I think it's fair to say that summer is officially on the way out, which is a shame as it always seems to be when I'm happiest and I feel like I've spent most of it doing work for my MA. However, I have also done other things...I've been to Portugal, I've been to Wales where the boy tour me on a tour of many many castles (my favourite was Pehrhyn), I've baked A LOT, drank copious amounts of red wine, I've done some writing for Fused, prepared their AW Fashion Guide, wrote a short story for Cellardoor's wonderful End of Summer Issue (p84), got my little sister prepared for high school and waved the boy off to live bloody miles away. Oh and I've more or less finished my MA. It's been a busy one.
Barmouth Beach
View from the Caravan
We may complain about British summers but even when it's pouring it down a 99 from the ice-cream man and chips on the beach front make me reminiscent of summers when I was younger. As a young girl I spent many summers in a caravan/apartment/posh hotel depending on our finances at the time but to me it didn't matter where we were. I once adopted a seagull who I called Sammy, I fed him every day whilst we were away with my aunties and cousins and every one. I only realised this year whilst telling the boy that story that Sammy was probably multiple seagulls. Naive I know, but it shows how much I believed in the magic of summer - as a tiny girl I had a pet seagull. So don't give up on British summers - they may be shorter, come at strange times of the year and be largely interspersed by rain but they're our summers. Make sure you make the most of them.
Radio one attempted yesterday to explain this scene...
..."theres a union jack to emphasise the Britishness of the Brits, and two skeletons. Apparently they might emphasise the Brits' very first hosts." This seemed odd to me....this emphasising the fact the Brit Awards are British. Surely that's obviously. Needless to say I hoped that it would be us Brit's that held the limelight. It wasn't particularly.
Florence Welch looked amazing in this embellished mini dress and then nabbed Best Album (wonderful!) but I was less than impressed that Lily Allen took Best Female. I'm sorry...she's just not that good. This gothic Chanel number though has got to be one of the most memorable outfits of the night, though not for all the right reasons. Not the normal chic Chanel the public are used to this vampiric look is just a bit much for Lily Allen. I'd like to see it on someone waifish, pale with blonde blonde hair...playing the part rather than allowing the dress to wear them. Sorry Lily.
In typical Brit fashion the Union Jacks were definitely out, with Geri Halliwell toning it down this year (and looking pretty good) and Katherine Jenkins paying homage to Alexander McQueen in one of his statement dresses. The tulip skirt just doesn't do her figure justice in my opinion...
None of this really matters though because with Cheryl Cole's terrible miming and a lack of the usual Brit Award outfit spledour Lady Gaga stole the show...again. Dressed in her tiered white number, stripping off for her performance into a much more revealing power net and lace look, she looked like a piece of bone china. Winning every international award available to her Gaga dedicated her performance to Alexander McQueen and had just about everyone talking. Including me it seems.
Very Marie Antoinette, very white and ghostly...slightly morbid tribute maybe? Who cares! Whatever anyone says it's nice to see someone playing with fashion now and again.
