I want a Slice of Tweedy Pie

Hey All,

I’m having my second Tweed crush of the year. (see the first here).

I’ve always been a bit of a fan of the stuff but looking around the high street yesterday I fell hard for all the edgy tweed jackets I saw. Every one from Tommy Hilfiger to New Look, seems to have their own version in different shades and really modern cuts.

I always think of country gents when I think of tweed; you know, the flat-cap wearing, handle-bar moustache growing, Hooray-Henry types. However this seasons Tweed has been updated and made much more versatile.

I can actually imagine these jackets being worn with leather trousers and slouchy tops. I took a few snaps of the ones I saw and the others I found on-line:

Tommy Hilfiger

Penneys / Primark

Penneys / Primark

Dunnes Stores

Zara – I did actually take a photo of this jacket in store, but it was so blurry, if I’d posted it you would’ve felt drunk looking at it!)

Next

New Look (Actually one of my favourites, and on sale at the moment).

Topshop

Topshop

If you need any more inspiration; apparently there are ‘Tweed Runs’ in the UK and US. People who have a passion for Tweed, all get together, dress in their favourite fabric, cycle around London, LA, Boston, DC… etc.. Mad, but jolly fun I’d wager, what what.

Image via Tweedrun.com

Image via dapperdandash.wordpress.com

And if that wasn’t inspiration enough, here’s a few snaps of rather stylish ladies in Tweed to tempt you instead:

Alexa Chung – Image via Arguewitheveryone

Off Duty Models – Image via altamiranyc

Kate Moss – Image via – posh24

Whisty

Xx

 

In a discotheque at dawn…

OR: Models and Music #4,327

Hey All,

I have to immediately point out (for fear of being told off), the title of this post must be solely credited to Bryan Ferry. The words are lyrics from a song on his new album, Olympia. As much as I love Roxy Music and therefore Mr. Ferry himself, he doesn’t half do great album covers. This latest one;

Yeah, Kate Moss looking divine.

That could’ve been all, but I thought I’d post a few more model-on-album-cover pictures.

Jerry Hall on Roxy Music’s Siren Album Cover:

Twiggy (and Bowie) on David Bowie’s Pin-Ups album Cover:

Bettie Paige on Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’ album cover:

Jean Shrimpton on Will Glahé’s Accordion Pops 1 album cover:

Bizarre? yes. Included here, purely because of the Vespa? Yes.

Xx

 

Kate Moss, Johnny Depp, Keith Richards and Vintage Jeans.

… OR, a blatant excuse to post pictures of all three…

…OR, Johnny Depp is even more perfect than I could ever have imagined…

Snippets from the latest musings from La Moss, she appeared in Glamour magazine this month talking about her wardrobe and her style, (what else?). Her latest revelation regards the acquisition of a pair of jeans that have been around, well, a while…

“Do I ever throw out clothes? Definitely not! I’ve got classics… Keith Richards gave me a pair of black jeans he bought in Brazil in 1969 and I still wear them — they fit me perfectly“.

She then imparted a truely grogeous piece of information; “Johnny Depp bought me a copy of the dress Julie Christie wore in Shampoo (see images below). He had it made and every sequin is hand-sewn. I still wear it“.

… Seriously, I think I might cry; men like this actually exist?

She also spoke about the importance of accessories, saying; “Accessories stand the test of time and you can hand them down to your children. Lila can walk around in heels already but I’ve told her they’re only for special occasions. I don’t want her in heels yet — she’s only seven.”

Julie Christie in Shampoo in the dress that inspired Johnny Depp to commission a copy for his then girlfriend Kate Moss.

Kate Moss & Johnny Depp at Golden Globes 1995, she is wearing the Julie Christie, Shampoo Dress

The best thing about Kate Moss, relinquishing the use of her supposed motto; “Never Complain, Never Explain” means that we are now hearing these little gems of style advice from her. The furore a couple of weeks ago, resulting from her comments to WWD, was quite frankly ridiculous. As far as I  am concerned it made her all the more human; the woman has been a model for nearly 20 years and is still booked for some of the most important fashion ad campaigns in the world. She has had a child and enjoys a somewhat colourful social life, both of which could have less than positive effect on her figure. The fact that we now know she has a mantra to enable her to do her job properly – super models have to be slim it is what makes them super models – is quite frankly a relief.

I’m sure she does live by the saying, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels“, I would, however, be hard pressed to believe that she believes it though. I know it feels great to fit into your skinny jeans, (handed down from a Rock Star or not) but I also know that cheese and crackers, Sunday Roasts and chocolate truffles with red wine make my taste buds feel pretty darn great too.

Images via Goole and Flickr

The photography of Ellen von Unwerth – A Study

Ellen von Unwerth is one of the most important fashion photographers of her time. If you have yet to discover the provocative tastes and fantastic talents of this circus performer / fashion model-turned photographer, I really recommend you do. I have been a fan of hers for quite some time (I used to buy The Face a lot in the 90′s) and I was reunited with her talents when I came across this shoot of Emma Watson for VS magazine’s SS10 issue, earlier this year.

Ellen von Unwerth has one of the most prolific careers of any fashion photographer. She was born in Germany in the mid ’50′s and has photographed some of the most beautiful and stylish women in the world for magazines like, Arena, The Face, I-D, Vanity Fair and Vogue. She took to the other side of the camera in the 80′s photographing her model friends, but it was the Guess Jeans campaign that made her and subject, Claudia Schiffer, fashion forces to be reckoned with.

Throughout her astounding career, using images of powerful femininity, she has pushed the boundaries in fashion photography. Think cigarette smoking, Betty Paige lookalikes wearing top hats, stockings and smudged red lipstick. To get more of an insight into how this fantastic artist creates her iconic images read this interview here. Otherwise, simply scroll through the images here representing a small collection of some of her work.

Chronologically.

Kate Moss by Ellen von Unwerth “Charming Lolita” Shoot Vogue Italia, 1992.

Kate Moss by Ellen von Unwerth “Charme!” Shoot for Vogue Italia, 1992.

Winona Ryder by Ellen von Unwerth, 1994.

Juliette Lewis by Ellen von Unwerth for The Face, 1994.

Liv Tyler by Ellen von Unwerth for Vogue Italia, circa 1995.

Nadja Auermann by Ellen von Unwerth, 1996.

Milla Jovovich by Ellen von Unwerth, 1997.

Chloe Sevigny by Ellen von Unwerth, 1999.

Vanessa Paradis by Ellen von Unwerth, 2002.

Britney Spears by Ellen von Unwerth, 2003.

Charlotte Gainsbourg by Ellen von Unwerth, 2006.

Marion Cotillard by Ellen von Unwerth, 2006.

John Galliano and Eva Green by Ellen von Unwerth, for Madame Figaro magazine, 2007.

All images compiled by William McFadden at home.frognet.net

How to wear… Thigh-High Boots.

AW09 Ready To Wear Catwalk images, clockwise from top right: Yigal Azrouel, Gucci, Rodart, Marc Jacobs, Halston, Alexander McQueen.

How to wear…

The dilemma with this season’s thigh-high boot trend is that if you go with the high-heeled version, your risking looking like you may charge by the hour; a flat version, you’re risking looking like the stand-in for Dick Whittington at the Gaiety Christmas Panto. Needless to say, neither of these are good looks. When I saw the pictures of Kelly Rowland in Dublin last week, the last thing I thought was that the boots looked wrong, in fact they looked incredible, but they were Gucci and she is stunning. It convinced me however that thigh high boots with high heels can create looks that are chic and if I am going to go thigh highs the heels would have to be high too.

Irish Designer, Joanne Hynes in Brown Thomas This Evening

If the Arthur’s Day celebrations get a bit too much and a fashionable respite is required, the serene surroundings of Grafton’s Street’s exclusive department store should do the trick. This evening, (Thursday September 24th), Brown Thomas, Dublin are giving us the chance to meet Irish fashion and jewellery designer, Joanne Hynes and preview her new AW09 collection. Her and her sales team (let this be a sufficient warning!) will be there to offer style advice on how to wear the pieces with “confidence and finesse”.

If these three looks are anything to go by, then it’s going to be quite the showcase. I think with this latest collection, Joanne Hynes has proved once and for all that she is a design force to be reckoned with, not only in Ireland but globally too. Having only launched her debut collection in 2003/04, Joanne Hynes has since become the hottest designer in the country, supermodel Jacquetta Wheeler was even voted best dressed by Harpers & Queen wearing a piece by Joanne in 2005. These pieces alone are statement enough that this new collection is a standout one for the designer, I for one have never wanted to channel Aladdin so much before in my life, but with these turban-inspired headdresses a la Kate Moss at the Met Gala Ball, who wouldn’t? The shoulder cut-outs and oval detailing on the white dress create a fabulous silhouette; the sheer panelling and studs (?) on the dress in the centre are painfully this season and the quilted, cropped leather jacket with statement shoulders is possibly the most amazing leather jacket Dublin will see all year.

The event starts at 5.30pm and will take place on Level 2; there will also be 3 collection-previews at 6, 7 & 8 pm with the event closing at 9pm.

Grazia goes French with Kate Moss cover

Italian glossy weekly magazine, Grazia, launched a French version this week with Brit model Kate Moss as their debut cover star. Grazia is the most fashion forward weekly glossy available and with this latest launch, now sees 13 countries with their own versions and more to follow. It seems that Kate Moss sells covers all over the world too because she was also the debut cover star for Australian Grazia.

Grazia UK, the version we get here, sells over 225,000 copies a week; last year, editor Jane Brunton said of her celebrity coverage, “We’re not the News of the World. People aren’t going to like what you write all of the time. But we’re not bitchy, and we’ve got quite a positive attitude, I think.” (Er… unless you are Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt of course).

I get so put off from buying Grazia UK at the minute, because every single issue ‘commentates’ on the fact that the beautiful couple, are splitting, have split, will split, or that one of them is secretly doing something behind the others back because they are on the verge of splitting up. Goodness, get OVER it Grazia UK, we don’t care and y’all are obsessed!!! I just hope Easons will stock the French version soon so I can buy that instead, can you imagine how awesome it would be??!?

qui est parisienne? Kate Moss for YSL perfume

Kate Moss is the face of new Yves Saint Laurent perfume, Parisienne. Here’s the promo vid. Short but sexy-sweet

Kate Moss Topshop AW09

Hits stores Friday August 27th!

Topshop say of the collection:

“An eclectic collection of Kate’s wardrobe staples; mixing vintage glamour with a 70′s groupie vibe and sophisticated edge for a grown-up Autumn Winter 09.

Featuring wide sleeved blouses, chiffon printed dresses and oversized faux fur jackets mixed with intricate tailoring using soft leather, suede and light wool in the shape of all-in-one culottes, cinched jackets and fitted skirts. A classic range of knitwear with jacquard and striped pieces, sits with more punky, slashed and embellished variations. Eveningwear has an antique dressing-up box feel.”

Walsh & Moss to create Model Factor?

RTÉ friday: on their fashion page they reported that Kate Moss and Louis Walsh are to team up to create an x-factor-style search for a new super model??? Click HERE