the controversial jelly shoe.

what is it about the clothes and accessories that defined the 80's that makes us cringe? bodysuits, skorts and... the infamous jelly shoes. i can proudly say as a child i never owned a pair. but after slaving over the computer - fighting with the workings of indesign and my ability to work late into the night... i decided this girl deserved a pair of shoes! who knew that the first pair of shoes my eyes would set itself on would be a pair of JELLY SHOES... yes. i actually saw a okay-looking (as in i would consider wearing them) pair. okay don't get me wrong... i haven't totally given in to the dark side - that is the jelly shoe. i still think some, okay most, of the shoes are... well... just plain unacceptable!

i thought these (above picture but in black) were cute though_ okay. stop pulling that face! they aren't exactly peirre hardys or christian louboutins (although mind you marc jacobs, gucci and marni have all done a few jelly looking shoes for their collections). and yes they aren't exactly made of organic, sustainable materials and whatever natalie portman's vegan shoes are made of but they are cute and i quite like them. this is where i'm going to stop arguing my case cause my persuasion skills are crap and the jelly shoe is a difficult debate that i most probably won't win.

anyways they didn't have my size in black... they did however give me a glittery pink pair to try for size. aha as you thought - it nearly had me running for the door, promising never to lay eyes on another pair of jelly shoes again. what was i thinking?! and that's how i'm still feeling from time to time... constantly reminding myself... "but they're jelly shoes Ulanda!!".

but the store just called and my size is waiting for me... and so the internal debate continues... to own or not to own a pair of jelly shoes?

luella goes from geek to goth

if luella s/s 2008 was 'geeky cool' than a/w 2008 should be titled 'pretty goth'. big, girly pigtails and pretty skirts contrasted with gothic lips and a dark colour palette. our expectations of an oxymoron fashion statement, that has become unique to luella, was fulfilled once more. looking like they had stumbled out of enchanted woods, feeling a little mystified, this season's look was inspired by folklore and fairytales - with witch's hats, crafty embroidery and gypsy inspired hair accessories defining the collection. waistlines continued to be high and peter pan collared blouses, sweetheart dresses and gingham prints - that was all the rage last season - was translated from bright candy-colours to warm winter shades. think rusty oranges and deep blues. wooly pixie hats, thick coloured tights and scarves that became hoods that became scarves were simple, practical and perfect for english winters. i predict, come christman, they will be on every girl's wishlist.

are you ready to JUMBLE?

i've done many interesting and unusual things in my life but never thrift shopping and live music at the same time. that's why the jumblist massive sale which promised exactly that sounded like a little bit of fun. obviously the 'everything 1 pound' part sounded pretty fun too_ the sale was held at 93 East Feet which is apparently (unknown to me) a pretty notorious venue to brick lane regulars. the results: a black chiffon topshop skirt with tulle lining and a leather belt with gold detail buckle for a total of only 2 pounds (aha. they were serious about the 1 pound an item thing). not only did i get a bargain but i also heard some pretty interesting music_ there was rob thomas who, when not entertaining at jumblist sales can be found busting at liverpool street tube station and then there was lail arid who sang about hugging trees and fashion magazines which was actually pretty fun and funny (seriously though she wasn't bad at all). the UV lighting sorta affected my colour judgment and left me wondering on more than one occasion whether the dress i was holding was blue or purple. most of the clothes were highstreet, with tags still on them - not the usual old pussy-bow shirts and maxi dresses. jumbling was all the rage today but i think i'll go back to thrifting... apart from being better at it i think i kind of miss the smell of vintage clothes, the lack of ambience and being able to tell the colour of the garment i'm holding without squitting.

wardrobe for sale! anyone?

women selling off their wardrobes... aha it's a trend. i have decided it is de-fi-nate-ly a trend. it's taken off on ebay and now daphne guiness is doing it too. she is auctioning off (a fraction) of her, i'm assuming, fabulous wardrobe and even better she's doing it for charity. i recently interviewed susan muncey (ex-boutique owner of London's hidden gem Fashion Gallery) about her soon-to-be launched online boutique, ShopCurious. she kicked-off the launch of the website with "the susan muncey shopcurious sale" where she parted with some of her most treasured wardrobe items. see like i told you it's a trend but i think maybe you would need a really impressive wardrobe filled with way too much clothes (although what does that mean actually?) in order to have the guts to sell some of it. so why is it a trend? i'm not completely sure yet? i'm still exploring, pondering and biting my nails about that one... but maybe it has something to do with the idea that "if i sell the old stuff i'll have more space for the new stuff"... maybe? i dunno...

i-Dedicate this to agyness.

we've seen her on the catwalk of London Fashion Week, on the cover of one to many magazines, in the windows of nearly every big designer store and hanging around camden town... and yes i know what you thinking. you couldn't see any more of her even if you wanted to? well you're wrong. this month's issue of i-D is 'the agyness deyn issue' and they are not fooling around with their themed issues. it's not just a cover page, an interview and a few pages of jaw-dropping photos. it's 6 cover pages, an interview with her, her mother, her sister, her bestfriend and her boyfriend (phew.) and a whole magazine, cover-to-cover, of jaw-dropping photos. i-D has lovingly dedicated themselves and their entire may issue to the british beauty agyness deyn . whoever said she's the next kate moss should seriously rethink that statement cause i don't remember a magazine ever dedicating an entire issue to kate??

my ♥ for chloe sevigny

i just found the lovely miss sevigny on the pages of an Uniqlo ad in this months issue of i-D wearing clothes from jean-michel basquiat t-shirt series, which was like opening a bag of skittles and finding loads of red skittles (you would understand if you knew how i felt about red skittles). hasn't she just been popping up in the most wierd and wonderful places? she recently joined the elle editorial team as their style advisor and now has her own monthly style column. she's graced the pages of magazines and every perfume counter looking wonderfully pretty as one of the three faces for the new chloe perfume - a girl after her own name. she has such an electic mix of quirky cool and girliness that kirsten dunst couldn't live up to even if she tried. here's why i ♥ chloe so that you'll have reason to love her too.

1. she was adorning RayBan Wayfarers long before they were cool.

2. she changes professions (model, actress, spokesperson, designer and columnists) with such ease and is actually unsurprisingly good at each and every one of them.

3. she's been nominated for an oscar and golden globe (incase you've forgotten)

4. she's not conventionally pretty yet still i could name several girls (and guys) who would want to be her.

5. she's so fashion savvy and ahead of the game that elle gave her her own column.

6. she's in this very glamourous and arty (dance number) ad entitled "Carousel" for Ritz Fine Jewellery - which i love!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPTs8MgSYHU

7. she's teaming up with the (just as lovely) zooey deschanel in Divorce Ranch, an indie comedy/period piece - looking forward to it? please all raise your hands now.