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!

I wish you.........

....A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

To my 'followers', and anyone who should stumble upon my blog by chance, I hope you have a very enjoyable festive season, with much fun and fashion adventures in the year ahead xoxo

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.

On my Feet Today #7

Kitten heel pink/nude satin shoes from Topshop, which I purchased literally about 10 years ago. They are perfect for party-weary feet as they have a mid height heel, and the satin at the front wraps gently around the toes. I'm giving my feet a break for the next day or two, to ready them for any Christmas/New Year dizzying heels that may be heading their way.

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?!

Christmas presents past

 I was really lucky as a child, as my Grandmother Eileen was always really into fashion. We used to enjoy several shopping trips in London together, and I used to love it when she went on big shopping sprees for her annual cruises on the QEII. She would also drop by and deliver me a fresh batch of fashion magazines each week, which I would sit and pour over for hours. Sadly, she died about five years ago, and I miss her greatly. Still, I take comfort in the many pieces of clothing and jewelry that she has passed on to me over the years, and one of my favorite pieces, is the gold locket that she used to wear everyday. The photos inside are of my brother and I as children, and its always good for a laugh to look at them.

My other favorite vintage hand me down present was from my Godmother, Sue, (AKA 'Auntie' Sue) who was my Grandmother's best friend. On my 21st, she gave me some of her vintage evening bags, my favorite of which is this beaded and sequined small white clutch. I've been using it often since I was given it, and in fact took it out to my birthday dinner this year.

Its really well made, and the beading is very detailed, so here's a close up:

The bag also sparkles a lot in the right light, so its perfect for the Christmas party season.

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)

Billboard bracelet vs. Patricia Field bracelet

Fashion inspiration can come from the most unusual of sources. Take this Billboard for example, which I took a photo of during my recent NY trip whilst taking a taxi ride from JFK to the hotel. The advertisement which is for Grand Marnier, features a lady (with gorgeous shoes) reclining in a chair and offering her cocktail glass up to be refilled. What drew my eye however was the chunky gold chain bracelet engulfing her small ladylike wrist. Consequently, over the next few days (and still continuing now..) I found myself searching Manhattan and the internet for a similar bracelet.

Sadly, during my stay in NY I didn't get to find a bracelet like this one, but did however find a totally different (but equally pleasing) one in the Patricia Field store.

 The search continues.......

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.

Not your usual Christmas jumper

Hurry to Whistles now to grab one of their Christmas sweaters, and help out the charity Shelter at the same time. For every one of these fabulous sweaters that is sold,  25% of the purchase price will be donated to the charity, so there is even more reason to get involved in these festive fashion statements.

The dog on the above sweater is actually the pet of one of the Whistles' staff members apparently, and I have to say, that out of the set, this has to be my favorite. The other sweaters include one by stylist Fran Burns which features a Reindeer illustration (see below, top picture) and a snowflake print sweater which is the work of Christopher Simmonds, art director of creative agency Partner & Partner (see below, bottom picture).

Get them while you can, as they have been online for a while, and are selling out fast. Must be the fact that Christmas is around the corner - yippee!

Pictures from Whistles

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.

On My Feet Today #6

Marc Jacobs pumps which i purchased way back in 2002 (I think). I hadn't worn them for ages and when I saw them lurking around the bottom of my shoe rack, I thought they were due an outing.

I love finding 'forgotten' items in my closet, its like going shopping, but at home, and for free!

Here's one I made earlier (very badly)

Another favourite shop which I discovered during my recent time spent in New York is M&J Trimmings which has every kind of ribbon, tassle, bead, applique, stud, buckle, lace, sequin....(the list goes on), that you can imagine. Sadly, whilst I was there I was so overwhelmed with the sheer vastness of the collections there (and I had to hurry back to the hotel to go and get ready for a swanky dinner) that I only made a couple of purchases, one of which was the black applique above. I shall be attaching it to the neckline of a boring plain tunic dress that I own, but for the interim, I found a gold chain lying around, sewed it on, and bingo! I now have a big, bold necklace.

Bergdorf Goodman Christmas Windows NYC

One of my shopping highlights on my recent trip to New York, was the Christmas Windows created by the stores. Top of the list however, had to be Bergdorf Goodman, whose highly detailed and intricate displays made you want to stand there and study every aspect of the designs. The Alexander McQueen inspired window above was by far my favourite, not just for the boots (see below close up in the rather rubbish photo taken by me) but also for the miniature doll beside the main mannequin wearing a tiny coordinating outfit.

Here are the rest. My photos didn't turn out that great, so here are pictures (and accompanying text) of the windows from the Bergdorf Goodman site: