Willson goes to Brighton - Part One ft. CONCH

21/08/2015

So in-case you haven't guessed on my instagram, I'm currently in chill capital=Brighton. I had the pleasure of spending today with these guys..

First we have Harry. (Hands in the air for shitty speech bubbles eyy) He is probably the most chill person you could ever meet.

His brother co-owns CONCH and was the first person to introduce me to them. I'm pretty happy he did. So we arranged to meet and explore the heart of the North Lanes but first went to this coffee shop on West Street called Mojo (I think, I think). I had this Iced Hazel Nut and Caramel Latte which technically wasn't on the menu but was peng afffff. He also took me to my first vegan café which was so much better than I anticipated (as a huge bacon lover, I was sceptical). The Loving Hut is an oriental/Chinese restaurant that takes all the classics and turns them into what I can only describe as vegan heaven. As a vegan virgin I had no idea what anything was or what it would be like so Harry and his brother had to do it for me (I can't even menu waaa). Luckily it was soooo good, I had tofu duck and pancakes and I'm now in love with tofu <3  

Here we have Josh (Harry's brother) and John (not Harry's brother). (Hands in the air for even more shitty speech bubbles ayyy) These are the super cool owners of CONCH. The Brighton based brand pretty much sells some of the raddest t-shirts you'd get in the North Lanes. Think trippy gifs but each frame is a t-shirt. 

Their pop up shop this week was at It Is What It Is on the corner of Gloucester Street and Tidy Street. The set up is that artists, companies, etc, send in a pitch to IIWII and they chose who gets that shop for a week (how lovely). 

"The driving force behind our art is the correlation between science and nature. The shape of a falling rain drop, refracted light bouncing off a mountain peak, the muscle tension in the hind legs of a spirited springbok. Just some of the factors taken into account for one dope-assed shirt".

Everything about their designs scream psychedelic, with their printing done in Dubai (I think?) and they're fade resistant too so that's pretty funky. They have some limited edition tees as well as designs from other guys and prints. My personal favourites were probably Moon-Unit (I bought that one yayyy) which has a grey and white vortexy kinda thing going on with their trademark paper plate face in the middle, and Samoan Kool-Aid because, well come on, that name is amazing. I don't think I'm going to forget these t-shirts any time soon. Also these guys are super chill to hang out with and have a fantastic taste in vinyl. 

In one part of the shop they had a thing called 'Pass the Portrait' which is pretty much the physical version of Chinese whispers. You chose a portrait that someone else drew earlier and interpret it. Personally, I can't draw for shit. But seeing all the different versions of a the portrait was cool. Once they have enough they're going to turn it into a limited edition t-shirt, I feel so bad for who ever has to wear my rendition of Albert Einstein. *sigh*

I don't think we did that bad, right?

So sad news, their pop us shop is only there until the 23^rd so you better hurry if you wanna get down there.
 However, good news! You can get 20% off their website using the code CONCH20 (Yaaaaayyyy)

Find them in all these cool places:
http://www.conchclothing.co.uk/index.html
Insta: @conch_clothing_uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conchclothinguk
Twitter: @CONCH_UK
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLPB2jQYFTIghDEr9KqmepA

Prom Night (ft. Prom tips)





 Last wednesday (about a week agooooo, week ago) was arguably one of the best nights I've ever had (even if my feet had to pay the price). The whole day was crazy and super chill at the same time. I got up at around 9, had a bath  to calm me down because I was hella freaking out and shaved my legs (I think it should be deemed an Olympic sport by now, that shit takes ages of precision) because it's summer now and I'm loosing so many precious hours because of this (majority of woman can relate. Or even guys, if they're into that). Anyway enough about that, my aunty came down from New Castle (up north eyy) and spent a few days here so she could see me in my prom shenanigan. We left around midday to get tea and cake at Sophie's Vintage Teashop in Yaxley. It's this really cute tea room with all these vintage, 1940's décor and serve tea in the proper adorable cups and saucers. We did that before I got my hair done at STATUS which is where I always get my hair done by Claire. She knows how to cope with my hair as it's super long now and has a mind of it's own. Even though the heat deflated it, she did such a good job making sure it would be just right later that day.  

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My prom outfit was my favourite thing ever. Originally, I wanted a tea-length style dress but I couldn't find one anywhere. So did the alternative by wearing a skirt over a bodycon dress. I bought the Ted Baker skirt back in February at Bluewater Kent and have no regrets. I never really had a clear idea of what I wanted to look like so I just accumulated stuff over time and ended up with this. The length made it so easy to dance in (sorry for my horrendous dancing to anyone that was there) however, doing the Charleston shuffle in stilettos, as great as it looks, is THE WORST THING TO DO IN STILETTOS YOUR FEET WILL DIE OH MY GOD).



Ring ~ Regal Rose
Earrings ~ Ark Cambridge





Insta ~ @arkcambrdige.co.uk



For accessories I went all holographic with the clutch and earrings just for something a little bit different and it looks all rainbow and unicorny in the light. The earrings are from this really amazing and quirky independent store down St Edwards Passage between Kings Parade and Peas Hill called Ark Cambridge. There's all this really outlandish jewellery and home décor and they have fluffy shark hand-puppets which are so damn cute! I wore a black onyx ring with silver vintage detailing which was quite simple. For makeup I kept it light with a neutrally smokey eye kinda thing and bold lip that picked out the colour in the skirt.  

 



SQUAD
Insta ~ @_hollybrooker
         @elliemae260



 

Insta ~ @_hrv

Prom itself was so emotional yet amazing to see everyone dressed to the nines. The past five years have gone so quick and not going to lie, I'm going to miss more people than I thought I would. Over secondary school your friendship groups change and you change as a person. I'm so glad to say I'm happy with the people I've ended up with, plus I like the type of person I've become at the end of all this which is a bonus. I was really sceptical about going to prom at first but I'm so glad I went, it really makes you appreciate the people you're going to miss (and the people you're so happy to see the back of). One of my good friends has now moved to America and now our squad won't be the same, but I wish Holly all the best in this new chapter of her life! Also thank you to Jack for being my amazing prom date and to Ellie for sorting out our transport which I know was really stressful considering we had one day to find a new car for us, but prom so good with these three.  



Insta ~ @ohitsjustjxck



 

Prom Tips

• A few month prior to prom, get a vivid idea of what you want to look like. I know I just made it up as I went along (which you can do if you want to) but it will be so much less stress when it's two weeks before and you have no idea what you're doing.
• Don't worry too much about getting the same colour dress as someone else. So many people had similar colours but all looked completely different. If you're no really keen on the idea of a typical prom dress you can always wear a fancy jumpsuit or a two piece or layer stuff like I did.
• If you have a date for prom, don't worry about whether or not you'll match. My date wore a gorgeous black velvet blazer (and looked hella fine in it) but if I tried coordinating with it I probably would have ended up looking like a door mat or something. Besides prom isn't about spending the whole night with your date, so it's something not really worth worrying about.
• On the day of prom, just take it easy and plan ahead of what you're going to be doing at what time. You don't to rush anything otherwise you'll be more likely to burn your face with a curling iron or get mascara everywhere.
• Everyone at prom looked amazing, however some people I just could not recognise because they looked so different. I thought it was really important to look really elegant, yet look like myself at the same time. What I wore and how I did my hair/makeup was something I would do on a more elaborate daily basis. So if I went for a hair style that I wouldn't normally have or heavy make up or a fake tan I wouldn't have felt comfortable because, it's just not me really. So do what you feel comfortable with and what you feel hella good in. I just think it's nice to be recognisable when you're looking through the pictures in ten years time.
• On the subject of comfort, get a dress (or other alternative) that fits you well. You don't want to be pulling up your dress when it falls down for the whole night or having to not eat for the whole day so it doesn't look too tight for you. My philosophy on that is if it doesn't feel comfortable when you're bloating, it's ugly anyway. Also dress according to your frame. That doesn't mean you have limitations to what you can wear, but if don't like a particular part of your body then you could wear something that will accentuate a part that you love. 

• Boobs are the bane of the existence of prom. Either way there's a possibility they will ruin your life. So again with the previous point, wear something that fits well especially around the boobage area because you don't want them popping out on prom night. If your dress has sleeves then you're pretty good to go in any bra, strapless however will need more support particularly if you wanna jump about and dance like an idiot. So the longer the bra, the more support there is? (That doesn't male any sense so just look at the diagram). If you have a backless dress then stick on bras are really your only option (unless you want to go top half commando but I wouldn't recommend it if it gets cold so get some nipple stickers if that's your jazz). Stick on bras are great, unless your prom is on the hottest day of the year which was my case. Within two hours it just fell off, the glue just did not work and was being supported by my bodycon dress. It's wasn't the worst thing in the world but was just really really awkward to have on my boobs it wasn't fun.
• 
  If you're buying new ones, it's good to wear in your shoes a bit and learn how to walk in them, where most of the pressure is on the foot, where it rubs, etc. I still have blisters on my ankles from where the strap rubbed but I think that was mostly because of the dancing. There are hundreds of videos on YouTube with tips on have to walk in heels (this one is especially good for prom), so get in some practice so you don't become that girl who staggered about in those platforms. Wearing them around the house for a bit will help the sole mould to the shape of your foot and feel more comfortable.




Insta ~ @bethangower


• Most importantly, just don't give a shit about anything for that one night. If you want to dance like an fool then do it, because you're not going to think in ten years times 'oh remember at prom when I didn't dance like a fool gee that was great'. You only get one prom (approx.) So just  forget about any worries or stresses, have fun and don't be a dick:)