Lanvin-less

So I'm back from Edinburgh and London is dull and soooo cold and I have a horrible red eye (due to a weird condition I have that flares up about every 6 months or so AND on top of all this, I am Lanvin-less.  Apparently people started queuing at around 8am the previous evening for store access, so I thought I'd outsmart them, set my alarm super early and do it from my bed.  The collection was available to buy from 7am so I was up at 6.30, fingers hovering over the keyboard in anticipation.  The two specific pieces I was after were these...

Do I have them? No! The collection went live at 0701, I managed to get both the dress and the skirt in the size I wanted. Amazing! Then I clicked through to the checkout, debit card all laid out in front of me, ready to type in the magic digits and have the two pieces I had lusted after for so long delivered to my door. 
Except that after clicking 'Pay by Debt/ Credit Card', the page remained the same but with 'Error Unknown' in the bottom corner. I literally tried to pay by every other means necessary and then (in a separate page) hunted for the online Customer Services number which (of course) didn't open until 8. I kept trying until 8 am then continued to try while I was in the massive queue to speak to someone at customer services.

At 0835 ( I had now been up for 2 hours trying to do this!) I managed to speak to a friendly Scottish lady who assured me that all was not lost.  Apparently the site had crashed due to huge demand (doh! Why don't they make provision for this??) BUT as I had my items out of my basket and was at the second stage of checkout (paying) I would be fine.  I should keep the page open and keep trying in about an hour when things had calmed down.  I asked (in an increasingly manic tone) whether she was 100% positive that the items would not vanish/ the site would time out etc and was repeatedly assured that this would not happen.


I followed her instructions to the absolute letter and checked the site again in an hour.  I did not refresh the page, I simply clicked, 'Pay by Debt/ Credit Card' as I had been instructed. What happened, the page VANISHED and this appeared in its place.

Oh yes..and my basket was now empty. Not even a sorry. Just a smug little note.  By this time I had been trying to buy a dress and a skirt for over three hours, straining my already bad eye over a website that had no compassion.  I had followed the instructions issued by H&M Customer Services who had either lied to keep customers happy or didn't know what they were doing. I decided to give up and start my little saving fund for some actual Lanvin one day, it'll probably make me happier in the long run.  (The Boy already has a beautiful scarf that is one of the highlights of his wardrobe..it accidentally wanders into mine sometimes..)

By the way if any of you, my beautiful readers managed to obtain so Lanvin at H&M, please let me know how you did it!xxx


P.S. Good explanation/ rant here of how the situation should have been handled.

Just to be clear, I'm not mad with this chap. I still love him. H&M on the other hand...

A wee jaunt to the North

Linda Evangelista, an Arthur Elgort shoot, 1991.

I am heading up to the frozen wastes for a few days for work come Sunday so may fall off the fashion radar ever so slightly. I am journeying to Edinburgh, the Scottish capital and it is a city I have an immense fondness for having lived in Scotland for five years during my university days.

As well as the general bother of packing for a week away, having to factor in the cold (apparently it's snowing up there!), damp and having to attend some rather smart dinners of an evening, it also gave me pause for thought on a bit of fashion inspiration. TARTAN.

Particularly loving Aggy for House of Holland in the antlers!

 Now the kilt has been popular this season, I got a beautiful grey pleated number from Zara with black leather buckles that I have been wearing with black Yarra wedge desert boots from Clarks and a simple black v-neck cashmere sweater, topped off with my cape for when the days get chilly but I also LOVE the drama of a proper full on tartan number that has been favoured by that fashion Grand Dame Vivienne Westwood. Slightly more high maintenance to pull off maybe, but what an impact! And let us not forget the wonderful Alexander McQueen.  A man who could pull off a kilt himself and raised temperatures in the industry with the infamous1995 Highland Rape show that featured torn bodices and tampon strings hanging from the skirts. At the time, McQueen said that he had been misunderstood; he was trying, he said, to make a point about how 18th century Scotland has been romanticised, and it wasn't all about "beautiful women drifting across the moors in unmanageable chiffon".  Well, whatever you imagine when you think of Bonny Scotland, here is some of my tartan inspiration, let me know your thoughts!x

Marc Jacobs, NYC Fashion Week 2009

selection from McQueen's Highland Rape collection

And finally, a selection of images from British Vogue 2008...

And relax....what I shall look like in my off duty moments!x

Mind the Gap!

Riley Keough with Thakoon at the Met Ball

Now I know we are all starting toget hot under the collar about Lanvin's collaboration with H&M arriving in a mere matter of weeks, (I'm almost tempted to start queuing now actually) but there's something else to get a bit hot under the collar about. Gap announced its collaboration with Valentino creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli in September and I think I read about it then promptly got swept up in Alber fever and forgot!

Kerry Washington in Thakoon for Gap

To coincide with the opening of Italy’s first Gap store in Milan, the capsule womenswear collection will launch in late November and will also be available at Colette Paris, Dover Street Market in London and Gap’s Flagship London store on Oxford Street.

For the US 14.2 billion dollars company the idea of having their items interpreted by famous designers is not something new. In the past Roland Mouret (womenswear), Pierre Hardy (shoes) and Stella McCartney (kidswear) have collaborated on collections, and this year the casual wear group saw some Hollywood stars wearing limited edition dresses at the Met Gala in New York, designed by Takoon, Rodarte, Alexander Wang and Sophie Theallet.  I've illustrated this post with the dresses that appeared that night and I'd love to know which are your favourites.  I'm leaning towards the one on Riley at the top...

M.I.A in gold mesh Alexander Wang with the designer

 

              Anyway, back to the business in hand...

They say… “We are very pleased that Gap thought of us as a partner for this important project, as it brings together the iconic world of Valentino and Gap's fashion essentials. In this way, Valentino and Gap synthesize the current trend of combining luxury with basics”.

What I'm saying… Form an orderly queue. Classic, sleek basics combined with Valentino’s modern-luxe femininity will be a hit with the fashion crowd and buying public alike. Watch this space!

I imagine a sea of red (not Product Red- Bono has yet to jump on this bandwagon) feminine gowns awaits us
..perfect for the holidays!x

 P.S.  As I mentioned, Sophie Theallet also collaborated with Gap and here are the two dresses on two lovely actresses that night...I remember seeing them at the time and could not believe they were from the same designer...

I'm not sure I would hug the person who made me look like an upmarket German beer wench...

                                                       

Classics - Leopard Print or Call of the Wild

"I don't want to be cool, I want to be Fashion" Anna Dello Russo

 I am of the belief that not all animal prints are created equal, that one stands shoulders above the rest in the fashion jungle.  Leopard.  A smattering of it can add glamour to the most normal day to day combination.  Looking stunning when worn with simple black, jeans and a t-shirt; as little as a scarf or going all out with a wild coat (or truly going for it..like Ms Dello Russo above!), leopard is one of the classics.  

Rosamund Pike and Carey Mulligan in An Education

There were two triggers for this post, firstly that it is now cold enough in London to dig out my beautiful fur (faux obviously!) leopard coat from Topshop last season (seen on Alexa below).  I teamed it with a black silk over sized shirt from Silence and Noise, black leggings with leather panels (ASOS), red quilted ballet flats (French Sole) and my black Chanel 2.55.

Secondly, all the beautiful 3.1 Phillip Lim pieces from Autumn/ Winter 10/11..which it must be said are in a variety of animal prints.  I'm particularly obsessed with the leopard print Derby Oxford and the Atomique mixed media trainer, oh and the stunning giraffe and leather biker jacket, but unfortunately do not have a spare £1085 at the moment so I'll be sticking with my vintage style Topshop coat for now.

3.1 Phillip Lim items from La Garconne, Browns Fashion, Neiman Marcus, Aloha Rag and Net a Porter.  With thanks to Susie Bubble for the collage.

I can even pinpoint when my love affair with leopard started, it was seeing Audrey in her perfect leopard pillar box hat in Charade, watching on a Sunday afternoon with my mother and I thought it was the most glamorous outfit I had ever seen....

Jackie Oh WTF??

Inspiration can be found in many places and in recent times, celebrities have almost become the new models.  Remember that bit in The September Issue when Grace points out that Nuclear Wintour saw that trend coming a mile off? Well congratulations Anna, who apparently also likes Boobs Legsly aka Blake Lively but seriously cannot back the statement which I am just about to relate to y'all. I found this on a rather amusing site called Lainey Gossip

So here’s a quote from Eric Daman, the stylist who works on Gossip Girl. He’s speaking here of Blake Lively, specifically as it relates to her sartorial side:

"She’s not an anorexic bitch, she has tits and an ass. She knows where the hemline needs to hit, what colors she should wear and about draping ... She’s not getting out of cars without panties and she [sic] rather be home making apple pie, not partying in a limo. That’s why Anna [Wintour] likes her. She nailed it [the Vogue covers] and I love being a part of it without having to hold her hand ... [Sarah Jessica Parker] was so instrumental about clothing and the draping and body parts and Blake is the same exact way, but she’s not Carrie and she’s not SJP. Blake is in her 20’s and has a hot body, she’s a teen icon of high fashion and we haven’t really seen something like it, she’s like the Jackie O of her time."

THE JACKIE O OF OUR TIME???

Yay or Nay, readers, I wish to know your thoughts. I''m not saying the girl isn't hot with a cracking pair of pins but Jackie O...really?

Boobs..and a harness, do I need to elaborate on why this is a bad idea?

I like the colour, I think I like the idea..I just think the idea came out wrong..

I was taught that if you can't say something nice, you should think twice about saying anything at all.  Nice tan Blake.

Ok so it's a corset, maybe just a corset with a bit of lace swathed round it, well done for wearing matching pants! Brown shoes?

The commentary from the bods at Go Fug Yourself was too funny to leave out so please find it below..

BLAKE LIVELY: Hi L.

LEIGHTON MEESTER: Hey, B.

BLAKE: Am I showing way too much skin?

LEIGHTON: As usual. Boobs OR legs, remember, Blake?

BLAKE: I have the worst time with that.

LEIGHTON: We know. And your dress has an open back.

BLAKE: So?

LEIGHTON: You're beating us about the head and neck with your hotness, when you really ought to just let it hug us tenderly.

BLAKE: I don't know what that means.

LEIGHTON: Stop showing so much skin. For the 10th time.

BLAKE: Your turn.

LEIGHTON: Whatever do you mean?

BLAKE: Uh. Your dress is like way too big for you and you're wearing shoulder pads that give a whole new meaning to the phrase, "don't squeeze the Charmin."

LEIGHTON: What new meaning is that?

BLAKE: I don't know. It was the only toilet paper joke I could think of.

LEIGHTON: Bitch, please, this outfit is directional.
BLAKE: It should have directed you to a tailor. And what about your face? At least my makeup looks awesome.

LEIGHTON: Your hair doesn't.

BLAKE: WE'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT YOU:

For the best dressed bookworms

Piglet and Pooh discussed the merits of the jumpsuit.

When I was at university the subject of my Masters dissertation was on the significance of clothes in the Victorian novel.  Before you doze off..I LOVED doing that because it combined researching my two favourite things in the entire world, books and clothes.  All of you out there reading this may occasionally have come across the view from certain folk that fashion is frivolous, unimportant and shallow.  Yes it can be..but it can also be an art form, a defense (Lily Bart in the House of Mirth), a passport to a better life (Scarlett trying to fool Rhett by wearing a dress made out of curtains) or even your key to a double existence (Orlando). I find inspiration from everything around me so imagine my joy then when I discover this post on Flavorwire, Literature’s 10 Best-Dressed Authors. It got me a'thinking..who are some of the best dressed characters in literature that have inspired you? I'd love to know...

I could have put up any picture of Scarlett but I always adored her ruffled dress

Ben Barnes did not do adequate justice to Oscar Wilde's scintillating anti-hero Dorian Gray but that dapper dandy would always be in my list of inspirations.

Gillian Anderson in the lavish costumes for the most recent adaptations for The House Of Mirth (2000)

Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, Theoni V Aldredge won the Best Costume Design Oscar at the 1974 ceremony and it's easy to see why.

The Montdores (Cedric included) in Nancy's Love in a Cold Climate.

Holly Gollightly because it was love at first read, compounded by the film.  The original novel is actually set in 1940's Manhattan.

 

Virginia Woolf's remarkable Orlando...

..and a remarkable portrayal by Tilda Swinton.

Lastly, Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome, always seemed to conjure up the perfect Summer holiday and      inspired a love of all things nautical, grey school jumpers, flannel shorts and Peter Pan collared dresses.                          I've never grown out of it!

‘Easy clothes for difficult women’

Audrey

Vanessa Bruno’s new store opens tomorrow at 1a Grafton Street, W1, something to get excited about methinks as we have been too long deprived on this side of the Chanel!  Vanessa Bruno is a designer who understands the effortless soft-edged style of the 'new school' of French dressing.  This 'new school' is a welcome breath of fresh air in my opinion.  Some of you may remember my post earlier in the year ranting about 'playing it safe' French style.  Well, Carolyn Asome in The Times backed me up today;

 "After years of dull elegance, French women and labels are shedding their conservatism to embrace a new look.  The greatest disservice that Coco Chanel may have done to her fellow country women was to issue the style mantra: “Elegance is refusal.” She meant this as a refutationof all things superfluous. Her fellow country women took it as a rejection of anything new, quirky or daring. It explains why French women for generations clung ardently to a de facto outfit of trench coat, white shirt, ballet pumps, silk scarf and a safe bag.
Elegant? Sometimes. Boring? Mind-numbingly so. In forsaking experimentation for an out-dated ideal of elegance, French women became, for the most part, a nation of staid dressers. That les femmes Françaises were setting trends avidly was a myth largely propagated by Hollywood and Audrey Hepburn, whose chic ensembles in Paris-set films such as Charade and Funny Face were widely admired....."

Now I will happily go three rounds in the ring with anyone who has a go at Audrey but lets's not forget that the outfits we admired were largely in her wonderful films where she often had the helping hand of Monsieur Givenchy and the rest of us mere mortals could largely only imitate.

 So apparently the French have a new way of doing things and spearheading this movement is Vanessa Bruno, the 43-year-old blonde designer who's clothes are understated and effortlessly stylish..  She describes her clothes as “easy clothes for difficult women”— presumably she means demanding. They have become a byword for the predominantly neutral wardrobe staples of many Parisian hipsters. But don’t underestimate the ability of Bruno’s creations to make a statement.

“There always has to be an edge, but it’s a soft edge,” she says. “It’s not aggressive. It’s important to still retain that sense of femininity.”

Being feminine to Bruno is important. French cover girls, rarely sacrifice feminity on the altar of unflattering trends. “I think that’s surely a French thing,” Bruno says. “British designers do cool and edgy but they aren’t clothes that are necessarily elegant. It’s the way you appropriate an item that really counts.”

Bruno may reveal a little flesh in a top but can add a lace insert so that a décolleté is covered yet subtely revealing. “That’s the key to the way these French girls dress; there’s a bit of that idea of a ‘Chic Parisian’, but it’s not classic in a dusty way. They will break up the tailored silhouette with the unexpected; a top with a hint of sparkle, a sexy shoe, the appeal is all in the suggestion. I’d never consciously design something that was too retro: clothes always need a modern twist.” I couldn't agree more.

 

1.Clemence Poesy and the Kaiser and 2. Virginie Mouzat, fashion director of Le Figaro

Geraldine Saglio, stylist at French Vogue.

"Hurray, Vanessa Bruno will now be available in LONDON!"

N.B. This below is for my darling friend and little sister who has moved here recently. Miss you!