Come out ye Black & Tans

While I was perusing the AW10 collections last february, I noticed a theme amoung certain collections that I could only describe as “futuristic warrior”. Now to be fair, it’s more the runway styling that the actual pieces but it’s a fairly extreme look. Lots of leather, pannelling and fierce expressions. While I would probably balk at some of these entire look, I think there are some really interesting elements within each of these looks that could be used as inspiration. And those Gareth Pugh leather jackets are pretty hot. So what have we learned in todays lesson? That runway styling is not necessarily the suggested way to wear, merely a means to make maximum impact for press reasons. And that Gareth Pugh does marvellous things with leather.

Acne

AF Vandevorst

AF Vandevorst

Gareth Pugh

Gianfranco Ferre

Giles

Hermes

Louise Goldin

Rick Owens

All images via Style.com

Mary Katrantzou, woo woo woo!

Mary Katrantzou’s prints are as mad as a bag of nuts – she is bold, brash, unafraid and effing deadly. In four short seasons (that’s two short years in real time) she has established herself as a totally fresh talent, creating signature trompe l’oeil prints that are nothing short of delectible. She is one of this years recipients of the British Fashion Council’s Newgen award, recognising young design talent. Which is basically a pretty big deal. But then, if you ask me, she’s a pretty big deal, so I guess it figures.

To be honest, I could talk and talk but this one is for looking…

Autumn Winter 09/10

Autumn Winter 09/10

Spring Summer 10

Spring Summer 10

Autumn Winter 10/11

Autumn Winter 10/11

Autumn Winter 10/11

Autumn Winter 10/11

Spring Summer 11

Spring Summer 11

Spring Summer 11

Spring Summer 11

All images via Style.com

sleepyhead

This song makes me feel like i’m curled up in a duvet being all warm and snuggly and happy. I love sleeping, and being in bed – I consider it a hobby, albeit a hobby I often don’t practice enough.  And I LOVE this song. LOVE LOVE LOVE it, it’s like listening to a lie in when it’s raining out.

And I only saw the video today. And it’s unreal. Well, I really like it. Which in my mind is the same thing.

Skirting the issue

I have always been a separates kinda gal, what with my long back and general dose of tall. Separates are my friends becasue they don’t enforce a waist/hip line that is on the wrong place on my body, which is never a good look. On top of allowing tall people have proper proportions, the great thing about skirts is that you can dress your top half up or down to suit the mood, giving you more scope to wear them. Indeed, this Autumn Winter there were a bunch of super fun skirts playing with texture and volume that are nothing less than covetable. Observe…

Antonio Berardi

Colette Dinigan

Cynthia Rowley

Diane Von Furstenberg

Giambasti Valli

Giambasti Valli

Giles

Miu Miu

Moschino

Yves Saint Laurent

Ok so technically the Moschino and the DVF are dresses, but the skirt is what makes the dress interesting, so they stay! And the Antonio Berardi…..they’re like little disco balls!!! More skirts should be this fun. Just sayin’.

I wanna work for GQ

Over the summer I did a little shoot with a friend of mine for a project she was doing in college. It went a little something like this…

I really need to get my bum in gear and do more of this kind of stuff. I really enjoyed that it was menswear, which was such a challenge given that I have never shot or styled a mens’ shoot before. Being someone who is totally immersed in female fashion and feminine images of fashion, it woke me up to the amazing potential for male images and all the masculine connotations that go with it. As Tyra would say, “you can’t rest on pretty”!!! The shoot was for my friend’s magazine which is themed on tweed, which is a really great concept.  It was really fun shooting Saville Row suits beside vintage tweed from Portobello Market. Hope you like it!!!!

Toasty

I LOVE coats & jackets. They are my favourite type of garment. I have far too many. Every time I go away I come home with like 2 or 3 more coats. I am aware that this is not normal behaviour. But I can’t help it. So, it is hardly surprising then that I am VERY excited when this time of year rolls around. It’s winter coat time. Well, almost. It’s actually autumn jacket time, which is like the prelude to proper freezing weather. BUT, it is quickly getting cold enough to be thinking of winter coats, which is just fine by me. Here’s what I’ve been thinking of….

3.1 Philip Lim

Aquascutum

Behnaz

Celine

Fendi

Gareth Pugh

Giambasti Valli

Hermes

Malandrino

Roskanda Illinic

All images via Style.com

Let’s Turkey Trot

Fashion Week is on right now. And while I am defo going to trawl through all the collections, I’m not going to do it just yet. Nope, I’m going to take my sweet ass time about it. Why? Well, because it’s not even cold enough to put on my giant winter coat yet. And I’m not a fashion buyer. So I don’t really NEED to worry about it. Anyway, with that in mind, here is a collection of this season/last season’s (is AW10 last season already?) prints that I think are great. Most are pretty subtle, adding the right amount of texture and visual interest to your winter wardrobe. Which, if it’s anything like mine, features black black more black, some grey, a touch of denim, a camel coat and more black.

Clements Ribeiro

Cynthia Rowley

Erdem

Etro

Givenchy

Gucci

Kenzo

Luca Luca

Marni

Mary Katranzou

Peter Pilotto

Prada

Proenza Schouler

Tibi

Wunderkind

All images via Style.com

I love the Cynthia Rowley pants; while I normally balk at printed trousers (evoking images of the worst kind of Eurotrash), these ones are just the right amount of fun, and a really gorgeous cut.  I am so obsessed with Erdem and Mary Katranzou at the moment expect separate posts extolling their awesomeness. I also really really like the Wunderkind & Proenza Schouler stuff. Actually, I like it all, so I don’t want to be picking favourites. What’s your favourite?! Oh yea, and the Turkey Trot thing…I have been listening to a lot of Little Eva the past few days, here she is in action.

Modern Life is Rubbish

Fashion makes me irrationally happy. Some people like food, some people like cars, some people like, well, actually, I don’t really give a shit about some people, I love fashion fashion fashion. BUT. Big ugly annoying BUT, I am hardly gonna go about my daily business in a Marchesa dress. Oh, to have the occasion for a Marchesa dress….No, sadly I am not an oligarch with fancy social engagements. I am a regular person, with regular sartorial requirements. As a design student, my clothes often get wrecked from various dyes and pigments and chemicals (the corrosive kind, not the fun kind…). As I drool over my fantasy wardrobe, I’ve put together a selection that is closer to what I actually wear on a daily basis. This whole ideal self/actual self stuff is really interesting actually, especially when you think of it in commercial terms. It’s the reason why designers like DKNY make such a killing – they dress our actual selves. Isabel Marant, one of my favourite new designers, does this exceptionally well, taking wearable pieces and making them just nice enough that we don’t put them up in the “fantasy clothes” category.

So, for those of us who don’t have fancy lunches, charity committee meetings or debutante ball invitations coming out our ears, here is a bunch of functional, well cut, wearable outfits. You will find similar versions all over the place, though you are probably too busy drooling at the fantasy clothes. I recently discovered COS, an awsome shop that sells what I would describe as designer chic clothes – clothes that people who work in design and creative industries would wear. Anyway, it’s great and pretty affordable, so I highly recommend it.

Is there a huge difference between your ideal wardrobe and your actual wardrobe? Or are you some level headed anomily who aligns your ideal self and your actual self? Or maybe you are an oligarch, and your ideal wardrobe is your actual wardrobe? Luck b*^£”!

J. Crew

Acne

Dries Van Noten

Isabel Marant

Michael Kors

Sykes

Thakoon

Vanessa Bruno

Images via style.com

The Colour of Winter

If peach was the IT colour of the summer, then camel is autumn’s new crush. There have been heaps and heaps of posts about it on all the blogs and fashion websites, and here’s my two cents. I’m gonna leave coats to another post. And, if I am being totally honest, it’s more of a collection of neutrals. But they are still mad pretty. So enjoy.

Alberta Feretti

Alberta Feretti

Cerruti

Chloé

Marc Jacobs

Roland Mouret

Valentino

Veronique Leroy

Derek Lam

Vivienne Westwood

Images via Style.com

I want that Chloé outfit so bad. But with an acute lack of funds, I shall settle for the delicious camel jacket I got last year. Actually it’s more of a biscuit colour, paler than camel. I’m almost looking forward for the weather to turn cold enough to wear it. Almost.

Making a Habit of it…

So, the pope is on a State visit to England at the moment. Stephen Fry made a very interesting point on his website about the pope being on a state visit. Then the pope talked about Nazi’s loads. I could go on. And on. But this is no place for such matters, so all I’ll say is that Gaga would shit herself for his little hat. It’s a pretty kick ass hat.

image source

And while we’re on the subject, here are my favourite religious inspired outfits from this season. Check out the necklaces in the first two, they are covetable. Stefano Pilati’s tailoring is, as usual, divine. I generally worship Rick Owens and what he can do with leather. And Balenciaga just rules. End of. So much so that I’m not going to make a religious pun out of it. I love the YSL habits, in a very excessive, definitely not going to wear them, but dont they look super dramatic kind of way. Well technically the first image is just a massive floppy hat which is more ’70′s than nun-ish, but that’s for another day…

YSL

YSL

YSL

Rick Owens

Balenciaga

Images via style.com