Ball so hard.

1. City of Romance.

2. Hôtel de Ville.

3. My hostess.

4. Musée d'Orsay.

5. Snap!

6. Crocodile.

7. Les Puces de Saint-Ouen.

8. How could you not?

9. Oh right, yeah, because there are so many stairs.

10. Cité Université - our home for a week.

11. Windswept atop the Arc de Triomphe.

12. Galeries Lafayette's Christmas tree (and the perfect Sessun coat, but that's another matter).

13.Parisian sunset.

Here are a few visual aids to remembering seven days in Paris. The trip consisted of seemingly never-ending supplies of stairs, dancing to eighties anthems, lots of pastries, eating camembert for the first time, plenty of parisian sunrises, trips to Shakespeare and Company... It did rain an awful lot, though, I'll try to avoid that next time.

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Montmartre.

Sailor coat: £63, Topshop (old). Breton t-shirt: £30, Aubin and Wills. Jeans: £13.50, Topshop (now deceased). Boots: Stylistpick. Tartan scarf: £8, ebay. Hat: £10, vintage. "R" necklace: gift, Urban Outfitters. Cross-body bag: French Connection.

Blurry photos courtesy of Brad's media GCSE

The past week has been a very dull blur of word documents and consuming magnitudes of tea, but my dissertation has finally been submitted - hoorah! I'm sure third year university students will appreciate the stress, and the sudden excess of relief when you hand over your hand-bound copies. No outfit posts from that time, unless you want to see my incredibly fashionable primark jammies?

These photos feel like relics from a past age, but they were barely taken a month ago. One of the more cultural exploits from my trip to Paris was a wander up the hill to the Sacré-Cœur. We viewed the parisian vista at twilight, slowly watching all the lights below flicker on. It would almost have been romantic had we not all been singing a bizarre One Direction medley with the few snatches of songs we actually knew. After all, when in Paris... A little photo diary is in the works, so prepare yourself for plenty of cringe-y tourist photos!

xxx

ps, don't forget about my giveaway!

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Giveaway(!!)

This has been in the pipeworks for a while, it has to be said. A mixture of the unreliable postal service and being terribly busy this academic year has meant that lots of emails flicking back and forth have only just made it here.

A couple of months back I reached the one thousand follower mark. I'm not a big fan of the word (in my own english student way, I always think it ought to be renamed "readers"), but it honestly does mean a lot to me that anyone commits to having my little blog appear on their feeds. So, in true "I've just got my birthday money, let's do this" fashion, I've prepared not one but two thank you's for you jolly wonderful people.

prize one: spring/summer

Well, it wouldn't be a proper giveaway if it weren't themed, eh? Whenever I think of Summer, I think (read: dream) of travelling to exotic locations. I headed off to Cath Kidston to pick up a luggage tag and make-up bag, and Sunglasses Shop have kindly agreed to let the winner pick a pair of SXUC sunglasses - you've got to look after your peepers, after all.

prize two: autumn/winter

Who doesn't like to snuggle up under their duvet with a good pair of socks? I'm a sucker for Topshop's offerings, so got two frilly pairs in my favourite colours. My favourite online jewellery brand Elsie Belle (I'm sure you've seen me wearing my masquerade necklace, as I wear it all the time) have donated a teapot necklace and leaf bracelet, two things I associate with this time of the year.

to enter:

As this is a giveaway for readers, you must be following via either Google Friend Connect (that box on the left) or Bloglovin'.
Just leave a comment saying which prize you'd prefer, and like the relevant company on facebook (Sunglasses Shop and Elsie Belle)

For extra entries you can:
Follow me on twitter...
...tumblr...
and ...instagram
As well as liking on facebook.
You can also tweet something, linking back to this post and mentioning @rebeccacohen.

Whatever you do, just write it in a comment, and I'll add it to a spreadsheet, or something geeky. Extra point if you tell a really bad joke.

Open to international readers, and closes 6th February 2013.

I think that's got pretty much everything covered. All that I have left to say is good luck!

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Still she sits, young while the earth is old.

Two-tone blouse: c/o Mina UK. Jeans: Cheap Monday. Leopard print boots: £27, Topshop. Charm necklace: gift, Schmuk UK. Black bracelet: gift (from Harriet!), Marc by Marc Jacobs. Lip polish: Topshop Rhubarb.

First things first, happy new year! I celebrated by heading a few stops along the DLR to a friend's (there may be an outfit post if I can bear to put that playsuit on again, I did wear it for about eighteen hours straight, after all, so would you really want to see that?), and deciding that sleep wasn't worth it. The amount of times I've considered creating a blog based upon my adventures is numerous, but I think they're best left as anecdotes to be told on special occasions. 

On one of the rainier days of the year gone by, I headed off to the Tate Britain for the first time (I know, I know) to see the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition. Named "Victorian Avant-Garde", the collection promised to display the works of the Brotherhood thematically, documenting the movement through its various stages, from medievalism to the first Aesthetes. Ignoring all the notes I made for my dissertation (s i x d a y s), my ticket let me pour over Millais' "Ophelia", and I finally got to be in the same room as Rossetti's "Lady Lilith", which is one of my favourite paintings of all time. Weighed down with postcards and the accompanying book, I was certainly one happy lady stood soggy on the Victoria line.

To think, the above two paragraphs are describing the same person...

xxx

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See them walking hand in hand across the bridge at midnight.

1. Up close and personal mere minutes into 2012.

2. Girls got $.

3. Pub golf on a leap year.

4. Classy mugs.

5. The best flatmate you could ever have the fortune to meet.

6. Annabel and Sian and experiencing Snobs.

7. Lunchtime walks through Spitalfields.

8. Olivia and Jazmine babin' out for the latter's birthday.

9. Boys.

10. How we request songs at Brownstock.

11. What are we like!

12. Studying English Literature through the means of classic hip hop.

13. Forever wishing I were blonde.

Thirteen memories from twenty-twelve, captured on film, and slipped inside a shoebox to be rediscovered when I'm old and nostalgic.

xxx

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A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight.

Cliché post title aside, Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland certainly was what it claimed to be. On par with Birmingham's effort, the London Christmas Market to rival all competitors took over the entire east side of Hyde Park, transforming it from greenland to a little corner of Germany, offering everything from waffeln (So. Good.) to glühwein. My friends Amy and Danielle accompanied me wobbling onto the ice rink where, fortunately, no cameras were allowed, but you'll be pleased to hear that I escaped unbruised, and managed to do a few laps around the bandstand without ending up on my bum! If you can get to the west end, I'd really recommend you popping in for a look as it's completely free to wander around the stalls, and feel thoroughly festive for a few hours. I'd like to say thank you to bgo for reminding me that ice skating isn't just a Friday night "ice disco" in Essex, but actually quite an enjoyable pastime.

I hope you have a merry Christmas, with the people you love.

xxx

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The blazing sunset in your eyes.

"R" Initial Pendant: c/o Grace Face Boutique. Pink silky collar tee: £12.50, American Apparel via ebay. Cardigan: mum's. Oversized blazer: c/o Glamorous. Jeans: £13.50, Topshop. Boots: Stylistpick.

If all goes to plan, this'll be published whilst I'm across the channel in my friend's Versailles-esque halls of residence and we're feasting on macarons. Right now (time is wibbly wobbly, so just go with it) I'm sat in my leavers hoody painting my nails in Barry M's "Bright Red" and listening to The Last Shadow Puppets live at the Electric Proms circa 3am - who needs sleep, eh? Speaking of, these photos were taken by Georgia (founding member of team brie) as we had a Cuthbert's to sort us out the morning (who am I kidding? Afternoon!) after our Christmas ball. Tutti frutti cocktails and tequila all round. And round. And round. Well, I had just submitted my last essay of the year!

In a slightly more demure setting, we had a little chat about last night and the last term in general. The consensus was complete disbelief as to how quickly time has passed. In the past three months I've read more books than I'd care to total, ended up going on a night out with the cast of Desperate Scousewives, published issue six of Ellipsis magazine as design co-ordinator/InDesign extraordinaire, dressed as Anne Frank (yeah, no outfit post there, sorry about that), worked at the mobos and its afterparty, became fashion co-editor of The Tab Liverpool, and I've met even more rad people in the process.

On a completely unrelated note (or more related, depending on to what extent you consider this to be a "fashion blog"), I'd like to point out my necklace. Emma from Grace Face Boutique surprised me with an email a couple of weeks ago, and I spent a good while flicking through her etsy store, wishing I had pierced ears so that I could justify getting these shield earrings. I do love how the pieces are run in limited editions and handmade in the UK, especially after reading Lucy's article in Wish magazine highlighting the importance of buying locally. Trust me, while I'm in Paris I'll be making the most of the local pastries - à bientôt!

xxx

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Turning twenty-one.

Sequinned dress: c/o Oh My Love. Oxblood bag: c/o Marc B. Adder Boots: £36, Topshop. Skull bracelet: £11, Made via ebay. "R" necklace: gift, Urban Outfitters.

If it were acceptable to wear sequins all year round, I'd be looking like a piece of tinsel 24/7. Ever since glitter hair spray for dancing shows (yes, I was one of those girls), I've never been able to resist a little sparkle. When asked if I'd like to choose something from Oh My Love's Christmas collection, I avoided the obvious choice, and thought I'd select something a little more special for the big Two One. Seeing as I tend to avoid bodycon, sleeveless and "boob-y" pieces, my flatmate was quite surprised when I unwrapped this little beauty, but it got the thumbs up when tried on. I'm still a little conscious of my arms being on show (everyone has their hang ups), but I don't think anyone noticed! And, of course, you can't go out without a bag. This Marc B number is in my current favourite colour, and happily fits a scarf, point-and-shoot camera, and stash bottle in; anyone want a "what's in my bag" post?

In short, after all the worries I had, my birthday really was one of the best nights, days, weeks of my life, and I can only put it down to my friends who made the biggest effort to ensure I had a wonderful time: you guys!

xxx

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