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.

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.

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!

On My Feet Today #8

Well, actually worn out this evening, as I spent most of the day chilling at home. Zara shoe-booties purchased over the Summer. They are very comfortable despite the very high heel, but a bit chilly on the toes at this time of year.

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!).

A very delayed Happy New Year to you all

So. 2010. Here it is, another decade, another fresh start and most importantly lots of new looks to look forward to.

Apologies for the long break in my blog entries, but like a lot of people I was struck down by the post-Christmas colds that were going around, and was not organized enough to sort out any pre-planned scheduled posts. I'm feeling a bit better now, so will be back on regular blogging form (fingers crossed).

I hope that everyone out there had a good Christmas, and had a fun time ringing in the New Year. Let's hope that its a good one for all of us.

P.S Photo is a close up of a See by Chloe T Shirt I own from the early noughties, which is now officially a very long time ago. I was wearing it in a sort of celebrating-New-Year's-with-cocktails style whilst convalescing.

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!