Victorious

http://www.facebook.com/victoriabeckham

Now if its one designer I'll be keeping my eye on for a while its this one. Victoria Beckham has created her own ready-to-wear fashion line which has been showcased across Fashion Week with endless amounts of praise in the industry.

No stranger to fashion, Victoria has always been recognised in the media as a fashionista who set the standard and experimented with her looks. From her 'WAG' approach to THOSE high heels, Victoria has gone to all kinds of lengths with her looks over the previous years. Which is why when I first heard of her clothing line I automatically expected it to be cheap, simplistic and nothing like the woman herself; thankfully I was wrong. When thinking back to her collaboration with Rock and Republic jeans, I couldn't help but wonder how she'd be able to pull it out of the bag, and boy did she just. After winning over the fashion industry with her first collection she soon shot up in the industry and even won an award! In the past year or so, Victoria's collection has proven her critics wrong and won over an audience of on-trend fashionista's who look for style over trends. 

The dresses themselves are designed by Victoria and her team providing us with excitement and curiosity as to how this would be worn by the 'average' girl. Victoria's collection symbolises her own look. Body Con inspired gowns with over sized 'Harper' bags (yes the bag is named after her baby girl..), skyscraper heels and symplistic accessories describes Victoria to the T. More importantly, her designs fit every season and every look, if I was fortunate enough to own my own piece of  Victoria I'd probably never wear it...(I'd be too scared of spilling Rose on it...). 

Which is why I am excited to reveal to you the Victoria Beckham approach has hit high street stores. No I'm not talking about another H&M collaboration (Yet....wouldn't be surprised), instead I am presenting to you the George for Asda range! I have seen a few tops which yell Victoria, for example the above image (1st) can be found in Asda for £16 and the other for £10!. Victoria's own line is worth hundreds if not thousands, so when the high street took note they created similar versions. As seen, Victoria wears her own orange and navy dress from her collection, below you can buy the exact same one featured from Topshop for £50! (Bargain). To complete the look I figured why not throw in a pair of heels and a handbag? Below these super high bad boys are from Topshop for £95...just think of Victoria wearing the Christian Louboutin heels to Kate and Williams wedding and you get my gist...followed with this Beige sophisticated handbag from River Island for £50, this will add an instant statement to your look.


The best bit about all of this is, I feel anyone of any shape can pull this look off. You dont need to be a certain size to wear the various styles used in Victoria's collection, As a curvy girl I'd feel most comfortable wearing the orange and navy dress as the large stripes wont draw as much attention to my hips and in fact show off my waistline more! Height wise however, well for a 5.8''ft girl I might lay off the heels...

http://www.topshop.com
http://direct.asda.com/george/clothing/10,default,sc.html
http://www.riverisland.com/

What Does It Take?

My apologies for the ridiculous lack of blogging lately...sadly I've been rather preoccupied with revision, assignments, Passover (that's right) and Placement hunting...Which bring's me onto this blog.

As I stare endlessly at my laptop screen in a desperate attempt to source a placement that doesn't involve making tea and coffee or requires years of experience, I start to think when will I get my break? 

I chose this image above as a representative of how I want to see myself in 10 years time; Successful, Independent, out there in the Big City and well, surrounded by clothes! (I'm sure you can see where I'd like to be roughly...)

'How!?' I ask myself, 'do these women have it all!?' In a competitive industry where its make or break, you can't help but wonder if you have the potential to make it out there at all. As part of my degree I have agreed to do a sandwich route, this means instead of going straight in to my final year I will be taking a year out to work in the fashion industry to gain experience and knowledge of it all first hand. The catch however? To actually get in. It's like applying for a job, as I swim in the sea of 1000's upon 1000's of applicants in a desperate attempt to grab the bait, I start to question what others have that some don't. 

Experience as we all know is the key, getting it however? Well that's where I struggle. I've spent a good year or so now wanting to work in retail (not just for the money or experience) but mainly down to wanting to learn about it from a different perspective; my course has provided me with a rough insight into this but its not enough for some company's. The irony is, to even gain experience in shops you need to have experience! But for the majority of us that's the issue, we don't and cant get it without them!

I have considered possible internships where you dont get paid, but the majority I've researched are all London based for a number of weeks, for a student who is currently living in Manchester with a Sunday job and her loan to get by this wasn't an option for me (and no I dont have family there to live off). So I'm back to square one really. 

As I research into other potential fashion jobs, Online seems to be the way forward. This however is just a small step into the fashion world. The placements my University have offered all have potential and opportunities some of us would kill for! As I click 'Yes' or submit my CV and covering letter off with hope, I later discover I havent made the interview listings. Naturally some are expected others however are just plain irritating. 

I've seen friends off my course get placements, (who I'm obviously happy for) but as I sit here and continue to search the internet for potential opportunities a part of me is loosing faith. In an industry with so many sections why do we feel limited? Fashion is a growing sector in the economy, as an international business getting there however is just another hurdle. I wont give up without a fight though, whatever happens comes September I can say I tried, and hope something pops up along the way. 

My message is clear, the fashion companies know how demanding this industry is. Why limit your choices? The vast majority of students with lack of experience make up for this with passion, drive and commitment. The sort of thing on our CV's which can only be expressed with a word limit. 

I ask you all to delve further into the fashion student's minds and see it from our perspective, unpaid internships and lack of opportunities give some of us little hope after University.