I Wish That I Was Joanie's Girl

I'm finally going to put my Fashion Marketing degree to some good use here and dust off the web cobs on all that media savvy (awkward pause, erm...) knowledge I've been storing away... Lets talk about branding. In layman's terms, branding is a marketing tool used to accredit a company or product with a personality, a face, ethics, believes, morals... Ok you get the idea. Why? In order for their customer to identify with them, plain and simple. So with out further a do could we just take a moment to give new kids on the fashion block Joanie Clothing a huge round of applause for creating a brand which perfectly personifies that girl next door you're so desperate to be best friends with.

A few months back myself and Joe went to visit Joanie's Head Office when it was merely a twinkle in its incredible teams eyes, in which I was given a glimpse into their first collection and an insight into what they hoped Joanie would/could be. We sat and drank coffee, discussed sixties sirens and Taylor Swift, I swooned over the collection and got giddy over embroidered collars, cat knitwear and Alpine prints. I could have sat with these girls, amongst those clothes for hours and when we finally left, my first comment to Joe was simply, thank God someone is finally making a brand girls actual WANT and NEED!! Joanie "gets it". It doesn't conform itself to the latest fade trends and unobtainable, unrealistic lifestyle aspirations we're subjected to daily on Social media and in magazines. It's a brand free from intimidation, elitism and body shaming, instead Joanie actively promotes and celebrates...well... kinda just doing your own thing because that's what we all do best and that's what makes us all so bloody amazing in our own, niche little way. It's a brand for vivacious vixens, to sweet and retiring bookish types, to the crazy cat mad lady hidden away within us all (well mainly me anyway). It's for girls who want to stand out, loud and proud and for those that just want to feel comfortable and cool. Most importantly and what I personally found most appealing, it's a brand for nostalgic girls who pine over eras which never even came close to their life time and it makes them accessible! Whether you swoon over Jane Birkin's understated boyish style, Anna Karina's sweet and playful outfits, Hepburn's utter fabulousness or Monroe's overtly feminine charm, look no further, Joanie has a dress for that. 

Joanie is the girl who's style you'll forever crush over on Instagram, the one who always shows mutual appreciation for your outfits too. She's that one friend we all have who always seems to know the newest coolest band, book and film. She's the girl you meet drunkenly in the loo, the one who tells you "you're dress is amazing" or "please don't cry you're too good for him". She's the girl in the queue at Starbucks (who am I kidding... probably more like Greggs) who asks you politely where your shoes are from and she's that one work friend who gets your humour and always manages to make you smile, even on a Monday. Best thing is Joanie isn't just one girl, oh no no! Joanie is a girl gang (snaps fingers). A girl gang consisting of all the aforementioned and more. What's more, she's happy to recruit anyone in, no judgement held, spaces are limitless. Just be sure to tag your latest Joanie outfit on Instagram as #joaniegal and count yourself in! Seriously if you haven't paid a visit to the site, with all due respect... What the hell are you waiting for?! Scallop edged blouses, lace collared dresses and pearl dotted berets are calling you... Welcome to the club lady!

Sophia aka Official Joanie Gal Club Member x

Outfit 1
Photos by Rosie Ann Butcher

Outfit 2
Photos by Lydia Maycock

PS I may have been listening to a excessive amount of 80s rock this week hence the Rick Springfield inspired title... I'm not even sorry.





As Long As I Gaze At Venetian Sunset, I Am In Paradise


Wow, ok so this post as been a long time coming. I don't know what it is about the new year but I'm finding it increasingly hard to catch up with it! As soon as Christmas ended, it was all systems go and I've not had a moment to sit down and just be, or go through my Venice photos if we're getting down to the nitty gritty. And by "go through my Venice photos", I am in fact referring to all 350 plus of them... What can I say it's an awfully photogenic city and the camera loves it, well at least mine definitely did anyway. Yes over 350 photos, which I whittled down to 224 pre editing. So that's 224 edited and then I dwindled it down a little further until I reached 101 and I became unstuck, I couldn't bare not to share a single one of the carefully selected, still kinda sizeable collection of snaps. And so I'm posting you the lot! Because a apparently a photo tells you a thousand words, which when you do the maths equates to 101,000 words. Thats a lot of typing. I am not J K Rowling and this is not the Harry Potter Saga. Besides, I honestly don't think I have a single word within my vocabulary which would truly reflect just how beautiful Venice is, so if you don't mind I'll let the pictures do most of the talking (she says, rambling on with herself).
Being of half Italian (no I can't talk the language, unless you want to know the word for pencil and yes I'm bitter about that fact) on my dads side I'm lucky enough to have visited Italy on numerous occasions as a little girl and every single memory is a fond one (apart from the one time a dog chased me into the sea in Rimini, I'm scared of the sea and funnily enough crazed, girl hungry dogs, but we will leave that for another time) and remember even as a youngster being able to appreciate how lovely Italy is. A few years back I visited Rome and well, I fell head over strappy sandals in love. There's something about Rome which is inimitable from any other city. I was sure of it. The buildings, the streets, the people, the food (duh) and the atmosphere were just, if not better than you would anticipate from the ancient city. I honestly believed, for me nowhere else in the world would ever compare. And I've got to say in terms of European cities, Rome always stayed firmly at the the top. But then Venice happened... 
I've got admit I've always wanted to visit Venice, but one very, very large factor has always stopped me. I'm absolutely, completely and utterly irrationally, petrified of water (as vaguely mentioned above in the Rimini/crazed dog story). Ironic, seeing as I'm a Pisces but there you have it. And so I've always held off going, but it was the one place myself and Joe could decide on that we'd both never been to, plus it was off season so it wouldn't be too touristy (if you take anything from this post, please let it be to visit Venice off season. It's still touristy, but far more manageable. I hear summer is intense. Just saying). And decision well made. I was so in awe of the city that my fear took second priority. 
 
One of my favourite films "Don't Look Now" is set in Venice and after visiting I now see why and realise the city truly is the leading role. There's a mystery and magic to Venice that you can't quite put your finger on, it's like someone dreamed this place up and there it was. Whether your sipping tea amongst the ornate interior of Caffe Florian, being snap happy on the Instagrammable island of Burano, gazing out over Rialto Bridge at the dusky pink sunset (yes that's right, in the evening the city turns into a Wes Anderson colour scheme of dusky pinks contrasted with the waters teal blue) or simply getting lost within the maze of tiny streets and hidden alleyways, you can't help but feel seriously spellbound. I'm not so fickle that I'd throw my number one love Rome off the top spot, but it certainly now has to share it and with that...

Enjoy the photographs, all 101.

Sophia x

Outfit 1
Turtle Neck- H&M
Polka Dot Dress- Topshop

Outfit 2
Frill Detail Jumper- And Other Stories
Jeans- Monki
Converse- All Sole

Outfit 3
Crochet Jumper- HE Official
Bag- Vintage Mulberry find similar here