Victoria & Albert is one of my most visited museums when I started my fashion studies at the London College of Fashion, I visited the museum regularly nearly every week to attend their lectures and seminars, exhibitions and research.  I was a member of ‘friend’ with the museum for 4 years, partly I greedily wanted to use their ‘friend’ discount to get into their exhibitions without paying full price…I was a really poor fashion student.  Victoria & Albert museum has everything that any art and design students to be inspired by their enormous collections, categories from medieval sculpture, fashion, photography architecture and the like, it could be for your art and design research, inspiration for your up and coming fashion collection, sketching or simply enjoy what they have had collected and commissions over the past hundreds years.

What are you inspired by in everyday life?  I have a penchant for old gothic and derelict buildings with elaborate detailing and murals.

Ironwork.

Sculpture.

Framework and limestone heads.

Their stunning Victorian garden.

Architecture and models.

Glassware.

Glassware, china and ceramics.

Style Slicker

Lazy Oaf’s kawaii window display of tropical birds intricately hand crafted by Fred Butler.

Somewhere behind the thick clouds of near disappearing summer, a rainbow glowball led me to a place which in hope that colour would bring London back to life.

I had the pleasure to attend Lazy Oaf’s launch party to celebrate their jewellery collaboration with Fred Buter, better known as the accessory/prop designer who made the iconic orgami telephone hat piece in the Lady Gaga’s ‘Telephone’ music video.  Fred’s collaborative pieces are inspired by her bespoke AW10 collection ‘Dodecahedron Collisions’ transforming her handmade 3D origami pieces into wearable layered perspex jewellery (for the first time) available at an accessible price point…with geo flower hair piece starting at £30.

Left: Tri Dodec necklace £38.  Middle: Peacock necklace £40.  Right: Dedecahedron necklace £45.

Geo flower hair clip £30 as mentioned, and I want it.

A selection of Pomp De Franc enticing cupcakes inspired by the collaborative pieces.

Fred’s mock tatoo of her geo flower hair clip by Inkwear.

The Lazy Oaf x Fred Butler jewellery pieces are available online at http://www.lazyoaf.co.uk and be sure to check out Fred’s colourful blog at http://www.fredbutlerstyle.blogspot.com/

Style Slicker

It was that crucial time of year again in June for fashion graduates from across UK universities and colleges to showcase their portfolio work in an exhibition space, and fashion shows at the prestigious venue Earl’s Court 2 at Graduate Fashion Week.  Other than that, hand selected graduates judged by the industry panels were able to present their collections at the Gala Show, and awards presentation on the final night in front of the industry professionals, media, celebrities and the like.

Some of the students work from Northumbria University (below)

Graduate Fashion Week is a definitive place for super brands and press to spot the hottest young and design talent, a closer look at their extraordinary skills in craftsmanship, eloquent design and creativity which able to launch their career, the likes of successful British designers such as Stella McCartney, Julien MacDonald, Christopher Bailey and Hussein Chalayan to name but a few.

Style Slicker

The weather this (Saturday) afternoon was a frustration one, the prickly heatwave has triggered both of my Sinusitis and Hayfever which usually trigger around the peak season of June and July… sounds chronic but today my mood affected my dress sense hence the awful weather.

I have selected a pair of Benetton loose fit denim shorts for today’s style challenge, I paired theshorts with a basic white t-shirt, a blue and white floral button up ruffled shirt, hem tied to the front (courtesy of Benetton), a white and silver flat studded belt and a pair of super comfortable patent leather brogues.

(Thanks Shini of Park & Cube for the outfit shots)

Style Slicker

Today’s weather forecast was cloudy and heavy showers.  Normally I don’t follow the weatherman’s advise as you all know the British weather can be temperate and unpredictable, well today I left my house to pop into town without my trusty cyan blue parasol which I always carry during the wet Winter season.  The unexpected downpour, much to my annoyance it rained heavily during the course of the day (and it must have stopped several times), the sound of the beating drums scared the daylights out of me, I was pretty much drenched and hiding under a soaked free newspaper wasn’t a lovely sight.  Luckily at the right time and location I popped by at the Benetton showroom to pick up some press samples and was given a lovely blue and logo print umbrella to save me from further soak.

Style Slicker

The Breakfast Club. Not the 1985 American teen drama film directed John Hughes not that I have seen it (I was too young to watch the film), but two children of the 80s founded their first cafe in Soho London ‘The Breakfast Club’ in 2005 serving up from traditional English, pancakes, salads, buritos, burgers, wraps and many more.

I discovered the cafe’s Hoxton branch from a friend which became a regular hang out place to have breakfast for lunch (known as brunch, duh), tea, have meetings and all sorts. It is a chillaxing atmosphere where you would spend all day socialise with friends, the staff are helpful, friendly and under pressure when busy. The surrounding furniture, shelving and homeware are either secondhand and vintage, which makes it feel like you’re having breakfast at your local traditional cafe with a funky twist.

There are other branches in London but are often busy depends what time of the day, a mix of locals favours by students, musicians, fashionistas, artists and even celebrities.

Style Slicker

Okay, okay, I admit it: I LOVE BLOGS, a lot. There, I’ve said it.
Hours can disappear because I get sucked into the vortex that is the blogsphere – one blog leading you onto another and so on.
I’m sure you know how it is…

I adore getting immersed into the worlds of Scott, Garance, Rumi, Tavi, Tommy, Bryan etc but there are others out there too!

Here are a few of my favourites – what are yours? Let me know, I’d love to find some new ones.

www.MatthewEadesLondon.com

Matthew Eades is a fashion photographer based in London (and, ahem, he’s also my husband).
He does a lot of studio shoots and at the end of a working day he’ll get the model to do a sitting for his personal project, a website/blog called MatthewEadesLondon.com.
The focus of the site (and photography) is all about the model; there is no styling (no clothes at all in fact), no jazzy background or complicated set up, just the beauty of the model in her most natural form. Also, there is no text other than the model’s first name. It’s very pure and clean in aesthetic and sensibility.

www.BackyardBill.com

Bill is a friend of mine and to put it simply, he is as cool, laid-back and stylish as his blog. He photographs people in a few of their favourite outfits either in their home, or around their neighbourhood (or a combination of the two). If you ever meet Bill the blog makes even more sense, he IS his blog. All the people share a similar aesthetic too, very Brooklyn, NYC.

www.MenIWishIHadntSleptWith.com

The title pretty much says it all, but believe me, this is a blog that will have you hooked and howling with laughter. It is sharper than a Louboutin heel and is written by a friend of mine who is keeping herself anonymous for the time being. Read and enjoy…

http://zaramartin.blogspot.com/

TV presenter, ridiculously smart and gorgeous to boot. I mean really!
Her blog is fabulous, full of little nuggets of information (did you know that Harmony Korine had made a film about people that like humping trash?), or want the inside scoop on last night’s coolest party/exhibition/award ceremony? Bookmark her blog and enjoy

Jackie Dixon

I’m urging all people in London to go check out Antony Gormley‘s exhibition at White Cube Mason’s Yard and specifically to experience his work Breathing Room III and there’s no excuse about time or money as the exhibition is free and if you’re succinct with your experience, it will only really take ten minutes of your time.

Breathing Room III is a spacial awareness installation that artist Gormley has constructed within a gallery space, specific to that space. It is the largest in the series yet as within the interconnecting photo luminescent space frames, the volume is equal to that of the internal gallery space at White Cube.

The work encourages viewers to interact with it, moving around within the frames, observing how depth of field and perspective is completely altered because the frames resemble lines of laser light in the dark. Add to that, there are unexpected jolts of light as well as a dimming and lighting up of the frames to shake up the experience even more.

Gormley admits to wanting to scare people and whilst I wasn’t frightened per se, I was disturbed. There was something very claustrophobic about being trapped inside those frames even though you knew it was just a gallery space with powers to free you. At the same time, you feel an eerie sense of peace when you’re looking at the lines, following them as they seem to go beyond the room, into a dark hole.

It’s trapping and freeing you at the same time. I’m definitely checking it out a few more times before it ends in July.

All photography by David Levene for The Guardian

Style Bubble

Every once in a while you come a cross a gem in life, and Mary Portas and her shop, ‘Living & Giving for Save the Children’ is a perfect example.
It is – as the name suggests – a charity shop with the proceeds going to Save the Children.
If you hate second-hand shops because you think they smell musty and you can never find anything you like, this is the charity shop for you.

You see, at first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking it is just another in the long line of expensive designer shops running down Notting Hill’s very popular Westbourne Grove, but look closely and you’ll soon realize that even though all the labels are there (I saw Chanel and Marc Jacobs) the prices are much less than the neighbouring shops and of course it’s pure guilt-free shopping as it’s all for charity.

The smartest charity shop I have ever had the pleasure of visiting, and yes, I did buy something, a vintage brown leather bag for my mum (she’s very happy!)

177 Westbourne Grove
London W11

Check it out next time you’re in London and enjoy!

JackieDixon

I’ve recently had to write a portion of text dedicated to Hats and it got me most riled up WHY it is people don’t wear hats that go beyond the realms of woollen beanies, berets and caps. I guess I’m semi-biased because I was a born hat person and from the point where I had a lace cap on as a baby, my destiny as someone who has an affinity with hats was sealed.

That said, it depresses me that hats have become a sort of outmoded freakish form of attire. An accessory that brands you with certain tags (quirky, eccentric, odd or worse…) even though it wasn’t that long ago when hats were daily essentials, to be worn as a way of conforming to decorum.

How do you feel about hats?

All hats here from My Sugarland in London

Style Bubble