BritUgly's blog

So BritUgly has been away for a while – sorry guys. As of now I’m back in business and will be making up for my absense with lots more posts over the next few weeks.

A recent-ish EIU post detailed how to create smokey eyes. While I’m a bit smokey eye fan, it’s definitely a very dramatic look on those as pale and pasty as me. And it the daytime runs the risk of looking ever-so-slightly drag queen.

A quick and easy solution – when I have literally 2 minutes – is to paint a thick line along my upper lashes and follow with ridiculous amounts of mascara.

Tips:

- Liquid eyeliners can look harsh and a bit cheap. Pencils aren’t always dramatic enough. Try the Stila or Mac eyeliner pots, or even a really good black eyeshadow with a bit of vaseline. Applied with a brush.
- If your hand isn’t too steady rest your elbow on the dressing table, shelf, your knee, whatever.
- Get right down to the lash line so there are no gaps
- Build the line thickness up slowly if you aren’t sure what you’re doing. Don’t be scared of going thicker than feels right as long as the line is steady.
- When you start looking like Winehouse, it might be time to stop…

Some of you will read this post as a thinly veiled excuse to tell you it’s my birthday and thus garner lots of Happy Birthday wishes.

It is.

Moving on… Yep, I’ve officially turned 25. The fact that on paper I’m now A DECADE older than TeenUgly Camille is worrying me slightly.

I went out with my other half at the weekend for a reasonably civilized night that ended in The Oxo Tower bar drinking £11 cocktails. Londoners should go if they haven’t been already – but be prepared to posh-up for the experience. It’s all part of the fun.

The silly amounts of jewellery and Marni shoes – not quite sure if these work with tights but I like how the silver buckles stand out – added some interest to an otherwise so-so outfit. I also accessorised with a much better dressed than me boyfriend.

Next BritUgly post: The Top 5 Best Anti-Wrinkle Creams. Possibly.

With the morning’s getting colder and darker (especially when getting up before 6am) it makes sense to start dressing for comfort. And for me this means reaching for a big baggy shirt.

Sizing: Because the shirt is baggy, sizing becomes almost irrelevant. Which means that thrifting becomes so much easier – most men’s sizes will work well, and you don’t even need to try them on.

Price: Even if you can’t find the right shirt second hand, men’s clothes are cheap! The shirt in the top photo was £14.99 from Uniqlo – they have an amazing range at the moment. AND, even if you’re my height, you can almost almost get away with wearing them as a dress.

Share-a-like: If you have a normal sized boyfriend then it’s likely his shirts will work on you. Unfortunately for me, so far this has only translated as my boyfriend borrowing my shirts and keeping all of his own for himself. If you’re single I suggest raiding the cupboards of your brothers of male friends… providing they wash regularly.

Concealment: Possibly the real reason I’m reaching for the bagginess at the moment – these shirts hide everything. Which is great when you’ve been eating like a pig due to stresses at work and essentially look like a skinny pregnant person. No joke.

Now, as people have previously commented on their difficulty of making a guy’s shirt work on a girl, there are a few things to bare in mind…

The bottom half: It goes without saying that if you’re going this baggy on the top half then the bottom half needs to be super-tight. Seek out the tightest jeans that you can squeeze into. Or reach for the leggings or THICK tights.

Heels: If you’re worried about looking butch/scruffy then you need heels… in fact, you also need fierce heels. Anything girly is going to look wierd with the top half. You need something chunky on the bottom to balance it out.

Jewels: As with all ‘basics’ outfits, the addition of jewellery is essential. Chunky metal stuff is good.

The face: If you’re dressing like a man, then it’s worth making a few minutes over your make-up to make sure you don’t feel like one. I’m wearing bright pink lipstick in the top photo, though I’m not sure you can tell.

The jacket: One thing that’s guaranteed to make your XL shirt feel less like a sack is throwing a slimmer fitting jacket over the top. You can pull the shirt cuffs out too.

Photo One
Uniqlo shirt (size large)
Topshop jacket
Cheap Monday jeans
Office creeper heels

Photo two (size large)
Cheap Monday shirt
H&M belt
Primark tights
Emma Cook boots

The best thing about stores like Uniqlo and American Apparel which specialise in basics is the fact you can really put things together in loads of different ways to create your own look.

However, if you’re feeling lazy then that is also their downside… you have to work hard and actually engage the brain if you’re to come up with something different than the boring jeans-and-tshirt.

Luckily Uniqlo have given shoppers a helping hand with their Style Council concept which launches next week. Style Council sees four fashion experts create unique looks from Uniqlo’s AW collection, aiming to inspire those in store with their creations.

The Style Council is merchandised in Uniqlo’s flagship store at 311 Oxford St and also promoted on their website.

These images from Elle magazine’s Anne-Marie Curtis show how simple details can make a big difference to a look. The oversized mens cardigan… the fully buttoned up shirt… the statement socks… Imagine this image without any of the above. They all help to elevate an outfit made up of basics to something much more interesting.

Something to keep in mind… before adding jewellery and accessories of course.

Working sort-of-in-fashion (but really in television) has it’s highs and lows. On one hand, there’s a chance to go to shows and parties which you wouldn’t normally be invited to. On the other, you’re very much working at said shows/parties. And working means lugging a heavy camera around, hassling moody celebs, not drinking and generally feeling and looking pretty shit compared to everyone else.

While the majority of LWF attendees are dressed to the nines or can’t-be-arsed-honest-dishevelled, the press – under which catagory I fall – are notable by their disinterest. It’s jeans and t-shirts all the way.

Of course, it’s hard to resist the urge to dress up at such an event, but ridiculous heels, loud/skimpy clothing, full hair and make-up are going to look laughable when you’re fighting for space in the press pen. As my school teacher used to say ‘it’s not a fashion parade’.

I realise than mine is a very specific predicament, but these tips should apply to anyone who wants to look decent and comfortable without taking the jeans-and-tshirt route OR trying too hard.

Shoes OR Clothes
I realise I did say “no ridiculous heels”, but as I’ve previously established I can walk, run and jump in these creepers all day long. Because I went for dramatic shoes the rest of my ourfit is incredibly simple. Some would say baggy. An alternative would be to wear something tighter/brighter/crazier but with FLATS.

Colour
I needed my outfit to be simple and comfortable, so the easiest way to add interest was with colour. I may have become clear that I’m not really a colour person – Lulu gets black holes in her closet, I get grey holes. And black holes. But I call it a wardrobe. Anyway, I introduced a bit of a colour clash with the teal shoes and blue/purple tights with out straying to far from my comfort zone.

Simple Accessories
I know most of my fellow uglies will despair, but today I left all the jewellery at home. The was just too much jingle-jangle potential that I could really do without. The across-the-body bag is the obvious choice for hands free living.

Image from PPQ SS09.

My previous post discussed ways to figure out your own style and thus avoid amassing a huge collection of clothes that you never really want to wear.

Now you’ve got that figured out, here are a few more tips to help you really make the most of when you get round to shopping.

Dress up… and make lists
In my previous post I suggested that you stay away from magazines for a while in order to prevent TRENDS brainwashing, so why not look for inspiration within your own wardrobe. Set aside a whole day – or at least an afternoon – to try on all the clothes you don’t wear that much and figure out what you can do with them. You might have a perfectly good skirt that you love but doesn’t go with anything in your wardrobe. If you don’t want to get rid of the skirt, you need to buy something to wear with it. (If you DO want to get rid of it… see the second tip)

As you are trying things on and experimenting, make a list of items you need to buy. Sometimes just a few key items can open up loads of possibilities in your wardrobe and allow you to wear things you never really could before.

Sell, Sell, Sell
Personally, I have a million reasons for not hanging on to items of clothing which I no longer wear. Lack of storage space is a huge issue as is the general depressing feeling of being surrounded by things I have no use for. It is SO much easier to get dressed if your wardrobe only contains items that you love and that fit well. But, even more so, those clothes you spent all that money on last year that you no longer want are an opportunity to make some money!

Providing your clothes in good condition – if you’re as fickle as me you may have only worn them a couple of times – you really should think about selling them on eBay. If you liked something enough to buy it, then other people will too. Yes, it’s hardly a revolutionary idea, but so few people actually do it. Think about it – you might have three dresses you never wear sitting in a drawer somewhere. If you were to stick them up on eBay you’d make enough money to buy one new dress that you actually want. Twice a year I have a huge clear out and sell off unworn items, alongside some thrifted finds, and make enough money to buy armfuls of new clothes. It feels like you’re getting the new stuff for free!

Invest
Again, I’m stating the obvious, but it pays to repeat this as it’s something I often forget to do myself. One sure way to avoid having a wardrobe full of clothes you never wear is to buy fewer items, but of higher quality. This is my biggest shopping mantra this season.

This time last year, if I’d seen a dress I desperately wanted that was over £200 I wouldn’t have bought it, but would probably have spent the same amount over the next week or so on a cheaper dress or two, or some other random items, as a kind of consolation. Such items would have provided a quick fix, whereas the expensive dress could provide a lifetime (well, a few years at least) of happiness.

Call me a label whore, but there’s something about the ‘designer’ items in my wardrobe that seperates them from the rest. I have so much Topshop/American Apparel/H&M/Thrift that the more expensive stuff is really treasured. When I’ve saved for something expensive and beautifully constructed I know I’m never going to tire of it. Of course, we don’t all have the budget for designer purchases – I definitely didn’t until I hit my mid-twenties* and I ALWAYS buy them in the sale – but the general sentiment of really making an effort to buy less and look for investment pieces is helpful for anyone who is as fickle towards fashion as me.

I was lucky enough to find the Preen dress pictured for £150 in the sale and it is worth SO much more than any two high street dresses I could’ve spent the same money on.

*I’m 25 next month. I’m trying to ease in the phrase ‘mid-twenties’ as I can deny it no longer. Scary!