Return of the Rudeboy Fashion Exhibition

I mentioned in my Somerset House post that as well as the film poster exhibition (and the delicious cakes) I also went to a fashion exhibition called Return of the Rudeboy. Now, I have to admit before I went to this exhibition I had no idea what Rudeboy style was like.

So what is rudeboy?

Rudeboy is a subculture, like mods and rockers, which originated in Jamaica during the late 1950s. Rudeboys have a very distinctive style; mohair suits, thin ties and pork pie hats. As you can see from the photos below they look very smart but in a cool and original way.

I couldn't believe this exhibition was free! It was small but a great insight into Rudeboy style with a wonderful collection of clothes and photography displayed in a really interesting way. I love the way they used old suitcases as photo frames! This exhibition has now finished but I have seen that in November two new fashion exhibitions will start.

After looking at these photos what do you think about Rudeboy style?

Travel Tuesday: Somerset House

One of my favourite places in London is Somerset House; beautiful building, wonderful exhibitions, tasty food and it's the main location for London Fashion Week. Plus it has really fun water fountains to play in! 

If you go to Somerset house then a visit to Tom's Deli is a must. They have such a great selection of sandwiches and some of the best cakes ever. I had a piece of the orange madeira cake which was so good!

When I went there were two free exhibitions. One was called Return of the Rudeboy which I will write about in another post. The other was an art film poster exhibition.

Linking up with Travel Tuesday and Let's be Friends Blog Hop

Have you ever been to Somerset House?

London Fashion Week on BBC i player

Photo from Huddersfield Uni graduate show

 

So, first of all lets have a little catch up. I haven't blogged for a while because I have been busy settling down into uni life, which basically means I haven't been doing much at all! One thing I have been doing is catching up on various T.V programmes (like Bake Off!) While on BBC i player I saw that they have some exclusive programmes about London Fashion Week.

 

The first episode was with Susie Lau aka Susie Bubble author of one of the most popular fashion blogs ever. The programme followed Susie as she went backstage at various fashion shows. One word. Hectic!

 

The second episode was with Abbey Clancy finding out about all the ins and outs of the front row; who gets to sit there and why they get to sit there. The answer? Yes if you're famous and fashionable it helps but also if you have achieved a lot recently. For example Hailee Steinfeld got sat next to Anna Wintour because she was going to have six films out in the next few months and had been Oscar nominated.

 

The third episode was Daisy Lowe rounding up the seasons trends. A really interesting part was where she met a group of social media analysts and they looked at which shows and outfits were being re-tweeted the most to find out what was most popular. 

 

I would really recommend these programmes, especially for any fashion students as an insight into what goes on at London Fashion Week. You can find them here and they are available for about 25 days.

Travel Tuesday: a day in Beverley

Just a quick post today as I am busy preparing for university (ahhh!) Below are some photos from when I went to Beverley on Sunday. Beverley is a really pretty market town in East Yorkshire with lots of lovely cafes, shops and a beautiful minster.

Random fact: In 2007 Beverley was named as the best place to live in the United Kingdom in an "Affordable Affluence" study by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Linking up with Travel Tuesday

Old Spitalfields Market

On our last day in London we went to Old Spitalfields Market. It was my first time to go and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys shopping! There were so many stalls with really pretty dresses, blouses, scarves etc! 

Before going it's best to check out their website to see the schedule of markets as its different each day.  Every Saturday is a themed market and the day we went it was a vintage fair, although to be honest I didn't see many vintage clothes. However I did see loads of clothes I would love to buy if I had more money! I did buy these shorts though which I love.

We bought our lunch from Keke and oh my god, it was so good! You could get a lunch box for £5.50 with a base of rice or noodles and a vast choice of toppings. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back...

 Oh there was also this metal arty sculpture thingy nearby!

Have you ever been to Old Spitalfileds Market?

August Books

Brooklyn- Colm Tóibín (4 stars)

Synopsis: Eilis Lacey has come of age in Ireland in the hard years following World War Two. When the opportunity arises she goes to Brooklyn, leaving her fragile mother and charismatic sister behind.  But just as Eilis begins to fall in love, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.

 

The writing was simple and understated in a beautiful way with a great build of character. This book has made me want to read all of Colm Tóibín's other novels. The only slight niggle is I can't quite decide what I think of the decision Eilis makes at the end...

 

Twenties Girl- Sophie Kinsella (2 stars)

Synopsis: Lara Lington has always had an overactive imagination, but suddenly that imagination seems to be in overdrive. The spirit of her great-aunt Sadie appears, a flapper girl from the twenties who demands that Lara help her find a long lost necklace.

 

I nearly didn't finish this book. Lara is pathetic and obsessed with getting back together with her ex-boyfriend. Sadie is obnoxious and demanding. You can imagine what they are like together. However I stuck with it and there were some fun scenes where Sadie dressed Lara up in 1920's clothes and took her out dancing.

 

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet- Jamie Ford (5 stars)

Synopsis: In 1986 in the basement of The Panama Hotel a startling discovery has been made: personal belongings stored away by Japanese families sent to internment camps during World War Two. In the crowd is Henry Lee a Chinese-American who, as a boy, had a forbidden friendship with Keiko Okabe, a Japanese-American girl.

 

I loved this book! The friendship between Henry, Keiko and Sheldon (a black street musician) is beautiful and you really care about what will happen to these characters who all face racism and prejudice for different reasons. A New York Times bestseller for over a year and translated into more than 30 languages I definitely recommend this book.

 

Linking up with Treat Yo'self Thursday

 

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

 

Travel Tuesday: Tower Bridge and 60's Exhibition

I have been to London many times but never visited Tower Bridge. Once I found out that there was a 60's photography exhibition I decided this would be the time to go. After stopping off for breakfast at Borough Market we walked by the river towards the bridge.

There was a small queue but it moved quickly and the wait was much shorter than most tourist attractions in London, but maybe that's becasue it was a cloudy day. Once inside there is a video about the history of Tower Bridge. In 1884 the design for the bridge was chosen after over 50 designs were submited. It took 8 years to build, but once it was finished it was the largest and most sophisticated bascule bridge ever completed.

In the East Walkway there is an exhibition called Great Bridges of the World which was really fascinating. There really are some amazing bridges around the world! The exhibition in the West Walkway was The Sixties, with iconic images such as The Beatles, Carnaby Street and Twiggy.

Linking up with Travel Tuesday and the Let's be Friends Blog Hop

Have you ever been to Tower Bridge?