Seeing RED

Anyone who knows me well is aware that black is frequently my colour du jour but today I realised that several things I wish to write about all for under the same vibrant shade that is RED!! Firstly, huge congrats to the charming Mr Eddie Redmayne who has won a Tony for his performance in RED.  I was lucky enough to go and see it when it was at the Donmar and it blew me away.  I wish Alfred Molina could have won too..his performance as the tortured Rothko was phenomenal.  Despite the efforts of my own personal art historian whizz (the boy) I never fully 'got' Rothko.  Even when I was taken round the marvellous retrospective at Tate Modern and had the boy go on and on about his genius...well, I kinda nodded along but between you and me, I was left a little cold.  John Logan's play and the astonishing performances from the two man cast actually made me re-consider and want to go back and look at his paintings all over again.  Another wow factor of the production was that they actually painted the sets live so the paintings, as backdrops, appeared before your eyes.

I have been pining to add this set of new Penguin books to my already over-filled shelves.  Part of a collaboration between Penguin and (RED) you can also give yourself a hearty pat on the back when you purchase them as 50% of the profits will be going to the Global Fund to help eliminate Aids in Africa.

I have to say that I think the cover for 'The House of Mirth' is my favourite..but that might be a personal weakness for the materialistic heroine Lily Bart slipping through,  Click on the link to Penguin above to check out the whole collection.

Now for a moment of huge self-indulgence..My latest craze is doing tapestry whilst slouched in front of trash tv on my increasingly rare nights in.  I have just finished one that I have been working on for SEVEN years! There is no decent excuse for this other than a) my laziness and b) I completely forgot about it, however, like all trends, it has re-emerged! The kits come from Jolly Red and I urge you to get involved.  My particular favourites are the Hearts and Stars patterns as they're in such vibrant colours, I feel slightly less grannyish.  I intend to have mine backed on bright fuschia velvet, not the conventional black as seen below.

Finally I have been pining after this H&M Garden Collection limited edition jacket for ages! I elbow fought my way to a store the day it was released but to no avail.  Finally after several weeks of stalking it on Ebay (and refusing to pay stupidly over the odds), I've managed to get it.  It's two dress sizes bigger than I am but I don't care, the exaggerated shoulders and rose embellishment are worthy of a couture piece and having it slightlybigger than I need it serves to emphasise this more! Expect pictures of me giving it it's test run soon!

My inspiration.....the wonderful Winona in Beetlejuice, have always had a complete girl-crush on her..

VPL

I'll be honest, I've never been one of those girls who is crazy about underwear.  Yes I wear it (calm down) but I've always splashed my cash on the items that the majority of the outside world would actually see.  This isn't because I dress to impress 'them' eg. other girlfriends, men, my mother, it's because clothes are my passion. MINE all mine.  So, before I contiune sounding like Golum, this brings me neatly onto the underwear question.  I know many women who are completely dotty about it, will spend a small fortune on bits of lace of lace and wire and miniscule knickers that wouldn't cover a flea's pimple.  Most women when pressed (and I did a little survey on this) will say that it's because it makes them feel good, knowing that they have something a little bit special, sometimes even naughty, beneath their clothes.  More power to you but if I'm going to spend, then stuff that's hidden away, that I won't see and appreciate is not for me.  However I have come to a crossroads because there's a new trend in town..underwear as outerwear.

Now I know you're thinking this...

...but that's not exactly what I mean.  I think we all know who started the "underwear as outerwear" trend, Ghandi and before him, Jesus, then eventually Madge met up with Jean Paul Gaultier and everything went two sandwiches short of a picnic.  As with many ideas that start as a bit of a giggle, they can have legs and we progressed from visible bra straps, to knickers as eveningwear (yes Sienna I mean you) and now it's relatively difficult to find a top, especially for eveningwear that doesn't resemble underwear. As we navigate through this difficult terrain together, I've realised that there is only one sensible option: the corset.  It's underwear but not as we know it.

I don't mean the red, lacy, showgirl variety, think Mad Men structuring..wide straps, neutral colours, even having it semi hidden away by being built into or wearing over a t-shirt.  Yes it's tricky but your other option is wafting around in something resembling a negligee and I challenge anyone of a 'legal' age to pull that off in everyday life without looking like they've got lost on the way to the Playboy Mansion.

Elephants Everywhere

My biggest obsession at the moment is spotting elephants all around London.  When you mention this to people who aren't currently in the capital (and some that are) they can look at you blankly and there look pitiful as they assume you're a few sandwiches short of a picnic.  Basically it's a campaign by www.elephantfamily.org to raise awareness of the now endangered Asian elephant.  The event sees over 250 brightly painted life-size elephants located all over central London this summer decorated by a misture of artists and celebs.  Running from May to July 2010, this is London’s biggest outdoor art event on record, isn't that AWESOME! With an estimated audience of 25 million, they're aim is to raise £2 million for the Asian elephant and benefit 20 UK conservation charities.  All the elephants will then come together at the Chelsea Royal Hospital and you can go and see them all for free before the charity auction on the 3rd July.  My current goal is to try and snap as many as possible in their 'natural habitat' before they all descend on Chelsea, here are a few I've got so far!

I

It should be noted that if you can't quite stretch to buying one of the big uns at the Elephant Auction, you'll probably be able to stretch to a wee one, available at  Selfridges, 80 Regent St, 36 Carnaby St, Greenwich Central Market and the elephant parade online shop! 

 
 Here's my little one bought for me as a pressie last Friday afternoon when I was being grumpy, he's now brightening up my desk.  Ideas for names please..

I think one reason that I love them so is because they remind me of one of my favourite books when I was little..Elmer the Elephant by David McKee.

Maximus Rantus

I’m not sure that anyone has ever pulled off the maxi-skirt..or even if they have managed to look half decent in it, there’s always been a bit of me thinking that I’d prefer to see their legs, maybe I’m actually a misogynist (pause for thought) but really I do think that firstly maxis look good on the tall leggy type (not stunted and dwarfish like myself) but that is immediately followed up by, if you are genetically blessed in that area, why wouldn’t you have your cracking pins out all the time?

I hate long skirts. I mean really loathe them. They make my flesh creep. Not physically – that would be weird – but psychologically I could get quite worked up. Wearing one in 1911, or 1711, or any of the past 2,990 years when the big news in fashion was that skirts were floor-sweeping, again, I understand. To shroud three-fifths of your body in one when you have the choice not to – that’s got to be contrary.  Also if you are 5 foot, five inches or shorter then really anything floor-length or sometimes even ankle grazing, can just shrink you to Borrower height.  However it has not escaped my notice that for the past few years there has been a creeping maxi-misation in the dress department, especially during the warmer months, even Nicole Richie appears to turn into a sub-species of Mama Cass in maxidresses.  I have yet to own a maxi dress but maybe I should ease myself in gently with a maxi-skirt...

But which one? The new maxi is meant to hang slouchily off the hips – the non-lung-threatening equivalent of a ciggie dangling from your lips, perhaps. It mustn’t be tiered, floaty or reminiscent in any way of Woodstock or your old Geography teacher. It mustn’t make you feel like a surrendered wife. Cheap, clingy fabrics are also bad as they accessorise the bumps thus negating the cover up factor.  Taking these into account, this narrowed the field by about 98 per cent.  After beginning to hyperventilate in Selfridges I remembered I already owned a beautiful black fine knit vintage maxi-skirt, although I’d never worn it as a maxi because to my mind, it worked so much better as a strapless dress so I elbow rammed my way back down into the Tube and home!

Next challenge: what to do with it? (Cue lots of fiddling about in front of the bathroom mirror and turning bedroom into a bombsite).   American Vogue puts them with jackets, shirts – whatever you’d wear with a shorter skirt.  I am unconvinced by this. In reality, anything too formal above the waist looks peculiar and rather 19^th century. Keeping it simple – a good T-shirt, a slouchy boyfriend cardigan, a nice belt and some slightly odd sandals to remind everyone that you’re not Nanny McPhee – seems to do the trick.  Also I think accessories are important as my beautiful and incredibly stylish friend Anna taught me (when I refused to wear anything but studs in my ears) a good pair of earrings can transform a look.

Maybe maxis can even be seen as liberating – from fake tans, high heels (long skirts look wrong with most of them), the “Do my legs look like sausages in this?” dilemma…

I can’t see them catching on when you’ve got a serious appointment in the boardroom or a hot date, but Lisa Armstrong at the Times said that they’re perfect, “on those mornings when it’s not quite cold enough to wear thick black tights, but not sufficiently tropical to go bare-legged, the maxi may have something.”  Well dear, I say, don’t wear thick black tights, wear opaque..even leggings! In fact, trousers, to be fair, have the same something, but sometimes you can’t face yet another day in jeans, so go wild and embrace the chino as a Spring/ Summer alternative.

American Vogue, by the way, has tried to give the maxi skirt a swishy modern feel by announcing that the new way with skirts is to wear long during the day, short at night.  This put thoughts of Bucks Fizz into my mind, leaping out of the office after a hard day’s slog and ripping the bottom part of my skirt off to signify partaaaaaay time. No thanks. 

Is it me? I mean I know La Moss can pull of pretty much anything..but I remain convinced that full length is not the best look for anyone..

 The skinny black maxi shirt as favoured by Nicole Ritchie, looking a lot less like Mama Cass than last Summer it must be acknowledged..

 And finally Mary Kate Olsen, giving her own spin on Morticia Adams style. Case closed.

Slacks in the City

Slacks or khakis as they’re known..have for me been long associated with various toffs trotting along the Kings Road with their collars up or with rugby boys playing the ‘Iron Stomach’ (don’t ask) in my old university Union. They provided that wonderful middle ground on the minefield of ‘smart casual’. Boys tend to go slightly pale around gills when they hear that particular dress code and with good reason..smart jeans can look a bit media-type, cords anytime other the Autumn/Winter are going to cook you alive and linen trousers are slightly ‘Man from Del Monte’. However as our season drags its way into Summer I’m starting to think that maybe slacks/ khakis/chinos have potential... and not just for you chaps out there.

Ladies, there was that fleeting flirtation that the fash pack had that combats were cool again (puhlease) but I think the chino look maybe a winner.. From the lovely range of pastel colours in Uniqlo for both sexes to ASOS’s high waisted chinos in pale pink, mint and lavender to the classic Gap slim cut variety, they’re kind of perfect for channelling that Hamptons vibe on this side of the pond. Lighter weight than jeans and..if styled correctly can either be humorously preppy or Shoreditch chic, give them a go. Deck shoes optional.

For a quick lesson in sartorial Upper East side elegance, there's only one man for the job..

No..You're eyes are not deceiving you, he's working the traditional chino with a red tailcoat.

It takes a brave man to work lemon, purple and a pink and blue combo shirt but he's certainly working it.

Chuck felt it was time to spread the gospel of the chino to the next generation...

Getting Carried Away

Wow, hold onto your corsages, it’s almost time for SATC 2!! There is a part of me that thinks if they’re pouring all this money into making huuuge Summer blockbuster movies, couldn’t the bods at HBO just fund another series? Seriously I think the writing gets a bit lost in the all the hype not that I won’t be jumping on the elaborate pink bandwagon when the time comes of course. I have to say though..and feel free to shoot me....but I think Patricia Field may be losing her touch. While SJP can pull of pretty much anything with aplomb (errr remember the Juicy Couture towelling boob tube dress in the Heather Graham episode), the others are starting to look a little try hard. I know I haven’t seen the film yet but other than the fact that there is a whole lot of harem pant/ gold jewellery/ kaftan action going on when the hit their mystery exotic location, I got a very distinct Priscilla, Queen of the Desert vibe and ‘drag queen’ unless you actually are one, is not a good look.

In the meantime there are so many more stylish movies we can have a drool and seek some style inspiration from. Though tempted to write about A Single Man again, I already wittered enough about it for the next decade, so here a few of my most fashion fabulous films (and not a harem pant in sight).

Gone with the Wind, 1939

Vivien Leigh’s Southern-belle accent was slightly wonky, but the graceful way she wore her antebellum wardrobe was impeccable. The scene in which Mammy harnesses Scarlett’s waist down to 18in inspired generations of sadistic fashion designers but, fiddle-dee-dee, we can’t help loving those Walter Plunkett designed ballgowns. Nor could the women of 1939 — the film launched numerous GWTW-inspired collections in stores across the world and continues to cast a crinolined shadow on the catwalks. She even pulled it off when she wore a dress made out of curtains to charm Mr Rhett Butler.

Top Hat, 1935

Ginger Rogers – what a gal. Not only could she dance, but unlike many of her Hollywood peers she wore clothes beautifully. The jodhpur ensemble near the start still looks sexy today. Thank goodness our heroine stood her ground when Fred Astaire kvetched that the feathers on her grand finale frock were moulting all over his tux (moral:never take fashion advice from a man wearing more make-up than you). Fred later sent her a gold feather in acknowledgment.

The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001

Gwyneth was peerlessly preppy in the Talented Mr Ripley but here, well, here she was interesting. Margot Tenenbaum is a panda-eyed, chain-smoking child prodigy who is both spectacularly insecure and breathtakingly attired. In her ragged furs and that Lacoste tennis tress Margot is trapped, but extremely gracefully so, in a fictional version of Grey Gardens . Great soundtrack too.

Funny Face, 1957

Yes, yes, Breakfast at Tiffany’s – we know. The way she wears that little black dress. And the way she transforms even George Peppard into a must-have accessory. But as well as featuring great fashion, Funny Face is about fashion, too – Maggie Prescott is Diana Vreeland to Dick Avery’s Cecil Beaton. Hepburn, meanwhile, is perfect.

Bonnie and Clyde, 1967

Bonnie Parker’s main accessory, aside from her gun and Clyde Barrow, was a series of killer hats. Her beret and silk scarf combination is as legendary as it is simple, and the beribboned fedoras she wore on several heists gave her a sense of propriety in improper circumstances. Bonnie’s clothes flipped between neat two-piece skirt suits that were deceivingly modest and button-through slips. Whatever the crime, her blonde bob stayed unruffled. 

Grey Gardens, 1975

The 2009 HBO feature film scored a golden globe for Drew Barrymore, as the eccentric, patrician Little Edie Beale, a cousin of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. But it was the original documentary, showing Little Edie and her equally whacky mother Big Edie in the decaying squalor of their Hamptons mansion that kicked started the Grey Gardens cult , spawning many a fashion acolyte, including the Olsen twins. Broke they may have been but those Beales were dressing eclectic when John Galliano was still in short-trousers.

Amazing Grace

When Ava Gardner gets into a taxi, the driver knows at once that she's Ava Gardner," Grace Kelly once said. "It's the same for Lana Turner and Elizabeth Taylor, but not for me. I'm never Grace Kelly. I'm always someone who looks like Grace Kelly."

She has never gone far from the public conciousness even though she starred in only 11 films in a six year career that was given up when she married in 1956. She is about to catapault into the public eye again in a new exhibition that opens at the V & A next month. Why do I love her? Perhaps it is because of her inaccessible look, a blonde, icy allure that I will never possess (being olive skinned and brunette) but more than that the clothes she wore with such aplomb are quintessentially of an age and, yes, I'm stating the blindingly obvious, but how often does one wear a tailored pencil suit or accessorize with a wonderfully large brimmed hat? The streamlined silhouette of the 50s is the one the Grace will be remembered for, not the more voluminous, up-to-the minute outfits of the 60s that she wore later in her short life.

The exhibition promises to dissect the elusive Grace Kelly look that we are all familiar with, as encapsulated by the actress on and off screen, and, of course, also by a long line of pale imitators who include everyone from Kate Winslet to Diana, Princess of Wales and more recently (and forgivably as at least she's in period) Mad Men's Betty Draper. Kelly's signature white gloves, the neatly pressed masculine shirt teamed with narrow cropped trousers and polished loafers, the demure tailored day suits worn with a sensible mid-heel and, naturally, the Hermès Kelly bag, will all come under scrutiny once again.

Grace will also be the cover girl on the May edition of Vanity Fair (US), definately worth trying to get hold of, also check out the stunning slideshow on their website.

To prep up pre-exhibition I recommend Rear Window, To Catch A Thief and High Society, my top three favourite Grace films. I will also adopt the most ladylike apparell I can lay my hands on when I go and view it, in homage to Princess Grace. If anyone would like to buy/ lend/ thieve me a Kelly bag for the occasion, do get in touch.

Some rather fabulous gowns, ideal for everyday wear


I'm sure we all look this chic when walking the dog..

....or indeed when cycling, bare feet perhaps slightly ill advised there...

And finally with arguably the world's most eponymous bag...sigh...