True Blood Fashion Alert! How to Steal Sookie's Style for Less!

If you're as fanatical about True Blood as I am, you'll spot some serious fashion hotness going on. Here's how to get our heroine Sookie's sweet yet sexy look without breaking the bank.

I adore this look from 4x04 'I'm Alive and on Fire' which is simple, casual, classic Sookie. A cute, sporty green cropped hoody that emphasises her tiny waist covering a white camisole, teamed with teeny denim hotpants that show off her toned legs and perky butt perfectly.We might not all have her enviable bod, but we can sure have her wardrobe.

Green Hoody, £13.46  Aeropostale.
If you're going for the exact look, try cutting a stencil of miniature hearts on acetate and transfer the design with white fabric paint.

White lace trim cami, £9, Peacocks

Turn up denim shorts, £14, Peacocks

Tennis Shoes, £16, Kappa

Total: £52.46! (US$86.2)

Next up is my favourite look of season 4  from the latest episode 'Me and the Devil', which sees Sookie in a fabulous 50s style sunny yellow print sundress. I've been drooling over it ever since. With a sweetheart neckline, girly bows on the bust and the back, the fit-and-flare silhouette showcases Sookie's figure perfectly. I just can't get enough of the double bow detailing that ties up a bare back, making this sweet number not-so-innocent.

To copy Sookie's young lemonade fresh look, try these dresses.

(Clockwise from top left)

Sarah Dress by Jones and Jones, £60 (US$98.6), Topshop.com

Kimchi & Blue Ditsy Nora Dress, (Sale) £20 (US$32.9), Urban Outfitters

New Vintage Rosa Print Prom Dress, (Sale) £55 (US$90.3), Oasis

Complete the look with a white thin shoulder strap handbag/clutch, white cork/rope wedges, drop earrings and locket necklace.

Voila! Now that you've got her style all you need is a sexy hot vampire/werewolf boyfriend as the perfect accessory.

Out and About in London Part 2- Do Shop is Definitely a Do

I was excited to visit Do for the first time, since I previously spent a wasted journey, finding myself staring in front of a vacant shop window in Beak St like a complete idiot. Apparently the shop had moved its premises to Covent Garden months ago but the old address is still the first search result in Google (Damn you Googlemaps!). So imagine my relief when I managed to locate the shop with relative ease this time, despite having the worst sense of direction in the world and the inability to read maps for the life of me.

The small shop is located near the Camden's Neal's Yard shopping district amongst other hip places well worth visiting, like Rokit (vintage fashion), Forbidden Planet (Comic books) and London Graphics Centre (art and craft supplies). You can't miss it as there's a massive silver Do Shop sign sculpture slap bang in front.

Do has a relaxed atmosphere, selling quirky yet functional products for the home, with a youthful edge that separates it from others. Their concept is to 'inspire you with products that are versatile, fun, unique and beautiful'. Prices range hugely, from £2 greeting cards to more expensive lighting and furniture. Stocked with inspiring ideas for the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and study,  there's something to suit everyone on any budget.

Here are my top picks at Do:

Don't be fooled by the unassuming appearance of this brown envelope. In true 007 undercover agent style, it is in fact a lightweight, splash and tear proof laptop sleeve from Luckies, padded with sturdy foam for protection, lined with satin and has adjustable fasteners. What a genius idea to deter thieves from nicking your laptop!

Next of my curious discoveries was Sena Gu's humorous cauliflower teapots and jugs, slipcast in porcelain. Sena is a recent graduate who has designed for 100% Design Festival 2010.  These witty and cute tablewares will definitely get people's attention at home.









Lastly I fell in love with this charming wooden sewing box 'Sewing the World' by Italian homeware company Seletti. its retro pink, white and yellow silk screened motifs of measuring  tape, teddy bears, flowers brings of childhood memories when little girls learned how to sew from their grandmothers, contrasted with edgier motifs of skulls and revolvers. The box folds open with handy sections and drawers with cute buttons, perfect for storing accessories and mementos. Each box is individually handmade, making IT a very special treasure chest indeed.

There are lots of other original products available from Do's website worth taking a look. What I love about Do is that they are willing to showcase designs by new graduates and proves that minimal, contemporary, fun design can be affordable to all.

Do
34 Shorts Gardens, Greater London WC2H 9PX

Review- Treasures of Heaven: saints, relic and devotion in medieval Europe

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Treasures of Heaven was the first special British Museum exhibition I'd been to since I received my free National Art pass which I was eager to make use of. The gory of the Middle Ages has fascinated many; the mysterious power of holy relics still summons incredible religious following and public interest. Watching CSI and knowledge of DNA testing have made me highly skeptical of the authenticity of famous examples such as The Shroud of Turin. This exhibition was something else.

The first thing that hits you when you enter the dark round reading room is the soothing choir hymn playing in the background. I felt immersed in a sacred presence as an urge to go to confession overwhelmed me, which was rather unsettling. All the visitors were over the age of 50, dead silent and serious. I wondered how many of them had came because they were true believers, or like me were simply intrigued.

5 Things I didn't know until I visited Treasures of Heaven

Before the LV logo and Chanel's interlocking Cs, Jesus  had his very own Christogram 'Chi Rho'- consisting of an X and P, the first 2 letters of Christ in Greek.

A reliquary was a container for relics, usually a box holding saint's relics, from bone to fragments of cloth. Exquisitely handcrafted in precious materials like gold, silver, gemstones and enamel- the sacredness of the relic was supposed reflected  by the high quality and  level of the skill needed to make the reliquary. They were in amazingly well preserved condition,gleaming and glistening as though endowed by a higher power. One imagined the power the spiritual faith of the craftsman, to create something so laborious and beautifully intricate.The Icon of the Man of Sorrows, (below) for example was a cabinet reliquary housing over 200 relics, its centre mosaic of Christ consisting of thousands of tiny stones.

Icon of the Man of Sorrows, 14th Century

The miraculous healing powers of relics were a recurring theme throughout the exhibition. Pilgrimage souvenirs were sold to people flocking to shrines to venerate the relic. It was believed upon contact you would inherit the power of the relic. Tiny pilgrimage flasks contained water allegedly mixed with blood of St Thomas Becket, the famously murdered Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170 A.D. The phenomenon is very much alive today- people willingly pay crazy amounts of money for locks of Justin Bieber's hair. Our fascination and insatiable appetite for a piece of celebrity is part of our human-ness, thus has never ceased throughout history.

The pinnacle of the exhibition is the relics of Jesus Christ himself, with the discovery of the True Cross by St Helen when she visited the Holy Land in 326-8 A.D. On display were reliquaries containing the relics of nails of the cross, crown of thorns, preserved blood, tears, breath and even the umbilical cord of baby Jesus! This was followed closely by the reliquaries housing the breast milk and hair of the Virgin Mary and the skull fragments of Thomas Becket.

Reliquary Pendant for the Holy Thorn, 14 century

My question with relics is there's no way of verifying whether they belonged to that saint. Even if they can be positively attributed as human, their magical powers cannot.

Yet does it matter if not everything is scientifically trialled and proven? The psychological effect of spiritual has certainly been proven to improve one's happiness and health.  We live in an era that hammers science down our throats as the answer to everything. But needing to be 99.99% sure all the time has also made us overly cynical and frankly, miserable. So leave your doubts at the door before you visit- you'll find yourself at peace and your blood pressure down a couple of notches.

Out and About in London Part 1- Contemporary Ceramics Centre

After spending an exhausting day seeking inspiration in London I am pleased to present my first gallery review. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the CCC (A.K.A Contemporary Ceramics Centre), it is located conveniently directly opposite of the British Museum, and definitely right up my street! I haven't visited it since January so was eager see what exciting new works I would find.

Here you can view the works of some of Britain's most talented, established potters Sandy Brown and Emmanuel Cooper (the creme de la creme of the ceramics world) to name but a few, in a modern, spacious, clean lit setting. Pieces by the same artist are exhibited with enough space in between to showcase their individuality- there's nothing worse than having lots of pieces cramped together on a tiny space. The staff are informed and friendly enough to answer questions, unlike some of the snobbish posh galleries I've been to. Surprisingly not everything will set a massive dent in your wallet (although there was a stunning Gareth Mason vessel priced £5800!), with small pieces starting from £40, such as adorable, dainty cups by Ikuko Iwamoto, one of my favourite ceramicists.

Of all the designers exhibiting, I could never not mention Gareth Mason, an amazing ceramicist and a lovely man who I recently met in person. His large, part hand built and thrown porcelain vessels are like abstract expressionist paintings that have crashed on Mars, with rock like forms protruding out of craters, dribbling with delicate blue, brown and red glazes.

Next, my eye was caught by these breathtakingly beautiful handbuilt porcelain vessels by Mary White, a Welsh potter whose fluid works can also be seen at the V&A. Drawing inspiration from the sea, the organic, paper thin white forms fan out like the rippled edges of seashells, enhanced in blue and lilac. It is one thing to see them in web resolution, but truly another to see it in person!

Finally my hot new discovery was Jack Doherty's textured and stained thrown bowl, with soft ethereal colours (created by adding soda vapour during firing) reminiscing delicate watercolour paintings of breaking dawn.

There were many other outstanding pieces by old and new ceramicists, so if you are passionate about ceramics like I am, or simply want to try something new after a long, tired day bustling with annoying, noisy foreign tourists in London(admit it, you'd feel the same way too!), this is a tranquil spot well worth visiting.

Contemporary Ceramics Centre
63 Great Russell Street
Greater London WC1B 3BF

Hello!

My name is Christina Lai, a recent Applied Arts graduate/budding ceramicist/freelance writer nervously trying to break my way into the blogsphere for the first time! Here I want to share all that makes me tick- films, television, fashion, art, craft, psychology, society and culture. Trust me, I'll have something to say about it! 

Keeping you entertained and informed with my sharp reviews on films, TV shows and exhibitions every week, I hope you'll enjoy Christina's Anatomy as much as I will writing it!