Love is in the air......

Sorry for the stream of seemingly random, valentine-tastic images. I was feeling somewhat glum trawling through the McQueen collections of past on Style, so felt like putting some love out there. 

Hope you all have fun plans this V-Day weekend, be it with lovers, friends or yourselves. I'm off to a Burlesque showcase this evening and am frantically trying to find something sultry to wear, whilst simultaneously trying not to look to whore-y. Now, where did I put those seamed stockings?

Images (top to bottom); shot from Prada Men's show, Alexander Mc Queen heart peep-toe shoes,

 Lulu Guinness clutch, Verner Panton heart chair (ooh! Don't get me started on my love of chairs again!), Marc Jacobs compact (impulse purchase on a night out in Vegas in order to do emergency make-up check), cheesy heart sunglasses.

R.I.P.

Thank you for everything you created. We'll miss you.

Treasure hunting in my wardrobe.

Due to a lack of transportation, I've been holed up in the house today. Boooooo-ring! With nothing apart from a marathon of Project Runway to keep me mildly amused, I found myself rummaging through my wardrobe and re-discovering old favorites. Top of my finds was this Phillip Lim black V-neck jumper, with an unusual back in the form of a line of buttons, which when opened reveals a nude coloured sequin panel. (gotta love those sequins).

My trawl unearthed further sequined delights in the form of this Moschino cardigan, which I believe was initially part of a twinset, yet I appear to have lost the matching top somewhere on my many moves across the Atlantic. I tried it on, and was delighted to see that it still fits. It has a very 'ladylike' style however, so I think I'll have to un-pretty it a bit and perhaps 'rough it up' a bit with a leather jacket. Either that or reach for the pearls and Alice headband.

Sleeping Male Models

I rarely get excited about the Menswear collections (sorry boys) but looking at the recent updates on Style and Twitter coming from the Milan shows, I've been managing to keep up with the highlights.

Being a total sucker for anything remotely different than the usual run-of-the-mill catwalk presentations, I have been eagerly awaiting for a video to be posted of the Moncler Gamme Bleu F/W 2010 show of January 18th. Not, I hasten to add, so that I could gawk at the man candy trotting down the runway, but because of the unusual format of the show. This unique presentation comprised of models sleeping in barrack-style beds in matching uniforms and nightcaps, who were then roused from their (not needed) beauty sleep by the call of a bugle, and who then proceeded to remove a bag from under their beds, the contents of which they then dressed themselves with.

Here's some more stills of the show taken from Style, and I've also embedded the video below ( big shout out to my laptop for co-operating today) which is well worth viewing as some of the looks are really rather good, even if the outfits don't involve stilettos.

Moncler Gamme Bleu FW 10/11 show from The Malcolm on Vimeo.

Trompe L'oeil

Having never previously been a fan of Reiss before, I was surprised when last Summer I was in their Islington store, killing time before a haircut, and found a bunch of stuff that I was drawn to. Half an hour later (was nearly late to the hair salon- oops!) and several trips in and out of the dressing room, I came away with quite a few items (and a much smaller bank balance), one of which was this top. It looks great with a pair of skinny jeans, and leather jacket, and I would post an outfit photo but I ate too much while I was feeling ill and sorry for myself, and the skinny jeans are just waaaaaaaaay too skinny.

Anyway, back on point.. This top, with its faux chain necklace (see detail above), got me into the whole trompe l'oeil thing, and I've since collected a couple of other tops with trompe l'oeil necklace decoration prints, and am always looking for more. Imagine my delight then, when Susie on Style Bubble posted about the (then) upcoming trompe l'oeil range for Oasis by designer Rosalind Keep. It has now been available online for several weeks, and my post-crimbo finances have just about recovered enough to allow me to splash out on the dress (in black) and trench coat T shirt below. Now all I have to do is contain my excitement until they arrive, and then wait for the weather to warm up so they can get an outing. Happy New Year to me!

Gareth Pugh Mercedes Benz ad campaign

To celebrate the launch of their new sports car the SLS AMG, Mercedes Benz commissioned fashion Photographer Nick Knight and (my fashion obsession) Gareth Pugh to create an image for the ad campaign. I love the futuristic body armor styling of the outfit which is a trademark look of Mr Pugh, and think I'm way more excited about the clothing than the car (even if it does have really cool wing doors!).

You can never have too many, shoes, bags...or gloves...

.....especially if you are talking about these gorgeous leather gloves from Cordwainers graduate Gemma Johnson. Whilst browsing the web, I chanced upon her site and I fell in love with the pleated fabric around the cuff of the glove, going down into a 'V' shape point on the top of the hand. Check out her website also for leather molded bags in a variety of angular/geometric shapes by the way - the perfect accessory to accompany these gloves.

It must be the chilly weather, but i've found myself purchasing several pairs of gloves already this season (see below), so I think i'll have to put any more glove purchases on hold for now. Unless I happen to find any bargains in the sales of course!

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.

As I'm typing this, I'm looking outside at the big, fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky and I was wondering how long it will last until, it warms up slightly and we find ourselves in a downpour of rain again. I'm terrible with umbrellas, in terms of actually retaining them, and not leaving them in various shops around town, or worse still, getting them blown inside out, so I found myself looking online for something a bit more unusual than the tiny fold-up black umbrellas that I have relied upon for many years.

I stumbled upon an online Umbrella shop by Japanese textile design Yoshida Iida, who makes beautiful handmade umbrellas for props, styling and also his own exhibitions. All umbrellas are made in his own atelier, from handmade printed textiles. Unfortunately, it seems they are rather difficult to actually obtain, although, he does sell individual umbrellas at his bi-annual exhibitions.

Being so beautiful, I'm not sure I'd actually want to get it wet, but it would be a great parasol.

Packing up for the Christmas holidays

Well, actually, I'm not packing up for the holidays, I'm staying put right here at home. However, if I were to be jetting off anywhere for the festivities, and had to choose my suitcases of choice, then to Prada, I would be heading. Having had the chance to see lots of the Prada luggage collection whilst in the NYC soho store, I totally fell in love, and the ivory and black collection (above) will be added to my wish list should I win the lottery.

A close second, would be any of the carry-on sized leather suitcases below, available in a multitude of colors. Although, if money was no object I'd go for one in every color just to ensure my travelling  ensemble was always coordinated. Wow how greedy am I?!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.....

....or more specifically some of Maison Martin Margiela's home decor pieces from their 'white objects' range. The first interiors collection by the label features minimalistic lamps, plain Russian dolls, cotton calendars, and feather pens to name but a few. All in , yep! you guessed it, white.

Here's some more of the pieces from the collection:

Russian Dolls

cotton calendar

The label recently hit the news earlier this month, when it was announced that the somewhat reclusive designer Martin Margiela is leaving the fashion house, and will not be replaced. The label will continue (yay!) with the same creative team, so we can expect yet more quirky-cool clothes , and hopefully more interiors.

(sorry for the interiors heavy posts over the last couple of days, by the way - I just found out I'm moving in the new year, so seem to be creating my 'fantasy' shopping list for the new pad. Now all I need is a big bank balance to bring it all together)

Anyway, back to my point. The MMM label has always been famous for having unusual elements to its catwalk shows, be it sending models with their faces covered down the runway, or their 'hoof' like shoes.- remember them? Here's hoping that this will continue despite mr Margiela's absence.

P.S. Looking on the website, and found this photo of hoof shoe-prints leading to one of their stores. Love it!

P.P.S Also love, love, LOVE this cuff by the label's jewelry line, which is essentially an enlarged cygnet ring.

Beautiful chairs that look like beautiful dresses

I've always had a thing for statement chairs that are beautifully crafted and designed, and the limited edition Alexander Mc Queen egg chair above is no exception. It also struck me however, that a lot of the pieces that i am drawn to in the furniture world, also remind me of runway looks from over the years.

Take the chair above for example, and the look from Gareth Pugh below, and they kinda sorta resemble each other.

(Photo from Style.com)

Here's a few more fashion and furniture pairings that sprang to my mind;

This 'Eames Chaise' by designers Ray/Charles Eames in 1948.......

.........and the gorgeous white jersey cut out dress from a Gucci, mid 90s Tom Ford season.

The 'womb chair' designed by Eero Saarinen in 1948.........

......... and of course Jil Sander dress from the Fall 2009 collection.

(photo from Style.com)

Of course I could go on, and, on, but i will spare any readers the pain of listening to the thoughts from my fashion obsessed brain. I'm not sure if its just me, but fashion inspiration seems to be coming at me from all angles at the moment. Let's hope it continues into the new year at least.

Great Karl Lagerfeld quote #1

"There's no Chanel collection without black. It will never exist. Who can live without some black clothes?"

Enough said!

(Quote taken from Twitter)

Scissor Scarf, Winona Dress, and Alien Monkeys with lobster hands

With the Chilly Winter weather in full effect, I find myself building upon my (ever-expanding)collection of scarves. Looking at the Snoozer Loser website I was instantly drawn to the Scissor print scarf. The scarf comes in a variety of colours, but I found myself drawn to the grey/black and grey/yellow versions.

Other lovely pieces on the site included the 'Winona dress' - a linen dress with brass pyramid studs, and the Veruca Pepper twill hooded coat. (see photos below). I loved the styling on the website, and the prices are pretty wallet-friendly. All items are made in the USA, and the label also has some great arts projects.

Best bit of their website has to be, without fail, their 'Saudade Saudade' promotional video for their 2009 fall/winter line. Directed by Johnny Woods, the captivating short film is described as ; " The tale of a girl who escapes the urban jungle only to find herself amongst magical friends in an alternative universe", and is every bit as weird, wonderful, and magical as it sounds.

The abridged version (for those of you that can't spare a whole 12 minutes to watch the full version) consists of a girl and two alien monkey creatures with lobster claw hands. Throughout the film, they engage in various activities, including; playing in the park, attempting to BBQ a rubber baby alligator, playing basketball, having a tea party with a strange looking man with a ponytail beard, and paper crafting. They then conclude the film by walking off hand in hand, into the sunset. Its certainly worth a look, and i've pasted the video clip below. In the event that i've had a technological malfunction, you can also see the video on their website. Hope you enjoy!

Snoozer Loser Fall/Winter 09 (excerpt) from Mathematical Park on Vimeo.

Wild Thing Necklace

Whilst rummaging around a junk shop a few weeks ago, I found this rather tacky, yet quite cool leopard pendant. At only $5 (which is only about 3 GBP) I instantly decided to get it.

Whilst we're on the subject of leopard jewelry I'd like to point out how much I'm loving the Panthere de Cartier ring, below. It is often seen adorning the glamorous, super stylish fingers of Rachel Zoe, and sadly due to its $14,000 or so price tag, I don't think it will be coming anywhere near my hands anytime soon.

As if the ring itself wasn't already bling-tastic enough, it also comes comes covered in diamonds, for that extra-luxe touch.

Slightly more budget-friendly however, yet equally worthy of admiration, is this different leopard ring from Kenneth Jay Lane, available from net-a-porter. There are also cheaper versions available at ASOS, and other high street stores, so I think i'll be heading there to get my big cat jewelry obsession in check.