The long and short of it

Lovely in lace: Topshop turn vintage into modern

And here you have it… the perfect casual city shorts. My search is over. Never again do I have to bare the torture of taking shorts into the changing rooms, only to run out in terror, telling my boyfriend “They were too small/big”, “They weren’t quite right”, “I’m not really digging them”.

When in reality they made my legs look like the shorts were in fact horrific wonderpants, sucking me in only to eject the rolls in unfortunate places later. Not to mention giving the overall impression I have turned into a 50-year old social worker who won’t admit that yes, you can be too big for a bikini.

Now I’m a normal sized woman – size 10-12 if you’re asking, so how can the average shorts make me look like a Fame reject?

So picture my delight when these beautiful Topshop shorts made me look less like the delusional do-gooder and more like a normal twenty-something who just wants to funk up a trouser suit. Add to that, they are in a vintage-inspired black lace, which looks pretty, but modern, with a long cameo necklace. Just like the one I recently purchased from Freedom – technically it is not a long necklace, but add a discarded old silver one to the top section and voila.

And all this at a reasonable £35. Good old Topshop… no wonder ol’Mossy loves you.

DIY: not just for boys

DIY: More glamorous than hammer and nails

As the quest for the perfect black leather biker boots began to regrettably dry up, I came across an ingenious alternative. Those clever people at Aldo have created a DIY range of accessories for shoes. Who said DIY was just for the boys?

My cheap in-between purple (they’d sold out in black) ankle boots, had instantly adopted some much needed biker chic. Perfect to toughen up a girlie dress with my Zara shoulder-studded leather jacket.

The chameleon boots in question went further on their journey of transformation into the dream pair, with the help of black shoe polish and stained fingernails. Of course I didn’t take the inevitable British downpour into account and they are currently a faded black and purple version. But the colour concotion is far more vintage ‘darling’.

Now, I just need to find some turn-into-leather spray…

The Mars Volta crash land in England

Mars Volta sandwich of happiness

Hands shaking, rash forming, sweat dripping, I was on my way to Universal HQ to meet the two men who made me the girl I am today. Musically obsessed, that is.

Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala were once in the greatest band I have lived through. At the Drive-In were Hendrix-reincarnate and changed my life the day I saw them on Later with Jools Holland in 2000. I watched Rolodex Propoganda from the  Relationship of Command record so many times it wore the video out. And here I was about to meet them. I was shaking.

They always say don’t meet your heroes. In this case, that advice was wrong. They were everything I imagined them to be. Charming, funny, friendly, and above all pure rock and roll.

I could not be in the same room with Omar and Cedric without asking them the million pound question… are At the Drive-In getting back together? The answer is not as black and white as the question. But there sure is promise there. ‘Never say never’ in the words of the true great guitarist Omar.

Gigwise posted the first news story on the reunion rumour and the full feature will appear next week.

Kills n Stills and Bellyaches

Listened to Post War Years on the tube this morning. Can’t stop calling those mathletic blighters Cold War Kids, though. Why do bands name themselves similar things? Don’t they realise my brain span isn’t as long as their outros?

Did get my thinking about other band conundrums…Cassettes & Microphones and Walkmen; Kings of Convenience and Kings of Leon; Ryan Adams and Bryan Adams (well they are actual names, so I’ll let them off); Handsome Boy Modeling School and Handsome Family; The Kills and The Killers; The Shins and The Stills; The Kills and The Thrills; Wolf Eyes, Wolf Parade and Wolfmother. And forget swine flu, the real concern is the bear pandemic the music world is witnessing at the moment… Grizzly Bear, Minus the Bear, Polar Bear Club, Panda Bear, Bear in Heaven…

Possibly the best animal image ever

Don’t even get me started on Crystal Antlers, Crystal Castles, Crystal Fighters and Crystal Stilts.

What happened to good ol’ fashioned black, eh?

Black Sabbath; Black Lips, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club; Black Keys; Black Angels; Black Mountain; Frank Black and Black Kids, to name but a few.

Much more rock n roll.

Whistle while you work

Relaunch issue – May 2009

Good Housekeeping is as much an institution as Morgan Freeman. And deservedly so. But what can it offer PR professionals? Answer: lots.

goodhousekeeping.com

Wired arrives

UK launch issue

It’s been a long time coming, but let’s hope the second attempt of Wired launching in the UK is more successful than the first. If it is anything like the quite incredible US version, then we are in for a treat.

wired.co.uk

They’re not loose, but they are women

Loose Women's posing presenters

ITV sure knows how to make daytime television… GMTV, This Morning, The Jeremy Kyle Show, and of course, Loose Women. You never need leave the house.

The Daddy of business news

CNBC is increasing its output to include programmes specifically on the UK. Well the entire country is crumbling around our very eyes, so what better time?

CNBC.com

Do do do do do…

Child and adults alike, have an unexplainable fondness for BBC’s long-running Blue Peter, going back to sticky back plastic and elephants running amok. But those crafty PROs love it too.

I am the firestarter

Smack my bitch up

The Progidy are back. Bigger and better than ever. And two dates at a sold-out Wembley arena prove this overdue return is hotly anticipated by the loyal fans.

Find out exactly how shit went down in this Gigwise review.