All that glitters

September 3rd, 2010

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Vintage Versus by Versace pants, Topshop sequin bra top, vintage lurex jacket.

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Monday 30th August, 2010.

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Magpies adore shine
I love bank holidays and spent the day lazing about in a maxi gown. The significant other and I were invited to a barbeque and for it I threw on the Versus by Versace vintage pants, sequin top and lurex jacket.

It was only after I got dressed, that I realised that everything I was wearing (including my leopard print heels with mirrored platform) had some form of reflective shine.

Burgers and sequins go hand in hand
The fashion powers that be, must have sent out an unconscious sequin dress code as every girl in attendance at the barbeque turned up wearing a sequin piece. Maybe barbeques go hand in hand with shine?

Read the rest of the Style Diary segment here.

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Lanvin For H&M

September 2nd, 2010

For the past week, the grapevine has been working over time with rumours about a possible collaboration between Lanvin and Swedish high street favourite, H&M.

According to a press release that landed in my inbox first thing this morning, the collaboration is true.

The line has been designed by Lanvin’s artistic director, Alber Elbaz and their head of menswear, Lucas Ossendrijver.

In the video above Alber Elbaz speaks on his thoughts on this collaboration. He is quoted as saying – “H&M approached us to collaborate, and see if we could translate the dream we created at Lanvin to a wider audience, not just a dress for less. I have said in the past that I would never do a mass-market collection, but what intrigued me was the idea of H&M going luxury rather than Lanvin going public. This has been an exceptional exercise, where two companies at opposite poles can work together because we share the same philosophy of bringing joy and beauty to men and women around the world.

Wondering what the collection will look like? On 2nd November, it will make its debut via a special fashion film. This can be watched on the H&M site on said launch date.

Will you be camping out, in a bid to be first in queue, when the collections for both men and women hit stores on 23rd November?

What are your thoughts on the Lanvin for H&M line? Luxury goes high street? Or is it high street goes luxury as stated by Elbaz?

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Lanvin
H&M

Photo Credit: Images used in collage are Lanvin Paris and H&M logos respectively. Video courtesy of H&M.

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Obsessions : September

September 2nd, 2010

September has brought a longing for the return of the Pampered Vamp. Think vamp heels by Ruthie Davis, Burberry lace midi pencil skirt, luxuriating in the scent of decadent Apothia Los Angeles candles at the end or perhaps even start of your day.

Prada’s leopard print platforms win me over. They exude feline siren meets fifties housewife.

Red lipstick is the easiest way to glam up. Give a girl a great shade of red lipstick and she can go from wall flower to mega watt.
Diamonds may likely be beyond the strings of your purse, but at £23, consider Chanel’s creamy Rouge Coco in Gabrielle as your new best friend.

Every autumn I stock up on a few new pairs of leather pants. These Helmut Lang leather leggings are the perfect cut.

The first book from Browns, ‘Browns 40 years of Fashion‘ as edited by Isaac Lock would make a good read while you languidly lounge.

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Chanel
Helmut Lang
Ruthie Davis
Apothia Los Angeles
Prada
Burberry
Carolina Bucci
Browns

More in the Obsessions of the month series here.

Photo Credit: Images used in collage are from Polyvore

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Focus On // Style Book : Fashionable Inspirations By Elizabeth Walker

September 1st, 2010


Cover image of Style Book: Fashionable Inspirations by Elizabeth Walker.

Yves Saint Laurent once famously stated that Fashion fades but style is eternal.

The new must have book, Style Book: Fashionable Inspirations by Elizabeth Walker, clearly reiterates that style is far more than seasonal trends and fashion.

Walker’s book consists of over 400 images as accompanied with captions, that span across the scope of street style, the everyday, film sets etc.

This a spell binding and thought provoking book of contrasts. Think photographs from different fashion eras and decades side by side with those of notable figures, the exotic and unexpected.

Ever since I received Style Book: Fashionable Inspirations I have not been able to put it down. It is one part, style inspiration and one part, uncanny social documentation.

Elizabeth Walker’s inspiring background includes working at Harpers & Queen, the Times, Saturday Telegraph, Sunday Times. She also worked as Executive Fashion and Beauty Editor on Marie Claire.

She currently works as a freelance fashion consultant and writer.

I was honoured to meet and interview her about her new book.


Elizabeth Walker. Image courtesy of Elizabeth Walker.

1. It is an honour to interview you today. The book is wonderfully compelling. I think it is a bit like a fashion and social document as it were. What was your inspiration to compile it?

Well I hope so. What I really hope is that it is not just for fashion folks, which is what I said before. It is for people, anything and the pictures and through that came a bit of social documentation because when you see the change of the figure, which is fascinating. What people perceived in the twenties and thirties to be a fit body, we would not perceive that at all. Shape has just absolutely changed and also the clothes too, like women in swimming costumes, the advent of Lycra and all that sort of thing.

I think what we tried to do was do a real juxtaposition; I think most spreads work well in that way. We tried to mix men and women well together, not in all cases, but certainly from different countries and generations. We also tried; I think which I succeeded about eighty percent in showing pictures people have not seen before. It is quite funny though; there is a marvellous picture of either Portuguese or Spanish fisherman in a suit and to my horror in Selfridge’s book shop the other day and it has been used on the cover of a cook book. I had never seen it before. So in most cases there will pictures people have not seen, particularly the cover with Jackie O, and I have more books on her than you have had hot dinners.

So that is what we tried to do.

Also, we tried to keep it at a price, where you could give to a girlfriend as a present without actually breaking the bank.


Photo Credit – Getty Images

2. In the book you cover everything from exoticism to denim. How did you decide what sections to feature within the book?

Well at one stage, we were going to do two books in a box set, one on men and one on women but I didn’t really think that would be interesting enough or work as well. So I did not want to do things like, so yes we have the section called ‘Button Up’ which is largely suiting but I did not want to make it too fussy and scare the people who were not in fashion. I wanted to make it a bit more general than that and so that is how I came up with these sorts of sections and hopefully that works.


Photo Credit – Getty Images

3. How did you pick the images, I think you have such a wonderful eye?

Well, I started life as a graphic designer, so I have always loved pictures. I have also always had a personal passion for paintings and things too. So from my art director type head, I have always loved photographs and I mean I think we are just short of 500 images as there are 450 images in this book. If you imagine we probably printed out about twice that amount (I’m guessing) and we’d go through them going love it, love it… hate it, not sure. Then every time we looked at it we’d condense it.

Then I decided where I was going to put them and there was one section we called ‘All in one’. Which was quite contemporary as there are a lot of all in one jumpsuits on the catwalk anyway and at one stage, I didn’t think I had enough images because when you look closely at some of these images, they weren’t actually all in ones. There is one in there of Diana Ross in stripes and I am still not convinced that she is in an all in one. I think she has got on trousers and a top that may look like an all in one. It was such a great stripy picture that I thought, it could pass.


Photo Credit – Getty Images

4. What do you think makes a great image?

I think it is one that you really remember. For instance, that image of the New Look skirt that was photographed in the boulevard in Paris that is such a memorable image. There are ones in my mind stick out, probably for colour, Rod Stewart with a girlfriend. I cannot remember which girlfriend it was with in the most revolting yellow satin, he was in tartan. You won’t forget this when you see this as there was argyle, yellow and tartan.

In contrast to that you have got the, which is one of the first pictures is a Sheikh Army camp and it is in the Indian army. He is totally in national dress, the turban and khakis and you know everything else but he is in tartan and it is so bizarre. You think how come this Northern Indian is dressed up in head to toe tartan. It is just bizarre and I don’t think he was with the Scottish regiment or anything. It made no sense.

It is pictures you remember, be it that it is a marvellous image or just fascinating.


Photo Credit – Getty Images

5. My favourite image is the cover image of Jackie O. How did you decide to make that specific image the cover?

I was quite certain about it, various people suggested otherwise and I just said no. What I did not want to do was put a Jackie O image that everyone would know. On the back there is the contrast, you have a young boy from Darfur and in those days it was really quite unusual for them to wear American style clothes and again in my mind the contrast of those two cover images, sum up the contrast of what is inside. So we have an unknown but stylish young man, celeb, contrast. We have done (it is quite funny really) a Spanish edition and they wanted different covers and on the front and they would not be budged about this, they chose a picture of Marilyn Monroe. I had no objection to that but I found about six images of Marilyn Monroe that I had never seen before but off course they chose one that people will know.


Photo Credit – Getty Images

6. How are you hoping for the book to be received?

Well I hope that it is received well. I was very nervous because you have to get the quotes of certain people on the back and I was told I had to ask them as I know them but I was too embarrassed. I was so thrilled that the first person to reply, literally about half an hour, the post arrived was David Bailey who I used to work with in the early eighties.


Photo Credit – Getty Images

7. Are we to expect more books from you?

My publisher wants me to do another book. I don’t know about doing an actual second volume but it will probably be on some sort of style. Someone suggested one on accessories but because I now know the image library pretty well, I don’t think there is enough accessory images to merit a book so I am tossing ideas around.


Photo Credit – Getty Images

Style Book: Fashionable Inspirations by Liz Walker is published by Endeavour London, priced £20 and available from 14th September at all major bookshops.

Images are used with kind courtesy of Getty Images.

Kind thanks and regards to Elizabeth Walker for granting the interview.

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The Shopping Basket // Studded Ankle Boots

September 1st, 2010

This week, in the The Shopping Basket, is studded ankle boots.

The Mulberry booties were made for drooling over! The Killah boots are a great price point.

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Gianmarco Lorenzi’s metal toe cap studded boots give the term ‘killer heels’ a whole new meaning. I like the refined cut of the Karen Millen pair.


Sam Edelman at Harvey Nichols
Mulberry at Net-A-Porter
Killah
Giuseppe Zanotti at Browns
Senso at Sole Struck
Karen Millen
Gianmarco Lorenzi at Far Fetch
Betty Jackson at Sugarland
Gianmarco Lorenzi at Far Fetch

More in The Shopping Basket.

Photo Credit: Images used in collage are from Polyvore

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Tom Ford Private Blend Lipstick Collection

August 31st, 2010

Tom Ford has the Glam touch. He lends pure molten glamour to everything he touches. He is noted for turning around the Gucci business during his tenure with the fashion house.

Not content with just clothing, he has forayed into perfumes (each is divine) and also recently made his directorial movie debut with the impeccable styled movie, ‘Single Man’.

He has now lent that Ford magic to a Lipstick collection consisting of 12 shades. The creamy lipsticks see Tom Ford re-invent lip shades such as nude, deep brown etc.

The lip collection priced at £35($45) are made of an exotic blend of chamomilla flower, soja seed extract and Brazilian murumuru butter is aptly named, ‘Private Blend Lip Colour’.

The lipsticks may be a bit pricier than your average lip colour but with that packaging, I’d rather pull out a tube of Tom’s lipstick out my makeup case.

The Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Colour collection is retailed at Selfridges.

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Selfridges

Photo Credit: Images used in collage are from Selfridges Website

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Shearling Trend // Shearling Jackets | Shearling Boots

August 30th, 2010

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Are you more of an aviator than biker jacket kind of girl? Or perhaps vice versa? There is a plethora of shearling jackets to choose from this season. Feet get to feel the shearling warmth across the high street to designer fashion brands.

The razor sharp sleeves on the Helmut Lang’s shearling jacket are like sleek engineering. I cannot help but stare mouth agape, at the Alexander McQueen shearling boots. There is a pair of shearling boots for every shearling jacket. There is a picture perfect, shearling matrimonial union, just waiting to happen.

Photo Credit: Images used in collage are from Polyvore

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My London Fashion Week // Jeff Garner

August 30th, 2010

Jeff Garner is the owner and designer of Prophetik, an eco fashion label. Read on for how he us preparing for London Fashion Week and his tips for getting through it.

Name: Jeff Garner

Occupation:

Owner & Designer of eco fashion label, Prophetik

My Personal Style in 5 Words:

Renaissance, Romantic, Idealistic, Southern, Poet

1. Two things that are absolute musts in your bag for fashion week?

Tape measure, seam ripper, leather journal and pen, and iPhone – in Prophetik iPhone case.

2. Three things that you are doing to prep for fashion week?

Sleeping 2 hours a night, writing poetry, learning the Dirty Dancing choreography and horseback riding.

3. One reason why London Fashion week is amazing?

The creative energy that consumes the air where artists reign and muses delight.

4. Your fail safe tip for getting through the hectic back to back show schedule?

Açaí (the antioxidant energising berry from the Amazon), cappuccino, and my PR Courtney Blackman leading me around like a baffled deer.

5. High heels or flats at fashion week?

I gave up my heels years ago…now I only wear riding boots so I can jump on a horse in Hyde Park at a moments notice.

6. One outfit you will be wearing at fashion week?

My new silk bloomer shorts with riding boots, Muse jacket and a silk, plant-dyed scarf ­all Prophetik.

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I am enamoured by his description of his personal style. I like the idea of him wearing the bloomers and riding boots at fashion week! How very distinguished. I will have to keep an eye out for him.

Like him, I will be stocking up on Açaí, in the form of smoothies and juice. to keep my energy levels up.

Follow Prophetik on Twitter here.

Visit the Prophetik site here.

Kind regards to Jeff Garner and Courtney Blackman.

Catch up on the series here.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jeff Garner.

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Black Is Black

August 29th, 2010

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Vintage satin skirt, black long sleeve jersey top, faux leather jacket, Kurt Geiger boots, stacked rings, ear cuffs, multiple bangles and cuffs.

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Sunday 29th August, 2010.

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Enveloped in dark
I have had this vintage satin fishtail skirt for as long as I can remember. There is a quality about it that never grows old. Last winter I practically lived in it.

Power in numbers
Today brought intense cravings of lashings of black. With the skirt I wore the shaggy hook knit vest worn over the faux leather jacket and a long sleeve jersey t-shirt. The jersey piece cost close to nothing but I love how it has thumb slits. There is an infinite comfort in wearing head to toe black in a mix of textures.

Read the rest of the Style Diary segment here.

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Currently Crushing on // Alexander Wang Boots & Bobbi Brown Black Velvet

August 28th, 2010

This week I am crushing on Stella McCartney’s refined camel cape. Stella never gets it wrong. This is the cape to end all capes. Luxurious, elegant, it ticks all the right boxes.

Alexander Wang has been crowned white knight of all things cool and these boots prove why. The structure of those heels say ‘don’t mess with me’ and I like!

Bobbi Brown’s Black Velvet makeup collection has had some great reviews, but it is the lipsticks specifically, that have me enchanted. Perfect to experiment with the dark berry stained lip look.

In my book, Dries Van Noten can do no wrong. Till it receives this sequin embellished jacket, my wardrobe will be incomplete.

Mawi’s Rajan Crown ring is on my proverbial wish list. The problem is… one just will not do.

Could the Lanvin Happy Bag have been any more aptly named? The lines of it equal pure joy.

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Stella McCartney
Bobbi Brown
Lanvin
Dries Van Noten
Mawi
Alexander Wang

More in the Current Crushes series here.

Photo Credit: Images used in collage are from Polyvore

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