Today was a day of randomness and weirdness. It began quietly and ended in a Twitter frenzy and some business about Right Said Fred and Mel B (don’t ask!!) I have been on a mission to find a stylish, quirky and unique (a tall order) winter coat for some time now. It seems everyone I know did the sensible thing and purchased their coat in June, while the UK was in the midst of “Summer.” They then had the opportunity to wear it all the way through July and August and now are smug as I struggle to find “mine.” I didn’t know moths in the noughties still did this, but they chose to eat my winter coats this summer. When I went into the attic, there were cool little holes running all the way down the sleeves (they seemed cool in August….way less cool as we head for November!) Anywhhoooo, back to matter in hand.  This article in The Guardian today mentioned someone with an astrakhan collared vintage coat. I’m a wordy person and had never heard of “astrakhan” (also known as karakul) before, so looked it up. Firstly I discovered a Belle Jardinière vintage poster, in which all the men wore astrakhan collared coats. On flicking through more recent articles, horror ensued. A 2005 Times’ article reads;

The wool of the karakul lamb — most are black — is so soft and curly that it resembles crushed velvet.
Animal rights groups claim some furriers are not even willing to wait for the ewes to give birth. They have collected evidence that sheep have their throats cut so the unborn foetuses can be cut from their wombs. These have the softest, most valuable fleeces.

On further investigation, spurred on by equally shocked Twitterer @JamieLawRoberts, I discovered that whether or not the foetal removal process is true, the lambs are usually slaughtered aged just 3 days, in order to “harvest” the softest pelts. This Humane Society article sheds more light on the horrendous process. The most worrying discovery today was the sheer amount of astrakhan used in the fall/winter ’09 collections. Many fashion houses chose to reuse this unusal fur that last courted fashion controversy in 2005….but this year, for some reason, its use hasn’t been so widely reported. I am not a huge animal rights activist, I don’t usually scorn designers for their use of materials but I do draw the line at this. We implore people to be more conscious of their clothing’s origin; programmes are dedicated to exposing sweat-shops and illegal working practices, so how is this not more widely reported? The only one explanation I can consider for its popularity is the misconception that it is simply wool, something it most definitely is not. Prior to today, I could claim ignorance of this issue, laughing at the silly Russian hats; hopefully today you will feel informed of an inhumane practice, that we can hopefully one day prevent.

Today has been a strange one…I’m still in my PJs at 4.30, I’ve been “sorting” all day but haven’t really got anything sorted out! I decided to go through my gmail mountain this morning – turns out I have been somewhat of a FOOL. I obviously have the attention span of a gnat and have opened emails, read them, decided in my head, “I must do something about that,” only to instantly forget it! I had about 200 stars next to priority emails, that I simply chose to ignore completely. One of which was from Elisa about the brilliant Style Like U. It takes wardrobe snooping to the next level, with embedded video and chats with the wardrobe’s proprietor. I LOVE it! My blogger-matey Disney Roller Girl tweeted about the site a few weeks back and I’ve subscribed ever since; to find today, I had the site recommended to me by its maker in June!! So, I send out a sincere apology to Elisa (more to come on her other enterprises) and IMPLORE you ALL to visit Style Like U – warning, it’s very addictive and could take over your day!

So this is an odd post…it’s more of a plea for information! A fellow blogger, Milly, mentioned Talula last week. The photography instantly caught my eye. Their Autumn/Winter campaign is shot beautifully but I have no other information other than this visual delight. I have managed to glean that Talula is stocked by Aritzia but is it a separate brand, what are the clothes actually like, how’s the quality? Questions abound! So if you are familiar with Talula, work for them, know a contact email, please let me know. I feel hooked like after watching an obscure internet viral and oddly enthralled by the stuffed pheasants!

There is no doubt that the Cadbury Caramel Bunny has evolved over the years. She has always been demure, alluring and attractive; especially for a cartoon rabbit, but now her image has been overhauled completely! The fact that animated characters wield such attraction has always worried me slightly! I’ve been trying to think of a male cartoon creation that displays such overt sexuality but I’ve drawn a complete blank (let alone a male animation of the animal variety.) This strange allure of the Caramel Bunny has always intrigued me, along with our unquestioning acceptance of her attractiveness! So when I was recently contacted about a designer collaboration between the aforementioned bunny and Giles Deacon, I was slightly bemused! Even more so when I discovered that Mr. Deacon had designed a new dress for this wondrous creation to wear! We’ve seen designers create looks for the famous, the High Street and now we move into the realms of confectionery. I am interested to see what fruit this collaboration will bear and excited to tell you it may provide something of interest to you, although my lips are sealed for the moment! I shall keep you posted and hope it might result in a few Cadbury Caramel Nibbles for me!

Fashion Month is over. From New York to Paris the shows have dazzled. I’ve gained the most inspiration and true insight into the true revelry and chaos of the fashion week circuits from my fellow bloggers’ photographs. A personal favourite, that beautifully documents the whole party scene is The Cobra Snake. The intimacy of each event is portrayed in such a fun, voyeuristic manner that I can’t help but check back a little too often. I’d love to say I feel as if I’m there but instead it mostly highlights that I’m not cool enough to be there (although I can keep trying ;) Please take some time to peruse the site, be warned it is HIGHLY addictive and the perusal could take several hours!

Merci to all the gang at Independent Fashion Bloggers, specifically Jennine, for including me in their Links à la Mode section this week. Read on to see who else they deemed read-worthy…

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Garance = an illustrator extraordinaire and an accidental, unassuming part of the bloggersphere’s most powerful “it” couple. Garance inspires me to blog better. This post isn’t really about the person but the work, specifically Garance’s collaboration with Gap 1969; a celebration of 40 years of the denim giant. I waited patiently for her t-shirts to appear on Colette’s e-shop this weekend and snapped up one immediately, despite it possibly not being my size. I then paused after my impetuous click/purchase – had I been drawn into the hype or was I genuinely enamoured with Garance’s work. I thought of the other designer collaborations that have caused such frenetic hype. The most obvious and recent has to be that of Christopher Kane for Topshop. There were some fantastic pieces but one dominated, the crocodile dress and t-shirt (Street Peeper’s montage, although humorous, made me CRINGE!) The concept is admirable, affordable designer fashion but when it becomes so ubiquitous, doesn’t it lose that unique element that makes it stylish? Kate Moss’ Topshop collections can’t go unmentioned; they photograph well but lack a sense of quality or originality in person. One of the collabs I remember the most was Viktor & Rolf‘s for H&M. I scoured eBay for one of their heart pocket trenches, only to suddenly realise, as I contemplated handing over £200 that the only feature I lusted after was the heart-shaped appliqué. So back to my original question, have I been blinded by my fanaticism for Garance into buying one of her t-shirts? The conclusion I have reached is a definite NO. How can I answer so defiantly? I just realised I have NEVER bought any design collaboration pieces before, not one and I must return to my original point; this is not about the person, it’s about the work. Je vais essayer d’écrire mon blog plus en français – si Garance peut le faire (même avec l’aide d’un traducteur) je peux le faire aussi.

Whiling away a few hours on the corner of Brick Lane, I met Mick (more importantly, I met Kim…but more of that later) Mick has become a veritable celebrity of the aforementioned Lane. He has been snapped by the likes of Facehunter Yvan (merci pour le grand image,) Thread Bare Society and Moi! Mick has an ageless, innate style that can’t be replicated. Catch him on certain “vest” days and he could be mistaken for one of no fixed abode; on other days, he is a the stylish, bearded cad, harping back to a bygone age. His brogue-braces combo first struck me, along with the colourful impact of the whole ensemble. Mick’s eyes are piercing ice-blue and his brogues, cherry red – along with the faded denim shirt I encountered him in, this was a visual treat. What I learned from Mick is true style has nothing to do with age or monetary wealth, it comes from an inner-confidence and an inherent sense of who you are. So the next time you are Brick Lane bound, say Hi to Mick and ask him for a photo; he’ll happily oblige and pose like a pro!

Another new post, another new picture size…still testing the waters! This post is all about the ubiquitous Jackie Dixon. You may not realise how often you see her work. Her blog, Show Me Your Wardrobe, morphed into Topshop‘s brilliant, Show Me Your Topshop (above left (vertical!)) for London Fashion Week. She pops up in all number of magazines, my favourite recent collaboration being with the Sunday Times’ Style’s Senior Fashion Ed, Natalie Hartley (pictured above both horizontally and vertically!) It may just be the voyeuse in me that adores everything that Jackie does. It’s amazing to get a glimpse into the closets of the stylish and see that they really do have 3 identical blazers like me, in 3 different colours; hardly a necessity! The Times’ Style feature has a unique quality, one that draws you in and makes you believe you HAVE to have that item, you simply CAN’T live without it, hence shaping my afternoon – the search for the perfect boy brogue on eBay!

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?)