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New ring, old hand

10 Feb

The latest addition to my Maria Francesca Pepe collection. I love how this Instagram filter makes it look as though my skin is rotting – the perfect match to a bit of goth jewellery, eh?

Thank Furcoat it’s Friday

10 Feb

1. The Topshop Unique Spring/Summer 2012 Cleopatra-themed collection has landed. SCREAM! First two pieces I’m after are here and here but I’m really waiting for all those long pink skirts with gold all-seeing-eye prints to appear.

2. If you’re heading to the US any time soon, the newly-launched Refinery 29 shopping guide is worth a look. A few old favourites and lots of new places to discover on this visual treat of a list.

3. This deco dress by Gucci is probably one of the most photographed pieces of the season, but I’ve not seen any editorials yet that have entirely done it justice. So thanks, Vogue Italia, for going the predictable route and making this amazing fringed beast look as fantastic as it should. A cross between Tina Turner and Josephine Baker in terms of movement, innit?

4. Everyone’s bananas about Charlotte Olympia’s Kitty flats but her Pre-Fall 2012 collection offers something a little more GOFF in the form of these spiderweb flats. I am obsessed with the little bejewelled spider, although I have my doubts about how long it would remain intact.

5. New York Fashion Week has started, then. I think the ASOS Fashion Week in 60 Seconds page is utterly, utterly fantastic. I used it in a meeting this week, that’s how good I think it is.

6. Zara’s shoe game is really on point this season. These are just three styles that are currently haunting my brain. Cheap shoes are never a good idea, but the heart wants what it wants, eh? You can buy these ones here, here and here.

Treats for Valentine’s Day non-believers

8 Feb

I call Valentine’s Day a crock of shit. If you’re a similar non-believer, here are some nice, slightly angry things to buy in February as an alternative to heart-shaped kitchen utensils and sexy red polyester lingerie.

These Moi Self hankies have been everywhere lately, but I really like them. Hankies seem to have fallen out of favour of late – and I can sort of see the hygiene reasons – but this would be a nice treat to dab your eyes delicately while squeezing out some ladylike tears. There’s a few designs to choose from and they’re £10 exclusively at My-Wardrobe.


Gin is the maudlin spinster’s drink of choice and the fact this particular beverage is pink SURELY makes it ideal for bemoaning the lack of love in your life? I’ve wanted a bottle of The Bitter Truth‘s booze for ages, so now could be the perfect opportunity to indulge.

I really love the Zap lolly colours on this Topshop jumper, but what I especially like is the studs on the shoulders which kind of make it the anti-hugging sweater. If someone slings their arms around you in this, they’ll pay. It’s £35 and in-store now.

Katie Rowland’s knuckleduster has ‘Love’ on the other side, but no-one else needs to know that. It’s currently on sale at Cocosa - whose jewellery sales are always pretty amazing, but even more so at the moment.

Maria Francesca Pepe is one of my total favourites and is always great for tough, spiky, cross-laden jewellery. If you want to make your point in a slightly more aggressive way, her NO safety pins do the job rather nicely and look smashing at the same time. It’s like a high fashion version of those Velcro letter t-shirts people were obsessed with in sixth form.

If you’re self-indulgently wallowing and feeling sorry for yourself, snap out of it in a suitably boozy fashion with this Urban Outfitters hip-flask. Fill it with pink gin and you’re laughing.

There’s nothing like a bleak book to remind you that love ain’t all it’s cracked up to be and although Penguin’s Great Love series features some slush, it also has a few more doom-and-gloom heavy reads – which are always the best kind, really.

Elvis fans in the snow, March 1960

4 Feb

Since moving to London from the bleak north, I’ve definitely become a bit – as we say in Sheffield – nesh. I don’t mind a bit of cold, but icy winds and hours spent waiting in the snow at Norwood Junction make for a miserable commute.

Still, what’s more important? Dressing for the weather or looking good? There’s a debate on the subject on the ASOS blog at the moment and I’m firmly in the Kate Moss camp – big furry coat, no real other concessions to winter.

Anyway – here’s the answer. Check out these Elvis fans meeting the man himself in March 1960. Nice wool skirt, cashmere, scarf and a coat – looks good, probably doesn’t keep you that warm.

[Pics via Retronaut]

Thank Furcoat it’s Friday

3 Feb

1) It’s been a bumper week of magazine-purchasing for me, with ELLE Collections and the new ELLE Decor top of my WH Smith wishlist. I had no idea Marie Claire were bringing out their own seasonal trend round-up, but picked up Runway anyway because it looked pretty neat and had a dog on the cover. It’s dead good, loads of nice features and some really clever, imaginative spreads. My favourite, obviously, is the Gatsby page above – I love a collage at the best of times and when that collage features flapper-ish gear, more’s the better. Buy it, I really recommend it.

2) Daphne Guinness has put her 5th Ave apartment up for sale. There’s nothing I like more than nosing around at celebrity real estate and although there aren’t many pictures of Daphne’s place, it’s enough to whet my appetite. It’s only £14million! Check it out here.

3) This morning Ellen tweeted these meme movie posters. I don’t know if this is old news, but I hadn’t seen them. These are a couple of my favourites, but you can see the whole the series here.  I want oh my god, trampoline! next.

4) Last night Harriet and I stepped well and truly out of our comfort zones with a night of cocktails at the opening of the new venture from Gaucho, Galante. It’s not often I find myself in Sloane Square out of choice, but we had a top night out and the cocktails were legit the best I’ve ever had. So delicious and the tasting platter was pretty decent too. It’s inspired by one of the world’s most famous bartenders, Santiago ‘Pichin’ Policastro, who shook up [lol] 1930s Argentina with his magical drinks and charming persona.  The bar is a beautiful homage to art deco, all the waiters are handsome and dressed in white tuxedos and while it’s definitely on the pricey side, it’s worth it for a treat. I rate the Bon Voyage.

5) London Underground expert, Annie Mole (!!), has chosen her favourite tube station clocks! Fascinating stuff.

6) Banana Republic is launching another Mad Men range! This time around, costume designer, Janie Bryant, has been inspired by the show’s country club scenes – SWOON! That means lots of capris and cardigans for the Bettys and sweater vests and polo shirts for the Dons. It launches on March 1st – 24 days before season five airs.

Prada get hot-rod heavy in Spring/Summer 2012 campaign video

2 Feb

 

Garage forecourts aren’t the most glamorous of locations, but that hasn’t stopped Prada filming its spectacular Spring/Summer 2012 campaign video amongst the pumps of a Greased Lightning-esque petrol station

A world away from the Ginsters pasties and microwave apple turnovers that are hotter than the sun, this vision of Americana petrol station loveliness is (obv) inspired by the hot rod-inspired sandals and beautiful 1950s-ish car prints that were at the heart of the collection.

All flaming tail fins, immaculate headscarves and Betty Draper glares, it’s like a high-fashion take on Grease.

And Grease is pretty high fashion already, soooo….

A proper look at Marni x H&M

31 Jan

We’ve already seen a video of the Marni x H&M collection and a few pictures, but now Vogue Russia has published an editorial featuring some of the collection. Promo shots are all well and good, but seeing the clothes in action gives a slightly different angle on the look and feel of the collaboration.

Love the blouse, the collar, the t-shirt and… obviously the wigs, but they don’t have much to do with Marni.

See more on Fashionista

Beauty and the Beast: Viktor & Rolf launch Spicebomb

30 Jan

I’ve always been a fan of musky, masculine scents so when I was invited to a launch party for Viktor & Rolf’s new men’s scent, Spicebomb, I jumped at the chance.

The Dutch duo have always been favourites of mine – Flowerbomb was the first ‘proper’ perfume I loved and the night I spent with Jon at the opening party for The House of V&R at the Barbican is still up there in the most lol-fashion nights out I’ve ever had.

As for those butch fragrances, Andy wears Dior Homme [sexiest men's scent of all time] and as well as nicking a bit of that, I also like to dowse myself in Comme des Garcons MAN EDT and L’Occitane per Homme. What can I say? I like to think of myself as Una Troubridge, lounging in a library, smoking a pipe, with a monocle.

It’s time like this I rue not having a proper camera – but that dark, industrial-looking shot just above is actually a pretty accurate representation of the adventure Viktor & Rolf took us on. The warning to wrap up warm for the event proved to be accurate, as we ended up supping cocktails in the depths of a Charlotte Street carpark. Much like Frank’s, we made our grand entrance in a goods’ lift and following some moody scene-setting, torso-heavy films, a ear-popping explosion of scented glitter introduced us to Spicebomb.

The bottle’s a hand grenade, we were introduced to it with a semi-deafening boom – no surprise then, that the scent is a bit of an explosion itself. The press release describes it as, ‘a sensual bomb’ – ooer. It kind of is though – you get a big immediate whiff of leather, tabasco and vetiver before it calms down into a lasting spicy, peppery scent. You can see the three key ingredients – along with Viktor & Rolf’s trademark specs – in that cute promo image up top.

As predicted, I love it.  I’ve given it to Andy officially, but I’ve been wearing it myself this week. Heady, heavy and spicy – just the thing for a budding Una Troubridge, really.

Prices start at £45 and it’s on sale in Harrods now and nationwide from 7 March.

Thanks Viktor & Rolf and Handpicked Media for a fun night!

Versace by way of River Island

29 Jan

My ongoing search for a wedding-appropriate outfit took me to Westfield this weekend, which was quite good fun. I generally give Westfield a thumbs up – I’m not a great fan of shopping malls, but Westfield does what it’s supposed to do very well. Going on a Saturday afternoon was never going to be a calm, serene shopping experience but it had more interesting shops than I expected – COS, Prada, Urban Outfitters, Jaeger, John Lewis – and an incredible array of places to eat. It actually felt like there were more food places than shops, it was a world away from ~The Oasis~ at Meadowhall, home of so many teenage adventures.

Anyway – I didn’t find anything very exciting to wear, but I did get a remarkable River Island belt which owes quite a lot to 80s Versace. Always a good thing, right? It’s thin black velvet, bedazzled with gold, crystal-embellished leopard heads. It’s hideous, quite frankly, but just the thing to cheer me up after a disheartening afternoon’s shopping.

I can’t find it online, but it was £20 and there were loads in-store!

Thank Furcoat it’s Friday

27 Jan

1) Evidently the only things I watch on TV are Man Vs Food, Countryfile and BBC historical documentaries. The Timewatch series is fantastic and tomorrow there’s a promising-looking show about debutantes and the whole ~coming out~ season. The documentary focuses on 1939 – the year that was dubbed the last season because that whole thing kind of fell off during the war years, never to be reprised. I read Anne de Courcy’s fantastic book on the very same subject last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, so this’ll be a right old treat for me. And it promises a Mitford or two. Find out more here. [This Timewatch show about the Empire State Building is also worth a look, if you’re into art deco.)

2) I’m hoping to see W.E. this weekend – I know it’s going to be shit, but you know my thoughts on Wallis. What better way to get myself psyched up for the fashion binge than Stylist’s slideshow of her best outfits? I find it weird they didn’t identify some of the most famous pieces (the Schiaparelli, mainly) but it’s still a treat. The above picture is interesting – Wallis is obviously the point, but damn that woman in the background looks incredible, I want to know who she is.

3) This is a nice introduction to Dolly Wilde, who I’m ashamed to admit I don’t know a vast amount about. The rest of the site is worth a poke around too!

4) I’m particularly excited about mermaids as a Spring/Summer 2012 trend and this massively indepth Fashionising post makes it all the more appealing. Art deco mermaid lemonade advert c/o Vintage Browser.

5) Mad Men‘s acclaimed costume designer, Janie Bryant, shares her vintage shopping secrets here. Awesome read and some great shop suggestions too!

6) Last weekend we had an unexpected visit to Two Temple Place, the magnificent home of William Waldorf Astor on the Victoria Embankment. It’s my actual dream house and it’s open at the moment for a nice William Morris exhibition, which finishes on Sunday. There’s no better place to enjoy some intricate Morris works than in the arts-and-crafts surroundings of the house, so if you’re around this weekend, make sure you visit.

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