Iceland Part 3; Reykjavik Music Mess

Bands featured: Deerhunter, Lower Dens, Sin Fang, Borko

Iceland Part 2: Blue Lagoon

Iceland Part 1: Reykjavik

A few weeks ago I returned from a trip to Iceland. I had wanted to visit the country for so long and was completely beside myself with excitement in the weeks running up to the holiday. Although we were only there for a week we managed to cram in a lot, not only in the capital Reykjavik but also out in the countryside amoungst the glaciers and lava fields. Looking back at the pictures it feels like a dream, it honestly is the strangest, most wonderful place I've ever been. The photos vary in terms of light because during the late winter months Icelanders experience what is known as a '15 minute day', meaning you can experience literally every weather going in the space of a day. Oh and did we! Luckily I packed just about every kind of clothing.

The following photos are just a few I took whilst there. Armed with my Nikon DSLR which was permanently glued to my face I managed to clock up a few hundred shots. The first batch focus on Reykjavik. Enjoy.

To Bob.

Today I was inspired. Seeing my beautiful sister-in-law Ellen with her smart new birthday bob has made me look at my lank longish mane and sigh. I have been growing my hair now for years and it never seems to get past that rather dull in-between mid-length and long place. Too fine to be full and surfy, too full of kinks to be sleek and shiny, it really will not behave. And so my mind slips to thoughts of scissors and the promise of a brand new bouncy bob of my own.

I am no stranger to this cut, I had a number of bobs at school and throughout the 90s, however this time, rather than a graduated pest that needs straightening and teasing into place, I imagine a one length creation like those seen at Paul Costelloe (AW11), triangular and architectural and rouge of course. Like Little Red Riding Hood might have her hair, if she wished to match it to her cape.


Visit my newly pruned sister here, but be warned as hair-envy most certainly awaits you.

When I'm 64....

I have been told on more than one occasion that red hair is the first to go grey. As a natural ginger this fact has never concerned me much due to a total reliance on Henna to revitalise my increasingly lacklustre mane. An application of the green goo leaves me russet once more and I can go on denying my dull auburn locks for another month or so.

Flicking through this morning's Guardian Weekend I found myself transfixed by these two beautiful silver-haired ladies and considered for once the prospect of my own potentially grey-haired future. Wow, if this is what getting older can look like, you can count me in. As for the long and tedious process involved in Henna-ing, well I'm sure I shall stick with it for some time to come yet, but who knows maybe one day I shall go with the grey, wear it long and surfy; it'll certainly be easier to maintain when I'm on my grand world-tour.

All images by John-Paul Pietrus

Five Fashion Favourites

Forever Fringe

Peter Rabbit by Peter Jensen

Rosalind, waiting for better weather

A pie crust collar, good enough to eat

Teal-tinted Sailor

Ch ch ch ch ch ch ch ch cherry-bomb!

Despite living in what is widely regarded as the second major city in the UK, for some reason on release The Runaways was only shown in Manchester at one cinema, on two nights, at the rather inconvenient time of 4.45pm. The film had received good reviews so the feminist in me couldn't help but suspect that this may have been partly due to the fact that The Runaways is a film about women in rock, a subject that doesn't exactly drag in the dollars. I mean why else would a film starring one of the most prominent actresses in Hollywood have such a limited output in the UK? Anyway whatever the reasoning, rather than wait until February when it was due to be released on DVD I paid out for a German copy via ebay.
For those of you unfamiliar with the back-story, The Runaways were a 70s American all-girl rock band co-led by the legendary Joan Jett and Cherie Currie. OK so there was an element of manufacture about them, their super-domineering manager Kim Fowley pulled the strings from day one, but the concept was new and led the way for a succession of riot-grrrls.
Whatever you think of them or their music, one thing is for sure the film looks amazing and Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are totally believable in their roles, Kristen's likeness to Joan being particularly impressive.
Below are some stills from the film which documents their wild and rather short-lived ride together.

All images found here and here