Style Bubble

Painting the Pink Skies

Speaking of All of the Above, they helped me complete my pink sky vision which was first prompted by Jil Sander's SS08 collection.  All that sheer goodness has been knocking about in my head and I'm determined to play it out to the end despite the arrival of autumn collections already. 

So with my purchases of the All of Above sheer mesh navy t-shirt and dress and with some sheer blue Falke tights over some fuschia leggings, I got the effect of the sort of sky that I'd like to see this summer (it's gotten to that orangey pink but not quite at that pink-blue stage...). 

I also ended up having some fun with a sheer pink cape which I had forgotten about (that would be the sloppy wardrobe makign me misplace things...)...

Now I just need to find that sky in real life...

Yes, all of the above please...

If All of the Above's video teaser of their summer 2008 collection (that would be an Aussie summer) didn't tickle your fancy, perhaps the lookbook images might.  Though the video does give a better indication of what all those zips are capable of in all its shape-shifting glory, it is nice to see all the individual looks and to confirm that yes, I will be taking ALL OF THE ABOVE (ok, that's a lie...I'll take some of it.... it's not expensive stuff either so I'll be waiting for the collection to hit the online store in August...).   

 

Where did the sloppy come from?

For those of you that love leaving comments/sending me emails about my sloppy style, I can present you an explanation as to why that is.  The ugly truth is that I'm living in a shambolic and sloppy mess with the way that I organise my clothes.  It's not so much 'organise' as trying to cram everything I have all into a limited space with all the strength that I have.  This involves hanging about ten things on one hanger, rolling and scrunching things up to squeeze into a tiny space, stuffing things into drawers that won't close, using several suitcases to hold things, heaving bags littered everywhere, cardboard boxes full of tights/leggings/slips and just general mess mess mess...

Why the jumble?  The place where I'm living now was supposed to be a transition period.  This transition having lasted well over a year now and I still don't really have the time/energy to get it into shape.  Still, I see light as I will FINALLY be moving out and in with the boyf to a haven somewhere....preferably with many fitted wardrobes.  The boyf and I both have plans ahoy as to how to get the best out of my numerous garments and I'm hoping something pretty-pretty will emerge from all the mess berow but all shall be revealed later when I find said haven. 

For the next month or so I shall also be doing something that I've rarely done before which is 'cleaning out my wardrobe'.  Yes this concept is a ritual for some but alien to me.  I'm a hoarder.  You ask me to throw away something and you'll get a  terror-stricken expression on my face.  Parting is difficult.  The last time I culled anything was when I left student halls in 2003 and I still get pangs about a certain something something that I donated to a charity shop.  Or when my mum chucked away some Rick Owens AW08-esque curvy wedge platform boots that I bought from Hong Kong, I'm still feeling the pain.  Nonetheless, be it via eBay or charity shop, a cull must be done... 

Betty and Loulou

The Steve is away so I got to spend the evening with Yves instead, watching the Yves Saint Laurent documentaries 'His Life and Times' and '5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris' back to back and then re-reading The Beautiful Fall (tea stains a-plenty in this well thumbed book...).  My favourite bits in the books are when the encounters with Yves' various muses are recalled, with Betty Catroux and Loulou de la Falaise and the descriptions of Loulou are particularly vivid which has propelled me into an afternoon of spending some time with Yves' muses...

I've never been one to channel other people's looks so it's more like playing around with the spirit and the two bi-polar styles that Betty and Loulou represented to Monsieur Saint Laurent and the different things they managed to coax out of him and inspire him to draw...

Betty Catroux: Androgynous, angula, skinny-hipped, invariably in black and liked her leather.  She also sported the deviant schoolgirl look with high black socks, black mini and big belts slung on the hips.  Her thin pencil stroke of a figure matched Yves' then-lithe slip of a figure and they feeded off each other's taste in the 'louche'. 

(Alexander McQueen black satin cape, Lanvin tuxedo jacket, vintage black matt sequin skirt worn as top, Preen leather panelled troousers, Sam Edelman boots with plastic chains worn around the boots)

Loulou de la Falaise: Hippy-ish, electric and exhuberant in manner and in dress.  She turned sarongs and saris into various outfits with the use of a safety pin, made cardboard and glitter star and moon accessories for her wedding outfit and took silver napkin holders to wear as bracelets.  Yves relied on her gaiety enormously. 

   

(Poltock & Walsh ruffled halterneck, Johnny Loves Rosie bow hat worn around the neck, tierred print dress from Hong Kong, fuschia pink tights, Pierre Hardy x Louise Goldin ankle boots)

Elle's Edge

Loving fashion and loving Vogue don't necessarily go hand in hand.  It's silly to think that fashion-lovers have to automatically be programmed to love Vogue or even think that it is THE fashion bible when the fashion magazine landscape is so vast, varied and far more rich and complex.  However, I must say that I've been prisoner to buying British Vogue every month since.... 2002(?)... not because I think it's the best, not even because I think it's even in the top ten... just because.  This irks me seeing as I'm not really practising what I preach and it irks my boyfriend because I guff and huff when I read it and he says 'Why buy it then?'

In recent months, it has dawned on me that British Vogue has gotten particularly dull and actually, its rival Elle has been packing quite a punch.  I am only speaking British versions here so it may not be applicable to your country though I hear US Elle is also getting quite awesome in recent months too.  It's an unspoken thing that the V is supposed to be better than the E but figures don't lie as I believe E sells more copies than V.  Oh well, I'm with the masses because in one supposedly-flimsy August issue of Elle, things caught the eye more, juiced up the inspiration and got me looking forward to next season.  It's a simple selfish matter of things being more to my taste and just being a bit 'edgier'...

Gareth Pugh's A/W08 shoes courtesy of Nicholas Kirkwood - The term 'price on request' sounds a little scary but I'm still gonna give Mr Kirkwood a call... // Christopher Kane wool and metal gloves/armwarmers - I didn't notice these in the show as the pailettes diverted my attention...

Basia Zarzycka lace mask - Black lace on the face as opposed to the black lace dresses which we will be inundated with...me like...

Then some offbeat legwear such as these silk and elastic trousers by Osman Yousefzada.  Didn't even realise he did legging-like garments...

...and these Clare Tough loopy zip-embellished wool leggings.  Never got to see Clare Tough's AW08 collection so I'm going to be harrassing the PR now on Monday. 

It's not a 'Oh, Elle's the best' gush but just a nod from me that yes, Elle has been changing and the direction seems to be good.  I also loved this 'Shaping the Future' editorial shot by Nagi Sakai and styled by Sasa Thomann.  A useful shape/texture guide to next season, all of which I'm loving. 

 

Wedging it up Granny-style

I promise I will end all Acne-trip-talk after this post.  Though in all seriousness what else could I talk about this week when other highlights included a tasty Bombay Bicycle Club takeout meal and finding a £2 coin under my pillow (don't £2 coins make you feel very rich for some reason....?).  I really cringe when I hear people talking like it's their main goal in life is to collect fashion schwag or worse, that it is their RIGHT to have lots of fashion freebies.  I'm not really a goodie bag vulture either unfortunately.  Or, i'm just not very good at nabbing them in the first place.  If things are given to me willingly, then I'm of course happy to accept.  Asking though is completely out of question and even though friends gave me their jeans sizes, I just didn't really have the gall to ask...  In the end, these shoes, which were the last pair on sale in the Acne store and thankfully in my size and they were something that I had spied from the SS08 lookbook yonks ago which I had wanted from the start, came home with me.  Yeah yeah yeah, could wear them with predictable short flippy skirts/dresses and a pair of black PVC leggings.  But on the feet, they do feel like a pair of 'granny wedges' because they're so comfy.  They're also the sort that I've seen many a lady aged 60+ sporting with pleated belted dresses and Members Only jackets....(yes, the grannies around here are my current style inspiration...).  So I've gone for my own type of 'granny' outfit with a mid-calf Boudicca dress with a heavy pleat at the bottom, the United Bamboo x Uniqlo dress and a Tim Ryan knitted cardi with huge exaggerated pockets....good for carrying an apple or two. 

Different Shade of Pia

Through Foto Decadent, i discovered the photography of Linus Ricard, a Swedish London-based photographer.  He also happened to have recently shot the collection of Pia Stanchina which I rooted for two weeks ago, urging some magical collaboration to happen.  I'm still crossing my fingers of course.  What I found interesting about these images though was that from the fairy wings that I had envisioned when I first saw Pia's lookbook, now comes a much rawer image.  The garments become a little bit more sinister with a bit more mystery behind them.  Whatever way you look at it though be it Ricard's blurry lens or the original purist lookbook, it's still a heck of a lot of beauty but just presented different ways so yes, it's another plea for Pia post (alliteration is so damn good....). 

Looping the Shirts

No I haven't completely forgotten that couture fashion week is going on but what is my paltry commentary on the shows going to do when so much is being said already so me thinks the less chat the better, especially when not one show has REALLY had me floored.  Staying on the Stockholm Fashion Week rag, the one show that everyone kept on harping on about whilst I was there which I didn't get to see was Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair.  So after checking out the images, I must say, I think they might have been trying to inject some 'couture' elements into some of their pieces as if to say 'Yeah, we're showing at the same time as couture fashion week but we can do wickedly loopy things too!'.  Loopy being the operative word as they took a mass of button down shirts and layered them and made curves to create rather sculptural dresses.  These three 'showpieces' were of course interspersed amongst the much more wearable fare that we expect of a nonchalantly cool Swedish brand such as Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair.  The finale was a copper sheeted dress that reminded me of the metal sheet dresses in the intro of the film 'Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo?'.  Hope the model didn't suffer any injuries.

Still, despite Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair going out of their way to bring some drama with these pieces, they are at the end of the day made out of quite accessible materials.  I've always been attracted to the idea of making something quite extravagant out of low-key materials and the brands that do this well usually get my vote.  So here's hoping Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair won't dispose the dresses to the 'showpiece' rail and put these into production for those of us that like their doses of drama subtle and small.

Red Shoes

The most recurring and oft-blog-quoted shoe imagery goes to Dorothy's red sequinned shoes in Wizard of Oz and whilst the shoes themselves have always seemed too obvious a thing to go for (and also because me and red don't really do well together....), wearing a pair around the neck would probably be a better option.

I have a thing for all the Tatty Devine collaborations; Rob Ryan, Gilbert & George etc... and whilst I've never really craved my own Dorothy red shoe moment, it is very cute that they are celebrating the arrival of the stage version of Wizard of Oz at the Southbank Centre by making this red shoe necklace.

Now I'm just contemplating whether to go see the show.... whilst wearing the necklace of course... 

Cage Campaign

Mind is refreshed and ready to type something a little more intelligent than simply 'Look at me in a floral cage skirt!'.  Apologies for post-repetition/expansion.  Very tardy of me indeed.  However it had to be recalled and retold.  So I ambled into the Acne SS09 show in my floral cage skirt worn over a vintage dress with my Sophia Malig floral leggings and Ann Demeulemeester jacket and topped off with the new Marni shoes (comfy for five hours but I did have a pair of emergency flats with me after that....).  The show was being held at the Acne headquarters and so all the Acne peeps were there.  All the different countries' press reps, the creative team etc, so me showing up in the floral cage skirt could easily have ended up being a bit of a laughing stock.  I might well be known as the 'The Girl who Showed Up in an Acne Knock Off.'  However, I was pretty defiant in my campaign.  As soon as the show wa