Looking forward to February

First of all, let me apologise for not posting regularly during this past month. I feel bad if I don't publish photos daily, but I've been a little busier than I expected. Then again, I have had more than 8,000 hits this month, which I can't quite explain. In any case, I'm hoping February will make up for the lack of content.

For starters, I'll be attending a gig in London next Friday, which will offer me opportunity to do street style photography during the day (London has plenty of fashionable people), and then to capture photos of the bands during the night. Featuring performances from headlining act 'The Effect' and special guests, the gig will be held at the 100 Club on Oxford Street on the evening of Friday 3rd February. (Click here for tickets)

Then on Saturday 11th, I will be attending 'The Only Way Is Blogging' spring social, also in London. The event is a huge blogger meet organised by London Beauty Queen and will be visited by the team from Company magazine too. It's another great chance to network with other bloggers, whilst promoting my own blog at the same time. I am feeling a little anxious, as I did with the Bristol meet-up, since I may well be the only male blogger again.

And on the immediate Sunday, I'll be returning to Pokesdown for their Valentines Fayre. Local shops and independent traders will have plenty of Valentines themed gifts on sale, and the famous Dorset Troopers will also be making a special appearance. After missing them at the official opening of Kaotichandbag, I am determined not to let them go so easily again. (Click here for further event details)

But the biggest event for February is without a doubt London Fashion Week. I have tickets and passes to several off-schedule shows already, and I am currently waiting on replies from the top designers participating in the official LFW schedule. Lots of street style photography, plenty of catwalk photos... Need I say more?

And finally, I am excited to announce I will be doing my first official photo shoot for Unlimited by JK. With kind assistance from my housemate, it'll be a Valentines shoot inspired by Paul Smith's A/W 11 womenswear collection. The final photos will be published on the morning of Tuesday 14th February.

Gold zip nail art

My good friend, Lauren, has been up to her nail art antics once again... I may as 
well give her a regular feature! On this occasion, she's chosen gold zips on an 
indigo base. She admits it's not as exciting as her other designs, but to me, any 
snazzy nail art is worth a mention and a photograph.

The National Television Awards 2012

Fantastic view, fantastic company, fantastic evening - the National Television Awards will most definitely be one of my highlights of this year. With musical performances, a host of celebrities, and tumultuous applause, the atmosphere inside the O2 Arena was incredible, enough to get anyone buzzing.

Tomorrow night at the National Television Awards

Tomorrow, a few coursemates and I will be attending the National Television Awards at the O2 Arena in London. As requested by our tickets, we'll be kitting ourselves out in smart or glamorous attire, photos of which I will publish on Thursday.

If I can obtain red carpet tickets, I will also be photographing some of the nominees and VIP guests. But with my poor knowledge of celebrity culture, you'll probably know more about who I 'papped' than I do. If I'm honest, it's slightly hypocritical for me to attend this awards night when I rarely watch much television.

But whatever the case, I am sure that I - along with my fellow BAMMJs - will enjoy this much awaited evening. You can watch all the action live on ITV 1 from 7:30pm, or you can follow my Tweets throughout the night too (@unlimitedbyjk).

Boy London photoshoot

Following from yesterday's blog post, here are some extra photos I took for The Rock. Thankfully, however, these photographs made it to the editors and I believe one of them was used. The quick photo shoot was for a Boy London write-up by Anushka Kandola, who is pictured modelling the unisex pieces.

I'm unsure if I'll be taking more photos for The Rock, fashion-related or not, since my schedule is pretty hectic over the coming months. Although I would definitely like to do more photo shoots in general. If anyone has any ideas or fancies collaborating with me, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

BU Dance Society photographs

Browsing through my albums, I came across the photos I took of the BU Dance Society during BUnique Week last term. The pictures were supposed to be for the new student newspaper, 'The Rock', but it was soon after that my laptop died, meaning I couldn't access the files. Anyhow, here they are now for you to view at your leisure.

Nerve* Magazine (January 2012)

Here is my Clothes Show Live article, as featured in the current issue of Nerve* Magazine. Albeit a student publication, I'm still rather happy it's been mentioned on the front cover. Words, photographs and page design all by me.

Racing Green Converse All Stars

Making the most of my £30 Office gift card, today's purchase was a pair of Converse trainers in racing green. As some of my friends know, I do tend to wear smarter footwear than casual, but for me, Converse All Stars are both comfortable and stylish.

My original intention was to purchase a pair of hi-top trainers, but sadly, Office did not have a pair both in the right colour and at an affordable price. Specifically, I had been considering buying a pair in maroon, however the shade turned out to be slightly pinker than how it appeared on the website. Not that I am not glad with today's final decision - the green is strong and would complement many outfits of mine.

So in total, I now have three pairs of Converse trainers (one in yellow, the other a mix of red, black, grey and white) and eleven pairs of shoes altogether. Although I highly doubt that will be the ultimate number. I'm sure I can be tempted to purchase a pair of fancy - maybe even suede - brogues in the foreseeable future.

One month until London Fashion Week

One month today, London Fashion Week returns to the capital, where the best British designers will showcase their new A/W 12 collections. And hopefully, I'll be receiving invites to a number of shows.

At the moment, my ticket requests to each brand have just "been noted", meaning I must wait to hear if I have actually been successful. I very much doubt I will obtain any seated tickets this year, but I do hope I can get into more than two shows this time around. After all, more shows equal wider fashion knowledge and a better standing as a fashion blogger.

My only confirmed catwalk is Anna Popovich, as part of Fashion Mavericks - a style event coinciding with LFW and showcasing independent designers. I am also planning on going to Vauxhall Fashion Scout too, but I have yet to figure out how to obtain tickets or passes, especially since I don't know which up-and-coming designers will be presenting their collections. Can anyone offer any advice?

In the meantime, it's just a matter of e-mailing press officers again and waiting for replies. LFW is going to be so much bigger for Unlimited by JK next month, and I will be sure to upload lots of catwalk and street style photos for you to enjoy.

On campus, Arts University College Bournemouth

My first style spotting photo of 2012 comes from AUCB - always guaranteed to 
offer a stylish student during the daytime. The pink anorak and his multi-pocketed 
rucksack are my favourite elements of this outfit, though I also admire the preppy 
look created by his glasses and back-combed hairstyle.

Sneak peek: January sales

January sales are a temptation I wholeheartedly cannot resist. My initial purpose 
for venturing into Bournemouth town centre was to spend my Office gift card on a 
pair of Converse trainers, but I ended up buying something much more special 
instead. You can probably guess what it is from the picture, but I'll let you wait 
until a future outfit post to see my purchase in its full glory. I may consider
wearing it to the National Television Awards in just over two weeks' time.

New year resolutions

It's been a week since New Year's Day, but now I'm back in Bournemouth, I can finally make my new year resolutions a reality - some personal and some for this blog. The first, which I am rather excited about, is learning to play the piano/keyboard. I have wanted to learn since I was about 16, but I have never had the drive until now. My Nana has even graciously lent me her old keyboard with which to practice.

A second personal resolution is to return to the gym to build muscle and put on extra weight. Due to a very high metabolism, all signs of my Christmas and New Year holiday feasts are non-existent, thus I remain stupidly slim and slightly underweight. With help from the university gym, however, I aim to improve my arms and upper body, which will hopefully make me look healthier and fitter by the summer. After all, guys have as much right to a beach body as ladies.

But for the blog, my chief aim is to order business cards - a simple task I should have done months ago! I'll have to do it soon though, as I want them ready before I go to London Fashion Week. My thinking is that if I hand a business card to every person I photograph or interview, my blog will grow from strength to strength with more subscribers.

Another resolution is to do more style spotting, especially with more natural poses and in alternative locations besides Bournemouth. I would love my street style photography to be admired as much as, let's say, 'The Sartorialist', 'Fashionistable' or 'Street Peeper' in a few years' time, so I had better get snapping!

And finally, my last resolution is to attend more fashion events and blogger meets. Networking and knowledge-building is vital for the success of Unlimited by JK and my career, so I shall do all I can to make those all-important connections. I have already had the pleasure to get to know several wonderful bloggers, including Lyzi (Being Little) and Bee (Vivatramp) at the Bristol blogger meet, and I am sure I will meet plenty more at the upcoming Fashion Week.

So there you have it - my 2012 resolutions. And now that it's typed out for the world to see, I have no excuse to ignore them. Wish me luck!

(P.S. I have decided to begin underlining my links, just so you recognise them as links.)

New laptop

This week, my blogging lifestyle returns to normal with the arrival of my new Toshiba laptop. It means all my Christmas money is now gone, but it was completely worth replacing my previous computer for something far more reliable.

For those who haven't heard the tragedy that befell my Hewlett Packard G62-107 SA, its motherboard fried - something which HP computers are supposedly notorious for after 12 to 18 months of use (although PC World would never have told me that when the warranty lasts only a year). So I'm hoping my new Toshiba won't pack out on me too.

The only thing left to do is recover all the data from my dead laptop. It sounds very silly, but I've really missed my photos. And once they are transferred onto the new computer, they'll be backed up twice in case I have another unfortunate mishap.

And how will this affect my blog posts? Not by much, although it will make it easier to publish my photos and blog posts more quickly and regularly. You only need to sit back while I continue doing what I love.

Blue suede shoes

They were a later Christmas present, so I thought I'd share them with you - a new pair of suede desert boots from River Island. I've always wanted a pair of suede shoes, and these will be great for the coming months.

Dark navy is, I feel, a strong neutral shade for casual shoes, since it goes with nearly every other colour. However, the material is real suede, and therefore I will have to be careful not to get them wet. These shoes are for dry days only.

My only bother at the moment is their height, as the tops of the boots rest halfway up my ankle, which feels slightly weird. But as with any pair of shoes, I've got to break them in and just get used to wearing them about.

Happy 2012!

For the most part, 2011 was a brilliant year for me and my blog. Unlimited by JK has been my chief instrument to advance my career in fashion journalism, and I've really enjoyed where it has taken me. My highlights have to be London Fashion Week in September, the Christmas Blogger Party in December, and purchasing my DSLR camera in June.

But if anything, I need to look forward. Isn't that what New Year's Day is for? As a whole, I want my 2012 to be happier and more fruitful than last year, and I dearly hope I will have an even bigger smile on my face come 1st January 2013. It sounds such a long way away, but time will fly, that I can guarantee.

So what to expect from Unlimited by JK this new year... I'm sure the next twelve months will be packed with surprises for me too, but I am definitely looking forward to two more rounds of London Fashion Week in February and September, attending Graduate Fashion Week again in the summer, dressing up for the National Television Awards later this month, and no doubt meeting up again with the lovely ladies I befriended at the Xmas Blogger Meet. Of course, you can expect a gazillion photos!

Thanks for subscribing, and have a splendid new year!