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Elvis fans in the snow, March 1960

4 Feb

Since moving to London from the bleak north, I’ve definitely become a bit – as we say in Sheffield – nesh. I don’t mind a bit of cold, but icy winds and hours spent waiting in the snow at Norwood Junction make for a miserable commute.

Still, what’s more important? Dressing for the weather or looking good? There’s a debate on the subject on the ASOS blog at the moment and I’m firmly in the Kate Moss camp – big furry coat, no real other concessions to winter.

Anyway – here’s the answer. Check out these Elvis fans meeting the man himself in March 1960. Nice wool skirt, cashmere, scarf and a coat – looks good, probably doesn’t keep you that warm.

[Pics via Retronaut]

Thank Furcoat it’s Friday

3 Feb

1) It’s been a bumper week of magazine-purchasing for me, with ELLE Collections and the new ELLE Decor top of my WH Smith wishlist. I had no idea Marie Claire were bringing out their own seasonal trend round-up, but picked up Runway anyway because it looked pretty neat and had a dog on the cover. It’s dead good, loads of nice features and some really clever, imaginative spreads. My favourite, obviously, is the Gatsby page above – I love a collage at the best of times and when that collage features flapper-ish gear, more’s the better. Buy it, I really recommend it.

2) Daphne Guinness has put her 5th Ave apartment up for sale. There’s nothing I like more than nosing around at celebrity real estate and although there aren’t many pictures of Daphne’s place, it’s enough to whet my appetite. It’s only £14million! Check it out here.

3) This morning Ellen tweeted these meme movie posters. I don’t know if this is old news, but I hadn’t seen them. These are a couple of my favourites, but you can see the whole the series here.  I want oh my god, trampoline! next.

4) Last night Harriet and I stepped well and truly out of our comfort zones with a night of cocktails at the opening of the new venture from Gaucho, Galante. It’s not often I find myself in Sloane Square out of choice, but we had a top night out and the cocktails were legit the best I’ve ever had. So delicious and the tasting platter was pretty decent too. It’s inspired by one of the world’s most famous bartenders, Santiago ‘Pichin’ Policastro, who shook up [lol] 1930s Argentina with his magical drinks and charming persona.  The bar is a beautiful homage to art deco, all the waiters are handsome and dressed in white tuxedos and while it’s definitely on the pricey side, it’s worth it for a treat. I rate the Bon Voyage.

5) London Underground expert, Annie Mole (!!), has chosen her favourite tube station clocks! Fascinating stuff.

6) Banana Republic is launching another Mad Men range! This time around, costume designer, Janie Bryant, has been inspired by the show’s country club scenes – SWOON! That means lots of capris and cardigans for the Bettys and sweater vests and polo shirts for the Dons. It launches on March 1st – 24 days before season five airs.

Prada get hot-rod heavy in Spring/Summer 2012 campaign video

2 Feb

 

Garage forecourts aren’t the most glamorous of locations, but that hasn’t stopped Prada filming its spectacular Spring/Summer 2012 campaign video amongst the pumps of a Greased Lightning-esque petrol station

A world away from the Ginsters pasties and microwave apple turnovers that are hotter than the sun, this vision of Americana petrol station loveliness is (obv) inspired by the hot rod-inspired sandals and beautiful 1950s-ish car prints that were at the heart of the collection.

All flaming tail fins, immaculate headscarves and Betty Draper glares, it’s like a high-fashion take on Grease.

And Grease is pretty high fashion already, soooo….

A proper look at Marni x H&M

31 Jan

We’ve already seen a video of the Marni x H&M collection and a few pictures, but now Vogue Russia has published an editorial featuring some of the collection. Promo shots are all well and good, but seeing the clothes in action gives a slightly different angle on the look and feel of the collaboration.

Love the blouse, the collar, the t-shirt and… obviously the wigs, but they don’t have much to do with Marni.

See more on Fashionista

Beauty and the Beast: Viktor & Rolf launch Spicebomb

30 Jan

I’ve always been a fan of musky, masculine scents so when I was invited to a launch party for Viktor & Rolf’s new men’s scent, Spicebomb, I jumped at the chance.

The Dutch duo have always been favourites of mine – Flowerbomb was the first ‘proper’ perfume I loved and the night I spent with Jon at the opening party for The House of V&R at the Barbican is still up there in the most lol-fashion nights out I’ve ever had.

As for those butch fragrances, Andy wears Dior Homme [sexiest men's scent of all time] and as well as nicking a bit of that, I also like to dowse myself in Comme des Garcons MAN EDT and L’Occitane per Homme. What can I say? I like to think of myself as Una Troubridge, lounging in a library, smoking a pipe, with a monocle.

It’s time like this I rue not having a proper camera – but that dark, industrial-looking shot just above is actually a pretty accurate representation of the adventure Viktor & Rolf took us on. The warning to wrap up warm for the event proved to be accurate, as we ended up supping cocktails in the depths of a Charlotte Street carpark. Much like Frank’s, we made our grand entrance in a goods’ lift and following some moody scene-setting, torso-heavy films, a ear-popping explosion of scented glitter introduced us to Spicebomb.

The bottle’s a hand grenade, we were introduced to it with a semi-deafening boom – no surprise then, that the scent is a bit of an explosion itself. The press release describes it as, ‘a sensual bomb’ – ooer. It kind of is though – you get a big immediate whiff of leather, tabasco and vetiver before it calms down into a lasting spicy, peppery scent. You can see the three key ingredients – along with Viktor & Rolf’s trademark specs – in that cute promo image up top.

As predicted, I love it.  I’ve given it to Andy officially, but I’ve been wearing it myself this week. Heady, heavy and spicy – just the thing for a budding Una Troubridge, really.

Prices start at £45 and it’s on sale in Harrods now and nationwide from 7 March.

Thanks Viktor & Rolf and Handpicked Media for a fun night!

Versace by way of River Island

29 Jan

My ongoing search for a wedding-appropriate outfit took me to Westfield this weekend, which was quite good fun. I generally give Westfield a thumbs up – I’m not a great fan of shopping malls, but Westfield does what it’s supposed to do very well. Going on a Saturday afternoon was never going to be a calm, serene shopping experience but it had more interesting shops than I expected – COS, Prada, Urban Outfitters, Jaeger, John Lewis – and an incredible array of places to eat. It actually felt like there were more food places than shops, it was a world away from ~The Oasis~ at Meadowhall, home of so many teenage adventures.

Anyway – I didn’t find anything very exciting to wear, but I did get a remarkable River Island belt which owes quite a lot to 80s Versace. Always a good thing, right? It’s thin black velvet, bedazzled with gold, crystal-embellished leopard heads. It’s hideous, quite frankly, but just the thing to cheer me up after a disheartening afternoon’s shopping.

I can’t find it online, but it was £20 and there were loads in-store!

Thank Furcoat it’s Friday

27 Jan

1) Evidently the only things I watch on TV are Man Vs Food, Countryfile and BBC historical documentaries. The Timewatch series is fantastic and tomorrow there’s a promising-looking show about debutantes and the whole ~coming out~ season. The documentary focuses on 1939 – the year that was dubbed the last season because that whole thing kind of fell off during the war years, never to be reprised. I read Anne de Courcy’s fantastic book on the very same subject last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, so this’ll be a right old treat for me. And it promises a Mitford or two. Find out more here. [This Timewatch show about the Empire State Building is also worth a look, if you’re into art deco.)

2) I’m hoping to see W.E. this weekend – I know it’s going to be shit, but you know my thoughts on Wallis. What better way to get myself psyched up for the fashion binge than Stylist’s slideshow of her best outfits? I find it weird they didn’t identify some of the most famous pieces (the Schiaparelli, mainly) but it’s still a treat. The above picture is interesting – Wallis is obviously the point, but damn that woman in the background looks incredible, I want to know who she is.

3) This is a nice introduction to Dolly Wilde, who I’m ashamed to admit I don’t know a vast amount about. The rest of the site is worth a poke around too!

4) I’m particularly excited about mermaids as a Spring/Summer 2012 trend and this massively indepth Fashionising post makes it all the more appealing. Art deco mermaid lemonade advert c/o Vintage Browser.

5) Mad Men‘s acclaimed costume designer, Janie Bryant, shares her vintage shopping secrets here. Awesome read and some great shop suggestions too!

6) Last weekend we had an unexpected visit to Two Temple Place, the magnificent home of William Waldorf Astor on the Victoria Embankment. It’s my actual dream house and it’s open at the moment for a nice William Morris exhibition, which finishes on Sunday. There’s no better place to enjoy some intricate Morris works than in the arts-and-crafts surroundings of the house, so if you’re around this weekend, make sure you visit.

Chanel x Las Vegas = dreams

26 Jan

I love Las Vegas and I love Chanel, so the fact that they’ve released a series of limited edition Vegas-themed bags to celebrate the launch of the new store in Sin City is clearly a match made in heaven.

The new outlet is the snazzy old Bellagio hotel, site of a couple of drunken scenes for me. Weeping at the sheer majesty of the fountains, timed to explode in time to a bit of Celine Dion… bloody magical.

All five of the limited edition bags are Classic Flaps (lol), albeit with a sprinkling of Vegas magic – I’m talking glitter, metallics and – my favourite – the sparkling dice charms. God I love a dice charm.

Find out more on The Purse Blog!

 

I finally get Elizabeth Olsen

26 Jan

I like an Olsen as much as the next girl, but hadn’t been entirely convinced by Elizabeth’s style credentials until this week. I mean sure she’s pretty, she’s talented, she’s presentable… but where’s the bananas gene? The mad nana aspect? So far, so pleasant.

A delight, then, to see her in this Topshop Tiger Sweater at Sundance this week. A rococo masterpiece, all black and gold, chains and tiger print. I particularly like the tigers standing proudly by a pile of foliage, which kind of resembles the dismembered corpse of a dinosaur. Or is that just me?

On the subject of tigers;

Awesome tiger-themed letter [click to enlarge, of course].

Dream Versace shoes that still haunt on my mind.

And another Versace tiger offering – a dress dating back (is that weird to say?) to 1994. Gianni at his finest.

Bone to be Wild

25 Jan

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have a reputation for a lot of things, but I think it’s safe to say that being well-dressed isn’t one of them. Even the most ardent fan would probably be forced to begrudgingly accept that their only real contribution to the fashion industry is a new and unique way to wear socks. Or, a sock.

That said, I have long held a fascination for the meathead character played by David Sheridan in both the Universally Speaking and By the Way videos. You grow up on a diet of MTV2 and tell me you didn’t enjoy those videos, regardless of your thoughts on the band. Hm?

His Bone to be Wild t-shirt has been top of my fantasy clothing list ever since I first laid eyes upon it (that’s ten years, frighteningly) but I’ve never got any closer to finding it.

Miss Selfridge has something close at the moment – the equally pun-tastic Bad to the Bone vest. Close, but no cigar.

[Pic c/o V&A]

Of course both designs are presumably inspired by Vivienne Westwood’s Rock t-shirt, carefully crafted from chicken bones procured from her local takeaway.

I could make a joke at this point about living in South East London, DIY and chicken takeaways. But I won’t.

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