Magnus & Bella

Magnus Jarlson and Isabella Day are making a ring for me at the moment. They specialise in bespoke jewellery that is designed to the specification of the client. I've asked them to make me a ring that features leaves in the arts and crafts style and I'm expecting a prototype in the post at some point in the near future. It's very exciting!

McQueen

Is there anyone who loves clothes who didn't have a slight yen to meet Lee McQueen? Even if I had met him I couldn't have uttered a word because his work was wonderful. It wasn't just the clothes that were stunning, quite a few of the shows were unexpected and intriguing. You can read about McQueen as a designer with an eye for complete detail rather than a simple outfitter on the Design Museum's website.

His final walk has been posted on Youtube and the BBC has placed some photos onto their news site. It simply remains to say goodnight Lee Alexander McQueen and thank you so very much. Thank you.

Lee Mattocks

I just want to link to this blog post about Lee Mattocks at Inspire the Starling. I popped into an MA Fashion Artefacts show at the Mall Galleries on Pall Mall (in central London) this week. A lot of the work was interesting but Lee Mattocks' bags repeatedly drew me back to take another look. This type of repeated examination is always a clear sign that I particularly like an artwork or garment and although taxidermy is an odd attraction it worked spectacularly well in the context of the pieces. I felt it was far more original and unusual than any of the other work on display so take a look at the link.

Thinking about beauty yesterday has left me considering the difference in the fashion photoblogs that are on my RSS feed. The Sartorialist favours a very polished style of dress. When he takes photos they tend to be of people who have spent a lot of time perfecting their faces and bodies as well as their clothes. Styleclicker features people who dress far more casually and generally seem less preened. The clothes tend to be more accessible and less expensive. I think I like Hel Looks the most because I'm less likely to actually encounter the style of clothing that is featured on the blog. It has a really Scandinavian focus and that results in a set of photographs that endlessly fascinate me because the shape of the clothes are so unusual in London. I don't think Scandinavian clothing is admired enough or lauded for its difference to the clothes in our part of Europe. I can aspire to the clothes on The Sartorialist because I can't afford them, I can wear the clothes on Styleclicker if I can pull myself together to make my outfit work (and if I bought a proper full length mirror) but when I look at Hel Looks I can see something that seems a bit magical.

(via http://icanhascheezburger.com/)

When I was around 13 years old I had a conversation with my nan about supermodels and she told me that "models are quite plain looking people" and it's true. It would distract from the clothes if truly beautiful people were wearing them (which isn't to deny the simple perfection of the average supermodels face).