Beyoncé

Strong, beautiful, independent and sexy: features many women dream to have. Beyoncé proved her power recently in the surprise release of her self-titled album, accompanied by 17 music videos. I love the album, it’s definitely got a very hip-hop feel to it, featuring artists like Jay-Z, Drake and Frank Ocean. It’s quite a bit darker and definitely more explicitly sexual than previous albums, with songs like Drunk in Love, Rocket and Partition. But, it is balanced out by softer lullabies such as Blue and Heaven. While I do love Beyoncé and can’t wait to go see her in March, recently I've been having a few issues with her...

Beyoncé, or ‘Queen B’ as she is sometimes referred to, is like a queen. Women and girls around the world look up to her, want to be her and have her life. She is inspirational and encapsulates the essence of women, but recently she’s got me thinking.

Take the video for Drunk in Love: Beyoncé rolling around on the beach very partially clothed, and then Jay-Z walks in rapping away, fully clothed. It doesn’t make sense, why are the portrayals of the two genders so explicitly different? Why does Beyoncé feel the need to show so much of her body to the world, when if Jay-Z did the same thing, frankly, it would be a bit odd?

Ok so maybe you’re thinking if you’ve got it, flaunt it? But Beyoncé didn’t have it, she lost 60lbs after having Blue and worked so hard to get her body back, just so she could show it off in her new videos. Why did she feel the need to do this? Jay-Z doesn’t have a perfect body, no-one cares. So many young female artists feel the need to show off their bodies in order to be successful and it’s just not the same for men. Beyoncé prides herself on being a feminist, one of the few we have in this culture nowadays, she even samples a speech by active feminist and author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in the song Flawless and recently wrote an article in the Shriver Report demanding that women need to be as equally respected as men. So how can someone who is so involved in the equality of men and women not see how, by dressing and acting in this way, it is further widening the gap between the genders and how they are viewed in society?

People, including myself, get so caught up on being thin and looking a certain way. Those with authority, working in the industry, have the power to change this view. I have always seen Beyoncé as a spokesperson for women, but now I’m not sure if I agree with the image she is sending out. According to Beyoncé ‘perfection is a disease of a nation’, meaning that we compare everyone to the perfect image of themselves, and anything less than that is not enough. I don’t see how she is promoting this message, that perfection is not a reality, through her music videos.

I am not saying all of this because I don’t care how I look, I do, I think about it a lot. The list of things I would change about my appearance is a long one, but what I’m wondering is why do I, and others, feel this way? Why are looks so important in our society? What difference do they make to the type of people we are? I thought Beyoncé would be more of a spokesperson for women in this way, promoting the idea that every woman is beautiful, no matter their outward appearance. I have to say I'm a little disappointed in her.

Maybe I’ll bring it up with her in March if we get talking!

Ellen x

Photographs  ©  respective owners.

Villagers

Villagers. A unique name, for a unique band. Conor O'Brien as frontman is perfection. There is something about his stage presence that just doesn't come across through an iPod or cd. And when they played Last Christmas at the end, it made the night even better! Definitely recommend going to see them.

Hope you all had a great Christmas,

Talk soon, 

Ellen xx

My Love Took Me Down to the River to Silence Me

Ok it's official, I have band envy. I want to be in a band so bad...who's bringing this on? Little Green Cars that's who. I went to see them play in Vicar Street last night with my sister and was in awe. It's not the first time I've seen them either, I saw them in The Button Factory last year and then at Electric Picnic in August/September. This band spend their time travelling around the world with their best friends, doing what they love; singing and playing music, it sounds pretty perfect if you ask me. I think one of the main appeals of being in this band is that they're not too famous; they have reached a happy medium. Take, for example, One Direction who can't walk around without being mobbed by fans. Ok maybe they have millions (nearly billions apparently) but they have nowhere near a normal life, and probably never will. I also hate to say it, but there fame isn't going to last forever. Only in their most recent album have they started writing their own songs, and even those generally sound the same as their previous work. Now, don't get me wrong, I love One Direction and fair play to them for doing well, but would I want to be in a band like that? Honestly, I don't think so. Stevie Appleby came out on stage last night singing the haunting Red, an acapella song, to capture the attention of the audience. The rest of the songs flowed so well into each other,with just the right amount of interaction with the crowd.

The highlight of the night was definitely the encore. They finished up with The John Wayne and left the stage, but the lights didn't come on and most of the crowd stayed put, everyone wondering; will there be an encore? And the answer: yes...but not just any encore. They introduced us to a new song (very good) and then told an anecdote about how The Consequences of Not Sleeping came into being, before performing it. This already intimate gig, just entered into a whole new level of intimacy. The band were actually on the same level as the audience, and we were so engaged with them. Would you ever be able to reach that level of intimacy with a big-shot band? This groundedness is something which all bands should aspire to, it's how you not only capture, but hold onto, the audience's attention.  

A certain amount of talent is also required...that's the part I'm working on so I can form my own band!!

The haunting, Stevie Appleby.

What I Wore

I wore this floral, quite autumnal shirt that I got in a Barnardos shop in Rathmines for €5. My collar pins are my pride and joy, I love love love them. These ones are from Forever 21. I teamed the look with black jeggings from Tesco, and camel boots from Clarks. My beautiful sister did my make-up, we went for a simple brown smoky look.

Collar Pins!

Hope you enjoyed reading,
Talk soon,
Ellen xx

First Blogger Meet Up

Well, I went to my first meet up yesterday and I think it's safe to say it was a success! The beautiful Filomena of Belle F Beauty was hosting the event and after a slight hiccough with the venue at the beginning, the whole thing ran very smoothly. When I arrived with Marléne of Everything Coco Chanel there was already a good group there. I had a lovely chat with Nirina (Killer Fashion) and Zita (Zee-Railed) and was happy to see so many new faces. I was even happier to see the food on offer!! Delicious cheescake, aloe vera water and coconut water.
After spending a while chatting, we got down to business with our first speaker Giovanna from Cloud 10 Beauty . She was lovely and told us all about the new products they have in for Christmas, including products from eos, Kardashian Beauty, Real Techniques and Ciaté. We were lucky enough to get a Kardahian Beauty lipgloss, a Sleek eye dust and a Ciaté nail varnish/Christmas tree Decoration in our goodie bags (I'm hoping my sister, the make-up enthusiast, will do a review on these for me soon!).

The next speaker we had was Aoibhe from The Secret Obsession, and I have to say she was pretty inspirational. Aoibhe has a really successful blog that she's on everyday, but not only that, she also works as a branch manager in Brown Thomas and is in her final year of college, amazing! She sent out the message to us all that if we want to be successful, we can be, we just need to put in the hard work to get there.
Then there came the spot prizes, a Real Techniques set and a spa treatment. The lucky winners were Elisha of Always-Time-For-Tea and Marléne (very jealous!!)

Before finishing up the afternoon I had the pleasure of meeting Nicola of The Sequin Cinderella who shared with us some stories of the highs and lows of her blogging career.
We finished the afternoon with a round of photographs and a promise to meet again soon.

What I Wore:

I always like to try and be a bit different with my style, but of course, as a poor student I'm on a tight budget. So, when I saw this velvet playsuit in Penneys I couldn't say no! I teamed it with a white long-sleeved t-shirt, black tights and black biker boots (all from Penneys too). Over this, I put my monochrome blazer that I got in Forever 21 when I was in America over the summer. My earrings are also from Forever 21, and the necklace I made from Norweigan Kroner that I got when I was over there a few weeks ago.

My fabulous make-up was done by my sister, Ailbhe. We went for a purple/brown/black smoky eye look which I loved!

Some of the other blogger's business cards

My Norweigan Kroner Necklace

Hope you enjoyed the post,

Talk soon,

Ellen xx

Sorry I've Been Away

Hey guys!
Sorry I haven't been posting at all, getting a bit snowed under with college work. I was actually in Norway this week and it was fab! It was a college trip and we went to visit 3 different pre-schools over there, one of which was completely in the middle of the forest! The kids were allowed to use sharp knives and saws, climb trees and spend the whole day out in the forest. It was really eye opening and made me question the whole early education system over here.
Anyway, I know that's really off the topic of fashion but that's what I've been up to!
I've been listening to the new Eminem album this week, which I'm really liking. I wasn't sure about Berzerk and Rap God at first but now that I have the whole album I'm enjoying it a lot more, I'll try and do a full review soon.
Hopefully talk soon,
Ellen x

First Post

Welcome to my blog!
I'm not sure if this should be directed at you or me, as this is my first blog and I don't really know what I'm doing so bear with me. I'm in my final year of college so it's probably not the best time to be starting this but if you're going to procrastinate you may as well do something semi-productive right?? I'm hoping to focus on fashion mainly in the blog, I love high street fashion and in my eyes there's nothing more satisfying then a good bargain! My favourite shops are H&M, River Island, Bershka, TopShop and, of course, Penneys (I have very limited funds at the moment). I also really love quirky vintage shops. It can be really pleasant to stroll around Temple Bar and wander into the variety of boutiques there, you never know what you might find. Oh and charity shops are fab!
I'll also be talking a bit about music events that I might be at, or just artists that I'm enjoying at the time.
Anyway, I'm going to try and post as much as possible and hopefully be inspired by those around me and things I see out and about. Feel free to give feedback at any time!
Enjoy!
Ellen xxx