Sunday 10 July 2011

SEE ME ON THE TV, SLEEZY.



I recently took part in a TV show called New Look: Style The Nation. It was a really fun, surreal day. My favourite aspects were meeting the incredibly interesting and inspiring girls also taking part in the show, who shared a love of experimental, innovative and alternative fashion.

Tuesday 5 July 2011

CHRISTIAN JOY INFACTUATION

I have had a complete infactuation with designer Christian Joy for years, ever since I discovered it was her who was responsible for most of Karen O's on stage costumes (Karen O being the singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's if you don't know). Joy creates amazing, outlandish one off garments that are truly brought to life by Karen's wild stage persona. I'm pretty much in love with everything she has created so will try to keep the images to a minimum, though they are ALL incredible...
Joy flits between an array of themes, sometimes incorporating several in to one costume...glam rock/tribal/dominatrix/new romantic have all been touched on. And to prove that Ms Joy is no one trick pony, she has also created some more 'wearable' pieces such as the collection 'WHEN I WANT YOU IN THE NIGHT' showcased in NYC, which included graphic print tribal/african pattern inspired vests...
(All images from http://www.christianjoy.us/)

THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT

My friend Abi directed me towards her friend's new online vintage store 'The Owl and the Pussycat' recently, and to my delight I found a trashy 80's print t-shirt and silver sequin hotpants (which when worn together have now become my perfect trash disco summer outfit). The website has been updated so it's easier to manouver around, and by the looks of things the creator has been busy... what started as a small collection of vintage gems has now transformed in to a wide array of  items, some customised (such as the items below), some found. Here are my favourite pieces, which are available to purchase from the store at the following link - http://theowlandthepussycatvintage.tumblr.com/archive

 TYE DYE PANTS - £5 each

 












 THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT TOTE - £8

The creator of the site also offers a nice 'find' service... You contact her telling her what you're after, be it a glam rock jacket, or fringed bag (yes and yes please), and she will go on a hunt for you, free of charge, AMAZEEE!

Monday 4 July 2011

ROKIT: Designer's Guild best of...

Below I have picked my 5 favourite pieces from Rokit's independent designer's section (details in last blog). The price and link to the items is also included in case any of the pieces take your fancy...

1) BK AND JIO
Black Fringed Necklace - £25
I love this! The ideal statement necklace, and with the fringing and anchor detail on the button, it incorporates two of my favourite things. Created by London based designers BK and JIO...


2) LITTLE WINGS
Native inspired headdress - £60

This incredible headdress costs £60, Brighton based designer Pippa Forster (working under the title Little Wings) can also create custom designs based on your specifications...nice.

3)CLEO FERIN MERCURY
Red Fringed Gloves - £18


I would wear these guys in the blustery English winter...part Michael Jackson, part Karen O, part AWESOME, they couldn't fail to cheer me up. Created as part of Cleo Ferin Mercury's western inspired collection 

4) ESTRADA MONKEY
'Be Bowtiful' Necklace - £20

This bow necklace by Erin Estrada aka. Estrada Monkey could be paired with a vintage lace dress for a Courtney Love babydoll look, or to avoid looking too twee (we hate twee), I would wear it with HUNDREDS of other necklaces and a lace shirt for a mad hoarder vibe...

5) AEM
'The Moose' Medallion Necklace - £54

I'll go for anything with antlers involved, especailly if it's gold and slightly trashy. This medallion pendant happily ticks all boxes. It has been crafted from recycled materials including gun metal by designer Adrian Eric Morales. At £54 it's not the cheapest of necklaces, but the ethics behind the AEM brand (independent, bespoke, recycled...) make up for the slightly hefty price tag.

(All available at http://www.rokit.co.uk)

IF YOU LIKE ME THEN WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD AND TELL ME...

I'd like to begin by sharing two good platforms for showcasing work that I have discovered... This would appeal to anyone creating homemade crafts/customising vintage clothing etc. and anyone who is an artist/textile maker...basically you creative types. The first is at the Urban Outfitter's website. They are currently looking for submissions of work by up and coming artist's to display on their website. I feel that Urban Outfitters is quite a cool brand and far from harvesting your talents to make money it feels much more like they do just want to give artists the attention they deserve. See details on the Urban Outfitters site or click this link:

The second 'platform' has been created by Rokit (super cool vintage store)  and is called the 'Designer's Guild'. They are looking for independent designers to sell a selection of their stock on Rokit's online store... 
It seems like a win win situation...the brand gets a boost from cool individual collections and you get a chance to sell your bits to a wider audience, (the Rokit team also photograph your designs for you and put them on the swish website). So far there have been some beautiful bits and pieces including indian inspired head-dresses and kitschy trashy jewellery (of the best kind).

I will shortly be posting my top picks of Rokit's Designer Guild range...
Muchos Love.