing them on permanently. Er, Why?
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MATCHING MASCARA TO EYESHADOW. TOOTH GEMS. Tooth gems are said to be one of the hottest trends in dentistry, but why when they look so silly? Kanye West kicked off this annoying trend back in 2010 and that is where this fad should have stayed. The tooth gem works by choosing a decorative gem that is approximately the size of a full stop, which is then stuck on with the same glue that is used when applying braces. Do us all a favour and give the diamanté smile a miss.
We’re not in the nineties anymore so what is this monstrosity of a make-up trend that’s trying to be revived? This look is especially popular amongst clueless teens but there are also older people sporting it, and frankly they should know better. Coloured mascara is dire at the best of times, however much it’s said to make eyes ‘pop’, but what’s worse is when it’s worn with matching eye shadow. Yes, MATCHING. Blue is the worst culprit, with purple and green creeping up slowly behind. Let’s just be done with it, send the trend packing back to the nineties and all stick to conventional make-up shades.
no please’ TADPOLE EYEBROWS. One of the worst eyebrow shapes as well as being a colossal make-up sin. The tadpole brow happens when the beginning is thicker than the rest, and also when the arch has been wrongly plucked. It is incredibly unattractive looking and extremely aging due to it not highlighting the face properly and making your eye sockets look out of proportion.
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i’m just a cliché. my room is filled with photographs, there is bunting above my head there’s a top hat in my wardrobe a vintage blanket on my bed i love to wear a pretty dress with flowers in my hair i always buy my cupcakes from a vintage fair i like to wear men’s shoes and a cardigan from my nan but i always look quite stylish it’s just who i am. ok. so i may not be original i may be a cliché but there’s more to me you’ll see on my blog i’ll start today.
words by emily arnold illustration by deepcoveflowers
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t x e n e thkidston? h t ca
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PIP STUDIO I
n the seventies Laura Ashley swept the world with her sprigged floral prints and dresses fit for any doting housewife, and more recently Cath Kidston has conquered, what seems like, the whole British society. Yes, Cath Kidston is classic. Granted. But we all need change. Change is good. Print is one of those things that is continuous, it keeps moving and developing everyday and is something that rules our lives in some form. Printed wallpaper appears to be the personal favourite of many, and who can deny the right to stationery that resembles ten flowerbeds and a life of country nostalgia? In the eye of the print forecaster however, PIP Studio is presaged to be ‘the new’* Cath Kidston, introducing new-fangled life to old pattern.
helped bloom a theme of roses in her work. Another time, she stumbled across an array of old suitcases and chests while decorating her attic studio; it was the contents of these chests that were the foundations for her next line of creations.
Sea, sand and seagulls homed the area of Pip’s birth, a small seaside town in the Netherlands where she still resides. The outskirts of the town is where her dilapidated old Victorian house sits which is complete with the aroma of her creativity. Pip designs products that she would like to buy herself if she could find them, and everyday incidents that seem quite mundane and ordinary to the standard eye inspire her. Her reasoning? Well, if you looked deeper and scrutinised these things more, they are in fact far more beautiful than first imagined.
Dreaming of a warm spring morning in a room full of Pip is easy; the glorious Dutch wallpaper, nostalgic patterns in the shape of stationery sets on rustic surfaces, bed spreads resembling love birds tweeting, and warm pots of lavender tea sitting in country porcelain. Most of the PIP products are available throughout Europe, both in specialist shops and chain stores. The collections are currently attracting attention outside of Europe, and across both Australia and America – ‘her products touch the right emotional chords, universally’. PIP suits her motto down to a T: Happy products for happy people.
All items from Pip’s collections have a sharp eye for detail with a mix and match concept that infuses comely floral patterns, lovebirds and subtle colour palettes, to name a few. One time, Pip was in the park, it was a spring day and she became moved by a single wild rose. It was that singular moment that
There always seems to be something on the go for the print creator, and each product is destined to stand alone with its own unique element of meaning. Pip’s vision is that of something quite simple; ‘If I make a product, it has to be good, something that I would like to keep myself, or if I give it to a friend or member of the family it must bring a little joy and happiness. Without this emotion, it cannot be a true PIP product”.
available from www.amara.co.uk
TOP PICKS
£38
£22
£30
£3.50
£33
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shopping the hype.
jammy heart biscuit cushion, nikki mcwilliams, £29.50 | crazy colour, £4.49 fine one-one, benefit, £23.50 | pop phone, native union, £24.95 hannah dungarees, monki, £35 | arabel cut-out boots, topshop, £90.00
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influence on consumer clichĂŠs
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www.viviannadoesmakeup.com
www.thelondonlipgloss.blogspot.co.uk
T
he blogger hype. We’ve all heard of it. It’s considered a marketing mastermind. Over a rather short space of time we have succumbed to a new social media era where bloggers are becoming a powerful tool for influencing consumer habits, so much so that fashion bloggers, in particular, are squeezing their way onto the f’rows of fashion weeks. Their most powerful asset for the industry? Word of mouth. Well, more specifically, reaching thousands of consumers through electronic word of mouth. This has an increased reach when compared to the traditional way of talking.
brand and many will seek out high-performance bloggers to feature a particular item in the hope that their followers and readers will sit up, take notice, and run to the nearest store, soon having carrier bags swinging at their side. Particular products or items will then start to crop up on a selection of blogs, all consequently featuring the same thing that the brand or PR has sent them. Reviews are intriguing, there’s nothing better than doing a little research about a certain brand before heading to the cash register. This, however, can become tiresome when searching for content that’s a little bit different in terms of variety, but a great thing for the brand involved, especially if the review is a positive one. Ordinarily, it is these particular products that tend to be spoken about repeatedly that find their way to one place: The cliché bin.
Blogging is now a completely saturated industry, and is the third most influential digital platform with 31% of consumer influence, ranking it higher than both Facebook and Twitter. It’s shocking to think that the majority of bloggers have the power to make or break a brand. Each blog on the Internet advertises in some way or another, even without the pure intention to do so. For every outfit or ‘favourite products’ post at least five brands are mentioned, inevitably spreading the knowledge of that particular company. Many businesses have now acknowledged the power that countless bloggers hold, especially those well known A-listers of the online community. When a blogger becomes prevalent with consumers they become the current day experts. The written content of many blogs emphasises nowness when featuring certain products or garments. More often than not the featured items are available for purchase in shops at that particular time. Blogger’s written copy is also renowned by the marketing industries to be incredibly honest and sincere when discussing a certain product, making them one very appealing marketing tool.
It is easy to get caught up in the hype, especially if it is a product or item that your favourite blogger or online personality swears by. Products circulate in what’s known to many as the ‘blogosphere’, which is the platform that is considered the updated magazine in terms of educating readers about all things fashion and beauty. This will lead to readers buying the product and consequently feeling approved of by their blogger peers, apparently this is everything one hankers for in life – alas, this can be very damaging and can leave individual bank accounts feeling appropriately blue and drained. Intuitively you can usually detect the ‘cult’ items as soon as they appear on more than five blogs in the space of one week, therefore feeding clichés on a spoon to naïve shopping addicts. Many people have noted that blogging is a cliché in itself and you can almost envisage the lack of enthusiasm after the ‘I’m a fashion blogger’ declaration. Not all clichés are bad, but the case of blogging transforming certain items to clichés is particularly noteworthy. When something is hyped so much that it just becomes repetitive, it takes away all that was good about it in the first place. It has now become that product, or item, ‘that fashion/beauty blogger’ recommended, which for some people can be seen as lacking in appeal.
It’s a well-known fact that consumers do their research before taking to the shops and handing over their plastic, habitually relying upon the online world to do it for them. Type a product into Google and you will receive a plethora of reviews. Yes, you guessed it. All from the little corner that is Blogspot – the biggest platform for blogging worldwide. Product placement on blogs is extremely valuable to a
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www.pearlsandpoodles.com
www.gh0stparties.com
IMAGE by THISFASHIONISMINE BLOG
there is more to blogging than disco pants and lipstick.
Blogger hysterias usually become orientated within the circle of beauty and those ‘holy grail’ items one must have to be approved as a dedicator to the beauty industry. In terms of beauty, it’s unlikely that anyone would have got so excited about a cleanser if it weren’t for the frenzied beauty bloggers. The Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish is one of those meticulous products that has been plugged so often that it’s almost been written into the rules of blogging, as a staple must have. Funnily enough, for a clichéd product it is essentially a pretty good one and arguably something that deserves this so called ‘blogger hype’, but you can’t help the slight feeling of cynicism when a medley of items become just another vanity cliché, all because a range of beauty enthusiasts behind a blog say it’s worth our latest pay cheque. There seems to be a product making its way to the cliché bin for every segment of our face. Remember when Kate Moss bought out her latest range of lipsticks for Rimmel and every girl went crazy? Shade 107 to be specific, a deep berry shade that was on the most coveted lists throughout the virtual world. This product hype was a potent one, it sold out in the majority of Boots and Superdrug stores across the country, and if you lived in London then you had no chance. But this raises a very interesting question: why do we want to have the same lipstick as everybody else? There are surely at least twenty other lipsticks of the berry variety that are as good, if not better. This doesn’t just go for
make-up products. Bloggers hyped Moroccan Oil as the go to item for super glossy princess hair and as a result the hair oil was flying off every shelf before you could even understand the exact results that this remedy was meant to give. Consumers buy products with added faith that it’s going to be an investment piece* for their vanity regimes. It’s hard to believe that hair oil would bring us in the big bucks, that’s what an investment is, right? No. In this case, it’s just another cliché for the bin. Even with the likes of fashion, anything that’s new for the upcoming season, bloggers get hold of and it’s in with the rest of the banalities. Disco pants and geek t-shirts ring any bells? Not every product or item is going to do what it says on the tin, nor is it going to be as prodigious for one person as it is for another, yet everyone descends into the blogger hype. This is the intensity of word of mouth. But is this hype authentic? What deciphers whether a product is going to boom into the bloggersphere with flying cliché potential? It’s very resourceful marketing, that’s for sure, and something that cannot genuinely be explained or understood. When it comes down to it, bloggers are particularly powerful tools and are considered genuine enough to be trusted in recommending what impulse buy should be ticked off our list next. In hindsight, blogging is conveniently the fast track route for transitioning an item into a cliché.
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‘Tattoos have to have meaning’ is a cliché in itself but there are certain tattoos that crop up far too often for our liking. If a tattoo has to have meaning, at least make it an original one. 1. The Swallow - especially when there are two kissing on your chest 2. Stars - they don’t even look good, not to mention they are super boring 3. Tribal pattern - one word. Unattractive. 4. Chinese Symbols - the oldest one in the book, wouldn’t you say? 5. Feather breaking into birds - aparantly one of the most asked for tattoos amongst young girls. It’s pretty, but not when one hundred girls have the exact same one 6. Pin up girls - is this a tribute to your Rockabilly lifestyle? It’s meant to be unique, but guess what? It isn’t 7. Lettering - specifically ‘love’ and ‘hate’ on your knuckles 8. The butterfly - oh, how cute that you have a butterfly tattoo, does this now mean you’re free to fly? 9. Hearts - come on, this is just way too obvious and literal 10. Angel wings - on the back. Tacky.
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It is better to have loved and lost cliche6 copy.indd 30
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than never to have loved at all cliche6 copy.indd 31
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all dressed up with nowhere to go cliche6 copy.indd 32
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PHOTOGRAPHY by LILY FULVIO-MASON STYLING by JEMMA LAMBLE
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LEFT: TOP Topshop SKIRT Dahlia HEADBAND Crown and Glory
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ABOVE: DRESS River Island SKIRT Hell Bunny SOCKS American Apparel SHOES Leather Converse BOW Crown and Glory
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ABOVE: DRESS Chloé SOCKS Topshop SUNGLASSES Stylist’s own
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IMAGES by J ROSE PHOTOGRAPHY
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Cult? Obsession? What is the vintage lifestyle? JEMMA LAMBLE finds out from American vintage socialite, Dollie Deville. It’s not only the way we dress that evidently defines who we are. Identifying ourselves to society begins with the lives we lead, consequently sparking obsessive behaviour over how we want, or think we should be perceived. It’s this fascination we have with ourselves that can lead to a discovery of certain hobbies or ways of living, and once found; we start to become infatuated with it, delving further into the lifestyle we wish to shape ourselves around. Some individuals decide to submerge themselves into a certain subculture, others get wrapped up in cults, and some create their own lifestyle by picking and choosing what elements of other’s lives they would like to shadow. The vintage lifestyle was once a cult pastime done by very few people, however it has now become a far more mainstream commerce. It has become a community of people joining together and melding both past and present to create their own distinct way of life. For some, it is an omniscient path, said to go a lot further than rollered hair and quirky* clothing styles – for others its values stretch much further than that, it is also a positively greener way of living, as well as being better for your health. But have those who have succumbed to this new breath of life withdrawn themselves from the ‘real world’ and formed something that can closely resemble a cult that obeys the vintage way? Are people tainted by nostalgia and viewing the past through rose tinted glasses? Evidently the vintage way is much more than ambling about the house in a pretty tea dress, scrubbing floors and doting on your husband with freshly baked muffins. We are talking about a time when war was fought, rations were in place and ultimately, a lack of equality between men and woman; so what is the fascination with a lifestyle associated so greatly with the past? Miss Dollie Deville resides in California and conforms a Rockabilly lifestyle: ‘ This means jumping in head first and succumbing to the music taking over your life [because] Rockabilly is first and foremost a type of music, but it has now taken on a life of its own’. Dollie’s house is reminiscent of the 1950s and resembles a step back in time. A vibrant red brick fireplace and browning mantelpiece has become a prominent asset of the living room and is set against a wall of nostalgic peach hues. Retro diner esque mirrors shell the protruding feature wall which homes an array of film photographs in warped antique frames. The Hawaiian blind shields the flaky off-white squared windows; ultimately leading on to a porch of gardenfresh florets in hanging baskets. The dining table is of the timeworn pine variety with clinical blue seat toppers. 43.
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Crisp white doilies are prearranged artistically for each seat placement, and a scalloped ribbon-lined cake stand takes its place on the centre fold. Lemongrass cupboards line the yellow tinted cream kitchen walls, with shelving that embraces a lilac cake mixer as a main feature piece that is surrounded by a selection of warily positioned porcelain, a 1950s American style fridge, and hanging utensils spewing ice-cream shades.
living? Contrary to what people believe, Dollie defends the choice of a Rockabilly lifestyle with the assumption that it is, in fact, a much greener way of spending each day; ‘I think of this lifestyle as being greener because we are appreciating what we already have, and not supporting modern consumerism as much as we would otherwise’. Every item in Dollie’s life is said to be sourced from the period of the fifties, ‘that means I am buying something that is already made, has been used and I am going to continue using it – the money I am spending on these items goes straight into the pocket of another person, most of which will turn around and buy something else vintage with it, instead of into the bank account of a huge corporation’. It’s not just the way things are recycled that keep the vintage lifestyle green, it’s the lack of electrical gadgets. ‘ We don’t have a microwave, dishwasher, or tons of electricals’ she says, ‘ I don’t even use a blow dryer or curling iron to style my hair, I use only water and air!’ she resumes proudly. Dollie’s health is also affected by her choice of mimicking traits of the fifties and she routinely devotes her diet to more natural whole foods. ‘I prefer to buy my food from farmer’s markets when ever possible [because] modern foods are so processed with fake chemicals, colours and flavours that they don’t even look like food anymore’, consequently, it is these choices that are just a few of many things that add up to make a difference.
‘ we want to have the same cool car, and the same post-war dream home and eventually the collecting gets out of control ’
Rockabilly admittedly plays a big part in Dollie’s life, which you can see through her blog, ‘my husband is in three bands which takes up a lot of our energy, so while other people go out to dinner to socialise, or a movie for entertainment, we go to see a band play’. It is clear that her life is nothing close to a chore, it is a passion, and as this desire heightens she falls deeper into this way of life. ‘As the passion for old music grows, our love for old things in general grows and we want to save and preserve the history of our favourite time period, the 1950s, for further generation’s. Dollie’s life has now become something that revolves around Rockabilly and chosen aspects of the fifties that she and her husband have become prone to emulating, ‘ we want to have the same cool car, and the same post-war dream home and eventually the collecting gets out of control and you start restoring and flipping vintage’ she utters. However she’s not quite sure how exactly this all happened. But is she one who just looks upon this era as optimal vanity or is it much more for her than that? It is believed that in some ways she does, and in some ways she doesn’t, but inevitably it comes down to following good etiquette of the time; ‘ I try and keep a tidy home, be a good cook, and be a great hostess like a woman of the 1950s would have been and I think woman should have certain skills: sewing, baking, crafting [as well as] being a good decorator, [but] I don’t think women should be under men’s thumbs or not think for themselves – I am a very independent woman, which goes against what a lot of people think of as the 1950s type’.
Dissimilar to Dollie, there are many vintage goers that have rather a narrow definition of living this so-called vintage lifestyle, but quite frivolously only address the style of the time without everything else that it theoretically should entail. When asked if this bothered her, Dollie amicably discussed how it didn’t matter. ‘To be honest, I don’t care at all what other people do. Everyone has to find themselves and what works for them. We are a small community, sure, but for all that we have in common we have just as many differences and some random rapper once said ‘You do you, Imma do me’ and I really live by that’. There is also big talk amongst the thrifty community about real vintage and reproductions. Is it wrong to wear reproductions; are you a fake in the community if you do so? ‘It is a personal preference’ she says, ‘ I prefer vintage mostly because I like the authenticity of it. Some modern reproductions are poor quality and not very authentic for a higher price than the vintage garments, I also like knowing my vintage items are more unique and less likely that someone else will be wearing the same thing as me when I go out’. Vintage garments have more history than replicas, but not everyone can get hold of the real deal so is it right to discourage those who share
Dollie opened herself up to this lifestyle choice when she was just seventeen and admits that ‘it only gets worse and worse as time passes’. This way of living pliably affects her marriage positively and she couldn’t be more comfortable in the life that she leads. ‘We have a very modern arrangement in our marriage when it comes to finances, we split everything 50/50, we also lived together for seven years before getting married, and even owned a home together before that. As with everything, we decided what we liked from the time period and kept it, and left all stuff we didn’t, like racism and sexism in the past’. Making a life choice to abide by like this could be questionable to some on whether it’s the right way, is it disrespecting an era by only captivating the good from a time that went a lot deeper than a certain style, or the proposed rosy way of
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a similar passion the right of looking the part? ‘I do wear reproductions when I can’t find the real vintage piece’, she admits, ‘Ultimately vintage is only becoming more and more rare and one day reproductions will be our only option [but] collecting vintage clothing is a labour of love as it is always falling apart and needing mending’. Subsequently, does the vintage way of living influence people so much that it is becoming more of a cult movement, or is it merely a close-knit obsession? Although Dollie confesses she has never been directly affected by cult tendencies, she feels that living this lifestyle can cross over the dangerous line ‘if you are not having fun anymore, are feeling pressured to be/do something you don’t want to, or are feeling like a sheep- then it’s time to stop’. A cult can be defined as a dedication to a certain way of living and employing certain coercive techniques of persuasion, so this lifestyle could encounter similarities if people were to be persuading others to uptake this distinct vintage life. Dollie confesses that ‘the one unique thing about this [Rockabilly] lifestyle is that we don’t necessarily want people to live this way’, which suggests that it hasn’t reached deep-cult waters just yet. ‘We don’t want it to get big and go mainstream. We don’t want celebrities rocking Rockabilly looks or shows like Mad Men on TV. Why? Because they hog all the good vintage things, only for them to sit unused in a warehouse driving up the prices of vintage items’, she confides. It may not have reached the cult stage but it’s certainly an obsession and the term vintage gets thrown around extensively. By using such terms ‘people want to make it clear that they are freakishly obsessed with vintage and Rockabilly’, says Dollie. ‘I don’t think some people saying it is their lifestyle will make anyone feel coerced or pressured to think they should live that way, though. I think we are all happy to find people with similar oddball interests and not feel the need to put everyone into a box with a certain definition. No one is being forced into this lifestyle, that’s for sure. People stick around because they realise it is awesome!’
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THE PRICE TO THRIFT
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here was once a time when second hand clothing sold in the likes of charity shops or car boot sales was deemed particularly unrefined. I recall a time when my Mother came home with a pair of tattered blue jeans animatedly telling me how she had nabbed them for under a fiver from a local charity shop. I laughed. I went on to say how un-middle class it was and ordered her to take them back immediately - as a young teen, snobbery undoubtedly clouded my judgement and eye for fashion. Fast forward five years and I now consider myself an avid thrifter. There is nothing quite like foraging through the rails of a charity shop or vintage store in the hope of finding something that isn’t considered ‘mainstream’ or regurgitated ten times over by the groups of fashionistas* mingling on a west-end street. Best of all, though, I like to find a bargain. The latter is becoming considerably tougher these days and the price to thrift is increasing intensely. Fashion enthusiasts have put a spotlight on thrifting and undeniably we have made it chic. Naturally with everything that is singled out as the latest boom, prices are altered to suit. Formerly, a time not so long ago, one could venture out on a Saturday morning, head to the strip of charity shops and feel joyful about the prospect of getting a whole ensemble for under a tenner. Not only would you find that seamless sixties tea dress for three pounds, you would feel great inside for giving a little bit back to the world, conquering all your fashion woes in one thrifty hit. One and all is after vintage in our current fashion climate, and if you were to go into the same strip of charity shops today, you would be foolish to think you could go in with ten pounds, buy three items and come out with change. Even with the likes of battered old books that you once may have been lucky to pay twenty pence for are verging on the four pounds mark, it’s rather disheartening.
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The price increase of thrifting has taken the pleasure out of pursuing bargains for one-off pieces, and the economy can be reckoned partly to blame. It is a well known fact that businesses are struggling with the increased rent of their properties and price of stock is suffering as a consequence. Charity shops also run and depend on donations, and in this recession more individuals are wanting to hold onto their goods, but part of me feels that the developing new image of charity shops as well as vintage clothing also has its own part to play. Thrifting is the new up-to-date thing to do, owning second hand clothing has linked connotations of individual creativity and crafting the idea of thrifted clothing being appealing. Many also put it down to the ‘Portas effect’ due to queen of the high street, Mary Portas emphasising the greatness of charity shops in a TV programme a few years back. Charity shops have re-branded themselves, thus meaning they can get away with over-pricing that most coveted St Michaels shirt, because, after all, it is still cheaper when comparing to competitive high street brands. However, it is not only charity shop prices that have soared, vintage boutiques have become as popular as Starbucks – soon coming to a street near you - and are said to sell ‘independently sourced items’. While that may be true, spending near to one hundred pounds on a second-hand garment, when realistically you could more than likely find something similar in a charity shop is a bit preposterous. If it is genuine vintage I can comprehend the higher price points, but many of the items in vintage and thrift stores nowadays are reproductions or are reworked pieces and not originals. At the end of the day thrifting was, and still should be about sourcing reasonably priced second hand goods, especially for those like me, whom are not lucky enough to get their family hand me downs.
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searching for authenticity In the current culture climate, searching for authenticity or our authentic self has become extraordinarily important and fashionable. To be authentic or unique allows for the ability to be the only one of it’s kind: real, true and genuine. What does it mean to be authentic, and why do we yearn so much to unearth it?
Life can tap into all manners of anxieties that one may have as we are constantly bombarded with the next ‘new’ thing. The mass media is frequently instructing us about leading the perfect, authentically orientated life. Andrew Potter, author of ‘The Authenticity Hoax’ argues that authenticity is not only a fruitless pursuit, but also rather a misguided one – ‘authenticity is really just nostalgia for the premodern era’. Potter also reiterates that authenticist fantasy is deeply embedded in our culture, and there is no such thing in the way we need it to make sense, it’s just a way of making prestigious judgments. It is evident that we want our lives to be really real, interconnecting as much truth about ourselves as possible.
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ne has crazy colour in their hair, all different shades. Another wears what she describes as vintage clothing. Another has an undercut, a sleeve of tattoos and an ever-growing collection of piercings. Are these people unique? No, of course not. It is impossible for a person, or group of people to segregate themselves from societies’ backlog of experiences. Grayson Perry once said that we all strive to be authentic and agonise over looking good. It’s true. Striving for authenticity has become the ultimate Holy Grail of not only fashion, but also life, and if we search deep enough, we realise that authenticity is never authentically found.
All in all, life has become somewhat of a performance. The way we dress, the way we photograph ourselves or communicate our everyday activities – it’s as good as a pantomime. The more we try to be our ‘true selves’ and search for the real (whatever that may be) the more we 51.
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get lost in the paradox of the ordinary. In terms of fashion, we dress as what we perceive to be an extension of our personality. It’s incredibly difficult to emulate what one thinks as a unique way of dressing when cultural trends and the Internet have all jumped on the bandwagon prior to us. Many styles that are distinguishable as rather individual, or kooky, are in fact styles that inevitably have been created by someone else before us, and by someone else before them. It’s all circulated in the media; something is always a copy of something else, thus becoming far from authentic as one thing can get. One may dress in clothing that cannot be found in the mainstream fashion collective, mostly noted as the vintage way of dressing, but the unique connotations of vintage clothes is that it is nice to know that no one else will be wearing the same particular garment as you, yet this isn’t the case. We all fall short over thinking our fashion tastes and individual choices of clothing are a little bit out of the ordinary, or yes, unique – we are all guilty of wanting to stray from the corporate identity curated for us. This type of fashion tries to follow the ‘anti-fashion’ path, but it has quickly become the norm. The mainstream fashion retailers are all over it, creating carbon copies of all that is labeled a style of the past. It becomes almost impossible to initiate a trend these days, you can’t escape the backlog, it’s been done before, and it’s not authentic, because it’s just started to be invigorated.
beautifully purple-pink hue that sheens your image has given you the retro vibe you were eager for. It’s as good as airbrushing your skin. These filters are used to look cool and cool is what we’re going for, it is rather authentic, or at least it is said to be, we’ll believe anything in the hope of being different, won’t we? You are probably someone who likes to capture every single moment of your life: that burger you’re breaking your diet for, the latest manicure you’ve given yourself, or, wait a moment… your pet. Yes, you my girl are documenting your life through manufactured nostalgia. We all share ourselves, or what we think are parts of our personalities on Instagram. It’s a given these days as it’s an addiction we feel obliged to feed. Nowadays it’s a rarity to find people taking photographs for themselves and gone are the days of the personal photo album, now these photos are for one thing and one thing only: public consumption; not forgetting putting yourself ‘out there’. Questions that resemble ‘how does this photograph reflect me?’ and ‘does this make me look eclectic* and cool?’ run ragged in you’re mind. Through each photo and every hipstermatic filter, you’re searching, sometimes unknowingly, for this so called authentic identity that you’re entitled. But when you delve deeper you realise you’re stream is synonymous to the other X amount of Instagram users. The way you store your make-up is not original, sadly neither is the way your room is decorated, it is the same for your cat – it looks like every other moggy. This is because our tastes merge with our inner anxieties and our yearnings to congress with the rest of the world are taking over.
‘‘authenticity is really just nostalgia for the pre-modern era’
Despite this, we still find ourselves keener than ever to present our lives as new or different, and ultimately online culture is now on the forefront. You post a photograph of yourself on that wonderful social platform that is Instagram. You sit a while, brooding over what filter will not only make you look flawless, but the one, which will in theory, look as close to the finish on ‘authentic’ film as possible. Your thumb skims over each, and swiftly opts for Nashville. The
It’s not only Instagram, either. Actually it is pretty much every social platform you give yourself up to. The Internet and social networks should come with a warning: naivety.
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syrup beauty is in the eye of the beholder
PHOTOGRAPHY & STYLING by JEMMA LAMBLE MAKE UP by SOPHIA LAUREN
T-SHIRTS uniqlo WIGS wonderland wigs
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PE TE R cliche6 copy.indd 60
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PEPLUMS it’s all very greek.
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The draping flounce made a comeback in the autumn of 2008 with a mergence of both forties and eighties influence taking the forefront on the runways. Peplums were no longer constricted to dresses; they reformed as the hems of blazers and many a layered skirt. Just as we thought we had seen the last of them they hip-bounced their way back in 2012 onto the runways of Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen and Celine, to name a few. It’s now 2013 and we have become accustomed to seeing them merchandised in every store window, by countless celebrities, and by many fashion houses for the SS13 collections (Zach Posen, Burberry, McQueen, we’re looking at you!) It’s official. It’s tailoring with a twist*. We have succumbed to the peplum cliché, and unfortunately its presence is obstinate.
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Chanel’s 1947 collection featured an array of peplum jackets, which now has become something that we associate with the prim style of the fifties. The look was also made prominent after then film icon Lauren Bacall’s debut in ‘To Have and Have Not’ where she was suited in a checkered peplum ensemble. After this time the peplum got caught up in fashion hibernation and it didn’t resurge until the eighties where labels such as Balmain revived the look. This resulted in the peplum falling into the mainstream, on the pages of Vogue, as well as into the wardrobe of Princess Diana. The eighties homed a variety of peplums, notably to spruce up an evening party dress, moving away from the cut of the forties and inflicting a brand new vibe.
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The peplum derives from ancient Greece and from the Greek word for tunic, ‘peplos’. In simple terms, it’s an overskirt that is usually joined to another garment, most commonly a skirt, dress or jacket. It was originally worn by both men and women and was of wool material that draped over Grecian tunics. Although the peplum detailing adorned clothing in the mid-19th century it was in the forties, post war and Dior’s ‘new look’ when they were truly defined. The peplum is said to create an illusion, balancing the hip-to-waist ratio, and although considered by many to be feminine, they usually resemble pleated valances, and not in a good way.
S13
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The peplum. We’re stuck with it. It is a trend that has somewhat become immortal and the more we wish for its eradication from the fashion list, the more it refuses to budge. Alber Elbaz, the genius behind prestigious fashion house, Lanvin “ created the peplum so you can eat in it. You can have a dessert, you can have another sandwich”. Any woman with an ounce of common sense would instinctively decline at the offer of adding an extra few inches to their hips, but evidently the peplum compliments the womanly figure, giving us that instant hourglass shape, or in equal measure it conforms to hide our lunchtime food baby!
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cupcake HYPE cliche6 copy.indd 62
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‘ Ke e p c a l m and eat a cupcake’ is the one saying I dedicate my life to. I have this particular aphorism plastered on a canvas on my wall, a fob key ring, a phone case, and a cardboard plaque that cost me no more than three pounds from a local picture shop. It concerns me that the latter is most probably an omen, covertly informing me that these little mounds of fluffy cake are, in fact, nothing but a cheap and tacky fad. How did something so great, and that was considered predominantly classy, become such a cliché? I don’t just like eating them, I love to bake them too, and sometimes I like to have them for their ornamental value, frequently leaving them on my comely threetiered stand for those moments when I let myself go from the world. I find undue pleasure in releasing a batch of twelve prised cupcakes from the oven, all raised to the impeccable height, and feeling their spongy texture as I give them the light touch of my finger. Then there is the icing. The pretty swirl of pastel pink frosting with a sprinkle of glitter is extremely picturesque, but my favourite? Red velvet, cream cheese frosting (mascarpone works the best) and a nimble grating of cake crumbs – they smell wonderful and give off a scent that no fragrant candle, or infuser, could compete with. The cupcake evolved initially during the 19th Century in the United States, serving as revolutionary because of the sheer amount of domestic time people saved baking. Individual pottery cups were used as baking materials, and the term ‘cup cake’ became the given name for any cake with similar sizing to a teacup. Before the cup cake became branded as the cupcake, they were referred to as number cakes, or 1234 cakes as a way of remembering the measurements for the ingredients: one cup butter, two cups sugar, three cups of flour and four eggs. This recipe came to light in 1796 in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons, and it was during this time that these cakes were thought of, and designed to serve one person, they were also extremely convenient due to hearth ovens taking so long to bake larger cakes. The earliest recognition of the cupcake term was in the baking book Seventy Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes and Sweet Treats by Eliza Leslie in 1828. There was a revision of the original recipe that evolved in 1871 where baking soda and cream of tartar were added to the list of ingredients. In 1919 Hostess launched a new snack cake that became known as the cupcake, this was the beginning of the true cupcake identity, they became somewhat their own definition, and not just a recipe that suggested baking the mix in small cups. The Hostess snack cake didn’t however, become the Hostess cupcake we know today until the 1950s, but it was definitely well on its way before this time. It was in the 1920s when cupcakes became hand-iced, traditionally with either chocolate or vanilla flavoured frosting; malted icing was readily available in the 1940s and the cupcake altered to suit. 1947 was the year when cupcakes were completely re-designed by D.R ‘Doc’ Rice, and branded in a way that we, today, have become familiar with. When the noughties arose from the sweet departure of the nineties, cupcakes rose, too. Sex and the City took over our screens and cupcake stores like Magnolia Bakery started to gain valued publicity. If these little crumb-ridden treats were good enough for Carrie Bradshaw, they were definitely good enough for the rest of the nation.
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From then on the cupcake has become a colossal pop culture trend, cupcakeries have been popping up all over the world with more than 400 cupcake outlets in the US alone. ‘The appeal of cupcakes is that they can be humbly versatile’ claims Mintel food and drink analyst Chris Brockman. ‘They can be upscale or mainstream, fancy cakes or everyday cakes as well’. Many of us associate cupcakes with our childhood memories, whether that is adults who reminisce over the popularity of home baking in the sixties, or younger people who see cupcakes as a reminder of the many fairy-tale birthdays they had while growing up. In Britain, we first knew the cupcake to be the ‘fairy cake’, something that was considered an appropriate size for diminutive fairies to share. Although fairy cakes would vary in size, they were traditionally smaller than American cupcakes and were rarely topped with elaborate frostings.
We’re baking them, eating them, reading about them, and on more than one occasion watching programs about them – we all know it is Cupcake Wars vs. The Great British Bake Off. In 2012 more than 110 million cupcakes were sold in the UK, not including the sweet treats made from the comfort of our home kitchens. Sales in specialist cake shops also soared, domestic retailer Lakeland sold 3,500,000 disposable piping bags and that was just in the first half of the year. Chief executive of Dunelm Mill, Nick Wharton concluded that ‘baking is becoming engraved in the British Psyche again’ it turns out we’re as much on the cupcake hype as Americans are and the hype is far from diminishing. The cliché of the cupcake is still more prominent in the US, with the UK trailing behind and lacking one thing: the cupcake ATM. If you are reading this article you’re predictably as much in love with cupcakes as I am, thus you are probably already well informed about this sugarysweet technological creation. Leading cupcake bakery, Sprinkles launched the first cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills in 2012. It is a pretty simple device. Instead of withdrawing money, you withdraw a delicious cupcake treat. Now doesn’t this fulfil your wildest dreams? The service is available 24 hours a day, so sugar junkies can endure a sugar rush at any given moment. As you approach the cupcake-giving genius it starts to sing to you, shrewdly informing you of your love for Sprinkles. It’s touch screen and you have over a dozen choices to pick from including: strawberry, classic red velvet, s’mores and cinnamon sugar. Personally, I’d go for the s’mores.
“You’re only human. You live once and life is wonderful so eat the damn red velvet cupcake”
The cupcake boom really took off in 2009 with a 50% rise in UK sales, and was underway to becoming gourmet and glamorous. In recent years, it has become very unusual for us, especially in Britain to be able to accept a cup of tea without a side order of cake. There are over one hundred funky* cupcake flavours to choose from which usually means standing in the bakery for over twenty minutes deciding on what you fancy. Cupcakes are now far from the easy-to-make treats given away at children’s parties, and ironically these little cupcakes have become rather a big deal. I think it’s incredibly rare, or hard to leave your favourite cupcake bakery with only one. You have the classic vanilla: the sugary white and yellow tinged sponge with a mountain of thick and creamy white icing, the chocolate mound of ultimate pleasure, the cheeky red velvet, or the sickly sweet peanut butter delight that, if you’re lucky, will be topped with a mouth-watering peanut butter cup. How to overcome the painstakingly difficult choice? How about harmonising your cupcake to your outfit and having a different one each day? Perhaps not the best idea if you’re watching the calories, but as Emma Stone once gracefully said: ‘you’re only human. You live once and life is wonderful so eat the damn red velvet cupcake’.
It’s not just cupcakes. It is now the wannabee cupcakes. So many things have been deemed the next sweet thing that’s going to knock your favourite confectionary of its pedestal. In 2009 Hummingbird Bakery was the first in the UK to sell the then ‘next new cupcake’: the whoopee pie. When they didn’t succumb to the hype, cake pops had their go at the take-over. The doughy round balls of icing and sponge were decorated fancifully on a stick, but still didn’t accomplish anything close to that of our cupcake friend. At present it’s the Macaroon, which is having its break through and its full moment to shine; however they appear to be more of a fashion item than a casual lunchtime snack. They have also started to become their own cliché, the French delicacy and buttercream filled meringue has been cropping up everywhere, and yes they photograph well, but forthrightly, we’re bored. So what’s next?
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cupcake facts Iced biscuits could possibly be next at taking a shot. Biscuit brand, Biscuiteers are in for a chance with their re-invention of the original tea-dunking delight. Did you know there was such a thing as a biscuit greetings card? Yes, there actually is such a thing. According to the Sunday Times Style, these little treats are ‘far too pretty for dunking, these glamorous handiced biscuits come in every imaginable design and gorgeously packaged too’. They even have Nigella on board, so that’s saying something. There is already one biscuit boutique open in London’s Notting Hill area, how long until someone else jumps on the biscuit bandwagon? Not a lot can surprise us anymore, which has inadvertently drawn the fun out of cupcakes and baking. The billion pound industry now lacks originality, every cupcake store has the same flavours, and the same techniques of piping, and recipes are no longer sacred. Cupcakes are cliché because everybody eats them, everybody bakes them, and now every type of social media is egging on the trend. They’ve become so revolutionary that people feel the need to photograph themselves, holding a cupcake, next to the shop door of their favourite bakery. Next there will be a book on how to survive the cupcake apocalypse. Well, would you be surprised? We all need to confess and be really honest with ourselves, and own up to the fact that when it comes down to it cupcakes rarely taste that great. They look endearing when they’re decorated and the pretty swirled frosting makes our eyes gaze, but they’re fast becoming materialistic goods that are frequently looking better than they taste – remarkably there are more things in life to enjoy, and they’re not even cheap. It’s also good to remember that after every sugar rush, there’s one hell of a crash and the question is, which cupcake will be your last?
One cupcake is consumed for every one person each day Cupcake eating record: 29 cupcakes in 30 seconds Smallest cupcake is 1.5cm tall and 3cm wide Cupcakes are banned in New York schools in hope of lowering obesity rates Most popular ‘cupcakery’ is Crumbs in NYC Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry remain the top flavours Winston Churchill was the first person to suggest a kind of sweet frosting on the top of a cake The worlds largest cupcake is 1224 pounds and a soul-shattering 2 million calories – made in August 2009 December 15 is National Cupcake Day
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icon
who should inspire a girl?
In the words of Diana Ross: What is an icon? Inspiration comes from many places and there is nearly always another person in this world that we aspire to be like.
A
spirations are a way of life; something to focus on and get us through the unforeseen challenges life throws at us. Inspiration is something that can be found in unlikely places, or within people we connect with, even if we don’t really know that person. Whether it is a style icon whose wardrobe we would secretly like to steal, someone’s image we would like to emulate, or someone’s beliefs that we also wish to follow. We are all different; we all find different things that inspire us, however there is a synonymous response when a girl is asked who their icon is, or who inspires them. You can understand why the most popular answer is Audrey Hepburn. She was one whom had a charming voice, wise words, a great sense of style and eyebrows that did nothing but enhance her phenomenal beauty. We know she was inspiring, and gosh, Tiffany’s will not ever get old, it’s classic. However, this zeitgeist* being every girl’s icon is becoming rather tiresome. Coco Chanel is another. There is only so many times one can hear Coco’s utmost cliché: ‘A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous’ and it’s about time we started considering icons who are people living in our time, not limited to generation, and stop getting wrapped up in people of the past. We are all original, so why not look for some originality in our inspirations?
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Meryl Streep. The first wonderfully inspirational thing about Meryl Streep, before stating the obvious that she is a chameleon on screen, is her grace and poise. At 63 the actress has the incredible ability to connect with pretty much everyone, despite their age. It’s an interesting fact that the vast amount of her fans are in their twenties. She’s arguably the greatest actress of our time, but what really defines her is her down-to-earth persona and the quality she holds as an individual. She’s humble, has her feet firmly on the ground and even with copious awards, hasn’t lost her way. Streep sees the best in everybody and doesn’t appear to have a pompous bone in her body. Who else could play Britain’s very own Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher with such heart and emotion? Her contributions to society are inspirational in their own right. She is a spokeswoman for America’s first National Women’s History Museum, and a vital part of her beliefs lie with the environment. As a green activist she works with environmental charities, and gives her two cents to making our world a better place. Streep also gave all her earnings from her Oscar winning performance in The Iron Lady to the Public Theatre in memory of founder, Joseph Papp and author and friend, Nora Ephron. Her laughter is infectious, her words inspire strength and courage, and she has a great deal of influence in helping people believe in themselves. Inspirational quote: ‘Integrate what you believe in every single area of your life. Take your heart to work and ask the most and best of everybody else, too.’
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Ellen Degeneres. First the comically brilliant stand up act, then actress, Dory in Finding Nemo, and now the greatest, as well as respected, television host we quite rightly can’t escape from. Ellen Degeneres is a woman who exudes courage and fights for the equality we all, in this world, deserve. Yes, she is known for making us laugh, sometimes uncontrollably, but she has a big heart, a heart that inspires the lives of many. She’s a supporter of rights. Human rights. Animal rights; and the right to peace. Not many people can come out on national television, opening up to be criticized. She didn’t let the malice consume her, she fought back, and this fight is the most influential thing. Degeneres has earned her thirteen Emmy awards, and her many awards for her charitable efforts. Without a doubt, she has saved many of those who have lost their way in the world, she has helped people realise that it’s ok to feel a certain way, or to believe in a certain thing. Most of all, she has helped people accept that they are the people they are for a reason. Inspirational quote: ‘Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come.’
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Beyoncé. Beyoncé is one mighty strong woman and is regarded to be super woman to many. With 75 million records sold worldwide she’s an important and compelling musician and arguably one of the best in the business, as well as the 21st century. She is a brand, a creative, a Mother, one who constantly pushes herself yet still remains humble, fun and truly in love. Beyoncé has had her fair share of tragedies, just like many other people in this world, but she still has faith in everyone in it, ultimately making it a better place. Beyoncé has previously joined forces with another inspirational woman, and first lady, Michelle Obama, and continues to help the causes she believes in, including President Obama’s campaigns. She continues to help young people get into music and has supported children getting fit in schools, Hope for Haiti and donates $100,000 annually to her own cosmetology centre, to name a few. Not to mention she inspires every girl physically, we all hope we will pull of a Cavalli dress like Beyoncé one day. Inspirational quote: “Your self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are”
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Caitlin Moran. She reinvented feminism in an amusing and fanciful way with her overnight best-selling novel, ‘How to be a woman’, continuously refrains from conforming to cliché beauty conventions, and best of all is a brilliant writer with one of the most read columns amongst the British press. Caitlin Moran is hysterical. Renowned for her overly backcombed barnet and Cruellaesque streaks, she is one who fails to live a dull moment. She is someone who contrives accessible and humorous feminist views, taking it out of the malaise of its previous misunderstandings and making the subject attractive again. The Mother of two young daughters, as well as wife to a rock critic, Moran has a collection of achievements, most notably her three British Press Awards, two book awards, and the ability to make women everywhere cry with laughter. She is definitely the one to have pathed the way for the next generation of feminists with her ‘it’s OK’ attitude, and has somewhat made originally dodgy eyeliner tolerable. She is a woman of many talents and should be an illustrious inspiration for the many steps forward in reclaiming feminism in all its glory. Inspirational quote: ‘A) do you have a vagina? and B) do you want to be in charge of it? If you said ‘yes’ to both, then congratulations! You’re a feminist.’
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Suzy Menkes. Anyone who wants to get their foot past the first door of their career in fashion should ultimately find themselves inspired by Suzy Menkes. Menkes is the one and only fashion writer and critic whom deserves the title of fashion’s biggest authoritive voice. Her fair and balanced writing, as well as her fearless approach to editorial constraints has warranted the greatest of respects. This is a woman who defines journalistic flair, thus leading her to obtaining the Légion d’honneur in France and a much earned British OBE for her contribution to journalism. Menkes has been a judge on hit fashion TV show Project Runway, and has gracefully appeared as herself on Absolutely Fabulous. As editor for the International Herald Tribune since the late eighties she has written an estimated 1.7 million words for the paper. Just think of all the people inspired by those words alone, not taking into consideration the total amount written in her lifetime. The fashion critic doesn’t except freebies, either, and if she does receive anything unwillingly, the items are donated to The American Hospital of Paris. She would also rather carry around a handbag with a silk print of her Granddaughter than blend in with the rest of the Gucci’s. Inspirational quote: ‘I was bought up to believe a girl should never accept anything but flowers and chocolates.’
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throw me
book of cliches
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet Absence makes the heart grow fonder All dressed up with nowhere to go All for one, and one for all All good things must come to an end All hell breaks loose All that glitters is not gold Always a bridesmaid, never the bride Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Bee in her bonnet Been there, done that Curiosity killed the cat Don’t get your knickers in a twist Everything happens for a reason Good things come to those who wait Haters are my motivators I love you more than life itself If you haven’t got anything nice to say, don’t saying anything at all It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all Karma’s a bitch Keep calm and carry on Light at the end of the tunnel Money doesn’t grow on trees Opposites attract The early bird catches the worm To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world Waste what want not When you have lemons, make lemonade
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t s i l y pla colate o h c – 5 7 19 ompelli p – e l l i bast se + i r o h – s ashe bat for l d – only love r ben howa help the people ople e p wn way – o y r d u o bir y – go hymns c a m m o o d r o d fleetwo e – be n i h c a m and the let go e c n – e r u e me o v o o fl r l f u u o o y r f n’t say o d e s a e n – pl i l it all p a n e e l e l s e i r – b a g jake bugg rtbeats a e h z zále jose gon – cloudbusting art kate bush ying with my he – pla e antic l e m g e o o r v w e e t n a k ling – r a m a ector l r l o c lau d r o rec at hill h lissie – t p u g runnin glass – f o o b t e c r a a l p s – he r e t s i s louds i c n i f p f p o u p g the bouncin – s o m tori a
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dictionary of clichés not to be used in conversations, writing or otherwise.
‘ECLECTIC’
An adjective used by artsy, liberal journalist types which has become an easy and non-original way of describing someone that is a little different. It often sugar coats something that is really just something of terrible taste.
‘FASHIONISTA’
One of the most overused words to describe someone deovted to fashion, however it also makes you sound rather stupid and more like a 90s Bratz doll.
‘FUNKY’
Should be used to describe something of foul odour and not a particular garment. It really needs eradicating from the dictionary in all its varieties.
‘INVESTMENT PIECE’
If you’re about to describe something in your wardrobe, or new statment accessory an investment piece, stop right there. It’s not an investment and it won’t bring you in the big bucks.
‘PASSION FOR FASHION’
This has got to be the biggest fashion cliché in the book, and a pretty lame one at that. You may be passionate towards the fashion industry but never ever say it. It could even lose you a job.
‘QUIRKY’
This is a bazarre word that girls try to encorporate into a sentence to show their so called ‘individualism’.
‘TAILORING WITH A TWIST’
Say this out loud and you will realise how utterly ridiculous it is. Major cringe.
‘THE NEW’
Everything is the new thing these days, this phrase takes away somethings originality. Nothing should be ‘the new’ because everything is different and its own thing in its own right, despite similarities.
‘TRENDY’
Adjective that describes something or someone that follows a trend, as well as the crowd. It’s a common word that best emphasises a mindless sheep.
‘TRESSES’
Girls’, it’s hair. Just hair and there is nothing posh about it so let’s not continue using this pretentious new term.
‘ZEITGEIST’
‘A spirit of the times’ and a word that is frequently said in attempt to sound smarter than you really are.
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o s stckist American Apparel www.americanapparel.net
Fair + True www.fairandtrue.com
PIP Studio www.amara.co.uk
Antipodium www.antipodium.com
French Connection www.frenchconnection.com
Rimmel www.boots.com
ASOS www.asos.com
Glamorous www.glamorous.com
River Island www.riverisland.com
Benefit www.benefitcosmetics.com
H&M www.hm.com
Topshop www.topshop.com
Bioderma www.escentual.com
Hell Bunny www.rockcollection.co.uk
Uniqlo www.uniqlo.com
Biscuiteers www.biscuiteers.com
Liz Earle www.uk.lizearle.com
Wonderland Wigs www.wonderlandwigs.com
ChloĂŠ www.chloe.com
Miss Selfridge www.missselfridge.com
Converse www.converse.com
Mod Cloth www.modcloth.com
Crazy Colour www.crazycolourhair.com
Monki www.monki.com
Crown and Glory www.crownandglory.bigcartel.com
Moroccan Oil www.feelunique.com
Dahlia www.dahlia.com
Native Union www.nativeunion.com
Estee Lauder www.esteelauder.co.uk
Nikki McWilliams www.nikkimcwilliams.bigcartel.com
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“she’s mad but she’s magic, there’s no lie in her fire.”
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