My Rebellion ...

Originally written in 2013 ... It all began when I saw my first copy of a fashion magazine, at age twelve, for me, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Vogue - and at about the same time as I discovered fashion independently of a parent. At the same time, Enid Blyton became less the centre of my universe and those fashion magazines, my reading bibles of choice. While some of my friends were reading 'Jackie' - a popular publication for young adults at the time - the 1970s, I was exploring the world of fashion and commentary, my intelligence captured by interesting sophisticated commentaries of the times and advice offered in the sweetly perfumed pages of these fine publications. As a young adult I sought a world that specialised in the artistic, through fashion and commentary and those publications confirmed that for me. Seeking a world that sought to represent the uniqueness of my youth was important to me as a young adult. I did not rebel in the sense of changing the style of my hair, drastically, nor did I take to wearing monotone or black. I rebelled in not following such trends. I rebelled in subtlety, in becoming self assured in a gentle manner and looking at fashion as a barometer in understanding the society I lived in from my newly learned perspectives. Fashion, in its many creative arcs as it happens upon is as important to me now as it was when I first discovered it. It is exciting and relevant. Lifestyle and fashion are one of life's more successful marriages. Fashion can surprise us and, reading Vogue and its sister publications I am still as excited by their language, their keen observations, their writers with their wonderful perceptive commentaries and features that lead on to other creative worlds. I look for the way a collection is brought together whether seen en'homage on the pages of Vogue and its sister publications or in a less elaborate ensemble on the street in my town, when a person looks nice it is an appreciative moment. I have learned over time that bringing an outfit or a costume together is an artistic endeavour, a keen eye is vital and through that creative impulse many things are possible. To arrive at a concluding theme style must be balanced on all fronts before we can be chic; it takes patience and understanding one's style, and being comfortable, of course, is key. We all look for a little bit of the unusual in ourselves and represented by what we read and the clothes we wear to procure that ineffable quality that is our personal style. When I was growing up, a young teen and then a young adult there were lots of things to do that were momentous. At age twelve I was very happy to share my new-found knowledge with my mum and my friends and at fourteen, I worked for my Vogue, Elle and Cosmopolitan, my Saturdays passed as in a dream, albeit in practical terms - a part time job to help support my interests and informing my life, evolving into a world of choice and appreciating the global through the experiences and issues redolent of our lives, a window, through which to see and to believe. In short, I am happy that since those lived experiences I am still finding room for those fine publications. So, this is my rebellion... Angela De Freitas

Brief note on technology ... How it affects me ...

Hello to my readers; this is Easter bank holiday weekend,2015, I have just logged into my blog site, I now have a router from the Post Office to enable a wireless broadband to feed into my computer, an iPad, so I can use it in my flat; I also have a lap top which I am working on getting used to, and a Samsung tablet, one purchase too many, however, the tablet too has some interesting features in comparison to the iPad - the iPad however, seems a better option, and With our curious nature to learn things as humans one can never have too many gadgets in terms of assuaging our thirst for technology taking us into the future/ the technology age that we are mostly all a part of. For now, happy learning, Angela.