On Friday 23rd June, my family and I travelled to Witney, Oxfordshire for my uncles wedding. It was one of the longest car journeys I have ever been on in my entire life, but it was worth every minute. The wedding was on the Saturday and it was the most beautiful day. The weather was lovely, the venue was spectacular and everything about the day felt absolutely perfect. I couldn't help but have my phone on hand all day and night because every moment was worth capturing.

As soon as we arrived, I had already probably filled up half of my phone's storage because I couldn't stop taking photos of the venue, the scenery and the wedding set up. It was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. As soon as we walked through to the back of the building, we overlooked what I could only describe as the most Instagram worthy scenery I have ever seen in my entire life. The fact that it was also an outdoor wedding meant that we were able to enjoy this backdrop for hours, with the added bonus of beautiful weather.

The wedding was held at Witney Lakes Resort, so it was common to see the odd few people playing golf when looking out across the lake. I also soon found out that Gary Barlow lived close to the area, so you could only imagine my excitement. Part of me was secretly hoping that I was catch him playing golf, but thinking tactically, it would have been a disaster if I ruined my dress and nice makeup after jumping across the fence and fishing around in the lake just to get in close distance to him. I had no idea how you got onto the course, so the lake would have been my only option. Plus, the staff most likely wouldn't have let me in anyways because I could only imagine my reaction if I ever saw Gary Barlow in real life. STALKER ALERT! After the ceremony, we all enjoyed a few drinks under the sun whilst the professional photographer was taking photos of the wedding party. Traditional wedding stuff! 

Summer is the perfect time to crack out the pinks and bright colours, so I decided to create a smoky pink makeup look for my sister that was subtle enough for her youthful complexion, but also added a little something. It would be such a lovely look to wear to a special occasion, like a party or summer wedding. I did something on her which was similar to this for my uncles wedding last week and it looked absolutely stunning. The products that I used were as follows:

- MAC Eyeshadow in Honey Lust (overall base)

- Makeup Revolution HD Eyes and Brows Kit (darker shimmery pink in the outer corners and a matte brown in the crease)

- Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

- Collection Sheer Loose Powder in Translucent

- Rimmel London Natural Bronzer in Sun Glow

- Rimmel London Lasting Finish Soft Colour Blush in Pink Rose

- Rimmel London Extra 3D Lash Mascara

- A blend of Rimmel London Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in 08 Timeless All and Kiko Cosmetics Gossamer Emotion in Powder Pink

It's time to break the outrageous stigma of pink only being a colour for women. Especially now that its spreading like wildfire in menswear this season. We only have our top fashion influencers to thank for that with Sacai unveiling their Spring 2017 collection at Paris Fashion Week featuring bright pink windbreakers and toggle coats. Salmon and baby pinks are also taking over Acne's new menswear collection, as well as their packaging. Let's not forget about Gucci's Spring 2017 Runway show where models walked flauntingly down the catwalk in different shades and tones of pink, and the 'Pink Sartorial Suit Blazer' that appeared in Zara's 2017 menswear collection.

Not only are designers honouring this trend, but mainstream celebrities are catching on as well. Actor Dev Patel was spotted wearing a pastel pink Giorgio Armani 'Double-Breasted Cotton Jacket' at the SXSW festival this March. However, a more widespread household name is British TV personality, James Cordon who made an appearance at the Grammy Awards in February wearing a light rose coloured Tom Ford jacket. His stylist Michael Fisher voiced his opinion regarding the issue, stating that "Real men wear pink, especially now. It was a classic 'Old Hollywood' look, but the colour made it modern."

The New Jersey born colour intelligence system, Pantone, also announced in 2016 that 'Rose Quartz' was to be the colour of the year. In 2017, although 'Greenery' is the colour of choice, it is paired with a number of pinks in a variety of neutrals, brights, pastels and metallics, including the 2016 colour of the year. Their Spring 2017 Fashion Colour Report also features a pastel pink in 'Pale Dogwood' and fuchsia in 'Pink Yarrow'.

So how is it still such a stigma for men to be seen wearing this colour? Stereotypical masculine colours have been associated with blues, greens, greys and taupes. In todays culture, if a man was to go beyond this colour palette and sport fuchsia pink slim fitting pants for example, then it would raise questions regarding his sexuality. Its interesting to note that Nazi concentration camps gave badges with pink detailing to homosexuals. This colour divide between sexes was quite the opposite in the early 19th century with blue being associated with girls and pink with boys to symbolise masculinity and strength. This is clarified by an article in Ladies Home Journal which states "The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl."

Within more recent times, this divide has caused a series of protests and backlash, especially in the sixties and seventies with the Women's Liberation Movement. It wasn't until the seventies that clothing began to become more gender neutral. However, the eighties has been regarded as a step back for protestors as this colour divide was not only in clothing, but spread elsewhere with the development of prenatal testing.

The question in mind is, will this gender stereotype continue throughout the 21st century or will we finally break the stigma?

For my next few blog posts, I wanted to share some pieces of written work that I had done for my collective writing assignment in my Fashion Writing and The Media module. The reason for this is because I was rather proud of them after I had written them and then even received a fantastic grade. The content is still focused on current fashion media and is still very much relevant.

Technology has had a crazy impact on modern society, and even more so in the fashion industry. Is it too naive to believe that technology will take over the industry one day? With the way things are progressing, I wouldn't be too hasty to say no. A few examples of some recent developments include the jogging suit with an embedded mp3 player that runs off kinetic energy when you run, which was designed by industrial designer Rafael Rozenkranz. The Diffus Climate Dress was also created to signal heavy polluted areas. 3D printing has also started to influence the fashion world with Andreia Chaves introducing the first ever 'invisible shoe' to the market. American designer Francis Bitonti is another who sees the revolution of technology as he believes that "Fashion brands are going to have to adapt to this, which is going to mean a shift in core values for many brands."

Fashion shows have also had an upgrade with them now being exclusive for everyone with the introduction of live streaming. You don't have to have a big name in the industry or be an A-list celebrity to watch Burberry's new Spring collection as you can now watch the show in the comfort of your own home. Brands have also begun to adopt the new 'See-Now, Buy-Now' concept where customers are able to buy garments they saw on the runway immediately after the show. Some of the biggest names that are on board include Burberry, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Tom Ford.

Lets not forget about inside the stores, which are becoming just as influenced by technology as the runway, especially London based designer store, Farfetch. Farfetch have worked on installing customer logins which recognises them each time they check into the store. They also have a radio-frequency identification clothing rack that detects which garments they are picking up and then uses this to add similar clothes to their wish list. This wish list becomes available on their digital mirror which they can then use to order garments of their liking in different sizes. In an interview with Business of Fashion, Farfetch founder and CEO José Neves states "three key facts: number one, digital is completely influencing consumer behaviour and the creation of desire; number two, online is growing much faster than offline; but three, offline is still - and will be - where the vast majority of transactions take place."

A retailer that has been notably ahead of its time in terms of technological advances is Marks and Spencer. They established their own in-house textile laboratory back in the 1920s so that they could try lines in selected stores to receive customers reaction before investing large scale. In 1935, they also opened up the Baker Street Textile Design Department which was soon to be used as the head office. Print technology took the brand in a different direction and this development of the thirties was carried forwards after the war. New post optimism meant that people wanted to make use of new technology as customers wanted items they could care for easily that wouldn't need as much ironing and wouldn't wear out. M&S clothing became popular and in demand as they offered the best design and manufacturing of the time. They also began experimenting with colour match technology after the introduction of suits, which although initially did not take off, made it possible to match the colour of the jacket and trousers whilst being able to have different sizes.

It's fascinating to question whats next in store for the fashion industry with the ever increasing development of technology. Will this growing branch of knowledge one day dominate not only the industry, but society as a whole, or will we finally reach a stopping point?

Although I love to read when I find a good book, I struggle to find the time to get invested into one. However, before I went on holiday, I decided that I wanted to buy myself a new novel to read during my stay and just so happened to come across Dilly Court. I had never heard her name until then, but now, I would regard her as one of my all time favourite authors, which is why I am writing this post. I want to share her name to as many people as possible because her stories are truly fantastic. 

I picked up The Swan Maid (the blurb was enough to convince me) for my holiday and struggled to put it down. It is a novel set in 1854 about a young girl who breaks free from her life as a chambermaid in search of a better life, not without struggles of course. She makes life long friendships and even falls in love. It truly pulls at your heart strings. I absolutely love anything that is set in the past and has some history to it, which seems to run through Court's novels and I think thats actually why I'm so drawn to her work. I am particularly drawn to her main character, Lottie, who is presented as being very strong willed, fierce and passionate, but also warm hearted and affectionate.

Before I went on holiday, my mum found a Soap and Glory gift box and when she was going through it, she very kindly gave me two of the products inside that she knew she wouldn't use as she's pretty set with her skincare routine. Whereas, me on the other hand, I am always eager to try out different products and brands. I absolutely LOVE Soap & Glory and have been using it since I was a little girl and I first started taking an interest in beauty and makeup products. I haven't found one product that I've used from the brand that has disappointed me. These products definitely weren't going to start now.

I got myself a new face wash which is the Face Soap & Clarity 3-in-1 Daily Vitamin C Facial Wash and face cream; the Speed Plump All-Day Super Moisture. I have tried both of the products for a couple of weeks now and have only been left with satisfying results. They've both become a part of my daily skincare routine and I will be very disappointed when I run out. Aside from the products themselves, can we all just appreciate the packaging? Soap & Glory never lets us down!

The face wash is spectacular for giving your skin what seems like the deep cleanse I can only imagine you would receive from a professional spa facial. I never feel the need to double cleanse with this wash as my skin always feels so silky and clean afterwards. The fact that it also claims to be a Vitamin C wash was also very appealing as it has fantastic benefits for the skin including sun protection, healing properties, protection from discolouration and overall improving the texture.

Initially I was a little apprehensive about the moisturiser as I don't particularly like using skincare products that have a fragrance as my skin is so unpredictable and I always fear a breakout, especially with moisturisers. However, I was completely taken aback about how much I had grown to like it. It is extremely moisturising and they're not lying with the 'speed plump' aspect as my face did feel relatively plumper after use, but not tomato looking plump. It was definitely a good, healthy looking plump. Although, I did take this on holiday and soon realised that it did not work very well with sunburn and tended to sting a little on these parts. Ouch is an understatement!

In most of my recent blog posts, I mentioned the fact that this month I was going to Bulgaria with my family. As soon as I caught up on my sleep and unpacked my suitcase, I started going through my photos and picking out the best ones for a blog post. There was no way I was going to travel to a country I've never been to before and not post about it on my blog. I absolutely loved everything about my stay; the country, the town, the hotel, the people. There wasn't a spot I couldn't find that wasn't photogenic and I found it so hard to narrow down my choices for the post.

There was however one thing that I loved more than the resort and that was the town of Sunny Beach, which was a 10 minute walk from the hotel. Each time we walked into the town, I found myself becoming more and more in love with it. The energy was incredible, however, there were A LOT of people who approached us to try and persuade us into going to events or eating at the restaurants and I have to admit, it did get VERY annoying. Although, once you got past that and just learnt to avoid them, there was nothing I could fault about the area. One of my favourite things to do when walking through the streets was to watch how all of the locals were living their everyday lives, as their culture and way of living is so different compared to back home.

One evening, we went into town for dinner and ended up at a steak grill. Trust me to order the spaghetti bolognese. It's like ordering a salad at Pizza Hut! Although, I don't regret my choice as the food was absolutely divine. I think the fact that we had a beach view helped enhance the overall experience as well.

Although the evening entertainment at the hotel wasn't my cup of tea as it was mostly targeted towards little children, they did have a few interesting acts. One of my favourites was when a group of Bulgarian dancers put on a performance of traditional Bulgarian dancing. I couldn't keep my eyes off them, except from when they managed to persuade my uncle and brother onto the stage and I had to get my phone out of my bag to record them, of course. I loved the fact that although the narrative was intended to be romantic, there were a lot of lighthearted comedic elements. It was all incredibly energetic and I have no idea how the dancers managed to stay so upbeat and happy throughout the entire performance. They must have stitched the corner of their mouths to their ears. All in all, I absolutely loved it and it was so nice to watch something that was traditional to Bulgarian culture.