This Christmas, while eating with my parents on Christmas Eve, the conversation turned to fur. I asked my mother about a little fur jacket she used to dress me in as a toddler. It turned out it was still in my wardrobe, in my childhood bedroom that hasn’t change since I left home in 1996 (aside from the removal of some suspect posters.) So I went to get the aforementioned mini-fur. It still fitted, all be it in cape form and my Mum then reminded me of her adult version. It was found, put on and crudely modelled by me. It was the first time I have worn a real fur, or at least remember wearing a real fur (the mini-version was worn in my memory-less time of infancy.) It was heavy and incredibly warm. In one “try on” the functionality of fur was immediately apparent to me; I could see exactly why so many Parisians donned their furs during the -10C temperatures we experienced there in December. My Mum said I should keep it, all at the party agreed. I however could not. It was coney fur and the amount of pelts (i.e. rabbit skins) that must have gone into the floor-length piece could have numbered 25 plus. To my inexperienced touch, it felt like one of my beautiful cats. It shed little hairs, like one of my cats. It had an animal smell, like one of my cats. That for me was enough reason not to keep it.

My Aunt then brought up a point that I have read about but have never experienced directly. This was a “vintage” fur. These animals were already dead, they would never live again, this coat would otherwise just remain in the wardrobe. I hear so many people say they will only wear vintage fur, for the very reasons my Aunt cited. There the argument falls down for me. In fashion, we are often driven by a covetous desire to replicate someone else’s style, or at least part of it. If that is fur, we will seek and buy fur. If designers see a trend for fur, be it vintage i.e. dead for a long time, they will be tempted to use fur in their collections i.e. dead for slightly less time! Fur for functionality, I can comprehend. If I lived in sub-zero Siberian temperatures, a fur would have a very practical purpose but here in the U.K., I don’t feel temperatures merit it. To be honest, all the people I know that own a fur wouldn’t dream of wearing it in the U.K. snow, for fear of damage. Fur for fashion, is not my thing at all, be it vintage or otherwise, it’s still a dead animal.

The Sartorialist highlights in his photographs above, fur for style only. This I don’t comprehend. I can understand the aesthetic pleasure these looks bring to the wearer but I personally could never put a whole fox around my neck, full stop.* There’s one particular fur practice that completely abhors me; I’ve highlighted it in a previous post…but the vintage/new fur debate still confounds me slightly. As I’ve already mentioned, I don’t do fur but I’m also aware I’m being a complete hypocrite as I do wear leather shoes (my dead animal reasoning fails here.)

I am interested to know where you stand on this. Fake fur has been everywhere this winter, do you wear it? Have you got a “vintage” fur? Would you buy new fur if your favourite designer produced it? The one question I ask myself, is what’s the future of fur? You never see futuristic films with fur. There’s always a new, skintight jumpsuit that regulates temperature. What will happen to all the “vintage” furs that go unworn, left to gather dust in the wardrobe like my Mum’s? Do you disagree and think I should have liberated it? I suppose we’ll just have wait and see…

* Thank you to the Sartorialist for the images. My post is not a criticism of his gorgeous photography, just a comment on my personal style.

I must also direct you to this very insightful (as always) article by Colin McDowell about the use of fur in fashion. The sales figures he quotes are astounding!

It’s a New Year. I am lazy. January the first played out in pajamas and it was great. Random Fashion Coolness is 3 this month. Phew…where did those years go? Thank you for where you have taken the blog in the last year. I hope 2010 brings as much fun, allows me to meet as many great people and provides some enjoyment for all.

So, the week before Christmas, the fabulous Brix Smith-Start invited me up to her Shoreditch Start boutique to interview her. How did I get invited? Read this previous post to see the madness generated by a tweet!! Needless to say, I had an amazing afternoon! I ended up gate-crashing Start for 2 hours, trying my best to film without my nerves wobbling the camera too much. I came home with a few full memory cards of footage but I’m not the David Lynch I thought I was!

Things of Random Coolness and I have spent an age trawling through the “material” and with direction and annoyance from me, we’ve created a little trailer, that I LOVE (I know I’m probably not supposed to say that about my own stuff!) Now I’m worried that the trailer will be better than the actual interview, as my mouth ran away with me and I managed to talk over almost all of the footage!!! So enjoy – the full interview will be with you in the New Year. Music is by my fave band du jour The Drums and it was filmed on a Nikon D90. I hope Brix’s warmth and openness is evident in the trailer – you will gain more insight in the full interview…coming in 2010 (again that sounds full of “hype!” I hope you won’t be disappointed ;) This is my first foray into the world of video, hopefully there’ll be lots more to come. Here’s my Vimeo.

Also, remember to use Twitter, it can open doors! Follow me here @FashionCoolness.

I have come to a simple, yet obvious conclusion that Colette Paris can make anything cool. Fish and Chips in a bin-bag? Sold at Colette, they’d be the must have of the new season. Last week I was taken with their Fraggle Rock collaboration. I adore ANYTHING by Jim Henson, The Muppets were my life as a child. Fraggle Rock was their lesser known sibling show and their Colette tees and bags are amazing. I visited Colette last week and entered the pre-Christmas scrum for gifts. The shop was packed and I have never seen so many sales assistants on the floor (they were easy to spot as they’re all genetically superior and have an unmistakably cool edge ;) Everything in there seems to have been picked with such care and attention to detail, you feel that you must own it; your life would be enhanced by it.

I didn’t spot these Les Néréides Parisian pieces while I was there, shopping fever took over and I had to leave! But on return, I perused their eShop only to be dazzled. Someone reminded me this week to write about things I love* and these seemed the obvious choice to post about. I adore Paris, slightly to a point of obsession and these beautiful necklaces and brooches embody all that is quirky Parisian chic for me. The inclusion of the Métro, La Tour Eiffel etc. add to the kitsch factor, making this collection even more appealing. Now I am left with a tougher decision; which one to buy? Damn you Colette, why do you have to be so cool????

*Yuli Ziv wrote an insightful article on the importance of blog content. Read it here. Thanks for the Twitter heads up Mademoiselle Robot!

The strength of anticipation I must hold for this film became evident as I tried to create my collage. Yes, I’m quite a perfectionist. Yes, my images are usually faffy and take a while to create. But today, trying to make something to suitably represent Tom Ford’s directorial debut, I deliberated, dithered and deleted for hours. Here’s the problem, this promises to be a beautiful film. I can’t remember the last time I was drawn to a film based on the visual aesthetic alone…if ever? Every image I tried to collate seemed incredibly less beautiful than the simplicity of the movie poster itself; everything I tried to compile seemed overworked and messy. I’m still unhappy with it and have saved the Photoshop file to fiddle some more!

I watched the trailer today with the sound off and realised what has drawn me in so completely – its similarity to a glossy coffee table book or magazine. The production design is by the same people that brought the glorious glamour of the 60’s to the small screen, in Mad Men. The film (I keep saying “film” I should say, “trailer” as that is my only exposure to A Single Man thus far!) Anyhoo, the film has that grainy, saturated feel of an authentic 60’s production. Just watching the trailer makes me want to go out, apply copious amounts of eyeliner, bouffant my hair and pour myself a tall drink by the piano. There’s Hitchcock-esque suspense, romance and tortured souls but it’s not the story that’s captured my attention. Tom Ford has created a visual delight, comparable to a season’s collection or an editorial spread. I will reserve full judgement until I have viewed; my only concern is that this perfect visual may, for me, overwhelm the narrative thread. For now, I implore you to let the opulence of the trailer wash over you and to see A Single Man for yourself when it opens in you area.

Fifi Lapin for Topshop cards sent….check! Copius amounts of food bought…check! Last minute hectic shopping done…check! Christmas is here again and the usual chaos reigns. We have a joyous 12 for dinner tomorrow (today?) and I am the worst cook in the world! (unless you require a ham and cheese based snack.) The excesses of the season always drive me insane! The supermarket this week was comparable to a rugby scrum; a fight almost ensued as the aforementioned market was out of limes (heaven forbid!) The shops will re-open on Saturday, the sales will begin, life will continue as normal but those facts escape us in the preparation for “the” day!

In a bid to avoid consumerist hell, my family have decided on a present price limit* In theory this seemed easy but in practice was actually very difficult. The gift has to have a lot of thought put into it; the significance of it lies in its suitability for the receiver. Finding that perfect gift is never easy but something almost perfect can be disguised with a plethora of other smaller, less useful, less wanted gifts. So we shall see how this pans out tomorrow. Things of Random Coolness and I of course got this all wrong and bought each other the trip to Paris! We had a phenomenal time…but more of that in a later post – Paris by Polaroid shall be with you next week.

However you’ve decided to spend the festive season, I hope you are able to be with the ones you care about. Inevitably tempers will fray, tantrums will be had, too much of everything will be on offer and some incredibly banal TV will be watched. Here’s a Merry Chrimbo from me x x x

(* Children not included!)

Sometimes, it takes a more mainstream nudge to remind me of the stellar qualities of a great designer. Holly Fulton was an accessories designer at Lanvin in a previous existence and now is a designer in her own right, under her eponymous label. ASOS have championed Holly’s designs, now harnessed into an original collection exclusive to their website. The Fashion Industry is now teeming with new names and labels to watch and sometimes the saturation of the market means a unique talent slips off my radar. Her philosophy resonates with a multi-textured direction in fashion, “I love the idea of luxury, which, to me, is having all these cracked-out materials—crystals, plastic, metal, intense color—on simple shapes.” See Holly’s ASOS collection here and view her collections (pictured above) on her website.

So, I had a HUGE, elaborate post planned here. I was ready to share the secrets of my love of Paris, the little idiosyncrasies of this beautiful city that draw me in…but then I suddenly had a change of heart. All the things I love, seemed WAY to personal to share and my post suddenly seemed too pompous and preachy to blog about! Instead I need your feedback. Things of Random Coolness and I are off to Paris this weekend and I’d like to know what you recommend. Paris, for me is a city of contradictions; I feel I know it well but then realise each time that I go, I haven’t even scratched the surface. I used to spend my teenage summers with ma correspondante in Verneuil-Sur-Seine. We used to go into Paris every weekend and explore the delights of the city but they were inevitably the expected, traditional sites/sights. As an adult, I’ve tried to dive a little deeper and find the quirky, lesser known pleasures the city has to offer. So please indulge me, help me discover new glories in my enigmatic lieu préféré…I hope that on my return, I will lose my inhibitions and be able to share all of my favourites with you too.

The Federal Trade Commission ruled this week that bloggers must disclose freebies, especially if they then blog favourably about the product. I am kind of in agreement with this (horror, shock, blogger disgrace?) Some may say it’s because I don’t get sent much free stuff but I believe it’s more to do with my struggle to maintain the integrity of my posts. I always appreciate designers, artists sending me emails with details of their products but I carefully screen which ones I’d like to post about – it has to have a strong sense of appeal to me, otherwise my writing lacks any heart. Yes, I’ve been sent free merchandise but I have never had the sense that I MUST endorse them; well, not yet anyway.

Which brings me to Iheartnorwegianwood. I feel that to make my post slightly more credible, I must offer the disclaimer, “NO free products were received in the writing of this post” Angie’s designs are phenomenal! Many bloggers have extolled her virtues in the past and I have coveted one of her fringed neck-pieces for some time. So to etsy I trotted (well, clicked!) and bought one a few weeks back. On arrival the necklace didn’t disappoint. Even though fringing is quite ubiquitous this season, it feels unique and adds a definitive edge to any look. On further research, I loved delving into a little more detail about Angie. Her Flickr account is a testimony to her trajectory as a designer, as she grows in popularity and confidence. (I would also like to point out I am not a stalker!)

So will I always feel this way about the free products and endorsements? Maybe not! But for now integrity seems intact and I urge you to check out iheartnorwegianwoods’ ETSY, just because I heart it too.

I’m probably the last person in the world, well, the fashion world at least, to watch The September Issue. Strangely it had a profound impact on me. I’d read all the reviews about Grace Coddington being the true star to emerge from the documentary and of course I concur…but in a way my heart felt heavy for her. She struck me as a true artist with a beautifully creative eye. The photo-shoots she styled blew me away in their portraiture aesthetic and the care and joviality she exuded on set were truly refreshing. The saddening aspect of the film for me was the realisation that creativity must be curbed to appeal to the average reader and maintain sales figures. I know that in consumer society money drives everything but it was disheartening to actually see that process in motion. Grace understood the need for careful editing and the harnessing of celebrity to boost sales, but its effect seemed to visibly dampen her enthusiasm.

Anna Wintour, on the other hand, seemed to embrace what was required commercially and not let it curb her exacting nature and definitive ideals. The swiftness with which she edited hugely produced photo-shoots was astounding. She knows exactly what sells and is not prepared to compromise in any way, especially for something that only has an aesthetic appeal. It is about the clothes, the advertising, the sales and not necessarily the art. The element of the film that stood out for me was the formidable partnership between Anna and Grace. Their agendas are different but completely the same. Their relationship is a tour de force, offering equilibrium in an industry that is torn between two opposing factors – the beauty of fashion and what actually sells.