Accessories in abundance at LFW

When is a lampshade not a lampshade? When it’s a fringed dress, hung from the stone staircase at Somerset House. I spotted lots of unique accessories at London Fashion Week.

Like this hand-sculpted metalwork and leather cape by jewellery design-duo Yunus and Eliza,

cutesy Perspex hair bands and epaulettes from Little Shipa,

arty headwear by Stephen Jones,

illuminated shoes by Liam Fahy,

and quirky handmade bags by Benedetta Bruzziches.

This time there seem to be more accessories than clothes at the exhibition – perhaps related to the growth of online shopping?

Unusually for London, there seem to be plenty of empty parking spaces too…  By the way, I am wearing a vintage men's Playboy shirt, hand painted and embellished platform shoes, with a handbag and sunglasses from ShopCurious..

Will you? 

Blossom springs eternal

Spring has finally sprung, in an exploding confection of sugary pink blossom.

However hard the winter, Spring arrives at roughly the same time every year, with a fecund flourish of magnificent, flowering buds.

The eternal beauty of Spring never ceases to amaze and uplift the spirit.


(click on the photos to enlarge)


































































If you share my love of blossom, this unique. vintage 1950s, floral raffia handbag, available at ShopCurious, is covered in candy coloured blooms, and simply perfect for Spring weddings , or dressy outdoor occasions. Pastel pink, camellia and candy colour accessories are going to be big this season too.

Enjoy the fabulous fruits of the Spring!

Will you?

Sensible tips for timeless style

I get the impression that ‘sensible style’ is rather topical, so I’m going to stick with this theme for a little longer – especially as I’m not feeling entirely convinced that the much cited ‘green shoots of recovery’ are quite so nearby as many seem to imagine. At this juncture, it might be appropriate to look to our forebears for guidance on what to do if times get really tough. The fashion designers of yesteryear certainly came up with some curiously clever ideas for cutting their costs (and their cloth), whilst managing to produce stunningly stylish designs that are still appreciated to this day.





From the late 1920s, for instance, Madeleine Vionnet introduced the bias-cut method of dressmaking, whereby cloth was cut diagonal to the grain of the fabric, creating the flattering effect of clinging to the contours of the body and accentuating natural female curves. Popularized by Mme Vionnet, ‘Queen of the bias cut’, and others during the 1930s, bias cut garments combined ease of movement and comfort with glamorous fabrics like chiffon, silk and satin – as in the dress pictured left.




Vionnet’s designs involved draping and often required much more fabric than would be necessary when using a conventional pattern. However, during the 1940s, the bias-cut technique was employed to enable dressmakers to use up all their spare scraps of fabric. Towards the 1950s, the emergence of factory manufactured clothing meant that the use of fabrics became more standardized and less original. Contemporary British designer, Christa Davis, was one of the first to re-introduce the bias-cut method to dressmaking in the early 1990s. Some of her latest designs, many of which are made with recycled textiles and limited edition printed silks (like the dress pictured right), are now available online from ShopCurious.





Other practical-but-stylish solutions to economic constraints included creating clothing and accessories that were made to last. Have you heard of a world-renowned, original innovation of the 1940s, called the Corde handbag?








We’ve got some fabulous examples of these classic vintage bags on our website – and they’re in excellent condition too, which just goes to show how very hard-wearing they truly are.







By the 1950s, people started to travel more and those that ventured abroad, or on holidays away from home, were careful to be as economical as possible. Ladies siphoned off their perfumes and powders into small canisters to take away with them in compact little vanity cases - especially designed to accommodate everything a glamorous girl might require. They don’t seem to make these sets of usefully designed containers any more, though occasionally you might be lucky enough to find a perfectly preserved vanity case, complete with retro receptacles, like this one.

Do let us know if you’ve got any more sensible tips for timeless style, vintage or modern.

Will you?

Handmade accessories with attitude

Are the best things in life really free? Unfortunately, Luther Vandross is no longer around and Janet Jackson probably doesn’t have to concern herself with such issues. However, I’ve a theory that cost is less important than putting a little bit of an effort into making something rather special: You’re much more likely to be pleasantly surprised with the outcome of a piece you've lovingly created yourself than if there’s no effort involved whatsoever.







And so it is with hats. This year at Royal Ascot, I added a few bits and pieces of haberdashery to a plain orange hat to create something totally quirky and original. Take one orange hat (in this case vintage Jacques le Corre), add an aubergine feather headband from ShopCurious, plus a curiously unique vintage stuffed bird’s head – et voila, a masterpiece of modern millinery design is born ... or at least recylced.







It’s really easy to decorate hats to make them stand out from the crowd. Lucy (left and with Emma, right) chose one of our plain black raffia hats and added some mauve and maroon marabou for a flirty, feathery look. Simple and inexpensive, but very effective.



I loved this Greek-inspired handmade design in blue and gold (right) – it’s such a classic, I hope they don’t want to appropriate it for the new Acropolis Museum. Georgina - also pictured here with her wonderfully eccentric, talented photographer husband, Francis - informed me that her milliner had adapted the decoration on her giant fascinator that morning so that it matched the colour of her outfit. Wearing unique accessories is all about getting the details right.


This retro-psychedelic-meets-space age ensemble (left) certainly showed a curious attention to detail. And another lady, (whose name I think was Jennie?) had a fabulous ‘50s vintage bag with real equine appeal. How lovely it is to see something that’s individually handcrafted and beautifully hand painted – so much more stylish and unusual than your common-or-garden designer ‘it’ bag – and probably a lot cheaper too.



I’m not averse to creating an eclectic mix that includes the odd, carefully chosen, designer accessory (like these vintage Chanel sunglasses), but I think that truly original style involves a little more thought, effort and creativity than buying the most expensive and celebrity endorsed items you can afford.

Do you?

PS Jane, thanks so much for reuniting me with my lost ring via the lady with the horsy handbag xx

Beachcombers' bounty

Whether I’m on holiday or not, I always jump at any opportunity to walk along a beach. Big skies, fresh sea air and a bracing walk are all things that appeal greatly. There’s also something else that’s really special about a seaside stroll – and that’s beachcombing. Everything on the beach tells a story and interpreting the unique history of your finds can be really fascinating - especially if you're a curious sort like me.




You might discover flotsam (floating ship’s cargo/wreckage) and jetsam (washed up maritime waste) ranging from foul-smelling oil barrels and bits of old rope to fragments of coloured glass and unusual shaped fishing floats. Larger pieces of driftwood often end up as works of art adorning the walls of local holiday cottages – these days you can even find them for sale in up-market interiors shops.





Sometimes, you’ll be lucky enough to stumble upon a real curiosity like an old coin, or a message in a bottle. Finding collectable pieces of personal history is always rather exciting – even inspiring (I’m sure there’s a writer, artist or musician in everyone?) Old bits and pieces that you've found on the beach can also be recycled to make all sorts of things - like this colourful piece of jewellery.





As far as natural treasures are concerned, most of the stuff you’ll find along the seashore actually originates in the sea – like pebbles, fossils and semi-precious stones, which are created as a direct result of coastal erosion by the pounding waves. There’s also an eclectic abundance of marine life - much of which is familiar looking, but could you identify the following:


Empty whelk cases – the whelks have already hatched, but they leave these yellowy-white egg cases that look like a cross between bubble wrap and polystyrene;

A mermaid’s purse – the dried, empty egg cases of dogfish or ray;



Sea urchin shells – these make great ornaments when dried out and come in a variety of colours... as does mother of pearl, another very decorative material.




I could add to this list with all manner of extraordinary types of sea creatures, seaweed, jellyfish and worms. My favourite things of all are beautiful shells, coral and – best of all, seahorses.



At ShopCurious, we’ve some very unique accessories made from eco-friendly shells, recycled coral and other beachcomber debris – like this quirky 1950s basket style handbag and this curiously cute vintage seahorse brooch.







You might also like our fabulous hand carved mother of pearl fish pendant, or this impressive shell and bead choker - something of a bargain, as I saw one suspiciously similar in yesterday’s FT Weekend 'How to Spend It' Magazine with a significantly higher price tag. Suggest you snap this one up before the tide turns.

Will you?

Oriental exotica

With the current fashion for Japanese woodblock prints (check out the Kuniyoshi exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts), the resurgence of interest in Japanese kimonos and a renewed interest in Oriental style jewellery, accessories and homewares, it seems that our fascination with everything from the East is still as alive it was in the late 19th and early 20th century.


At ShopCurious, we’ve got some original 1930s Oriental-inspired pieces that look just as stylish today as they did all those years ago. There’s a wonderful mint condition vintage black satin handbag with fine quality Chinoiserie embroidery (see below left).






Chinoiserie, by the way, is the term used for the fashion for Chinese themes in decoration in Western Europe which began as early as the late 17th century, much earlier than Japoneries – the fashion for everything Japanese, which took off from around 1860.






Chinese style furnishings often feature Chinoiserie designs, or beautifully carved jade, like this fabulous lamp base (above right) – something totally unique and authentic that would add character and sophistication to any room.








We’ve also got some modern furnishings and tableware with a distinctly Eastern vibe. These curiously cool leather pouffes, (right and below left) from Buba are beautifully encrusted with Japanese glass beads and colourful crystals – plus they’re tried, tested and very comfortable to sit in too. Perfect for lounging around this summer...





You could even take one of these outside to enjoy the sunshine - it’s as full of Eastern promise as Fry’s Turkish Delight! In fact you might even be sufficiently inspired to buy an exotic tented canopy, like the ones in the iconic 1960s Fry's advert shown here (click on link to view).









If you’re not feeling quite that exotic, how about these unusual, yet understated Ming design placemats, with hand painted traditional blue and white illustrations based on original Ming art, by Norfolk based artist, Stephanie Douet?








More about Stephanie later - plus some of her more curious Chinoiserie creations ... definitely worth waiting for.

Will you?