Andrew Mukamal

Andrew Mukamal sporting the Christopher Kane 

Gorilla T-Shirt.

Andrew, with boss PR guru Kelly Cutrone.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of temporarily living over here in the States (giant food and frequent compliments about my accent aside) is the reality show 'Kell On Earth' which centers around Kelly Cutrone and her fashion PR company People's Revolution. Much as I adore Kelly "If you have to cry, go outside"Cutrone, the real breakout star of the show, has to be her new assistant Andrew Mukamal. With his personal goth-boy, punk, androgynous style, Andrew can be seen wearing all manner of ensembles from dresses, skinny jeans, skirts, mesh tops and slinky one-shouldered body-con get-ups. All served up with a healthy dose of studded and spiked jewelry, oh, and of course some leather. 

Andrew can also be relied upon for some very entertaining tweets, as well as some stylish outfit posts via twitter, so go check him out at @AJMukamal.

Classic NYFW tweets

I managed to avoid getting sucked into the mesmerizing, voyeuristic, black hole that is Twitter until about 6 months ago. Since then, I have enjoyed many a half-hour here and there wasting time spying on the lives of the fash-pack and other celebs as they indulge in their mundane daily activities. However, things have been looking up during NY Fashion week, with some entertaining tweets coming from all sectors of the fashion community. Just in case any of you are not on Twitter (and not at all because I have no interesting image-based entries to post on the blog ;-) ), here are a few of my favorite tweets from the past week;

"1st show of fashion week! Took a tumble! Got up! Fell again. Should have stayed down the first time. Twice! Ouch my knees!" - Agyness Deyn 

"Call the Fashion Police. There's someone wearing Uggs at Rodarte" - Elle UK

"Pillboxes, fur muffs and raccoon stoker. Well we are on Park Avenue, albeit at a men's show..." - ShowStudio

"Dear God-ess, please let me go to sleep and not have to run all over NYC tonight." - Kelly Cutrone

"Perilous lit wax sculpture next to Andre Leon Talley's Fur!" - ShowStudio 

"Y-3 feels like "why 300 looks?" think I'm getting deep-vein thrombosis" - ShowStudio

Just wish I could be there to experience it in person. All I can saw however is thank F. for live streaming!

On my feet today #10

Browsing the New York Times 'T Magazine' blog, I was checking out the photos from Brian Bedder's Fashion week photo blog and saw an image of a sultry looking pair of red patent heels. This gave me the idea to go and fetch these much neglected pair of Miu Miu pumps from my wardrobe, and give them an outing this evening. 

In the spirit of Valentines Day tomorrow, please forgive the Cheesy display below with a Loiuse Borgeois embroidered pillowcase I acquired from her exhibition at Tate Modern back in 2007. 

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.

On my feet Today #9

Footwear-wise I went back to basics with these Reiss heels today. Very comfortable and easy to walk in due to the chunky heel and hidden platform. Also slightly more interesting than your plain black pumps due to the lizard-effect pattern on them. I'm trying to get in as much heel-wearing as possible, as I have injured my foot and fear that my doctor will be enforcing a strict flats only policy soon. Never mind, I'll console myself by spending the rest of the day checking out Ebay and creating an unobtainable wish list on Net-a-Porter.

Blogging awards

Ok, so now I feel REALLY bad for lagging behind in my blog posts.

I finally got around to checking in with my blog yesterday (whilst distracting myself from the stupidbowl, I mean Superbowl - sorry sports fans, but hey while I'm on the subject, way to go Saints!) and found that I was the lucky recipient of not one, but TWO blog awards.

Firstly a big thank you to Sonia at Dozen Dresses for the Beautiful Blogger Award;

and secondly an equally big thank you to Cindy Whitehead for the Best Blog Award;

Awwww..shucks guys, you shouldn't have! xoxo

P.S As I discovered from Sonia's blog, as a recipient of the beautiful blogger award, I'm required to list 7 things that I love, so here goes (in no order of preference, and also with not much thought!):

1. Fashion and shoes (sorry, I guess that is 2 things)

2. linen cocktail napkins

3. contemporary art

4. the restaurant Yauatcha in London especially their macaroons

5. Buttercream icing ( yes, me too Sonia!) especially chocolate

6. polaroid photos

7. Pretty plates

I'll be passing the blog awards on at a later date when my laptop is nicely plugged-in, and not running on reserve battery power. 

waiting, waiting, waiting. Oh, and something slightly nautical.

 This morning involved a very early start and a trip to the US immigration office to sort my visa out, followed by a long wait, which gave me chance to catch up on a big batch of British Vogue magazines that my mum dispatched to me from back home. All I can say is thank f. that I had such interesting reading material else the wait would have been pretty unbearable. 

Long wait over, I was ushered over to a counter where I had to stand and chat to an immigration officer. Now, when i booked the appointment online, I was given a ton of information on what to bring/not bring etc, but I wish they had also included notes on suitable footwear, as my mega heel platform wedges did some serious damage to my ankles as i stood for 40 minutes at the counter waiting for the lady to file my documents. Never before have I longed more for a pair of ballet flats.

Anyway, to my point, and more so to my outfit. My waiting room reading, amongst which featured several breton-esque ensembles, caused me to dig out this somewhat nautical outfit when I got home and had finished massaging my long suffering feet. The Breton top I have had forever, well about 15 years actually (good job it was really loose when I got it), and the jacket was a French Connection find from the Summer. 

Wow, Summer - that seems like ages ago. Come back Sun, where are 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.

Apologies for the technical issues

Sorry for my lack of posts lately, I've been having issues with my computer, and only have my I-pod touch to satisfy my internet browsing needs. The blogger application on it is OK, but I can't upload my own photos via the I-pod, so I'm back to square one. Arrgh! The curses of technology.
If my laptop was behaving better, perhaps I might treat it to one of these stunning Gareth Pugh laptop bags, (which he created in collaboration with Paris boutique Collette last year), but for now I am reduced to giving it evil stares as a try and type with my big sausage fingers on my I-pod's tiny keyboard.

Fingers crossed, I'll be back to regular posting soon when my computer decides to sort its 'issues' out. Talk to you soon xoxo

Random musings on perspex shoes and bags

The Fendi S/S 2010 show reveled some gorgeous clothes obviously, but I have to admit that as I poured over the images on Style, it really was these two perspex clutches that stole the show for me. In particular, having a penchant for all things studded and/or spiky, the clutch below was the piece de resistance for me. I mean, look at it, it even has a bare stud-less patch so you can hold it properly without your hand being impaled on the studs - how thoughtful!

The clear perspex look also cropped up again in the Fendi show with the shoes. I love the wrap around ankle tie, but sadly, every time I see this kind of perspex platform on shoes, i can't help but think of those worn by strippers (not that i have anything against strippers of course, I mean who doesn't want to know how to work a pole??!!).

 

S/S 2010 also saw Prada attempting to utilize clear plastic in their shoes, and whilst I'm loving the chandelier effect of all those chunky crystals I'm a bit distracted by that whopping great big exposed velcro strap. It reminds me of 'jelly shoes' I used to have to wear on the beach as a child. Anyone else know what I'm talking about?!

Shoes I did love from the S/S shows ( apart from the Mc Queen ones I previously posted about ) were these Jil Sander ones with their very delicate looking heel. Roll on the Fall 2010 shows so that I can see what footwear delights are in store for next winter!

Capes

Ever since I saw this red cape featured in the 'Red Riding Hood' ghd ad campaign I've been looking all over for a similar cape. I've previously purchased sweater-type capes, but have been looking for something more substantial to keep out the winter chills.

And so to ebay I went, and was lucky that my search revealed this gem from Tin Roof Vintage. After a not-so-furious bidding war, I am now the proud owner of this little beauty, and actually looking forward to venturing out in the cold. Now all I need is some leather over-the knee boots, but i think I'll pass on the axe.

Photos from Tin Roof Vintage

Vintage gold clutch with hidden treasures

So, today has been pretty uneventful. I mostly spent the day trying to organize my clothing and accessories, but it seemed to take me forever as I kept on finding items which I had forgotten about, and then rediscovering the joys of them all over again ( I love it when that happens, it feels almost as good as buying new things).

While I was doing a quick bag inventory, I remembered about this vintage evening clutch that I have been meaning to post about since I received it as a Christmas gift. It has a hard, box-like structure, is slightly bigger than my hand and is surprisingly heavy for its size. When i opened it on Christmas Day I remember thinking, 'wow this is really beautiful, but why is it so heavy?' The answer was to be revealed on opening it......

TA DAAAAAA.....! On opening one side of the bag, I revealed an inbuilt mirror, a coin holder, a lipstick holder, and what I assume is a section for holding old school cigarettes (or as I use it for.. credit cards). There are also three clips, which pivot on a hinge to hold a comb.

The other side revealed a lighter, and a space ideal for (more) credit cards or money, or if you have one, a really tiny, thin mobile phone.

Apparently, the bag was from the 1920's and so I love to think of all the glamorous outings it would have had. Hopefully it will be able to add a few more glamorous moments to its life at its new home chez moi.

Sheer lace print top

Whilst its obviously fun to go shopping and pick out outfits for yourself, it can often be even more exciting to receive unexpected fashion gifts. not only are these items free (yipee!) but they may have been things that we did not notice in the shops ourselves, or something we would not have necessarily chosen / could afford / bothered to try on.

And so then, a big thank you to my beloved for the top which he gave me. I've been drawn to all the sheer items that are around at the moment (yes, even in this cold weather) and so was delighted to receive this sort of floral/lace print top from Urban Outfitters. Desperate to wear it today, I had to team it with some pretty heavy duty additions to keep out the cold. These consisted of a very thick and long (I had to roll it over 4 times) ribbed, knitted snood/scarf from Reiss that i received as a Christmas gift  two years ago, and a thick leather biker jacket, also coincidentally from Reiss fall '08 collection.

Much as I love the Winter, especially the Fall/Winter collections, footwear is a bit of an issue in the chilly weather. I was initially wearing these McQueen platform peep toes (bought in a sale last year at a ridiculously reduced price), until I ventured outside for about half a minute, ran back inside and had to put on some 'sensible' shoes.

P.S Being my first 'outfit' post, I never realized how difficult it is to actually capture pictures of oneself. After much propping up the camera on piles of magazines and shoe boxes, and then running back in place before the timer went off, these were the best I could do!