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? 

Flowers, frills, feathers and fans

 

The Queen was dressed simply, in powder blue, for the first day of Royal Ascot. My own curiously cobbled together outfit comprised of faded pastel shades – I customized an old pair of Top Shop shoes with ‘found’ floral embellishment, which I’d purloined from a vintage hat the night before. Thankfullly, I found a pair of 'nude' tights before I left too...

I wore one of the 'mad hatter' creations from my extensive millinery collection, along with a Missoni (thrift shop) dress, a vintage couture jacket and a 1950s beaded bag,which was borrowed from ShopCurious. Amazingly, I didn’t spot anyone wearing anything similar…

Along with the inevitable red, white and blue, hat and dress trends on Tuesday seemed to fall into several categories: Floral hats – ranging from modern, nature inspired to old fashioned bathing cap style.

Frills (and later in the day spills) were spotted on hats and dresses alike.

      
































Feathers were everywhere – occasionally getting in the way.

One lady couldn’t get enough of them and took a spare hat along, just in case her companion didn't turn up for afternoon tea.

Flying saucer hats were also in evidence, like the ones worn by retro girl-band, The Tootsie Rollers (below right). 

And there were Far Eastern style fan-pleated numbers too.












As well as fitted trouser suits. One woman sitting under an escalator reminded me of Diane Keaton. Whilst another seemed to be wearing her pyjamas.

Then there were the fashion mavericks – like Tracy Rose, who never conforms to any style but her own. 

I also noticed a couple of girls with crazy tattoos. And, from afar, saw a fabulous pair of striped-heeled sandals.

    

After a fun day of fashion spotting, I pirouetted back to the car park. Next time I might even watch the races..

Will you?

PS check out men’s racy Ascot fashions in today’s post at The Dabbler.

Skyscraper heels at LFW

Contrary to popular belief, trudging around fashion trade fairs, hiking across town to showrooms and standing in queues at fashion shows is far from glamorous. It’s also pretty demanding on the feet – especially if, like me, you’re partial to shoes of the high-heeled variety.

Whilst I’ve a weakness for arty and unusual shoes, I’ve noticed that heels seem to be getting higher and higher. When I saw the unique shoe designs by Joanne Stoker at London Fashion Week, I thought she was trying to cash in on this trend with her new ‘Empire States’ collection.






Inspired by Art Deco architecture, the handcrafted Plexiglass heels of Joanne’s shoes are designed to replicate masterpieces from the New York skyline. (Thankfully, no one's tried to base a shoe design on London's Shard of Glass).

Anyway, Joanne informed me that, although her ‘skyscraper heels’ give the impression of being high, they’ve been made with comfort and wearability in mind - and the method of construction means they’re actually only medium-high...






The angular shapes and mosaic style decorations are curiously creative and original, but however easy they are to walk in, the tower block shoes look rather more clunky than, say, the elegantly aerodynamic, space age designs of Chau Har Lee.











When I first saw Chau Har Lee’s designs last year I forgot to mention that we’ve some similar perspex wedges at ShopCurious. Ours are from one of Tom Ford’s early collections for Gucci in the 1990s and feature an angular silver ‘G’ buckle.

I think it’s great when shoes double up as collectable works of design art.

Do you?

Iconic decade of design revisited

'Retro style and design' is currently the name of the game. I certainly enjoyed travelling back to yesteryear for a blast from the past with a modern day twist, when I read a this ‘fab’ new book.

Dominic Lutyens and Kirsty Hislop have really captured the Zeitgeist of the seventies in their glossy tome – 70s Style and Design. Focusing on the key trends of the era, their book is a visual demonstration of just how vitally important the period was for the creative arts.








From pop art, post modernism (so that’s what inspired those chairs?) and derivative timeless style (think la Belle Epoque, The Jazz Age and the Surrealist movement) - to the origins of eco-friendly cool: this beautifully illustrated coffee table style bible of the 70s has them all.







With curiously appropriate 1970s style pull out pages, the colourful volume is a roll call of pivotal designers – and not just of fashion, but a lifestyle. Yves St Laurent, Vivienne Westwood, Zandra Rhodes, Bill Gibb, Biba, Laura Ashley and Fiorucci to name but a few – many of whom, as individuals or labels, are now making a comeback.
















By the way, if you’re a lover of ‘70s style and design, check out the vintage shoes new in at ShopCurious, including the design shown left, from Biba (soon to be reborn at House of Fraser), and a highly collectable pair of de Havz by stalwart style leader of the ’70 and ‘80s scene, Terry de Havilland.




Anyway, as I was saying, if you'd like to see‘70s illustrations, magazine photos and some of the most amazing art, architecture and design of the day, this book is a must.

Of course, for all 40-60 somethings who lived through the decade, it’s essential reading and will bring back fond memories of peace symbols and liberation – both for women and men - plus platform shoes, floaty dresses, punk style piercings and uncontrollably contagious disco fever.





























The ‘70s was a decade of many incarnations all rolled into one, and was hugely influential in terms of interiors and design. I think a similarly eclectic mix of styles is something we’ve also experienced over the past decade…

Do you?

Sporty Summer giveaway

I’ve been waiting for an opportune moment to mention the Reebok giveaway* at ShopCurious and, now that Summer (or at least a spot of sunshine) seems to have arrived, I think the time has come..

I was recently asked to participate in a trial of the new EasyTone shoes by Reebok – the ones that are supposed to give you a work out just by walking in them. When nature intervened, my plans for everything were interrupted by volcanic ash from Iceland, and I ended up testing out said shoes in the sunny Caribbean.



I usually shun mainstream brands, but the fitness market is somewhat limited in terms of the range of practical-yet-stylish clothing on offer. Moreover, my curiosity was aroused by the unique design of the EasyTone Curve Trainers– and claims that just stepping out in a pair of these specially engineered shoes could help tone up the legs. Hmmm..

Reebok rather generously sent me a complete outfit, along with the curious looking footwear. In terms of styling, the whole ensemble was a little more ‘pensioners playground’ (described by the Evening Standard as ‘definitely not the place to wear Lycra, ‘feel the burn’ or consume energy drinks) than dance studio cool. The bootleg exercise pants were curiously slimming, though the bottoms were a little strangely cut (to fit over shoes?);




The top was comfortable enough, but I couldn’t be doing with the weird little toggles that get caught up if you wave your hands about (as I do when aerobically challenged); The sleeveless ‘jerkin’ (a word that time forgot, but the only appropriate one I could find to describe it), was an oversized hip-hop style oddity; Even the shoes were curiously clunky looking - but hey, if they help to firm up those leg muscles, who’s to complain...

Anyway, I certainly put the trainers through their paces. I’d say they’re damned difficult to do a regular high impact exercise class in – and jogging is pretty hard going too (especially at 30C degrees). They feel peculiarly imbalanced to wear as well, but that’s why they’re supposed to be so effective:




The pads (or pods) on the bottom of the shoe are designed to cause instability, similar to the effect of walking along a beach. No surprise then, that a walk along a real beach in these shoes is like doing a triple strength work out. They make a great sand print too. The only problem is that sand gets stuck in the holes in the top of the shoe (guess they weren’t intended for beachwear).





Easytone trainers are perfect for walking though, better still speed-walking, as well as posing in front of Giorgio Armani’s stylish Caribbean villa. And they say that walking burns almost as many calories as jogging, plus it’s better for the joints too. So there you go... and the overall rating I give them is:

Style 6/10 (a matter of personal taste, of course)
Comfort 8/10
Fit 9/10
Performance 8/10 (it's the sand factor!)







Now for the giveaway. Just comment on this blog, and you’ll be entered into the prize draw for a natty black Reebok gym bag (left). Whether or not you’re inspired by the fashion for fitness, this is a decent sized (approx 60 cm across), sturdily made holdall.

*Simply add a comment to this post before the closing date of Friday 28th May to be included in the draw for a free Reebok gym bag.

Will you?


PS Congratulations to Jan from Race of Style, the winner of our Grace Kelly book giveaway.