February Issue

daisy dessy

Summer Trends: The key Pieces for those long summer days



RED HOT: Vanlentie’s special

That’s Some N.E.E.T stuff: An exclusive interview with the editor of n.e.e.t magazine





Hi and welcome to the very first issue of Daisy Dessy. I decided that it is time for a change in this year and decided to create my own magazine. Ever since college, I have struggled to find work experience and now that I am at uni, I learnt that it’s best to take incentive if you want to get far in life. This magazine gives the latest in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. There is love in the air as it is the month of Love in the Valentines Day special. Check out the key trends for summer from the catwalk capitals. The next time you are in town, visit out the exhibitions that are happening at Tate Modern to The National Gallery. See you next month.

If you have any question or comments about the magazine, drop an email to [email protected]. Are you interested in contibutiing to the magazine, email me with your speciality and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Facebook Group: Daisy Dessy Myspace Page: www.myspace.com/daisydessy

1. What’s in store for 2009 2. Summer Trends 3. In London Town 4. Red Hot (Valentine Special) 5. Wine & Dine 6. That’s some N.E.E.T stuff 7. Beauty Clinic 8. Stockist

Calling all die hard Fashionista! Fashion week for A/W 09 is around the corner with British designers showcasing their latest collections on the runway. Fashion week is between 20-24th of February. (http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk) It’s a fashionistas dream to mingle with celebrities and fashion Editors but in order to get in you need to blag your way in through the security guards check out this site on blagging your way into fashion week: (http://www.pdfcoke.com/ doc/5203/Blagging-Into-Fashion-Week). There is London Fashion Weekend from the 4th-8th March. Check out the site for more information tickets and goodie bags. (http://www.londonfashionweekend.co.uk)

Topshop owner Sir Philip Green has thought about having Christina Aguilera as the next celebrity designer for the London fashion based chain. According to the Sunday Mirror Philip “loves her style and believes she would add something new to Topshop”. The £4 million deal will be a great career move and this is her chance to inspire a whole new look for die hard fashionistas.

X Factor winner Leona Lewis is launching her autobiography packed will over 100 behind-the-scenes photographs taken by photographer Dean Freeman. The British singer from Islington will tell her story from how she was waitress in Pizza Hut to becoming an international star. The title of the book isn’t made public but Leona describes her two year journey as an “unbelievable experience.”

Whitney Port leaves the sunny hills of California to the bright lights of Manhattan with a new job at global design house, Diane Von Furstenberg. She has two new buddies Olivia, Erin and her lover Jay to keep her company in the city that never sleeps.

Sonia by Sonia Rykiel Zip Front Top Browns £65

Zip front patent boot Select £18

Zip It

Check Zip Skirt Karen Millen £44.95

Leather Faux Croc Zip Detail Purse Warehouse £20

Zips aren’t something that would appear to the eye when looking at the latest collections, but has now been exposed. Lanvin used zips on backs of voluminous jewel coloured tops and shift dresses. At Versace, snaking zips slithered around goddess gowns, giving a feminine but rock hard attitude with a heart ringed by a zipper with love from Donatella. But at Yves Saint Laurent, caged boots had zips up the sides, complimented with hand held purse bags in army green to navy blue. However, these designers are not the first to use zips in their collections, Schiaparelli promoted the zipper in her avant-garde gowns as decorations rather than keeping it hidden underneath the material. Junya Watanabe dedicated his whole collection on zips, spiralled around the neck and waist over black flared unfinished hemlines. Go for unusual diagonal shapes and loops just like the ones featured at Aminaka Wilmont.

Green scarf belted dress Peacock £14

Zip Print Tee Topshop £18

Ted Baker Phora Zip Deatil Waisted Belt Asos £25

Black patent double zip tote bag Debenhams £45

Pyjama party

Hope Daisy Cami and Bloomer Topshop £18

Last season it was all about underwear as outwear at Alessandro Dell’acqua to Roberto Cavalli with bubblegum pink ruffles and frills swishing down the catwalk. Now it’s time to wind down and get into bed with a snugly teddy bear at the runways of Jean Paul Gaultier, with tranquil romantic transparent slip dresses in blacks and nudes with spiral lace detailing. Dolce & Gabbana held a Pyjama Baroque extravaganza with gentlemen’s pyjamas in velvet and silk fabrics, Mickey Mouse shoulders, and underwear shorts with pockets. Chole pumped up the party with scalloped detailed house coats and shorts. Nightwear is the new daywear when teamed up either espadrilles, high waisted wide leg trousers, or even a bubble skirt. Coco Chanel is the editor-in chief of this trend when she created lounging pyjamas for evening and as beach wear, convincing women that women could be stylish alternative to nightwear. So get comfortable in this new modern twist of pyjamas this spring summer season so sleep tight and don’t let the bugs bite.

Bow Pyjama Set New Look £18

Dolce & Gabbana Leopard Print Chemise Net-a-Porter£140.70

Eye Mask Slippers Peacocks £4

La senza £3.50

Tinkerbell Nightshirt Peacocks £8

Sequins Sequin Beanie Select £7.99 Green Sequin Hotpant Topshop £15

Boogie on down on the dance floor with all things sequined. All the credit goes to Stella McCartney who kicked off this trend in her first collection with sequined black trousers to royal blue jumpsuits. Now it’s back on the runways of Paris at Dior, with golden sequins sewn on to waistcoats and halter neck dresses worn over soft white skirts. Sonia Rykiel revamped the classic French beret and the little black dress. Jumpers shined brightly with sequined doves, cherries, and butterflies. For a futurist dresses look no further than Balenciaga, who featured solar panel dresses which radiated the runway with sugar coated coned heeled shoes. This is the time to play dress up by experimenting with something out of the ordinary, making it come to life.

Ashish Striped Sequin Dress Browns £215

Grey 80’s Sequins Dress Miss Selfridges £25 Anna Ombre sequin dress Net-a-porter £450.21

Sequin Mess Shrug New Look £3

Dolled up Demin

18th Amendment Jeans Net-a-porter £126.70

New Sara Bootflare Select £12 Sass & Bide Jeans Topshop £60

Jeans history would be nothing without Levis, and its back with vengeance but this time eighties style. Reminisce back to the times of leg warmers, power dressing, and jelly shoes. Think Beverley Hills 92120 faded polka dot stamped jeans with M&Ms around the front pockets at House of Holland. Flowers bloomed on demin skirt suits while Topshop Unique had spectrums of demin from candy pink to classic blue all-in ones to roll up blazer jackets. Skinny Jeans emerged at Balmain with a mixture of stonewashed to bleach-splashed designs and finished off with ripped jeans for rebel attitude. This season is all about being adventurous with demin and being able to mix different fabrics and textures together. Try Topshop Unique for a youth look and for rock chick look no further than style icons such as Elvis Presley and James Dean who sported this trend.

Pleated Demin Skirt Oasis £38 Demin Bubble Skirt Topshop £28

Sonnet Carousel Jeans All Saints £80

In London Town Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones (24th Febuary-31st May 2009) Legendary Stephen Jones is having an exhibition at the V&A, displaying international collections while exploring the cultural and historic importance of millinery in four main themes. His designs are popular with Audrey Hepburn, Anna Piaggi, and Dita Von Tesse. After visiting the event, there will be a chance to purchase his book Hats: An Anthology going into depth about his creations which can be bought at the V&A shop.

Picasso: Challenging the Past-The National Gallery (25th February-7 June 2009) The most influential artist has been praised at the national gallery with an exhibition held for Pablo Picasso. The master of European painting is explored as “Picasso: Challenging the Past” by looking at the ways he gathered artistic concerns of other painters and made the responses through his work. Over 60 pieces of his work will be displayed showing how he analysed great subjects of European painting tradition. Some of the pieces include self portraits, still life, and the seated female figure.

Altermodern: Tate Modern (3 February-26 April 2009) The fourth Tate Triennial at Britain presents new contemporary art presents some of the best current art by international artists, ranging from media, painting, film and video. The exhibition has been created by Nicolas Bourriaud who proposed the new art term ‘Altermodern’ to describe how artists are responding to the increasingly global context in which we live in. Altermodern claims that postmodernism have come to an end with a new culture emerging. This exhibition describes how artists are the forefront of their generation is responding to this globalised culture.

Red hot buys

101 Love Songs Amazon £12.98

Red ankle boot Faith £40

Bra Set Debenhams £20

Camilla & Miranda Pencil Skirt £254 Red Dress Jane Norman £35

Classic Hardware Retrolite Heart Bracelet £28 Dolly Dagger

Mary Jane Shoes Dolly Dagger £134.25

Sheer Oriental top New Look £8

Vivienne Westwood Dress £263

Zip Front Slouchy red hobo Accesorize £29.35

R&B Love songs Amazon £9.98 Ring Liberty £62

Carvela Alexandra shoes £59.50

Red Check Camisole & Shorts Topshop £18

Skirt Lipsy £39.14

Wine & Dine Cote Restaurant Covent Garden (Average Price £25) Newly opened French restaurant in the heart of Theatreland serving fresh food in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Has been awarded for ‘Best Value Restaurant in the Uk’ in the Good Food Guide 2009. The restaurant takes its inspiration from many famous bistros found around Paris. This restaurant is the best place to relax with friends or someone special in the heart of London so make sure you book in advance to eat there.

Frankie’s Italian Bar & Grill (Average price £25) This flagship Italian restaurant in Knightsbridge reminisces back to the 1920s Chicago jazz club. Created by celebrity Chief Marco Pierre. The atmosphere is filled with glitter balls hanging from the ceiling and mirrored walls. The food ranges from pasta to pizza topped off with selected Italian wines for under £20.

St. Albans (Average Price £45) Brings contemporary European cuisine in a frosty wonderland world with streamlined with grey walls. Bright colours are splashed on to chairs along with murals of household objects. Dishes such as deep fried soft shell crab to Sardinian fish stew are cooked in a real charcoal grill & wooden oven fresh from Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal. The meal ends with a endless choice of desserts and wines as the highlight of the evening.

Fishworks Marylebone (Average Price £45) The fresh catch of the day served at the award winning Marylebone restaurant with a fishmonger’s counter which sells fish seven days a week. Mitch Tonks the owner brings all things under the sea with nautical-blue walls and wooden chairs. Dishes include Lyme Bay scallops to grilled sea bass. It’s the place to be if you catch my drift.

THAT’S SOME N.E.E.T STUFF!

Stephanie J is one of the hottest freelance web designers having her very own online magazine N.E.E.T which showcases undiscovered talent, independent designers, and stylish people around the world which has blown the World Wide Web. The 26 year old freelancer from Berkshire began N.E.E.T in December 2005 as a quarterly online publication. “I first had the idea to produce a magazine that features “grassroots creativity” because of young artists and designers I have come across on community-based websites such as Livejournal, Style Dash, Fashion is Spinach, snowflakes & cupcakes, and the Fashion Spot has helped Stephanie find people who are talented in their special fields such as bloggers, photographers, stylists, make-up artists, and journalists. This has helped with the production process of the magazine. In each issue different undiscovered talent is shown in the limelight. Many independent online shops can advertise in N.E.E.T to promote their business and can be in the directory section which is updated regularly.

“I see the internet as the way forward; a minefield of fantastic talent” says Stephanie. That’s the beauty of the internet; it can bring together a community of people from all over the world where they can share and feed off each other.” I love finding new websites, new designers, coming across a fantastic photoshoot. I find it fascinating and inspirational that there’s so much (as yet) untapped talent out there.”The inspiration for the magazine comes from the daily use of the internet looking through sites such as Flickr for fashion photography and illustration. “I wanted to bring it together in once place, in a magazine-format digital publication, to spread the word and acts as a showcase for it all.”

Stephanie is proud of what N.E.E.T. has achieved over the past three years and has been featured in blogs such as Style Dash and magazines such as Venus and Bust. In 2006, Bust magazine called N.E.E.T “A box of tasty visual bonbons and a brilliant take on the magalog genre” and Venus stated “N.E.E.T. is highly addictive....you’ll think you’ve stumbled upon NYLON’s funkier, thrift-store chic little sister.”

N.E.E.T is free and one of the first magazines to be published entirely online in a flash version, enabling readers to click and flick the pages similar to a print magazine. The site has had over 70,000 hits per month and a running cost lower than most print magazines. There are links within the pages which leads straight to the designer’s website. It was made to showcase creativity of independent designers and for advertising, product placement, and ideas. “I start each issue two months before it goes online (so I started the June issue in April). This gives me an eight week advertising window for each issue” “That’s the beauty of the internet; it can bring together a community of people from all over the world where they can share and feed off each other.”

“I don’t follow trends as such. I feature quality, unique items in N.E.E.T. I like colour, pattern, and texture and value fresh design above trends. I don’t have a favourite era - that’s one of the great things about fashion in general, it constantly refers back to past eras. I like the hippie feel of the 60s, the glamour of the 70s, the trashiness of the 80s - I’m even enjoying the idea of plaid and tie-dye and Doc Martens again - from the 90s! N.E.E.T is very eco-friendly takes it seriously when it comes to fashion. The products featured in the magazine are handmade and not made in sweatshops on the other side of the world. In the next issue of N.E.E.T, there will be a feature on Fairtrade items.

“I layout, design and organise each issue. I decide what will go in each issue, from the front cover to the editorials to the product pages. For photography, I choose work from a photographer’s existing portfolio and bring it together to create a spread for the magazine. So, while it’s only me compiling the magazine, it wouldn’t be possible without all the fantastic shops, advertisers, photographers, writers and designers that showcase in each issue.” Her favourite designers are people who are doing independent work from graduates straight from fashion school to photographers snapping their friends. “When I come across a photographer, I’m excited by the looks and feel they’ve created and captured; or a new shop I hadn’t heard of, and the originality of the items for sale. My ultimate fashion icon is Carrie Bradshaw. For me, she embodies everything that is great about fashion - experimentation, mixing styles, creating looks, getting things so right (and wrong!)”When it comes to shopping, N.E.E.T makes sure that readers receive reasonable prices for vintage clothing, indie designer jewellery, accessories, bags, and clothes. The trend pages are full of endless recycled fashion and jewellery captured as a new form of art. Stephanie is a perma-skint kind of girl who buys her clothes from Primark and H&M and has a love for vintage clothing and spends hours on eBay.

“Fashion has a reputation for being expensive and not very serious - however, it can also make an important statement. I feel N.E.E.T. shows that you can help the cause of looking after the environment and the world without compromising on style.” The future is bright for N.E.E.T and also for its readers because there is a possibility of N.E.ET moving to print. Stephanie is interest in the idea of moving towards print, which is very different area to online journalism. “I feel that there is a gap in the market for a magazine, where you don’t have to have a degree in something, or a rich dad or a million contacts to be able to get your work into it. There is a wealth of talent out there, and so many great, often young, people creating off their own bat, and there needs to be a showcase for that. N.E.E.T shows that there is more to fashion than the style and price tag. It has brought a scene of reality in its pages featuring talented people and issues affect our everyday lives. It inspires one to change the world we live in. It’s a pretty N.E.E.T magazine with a philosophy is to showcase global style straight from the streets – to sell a lifestyle not a brand. N.E.E.T. is inspirational, not just aspiration.

“My ultimate fashion icon is Carrie Bradshaw. For me, she embodies everything that is great about fashion - experimentation, mixing styles, creating looks, getting things so right and wrong!”

Beauty Clinic Renew Strength Reconstructing Masque £9.49

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation This whipped mousse formula gives an air-soft, flawless matte finish. The weightless foundation feels like you have no makeup on at all, but with the same great coverage. £4.99

Bloom’s Lip Plump with Maxi-Lip™ Designed to plump lips, reduce fine lines and improve lip moisture. £12 Avenda Shampure Shampoo £3.43

Soap & Glory Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths Soap & Glory Off Your Face Cleansing Cloths provide 3-in-1 cleansing, toning and skin smoothing for the quick ridding of makeup, dirt, and oils. £3.91

Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream A luxurious, silky moisturiser formulated especially for dry skin. Locks-in moisture to provide long-lasting hydration and protection. Helps to restore the skin’s natural moisture barrier with regular use. Skin is left feeling silky smooth, comfored and well protected. £12

Tresemme shampoo (fine hair) £3.99

Stockists 1. Boots 2. Beautyexpert 3. Superdrug 4. Beauty counter direct 5. Aveda 6 Net-a-porter 7. Faith 8. Warehouse 9. Amazon 10. Lipsy 11. Topshop 12. DollyDagger 13. Debenhams 14. Browns 15. Select 16. Karen Millen 17. New Look 18. BodyShop 19. Accesorize 20. AllSaints 21. Miss Selfridges 22. LaSenza 23.Asos