Tourist Magazine

Is a pretty good website if you like bipolar folk music (one part melancholy, one part ecstatic choruses), imperfect images and London Fashion Week in haiku.

Those things float my boat

Especially on Mondays

Maybe check it out.

That was a terrible two-second attempt at a Haiku, in case you didn't catch on(!)

(Image: Tourist Magazine)

Quote, Unquote.

Isabella Blow on what Alexander McQueen should have done at Givenchy:

"I had an idea that he should have a muse, and she'd live there, and she'd be at home - in her salon - as they did in the 18th century.  You'd have tea with her, she'd talk, she'd run around in the clothes.  You know, a sort of Warhol Factory thing?  But life is very corporate now, you can't do all that.  But that's what I would have done.  I just would have had a wild time."

Click on the still to view the Channel 4 'McQueen and I' documentary.

Simplicity Reigns

I don't spend much time poring over pictures of what the schlebs wear to fashion week.  It's usually the photographs of the ordinary people I watch out for, who are snapped looking extraordinary.  As a rule, celebrities lack the interest in style which is innate within the stylish girls who get photographed for their genius outfit combinations.

Kirsten Dunst is a case in point. She turned up to the Mulberry show on Sunday in the simple camel jumper and jeans combo pictured above, and later on to the Mulberry party in one of the brand's plainer pre-Fall evening dresses.  If you passed an unknown individual wearing either of these unadorned outfits in the street, I doubt you'd look twice, and if Kirsten Dunst were a not a super famous actress she would not have these images of herself broadcast on several style websites since Sunday.

Yet Kirsten with her austere outfits has struck a chord with me.  I think it's because she does look decidedly average - which isn't always a terrible thing.  You hear all about these people who look as if they've 'thrown something together', but the outfits often encompass several layers and styles, and are likely to have been laid out on a bedroom chair the previous evening.  Kirsten's are definitely thrown together - there's nothing more efficient than a jumper with matching bag and shoes, worn with jeans, or a dress with tights and heels.

Lately, I've been indulging in fashion in a dreamlike manner instead of literally wearing the clothes I would like to, throwing on jeans and a top instead of a complicated combination that could have come straight from an Urban Outfitters mannequin.  This is why I personally took note of what Kirsten Dunst was wearing.  Because she looks cool and free, wearing everyday clothes that aren't particularly 'in fashion'. They're not steeped in hyperbole, they aren't histrionic.  They're classic, easy, they're SIMPLE, and they're what I, and most girls, wear on a day-to-day basis while we get on with our hectic lives.

While occasionally daydreaming of wearing Meadham Kirchoff, Celine and Acne, of course.

LONDON FASHWAN WEEK OVERLOAD

I feel like I've binged on London Fashion Week and am about to have the sartorial equivalent of a hyperglycemic attack as a result.  I am a single catwalk-show viewing away from pledging never to wear an item of clothing ever again.

As an antidote to this, I'm reading through all of Michael Hogan's satirical '#madeuplfwtweets' (example: 'Stranger asked if I loved bags.  I replied, "Totes!"  She thought I meant just tote bags! HILAIRE!') while listening to the calming influence of Feist.

Already my threat of nakedness has been pacified.  I will instead don a Feist-inspired Breton top and wear it for the rest of my life.  And maybe avoid the internet until fashion week is over.

Canine Chic

If we live by Topshop Unique's show, it looks like the average household mutt will be replacing diamonds as a girl's best friend this AW11 (as usual, dogs were also prevalent at Mulberry, and at NYFW Isaac Mizhari dyed some REAL LIVE poodles with candy colours).  Katie Grand, stylist and editor of the biannual Love Magazine, reeled off a list of inspirations for the styling of the show, with 'dogs, 101 Dalmations and Cruella DeVille' coming in at the top.  She went on to add Bugsy Malone, Bonnie and Clyde, Showgirls, tap shoes and Art Deco posters to that very same list, which can clearly be grouped under a collective '1930's' heading.

The varied inspirations meant varied outfits, which is what we've come to expect from Topshop Unique's collections.  The canine element was the predominant theme of the show, but this is what injected fun into it, with hints such as kohl-painted dog noses, dalmation-spotted fingernails and hair that mimicked floppy ears.

In keeping with the dotted theme, the beginning of the collection was very monochrome, with earthy and berry shades running through to complement.  Of the various looks, many were an appealing cross between school girl and school mistress, with Mary Jane shoes and hockey stockings contrasting with grown-up belted furs.

A decent collection overall, but I feel like Topshop Unique should be pushing for a cutting-edge status so as to prove their worth as the only high-street shop that shows at London Fashion Week.  Patterned tights, camel, fur coats and demure lengths have all been overdone in previous seasons, and I feel like the brand should have moved on from that to retain their notoriety at being front-of-field in youthful and creative fashion.  Personally, I was more taken with the minor doggy-inspired styling details I’ve mentioned (which really were so delightfully cute and quaint) rather than purely the clothing itself.  

Check the show out and see for yourself.  And let me know if you agree - I've never really taken to 1930's styling so maybe I'm being a bit of a harsh critic? 

(Images: Inside Out)

Topshop Unique Live Stream

Topshop Unique's Autumn/ Winter 2011 Fashion Show is streaming live here from 3pm today.  It's always one of the best catwalk shows in terms of young, funky and unorthodox styling, so is probably worth a watch.  I'll certainly be glued to my computer screen in half an hour's time.

Underground Style - Roath, Cardiff

If Roath is seen as the creative hub of Cardiff, and if art and fashion are synonymous with one another, can it then be assumed that the residential area has some of the city’s best shopping?  Truthfully, no.  It would be false to gush that Roath is a must-visit for traditional shopping - there are far too many uninspired retailers letting the area down.  However, Roath does have a burgeoning underground fashion movement going on that allows style-conscious residents and visitors to pick up some 

offbeat ideas and bargains - if they know where to look.

The most obvious place to start scouring for curiosities is in one of the Roath’s charity shops.  Due to the persistent popularity of vintage, the appeal of shopping in the area is heightened by the number of charity shops that can be found on both Wellfield and Albany Roads.  These shops do not differ much from one another; they are satisfyingly cheap and stock the usual books, bric a brac and used clothing, along with some gems that can be found in amongst the tat if you’re prepared to rummage.  Don’t fret if you have neither the longing nor the patience, Cardiff’s YMCA Housing Association are pioneering a 50’s and 60’s-inspired charity boutique on Albany Road called PreFab, using the public’s which groups vintage items under one roof for ease of purchase.  All proceeds go back into the charity, so the customer gets to experience a pleasant shopping environment while donating to a 

good cause.

More quality vintage can be found at one of the markets that pop-up in some of Roath’s most avant garde spaces, along with craft items, up-and-coming designs and unusual jewellery. Intriguingly, these markets are not put on in conjunction with retail spaces, but with multi-faceted venues that are associated with the arts, such as Milgi Lounge and Milkwood Gallery. Milgi’s Northcote Lane Market in particular has gone from strength-to-strength since its conception in mid-summer 2007, with stalls spilling from inside the bar to the backyard yurt to the lane behind it on ever first Sunday of the month, depending on how many sellers are contributing their wares at the time.  The market runs between 6pm and 10pm on this chosen Sunday and has the kudos of being popular with local residents and celebrities alike – actress and renowned quirky-dresser Jaime Winstone has been spotted delving through the bargain bins while wearing a rather zany Navajo-printed jacket.

Milkwood Gallery hosts a Flea Market at various times throughout the year, and has a permanent shop selling all manner of quirky (if rather pricey) items - from human-shaped beanbags to jewellery from the cult brand Tatty Devine.  Homemade fashion is also actively encouraged at Milkwood, with drop-in sewing surgeries and Make Do and Mend classes (where you learn from an expert how to shape an item of clothing out of scrap fabric, from scratch) occurring on a regular basis.  In fact, this ‘make do and mend’ attitude is clearly taking off in Roath, with The Gate Theatre launching a similar project called RE: Fash on the final Wednesday of this month, in which attendees will be given ideas on how to revamp any piece of clothing to make it look high-fashion, at the cost of £5 per class.

Whether a response to the recession or a random fad inspired by the fashion industry’s continued love of vintage, this interactive approach to fashion and style is innovative, exciting, and - in terms of the Cardiff area - completely exclusive to Roath.  There are also, of course, plenty of great boutiques (Halcyon Daze, Seven, Big Girl’s Blouse, all on Wellfield Road) in Roath which balance out the poor ones.  Yet the grassroots fashion scene seems to be bolstering Roath’s reputation as an artistic area and is a far more exciting approach to fashion.  It will be interesting to see if it can continue to develop and thrive, with or without the help of the shops.

I wrote this guest post for Wales Online's Your Cardiff website.  You can check it out here.


(Images: Peace Love and Polkadots, Milgi facebook group, discothequeconfusion, Milkwood Gallery)