Yup, the Scrunchie is back.

It's official. I posted at the start of July about American Apparel bringing back the scrunchie. But now that it has hit Topshop shop floors, Carrie Bradshaw must be eating her words.

Neurotica Lookbook.

After posting of the partnership between Neurotica and Topshop last week, the Lookbook has now arrived. Ooooh! Topshop do it with style as usual.

Beautiful Illustration

As Seen On Screen

Since it's beginnings in 2000, ASOS.com has established itself as the UK's largest independent fashion and beauty retailers. 

Twelve in-house womenswear designers constantly create new lines, which are turned around within a maximum of 2 months. Up to 90,000 orders are shipped out of their Hertfordshire warehouse every week with Sunday evenings apparently being the most popular buying time (no doubt from customers needing something to cheer them up before going back to work the following day). 

Apparently clothes sell better when on certain models. ASOS employs 25 in-house models with every single item of clothing being photographed and filmed on the catwalk before becoming available on the site. But typically items sell best on long haired, good skinned and curvy models. An item doesn't sell quite as well as expected? It is re-shot on a different model and re-uploaded. 

Calvin Harris' Humanthesizer

M&S team up with Lewis Hamilton

Along with their new Autograph menswear collection, Marks & Spencer is launching a boyswear range in collaboration with Formula One team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and the reining F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.

The range - 'Living The Dream' - will feature racing motifs and branding of the team’s drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen.

The Scandalous Moments of Tom Ford

Tom Ford's association with scandal was well underway long before his icy departure from Gucci. Remember the days when Tom Ford's ads were notoriously provocative with no less than three separate campaigns of his being banned in various countries?

The Gucci "G" emblazoned in the model's pubic hair:

Going completely bare for Tom Ford's Men's fragrance:

Tom Ford Eyewear ads, which were deemed sexually explicit(?!?)

And of course, possibly the biggest advertisement for himself was that Vanity Fair cover: the Hollywood issue where he posed alongside a naked Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson. 

Model Transformation

V magazine looks at the transformation of an 18 year old model - Camille Penk. Makes you feel a little bit better although Camille is clearly gorgeous with or without make-up and her hair done.

Dorian Gray

A step away from my usual fashion & retail posts but I just cannot wait to see this film. Desire? Period costume? 2 gorgeous leading males? Enough said?

Customize@ConverseOne

I came across this advertisement to design your very own pair of converse, which would be made and delivered within 4 weeks. I felt the need to try it out. 

Of course Nike - who as of 2003 have owned Converse - have had Nike I.D. for years so it is unsurprising that they would introduce the idea to the Chuck Taylor All Stars, Jack Purcells and the Skate shoes. 

Despite Nike doing a good job in mainly sticking to the Converse traditions, I do feel that the idea of designing your own pair goes against the grain a little. Converse throughout the decades, has been representative of so many youthful sub-cultures who used the shoe as a blank canvas for creativity: to draw on, to paint, to sew, to show your personality. It was the role of Nike sneaks to have slick, polished designs but Converse always represented the complete opposite. 

Perhaps it's just the teenager in me that isn't quite ready to accept that Converse "sold-out".