Outfit Post: Paris part deux

I am a lazy blogger and a busy non-internet human so my outfit posts are sporadic at best. So technically I wore this over a week ago, but it is very very rare I am out and about (in the Tuileries, Paris, bitch) with a camera and a friend to use it. Hence it stays. I love my Nikes. The french didn’t. I always think I love these jeans til I wear them and halfway through the day I realise I like the idea of them. D’oh.

Hmm, do I have a point? Here’s me wearing clothes. In a foreign country. Just out of shot are a load of disapproving looking French people wondering why on earth I look like houndstooth threw up on me. And lace. And denim. Although later that day I went to the most amazing vintage shop in the world and met the nicest man ever – calm down, he runs the place. He didn’t judge me for looking weird. Which was nice of him. The shop? Adom in Bastille. It is quite simply my favourite vintage shop in the whole world – so much so I dragged Julie around the whole of La Marais for about three hours trying to find it only to finally realise it was the wrong district. Ooops. Hey, it’s not my fault all those pretty Parisian streets look the same. I found the best boots ever but alas was too poor to buy them, so I am currently negotiating with nice man (speaking francais over the phone is DIFFICIL) to send them to me. Cross your fingers for me.

Oh, and I need to get some clothes that are not American Apparel. Literally 70% of my wardrobe is Apparel. I don’t know how I feel about that.

Jacket, Thrifted; Shirt, Tshirt worn over, Jeans, all American Apparel; Nikes, Nike

 

Meet your New God: Helmut Newton

*If you like unbiased reporting, turn away now. I am about to go mega-enthusiastic on all y’all*

Helmut Newton

Last weekend, I went to Paris, and saw the Helmut Newton retrospective in the Grand Palais. It is a stunning building, fitting for such an incredible show. A good exhibition not only makes you oooh and aaaaah at the pretty pictures, it challenges how you think and this one left my head spinning. I got that feeling of awe you get when you read an amazing book and it messes with how you see things. Hyperbole? Only probably. Helmut’s work is at once elegant, refined, honest, brash, sexy and delicate. He elicits all kinds of emotions in his imagery – sometimes they are playful, sometimes they are full of humour, other times they are just the epitomy of chic and dripping with beauty. He didn’t retouch, instead he said “he photographed what he saw”.  He never took two photos when he could take one, which is a lesson all of us in the digital age could learn.

Helmut Newton

Oh, did I mention Helmut Newton was a prolific photographer of nudes? Yea, he’s really famous for taking pictures of naked ladies. However, one of the things that struck me throughout the exhibition was how normal the nudes seemed, like flesh was just another outfit. They were purposeful, not purely titillating. Provocative, erotic, certainly, but not skeezy. Each image was an investigation, a comment. The male gaze is omnipresent in most art, and it is really hard to discuss the female form without assuming overt sexualisation, and certainly in his work it is sexualised. But I don’t know, it’s almost as if the sexualisation is a consequence rather than the motive. There is something empowering about the images. They are images of female nudity that don’t make other females isolated. He photographed all kinds of women, from supermodels to Californian policewomen and lots of shapes and sizes in between. They are all strong poses, confrontational almost. Sometimes fashion poses just with no clothes on. It seems that for Newton, nude and fashion photography are interchangeable and the two inform each other.

Helmut Newton

He clearly loved women, and not in a lairy, gross way, but genuinely loved female beauty and the female form. Is it weird that I’m talking about naked lady photos? Possibly, but this exhibition provoked me to think about a subject I would normally totally shy away from. While I accept that fashion boob is everywhere – just have a look at Tumblr – I never really consider it, or the impact it can have on self image, which is a not particularly feminist thing to do. I think what Newton’s work did was encourage me to be more comfortable with myself, because the images were not vulnerable, nor did they seem like they were to purely to entertain men – they were sexy, but in an empowered way. It was all very French. They seem a lot more comfortable with themselves than us. And really really chic. I reckon the two must go together somehow.

Helmut Newton’s impressive Polaroids

Enough about birds in the buff though, let’s talk about his fashion imagery. It continues to influence what we do today. Helmut Newton was a master of his craft. The exhibition incorporated a documentary by his wife June - Helmut by June (2007) . It was so inspiring to see him work. As with all masters, he was a complete perfectionist. But he also had a very natural and beautiful way of shooting. He had a wonderful awareness of what he was doing at all times. One of the quotes on the walls of the Grand Palais, taken from Helmut by June was “a good fashion photograph must resemble anything but a fashion photograph. A portrait, a souvenir, a paparazzi photograph”. This is an inspiring approach to FASHUN. Instead of making facsimile’s of fashion imagery, create a new story.

Helmut Newton

Helmut Newton

So, go to Paris and see this exhibition. It is so beautiful it will make you want to cry and will fill you full of joy so much so you will feel it bursting in your throat and then you will come out of it and be standing on the steps of the Grand Palais and you might actually burst because it is one of the most beautiful places ever.

*End of gushing*

Helmut Newton

This image basically describes what happened to us the entire time we were in Paris – never wear colour there. Ever. Even a bit.

Outfit Post: Paris 1

Last weekend I went to Paris. And ate my body weight in cheese and drank red wine like a red wine drinking fish. Needless to say it was immense.

Here’s what I wore on the Saturday. The Parisians didn’t get it at all, they kept staring at me like I was a crazy person. They really really don’t understand colour, or pattern. Or they probably understand it, but think it’s ridiculous. Note to self: next time, wear black. On it’s own. Maybe with a hint of grey. But no colour, no pattern. You will get funny looks. Oops.

Hat & sunglasses, H&M; Skirt & Sweater, American Apparel; Shoes, Office; Bag, Topshop; Jacket & denim shirt, thrifted

Brighton Rocks

I told you before I went to Brighton and I was hoping for some nice shots from my Olympus XA. These are they. No filters or Photoshop, just good old fashioned 35mm film photography.

Therese from Smoke Out TV. I just call her Therese tho.

All images (c) Jane Alexandra

And here’s me, beside a merry-go-round on the beach. Thanks for the pic, Tee.

 So, Brighton Rocks. I must actually watch that film…

Street Style: The devil is in the detail

More memories from London Fashion Week Fall 2012. As we all know, the devil is in the detail. And they were some devilishly good details. Sorry, that was really poor, even by my standards. The details, by contrast, are of a very high standard. And again, yellow and red seem to be the pervading LFW AW12 street style colours of choice. Go figure.

 

Street Style: Red & Yellow

Fashion Week seems like an age ago, and I am very bold that I’m only getting around to this post now. I posted about the fasharazzi, and how odd the circus at Somerset House is, but in fact I am an awful hypocrite because I was there, papping away myself. As I noted at fashion week in September, I have a tendency to crop people’s heads when I shoot street style. I am not entirely sure why I do this, perhaps it is  a reaction to the blatant showing off that some people carry on with, but it is meant with no malice or conscious thought. I guess I just like the anonymous aesthetic.

Either way, I unconsciously shot a colour story – red and yellow were the two key colours that caught my eye. The message? This summer it’s all about hyper-bright block colour? I’m not actually sure, but this is what the kids in London were wearing at Fashion Week Fall 2012…

Yes I know technically this is closer to green, but close enough. Plus, she’s wearing Acne shoes.

 

AW12 Trend Watch

Let’s keep this one short and sweet. Autumn Winter 2012/13 trends, as picked out by moi. AW12 I wanna sink my teeth into.

I am beyond obsessed with all things baroque at the minute. I want to live in a seventeenth century dream for a little minute.

Russian dolls. Folk princesses. Little bit 70′s, little bit Anastasia. Love. It.

They’re a shower of cowboys, Ted.

Nothing seems more rugged or anti-fashion than a cowboy, roaming the plains of the mid west, herding those cattle, but the only people they are fooling is themselves. Anyone worth their weight in FASHUN knows those lads are as prissy about what they wear as any East London graphic design/coffee/fixie/wanky backpack toting scenester. There is an entire culture of sartorial symbolism to back up the extensive cowboy culture and identity.

I am currently obsessed with finding the perfect pair of cowboy boots. I know exactly what I want, but unfortunately the real deal retails at Louboutin prices, eek. I am heading to Paris in a few weeks for a little vintage sourcing trip, so I am holding out to find the perfect pair with a more manageable price tag. In the meantime, I am dreaming sepia and sienna tinted cowboy dreams, full of suede and ostrich leather and horses. I don’t know why I am on such a Western tip at the moment, perhaps I secretly want an adventure and the outdoors. More likely it has to do with the practiality and functionality that cowboy clothes have always embodied, which is something I am finding myself more and more drawn to. Nothing is more no-frills than doing back breaking work, on a horse, in the middle of nowhere, and their clothes have to respond to that. What’s interesting is the way techniques like embossing provide ample adornment while maintaining the usability of the garment, or boot. Embroidery also adds interest, without adding extra, useless bulk. Fringing is another story, but it probably originated with something to do with keeping the flies off. And it’s fringing, so, like, obviously it stays. Also, I love the extra panel western shirts have on the shoulder, I don’t know why they are there, but they look amazing, and allow for interesting seam detailing.

So, to sum up. I want boots I can’t afford. No surprises there. I know very little about the Wild West or Cowboy culture, but I do know about clothes and details and the reasons why we wear stuff, and I think these guys have it spot on.

link, link, link, link, link, link, link, link, link, link, link

And with reference to the title, if you don’t know what Father Ted is, then you are missing out on life.

Better Fashion Week 2012

Better Fashion Week 2012

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Or at least better. Better Fashion Week is the kind of fashion initiative that restores your faith that there is a change coming for the, eh, better within the (Irish) fashion industry.

I firmly believe that ethical fashion is the future. Not in the hippyish, hemp clothes gross way, but in a more informed and best practice kind of way. When done right, ethical fashion isn’t preachy, it merely highlights ways to do things better, and showcases local producers. The 5^th annual Better Fashion Week will take place at No. 6 Castle Market Street Dublin 2 from the 23^rd  – 30^th April and will highlight the issue of sustainable fashion through a series of pop-up shops, exhibitions, installations, events and industry talks with fashion heavy weights like the incredible Artist/Designer Helen Steele*, and ethical fashion writers Tasmin Lejeune and Dr. Kate Fletcher taking part. The Castle Market street space will also have a pop up shop featuring the ethical-but-you-wouldn’t-know-by-looking-at-it work of Emma Manley, Sinead Doyle, Lisa Shawgi, Red Dog (Shop) and The Irish Design Shop, among others. It is the kind of event that any fashionista with even a quarter of a brain or indeed a heart needs to attend.

As an incentive, I have a pair of VIP tickets to give away to one lucky reader so you and your mate can head along and hear what the fashion pioneers have to say for themselves. All you have to do is send me an email – noisyshoesblog[at]gmail.com – and tell me what you are most looking forward to on the lineup, EASY! I’ll announce the winner on the 20th here on the blog.

Check out the www.betterfashionweek.com website and the facebook.com/redressbetterfashion page for more information and to pick up tickets to all the events. Do it now!!!! Or I’ll be cross! And here’s a lil peek at what I mean by good ethical fashion…..

Manley A/W 11

Manley A/W 11

Helen Steele SS12

i cannot express how much i want this outfit.

Helen Steele SS12

and this one

*I am embarrassed that I didn’t really know about Helen Steele til now, expect many more posts on how amazing she is in the near future.