Fashionable Bath

Gotta love the fashion capitals of the world… Paris, London, New York…. Bath? Well, yeah actually Bath is pretty fashionable. Ok so it might not be home to the garment district or Boulevard Haussmann or have its own fashion week…. but it does have a reputable fashion department at Bath Spa University, a fashion museum and numerous independent boutiques lining its antique streets, not to mention an influx of 4.4 million tourists every year. (It is also home to love of my life Crispin Mills of Kula Shaker… but we won’t go into that now.)

So with all this in mind it seems right that Bath should house a boutique that showcases some of the best new British talent. Following Bicester Village’s lead with its British Designers Collective pop-up shop, Bath will now have a permanent British Designers Boutique, quenching the fashion thirst of several core markets, from the affluent residents of The Royal Crescent to fashion savvy students – because the boutique will not only stock the work of established designers but it also aims to expose local talent, and will be working with the Universities.

The boutique is the brainchild of JoJo IIes, journalist and PR, and Vanessa Isaia, Development Manager at Fashion Enter, who has explained that the point of the store will be to enable people to buy designer pieces that are rarely found outside of London. What’s more, it’ll offer big reductions on pieces from previous seasons. Dear JoJo and Vanessa, please may we have one of these in every town across the country? Thanks.

Images from the Fashion Capital and stockhillhouse.co.uk

Wang does Wall Street

Alexander Wang Fall 2010

I’ve been getting bored of femininity of late. Ditsy print tea dresses are nice and all but they’re too easy. You can pop one over your head, slip on some pumps and you’re away – fashionable without even trying. I want a fashion challenge! 

So I was over the moon when Alexander Wang came to us with luxe sportswear and I was totally ready to ditch the ditz. Just when you thought ill fitting t-shirts and nylon jackets were street urchin apparel, Wang went and made sporty, stylish. Shame he wasn’t around in the late 90s to bump up Mel C’s ratings. (Don’t worry Mel, you were always my favourite). 

So tapping my trainer-heel clad foot, I have been anxiously anticipating his next collection. Fall 2010 brings you the banker’s suit, with a twist. These suits have been ‘deconstructed’, literally snipped up to create something a little less stock exchange and a little more sexy. Jackets have been cropped or have had velvet or chenille worked into them, but my personal favourites are the pinstrip slip dresses complete with lace trim. Ohhhh I want one so badly. 

                                                  

And what’s so great is that 11 years after the film came out, Wang, with his big old gothic trench coats, sunglasses and chunky heeled boots, has made Matrix-chic acceptable!  Yesss finally it’s ok to run around with pistols for hands and Rage Against The Machine playing in the background, repeating ‘Misturr Aanderson’ …..

Essentially though this collection oozes sex appeal. After the light and funky S/S, Wang clearly wanted to prove that there is another side to him. Models in thigh high leg warmers and pleated pinstripe skirts scream naughty school girl, and then there’s the slashed leather, trailing chiffon and bondage-style straps across the chest…. Excellent, I was looking for a new look for the office. It’s inspired by Wall Street after all…

“This is the most ‘couture’ couture I have ever done” – Riccardo Tisci

Givenchy, Autumn Collection, 2010

Wowzers.

1600 hours of hand embroidery? Presented in one of the finest houses in Paris?  This is haute couture at a whole new level.

If there was ever the realisation that haute couture was out of my reach, this was it. Riccardo Tisci’s decision to end the couture catwalk show and have “People really experience the couture moment – see it, touch it”, makes you fantasize for a moment that he means all of us minions can rock up and frolic in the frocks. Of course he doesn’t mean that.

It’s also not as cost effective as it sounds either as the presentation cost 35% more than a catwalk show. And I imagine that’s quite a lot.

I absolutely love that this collection is inspired by Frida Kahlo, whose work, I might add, both Tisci and I share a love for. (Oh god! Does this mean we’re destined to be BFFs??) He’s also taken inspiration from the Mexican festival ‘Day of the Dead’ and some parts of several different garments bear subtle resemblances to the human anatomy (the skeleton, the knuckles etc.) After gothic overloads from people like Gareth Pugh, I think Tisci’s subtly is so refreshing.

(All pictures are from the wonderful Style.com)

 

Cycling Shorts

Chanel Resort S/S 2010, taken from Style.com

…I have been all over these like a fox in a bin bag. I’ve seen a few mixed reactions to this type of short across the blogs; some baulk and some go berserk. I go berserk. I think the baulkers just need time to come around. Sure, cycling shorts as a trend instils the same sort of worry as leggings once did – that you are on the road to becoming a crimped fringed fitness instructor from the 80s. But leggings are now a staple fashion item, everyone needs a pair of leggings like they need a toothbrush. And this is how cycling shorts should be.

For one, they are a saviour when it comes to too-short shorts. Just when you thought you’d have to crash diet to be able to wear your hotpants responsibly, you can now fish them back out from the depths of your wardrobe, and slip on over a pair of lace cycling shorts. Flesh hidden. Problem solved.

However, another problem that I am yet to solve is that of letchy looks on the tube. I suppose, to the untrained eye, lace shorts can look a weeny bit like you’re out in your underwear… Ach well, that’s better than looking like humpty dumpty, which is what sprang to my friend’s mine when he recently saw me in high-waisted denim shorts with braces.

laying down the lace

Laying down the lace 1

My ones - from missguided.co.uk