Boy Meets Girl

At Dolce and Gabbana the sixty-four models were divided into two camps: the 'Tomboys' and the 'Temptresses'. The 'Tomboys' had their hair styled in "Rockabilly" quiffs and wore tailored trouser suits, Trilby's, and winkle-picker style, pointy-toe lace-ups. The 'Temptresses' slinked along the catwalk in sheer lace over sequinned underwear, tiger-striped clinging dresses and star-printed, black and white chiffon gowns, accessorised with high-heels and ankle-socks.  I think I might have been a Tomboy..but then I keep seeing bits from the Temptresses that catch my eye. Which one would you be?

There was a twist in this apparent tale of androgyny, which played out to Mick Jagger and David Bowie's "Dancing in the Street", and Bowie's 1983 hit, "Modern Love". The seductive dresses were also matched with boyish lace-ups, belt-bags and those Trilby hats. And the "borrowed from the boys" tailoring included oversized vests, embellished with lace and beading and worn with sequinned leggings; and mannish, double-breasted car-coats in baby-pink and pale blue, while a three-piece suit came with pinstripe cuffed trousers and waistcoat, and a leopard print, short jacket.

I LOVED IT.

Pretty sure I had one of these when I was little..think it was by Woolworths though..

You Can Learn A LOT from an Old Bird

"People need to get less stressed about fashion and get into the enjoyment of it"

"Take what is available and contour it towards what your needs are."

The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas

I have grey hair and I'm getting crows feet.  Every day I have London snot...that's when there's mysterious black shizzle up your nose from all the fumes at the end of the day..and my idea of a good night in at the moment is working through the Poirot or Downton boxset and doing my tapestry. I have also got unreasonably excited when I'm in bed before midnight.  What does all this mean?  Am I on a slip road to Golden Oldie-town heading towards the earlybird special and a night of Bingo with the Boy...(actually it would be backgammon if he had his way) ?  Or am I in denial about a certain birthday that happened nearly a week ago? YES I AM.

"Don't take your self too seriously."

"Dress for the theatre of your life." Lynn Dell 78.

I had decided that I was cool with it, aging is no big deal, it happens to everyone blah blah blah but when certain people reacted to my new age with glances that said, "You're two minutes away from the Stannah stairlift dearie", I began to feel perturbed.  I've written before about how happy I was that it wasn't just prepubescent girls lining the catwalks and spoken about my admiration for the many beautiful older models including Carmen dell Orefice but was I ready to start feeling past my prime when I wasn't sure I'd had my prime yet?

I don't mind going grey that much. I've already decided that I will have Cruella DeVille hair as soon as I can no longer pull off dying it it's god given colour and wrinkles give a face character so on an afternoon of counting my grey hairs, sorting my tapestry wools and blog surfing, imagine my delight when I came across a blog called Advanced Style.

Alice Carey, early 60s

Written by Ari Seth Cohen, I'll let him use his own words, "I roam the streets of New York looking for the most stylish and creative older folks. Respect your elders and let these ladies and gents teach you a thing or two about living life to the fullest.  Advanced Style offers proof from the wise and silver-haired set that personal style advances with age."  Darn right Ari. I think this is something we can all aspire to.  It was so hard to pick just a few to show you but I hope it makes you smile as much as it did me, Happy Friday!X

Iris Apfel for Vogue Japan shot by Ari

Elle-O

The ELLE team / LONDON FASHION WEEK S/S 2011: DAY 1

A birthday for me last weekend and a birthday for this blog! Really this should make me more proactive than usual but instead I have been lazing about admiring my lovely presents and eating quantities of cake!  One of things I particularly like to do when I have oodles of time to myself is to peruse the vast array of blogs out there.  This time, during my travels on the web, I came across something that I'd never seen before.  It's by one of the big players, Ellle (UK magazine).  I am obsessed with magazines be it Elle, Vogue, Wonderland, Dazed, LOVE etc. and having interned at a couple in the Conde Nast stable, I know that not only is The Devil Wears Prada not a million miles from the mark but also that yes, you can't just roll out of bed into the office, you do have to give it a certain amount of thought..and then end up looking like you haven't...obvs.

How super then to be given access to what the bods at Elle are wearing every week. I'm sure the ladies do think a smidge more carefully when they know a camera is going to be on them but I truly don't think that any of them look particularly over-done or try hard.  To me they have provided some sartorial inspiration particularly during this rather wet Fashion Week. Enjoy.

Donna Wallace: ELLE Accessories Editor: Neil Barret jacket, French Connection shirt, Dagmar dress, Cos trousers, APC boots, Laura Lee ring

Emma Sells: ELLEuk.com Fashion/News Editor:All Saints coat, Topshop top, Club Monaco trousers, Russell and Bromley shoes, Jas MB bag, Mawi necklace. Bex Rox bracelet

Alice Watt: ELLEuk.com Fashion Assistant:Alexander Wang jumper, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Burberry belt, Emma Cook boots, New Look rucksack

I LOVE these shorts!

Stacey Duguid: ELLE Executive Fashion Editor: Mui Mui jacket, Vanessa Bruno dress, Prada shoes

Rosa Connell: ELLE Fashion Assistant

Versus boots

Looky Likey

So I know that many fashion bloggers have been expostulating over the lust-inducing item(s) that are a pair of Isabel Marant boots.  They're suede, they're ever so slightly slouchy, they give you that certain je ne sais quoi. They're also super double duper expensive..oh and they're suede which means a little bit vulnerable in British weather even with oodles of protectant and a rubber sole.  There is the Bidou boot...

And my personal favourite, the Forbes boot, which has a slightly Western vibe to it..

So I fell for them and pondered over the purchase. I am all for investment purchases, let me state that right now. My Chanel and Mulberry handbags are prize possessions, my beautiful navy Hobbs coat and my tweed jacket, my beaded Chloe dress that I only wear once in a blue moon because I love it so much I'm actually scared to take it to the dry cleaners, my French Sole pumps. I have no qualms on spending items that will last (physically), are dateless and classic.  These boots tick every category except one, they will not physically go the distance. They will scuff, they will wear out, the soles/ heels will need replacing, they will watermark. I couldn't pay nearly £400 for that.  Ms Bosworth on the other hand, totally can and for once, we see a celebrity who has a pair of favourite boots that she wears all the time despite the gazillions of others in her wardrobe..

This, in fact was at The Kings Speech premiere a couple of weeks ago, I really love that skirt too!

..So I thought, what the heck! I'll go for it, I love them! They look great with everything..apart from maybe that weird pink croquet dress in the second picture across at the top (re-think that look Kate) but I still ain't forking out that amount of dough for them. Fashion Gods, help me out.

..And they did. They may not be an exact replica but my goodness do they look super on and all for the bargain price of £70.  Topshop. You did it again.  Now I just need to find that grey skirt....Happy Friday all X

LOVE LOVE

There is a distinctly lesbian vibe to my post today and that's not because the Boy has been bad so I've switched sides, although I do have a healthy amount of girl crushes (Winona, Freja, Penelope Cruz in Volver). It's to do with LOVE. And I do love LOVE.

If you had sat me down a year ago and told me I would have been putting a picture of 'the Beib' on my blog, I would have looked at you in bewilderment and gone, 'who?' Yet here he is.  For the longest time, I legitimately couldn't understand why Justin Bieber would ever be on the cover of this high fashion magazine but then I found out that it was for the cover of the androgyny issue and everything made sense. Because he's pretty androgynous and well, pretty too. And, you know, he looks like a lesbian. At least according to the Tumblr blog Lesbians Who Look Like Justin Bieber.  (Yes really.) 

Master Beiber isn’t the only one covering this issue of Love. Kate Moss and Lea T are also featured on a cover for the magazine. Together. Making out. LOVE.

Transgender model Lea T has gone from backroom assistant to sartorial sensation in just months, appearing in Givenchy's autumn/winter ad campaign, smiling in Italian Vanity Fair and – as a crowning glory – posing naked for the hallowed pages of French Vogue.  But if this Brazilian bombshell is causing such a stir it is perhaps because there is more to her than meets the eye. Lea T was born Leandro and, as well as being a model and a muse, she is an out and proud transsexual.

Lea T, second from the right, in Givenchy's ad campaign for late 2010

 The muse of Riccardo Tisci is the perfect choice for the cover of Love’s androgyny issue, while Kate is a bit of surprise (between you and me I was getting a bit blah about old Mossy) BUT I think it totally works!

I think the Kate cover is a rather fantastic throwback to the beginning stages of her career. The black and white choice of photography, paired with her fresh look and freckled appearance calls to mind her Face cover from years ago.  For the final cover, I love the clever gender play going on, with Kate styled as a man and Lea as a woman, at first glance, I didn't actually recognise either model..which I guess is kind of the point! And that kiss! Golly gosh.

Pretty Boy Biebs is a more tongue-in-cheek pick, and I'd love to know if the pop star was notified that his cover would in fact be for the androgyny issue. I hope the answer is yes, and that he was fair game although it would make me evily chuckle into my tea if it came as a bit of a shock to the wee man. 

There’s no word on how the Bieber/ Love connection was made, but mag EIC Katie Grand did share how she and Lea met for the first time; 

“I was by the pool at the Copacabana Palace Hotel when I saw her. At first I didn’t notice her gender, just that she was wearing Givenchy couture and looked amazing!”

Apparently Grace Jones was at the pool, too, wearing a fabulous hat. I, sadly, was not.

Katie Grand and Lea T at the Love Androgyny launch.