We will be holding the magazine release at the Griffin Gallery in Shepherds Bush. We have chosen this location because it has a minimal, white exhibition space, with a rustic look. The Griffin Gallery also has a coffee shop which will turn the experience social. We will also be able to promote buying the magazine by saying “The first 100 people to purchase the magazine, get a free coffee.”
“For too long we’ve stood by and let big companies dictate: what we should be eating, how it should be produced, where it should come from. We have let ‘good food’ be redefined, twisted, and distorted until the bare minimum we should expect has been rebranded as ‘finest’ – and we accept this as a treat?”
Read the stories of female entrepreneurs from Brighton and get inspired and empowered to succeed in your own business.
100% Natural Foods was started in a small family kitchen in Brighton, by mother and daughter team, Charlotte and Jess. It all began when Charlotte started making raw chocolate brownies for her children, who were intolerant to wheat, dairy and sugar. Before long, all their family and friends became so obsessed with these delicious raw treats, they knew they were on to something big. Eventually, Charlotte and Jess decided to start selling to local shops. 4 years and over 46,000 handmade brownies later, with demand for their homemade raw brownies at an all time high, they now outsource production to a factory in the Cotswolds, which uses 100% renewable energy.
June and Susie
Grannies take on twenty first century style.
We wanted to interview the older generation on their takes of twenty first century style, to find out if they had any regrets, advice or mistakes to share with us. Their answers were inspirational, and shows our generation have a lot to learn about style and beauty in their eyes.
Susan Shephard, 75
What does style mean to you?
I have never really had much interest in style, as a young mother of 4 children I never had the money to choose what I wore. Finance chose my style.
However, I think it is important that people know the difference between fashion and style, they are two different things.
How do you define beauty?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – a natural face devoid of makeup can be more beautiful often. Like a wildflower compared with a hot house variety.
Do you think different cultures have different views on ageing?
I think that different cultures care for the aged in different ways, however i don’t think there are different views on ageing – I don’t know much about ageing. Although there are different cultures who have a national dress and their style doesn’t seem to alter with age, apart from the younger generation, no matter what culture, seem to wear the same casual style.
What are some of the style virtues from the past that you feel are missing today?
No one seems to dress with “special” clothes anymore as they used too, for example if people go to the theatre or out for dinner.
So how long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
On a usual day it takes me around 15 minutes to get ready. I don’t wear any makeup or use any products.
Do you remember a particular time in your life when fashion really significantly changed?
At the end of the war, when rationing stopped, when it was no longer ‘make do and mend’.
Is there a piece of clothing in your mind that holds a lot of personal value to you, and if so, for what reason?
I made a night dress completely by hand in 1959, for my A level. I wore it on my honeymoon.
June McNeelance, 81
Do you think different cultures have different views on ageing?
I think they did, but times are changing now and people are seeing older generations differently, here in the UK the older generations have the option of having glasses when their eyesight is poor, teeth and hearing aids, if it wasn’t for this availability then ageing would be a problem and people would have no choice but to view me differently. I feel lucky to live in a country where ageing isn’t even a consideration in my day-to-day life.
What are some of the style virtues from the past you feel like are missing today?
Clothing was a lot more practical when I was in my early twenties. And I didn’t have much disposable income to spent on clothing at that time, I use to see the fashions and “think how am I going to make that then?” There really was a “make do and mend” attitude back then, id fix everything from socks to bed sheets when they became to worn. We were a lot more economical than people are today with clothing.
How do you define beauty?
Beauty is all about personality. But the eyes show everything there is to know about a person, that something people forget a lot today I think.
So how long does it take you to get dressed in the morning?
It can change from day-to-day depending on the activities i’ve got planed for that day. Whether its golf or lunch out with the family I always make an effort to look smart, its important for myself and makes me feel good, that is something i’ve always made sure of through out my life and will continue to do.
Do you remember a particular time in your life when fashion really significantly changed?
Late 1940’s -50’s, the clothing coupons had finally ended after the war, that meant that there was no restrictions in terms of the clothing/ fabric we used or wore. During the war the only skirts ever worn by lades where shorter due to fabric rations, so as soon as it was possible, ladies wore long skirts where ever you looked, right down to your ankles it was a complete luxury.
It there a peace of clothing in your mind or that you still own to this day that hold a lot of personal value to you, and if so for what reason.
Dirndl skirts, this was a long full length skirt I made when I was at collage, I used to dress it up and down depending on the occasion, I did this by changing the blouse, I will always remember wearing the dirndl skirt at the collage balls and spinning around whilst I danced so the skirt would be on full show, I have very fond memories associated with that skirt.
The final photoshoot that I styled and shot along with Ellen Mcneelance and Isobel Brady.
I also wrote an article to go along side the photoshoot, with Ellen Mcneelance.
What does your knicker draw say about you?
A brief investigation
A part of dress, an erotic artefact, a mundane task or a consumption practice. It has the ability to empower us, make us feel secure or insecure. But there’s no denying that underwear is strong part of our identity, as women in the 21st century. In this article we have been getting up close and personal with a selection of beautiful and brave women to find out the secrets behind their lingerie, a brief story of the hidden identity.
Grey saggy knickers? Holey vests and fraying bra straps? Sound familiar? You’re not alone. According to a survey… only a third of women bother to push the boat out and match their knickers to their bra, and more than half venture no further than Marks & Spencer for their undies It seems that there is some kind of public problematising of such women and that they have “lost the plot” regarding what they wear under their clothes. Or, on the other hand there is a clear social expectation that women should match their underwear, buy underwear not only when it needs replacing and buy imaginative (sexy or special) underwear? Does your underwear draw look more “hello boys” or “not tonight darling”?
Its overwhelmingly clear clothing plays an important role in our lives, for its often through the way we dress that we substantiate our sense of self and our place in society. It becomes an indicator of our personal worth, values and beliefs. But underwear has the option to be out of sight, perhaps this makes us more daring with the styles, textures and brands we select to place next to our skin, or even perhaps the opposite, which makes us pose the question… What is the most important thing about underwear? The photographs we have taken focused on young women in their home, a place they felt most comfortable show us their underwear and tell us about how it came into their lives…There is something significant in the way that women select underwear.
’Underwear makes our bodies speak’, this woman explained how when she wears her favourite piece’s of matching underwear she gains an enviable presence, she feels like she can make a statement to the world. It may be a small object on her body, but yet has the ability to make a big impact on the way she feels and acts that day.
Todays society clearly implies that underwear has erotic connotations, and that women who do not buy “imaginative” and “sexy” lingerie are committing some kind of injustice against the sex lives of the British nation – and perhaps British men especially. However, women are not necessarily held at gunpoint to engage in routine practices of beauty and feeling sexy. Some women for example would argue that they put on their sexiest underwear when they are home alone because they want to feel sexy even in their most private moments and when no one else is looking.
But i couldn’t help wondering, for women do not pay attention to underwear, women who wear mismatched bras and knickers, who spend less than £10 a month on underwear, buy underwear only when it needs replacing or buy their underwear in Marks & Spencer in multipacks of 8 pairs of knickers… What does underwear mean to them? I have also began to wonder, do other women feel influenced by reading this type of article? And do they feel ashamed of their practical, black and white underwear.
However, women seem to be less bothered about the brand of underwear they had selected, I was surprised to find that not all of the women could remember where they bought their underwear. This is unheard of in a culture that’s becoming increasingly centred around brand. The model expressed the fact she felt we have little choice but to run our lives as if they were a business, and as such, we begin to think of ourselves as if we where brands, her underwear allows her to rest from this pressure and use it as a form of self-expression rather than self-promotion.
Underwear has been historically used to shape the female body into the ‘appropriate’ silhouette, to enchase parts of the female body and in general serve as a way of gender distinction. Every period of history has had its own standards of what is and is not beautiful, and every contemporary society has its own distinctive concept of the ideal physical attributes. We learn the idea of imperfection from a young age, and typically at school girls aspire to be perfect – studies show that attractive children are more popular, both with classmates and teachers, but we must learn to celebrate our imperfections. Most of us didn’t even need the bullies – we did that to ourselves. Correction, are still doing it to ourselves. But it’s only human to not like everything about yourself – in fact it would be weird if you didn’t.
After photographing a selection of different characters and personalities it became clear the image helped to emphasise the quirks and flaws of people in the most organic way, an almost journalistic sense of telling the truth, an important recorded keeper perhaps vital in documenting and mirroring our time, the photos are living refection of our culture and social currents of what’s going on behind the clothing we see daily. Individuality begins at our underwear; it’s about a person telling a story and channeling their personality though the clothing closest to the body. Underwear has moved away from its first generation of its primary purpose of being practical, now even political…
Perhaps underwear has too much to say to be hidden away.
By Olivia Smith and Ellen Mcneelance
As a PR student, its important to look into the overall aesthetic of how the magazine will look, these are some images i put together of inspiration for the magazine and team as a whole.
My first try at some photography and layout for the “Salad Days” magazine.