The September Issue: Autumn/Winter 2011 on the highstreet...

Hooray for September! Unlike most, I don't bemoan the end of summer, because the Autumn/Winter season is always my favourite time of year for fashion. I can barely contain my excitement when the shops start getting in their winter stock, when knitwear abounds, lush fabrics and deep hues as far as the eye can see. I'm talking squealing in Topshop and emitting an extended series of oohhs and aaahhs in River Island... so dignified!

River Island has really won me around in the last couple of years. It used to be a shop I rarely visited, but now it's practically my first stop. This autumn/winter they definitely have the 'disco-glam' corner of the market covered, which I suspect will be many peoples first port of call for Christmas and New Years party looks. Firstly I have to mention their AW11 ad campaign - I've spotted this in a number of magazines and it's just beautiful. Love, love, love that sleazy Helmut Newton style 70s glamour shot - it's so full of attitude. Makes me think of Jerry Hall, Roxy Music cover girls, vintage YSL - all the things that make my heart beat a little bit faster!

River Island AW11 Campaign

Their 'Hustle' (think Studio 54, Anjelica Huston, Halston) and 'Farrah' collections (Farrah Fawcett, Fleetwood Mac, American boho) are all about that 70s style, for night and daytime respectively.

Top Picks: Dark Red Slinky Maxi Dress Was £50, Now £20

Top Picks: Blue Print Culottes £32

New Look has a nice range of fun, youthful, budget-conscious daywear. They have plenty of flirty, thigh-skimming tea dresses, cute satchels and some very lovely grungy oversized knitwear to snuggle up in as it gets colder out! Their 'English Heritage' collection is probably my favourite. Girlish yet very wearable, including retro knits, quilted jackets, and quirky dresses (like their ditsy dog print pleated dress) it's sure to be a popular one.

Top Picks: Vintage Pleated Dress £29.99

Top Picks: Twisted Yarn Jumper £24.99

Ending on a high, Topshop's Lookbook for this autumn/winter is shaping up to be pretty wonderful, with their 'Prim & Polished', 'Bavaria' and 'Glam Underground' collections being particular highlights for me...

'Prim & Polished' lies somewhere between thrift-store twee and ladylike vintage. Novelty motif knits and ladylike skirts meet tassled leather loafers and felt berets. Think lots of bows, peter-pan collars... a kooky brand of British nostalgia caught somewhere between Miss Marple and a 1960s schoolgirl (not quite as bizarre as it might sound!)

Top picks: Swing Velvet Bow Coat £98

Top Picks: Leather Classic Lady Bag £80

'Bavaria' is "opulent but homespun" (thanks, Topshop.com!), which sounds just so appealing. Again,  a thrift-store feel, but an altogether more grown-up and sumptuous affair. With a heavy dose of eccentricity. Lots of paisley, faux-fur collars, floppy hats and oversized earrings - all rather Anita Pallenberg-esque.
The cream embroidered smock dress is my favourite piece -  dreamy, and with a very romantic, vintage look. Slightly pricier (but definitely a head-turner), is the black flower embellished dress, with its pleated skirt and abundance of beading detail, it's certainly worth it for a special occasion.

Top Picks: Cream Embroidered Smock Dress £50

Top Picks: Black Flower Embellished Dress £75

'Glam Underground', with its "all out glamour and rockstar appeal" is a great transitional collection amalgamating the 70s glam, androgyny and luxe-punk trends in swathes of black and gold to create a great early-autumn statement look before we have to bundle up under our heavy coats and rain boots.
I've already treated myself to the amazing 'Aim' shoe-boots. In black suede and textured leather they're pretty fabulous, if slightly impractical for trekking around town... 
I'm also very tempted by the 'battered sequin' sleeve t-shirt, which would look just great with an old pair of jeans, or maybe tucked into a midi-skirt.

Top Picks: 'Aim' Leather & Suede Shoe Boots £80

Top Picks: Battered Sequin Sleeve Tee £30

So whether you're after sequins and glamour or nostalgic bohemia this autumn, there's plenty out there on the high street, and no doubt more treats to come throughout this most exciting of seasons!

hx

All About Burgundy...

For me, right now, it's all about burgundy. I'm loving the 70s inspired pallette of the current season - teal, tan, camel, turquoise and last but not least... beautiful burgundy!

There's tons of it on the high street at the moment, so I thought I'd post a few pieces that have caught my eye...

River Island Mid Length A Line Belted Skirt - £30.00

Thusfar I've invested in this heavenly midi skirt from River Island, which has attracted many a compliment already. It's a dream to wear, the fabric has a lovely drape and flow. A real 70s shape too. Ideal to wear for some Jerry Hall inspired 70s chic, perhaps with a textural blouse, or even dressed down with ankle boots and a vintage band shirt tucked in for a more irreverent 90s daytime style.

And I'm also loving this bargainous boyfriend cable cardigan from New Look. Great for grungy down days with a pair of cut offs. Has a slouchy lived-in look, like it's been passed down from a generous boyfriend with excellent taste in knitwear!

New Look Cable Knit Boyfriend Cardigan - £27.99

Another burgundy pick I've had my eye on comes from Warehouse, with this stunning 40s style swallow-print dress. With its matte-silk fabric, angel sleeves and wrapover detailing, it's so Miu Miu (think the beautiful Hailee Steinfeld/Bruce Weber shots), and nods at not only the 40s trend, but also the 70s and oriental styles that are so prevalent this season. Definite showstopper piece for any A/W parties.

Warehouse Silk Bird Print Dress - £65

Warehouse dress - note the sweet keyhole detailing. Do want!

Finally, even accessories are looking beautiful in burgundy. I love this bag from Nica's first leather range (about time too...REALLY not a fan of pleather!) - the adorably named 'Bunty' Satchel is a bit of a Mulberry contender in terms of preppy/heritage styling, and priced around the £100 mark, it's a very affordable investment piece.

Nica Bunty Satchel

That's all for now, and in the words of Mr. Burgundy himself...
"You stay classy..." 
x

In Praise Of Make-Up: YSL, Baudelaire and Barry M...

YSL Ombres 5 Lumieres - 'Midnight Garden'

When I laid eyes on YSL's AW11 eye-colour pallette in 'Midnight Garden', I was smitten.
Not only is this mix of lush, moody blues one of my favourite niches on the colour wheel, there's something quite magical and exotic about this little box of tricks. It definitely highlights the seasonal habit of ushering out the au naturel 'barely there' look and welcoming in the extravagant. It put me in mind of a quote I read from the great man himself, Yves Saint Laurent:  "The most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy." ...Too true, Yves!

Sure, a simple, barely-there beauty regime is the ideal, but there is a distinct magic in make-up. I've mentioned in the past my love of clothing in its ability to conjour up new identies and channel our feelings and personal style. But there's an artistry in cosmetics that is quite extraordinary.

You'll have to indulge me in yet another digression, but the Yves quote reminded me of an essay from Charles Baudelaire I read whilst doing a wonderful course entitled 'Aesthestes and Decadents' as part of my English degree. Baudelaire's 'In Praise of Make-Up' crystallised in me (in the most inspiringly dramatic manner, natch) the idea that rather than just the natural, we should embrace the supernatural beauty. He was kicking against the 18th century Romantic ideal that true beauty is natural, untamed and unaffected by the hand of man. Baudelaire saw the savagery and lack of sophistication in nature, that it could be 'coarse, earthy and disgusting' (poss. a little hyperbolous, but lets go with it....) and instead favoured the sophisticated beauty crafted by man by way of fashion and cosmetic adornment. Thus, he saw fashion being 'a sublime distortion of nature... a permanent and constantly renewed effort to reform nature', and ultimately 'the means of rising above nature'.

But wait - before you go out and empty the contents of a cosmetics counter onto your face in inspired aesthetic glee, take note...  We all know a certain someone who trowels their make-up on so thick there appears to be an unpleasant orange tidemark around their face - I am in no way endorsing that. Have some panache ladies! Just like painting on canvas, make-up really is an art and with a gift and skill can be transformative. It's not a miracle worker though. As Baudelaire himself said, 'artifice does not embellish ugliness, and can only serve beauty.'

"Woman is well within her rights, we may even say she carries out a kind of duty, in devoting herself to the task of fostering a magic and supernatural aura about her appearance..."

On the subject of the fantastical, I've been adding a little touch of the supernatural to my workday get-up with Barry M's wonder product 'Nail Effects' shatter paint. Current favourite colour combination is black shatter paint over Barry M's antique gold (289).
Just one coat over your regular polish transforms like magic within seconds to give a cracked, almost animal-print effect. The colour combinations are as far reaching as your nail polish collection will allow. I'm hoping that more products of this sort will make their way onto our shelves allowing us to easily create dramatic looks at home.   

Barry M : Nail Effects Nail Paint

New Nail Obsession!

A little gilded luxury for the office perhaps?

So ladies, dig out the kohl and the rouge this season, and to paraphrase Baudelaire - "adorn yourself to be adored"!

hx

Style Scrapbook: Last Days Of Disco

So often I find myself unwittingly at odds with popular trends. If it's sports luxe and colour blocking everywhere you look, then I'll probably be into cute 60s mini-dresses or romantic lace. I don't do it on purpose, somehow it just always seems to work out that way.
But the catwalk's recent love affair with seventies glamour has really piqued my interest, and for once I feel (dare I say it...) in sync with widespread taste... Ok, so this is sounding worryingly 'at one' with the world, fret not, it's not all rose-tinted - I have to say I have never been a fan of boho/hippie/global traveller type style and I can't see myself converting to macrame and tie-dye anytime soon ...
What I'm crushing on is that late 70s/bordering on 80s 'last days of disco' super-glossy glamazon look. I'm thinking Marc Jacobs SS11, vintage 70s YSL/Halston, Jerry Hall, Studio 54 etc etc...

A brilliant array of late 70s glamour can be seen in one of my favourite films, P.T Anderson's Boogie Nights. Specifically Julianne Moore as the fantastically named Amber Waves in floaty chiffons, luxurious lurex, plunging necklines and of course that amazing big hair.

Lovely in lurex...

Ravishing in red...

Probably not the most eye-catching, given the dazzling spectrum of outfits she wears throughout the film, but I was totally taken by the oddly chic dusky pink and mauve combo she wears in the courtroom scene. Check out the matching nails! What's not to love?! I for one will be pairing up these shades sometime soon...

...and perhaps not so happy in mauve... but looking stylish nonetheless.

For couture inpiration I'm loving vintage YSL and Halston, the favourite of all Studio 54 icons - angel wing sleeves, drapes, gathering, empire lines. It's all about drama and this has it all...

Stunning 70s Halston tangerine chiffon wrap gown

Halston 70's Silk Hand-Beaded Evening Dress

And of course I couldn't finish the post without a mention of Marc Jacobs' most recent collection... a paean to Boogie Nights glamour!

Big hair, big shades and big pout essential for MJ's poolside glamourfest

Hmm... that hair accessory looks awfully familiar...

I'm not sure how much of this will be wearable for a trip to the supermarket, but the first opportunity I get this summer I'll be digging out the hair accessories and shimmer eyeshadow and partying like it's 1979.

h x

Book Club: Luella's Guide To English Style

In the first of what I hope might be a number of style-related book reviews, I'm looking at a wonderful book I received as a present from my most stylish friend, 'Luella's Guide to English Style'.
Written by Luella Bartley, of the sadly now-defunct eponymous fashion label Luella, and crammed with well-chosen photos and truly beautiful coloured-pencil illustrations by Zoë Taylor which have a feel as if they were taken from a particularly artistically-inclined (and super-cool) teenager's scrapbook.  
We may have been taught very young that old adage 'never judge a book by it's cover', but to hell with that - this one's a complete beauty! It's probably worth the price alone to have this utterly charming, faux-vintage, faded dusty-rose hardback with gilded lettering (and a quote from that British icon Mr. Bowie, no less) sat on your bookshelf.

Essential for any beautiful British bookshelf...

Appearances aside, this was a really delightful and, in a strange way, life-affirming read. Althought it's title may suggest that it's a guide book on how to achieve that perfect, insouciant British brand of chic, Luella stresses that it most certainly isn't. Instead, it's a compendium of style icons ('top British birds' - from Siouxsie Sioux to the Duchess of Devonshire), style tribes (Sloane Rangers, New Romantics, Mods) and classic pieces that make up the British wardrobe (band t-shirts, tea dresses, Doc Martens and twinsets). All this is delivered in Luella's warm, knowing and often charmingly self-deprecating tone, with lots of relateable style anecdotes, from the schoolyard to motherhood.

Some of Zoë Taylor's fantastic illustrations

First Lady of Britpop, Ms. Frischmann

Luella's Guide... is a rare treasure of a book, which recaptures that teenage enthusiasm and originality for raiding the dressing-up box and creating that mish-mash of granny-chic and punk rock that makes Brit girls so enviably cool. And besides, any guide that can hold up Justine Frischmann and Vita Sackville-West alongside Kate Moss amongst it's top ten most stylish Brit girls is certainly on to a winner in my books.

h x