You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger darling

Cobbled Carnaby Christmas

Carnaby Street has been an iconic part of London for over 50 years. It was an epicentre of the swinging sixties and continues today as a trendy hotspot, serving as a gentle break from the large department stores just round the corner in Oxford Street. Its cobbled road only adds to its charming character although these also make it difficult for me to reach Cirque Du Soir, my favourite club which is located nearby, when I'm tottering round in heels or wedges. Every so often there are shopping events on Carnaby Street with discounts, live music, goodie bags and other exciting affairs. My friend, Ellie, and I recently went to one of these and it was definitely a fun way to do your Christmas shopping. I say 'Christmas shopping' but the buying-presents-for-other-people-than-yourself part kinda failed... oops! 

I enjoyed the Oompa Loompa who handed out sweets at the entrance of David & Goliath, the live music that got us dancing at Puma, among other stores, and of course, the 20% discount in every shop. There will be a similar night again this upcoming Thursday and if you're interested, go here to the Carnaby Street Website. I might be there :)

SHOOEEESSS. I would say these were a cheeky indulgence but £40 is a bargain that screams "BUY ME!". (£50 originally, £40 with the 20% discount). I bought these at Dahlia, a really great little boutique that's both reasonably priced and fashionably edgy. Ellie is quite a Croydon girl and I'm a typical London girl so our styles are very different, but we both found plenty of things that suited our styles and that we loved. Check it out for yourself, though I have to say that the stuff on the website doesn't do the brand justice. The super awesome jewellery, bags, shoes and skirts which I liked seem to be only in the shop. I do like, however, these from the website:

Black Shaggy Knit Cardigan £95, Bat-sleeves Diamante Blouse with skull buttons £55- which Ellie bought- (though I actually included this image because of the hat that the model is wearing. This hat, with little ears, surprisingly suited me and has gone straight onto my Christmas Wishlist (hint hint)), Khaki Button Back Studded Collar Blouse £50.

 

Hats with ears from Topshop. Also noted down on my wishlist teehee. Candy from David and Goliath mmm. 

What I wore: leather skirt from Topshop, black bag from Bershka, blue long sleeved and paneled top from Whistles (the colour of the top in the first image, taken on my iPhone, is most like the top in reality compared to the other images), black boots from a car booty, earrings from Topshop, black fur jacket from Diesel. As I left the house I realised I was donning a high class, hooker look. Leather skirt, heeled boots, fur jacket, large earrings. Whoops :p

Instagram that

Ever since I received an iPhone as a birthday present in July, I've been driving my friends crazy with my instagram obsession. At every photograph opportunity I bring my iPhone out. If you've ever watched the amazing comedy 'Miranda', you will know what I mean when I refer to 'bear with' moments.
Well, tough titties my friends. I enjoy photography and I love my iPhone so instagram it shall be. If you have instagram please do follow me: @mamiedaisy :)
I've been chatting about instagram because I want to show you some of my favourite images and share even my even my basic, iPhone photography. Here you go, quite a bulky post-

 Staircase at Somerset House, London

 Reflection in a bulb

 Westbourne Park Canal, London

 Patriotism in the Olympics

 Feeder Concert at BT London Live

 Grasse, France with Max

I found these items lined up, exactly as seen, on Putney Bridge. Left to right: Computer hard drive (I think), phone battery, memory stick, telephone toy for children (I used to have the exact same one), pile of something. each item has been damaged, and I couldn't choose between whether it was art or vandalism. Loved it.

Archery

Scraps

I have mentioned my scrap book a few times before but I have only written one post on it. It's basically a £5 black binder filled with articles and images of clothes or hot guys from newspapers and magazines. Oh, and a little too much Justin Bieber for my dignity.
When I'm traveling round London for example, I like to pick up the free 'Metro', 'Evening Standard' or 'ES Magazine' that are often floating round, which are major sources of random articles that take my interest.
Everytime I fill a few more pages, I will post them here. I often create outfits and inspirations using different items of clothing. Some of you might like what you see; a topless Jamie Laing? I don't see you complaining, cheeky! There are some things in my scrap book which you might not like nor care about; maybe it's only me that tore out the article on the Harrod's chocolate tap (seriously, chocolate tap!!!). 
I'm already on my second book so I'm starting quite far in, but here goes:

Jessie J, my girl crush. 

Jessie J interview continued. Some style ideas (not sure if I still agree with the top one oops!). The dashing Eddie Redmayne in the Burberry Campaign: of all the weeks to be off work... grr. (I freelance at Burberry). 

Article on the Louis Vuitton AW12 collection- I always love the huge, grand, spectacle catwalks. The other article reads for itself. Please don't hate me!

When Justin Bieber was in London. Chanel's 'Métiers d'Art Collection' which I didn't particularly care for but included because it's Chanel.  Harry Judd from Mcfly proposes (damn). Mcdonald's Monopoly Millions sticker, because the Mcdonald's Monopoly Millions is the highlight of my life; my friends and I get way too excited over it.  The brilliant Sacha Baron Cohen and his ashes stunt at the Oscars. Some style ideas. Some favourite TV programmes of mine- 'Being Human' is a particularly amazing thriller while 'The Voice' showed me Vince Kidd; one of my favourite (and the coolest) artist around. 

Small article on 'Sun, Sex and Suspicious parents'. For those of you who don't know, this programme features unlucky, young adults who excitedly set out for their first 'mental booze-filled' holiday only to find that their parents stalked them and caught them on camera having sex. Or so I exaggerate... but you get the gist. We all laugh, but I would not be happy if my parents did that. A few outfit inspirations. A Dolce & Gabbana campaign which I particularly warmed to. 

Hellooo Chris Zylka. Yes, he pops out of the page doesn't he? Bit odd that he's shaving though. Basically a page full of style inspiration; Alexander Mcqueen SS12, pastel colours, full on prints, block heels and sexy glam as shown by Jessie J. Oh, and a mouth of glitter, because it's cool, duh. 

Halloween may have passed but this is some seriously cool make up (and on the page coming up too). Honestly, you don't have to label yourself just do your makeup how you want and spend the night in the knowledge that you look like you belong in a Nick Knight photoshoot. An advertisement for Justin Bieber's tour (in the hope that I'll get tickets for christmas). More style stuff. Article on the Chanel Coutur collection to mark the label's 80th year; I think that the collection has its ups and downs. An 'up' would be the silver-blend red metallic piece (bottom right) while a 'down' would be the     un-inspirational, been-there-seen-that-but-better two bouclé suit (middle right). 

Final one for the day, and my inspiration for halloween: More totally sexy, too sick, creatively amazing halloween make up. Chanel logo, because it's a classic. Little post about Jack Whitehall, because he's a classic. Article on Diana Vreeland: past editor-in-chief of US Vogue and a very high-glamour, determined and dramatic woman, but sacked in 1971 because, as she put it, 'they wanted a different sort of magazine'.

Before I leave you, I mentioned Vince Kidd so I wanted to quickly expand on that. He's this new, edgy, sort of good-vibe, Camden-type artist who writes and sings like a G. His song, 'Sick Love' is actually played a lot at the moment on the radio and he's getting kinda big. He's got his own fanbase who call themselves KIDDS and I am definitely a Kidd. I've seen him live three times now and was even lucky enough to dance on stage with him. He's such a babe, I came over all shy for some reason but he just got me to scream into the microphone then pulled me up. So so so much love for you Vince. Here's two songs of his, a nice slow one, 'Good thing' and then his main tune, 'Sick Love'. I've posted both the original 'Sick Love' tune because the video is some dark, edgy, pengness, but I've also posted the remastered version with Lady Leshurr because that's the one he's trying to promote right now and that video's also pretty sweet.  

If you want a close up on something from my scrapbook that you can't read but would like to, drop me a comment. Oh, and if you did actually want to read about the Chocolate Tap at Harrods or have a cheeky peek at Jamie Laing's abs, then I guess you'll have to keep reading my blog :p 

The video to your music

Two music videos were released yesterday which are of particular interest to me. The first was 'Diamonds' by Rihanna, a standard mainstream tune but one that grows on you and which I now quite like. I'm sure you've heard it before.

The second was 'Give Me Love' by Ed Sheeran, one of my favourite songs and a particularly beautiful one to fall asleep to if counting sheep fails you. 'Give Me Love' is not a current song nor a new release, so the video was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. 

 Rihanna is one of my girl crushes and I absolutely love her; I love what she wears, I love her attitude and... I love what she wears. Maybe references to marijuana on her instagram or her overtly shameless sexuality don't quite make her the perfect role model for a younger audience but hello- this is the twenty first century- don't be so prude. Anyway, it doesn't matter because I LOVE WHAT SHE WEARS. Or did I already mention that?

What I particularly noticed in the music video was the fluffy, powder-blue jumper in a few shots, reminding me of the one from 'Only Girl in the World'. I love that jumper and it's currently my mission to find one like it.

I also admired the director's use of cinematography.  Rather than playing with a clear-cut storyline, the video focuses on imagery, creating beautiful and symbolic visuals which are always lovely to watch and inspirational for any prospective artist. As MTV news put it, 'Unlike her Instagrams and album covers, when it came time to shoot the video, she decided to rely less on exposed skin and shock, opting instead to create something of genuine beauty.'

Yes, I've always enjoyed Rihanna's music videos.

 With 'Give me Love' what I really admired was Ed's subtle modesty (which you can also read about in my previous post). You see, Ed does feature in his own video but only as a cameo. His decision to follow a specific storyline effectively highlights the difference between himself and Rihanna as artists; I don't want to generalise about nor discredit either artist, but if I had to I would say that while Rihanna focuses on the way her song sounds, creating commercial music, Ed is more of a heartfelt lyricist. He explores personal, emotional and meaningful experiences in his songs.

Ed referred to the video's 'gritty cupid vibes' and indeed when the girl pulls the feather out of her back...ewwww. It's a sweet tale about love however and the idea of a cupid who wishes to find love of her own is a tragic love story that follows after my own heart.

I also have to give a big thumbs up to Ed for the unconventional lesbian couple which adds a humorous twist to an otherwise haunting tale. 

Often I've found myself conjuring images and production ideas when listening to music and often therefore record my ideas so that eventually I can create these videos in my spare time. I enjoy cinematography, photography, music and, I have to admit it, being a bossy-boots director. I especially hope to shoot 'Wicked Games' by The Weeknd. It's difficult to describe their music- spiritual and ambient R&B? ephemeral wave? Well, I hope to transform this into a sort of slow-mo music video, capturing beautiful and delicate imagery just like in 'Diamonds'. The beginning of the plan is pictured below, and to give you a better idea (because bad drawings on paper doesn't quite cover the flashing images and fragmenting quality that I want to achieve), I created a short and basic video using images from Google. I'm afraid that it does look a little amateurish and it is difficult to picture exactly what I have in mind but I am hoping that you will overlook this and get the overall picture. Think flashes of powerful images, light and dark, ephemeral movement, slow motions with the camera.