Dressed up to the Nines

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I. BLOODY. LOVE. DRESSES. Which is why, when awards season comes around each year, I get quite excited. As I've STILL NOT managed to accomplish my goal of being an actual Disney princess; wearing gowns, attending balls, befriending adorable talking animals and leaving shoes all over the bloody place, the closest I'm likely to ever get to those gorgeous princess dresses is by obsessively browsing through the red carpet images on IMDb and madly pawing at the screen crying "WHY CAN'T IT BE ME?!" Anyway, now that I've branded that disturbing image into your minds for the rest of the day, let's get on with it, shall we?

So it was the Golden Globes last week and aside from the fact that the dresses were excellent as usual, the celebrities have disappointed me. Not because of their lack of effort, oh no, if anything they've made too much effort. Because this year, practically everyone was wearing custom-made gowns! They're not satisfied with just picking a dress from a recent Couture collection, oh no, they've got to have them specially made for them. As if Vera Wang doesn't have enough to do.

"Why is this such a big deal, Franki?" you may ask.

Well my little daisies, I'll tell you. Every year, when awards season swings around, I sit in my pyjamas, go through all the red carpet photos, pick out my favourite dresses, find out who designed them and then track down a photo of the dresses when they were originally shown on the catwalks. It's just something I like doing, ok? I think it's interesting.

If a dress has been custom-made, however, I can't do this, because it was never shown on the catwalk. Some people are so selfish. Of my seven favourite dresses, only one was actually first shown on the catwalk. Not happy. If the celebs decide to pull the same crap at the Oscars, I'll be writing a very strongly-worded letter to the Academy...

Rooney Mara in Nina Ricci (Pre-Fall 2012). Still kind of channeling the stark palette of her Lisbeth Salander character, I love how this is both quite revealing but still understated. She's kept it edgy with very minimal hair and makeup and no jewels at all - this look is all about the dress. Glad she steered away from the elbow-length gloves as I think they look like overkill in the original photo.

Zooey Deschanel in custom-bloody-Prada. I think this is a very unusual choice for the red carpet and for Zooey herself, but she looks gorgeous nonetheless. It's miles away from her usual quirky-girl style, though she has kept her signature hairstyle the same. Love the unexpected pop of acid green (acid green on the red carpet - who'da thunk?) and the high neckline. Lovely lovely lovely.

Reese Witherspoon in Zac Posen. I can't help but love Reese; she always looks so cute and smiley. I've read some reviews slating this look, saying that it looks like she's not made much effort with her hair and the fit of the dress looks weird, but personally I like that she's kept her hair quite laid back and I think the shape of the dress is cool, although it does look like the fishtail could do with having a bit more structure to it... it's gone kind of floppy. Either way, she's gone for a kind of modern all-American girl/blonde bombshell type thing and I think it's fabulous.

Michelle Williams in Jason Wu. It's interesting that, having recently played the ultimate screen-siren, Marilyn Monroe, Michelle wasn't tempted to emulate her look on the red carpet. A lot of celebs go all in for that old-Hollywood glamour when it comes to awards season, but Michelle has jumped straight back into her signature style - pixie crop and unusual gown. While it would have been nice to see her really upping the glamour - we know she can pull it off as she looked stunning as Marilyn - I guess she's found a style that she likes and is sticking to it. I think this Jason Wu gown could look absolutely horrendous on the wrong person, but Michelle makes it look chic and elegant.

Heidi Klum in Calvin Klein. I'll be completely honest here, I'm going to take all the credit for this one. If you've red my previous red carpet posts, you'll know that for the past couple of years, I've been trying to show Heidi that her recent efforts have been way off. Obviously, she's been paying attention to my words of wisdom because she's really looking gorgeous here. Understated hair and makeup, simple but elegant dress and beautiful jewels. Well done, Heidi, well done.

Emma Stone in Lanvin. Some redheads don't like to wear certain colours for fear they'll clash with their hair, but Emma is clearly willing to take risks and they've really paid off here. This Grecian-style Lanvin number (with an EAGLE belt) is super sexy and fashion-forward. It's a very different look to the one she went for last year - she's really upped the sex appeal this time around - smouldering eyes, plunging neckline, thigh split - you go Glen Coco Emma!

Charlize Theron in Dior Couture. Oh beautiful, beautiful Charlize. You're just so... beautiful! Despite the fact that this has an uber-low neckline and massive thigh split, it's still feminine, pretty and elegant. I don't think you can ever go wrong with Dior; it's just the perfect red carpet label. Love the hair, love the rosey complexion, LOVE THIS!

So who do you think looked the best? And I have missed anyone out? Can't wait for the Oscars!

Violent Lips

Special thanks to my gorgeous friend Lydia for bringing the subject of this post to my attention!

I may have said this before, but one of the things I love most about the beauty industry is that there's always some amazing new product to get excited about. Whether it's the latest 'it' nail polish from Chanel are another fabulous MAC collection, there's always a buzz surrounding something. While it may not be good news for our bank accounts that Estee Lauder have brought out a new 'miracle' foundation or skincare product, it certainly is fun to lust after such things.

One of the things I've noticed though, in the past couple of years, is that these new products are becoming more and more "out there". I suppose this is down, in large part, to celebs such as Katy Perry, Beyonce and Lady Gaga, whose theatrical/quirky/fabulous approaches to fashion and beauty constantly challenge the 'norm', while inspiring their fans to embrace the fun side of hair and makeup. With the huge increase in popularity of nail art, multi-coloured hair dye and even temporary tattoos, it's clear that we're in the middle of a beauty revolution! For once, it's not just about lash lengthening and skin perfecting, it's about having fun, being different and getting creative!

Jessie J's spikey lips in the Do It Like A Dude video, Katy Perry sporting Russell Brand nails and multi-coloured hair streaks and Beyonce's leopard print eyes and nails in the Kitty Cat video

The latest in a long line of fun new beauty products is Violent Lips; temporary lip tattoos that are available in designs such as polka dot, leopard print and stripes...

Violent Lips, from what I can gather, are pretty much exactly the same as traditional transfers. Using guidelines on the back of the design, you have to cut the transfer so that it matches the shape of your mouth and then hold a damp cloth against it so that it adheres to your lips. Cool eh?

They come in packs of three and retail at $14.95 per pack, although there are some currently on sale on the Violent Lips site for $9.99. The company ships internationally and some of the designs are also available in the UK at Harvey Nicholls for £12. I've read some reviews online and the general consensus is that they're tricky to apply - it's difficult to get them to line up perfectly with the corners of your mouth and you have to make sure that your lips are stretched when you're applying the transfer, as otherwise it'll crease. They also flake a bit, I guess in the same way a normal temporary tattoo would after it's been on for a while. However, most reviewers have also said they love how the tattoos look as they're so different to any other lip products that are currently available. What I like about Violent Lips is that there is such a huge range of designs, so you can go as subtle or as whacky as you like. They're perfect for a night out or a party, though I'm not sure I'd want to wear them for longer than a few hours, as I'd imagine a temporary tattoo on your lips would be quite drying. That being said, I definitely want to give them a go! I've got my eye on "The Coral Cheetah" in particular...

Violent Lips in The Coral Cheetah, The Rainbow and The Black and White Stripes

So what do you think? Will you be trying them out? And what other crazy beauty products would you like to see next?

Dresses to kill

Jeepers creepers, where has the time gone? I can't believe it's been two weeks since I last blogged, this is massively unacceptable, sorry! Regular posting will commence from this point onwards, pinkie promise.

If you've not already bought yourself a copy of th April issue of Glamour, I suggest you get to it quickly, because not only can you get one of TEN awesome Clinique freebies (I've got two - the Dramatically Different Moisturiser and the 7 Day Scrub Cream - both of which are awesome), it's also their tenth anniversary edition so the magazine is packed full of competitions, offers and marvellous features galore.

One of my favourite features in the April issue is this shoot featuring Jameela Jamil (from T4) modelling a selection of dresses, which Glamour have helped to create as part of a collaboration with ten high street stores. Jameela looks beautiful as always (I WANT her hair) and I'm loving how each dress has been styled so differently. What's also cool is that each of the stores involved in the collaboration are offering special discounts and competitions for Glamour readers (see the magazine for full details). I've picked out a few of my favourite dresses below.

Lara Fit and Flare Dress £169, Reiss

Lace Prom Dress £59.99 (reduced to £44.99 online), New Look

Shelby's Summer Belted Dress, £125 French Connection

How gorgeous is this?! I particularly love how it's been styled too - they've taken such a simple, elegant dress and really toughened it up with the bowler hat and trainers. It's also available as a maxi dress, which is equally as pretty.

RSC Grace Dress, £49.90, Mango

Which is your favourite? And have you bought the new Glamour? What Clinique freebie did you get?!?!

You're so vain

Bleurgh, I'm still feeling ill and therefore very sorry for myself. My eyes are hurting! Why are my eyes hurting?! That can't be good, can it? Also, I've got glee rehearsal tonight and our monthly open mic on Saturday so I could really do with NOT being ill right now dammit!

Anyone got any quick-fix cold remedies? I've mainly been having lots of Lemsips (I actually really like the taste of them, is that weird?) and drinking lots of fluids etc, but seriously, if anyone's got any crazy concoctions that will cure me, please let me know. Ha, that's just reminded me, remember that episode of Keenan and Kel where they make a cold remedy that actually works but then they forget what they put in it so they can't make it again? Haha, I used to love that show...

Last week I realised that it was time for Vanity Fair's annual Hollywood Issue, which I love, because every year Annie Liebovitz shoots these incredible covers featuring some of the hottest and up-and-coming movie stars of the moment. I don't know why I find this so exciting; I'm not that bothered about "celebrities" overall, but I love films and there's something about getting all these hugely talented actors in a room together, dressing them in fabulous clothes and creating gorgeous images that I just think is really cool and exciting.

This year's cover wasn't shot by Liebovitz, but by Norman Jean Roy - not really sure why, but there you go. It features Anne Hathaway, Ryan Reynolds, James Franco and Jake Gyllenhaal on the main cover and then the inside panels (they always have a folded part with the rest of the photo) feature Mila Kunis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Garfield and lots of other shiny, beautiful types. The Hollywood Issue has been running since 1995 and it's really interesting looking back through them, as the general idea is that the photos feature actors who Vanity Fair have selected as the "next big thing". For the most part, they get it very, very right, but every now and then, you spot someone in a photo and think "who the HELL is that?!" I thought I'd select some of my favourite covers from the last fifteen years and share them with you;

2011 - from left to right - Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, James Franco, Jennifer Lawrence, Anthony Mackie, Olivia Wilde, Jesse Eisenberg, Mila Kunis, Robert DuVall (randomly), Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Garfield, Rashida Jones, Garrett Hedlund, Noomi Rapace

1995 - (how awesome is this?!) Jennifer Jason Leigh, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Patricia Arquette, Linda Fiorentino (WHO?!), Gwyneth Paltrow, SJP, Julianne Moore, Angela Bassett, Sandra Bullock

1996 - Tim Roth, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Benicio Del Torro, Michael Rapaport, Stephen Dorff, Johnathon Schaech, David Arquette, Will Smith, Skeet Ulrich

1997 - Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslett, Claire Danes, Renee Zellweger, Alison Elliott, Jada Pinkett, Minnie Driver, Jennifer Lopez, Charlize Theron, Fairuza Balk

1999 - (this is one of my faves - they're so 90s and angsty-looking!) Adrien Brody, Thandie Newton, Monica Potter, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Stiles, Leelee Sobieski, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Polley, Norman Reedus, Anna Friel, Omar Epps, Kate Hudson, Vinessa Shaw, Barry Pepper

2002 - Kirsten Dunst, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Connelly, Rachel Weisz, Brittany Murphy, Selma Blair, Rosario Dawson, Christina Applegate, Naomi Watts

2003 - (hardly 'up and coming' stars at that time, but still a very cool cover!) Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Samuel L Jackson, Don Cheadle, Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Ewan McGregor, Matt Damon

2008 - Emily Blunt, Amy Adams, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Alice Braga, Ellen Page, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Banks, Ginnifer Goodwin, America Ferrera

2010 - Abbie Cornish, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Hall, Mia Wasikowska, Emma Stone (SEE, red hair suits her so much better than blonde!), Evan Rachel Wood, Anna Kendrick

Which is your favourite? To see a slideshow of all the covers up to 2008 (2009 didn't do a Hollywood cover and 2010 and 2011 aren't in the slideshow), visit the Vanity Fair site.

All images from Vanity Fair.

Bit o' this, bit o' that...

There I was, all smug because everyone around me was getting ill, going on about how my daily Effervescent Vitamin C Tablets have made me completely invincible, when suddenly I started feeling a bit grotty...

I'm not even THAT ill; just a bit snuffly/sore throat-y but I HATE it. Whoever the sneezey bastard was who gave me this cold, know this, you're on my list you germ spreading little monster!

Anyway, that's enough of that. This is just a quick update really as I slipped off the radar last week. The mean reason behind that was this;

Remember how I said I'm in a glee club? Well the glee club is a part of What We Did Next; a Liverpool-based theatre company, and last week I was helping backstage during their production of Spring Awakening. What a fantastic show! It was so much fun to be doing something theatre-y again and to get to listen to lovely live musical theatre songs! If you've not heard of it, search for Spring Awakening on youtube, it's amazing. Lea Michele starred in it on Broadway!

In other news, Operation Foundation-Free February is going ok-ish. I'm not finding it quite as difficult as I expected to, although I am spending a lot more time on my concealer than I usually do. I did kind of cheat on Saturday night as I went out to celebrate the last night of SA and decided to put fake tan on my face. Does that make me a cheat? It was only a bit... mixed with moisturiser... I won't do it again... probably... :P

Two weeks ago I bought series 3 of The Mighty Boosh on DVD and I've been watching it a little bit obsessively ever since because it's mad and brilliant. I've watched all the episodes (there's only six in the series) plus all the special features and possibly one of my favourite things on the DVD is this music video for the Blue Song by Mint Royale;

Oh Noel, how I love thee, you are so attractive in an odd way. I was talking to my friend about people we fancy and by the end of the conversation, her general opinion of me was that I have seriously STRANGE taste in guys. I'd agree with this to an extent; I have been guilty of some weird crushes in the past, but come on, I'm not the only one out there who fancies Noel Fielding am I? AM I?!

Gowning around

Now, as we've already established, many times on this blog, I'm a sucker for a pretty dress. My inner princess is literally screaming to get out, swathe herself in layers of tulle and silk and dance about singing "someday my prince will come". Sadly, when you live in merry old Liverpool, there's not a lot of opportunity for that kind of madness (at least not that I know of...). So I tend to spend my days, living vicariously through the people who do get to dress up all fancy-like on multiple occasions; celebrities. Which is why, when awards season comes around, I start getting a bit bloody excited. Couture gowns, sparkly, sparkly diamonds and plenty of preening and posing? This is my heaven.

You may remember that last year, I did a post about my favourite picks from the Oscars and, where I could, I tracked down the original catwalk versions of the dresses that the various stars wore. Well, I've decided to do this again, because I think it's really interesting to see how things are styled differently, and also, it makes me feel like a special fashion detective, trawling through images of dresses on style.com until I find the correct one. I wish I was a real detective...

First up we've got the Queen B herself, Leighton Meester in a Burberry Prorsum dress from the 2011 pre-Fall collection. It took me a while to work out whether this was the same one as the dress on the right, but it definitely is, they've just pushed the sleeves up and teamed it with a thick black belt. I prefer the way Leighton's wearing it though; the long sleeves and high neckline make her look positively demure, while the sheer fabric and thigh-high split keep it youthful and the right side of sexy. Very pretty.

Lea Michele has fast become one of my favourites on the red carpet, but I'm assuming she's got a seriously good styling team behind her as she ALWAYS looks perfect. Seriously, go to her IMDb page and look at the photos of her from different red carpet events, the girl has never once hit a bum note. (pun intended!) This pink Oscar de la Renta gown from the Spring 2011 show is super girly and by teaming it with gently tousled curls and soft, feminine makeup Lea is definitely channelling her inner princess. It may not be the 'edgiest' gown on the red carpet, but she looks beautiful and, honestly, what girl WOULDN'T want to dress like this for a day?

Lea's co-star, Dianna Agron, is another lady who always gets it right on the red carpet. This Grecian-style J Mendel dress from the 2011 pre-Fall collection is a subtle but glamourous choice, and I love how she's glammed it all up with a vintage-inspired hairdo and lots of diamonds. Is it just me, or is the model in the second photo actually quite terrifying? Smile!

Pink and champagne seemed to be the hottest colours on the night; aside from those I've already mentioned, we also saw Megan Fox, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Clare Danes and a whole load more sporting pale, feminine shades. The stupidly beautiful Mila Kunis, however, went for a vivid jewel green Vera Wang gown. I searched for a while to find the original version and I'm guessing that it's this one from the Fall 2011 Bridal collection; the bodice and shoulder detaling are the same, but it's been made in a different fabric, so the draping is a lot looser. I don't really know how it works when a celeb wears a "custom" gown; did Vera just offer to make it? Or did Mila give her a call and go "hi Vera, listen, this dress, I mean, it's great and everything, but I was thinking, could you do one in green? Yeah, thanks!" Either way, the green is a perfect choice against Mila's skin and dark hair and provided some much needed relief from the sea of pink/champagne. (oooh! A sea of pink champagne! Yum!)

Looking a lot less frilly and flouncy but still bloody gorgeous, was Easy A star Emma Stone in a very simple peach Calvin Klein dress. This is another dress that I simply could not find in the Calvin Klein archives, so I'm guessing it's also custom or a secret dress that nobody knows about. Emma's become famous for being this cool, indie chick, so I think it's quite fitting that she wore something a lot more modern and edgy. It's ultimately a very long t-shirt, but I think it works! Though I do prefer her as a redhead.

I know we shouldn't poke fun at other people's fashion choices, but I feel that I had to show this because it serves as further evidence that Heidi Klum is completely and utterly mental. Heidi, listen up, ok? Last year, we thought "oh Heidi, so what if she's dressed as a mermaid? It's ok, she's still beautiful. Maybe she's gone for a whole underwater motif, because her husband's name is Seal." But now, Heidi, we're all really starting to worry. You can't just drape yourself in some old curtains, tie a sash around your waist and call it a dress. That's not how it works, not at the Globes. And asking your kids to do your makeup was silly, wasn't it? You know better than this, Heidi. YOU'RE better than this. There, I've said what I needed to say, now let's move on...

There's only one way to end a post like this and that's with a photo of a man in a suit. I was torn between who to pick but ultimately settled on Joseph Gordon Levitt because he's adorable. I don't care what designer he's wearing, you don't care what designer he's wearing, let's all just have a good, long stare...

Who do you think was the best dressed? Even better, who do you think was the worst dressed??? Is anyone else REALLY excited for the Oscars now?!

Red carpet images from IMDb, catwalk images from Style.com, Vera Wang image from the official Vera Wang Facebook page.

Weird and wonderful

I'm loving these images of Helena Bonham Carter from last week's issue of The Times Magazine, I think she's absolutely beautiful. I know HBC is one of those people who always appears on 'worst dressed' lists, but I get the impression that she really doesn't give a monkey's (hahaha 'monkeys' - coz she was in Planet of the Apes!. Get it? Hahahaha!) about that sort of thing; she marches to the beat of her own drum and that makes her very cool in my book.

What a fittie

Speaking of Helena, I finally went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last weekend. I can't believe it's taken me so long to go, as I'm a MA-HOO-SIVE HP geek fan, but it was just one of those things I didn't get around to doing. I really enjoyed it; out of all the films I'd say it's probably the one that stays most faithful to the book, although, that's to be expected really as they've done it in two parts which means they couldn't really get away with missing stuff out. Obviously there's a few bits that are changed (I HATE how Bill Weasley isn't introduced until the seventh film. Ridiculous), but they do manage to keep in most of the really important stuff.

HBC is back to her usual psychotic self as Bellatrix LeStrange. She really was just the perfect choice to play that character; she's exactly how I'd imagine her to look, plus she's got the whole evil and unhinged thing down to a T.

Yes, ok, she's a psycho. But look at her hair! She's a curly girl after my own heart!

I decided to re-read the final two books before I saw the film and they've completely re-awakened my love for the whole series. They're just so brilliant. Anyone who's only seen the films but not read the books, please, I urge you, just bloody well sit down and read them. The films are good, but they miss out so much vital information (and also add some really random stuff). The books are amazing and JK Rowling's brain is just magical. Seriously, just read them. Please? PLEASE! Once you've read them, you will thank me, I promise ;)

Another Helena film that's out at the moment is The King's Speech, which also stars Colin Firth. If you've not heard about it, it's about George VI, who suddenly became King after his brother abdicated the throne. He had serious difficulties with public speaking as he suffered from a stammer - kind of problematic when you're the King and are expected to be all speechy - so he hired a speech therapist to help him out. Had I not known anything about this film and just read the description, I probably wouldn't be that fussed about seeing it, however, I've already seen so many good reviews of it and there's been so much hype about Oscar nominations etc that I'm dying to see it.

What do you reckon? Does it sound like your cup of tea? And what do you think of Helena? And Harry Potter? Tell me things! Go!

[first three images scanned from The Times Magazine, Harry Potter image from IMDb]

The Uggly Truth

If you're from the UK, then no doubt you've been having to deal with snow recently (even if you're not from the UK you've probably had to deal with snow recently - it's everywhere!). Fortunately, Liverpool didn't have quite as much as some other parts of the country, but there was still enough of it to make life that bit more difficult. Now, there's something you should know about me before I go any further; I'm not a fan of snow. Actually, that's not true, I went to Lapland once and had a lovely time leaping about in the snow, but I was wearing the appropriate snow-gear; a massive snow suit, big heavy boots and these cool penguin mitten things (I looked AWESOME). But, here, in the UK, where I don't own snow clothes, then yes, I hate snow. When it's snowy/icy I spend all my time worrying about falling over (when I worked in Scotland last year, the snow was insane and I fell over four times. FOUR TIMES. It stops being funny, believe me). And being cold. Being cold makes me want to cry. Seriously, cry. If I had a choice, I'd just stay inside the whole time and wait for the snow to melt, but as I have one of those annoying things called a "job", that isn't really an option.

I'm sure it's been the same for a lot of you; the combination of slippy ice and bitterly cold weather has had quite a big effect on what I've been wearing. Mainly my approach is; wear any outfit I'd usually wear, but then pile a whole load of knitwear/coats/shawls/hats etc on top of it. Despite my addition of six thousand extra layers, I think I still look ok ("snuggly chic" I like to call it), but even if I didn't, I wouldn't really care, because my main concern is getting to work without dying of hypothermia (which is clearly a possibility). However, there may have been one part of my outfit that a lot of you would have been, quite frankly, disgusted by...

Oh God, I'm scared to say this.

All week long, I've been wearing...

Ugg boots

Argh! I feel like I've just confessed to some kind of dark, seedy fetish...

Ok, ok, I know, you're horrified and appalled (don't look at me! I'm too ashamed!). The thing is though, maybe I'm becoming an old woman, but (shock horror!) there are times when looking good isn't actually my main priority when I get dressed. This past week was one of those times; I still factored style somewhere into the equation, but keeping warm and not falling over were far more important to me.

You also have to understand, if you've never worn a pair of Uggs, that they are SO comfortable and SO warm. I know there are other options out there for warm winter shoes, hell I even did a whole post on shearling boots, but as I'm still waiting to get some of those for Christmas, Uggs are currently the only thing I own that are suitable for this kind of weather.

I understand that a lot of people hate them for a multitude of reasons; the uglyness of them, the fact that they're the footwear of choice for so many irritating people (WAGs, chavs, Katie Price) and also that they just won't seem to go away (overkill isn't the word). But I want to make it clear; I've never seen my Uggs as a fashion thing, they're simply a practical thing. I don't wear them all year round, in fact they've been in my cupboard probably since January, and I don't own hundreds of pairs of them in different styles/colours, I've just got the one pair.

Katie, Colleen and Kerry - does this mean I'm guilty by association???

Maybe it's because I'm not a big shoe person. Dresses, coats, jewellery makeup, yes please, but shoes just aren't high on my agenda. So wearing a pair of Uggs doesn't feel like that big of a fashion crime to me. Also, I genuinely don't think they look THAT horrible (I've got the short, grey ones like in the first picture); whenever I'm wearing them, they always remind me of a teddy bear's feet, and really, what could be bad about that? There are other versions of Uggs that I truly think are grotesque (have you ever seen the metallic ones? WTF?!) but I think mine are pretty minimal in the ugly stakes. This could be to do with the fact I'm from Liverpool, where seemingly every single person with feet owns at least one pair of Uggs - maybe I've just been conditioned into accepting them...?

I'm well aware that, once you start to sacrifice style for comfort when it comes to shoes, you're just a few steps away from throwing any sense of fashion out of the window and wearing those 'sensible' velcro sandal things you always see old people wearing on walking holidays. I'll make you a promise right here, right now; this Ugg situation is a one-off thing - I will NEVER wear velcro sandals for as long as I live.

Thoughts please, people - where do you stand when it comes to Uggs? What have you been wearing in the snowy weather? And are there ever occasions when you're happy to sacrifice your style for comfort? I need to know the answers!

[NB. This post has absolutely nothing to do with the comments Lily recently made on Twitter - I've been planning to talk about Uggs for a while now. And for the record, I think Lily is awesome.]

To me you are the teacher from Charlie Brown

Another sneaky at-work blog post.

Following on from last week's "Edward Cullen is actually Wendell from The Simpsons" revelation, I thought maybe this look-a-likes thing could become a regular feature. So, as long as there is a constant supply of people with ridiculous faces for me to mock, I promise you, dear readers, that I will mock them with all my heart and soul.

This one's scarily uncanny. In fact, it's just scary.

Tiffany, the Bride of Chucky and Rachel Zoe. Truly terrifying. I'm not sure which one frightens me more - the hooker-makeup-wearing midget with eyes of death or the doll.

I'm off to see SATC 2 tonight, you know Orange Wednesdays and all that. Apparently it's a bit crap. I can't wait.

The Wild One

I was reading an old issue of the Times Magazine earlier (we tend to accumulate a pile of them in the kitchen and I'll just rifle through them at random) and I suddenly thought;

how SEXY was Marlon Brando?!

I've suddenly got an urge to watch A Streetcar Named Desire - "STELLAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Scans from The Times Magazine (3/4/10) - I'm a bit scan-happy at the moment, I think it's because the scanner is one of the few computer-y things I can actually work.

Diamond girl who could talk for hours

On Friday, I headed into town just to buy a couple of things that I actually needed, but then did my usual trick of suddenly remembering that I have money again and spent a whole lot more of it than I should have done. I think I've mentioned it before, but one of the shops I should never be allowed into EVER is HMV. There is always some kind of sale or offer on and, because I'm obsessed with buying DVDs, I quite often end up standing in there for an hour, pondering over which 4 DVDs to get for £20. I went in to buy the Paloma Faith album, which I've been meaning to buy for a while, but somehow managed to leave with both the album and this;

To be fair, because of all the saleness, both the album and boxset only came to £22, which is pretty good when you consider the boxset contains 7 DVDs. However, at this point I had already spent a good deal of money in Boots, bought two pairs of shoes in Primark AND owed Liv money for the Particuliere, so I probably could have done without the trip to HMV. But let's not worry too much about my scary spending habits and instead focus on lovely, lovely Marilyn. I briefly mentioned my love for Marilyn here; she is definitely my favourite Hollywood icon. My sister and I had an argument about her the other day as Liv favours Audrey Hepburn and thinks that watching any Marilyn film is painful because she was such a bad actress. I, of course disagree in a big way; I honestly think she had the most amazing screen presence and a brilliant sense of humour. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Some Like It Hot are two of my absolute favourite films, I just find myself smiling all the way through them. The boxset I bought is actually Volume Two of "The Collection", they didn't have Volume One, but I'll no doubt buy it at some point. As I said, it contains 7 DVDs, most of which are Marilyn films I've not seen before, so I plan to work my way through them over the next few weeks and enjoy a bit of old Hollywood glamour and sexist stereotyping. Lovely.

Yesterday, I watched How To Marry A Millionaire, the title says it all; it's about three models who are on a mission to find rich husbands. (ever noticed how many Marilyn films involve her trying to find a rich husband?! She's certainly not the best example of a strong, independant woman, but I guess that's old-Hollywood for you...) Marilyn, playing Pola Debevoise, probably has the smallest part of the three leads; (the others are Lauren Bacall and Betty Grable) the main angle of her storyline is that she needs to wear glasses because her eyesight is so poor, but refuses to let men see her wearing them, (because "men aren't attentive to girls who wear glasses" apparently) so spends a large part of the movie bumping into things. Fortunately, love conquers all and she meets a man who finds her more attractive with her glasses on and they get married. And he doesn't even have any money. Well done Pola, well done.

As with all of these old movies, the fashion is fabulous and Marilyn looks stunning throughout;

Marilyn as Pola, Lauren as Schatze and Betty as Loco. For some reason they all have really weird names...

They both wear glasses! It's a match made in Heaven!

I think these specs are adorable, I'm very tempted to get some myself.

As well as all the incredible clothes, I always find myself distracted by the hair and makeup in old movies. It was always so sophisticated; hair was coiffed and curled to perfection and the makeup was simple but sexy, with fluttery lashes and bold red lips. I love how this trend for 40s and 50s styling is making a comeback today, with a lot of stars choosing to go for old-Hollywood glamour when on the red carpet at various events (think Christina Hendricks at the Golden Globes and Cameron Diaz at the Oscars). This look has also become really popular with the rise of Burlesque, with people like Dita Von Teese championing the classic glamour of the 40s; porcelain skin, strong, sculpted brows and flawless hair.

Even though, at first glance, this look appears to be quite minimal and simplistic, I'd imagine there's actually a lot of work involved, especially with the hair. Dita is never seen looking anything other than immaculate, so imagine how long it must take her to get ready in the morning!

Someone else who embraces the whole burlesque/old-school glamour look, though she brings a distinctly modern twist to it, is Paloma Faith. As I said, I've just bought her new album and I thought I'd share the photos from it because I think the styling is just beautiful.

The album cover is probably my least favourite of all the images but those tattoos are very Chanel. In fact, her album was released before the Chanel show took place so you could say that she's the one who set the trend...

Excellent eyebrows, Paloma, truly excellent.

Just hanging about in the grass with her accordion, you know how it is.

These are my two favourites I think. The hair is gorgeous - I find it so difficult to create loose waves like that. Any tips?

Wow, I didn't intend for this post to be so long, it was originally going to just be about Paloma (isn't that a nice name by the way? I may call my first child Paloma, regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl...) with just a brief mention of Marilyn, but ah well, this is what happens when it's a Sunday morning and there are so many pretty pictures out there!

All Paloma images are scans from the album "Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful?" which I thoroughly recommend! The Marilyn and Dita images were all found on Google.