Catalogue Shopping

There's been a lot of controversy this week over the Elle.es blogging scandal (click to read about it here) which, if anything, has taught us bloggers to be more conscious and aware of the legal implications of reblogging pictures, especially the work of others  If you're like me and have a serious aversion to posting pictures of yourself in different outfits leaping all over the place, then your options are limited and images are sourced from elsewhere.

All images that I take from other blogs or websites are credited and linked appropriately and if not they're usually my own, stock photos or in the public domain (just an FYI).  Here's some images that I came across the other day that I'd like to share with you.



These images are from the back pages of the NME from about '81 to '85 respectively and I think they are pretty darn cool. If the NME still had these kinds of ads I would probably still be buying it and not reading Pitchfork and The Quietus (so good, Google it if you haven't heard of it) online instead. Winklepickers and mohair and bowling shoes, oh my!

This ties in with sourcing photos, I swear. Here's the long journey I took to source these pictures properly.

I saw one of these ads on Self Constructed Freak , one of my daily reads...
which linked back to the Tumblr, Now This Is Gothic, which is chock-a-block with great 80's goth photos...
which linked back to Tin Trunk, a blog with a concurrent vintage shop on Etsy...
who scanned them in from old copies of NME!

Phew.

You don't have to go through this complicated rigamarole whenever you source a photo, I just thought it would be good to illustrate how many places a picture can come from.  If you're ever in doubt about how to source a picture, a good rule of thumb is to remember the photographer and/or where the image first appeared.

If you want to know more about crediting and finding public images, click here.
If you want to know more about photo crediting for bloggers, click here.

And is you want to show me some love on Facebook, click here (gratuitous plug alert).

And a big PS - I'm going on my holidays on the first of January.  While I'm hungover in a series of airports, I'll need a few guest bloggers.  My email address is in the sidebar if you're interested.

QUESTION!

I'm trying to reorganise my blog reader and do an overhaul on my reading material.

Here's where you kind readers come in.

What blogs do you enjoy reading? What eye candy lights up your day? Which bloggers inspire you? Whose photo blogs make you think? Who's the funniest or smartest fashion blogger out there? Do you have any guilty pleasures tucked away in your reader?

Let me know in the comments box below. No blog is too obscure or too obvious. Give me one link or a directory, a broad street style blog or a Tumblr of Turgistani interiors; it's all good.  The submissions I like the best will get a wee prize of, well, I haven't thought of what I'm giving away yet. But in case you're worried, click here to see how good I usually am at giving away stuff.

And because no post is complete without a picture, here's an unrelated fluffy bunny.

Licentiate Column 09/12/10

I’m no Martin King (a blessing in disguise) but I don’t need to switch on the weather forecast to know that it is pretty darn cold outside. Freezing, in fact. If everything isn’t covered in a few feet of virgin snow, then the roads and footpaths are covered in a gleaming membrane of ice, like a mirrored pool of glass.
We Irish are not well equipped for cold weather. We’re used to rain and clouds and mild temperatures. We are not used to spending half an hour gingerly clopping on frozen paths to the shop next door with the careful stride of a dressage pony, just to avoid slipping gracelessly on our behinds in hopelessly impractical shoes.
Worst of all is the total standstill of the country’s transport system, due to a complete lack of snow tyres and grit for the roads. We are just plain ill-prepared. But that’s a story for a different column.
I have no solution to the transport problem (except maybe to recommend investing in shares in salt) but I can help with the clothing issue. Here are a few tips for dressing appropriately for sub-zero weather.
1. Hat, scarves, gloves. All in a colour that suit your skin tone. You’re going to be wearing these all the time, so the general rule is that it’s better that they match your face rather than your outfit, even if your nose is now the colour of a bowl of cranberry sauce. Once you have your hat, scarf and gloves, buy some spares. Donate them to your local SVP, because there are a hell of a lot of freezing homeless people out there who desperately need them.
2. Thermal underwear is your friend. It is no flaky friend either. Thermal underwear is the kind of friend that you can ring up in the middle of the night right after a break-up and moan to ad nauseum without judgement or complaint. Thermal underwear is the kind of friend that will always be there for you. If you want a super-retro look, then go for lumberjack long johns. It’s best to wear these in bed, because going to the bathroom in long johns is the kind of gargantuan task that Bear Grylls would find difficult on a good day. Failing that, thermal tees and leggings can be found at reasonably cheap prices in many of the larger clothing chains. Some thermals also act like full body Spanx, which is no bad thing.
3. Always, always layer your clothing. Layering isn’t a fashion buzzword; in cold weather it’s a vital component of dressing. If you go out in a t-shirt and huge coat, get too hot, then take off your coat, your body will cool down much too fast, making you more susceptible to colds and flu. This would be why I am currently typing with one hand, the other now glued to a Kleenex which, in turn, is glued to my runny nose. Learn from my mistake. Dress in many thin layers, not one huge one.
4. Look to the Scandinavians for inspiration. We’ve already taken our economic cues from Iceland, now we should think about the way they dress. Tailored trousers, warm, thick tights, waterproof boots with sturdy soles, chunky knits and lashings of fur, faux or otherwise are all great options. Up the glamour ante with your hair, jewellery and accessories.
5. Tread very carefully. Full body casts are so last year.

Odds and Sods

I've spent this weekend travelling (one and a half hour wait on a freezing platform, thank you Irish Rail) and working while sick, so I'm a little bit burnt out and uninspired.  I'm going on an enforced blog hiatus (I'm away from my computer and photos and such) and I'll be back on Thursday, hopefully reinvigorated by some family get togethers, cups of tea and plates of shortbread.  Ok, ok, I'm going to stop moaning... now. Here's a few bits that are looking mighty good to feverish ol' me at the moment.

This is my favorite Christmas song. When the horns come in...

My new shoes. They are fakey fake fake Miu Mius but they rock my socks. Incidentally, I should probably think about wearing socks with them. My toes are still sore from the last time I wore them out.

It's the End of the World as We Know It

Conor Walton is my favorite Irish artist.  His still lives are amazing, done in the style of the Dutch Masters - exploring similar themes using modern, everyday objects.  Sinister, sexy, funny, amazing.  He'll be giving a lecture on the aforementioned Dutch Masters in the National Gallery on December 14th.  He has stopped painting and taking commissions for the time being due to a personal matter (my mom is on his mailing list, feverishly waiting to snatch up a still life) so this will be a rare opportunity to interact with a great artist.

Have a great week everyone.  Hope it's a festive one!

Licentiate Column 02/12/10

If there's one thing that a recession is good for, it's separating the wheat from the chaff. The positive from the negative. The naysayers and apocalypse invokers from the Plucky Pollyannas. The... well, you get my drift.


Since the introduction of the government's four year plan, I have heard nothing but pronouncements that the country is doomed and declarations of intent to move far, far away from this aforementioned doom-addled island and towards a land with slightly more milk and honey (or jobs in IT, accounting and the media).

This is an unremarkable, yet unwelcome side effect of the Irish recession. The Irish diaspora stretches back for almost two hundred years. It is not surprising. Both the positive and the negative people evaluate their lives and feel that they have to move on.

What is surprising is the ability of this negativity to consume a person, to the extent that it affects the lives of people around you.

As a fashion writer, it's not my place to comment on the four year plan with even one iota of authority (even though there are others who know much less than me who are willing to give their two cents). This column is supposed to be full of jokes, off-the-cuff comments and observations about the shopping habits of the average women. Yet, somehow, I managed to visibly offend several people when I revealed to them that I was NOT going to tackle the four year plan/the budget/social welfare cuts/Brian Cowen's jamjar specs.

On revealing publicly that I would not be writing about these issues, I was immediately asked why by a petite brunette with an appropriately pointy nose. "Because it's a fashion column," I said. "It has nothing to do with politics. Why should I devote the column to scaremongering about rent relief when I should be devoting it to scaremongering about huge credit card bills brought on by online shopping sprees? What do you want me to do - critique Brian Cowen's three-button suits (and a side note to an Taoiseach; I'd go double breasted if I were you - your chest is less Biffo, more barrel) and Brian Lenihans droopy, sad sack side parting?"

"Ugh. You are so shallow" this particular harridan rasped as she retreated back in the shadows, no doubt to suck the will to live out of another person who had the gall to be thinking about pretty flowers or teddybears.

To this women, I give you this message. I may well be shallower than a fresh puddle after fifteen minutes of drizzle, but fashion is not. While it may not be as profound as a Shakespearean couplet uttered from the mouth of Mother Teresa, it has it's place in the world, just like this column has a place in this paper.

Fashion is the most universal mode of self expression. Fashion tells people who you are. Fashion is an industry. Fashion utilises techniques that have been honed for hundred of years. Some fashion is equal to great art, except fashion is for everyone and not just those who understand it. Fashion is tied in to sex, power, jobs, money, cachet and life-changing events (think marriages and funerals). Fashion is even tied to politics in a Gordian knot that Alexander the Great would find hard to cut through. It runs parallel to all things, not in second place.

I may be shallow, but I am not shallow for refusing to express my opinion on the IMF situation in this paper. There are others who do so more eloquently and logically within these pages. They have a place and I do too; in the Health and Beauty section, talking about shoes. That's the way it's going to stay.

Who invented the Typical Girl? A celebration of Ari Up

The Slits in 1977. Ari up is third from left.  Photo - Ian Dickson

"The Slits were a feral girl gang. Aged just 15 in 1977, singer Ari Up recalls being 'wild and crazy, like an animal let loose - but an innocent little girl with it, too'. From her striking image (tangled dreadlocks, knickers worn on the outside of her clothes) to her seemingly pre-social antics, Ari inspired fear and fascination in equal measure".

- Simon Reynolds in Rip it up and Start Again

Note the knickers-over-trousers.  Photo - Caroline Coon.  

Stupidly, one of the posts that I've left on the back burner was a remembrance of Ari Up, a punk singer and forming member of The Slits. Their songs were a formative influence on me when I first went to college and was experiencing first-hand what it meant to grow up and be a woman and not someone who treated Sex and the City like a lifestyle Bible. Cut has to be one of my favourite albums. If you ever have a bad day wondering why that hot guy only likes the other hot girls, or if WAGS make you despair of your life, or bad that you don't have the same waistspan as Cheryl Cole, then listen to Typical Girls and feel much better for having the courage to just be yourself.

No prizes for guessing which one is Ari.  Photo - Ray Stevenson

Photo - Caroline Coon

From a style point of view though, Ari Up was an inspiration not in what she wore (there's NO way I could pull off the Superman look) but in her attitude towards clothing.  She wore what she wanted, when she wanted.  She had dreads piled up on top of her head like a modern day Rococo wig.  She wore facepaint twenty years before a legion of Oxegen and Glasto goers. She was variously Punk, proto-Goth and Rasta.  She applied the same freedom of thought to her wardrobe that she did to her lyrics.  She didn't really care about the judgement of others.  It suited her just fine.  And that is definitely something to admire.

Licentiate Loves: Sarah Doyle

It's been a busy ol' week for this blogger - I'm officially pooped!  It seems that the Christmas season has started early and a bit too much overexertion on Friday means that my toes are still a bit sore and swollen on Monday.

This week, while being busy on the social front is very quiet in the blog front, which means that I can delve into the long list of 'stuff-I-meant-to-blog-about-but-never-quite-got-to'.  At the forefront is artist Sarah Doyle, whose art I saw (and instantly fell in love with) at the Mixtapes Exhibition in the Glucksman Gallery.  Click here to see what she had on view at the exhibition.

Sarah Doyle's work is mostly concerned with pop culture icons and how the world looks at them.  Her art and animations are reminiscent of fan art.  Pictures of Prince are drawn with felt tips over children's colouring books and all her work is full of whimsy with a sense of humour, a touch of longing and a general sprinkling of all-round loveliness

These animations are very short so if you get the time, do watch them - the first video is a series of sketches of the wives and girlfriends of The Beatles, the second is inspired by Aaliyah's last music video, iconic sequences both.


Beatgirls from Sarah Doyle on Vimeo.


Opheliyah from Sarah Doyle on Vimeo.

It's only a matter of time before her work pops up in Vogue.  Mark my words.  If you're like me and a shameful art history nerd, then pop along to her Art in Movies  blog and spend a happy hour or two going through the archives (my personal fave is Teddy Lloyd from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie).

P.S  Click here for my super-duper giveaway of Mulberry LFW tote and... eh, just click the link .  You can now 'like' The Licentiate on facebook , so if you do like this blog, don't be afraid to show your support and clickity click!

Question Time

I've been tagged by Think What You Like to complete an "I love your blog" interview, which means that I get to answer ten questions and pass the burden on to some more lucky bloggers.  So, if you're curious about who I really am and what burns deep within my tortured soul... don't look here.  They're not THAT kind of questions.

Why did you create your blog?

Handily, I already wrote a post on this very subject, so click to read!  The short answer, however, is a mix of April O'Neal from the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and a burning desire to NOT be an architect like my dad.

What kind of blogs do you follow?

I'm a blog dilettante.  I dabble in street style and beauty blogs and wordy, text heavy offerings.  Mostly, I suppose I like blogs where the writer has their own distinct voice, or shows me something new that I've never seen before.  Fashematics, Advanced Style and Threadbared would rank up there in my all-time faves.

Favourite make-up brand?

Mac for colourful eyeshadows, liners and lipsticks.  Bobbi Brown for everything else.  Bobbi Brown concealers and foundations are the best.  Even at the depths of my poorness I'll find a way to buy an under-eye concealer.  I'm also participating in a humanitarian act by doing do, for the world is infinitely better off without seeing my dark circles.

Favorite clothing brand?

This is a toughie, because so much of the stuff I buy is second-hand (err, I mean vintage).  I haven't bought a pair of high street jeans in at least two years.  Count 'em - two years.  I quite like Topshop, but River Island is also upping it's game (the sizes aren't so prohibitively small as Topshop's either).  For designer brands I love Alexander McQueen.  He was probably my favourite designer.  Vivienne Westwood is great for larger-chested women like me and I love Miu Miu for the cute factor.

Your indispensible make-up product?

The Bobbi Brown concealer, as noted above.  That and a good pair of tweezers.  While not technically make-up, they do make my face look a hell of a lot better.

Your favourite colour? 

Purple.  I remember telling some old biddy that when I was a child and left the room to the echo's of "Purple!  That's the devil's colour!" ringing in my ears.  The joys of growing up in rural Kerry.  As a teen I wanted purple converse so badly but the (one) shoe shop in town stocked red and blue only .  One of my friends revealed that she dyed her red pair blue, the end result being purple.  I though that she was the smartest girl ever.

Your perfume?

Victor and Rolf's Flowerbomb, which smells exactly how a bomb of flowers should smell.  For less aggressive floralia, I like Paul Smith Rose.  Men go absolutely bananas for it because it smells so innocent - hey, who am I to argue?

Your favourite film?

Nope.  Don't have one.  I am a film commitment phobe.  Off the top of my head, some films I really enjoy and would put in some sort of league table are Up!, Welcome to the Dollhouse, The Virgin Suicides, Malcolm X, The Last Picture Show, Sabrina, Some Like it Hot, All About Eve, the list goes on and on.

What country would you like to visit and why?

Japan, or specifically Tokyo.  Who wouldn't want to be subsumed into that landscape?

Write the last question and answer it yourself.

Erm, sorry.  I'm not good at these things.

When I ask myself questions, it's usually alone the lines of what I'm going to have for lunch.

Come to think of it, I'm going to have some smoked salmon with capers and cottage cheese on some home-made bran bread.  Mmm.  Sorted.

I'm going to pass the baton on to:

Blaubushka 

Magatha-May 

My Third Cousin 

My Republic of Fashion 

P.S  Scroll down for a great giveaway .  You can now 'like' The Licentiate on facebook , so if you do like this blog, don't be afraid to show your support and click here!

Licentiate Column 25/11/10

I have a terrible secret to reveal. So terrible, I'm not quite sure that I should tell you what it is. But then again, if I didn't, this column would end right here, at the end of this sentence. And we don't want that now, do we? Perhaps you shouldn't answer that question.

My disappointingly non-secret secret is this; I have never been a guest at a Christmas party.
This isn't due to unpopularity (or so everyone keeps telling me as they slink off into the distance with the whisper of mistletoe and transgression ever-hanging in the air). This is due to my choice of work. For years I was a bartender, which means that I doled out the drinks at corporate do's, mixed Long Island Iced Teas on St Stephens Night and popped champagne corks at ten to midnight on New Year's Eve. There's no time for Christmas parties for people working in the hospitality sector - we got our party in February. The Christmas crackers had gone remarkably stale by that point.

Writing from home poses it's own party problem. There is no office, so there's no people. There's no people, so there is no party to go to. There's no party to go to, so I sit at home in my pajamas happily guzzling that bottle of Advocaat I found under the sink and watching the wizard of Oz.

This year marks the difference. This year will be my first as a CPG (Christmas Party Goer). The CPG is a different creature from your average party goer. Casual is out, the trousers are off and anything vaguely resembling tinsel is more in than Hugh Grant at a sorority gathering.

Here are a few pointers for the average CPG searching for the outfit of her dreams.

1) Go sparkly - but not too sparkly. Sequins are great. High shine, foil-backed fabric dresses are also great. Rhinestones are totally fabulous and criminally underused. Just don't wear them all at the same time, lest you become known as your local magpie fancier.

2) Your hemline is directly proportionate to how bright your frock is. Wearing an LBD? Then feel free to have your bum cleft exposed. Tis the season for more than just eggnog, you know. If your chosen party dress is a cerise-pink abomination with a smattering of precious gems and a not-so-subtle hint of 18th century parquetry, then by all means cover up the shoulders and thighs. The same goes for hair. The more ostentatious the dress, the more subdued the hairstyle. You want to look like you're having a Merry Christmas, not like you're auditioning for the inaugural cover of 'Playboy: The Toyland Edition'.

3) Always carry a tube of bright or dark lipstick for awkward mistletoe situations. Slick about half an inch on, then give that horrible, twig-dangling sleaze from HR the snog of his life. That'll teach 'im.

4) If you just KNOW that you're going to get mercilessly drunk, then wear an atrocious outfit to soften the blow with office gossips the next day.

Example: "Did you hear about Sinead eating twelve mince pies and vomiting on the karaeoke machine?"

"Who cares about that?  Did. You. See. What. She. Was. Wearing?"


P.S  Scroll down to the next post for a great giveaway.  You can now 'like' The Licentiate on facebook , so if you do like this blog, don't be afraid to show your support and click here!

The Licentiate's Big Fat Goodies GIVEAWAY!!!

Wilkommen.  Bienvenue.  Welcome.

I've been blogging for a while now and have been lucky enough to get some fantastic readers whose comments make me think, laugh or just generally feel warm and fuzzy inside.  Dear readers, I would like to thank all of you by holding a brand spanking new giveaway filled (mostly) with things that you just can't get in the shops.  Astound your friends and make your enemies seethe with envy at... The Licentiate goody bag! 





Nice, isn't it?  Unfortunately, I have yet to learn how to edit photos.  Drumroll please...





Item One:  A London Fashion Week tote bag, made by Mulberry.  This was given out to all the press/buyers/etc who attended Fashion Week this past September.  It's 100% exclusive and not sold in the shops, which didn't stop some people from selling theirs at exorbitant prices on eBay.  It has a picture of a cute bunny peeping out of an Alexa bag.  It is also a little bit wrinkly, but I'll get rid of the wrinkles, I promise.





Item Two:  A bottle of Barry M Instant Nail Effects, the cult crackle nail varnish that is sold out EVERYWHERE and flies out of Boots pretty much the minute it's put on the shelves.  Paint it on over your varnish and watch it crack before your very eyes.





Item Three:  A pristine, never read copy of Face Forward by Kevyn Aucoin.  Possibly the best make-up book ever written.  This book is for every skin colour, doesn't tell you to buy expensive brand products and shows you haw to create exceptional looks and (my favourite part) transforms celebrities into other famous women with only the power of makeup.  See pic above - that's Liza Minnelli as Marylin Monroe.  You can also see Christina Ricci as Edith Piaf, Gena Rowlands as Ava Gardner, Karen Elson as Elizabeth I... the list goes on and on and on.  It's such a great book to have and to share.





Item Four:  Some postcards and a guide for The Enchanted Palace Exhibition in Kensington Palace.  If you live in London and haven't gone, please go now.  Walk, don't run.  I'll wait here.  You can't buy the guide in the shops as it's only given to those who attend the exhibition, but here's one that is unblemished by my fair hand and ready for you to scribble all over (or stick to your fridge, whatever works).


Now don't say I'm not good to you.

HOW TO ENTER

Here comes the tricky part.

There's one day left, so I'm going to make it so much easier to enter.  Become a follower on Google Friend connect in the bar on the left, then leave a comment in the comment box.  You can follow on twitter or facebook for extra entries, just let me know in the comments! - easy peasy!  Merry Christmas all!

1.  You must be a follower to enter (that's how I know you read this blog).  Become a follower by clicking the Google Friends Connect bar on the right hand of this page.  You can become a follower if you have a gmail address, a twitter account, a yahoo account or an AIM so there's no excuse not to really!


2.  Mention this giveaway in your next blog post (just tack it on to a post if you'd like - but if you want to devote a whole post to it, that's no harm)!  Then leave a link in the comments section of this post.


3.  For an extra entry, follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway, then leave a separate comment on this post!

4.  If you don't have a blog or a twitter, then become a follower (see step 1) just click 'like' on the brand spanking new Licentiate page on Facebook, recommend it to your friends and post a link to the giveaway (this will also work as a third entry if you so wish).  Then leave a comment at the end of this post.


There.  Easy peasy.

NOTE:  This competition is open worldwide (even if postage will cripple me financially).  You must be a follower to enter.  The closing date for entry is midnight on Christmas Eve GMT (ooh, festive).  I will never, ever share contact information or email my followers with spam or third party junk or annoying offers (but feel free to email me with any questions you might have). The winner will be determined by a random draw, to be chosen by an independent adjudicator.


GOOD LUCK!