Take it from Ke$ha - We Are Who We Are

Working in a school tells you something, we as people are very judgemental. If you don't look the same as your friends, if you don't listen to the same music as them, if you don't like the same stuff, they don't like you anymore. Which is a bit sad if you ask me.

It is only when you leave school when you can truly become an individual and find your way in life, you begin to buy your own things with your own money, you get new friends with different interests.

As much as I appreciate the school system, it gives me a living afterall, I have the feeling that we are stifling the children we are teaching. We are telling them how to dress, how to have their hair, what make-up they can and can't wear, no wonder they rebel sometimes.
When I was at school I had a hard time, I was different, and I didn't understand why I shouldn't be, afterall I was just being me. What was so wrong with that? Needless to say, school wasn't much fun and is a time in my life I would rather forget.

We are regularly bombarded by images in the media of the celebrities making headlines for all the wrong reasons, aren't we just telling people it alright to be like that as long as it gets you famous? Aren't we just justifying the actions of others? What kind of message is that?
I often tell my pupils that it's ok to be wrong. They are so scared of getting things wrong and being villified infront of their peers for it. So they become sheep and follow the crowd.

Being an individual means doing what you want - within reason of course, wearing what you want, being who you want to be. There are a few people in the media at the moment who should be applauded for promoting individuality; Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Rihanna and, of course, Lady Gaga.

I'm going to focus on Ke$ha in particular for a minute, whenever you see her on red carpets or in interviews she always seems to have a certain style, a 'I never answer to anyone' style, it's effortles; you know when you see her she has had a say in what she is wearing. Whereas many celebrities these days seem to have stylists for dressing them and the small animals they carry around with them.

So, let's celebrate individuality, and next time you go into your wardrobe, choose yourself an outfit that tells people you are who you are, and you're not bothered what they think, because if they have judged you in that split second of meeting you, surely they can't be worth knowing.

If you don't take it from me, take it from Ke$ha, after all 'We Are Who We Are'.

Comic Relief Rocks! Thanks to Vivienne Westwood

Every other year the British public are treated to a night of comedy, music and general entertainment and given the chance for some 'Comic Relief'. All we have to do is give up a few quid and wear a variety of red noses.
Two years ago, Fashion Designer Stella McCartney designed some T-Shirts to be sold in TK MAXX stores in conjunction with the red nose campaign, it showed images of iconic celebrities throughout the years with simply a red spot placed over their nose. Celebrities included; Morcambe and Wise, The Beetles and Madonna.

This year, the task has been handed to iconic British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and the results have been fairly similar:

She has chosen some slightly different characters however, whereas McCartney chose celebrities,  Westwood has chosen a Historical theme. A punk woman from the 1970s, Shakespeare, Blackadder and Hogarths 'The Laughing Audience'. Making her designs feel totally unique. Of course the celebrities are involved aswell - as they always are. Sienna Miller looks pretty amazing in the Blackadder design (below).

The t-shirts are available online and instore from TK MAXX.

Lady Gaga - Genius or Madwoman??

A few years ago we didn't know who this woman was. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was just another wannabe trying to make it on the music scene, writing songs for other people.

Then all of a sudden  this elusive woman appeared, she dressed a bit wacky and Akon had signed her to his label and featured on her song, she must have been good, we thought.
Little did we know whilst we were strutting our stuff on the dancefloor to 'Just Dance', the monster she had created for herself.

When Lady Gaga began trying to make it in the music business, she went by her real name and dressed fairly normally - we didn't want to know, no matter that she was sitting on future hits such as 'Bad Romance'. She was just the same as everyone else, and we had had enough of that. Britney, Christina, Jessica and Mandy. We weren't bothered anymore, we were just about growing out of the others as it was.

Then, as if by magic, she changed her name, her style and her attitude. Just as Britney was going a bit mad and shaving her hair off, Lady Gaga took her turn in the spotlight and never looked back.

We are currently awaiting the release of that 'difficult' second album, and last week we had the lyrics released for her forthcoming single 'Born This Way' - not the video or a snippet of sound - the lyrics.
That is just Gagas way of course, she likes to do things differently. She wore a dress made of meat afterall. I don't think she's mental at all, I think she's quite clever. She keeps people talking about her. Even when she is not around.

Behind the facade of meat dresses, pvc corsets and the array of hats she has, is a brilliant songwriter. If you listen to 'The Fame Monster' you will hear some beautiful lyrics. Speechless, Brown Eyes, Bad Romance and even her new song Born This Way. They are so full of emotion and tenderness. In particular, Speechless is a touching account of being so in love with someone that it renders you speechless when it comes to an end.

I’ll never talk again
Oh boy you’ve left me speechless
You’ve left me speechless, so speechless

I can’t believe how you slurred at me
With your half wired broken jaw
You popped my heart seams
On my bubble dreams, bubble dreams



It is quite clear that Gaga has lived through some serious heartbreak, along with a whole host of other emotions, and cleraly for the music industry she came along at the right time. She wasn't stupid, she never gave up, she knew in the end that we would want to hear what she had to say. So what if she dresses a bit weird in bubble dresses and with Coke cans on her head. It's a talking point - and she WANTS us to talk about her.

When I did my degree I got told that the best form of advertising is through word of mouth, all she is doing is harnessing it's potential for her own gain - after all isn't that what Britney, Lilo and Paris do with the paps? She's just playing the game to her own advantage. You can't blame her for that.

I love her album, I never rated it at first until I heard it, but it is beautifully written. So I would definately go and see her show, no matter how much it cost. She's an individual and is allowed to do what she wants - she's not mad, just very very clever.

And maybe just a little kooky.