Don't Get Your Knickers in a Twist

I opened a recent copy of Reveal magazine yesterday to be confronted by a pert looking bum in a pair of frilly tangerine coloured knickers. The headline ‘Knickers Can Improve Your Mood’ and the subsequent article made me, in the style of Carrie Bradshaw, begin to wonder... just how important underwear is to British women?

I’ll hold my hands up and say that as I read this I happened to be sporting some old, slightly sporty grey kickers with a mismatching pink and green bra. I couldn’t help but tug at the bottom of my skirt when the article revealed that a survey by Always found that 56.3% of us wear sexy underwear in a bid to feel more confident.

I for one am a big fan of decent underwear – quality cuts, soft fabric, matching sets and even clashing colours. I also believe that a decent pair of kinckers really can improve your mood – yesterday I was all over the place, late for work and generally a little down, which I blame on the aforementioned grey pants. As soon as I picked that pair out of my chest of drawers, I just knew my day wouldn't be as good as if I had plumped for the green and pink ruffled pair that matched my bra.

Now I'm not one for matching all the time - I happen to like clashing prints and colours - and what I wear on a day to day basis has nothing to do with what the boyfriend likes, but I do think most of us could do with an underwear overhaul. I recently wrote a post on owning too many clothes for Running in Heels and I think that wardrobe chaos, along with greying undies, can play havoc on your mood.

You may not believe me but I bet if you started every day opening your knicker draw to sets of fresh clean matching underwear you would have a smile on your face before you even sat down for breakfast.

Above: M&S underwear - proof that you don't need ruffles and lace to have great looking underwear

Regardless of your taste or budget, make time for your underwear and your life will be better for it. Get rid of anything with sagging elastic, moth holes or washed out - if you save these for laundry days then at least shell out a few quid on some cheap cotton knickers that fit well - try LaSenza, M&S or Toshop.

For the top draw stuff, and perhaps some Christmas stocking fillers, head to Harvey Nicks in Cabot Circus or Oyster:Me in Clifton, or try St Nicks Market for some handmade cheap frills.

This post shouldn't feel like a lecture, and if you don't think your underwear has any effect on your mood, confidence, sexiness or sass then pay no attention, but tomorrow morning pick your favourite pair. Throw on a matching bra and take solace in this; even if your mood doesn't improve, if you get hit by a bus you'll look fabulous... ; )

Something for the weekend... Quakers Friars

I know I'm going to feel old just writing this but when I was younger all we had to entertain ourselves during the summer holidays was running around on the beach and going to the local park. Fast-forward to the summer of 2010 and Bristol's youngsters can learn to designer their own clothes, try their hand at photography and attend journalism workshops!

Magazine Live! Is a five day event that kicked off at Quakers Friars in Cabot Circus on Wednesday and promise to educate and entertain creative kids aged 5-11. Events will be focused around a different theme each day and booking is not required so this would be a perfect event to take the kids to if they are no longer satisfied by making Rice Krispie cakes or helping around the house...

Magazine Live! is the first event of its kind and will give children a chance to express their creativity and explore beyond what they learn at school. A magazine will be produced across the course of the event by the participating children and there will also be a catwalk show too.

Events like this are a fantastic way of showing children how they can be creative and perhaps in fifteen years time the Next Big Thing in blogging or fashion design might be up on a podium reminiscing about their first foray into fashion...

Magazine Live! takes place at Quakers Friars until Sunday 22nd August. All events are free. For more info check out the Cabot Circus website.

[Edit: Photos added Aug 20th]

The Best Things In Life Are Free

This is just a quick post to comment on the little surprises that life can throw you. As I was walking up to my friend F's house in Bishopston I noticed a bunch of magazines and CDs sitting on the wall of a front garden with a sign saying 'please help yourself x'. I don't know how long the unwanted bits and bobs had been there but by the time I walked passed there were still a handful of Vogues from 2002/3 and, as luck would have it, the current issue of ELLE!

While I could have easily swiped up most of the magazines I thought I would stick with ELLE as it is current and has some fantastic summer fashion features, cooing over my find the rest of the way.

So often magazines and newspapers are chucked in the recycling bin (which is of course far better than just chucking them away) but this was a really sweet way of de-cluttering and recycling at the same time. Will have to think of this next time I'm forced to part with my own fashion magazines...

When Ship-Shape met... ELLE's Natalie Wansborough-Jones

As promised, here is my interview with ELLE's Senior Fashion Editor Natalie Wansborough-Jones, who was in Bristol on Thursday to promote ELLE's new competition, Shopgirl to Stylist.

Nestled in the corner of French Connection in Quakers Friars, we chatted about the influence of shop assistants, the must-read fashion blogs of the moment and style tips for S/S 2010...

SSBF: So Natalie, could you tell us a bit more about the concept behind the Shopgirl to Stylist competition?

NW-J: Our editor, Lorraine, went to New York and basically in New York there’s this whole big thing with shop assistants there – they are almost like celebrities there so she absorbed this kind of power.

The high street is very important to Elle. It’s all very well us shooting high-end designers like YSL, which I don’t actually think is affordable to everyone at the moment, but there are really strong mid-range and high street brands out there so its important to us to push that. I guess that all kind of mixed together to inspire us to find a great shop girl on the high street that wants to be a stylist and give them the opportunity to do that.

SSBF: There is so much information and inspiration available to consumers now, such as window displays, magazine spreads etc. How do you think shopgirls and guys have an influence in the way people dress?

NW-J: I think its not just in the shop either, I think that what is fantastic now is that, and I’m already starting to see developments having only been to French Connection in Bristol and Whistles in London so far, is that the people that work in these shops already have their own identity.

The Whistles girls all looked so incredibly chic, obviously dressed in Whistles, and the French Connection gang here are really, really cool, and they all have this identity, almost like its affiliated to their shop. Whether we find that regionally, I’m not too sure yet but seeing them out on the streets, they are almost setting a trend – I think that’s very true of the Topshop staff in London, they’re all almost part of a little gang in a way and they’re literally pioneering what [clothes] they have in the shop by simply being out and about in it themselves.

I’m constantly impressed by young people that I see on the street that put together high street in a really intelligent and cool way. I look at them and think ‘that’s amazing’, and I absorb that information and it influences me. I think as an outside thing it draws people into the store that can take inspiration from [the shop staff].

Above: Natalie critiques an outfit put together by French Connection staff

SSBF: There are many websites and blogs out there, such as ELLEuk.com and The Satorialist, which focus on street style and real people. What do you think of those kinds of blogs, ‘cause to me it feels like a revolution, making people a lot more aware what they put on their backs…

NW-J: I think you’re totally right, I think its fantastic. I actually just did a shoot with Garance Doré, who I think is a fantastic blogger and not only was she really cool to shoot with because her perspective, the way she looks at things is really new to us in a sense: its not a very controlled studio environment necessarily, it’s a bit more free, a bit more natural. We had many, many chats about fashion and she’s looking at it from a really intelligent point of view, not necessarily having this enormous background, she almost fell into it in a way and she’s and incredibly talented illustrator.

She has all of this going about and I think actually yeah you’re right – [bloggers] are pioneering a new moment in fashion for us and I think that’s why people are really recognising them and giving them a fashion status so to speak; Dolce & Gabbana putting them in the front row at their show for example. ELLE actually used Scott (Schuman, of The Satorialist) for a photo shoot a few years ago, before my time there, but this has been happening for a while and now its suddenly exploded and its almost like they have a certain amount of respectability.

SSBF: I guess that ties in with the Shopgirl to Stylist competition in that very few of the numerous fashion and style bloggers out there are in the business – they might have previously been in the business or are aspiring to get into the business but many of them have just fallen into it because they love fashion and now they’re seen themselves as fashion icons in a way. Do you have any particular websites or blogs that you like reading?

NW-J: Garance’s blog, I love her blog, Scott’s blog – I love his work too… I have to say I love the Purple blog by Olivier Zahm – I get huge pleasure out of looking at that – those are the three that my main focus is on.

SSBF: Do you have any favourite stylists?

NW-J: I do, I think that Melanie Ward is a fantastic, hugely influential stylist, I think Jane Howe was a massive stylist when I started assisting, I mean, she was the one who I found huge inspiration from. I think there are some amazing, hugely iconic stylists out there.

SSBF: Thanks to two universities Bristol has a huge population of students, many of whom will be graduating this year – do you have any tips on how they can break into the fashion industry?

NW-J: Perseverance; do as much work experience as you can. Every job for me, climbing the ladder to where I am now, has been through working for free and being in the right place at the right time but doing as much work experience as possible I know its hard when you’re not always being paid but do as much experience as you can and hopefully you’ll just get that moment when someone wants to employ you then it all sort of goes from there.

SSBF: So, so much of it can come down to timing then?

NW-J: It does, and that’s why this competition is so fantastic actually because to give you an indication, I will probably start to get CVs and applications on my desk around January from people asking me for internships and we don’t even start to look at anything till July. So you can imagine the amount of applications we get and a lot of them just get filed away unless there’s something like ‘friend of a friend’ situation, which does happen.

So with this competition the winner is being fast-tracked right to the front of that enormous queue and even if you enter and don’t necessarily win, you still get the chance to come and be with us in the office and spend some time with us. So to have that connection – if people come back to us in two years we’ll know who you are - and I think its simply being able to put a face to a name is really helpful and not just reading a CV that gets filed away somewhere.

SSBF: One final question: what would your best tip for Spring/Summer 2010 be for ELLE girls on a budget? Is there one particular piece or trend that they should look out for?

NW-J: I think keep it simple and keep it chic. There’s definitely a sort of French feel in the air so I’d have to say a really great trench coat.

Thanks so much to Natalie for the interview, the lovely staff at French Connection and Arabella from Talk PR for contributing to this interview.

Bristol launch for ELLE's Shopgirl to Stylist competition

The winning team: French Connection staff with judge and Senior Fashion Editor Natalie Wansborough-Jones

Ship-Shape had an early start this morning, arriving at French Connection in Quakers Friars at 9am for the launch of ELLE magazine's styling competition Shopgirl to Stylist.

'Fashion's answer to the x-Factor' was launched at the beginning of March but over the next four weeks the ELLE team are hitting the high streets of the UK to promote the competition, which would see the winner receiving a coveted six month internship at ELLE HQ in London. This morning was a chance for Bristol to flex it's fashion muscles as French Connection staff were given the challenge of styling a mannequin in a S/S 10 trend using items from the shop floor.

The team's efforts were judged by ELLE's Senior Fashion Editor Natalie Wansborough-Jones, who was on hand to offer style tips and to encourage shopgirls - and boys - to enter the unique competition. Today the three teams came up with festival, floral and city chic looks and speaking of the winning team, pictured above, Wansborough-Jones applauded the use of accessories and said the look was "very ELLE".

Wannabe stylists have until 4th June 2010 to send in their entries to the website, where readers can comment on and 'love' their favourite looks. After that the finalists will have the opportunity to be mentored by by ELLE's infamous Fashion Director, Anne-Marie Curtis before the winner is announced in the October 25th anniversary issue of ELLE. So what are you waiting for? If you're aged 18 or over and currently work for a fashion retailer then send in your entries and represent Bristol while you're at it! For more details on how to apply and to see all the entries click here.

Ship-Shape was lucky enough to interview Natalie Wansborough-Jones about this competition, life as a stylist and the fashion blogs she can't live without so keep your eyes peeled for the post, coming shortly.

French Connection in Quakers Friars, where the event took place

Staff team up to put together a S/S 10 look for the styling competition

A team dresses their mannequin in a bid to win an ELLE subscription for a year

Senior Fashion Editor Natalie Wansborough-Jones tweeting from the store

Knock-Off Fashion

Today I finally met The Magazine Man. I don't want to get him in trouble, but for those that don't know, Magazine Man loiterers around the Bear Pit at the bottom of Stokes Croft, selling magazines at suspiciously cheap prices to passers by.

Previously only a rumor and subject of speculation, I was skeptical as to whether or not such a man existed. M and some other friends have told me about this vendor, as they are well aware of how magazines, fashion magazines in particular, are like crack to me. At the moment I'm forced to buy various publications on rotation each month, but if I had my way I would hold subscriptions to just about every glossy going.

So, when I heard about this mythical creature selling discounted magazines I was curious to say the least. And sure enough, alongside the likes of More and Reveal, there they were; Marie Claire, Grazia, Look and Elle. But Magazine Man was not the man I had pictured in my fantasies - no top hat, no jolly expression, no shouting 'roll up, roll up!' or handing out balloons to small children. In his place was a scruffy, shifty eyed tramp, who was obviously not selling these magazines because he was morally outraged at their RRP.

My eyes lingered over the titles as he slid up to me to let me know his latest deals. I didn't have any cash on me but decided to walk away anyway, unable to get my head around why I hadn't pounced on those glossy fashion bibles. He wasn't there when I came back after meeting S and when I mentioned my reluctance to purchase, she came out with a surprisingly truthful comment; "We buy knock-off fashion all the time" she said, "buying a cheap fashion magazine is no different from shopping for cheap fashion at Primark".

Like most girls I know my wardrobe is 50% cheap-as-chips fashion, 50% God-bless-the-credit-card fashion

This got me thinking about knock-off fashion and it's place in society. Knowingly buying fake designer goods is different from a splurge in shops like Primark but while not exactly a taboo any more, cheap clothes still come with a hefty price tag. Mass production, dodgy labour and production, excessive spending and increased textile waste are all a result of our desire to have the latest catwalk imitation right now.

In recent years documentaries such as Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts have highlighted how little most British consumers know about where their cheap-as-chips fashion comes from. Thanks to the spotlight on climate change retailers are starting to introduce ethically friendly policies and the recession has almost certainly been a factor in the increase of attendance at sewing workshops and vintage fairs. But there is still an obsession with catwalk copies at knock-off prices and I don't see this changing any time soon.

So how can you look achingly on trend without breaking the bank or contributing to child labour? Simple: do your research, make do and mend instead of throwing away perfectly good clothes, shop at vintage stores/jumble sales/charity shops and have a go at making your own clothes - you might be surprised at how satisfying it is once you get past managing to thread a needle without pricking yourself to death.

For more information about ethical fashion on the high street check out the Ethical Fashion Forum and for details of Primark's ethical trading initiative click here.

When Ship-Shape Met Sketchbook...

I've just come back from a fantastically sunny day trip to London, and have managed to fit in plenty of stylish sightseeing in, as well as enjoying a girls day out with some old friends. Sights to see included a trip to Selfridges for the The Girls, Paper Eaters exhibition and the 'for sale' wall by Supermarket Sarah.

First stop though, was a visit to the pop-up 'shop' by Sketchbook Magazine for a talk by Amelia Gregory. Amelia is the creator of the visual feast that is Amelia's Magazine, a bi-annual publication that ran in print from 2004 to 2009, and now takes the form of a website and blog.

Sketchbook are in week three of a four week run of lectures, workshops, sample sales and exhibitions, in their shop just off Carnaby Street. This week the exhibition was the cover illustrations by the gifted John-Paul Thurlow, whose work featured on the most recent cover of Sketchbook - The Fashion Blogger Issue.

As we were ushered downstairs to take our seats I felt all eyes were assessing the competition: the young, fashionable elite have been attending talks like this and with our leather jackets and chunky knit jumpers, we are all competing for a place in the fashion magazine industry.

After everyone had taken their seats Amelia introduced herself and talked at length and speed about the history of Amelia's Magazine and her ideas for the future. She provided tips on how to get ahead within the magazine and business industries and inspired everyone with the answers to her questions (though unfortunately it seems well placed connections are the be-all and end-all in this industry).

After wondering around Carnaby Street and taking an obligatory trip to the haberdashery department in Libertys, I took a trip to Selefridges to see the Paper Eaters exhibition. Andrea Blood and Zoe Sinclair are The Girls, the artistic duo behind the exhibition, The Paper Eaters: Long Live The Photo-Story! and they have covered Selfridges Ultralounge in homage to paper. Old typewriters, paper lanterns, neon pink netting and paper dolls adorned the the walls and as I wondered through the maze of magazines and hanging installations an editorial meeting was taking place.

It felt like the whole city was alive with creativity and style today and as we rounded the trip off with a trip to Portobello Market I couldn't help craving one of the little coloured terraced houses to call home. The quirky jewelery, vintage and antique shops could easily swallow up a month's wages and the chilled out vibe was the perfect accompaniment to a summery afternoon. I wish my trips to London were so few and far between but know that now I'm home I'll have to take solace in the colourful terraced houses of Bristol, and of course the cider, which really is the perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon!

Fashion: The years that time remembered

I find there is something rather fascinating about the humble pound shop (just go with me on this one). The peculiar gadgets, the oddball clientele and the sheer volume of products one can purchase for £1. OK so more often than not most of the stuff is rubbish but occasionally, if you look hard enough, you'll come across a little gem in the entertainment section.

At the weekend I found this Cosmopolitan annual type book and I've found it hard to put down! The Best of Cosmopolitan: The 70s & 80s, apparently £15.99 in most good bookshops, is and archive of British Cosmo, from its early days where Micheal Parkinson was considered something of a sex god, to the fashions that time really should have forgot.

Whats worse is that so many of these obvious fashion faux pah's are now seemingly familiar; the skater skirt, the harem pants and oh, the leggings - American Apparel must get a lot of their inspiration from relics like this!

Fashion of the 80's: Emanuel, Liberty and Anna Beltrao

Apparently the 80's was the era of the TCM: the Truly Caring Male

There is only one thing worse than an orange jumpsuit and that's Vidal Sassoon as a Naked Centrefold! (Be grateful I've spared your eyes...)

A feature on New York's famous roller disco, The Roxy

Company High-Street Edit

One of the reasons I love the blogsphere and the internet in general is that news, ideas and opinions get passed around like Chinese whispers; more often than not something starts out with one meaning and by the end of the game it has a totally new one.

Blogs are so subjective and as a reader one can pick and choose what pieces of information to retain, what posts to comment on and what links to click. As something of a magazine junkie it didn't take much persuasion from a post by Disney Roller Girl to convince me to go out and buy Company High-Street Edit, the new bi-annual fashion bible from Company magazine that focuses on all the trends hitting the high street over the coming months.

I walked on by the first time I saw this title peeking out at me from the shelves of the corner shop, dismissing it as another Elle Collections, or Vogue Catwalk pull-out but if I had only flicked through the pages I would have scooped it up with my Monster Much and headed straight for the till. DRG has written a great post on the High-Street Edit so I'll focus my attention on the design of the magazine, which I think sets it apart from its rivals.

Firstly, the choice of typeface; courier, aerial and label maker. This combination of edgy, contemporary, if slightly over used fonts with traditional sans-serif makes for a fresh, youthful look, perfect as Company is aimed at twenty-something women. The black text is offset against white backgrounds and cut out shapes of garments, key words are underlined and white boxes allow text and images to stand out against the page.

The matt, grainy paper (possibly recycled but unlikely) only adds to the concept of the magazine; this is not just a catalogue of seasonal looks from the catwalk there are interviews with top fashion bloggers, features about the wearability of the latest trends and tips on how to customise garments to update your look. Ripped edges and backgrounds of lined paper, fabric and newsprint should look cliche but don't. Instead they turn a fashion magazine into a great piece of design.

After the recent house move I had to make difficult choices about what magazines I would keep and what, sob, I would cull so it is great to have found a title for the permanent collection. Fashion and magazines are two addictions I'm happy to have and I look forward to seeing the next issue in September. If you want to get your hands on a copy then head down to your local newsagent now!

Images are layered with ripped edges and enhanced by the juxtaposition of straight lines

Collages of text and images give the blogger interview a scrapbook feel

Pages vary from simple and graphic like the spread above, to textured and busy below

Lace, gingham, newsprint and illustrated backgrounds don't over crowd the information

Style Spotting in Sunday Times

If something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Not to mention taking time over, which sums up how I feel about Sunday papers. I love settling down on the sofa with all the supplements but the average weekend paper weighs more than a small dog and has so many sections I can no longer count them all on two hands. Hence I like to take my time over these printed behemoths, often taking a few days (OK fine, sometimes a whole week) to get through the sections I'm interested in.

It is understandable then that when salivating over the pages of the Sunday Times Style magazine, The Big Fashion Issue, I have only just spotted the double page Chloe advert a few pages in, below.


Notice anything about the footwear on the left outfit? The sandal is more of a boot, a trend which I'm loving at the moment, but I couldn't help thinking how similar it is to the photo I featured a couple of weeks ago regarding wearing legwarmers and sandals, see below.

Who would have thought designer fashion could trickle down to what a backpacker is wearing half way around the world, or perhaps Hannah MacGibbon was channeling Northern Thailand this season?!

Needles to say, Style was packed with far more than just designer adverts; Colin McDowell wrote of the legacy of Alexander McQueen, Brit darling Alexa Chung did her best to charm in an interview with Claudia Croft and there was a cracking shoot of supermodel-in-the-making Abbey Lee. If you missed out on your copy then head to the Times website for all the articles.

Being out of the country and away from the life support that is The Internet, I've only just found out that the legendary British fashion designer Alexander McQueen died yesterday. The press do not yet know, or perhaps have just not yet told the awaiting public how McQueen died, only that he was found in his home by his housekeeper early yesterday morning.

I suppose I'm in a state of shock really, although it sounds so overly dramatic and self-involved to write such a thing. Its like remembering where you were when Michael Jackson died and I don't think it is audacious to say that McQueen gave as much to the fashion world as Jackson did to the music world.

The picture above is from a shoot for Dazed & Confused in 1998, entitled Access-able, that featured McQueen's designs on models with physical disabilities. Shot by Nick Knight, this was the first time I had heard of McQueen (or Knight for that matter) and fell in love with the spread. I think it is a testament to his desire to go against the grain and stick two fingers up at the fashion world. Love it.
Image courtesy of The Independent.

Culling: For better or worse?

Blogging has unfortunately been rather nonexistent since I returned from the States on Friday, but I do have an excuse, honest.

The boyfriend and I are currently in the process of moving flats and I have been up to my neck in cardboard boxes, parcel tape and random belongings for days. We are both avoiding the bedroom at the moment, as, what with my half emptied suitcase and half-hearted attempts at packing, it looks like the wardrobe projectile vomited across the carpet, see below.

We are moving to a slightly bigger flat but I'm sick of having to fight just to retrieve an outfit from my over-stuffed wardrobe so I have volunteered to get rid of a few bits and bobs. Not only have I been forced to sell and charity shop some of my clothes, I now have to spend the afternoon going through all of my beloved fashion magazines, as I've promised I'll get rid of some of 'that junk' before the move.

The upshot of this culling process means that I get reread half the magazines, purely so I know which ones to keep and which to chuck of course!

Alice by Alice Temperley S/S 2010

Hello Bristol! I'm back on (freezing cold) English soil after having spent the best part of the last 48 hours in transit. While I like the 'rollercoaster' aspect of airplanes (that would be taking off and landing), I'm not a massive fan of everything else in between; the food, the screaming children, the sardine-style seats...

So to take my mind off my seven hour flight (which turned into nearly ten thanks to the snow) I curled up with some fashion magazines and was delighted to find a new collection by Alice Temperley in the January issue of Marie Claire (US).

Simply entitled 'Alice' the collection is full of nautical stripes and military influences with a very British rock and roll edge. According to the designer, speaking to Marie Claire, the girl who would buy this collection 'listens to The Killers, Gorillaz and The Cure - she likes to mix things up'. Apparently Temperley cites the likes of it-girls Georgia Jagger and Alice Dellal as her inspiration but I think the London feel will be something accessible to the masses, evoking a kind of year-long festival style. Love it.

The September Issue

Legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour stars in this fashion cinema verite documentary following the production of the magazine's September issue, the highest grossing issue of the year.

Documentary maker R.J.Cutler and his crew followed Wintour, below, and the rest of the fashion team over a period of nine months, witnessing firsthand the trials and tribulations of working for the most powerful magazine in the fashion industry and it's notoriously hard to please editor.

Featuring interviews with key members of the editorial team both in and outside of work, the film sheds a reveling light on Wintour and the highly influential part she plays within the magazine.

What has often plagued Wintour are the rumors of her 'ice queen' persona but in The September Issue she comes across as efficient with a no-fuss approach to shoots, designers and the magazine in general. Personal details such as her childhood are revealed and the film even captures her in her Long Island retreat, talking candidly to her daughter, Bee Shaffer, about her career aspirations (Bee wants to go to Law School while Wintour would like to her to get involved with editing). This gives a softening edge to Wintour' sometimes cutting demeanor.

Film critics have praised the documentary for it's eye opening glimpse into the fashion industry and as a fashion journalist I also found the insights fascinating. In an interview on salon.com R.J.Cutler commented on being an outsider looking in; "I get to float into these worlds - and I get to float out of them when I'm done. And while I'm there, I get to be curious and fascinated and kind of live in a state of wonder".

Watching the team try to navigate Wintour's moods and direction was both humorous and enlightening but for me the real star of the show is Grace Coddington. British model turned journalist turned creative director, Grace started at American Vogue on the same day as Anna and is a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Many of the highlights of the film involve Grace, either as the camera follows her on fashion shoots or as she battles with Wintour to keep her much-loved spreads in the magazine.

The September Issue is a must for any fashionista who loves their magazines and wants a glimpse into the ultimate fashion bible. The film is showing at the Watershed until this Thursday.