Interview with Caryn Franklin

Yesterday, I had the privilege to interview British fashion expert and renowned style guru Caryn Franklin. For her significant contribution to the fashion industry, notably her latest initiative, "All Walks Beyond the Catwalk", the Arts University College Bournemouth have awarded Caryn with an Honorary Fellowship. 

The subsequent article was written for BHbeat, who I will now be writing for on a fortnightly basis as their new fashion writer. If you have the time, please have a read of my article: "'All Walks Beyond the Catwalk', an interview with Caryn Franklin"

(Photo courtesy of Caryn Franklin, photography by Chris Floyd)

To find out more about 'All Walks Beyond the Catwalk', please visit http://allwalks.org.

New zoom lens!

Although I am sad to have left Bournemouth for the summer, returning home does

have its perks. Intrigued by my digital SLR camera, my Grandad has lent me his

Minolta AF 100-300mm zoom lens to play around with. Because Minolta AF was

the predecessor of Sony Alpha, the lens fits and functions with my camera perfectly.

With this improved zooming capability, new photo opportunities for this blog await!

On the street, Winton

A snazzy, vintage twist to regency dress. Very smart, very quirky and very cool.
 The green of his trousers, for example, is just the right shade, contrasting well against
the burgundy briefcase and equally complementing his blue jacket. It's outfits like this
that I love the most - suave and individual. I wish more men dressed as similarly.

Domo-Kun nail art

Nail art is a small way of adding an extra bit of interest to your look. However, for

a quirkier finish, why not try an iconic symbol or well-known character? These nails,

for example, have been painted to reflect Domo-Kun - a Japanese television mascot

made famous via Internet memes. On seeing my friend's nails, I was instantly wowed.

Her next nail art venture: Poké Balls. Perhaps I'll feature those on the blog too.

The DIY Denim Project (patching up my jeans): Part I

As I noted in an earlier personal style post about my yellow All-Star trainers, my denim flare jeans have succumbed to wear and tear. During April, a hole appeared in the knee of the right trouser leg, which I have attempted to sew up twice without success.

But today, I trekked all the way along the Winton high street in the pouring rain to a small haberdashery, where I purchased 25cm of blue denim for £1.25. The plan - to patch up my jeans. I'll admit it doesn't sound exciting or very adventurous, but having owned these flare jeans for three years, I'm not ready to give up on them just yet.

On the street, Bournemouth

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to my mother - today, looking very

lovely in a polkadot dress, black waterfall cardigan and black leather boots. You

wouldn't think she was forty-nine years old, would you? (Sorry, Mum!)

Autobot belt

As I haven't bought any new clothes since going sock-shopping (although I wish it weren't the case), it'll only be a somewhat short personal style post today, in which I shall be addressing a question that has popped up on several occasions I've been out and about in the evening...

"Where did you get that Transformers belt, mate?"

Guest feature: The Desert Boot

Contributed by TOM BETTINSON

With menswear looking as strong as ever, I thought I'd look at one style that seems to surpass the culture of today - the desert boot.

Inspired by army officers in Egypt, Nathan Clark of 'Clarks Originals' created his first "Desert Boot" in the late 1940s. The silhouette of the boot and the fabrics he used to construct them are still used today by footwear brands all over the world.

On a trip to Copenhagen in July 2010, I spotted hundreds of men - both young and old - sporting a pair of desert boots. They were mostly worn with dark denim, corduroy or chinos. Some boots were light, others were dark, though it seemed that all were brown, black or navy. But above all, each pair looked great. I asked my Dad about them and he said "they had been around for years" - a classic response. Without focusing on the trend, I knew I wanted a pair, and I could see myself wearing this style for a long time.

I came back to Bournemouth in September 2010 to find these in Richmond Classics:

Click the image to view product page. (Image source: prettygreen.com)

These are the Clarks Originals/Pretty Green collaboration desert boot in an all-black colourway. Like the others I had seen, they carried a suede upper and crepe sole, and I thought I'd better try them on! However, at £94.99, I decided I should do some more research before purchasing.

On the high street, Topman currently offer light- and dark-brown boots at £46 per pair. At the other end of the spectrum, however, are these at €270:

Click the image to view product page. (Image source: norsestore.com)

Mark McNairy, the renowned designer, made these in collaboration with Norse Projects. The two-tone suede and big wedge sole make them very desirable.

However, knowing the boot's origins, I thought it would be better to to check out the Clarks Originals. With such a classic look, I knew these were the ones to go for.

Popping into Hemingway's, Guildford, with my Grandma, I stumbled upon the store's owner wearing a pair himself. He stated, "Mine have lasted for 16 years... They are comfortable and still look great every season." So I went ahead and bought mine.

Thanks, Grandma!

(Tom Bettinson is a sales advisor at Richmond Classics, Bournemouth, and enjoys writing. He plans to start his own fashion blog during the summer.)

Summer House of Fashion

Yesterday evening, I attended "Summer House of Fashion", a local charity fashion event held by House of Fraser in aid of the Wessex Cancer Trust. However, instead of writing about it for this blog, I typed up an article for BHbeat - an independent guide to the best of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch.

The feature was published this morning, and I'm pretty chuffed about getting my first ever byline. If you have a spare moment, please do have a read by clicking the following link: "Aruba Fashion Show raises money for Cancer trust"

To view all my photos of the event, you can find them either on BHbeat's Flickr account, or on the BHbeat Facebook page.

Bournemouth University Summer Ball 2011

Unlike most other universities' summer balls, Bournemouth University's differs in two principle ways. Firstly, it's more like a festival than a ball, with different stages hosting multiple acts. Secondly, everyone comes in fancy dress rather than a fancy tuxedo. Arriving super early, I watched as hundreds upon hundreds of pirates, Mexicans, fairies, cheerleaders, Smurfs, bananas and more made their way across the dusty field.

This year, SUBU sold 6750 tickets, officially making it the biggest summer ball in the UK. After a frenzy-whipping performance from Hadouken, the headline act of the evening was Tinchy Stryder. Down below are a few photos of the event, including some of my favourite costumes overall.

And so it came to pass that I was made unofficial photographer for the BU Summer Ball 2011... All because I happened to have a digital SLR camera swinging from my neck. You'll find all my photos on the Unlimited by JK Facebook page.

GFW 2011 - Wiltshire College

Following the showcase from the Arts University College Bournemouth, more superb collections - this time from Wiltshire College, Salisbury - made their way up and down the runway. Stupidly, I forgot to pick up a leaflet for these collections, so unfortunately I can't tell you who designed what - I hope you'll enjoy viewing the photos irrespectively.

GFW 2011 - Arts University College Bournemouth

A fantastic show from AUCB at Graduate Fashion Week, where there were some astounding pieces on the catwalk. I'm afraid some of the photos didn't come out so well, therefore I am unable to feature all the students' collections, but I assure you they were brilliant. Keep an eye out tomorrow for photos of collections from Wiltshire College, who shared the runway with AUCB.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to offer my thanks to Anne Chaisty, course leader of Fashion Studies at AUCB, for the free tickets to Graduate Fashion Week. It was an amazing experience, which both Rosanna and I thoroughly enjoyed.

Claire Harman, "Meld"

Earls Court 2, London

I was going to include this photo in my Graduate Fashion Week feature, then I

decided Rosanna deserves a blog post to herself. Aspiring fashion journalist and

fellow BAMMJ, Rosanna Cole wears a palette of blues with a beautiful golden

necklace for today's GFW show in London. Having had a peek at The Telegraph's

fashion webpage, it would seem Rosanna's on the right track with her bright blue

trousers, for coloured trousers are now trending on the catwalks and carpets.

Sneak peek: Graduate Fashion Week

To be honest, I wish I were among those photographers standing before the catwalk.

Maybe one day I will be. But today, Rosanna and I were seated with the audience,

snapping away with both our cameras. Check in tomorrow for a full feature (including

photographs) of the Bournemouth & Salisbury catwalk shows at Earls Court 2. And

remember... You can stay updated with all the latest Graduate Fashion Week news

by following @OfficialGFW2011 on Twitter.

Tomorrow at Graduate Fashion Week...

Two tickets for the exhibition, another two for the show - I just hope seats K31 and K32 aren't too far away from the runway! Earls Court 2 is my destination tomorrow, where I'll be attending Graduate Fashion Week, accompanied by the lovely Rosanna Cole.

Catwalk shows kicked off yesterday, leading to a tweeting frenzy from dozens of journalists and fashion students. And although I was admittedly glued to my laptop for most of the day, reading all those tweets has got me hyped for tomorrow's experience. Today, I again plan to stay updated via Twitter, but alas a couple of hours of shorthand practice is also needed for the 80 words-per-minute exam I will be sitting before I head off to London.

If you want to keep up-to-date with the latest Graduate Fashion Week news, here are two Twitter accounts you should follow:

Simon Chilvers (@simonchilvers) - assistant fashion editor at The Guardian. From all the photos he's been uploading to Twitpic, I'd say he's sitting in the front row. Follow him for constant updates on both the beautiful and not-so-beuatiful pieces making an appearance on the runway.

GFW2011 (@OfficialGFW2011) - as suggested by their username, the official Twitter account for Graduate Fashion Week 2011. Follow for updates on the goings-on at Earls Court 2 and plenty of Graduate Fashion Week re-tweets. They're especially keen on seeing and re-tweeting all the real-time photos being taken and uploaded by bloggers. This is perhaps the one time I regret not hanging with the cool kids by not possessing a smart phone. Technology, eh?

Alternatively, search for #GFW to read all tweets on this exciting event.

As for my blog, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow evening for any photos or even a whiff of a feature article. Nevertheless I can guarantee I will do my best to grab some great content for a blog post or two. Or maybe even three - after all, it's also a fabulous opportunity for some style spotting! I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Collaboration: Victoria Hutton

My first of hopefully many more collaborations to come is with fellow BAMMJ, Victoria Hutton. For her own blog, "Victoria's Views", she has written up a feature/review on five trends she had never thought she would wear, and employed me to take photographs in addition to giving my own short verdict on each piece. The photographs featured below are from yesterday's shoot.

To read Victoria's new blog post, click here.

Colour contrast, Bournemouth

Pink swim shorts and green polo shirt - I think the contrast looks alright on this

particular man (I can't pull it off, that's for sure), but what's your opinion?

A Saver's Guide

20% off Superdry in-store

If your shopping budget doesn't stretch quite far enough for Superdry clothing, you may be in luck! From today until Sunday, Superdry are offering an exclusive 20% discount on all their items in any Superdry, Cult, Harrods, House of Fraser and Selfridges. To receive this superb offer, click the image below for your printable voucher!

(To view the full Superdry range, visit their website)

On the street, Bournemouth

A particularly smart oufit on the young man, but styled for summer with rolled-up

sleeves and mirrored aviators. Although the young woman is dressed casually in

comparison, I do like the subtle colour co-ordination of the different reds, the most

noticeable - of course - being her vibrant hair colour.

The gold pirate, Bournemouth

When the tourist season is high, it's a common sight to see this human statue in
Bournemouth Square, where he spooks anyone passing by. His costume is
impressive, but his will must be astounding to sit out in the sun for so long with
all that face paint. (For a short feature article on the golden pirate, click here)

New camera... Let's get shooting!

Having finally purchased my new digital SLR camera, I can see a happy month ahead. I would like to express a massive thank you to my family and my dear friend, Claire, for all the birthday money that enabled me to buy the Sony Alpha. With a more professional camera to work with, I can bring this style blog to an equally more professional level. Photo shoots, catwalk shows and higher quality images will hopefully become a common sight at www.unlimitedbyjk.com from now on.