Daily wear: New coat and new boots!

Hi guys,
Do you ever have one of those rare days when you leave the house and think "actually, I look pretty good today?" They don't happen to me that often (I'm more likely to have an "I hate my entire wardrobe day") but today is one of those lookin' good days!



Let's start with my yummy new boots from Sarenza; one of two pairs that arrived this week. They're by Rocketdog (not a brand I would ever normally look at) but I just fell in love with these clog ankle boots and their furry trim. They're so snug and cozy, they would be just perfect for clopming about in the snow! Until next Tuesday, Sarenza are having "7 frozen days" on their site: the cold weather is causing their prices to shrink, with discounts of up to 50% off available!

The other new aspect of my outfit is the coat which is Jonathan Saunders/Editions at Debenhams. I have admired this coat from afar for a while, but thought £115 was a little too expensive. However Debenhams are currently running their Christmas spectacular, with up to 40% off many lines, and this coat was one of them! Now just £69, I snapped it up yesterday, and I'm completely in love with it!

The rest of my outfit consists of my Betty Jackson Black satchel (also from Debenhams), a blouse and necklaces from Primark, and jeans from Topshop. Expect to see several variations of this outfit in upcoming months, because I am completely in love with it!

Love Tor xx

Debenhams Edition:Affordable designer collections to love!

Hi guys,

This morning I popped over for a preview of Debenhams new Edition concept: Edition is set to become a showcase for up and coming designers, with each designer committed to the collection for at least four seasons. The first three collections are by Preen, Jonathan Saunders and Jonathan Kelsey. These will land in store next month, with Roksanda Ilincic set to join them for autumn/winter.

I first heard about this new range towards the end of last year and was really excited about it. I love Preen's mainline collection, but of course I can't afford it, so the idea of Preen I could afford had me giddy! I was really impressed with the three designers collections, especially the Preen one, as I predicted. Here's how it all looked:

Preen:

The Preen leather jacket (middle bottom) is the most expensive piece from all three of the designers, at £190, but I think its worth the money: its amazingly buttery-soft and has great tassle detailing. My favourite piece from this and all the designers is the paperbag skirt with the zip: it's beautiful and attention grabbing! I also loved the zip detail mac and the sheer nude blouse. All in all, a great collection!

Jonathan Saunders:

I love acid-green, so I was immediately won when I saw this range! I loved the mix of the sheer and jersey fabrics the fluidity that created. This collection immediately made me think of summer holidays: it's clean and light and modern. I loved the white wrap-around dress with the acid green panels underneath: definitely on my must-buy list!

Jonathan Kelsey:

If i'm honest, I found this range a little dull: it is an accessories range of shoes and bags, but there was nothing I hadn't seen before. The neutral and white colour range looked a little dated to me, but having said that, I did love the black and gold cut-out detail gladiator sandals in the top picture.

I can't wait for the Edition collection to hit the shops so that I can be first in the queue to pick up that paperbag waisted skirt. Has anything caught your eye? Will you be picking up anything from the Edition range?

Love, Tor xx

Becky's Fashion Fieldtrip - Part I

Hello blogosphere,

Apologies for my long absence. I'm currently doing a Masters degree and apparently they require work or something. I don't know - it's certainly not the reason I signed up to artschool. You wouldn't have liked me anyway - I had dissertation hair.

At this present moment I am holed up in my grandparents' house in Ashford, Kent (home of L'Eurostar to Paris super-station-of-the-future and not much else). This would be by-the-by were it not for the fact that to get to Ashford from Norwich, you have to detour through London.

Oxford Street Topshop during London Fashion Week? Oh, I think I will.

I was especially keen to brave the sweaty scary flagship because the blogosphere has shown such interest in the Topshop diffusion ranges by Christopher Kane, Marios Schwab, Richard Nichol et al. I was determined to go in and actually physically try on their ranges - after all, http://www.topshop.com/ is all very well but it doesn't give you anything close the visceral pleasure (or not) of donning the gament. I took 46,000 pictures and all at horrible angles. These I present to you in the spirit of sartorial honesty.

NOTE: I am a Size 12-14 (that's a US 8-10) so all dresses are in that range. Additionally, though the online store is currently out of stock, the flagship is chock full of chiffony diffusion goodness, so don't worry about your particualr darling selling out. Everything'll be re-stocked online soon and don't let unscrupulous e-bay sellers tell you different.

Christopher Kane #1 (£120)

God, Christopher Kane, as if your A/W 08 collection wasn't aces enough, you have to go and make me look like a medieval sex wench of infinite power and leather-bodiced wisdom. I adored this dress for it's flattering cut at the waist, the acknowledgement that women have boobs and oh! sweet jesus-may! the swathes of material on the arms and hips. I felt so glorious that for a second I ready to star in one of those sexed-up historical novels. You know the ones you read secretly as a teenager? The ones with heroes called Thor and a bunch of cracks in the spine that designate the special passages?

"Take me, Thor," she husked

Christopher Kane #2 (£120)

Sarah Silverman's comedy, right, is ace. One of my favourite lines of hers goes something like: "I don't care if you think I'm racist, I just want you to think I'm thin." Same kind of deal here. You can judge me all you like for my stupid pouty model face (I swear to God, I can't control it - it moves over my features like a disease) I just want you to notice how slender this dress makes me appear. Again, I love the wench-y corsetry working against the denim of the bodice. The skirt is suitable whoosy and flowing and I adores the waistcoat detailing at the back. The Christopher Kane dresses both get an enthusiastic thumbs-up from the Wigmore. I wish I could have tried on the entire Kane range but there was no time - my sister was calling me up and getting pissy "When are you getting on the train? Are you still in Topshop?" and those changing rooms are so oppressively hot and the female hormones so palpably high that it felt like all the world like I was standing in post-menstral 'Nam. I wanted to acheive breadth, not so much depth so I moved on to the Jonathan Saunders collection.

Jonathan Saunders Dress (£75)

Now, initially this looks like a bosoms ahoy! dress and I am all for that kind of garment, especially ones with nice slim-cut arms. However, the jersey used is shockingly, indecently thin and the casual observer better be ready not only for my jelly but also eyefulls of undies and each individual buttock.

This dress is suitable only for the very skinny as it lovingly display every inch of excess flesh. It is also an ideal dress in which to show your public the exact nature of your arse crack. If you dare enlarge the picture below you'll be treated to the sight of my trmebling white heiney shining like a beacon through the fabric. Can you imagine what would show through in a flash photograph?

Sorry. Cripes. And sorry again. I decided not to try on any more Saunders dresses what with them being made of the same fabric and what with dignity being at a premium. I comfort myself that no at least the online shopper knows the nature of the beast and can proceed with caution. I really needed cheering up however, and so I looked to Peter Jensen, who's always good for a shot of whimsy.

Peter Jensen dress (£75)

It's amazing. Completely unflattering on my arse with all the ruffles but an absolute tonic to wear. I felt like a 1930s circus performer and I pranced and jiggled and had a lovely time. I thoroughly recommend wearing something unflattering if it makes you feel this good. Karl would disapprove but that Belgian's got issues with blubber up the yin-yang. Embrace it all, I say! Perform your juggling act! Jiggle away!

COMING NEXT POST:

Becky samples: Louise Goldin, Marios Schwab, Todd Lynn and Richard Nichols.

Prepare for neon and tailoring issues.

Love,

Becky.

Holy Press Sample Calamity!

Hello blogosphere,

It's way exciting that we're on Stylebubble's link list now. We've had a bump in visitors from pilgrims from that site which must mean, therefore, surely-maybe-kinda that Grazia photospreads, glassy-eyed Nigella style cookery segments and pet dressing advice columns in Pop await us. I plan to show my nipples every chance I get - by summer they'll be more familiar to you than your mother's most tender smile.

Toothpaste for Dinner

I'll be honest, I'm besieged with things to write about and quip merrily over. But instead of delighting y'all with original content, I'm going to update the Topshop capsule range situation. My jokes cannot compete with designer endorsed high street lurex and I know that now.

Here, for your delectation is a more complete look at both the Louise Goldin and Jonathan Saunders ranges, hot off the press from Look magazine.

Uh, hmm. Does anyone notice a decided difference in quality from the Vogue shoot?
It just goes to show what a difference a model makes. Here, these dresses look flat and a little lumpen. In fact, they could be the crew's uniform on the brave space voyages of Starship 80s. (the hoodie is fo' off-duty look, yo). Hmm. I shall reserve ultimate judgement until I see them on bodies.

Jonathan Saunders's stuff looks in slightly better shape although we've still got that intergalactic 80s geometric vibe going on.

I enjoy the silver t-shirt dress, especially as it looks to feature an attractive glittering floorplan as its motif. Hey Saunders, where's the fire exit? is a fine name for a dress. However, though I feel I've seen the t-shirt before and in a million charity shops, I fairly enjoy the tired geometric Aztec face on the white dress. Additionally, I've spoken before of my love of the classic Saunders black-dress-with-waterfall-of-colour, although I prefer the sunset tones in the Observer preview.

Still Thandie loves Jonathan's bright designs!! Isn't that reassuring? Now that we're on first names terms and everything, I feel way confident in my sartorial choices. Thandie Newton wouldn't steer you wrong. She's very pretty and she taught us racism is bad. and panel dresses are good

NOTE TO LOOK MAGAZINE:
Hey Look, I'm a friend and long-term reader. You know that bit in Mean Girls where Regina explodes at Stacey: "Stacey, stop trying to make 'fetch' happen. It isn't going to happen." Well, Look, it's kind of the same deal with the whole calling Topshop/Toppers debacle. C'mon. It's not catching on. For the good of the young people, just stop and we'll act like it never happened.

Your pal,
Becky.