London week part 1

As always I promised something and then didn't deliver, I'm sorry! I said I would live blog from London but actually I was too busy or too hungover or had lost my camera for the entire holiday. Jami flew in on the monday afternoon and Emilia joined us later on Wednesday.

I've been looking back at some of my older sources of inspiration and trying to think of new, better ways of working them into my looks. We have had terrible weather in England recently and it has been getting very cold so I took my Alba Rosa coat out of retirement for the winter. 

(Also I apologise for our drunk Robo.to gif update on the left, I can't change it until I do something with my face) 

My look for travelling down to London on Monday was "Nu Goth Manba" something warm and comfy but still easy to travel in. By the time I arrived at Kings Cross it was dark already.

On the Tuesday Jami and I decided to do a bit of sight seeing in Westminster and Trafalgar.

We were both incredibly hung over so didn't take as many pics as we should have but I did manage to get my outfit pics outside Buckingham Palace. I was wearing Jeremy Scott and Jeffrey Campbell with a vintage Longchamp bag.

I will blog about the second part of our trip when I get more photos from Emilia. The bits from our holiday that we can remember were mostly amazing! despite having two very bad hotels on the outskirts of London and Emilia and I emptying our bank accounts after a few too many drinks in Ku Bar (which led to some horrendous events that even I am too embarrassed to share.) I will tell you some of our terrible stories in the next post.

I'm in London again this weekend seeing War Horse and visiting my fabulous friend Sam, we also might be going to the Burberry menswear store opening in Knightsbridge next week. I hope everyone is looking forward to Christmas! I know I am. Tobi x

I've been getting a lot of inspiration from Daphne Guinness and Gareth Pugh recently and I have a few interesting ideas I am working on, In the meantime enjoy this Fashion Video by Gareth Pugh and Ruth Hogben.

Day Drinking is Fabulous

Hello everyone! Yesterday my darling friend Lucinda came up to Peterborough for some day drinking and a catch up as we haven't seen each other since Marina. Our photo shoot for her new range is still going ahead but our photographer is currently in hospital so it has been postponed, however I am assisting her on another shoot next weekend in London so don't worry there will be some fashion stuff coming up! The day started with a little trip to Patisserie Valerie's with my mum. We shared an enormous Mille Feuille and had Ear Grey tea. 

Being the fabulous people that we are, here are our obligatory outfit shots.

Lucinda looked fabulous in a floor length faux fur coat and her new harness and I wore my scarf I bought in Brick Lane and my Shadow Studs. I am wearing way too much black at the moment but black just looks so good!

Then we started the day drinking!

We started with two buckets of cocktails.

Then went for tipsy McDonalds and to the toilet, by the time we got back it was drunk o clock and we got the pitchers out!

We have now arrived at our final destination, Drunksville. This is the only non blurry photo that was actually took of us and not just the wall or the corner of the mirror. Bathroom mirror photo's get quite difficult when you can't stand up in your heels to take a photo due to alcohol consumption.

I also saw this fabulous sign the other day and felt obliged to make this.

I hope you are all looking forward to Christmas! I know I am. Almost time to start Christmas shopping. Tobi x

How to find your own style

This might seem ironic, coming from a person whose style is quite generic but I wanted to make a post about finding your own personal style and where to find fashion inspiration. The "journey" to finding your own style can be a very long one and honestly never really ends as your style and likes will always be changing but the following "sources" of inspiration will always apply.

There are several places I get my fashion and style inspiration from, the first place I am going to talk about is Lookbook. I think a lot of people get put off of by this website because they feel that it's only for blogger type people to post their own pictures. It's not! I think everyone interested in fashion should have an account because it is an incredible way to find a wide variety of styles and incredibly talented and stylish people who you would never normally come across. One of my favourite things is seeing how peoples style has changed and progressed throughout their looks.
Here is an example of one of the "looks" that I love.

His Lookbook: Here

So please! all of you go and make lookbook accounts! (and don't forget to follow me here)

The second place I find a lot of my inspiration from is Tumblr. I know this one seems very obvious. After all, everyone has one but I'm sure many of you, like me, are stuck following the same type of blogs that all reblog each other and you never see anything new. Well I have two recommendations for finding fashion inspiration from Tumblr. My first tip is to use Google  It is a much more direct way of finding a certain interest Tumblr rather than searching through tags for hours. So if you are interested in androgynous fashion then Google "androgynous Tumblr"  or "androgyny Tumblr " My second tip is to change the blogs you follow. To do this find the fashion pictures you like that people you follow have re-blogged and look at the people who they re-blogged them from until you find a more fashion orientated Tumblr that you like. I know it sounds like a lot of effort, but isn't looking through lots of crappy pictures what we do on Tumblr anyway? ;)

Here are some of the pics I found from my Tumblr searches that really inspire me!

If any of you would like to follow me on Tumblr it's here: FOLLOW (I put it in bold to make you want to follow me even more)

The next place I find inspiration from is Internet Celebrities/Net Idols. This one crosses over with Tumblr as it is the easiest place to find photos of them. I don't really know how to find these people, I just stumble across them on my searches. The net Idols who inspire me most at the moment are Charles Guislain and An Ming.

And finally, this is going to be cheesy I'm sorry but one of the biggest sources of inspiration for me is my friends! I know most people don't have friends who are as fashion conscious as mine (when you are waiting for three hours for everyone to turn up to a party because they are all busy doing their hair it is not always a good thing!!!) but we all know people who dress well, even if they are only online acquaintances. Sharing brands, talking about inspiration etc. are all perks of having friends who are interested in fashion and style, whether they are gyaru friends, Goth friends or just friends that always seem to be wearing the latest must have item! Talk with your friends about the things you like, ask them questions and share tips :) that way we will all live in a more beautiful world! (God knows, I was a state before I came to Finland, not that I am much better now)

(I'm sure I am going to be told off for posting pictures of them but I don't care!)

The stunning Marinka

Heikki (who has very nice arms)

The always gorgeous Viivi

"Always doing his bloody hair" Alex

The beautiful (and clinically insane) Sini

Niklas whose wardrobe I would steal if it wasn't a million sizes too big!

And all of these crazy, eclectic sources of inspiration have come together in the form of this ...

 ... and that is just the beginning. 

I hope you found this blog posts helpful! If you have any questions or want to tell me what your biggest sources of inspiration are please feel free to leave a comment on this post! <3 x 

In other news, I have been asked to model for Fawn&Faith who are launching their menswear collection next month. There stuff is Nu Goth meets young british designer. I am so excited!!! The shoot will be some time in the next two weeks.

Nu Goth Inspiration: Beth Ditto Style Queen!

Finally I have been hit by some inspiration! Today Gossip's new video came out with Beth Ditto looking even more incredible than before. Now this is a phrase you never thought you would hear me say but Beth Ditto is MY KIND OF WOMEN. She is unconventional, beautiful, unique, independent and DROP DEAD GORGEOUS in a slightly unusual way. So I thought I would make this blog post about how she inspires me in a "gothy" way.

Gossip's new song Perfect World is cooler and a bit more chilled than their older stuff yet still with that rocky Gossip edge. This vibe is mirrored by Beth Ditto in the video who is rocking a Morticia Addams meets a Gothic reinterpretation of the 60's kind of look. So just in case any of you don't know who she is or what she looks like here are some pics of the Gorgeous Beth :) 

Recent Photos: Hipster posing and Gothboy at a party

 Surprisingly I have actually been quite busy recently! Last weekend I did a little "photoshoot" with my friend Shannon for my artwork and this weekend I went to my friend's 19th. I am also going to be in London this coming weekend hopefully to see my friend Lorraine to celebrate her birthday and because my step dad is putting a new carpet in my room so my family want me out of the house. So expect a post about my weekend in London next week.

My little Photoshoot

It was a beautiful day last weekend and my friend Shannon came over to take some photos with me for art. Here are some of the pics :)

Just some of my wardrobe while I was trying to put some outfits together wow so colourful!

                           

Alternative style Dictionary: What is Nu Goth?

Thanks to Felice Fawn and some interesting things I found on Tumblr I have stumbled across a new style that I find quite interesting, Nu Goth. 

So what is Nu Goth? Well ... it's an interesting style born from Hipster kids (you've probably never heard of them because like you know ... they are like ... totally not mainstream and alternative and too busy being pensive and taking photos of themselves staring at the floor while walking through woods because it's too mainstream to go for walks on the path) who have incorporated "Gothic" aesthetics into their look. The "Nu Goth" look is also inspired by Designer and High Street collections which use "Gothic" ideas (for example some Alexander Mcqueen collections have features "Gothic" looks as well as several of Jean Paul Gaultier's collections)

Here is a Hipster kid just for you guys <3 (Pic from Google)

The "Old Goth" "Nu Goth" War. The more traditional Goths according to the 3 million rant posts I have scrolled through on Tumblr seem to have a tincy little problemo with these "Nu Goths" and I can totally understand why. The old style "Goth" in my limited knowledge is more than just a fashion, it is a way of life, a culture as much about personality, music and lifestyle as it is about the fashion. So these "true Goths" feel angry and offended because in their opinion these "hipster kids" are using the term Goth and using satanic symbols, the St peters cross etc. as a fashion statement without any idea of their meanings and what they represent to Goth. However, what I think they don't understand is the people who dress in Nu Goth do not consider themselves "Goth" it is not a "lifestyle" they just see it as a fashion that they wear. Therefore they shouldn't feel angry or annoyed but should just regard it as though it was any other style.

 Have a few pics of some "Nu Goths" (pics from tumblr and google)

This hair is so popular in my school it's really annoying seeing icky chavy girls walking around thinking they are so "tumblr worthy" (their own words)

And now for the boys

Not gunna lie ... bit of a crush on this boy :P

Main characteristics of Nu Goth:

• Black (well durr)
• Lots of crosses
• High waisted shorts
• Oversized cardigans and jumpers
• Vest tops
• Black circular glasses

I personally quite like the Nu Goth look. It shares a lot of similarities with my own wardrobe (pre gyaru-o) and I think it combines the best parts of the Hipster look with my favourite bits of the Goth look. Ignoring the special snowflake attitude and sometimes childlike notion of "Goth" notice exhibit A the upside down coffin and cross it's a style I would like to see grow and gain a larger following as it offers something more interesting to look at on the street. Because I literally cannot take another pair of chinos! 


Thank you for reading,
                                   Tobi <3

One of my favourite brands at the moment is Long Clothing which could be incorporated into a Nu Goth look. Please feel free to check them out <3

http://www.longclothing.com/

P.S. I am going out "shopping" and for a meal on Thursday with my friend Craig and I am taking some photos of my make-up and some outfits for my art exam this weekend so finally you can see some proper photos of me (NOT TAKEN IN PURIKURA) before the end of this week :) x

Journey to a New Style: part 1

For me, changing my look is a way of moving on, of getting over a period in my life or an unhealthy obsession. While Betty Boop washed that man out of her hair I dye my men out of it. For the last few months I have been in limbo between wanting to break away from gal while still loving the fashion, and while it will always have a special place in my heart I think I have found something better that is more the me that I want to be, and more like the me I used to know.

Recently I have been looking more and more at photos of Felice Fawn. A totally gorgeous model, photographer and artist who combines high street and designer fashion with Goth aesthetics and her love of the occult. (These are all the main qualities of the "Nu Goth" look which I have subsequently been researching now as a result)

(mmmmmm litas! <3)

The more I learn about her the more I feel inspired to start working on my wardrobe and my look again. When I was 11 I discovered Wicca while on holiday in Boscastle, the home of the worlds largest witchcraft museum. Around the same time I met my second cousins at a family party, who were all into alternative and Gothic fashion (so it turns out I get my interests from my mums side) and it opened my eyes up to a whole new world. I'm now starting to revisit some of these things, albeit only in a fashion sense but I'm beginning to feel re-connected with my little 11 year old self and excited once again.

In this series of blog posts I'm going to track my progress into my new style, inspired by Felice Fawn, my own former interests and the idea of the "Nu Goth."

I am excited about where this journey is going to take me ^_^

P.S. Do you think I could pull off Litas even though I'm a guy?