Archive | May, 2010

I always bet on black

31 May

I wrote a while ago about some Betty Barclay palazzo trousers that I bought accidentally, under the illusion they were a maxi skirt. It was a happy mistake though, because I figured they’d be perfect for wearing around the pool on holiday. With holidays in mind, it’s only ten days until I go to Las Vegas [I KNOW] so it’s a reasonable enough time to start thinking about wardrobing the event.

I decided to wear the aforementioned Betty Barclay trousers today, partly to see if they fitted OK and also because lounging around the house on a Bank Holiday Monday calls for comfort. I’ve gone all out on the nautical theme as you can see, wearing the pants with my Topshop does Balmain shoulder pad stripey jumper. I like nothing more than dressing in costume.

Check that bad boy print out! True fact, I just typed ‘bad bouy’. I can’t help but pun, it just comes out of my fingers naturally.

Usual faces, usual places

29 May

“Large-scale color photographs from 2005 to 2006 reflect the ritual adornment and spirituality of masquerade in Nigeria, Benin and Burkina Faso in West Africa. These portraits of masqueraders build on Galembo’s work of the past twenty years photographing the rituals and religious culture in Nigeria, Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti, as well as the homegrown custom of Halloween in the United States.”

These Phyllis Galembo photos are quite old but they’re doing the blog rounds again and I’m happy to repost them if it means they’ll reach a wider audience. They’re absolutely incredible. I’ve said it before but pictures like this just make me want to crank out the ol’ sketchpad and start doing fashion again. I mean, I don’t think anyone could fail to be inspired by these.

You can see loads more here! I particularly enjoy the vintage Halloween costumes from the US. Creepy as fuck.

The sweet and meaty morsels we concoct

29 May

Excuse me roaming off subject (what subject?) but I had a brilliant breakfast this morning and thought it might be of interest. Full Disclaimer: the picture above is not my breakfast. I was going to take a photo but I feel like an idiot photographing food, even in the comfort of my own home.

It’s nothing fancy, just a nice breakfast/lunch (I hate the word ‘brunch’, shudder) to use up a few things we had rotting in the fridge. It’s kept us both full and happy and it was really easy to make. It would be easy to make for loads of people too. There’s nothing I like more than when people come to stay and I can act all hostess/mostess and create feasts, so be warned if you’re thinking of coming for a sleepover any time soon.

Tostadas with eggs, black beans and chorizo

*The original recipe was one of those crazy American types with cups and all from Epicurious. I just made up amounts, it’s easier.

  • 1 x egg per tostada. I don’t eat eggs so obviously skipped it on mine.
  • Bit o’ tomato salsa. We didn’t have any tomatoes in the fridge so just used some tomato chili chutney we have.
  • Avocado, diced and cored and all that.
  • Bit o’ goat cheese. You could probably use any cheese though.

Put the oven on on a low heat. I believe I went for 140c.

Fry the chorizo in a bit of oil until it’s cooked all the way through but not crispy. Pour off the fat and keep it in a ramekin — we’ll be using that later. Put the refried beans into the pan with the chorizo and warm through. Once it’s nice and hot, scoop all the mush into a dish and stick it in the oven to keep warm.

Pour a bit of that oily fat you saved back into the pan and fry your onions in it for a few minutes until they’re nice and soft and chorizo-infused.

Get a baking tray and put your tostadas on it. Scoop a bit of beany-chorizo mixture onto each and a bit of onion on top of that. Put them in the oven to stay warm.

The next stage is the egg bit, so I didn’t concentrate but as far as I gather you just fry them as usual.

Get your tostadas out (for the lads) and top with avocado, goats cheese and salsa. Stick your egg on the top.

EAT.

As you can see, I’m no food expert so I’d like to take this opportunity to point you in the direction of my pal Laura who does know about food and posts amazing recipes. Here!

She used to do the pony

29 May

You certainly get spoiled living in London and it’s easy to forget how many incredible exhibitions take place outside old smokey. For example, this summer Sudley House in Liverpool is hosting a costume show called Hitched: Wedding Clothes and Customs, which looks amazing.

Eager beavers will know I’m not really down with marriage, but this exhibition looks fascinating on so many other levels. It’s going to feature outfits from the last 150 years including a 1920s gown (might as well get that out of the way now) and traditional outfits from Liverpool’s Traveller and Chinese communities. Alongside all the outfits, there are photos, ephemera and all the other hoo-hah that weddings apparently entail.

I don’t get up to Liverpool very often any more, but this show is on until spring next year so I’m going to really try to get up there and see this, maybe when I’m at home next. Anyway, here are some sneaky peeks of the outfits you’ll have the chance to see;

1960s

I love the scalloped edge on this one. I don’t think you could get away with a scalloped neckline these days and not look like a joke but I think this is lovely.

1940s

This wartime suit is marvelous, so elegant and a beautiful colour, although I do hate fake buttons. I’d love to see the accompanying picture of whoever wore this.

1973

You hear crochet wedding dress, you automatically think; awful. In fact, as this dress proves, it’s stunning. I imagine you’d get a bit sweaty but you could probably make it for less than £20.

1853

This is the kind of heavy duty cape that I’m interested in. All that fringing makes it look like one of those settee arm covers your grandma had.

Hitched: Wedding Clothes and Customs  is on display from 23 July 2010 until Spring 2011 at Sudley House, Liverpool. For more information visit www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk.

Friday Afternoon Disco

28 May

Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m most definitely a lover.

CLICK

By the way, this is entirely ruined by the lack of Child Molesters on Spotify. Oh man, I hate typing that band’s name anywhere, sort of leads people in the wrong direction. To make up for it, here’s a video;

Smells like brandy and cigarettes

27 May

I’ve been eying up this palm reading dummy hand jewellery stand from Urban Outfitters for months, but it did seem like yet another example of Something Expensive That I Don’t Need. Joy of joys, then, to find this semi-replica vintage model on Portobello Road for a fiver. I think I like it better, even if it is just because it fits my homeware criteria of looking ‘old’. Only problem is that some of the fingers are even fatter than mine (didn’t think it possible??) and I can’t squeeze my rings on all of them. Might go back and buy one of the phrenology heads for storing… one hat?

I just want your eyes fixated

26 May

Adele thought the ‘feather capes’ on my last post were merkins, so lady this one goes out to you;

Furry Fendi keyring, via LOVE

Still as a week in May

26 May

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll be aware that for the past few months I’ve been obsessing over what to wear for my friends’ upcoming swanky wedding. Sorry about that. I’ve finally bought something I love from Cocosa so we’re all sorted on that front, now it’s just a case of finding the right props to jazz the look up.

I have the ASOS bunny hat but I’m not sure whether or not to wear it… The trickiest thing about this wedding is that I haven’t seen most of the guests since university. Back in those days I was a fashion student and Mr Fur Coat and all his friends, including the bride and groom and all the guests, were doing proper degrees. They’re all awesome people but I quite often felt like the dickhead fashion student in my novelty outfit and I’d hate for them to think I was still the same bozo I was back then.

What I’m after is a feather cape. Don’t mind that last paragraph, a feather cape isn’t a fancy dress item, it’s a serious, chic fashion statement. Right? Anyway, I didn’t realise it would be so hard to find such a thing but a cursory eBay search reveals very little. It does, however, come up with millions of fly fishing ‘feather capes’ [above] — did you know it was a kind of tackle? No, me neither. They’re quite stylish actually, but probably just about big enough to make a novelty shoulder pad.

Here are some other options, none of which are quite doing it for me.

Kate Moss for Topshop feather cape. Something about those colours man… it’s just not working. Sold out anyway, available on eBay of course.

Obviously I’m not the one getting married, but if I was I’d probably wear this Jenny Packham ‘Cygnet’ Ostrich Feather Cape. Quelle beast.

Good ol’ ASOS. This Premium Feather Cape is rather appropriate, but still not quite spot on and for such a ludicrous purchase it needs to be right, right?

As an example of what’s ‘right’, take note of this Edwardian ostrich feather cape. It’s bloody lovely. Seen one anywhere?

I swear it never gets old

25 May

Chiffon Maxi Skirt, £45, ASOS

When I was about 16 I went on a weekend shopping trip to Sheffield’s shopping Mecca, Meadowhall with my friend Sarah and her younger neighbour Kerri, who I guess we were babysitting. She was only a couple of years younger and already shaping up to be one of the coolest teenagers on the planet. We actually wound up working a weekend job together a few years down the line and becoming pretty tight — I fondly remember her Alkaline Trio MSN screen names and the dumb nights we had dancing at Corp together.

On this particular shopping trip, Kerri and I remember went into Bay Trading on a whim and ended up buying matching skirts. It was a floor-length, circle-skirted ballroom number in baby pink satin and cost the princely sum of 99p. I used to wear it with (very Prada SS10 actually) Perspex and silver heels and a crop top and think (quite rightly?) I was the dog’s bollocks.

Somewhere along the line, that skirt got lost. Probably in one of my utterly regretful wardrobe clearouts, along with the leather pencil skirt collection and my selection of dirndls.

When I saw this ASOS skirt my heart beat a little faster because in my brain it works as a sort of age-appropriate replacement. I don’t think I could carry off baby pink satin as well as I did when I was a young slip of a 16 year old; somehow coral chiffon seems a bit more suitable but it still maintains the romance, maxi length and full movement that made me fall in love with my 99p Bay Trading original. I think it’d work just as well with (lol alert) a sleeveless old band shirt (lol over) as it would with something gold and sequined for a bit of a Zelda Fitzgerald doing her ballet bit feel.

(sorry for the photo of a photo, but I love Zelda’s outfit here)

Tenuous Zelda link: you should all join GoodReads. My link is over on the right or you can just search me as furcoat. See how boring my reading list is (if you think my writing’s predictable, wail until you see what I’m reading), share your own reviews and even update people on your page progression — seriously, love that function. I only just joined so I’m still updating my ‘read’ section with the books on my nearest bookshelf but I’m already addicted and it would be neat to see what the rest of you are reading.

I can’t believe that anyone would want to do such a terrible thing

24 May

I somehow completely forget to tell you that this week I’m guest blogging for the marvelous Nothing Bad Magazine Blog!

Nothing Bad is the brainchild of the brilliant Katie Coleslaw and the equally excellent Georgina Bacchus and I’m super excited (and honestly honoured, omg you guys) to be their first guest blogger. You can read my ramblings here on the Nothing Bad blog; thanks folks, I’ll be here all week. If you like what I do here, it’s more of the same old shit.

I’ve also been interviewing a few people for the site… Interviews appearing over the next week or so. Again, if you like the kind of bumf I write about, you’ll no doubt enjoy it.

Mates’ rates aside, you should genuinely bookmark Nothing Bad anyway. It is (in the words of my dearest boy Mark) a hoot and a half.

[Pic: A spread from issue no. 1 of Nothing Bad, styled by Georgina.]

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