Going Out Shoes

I've been becoming increasingly frustrated by shoe shopping for a while now, so I was pleased to find these in H&M the other day. The antidote to the stripper shoes peddled by most retailers these days (heels seem to get higher every season - since when was 5 inches considered normal for heel height? What happened to 3 inches? GAH) these are unfussy, classic, and just chunky enough to have a bit of edge to them, but still feminine rather than weird looking. Plus, I won't fall over in them like I did in these shoes, and I won't be taller than all the boys I know when wearing them. Win. They also have a pleasing 90s vibe to them, and I remember having a very similar pair in velvet (but with a lower wedge) when I was about 10 - my very first 'going out' shoes.

Wishes do come true...

...you just need to blog about them. Remember this post? Well look what I found on asos today>>>



(Really sorry about the poor quality picture)

September Secret Danger

The Secret Danger boys have started a new mix series, the first of which will be given out at tonight's SD. Each one is packaged up in a handmade sleeve and features the incredibly intricate artwork of Kyle Gregg. I have watched him create some of these beautiful and very delicate pieces before and it's really interesting how absorbed he gets into the act of drawing. See more of his work here. Come along tonight and ask John for a CD if you want one for yourself. But be quick, there are only a limited number of them! As usual Katie and I will be trying to stay sober and not have TOO much fun so that we can snap some photos of everybody there. Dress up in your glad rags!

Details: Plain metal jewellery and sequins

Just a couple of things that I seem to be wearing all the time recently; plain gold metal jewellery from H&M, my favourite grey t-shirt (AA), blue sequin skirt from Zara and monster shoes from Viktor & Rolf that I hardly ever get to wear, but absolutely love.

How to dress like a babe off-duty.

Everyone must've seen the behind the scenes Blade Runner shots taken with Sean Young's polaroid camera by now, as they have been knocking about on the internet for quite some time. Although I sort of hate the film (I know, controversial) I always thought Rachael was well cool. She would win in a fight with Pris by the power of her eyebrows alone. Both the characters's wardrobes have been copied an infinite number of times but I want to copy the backstage ones more. The outfit in these two photos makes me swoon. I searched for months. Mainly in Gap, promised by many to make the perfect t-shirts, but who clearly don't because they don't make this one. Finally my search has proved successful: I discovered an exact copy from Topshop Boutique. I am still looking for a leathery look, black, snake print skirt with a waistband just half and inch wide hitting at the narrowest part of my waist, made of a non-stretchy material and it has to be tight, but not too tight. For now I have ordered this skirt off ASOS, which by no means satisfies my skirt lust, but may just have to do for now.

London Fashion Week Day 1

Some miscellaneous images from yesterday at London Fashion Week. I wish I had time to do a more in-depth post but I'm covering it for another website as well as working! I had Paul Costelloe and Corrie Nielson in the morning (I sadly had to miss Caroline Charles as I had a very important errand to run), followed by a screening of the Ada Zanditon collection in the afternoon and Basso & Brooke in the evening. As you can see, I was invited to PPQ but didn't get there early enough to be at the front of the queue - they were oversubscribed and shut the doors, leaving quite a few people out of the proceedings. Sad times.

The photos are from the Corrie Nielson show - a kind of Victoriana/Japanese theme (I'll post a link soon to my more in-depth coverage of it). It was the first time I'd been to the venue (the old sorting office on New Oxford Street) and I have to say I was taken with it. The twinkly lights were incredible! 

Anyway, I hope to post more soon - today I enjoyed the DAKS show and later I'm off to John Rocha and the Sibling presentation.

Fashion's Night Out

Some belated photos from Fashion's Night Out last week. The photos are from the Miller Harris shop where Isabella's friend Amy is the visual merchandiser and had transformed the place into a magical garden, and Links of London, where the Art Wednesday team had graffitied up the windows and drinks were served in test tubes.

OIL SLICK - Autumn textures

 

The cooler weather makes me think about different textures - smooth silks and satins, soft wool, tough leather and cool metal. Came across this dress the other day while having a clear-out - it's Kate Moss for Topshop, and I love the shiny effect it has in the photos, it almost looks oily. The bag was an ebay find, the knit is a hand-me-down in 100% lambswool, and the choker is a recent find in H&M. I'd actually wear most of them together - pairing the dress and knit in particular would be very Alexander Wang AW11.

Party last Saturday.

We went to a house party last Saturday and we were all wearing new shoes- so we took pictures of them. Jenny was wearing some pretty impressive jewels on her fingers so we snapped them too. All normal house party behaviour. Then, just as a treat, we took a picture of ourselves. Guess which is which! Acne Pistol boots, Office boots, Opening ceremony's colab with Robert Clergerie black velvet heels (oooohhh). Rings and bracelets vintage and YSL.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Everyone has their style icons that shaped what they thought was cool when they were growing up. Some can cite iconic looks such as the girls from Clueless, or maybe Molly Ringwald (or in fact any of the kids from The Breakfast Club) as being the look that they idolised. For me however, it was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Between the ages of about 9 and 12 (and maybe secretly for a while after that) I thought that Buffy, with her clompy shoes, too-tight dresses, bootcut trousers and bad highlights were THE HEIGHT of sophistication. Didn't she wear a lot of lilac?

While much of the fashion on Buffy is utterly awful, some of it ticks the 90s comeback boxes in a big way. The crucifix trend of 18 months ago? If you're Buffy the Vampire Slayer you HAVE to have a crucifix - it's literally life or death. Crop tops too - I defy you to watch any episode of the first 3 series of Buffy and not spot a crop top. More recently we've been seeing plenty of split skirts (both mini and maxi) and spaghetti strap tops (a Buffy staple) in silk or velvet. Alexander Wang has just based an entire collection around the latter. Looks like she had the right idea, doesn't it? Apart from the lilac, which as everyone know, does not look good on blondes. Or anyone really.

The catalyst for this Buffy-related post came the other day after a trip to the Monki concession in Selfridges. I came home with a pair of chunky heeled boots, a pair of pink shorts and a scarf. As I was putting on the boots the next day, they suddenly struck me as exactly the sort of clompy boots that Buffy herself would kick vampire ass in. Chunky heel, platform, ankle length - it's got the slayer written all over it. I'll be wearing mine with a side split skirt from Carin Wester, and my favourite (incredibly Buffy-like because it looks a bit like animal print, and is also slightly sheer) vintage t-shirt. I'll also be asking for the box-set for Christmas.

Boots - Monki

Skirt - Carin Wester

T-shirt - vintage

Sunday 60's Inspiration

We've got another photoshoot project coming up very shortly, which we're quite excited about. At the moment we're feeling pretty inspired by the 1960s, and here are some recent photoshoots that we're particularly taken with. I really love the composition of the top image - and am now going to have a wander round Soho/Carnaby street in the hope of finding a similar space.

The photoshoot will have a streetstyle element, but we're hoping to take it a bit further by making it into a real story. The shoot is in just over a week, and we'll post the results afterwards.

Images via Fashion Gone Rogue, V Magazine, Rackk and Ruin.