New Home, New Work, New Things...

Happy 1st of September, lovely people! As the Sherlock Holmes in you may have deduced lately, I've been absent from this blog for a little while now and I'd be blatantly lying to your pretty little faces if I said I'd be back with brand new posts anytime soon. The truth is, I've had to move houses and am now settling in (this is the daydreaming version of 'there are still walls of unpacked boxes waiting for me to go through them!) plus, as some of you unfortunate enough to have to work with me may have noticed, I've also started looking after the Fast Glamour pages for British Glamour magazine as a Contributing Fashion Editor, which - combined with my other ongoing regular freelance work - means that I'm staring at the month of September in my journal and I'm not seeing a free *ahem* *lazy* day!

However, one thing is certain; as Terminator Arnie likes to say, I'll be back! Stay safe, stay happy, keep smiling and make a loved one a nice cup of tea now and then.

AWww11: Don't Mention The C-Word, Topshop!

That C-word is C to the h to the r to the istmas, by the way. Just so we know where we're going with this! It's too early for all that talk (and I will keep saying that up to, ooh I don't know, November 1st!) but you know what it's never too early for? Pretty sparkly put-it-on-and-smile clothes and Topshop's A/W'11 collection is full of them!

So, what did I went and fell in love with? Two leather jackets. Not very seasonal I know, but at least one of them is red!

There are also one too many for my wallet's liking pretty dresses...

...and stars...

(star cut-outs on a leather skirt, anyone?!)

...and plenty of sparkle to last us until...well, the C day itself!

Hmmm, anyone fancy a mince pie with their cup of tea?

BLOG BLESS: D&G+NAP+MRP = F U N!

You know a party is good when moments of it still come back to you days and weeks later. Well, the Net-a-Porter and Mr. Porter party celebrating the arrival of (and simply celebrating) Dolce & Gabbana to their digital (and very real in a chic-box-arrives-at-your-door-and-makes-you-happy way) worlds was just that kind of party. A great one! I could share with you the cheeky pics my buddy Bardotty took on my phone of us posing behind an unsuspecting and very dapper Mr. Gandy but I won't. I think I'll keep them for ourselves to flick through and giggle, if you don't mind (some things are better kept secret). Here we are on our immobile Vespas speeding through Palermo, Italy (according to the postcard, at least) with the wind in our hair and our party frocks on.

Grazie, Domenico e Stefano and Cheers, Natalie and Jeremy!

Sartorialisms: Pull My Strings.

Help, lovely people of the TINternet. Do you know something about this violin bag? I saw it on the pretty amazing StreetFSN blog and I'm simply in love with it. Merci!

Image by StreetFSN.

I HEART: Anna 6th And Grace Bananas!

I haven't been around here much and it will still be a few days yet before I get a breather from work so I'm leaving you with these two Ladies of Fashion as captured by Tommy Ton. It's the image captions he's given them that made my day: Anna 6th (let's face it, this woman deserves to have a number/title following her name) and Grace Bananas - no explanation needed, I'm sure. Over and out!

Images by Tommy Ton.

BLOG BLESS: This Is The End, My Friends...

As promised, and thanks to my sis, here's what the presenter of the Greek Dancing With The Stars wore to the grand finale of the show on Sunday. I must admit, I was ever so slightly disappointed, given what she donned in previous episodes was so life-enhancing and out of this universe and beyond the next! Let's be honest though, it's always been about the hair and although I had grander ambitions for a full-scale eat-your-heart-out-Maria-Antoinetta assault on the senses and minds of the nation like this...

...sis reassured me that this particular magical creation looked awe-inspiring from every single different angle so bravo Milady!

All pics taken by my sis who I imagine was also in the required open-mouthed state while snapping.

BLOG BLESS AMERICA: I Raise My Hat To You, Grand Rapids!

Awesome. Bravo, good people of Grand Rapids. And suck it, Newsweek!

BLOG BLESS: There and Back Again!

Back to London after two weeks in Greece. British TV, I have a feeling you'll find it hard to surpass this! Don't worry, I've been promised pictorial proof of this Sunday's big finale look so watch this space.

All images taken by an open-mouthed me while watching the very 'out there' Greek Dancing With The Stars on Ant1 TV.

Francophilia: Hedi snapped Yves and Yves snapped at Tom!

While he keeps the entire fashion world hoping that his much-wished-for return to design is imminent (but let's not play fashion musical chairs here), Hedi Slimane released this week a group of images that reaffirm what we all knew: this is one talented guy! Shot in black and white, of course, and in the atmospheric yet promising style that has come to be known as very Hedi - just like one of his YSL Homme skinny black suits - they stand out from the rest, that can be seen on his website, due to an air of nostalgia that hangs around them and slight feeling of sadness that his superb portraits of rockers and skaters stick well away from. The subject? The late - but so present in recent collections - Yves Saint Laurent!

Hedi shot backstage at le maître's swan song of a show in 2002 and I find these so beautiful and clean and powerful. Don't all the women (the choice of word over 'models' purposeful) look beautiful, elegant and strong? Like they are about to have a helluva time? And is that a look of worry on Monsieur Saint Laurent's face or melancholy? Still, it is this first image of Yves et Pierre that I find most touching. A great love, an era-defining empire, a beautiful friendship.

And if this all seems too sugary for you, here's Tom Ford talking about some pretty special 'fan mail' he got in his days at YSL from Yves himself. And yes, Tom - we'd all care to see that book even if you're 105!

All images by Hedi Slimane and video by CNN.

Sartorialisms: Vanessa Jackman snapped me...

...and I couldn't be happier!

If you have been reading this blog for a little while now (and I can't thank you enough for that!) or if you have just stumbled upon it (hello and come back soon!) one thing will be very clear to you, I think. That I don't include many, if any at all, pictures of myself. This was nothing more than a conscious choice right at the beginning that this space will be dedicated to people and places I like that, for one reason or another, I don't get the chance to write about in my work as a freelance writer.

Even I, however, could not resist the urge to repost these pics from Vanessa Jackman's blog - even if the person in them is little, ol' me! I have been a fan of Vanessa's lovely blog for a long time now and when I first met her in person outside the Somerset House tents at London Fashion Week a few seasons ago I was taken back by how lovely and delightful she was in person too! These pics here were taken as I was leaving the Erdem show in February and - of course! - I had just resumed my show schedule following a quick stop at home which means that minimal, if any, attention was paid to the *ahem* 'look' but Vanessa's eye went straight to my bright red satchel from the Cambridge Satchel Company (a Christmas present thanks to T) and I couldn't be happier! I later sent Vanessa this pic on Twitter to say that Satchel was pretty happy about it all too! And now you've learnt another thing about me and this blog: I take silly pics with fruits and send them to people. Oops!

All images by Vanessa Jackman apart from the silly one that's obviously been taken by me!

ps: to the anonymous commenter who at the end of Vanessa's post suggested that my blog's name is not as original as I may think, I'd like to kindly offer a suggestion that he/she might just find enlightening: please, visit my blog and scroll down until you see the little slideshow dedicated to the 1989 Hayao Miyazaki film, Kiki's Delivery Service.

BLOG BLESS: Hello from Greece...

...where I've been drinking too many freddo cappucino waiting for my new passport to be approved in some airless, Kafkaesque government building while I enjoy views like this...

...and this...

...as well as playing with him...

...enjoying the bright colours that make the early summer season so blissful...

...and coming to the conclusion that I'd much happier living in a shack like this....

...than this...

...but mostly, I've been keeping my fingers crossed that stormy clouds like these stay well away!

BLOG BLESS AMERICA: Happy 70th, Bob!

GIRLS ON BIKES: Outlier's Daily Riding Pants.

My obsession with bikes and what girls choose to wear for riding theirs (in most cases, nothing remotely cycling-related) shows no signs of cooling off although, I must admit, the two dozens of Boris bikes stationed 3 minutes from my house have helped in eliminating the desire to actually buy one! Thanks, Boris. So, most days you will find me and my red satchel on a funny-looking blue bicycle riding downtown through Regent's Park.

I was pretty excited then to see these daily riding trousers (yes, I stuck to the American 'pants' for the title) from Outlier on Jo's blog. Made locally in New York City, Outlier's designs are focused on clothing to cycle in but in essence, they're classic American sportswear designs.

"We firmly believe that the bicycle is the best form of urban transit for the 21st century, and our clothing is designed to make that fact even more true. Your clothing should work as well on a bicycle as it does on the subway or in a car, without shouting to the world "I'm a cyclist." We are a clothing company first, not a cycling company. But we're a clothing company that designs simple, good looking and hard wearing garments for a world where bikes are a part of your daily life."

I love these Riding Pants and I'm keen to get a pair and try them on. I like the seam detailing that instantly brings to mind classic jodhpurs but their skinny cut makes them modern and really, a great alternative to skinny jeans. Oh yes, and even my most trusted pair of skinnies doesn't feature a "self-cleaning nanosphere treatment" which ensures that "coffee, wine and dirt roll off with ease, keeping you looking fresh and clean in the trickiest of situations" or a "Schoeller Dryskin Extreme fabric" that looks elegant, yet repels water!

I think my Boris bike will like these!

All images by Outlier.

BLOG BLESS AMERICA: Miss Piggy Does 1982!

Oh yes, readers - she did! I had no idea Miss Piggy did calendars in the Glorious Eighties (although that's not to say I'm surprised she did!), let alone pose in them with Kermit as Great Lovers Of The Silver Screen, as they did in 1982. Needless to say, I want this and as a quick search on Ebay brought up nada, nothing, a big fat zero, I have a feeling tracking one of these babies down will not be easy. Let me know if you see it anywhere, will you please?

Now, the below image may just be on the best I have ever laid eyes on and I feel that I need to own it in print, framed and keeping me company by my desk. Because when things don't go to plan or when no clear plan even exists I just want to look over at Miss Piggy and Kermit as Diane Keaton and Woody Allen in Annie Hall and know that all's good in the world!

And as Margot Kidder and Christopher Reeve as Lois Lane and Superman...

...as Ginger Roberts and Fred Astaire...

...and yes, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as Danny and Sandy in Grease!

I love you, Miss Piggy!