Valentino Couture

Hmmm... intriguing... I am officially in love with the Valentino Couture collection shown in Paris yesterday.

I would be lying if I was to say I usually rate Valentino as a label, in fact to be blunt it tends to bore me. As for the Couture collections I definitely consider them to fall in the art category rather than appreciating them as genuine fashion. So to find myself mildly obsessed by Valentino's offering was rather unexpected. But something about the subtle, unique, slinky aesthetic of this collection has really caught my attention. I think the colours used are as close to perfection as I can remember seeing and the entire handwriting of it I find modern, fresh and fantastical. Additionally it's such a breath of fresh air to see a couture collection that isn't just full of puffy, regal, over-blown frocks.

Mmmmm. Delightful. Thanks Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli...

(Images lovingly stolen from Style.com)

Rock n Roll Supermodel

Georgina Jagger in i-D's Winter Issue:

In my pile of belated stuff to share was this i-D magazine shoot with celebrity offspring Georgina May Jagger. With Rolling Stone Mick Jagger as your daddy and supermodel Jerry Hall as mummy its absolutely no surprise that at just 17 Georgina is en route to becoming a bona-fide model IT girl. Seems that every teen celebrity offspring under the sun falls into the model/ musician/ photographer bracket, whether possessed with looks and talent, or not. However, in mini Jaggers case I feel it's totally justified.

Her looks and persona are unique and arresting, interesting and charming. Her funny little face, such a combination of gawky boy and sultry lady, fascinate me - although I must admit the open-mouth gappy-toothed stare does get a bit repetitive, but alas, no-one's perfect. Apart from my general appreciation of Georgina this shoot caught my eye due to fresh approach to styling, I love how its a touch undone and looks almost like they let the 17 year old have free reign of the samples closet. Also, anything that has a touch of Alabama Worely from True Romance about it is going to get my vote.

In case you are not yet won over, let me ask, can you resist being charmed when you read these two quotes from the accompanying interview...?

'What do you consider to be your best feature, and why?'

I like my elbows and knees, because they bend.

'Whats the luckiest thing that's ever happened to you?'

This morning I found a five-pound note on the street with a ladybug on it, I think that's pretty lucky.

What a girl.

Go Grazia!

Big, big apologies for my extended absence. Whilst I shan't bother to excuse myself and explain, I shall say that in my absence I have still been collecting and gathering bits and bobs I deem share-worthy. I will attempt this week to catch-up here on my fashion musings of the past ten days, hopefully without repeating too much old news. I'll be better in future, I promise :-)


First delayed musing of the past week:
UK Grazia Editorial (Last weeks issues: 18th Jan 2010)

Whilst I am a fairly avid reader of UK Grazia, I have always found their Editorial fashion shoots to be shockingly under-par. I happily devour the shopping pages, celeb gossip and articles only to skip straight through the editorials, which in most fashion magazines is the mecca, the holy grail, the soul of the magazine.

However, for the past couple of issues I've been intrigued to find myself genuinely impressed with them. Take for example the above scans - these shots are so ethereal and dreamy I don't believe they'd be out of place in an Editorial super-mag such as Lula. The week previous to this particular shoot was also fantastic compared with usual.

Unfortunately, being a cheapy easy read I do not keep backcopies so am unable to flick back to discover whether they have a new fashion editor responsible for this sudden surge in quality.

However, I am now going to make it my mission to find evidence of the previous issues editorial to demonstrate the loveliness, and any clues that will help solve this puzzle.

Wish me luck.

And watch this space.

Before the snow came the frost

I've spent the best part of the last week hibernating as much as possible, occasionally stumbling out the house looking like a rather over-weight vagrant chav in my 'snow-proof' layers and parka. I must say it is beginning to get a bit tiresome.

The snow is still falling, the cold is biting and I generally look like poo. However, I am putting my eternal optimism towards thoughts of a few days from now when potentially I can get back to dressing how I feel, not how I need. I just came across these pictures taken a day before the snow came and it was refreshing for me to remember that dressing in winter isn't always as irksome as it feels right now.

(Coat, Striped Sweater, Bag and Boots all Vintage // Jeans from Topshop // Give Love ring by Agnes B // Turquoise ring from Cornish gift shop // Necklaces by Made)

Photos by Marissa

Pepe gets it on with Alexa Chung

Yesterday, the wondrous GraziaDaily announced that Alexa Chung is to be the new face of Pepe Jeans. Rather frustratingly, I wrote a huggggggggggge long post on it immediately - only to manage to delete the entire body of text. Annoyance caused me to give up for the day, so alas I have returned today to yesterdays news but with far less enthusiasm. So, taking the general gist of what I wanted to say yesterday, here's a point-by-point break down of my reaction to the news:

a) It surprises me that the Chung would associate herself with anything other than an edgy or luxury brand.

This year she has already fronted a DKNY Jeans campaign which I again thought was a wee bit off kilter. However, this was more forgivable, having been shot by Scott Schuman and DKNY Jeans being part of the 'designer' Donna Karen empire. The only denim brand I would happily associate her with would be Lee - there would just be something more fitting about their pairing.

But Pepe?? Really?? Leading me on to the next point...

b) What is Pepe?? Who are Pepe??

Well - Pepe promotes itself as a truly British brand, with 1970's London rock'n'roll as its foundations. Whilst that might have genuinely been their heritage, I have yet to meet a single Brit who wears Pepe, or has ever even owned a pair (p.s I am a Brit, living in fashion obsessed London, surrounded by musicians, PRs and stylists). Their brand identity is looking a bit doubtful now eh?

c) Due to the above point, I'm sure Pepe are counting their lucky stars that you can essentially rent a pretty/ individual/ 'cool' Brit It-Girl so as to strengthen the brand association that Pepe is reeeeeeeeally cool... Note: Obvious sarcasm hard to portray in text

I wonder how much the Chung charges? Or the delightful Sienna Miller for that matter - she was their previous 'face'.

d) On a kinder note to Pepe (Bambam is fair and pragmatic...) - last year I was studying Fashion Branding in Amsterdam and was set a semester long project purely on denim brands. During discussions with my foreign contemporaries it became known to me that the Dutch, and apparently many other European nations, do actually buy Pepe. They believe it really is a trendy London brand and has quite a following over there. So I guess hiring super expensive London It-Girls might be worth it after all.

Interesting.

Many apologies...

for my extended absence. We all know how distracting the joys of the festive period can be, and this year I mooched and partied more than ever before. I'll be back on it very soon - I promise. In the mean time I would like to wish you all an incredibly happy and stylish 2010 filled with lots of love and laughter.

And in the spirit of New Years, Style and and Love I just wanted to share with you some of the fantastic Yves Saint Laurent 'Love' cards that he designed each New Year for his nearest and dearest. I've always oogled over the little book that contains each one he created, yet have somehow never got around to treating myself to it, especially considering its cheap as chips. Thus, I have decided this will be my first purchase of 2010.

Mmmm...

Many thanks for your ongoing support - I appreciate it more than you could imagine.