What I Wore: Day 3
These Dr Martens were modified by my friend Charlie May and I've been aching to wear them. They were created from a pair of shoes she bought on ebay and, as far as I'm concerned, are just about the coolest things ever. I had to layer up two pairs of tights to try to add a bit of warmth to this outfit... because really, I was stepping out into 4 degree weather without a coat. The dress, which can also be worn as a jacket, is by one of my favourite Swedish brands Patouf. I love the simple minimal feel of it's cut.
Felt so nice to have comfy feet and a hassle free outfit to wear. Thanks Anna for sending over the dress from Sweden and Charlie for the shoes.
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Wearing: Christelle dress/blazer by Patouf, Dr Martens modified by Charlie May, American Apparel large leather pouch, Vintage fur, two pairs of black tights from Next, and top turquoise nail polish by Models Own (just seen). If you're interested in finding out how you can get a pair of these Dr Martens or want to use them for editorials get in touch with Charlie. She is a total gem.
Photos by Shini.
London Fashion Week: Day 3
Seeing as it was Sunday and all, it only seemed appropriate to have a bit of a lie in this morning. Actually, I didn't get to bed until 5am because I'm developing a bit of laptop overload insomnia... and the birds on Baker Street will not stop chirping. Like right now, for example, it's 2am and they are at it. Why? Anyway, took it quite easy today. Went to two shows, showed off some crazy shoes my friend Charlie May made (more on that later), and tried to avoid freezing to death. London is so cold right now and there is an unyielding mist hanging in the air... tragic for any fashionista attempting to have a good hair day or wear stilettos (luckily, I never try to do either).
12:30 - Masha Ma
Last year, Masha's first collection was incredible but this year it only got better. The light milky colour palette teamed with fire engine red boots was such an original combination. A sense of overflowing origami remained present but it was taken to a new level and incorporated into slick leather pieces. Skirts were straight, fitted and midi length... one model was so restrained she had to walk with the most baby of steps. Rather than looking awkward though it resembled the way a geisha might teeter down the street. The entire collection was stunning and there were a whole host of items I left wishing I could pull straight off the model and wear out the door.
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2:15 - Charlie Le Mindu
The line for this show stretched all the way around the building and most of the people waiting, for an hour in the rain, were turned away. If you aren't familiar with Charlie's work it might come as quite a shock. He sent the first model down the runway naked with fake blood dripping down her body. The sound of pigs being slaughtered was blasted through the room to the point that it was physically painful and, while this might all sound a bit disconcerting, personally I thought it was impossible to leave without feeling a sense of serious wonderment. It felt more like a work of art than a catwalk show - a work of art that, understandably so, isn't quite everyone's cup of tea. Charlie has famously dressed Lady Gaga in outfits made entirely of hair. This collection, for me, translated into something that is more transferrable than just that: the incorporation of painfully dark elements coupled with a stark ethereal innocence.
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The Buzz
There were a lot of big shows taking place today (Acne, Mulberry, Vivienne Westwood, Topshop Unique...) that were at locations away from the main British Fashion Council location. This meant people weren't actually hanging around Somerset House and, because sadly I don't have a limo (uhh... or even taxi), to chauffeur me around London all day, there weren't as many people to shoot. That, plus numb fingers that made pressing buttons on cameras difficult, made for slightly slim pickings street style speaking. The tactical layering going on though is pretty impressive. All hoods are pulled up, cardigans doubled on two thick, and thermal underwear is secretly sitting under even the most incredible of outfits. Hot on everyone's lips, apart from the weather, included the question of why Alexa Chung wasn't at Mulberry this morning and whether the BFC could possibly squeeze any more blue rubbish bins into the area surrounding the main tent.
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See you in a few hours for what I wore.
London Fashion Week: Day 2
Woke up this morning to the sound of rain pounding on the window. Slept in and then headed to Somerset House while feebishly attempting to juggle a huge clutch bag, coffee, umbrella, and oyster card. Arrived to find the photogs were out in monumental force: Garance Dore, the Sartorialist, Altamira, Jak & Jil, Vanessa Jackman, Street Peeper... 'why hello, is it me you're looking for?' I asked as I sauntered past flipping my hair. Highlights of the day included being photographed by Vanessa (who I love), meeting the lovely girl behind State of Sunday, and being introduced to Mary Katrantzou's mother by Matthew (I said, 'you must be so proud'... uh, duh). Spent most of the day getting soaked out in the courtyard (though I did go to the J. JS Lee and John Rocha show - photos below) and topped it all off by having a big burger and vanilla milkshake at Byrons for dinner.
The Buzz
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12:30 - J. JS Lee
Seriously, it's a wee bit too late for extensive amounts of words but let's just say that J. JS Lee was good... and has got me trying to figure out how I can attach a jacket to the front of my shirt, while searching ebay for long grey dresses and strands of pearls.
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3:15 - John Rocha
Abbey Lee Kershaw, who didn't walk a single show in NY, opened and closed the John Rocha show. Insanely beautiful. The same goes for the entire collection. The slightly sheer textured details on the black dresses were some of my favourite details.
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Bye for now, need my pillow.
People featured in this post include: Tali Lennox (ph1/3), Matthew Zorpas (ph7), Peony Lim (ph14), Kit Lee (ph18/19), Sandra Hagelstam (ph20), Daniella Maiorano (ph21), Nadia Sarwar (ph22), Imogen Roy (ph23), Shini Park (ph25).
Backstage: Aminaka Wilmont
Models at the Aminaka Wilmont show yesterday wore yellow contact lenses and had elaborate designs braided into their hair. After the show, when I had the chance to interview Marcus Wilmont I asked him how much input him and Maki have on the entire production. Do designers have the time to dictate hair and makeup or are they more focused on the individual pieces? He said they were both deeply involved in all the elements that went into the show and knew just how they wanted to use the overall appearance of the models to emphasize the theme of the collection. Their 7th season has been named Totem and is influenced by the concept of creating a new tribe. Totem poles, primitive religions, and animals are all expressed through the range of bold prints, soft knits, and painfully covetable leather items. Personally, I loved the darker vibe and thought the model's complete intensity in appearance only worked to further the durability of the collection.
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Thank you Mercedes for inviting me backstage, I had such a blast. Also, big thank you to Marcus for taking the time to chat to me. I hope you managed to have that calm dinner with your brothers last night!
View the entire Autumn Winter 2011 Aminaka Wilmont Collection here.
What I wore: LFW Day 1
The day started off feeling like bare legs was a somewhat reasonable option and then it just got colder and colder as it progressed. Ah well, what's a little shivering when you have friends whose cosy scarves you can snuggle up in. Woke up feeling a bit worse for wear yesterday. I blame it on the fact that I got to bed at 4:00 am and the seriously questionable Mexican food I ate in Notting Hill. Fashion week parties and 8am starts... it's a very bad combination.
Wearing: Flyaway Dress and Coco shoes in bright yellow by Patouf, vintage Barneys biker jacket by IL2L, Mulberry oak Alexa bag (My Wardrobe), American Apparel cardigan and gloves, Past Times owl necklace, and vintage fur.
A big thank you to Anna from Patouf for sending me the dress and shoes all the way from Stockholm. I am obsessed with both and just wish the weather was a bit warmer so I could show them off better. Thanks also to Jazmin from Conker Communications for the jacket and Susie from My-Wardrobe for the bag. Without you guys I'd be pretty much naked.
Photos taken by Shini.
London Fashion Week: DAY 1
Currently, I'm riding off three hours of sleep and a six piece chicken mcnugget... oh, the glamour of attending fashion week. It certainly has it's highs (Marcus Wilmont recognizing me?) and its lows (severely blistered feet) but overall there is just a bizarre sense of delirium that sort of lingers over your head, forcing you to say ridiculous things like, 'Do you have tickets to BBQ?' (Kit). So here is the deal pumpkins, last year I failed to post on loads of shows I attended because the backlog of images was just insanely overwhelming, so I'm doing things a bit different this time. Each day, you'll get a highlight of my favourite moments from all the shows and all the action going on at, and around, the glorious Somerset House (I say glorious very loosely, it was so cold today and heavy rain is being forecasted for the next three days). If there's anything super special I'll do a separate post on it at another time but for now I just want to bring you as much of what is going on as humanly possible. If there is anything in particular you want to see more of just let me know and I'll try to get it... unless it's a nipple slip on the catwalk that you're after, in which you came to the wrong site.
Buzz
The hotly pursued Matthew Zorpas was on form as per usual, only this year he has stepped things up a notch and has a camera crew following him around to each venue. It is mental and slightly intoxicating to be around. 'Matthew Zorpas: the film'... it does have a certain ring to it. Other things that caused excitement included: Caroline Mode and her gorgeous yellow Celine tote bag shooting first thing in the morning, Face Hunter looking unusually bright eyed, and the eerily omnipresent power of Twitter (Daniella was likely typing, 'omg... so glad to have Starbucks finally')
9:00am: Paul Costelloe
Personally, I thought the Costelloe show kicked off fashion week well. It had an inherently youthful and playful feel to it. Bouncy skirts, colour blocked yellow and pink suits, plus a print that resembled Christmas wrapping paper (come on people, this is an Autumn Winter collection after all, what's not to like about that??). The hair was channeling a bit of a Topshop Unique Spring 2011 vibe and the collection sort of reminded me of Mulberry's shapes... but overall, I thought there were some sweet pieces, and it was all very wearable.
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1:15 pm: Corrie Nielsen
This was my favourite show. Corrie, who won Fashion Fringe last year, put on a mind-blowingly atmospheric production. From the music, to the speed at which the models walked, everything was spot on and actually quite moving. It almost felt like it was from a different world altogether.
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3:45 pm: Aminaka Wilmont
Decidedly darker than their previous collection, Aminaka Wilmont sent down a slew of fabrics that were a mishmash of different animal prints with gorgeous leather jackets and soft knits. Together it had a coherent vibe that channelled a forbidden and enraged creature from the jungle (cue yellow eyed models). I did backstage photography and also had a little chat with Marcus Wilmont after the show... but will save that for tomorrow. For now, I'm off to bed to get a few hours of sleep before it all starts up again tomorrow.
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View each designers entire collection on the British Fashion Council's website here: Paul Costelloe, Corrie Nielsen, Aminaka Wilmont.
Please Note: all photography is my own. If you'd like to use any images please feel free but credit accordingly, because otherwise you are stealing, which isn't cool. Unless, of course, you fancy being made a fool like Wynona Ryder when she was caught shoplifting... just sayin.
London Fashion Week: what I'm packing
Just about to run out the door to grab my train but before I do, here's a little look at some of my favourite things that are coming along with me to London Fashion Week:
Zara heels, Doc Martins modified by Charlie May, Mulberry bag (My-Wardrobe), vintage Salvatore Ferragamo heels, vintage pink heels, American Apparel clutch bag, J.Crew leopard print belt, Smythson notebook, Anton Heunis necklace (My-Wardrobe), YSL ring, selection of jewelry from Past Times, and Equipment Shirt (My-Wardrobe).
Equipment
My wee little camera is about to get forced into overdrive at the end of this week, so let's have a little lookie at what I'll be dragging around with me to cover the shows, street style, and general madness of London Fashion Week. Oh, and if you're the poor soul who googled about 30 variations of 'style crusader camera lens' yesterday to find out what I use, I apologize that it's taken me this long to finally release this information to you. I'm not saying this is the best equipment money can buy... but it works for me*.
Camera: Canon 550dslr - the standard camera most bloggers seem to tot around with them. It's small enough to still fit into a clutch bag (well, if the bag is the size of your head) but big enough to be taken somewhat seriously. Plus, it's pretty light. Those mega-bad-boy 7ds are about as heavy as a brick and just about as appealing to lug around.
Lenses: 1. My first: Canon 50mm 1.8 - if you switch to this from the regular bundle lens that comes with the Canon you will notice an immediate transformation in your photos. Crisper, clearer, better colours and, the thing that makes the street style photographers go 'oooohhh', a decently low F stop - aka the thing that lets you get a blurry background. Prices start as low as 80 quid - so this is excellent for newbies and people that are prone to dropping things.
2. My everyday: Canon 35mm F2.0 - it's a slight wide angle so you don't have to stand a mile back to capture someone's entire outfit. Easier for shooting street style and it has a better build quality than the 1.8. This little sucker will set you back about 200 quid though, so you have to fork out a bit more moolah, but it's still pretty darn cheap as far as lenses are concerned.
3. My big mother: Canon 75-300mm F4-5.6 - I was given this little telephoto lens and only ever use it at fashion week. It's gotten a bad rap for being shoddy in poor light conditions but I use it for catwalk shows where the light is always a bit dodge and the photos seem to come out. Also, pretty sweet for spying on people from the opposite side of Somerset House.
Alright little monkeys that's all for now. Did I mention I'm newly unemployed? Must get back to the job search (aka: Flog It, Antiques Roadshow... and all the other little gems British television has to offer). Oh, and if you've got any camera tips feel free to divulge them in the comments sections. A good tip is always much appreciated.
* Okay, whether it works for me or not is really up to your own individual opinion.. but it's what I use.
A valuable lesson.
So here's the deal, last night I might just have experienced my most embarrassing moment to date. Yes, it's worse than when I fell flat on my face in front of a room full of people and the time I ran out of the loo in Wendys with my dress totally tucked into my underwear because the toilet was overflowing. It's a lot worse and, while it doesn't involve falling over, it does (thankfully) involve underwear. Right, so last night it was my leaving extravaganza at work because, you know, I'm moving to Zurich and all. I chose to rock my fake leather trousers that I got from Next a while back and all was going well. They actually stretched out a bit over the course of the night which, considering all the french toast I've been eating lately, was making me feel pretty good about the size of my belly. Anyway, back to the point... all was going well until I realized that two giant rips had formed across the knees of the trousers. Pretty funny, I thought, which is why I took the above photo of the situation (see, my knees are totally exposed, kind of funny). What wasn't funny though was a while later when I realized there was an unnatural amount of breeze drifting past my backside. When I reached my hand around to touch my hinny and check that everything was intact instead of feeling platic-y leather I was greeted with the feeling of my cotton knickers. Yes, that's right boys and girls, my trousers ripped straight up the back seam revealing my entire butt to the whole of Oxford's classy crowd. Needless to say I made a beeline for the exit, all the while pulling my jumper down as far as possible. My face was likely shining as pink as the underwear I was trying to hide.
I'm just putting this out there as a word of advice to anyone planning to wear any sort of dodgy imitation leather trousers. Don't drop it like it's hot and, if you must, make sure to wear panties that cover your bum unless you wish to show your naked tush to the world.
p.s. distraught as I might be about the horrendous massacre of my trousers, I like them too much to let them slip away so I'm going to get another pair. But this time I will try to move with a bit more caution when I wear them.
'What's french toast?'
It's only when people ask such preposterous questions as, 'what's french toast' and 'whose Steve Urkel' that I remember there are subtle cultural divides present between me and all these English folk. I'll let it slide though because, let's face it, not everyone is as obsessed with sugar infused breakfasts or spent their Friday nights watching Family Matters back in the 90s. Anyway, I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Breakfast Club is my favourite place to grab brunch in East London. With one week to go until London Fashion Week though, I'm thinking I should probably be spending my time doing something other than scoffing down ginormo portions of fried bread covered in liquified sugar? I'm afraid the Sass & Bide dress I've ordered is actually not going to fit (#shovesfaceshamefullyintohands). If you happen to spot me wearing it, refusing to give my jacket to the matradee, it's because the zip will only be half way up my back.
p.s. everything in the blog shop is officially now 20% off
Wearing: Cabbages and Roses stripe slouch top and Models Own nail polish in nude beige - which I'm a little obsessed with.
Never say never?
I'm not too into rocking colour. I'm a grey and black sort of chick, you see. But suddenly, things are starting to change and I'm feeling drawn to, not only colour but, obnoxious colour. The kind that makes your eyes hurt and induces nausea if you look directly at it. Alas, these vintage bright pink babies fit the bill perfectly. Purchased from Absolute Vintage.
[in response to Daniella's post on never wearing pointy-toed heels again]
Take your pick.
That's right, the blog shop is fully stocked with its last installment of items. Please get your orders in by midnight next Sunday the 13th of February as the shop will be coming down at that time. This is your final chance to raid my closet and help lighten my load before I head off to Switzerland.
Just want to send out a big thank you to everyone that has purchased items so far!
Wearing: Vintage army jacket, Quiksilver top, and vintage Levis shorts.
Enter Shop.
A Berry Tinted Fatigue.
Anna Angseryd proves with Patouf's AW11 collection that tailored needn't necessitate formality. The reworked army print unexpectedly brings the more structured jackets and skirts down to earth, while deep bordeux and creamy greys act as the perfect accent colour. It's the simplicity and wearability of Anna's collections that always draws me to the brand but it's the small details that make it continually linger in my mind: a slit across the knee of an otherwise quite basic pair of trousers, a collar line that dips just a bit lower that usual, or a scarf that doubles as a hood (AW11's update on the snood, perhaps?).
My must-haves from Patouf's AW11 collection include: the slim leg army trousers, long line cardigan, plus both the navy and grey skirt suit - because they are the encapsulation of the level of grown up dressing I need at this stage in my life.
Be reminded of Patouf's SS11 collection here.
The final cut: part I.
Stripping down in sub-zero temperatures in the middle of central London this past Saturday for a photo shoot proved to be a somewhat dubious task. The first thing I was told as we stepped out was, 'It's all good but try not to look so cold.' Try not to look so cold?! It was bloody -4 degrees... how can you look anything but cold? Weather aside, it was actually such fun and I was surprised by how much I wanted to steal all the items I wore (don't worry, I didn't). I feel I've said it a hundred times, but the brand this project is for isn't a company I ever shop at. Their website isn't one I flock to in the wee hours of the night and their items don't have me skipping lattes in an effort to save pennies to put towards their clothes. But I've got to say, there are some serious little gems tucked in their collection. Hopefully this will give you a little peek into the ones that I'm now dreaming of.
All items worn by Next. Rings and leather boots my own. Thanks to Jill and Shini for the photos and to Emma for trekking out to make this happen on her Satudray.