the last goodbye

today i am printing my blog, you know what the means, this blog has to end, booooo, for now anyway. i have learned from doing this blog and i actually quite enjoy it. i was a bit hesitant at first as i have never done one before and really never had the urge, but im glad i have done this, it has enabled me, for one of a better phrase, show off my work to a large number of internet viewers. 

i posted my blog around my personal Facebook account and internal college email so i was hoping for a fair few people to follow me, sadly that has not happened, becki is unpopular with the blog crowd however, here are some stats from my blog:

1. i have 5 followers, one of whom is myself and i have no idea how that happened.
2. overall i have had 877 views on my blog
3. people from US, UK, India, China, Germany, Spain, France, Guernsey, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, to name of few have viewed my blog
4.the iD please page has had the most views with 34.
5. traffic sourcing are mainly from Facebook and google
6. and finally i have had one 1 sad lonely comment :(

so where am I now which the project......

well today I have explained the reasoning behind the unit plan, and I am about the write about my WSSI from yesterday and ex summary. print and bind on monday, then its all over.

as i want to get cracking on my research file, i need this to be printed as home printer is broken and i have spend about a billion on printing at college im off to the local library.

oh and lectures, if you can be bribed into giving me a distinction, i am more than willing to supply you with as many percy pigs as possible. 

so for now, goodbye blog world, it has been a pleasure working with you, it wont be long till i come back again,  promise, but work is now done. and here is some reminders of my work so far

byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

x

THE WISSI!!!!!

the comp shop

i think its nearly time for a drink.

today i was determined to do a wssi and delivery schedule, and i think, after spending all day on them, i have done it!

i need to get the checked out on monday, which i hope could of been looked at tomorrow, just so i can get that printed as i know, next week will be manic when it comes down to printing, but oh well.

soooo..........

all that is left now is to write: ex summary, conclusion, write about wssi and write about unit plan. which i will do tomorrow.

then research file, which i have done just need to stick it in, that will be started on during the weekend.

THEN IM FINISHED

over the weekend, i will leave the last post on this blog

x

so close!!!!!

yesterday and today i spent all day printing all my FMP of what i had done so far which was:

1. all of the buying and range building
2. sourcing
3. web design and plan
4. garment tech
5. comp shop

when it comes down to merch, i have done 5 of the 7 spreadsheets ( sales plan, option plan and sheet, line detail, critical path and unit plan) but i aim to at least try the delivery schedule and WSSI.

so the plan of action is -

tomorrow (thursday):        
 Finish printing
Write the exclusive summary
Write about the unit plan, looking into ROS, Planned line life and Quantities

friday:                              
DO MERCH!!!!! and then write about it, e.g. profits, markdowns, shrinkage
conclusion and bib

weekend:                           

put together my research file ( completed half of the file, and have printed the                                        other half, just need to put it together)

monday:                            
have merch checked and to make sure i have done everything possible.

put the project together, bound one copy and put one in a sketchbook.

DONE! hopefully

          x

sneak peak....

just a little taster, here is the design sheet from my garment tech and my unit plan from my merch

x

unit plan for both ranges

so close, yet so much spell check

righty, well i have given myself a to do list the length of my arm, which needs to be done by friday, as i need to really start putting together my research file.

tuesday i have to print off all the website designs, print off garment tech which i finished today, all the buying and range plan which i have finished and spell checked this weekend and to finalise the merch spead sheets.

with merch im slightly confused. i have done the sales plan, unit plan, line detail, critical and option plan but i have no idea what to do with the wssi and delivery phasing, it just makes no sense to me even after staring at it for hours. it will make sense to me soon, as i am determined to do them as i really want the best possible grade i can get. 

so as an update, here is my finalised website designs, just gotta write about them now

x

the homepage

clothing homepage

dresses homepage

product description

behind the scenes promotional video

look book for fur and curls range

clara bow's stage lookbook

saucing, yes please..

give me a country, i can tell you where they are, the best garments they produce and PESTEL for each country. i didn't even know this much when i was in geography class in school!

today, all i have done is sourcing, and i can say, im soooo close to finishing. by friday i shall finish all the sourcing part of the FMP and garment tech.

for now, i shall give you a taste of my range, so here it is. first up is the clara bow's stage range.....

now here is the fur and curls range for you all to check out.....

the big man, phil G

today was a day i just could not of ever seen happening, i met the man that owns my favourite shop in the entire world, Sir Phillip Green, and honestly, i could not have been so nervous.

the office it's self overwhelmed me, with its size and pure elegance. it really was like no other. 

i went in along side 20 other people from the FRA, and he asked us some probing questions about our life in the FRA and what we could say to improve it. then we got to ask him some questions. it was at this point that I was stuck/nervous. i had nothing, but i did slip in the mention of teaching online merchandising which he said he would introduce.

all in all, a successful day from that point of view but no work done. i have this evening which i aim to finish off the sourcing, and tomorrow. but i did get some fabrics and trims for the garment part of my FMP.

so much work, i need to crack on.

x

the shortest day ever...

today has gone by sooooo quickly, its liked i blinked at its 6pm! and the worst part is that i just haven't one as much work as i wanted, maybe im turning lazy?

but so far, to keep my mind at ease, i have finished the buying and range building side of things, done 3 out of the 6 merchandise, almost finished my sourcing, just to talk about the countries, almost finished the garment tech, just got to get trims and then the website design.

by next week, i aim of finished sourcing, garment tech and done 5 out of 6 merch excel spreadsheets.

but this weekend, i might take off, im even dreaming about my FMP, i need a break

x

so much photoshop.....

well its been almost a week again since my last post, i need to update more than this. basically i know more about photoshop and work than i do my family.

i like to be ahead of the game so photoshop, in the last week, has been my best friend. i have spent many hours trying to finish my range plan and everything involved around this, for example SWOT, customer profile, competitors and brand values etc so i can finish and move onto sourcing.

as i said before, im a stress head and keep thinking that i wont have enough time.

talking about sourcing, this is what i have been doing today. i have decided the 10 garments from both the trends to conduct the sourcing strategy on, created the maps indicating the countries i will be sourcing from and started PESTEL. but this is the biggy for me as i have decided to include a break down cost of each garment, this is something i will take my time doing as i dont wanna get this wrong. sooooo many numbers.

so to kick things off on here, i have included some pics of the things i have been doing over the last week, to keep you guys updated

im a stress head, i know

today was the first day back at college, and boy was it jam packed! all i wanted to do as soon as i got into college was to start work, but i had a lesson on mission statements, which honestly helped up very helpful. 

so here is mine for my FMP......

" Love the Forgotten is a unique brand extention for the online vintage market. Providing vintage inspired clothing to the masses at an affordable price, whilst still providing Topshop's edgy appeal."

what to you guys think?

i also managed to do a little bit of work, however after receiving the 360 feedback, i think this i might need to reign in. i managed to finish off the 2 range trend boards. the first range is based on the 1920s entitled Clara Bow's Stage.....

the second range is based on the 1940s, this is entitled "fur and curls"......

next, i will show you the start of the range plans. here is the dresses and outerwear range for the "fur and curls", its uncompleted though, needs each option number, rrp etc the based garment information

 and now for the clara bow's stage 1920's dress and outerwear range (uncompleted)

and the hard work begins.....

ahh its been almost a week since i last created a new post, i should be doing this every day, i need to keep on top of things.

had the statement of intent presentation yesterday and nervous doesn't quite justify how i was feeling. even though it was only a few minutes, and it seemed over in a flash, i am relieved it is over with. there is something about presenting which i find really overwhelming. i have never been keen in front of an audience, even in my end of year 6 ceremony in which i cried when asked to sing to everyone. but i am getting good feedback, something im not used to were presentations are concerned, so i must be taming my nerves somehow.

moving on, my idea has slightly changed. after a lot of research into online data and a survey (to everyone to filled it in, i am forever grateful), selling vintage clothes on topshop's website has now become "vintage inspired". quite frankly im more at ease with this idea. i can range build like i know how too, merchandise and garment tech, just like in my assignments, where as if i just did vintage clothing i would struggle.

the main reasoning behind this, which admittedly i didnt consider, was that they would be online, with millions of people looking at the "one-off" pieces, and there lies the problem. they are one of a kind, so when one goes thats it, no other chances. from experience in my work placement in newlook as a online merchandiser, i know that it takes 12hours or more to upload items onto a website and if more than 1 person clicks buy, its take 12 hours for the system to register, meaning people will end up with cancelled orders. 

so instead i give you........ vintage inspired clothing by topshop, and for the aw11/12 seasonal trends, i will be planning 2 ranges, one 1920s and one 1940s. alongside this, there will be hand picked pieces by the head of vintage buying for a quick trend treat, and will be offering a "one and only" chance of bidding on the original one-off vintage items which inspired the collection. 

so now, let the hard work commence and remember always love the forgotten    

x

more of my collection

here are some more examples of my collection, from my wardrobe, of vintage clothing. 

just to give me more help when it comes down to choosing pieces for my "love the forgotten" range.

x

rhymes with spears...

a couple of years ago, whilst studying in photography at university, i went to visit the photographers gallery. i went just to have a look around, and straight away i was drawn too vee speers collection entitled the birthday party. the collection was based around her daughters dressing up box, designed to evoke memories of her own childhood.

the images of the children are very disturbing and eerie, leaving you with an uncomfortable feeling which in turn could lead to a certain conclusion or even hold an option against them.

even though these images, or in fact the purpose behind speers collection is not directly linked to my own work, it gives me a good ground of understanding behind why people produce certain work and how it ends up. the fashion/clothing used gives a different twist, an element i find endearing. 

its interesting to see a different point of view behind a child's decision on dressing up, and as an adult see's it.

x

image taken from google

i hope its not too late

today i had a massive panic. i forgot to load the cover sheet to my SOI!!! i still dont know if i will be okay, but i hate not doing things right, im am defiantly a person that panics, also the deadline. i got so confused and can only pray that things were done in time.

my research file is getting ever so slightly but slowly bigger. i need to do sooooo much more. i have done a lot of research but i have not put it together, plus i like to add a bit of flavour to my work. a bit of masking tape and letraset to jazz it up will do. 

tomorrow, the aim is to do much more of my file. however, for now, i will leave you with some amazing vintage clothes, fashioned by Lara Blair on her blog " Vixen Vintage", i have come across today. I LOVE her 50s style, i wish  could pull it off, check out her blog

http://vixenvintage.blogspot.com/

x

new but old

whilst researching further into vintage clothing as a trend, i came across these images from trendhunter.com.

although these images are not vintage, they do look it. 

these will be helpful when putting together another vintage mood board, but centred along "new" vintage.

x

AnOther Magazine FW 2010