House of Flora SS11

The only way to beat the gale force winds sweeping the nation today and keep your 'do intact is to try out one of these faaahhbulous headpieces (or you could just take a taxi into the office like I opted for this morning...).  Taking the idea of wigs to the next dimension, I absolutely love House of Flora's rigid felt creations.  And not just for Halloween - I'd be quite happy popping down to Waitrose in one of these (though maybe not Tesco's...).  There are also some Haus-of-Gaga style sunglasses.  I just wonder - where do they go from here?  And when will they start producing accessories for other brands?  I can totally see collaborations with Jean-Charles de Castelbajac or Ágatha Ruíz de la Prada, or even, dare I say it, La Gaga herself...

xxx
Duck

PPQ - Fancy a fez or two?

Now you probably know I'm not the biggest fan of PPQ.  Not just because they like to leave me standing out in the cold on a six-monthly basis, but also because of the collections(here and here).  Having said that, I would rather like Santa to send me over a pretty little fez for Christmas... 

xxx
Duck

Snow SS11 Press Day: Joanne Hynes

Joanne Hynes is an Irish graduate of CSM who has been making waves with her designs across the water in her native Ireland.  Despite having dressed fashion celebs like Jacquetta Wheeler and Daphne Guinness I'm pretty sure you can only find her wares in Dublin right now, although I'm also guessing she'll be stocked in the UK soon since she was showing at the Snow press day.  Not all the pieces were really my kind of thing - a little bit too commercial or, dare I say it, sometimes frumpy - but there was something eye-catching about this black and gold bustier below and the one-shouldered sweep of fabric across the black lace dress.  The chunky jewellery is very different and actually quite wonderful - large statement pieces à la Marni, encrusted with gems, beading and threads galore.  I would be very happy with a necklace like that... 

xx
Duck

Snow SS11 Press Day: Pam Hogg

Another designer I was happy to see at the Snow press day was Pam Hogg, to whose show at LFW I had been very kindly invited, but had to miss because of my favourite personal development course in Oxford... Cough...  Anyway, I was certainly in for a surprise!  Pam is well known for her fluorescent and metallic catsuits but it seemed to me she had changed tack completely as I was presented with a collection of very commercial accessories in buff canvas and brown leather with gold fastenings.  Don't get me wrong, these were not unpleasant - I am actually very keen on the double-handled satchel with buckles - but it was certainly not what I was expecting.  However, going through the rest of the collection, this accessories line started to make a little more sense.  The straps, for example, also crop up on coats and jumpsuits which would be well-suited to ye olde fashioned insane asylum (did anyone else dream of being a character in Girl Interrupted or The Bell Jar as a teen?) and certainly have more of Hogg's flare for the dramatic.  There were, however, also the classic metallic pieces (here with floaty chiffon sleeves attached) and some stretchy items with a wood-like digital print.  As a whole, the collection was disjointed and lacked any cohesive thread, but I can certainly see that Pam is trying to step out of her rock-and-roll comfort zone, and I like where it's going...

xx
Duck

Snow SS11 Press Day: Violet Darkling

I was really quite excited to see Violet Darkling's jewellery at the Snow press office because I had come across them the evening before in Wolf & Badger and had completely forgotten the name, even though I had attempted to take some blurry (aka tipsy) photos on my phone.  For some, the rose gold tinge of these pieces might be a little bit tacky in its shininess, but for me (after maybe a month or two of hard wear to soften the sheen), these animalistic trinkets are gothic gems.  The skulls are a little reminiscent of McQueen jewellery, but the bears, tigers and organic additions help to carve out an individual look for the brand.  I shall certainly be heading back to Westbourne Grove sometime soon to give the necklaces and rings a test-drive...

Also stocked in Harvey Nichols.

Grrrrr
Duck
xx

Saints and Sinners

J W Anderson is a Northern Irish designer I have been following for quite a while now and who has been showing his menswear on the LFW catwalks since 2007 (and has more recently branched out into gear for the girls).  I find his darkly grunge/punk fusion of 90s styles with slightly more futuristic, maximalist looks very attractive, and he fits right into the London fashion landscape along with menswear contemporaries like Katie Eary and James Long, or womenswear designer Louise Gray.  His très cool combinations of tartan, embellishment, print and metallic hardware have attracted stockists such as the quintessentially London department-store Liberty or the up-and-coming Young British Designers site, and have led to a successful collaboration with Topman.  I have been coveting this synthetic ivory ring from his Autumn/Winter collection for a few months now online, but decided it was only sensible to try it on before I loosened the purse strings (oh who am I kidding, they were only hanging together by a thread anyway!).  And so somehow I found myself in Liberty's jewellery room, slipping this bad boy onto my finger, and moments later I was happily skipping out of the store, that iconic purple bag swinging from my hand...

For those of you know me - no comments on whether I should have gone for the SINNER option instead!

xx
Duck

Mask

Found this picture lurking in the dark recesses of my computer. If the mask were made of lace then I might feel a little bit Gaga. But still, I like it...

xx
Duck