The Get Em Mamis - Work

Apart from the fact I love the song and some of The Get Em Mamis other songs, I love the really amateur fashion show in this video. Turn up your speakers!

Wool and the Gang

The Parisian-based design collective 'Wool and the Gang' launched 2 years ago, with an aim to revisit traditional knitting values and deliver them in a modern way. Knit your own slouchy, stylish, hand-knitted oversized scarf or have some fun with your very own DIY knit-kit!

Sounds great doesn't it? A step-by-step guide to knitting your own scarf/gloves/hat. But it doesn't come cheap: at Net-a-porter this kit will set you back a whopping £120.

I really want...

...thee bag of the season, Alexander Wang's 'Coco' duffel bag. But at £795 (never mind the fact it keeps selling out), I think I'll need to settle for a high street alternative as I'm sure there will be lots about soon enough.

Free Iran

After the contraversy surrounding the 'Legalize Gay. . . Repeal Prop 8 Now!" t-shirts (resulting in staff receiving death threats and vandalism on stores), American Apparel have upped-the-ante again with their next political statement.

The retail giant supplied a UCLA rally for Iranian democracy with "Free Iran" T-shirts on Saturday. A spokesperson for the company stated:

"American Apparel is a company that supports liberty and open-minded thinking. [We have] a history of putting our money where our mouth is. We have some resources and assets that your average protester doesn't and we want to use those when we can." 

Cult Clothing

Hadn't been to Cult in Glasgow in years. The thing that sticks out to me about this shop was that it used to have a pound coin glued to the ground just at the entrance so people used to try pick it up all the time unsuccessfully. Anyway, I liked their recent window display.

Lily gets the Karl treatment

Lily Allen has come a long way since her sneaks, prom dress and gold bling combinations. 

The first pictures of her Chanel handbag campaign shot by Karl have finally hit the web. The black and white shots show Lily looking distinctly Lagerfeld-like, wearing monochrome neat tailoring and fingerless gloves (which are set to be huge this Fall '09).

More Pictures...

Pictures...

...I like that over time I have saved on my computer. Might as well share them:

Furry Fashionistas.

Saw these pictures on Times Online and just adored them. Reminds me of Lula magazine who always have adventurous little ways of displaying accessories. 

Emma Cook for Topshop

Topshop's Inside Out blog had access to Emma Cook's studio and shows her working on the prints which have just been revealed in her new collection for the brand. I love seeing designers' work space. 

Topshop AW'09 Lookbook (behind-the-scenes)

Stella McCartney ft. Bambi

Shot by photographer Ryan McGinley in a forest in Worchestershire, Stella McCartney’s Fall 2009 ad campaign features beloved Bambi characters. Of course McCartney has always been pro animal rights so it is fitting that if anyone was to go down this direction it should be her. The effect is quite beautiful.

Topshop AW'09 Lookbook

Pop-Up boutique

East London boutique hotel 40 Winks will open a pop-up showroom for designers during London Fashion Week. They invite applications from clothing and accessories designers who want to show their collections close to the main event in central London.

Previously, 40 Winks has been used as a fashion shoot location by both British and American Vogue..

Dress

Topshop New Season

On my recent visit to London, I of course swung by Topshop Oxford Street. Launching their New Season's collection, the store had everything (and I mean everything) that we can come to expect from Fall '09. 

Shaggy knits, exciting hosiery, lace and sheer fabrics, glam embroidery, oversized bullet proof statement jewellery, thigh high boots, bondage shoes... and this was all just in the window display! Topshop has hit the nail on the head yet again. 

Isn't she lovely?

Isn't she wonderful? This is my gorgeous friend Kirsty again spotted by everyone's favourite 'Facehunter' a few months ago in London.

George buyers do Balmain.

(Thanks Lauren for the article.)
So I posted some of the Balmain Fall '09 collection last week, including an image of the stunning silver and black mini dress which Kate Moss was spotted wearing back in April. 

The dress is of course a tad out of my price range but check out what George at Asda have created for £16. Verdicts? The supermarket is hoping the limited edition dress will be one of their best selling items of the year.

I have a dress I bought years ago in a second hand store which is very in-line with Balmain's latest collection - I think I'll be wearing it next week and will post pics. 

Explains itself.

More Street Art.

Here's some beautiful art work by Macarena Yanez - a Masters student at Central Saint Martin's in London whom my friend introduced me to. 

As you've never seen Kate before.

Friend of Kate Moss, Swedish designer Lovisa Burfitt has the priviledge of being able to see her friend how nobody else does. She has recently created 3 quirky illustrations of the supermodel dressed as a clown, a court jester and as Charlie Chaplin. The illustrations will appear on jersey dresses sold online at my-wardrobe.com

Buyer for my-wardrobe.com, Joanne Watkinson said "Owning a piece from her collection, and it being limited edition, felt like buying a piece of wearable art. The Kate Moss connection made it even more exciting."

Hosiery

Look at some of the fab examples of hosiery for Fall. These look great with all the mini skirts that are about but also - like with Stella McCartney (bottom left) - with calf length skirts. Can't wait to see how the high street interprets these embellished styles.

Balmain handbags.

So the news has just broke the edgiest label in Paris, Balmain are to launch their own handbag collection. WWD has just dished the dirt: Retailers are in Paris for viewings of the pre-collections showing a half dozen styles. Like their clothes, expect a lot of silver, black leather, studs, crystals and fringing.

Miss Watson's wardrobe.

On Sunday, I watched a T4 special on “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.” Footage and interviews with the cast on the red carpet in London left me in awe of Emma Watson's dress. Turns out it was vintage Ossie Clark. 

Emma now has the most enviable wardrobe and has bearly been away from the front rows at Fashion Weeks. Further promoting of the new film saw her wearing Proenza Schouler and Christopher Kane (respectively):

But Emma has spoken plainly about the possibility of fashion overshadowing her career and the idea of celebrity branding: 

“That’s my worst nightmare. First and foremost, I’m an actress. I’m not a designer. If someone asked me to do something that was beneficial to a cause, then maybe I’d consider it, but not just [to be able to say] ‘Look at me! I’ve got my own line!’”

Topshop sells Choolips.

This summer, CHOOLIPS’ fairtrade summer dresses - playful, pretty silhouettes featuring colourful Ghanaian batik prints - will be sold exclusively at Topshop’s Oxford Circus flagship store.

The label offers garments made in Ghana by local batikers, tailors and seamstresses, all of whom earn eleven times the average national wage for their work.

Christian Lacroix Fall '09 Couture

One of the most wearable couture collections Christian Lacroix has ever created, this season's last couture installment was possibly a commercial plee for financial backing. The Lacroix business went into administration and all but 12 workers were laid off. (Due to legal issues, the models had to be paid and were reportedly paid €50 each.) The ateliers loyal to Christian donated their time in order to pull off a collection to follow (though by no means match) the opulent fantasies he has been creating since 1987.

As the whole audience stood in ovation for him walking out with a model donning his bridal creation, Christian (who had personally financed the collection himself) stated, "I didn't want to cry. I want to continue, maybe in a different way, with a small atelier. What I really care about is the women who do this work."

Without access to extravagant hues and embellished materials, he pared the collection back to mainly black and midnight blue (a huge trend when placed together for Fall '09), concentrating on shape and wearability.