28.4.11

Dries Van Noten S/S 2002


My third year dissertation is based around the cultural appropriation by fashion designers today (Rackk and Ruin sparked a great debate on this already) and I've spent many hours in my University's library scanning books and magazines for visual examples of this. One of the best things about writing a theory dissertation is that you can choose to write about whatever you want, so naturally I angled mine to include one of my favourite designers in the world; Mr Dries Van Noten! Here are some scans from Collezioni Donna magazine S/S 2002; this magazine is like Le Book, a quarterly magazine dedicated to indepth study of the womenswear shows and womens fashion. Anyway, feast your eyes on Dries Van Noten S/S 2002 which I think could totally be appropriate for this year given in the influx of beachy/hippie clothes!











Original picture source Collezioni magazine, scanned by me

27.4.11

Sweet Charity

One of my favourite reasons for going home for the Easter holidays (you should all know by now that I'm a third year Fashion Journalism student, tsk tsk!), is the amazing line up of charity shops in my hometown Wokingham. There's 5 in the town centre consisting of Oxfam, Hospice Car, Sue Ryder and 2 that I forget the name of now! But the truth of the matter is that I am obsessed with hunting for clothes; I honestly get as much thrill out of vintage shopping in London as I do charity shopping in Wokingham or my term-time home of Southampton. I love it because aside from the fact that your money isnt just being added to the pile as with retail giants like H&M or Topshop, it's mostly because you just don't know what you'll find in store. High street chains are predictable and trend-driven most of the time, (although, don't get me wrong, I love a good find in Zara or Toppers) but with charity and vintage shops the stock is usually in constant rotation so there's always something new to be discovered! So without further ado, here's a few of my finds from the Easter hols, taken in my parents beautiful back garden;


Vibrant orange oversized jumper, not sure what I'm doing with it yet but inspiration will
strike soon and I'll be glad to have it!
 
Cream ribbed jumper; you can't see very well in this picture but this jumper is the
perfect snug fit ribbed cream jumper!

Cream ribbed knit jumper; yes this looks similar to the one above but it isnt!
This is a bigger fit and has more knitted design on the front

Grey wool blazer; this is an oversized blazer that I plan to tailor abit so its more fitted and
will become my new all purpose coat as my old Zara one is on its last legs!

Shanghai Tang navy silk trousers; these trousers were an amazing find
at only £5 and are a perfect slim fit and length


The whole gang; here's everthing I bought with the addition of the amazing pillow that I snagged for only £3!

All my own pictures; please credit if you'd like to use any of them (not that anyone would but hey!)

26.4.11

Love, Angel, Music, Baby

Gwen Stefani has always been one of my style icons from back in the day, and Love, Angel, Music, Baby was THE album I listened to all of summer '05. This amazing chick's got style, talent and ambition, and she always looks effortlessly glam and has managed to create a wonderful family for herself to boot! She's been all over the media in the past few weeks so here's a round up of what Gwen's been up to - Firstly here's a few picks she made for Who What Wear; naturally there's a load of her fashion label L.A.M.B in there but I would love the bag or sweater! She's also on the cover of April's ELLE US magazine, and check out this candid shot from a few weeks ago; I can't imagine another person who could pull this look off as well as she does! Go Gwen!  







Picture sources WhoWhatWear & The Fashion Spot

21.4.11

Official Obsessed






Officially obsessed with slippers; doesnt matter what colour or style, I'm there and ready to wear! I currently own two pairs; one cheetah print pair from Topshop and one black velvet pair from Zara, but it's never enough! The leopard print ones above will soon be spotted on Caroline of Carolines Mode and I can see the second pair on someone like Krystal Simpson from What Is Reality Anyway?. Both gorgeous chicks with killer style!

1st & 2nd pair via Lori's Shoes, 3rd via Topshop, 4th via Zara & 5th via American Apparel

20.4.11

Easy Breezy



Jacket, Shirt, Shorts and Loafers via Topshop, Made Her Think Jewellery via Farfetch


I have never been a pink girl before but in recent months I have warmed to the flattering and eye-catching possibilities of pink in all its beautiful shades. This outfit screams 'Florida' to me; the bold floral print, woven loafers and light-weight white jacket would be perfect to stroll through the mall in or take a long bike ride to Borders. Ah if only!

*edit*  HAH made the Topshop homepage the day after I posted this!


19.4.11

And How Do You Pronounce That?

Street Style Snaps





Here's some fresh spring inspiration for you!
I love the outfit in the first photo simply because its chic and understated but has obvious luxury accessories, such as the casually stuffed Lanvin bag and the multi-buckled Burberry boots. I love a good minimalistic, boyish coat as well, I think its a wardrobe staple, and this navy blue number ticks all the boxes. The second photo is a great example of an eccentric dresser; the coat is to die for, the colour of the jumper is vivid and eye-catching, and the trousers and heels shouldn't work together but really do! And the last picture is abit of a fashion blogger cliché to like but hey, when a girl wears a perfectly draped white shirt and perfectly scrunched biker boots you gotta give props where props are deserved!

Image sources 1 & 2, 3

18.4.11

Flowers In Her Hair





Publication: The New York Times T Magazine
Model: Tati Cotliar
Stylist: Robbie Spencer

This editorial is incredible! I wanted to post it as it features one of the most fun and inspirational models of the moment Tati Cotliar and is styled by one of my favourite stylists Robbie Spencer. I'm currently in my last term of University and having fun doing a styling & make-up unit, styling shoots every few weeks and working with other creative and inspiring students. This editorial is definately going in my sketchbook!

16.4.11

Parisian Pop-Up


While browsing one of my favourite online boutiques farfetch.com I noticed that they are accomodating an Anne Valerie Hash pop-up boutique at the moment! Anne Valerie has a very feminine, very Parisian aesthetic and it's exactly the kind of garments I would wish to wear when I'm flitting about Paris with my fiancé this summer. Farfetch is selling her mainline Anne Valerie Hash and also her more affordable AVHash By line, both of which are entirely divine and well worthy of a wardrobe investment buy. Below is an interview Farfetch conducted with the Parisian designer and don't forget to click through the slideshow on the farfetch.com website to watch a video of Anne Valerie talking through her S/S 11 collections!  And how incredibly beautiful is her boutique?! C'est magnifique!







Images via farfetch.com

15.4.11

Totally Nude

Misleading title ey? Well, your here now!

I'm sure I remember United Nude being posted around the blogsphere awhile ago because how could anyone forget shoes like these? I just love them and will definately be saving up for a pair for summer (not that they're that expensive anyway!). Design features like floating foot-beds and sculptural heels made from hand moulded carbon fiber are features that make these shoes pretty special in my book. And the sheer variety of styles is amazing! You can get almost every high heel design in a medium heel too! Why doesn't everyone do that?! Recent years have seen the collection expand massively so if you think you've seen it all before, look again! Anyway here's my picks from their expansive website; I can see the first pair of flats sitting well with Spring/Summer's sporty minimal trend and the third pair would look great with a simple 3/4 length t-shirt dress and biker jacket. Maybe I'll mock up a another collage and see how it turns out?






Images via United Nude

14.4.11

Not So Black & White



Initially it was this beautiful picture of a raffish yet feminine woman dressed in a denim shirt with kohl-lined eyes and scruffy hair that caught my eye, but after reading about the photographer himself, I so wish I lived in LA so I could see what is bound to be an amazing and important exhibition. Visit the Michael Kohn gallery website here to read about the amazing photographer Charles Brittin, who photographed California's Beat community in the 1950's and later went on to document the civil rights movement in the 1960's, eventually joining the cause and assisting with the registration of black voters in the Deep South.

I do not claim to have an indepth or studied knowledge of this amazing photographer but I wanted to post these images because his work spoke to me firstly as being beautiful, but more importantly, you can feel the empowerment and sense of importance in his photographs. Enjoy!




Info & Images via Michael Kohn Gallery, originally found at Fashion Copious

13.4.11

Kate by Tezza






This woman is gorgeous, full stop. That 3rd picture? Forgetaboutit. When in front of a camera, some people don't photograph as good as they look in real life (aka ME) and some people seem to illuminate the whole picture and become more beautiful (aka KATE). Her hair is amazing in these pics non!? And great taste in books there Kate, I'm just finishing that one off!

Photos via Terry Richardson's Diary

12.4.11

Short Back And Sides


It was this photo from The Sartorialist that reminded me that I'd been meaning to do a post about Michael Pitt because his hair is very much the same as Michael's in Martin Scorsese's hit show BoardWalk Empire. I personally love this haircut, I think it looks incredibly modern despite it probably being a classic men's haircut (I can't claim to know that much about fashions in men's hair actually!) and Michael Pitt wears it so well in Boardwalk.

Pitt plays Jimmy Darmody, a soldier returned from WWI to Atlantic City in the early days of Prohibition, who wants to claim his stake on the city working for politician/gangster Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). Pitt's portrayal of a man battling his post-war demons and trying to regain control of his old life while creating a new one  is captivating; he has a magnetic presence on screen and aesthetically really suits the period. I highly recommend the show which is suprisingly addictive and features a rosta of great actors. And for us costume nerds the show is full of beautiful 1920's garb; women in drop waist dresses and velvet opera coats, and men in sharp 3-piece suits and bowler hats.

Here's some beautiful portraits of Michael Pitt for Interview Magazine, taken by Craig McDean. Go here to read Michael being interviewed by Martin Scorsese and get a real insight into the mind of one of the most promising actors working today.





Pictures via Interview Magazine online