The End of Print...?

I am of course referring to the wall of magazines that confronts you at any newsagents not the ubiquitous patterns covering our sartorial favourites.

It has been repeated many times over recent years that the days of magazines are coming to a slow, painful death. It seems reasonable enough, we can now easily download magazine apps or catch-up with international news online which is even more up-to-date than print could ever be. Ipads and other handheld snazzy electronics are becoming more popular by the day and it becomes less easy to justify spending £4 on just one monthly glossy. Especially for people like myself who MUST have at least 6! That adds up.

I'm personally an avid internet addict and researcher, always looking for the newest and most exciting gossip and news. Be it from daily mail online or vogue. It is undeniably addictive especially when doing actual university work requires the use of my laptop or the internet. Combing through the web becomes a handy 5 minute break from the chore of work. And looking around the library, I’m definitely not the only one…

So surely it’s onwards and upwards for internet and out the door for the classic magazine?

I say no, well I hope no anyway. I don’t know about you but sometimes I need a creative break during the day and after staring at the computer screen for many an hour I just can’t bear it. And so a fashion magazine tends to be where I get this release. I like to think of it as containing lots of short stories with all those articles, especially the September issues, and often take me a good week to fully finish the thing. And with the option of subsciptions which can lower the price per issue by over 50%, maybe the future’s not so bleak?

I say this as technology continues to take over our lives but surely there will be a backlash to some extent? We are not machines and not supposed to spent hours a day staring at an electronic screen.

Who wouldn't want copies of these bad boys?

Another special feature of magazines is their materiality, the fact you can hold them, bend over corners of pages and have a causal flick through. As great as technology is it can’t quite do that. And of course, this quality is shared with books which fashion has often turned to as a way of expressing itself. The release of both Alexa Chung's 'IT' and The Man Repeller's Leandra Medine 'Seeking Love: Finding Overalls' in the past few weeks has had me rushing to amazon to buy the real deals. No Kindle version here.

At least I can rip it out and stick it on my wall?

So, what do you tune in to magazines for? If you tune in at all…

xxx 

"Help me I’m poor" – Sport for the needy

Ok so not that needy, but still, money does nada grow on trees and as a current student I am well aware of the need to spend less.

A major concern about where to save the cash is on exercise. Gym memberships also do not grow on trees and frankly even when you do have one how many of the dozens of machines do you actually use??

Let’s explore the treadmill. It is running. Running which can be done anywhere. ANYWHERE. I might just be the biggest proponent of running outside, literally anywhere. Surely it’s much more fun to have a gander around the great outdoors rather than staying in one position staring at the wall in front? But hey that's just my opinion.

You don't get this array of foliage in the gym. Point made.

And then there’s the argument about weather, its raining blah blah. If you want to exercise you want to sweat right? If that’s not the case it’s probably best you just stop reading now. Actually just stop thinking. hush now. So you’re going to shower afterwards anyway right? (right?!). therefore a little extra water shouldn't affect you too much I believe same argument for if it’s muddy or too hot or cold etc.

Then theres the huge array of static exercises you can do at home – weights, core exercises, balancing etc of course not forgetting the lunge.

If you want reason to start, this is it. The bottom line is, if you want to exercise and get fit there is no reason to join a gym.

*I say this already being a member of a gym but that's because it's cheap so if money is not an issue then go for it if you love gyms and hate the outdoors!

xxx

Back to Basics

So how to dress for the evening? Here is one of my fallbacks – short dress big jacket.

It’s a pretty simple combo and has been known to work basically EVERYTIME with heels, flats, whatever. 

I wore this for a fairly formal family dinner (alliteration booya) but would totally work it for drinks with friends, a date or an overdressed night at home (they are the best – trust).

The dress has a nice silky feel while the blazer is velvet so making this a particular favourite of friends who like to stroke soft things. Everybody wins.

Cool! Nature has its own wind machine - wind!

I know I know, looks like Bulgari but is in fact from Mecca

*freckles not included

Dress & necklace– ZARA

Blazer – Theory

Shoes – Kat Maconie

Watch – Burberry

Bracelet - Monica Viander

Go forth and work out the most simple of fashion equations:

Small dress + big jacket = the easy answer for an evening look.

xxx 

GAGA for ZARA

There’s one fall-back place I can always return to at the start of every season, heck at the start of every week, for a little shopper’s inspiration.

This place is ZARA.

Also known as my own Mecca, or the best-value-for-money haven on the high street.

That is just one of the reasons for my adoration, the prices are just so goddamn reasonable. And you get pretty good quality. It’s like bargain hunting but more chic.

Another major pull of its whole composition of the garments – everything just glides together. There is a slick look that it sticks to and works bloody well not just for flash trends but over the long term too. I have years old pieces which are just SO ZARA (fitted black blazer anyone?) that I still wear over and over. And as well as being so functional and working with a tonne of outfit combos they also work superbly with the most recent of my ZARA purchases.

Its like a lovely big ZARA cycle of happiness which just keeps a’going.

I blame their ability to grab trends straight off the ruaway and run with them, apparently a process that only takes 2 weeks. Apparently so does Tom Ford (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2309809/Tom-Ford-I-hate-copied-Zara-The-egotistical-designer-hes-damn-good.html). 

Sorry, Tom but you’ve got to admit most people won’t be paying thousands for one ready-to-wear piece and your line just ain’t going to cut it. Although maybe for some such as Jay – “I don’t pop molly, I rock Tom Ford” – Z. Daniel Piette of LVMH agrees that it is the bomb diggity, or something along those lines. (http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG8589217/The-secrets-of-Zaras-success.html)

Still, their ‘stealing’ of designs is slightly not ok but they also have so many pieces that seem to be the real deal – uh hello the infamous skort?

The brand is now worth over 30 million euro and has over 1700 stores worldwide, so no worries that it’ll be disappearing anytime soon…

In short…. I’m a ZARA maniac out and proud.

xxx

In The Beginning...

This blog was created in the face of an online world which fully embraces blogs with new ones springing up everyday. However, although many of these blogs excel at their own particular focus I became weary with an ongoing slog of fashion blogs where the creator persistently uploads pictures of themselves wearing the newest trends. But what is the point of logging on to emulate someone else? Jog on. 

So, in response The Lunge has been born with an aim to go further with fashion, literally – sometimes we need a physical test on clothes. Alongside a central fashion element is a health and exercise focus that is ever more present in today’s society. Fashion so often overlooks a healthy attitude but I believe that they can be so easily and positively intertwined to mold healthy, fashionable lives.

Linking the two worlds of fashion and health seems the next logical step in exploring today’s trends and lifestyles.

 

The Lunge motto: work out to look beautiful; look beautiful when you work out.

ENJOY

xxx