Yes, I litter … occasionally!

I have got a confession to make : I am the occasional litter… mainly, it is my cigarette buds that gets thrown onto the street, but on the rare occasion it will be things such as apple cores and plastic bottles.

I don’t consider my littering as a massive crime, but I will always feel guilty whenever I do it, and the reason why is because I’d rather throw out my littering in a litter box. I’m one of those persons who rarely bring a bag and even rarer, a plastic bag for littering.

My problem is that whenever I litter, I have been searching for a long time for a litter box, and when I find one, it is so full that my own litter would fall out. And when it comes to my cigarette buds, there are very few places where I can extinguish my cigarette and throw it out. So when I litter, I feel guilty, then disappointed by the lack of litter boxes.

The main problem is this : We all litter – some of us litter more than others, but to an extent, we all litter. Most of us litter because we cannot find a place to throw out our litter when we are walking on the streets, and considering that we are approaching tourist season, this will be a problem.

2012 is a great year for London and England in general. Not only have we been celebrating the Diamond jubilee, but we are also hosting the Olympics. This will mean that we will get more tourists this year than the year previously, but we will still have the same amount of litter boxes around in the street, and at a time where we want to show our country at the very best, we will risk the streets flowing with litter. Do you see the same issue as I do?

As an occasional litter due to the lack of litter boxes, I already fear going into London during the time of the Olympics because I will be able to see litter everywhere, and let’s be honest – litter in the street does not give the best impression to the outside world. I noticed this for the first time when I was in Istanbul where there were virtually no litter boxes around and the streets were flowing with litter. Call me snobbish, but it wasn’t nice at all.

So what can we do about it? I suggest that we install more litter boxes and that we let them stay there and that we, most importantly, use them. Think of the image to the outside world – do we want the tourists to be reminded of the littered streets during London 2012? No, I didn’t think so.

So next time when you consider to litter, try extra hard to find a litter box, and perhaps then we can have a cleaner London and England this year. Wouldn’t it be nice to take a walk in Weymouth or London during the Olympics and not see litter everywhere? I know it would make me enjoy my Olympics much more.

Second-hand fur : Okay or No-go?

Hi there!

One of my favourite past-times is going around various towns and take a look at either antique, second-hand and vintage shops. A couple of days ago I went to Lyme Regis (small coastal town in the south of England) and as I was walking through the beach, I noticed an antique shop because they had a violin outside, and although I cannot play the violin, I still decided to check out the shop.

First impression of the shop : IT WAS AMAZING! I continued to think that it was amazing after having gone through the book-section, the jewellery section, the teacup section, you name it... I thought it was amazing right until I discovered their selection of fur coats next to other vintage dresses.

My immediate reaction (as are most people's, I reckon) is that fur coats are an ethic issue that I ought not to attempt writing about. Personally, I would never buy a brand-new fur coat as I would struggle with the moral and ethic issues that a fur coat brings with it. In many cases, we struggle with the thought if the animals had been treated right, and we know, from various articles, that the animals has most likely suffered, and we don't want on our conscience that we contributed to animal suffering.

But what are the ethic issues on a vintage, second-hand fur coat? I decided to ask my friends.

While all of my friends agree that a brand new fur coat is morally wrong, they were more split on the topic of a vintage fur coat. And I understand why, because I felt very split by the issue myself. At one point, I even decided to try out one of the coats, and was somewhat horrified to realise that I didn't feel like I was wearing a dead animal, but rather just a really nice, soft and warm coat. So even with the knowledge that I was wearing real fur, why was I not disgusted?

The answer was, and I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this, that it was because that this fur coat was a vintage second-hand rather than a brand new one, and when I asked my friends, most of them said that they would rather buy a second-hand fur coat rather than a brand new one, because they didn't feel like they were contributing directly to the fur industry if given the option and if faux fur wasn't available.

However, another opinion was that second-hand fur coats was still wrong as you would still wear a dead animal, and that thought was enough for them to claim it as a no-go area.

But are second-hand fur a no-go or is it okay? I'll let you decide.

I AM EMKA!

Dear readers and others.

Check out Emka - it's recently started, but is good and artistic.

Linkie-link: I AM EMKA

Back with fashion

I've had somewhat of a break from my blog (call it writers block), but I've decided to return to the wonders of blogging with a little input of FASHION...

As most high-street fashionistas would know, Versace recently designed a collection for H&M. At first, I was a little disappointed with their collection, having only seen the press photos, but after looking closely at it, I must admit, that it's actually a pretty cool collection.

Personally though, it's not my style, but it's still worth checking out.

Click on Versace to see their ladies collection.

Cheerio luvvies! :)

The designers you most likely won't hear about.

Earlier this morning, I read about a new concept by Danish-American Gitte Jonsdatter. This concept is called MUUSE.com (just clicky-clacky) and it will help newly-graduated designers from various design schools around the globe to give these new designers a chance to sell their takes of what to wear.
You then order it from the website and the clothes will be sown to suit you specifically in their office in Copenhagen and sent to you where-ever you are.

All of this - amazing! idea! However, there is a but.

While the concept is well thought of, the website is slightly confusing. Or so I find, anyway. Luckily, they do tell you exactly how it works in their section 'About Us' and you've got a possibility to read their blog.

It's definitely worth checking out, fashionistas!

Two Door Cinema Club

I know, I know... it's bad to advertise about music on a blog because people might have different taste than you when it comes to music. Well, I don't care! I urge you to buy the Two Door Cinema Club album called Tourist History, because it's amazing!

And if you don't want to buy it, at least take a listen to this amazing band!

Stylish photos.

I love looking in fashion magazines and at style photos, and sometimes you do stumble on one that is absolutely mindblowing.
While this one is not mindblowing, it's still a very good example of one of those fashion photos that will stay in the back of your mind, even if you aren't into the Olsen twins.