As Sunday afternoons dictate now is the time to catch up on bad tv, eating leftovers and apparently perfect blog updating time!! Well this week has been full to the brim with old friends and new friends popping in and out of my daily life as well as a full uni schedule!! Sunday hailed the arrival of my lovely friend Kellie and after a fruitless wait in a hotel lobby for her 'too tired' uni group we decided to go it alone to the V and A to soak up some historical fashion culture!! We managed to revisit the "Telling Tales" exhibition before it closed...the fairytale furniture journey was amazing...as you wound you way further and further in crossing at first 'normal' objects which then at second glance revealed amazingly intricate designed pieces (I especially liked the gold plated tables made of a factory stand with the table top made from the billows of smoke rising from it, and the 'Adam and Eve' inspired wardrobe set out with branches as coat hangers all surrounded by individually glazed leaves).



Monday was university morning time, we then went on the hunt for fabrics on Berwick St, the ranges were amazing (some astoundingly expensive!!) but for quality and choice the Cloth House had an amazing array of different fibres and textures.



After a quick trip to The National Portrait Gallery, soaking up the vast array of nineteenth century paintings we had a wander around China Town and Soho before a trip into Hamleys for a bit of grown up fun!!

I had a good lecture on the techniques of Oral History and the importance of professional interviewing techniques in the evening before heading out for a quick drink for Julia's birthday...cozy pub and pear cider = sleepy Zoe!!

Tuesday consisted of a trip to CosProp on Holloway Rd, Kel had organised this and asked if I would come along so I didn't really know what to expect...what I didn't expect was free reign to look through all the costumes from The Dutchess and Evita to Pirates of the Caribbean and From Hell!!...I know I sound like an utter geek but actually being able to see first hand the detailing and skill that goes into each costume was amazing..and I got to touch Johnny Depps headband and sword heehee!! 




 
 After another quick stop off at the V and A to try and source some 1800's fabric patterns (to no avail...must be hidden somewhere eh Kel!!) I sadly said goodbye to Kellie and headed off to swap her for an equally lovely Geordie!!

After shunning the prospect of another hour bus journey we decided to wander around the exclusive area surrounding Sloane Square and Knightsbridge...oh how the other half live eh!! The Saatchi Gallery raised some interesting 'debates' between me and my other half as to what constitutes art (I think we both agree brown tape and bubble wrap stuck to a wall wasn't really to our taste!!) and we decided to head back up to slum it around Regent Street heehee...searching for a good old pub that showed the United match no less....actually turned out to be harder than I imagined...





 So after leaving him still searching for one I headed back to Uni to catch a really exciting lecture held by Helen Storey and Sandy Black called "Clash Collective". It brought up some really interesting theories to do with designers interacting with scientists to create a more technologically advanced sustainable world. I cant wait for the next lecture which involves the links between fashion and emotion and how emotive interactive design could affect our fashion choices in the future!!

On Thursday me and Julia had organised to visit LMB's waste textile recycling plant in Bow, It was a great eye opening trip and the family run business was so welcoming to us, the statistics that were revealed were astounding and to see the sheer amount of waste clothing produced in just the central london area really hit home about the wasteful society we live in!! ...I am going to write up a full piece on here with pictures later on...so i'll leave you in suspense!!