Vintage or retro has always been part of my look/wardrobe.
In England, dotted along our fair Isle are a little boutique chain where I have been purchasing their fine wares since mid 1990s. http://www.bluerinseleeds.co.uk/
Since the council moved everyone out of the Corn exchange, Leeds, and made a right ole mess of things, the little boutiques had to find other premises. Pop -Boutique have opened up in a new location nearer Harvey Nichols. Its a larger store with loads more merchandise than they could have in their smaller boutique at the Corn Exchange http://www.pop-boutique.com/
In my music video 'Softly Gently', you can see one of their fabric bags I purchased in their small stall at Afflecks Palace, Manchester. I also used to wear their flared cord jeans, but they have not been stocking them recently. I am sad to say, they do not do the fabric bags any more. On both websites they have a limited range but you can find more little goodies inside their stores. But I am liking their pinafore dresses. I may go for the pinafore look this Spring and Summer to match my manga hair style. lol. or I may end up looking a right prat! I do have quite a few vintage clothes in my wardrobe that will no longer fit me. No way will I fit into a size small again. I may have to set up shop on amazon or ebay because they are still in good condition despite being well loved. And will be well missed.
I don't know why, but I want to go Manga. My hair is growing back after shaving it off and it has that horrible growing back stage where I just cannot style it. But I have been thinking of heading to a salon, which I rarely do as each time it turns into a disappointment. My hair is just not long enough for some of the styles on here http://www.animehairstyle.com/ but they all wanna do the Super Sayan thing. Yeah, I want Goku's hair. lol. Love to roam the streets of Tokyo to see it to believe it. But Manga hair is part of the whole cosplay and anime/manga look all of us want to dabble in.
Watching one of the vids, I think my fringe needs to be a bit longer, and I can keep the back part without needing to go the salon. Done, purchased my Manga putty from Garnier Fructis, and I am Manga out of here. It's a great tom boy look for any emo, punk, manga junkie girlie out there.
For the girlie girl who likes to kick ass, do the Tifa (Final Fantasy VII) or the Rinoa, Yuffie, and the pretty Yuna (FFX and X-2)look. The Japanese girls love these female icons, and maybe what made the Final Fantasy franchise popular with the girls as well as the boys. Gaming in general was considered a male hobby, but due to the manga image in some of the games and other RPG, girls like to get out their playstations and xbox 360s out too.
My favourite has to be the Yuffie hair, even without the head band, it still works.
And all you need is a decent hair cut and your gel. I do know one salon in Leeds do this kind of look, and there may be other salons in a city near you.
I seem to go through fads, and food is no different. Since losing a portion of my bowel due to cancer, I have lost some of my appetite, but going Chinese or Japanese seems to keep me going through the day. If done properly can be a tasty and healthier option to your average meal. There are plenty of resources online so it is pointless to give you the recipes, but I can show you some of my favourite condiments and ideas that you can purchase from your local store.
Chinese vegetables used in stir fries need to be cut evenly, and same shapes/sizes, so they cook evenly. And use this trick with your meats as well. Pictured is some onions, noodles spring beans gently fried in Oyster sauce.
This is the best Oyster Sauce around that I have tasted so far. Purchased in the Chinese supermarket in Leeds. Great for your salmon and noodles.
Try this website http://chinesefood.about.com/od/sauces/Sauce_and_Seasoning_Recipes.htm for this and other ideas for Chinese cooking. Plenty of Thai and Szechuan ideas. One suggestion is Beef and broccoli with Oyster Sauce. And supermarkets are filling their shelves up with Szechuan sauces. The key ingredients is chilli oil, tomatoes and black pepper, so you may as well try and make your own to spice up some white fish or chicken.
Served these vegetables with some breaded fish goujons bought from a local supermarket, using Plum Sauce for dipping.
Chinese cooking should be versatile and does not necessarily stick to a strict recipe format. Other key ingredients for Chinese especially for the more sweeter savoury dishes, is sugar in your sauces, or honey to coat and marinade your meats. Distilled soya beans is a must, but in your local China town or supermarket, they sell Soya pastes and Soya bean sauce. The rest is up to you and your imagination. As for Japanese, this a little more specific, they have their own mustard tasting sauces and strange looking mushrooms that look as if they've been grown on an distant alien world. Supermarkets in the UK are stocking these delicacies though, and it adds authenticity to your Japanese themed night.
and I love this song. There is a good quality video someone uploaded to youtube.
Remember girls we all wanted those Doc Martins? Curiosity was one of many boy bands with the looks and they played great great music. I was in love with Julian the guitarist, and I even named my teddy bear after him...sigh...memories.
Wet Wet Wet - Popped In Souled Out.
All the tracks are brilliant, and well performed by the lads. What more can I say. Except, wanna see a classic 80s moment from Top of the Pops, my favourite TV show of the 1980s. Sigh, miss Top of the Pops
Madonna ' Ray of Light' but I was torn which Madonna album, as Like A Virgin is a classic Madonna album.
But my fave track from Ray of Light, or one of my faves is this and the video is brilliant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHydngA5C4E&channel=madonna
I don't care about what other people say about her, she cannot sing etc, but she can sing way better than any of the current crop of lame artists and plus, she performs well live. Always puts on a good show, and the likes of Britney copies everything Madonna did ten years previously.
I also like the look of Madonna in this video. One of her best looks so far.
Jeff Wayne War of the Worlds with a great narrative by Richard Burton. This has to be one of my favourite of all albums of all time. Why? Just listen. Its also due to my Dad playing it most Sundays along with Pink Floyd, Mike Oldfield, and Genesis. Yes, my Dad rocks. Music wise. He also converted us all to the Star Trekkie world. Go Dad Go. LOL.
TAKE THAT - GREATEST HITS. I cannot believe Mr Blobby knocked Babe off Number One spot.
Sigh, this had to be one of my biggest crushes ever.
TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY - Symphony or Damn
When first released, it was said to be all done by MIDI by the artist himself. This was just as good as his debut album
Yes, pumps/flats. I have some and I want more, but in some seasons if they are not mainstream 'fashionable' they are hard to find. Even when I go clubbing for the past five years, it is pumps. Pumps or flats are wonderful little things, some can be pretty, some can be total Goth or Emo. For some reason, my little ole legs just cannot handle heels anymore. And one place in Leeds, 'Cockpits' the best night ever, all the girls wore pumps or flats. It's where Goths, Punks, Emos, and the like, hang out, and if you come in heels, its a no-no.
For the more adventurous girlie, crocs! They are good for walking everywhere. They are sturdier than they look. Just mind the escalators. For some reason, they stick and can be hazardous so not recommended for train stations, airports and the London Underground.
The top picture, pumps from New Look, and the bag from Oxfam Shop, Leeds. Second Picture, Crocs from Hawaii $30. Third picture, pumps from Diesel.
Pumps left, cream with gold rim and bow Faith, right flower prints from Island. Fancy clutch bag from a Macmillan Fund-raiser event last year.
Pink glossy pumps/flats from Miss Selfridges
Wonder what I will be wearing tomorrow for my son's belated 18th. I may wear this top (from Jane Norman) with some skinny jeans (even though I do not look skinny when I wear them). I haven't been able to wear the top since gaining that extra steroid weight. But I tried it on the other day and I am good to go.
And maybe those pink flats.
I checked wikipedia's history of house and various relevant articles on the origins of house music, and it seems, according to this article, it originated in Detroit. But... reading it leaves me a little confused. I was there dancing to House music in 1988, in Northern England, and in that year remembering reading an article in 'Smash Hits', the good ole bible of pop music back then, that it was a lot of young men in England that pioneered the sound. The old article also mentioned the Manchester nightclub Hacienda as the place to be. Where America wouldn't listen or even dance to this new genre, Europe did, and So did I. Yes, a certain Detroit act may have started certain elements of this genre of dance, but, he also was influenced by a lot of the New Modern Romance electronic music, including that of Human League (yet, another class act from Britain) and he was influenced by Kraftwerk.
It is also the British DJs that are a master of this genre. Name a famous DJ now, and yep, he is British. New York and Chicago danced to this music too alongside Northern Britain, but Detroit was slow to progress.
For me personally, my history of House is a combination of the everything and everyone. In the UK and in the USA, young talented techno musicians were busy as a bee doing their thing and the whole thing emerged. I don't think there is a true origin of the genre, and for me, that is the whole spirit of House, its a mixture of various influences and someone had to give it a name and gain credit for it. But in the UK, a lot of the British acts were champion at it and it hit our mainstream Top 40 Charts, and it was those acts us Brits were dancing to after the not so hardcore dancers went home, we stayed to dance to this new stuff. Detroit who? But its there for all wikipedia readers to read and yak, at least the Brits do get a mention, and most of the names in the article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techno#Noted_artists and there it is, Hacienda but in 1985 it quotes
"In the UK, a club following for house music grew steadily from 1985, with interest sustained by scenes in London, Manchester, Nottingham, and later Sheffield and Leeds. The DJs thought to be responsible for house's early UK success include Mike Pickering, Mark Moore, Colin Faver, and Graeme Park."
1985 people!!!!! 1985!!!!!Some of the acts in 1987/1989 were influenced and had been listening to the Chicago club scene, so why is Detroit still gaining credit? again, the article confuses me. But it does make reference to Derrick Brown, the Detroit House music pioneer, suggesting one House musician had purchased one of his synths.
As for the Rave scene/parties, now that is a whole different kettle of fish. Did you know it even goes back to the psychedelic scene, including the Beatles, and is all British in origin.
If you listen to their track Infiltrate 202, that is the sound us UK House junkies were dancing to.
(Video below)
One act I do remember was 808 State, yes, everything had numbers and dashes, maybe because the young men wanted their names to look like the names you give a NASA space rocket. No, wait, they named themselves after various synths. 808 State got their name from the Roland TR-808.
808 State's Pacific State was my first intro to trance/ambient/chill out. BBC's Radio One DJ Gary Davies (remember him people?) played this track every day for 3 months. Wikipedia finally gives credit where do.
"His promotion single-handedly helped propel the acid house group to the top of the UK charts and into the public consciousness"
There's probably more to the history and origin of today's dance scene, but for me, it was and still is the British DJs and acts that get it out there. And don't forget the Ibiza sound, a whole breathing sound of its own for serious clubbers who go to Ibiza from all over Europe.
And don't forget Prodigy, rave/house act or whatever you call them, were signed onto Madonna's label. Still using good old fashioned analogue synthesizers such as the Moog to incorporate their own sounds. They got their name from Liam's first analogue synth, the Moog Prodigy.
It is hard to find the full length track on the internet but here is the video someone uploaded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93R-KQ9THa8 I have my collection of old skool house on vinyl/cassette, and no way of getting it into digital format just yet.
Did I miss something? it sounds nothing like D'n'B but they do call themselves it. The cheek. Ok, I was wrong, one track was nothing like D'n'B but this one is slightly D'n'b http://www.last.fm/music/Pendulum/_/Hold+Your+Colour but my ears tell me it sounds a lot like rave.
My favourite of his work is Inner City life as featured in the Soundtrack of Trainspotting, starring a very young and handsome Ewan McGregor. The track featured alongside other house/psychedelic or whatever your want to call them artists Underworld and Leftfield.
Need to get back into my favourite dress this summer. Its a classic 40s style chic dress I purchased from Top Shop a few years ago, and it always seem to stay within vogue. Since being on steroids, I haven't been able to wear my fave clothes, including my fave t-shirt
And Babydoll dresses are still here, thank goodness because I love them. I already have a few in my collection, but here is one lovely dress from New Look, my favourite shop at the moment. http://www.newlook.co.uk/1893045/189304507/ProductDetails.aspx
Babydoll dresses are perfect for any shape, height, size, etc. And for someone like me with still some of the steroid and cream cakes fat still on my legs and thighs, I am looking forward to wearing my own collection this spring/summer.
The dress below, I am saving it for a special occasion. Just waiting for that occasion to occur. Anyone want to take me out, or shall I wear it for any occasion. The dress next to it and the following dress, I cannot fit into them since cancer, but again, more to motivate me to get back into shape.
And to accessorise your hair, short or long, try these lovely gems again from New Look http://www.newlook.co.uk/women/jewellery/hair_accessories/ProductList.aspx
Me thinks I need to do some shopping. Have to wait till pay day.:(
