Art Worth Investing In

My feet may be screaming but I am beaming right now! Going against all sense, last night I decided to wear strappy platform heels to my best friend's 21st birthday celebrations and still managed to survive the occasion with both ankles intact!

'Big woop', I hear you say and sure, most women would call that an, albeit slightly wobbly, walk in the park but chuck in dancing, inebriation and a rocking boat and I could have been leaving on crutches at the end of the night! As it happens though, my sense of balance is slightly better than I thought and, with that success, it seems only fitting to post about my recent trip to the Javari Shoes for Show exhibition.  

The display showcased a range of couture shoes, from Nicholas Kirkwood’s Alice in Wonderland creations (above) to Louboutin’s Swarovski encrusted stiletto ballet pumps, all in celebration of the heel. Of course, the pieces were utterly impractical (they should have come with a Health and Safety warning) but they were there to be admired as works of art; sculptures rather than footwear. 

Suffice to say, it was even better than a trip around Kurt Geiger. I love Art almost as much as I love Fashion and when the two collide, great things happen! Plus, photography was permitted (even by novice's who don't know their way around the flash button-sorry about that) so enjoy the show my lovelys :)

Louboutin for Rodarte (A/W 2008)

Nicholas Kirkwood for Meadham Kirchoff (S/S 2012)

Meadham Kirchoff, once again, rebelling against conventional beauty. You can see how the shoes compliment the show's theatricality.

Roger Vivier for Dior 1957

Terry de Havilland for Agent Provocateur 

(Fall 2009 Superhero collection)

Crystalina
(I think this is the same pair)

Alexander McQueen's mini 4 inch Armadillo heels (flown in from the Savage Beauty exhibition in New York)

Dior Couture (Spring 2008)

Nina Ricci (Fall 2009) courtesy of Lulu Guinness

The shoes stole the show at that collection!

Yantorny circa 1920

Rupert Sanderson for Verdi's Aida
at the Royal Opera House

Natasha Marro

Prize Shoes exhibited at the Great Exhibition 1851

Turkish Bath Shoes 1890s

Chau Har Lee 2009

Must have been the excitement, I missed a reference for these beauties

Nicholas Kirkwood 'Alice in Wonderland Heels' 2010

Christian Louboutin for the English National Ballet

Niamph O'Connor and Emily Crane 'Return to Oz' 2011

Sophia Grace Webster for Manolo Blahnik "Babylon" Project, 2009

Salvatore Ferragamo and his 'Famous Feet', 1956

So what do you think? 

Who needs a Ming vase when you could have a pair of those Nina Ricci heels on the mantelpiece! 

xx

A Cuppa with Colin McDowell (kind of)

If anything is going to get me back to blogging, it’s a conversation with Colin McDowell; renowned fashion critic, Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Arts and founder of the Fashion Fringe.

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly a friendly catch-up over a cuppa (he’s clearly an Earl-Grey-straight-from-the-teapot kind of man anyway) but, as a prospective student to the London College of Fashion, I was invited to watch the interviewer finally turn interviewee and the man did not disappoint!

It’s easy to think McDowell could have forgotten how to answer questions after a career quizzing countless fashion heavyweights-Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Marc Jacobs and Miuccia Prada to name but a few. Yet, he truly is as entertaining as he is insightful. His regular anecdotal gems, such as meeting Balenciaga, “the most terrifying man” and words of wisdom, without the patronising tone, have convinced me to add him to the list of people I wish to adopt.

The man has friends

I haven’t had respect like this for someone since the Classics teacher at Sixth Form who embraced his eccentric nature with tweed suits. McDowell claimed he doesn’t understand the youth of today but, like Mr. Craig, he is witty and willing to be outspoken enough that we still admire him.

Despite being a fashion critic, he admitted “we sit in judgement far too much” and loves those who don’t fit in. I was particularly relieved to hear him encourage shorter skirts and not even in a Benny Hill/ dirty old man kind of way. It was more that he admired our confidence to try such looks, in the same way as ‘saggers’ continue to defy gravity and wear their low-slung jeans perilously close to the edge. As a girl who still cannot give up her petite section skirts (probably unsuitable for a height of 5’10) to work the current midi-maxi trend, it was great that McDowell approved the mini as a staple item of youth fashion!

For all his success and experience in the fashion industry, there was no pretentiousness; no particular room temperature expectations or additional cushion requirements. Far from being a diva or a male Miranda Priestly, McDowell was willing to laugh at himself; “not only am I the oldest but I am now the fattest man in Fashion”.

Okay, I could go on all day about Colin (six paragraphs in and we’re on first-name terms). As for his successes, you can find these on Wikipedia but what grabbed me most was that he hadn’t known immediately what he wanted to do in life either and tried a few options before Fashion finally found him. After reading English at Durham, he joined the army before drifting about in Rome for a few months. Whilst teaching English out there, he became an assistant to couturier, Pino Lancetti and the fashion bug finally caught up with him.

Just to confirm I didn't dream the whole experience. That would have been embarrassing but not unlike me (sorry for the shoddy iphone quality by the way).

My biggest worry about applying to LCF was that the admissions staff would take one look at my track record for flitting between different subjects and doubt my commitment. Like McDowell, I simply came out of school not knowing what I truly wanted to do, until now.

The man spoke to me without us even meeting though, which was good enough. I’ve always loved fashion but it doesn’t make me any less of an applicant if it has taken me longer to realise that it can also be my career. I just hope the College admissions panel can see that. After all, as Colin said, 

“it takes a long time to know who you are”.

He also said, “fashion is the lingua franca of the world; a cultural force here to stay whether it gets better or worse”.  Well I know for sure now; I’ve found my place in the fashion whirlwind and it's possibly the only other language I'll ever understand.

Silver Linings is back my lovelys.

xx

The Alpha Opinion-The Hype About Heels

10-inch heels from UK designer INSA-would you believe they're made from elephant dung?

Strutting your stuff in a favourite pair of stilettos can make any female feel glamourous but, as a girl of 5’10, I have to consider the health and safety risks. Taller girls have further to fall! That and, to be quite honest, heels really get in the way of my ability to dance (or what I call dancing) right into the next morning on a good night out.

However, guys still seem to prefer women in heels so this week, with our all-male fashion panel, I have been finding out whether they actually have a preference and what they really think of us hobbling home at the end of the night.

Unfortunately, they generally do prefer a well-heeled girl...great. The panel accepted flats for daywear but heels were the footwear of choice for a night-out. Our sportsman expected the same stamina as he musters on the field and declared they shouldn’t be “wimpy heels”, which is, apparently, anything less than two inches . The exact phrase was, “go high or go home”, though he was still quick to point out he wouldn’t be carrying any addional just-in-case flats for us (don’t worry, I soon put him straight about the male gender’s role in a relationship).

Mrs. Beckham certainly doesn't wimp out on her footwear, even when she's carrying fragile goods!

The other men agreed to heels, though over-the-top high wasn’t a general preference, thank-god. On having researched what a kitten heel was, the scientist decided they looked “too small to be worth it” but a moderate size was better than too high, otherwise the woman looks “weirdly taller than you’re used to”.

As for why men prefer women in heels, our musician came straight to the point; they “make a woman’s legs stand out”. Perfectly true, they do lengthen the legs, produce the appearance of toned thighs and calves and give the gluteal muscles a work out...or so I’ve heard. I couldn’t really tell you how effective they are as a substitute for the gym. Our businessman brought up the sense of power they provide and the scientist thought they were just classier.

Not exactly classy but made me smile

Interestingly, he referred to social convention for his reasoning behind the term ‘classier’. Heels are associated with formal wear in the same way as men’s ties and yet neither have a function. It just happens flats relate to a dull state of practicality and I suppose this then reflects on the woman wearing them.

There is nothing practical about the following heels (courtesy of smosh.com) but outstanding from an artistic point of view

20 Insanely Amazing High Heels

Whilst stiletto clad women may look classy and confident at the beginning of the night though, we have all seen/ been the one hobbling to the bus-stop by the end of the evening. Can men really still find the negatives of high-heels attractive?

Gaga's Recent Trip

Before...

...After

In general, no. Our businessman and scientist both saw the lack of appeal; “you need to maintain some class in heels, that’s the attraction”. Whilst our young man-in-training, who was so quick to choose heels over flats, declared it makes for a great laugh at the end of the night. Yet, the sportsman was big enough to admit he is normally in “blurred vision mode” by that point and hasn’t actually noticed before. We concluded that as long as you’re staggering in the same direction, a girl wobbling about in heels could get away with appearing to be in complete control!

So there you have it, pretty simple and pretty much what was already assumed; men generally do prefer women in heels. In fact, they like them for the same reasons that women do; confidence and attractiveness. You wonder why they don’t start investing in them themselves but that is another of the heels’ qualities; they highlight gender difference and emphasise femininity.

Heidi Platform Sandals-KG by Kurt Geiger-£200

Anyway, however interesting the psychology behind high heels may be and whether or not a pair of stilettos could actually create a bum for me, I have no intention of forfeiting my chance to dance pain-free or risking a trip to A&E. Call me boring but guys don’t like a girl taller than them either. So I’ll still take flats please or heels at a dinner-party of gorgeous, wealthy giants!

xx

Image of Inspiration

It feels like forever and a day since I last posted and my blogging withdraw symptoms have returned. I keep having the urge to write about completely inane things that would be of no interest to a person with all their faculties. I apologise my posts continue to be so irregular but I have spent the last couple of days settling into my new home!

That's right my lovelys, I have finally flown the nest and am living with my best-friend of fifteen years. She also  happens to have a wardrobe worthy of raiding on a massive scale but I swear the reasons are not linked!

This shall have to be a very short post (unusual for me I know but you can breathe a sigh of relief); I'm still running about like a headless chicken powered by Duracell getting things sorted.

Since this is a post about new beginnings though, I leave you with the picture that first inspired me to truly want to be a Fashion Journalist. It continues to be the image imprinted on the inside of my brain whenever I need motivation. 

Alexander McQueen-Vogue UK-2007

Is that not utter perfection?

Do you have any images you'll never forget?

xx

A Fashionable Reunion: Interview with an Aquascutum Intern and Old Friend

Last Tuesday, I got on a different train to work.

At the time, I thought this was just because I had got up too late, wasted time straightening my hair and missed the earlier train. I now realise, I was always meant to get the later train on that day (the day of the Aquascutum show at London Fashion Week) and, by a twist of fate, meet an old friend, currently interning at Aquascutum as part of her Fashion Technology degree!

On reading the show was scheduled for later that day, I thought of her and then looked up to see the same girl standing beside me! I should mention now, I had not properly seen this friend, also called Fi, for about nine years, though our mums remained in contact. Bizarre to bump into each on that particular day, right?

Anyway, it was brilliant to have a brief catch-up and so strange/ wonderful that we share the same passion after all these years!

Plus, it turned out she was on her way to the actual show! As you can imagine, I was beside myself with envy and excitement. I really could have missed my stop to find out more. Unfortunately, I still had three-pack baby vests to deal with-no runway shows for me as yet.

 We chatted later though and she even allowed me to interview her about her role, the brand and Aquascutum’s Spring/ Summer 2012 collection. You can tell just how passionate Fi is about what she does. Her insider's perspective really makes you appreciate the attention to detail that leads to garments of outstanding quality and upholds Aquascutum's reputation as a long-standing, luxury brand.

What is your interning role title at Aquascutum?

I'm officially a 'Product Development' intern.

What does this involve on a day-to-day basis?

Luckily I don't make cups of tea. Everyone has this horrid vision that their internship will involve making tea on a daily basis but I was never a glorified tea maker (thank goodness!)

Part of product development is quality assurance (QA), which is ensuring that the customer gets the best quality garment they can. I suppose quality is defined in many ways but from a QA point of view it's having a garment that is fit for purpose and is going to stand the test of time.

When we get garments that come in from the factory I check that they are not faulty, that they've actioned comments we've written to them (about how the garment should be made, trims, finishes etc...). If they have, we approve them and they go into mass production and, if they haven't, we reject it and they have to send us another sample.

When did you realise you wanted to work in Fashion?

My nana used to be a dressmaker and I used to look at her drawings as a kid. It sounds silly but I seriously cannot remember ever wanting to do anything else. I wanted to be a fashion designer at first but - while I think I'm kind of creative - I'm not always good at thinking way outside of the box. So I settled for a more practical approach; one that would teach me how to make garments.

Can you tell us a bit about Aquascutum; its heritage and image?

Aquascutum has been going since 1851 and is famous for its trench coats. I cannot tell you how many raincoats I check over on a day-to-day basis. Jo Sykes is Head of Design for Aquascutum now and she's bringing a really fresh feel to a brand some often saw as being only for an older audience. Alongside the raincoats is our trademark club check which we line our coats in so that people know it's an Aquascutum garment.

Aquascutum is typically a tailoring brand so with everything they do there’s always that element of neatness. The menswear suits are amazing and that’s the field I find myself most drawn to, you really cannot beat a good suit - I find myself assessing the fits of mens suits when I’m on the train thinking to myself “You need longer trousers,” or “that shoulder pad is way too large!” Even with the feminine colours of the collection there were strong shoulders, straight cuts and tailored trousers on the catwalk. You just can’t escape it!

What has been your favourite moment of interning so far?

Fit sessions. It sounds weird but when you get a garment you have to make sure it fits your customer so we have a real life, standard size ten model who we put the clothes on. We then change measurements, pinch bits out basically make it fit better. The women’s ones are so involved because their fits are more complex, you want the clothes to do different things depending on what they are. The men’s ones are simpler in the way that a men’s garment block doesn’t change. Suit styles haven’t changed, it’s just the trims that change with every year. I love going into fit sessions because I get to see the before and after effect.

Were you involved in the show’s preparations?

There are a lot of 24 hour days. I’m not kidding. Darting off at a moments notice across London to get buttons, trims and garments was a regular occurance. I made several trips to the edge of east London to get garments from a supplier. It’s absolute madness, you need dye samples, stitch samples - so many samples before anything gets the green light to go. You have to draft and re-draft and then copy the patterns for trousers, skirts, tops etc to go to factories halfway across the world and I was doing that - the copying bit not quite the drafting bit yet. We have machinists in the building who ended up making about 70% of the clothes that appeared in the show. Some people would get into work at 7am and not leave until 7pm the next day. Interns stay too.

What was the inspiration for this season’s collection?

I think it was feminine colours mixed with fine tailoring. There were a lot of wrap trousers and shorts (which are a Jo Sykes trademark). I loved the injection of yellow; it was like a wake up call in amongst all the soft nudes and dreamy beiges.

What was it like being at the show?

It’s quite relaxed surprisingly. It was really strange to see months of madness all over in 10 minutes, but it was nice to see the effort getting it’s moment to shine. Not many people will ever know what went into it and whilst it could be a disappointing it feels more like knowing a huge secret haha!

Did you meet or see anyone famous?

Apparently Kara Tointon was there but I didn’t recognise her. It was quite hard to see people because all the staff were standing behind those that were sitting - and of course some people are roguishly tall!

What was your favourite piece?

There was a long yellow dress. It was a halterneck with a wrap front and it looked so bright and Grecian I thought to myself, “I need one of those!”

Do you have any advice for those hoping to go into Fashion?

You can study as hard as you like at university but the most you will ever learn is in your first year of work. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t think you’re doing well at university. The fashion world is built on interns, and they don’t expect you to be excellent at first because you can learn so much in 3 months. I was so useless back in June but now I feel like I’ve got firm footing, I’m still learning but I don’t feel like a fish out of water.

Suss out what kind of intern you want to be and, if it’s a design intern, don’t expect to sleep much but do expect to see some wonderful things. Design interns work harder than any other interns I’ve met - myself included!

Sorry this post has been so long but it is the closest access I have, had to London Fashion Week and I'm so pleased Fashion has brought my friend and I back together. We've already been reminiscing about the good old days when we played around with huge rolls of material and dressed each other up...not sure we knew about Quality Assurance then!

xx

The Alpha Opinion

Despite believing women should wear whatever they feel confident in, without trying to impress a man, I have decided to involve male friends in my fashion antics and gain their opinions on women’s trends and styles in a weekly post.

My little band of merry men is made up of a range of guys from different backgrounds and this week we were talking bag size. I didn’t even have to hold a gun to their heads to get through the conversations!

I wanted to know if their initial opinion of a woman is affected by whether she is carrying a mini-bag or an oversized tote or if they even notice she has a bag at all.

They were each shown this image of Cameron Diaz’s oversized Prada number and asked their opinions:

Exhibit A

(let me know if you think Exhibit A is just unnaturally large by the way and no woman has ever been seen holding a bag that big).

Our sportsman was the first to point out, “that’s not a handbag! It’s a fucking suitcase!” Followed by the scientist who agreed, “that looks ridiculously enormous”. For those who are now worrying that Exhibit A seemed standard size to them and were already questioning where the outer compartments were, never fear, our other men were more sympathetic. The musician decided it was “pretty big” but “not bad” and the businessman actually liked it!

They were then shown this image of Ashley Greene and asked which woman they would be more likely to go for based on their bags.

Exhibit B

I realise this is hardly a fair test; for starters it’s affected by whether the man is a blondes or brunettes kind of guy! Of course, the scientist was quick to point out how I could standardise my variables and improve the investigation but you soon find yourself saying, “no you cannot have both of them” at the mention of identical twins to a guy.

My scientist and sportsman agreed the smaller bag looked better, even compared to Eva Longoria’s attempt at medium size:

Despite seeing the positives in Exhibit A (“I could fit my decks in there!”), the musician still preferred the smaller bag. He wasn’t as sure as the sportsman though who decided a woman with a bigger bag is an “attention seeker or they dont feel adequete and have to make up for it somehow”. I did point out women don’t really have the same issue over package size as those men who feel they have to compensate with ridiculously large, turbo powered cars but he maintained they were still looking for something to hide behind. What do you think?

On the other hand, our businessman actually preferred the larger bag; “there is intrigue for me...what’s in the bag? That’s what is going through my head!” The music man was also interested to find out what was inside but, unfortunately for them, I don’t think it’s lingerie, an Xbox or a curry.

So, in conclusion, it seems they do notice what is on your arm and can be affected by size. The practical man cannot see the need for a big bag nor understand our female ‘just-in-case’ syndrome, which hits us when it comes to packing luggage. To them, a woman with a big bag signals one who has to rely on material goods. Then you get your inquisitive guy who has no problem with bag size and would even consider a big bag to add intrigue; never reveal the contents though or the mystery is over!

Judith Leiber bags from Harrods (just to keep your attention)

Of course, the size of your handbag actually shouldn’t matter; it’s how you wear it. One of our panel still said that a large bag could be stylish and I certainly have no intention of downsizing! How else will I create a barrier between myself and that daily tube passenger who has never heard of showering?

It was just interesting to hear about fashion from a male perspective and I know they secretly enjoyed the excuse to talk handbags! One even proudly admitted, “I’ve often been told I’d make a great gay person”.

Anyway, I would love to know your opinion on this pilot post. Do you think it’s worth asking my panel further questions? Are there any fashion topics you would like a man’s perspective on?

xx