Golden gifts for Fathers' Day

This month’s blogs have the theme of anything and everything to do with gold. And, with Fathers’ Day coming up soon, I’m sure an awful lot of you must be considering stylish and unusual gifts for all of the uniquely individual and very special Dads out there? So, if your father’s worth his weight in gold, how about a little something that positively glows with your love and appreciation? Here are some ideas for gifts that rock like the golden oldie 'king of bling' himself ...










For the father who indulges in the occasional spot of air guitaring (sadly, I know a few), I’d like to recommend this gloriously gold lame tie (right), beautifully designed and hand-finished by fashion designer to the glitterati (and a fair few rock stars too), Sir Tom Baker. I’ve noticed several gold ties around lately, but none quite as cutting edge or eye-catching as this.






If your Dad’s a bit of an ageing hippy, he might also like this hand painted recycled suede jacket by Baifall Dream (right) … very 1970s Earth, Wind and Fire.

The more traditional man might like to stick to something he feels more comfortable in. Just make sure he knows that the ‘only true test for gentlemen’ is determined by whether or not they wear double cuff shirts and cufflinks ...



If your father’s the suave and sophisticated type, it’s highly likely he’s a fan of James Bond’s curiously cool style.

Christopher Lee’s Scaramanger may not be your number one fashion icon, but these vintage ‘golden gun’ cufflinks (left) from ShopCurious are certainly the sort of accessories that any well dressed gentleman would like to have in his wardrobe.



Of course, your old man might actually be more of a medallion fancier, who’d prefer a lorry load of bling around his neck. All I’d say is that you is that, whatever you choose, it’s really nice if you manage to find something that’s timeless in its appeal, something your Dad can keep and cherish forever - a gift that’s got a bit of provenance, that might even be collectable and can be passed on to future generations as an investment. All the more reason to pick something that you're rather fond of too.

Are you?

Flapper flummox

With the London Marathon fast approaching, there’s something many participants will be worrying about – nipple chafing. The people I feel really sorry for are the celebrity participants because you can guarantee that, if they’re female, nine out of ten will have had breast implants.














That’s a real shame because it’s going to be rather difficult for them to replicate the authentic flapper look which is just about to become really hot (give or take a few years, as I always seem to be several trends ahead of what stylish people are wearing on the street).

Nevertheless, if you’re contemplating having the op, I’d give it a re-think as styles tend to change over time. What’s more, a friend of mine - who lives in LA and has assets to prove it - told me that, after her breast enhancement, she wasn’t able to go jogging for months on end. Apparently, over there, women’s clothing is specially designed to take account of the average Californian female’s unnaturally large breasts, which are totally out of proportion with the rest of her body. Meanwhile, back at the cutting edge, flapper fashions are making a comeback - and it seems that even national trend-setter Kate Moss (she of refreshingly natural looking boobs) is a big fan.

Did you know that, in the 1920s, bras, or brassieres as they were called at the time, were no more than bandeau style chest-flatteners, originally attached to a corset? Those with small breasts got away with wearing the fashionable camisoles of the time, but bustier ladies found themselves resorting to the scarily named Symington Side Lacer – a contraption that was laced at the sides to pull in and flatten the chest. It wasn’t until a bit later that bra cup sizes were introduced … perhaps something to take into account if you're thinking of investing in original 1920s fashion.

The word ‘flapper’ is originally a British term as it’s over here that it became the ‘in thing’ for young women to wear rubber galoshes, which were left open to flap when they walked. The flapper look as we know it was later popularized by Coco Chanel and other leading designers of the day throughout the United States and Europe. The term ‘flapper’ became synonymous with liberated young women. Flappers were bold, confident, and sexy. They tried faddish new diets in an effort to achieve a fashionable thinness, because new fashions required slim figures, flat chests, and narrow hips.

As it happens, the flapper dress was much less complicated than earlier designs and wasn’t the sole preserve of the moneyed classes. Skirt lengths in the ‘20s varied dramatically: they weren’t all short and, contrary to popular belief, the women weren’t all incredibly skinny either. Although the fashion was for dresses to be loose fitting, the straight skirt style of flapper dresses is fairly timeless and actually suits most people – what’s more, at ShopCurious, we’ve got some beautifully beaded original vintage examples in UK sizes from 6 to 16.

Flappers are notorious for rejecting strict Victorian rules and representing everything new about women – smoking, wild dancing, short bobbed hair, brightly coloured lipstick, reckless behaviour and male attitudes. In the early 1900s, women started to work alongside men for the first time and to move away from the role of being purely mothers and housewives.






Of course, all of this ended with the Great Depression.

In terms of fashion styles, whatever their optimum bust sizes, it seems we’ve turned full circle many times. With all the changes that are going on in the world at the moment, I’d love to know where we’re headed next - and I’m not just curious, I’m totally flummoxed. Perhaps we should just slow down, recycle, re-use and give ourselves time to reevaluate … and maybe even accept ourselves the way we are.

Will you?