Lets present English Rose! Quite the fashionable french-speaking stylista I must say, that has a talent for literature and entertaining her readers. Out of all the blogs I have produced, I have know English for the longest. Initially asking her if we could be blog buddies, because I was a blogging loner! But anyhow, I have probably enjoyed every single post English Rose has made, with a fair share of chattiness and exciting photos. I am ever so happy to get the chance to exclusively ask her my 21 Questions, because I do believe - like in her answers - that one day, preferably soon, she will dominate the world with her words!
First things first: As a child what did you enjoy? Movies, toys, games, what were your favourites? Do you feel that these particular things made you what you are now?
All that I am and everything I know I learned from Disney.
Is there anything that you remembered from childhood, which was maybe your first flash of fashion?
I can remember clearly the first time I saw Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s in that dress. The opening scene with the jewels and the croissant and thinking to myself that she was beauty and glamour personified. Apart from that, I remember raiding my dressing up box and my mum’s closet as a kid with my cousin and putting on heels and doing each other’s make up thinking we were all grown up. We were about 6. Bless.
Is there anyone you look up to as a style icon?
Far too many for words. Some fictional, some real and each with completely different styles to each other and often to my own. I admire anyone who stays true to themselves, is not afraid to take the odd risk and doesn’t care what anyone thinks about them – famous or otherwise. The girl in bright colours walking down the street is just as much, if not more so, of an inspiration as a movie star who has a team of stylists. Some of my icons include Audrey Hepburn for her simplicity and effortless, timeless chic; Blair Waldorf for managing to be both risky and safely stylish at the same time and Coco Chanel for defying convention and the rules of society and dancing to the beat of her own drum. I believe in compliments; even if their style doesn’t match mine or I would never wear what they do, I still admire their confidence and still think they look good.
Is there anything that you truly hated as children but adore now? (style/fashion wise)
Not that I can think of, I’ve always loved and appreciated fashion but I think I was a lot more close minded as a very small child; if I wouldn’t personally wear something then I probably wouldn’t like it. I couldn’t appreciate the role of individuality and different influences on style as much as I do now.
What first inspired you to blog? Did you think and organise what your were going to put or did you just DIG IN? (If you did organise, what research did you do?)
I remember reading an article about the rise of fashion bloggers and checked out a few really famous ones such as Style Rookie and Sea of Shoes and thought ‘I could so do this’ – I love fashion, I love to write, I love to meet new people, I love the internet and I’m looking for a new hobby. Sounds perfect. I had no idea what direction the blog was going to go in (I’m not sure I still do – some days it’s my own style, some days its inspiration, other days it’s a diary, some days it’s purely about living in London and sometimes it’s more articles about fashion) I just knew it was something I really wanted to do and just took a leap of faith and let the rest take care of itself. The best things in life are spontaneous and unplanned. I had no idea whether anyone would ever read it and still have to pinch myself that lots of people have and better still that they like it!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does fashion mean to you?
Definitely a 10 – I think about it far too much – when I’m in a lesson, at the bus stop, watching television. I never thought of myself as a ‘creative’ person in the typical sense of the word because I’m not into traditional ‘art’ like paintings and sculptures until I had a bit of a ‘light bulb moment’ and realised that fashion, at least to me, is art. It’s therapeutic, it’s all about interpretation, drawing out your
own, intensely personal meaning in something that could be completely different to what the creator intended. One dress can literally make you gasp for breath or move you to tears. Fashion is my creative outlet; a way of expressing myself, creating a visual interpretation for what I feel or what simply can’t be expressed through words.
Do you take yourself as a follower of trends, or more of an atheist to the fashion religion?
I think trends should serve the purpose of inspiring you and nothing more; they should never ever ever become your life. I strongly believe that you should only wear what suits you, what you feel comfortable and fantastic in and if it happens to be ‘in style’ at the moment then fantastic and if not then even better, follow your heart, play by your own rules and create a new trend in the process. Don’t be a sheep and leave it to someone else to dictate what you can and can’t do. Not every trend is for everyone – leather leggings, for example, don’t suit every shape, some trends are too masculine or feminine for your personality or style and trends often highlight your worst flaws. If you follow trends religiously not only do you end up literally throwing away money as trends rarely last more than two seasons but instead of trendy and confident, you look uncomfortable, ridiculous and become a fashion joke instead of a fashion icon. Personally, I like to be a bit original and unique and so unintentionally find myself creating trends. However once everyone starts copying me, my individuality gets threatened and I become what I fear most - ‘part of the crowd’ – that’s when I know it’s time for me to move on and wear something else. After all, in the words of that guru Paris Hilton - life’s too short to blend in.
What would you say was your signature piece? What do you wear practically all the time?
I go through phases and it depends what mood I’m in – two years ago I had Converses in every colour of the rainbow, last year my outfit simply wasn’t complete without a pair of coloured tights and a big bow hairband a la Blair Waldorf. This year I’ve gone through another style transition and I’m experimenting a lot more with lots of different looks – I guess I’m quite big on accessories at the moment – big rings, statement necklaces etc. It will probably change again in a month...
If you won 5,000 $/£/EuroWhat particular pieces would you spend it on?
Can I add another zero to this? I need far too much, a pair of Christian Louboutin glittery brougues, a tiffany's key necklace, a Chanel bicycle, monogrammed Louis Vuitton bag luggage, anything and everything from Marc Jacobs...
If you could put yourself in any fashion category, what would you be? ( You can make one up)
Unclassifiable a.ka “We-simply-do-not-have-a-category-in-exsistence-that-sums-up-or-incorporates-every-single-aspect-and-layer-of-this-girl’s-style-or-personality-damn-this-has-never-happened-before-what-shall-we-do-?”-“lets-create-a-whole-new-category”-“that’s-a-great-idea-Bob”
Don’t ask me why I chose Bob. It’s such a funny name.Bob.Bob.Bobittybob.
What are your ambitions? Are you taking the path of fashion, or another but still staying stylish?
At the moment I tell everyone I want to be a lawyer because I truly did once but my heart’s not in it anymore and my true vocation is to work in fashion. I knew I loved it but now I realise it’s more than love, I can’t give it up and just have it as a hobby. However I’m not quite sure what aspect I want to do yet because there are so many paths to take in the industry. I’m going to university to do a ‘serious’ degree, whilst I work it all out and to have a sensible back-up in case it doesn’t happen. Currently I’m deciding between a career in Fashion Journalism with the ultimate goal of becoming an editor for a publication such as Vogue or as an entrepreneur and have my own fashion empire. Either way world domination, one pair of stilettos at a time is on the cards...
If you could move to a fashion capital, which one would it be?
Well I live in London and it doesn’t get more fashionably inspiring than that but I definitely plan to live in both Paris and New York at some point down the line because they are equally as chic, fabulous and oh-so-inspirational.
What is your best investment?
I have so many. I have quite a collection of timelessly chic dresses that can be dressed up or down, will never go out of style and which I hope to have forever and pass down to my daughter someday. Now I just need fabulous events to wear them to. The reality of my life does not match up to my wardrobe.
Where do you see yourself in 10/15 years?
This is a dangerous question to ask to someone who is a big of a dreamer as myself. Ideally I will have a fashion empire or be super successful in my job, be on my way to being cemented as a style icon, married to a kind, romantic, and super stylish man, a couple of kids (not too soon, I want to take over the world first), living in a fabulous house with an insane collection of shoes, real estate and cars but most importantly I hope I am happy and healthy. If I’m the last two, I’ll be doing just fine.
If you could ask a popular designer 1 question, who would it be, and what would it be?
Marc (Jacobs) darling, I know you are gay, but will you marry me?
What music do you listen to? Favourite song/singer at the moment?
Music is such a huge part of me. I love a range of genres from a range of different time periods. I love finding new bands or artists that no one has ever heard of and I’m drawn to artists or song titles with unusual and fantastic names. And I love my musical theatre – I’m a show tunes geek. Some of the artists on my ‘most played’ playlist on itunes are Bob Dylan, Jack’s Mannequin, Belle &
Sebastian, Regina Spektor, Paramore, Michael Buble, Imogen Heap, Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Songs from Wicked and Hairspray and The Killers. I have Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ in my head at the moment. It won’t get out.
If you could have another hairstyle, what would you pick? Maybe one that you like, but doesn’t suit you.
I would love to be able to play a bit more with colour but because I have raven black hair and cinnamon coloured skin it makes it a bit hard. I’d love to be a bit chameleon like and try blond or brunette or something crazy like pink but it would so not be a good look!
High street, designer or both?
Well at the moment I only wear high street (like I have a choice) but only dream in designer. Seriously though, even if I did have a designer budget, I would still never completely turn my back on the High Street. You can get stunning looks, timelessly chic and super expensive looking pieces for 1/20 of the price. Shunning the High Street just because of the price doesn’t make you cool or stylishly superior it just makes you snobbish and stupid and careless with your money. That’s not to say I don’t love Chanel...
Minimalist or outrageous?
Both take extreme confidence – to be minimalistic means you let yourself rather than the outfit do the talking and expressing and to be outrageous means you have to be comfortable enough in your own skin not to care what anyone else thinks. I tend to gravitate somewhere in the middle – some days I like to go simple and safe other days I have an obsession with standing out – even then I’m not as adventurous as I would love to be – I still colour within the style lines – just with the super colourful or patterned crayons...
For an outing, how do you organise what to wear?
I have to plan long in advance otherwise I have a breakdown half an hour before and end up being late. I’m lucky that usually it’s a case of having too much that I could wear rather than not enough so I pull a few possible looks and get my mum to help me decide. I also weigh up style versus practicality (e.g. how warm it is and how high the heels are). Style always, always wins.
And for your readers, what is your best fashion tip?
Don’t be afraid to take risks and stand out from the crowd. Always follow your heart. Don’t let anyone tell what you can or can’t do and who you should or shouldn’t be. Wear what you want, how you want to. Confidence is 99.9% of style – if you are comfortable and look like you don’t care what anyone else thinks you’d be surprised how chic you appear to the world. Even if you don’t feel confident – fake it ‘til you make it. Mostly importantly dress for yourself – not for your parents or your friends or your boyfriend and especially not for strangers who you will never see again. Only you can make yourself feel unfabulous – no one else has either the right or the ability to. Oh, and stay safe and chic =P
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[Hello there bloggers, I definitely hope you've enjoyed the answers and the questions directed to English Rose. May I just note, that the people asked the questions are not me, on my last post you were praising me! Unfortunatley they are not me, but I still thankyou for all your comments. :)]
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