New Found Treasures Part 4

It's been a while since my last "New Found Treasures" post, but we're slowly getting to the last of them now. For all that aren't too sure what I'm harping on about, I'm showing everything I bought within the time I moved down to London(I wasn't there ages though). So this time, it's the backpack.


I picked this little number up in French Connection in Brighton. Not a shop I go in loads but my friend Nic saw something in the window, as the sale was on. I managed to pick this up for £13.50, which I consider a massive bargain as I know there are similar ones around these days for up too £130(COS for example). I realise it's bursting open in this picture but I was carrying a lot that day.


Anyone else got a backpack thing going on?


This image was taken by my friend Kate, who also blogs at anyweargirl.com which is pretty cool.

The Epic Battle

"The Battle Of Montmirail" by Horace Vernet, 1822

Hello everyone, just a very quick post today. For the simple reason being I left my laptop charger at the office on Friday so I have very limited access(my battery only lasts about 2 hours unplugged now!).

Every since I saw this painting by Horace Vernet, about to years ago in The National Gallery in London, I have never forgot it's epic-ness and sheer detail. Down to every soldier's face, every horse's hair and the way to gunshot smoke looks so realistic. You MUST enlarge the image to really appreciate it.

Normal blogging will resume shortly, while I have no computer I will be doing some new sketches of some furniture I have been designing(in my head). I will also be starting a new illustration this week, another adaptation of a well know painting.

Lonely Flower

We only have one plant in our back garden at the moment. I remember when I was younger the place looked more like a jungle, thanks to my Nana. So this guy must be pretty lonely now, when I have more time I'd like to give him some friends to sit next to. Plus I sort of miss all the wildlife that comes with it.


Happy mid week everyone, is everyone having lots of fun in the sun? Makes a change from the English light drizzle.

It's Not Fair

Are girls shoes better than boys shoes? Very much so.

If you are wondering, these are my girlfriend, Hollie's shoes of Lipstickkk. Image by me.

Buying Into: Denim

Interview with Cheap Monday's Örjan Andersson and Ann-Sofie Back

I picked up the latest issue on BON magazine a few weeks back now and when I have had spare time I just haven't put it down. There is so much packed in this issue I'm surprised it doesn't burst. Anyway the reason for this post is the interview with the brains behind Cheap Monday, Örjan Andersson and newly appointed Creative Director Ann-Sofie Back.

What struck me most about Andersson over anything else, was his love for denim. He is totally obsessed, has a massive archive of rare pieces dating back from 30s and his confidence in what he believes in shines through. This got me thinking about how much money I have wasted on clothes over the past few years and what little I have to show for it. So I have NOW decided I'm kicking the habit of a life time and cutting my "throw away" fashion down down to a minimum and buying into items that will (hopefully) stand the test of time. This may mean I might only buy one item per month but I feel it will benefit my wardrobe in the long run.*

So here is my first built to last purchase;

Lee "Macky" Slim fit jeans

What better place to start than denim. Seeing that I have put on a bit of weight over the past couple of months I needed I new pair of black jeans so I went for these Lee slim fit jeans from Ark. These are bound to last for years and improve with age! Also I bonus that they fit me perfectly.

I was torn between Levi's and Lee but I opted for Lee as I'd never had a pair before (Ark stock both brands mentioned, as well as other brands with a lot of heritage like Fred Perry, Farah, Penguin and Merc London). They are also currently offering 10% off any order with code SPRING10.

 First outfit with the jeans. Jacket Levi's, Shirt Topman, Jeans Lee, Boots All Saints

More from BON. Pretty much WANT that jumper on the left.

Even the index page is brilliant, I'm a sucker for a nice layout.

On another note, thanks for all the lovely feedback on my previous post "Messing With Mona". I had some great suggestions on which/who to do next so hopefully when I get a bit of time I will start the next one. When it's ready I show you all! Your comments are much appreciated.

Have a great weekend everyone.

*Obviously I'm still going to buy certain thing which are cheap, after all I am student. I will just be more selective.

PS. Have you seen the competition Tweet is running at the moment?! It's a bit of a woppa, talk about exclusive, get entering here to win Laura Mackness goodies.

Messing With Mona

Mona is complete. I've totally defaced her haven't I? I've been working on this, it bit-by-bit over the past 2 weeks, it has been such a slow process as every single piece is separate but I think it has been worth it. It was done on Illustrator and it was quite simple process really, just very time consuming. What do you all think? A bit too much or do you like the effect?


I think I will be re-doing other painting like this soon, but which to pick. Any suggestions?


Image by Matthew Pike

Bye Bye Supergrass

Supergrass have split up, one of my favourite bands of the past 20 years. No more Danny on his drums, musical differences has pulled them apart. Hopefully I can get tickets to their farewell tour.

Is it just me who likes/liked Supergrass?

James Dawe Illustration

This morning I'm rediscovering my love for James Dawe illustration/image making, so I thought I would share it with you all. I may have been a bit image heavy on this one but some of his work is just too good not to post, the detail of each piece is pretty amazing. Dawe has been commissions by several large publications and companies to product work for them, including Man About Town, Nike, Coca-Cola, Wallpaper, Sky and he has also produced music videos for The Maccabees.


The colours are perfectly fitting for this crazy sunny weather we're having in the UK, if you're interesting check out his online portfolio here.


Well done to you if you guess that the face below was INDEED the Mona Lisa, I will reveal all later on.

Guess Who

Can you guess who/what it is yet?

This is just a little project I'm working on at the moment, it's a painstakingly slow process but satisfying, none the less. I'll post the whole thing when it's all done, but until then feel free to guess (it's not that hard to tell really?) in the comment box.

First person to guess correctly gets a pat on the back.

Saturday Treats

Disney Quest watch from cira '99, found in my mum's junk drawer. All it needed was a fresh battery.

Mercades Benz key ring, found in a bag on my old collection of cars(this will now replace my Marc Jacobs airplane keyring).

(oops blurry) From left to right - Silver thumb ring, Topman skull ring, Silver Art Deco ring, Paul Smith "Love" ring.

So this weeks moto is, "Look in your own backyard".

On another note, I've just realised that THIS is my 300th blog post! How exciting is that, I've had this blog for about 2 years now and I've loved every minute of it. Thanks to everyone for your constant support, lovely comments and feedback. And a final thank you and "hello" to all the new followers of Buckets'.

Pop Yourself

So I'm starting a new thing, Pop Yourself. Wouldn't it be great if it actually caught on? *

I picked up Lust For Life for £1 in a charity shop, shame I don't have a record player to play it on but it's nice just to have all the same. Does anyone else buy old records or found anything ace in charity shops lately? 

* You're only allowed to use Iggy Pop LPs!

Sock It To Me

I possibly have too many but I just can't stand boring socks, that's only the top layer. But how many is too many?

Chinos Topman, Socks Happy Socks, Boat Shoes Kurt Geiger

I realise the blog's getting a bit sock/shoe heavy of late, is this a bad thing? Please tell me if it's getting too much. If not, I may just carry on, I have a lot to share.

The Varsity Jacket

Heritage Research Varsity Jacket, exclusively at Oi Polloi

Clearly out of my price range, over the next few weeks I will be searching for something similar (that doesn't have massive sleeves), in the charity/vintage shops. It's not too gimmicky and not so much a colour that can look dated easily. Saying that, it's all about the fit. I'm on to a winner here.

Clearing Up My Desktop

I tend to use my blog as a big of a personal archive/scrapbook, for the main reason being that all the images don't clog up my hard drive. Also when I'm looking for something I know exactly where it is. My desktop was slowly starting to get busy so I'm popping all the images in a blog post, I will post likely be doing this once a month. 

Here's what I'm sharing;

Dr Martens Hiking Advert 

The Selby

Lego Advert

Rene Magritte - Sailboat and Sirens

Yum

David Hockney cira 65'

Chaps in the 30s - The Sartorialist

Images without credits, I am unsure where they are from. If you know or they are yours please tell me and I will link through. None of the images are mine.

Happy Birthday Dr. Martens

Thursday 1st April 2010 marked Dr. Martens 50th Birthday, to celebrate they are launching a couple of new ranges including the "Worn" 1460 collection (for all the lazy people!) and new colour in the "Made In England collection.

They have also got a bunch of Dr. Martens fans to talk about why they think the brand has passed the test of time and why they are so special to each of them. Feast your eyes, it's a good watch and great to here a bit about the iconic brand's history;

Here's how I'm wearing mine at the moment;

One 1/2 year old Dr. Martens worn with multi-coloured socks, no names and Topman beige chinos.

The boots are clearly quite a hard looking piece of footwear so at the moment I'm wearing them with trousers that aren't so harsh, just to give a different look to the usual, wearing them with jeans. I'm not completely sure if it works so much yet, what to you think? Good mix of soft and hard?

As I mentioned in my previous post Steve from Style Salvage was lucky enough to take a tour of the Dr. Martens Factory in Northampton last week, there's some great images from his visit. Check out the full post here.

So how do you do/would you wear yours?

Also tomorrow I might give you a sneak preview of a little art project I've been working on, in my spare time.