Gasp as Gatsby swing's into town

The Great Gatsby 2013 film, Google Image

Fashion adores tortured men: Don Draper, Harry Gordon Selfridge and of course, Gatsby. It is the unwrapping of the seductive layer to find the deep, dark secrets within. No outer shell can look so good without some skeletons in the closet and as we all know that is exactly the allure.

The Great Gatsby must be the most over - hyped film of the last year, especially since its release date was put back (only to gain momentum on the hype) with fashion expectations simultaneously reaching fever pitch.

The Great Gatsby 2013 film, Google Image

I hate to be the one who is a cynic here, but how exactly will Gatsby fit into the SS13 trends? I thought 1920's flapper had already been revived, worn and discarded as a fleeting flight of fancy? Maybe it is just that I am channelling sportswear luxe to the max I can hardly imagine dolling myself up to the nines, then hottrotting myself out the door in a feather boa and sequins.

That said I am partial to a gin and tonic.....

I Have Never...

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Did you ever play that game when you were younger, "I have never.." It was usually followed by a garbled confession while simultaneously knocking back a shot of vodka. Pah! I can almost taste those shameful bygone days. I must confess: "I have never ... stepped foot in Harrods". But I really never have gone into Harrods. I am not sure why this rite of passage in a shopaholic's life has passed me by, I am a London and one from the West, it seems an easy distance.

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At Christmas time my mum and I marvelled at the Selfridges shop window and visited the Santa's grotto in that department store. I see Liberty's as a thing of beauty, traditional with an English eccentricity and charm, feeling a wonderous amount of pleasure entering its doors. Harrods, however I have been able to resist.

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Do I morally object to the Harrods Zoo? I don't think so. The strict regulation of not wearing jeans (is this still a rule? Google entry needed) Perhaps. Whatever my reasons, the embargo now needs to be lifted. Dior has colloborated with the upmarket store.

It is understandable that Harrods feel they needed to bring in the big guns as focus as been on Selfridges, with the Andrews Davis adaptation of 'Shopping, Seduction & Mr Selfridge' being cult Sunday night viewing (already looking forward to the next series). I could just gaze at the window displays from outside, but inside there is a House of Dior exhibition where you can marvel at vintage dresses from the designer. Lots of other treats are in-house for a month including the most fashionable looking fairy cakes with Dior handbags glazed on the icing. It could be a vertiable house of cards but it has got to be done. This time next week I will be confessing, "I have never visited Harrods" with a shot of vodka in my hand. Purchasing an item, now that is a different matter...

And now for some Other Stories

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I am excited by the name, I have already picked out pieces to buy from the collection, all I have to do now is visit the new & Other Stories store on Regent Street which launched just two days ago. The idea of a new store only really 'wows' me when it is combined with being a new brand to discover and fall in love with.

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From the folks who bought us H&M comes a store with a more expensive price tag which appears to focus on more minimalist pieces with less emphasis on throw away fashion. Finally high street shops have realised that cheap does not always sell to the most savvy stylistas out there.

H&M will always have a special place in my heart - but only mainly for producing the modern collection in its stores. It sometimes feels like a double edged sword when I take a trip there because you feel you are getting a a great separate for a bargain but then a surge of guilt rises when you realise that you a getting a great separate for a bargain. It is like gorging on a McDonalds meal deal. A great moment followed by regret.

& Other Stories will hopefully have more cache and make feel like a less hollow individual when I walk through its doors. We will have to wait and see whether the shiny and new wrapper has longevity.

http://and-other-stories.tumblr.com

Juergen tells it

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Photography is an integral part of the business that we call fashion. It is so glaringly obvious that even a lowly fashion writer takes a backseat. Pictorial fashion blogs are instagraming their way into the public's consciousness so fast that people forget that before the camera there was the inkwell and quill. Who am I am to disagree with this 21st century way of communicating the trends? What better way to capture an outfit or new SS collection than with a click of a button?

I was reminded of this fact when last Sunday I visited Juergen Teller: Woo at the ICA. His raw images pemeate like none other, as you turn the pages of your latest copy of Vogue the trademark Juergen Teller advertorial stands out for not being ultra slick.

The Victorial Beckham legs out of shopping bag image for the Marc Jacobs reveals another side to the normally never-seen-without sunglasses and Birkin tote brand. In a world of retouching and camera wizardry it is refreshing to come across a more 'warts and all', backstage door to the underbelly of the fashion world and gain a little bit more access to the 'VIP' area.

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His latest Vivienne Westwood campaign is no exception, with his favourite muse Kate Moss staunchily staring into the camera. At the Woo exhibition I discovered the iconic image of Moss in a wheelbarrow was the product of a nightmare trip with the model. Teller describes his legs becoming so sunburnt they swelled up and rubbed together and being woken up by huge grotesque toads making love in the middle of the night. I did wonder if this anecdote seemed fitting as there is motif of sex that reverberates through his work, the full fontal shot of Westwood as you enter the space testifies this, however I feel the naked appendages are more about uncovering the person's soul than they are about sexiness.

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Juergen Teller: Woo is on at the ICA until March 17 2013

Oh Yes O!

In fashion, at one time or another, or in January everyone is looking for the new, 'new'. What is the newest trend that is so fresh even the designers have not drawn it yet? The casting for Autumn 2012 was that black was the new black. It appears that we have tired of some fashions to the extent that they have come full circle and we are reinventing colour.

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I will be the first (and rubbernecking to the front of the queue I literally mean this) to admit I like to sniff out the latest designer or item to be seen wearing. Donning my earcuff, singing along to Destiny's Child's latest offering and leaving my house in at least one item of leather upon my person I found out about an understated yet pretty lingerie brand. It is called Oyosho. 

Just as I am beginning to fall out of love for Zara I discover I am crushing on a new bra sensation who is owned by the same company, Inditex. I am still in full honeymoon haze wanting to own everything on the website and at around £6 for a dainty black lace bra I could almost reach that goal.

Even the advertising campaign has echoes of early 90's supermodel casting, so for the moment, in effort to stay in the new, I mean now, I say:"Oh yes to Oyosho!"

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Valentino: Artist for the Aristocracy

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Know your nervature from your pagine? Unless you have been to the Valentino: Master of Couture at Somerset House recently, or you work on the designer's dresses or you are in fact Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani himself then these terms may have passed you by. 

Pagine refers to the organza specific to Valentino's couture gowns. Oraganza is used in piles to create a page effect unique to his atelier. Impressive is the intricacy of his work and the sheer amount of beading used to create one of these ostentatious one off pieces alone. But to be aware of never having the amenity to own one makes you feel that there is a point where fashion balances on the shoulders of the upper eschelons of society. 

136 dresses are exhibited on a long converbelt, purposely built to showcase the Italian's artistry to the general public. In some respects I could have been at Madame Tussaud's surveying a recent waxwork sculpture or looking upon Dante's Inferno at Tate Britain. Something sinister, awe - inspiring even, yet allowing for a certain amount of detachment. It never fully engages the onlooker. The outfits are even more lifeless when displayed on a mannequin. I truly believe woman maketh the outfit rather than the other way around. 

As I will never go to a ball or meet the Obama's or marry the next King I feel all I can do is gaze at the gowns as one does through a snow globe, peeking entry to a world that is covered in mikado silk, tulle and paillette disks- one I will never set foot in. 

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Shine bright like a diamond or other jewel

It is said that in times of austerity we become much more conscious of our appearance. Glamour and opulence come to the fore. Men wear suits and women don their finest accessories. Just look at any period of history when a recession has peaked, for example the Prohibition era. Most women would not look out of place in those times wrapped in a fur stole with diamond earrings of an evening.

It is difficult to be cautious and beautifully attired. I have tried to resist the allure of the cheaper high street store and found myself succumbing like a kid in a candy store. But with true testament to the saying: "All that glitters is not gold", I have had to learn the hard way with green fingers, holes in tops and splits in heels after only two months of wear.

For those of you looking for adding extra dazzle to any outfit which is worth the investment, then discover Lydia Courteille's handcrafted gems.

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One time designer for Dior you know you are buying something very special indeed. From skulls to roses there is a piece to suit your mood and the oversized rings will ensure you are way ahead of next season's trends.

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