Today at Wimbledon: Day 2. Wimbo-Chic

Today I would like to talk to you about what people wear to Wimbledon. There are definitely two distinct styles. On one side we have those who have probably been given the tickets from work, freebies from the All England Club or go because they love to tell everyone they know that they have 'Centre tickets dahhhling' before rushing off in their Land Rover to pick up Tarquin and Jemima from school. These are the Wimbledon-ers who wear pashminas and blazers, straw hats with purple and green on and pearls. On the other side of the fashion net we have the die-hards, the tennis fans and the Henman-hillers. This group consists of a bunch of red, white and blue-wearing, union jack clutching, deely bopper-wearing nutters and they are what makes Wimbledon amazing. It's this group who the average Wimbledon watcher at home can identify with. We love the people who have gone to the effort of painting their faces, writing 'GO MURRAY!' on their best white shirt and  get jolly pissed on Pimms. These are the people who queue for days to get a coveted ticket for Centre Court to shout 'COME ON TIM' at Andy Murray.

In other news and as an addition to yesterday's 'Today at Wimbledon' feature 'The World's Greatest Name' I would like to introduce you to Kaia Kanepi. A name that makes her sound like a mini smoked salmon bagel served with a glass of bubbly. Amazing. Stay tuned for more tennis player's amazing names.

Pet Hate #132. Mullet dresses.

You know the ones, they are longer at the back than they are at the front. I just don't understand them. Do the back of girls leg's get hotter than the front and more ventilation is needed? Is it some sort of cover up of bad, back leg, fake tanning? Maybe it is actually all part of an idea in which all women become superheros and take off using the mullet bit of their dresses? 

Maybe there is a 'back of the leg complex' that I know nothing about. Are people really that worried about how the backs of their legs look? If you are prepared to get the front bit out why not the bit at the back? 

It's not like even anyone good wears them. The mullet dress is favoured by the Essex girls and those I see stumbling out of 'The Venue' club in New Cross at 4am, clutching a box of fried chicken and their ridiculous, studded heels. 

Maybe if the mullet dress looked like an actual mullet, all eighties footballer and scraggly, then I could go for it but essentially it's a dress where they have forgotten to cut the back bit off. 

All Hail The New Young British Artists

The Young British Artists were a group who took practically took over Britain in the mid to late 1990s. If the 1990s heralded 'cool' Britannia then maybe this strange period after the turn of the New Millennium is the age of 'commercial' Britannia.
In the 90s Britain became cool again, the economy was booming and the Brit-Pop movement in music and the YBA's brought the country to the forefront of the world stage. Everything they did was the epitome of 'cool'. Oasis vs Blur, Hirst and Emin, Goldsmiths Art College and Manchester vs London.
Now we are seeing once again Britain becoming great, culturally again across the world. The incredible Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympics last year seemed to capture where Britain is right now, rather than like so many ceremonies in this country, looking back and mourning what we were. Britons seem to be happy where we are today. No longer do we long for a time when the sun never set on our Empire. Britain is content with being small.
We may no longer appear to have limitless money, like in the late 90s but the new Young British Artists are pioneers for a new austere age. Names like Gabriella Boyd and Max Dovey may be the new Hirst and Emin but with one clear difference, the super-confident times of the 90s have gone to be replaced by a nervous 'teenies'.
We are taking our place again, even if the 'cool' Britannia notion from the 90s has long since gone. 'Commercial' Britannia now rules over us. One Direction, Adele, James Bond, The Royals. These massive British brands are dominating the world, taking over American popular culture and making Britain, once again a cultural epicentre. It is fair to say, however, that without the advent of social media this may not have happened. If it wasn't for Twitter and Youtube teens in America may not have heard of One Direction, or Ed Sheeran or Emeli Sande. I have it on good authority that amongst the youth in America it is cool to discover the next big thing from the UK before anyone else. They may still see us as a nation of tea drinking royalists but also a nation that is incredibly 'cool'. So maybe my branding of the UK today as 'Commercial Britannia' in the context of America may be a little off. One thing is for sure, it may be 'Commercial Britannia' to us but for people all around the world it is 'Cool Britannia' long to reign over us. All hail the new Young British Artists.

H&M Oxford Street Flagship

I'm always disappointed in a flagship store when there aren't any actual flags outside. Look, here is the store, not one single flag. They could have at least strung some bunting up, there's loads left from the jubilee. Someone in their marketing department needs to get down to Poundland, they have been trying to shift that stuff since the end of the Olympics. Anyway, on to the actual store.

I have a peculiar knack for stumbling across H&M Flagship openings. I was there when they opened their flagship on Regent Street a couple of years ago and then, upon seeing that there Oxford Circus Flagship was opening on Thursday a few weeks ago I thought I would jump on the Tube and go and have a nose around. Anyone who has ever been in the Oxford Circus branch knows how awful it used to be. For a store on the busiest shopping street in Europe it often resembled more of a Primark than the sleek Scandinavian store it should have been. This, however, has all changed thanks to a brilliant re-working of the store. No longer do you feel that you are shopping in a broom cupboard. The displays are fresh and at times look more designer than high street. H&M have also clearly taken a leaf out of Zara's book from last Winter season by including statement hair on their mannequins, giving the whole shop an edgier feel.

To conclude the store is great and naturally I felt compelled to buy things, I don't know if this is their clever layout working on me or if I do just have to buy clothes wherever I go but I am sure their profit margins will tell this tale. The only downside: LACK OF FLAGS. IF YOU ARE A 'FLAG'SHIP BUT UP SOME BUNTING. Even a tea towel on a stick could work. Sort it out H&M. In the meantime I am off to try on all the clothes I bought. Sorry Mr Bank.

Sisters.

This blog now has a sister on Tumblr! For photos and musings from the city I love. 

http://londonandthings.tumblr.com/

The Coronation Of Queen Cara

So that's it, London Fashion Week has come to and end and with it the capital's fashion conscious have decamped to Milan for yet another week of stunning shows and hopefully some warmer weather. 

The week basically felt like the coronation of Cara Delevigne. She seemed to be the go-to girl for every show and, if you hadn't already, we all fell in love with her. 

To the right I am with my friend Lucy at Somerset House. Marcus Dawes took our photo and I was very surprised to then find it on the London Fashion Week website and printed in "The Daily" the fashion week newspaper. Does this mean I am part of the fashion set now? 

Anyway, here are my favourites from London Fashion Week AW13.

McQ

I love a bit of tailoring so naturally McQ was going to be a hit. I strong tailoring with an injection of fun is something that London's fashion week does better than any other. Teamed with simple white shirts I believe you can't go wrong and this was demonstrated at this show.
The animal print trend was also perfectly clear to see at the McQ show with their tailoring also coming in fun, multicoloured zebra prints.

Issa


There was a hint of explorer (albeit very well dressed explorer) about the Issa show that I loved. The Indiana Jones-esque hats at an angle gave the models a look that made me think they were about to go trekking through a rainforest. Model of the moment and March 2013 Vogue cover girl Cara Delevigne opened the show in a flowing dress teamed with a black roll neck and boots. Daniella Helayel said backstage at the show that the Issa woman "is cooler, she wants to explore". It was a departure for Issa who are probably best known, rightly on wrongly, for Kate Middleton's engagement dress. If this was an attempt to reinvent themselves then it certainly worked for me. 








House Of Holland


If I had to pick one show from this week that I thought embodied what London is about right now then it would be the House Of Holland show, titled 'Rave Nana'. House of Holland provide the clothes that the coolest girls in London want to wear. Pixie, Winstone, Lowe, were all on the front row. These are girls who want to have fun with what they wear. With an 80s and 90s rave inspired soundtrack, 70s wallpaper print inspired dresses and neon abound the show could have proved too much but it wasn't. It captured London in 2013. It also made me ask myself the question. Are mini skirts really going to be making a return?











Burberry Prorsum 

The quintessentially British brand provided my favourite show of the week. The Burberry show has quickly become the centre-piece event of London fashion weeks and this year's did not fail to dissapoint. The front row was quite possibly the most star studded I have ever seen. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in that red suit, Rita Ora with the 'Queen Cara' t-shirt and a sea of socialites, editors and bloggers completing the front row in the beautiful, purpose built space in Kensington Gardens. Christopher Bailey, this year, showed Burberry's sexy side whilst maintaining its British charm. Kinky rubber was mixed with sweeter-than-sweet love heart prints to give an naughty but nice look. It would be very easy for Burberry to become stagnant. We know them best for their staple piece: the trench. It is testament to the genius of Christopher Bailey that he can reinvent this classic, each time bringing something new and fresh.
My picks from this show would have to be Cara's sheer rubber skirt teamed with love heart underwear and leopard print top. It sounds too much but Burberry stuck to their traditional pallette to give something both outlandish and yet subtle at the same time and the spots and stripes over-sized coat. I don't know if it is just the model and the sunglasses but surely this is a reference to front row-er Anna Wintour? The Burberry Prorsum show, my favourite from London Fashion Week 2013.

Economics Is The New Black

Next week marks the return of the week long fashion spectacle that is London Fashion Week. You would think that in this age of austerity and a time when people apparently have no money that the fashion industry would be dying. You wouldn’t think that fashion weeks across the globe would be growing. The fact is though that they are. London this year launched its “London Collections: Men” in what was seen as a stepping stone to a full blown men’s fashion week in the capital. This year’s New York fashion week has a slightly ambiguous name given that it is no longer just a week, but a whole 10 days in which the fashionistas of New York City take over the metropolis bringing with them their high heels, birkin bags and most importantly (and key to the point of this piece), their money. Some find it vulgar that the fashion world has continued as normal despite the global meltdown. I don’t find it vulgar, in fact I find it something to be encouraged. If this was any other business sector then it would be applauded for seeming to keep calm and carry on. Because this is an industry in which people feel they have no connection though they can’t adjust to fashion succeeding against all odds. This social division, however, is in fact a myth. Without sounding too much like Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” fashion is important to everyone. If it wasn’t for Valentino or Jason Wu spending millions on a new line then the people in Primark would have nothing to copy and then most importantly nothing for the average fashion consumer to spend their hard-earned money on. The fashion industry is actually a sector of our society that we cannot deal without; yes some may say that the outlandish designs currently draped over models in a tent in New York City may never filtrate down to us. This is true, but the inspiration drawn from these outfits will make millions for our economy. For example two years ago neon began to crop up on the catwalks. Most of us will never contemplate wearing a full, neon yellow trouser suit and probably that is a good thing but now neon is everywhere. Watches, bags, shoes, satchels. Everywhere. It may not all be well-made, or designer, or even good but the fact is that people buy it and a portion of that money will eventually find its way back into the economy. So this weekend when you are out shopping why not buy that bag? It is practically your national duty. Basically what I am saying is that economics is the new black. 

Ode To A Cocktail

Last Monday night saw a night of general debauchery at a cocktail bar in Shoreditch named 'The Shoreditch' (I haven't worked out quite yet if I appreciate the possession this cocktail bar seems to take over the place it resides in or if it is a brilliant marketing ploy). Anyway, many Shoreditch Martinis and Gin Gardens along the track we ended back up on the Tube home and pretending to pole dance on the hand rails. I am sorry East London Line but the poles are just there and no matter how little we have had to drink and how busy the carriage is or how long we have lived in London in our minds the poles are there for one thing and one thing only: entertainment. Tuesday, surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), saw more cocktails, these were, luckily for my bank balance, not for my head, bought for me. That certainly made me feel better about the 'cocktails two nights in a row' thing. Maybe I just need to go on more dates?
If this week has taught me anything it is that cocktails always make things more fun, the cans of Red Stripe 'Jamaica's finest' that I then had to drink for the rest of the week as I couldn't justify spending any more money on cocktails or find someone who was willing to buy them for me, tasted extremely bitter. This, combined with me finally discovering 'Sex And The City' this week, has not made a good mix. How am I meant to watch people drink what seem like bottomless Cosmopolitans all day, seem to never be at work and yet manage to buy such expensive clothes and then not wonder why I can't do the same thing? The answer is simple: I am a student. This is not a time for cocktails and designer clothes. This is a time for thrift store shopping and cans of 99p cider bought from the off-licence across the road. The thrift store shopping I can deal with but the sooner that someone creates a delicious cocktail comprising of White Lightning and Red Stripe the better.
In other news I have decided that it is going to be Spring. Listen up everyone, you have me to thank for the sudden increase in temperatures. I have resolved that if I stop wearing a coat and start drinking ice tea again (homemade I'll have you know) then the temperature is guaranteed to rise and I will be the Spring saviour. I don't know if it is simply my mind playing tricks on me but I swear it has actually got warmer since I began doing this and I am sure the mornings are significantly brighter this week than they were last week.

The September Issue

Every good publication has its flagship September issue so for the first couple of weeks of September I will be sharing my picks for Autumn/Winter 2012. Everything from music to books and art to fashion will be covered so I hope you enjoy reading about what Autumn means for me! 

The September Issue series will begin tomorrow.