Obligatory Olympics fashion post - they're here!

Hi guys,
Tomorrow I fly off to Venice and will therefore be completely missing the first week of the Olympics. But that doesn't mean that, like nearly everyone else in the country, I am not very excited to see the Opening Ceremony tonight. Because I am!

But the Olympics isn't just the greatest sports event on earth; it's also a great big fashion spectacle. Stella McCartney has designed the Team GB kit. Ralph Lauren waved the flag for the American teams. And Giorgio Armani created the Italian teams uniforms. But what about us? Of course you can buy the Stella McCartney pieces, but if you're not really the sport type there have to be some options for showing your patriotism during the Olympics, and looking stylish at the same time. Well, here are some of the ideas I've come up with:

Union jack lips clutch, Lulu Guinness, £475 
London soldiers print skirt, Cath Kidston, £35
Union jack holdall, Accessorize, £40
Union jack teacup keyring, Accessorize, £5
Ashish I love Sports sweater, Topshop, £50
Union Jack floral top, Next, £16
Union Jack dessert boots, Clarks, £53
Vivienne Westwood armour ring, Asos, £185

Am you excited about the approaching Olympics? Will you be flying the flag and donning your red, white, and blue? Or are you a little bit fed up of all the hype? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Love Tor x

Jubilee fashion - How could I not?!

Hi guys,
With the Jubilee weekend (or what I am calling the 'Big Move' weekend) almost upon us, how could I not do a quick round up of all the best of Britannia fashion currently on the high street? And by that, of course, I mean the best of everything kitsch, tacky and gloriously over the top!

Love London make up bag, Accessorize, £10
Jubilee print blazer, River Island, £40 
Jubilee crown ring, Topshop, £10
Vivienne Westwood bracelet, Asos, £95
Union jack clutch, Debenhams, £50
Vivienne westwood dress, Matches, +£2000
Crown sunglasses, Accessorize, £6
Steam cream Big Ben moisturiser, Asos, £13
Union Jack pendant, Cath Kidston, £20

OK I know I said this would be high street, but you just can't talk about the best of British without throwing in a Vivienne Westwood dress, can you!? I also love the blazer from River Island so much that I just ordered it! It will look fantastic not only this weekend, but also all wonderful British summer long teamed with plain frocks, or jeans and a white tee.

I'm not ashamed to say that I like the Royal family - especially the Queen when she's wearing her ceremonial robes (or 'all blinged up' as I prefer) I think it's nice to have someone to look to that you can depend on and it's at times like this that I do feel very very proud to be British. So at some point this weekend, amongst the chaos of the removal men, endless boxes, and frantic hoovering, I will find the time to eat a hotdog in honour of 'er Maj: It's the least I can do!

What are you going to be doing this Jubilee weekend? Will you be celebrating? And more importantly, what will you be wearing to do it?!

Love Tor xx

Cool Britannia!

Oh yes, cool Britannia is back, baby. And in a big way! If it's red, white, and blue, and it has the union jack on it then apparently it is your "hot new trend" for the summer.Does anyone else find it a little scary and perculiar how fast trends are moving in their cyclical nature nowadays? At 25, i'm not sure that the clothes of my childhood should be the new retro, or the new vintage. But in the past 5 years we're raped the 20s, 50s, 60s and the 80s, so it's back to the 90s we go! And it's worrying to hear kids on the bus refer to things less than 1o years old as "vintage" dont you think?

In case your interested in this kind of thing, the phrase "Cool Britannia" is a media term which was first used in 1967 as a song title by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. The phrase then reappeared in the mid-1990s as a registered trade mark for one of Ben & Jerry's ice-creams (vanilla with strawberries and chocolate-covered shortbread). The ice cream name and recipe was coined in early 1996 by an American lawyer called Sarah Moynihan-Williams who was living in London. Her Cool Britannia icecream was the winning entry in a Ben and Jerry's ice cream competition. Her name for the ice cream as "Cool Britannia" was meant to presage the era of New Labour, which came about with their election win in May 1997. The phrase was quickly adopted in the media and in advertising, seeming to capture the "It" quality of London at the time. The election of Blair's government in 1997 on a platform of modernisation and with Blair as a relatively young Prime Minister gave the idea fresh currency. To the extent that it had any real meaning, "Cool Britannia" referred to the transient fashionable London scene, 1990s bands such as Blur and Oasis, fashion designers, the Young British Artists and magazines. Cool Britannia also summed up the mood in Britain during the mid-1990s Britpop movement, when there was a sudden influx of lively British rock and pop music from bands such as Oasis, Blur, Suede, Supergrass, Pulp and The Verve, as well as the Spice Girls. Many link popularity of the Austin Powers films and the resurgence of James Bond 007 as factors of the spread of Cool Britannia. The movement, along with political factors, saw a renewal in British pride, typified by such things as Noel Gallagher's Union Flag guitar and Geri Halliwell's iconic skimpy Union Flag dress.

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And now it's back. I suppose it's only to be expected. Patriotism is always at its most apparent during times of crisis (I'm thinking of the two world wars) and the current economic crisis is bringing the people of the country together once more. As well as enabling the BNP to get a foot in the door and tearing our government apart. Which makes the union jack take on a more sinister overtone, no? Isn't it sad that one political party can make what should be a source of National pride seem like something to be ashamed of? The ugly face of patriotism. Anyway.

With the cool Britannia theme continuing to rage on the highstreet, and my realisation that I could "make do" a lot of the theme with the current contents of my own wardrobe, here is my take on "Cool Britannia Cool". But more of a cool Brittannia got hit by the credit crunch, lost all their money, and had to start working as a dinner lady....

Dishevelled hair, dinner lady dresses and smeared dollops of make up. Oh yeah, I bet there are models everywhere eating their hearts out!

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Love, Tor x

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PS - The pic at the top is French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac paying tribute to Princess Diana in his 2006 collection. I sort of, actually, definitely love it!