//Been busy//

I have been busy, so no posts. Sorry. Busy because I got married. Here is a wedding collage. xoxo Linds

//Alexa nailed this YSL//

love. it.

from here

//well said bill//

"The best fashion show is on the street, always has been and always will be. I'm not interested in celebrities and their free dresses, I'm interested in clothes." 

 Bill Cunningham in Bill Cunningham New York

from here

//Everybody is por somebody//

These days, everybody is por somebody.

Kicking off with Stella McCartney por Target, Versace por H&M is coming soon and so on. “Por”-ing for a brand is far better than just being “for” them. Some marketing girl decided this.

And now ... Josh Goot por Asos. Check it.

Always a fan of Goot – and a fellow countryman – I wanted badly to be on board with this affordable capsule collection for the online giant Asos.

Purchased this number [left] and waited patiently ...

So.
Freaking.
Upset.

The fabric was like tissue paper (not in the good way), the print was fuzzy (not in the good way). So I have to ask: Josh, Asos, why not spring for a higher quality jersey and pass the additional £30 on to me, the consumer? When we’re talking access to a designer who is otherwise inaccessible (+£400) do you really think consumers would refuse to pay the extra £30 to ensure that the fabric quality in some small way does justice to the design? Other collaborations have shown that “por” doesn’t have to be poor.

Returned it. Told them why on the form. Not expecting to hear back, but I hope there is an LED flashing on the control board somewhere at Asos HQ.

I rarely blog in anger (in fact, you may have noticed that I am rarely blogging at all of recent – sorry, lots on, back online properly soon), but this was such a lost opportunity. Por shame, Asos. Por shame, Josh.

FIG to your heart's content ... online

Regular readers (Hi Dad!) will remember my adventure at the Fashion Illustration Gallery. Well, FIG just launched their online platform. 

FIG for everyone!

Tanya Ling: Louis Vuitton Bunny Ears: 2010

57 PROTAGONISTS

57 PROTAGONISTS 

02|06|11 - 11|06|11 

Central Saint Martins Second year Illustration show

SW1 Gallery, 12 Cardinal Walk, roof garden level, Cardinal Place, Victoria, SW1E 5JE

//Reverse dye//

Yes, still on a dying spree.

It occurred to me that perhaps I could look at the dying process from the other end ... perhaps I could R E V E R S E dye?

Grabbing a faithful black cotton-blend midi dress (mink pink) that had seen better days, I used synthetic string to truss the old girl up as if I were about to tie-dye her. It's important to fold the fabric like a concertina [otherwise you will get two big clumps of colour on either side and nothing in the middle] then tie the string in crossing loops as tight as possible. Then -- and this is the good bit -- I submerged the dress in a mix of 2-parts laundry bleach to 1-part water for a few hours.

Now, I know: bleaching can be risky. But, if you have something dark [black, as here, but a chocolate brown, forest green or navy would also work] that has need of radical revamp or will shortly head to the charity shop then why not give it a shot? As the pics below illustrate, you'll never get a bright white in the bleached sections -- from black, I'd describe the bleaches sections as very mikly coffee coloured. Of course, this is for natural fabrics (cotton, silk); the higher the synthetic content the poorer the result.

I was tres pleased with the results, and it's given me something appropriate to wear with last summer's clogs.

xo Linds.

//Spring greens//

In 2009 I purchased a cream flamenca-style shell top to wear to a friend's [lovely, joyous] wedding, and the top performed its duties on the day admirably. But … what next? Sartorial exile in clear-walled prison of a dry-cleaning bag? The bin? Or … rehabilitation?

My cream flamenca-style shell top had spent almost 2 years Anne Frank-ing it under my bed when I extracted it to prove that the rehabilitation of wedding guest wear is possible; that you can have fun with a one-off look and later massage it into an item with wider application. Or, at the very least, you can try.

The job was a two-part-er:

//Task 1: De-ruffle-ification// Having carefully unpicked the stitches anchoring the parasitic ruffle to its host shell, a few hand-sewn stitches were all that was need to give it a polished finish. What struck me working with this gorgeous silk shell (I wish you could touch it, dear reader), was the fabric's ability to "heal" itself; punctures in the fabric closed up hours after the violent stitch is removed, and by the end of dying process they were completely gone.

//Task 2: Re-colour-ification// On a roll after my Coat Therapy post, I dipped back into the Dylon collection and, taking inspiration from the season unfolding around me, selected a dye called Rainforest Green.

I couldn't be happier with the result. It's got pop and wearability and the rebirth of this gem is what Spring is all about.

xo Linds.

[nude belt, asos]

... the original ...

//Chanel-o-vision//

xo Linds

Lacroix, Katie, Lacroix

Katie's big day approaches. T minus 1 week and counting.

I hope she follows Monsieur Christian Lacroix's advice.

Over to you Katie ...



www.christian-lacroix.fr



xo Linds

Wednesday wish list: Fun Yum

Wednesday wish list: Fun Yum by design--notes featuring tunic tops

Coat therapy

Dear cargo coat,

We've been together for a while now, and we sure have had some good times. But times change, and you haven't. I leave magazines around the coat rack, hoping you will notice that these days every other coat is two tone (Alexander Wang; Burberry) ... but you remain stubbornly monotonal. So, I've taken matters in my own hands. I think your sleeves in a bucket of dye will give us many more happy years together.

xo linds.

NOTE: This'll work with any coat made with a natural fiber, cotton will give an especially good result; I used Dylon Velvet Black; carefully unpicking and (subsequent to the dying process) reattaching the sleeves is a lot easier in an unlined coat.

In anticipation of Yohji Yamamoto at the V&A

The much anticipated Yohji Yamamoto retrospective opened this month at the V&A and I'm headed down this weekend. xo Linds

[1]

dries van noten

dries van noten by design--notes featuring rebecca minkoff handbags

RIP Dame Liz

RIP Elizabeth Taylor [Hilton Wilding Todd Fisher Burton Burton Warner Fortensky]. 

The Dame went down with her jewelery on.

ground control to major tom

For the past few seasons, Christopher Kane has made the biggest possible picture (the galaxy) his canvas and I, for one, love it. The construction is always pretty, but the print is dark and mysterious. However, at £1200-odd a pop, there's little hope for most of us who are made of stars.

Some cheaper alternatives are ...

1 // Download one of NASA's space-tacular images (free) for your desktop –- I've long maintained that a wallpaper change is as good as a holiday.

2 // American Apparel's Unisex Space Scape Sheer Jersey Short Sleeve T-Shirt is 50% off.

3 // Just listen.

Linds xo

Any one see Black Swan?

I'm allz about the ballet (and the sartorial inspiration it provides), but Black Swan?

For Nina Sayers, I recommend ...

Great poster though:

xo Linds.

[1]

Wednesday wish list: Of course you need a patent leather mini skirt

Wednesday wish list: Of course you need a patent leather mini skirt by design--notes on Polyvore.com

FIGed

Lovely evening of fashion illustrations (and prosecco) at FIG, the viewing room heaving with Mulberry handbags. A diverse range of illustrations, from the very traditional to sketches on graph paper to a book bursting with photographic collage. Just a few examples above.

xoxo Linds.

In anticipation of FIG

Richard Gray, Bodymap: Is a Comet A Star ?, 2011, Gouache, pencil on Canford card, 57 x 40 cm (52 x 34.5cm)

So looking forward to tonight's preview of the Fashion Illustration Gallery's new exhibition (of which the above is just one sumptuous example). Work by Hiroshi Tanabe, Bobby Hillson, Daisy de Villeneuve and more. Will report back.

xoxo Linds.

Pimp ma plastic bag // part 2

At a festival last summer I was given an orange leopard print, polyamide poncho.

This is a Jil Sander-inspired improvement on the poncho.

Wednesday wish list: Winter//Spring

Wednesday wish list: Winter>>Spring by design--notes featuring gold necklaces

Pimp ma plastic bag

Raf Simons is the completely brilliant design force behind Jil Sander, but when he threw plastic bags down the runway for Spring 2011 [pictured left] I was ... amused. When I then heard that the bags already had a waiting list I was grinning and ready to write you a post on "when designers go bonkers".

www.jilsander.com

First, however, came some research. I fished a Tesco plastic shopping bag out from next to the wine rack (their natural home). I looked at it, turned it inside out, pulled it apart and, well, marvelled at it. The plastic shopping bag is nothing more, or less, than good design.*

While I'm not advocating spending your time or money at the end of a Jil Sander waiting list, the application of humble shopping bag design principles to a more durable fabric deserves consideration. To be continued ...

Raf, why did I doubt you?

xo linds.  


*I appreciate that this praise cannot reasonably be extended to the plastic bag's environmental impact.

Lil bit disco

necklace, diy; lipstick in pink plaid, MAC; black body suit, Asos

I have often watched (with much admiration) my best friend rock a fabric-and-bead necklace c.1995 salvaged from her mum's collection. I love this idea to bits; so simple and fun. Here is my attempt.

I used a silver fabric with an open weave (lil bit disco) -- a block colour, tribal pattern or liberty print would also work brilliantly. The beads can be knotted inside the fabric tube (yep, it's as simple as a strip of fabric with a seam), or threaded through, or both.

xo linds.

Money Never Sleeps

Money may have no time for shut-eye, but I think a few people did in the 2010 movie of that title. Shame, really. The original (prequel, they call them) -- Oliver Stone's 1987 film Wall Street (click for a golden synopsis) -- was so great. A robot butler?! Brilliant.

If you're having a 1987 Gordon Gekko moment, take a crisp Yanky dollar bill (or iron a raggedy one a friend newly back from New York found in her purse) and fold (as below) ...

If you're having a Shia LaBeouf moment, take a time out. It may prevent you from becoming involved in more disastrous sequels to well-loved movies of the 1980s.

xo linds.

shirt, Cos; bow tie, US Treasury

Do it like a dude

You know how dudes do it? Cheap, classic and high quality. Yeah, I'm talking about clothes. Brofashion.

men's cord oxford shirt, UNIQLO; leather bow belt, Asos;
knit mini skirt, Whistles

For the most part, in the same stores that try to sell a ladies jumper for £35, girlfriend can jump an escalator to the men's department and find a near identical garment -- with twice the wool content -- for half the price. The cotton used in the production of men's shirts is invariably a heavier count, and the buttons stay on for longer than a single wash. Yes, jumpers and shirts are the mainstays of my argument, but aren't they worth it?

This writer's research suggests that a high street men's XS equates to a UK/Australian size 10 (... ish). Add a skinny belt and the broad cut of the shoulders and nipped waist lend an unconcerned elegance to the whole business. After all, it's the application of men's tailoring to women's wear that has defined modern fashion. Why not go right to the source?

xo linds.

This ... or that?

The question of "this, or that?" is posed visually by one of my favorite blogs:
t h i s / o r / t h a t / ? /  [melaniecrete.tumblr.com].

Here's my own little homage to the concept.

So what do you think, dear reader? Column A, column B, or a little of each?

xo linds.

 Tom Ford, or Thunderbirds?

 Lady with ermine, or ermine with model?

 Bearskin/Persian rug, or bear behind Marilyn?

 Party mix, or mixed tape?

 Castro's bat, or Cameron's paddle?

Roast chick, or live chick?

Crazy, sexy, wool

woolandthegang.com

Look what arrived! 

This knitting kit [pictured left] is produced by Wool and the Gang [woolandthegang.com], a business founded by Paris-based duo Lisa Sabrier and Carolyn Main. Wool and the Gang work in partnership with the people - and alpaca - of two small towns in Peru to produce a range of knitting kits and ready-to-wear pieces. They are (in their own words) "a gang of knitters, guys and girls from 7 to 77 years old, all tied together by a piece of yarn …". Bless. 

Not only good, clean, crafty fun, Wool and the Gang's kits turn into modern and thoughtfully designed garments and accessories in sheep's wool, super-soft pima cotton and alpaca wool. My kit contains all the elements needed to knit my way into two crop tops ­– one in nude pink, the other cinder black. I'll update you on my progress.

xo linds.

PS. The last image in the series below is of a poster that came with the kit - it's a taster plate of the Wool and the Gang projects on offer. I picked the crop tops kit, but was sorely tempted by the Tala Tank Top (in brick red) and the James Jacket (in midnight blue).