Two news items 1. You may have noticed the new image size – it’s a trial, fiddling with a few ideas! 2. I LOVE Vice & Vanity. Their new collection, Sinew and Strain, juxtaposes equestrian elegance with hard plastics and acrylics to create dramatic, eye-catching pieces. I wore their Brid necklace (pictured above right) to a few London Fashion Week events and counted the number of comments…there were 32! Sad as it is that I counted, I felt that I HAD to count as the lovely Vivi often sends me her gorgeous creations to gain a better understanding of the design. The touchy-feely approach of Singapore design duo Vivi Masturah Lim and Aaron Kao suits me well and demonstrates something that can’t be seen in their photographs – the quality and beauty of their pieces. Something I loved about wearing the V&V necklace to London Fashion Week was the appreciative comments. I email poor Vivi every time someone heaps praise on their designs. In a way, I’m sure they are glad to be based in Singapore as it they may find taking out a restraining order a burden on our relationship! Peruse Sinew and Strain on their website and let me know what you think, so that I can bombard Vivi! (I’d also appreciate any feedback on the new image size…too overwhelming?)

My blog thus far has been “anonyme” in the French sense. Above is the one and possibly ONLY image of me that the blog will ever reveal. The reason behind this apparent change of heart…Rankin. What started as a jovial tweet from my mate Juan, followed by a few emails, resulted in the above shot (I’m on the left by the way!) I would like to make one thing clear, this is not the normal me; this is the enhanced me, lit by death lamp and shot by a genius. The process itself was phenomenal. I toyed with the idea of puling out all week, as I have never been comfortable in front of the camera. The Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane housed Rankin’s makeshift studio and stunning exhibition and once in, there was no escape. Hair and make-up was a treat, laid-back and WAY more fun than expected (I am possibly the only person in the world that pre-imagined that this would be torture!) I was first up, thank goodness, as if I’d seen another be “Ranked” my nerves would have increased ten-fold. Rankin breezed in, cool and calm with his team at his side and a suitably bold soundtrack to match. One element I really wasn’t expecting was the interactivity of the exhibition – there was an open gallery, I was being watched, there was a film crew! By now I was in robot-adrenalin mode, so just got on with it. I was about as natural as polyester in front of the lens but I learned a lot; for instance, I angle my head each time I smile, my cheese-monger grin produces more wrinkles than an Olympus can handle and blonde facial hair shows up like a rug under the death lamp! The main lesson I learned as an amateur faced with a camera, was that with the aid of an astounding photographer, extreme lighting and Photoshop, we can all, even mere mortals, be transformed.

London Fashion Week was a complete enigma to me….until last week. LFW blogger etiquette eluded me too; to be honest I didn’t know if such a thing even existed. Then the blogger community rallied around to my twittering call of HELP and showed me how to be part of the great British fashion institution. My first lesson learned – if you don’t ask, you don’t get. I emailed lots of press-officers in the vain hope of one or two replies. Not having received my press accreditation, I did panic slightly but as Style Slicker and Disney Roller Girl assured me, the events are very blogger friendly. So, some invites started to drip into my inbox and up to Londinium did I head…with a sense of palpable trepidation! With the help of some good friends, I ventured to the Hospital Club for Nova Dando‘s fashion week unveiling of the Rainbow Collection. La Roux triumphed live for the select crowd, House of Dangerkat wowed with their “moves” and the champagne flowed, all be it a little too freely! One of the most interesting parts of the night for me was experiencing first hand other people’s definition of “celebrity.” I was overwhelmed by the presence of some of my fave uber-bloggers, whilst a certain Radio 1 DJ impressed one friend….another’s only starstruck moment came from viewing Banksy’s Lady Di tenners! What impressed me the most was that the common denominator is our humanity – if you venture over for a chat, these well-known souls communicate in the same way as us mere mortals…all be it they may not wish to talk back to you. A joyous revelation was Monsieur Yvan Rodic, the Facehunter. We share a common language, le français, and he was most helpful, insightful and friendly; I’m not sure why I expected anything less really! So quite a few myths were dispelled for me this weekend – LFW is accessible to bloggers, the famous and I are of the same species and Nova Dando gives good party.

As I get to grips with my Diana F+ camera, my admiration for professional photographers increases. Stories of the Eye is basically a perfect modern ad campaign for Olympus. Take 4 fashionistas, give them an Olympus camera and get them to photoblog the results. Alice Dellal, Daisy Lowe, Miquita Oliver and Lovefoxx of CSS, showcase their personal snaps in association with the aforementioned brand. Their combined cool factor alone is enough to make me nose through the shots and the collaboration with Olympus does lead me to question my next camera choice. I am enamoured with the Leica C-Lux 3 but do I love it for its look, or for its picture quality? Peruse the lovely ladies’ Olympus rolls here and maybe summon up the courage to submit your own photographic offering too. Feel free to tell me what camera you use and what you think of my “aesthetic” choice!

Regular readers will know of my fervent love for those at Tatty Devine. Right from the early blogger days of Random Fashion Coolness, I championed their plastic wonders (I once accidently blogged a private party invite they sent me too…not noticing the PRIVATE!!!) I didn’t realise how much I used to post about them, think it verged on stalker status! Take a look here and laugh at the first incarnation of my blog!!!! So it will come as no shock that I LOOVVVE their new collection; specifically their frogging pieces. No, they haven’t delved into the realms of Kermit (although a Muppets collaboration would be A-mazing!) but the frog garment fastening. WIKI says it well, “an ornamental braiding for fastening the front of a garment that consists of a button and a loop through which it passes.” As always, Tatty presents a plethora of frog-products – from rings to brooches, to tiered necklaces…you get the idea. My favourite has to be the simple cuff picture above. I will be honest, some of their other new bits aren’t for me – I’m not kitsch enough to pull off the hobby horse brooch. I would look like I had accidently rolled on my niece’s floor and got something stuck to my jumper! But take a look at the range and I’m sure there is something you will like. If you’re in the vicinity of Brick Lane or Soho, pop in to one of their shops; it’s a real treat! It’s like entering a sweet-shop with jewels and it doesn’t feel grown-up at all.

The STATEMENT necklace – a hard one to pull off I find. The outfit must be suitably simple to highlight its impact but not so boring that your “noose” is all that people see. I have a few of the aforementioned S.N.s and although I wear them from time to time, I never seem to get the balance quite right. So it is always with an air of distain that I greeted my friends that manage to pull off this mean feat. A Londinium friend of mine looked AMAZING last week and on enquiry her S.N. was from 2 by Lyn and Tony, purchased in Colette (a mere trip to Pariiiis away!) After my instant hatred of her stylishness wore off, I decided to check out Lyn and Tony. They use materials from their native Australia, such as Kangaroo leather combined with handwoven silks. Aside from their skills in creating jewels, they are also reputed photographers; their visual aesthetic obviously aiding their design prowess. Check out 2 here – I may justify a Paris trip for an S.N. (Aus is out-of-the-question ;)