i had a bit of an uncharacteristic shopping spree today – i’m a student you know, so the funds are certainly tight. but i had something to take back at topshop and exchange and then i had to pop over to zara because a certain someone informed me that a new version of the much obsessed over floral trousers were in stock. then, to top it all off, it was my last day as sunday manager at jigsaw and so, of course, i had to make use of my discount. all this combined into quite a hefty little purchase load. ah, the sight of new goodies really does set my heart a flutter.

the whole celebrity designer collaboration extravaganza of recent years has largely gone over my head. i haven’t really ever found it that appealing or bought anything from any of the various lines. but something about the new Kate Moss for Topshop collection has really struck a cord with me. mind you, i realize there are some dodgy issues surrounding the prices and the fabric quality… so maybe it’s because the weather is finally warm and my skin finally has a bit of colour to it. but really all i want in my life is a little white dress and frankly any of these three would fit the bill perfectly.

i feel like i’ve been absent for a while. probably a combination of having had a nasty cold that i couldn’t seem to shake and being utterly preoccupied with university work. it’s not a good mixture and it’s enough to make anyone feel like they are starting to go mad. i’m not quite over the worst of it yet. june 16th marks the last exam of my academic career (seriously, i am not coming back for more after this) and up until then i’m afraid it’s going to be a bit of a rocky road for me. please accept my sincerest apologies, i haven’t been doing a great job of responding to e-mails or checking out everyone’s blogs lately. if you haven’t heard from me please don’t think it was intentional i’m really just a bit all over the place at the moment. hence my spastic six hour stint at the park today as an act of rebellion that left me lobster coloured. every summer i underestimate the power of the english sun and overestimate how resilient my skin is. hopefully lesson learned? but, regardless, at least i’ve got my first batch of colour in for the season and no one will know i’ve actually been spending all my time in doors battling with justice… yah that’s right, it’s a painful process.

Wearing: Urban Outfitters burnout t-shirt, Madewell jacket, Gap shorts, Rayban aviators, Topshop sandals and bracelets.

p.s. you can check out a few more photos over at team inglis.

Music and fashion tend to go hand-in-hand and this couldn’t be any more true than in the case of the Los Angeles based group The Like. Their sixties nostalgic appearance harps back to the days of Edie Sedgwick but doesn’t sit firmly in the decade thanks to their unique mix of retro one-offs picked up by one of the girls, Leena, who works at a local vintage shop. They’ve got a distinct image with a very modern edge. I love their music. I can’t watch He’s Not a Boy (below) without smiling. It makes me want to throw on a peter-pan collared mini dress, some thick liner, saddle shoes and get my groove on. Not only are these girls totally likable, talented, and stylish but they’ve got that extra factor (no, not the x-factor). These days success seems to be about taking some clues from the good old days of the renaissance – being a person of multifaceted talents. That is, being able to think outside the box of conventionality and blur the lines of tradition. These girls are definitely doing just that. They have played shows for Zach Posen and have had Gia Coppola produce one of their videos. While their already a big force on the LA scene (snapped by the Face Hunter last time he was in their neighborhood) they are dubbed to explode on the British front in the upcoming months with the launch of their new album Release Me that was produced by Mark Ronson. Watch this space – the combination of factors spells big things for these ladies.

A couple weeks ago at the Sketchbook Pop Up Shop I helped run a little workshop on blogging with Jill. To be honest, I half expected that we would just have a little chat with each other… surely no one was going to show, right? Well, I was seriously wrong. Some really incredible people rocked up and it was quite the encouraging experience. There is a really great network of bloggers around London and I’m so thrilled to have gotten the opportunity to meet so many of them. Although our friendships are all very new I feel I know them well already from following their blogs and their tweets. Not only are they all seriously stylish but they are also bizarrely brainy (studying law, politics etc) and so friendly. One of the overarching themes of our talk was about how to keep your head above the water and get noticed in a blogosphere that can feel over-saturated. My advice? Get out there, don’t be afraid to get involved in events and activities that are taking place – being able to put a real live face to a blog goes a very long way. So, with all that said… I’d like to introduce you to some of my new friends. I wont say much about them because I’ll let their blogs do the talking: Toni of The Fashion Cloud (whose bracelet I am seriously drooling all over), Tobi – who is one part of the duo behind Style by Queens (loving her mixture of a dainty little floral dress with tough biker boots and an army jacket), Iris of London Fashion Diary (how sweet are her layered florals?), and Natayla of Treasures of a Ladybug (whose YSL bag I am totally coveting).