Sunday, 28 September 2014

My New London Flat





This post is about my new flat, which is just outside of Camden Town. My flatmates and I fell in love with it as soon as we saw it, although it is falling down slightly, and the stairs are all rickety! It's a real old-fashioned townhouse, and we have the top flat - no bad for second year students! My parents and I spent ages doing it up/decorating it, so I thought I'd do a quick blog post to show you around the basics of my new room (and sorry for bad quality photographs!) 

Bedside Table

I love my bedside table, I got the alarm clock from IKEA, thinking the round shape was a must-have look from the '60s. 


A couple of books I keep constantly on said table. An issue from 'Elvis Monthly' and the inspiration for this blog - 'Psychedelic Renegades: Photos of Syd Barrett' by Mick Rock






One of my favourite dresses in the whole world, which I got from an online shop called violethouse. The clothes take inspiration from the '60s and are so fantastic! I had to hang this dress on my wall!

Jewellery Table/ Record Deck

My record collection and jewellery, along with a Moroccan teapot
 Many of these pieces I acquired really cheap, likely from Camden market, although I did pick up some whilst travelling or from high-street shops (the hoops are from Urban Outfitters)
 Sometimes I refer to this part of my room as the 'David Bowie shrine,' due to the framed Bowie picture I stole off my dad 

Wall Decorations

Andy Warhol and Pamela Des Barres

Trusty Jim Morrison poster, which I have had for YEARS. This is actually a material poster, from what I remember it was a bit more expensive than the paper ones but gives such a nice wall-hanging/tapestry feel














Wednesday, 10 September 2014

'My First Post,' or 'Why Bob Dylan Was the Most Stylish Man of the '60s (Or One of Them)'

My first post is dedicated to Bob Dylan, the king himself

The first thing I want to say is that I believe Bob Dylan was the most stylish man of the '60s (or one of them). That is quite a sweeping statement (Brian Jones had a stunning fur coat/ gilet), but Dylan could really could put together a Modish/Beat outfit like nobody else.

Of course, Dylan is primarily known for his protest music that helped transform the minds of a generation into revolting against the Vietnamese war. This, in turn, spurred on the use of mind-expanding drugs and excessive formations of V signs (something that has recently been resurrected on many Instagrams around the world). He is also later known for his tenderly captivating albums where he moved away from the war, focusing his lyrics on personal experiences. This is seen in '70s songs such as 'Simple Twist of Fate,' a fantastically beautiful song (even if it does depict a brief night involving a hooker). 

But, as we shall soon see, Dylan is a poet not only in his musical ventures, but his stylish ones too. Let us start with my favourite 'Bobby' outfit:

The Shirt and Blazer Combo


His first album, 'Bob Dylan' was released in 1962 and sported a fresh-faced Dylan, before the Wayfarers and silk shirts. 

Young Dylan, harking back to Woody Guthrie, loved flannel shirts, jeans or workwear trousers, and striped, long sleeved t-shirts.

Bob later changes his checked flannel and casual workwear look after Freewheelin', and his style becomes more smarter - his shirts became silk and were usually teamed with blazers and pinstripe trousers. This was maybe (consciously or unconsciously) influenced by the early '60s mod-look that was so popular in London at the time, such as the smart suits worn by the Beatles and the Who in the early Sixties.

Highway 61 Revisited 
I fell in love with this album, twice. After adoring the music,  I bought it on vinyl and fell in love with the cover. Silk shirts are pretty easy to pick up on Etsy, the Asos Marketplace or vintage stalls, but so many of them never seem to be right for me (the pattern is too wild, the colours too bright) and I ended up coming to the conclusion that I could never emulate this style as well as Bob does. Because this is the greatest silk shirt to exist. And he pulls it off so well.                                                                                                                                 Bob really does rock the shirts. Whether it's a casual look, an open-buttoned silk shirt paired with a cool motorcycle tee and some black/brown trousers or a plain (...or polka dot) shirt with a skinny black blazer (as seen below).
                     

Bobby looking dashing in his polka-dot shirt we see him in so often


Coats and Jackets
Dylan also had an incredible collection of jackets and coats. In the early days, he kept his 'Woody Guthrie' image through this camel coloured suede jacket as seen on the famous Freewheelin' album cover, as he poses with the beautiful Suze Rotolo.
For a suede jacket in a similar colour, the best bet is to head to vintage shops or markets. I've seen many beautiful lookalikes in vintage stalls in Camden Market, for example. Bob later evolved into smarter, more stylish - usually black or grey - coats, paired with a plain shirt or a patterned scarf. 

He wore this checked scarf and funnel-neck double-breasted coat combo on the cover of Blonde on Blonde

When Dylan seems to be feeling rebellious (such as when he 'went electric' in 1965, at the Newport Festival) he sometimes pops on a black leather jacket to accentuate the mood. 

Cuban Heeled Chelsea Boots
After Dylan shied away from his Guthrie era, and in turn his brown leather work boots and he began to sport a signature Sixties look. Lately, I've seen a bunch of women, such as Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and the like wearing cuban heels, (otherwise known as 'Beatle Boots'), yet the Sixties and Seventies brought a time where any man could freely wear cubans (and not look like Noel Fielding). And Dylan pulls them off better than anybody else.

Dylan, Chelsea boots and Donovan. Newport Folk Festival, 1965

Cuban heeled chelsea boots are pretty easy to find (I found a pair spitting to Bob's, with the silver zip up the inside on Topshop), and when worn with drainpipe trousers or jeans, they look fantastic. 

Drainpipe Trousers
A humble early Dylan sporting denim jeans
Early Dylan stuck to his folksy down-to-earth look in the early '60s, sporting casual, baggy jeans (and when paired to a checked flannel, a look to give woodcutters a run for their money). Later, smarter Dylan seems to prefer black drainpipe trousers to pair with his blazers and shirt
Beautiful pinstripes...
Waistcoats

Dylan, Dalton and Neil (and waistcoat)
Turtleneck Jumpers


Wayfarers and Messy Hair
Probably the most signature 'Dylan-esque' image, the awesome 'I don't give a fuck' pair of Wayfarers paired with messy bed-hair. Obviously, it looks much better if you grow your hair out. And you smoke...

Anyway, I'm probably going to do a couple of Dylan inspired photoshoots in upcoming posts, with both male and female models.

Thank you for reading!




I do not own any pictures or GIFs unless otherwise stated