Balmain for Less

Balmain has to be one of the most expensive labels out there, they charge way over any reasonable amount to pay for any sort of clothing, we're talking over £5,000 for a dress and hundreds of pounds just for t-shirts. Making it only affordable to those with more money than sense (Alex Curran) and those who are gifted it (lucky bitches...)

That's not to say it's not very nice, it is, it's one of my favourite labels, but still, I won't be buying any anytime soon.

But lucky enough, as Balmain is such a distinctive and desirable label, lots of high street shops do pretty convincing replicas. You'll see their signature statement shoulders, heavily embellished dresses, high hemlines paired with ankle boots and black and gold colour palette absolutely everywhere.

And that's where Peacocks come in.

They're currently selling this dress for £40 (with 20% discount):

Which bares more than a passing resemblance to this one from the Balmain 2010 Fall collection:



Here's hoping Santa knows how good I've been this year...

Balmain Peacocks by KayleyA featuring a peacock dress

Ladies Sequin Shift Dress - Party Shop - Peacocks
40 GBP - peacocks.co.uk
Peacock dress »

SteveMadden - A-ROXANA BLACK MULTI women's bootie high platform
$100 - stevemadden.com
Platform booties »

Union Jack Clutch Bag
32 GBP - monsoon.co.uk
Evening bag handbag »

Gold Swarovski Skull Ring
36 GBP - talullahtu.co.uk
Cocktail ring jewelry »

B-Low the Belt Rock N Row Belt in Black
$147 - singer22.com
Black belt »

Managing a Crisis on Social Media

Hello.

I’m doing a new sort of post today. If you didn’t already know I work for a charity on their social media, so I suppose that makes me fairly knowledgeable about how charities and businesses more generally can develop a presence online, which is something the majority really ought to be doing already for reasons I won’t go into right now.

One of the major motivating factors in getting a company to take social media more seriously and actively take part in it is the possibility that a crisis may erupt on social media, which they’ll need to deal with online. The Domino’s youtube fiasco and Nestle palm oil incident alerted companies to the damage a social media crisis can do to their reputation more generally and highlights the need for a social media crisis strategy.

So here are a few tips for how you can react when/if a social media crisis happens:

• Decide what your company deems a crisis, an issue, and something which just needs to be monitored for now. How do you know when to pull out the full crisis management plan?


• Agree on the line you’re going to be taking and the tone of voice you’ll be using.


• Brief all your relevant employees on what this is make sure they stick to it!


• If you’re getting a vast amount of comments and queries setting up an FAQ will help you be able to better respond to people. Similarly, a video response is a good way to put a face to your company and is more reassuring than impersonal tweets and messages. Agree on how you can set this set before it’s necessary.


• Make friends before a crisis happens- if someone does start making negative comments about you, having a community of loyal fans may help silence them.


• Listen closely. As soon as something hits you want to know about it as soon as possible. Only noticing an “I hate your company” group on facebook or bad customer service blog after two weeks of activity might be too late. Having someone responsible for monitoring online mentions of your company is the best way to do this.


• Don’t be afraid to get involved. If someone has set up a blog documenting all your customer service failures, a “look but don’t touch” policy will do you no favours. Silence is possibly even worse than a bad response.


• Prepare your response beforehand. It is possible, within reason, to have a good guess at the likely crisis’ you might face. Decide what these are and prepare “black pages” of your response which can go live on your web site if/when it happens, these will be useful if they can stop the flow of negative comments hours or days earlier than if you were working from scratch.


• Similarly, you’ll need to work out the specifics. Who is responsible for reacting to a crisis which erupts online? Who do they alert and what do they do? Who replies to comments? If it’s really big you may want to have a team working exclusively on dealing with it. Who are they?


• Do not disable comments. By switching off the ability to write on your Facebook wall or comment on your blog it suggests you have something to hide. Angry comments don’t come across too well, but an angry comment with an apologetic response shows that you’re listening, whereas silencing all your critics will only make them angrier and more determined to have their say.

Just a few bullet points there but hopefully someone will find it useful. Do let me know if you think I’ve missed anything out or have said anything stupid. Or if you think you have any better ideas!

*Note- That's not a real tsunami, all people are alive and well as far as I know...

Gradient Nails

Showing off my nails. They go from light purple to dark purple and I did it by following a tutorial from Makeup Savvy apart from she made just one colour darker and lighter whereas I used two Barry M purple ones because they seemed to work.

Enjoy!

Trend spotter: Varsity

Clockwise starting in the top left: McHappy Heimer by Vassana M. on Lookbook.nu, American Apparel knee high socks £8, American Apparel thigh high socks £13, New Look Preppy Cricket jumper £19.99, New Look Preppy Knit Cardigan £22.99, River Island Pink Long Sleeve Varsity style cardigan £34.99, Sweetheart by Agnes R. on Lookbook.nu, BaronJon Converse "All Star" High Top Trainers £36.99, Topshop Baseball Bomber Jacket £40, Next Navy Sweat Varsity Jacket £28, Aritzia Varsity Cardigan $85

Album Review: Mcfly Above the Noise

Yes, Mcfly are back! After a two year hiatus the band are yet again claiming that this album is the “album they’ve always wanted to make” The same thing they said about Motion in the Ocean, (and we all know what a disappointment that was) but this time they reassure us that they really mean it.

A lot’s been happening in those two years, they split with their record label, they went to Australia and wrote a few tracks which were all subsequently scraped, they got back with their record label, they went to gym and/or drunk a hell of a lot of protein shakes (Tickets to the gun show any one?) and it certainly appears as if they’ve hired some sort of stylist who knows that guns equal money in this fickle industry. (Naked photoshoot? Yeah why not)

And now they’re back!

Lots of words have been thrown about in describing this album- Twilight inspired- the video and mini movie for the first single Party Girl definitely had a vampire theme running through it and has set the tone for their artwork. Mcfly/ Mcfly’s record company certainly aren’t stupid; girls are going mental for vampires at the moment, and it’s a clever, if a bit unoriginal, bandwagon to jump on.

Rock-opera is also a phrase which has cropped up a few times, no doubt a result of the opening track End of the World which takes influence from War of the Worlds and throws in elements of theatrical drama which are later confirmed by Nowhere Left to Run.

In terms of the music itself, it’s good. It’s actually very good. But it’s hard to know whether it’s the 21 year old me saying that or the 16 year old me. But with the help of producer Dallas Austin (who has an impressive roster of clients including Madonna, Pink, Michael Jackson) and only a few naff songs, the majority is very listenable.

With I Need A Woman, a country inspired rock ballad and If U C Kate (Yes, when you say it it sounds like a rudey, we’ve seen both the Script and Britney Spears do exactly the same thing) but forget the crass title and for me it’s the standout track of the album, there’s no doubting that these boys are good at what they do.

Will this album turn Mcfly into credible artists, something I get the impression they’ve craved to be from the start, probably not, but will it boost their presence in the teen pop category after an extended gap? Yes, most definitely. A hollow victory, but one I’m certainly enjoying.

Chanel A/W 2010 Look book- Ice Age

At Paris fashion week Chanel's show had a very ice-queen slash native-American slash arctic feel to it. He went all out, even importing a 265 foot iceburg from Scandanavia and I'm sure I saw a photo of an actual Yeti... Think knee high fluffy boots, heavy fur coats and toasty tights with delicate dresses underneath and your Winter Wonderland is complete. Here's a few of my favourite pieces from the high street that go with this look.

As a side note, I'd sell my own mother for that fur trimmed cape dress or those feather boots. Literally, I would...

Faux Fur Earmuffs, Monsoon £16

Greta Square Toe Mary Janes, Topshop £60

Fur Trim Cape Dress, Topshop £80

Diamantee Pears and Feathers Hairband, Accessorize £40

Mesh Tube Dress, Rare £49

Curve Sequin Shift Dress, Topshop £120

Ivory Faux Fur Coat, Wallis, £85

Feather Cowl Back Jumpsuit, Topshop, £60

Scene Feather Boot, Kurt Geiger £390

Ivory Sweetheart bag, Debenhams, £30

Silver Look Diamante Cluster Ring, River Island £7.99

Stone Bird Studs, Topshop £8

The Look for Less: Christian Louboutin Madame Butterfly Booties

It's no secret I'm a sucker for Christian Louboutin shoes. Is it because all the celebrities wear them? The red soles? The sky high heels which can't help but make even the wobbliest legs look fabulous? The ridiculous price tag? Who knows, but I like 'em and I want 'em.

Recently the pair to be seen in is the Madame Butterfly Bootie. 6'' heel, cute little bows, killer platform, what's not to love?

And they've had their fair share of red carpet coverage. Keri Hilson and Emma Watson both wore them, Watson at the National Movie awards and Hilson at the BET Awards. Rhianna and Heidi Klum have also been spotted in them and Lindsay Lohan wore them to one of her court appearances (she always lowers the tone...)



As you might guess, these shoes don't come cheap. At £775 a go I'll be giving them a miss for this month. But, luckily enough River Island have just launched these:

And at £64.99 they're not a bad alternative!

Cheryl Cole- Messy Little Raindrops album review

Cheryl Cole, dubbed the nation’s sweetheart and possibly the most desirable female of the 20^th century (actually she was voted sexiest woman in the world by FHM) but stunning and as close to being universally liked as you’re going to find, is releasing her sophomore album, Messy Little Raindrops.

My prediction, much like her first solo album 3 Words which went triple platinum and sold more than 900,000 copies, Messy Little Raindrops, will shift. But, again much like 3 Words, that doesn’t mean that it’s a musical masterpiece or even particularly memorable.

Upon first listening nothing really stands out. It’s no secret that Cheryl was never the voice of Girls Aloud, that was Nadine, and unfortunately her lack of vocal range isn’t disguised well enough by her master producer and BFF Will.i.am.

Never the less, there are a few passable singles on there, Let’s Get Down seems like an obvious single release, and her follow up single, the Flood, I’m sure will do well.

Something which irks me about this album though is how moping and glum the general tone is. Indeed we all watched as Cheryl cried her heart out talking to Piers Morgan about her failed marriage, being hounded by paparazzi and her close escape from malaria, but if this album is meant to be a new beginning from all that, it’s a poor attempt.

And indeed, the references to crying come thick and fast. In Happy Tears, Cheryl tells us “she’s never going to cry again unless they’re happy tears”, hardly shutting a door on her troublesome past. Similarly in Amnesia she tells us “things are too good to be true” and the thinly veiled Ashley digs don’t stop there, coming thick and fast from every angle.

I really did want to like this album, I love Cheryl, look at her for God’s sake, she’s got such lovely hair! And ever since she fixed her teeth it’s been a struggle to take your eyes off her, but I’m afraid it’s not enough to make me love what is at best a mediocre album.

If an unknown artist come out with this it wouldn’t have a shot at the top 10, but attach that smile, that hair and that lovely personality and it’s a hit. If you like this album, you’re more than likely to be liking Cheryl the TV personality, or Cheryl the clothes horse, not Cheryl the singer. If you want my opinion, I’d spend my money on the calendar or Cheryl branded eye lashes, not the album.