Fasting, strife and colour

Never did I think that fasting would be a fashion statement. Okay actually technically it is more of a bank statement. My bank statement needs to be back in black. Black must be the new bank statement. Red, which is my favourite colour, is so last year. Red got me in the red. It was worth it though, but now I'm on a fashion fast. When I say fashion fast I really mean not buying any items.

Like food, if you have too much of fashion you get greedy, full or sick. I have to confess to being very full bordering on sick. Not that this means I'm berating the fashion industry. Equally I couldn't bear it if fashion and trends didn't keep happening. How could one be for something or against, into it or not. I love the polarisation of views, it is so subjective and therefore individual.
My fashion sickness is born of artistic turmoil. It is the moment when you go all caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly. Unlike real caterpillars, my process is a bit longer and more drawn out. I think I'm on a 5 year cycle! It sort of started in 2007 but didn't really get going until 2008 and now I'm in the part where I really crack it, so I'm hoping that in 2011 or 12 I will emerge butterfly like into a new era of personal style, have regained a better rapport with fashion and pushed a few boundaries.

Yesterday I visited the Van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy. Petit Garcon and I traipsed the cold streets of London to meet Papa MDS who is a friend of the Academy and therefore can get me in for free. It was packed. However the exhibition is a journey in one person's artistic endeavours, evidenced by letters, drawings and paintings. One of Van Gogh's most memorable paintings stem from his time at a mental hospital in France, a popular tree. His twists and turns on his painting style are no different to the twist and turns of a fashion designer. He became influenced by many things and his progression from Religious influenced work, to solitary studies of figures, the impact of the Impressionist movement and Japanese art to a dedication to painting of Nature is explained and exhibited clearly.It gives me hope even though his demons got him in the end, (I have none, other than a fear of consigning myself to domesticity, Mumsnet and Johnnie Boden) that artistic endeavour is always for a reason even if it is never recognised or successful. And the tortured soul element is better understood when you see the effort and endeavour put in by Van Gogh to his painting. Before the exhibition I took his work for granted, in the same way I took Alexander McQueen designs for granted.

His subdued and stylish show for a few in Paris yesterday showed a heartfelt artistic understanding. If you get the time go to the Tate Britain or National Gallery to view Medieval portraiture and the referencing of McQueen is there to see in this his last collection. Like Van Gogh he could research, interpret and produce. I love that yellow makes a strong appearance - it is the colour of hope and joy.

image:Style.com

The stillness of COS

Yesterday I met Pater MD&M for a peek at the Vilhelm Hammershoi exhibition at the Royal Academy. I had to drop samples back and so combined this with a free entry to the exhibit of paintings by this Danish artist. Pater is a member of the RA so I piggy back on any offer of a free coffee and a browse. It is a beautiful retrospective small exhibition of his work summarised by this copy:-

'Hammershøi's most compelling works are his quiet, haunting interiors, their emptiness disturbed only occasionally by the presence of a solitary, graceful figure, often the artist's wife. Painted within a small tonal range of implied greys, these sparsely-furnished rooms exude an almost hypnotic quietude and sense of melancholic introspection.'

Actually this could equally apply to COS. I find myself coming over all introspective and silent when entering the Regent Street shop. I'm slowly coming to the conclusion I should do all my shopping here, as it is blissfully interesting and produces such brilliant items. Whilst all around are screaming plaid and losing their heads to bling, COS presents a minimalist haven of structure, quirks and graceful pieces that you wear not wear you.

Plus I love a shop that has a petticoat, in COS's case a dark green sultry number.