In the words of Rachel Green: "I feel blue"

Paris and Nicole nicely summing up my thoughts and feelings towards today.

So today is commonly referred to as "Blue Monday" a.k.a the most depressing day of the year. Supposedly, most of us have now broken our New Years Resolutions and we're all rather poor after the festive season of giving. Hands up if this sounds like you? Yup, me too. I am yet to join the gym (it's just never the right time), my healthy eating isn't quite going according to plan (and by that I mean I am currently munching on some BBQ flavoured hula-hoops) and I have been huddled up in my duvet covers all afternoon in an attempt to prevent the onset of hypothermia. Oh, the joys of winter eh?

When I say i'm having an unproductive day, I mean i'm literally having the kind of day where when I need to pee, I wait until I am borderline about to wet myself because I just can't face those 20 steps to the bathroom. This morning I wrote out a whole list of things I wanted to get done by tonight,and surprise surprise the only one I can cross off is "dinner". 

So guess what? No, i'm not about to post a bunch of inspirational quotes in a desperate attempt to find some motivation; i'm going to go get some chocolate, light my yankee candle, wrap myself up in blankets, and watch Sex and The City until I fall asleep. 

To all my fellow Blue-Monday sufferers out there, I suggest you do the same (feel free to replace the chocolate and SATC with your own choice of snack and sitcom) and don't you feel one bit guilty about it. 

We have 346 days left of the year to try again- why keep kidding ourselves for the rest of this day?

Tumblr pics of the week

Find my tumblr page here 

Ok so i'm aware I haven't actually been doing this weekly but i'm really going to try now, I promise. 
As you can see in my picture above, I have been reading Sophia Amuroso's (CEO of Nastygal.com) book entitled "#GIRLBOSS" which to be honest makes me a cringe a little, this whole obsession with being "bossy" thanks to the influence of superhuman Béyonce is a little odd to me but whatever. In saying that, this is my only  criticism of the book because the rest of it really does just make you want to get up off your ass and go out and get what you want. Amoruso is quick to point out that she is often described as a "rags to riches" story, but despises this description because it infers her success (Nastygal is now worth over $100 million dollars) happened over night. Amuroso doesn't hold back in this book, freely admitting she used to steal on a regular basis and was a complete failure when it came to formal education. However, she is the perfect example of how it is never too late to go after your dreams and your future really is in your hands. Highly recommend this book! 

Anyway, back to what this post is actually about- my favourite tumblr finds this week:

Alexander McQueen SS07: This dress was made entirely out of live flowers, and as a symbol of decay it fell apart as the model walked the runway. 

Oh, how I miss New York.

 If I don't book a holiday soon. I may go insane. How gorgeous does this look?

When in doubt, sass it out. 

Can someone please bake me a cake like this?

New York Fashion Week

 "One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years"     

 ~ Tom Wolfe ~

Let's face it, New York Fashion Week is every fashion girl (or boys) dream. Paris and Milan Fashion Week may comprise of the High Fashion Houses such as Chanel, Gucci, and Prada, but if you were to choose one city to be in its likely to be New York. 

The women's ready-to-wear shows occur twice yearly, in February/March for the Autumn/Winter shows and in September/October for the Spring/Summer shows. New York Fashion Week is the largest event of the month, mainly due to the fact that it also consists of men's fashion shows and so there are around 300 runway shows and presentations attended by Fashions elite; from buyers to editors to celebrities, and more recently, bloggers. Of course, there's the odd intern running around here and there looking a little frazzled i.e. me. 

I began my internship at BPCM 5 weeks prior to Fashion Week and preparations were well under way. Account Executives were on the phone non-stop to clients discussing arrangements for the shows; the venues, guest lists, music, and after parties. It was all very exciting and extremely surreal. Interns had little to do with the preparation until the week before hand, where we were thrown in at the deep end, to say the least. Invitations had to be signed, sealed and delivered- some were sent by email, some by post, and others hand delivered by the interns. One extremely hot and humid afternoon myself and another intern were sent running around the city delivering the invitations to Vogue, W Magazine, GQ, and Cosmopolitan to name a few. While this all sounds very glamorous, getting lost around the city and hopping on and off the sticky subway was a far cry from glamorous- I don't recall Lauren Conrad having to do this?

Other responsibilities of mine included creating face lists for VIP attendees and one list I was putting together included Anna Wintour and so naturally I was gone green with jealousy when I realised I wasn't going to be working on this show- though I later found out that she never turned up anyway, classic Anna.

As there were so many interns, we were all assigned around 3 shows each as unfortunately it wasn't possible for us to go to all of them. I was lucky enough to be chosen to work at the Suno show, my favourite of BPCMs clients, as well as the Patrik Ervell show (the male models did not disappoint) and the Rachel Zoe presentation which was at the most incredible venue. 

There's too much to say about each show so i'm going to split them into separate posts- for now, just appreciate the mass of invitations in the picture below- Fashion Week definitely isn't all fun and games. Well, for the interns anyway. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

They say that when you go to New York, if you only have time to go to one museum, it has to be The Met. One of the best Museums in New York and by far the more forward on Fashion Exhibits (being the largest art museum in the United States) it offers an endless amount of History. 
From the Egyptian section, to the African masks, and Polynesian artefacts it's pretty overwhelming and unlikely you'll see it all in one day (I made two visits). I was fortunate enough to be in the City for the duration of the Charles James: Beyond Fashion exhibition and was in awe of his work.

Quotes from James were printed all over the mirrored walls of the exhibition providing inspiration and giving an insight into how his mind worked; believing himself to be"properly regarded as the greatest couturier in the world". The exhibition was split into two parts; downstairs in the Anna Wintour Costume Centre and upstairs in the First-Floor Gallery.

The exhibition was full of satin ball gowns raised on pedestals, structured in intricate,extravagant ways: sheathed and geometric, or layered and voluminous, one can't even begin to imagine how the wearers of these dresses actually managed to squeeze into them. 
I have attached images for you all to take a look at- the lighting was extremely dimmed in there and so I only managed to take a few good quality pictures!
I also explored the infamous Charles Engelhard Court and multiple galleries within the American Wing, of which i'm not even going to pretend I know the name of, apologies. 

New York, New York: The City So Good They Named It Twice

Me looking happy as Larry.

So I've just come back from the most amazing, life-changing, challenging six weeks of my life- not to mention, completely unplanned. Let me start from the beginning:

One very uneventful Saturday evening, after weeks of applying for Summer internships, I was feeling rather disheartened. Browsing through my twitter newsfeed, I came across a post looking for Fall interns at top Fashion PR Agency BPCM New York. Why Not? I thought to myself, a girl can dream, right? 

I got carried away and started Google mapping their address, imagining what it would be like to work in New York City's trendy Chelsea area, having cocktails with the girls after work, and attending New York Fashion Week in the presence of Fashion's elite. 

Out of sheer boredom and feeling slightly delusional after staring at my laptop screen all day, I sent off a cover letter and CV to them. It's not like they'll get back to me anyway, I reasoned- and with that, I forgot all about it.
However, 2 days later an email popped up in my inbox from their showroom co-ordinator requesting a phone interview with me. After having a mild heart-attack I quickly informed my mother that I had spontaneously decided to apply to a PR agency in New York over the weekend, as you do.

And so, to cut a long story short, in a very strange twist of fate I found myself en route JFK 3 weeks later; about to embark on the craziest adventure of my life thus far. I still can't quite believe it happened. 

There's too much to say about my time in New York in one post, so i'm going to have to split it up- watch this space. 

Michelle XO

Tumblr Pics of The Week

So i've decided to start posting my favourite tumblr pictures every week, as I am obsessed with tumblr and I often get inspiration from scrolling through my home page- be it outfit ideas, travel ideas, interior inspiration for my future home, or just a random cute picture. I have had Pinterest recommended to me by so many people so I have finally set up a page but I feel as though i'm betraying tumblr. I'll let you know if I make any progress with it once the guilt passes.

Whether the girls lips are real or not, I couldn't care less- all I know is, they look flawless and I'm jealous. 

There is just something so majestic about lions, I have a slight obsession with them. Going on a safari is definitely a life goal of mine. If fashion wasn't my thing I would want to work with Lions and Tigers. Polar opposites, I know- retirement plan maybe?

I need this! SO cute.

I just love old fashioned, antique furniture- I suspect my first apartment will be like stepping back into 1920s France. And I WILL have one of those telephones like the one above!

In any difficult situation, one must ask themselves...

Minimalist chic.