JUST A GIRL

I don't even know where to start with the perfection of this shoot.

Those eyebrows; that skin; the asymmetric eyeliner (hello new weekend go-to); the wet-look hair; the gorgeous single earring; that bustier jumpsuit.

Beautiful. Simple. Perfection.

I want in.

Photography: Jeremy Choh

Stylist: Freddie Fredericks

H&M: Ania Milczarczyk

Model: Daphne Velghe

More gorgeousness after the jump.

HOW DO YOU PROTEST?

Everyone seems to be marching at the moment. Protesting for their own rights and for the rights of others. They are brilliant, impassioned and brave individuals who are coming together to make a difference.

It's truly, amazingly powerful to see.

But, what happens if I don't really want to march? If I don't want to be vocally active in my protest?
Does that make me any less of a feminist, any less entitled to hold an opinion? Or does that mean I can't call myself a feminist at all?

BE AWARE

Power.

The exchange of it.

The need for it.

The feeling of possessing it.

A woman's need for power: a power over men; a power over themselves.

Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler at the National Theatre depicts a woman's ultimate search for power.

Hedda believes that the cure for her boredom is to feel more powerful.

But, in reality, acquiring an illusion of power just results in Hedda feeling more powerless.

There are endless power struggles taking place across the world, some downright crazy (see: Trump), some worrying (see: Brexit) and others just totally unknown.

2017 looks set to be a rather challenging, unsettling but also exciting year. 

Change isn't always a bad thing, and nor is a transference of power. 

But, as the unimitable and downright awe-inspiring Meryl Streep advised us all in her speech at the Golden Globes, power needs to be used with caution, by all those who find themselves in posession of it.

So let's be more like Meryl.
Be aware of your power and those you use it around.
Be aware of those exerting their own power around you.

Be aware.

There's a resolution for you.

Pic is one of the beautiful sculptures in the gardens at the Musée Rodin, Paris

THE VIEW FROM ABOVE

Sometimes a different perspective on reality offers nothing but despair at every turn.

Last weeks terrifyingly shocking US election result feels like one of those moments, where every which way you look, it seems as though the world has gone mad.

Like, actually mad this time.

But sometimes, just sometimes, a different perspective can reveal a beauty that you couldn't originally make out.

I haven't found this perspective yet on this election; I'm struggling to see it. I'm struggling to get my head around this decision, as are millions of people around the world.

But it's happened, and so we have to be pragmatic and maybe take a look at it from a alternative perspective.

For now I'm just enjoying the beautiful birds eye photos taken by Loes Heerink of street vendors in Hanoi. 

They are amazing and made even more so by the fact that you'd never appreciate the daily work of these vendors unless you were looking at them from above, from a fresh, new persepctive.

So thank you for this beautiful little series Loes.

And here's to looking at things from a different perspective. 

Or at least trying to.

Vendors from Above

by Loes Heerink

More mesmerising shots after the jump.

THE TALE OF THOMAS BURBERRY

This video is poetry in motion.

Beautifully shot, with beautiful people and beautiful clothes, I felt like it was just the trailer to an even greater epic shimmering on the horizon. (*Spoiler* not confirmed, just wishful thinking).

The tale of Thomas Burberry is one that I wasn't familiar with, but then again I wasn't that familiar with the story of the house itself.

I didn't know that it was Thomas who started his own brand at the age of 21; who pioneered the mac material gabardine; and that it was Thomas who dressed British explorer Ernest Shackleton? 

In fact it's Burberry who have dressed more incredible people than arguably any other brand. From a Royal Warrant as Tailors, to the soldiers of both the First and Second World Wars, to Betty Kirby Green (played by the gorgeous Lily James in the above video), Burberry has kitted out the best of them.

Basically Thomas Burberry was really quite amazing. And this video is too.

The Tale of Thomas Burberry

Directed by Asif Kapadia

Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Sienna Miller, Dominic West and Lily James

BORROWED FROM THE BOYS

As it gets colder and colder, my ability to dress myself in nice and interesting attire disappears, replaced with a desire to wear layer upon layer of cashmere and thermal underwear.

This shoot featuring the gorgeous Toni Garrn and shot by the incredible Matthew Brookes proves that actually, layering is key. And it can be really rather sexy. 

A slouchy hoodie underneath an oversized blazer.

A huge bomber worn with a straight legged trouser.

It appears there are ways of beating the cold in a non-bag-lady, I'm so basic, kinda way.

I also enjoy the fact that, even though this is a shoot for a men's mag, the model's sexiness is subtle and understated, hidden beneath men's clothing rather than overtly, nakedly revealed to the male readers.

She looks beautifully undone, something I'm currently trying to master.

For now though, I'll keep my ten year old beanie and thermal undies I guess.

GQ Germany November 2016

Model: Toni Garrn

Photographer: Matthew Brookes

Stylist: Manuela Hainz

A DARK INFATUATION

Emma Cline's debut novel was one of those books that I read more words about before it was even released, than there are words in the novel itself.

So much hype - how to live up to that sort of pressure?!

Thankfully Cline did not falter and also did not seem all that bothered by the attention.

And "The Girls" is a masterclass in modern fiction. 

It astounds and it captivates. 

But actually at times, it makes you feel quite uncomfortable, more so for the fact that you're not sure why you feel uncomfortable.

The raw portrayal of each character and the frank description of each harrowing moment, combine to form a fiction that reads like a poignantly truthful diary.

One girl's account of her summer holidays is I guess how you'd strip it back to its barest bones.

But it's so so much more than that. Trust me.

If you're after a brilliantly powerful read, check out my review over on Riddle.

The Girls by Emma Cline