Web wonders

I spend a lot of time on the interweb - it's my job to help fill it with lovely words and links - and recently I've come across some pleasing new ventures.

While researching high-street fashion social media sites, I discovered that French Connection's current tongue-in-cheek "The Man" campaign is accompanied by its own 'Manifesto' blog; a charming commentary on how "men have lost the ungentle art of manliness".

"The man in the street doesn’t know what to bring to a knife fight. He gets nervous around large fish. He can’t tie a full Windsor. It’s time to man up". Take note boys.

Highlights include games of internet chat roulette, an illustration on favourite facial hair styles and a review of a mod jacket in which the model reports that: "Wearing it to the pub made strangers buy me single malts. Wearing it on the bus made schoolgirls giggle into their crisp packets". Brill.


With more high-brow direction, my brother alerted me of another great site which is still in its infancy. Created by one of his clever Oxford chums, Brainwaving.com is full of juicy articles about consciousness, creativity and human happiness. Since taking a course in consciousness at degree level I've regularly tied my grey matter in knots contemplating the various theories and look forward to a bit of gentle untangling.

And then there is laluminita.co.uk/magazine, a "sustainable design and trends" blog for which I attended the launch party last week. In the absence of any announcement, or even a "look what we did, woo! Now let's get drunk", I'm not entirely sure what these guys are about, but am interested in how they will position the "eco" angle on fashion, which is inherently unsustainable.