SunnyD and eyeballs

If you can't already tell from the pictures above, I'm a little obsessed with orange at the moment. I'm in the habit of buying items coloured as if they should be seen in a SunnyD advert back in '93 which has ultimately made me want to experiment with print and colour more, as well as making me feel rather sunny wearing it! I've gathered some of my most recent tangy purchases for this post above; a bunch of train tickets from trips with friends, a pair of elasticated mid-calf socks from Cos, orange pens from Muji for brighter note taking, the Amsterdam city guide from the travel savvy people of Wallpaper*, and most recently, a cropped shirt from the Dr.Martens x Agyness Deyn collection.

I kind of surprised myself actually when I bought this shirt as I've been quite 'safe' with colour and print etc. Spotting this in the Dr.Martens store, the tangerine and eyeball combination reminded me of something worn in The Fifth Element yet I felt like a cool kid from the 90s buying it surrounded by their miles and miles of patent stompers. The collaboration has been going for a successful 2 years now, with their spring/summer 2013 collection inspired by the Harajuku girls of Tokyo. The collection is a mash up of different trends from the subculture but notably post 80s early 90s punk rock. You can find their current collection here!
(The background for the images is taken from issue 2 of Sheet, the in-house fanzine for Urban Outfitters Europe, by Joe Peter Brown, a Sales Associate and their store in Bath. You can find him and his awesomely ingenious graphics here at joepeterbrown.tumblr.com)

Habits

I feel like every season we are sucked into a whirl pool of toile and new trends that we can often forget the little quirks that have become integral to the designer and their work; Chanel's little black jacket, Rei Kawakubo's destructive fabric pile-ons, Rick Owens' dark and otherworldly enigma . I've found myself drawing away from the trend tsunamis (but not ignoring them) and looking out for those little habits in their collections today, that would have been prominent during design infancy.

First up is Christopher Kane. I think probably my favourite aspect of Christopher Kane's collections every season is his graphic tees; his signature is creating luxury out of  thrifty screen-printed t-shirts and this brilliance has turned roaring gorillas in his spring/summer 2009 show (think of a more wearable Planet of the Apes) and even Frankenstein in his spring/summer 2013 collection giving a gentle nod to his effortlessly cool and stellar epitome.

On to Rick Owens. His shows always remind me of a forbidden planet and his collections the planet's dark and dangerous enigma; he is in the habit of emerging his models from pouring smoke which helps convey the elegantly badass attitude of his collections.

 And of course I couldn't leave out the invisible king of couture. Martin Margiela is guilty of the habit blessing of being able to create bewitching masks of marble, crystal and pearl. These masks are worn by all in his couture shows-Margiela HIMSELF could be under that mask, who knows? Margiela has made his mark with this signature anonymity, and in his two years of couture he has managed  to stamp his signature all over the globe, no effort required.

Getting "back into" fashion

For this post I couldn't think of a more appropriately crap title, but that's just it-I have found myself stuck in a rut for a good few months now and fashion, you have tired me. And this lack of inspiration has resulted in a lack of blog posts, a lack of interest and, worryingly, a lack of commitment to something I felt so passionate about all of 4 months ago. Exhaustion came to mind whenever I followed the collections online throughout fashion week and everything around me had been so over-saturated with fashion images that anything that I would have previously found extraordinary just seemed very tedious. I'm not sure what exactly has got me "back into fashion" exactly, it may have been my hoarding tendencies letting the pile of magazines grow, but it seems that as soon as Couture Week has rolled around the corner, design is exciting me again (here's looking at you Martin Margiela).
Expect more commitment to writing and fashion from now on, my eyes have just had an overload of it.

Dress: & Other Stories (unfortunately no longer available!)

Ring: Cos

Shoes: Office

Origami

 

Grey: Cos

Bone: Jil Sander FW12

 

Quintessentially folded perfection. I have been wearing the same camel wool car-coat for 3 years now and it saddens me to say it is high-time to reinvest, baring in mind we get sight of the sun here in Britain once every leap-year. Ever since I was small I have always found a silent pleasure in creating a mish-mash of paper cranes, butterflies, dinosaurs(!) you name it; this year I have been revolving around that paper-cut minimalism watched by millions on the runway of Jil Sander's FW12 finale. It may seem very faux pas to many of the trend following warriors roaming the nation that I would still be fawning over Raf Simon's final collection IN SPRING 2013; but to me it was a moment in fashion history that will remain quitely bespoke and legendary in it's own right.

Of course we can not forget the elusive Martin Margiela in crafting his Parisian plastic wonderland for spring 2013; architectual square-cut shapes adorned the runway reminding us of the house's identity in quietly serene pallets, allowing us to appreciate shape and form in 13 minutes of over-pronounced cocoons. But that is, to me, what is so iconic and memorable about Margiela-proportions are always being played with, giving you that elusivity when wearing a Mariela gown. And as we all know, the invisible are the most stylish.







What I would have wore to LFW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mohair sweater: Uniqlo men's (old)

Velvet cycle shors: American Apparel

Nylon shoulder bag: Cos

Wood and metal bangle: Cos

Sunglasses: ASOS

It is because I am knee deep in essays *sigh* that I will not be attending the fashion Garden of Eden that is London Fashion Week this spring. However, the thought of many weeks of drowning in lined paper and John Steinbeck did not make me hesitate in deciding on what I would wear to Sommerset House. For that occasion, I stole my dad's old mohair Uniqlo sweater which I have been secretly coveting for years now; although persuading him to let me wear it was nothing without stubbornness. Mohair has got to be my favourite texture for the colder months and there is something I find delicious about the soft and cosy silhouette it gives; although it may seem to many that an extremely oversized knit is such a lazy garment I can never help but feel quite expensive in this one. It reminds me quite a lot of the mohair Wham dress from Acne which is hiding from me at the moment.

Purchase

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cotton cut out tshirt: Cos

This was a little present for myself I bought a week ago, I am always weary with ordering online with

Cos as it seems that I always find myself waiting in long aticipation before the grey package arrives. Of course, purchases from the Swedish brand are forever worth the wait and packaged with the at most care; which I think is an important factor to consider when ordering from overseas as, when you see an image of your purchase online, you expect it to be in that perfect condition when delivered, right? The way Cos package their online stock demonstrates the high quality of care and nurture in

their garments, which for myself, makes me put extra care into wearing it. 

Brushed

Brushed metal ring: Cos

I can't tell you how much I loath glitzy bejewelled rings and in fact, my family refuse to buy me jewellery because I am so particular. I like to think of it as defying the rules of being a 16 year old girl growing up in a society filled with boy-bands and Hollister. Brushed silver just looks more delicate than the regular, polished silver you would find in most jewellery and just being cut differently to the mainstream rings (like this asymmetric one from Cos) adds an extra clean and elegant aesthetic.

The Narcissist back to basics

 

White ruffle cotton shirt: Cos

Velvet cycle shorts: American Apparel

 

Cotton has been such a widely universal fabric; used for jeans, terrycloth, polyester, but there is nothing more beautifully simple as a clean, crisp cotton shirt and there is something delicious about going back to basics. I will admit, I had doubts about the shape of the garment when I (do I dare say) bought this in the sale last September. What was going through my mind was whether or not it would make me look too much like a marrionette doll, however it was the clean, crisp cut of the shirt that make me hit 'add to cart'.