festival fatigue(s)

one of the side effects of a choc-a-block festival season (may---september) is that the packed calendar has given every publication with an inch of 'shopping' column an excuse to write a lazy feature on how to do FESTIVAL "CHIC". said piece will pull together dribs and drabs which look as if they've been scavenged from the bottom of sienna's 'scraps for windowcleaning drawer'.

i'm signed up to all the highstreet e-mailouts (whyyyy? farewell personal data) and so have been getting advice from RIVER ISLAND, urban outfitters, asos (of all places!) on what to buy before i p*ss of (and it p*sse* down) to 'glasto'/v/... - who has ever been to a festival (in this country) and found a sensible reason to wear anything other than knee-high wellington boots? (which is a trend in itself) bejewelled flipflops anyone?

beachwear i can fathom, wedding outfits - i suppose, festival chic - no.

auf deutsch, bitte

...which reminds me that i also bought this. i'm going to attempt some kind of small flowchart to describe what was one of the best vogues i've seen in years (it helps that i don't know any german so am just going on the pretty pictures).
supermodel> claudia schiffer> naked> check
photographer> legend> mario testino> blankchequebudget> check
superhero trend> catwoman> fetish> mask> luella S/S08> check
sex> sells> check

and that was just the cover!

the female technover

TECHNOTECHNOTECHNO.
every berlin techno lady, including monika (who doesn't have much of a uk presence as far as i'm aware) is name checked here to preview the ellen and anja albums in the context of their superstar status in the city.

i picked up the second issue of the magazine mentioned in the article, bangbangberlin (LICK MY KUNST asks the cover in (f)lurid pink and yellow) at munich airport on monday - who could resist a neon berlin fanzine written in both german & english? (or the cover) when i flicked through - and what made me hand over 6euros for it - was a review of laurent garnier's night at panoramabar in february. that was the night that net, s-l and i waited in a rainy, typhoony, don't leave the house TORRENTIAL storm outside berghain for an hour and a half. at least. but it was worth it. BBB has fanzine-level writing (from me, a zinegirl who is immune to syntax/grammar), but realzine content. something on stil in berlin - the occasionally updated german streetstyle blog where the stars are definitely on the screen and not behind the camera - why are fashion people so terribly earnest darling? there's also a feature on flyers and the graphic designers who are making BBB's favourite ones in berlin right now. it might sound obvious in an art/club zine, but it works.
hmmm what else? getting a bunch of bpitch people in a photoautomat, that's fun too.

since i won't be moving to the bln any time soon, a subscription might be in order...

tight/fit

around about the end of april, marks and spencer, with their history of genius in retailing, stop selling classic black opaque tights in their stores. this is presumably something to do with 'space' on the 'shopfloor' - they need room for SUMMER picnic grub and cava and wotnot, but it's not particularly practical or customer friendly to just eliminate such a staple, whatever the (british) season anyway. (i'm basing this post on 1 or 2 visits to the store in angel only, but i remember this happening last year too).

but OH, what's this? they still do FOOTLESS TIGHTS. useful, wicked, ta. so i'll be darning my past-it pantyhose to wear with my pretty summer frocks then.

tout est cassé: unravellment chic

your skirt is undone at the back

mum 08:51am

often, one can feel as if everything is unravelling and one's grip on oneself is as tenuous and fragile as a manuscript held together with an elastic band. snap. fall apart. so this morning, hair gone wild and shirt untucked, i was just about holding it together until a man approached me as the train pulled into the station to tell me that my back-sde was exposed. luckily, we could both laugh about it. embarrassedly.

which was so try-hard trend i can't believe i didn't think of it before...

listen:
1. if someone says 'your collar is sticking up' tell them: it's meant to be. i'm doing rockabilly/elvis/rizzo in grease.
2. if someone says 'your zip is open' it depends on which one it is. you don't want everyone checking out your underwear on the way to work, but it's sometimes quite fun to flash some flesh. i have this white indiegirl blouse from topshop that (very inconveniently) has buttons all the way up the back and was in the lift at goodge street station once when a lady said 'excuse me, your top's unbuttoned' and she proceeded to do it up for me in a very motherly, dare i say tender way.

therefore: wearing clothes wrong on purpose=good, being careless: sometimes bad

one outfit, one weekend

advice for the permanently partying.