Style Bubble

Pale Warmth

It struck me when I was looking at those crunchy old photos of me that my mother back in the day broke the rule that she imposed on me in my teens when buying warm clothing "Don't buy things in white/cream - you'll only get it dirty!" - by wearing her very white and fluffy ski jacket.  There's something in the brain I'm sure that makes people turn to darker colours in colder climates.  Today was the first day that I felt a proper London city CHILL, yet I opted for something that didn't look all that practical at all... Pringle cashmere jumper, Tao peach wooly shorts, vintage tie dye tee, nude over the knee crochet socks over grey tights and Forever 21 heeled brogues, Topshop pale satin swing jacket, vintage knitted white shawl and a cream wooly beanie.  It's as if pale colours in the cold might attract grime, city fumes and god knows what else because it felt like I was the only one dressed in this pastel palette that is best shunted to warmer weather... and the mothership's words were ringing in my head as I headed home huddled up in peaches and cream...

Turn it Insiders Out

I don't give New Zealand enough lovin' and for that I apologise so as it is a rare occasion (I will try and make it less of a rarity...) I'll go for a NZ oldie.... I'm sure all Kiwians know a fair bit about Nom*D.  They did make it over to LFW in 1999 and were supposed to show their S/S 08-9 collection in London back in September.  It didn't happen but for a collection that is based on minute details and turning things inside out, I doubt a catwalk show would have done it justice anyway.

This "Insiders" collection turns to menswear as an inspiration but not in the usual way.... vintage men's scarves get turned into a print on a dress.  Tuxedos and waistcoats are softened up as opposed to being replicated; they're cropped and shorn and their zips are placed proudly on the outside.  Reversely, women's petticoats are toughened up with tie dye and chopped up to make components of a dress.  Inspiration aside, the entire collection is ripe for layering over and over again which of course pleases me to know end and being an Antipodean S/S 08-9 collection, it's actually available for sale on General Cucumber right now.  I see zips in all the right places, loose enough silhouettes for layering away and prints that are subdued enough to be mixed together.  I promise I will do more NZ investigation...      

Cut Hair some Slack

Hair as a material on this blog has never gotten a good reaction...."Ewww...that creeps me out!!!!!!" is the usual one and rightly so as it's the provenance of the hair that gets to people....where does it come from and what the bloody hell is it doing on a garment?  I'm 100% sure now there is no grave digging involved and in the same way that real hair wigs exist, human hair in clothing is totally legit and seeing as I'm intrigued by it as a  material I'll continue to cut the hair some slack.

Slack being the operative word here as the pieces below and the jacket that Roisin Murphy was wearing at the Luella show in September (I totally forgot to mention that I'd like to dive into Ms. Murphy's 'borrowed/stage' wardrobe in my FAQ...) are by LCF-grad Gemma Slack, from her debut S/S 09 collection.  It's no surprise that Gemma did a two year stint with Gareth Pugh, the other hair-user, but there's a feminine sensibility to Slack's pieces that make the hair almost undetectable.  Rather than shouting out "Hey its human hair over here!", it is used rather stealthly...in some of the lookbook pictures, I can't even tell where real hair ends and hair on garment starts.  There's also the tailoring that adds an air of refinement to pieces that are underlying with something darker.  I'm looking forward to seeing what other kinds of hair-raising techniques Slack uses for next season (sorry...couldn't resist it...)