Too good at goodbye

University is probably the biggest learning journey you will ever go on in your life. 
What I didn't expect uni to teach me is about fake friends....

Going through school I would say I always had a good group of friends, fair enough it wasn't a huge group but I do believe it's better to have a small group of close friends over a large group of friends you're not that close to. Especially sixth form for me was that time when I found the friends I really thought I'd remain friends with for life- or so I thought anyway.

I know I stay this all the time but university has changed me, I'd say it changes everyone. Out of my group of friends 3 went to uni out of 5, the other 2 went into full time work which was something they always wanted to do. And fair enough for a short period of time we all stayed friends, made the effort to meet up & talked on our group chat.

I would say we probably kept that up until this summer. If I'm honest I kinda knew it was coming... we had been drifting apart for a while and even when we did manage to find a time when we were all free, conversation wasn't the same, we were all at different stages of our lives- one of my friends has even recently got engaged! Obviously I'm over the moon with happiness for her but that just shows how much we've become different people. lol I still drink juice out of cartoons in the morning that just goes to show how immature I am.

Even though I knew it was coming it still makes me sad. It's weird to think 2 years ago I thought these were the people who were gonna stay in my life for several years yet here I am 2 years later saying goodbye. I've kept close friends with one friend out of the group though, she know who she is and if I'm honest I know we'll stay friends for many years to come. Just because we can go months without seeing each other but then when we meet up it's honestly like no time has past at all.
Friends like that are irreplaceable.

I guess the point of this post is learning to say goodbye to 'fake friends', these are the type of friends who don't make the effort with you, talk behind your back and aren't bothered if they go weeks without seeing you. It's weird the people I've become friends with at uni, I'm SO much closer to than most of my home friends, yet I didn't know these people a year ago! I think it would be harder to say goodbye to uni friends then it would to the majority of my home friends. I guess you bond differently, you know everything there is to know about each other. Whereas home friends would rarely see me without makeup, I would never have had an emotional breakdown in toilet cubicle with them and I don't even think I'd have shared my deepest of secrets with them through fear of judgement.

I want to make a point clear though, I am in no way shape or form throwing shade at anyone in particular- I'm just talking generally because it felt like something I needed to get off my chest. I get that everyone grows up, everyone changes, whether you're at uni or not. People change I totally get that and that's fine. But recently it felt like I've just got too good at saying goodbye, I know when the effort isn't two sided it's hard and really is it even worth your time? Should we waste time & hours of laughter on people who don't want to know?

When you;re a child no one tells you how hard being an adult is. Growing up is exciting but at the same time it's scary- it throws you out of your comfort zone when you least expect it. Everything you knew & loved isn't the same. When this happens all you've got to do is just accept it.
Accepting this has probably been a memorable point of summer. You shouldn't feel guilty just accept, sometimes it may be your fault the friendship ended but most of the time it'll be mutual- if people don't want to know, then they won't- you can't force it. Sometimes in life you've just got to accept it and move on. When one door closes another door may just be about to open. Embrace it!

Have you ever struggled with keeping a friendship?

Lots of love.

X

Image credit: Own 

SaveSave

FREAKS N GEEKS

Gucci is a brand that I certainly have come to love a LOT of the last few years, it hasn't always been a love of mine though... Whilst doing a lil bit of research for our summer brief, I stumbled across this collection released by Gucci back earlier his year.

First off can we just take a mo to appreciate the name: 'Freaks and Geeks' I think I'm already in love!

Following collaborations with photographers Petra Collins and Coco Captian, fashion powerhouse Gucci has now teamed up with illustrator, Angelica Hicks.

"With an Insta bursting with tongue-in-cheek pop culture references including LOL depictions of Kim K and Anna Wintour as you’ve never seen them before – not to mention Gucci going experimental with recent ad campaigns featuring meme’s and aliens – Hicks is perhaps the perfect collaborator for the Italian brand in 2017."

Ms. Hicks is a satirical illustrator with a royal family connection, known for her watercolor-and-ink drawings that poke fun at fashion and pop culture. Her father, Ashley Hicks, is an architect, interior designer and the second cousin of Charles, Prince of Wales. Her mother, Allegra Hicks, is a fashion designer and personality in London.

Ms. Hicks’s drawings have appeared in Elle, Lula and Cabana magazines, with assignments often commissioned on the strength of her Instagram account. On Thanksgiving, for example, she posted a drawing of Grimes dressed as a pilgrim, captioned “Pilgrimes.” Another, captioned “Santa Kors,” depicts the designer Michael Kors as Santa. Her insta is totally worth giving a follow!

Hicks big break came during her senior year at University College London, Ms. Hicks was asked by a family friend (Martina Mondadori of Cabana magazine) to illustrate place cards for a dinner honoring the Italian men’s wear brand Pal Zileri. The deadline was three days after her final exam. “Having to draw 60 portraits in two days really forced me to develop a personal style,” she said. Her cartoonish portraits are distinguished by bold black lines, wide eyes, high cheekbones and droll text. Soon after, she was asked to draw invitations for a Tory Burch party in London. “This is when I realized I’d actually be able to make real money from doing this,” she said.

Illustration have always been something I'm passionate about, it's certainly something I explored myself as a career option. Good illustrations that really catch your eye are hard to come by! Hicks style is the type of thing I would want to put on display in my house, they're almost child like but and the same time they have an adult touch bout them. Personally I love the soft pastel colours with harsh black, thick lines- it just works!

The collaboration manifests in a collection of limited edition tees with diverse illustrations, featuring the likes of ethereal Florence & The Machine front-woman Florence Welch; others see Gucci-fied depictions of freaks and geeks, while each comes in a limited edition metal box, also featuring Hicks’ illustrations.

To celebrate the release of the collection, Hicks took to the streets of Milan and New York to create two marvellous murals. Appearing at Lafayette Street in NYC’s super-cool Soho neighbourhood and Milan’s Largo la Foppa, in the popular Corso Garibaldi area; there’ll even be a special Snapchat geo-tag for when you’re in those areas to make sure your socials are looking double cute. Now these are something I'd love to see! I really hope more brands take on this approach of marketing. Slightly off topic but I've seen a lot of unique promotion around the new 'IT' movie, in Sydney they tied red balloons to drains and stamped the ground saying 'IT coming to cinemas soon', I just thought was a really great way of marketing! I know it would make stop & look at it, because isn't that the whole point of good marketing?

Probably very late to the party with this collaboration and this post may not even be telling you something you didn't already know. If I'm honest it still didn't stop me wanting to blog about it because it just really stood out to me. I don't want to give away what I'm doing for my summer post just yet because I'm still drawing conclusion on it but a post on it will be coming very soon so keep an eye for that. I just thought the promotion around this collaboration was really interesting & not what I'd expected but at the same it worked perfectly. Being a poor student and the fact I've found out about this collaboration too late probably means you won't be seeing me sporting a Gucci X Hicks tee anytime soon. What you will find me doing however will be looking more into how different brands promote new launches- potential new blogging series alert! 

Hope you all enjoyed this post. Thoughts on the collaboration?
Do you think the marketing murals were the right form of promotion for this collab?
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. 

X

Photo Credit: Pinterest. 
Article reference: Wonderland magazine.

Uni room inspo

Last year to be entirely honest even though I wanted my uni room to feel homely, I didn't put a lot of effort into. I was more worried about the fact that I needed to make friends and meet people rather than spend loads of time in my room making it look cute. 

This year though I want it to be a different story, I really want to make an effort with my room just so it's somewhere I will want to chill out & relax in. As well as that I want it to motivate me to do work. Having already moved some stuff into our new house last weekend, I tried to make an attempt to not over clutter it, because maybe it's just me but when my room is super messy and feels full to the brim I feel almost trapped, like I can't breathe- almost as if the room is suffocating me. Yes that does sound over dramatic, but if you can relate then I'm sure you get what I mean. 

So ever since I moved out of halls I've been pinning stuff on Pinterest for a lil bit of inspiration, and yes I'm already in love with what I've found. Obviously I won't share all of my pins with you guys simply because we'd probably be here until Christmas & beyond but I've picked out some of my favourites below to share with you all:

It's kinda ironic how I said I didn't want to overcrowd my room but here I am with a wall full to brim with tear outs... lol. But there's just something about this image- personally I don't think I'll do it quite to the same extent as this but for anyone who knows me you will no doubt know my love for magazines. I just find them SO inspiring, there really is nothing I love more than using them to give me inspiration. Over the years I've collected a LOT of tears outs so it's about time I put them to good use! I was thinking of doing this around my desk just because it'll hopefully encourage me to work- let's face it I need all the encouragement I can get! 

For anyone who is at uni already you will know the importance of 'making your room, your own' and photos of friends/ family/ memories are a great way to achieve this! Not only are they a comfort blanket for when you're feeling a be down but they really help you to put your own mark on your room. Last year I had a massive wall board by my bed which I covered with photos, this year I'm kinda feeling the light up photo string line. I just really like them vibes if you get me.

Praise the lord I have a double bed this year! No more single bed lyfe for me *cheers. In a student room especially, the bed is probably the biggest part of the room so obviously it's got to look cute! The second I saw this marble bed I was like 'oh hunny' you're coming home with me... I didn't actually get this exact cover simply because it was £40 but I got one very similar for £14- bargain or what. The pink, black and white vibes from the other images 100% is the look I want. I still need to decide what cushions I'm adding though...

Plants aren't a huge love of mine partly because I always forget to water them so unfortunately they don't live a long life with me... but fake plants are the way forward! I just think a fake plant by my window and maybe on one of the shelves above my desk will look so adorable! Even better they'll make me look like a domestic goddess who has her life so in order that she has time to water plants. They'll never know... 

Everyone knows a student room is a blank canvas- unfortunately you can't paint the walls so you just have to work with what you've got. Although I do love white walls... my plan is to add pops of colour via objects in my room. So I've got a blue rug, a pastel green lamp, yellow table and a pink throw. Yes my room is going to be very colourful! I even did a little DIY on my yellow table- when I brought it, it was oak coloured which I didn't fit the look I was going for but it's nothing a bit of paint couldn't solve. 

This was a bit of a last minute thought but I was shopping in Primark around a week ago and I saw a wire notice board type thing in there, it's not that big but it's perfect size for sitting on my desk. I thought it'd be cute to add my deadlines too and maybe any major pieces of inspiration. Just so it's close by. 

Hope you all enjoyed the post. Maybe it gave some of you inspiration too- I'd love to hear if it did. If you want to check out what else I've been loving on Pinterest then you can check my boards out from the link on the side bar. I am a bit of pinning addict #sorrynotsorry.

Take care & I'll see you all super soon with more.

X

Image credit: Pinterest. 

London baby

I just got back from a super exciting day trip in London yesterday & quite frankly I couldn't wait to blog about it. Which is probably why I'm sat here writing this at going on midnight after a very long day. 

London... wow you got me!

Well cities in general if I'm honest, but there are only three cities I have ever visited where I've felt 'yep this is where I want to live', New York (I can only dream), Liverpool (I love a scouser) and London which may actually be achievable. Personally I think cities are a lot like finding that perfect uni for you, when you've found the place you want to be you just know! Whenever people ask me where I'm from I say Leicester so people kinda persume I live in the centre but that couldn't be further from the truth, in fact I live in a village surrounded by fields. So you'd think I'd like the countryside! (lol no). I get that the countryside is peaceful & pretty and I am happy I've grown up where I have done but there's just something about the buzz of city life that gets me. The constant noise, the fact it's always busy & there's always things on- some people might hate even the thought of that but for me I love it. People who live in city centres alway say they like the constant noise throughout the day & night because it's comforting and I totally get that.

Anyway enough rambling Gemma...

So London today, a day trip, exciting huh? 

Rather spontaneously myself and one of my closest friends decided last Friday that we wanted to go to London for the day so we booked it. Going off topic again (sorry) but I'm kinda loving the whole spontaneous part of me at the minute, growing up I always seemed to have my life planned out but going with the flow feels SO much more fun! 

Obviously shopping down Oxford Street was on the agenda, the same as a bit of sightseeing. Not being from the London area I can sadly say I've only ever visited it 3/4 times in my 20 years, so every trip really consists of me being that annoying tourist who stops every 5 seconds to check with Google maps that they're going the right way.

We had a fabulous day, I picked up some cute bits from Primark & Bershka (I'm obsessed with it), luckily this time I managed to avoid Zara otherwise I would have done serious damage to my bank balance! We saw Buckingham Palace (when can I move in?), Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus & Leicester Square to name a few. Not only that but we got to see the Kingsmen Golden Circle WORLD PREMIERE like can we just take a moment please... I mean I know to some people this would be like a 'yeh so what?' moment but for little old me who from a tiny village outside Leicester, it's quite huge! Things like this don't happen every day where I'm from. Sounds kinda cheesy but it kinda makes me want to work even harder to live in London- seeing premieres could become a common thing, who knows. As for the orange carpet instead of red- I'm a fan!

Hope you all enjoyed this post and the pictures. I'm super tired so I think I'm gonna leave this there. London I know I've said this like a million times already but when I can I move in? 

What's your favourite place in London?

Take care 

X

Image credit: Own 

basic bitch or innovative?

"55% of all millennials post selfies compared to 24% Generation X & 9% Baby Boomers.” 

Business of Fashion.

Google reported that last year alone, 24 BILLION selfies were uploaded to socials. Now that’s a lot of camera clicking… it is a well-known fact that us millennials are lovers of that ‘perfect’ image. The likes of Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook all provide us with platforms to share on. According to the Business of Fashion, we are in what is known as the ‘Instagram age’, because of that murals have taken on a new innovative meaning. Whilst wandering the streets of La Palma on holiday, it occurred to me just how pretty the backgrounds of photos have become. It’s no longer just about the foreground sometimes the background alone that is the main feature.

I am a lover of colour, whilst my dress sense doesn’t necessarily show that, my Instagram feed certainly does. For many influencers such as Lily Melrose, Alicia Roddy & Lydia Connell, colour is a vital aspect of their feed theme. Whilst for 71% of people I surveyed said their feed theme didn’t matter, a shocking 100% all said the background of a photo had to look pretty and massively influenced where they took it. 

“So why has backgrounds been given the spotlight?”

Could it be that brands are waking up to the fact that they need to be more innovative about how they represent their marketing? Paul Smith, Adidas, Givenchy and Chanel have all jumped on the bandwagon, taking to murals to advertise their message. Gucci even did a year long “Wall Art” project. Colossal Media explained why mural marketing is so effective, “When a consumer sees our walls, they think art first, ad second and are drawn into the brand message”. The art is designed to inspire people to want to take photos, whilst hashtags marry the analogue experience with the digital world, resulting in a constant stream of influencers all with a combination of millions of followers outside businesses. You can’t get marketing better than that right? 

Since 2009, social media influencers have become a huge phenomenon, taking the ‘right image’ can land you with a LOT of likes and massive following. Social influencers are seen as more likable & honest than traditional celebrities purely because they are famous due to their lovable personalities & valid opinions. 

#PINKWALL

#ILOVECOCO

According to my research findings, if someone saw an interesting mural picture posted by an influencer whom they follow they would 57% be more likely to want to check it out. Perhaps a somewhat more surprising fact is that hashtags are rarely ever not used in a social post. The hashtags are the most useful part to tell the viewer where to go for more information and increase the reach of an audience. You no longer have to be following someone for their post to viewed. 

Are murals the future of marketing? Are they seen as less ad, more art in the eyes of the consumer? Do they help people connect more with the brand?

For me and those around me, murals bring the fantasy of the brand to life, posing for a selfie with them feels almost as if you can buy into a brand without actually even making a purchase. It’s playful, fun and enables you to be part of its story. Yes it maybe a painting on a wall or a yet another selfie on your feed. But when you look closer, it’s more than that, it’s about opening up to brand messages round you, whether that’s political or just a statement.  Marketing such as this is innovative, combining art , font and colour in a way we’ve never seen before… in our everyday lives. 

Basic? Almost certainly not!

I hope you all enjoyed this post & that it gave you some 'food for thought' and different, more innovative marketing methods. Let me know in the comments below if you think it's basic or innovative because I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Lots of love. 

X

Photo Credit: Google. Quotes: BOF

Self doubt & insecurities: OOTD

The whole reason I started this blog almost two years ago now was to do outfit/ style posts because that's what I love. But like all loves, this too was attacked with a fear of self doubt and a whole lot of insecurities. Everyone has there own demons and things they hate about themselves- you wouldn't be human if you didn't. But sometimes in life we find this lack of confidence stops us from doing the things we've always wanted to do. Doing the course I do has made me a lot more aware of what's 'liked' & 'accepted' in the world around me, I mean who wouldn't doubt themselves when someone who practically looks like a Victoria Secrets model pops up on your instagram feed?

Surprisingly I have grown to be happy with the way I look. I feel some-what comfortable in my own skin mainly because I could spend everyday dwelling on it or like I am doing, I could accept it and just enjoy life. As sad as this sounds I wouldn't class myself as good looking or pretty, and I don't think I ever would. If some asked me to rate my looks out of 10, I would say I am about a 3- I'm not saying this to get sympathy or for people to very kindly (but wrongly) rate me a lot higher. I'm saying it because I want to show you reading this that everyone feels insecure sometimes and that's okay. It's okay to not love your body or appearance some days because everyone feels that way at some point in life...

The best lesson you will ever learn in life, will be learning to love yourself & be happy! Stop comparing yourself to that crazy hot girl or boy on instagram because no matter how much self doubt you give yourself over it- you will never be them and they will never be you. Just like everyone has their insecurities, everyone has their loves about themselves too. I want you all reading this to write down the 5 things you love about yourself- if you can't think of anything then you're not looking hard enough. Love your body! 

This leads me on to why this blog post and why today... as I mentioned at the beginning, 'outfit of the day' posts have always been something I had in mind for my blog and as of yesterday it's going to be a feature from now on. I finally plucked up the courage to stand and (maybe) awkwardly pose in front of the camera. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy because it wasn't, I certainly don't feel at all comfortable in front of the camera at the best of times but I feel bloody proud of myself for actually having the guts to do it. I am no professional, all I had was my quirky sense of style, a very kind friend who took the photos and a tiny bit of confidence. But here goes...





STRIPY TOP- Primark
DENIM DRESS- New Look
BELT- Primark 
SHOES- Vans

I don't know exactly how much of a regular feature these style posts will become, but nevertheless they will become one. Hope you've enjoyed it & remember in the words of Justin Bieber 'love yourself'.

Let me know what you think to the outfit in the comments below.
Lots of love 

X

Photo Credit: Own images taken by Michelle Knight.

SaveSaveSaveSave

Autumn 2k17 style

I love Summer as much as the next person but for me I don't like the fact that so much skin is on show. I've always battled with my own body insecurities and Summer doesn't exactly help, whilst I have become a lot more accepting of it over the last year or so. I am still always happy to put my shorts back in my wardrobe at the end of the season. 

Autumn & Spring actually are my favourite times of year for fashion, simply because I love layering, but it's still warm enough to get away without a coat or your boots some days. It's like all the best points of Summer just without the need to show so much skin. 

Again Pinterest is my go to place for when I'm looking of that bit of new season style inspo, it's just so easy to look for looks you can DIY yourself or play around with and style to suit you. Although the one annoying thing about it is when you see an item of clothing you really love but it doesn't say anywhere where it's from. Pinterest you NEED clickable links SO bad!

I can't even begin to explain just how long I've been looking for a vintage sports track jacket- and I'm STILL looking! I just love the look of them with high waisted trousers, t-shirt tucked in and track jacket on top. I've found ones I like online but most of them are near enough £50 so I'm like nah mate... still when I get to Nottingham for uni hopefully I'll manage to find one in a vintage shop. Wish me luck! I might check depop out too tbh...


Ever since I paid £45 for my denim jacket I have been LIVING in it. True story: when I went on holiday to Spain obviously I didn't take it with me and I actually missed it so much! Hands down my denim jacket was THE best purchase I've made so far this year- I've recently brought a black fur lined one too which will take me all the way into Winter- YAY! Layering cropped jumpers underneath is my kinda 'thang'.




I love jeans, my joni black high waisted ones must see the wash every week but lately I've been really getting into trousers. Not just any trousers though- I mean like the high waisted pin striped ones- I am OBSESSED! Paired with a belt as well and I am in love. I had my eye on a pair on prettylittlething but they still don't have them in stock and i'm like 'why????" *sobs loudly.


Another favourite purchase of mine this year has to be my black frayed denim skirt (yes I have a denim obsession), I was thinking about putting it away for Autumn but I really like it styled with a cropped jumper, like really like the look! I just think it says effortless but casual & cool.


I have never been a dress girl, but lately thats a different story hun. T-shirt dresses are SO frigging comfortable and cool! I love the look of pairing a long sleeved t-shirt paired under a swing dress too. I really want to get more into the fishnet tights trend this Autumn- I really don't know why I don't wear them more because I wore them to an Ocean theme last year and I LOVED them!

I AM IN LAYERS HEAVEN!
I've seen a lot of mesh tops layered underneath a strappy top and skirts around, especially on nights out. When I saw this look above with the long-sleeved top underneath a short sleeved top with a dungaree dress and belt on top I was o b e s s e d. This is going to be my main inspiration for Autumn I think, it'll look so cool & will keep you warm! Bonus or what?

Those are my style picks for Autumn 2k17, hope you enjoyed reading about it. I get that my style probably won't be for everyone but if you are stuck for ideas whatever your style then please give Pinterest a chance- you won't regret it!

Happy Autumn style finding!
Lots of love.

X

Image credit: Pinterest.