Wardrobe: 5

Hi all, I'm back! For those of you who wondered whether or not I had died... you weren't much off! I have been battling a dissertation and then celebrating its demise. Fran:1, Dissertation: 0. In any case, I apologise for my absence - I am now back with you, as devoted a blogger as ever there were. 

For those of you who follow the mind-boggling, logic-defying system that is the Fashion seasons, this will be old news, these designs having been showcased all the way back in September. For those who don't, congratulations, you have obviously got more worthwhile pastimes than I do. ANYWAY, this week I'm looking at a big trend for Spring 2014 which, [if any of you use Google (HA!)] you will have noticed started today. Huzzah. Now someone let the weather know that please. The trend in question is logos or - more generally speaking - clothes covered in words. This cropped up a fair bit on the Spring-Summer 2014 Ready-to-Wear runways for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Alexander Wang, Christopher Kane, Paul&Joe, and Versace. Be that slapping their name on their clothes à la Missoni, or writing any old words on them, à la Dior.

The only problem with this trend for me is that... I hate logos. I very much dislike random words on clothes. I disagree with brands whacking their name all over their products so the wearer can showcase just how much money they have spent. HOWEVER, as a Cambridge-student/fashion-fan/generally open-minded individual I thought perhaps I should give word-clothes a try...but only so long as they were important words.

Now, I am well aware that any issue surrounding women - and specifically women's bodies - is a thorny one. (was going to go for "hairy" but decided the pun might detract from the seriousness of the issue so am putting it in brackets so parentheses-enthusiasts can chortle at how punny I am.) That being said, for me the "No More Page Three" argument is a no-brainer. The Sun is a newspaper. A family newspaper. As far as I'm concerned, that means it should be a) full of NEWS and b) suitable for families. I don't want to get into the complicated issues surrounding women's choices about what they do, or do not do, with their bodies (if anyone wants to discuss these, please leave a comment below) but - honestly - if you want to see scantily-clad women, there are other places you can go to find them. If you wouldn't want your 8-year old reading "Nuts", why are you ok with them seeing Page Three of The Sun?

Blazer - Zara
T-Shirt - The Fashion Move
Skirt - Modatoi
Shoes - Rebel London @ ASOS
Ring - Eclectic Eccentricity

If you want to learn more about the movement, have a mosey on over here, and if you fancy sporting a T-shirt like mine to show support, you can find them here. I know there are many people who would dispute the use of simply buying a T-shirt to support a cause, but with Page Three being such an established institution in British cultural life, I think surprisingly few people have thought to question its context. Hopefully, wearable messages like this one can spark some well-overdue debates. 

For this week's photoshoot, we headed over to Cambridge Uni's Sidgewick Site, an area demonstrating both the architectural highs and the architectural lows of the last 50 years. It is also where all my lectures are, so I hope you all appreciate my commitment to aesthetics considering these days are technically my "holidays". 

ALSO, I'm getting super-into nail art at the moment, since I realised it is the only fun activity I can engage in while STILL WORKING. Paint, type, wait to dry, type some more, paint, stick GEMS N' STUFF IN IT, wait to dry, type. It's excellent, and it makes my desk a shinier (and more toxic-smelling) place. So, it's good to be back all, hope this post has made up for my absence and I shall see you all again VERY SOON. I (glittery) pinkie-promise.