A moment with Tony

I wrote a short post earlier today on my Fashion and Film blog on Tony Curtis and in doing so I had much fun looking at old episodes of The Persuaders in which he starred. I love the early 70s fashion for men.

Surprise designer focus

Surprise being the key word given my level of cynicism of celebs from whatever background turned designer. Granted I bought a silver maxi skirt from Kate Moss's first ever Topshop venture all those years ago. It was my one and only purchase and a very good one at that. However, I like to think that is more my discerning nature...

Which brings me on first to Victoria Beckham, (this post isn't about her) I'm a sucker for some reason I love her lines and I really like her. In that time honoured expression 'I really get her'. We couldn't be more un- alike. Moi, blonde and curvy - her, brunette and well thin as a thin thing. Which all in all is a big build up to me enthusing about Winter Kate.

If I was to say I was determined to 'hate' (petit garcon uses this word a lot of late as in 'Mummy I hate you' when I refuse him Jammy Dodgers for breakfast) the Winter Kate line designed by Nicole Richie along with her House of Harlow stuff, I'm sure I'd be in a bracket with a lot of other people.

Yet, it is 'ruddy' good as we Brits say. I like the understated flamboyance of both lines. There is a 30s/70s vibe (cliché I know) which comes through and I'm never sure if it is a hang over from the Rachel Zoe days or it is truly her own style and input. I'm going with the latter although acknowledging the former imparted 'knowledge'.

My favourite is the Dixie Tunic which flies against the force of minimalism but would turn heads without much effort. The sleeves billow out and you do need proper shoulders to carry this item otherwise the fit isn't great. All the items have lovely patterns and cuts which honestly amazes me. It all the things you would have hoped the Kate Moss collections at Topshop promised to be or would have been.

Ditsy Tunic £167 my-wardrobe

Winter Kate is also available on the 3rd floor at Selfridges, London.

Prada - I cried!

Never before have I wept tears of disappointment when it comes to a fashion show. Now I have. Every year since well as far back as I can remember I've looked forward to a Prada show. There's been some highs and some lows but on the whole when Muiccia talks I'm usually listening.

I know the show is a spectacle and well yes being bold is interesting but oh please what was that. It is so not great even Style.com haven't listed it in their previously in Milan category. It is hidden in the All Shows bit. Prada is usually top 5 billing.

It wasn't just the clothes, but the shoes and the bags. I felt cheated. I will wait to see the show to store translation but so far I'm out.

I've picked three item I would wear and of which the first two I could knock up in a jiffy!

images: style.com

I might be being harsh or 'not getting it' but I have relied on Muiccia for her eye for print and detail and this sort of makes me feel a bit cheated. I will digest with the help of Andrews Liver Salts...

Something I threw on...

... for a great price! As the days draw in I thought I'd expand on that first school run post when I introduced you to easy pieces to put on to prevent the velour joggings taking over.

You've got the leggings, the nice cosy boyfriend cardigan, the flats boots or Hunters wellies and all you need to add is a dress.


And this plum puff sleeve tunic dress with pockets for your tissues to collect in fits the bill. Better still this nifty number is a mere £9.87 from my987wardrobe.com The dress is a polyester/viscose mix which guarantees an easy wash and if you hang it up straight after it emerges from the washing machine you'll probably get away without ironing. What more can you ask. Anon in Borth if this doesn't make you happy....

Whilst the mice are away...

...Well not strictly mice but Mr MDS. He's hot footed it off to Wales for the Ryder cup and in honour of his disappearance I'm posting a street style photo I made him do! It is taken by the wonderful Fashionistable - who is currently snapping only the best! Poor Mr MDS he only nipped out of the office at lunchtime to say hello.

It is part of a style project for a forthcoming 'thing' and lets just say instead of the fash pack being snapped the everyday workers are getting a bit of centre stage by adding a little twist to their outfits.

Maxi,Midi,Mini - all that glitters is gold

If you want the prefect party shoe then step away from the crowd and go for gold. Whilst all around my be losing their heads to leopard skin, gold is where it is at. Don't forget the new shoes this season are feet friendly so no need to restrict yourself to taxi to table numbers.

Hit the high note with Marc Jacobs exclusive Isolde glitter courts at from Selfridges online £355. Just make sure you leave before midnight in case of pumpkin issues.

Flat feet forward for a bar hopping evening with these beautiful bow fronted gold flats from Kurt Geiger £140


For the Marlene Dietrich in you just add a tux with these New Look leather lace up brogues £34.99

High Street Pick of the Week

Sometimes a gal has just got to get new lippy.

Forget clothes this weekend go and enjoy picking out a new colour. I get very influenced by names and I found a NARS one called Roman Holiday, a delicate pastel pink. Often a new lipstick is all you need to revive a favourite item or add some colour.

.

Sponsorship

I've slipped in a little home made sponsorship option in to this blog. I don't want to advertise but a salutatory story made me realise 'opportunity knocks' could be the new buzz word. When a not one but two friends told me they'd been made redundant a shiver went down my spine. I don't want to be alarmist so I won't say which sector.

Whilst I've maintained my editorial independence and always will do I took the sage advice of try to make money on the chin. I feel that if I can earn something by my writing and be sponsored then this is not 'selling out' it is an opportunity to help the household income for now.

For now, we are facing hard times. Not because there should be but massive cuts are coming in the public sector which will have devastating effects on the economy for a few years. With my sensible head on my brain overrules my heart. My heart longs to stay pure. And I think I will in my writing and content.

I might not get one sponsor/advertiser - to be clear I will charge a monthly fee to 'buy some space' - I'm hoping for such things as the V&A and fashion exhibitions but you never know I might have to settle for BHS!

Do let me know your views after all I like discourse and opinions. Am I foolish to think companies will sponsor me to reach out to you? Is it silly to think about financial gain rather than the purity of staying true to the spirit of blogging? Am I a *@$%%*& (fill in the blanks) Will any form of advertising *"%@ you off? Will I be taking a tumble........

image: Associated Press

Simples

Everyone is following fast on the Phoebe Philo factor. Now ASOS never scared to bandwagon anything, thank goodness, are hot on her heels. Literally, or should that be figuratively, they are tugging at her leather skirt with ASOS WHITE.

A line dedicated to the shrine of minimalism (for minimalism read Philo) and a nod to every favourite fashion editors trend. Don't say what, say get me x, y and z in the bag now!

ASOS WHITE Silk Organza High Collar Blouse £60

Celebrity attendees at Elizabeth Emanuel

I love a celeb spot. And Elizabeth Emanuel didn't disappoint. It was pure C to Z list heaven, my favourite combination. A listers are obviously Hollywood stars with designers, models and major music peeps being B list. Is grading celebs wrong? Do you do it too!

Sinitta with her bloke, who was very protective. Sinitta wore Elizabeth Emanuel recently to the television awards and is a big fan of her work. She loved the array of dresses and expect to see her in one soon. Sinitta was very appreciative of Sonique's wonderful performance of Moon River

Karen Millen (yes the real one) talking to Nancy Dell'Olio (she was with her new man who is better looking than Sven!)

Colin Jackson (what is with my athletics theme to LFW, note to self get to gym maybe!) wearing a wonderful midnight blue velvet jacket

The gorgeous and wonderful Sonique. Her singing was fab and she was a great addition to the show

The art of booty

Princess Diana in the 1981 Elizabeth Emanuel Black Taffeta dress causing a fashion stir by wearing black on her first official engagement with Prince Charles when she was still Lady Diana Spencer

I've never been a show girl in any sense of the word, boudoir, courtesan, stage or fashion shows. I put my hands up and say I gave my tickets away. However I did attend the Triumph awards at the start of LFW, I love underwear and it was a great night out. And I made a big effort to go to The Art of Being, Elizabeth Emanuel's comeback fashion show last night. It is 10 years since she last staged a catwalk show and I couldn't resist for a number of reasons, which were a random collection, Princess Diana , Little Black Dresses and Rebekah Roy of Stylist Stuff. Plus when I hesitated about nipping out doors of an eve Mr MDS pointed out I would be a golf widow next week as he is decamping to Wales for the Ryder Cup.

Well I was out of that door. So quick I committed the cardinal sin of being early! How unfashionable is that. I was 10 minutes early for the 7pm reception and canapés, which meant the doors wouldn't open for another 15 to 20 minutes, since when has anything been on time or early. As I'd arrived via tube and my own feet I sauntered off and decamped to a nice building where I stood on the steps and hidden by pillars to attempt to tweet. Guess what I don't know my twitter password. That is what happens when you computer takes over your life and remembers everything for you.

The moral of the story, don't be early and even when one stands in splendid buildings in Belgravia you new BF might be someone who picks up cigarette ends and has the paramedics trying to help. It was very sad as she must have wandered off from a hospital as her hand had a drip thing in it and she was so thin. Even though I'd made the effort to dress up I was being ignored and upstaged by an aviator-esque jacket so I did the British thing and joined the now forming queue for the show.

I will of course post proper images of the lovely dresses from the show. However, my wonderful original Anya Hindmarch clutch is super slim and only had enough room for blackberry, oystercard and invite plus my Tiffany little blue book. I met the lovely Kimberly Lyn from Toronto completely by chance. How happy was I to be able to talk Toronto and Mississauga and ice hockey! We were the only bloggers there (I think) but neither of us had been invited as bloggers.

We both enjoyed the dresses which were wonderfully constructed and looked a million dollars. I love well constructed clothes because regardless of how they are presented they will look good (in fact Fashion's Most Wanted has wonderful pics of the Giles show - another great example of excellent cut and consturction).

The feast of black dress after black dress was a delight. I could never tire of black dresses and Elizabeth had taken inspiration from Breakfast in Tiffany's which isn't original but she had captured the idea of decadence and modernity of the LBD for today. Not only that but Sonique was singing the catwalk music and came out and did a performance of Moon River. It was amazing.

Rebekah Roy (right) with her assistant after the show. Rebekah did a wonderful job of the styling

The team behind the hair, makeup and last minute seamstressing!

The after show party drinks which I stepped away from as I'd had 2 glasses of champagne.

I slipped off into the night with my really nice goody bag with 2 additional items. One was a t-shirt from the show kindly given to me by Elizabeth Emanuel's partner ( I was too polite to ask whether business or romantic) and the other I'm ashamed to say fell into my goody bag, no it did really I have two witnesses as I dropped it in shock. I photographed my LFW haul when I got home. In these hard times there is no point at sniffing at what you get!

Very nice and amazingly comfy pants from Triumph, I'm a convert. The material is fabulous and the fit a dream. I got these last Thursday.

Ahem. This was in the washroom in Belgravia at Il Bottaccio the venue for Elizabeth Emanuel. I was one of 3 people who expressed amazement and amusement. To quote by a.n other person 'why even in Shoreditch we have Molton Brown'

How nice to find Liz Earle in your bag. Elizabeth Emanuel went all out with natural and sustainable products

Candle, body scrub and body moisturiser

The t-shirt, very kindly given to me -made of sustainable bamboo viscose and organic cotton - feels lovely

Next week it will all be back to normal once I've caught up on myself.

Behold the new skirt option

By rights I should save this for a high st pick of the week, but my world is still spinning. And I'm fixated by this skirt shape. I got to do a great little project today with the truly wonderful Fashionistable. It's not top secret but it isn't mine to bandy about. I'll provide more info when it comes to fruition. Anyway...in the midst of being busy I noticed more and more of the flippy just on or below the knee skirts that swish when you walk.

I spied this one in Mango when selecting items for a style and fashion event. It is a poor man's Louis Vuitton for the swishy hip factor but it is a great number for the riding out the UK autumn and winter in style.

Mango skirt £59.90

You could go either way with this skirt, all out aviator jacket and shearing boots or a cute jacket and courts a la (no yawning now) Mad Men.

A Triumphal affair

Lets face it my blogging is all to pot. I'm still on last week. I'm not sure this styling work is conducive with my blogging. Not only am I off routine (apologise no Maxi, Midi, Mini today as no research been possible), I'm becoming unsociable due to exhaustion (sorry Sharon Rose, working and doing school runs/stuff is making me a lover of sleep).

Thankfully my all work and all mummy duties were interrupted by the Triumph Inspiration Awards 2010. Billed as kicking off London Fashion Week, the challenge around the globe for designers was based on the brief Shape Sensations. Judging the event were Matthew Williamson, Rankin and Helena Christensen. Karen Mok, Hillary Riva (British Fashion Council Development Committee) and Suzanne McKenna (Triumph Head of Global Brand Management).

I was pleased to bump into Nicky Hambleton-Jones, who is a friend and a great person to work with. Designers Felder and Felder were as lovely as ever but I feel dreadful I didn't take a photo of their mum who is uber lovely and very glam. She was also wearing a shearling flight jacket and looked very cool. Linford Christie became my NBF - he was charming, funny and had a powerful shove when trying to get your attention. He and Alexandra Burke made me take photos of them together on each of their blackberry phones. I then attempted to take yet another rubbish photo on my camera. Yes the lighting in the Old Sorting Office was very dark but seriously I need a new phone (on its way, I'm on an iphone 4 wait list) and a decent camera (hello anyone out there?!)

Enough of my 5 minutes of fun and down to the show. It was a mixed bag of fab designs, slightly blah and some bonkers numbers. But that is the great thing about design, it is subjective and there is something for everyone. My favourite, a sparkly number by a Norwegian designer didn't win - the designer Annette Bowman decided to use bits of vinyl and tape to create her shape sensation number. The second placed Spanish designer Amaya Carcamo created a wonderful body using wood, it was polished to perfection. The Triumph Inspiration Award site has lots of lovely images and videos of the evening. I'm actually on one of them thanks to my front row status! Mr MDS laughed at my faux fur caplet saying I was the only person with a shawl on. Nothing like your bloke to ruin your only moment.

Busy back stage preparing the show

Nicky Hambleton-Jones, Linford Christie and his friend who's name I've forgotten but she was super nice and fun

Nicky and a bit of Felder & Felder

The item I wanted - I thought it would be a perfect look for the beach

The board

You see my camera and photography skills need help!

You threw something on!

There have been lots of fabulous comments regarding the 'Something I Threw On' from your suggestion. With a simple suggestion inspiring many an effort. To date two photos have been submitted and both Cristina from ShoeTease and Margaret from Penny Dreadful Vintage.





Cristina is wearing her oh-too-tight, black silk-satin Marciano dress with a Jacob lace top that until now has always been reluctant to don. She also thought her pearls and JLo platforms were a but much for daily wear, so she threw those on too!

Margaret grabbed a 50s floral dress that she never seems to find the right occasion to wear and added a chunky Aran sweater with a tooled leather belt and gorgeous green canvas courts. In lieu of not owning any fashion editor ankle socks, Margaret raided her Scottish boyfirends formal wear so added some fabulous knee high woollen kilt socks.

I love that both looks have been interpreted with individual flair and not a single penny/cent was spent in the process...

High Street Pick of the Week

If the MDS purse strings were full then I'd be nipping off to French Connection for this wonderful faux fur number. It says Hollywood heyday and decadence. I know some one will wear it in a 'rad' way but I say go all out diamanté and luxurious floor length dress. Plonk yourself at a ritzy bar and sip a Martini or two.

Fancy Fur Coat French Connection £250

Edited edtied version

Love Marc Jacobs show from NY Fashion Week - have to say obviously inspired by Edith Head's costumes for Dorothy Lamour in the 1930s. He never minds a bit of cultural capital...will explain anon. The only reason seen pics is I was sent them!


Am really busy so hardly a moment to post, comment or anything. I'm brushing my teeth running out the door...bye xx

Biba co-incident

The new range of Biba clothes is a House of Fraser exclusive with Daisy Lowe as the face of the relaunched brand. Completely by co-incident I've been asked to photograph a small collection of Biba clothes for archiving. I'm not taking the photos but creating a setting for it all. I've currently got one of the dresses hanging on my bedroom door for inspiration - it hasn't come yet although a preview of Vintage-a-Peel's Autumn collection has me chasing some gold platforms so maybe my eureka moment will come soon.

Something I threw on...

...from my wardrobe!

This week you have a challenge. It is no good me being a bright spark when it comes to Wednesday's and handing it to you on a plate. So far the bush telegraph had told me someone went and shopped the whole school run look and another got her interview look together for that day and landed a wonderful contract with a great day rate. All good stuff but... none of us can escape the fact hard times are likely to get harder. You should attempt to squirrel away as much as possible - she says with a growing wish list in her head!

So, in a real make do push I challenge you to grab a dress out of the wardrobe you keep saving for best. I don't care if it has sequins or marabou on it - pull it out. Put it on and then go through your knitwear and try cardigans and jumpers on top of it. Select the one you like the best and then add a ribbon around your waist or a skinny belt. I don't care what colour it is nor should you.

Then all you have to do is add knee high boots or some courts or flat pumps. Try not to wear tights. Either go bare legged or be adventurous and wear some fashion editor ankle socks.

Et voila. You've been creative and experimented. Plus you've saved money even if it is only in your head. Never underestimate what is in your wardrobe or what you can do.

Now al you have to do it take a photograph and email me your best efforts if you are brave enough.

Think Pink and Red

Colour causes a lot of contention when it comes to putting together or pulling off looks. During my work and particularly when I'm teaching fashion and styling I get asked about what colours can people wear and what colours are wrong. I'm afraid I disappoint as I invariable say anything goes. Having broken down the walls of colour rules (this sentence made me think of one of my favourite Northern Soul song by the Bandwagon Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache!) I have to build back up their confidence and introduce the world of colour.



The world of colour has no rules. If you look all around you at nature, light, buildings, art and watch films these are some example how you can imagine colour interacting or clashing.

A current trend explosion is my all time favourite red and pink. My hallway is a homage to this combination. I have the Andy Warhol Sunflower series in his pink and red version hanging up and my flowers are usually a pink and red combo.







Never say never, always have fun with clothes and combine whatever you want and this made me think of The Psychadelic Furs and Love my Way with those classic lines 'love my way, it's a new road, I follow where my mind goes'. Embrace the pink and red.