London Fashion Week - Topshop Unique

Any frequent readers of this blog will be aware of my slight obsession with Topshop Unique, weirdly I never seem to buy that much but always have it in mind when planning my outfits.

Topshop Unique unveiled their brand new collection for Autumn Winter 09/10 at London Fashion Week, HIlary Alexander described the collection with the below

Track-pants, sweat-tops, hoodies and all-in-ones were sequinned in futuristic, Day-Glo brights. Loose sweatshirts were printed with UFO’s or with scenes of flying saucers hovering over cityscapes.

The powerful, super-sporty silhouette was inspired by sci-fi movies and the space-age uniforms inevitably worn by the denizens of extraterrestrial craft, with figure-hugging dresses and tunics layered over leggings.

As a contrast, there were more tribal pieces, based upon nomadic communities, where shaggy and hairy-textured capes and anoraks were contrasted against the gloss and slick of Lycra and leather or layered over harem-style shell-suits.

So think punk/grunge for Autumn / Winter 09/10, in the front row were Pixie & Peaches, VV Brown (who I saw last night) and Daisy Lowe. La Roux's brand new single In For The Kill was the track that opened the show.

Get making your Lady Gaga style snood, shove some shoulder pads in your tops, get some bleach on your denim and buy a parka before they get really expensive.

Told you so

Yep those Alexander Wang boots are 100% my new obsession, photo from Jak & Jil

Observer Woman

Observer Woman magazine came out yesterday featuring an interview with Marc Jacobs about his new collection for Louis Vuitton, which is just to die for, I have to say I have not had legging lust this hard since American Apparel docked in Carnaby Street. They are £130 but I think they have to be mine, just in pink and black not yellow (they are glow in the dark).

Mark Jacobs was influenced by Stephen Sprouse cult designer and hero to Marc Jacobs who was massive in the 80s and died in 2004. This collection references Sprouse's graffiti style and is homage to the late designer's work

Satchel of love

Apparently this satchel is perfect for 7-11 year olds, I SAY its perfect for any year old fashionistas. You can get these from Labour & Wait on Cheshire Street in East London or at Dover Street Market.

Daisy Lowe for MJ

I, like the lovely Frankie of Swell Vintage, am also a bit obsessed with Daisy Lowe at the moment. So her Marc Jacobs Campaign pictures have gone down very well on this wintery morning. Originally posted on Catwalk Queen (sorry i keep biting your posts!) Of course the photos were done by Juergen Teller and it totally makes sense for Marc Jacobs to chose her as his new campaig girl as she has now decamped to NYC, has a less model more realistic figure and really shows off the clothes well.

There have been comments that this campaign is boring, but in my opinion she rocks the look, that underwear is screaming buy me, the red and white dress and (what seem to be) bloomers are ace. The only thing that looks kind of out of place are the sunnies.

I would love to know what you think but to me, its spot on advertising

Fascinate Me

You may have seen yesterday's Sunday Times Style magazine taking a good old look at the new trend in hair accessories - bows and veils. Last seen on the catwalk of Luella (above) and PPQ (below)



I've been having a search around the internet to find some of my favourite hair accessories, so here goes

Etsy shop holders Portobello are stocking this amazing cream fascinator, made with emu plumes (hmm not sure about that), silk roses and russian veiling. It costs $159 so is not cheap and does look quite bridal. The shop is really good for hair accessories, i'll be going back



Pixie Market are selling this Chapeau Claudette for $45 - when I looked into this further, turns out you can also get CC (a UK brand on Asos)


I love this 'Minnie Red' fascinator from Dollabella on Etsy



As well as this Everyday Fancy bow fascinator also from Etsy


So it does seem like their are lots out there without having to go down the normal Topshop route, all of which, I highly recommend

Let's go back to the future

Having tried out my own 50's hair stylings last weekend, I decided to take a look at London's underground hair salons that specialise in retro hair styling. I came across two specific salons - Nina's Hair Parlour and the brand new It's Something Hells - a French retro hair salon.

Looking first at the London fashionista choice of retro salon - Nina's Hair Parlour. This is based in Marylebone - 13-25 Church Street to be precise. Here is what the website says

Nina's Hair Parlour is the first UK specialist in vintage and retro hair and beauty. We help men and women indulge in the glamour and decadence of years gone by in an authentic and one of a kind salon. Within the parlour we stock a number of handpicked, rare and original period hats from the 1930's-1960's, extravagant and unique hair accessories and Retro L'Amour snoods, all of which are available for sale and hire.

Nina's Hair Parlour is committed to sharing our skills with people who enjoy the exotic, theatrical and glamorous, those who want to indulge in fantasy or take a fun journey of true self expression to another era.

Prices start at £35 for a set and style to £45 for a cut and set, men can get a cut and style for £25. You can also take a 3 hour vintage hair and make up class where you learn how to do it all yourself, it costs £200 so its not cheap but this is what you get:

1-2-1 Vintage Hair/Make up Super Class - £200
3 hrs

The class involves:
1) A haircut and finished style
2) An old fashioned set under the original 1950's dryer, accompanied by the glass of champagne and chocolate truffles
3) A tailored lesson on how to do 3 styles of your choice (except fingerwaving). You will be required to supply us with the examples in advance
4) A make up class with a professional make up artist relevant to an era of your choice.

You can also get make up lessons, a quick hair and make up sesh for £60 if you want to be 'done' before you go out one night. There are loads of tailor made lessons you can get at Nina's.

French Vogue, The Guardian, London Paper. Italian Vogue and Elle are all fans, I am desperate to go for a set.

Now onto It's Something Hell's on London's Carnaby Street, part owned by Miss Betty and Mister Ducktail who specialise in vintage coiffures and switchblade haircuts respectively. Having opened originally in France in 2001, their success led to a further shop in the heart of London's West End, Carnaby Street. Miss Betty's secret to retro hair is Elnett hairspray. Prices start at £15 - not quite so much to say here as I did about Nina's Hair Parlour due to the lack of any real website, hopefully one will turn up soon.

VV Me

I walked past brand new singing sensation VV Brown this week and couldn't help but marvel at her 50's fringe - I'm not sure if there is a proper name for them but the curled under short vibe ones - anyway, I couldn't help but give it a go and as you can see above my results were pretty good.

I definitely overdid the hairspray, there was no way it was going to fall out of place, however, it was a bit crunchy!

Below is my outfit for an 80's party I went to on Saturday night, see what you think, 50s hair at an 80s party is a bit of a decade clash I know but I was a bit proud of it!



Dress - Beyond Retro
Boots - New Look - you can't really see them here
Scarf - my Gran's - does that make it Vintage? I think so, she donated my sister and I a whole bag each a couple of years ago and they are simply DIVINE

Tin Can Telephone

My favourite new band in the world are the brilliant Tin Can Telephone, founding member Andy used to be in Stricken City for while, he's a friend of the band and helped out on bass until they found someone full time, before that he was in TigerForce.He recorded the whole set in his bedroom however live he takes a band with him.

The band are comprised of a lot of people from various places and the sound they make is glorious (they have a cowbell and flute as well as a fiddle), on some songs you think you can sum them up as an emo Vampire Weekend but then their sound goes totally lo fi and drum machines beat an even bigger smile on your brain.

Go see them live or buy Spak Attack and cheer yourself when you are having a dismal day, they're on facebook

Person of the day - Ellen Burney

I think its a girl thing, or maybe just a me thing, but occassionally I develop a massive interest in the lives of people I don't know, today it's Elle magazine's Ellen Burney. I blame hours pouring over Elle and blame last month's Courtney Love issue in particular in which Ellen wrote about personal stylists on the high street and getting an Alexa Chung 'do. I like the way she writes, its nu school Elle and fun, a girl who obviously enjoys edgy fashion and can be pretty catty / caustic. In this month's issue (Kate Winslet on the cover) she writes about savvy sale shopping.

Oh the girl also brought my attention to the Urban Outfitters leopard print specs and their Bass brogues, thanks!

Yep, I googled her and found this picture but Ellen, if you're reading this, don't worry I am not about to hunt you down. The above street style photo of Ellen shows her at work in a great PPQ coat and details her love for Margot Tennenbaum.

Dear Ellen, I like your style, keep on keeping on, I'm well jealous.


ps Elleuk is now on twitter, find them here

A brand new lust

So I might have been doing some online browsing this afternoon and stumbled across this Buddhist Punk Tu Tu Dress on asos.com, Daisy Lowe modelled it on the catwalk wearing the same bowler hat ensemble but it doesn't stop me wanting it a lot hmm £156 though.

Let's talk make up

I don't know about you but I am not very adventurous when it comes to applying my make up, its liquid eyeliner, red lippy and pink cheeks generally. However, I am definitely booking myself in for a make up lesson with the amazing artistes at Illamasqua after spending about three hours on the website!

You may have read about Illumasqua in the new edition of Vogue, here is the blurb from the website...they put it so much more eloquently than I ever could...

Illamasqua is the product of a heady mix of influences. Its roots stem from the dark and illicit 1920s club scene and combines a rich heritage in the manufacture of make-up for film and theatre. It also takes inspiration from members of the ‘alternative scenes’ for whom self-expression is paramount. Alternative cultures have always dared to be dramatic. They have an emotional attachment to making up. It’s an expression of their darker side, a release for their alter ego.

Illamasqua is for the bolder person hiding inside all of us. It is an act and an attitude. A symbol of tolerance. A celebration of idiosyncracies. A confident statement of self-ownership.

The art team is headed up by Alex Box, who was omnipresent on the Boombox scene, she also is responsible for the make up at Gareth Pugh's shows. The other two members are Anja Huwe and David Vanian (leadsinger of The Damned)

Now don't go thinking that this range is a contender for shelve space at your local Boots next to Rimmel, oh no. The make up has been developed by stage and screen make up artists alongside regular make up artists and intended to be intense and long lasting.

Their collections include

1920s Berlin


Fantasy


Noir


Romance


My personal favourite has to be 1920s Berlin I think. Noir is very Grace Jones don't you think? Plus the trench in the Romance piccy is hot

There are instructional make up videos on the website hosted by Alex Box, I started watching them and was transfixed, not stopping until I'd seen them ALL. The red lipstick video is my favourite, who would have thought to use an eyebrow brush on your cupid's bow? The lipstick is called Box and Alex's black tipped nails are to die for too.

The photo below if from the launch of Illamasqua, I just love the girl with the red lip's look.


I'm a bit obsessed aren't I? I should stop talking now, ok.

Currently Selfrdiges on Oxford Street are stocking the brand and offering one hour make up lessons for £20 (redeemable on products) or if you want a 30 minute transformation they are offering this pre night out for £10, which is also redeemable.

Going Cocosa

A good friend of mine introduced me to Cocosa, the new site featuring high fashion at sale prices. Only open to UK users at the moment, the idea behind the site is to give users exclusive access to designer sales. Last week the first sale kicked off featuring Mawi jewellery - remember the heart necklace I blogged about? That was up on the site for half price. On Monday at 8am they are opening the PPQ sale - hold me back!

I know the lovely Kingdom of Style ladies blogged about this recently and received comments from Secretsales, who actually launched this concept in 2007. Thing about this site (and I know nothing of the secret sales site) is that it has been put together by some of the Grazia team and other fashion lovers.

Here is my pic of the PPQ sale on Monday...see you there at 8am (but without the shoving, cannot wait!)

First up, Deline Frill Dress in black and white down from £95 to £38


A different variation on the Deline dress but in a smock version still in the black/white colour way down from £225 to £90


If you are feeling a bit more slinky bag yourself the Lea Vest in black down from £65 to £26. I think this would look brilliant with ripped jeans


...there is loads more stuff up there but I remember this next little beauty on the catwalk (wasnt Peaches in it??) I love this Zephyrine black and white cocktail dress

Other sales coming up include Pringle, Lacroix, Temperley...BRILLIANT

According to other comment posts on Kingdom of Style, Soup & Fish is similar but sells more edgy garments from the likes of Margiela, Bernhard Willhelm, Viktor and Rolf.

Is it weird

...To lust over tights? I totally have been all night, I cannot stop thinking about some gorgeous black merino wool Falke tights and how they will improve my life...sad I know. £18 for a pair of tights seems an awful lot too.

Tights please has some fab ranges in at the moment including tartan, woollen, lace and sheer, its free delivery too, I am oh so tempted!

The hosiery and leggings section of Asos is getting pretty stocked too!

Lou Doillon is IT

24 year old Lou Doillon is my current obsession, the French model and actress is the daughter of director Jacques Doillon and actress Jane Birkin, she's also the half sister of Charlotte Gainsbourg, so all in all pretty cool. Can you imagine Christmas in her house?

According to her wikipedia page she had tattoos and a tongue piercing at the age of 11 and a half, crikey.

What is most interesting to me as a fash fan is the fact that she is the face and muse of Givenchy and has recently become creative partner to Lee Cooper jeans for the next three years.



Her style is rock chick with a high fashion edge, think dark denim with lace tops, bowler hats with very expensive dresses, messy hair and a huge smile.



Lou has designed 16 pieces for Lee Cooper including high waisted jeans, t shirts and sweaters, citing her main influence as Oliver Twist.

Check out her Lee collection on the runway here:

Style stealer

I'm not one to copy people, in fact I used to get super irritated if someone bought something that I had worn before them when I was at school. Nowadays, I have mellowed quite a bit, its totally a form of flattery, this I understand.

Maybe I am just saying that because I'm setting myself up to become a style stealer myself...probably.

I'm addicted to blogs as you will know if you have read this more than once, none more so than Facehunter as I find street style the most intriguing. When the Facehunter trails around fashion weeks shooting those coming in or out of shows I cant refresh the page quick enough.

Imagine my delight when i stumbled across a photo of the lovely Susie Bubble the other day, all I could think was, 'I need those shoes'. Looking ace as always Susie has donned a pair of Office 'Come On Eileen' black and white patent numbers that you can buy for £40 and I want some.



A modern day version of the brothel creeper, which I love anyway, think This Is England mixed with the Kings of Leon and you're kind of there.



Eek sorry Susie but I'm totally going to rip your style

Must have

I cannot describe how much I love this Agent Provocateur 'Iona' bodysuit its £175 and has amazing 50's detail, please be mine!

Channeling Agy

Ooh that Asos blog is a curse, this studded duffle bag is totally on my wishlist, I think its the perfect compliment for the winter goth look and at £15 I think I might just purchase, you only live once (on beans on toast)

Grazia goes daily? Yep...

Us trusty bloggers thrive on continual fashion news, whether its the unveil of a shoe or the brand new collection from Topshop, it becomes addictive.

When Grazia comes into my office on a Tuesday I pop it straight into my bag and devour it on the bus home - of course I pop it back into the magazine rack for all to read the next day - either that or my boyfriend steals it - yep, he does that quite often.

So imagine my delight when I was sent a link to the very new and incredibly shiny GraziaDaily.co.uk !!!

The website follows the format of the magazine with Top Stories, fashion Must Haves - 'Five OClock Fix' is going to lead to the ultimate drainage of my already depleting bank account.

My favourite story today?

You heard the one about Terry De Havilland popping a 'springolator' in Amy Winehouse's shoes to keep them on her feet when she has...erm...been standing up for too long. Apparently its a bit of elastic stitched into the narrowest part of your shoe sole , oh let Terry tell you: ‘It's actually something that was pretty standard in the 50's, but somehow it died out. The elastic makes the mule snap back to your foot when you lift it to take a step.'

If you don't quite get what he's saying (me either) a spring-o-lator was designed by Beth Levine in 1952 in response to people walking too slowly in backless shoes, its a plastic insole, which, creates tension between the shoe and the bottom of the foot and stays on.

And then there is the one about Stefano Pilati slagging off everyine under the sun but in a veiled way, yeah not that veiled Stefano!

Oh and they've only got the bloody Gossip Girl trailer up...

Grazia Daily, welcome to my favourites

Tim Walker - my hero

"I am very childlike in my feelings about things, and the way I look at the world" (Tim Walker)

English Vogue did me proud this month by introducing me to a photographer that I had never heard of and yet has instantly become my favourite. Tim Walker is renowned for making his photos look like they have come straight out of a fairy tale and make you wish that when you went to the theatre the stage designers could re-create something this beautiful so for that short period of time you can be lost in your own paradise.

Tim currently has an exhibition at The Design Museum, which I hope to check out this weekend, here is an extract about Tim Walker straight from the press release:

London based photographer Tim Walker has established himself at the cutting
edge of fashion photography. His images capture a sublime moment in time,
evoking a sense of epic drama and beauty. Stunning sets and lavish locations
juxtapose the everyday with the absurd and the fabulous, to create captivating,
original photographs. Tim’s evocative images are full of textured nuance and
intriguing detail. His innovative photography is amongst the most imaginative and
exuberant being produced today.

According to Vogue, Tim lives in Shoreditch, I am quite tempted to find him (not in a scary way) as his flat looks beautiful





Vogue say 'His is an Englishness of "bus stops, Exeter St Davids, Victoria Wood as the lard covered Channel-crossing swimmer, a friend who refers to him as 'Poppet', Little Chef roadside restaurants, kindness, Marmite and Mandy Rice Davies"

And for that, I love him even more.