Tuesday 31 July 2012

The Daily Perv





I have decided a couple of new "feature addition thingys" on the blog, and my first foray into this (my attempt at making the ol' blog a bit more fluid) is THE DAILY PERV. This is my way of living out my utmost fashion fantasies/fetishes/lusts (delete as appropriate) and I have decided to kick off the perving with a Nicholas Kirkwood shoe...

I am a huge fan of the Kirkwood's work as a cobbler and general foot dresser and these bad lads are no exception! You can make them yours for £625 and they are available at my favourite fashion perv porn site Net-a-Porter. Those of you who may have not clicked for shoe kicks will find a delectable array of Monsieur Kirkwood's shoe delight, but these caught my eye. I like the round toe, the clumpy elevated platform (A Kirkwood speciality), and the stiff ruffles wiggling around at the back... Need I go on?! Now I just need some generous fellow yo buy them for me! Happy perving....

Saturday 28 July 2012

In Jacobs we Trust






 I stumbled across Rachel whilst I was waiting for a friend outside the lovely Chester Railway station... I quickly noticed the abundance of Marcy Marc Jacobs she was layered in and her bouncy blond curls only added to the aesthetic. Plus I'm a sucker for platinum/roots and Rachel rocked it. I think it's because the right amount of riot gives a look a little edge and I love it when a girl doesn't look too primped and polished (the Carrie Bradshaw, roots thingy will also have a spesh place in my little heart too) and this only added to the cool thing she had going on. Oh and the graphic floral trousers! Be still my beating heart!

 After a little chit chat (mostly me being a nosy right one) I discovered she had just flown in from a trip to Sin City... Where the tax is low and the Jacobs is in abundance baby! She admitted her purchases were her only clean garms hence the lashings of it. Well thank god for laundry day! It resulted in a rather smashing outfit...

Here is to Marcy Marc and the pound to dollar exchange rate! What a treat of an ensemble...

Thursday 19 July 2012

Adoration. Adulation. Awe.





The title says it all. I was so excited about capturing this lady that I completely forgot to ask her name. Every aspect of this ensemble is wonderful, marvellous and magical. The necklace, the Céline Nano tote , the sunglasses, the parka, the hair , the lipstick. Oh, the general loveliness of it all. I adore the hi-fi/lo-fi of the Céline tote and the louche effect of the parka. Perfect. Wonderful. I wish you could meet her... She was aloof, beautiful and chic peppered with a fabulous attitude. I think I secretly fell in love.

Friday 13 July 2012

Stripe/Floral/Stripe/Floral....

Preen 
Resort 2013



Balmain 
Resort 2013



3.1 Philip Lim
Resort 2013




I have been lusting incessantly over the Resort 13 collections recently (oh and Men's, Couture and whatever else I can get my grubby mitts on...) and I have noticed a little micro trend peeking through a few collections...

There seems or be a kinky old fetish for layering stripes and florals... Or giant, luscious bursts of botanical wonderment carling out from stripes. Whether they be vertical or horizontal them damn roses want a piece of the pie. And my oh my it's a tasty pie.... Preen layering bold photographic like flowers over bold, heavy horizontal stripes which was a graphic move from their darker, more pixelated autumn/winter offerings... This is their third season in a row delving into the world of horticulture and it's various guises and I have loved every single incarnation. Spring/summer 12 was all oversized, pixelated graphic cubes teamed with florals and other myriad of prints and colours and with each collection their use of floral has only progressed.

Balmain and Philip Lim opted for a softer approach the graphic/bouquet look and kept their colour palettes soft and pastel based, and their florals had a watercolours feel to them, despite this they still made an impact layered with stripes, and giving off a crazy updated Baroque/Gianni Versace scarf print circa 1989 hybrid mood thingy... I loved it! Especially since this collection was so soft and gently, almost like a fashion whisper for Lim... Compared to the upcoming pop art/superhero offering for Pre Fall 12 that Lim was rocking. As for Balmain I was simply shocked.... It seems that the Pierre Balmain girl has grown up and opted for a more polished minimal(ish well Balmain minimal) approach... There was still denim, it was just structured and not peppered with studs, rips and shoulder pads.

All hail the stripe/floral bastard child hybrid thingy that Resort has going on, it's a match made in man repelling. I for one will be freaking the boy out with this...

All images courtesy of Style.com



Sunday 8 July 2012

Givenchy me more!!








For many a year Couture week has always been one of my most anticipated fashion weeks... I heart it! The drama, craftsmanship, the older houses steeped in history... And the fact that some couturiers specialise in this art form and don't produce ready to wear collections. Sadly the Fall 2012 couture week didn't really light my fire as much...sadly for me only a few collections really got my little fashion heart racing...

As always Givenchy, designed by the magical couture marvel that is Riccardo Tisci was one of my pervert favourites, making my fashion loins burn with dirty aesthetic desire. As regulars will know I loved Dior so much I think I secretly wet myself... But Riccardo didn't disappoint. Not an iota. During his tenure at one of Paris' most highly revered couturiers Tisci has embraced to full effect the ateliers and materials at his full disposal. One can't deny that his collections at Givenchy never fail to disappoint or amaze. Fashion editors, society girls famous folk and general fashion perverts alike have been dripping in Givenchy for years, pledging their fashion allegiance to Riccardo and his unwavering talent and flair for capturing what girls and boys want to drape themselves in season after season... He has dressed Kanye and Jay Z's Watch the Throne tour! Not many fashion folk can own that accolade... Oh and there is THAT Superbowl performance too... Riccardo is a pretty big deal one might say.

Sadly austerity and the current first world recession the economy has succumbed to was prevalent in many of this seasons couture collections. Looks have become commercial and (I stifle a sob here) WEARABLE!!! For me haute couture has always been about the ateliers and houses showing the very best that they have to offer (see the Valentino docu-film The Last Emperor for visual, bona fide fashion porn proof) and the eye watering prices reflected this. The fact it takes days or weeks to produce each garment is proof enough that the collections warrant their price tag, especially that you get up to 30% discount for being able to fit the samples, or not require any changes to the items... Many items when delivered to buyers don't resemble the catwalk looks at all, as you would expect if you are shelling out over 100,000 Euros for a gown you can expect to make changes and alterations to make it right for you and your needs. It saddens me that the recession has resulted in designers having to adapt and change their innermost creative collection. The one collection that should be able to shrug off these testing times. However it was bound to happen, even the super rich have to be careful. I guess if you want to buy a dress that costs the same as a fancy apartment you want to get your wear from it.

For me Givenchy was one of the few highlights, one of the houses unwilling to buckle under pressure. Flicking two fingers at the failing Euro, and giving the wives of the worlds billionaires exactly what couture means... Total and utter fantasy. Collections to completely lose yourself in and that take your imagination to another land... And for that I say GIVENCHY ME MORE!!!!!


Monday 2 July 2012

Back to black...







Meet Emily, she works at Cos. I see her around all the time and I bloody love her outfits all the time. I think she epitomises the Cos aesthetic perfectly, she is almost more swedish cool than an Ikea bookcase. I love her minimal, edgy thing that she always has going on... Her outfits are never over the top, or clashing, or overly eclectic. Just plain and simple cool, the kind that I never can quite put into words. I love girls who dress like Emily, because they are so far removed from my look. I love the layers, the oversized silhouette and the accessories... The pleats and the peter pan collar, as well as the collarless coat add to it all beautifully too...
I love how dainty and simple the accessories are... Oh and her little tattoo. Her pared back grooming and poker straight locks only add to the whole look. Anything more and it would be all wrong. I love it when people wear all one colour, or black I like the simplicity and the no-fuss approach to it. It reminds me of cool swedish girls, and off duty models... the way that they always look so undone and thrown together, but very very cool all at the same time. As you can see I gotta lotta love for her look. Enjoy.

It's getting haute in here

Dior Haute Couture Fall 2013












This post is a big old "oooh stick you, your mama too... and your daddy!" to all the haters, doubters and sceptics that questioned whether Raf could do it! Because he did, with little shiny Dior encrusted bells on. I have been most excited and intrigued that Raf Simons was starting off his tenure at Dior with a couture collection, rather than ready-to-wear. Never mind being thrown in at the deep end, they were tossing him into an ocean... he swam! Like an Olympian (sorry can't name any, I am crap with sports)
I never doubted for a second that I wouldn't fall for this collection, I heart Raf and anything he has put his minimal, detailed aesthetic too. 

I simply LOVE LOVE LOVE this collection... Now I am the first to admit I was unsure of where the direction of Dior would go after Galliano's untimely dismissal as he was at the top of his couture game and under him Dior thrived. However, after Raf's shock departure from Jil Sander last season, and after two seasons and many questions and name flinging, when it was announced that Raf would take over the helm at one of the most iconic and original houses in Paris I was delighted. Mainly because I knew that whatever he did would be sofar removed from what Galliano had been doing that I have been wetting my pants (metaphorically, I don't have incontinence dears) with anticipation.

Folk keep whinging on at me about "commercial couture" and all that crap, but if any fashion pervert worth their salt knows anything about the history of Dior, and the namesake himsalf they would know that this collection was so Dior it was basically reeking of Miss Dior, slathered in Addict lippie and swinging so many Lady Dior bags it was virtually quilted. It was just marvellous... I loved the gently corseted dresses, the trousers!!! I never thought I'd see minimal tailoring of the sorts at couture, but it worked so well, especially with the peplum detail corseted tops. I think the intricate beadwork and detail and embroidery showed off the talents of the white coated artisans perfectly... without being too much or over the top. I loved the colour palette, and the fact that everything was so simple. The way that it was all about the form, the silhouette, the craftsmanship... I liked that there was clearly no theme, or anything like that... Just pure, unadulterated forties inspired couture filth. The metal belts, the bursts of colour, the tulle that was as soft and light as clouds or candyfloss. It was just exactly what Dior needed...

Sadly at times it does feel like couture can look commercial, but when customers are paying upwards of 30,000 euros for dresses, more than 1,000 euros for blouses, I imagine you would want a little something that can be worn more than a handful of times... You want more BANG for your buck! I am such a flgrant exhibitionist and non-beleievr of "saving for best" that I would happily drag out couture just for popping out for milk, or meeting the girls for lunch. If I'm spending the equivalent of the price of a car on a dress I will wear it clean the bathroom if I feel like it. The fact that some houses have to pimp out their names onto cosmetics, fragrances, sports wear and accessories to bring in pennies for this dying art form means that they are producing collections that will generate more revenue, not having to rely so heavily on ready-to-wear to foot the bill, I do love the whimsical, dreamy, fantasy fuelled collections, but I for one am a realist and sadly know how little profit some big names make... you only have to note that some of the biggest players rely on huge investments, or take overs by companies such as PPR and LVMH. So for the dreamer in us all, long live couture! Wearable or not...


Now I just need to find me a Texan oil tycoon, or a horrfically huge Russian trust fund and I can get me a little Raf designed couture...

all images courtesy of style.com