I am so excited about this giveaway, it couldn't be more fun. Or more racy. It's based on a scenario that it is all too familiar for so many of us girls: You meet a guy, sparks fly and one thing leads to another. A magical encounter ensues and the world is all rainbows, sunshine and bluebirds singing sweet songs. Until the next words out of Mr. Wonderful's mouth are "Did you used to be a bit of a slag?"
The horror! Ring any bells? For Miss Jacqueline White, a London-based fashion and costume designer and stylist who can create just about anything, it was these very pitfalls of dating that provided her lightbulb moment. After enduring the unthinkable and listening to her friends' own shocking tales of pillow talk faux pas she began collecting these 'post-coital clangers' (love that) and embroidering them on T-shirts along with the date and location of the love crime, which became her debut collection. This saucy siren will not suffer in silence.
Other wicked utterings include "Spare me the lifestory"; "Just don't fall in love with me"; "I run with a pretty sexy crowd" (that one is highly laughable) and gasp "As a woman you have nothing to offer the world." Oh no he didn't. Oh yes, he did.
In summer I received an invite to 'Naughty Launderette', the launch of the collection which was held in - you guessed it - a launderette, perfectly befitting the theme of airing one's dirty laundry. But unfortunately I couldn't attend as I was in Canada. However I couldn't let it end there when I saw what it was all about. I thought the concept behind the collection was an absolute riot and the T-shirts beautifully crafted; I knew I had to feature this precocious and intriguing designer. We discussed a contest and then Miss Jacqueline White generously offered to embroider the winning clanger on one of her original appliquéd woman-in-the-throes-of-passion T-shirts. Brilliant!
So, if you're willing to share/confess/blubber the cocky communiqué that put the passion in the crapper, you could win your very own bespoke Miss Jacqueline White piece!
Now, certainly this behaviour is not limited to girl/guy relationships as nastiness in intimate situations knows no bounds, so this contest is open to anyone who has done the shame walk home shaking their and asking the world in general "Did he/she really say that to me??"
To enter, give us the dirt in the comments section of this post - and feel free to use an alias if you feel you need to! Anyone, anywhere, can enter. The contest will run until midnight of Sunday, November 8, London time. The super lucky winner will be drawn at random, and announced on Monday.
For an extra entry for each, you can:
So, do all four - be sure to tell me! - and you get four extra entries! And be sure to check out
Miss Jacqueline White's website to shop and see photos from the Naughty Launderette and her creative styling.
Read on to learn more about the fabulous Miss Jacqueline White - she gives great interview:
While your debut collection is far more than just another range of T-shirts, did it feel more restrained than the other side of your work, as in the over-the-top styling and costume for bands?
It certainly did feel different. I had collected a lot of material/stories, many of which had to be discarded because I thought the language was too strong, or they were simply too sad or nasty. The practicalities of designing and producing a viable collection I found challenging, rather than restraining. I had to think about a range of body shapes, rather than just one client, that is why each of the women's is a different cut. I also had to consider durability, washing, and of course the dreaded budgeting - for example: Are individually laser cut perspex size labels justified? YES.
You're very talented with print, embroidery and appliqué, three techniques that make our hearts beat faster. Will you be applying your skills to your next collection?
Yes. There will also be embroidery on the men's, without appliqué, and with less colour. Lots of men have requested I make versions of the women's for them. The material for the next collection is proving very difficult to gather. I can't really say anymore without spoiling the surprise...
Ooh, the anticipation! So, it seems you're a heroine of sorts for exposing such naughty behaviour and turning it back on these callous culprits. How does it feel to be the liberator of the heinous memories these East London girls have been carrying around for years?
I love it, actually. I am something of a naughty heroine amongst the girls, and the boys just seem to think I'm even naughtier than they did before. I don't think I have been to a dinner party in the last year without the whole thing pouring out, followed by lots of drunken reminiscing or confessions. It feels good to 'out' these men, because really we are having the last laugh.
Good work! Has there been any backlash from the outed 'acquaintances?'
Hmm...Some of them know, some don't. The ones who do know actually love it, and see it as an affirmation of their bachelorness. One past fling seemed genuinely disappointed when he did not make the final cut.
I thought the collection might affect my love life in a negative way but instead the opposite happened. A recent lover made me laugh so much when his first post-coital comment was 'What do I have to say to get on a T-shirt?"
Ha! Well, that's one way for a girl to gain the upper hand! What's next for Miss Jacqueline White?
Apart from boshing out loads of Ts for Christmas...I have a couple of massive commercials, just finished one for an airline, about to start a crazy one involving animatronics in the costumes, which is a first for me so it will be pretty interesting. I move into my new studio in three weeks which I cannot wait for. It is a very unusual space, a glass box inside an old office block at London Fields. But my mind and time are completely preoccupied with Miss Tahita Bulmer at the moment, in the build up to the launch of the second album from New Young Pony Club. We are shooting the cover in three weeks, and the album launches in January 2010. I am very excited about the new looks we have created, and quietly confident that we will wipe the floor without joining in the freakshow which seems to be going on in female pop star styling at the moment. It's not sexy, is it?
swelle.Sexy? I'd have to agree and say not. I cannot wait to see what she's got in the works.
Branded.
