my so called 90s

having discovered the joy of watching episodes of 'my so called life' thanks to my friend's/personal blockbuster's boxset purchase...i am feeling someone needs to point out to the british high-street wearing public what real 90s grunge appeal looks like.


i.e. denim, lots of brown, sleeveless-ness, top ponytails, clashing prints, bagginess, moodiness, quirkiness: see how the latter abounds in the inimitable ricky (bottom left), purveyor of fun blazers and brooches galore (seriously, at one point he's homeless and still pulls off fingerless tramp gloves with aplomb...)

yet, while my love for this show knows no bounds, i think that until topshop have a collection called 'uh, like, clothes or whatever', perhaps the full-on 90s teen revival will remain a slow-burner. still not sure you want to revisit the decade without the high-street safety cushions of body-con items and clean hair and all that?

i have one word for you - plaid. i have never seen so much plaid. the girls wear plaid, the boys wear plaid, the kids wear plaid, the mum wears plaid, the dad wears plaid. the teachers, they like plaid. i have even seen cases of plaid on plaid (on plaid).

so, to conclude: you want to bring a bit of my so called life into your so called life? begins with p, ends in add...

ps. i'm actually gonna let that other purveyor of 90s television chic, daria, have the last word on this one. sarcastic fantastic.

topshop dress you up

a conversation between topshop head honcho philip green and hollywood starlet scarlett johansson. the subject: the borrowing of a dress.

greeny: 'yo yo scarjo, ya wanna be part of my topshop gang? i know you do. king philip is in need of some fabulous party number to lend to my common public. i'm thinking leopard-print would be fierce...'

scarjo: 'ummmmm'

greeny: 'all in the name of charidee, of course'

scarjo: 'i'll get my P.A right on that.'

now just picture lots of similar conversations between topshop hq and the best-dressed femmes in the biz, and you've basically got topshop's new 'dress me up' hire-shop in a nutshell. between a hire period of 7th to 23rd december, customers can borrow dresses for up to two nights, ranging from julia restin-roitfeld's d&g to kate moss' beaded lanvin. all this: for only £40(!)

most importantly, all proceeds from the hire fees and the subsequent auction will go to charities help the aged and age concern.

so want to grab your 15 minutes this christmas? better hotfoot it to oxford circus before the hire period is up...

nower than now: your name

that's right. names are hot stuff! it's a total trend! unless you have a really bad name. in which case, stick to velvet, or something.

emma cook for topshop, lady luck rules ok customisable necklaces, urbanoutfitters ring, henry holland tights

and hey, initials always work for those of us whose parents inconsiderately did not consult the fashion gods upon name-choosing. in fact, the henry holland alphabet tights even have jameela jamil's seal of approval.. (she said, 'hey i like your tights!', to my friend in oxford circus topshop, who promptly did a victory dance?)

also, in terms of emma cook's name knits, i would be totally buggin' right now if my boyfriend's name was dean. or steven. or tim.

oh well - by the way, blogging may take a turn for the chill as uni interviews loom....:(

WIN A KIPLING BAG

there is no shortage of famous monkeys.
king kong. curious george. chunky monkeys, cheeky monkeys, and hey hey monkees who never stop monkeying around...

and yet only the one famous monkey that adorns (surpisingly) fashion-forward bags, clutches and purses.

basically, i talk of monkeys, but what i'm really getting at is that kipling's latest and greatest accessories are totally gorgeous and covetable members of the bag world. and what's more, YOU could win one of the latest clutches from the new holiday collection, just in time for the party season...

to be in with a chance of winning this green sequin clutch (with a detachable shoulder strap - such things matter to me, anyway) just leave a comment on this post with your name and email address, and i will randomly pick a winner at the beginning of december sometime...

so simple, a monkey could do it.

ps. UK only, i'm afraid!

edit: i'm feeling a future collaboration between kipling's monkey and kane's gorilla...

1 dress

1 dress involving ruffles, velvet, canary yellow and a snazzy pleated fishtail to be exact...









perfect party dress? well, nike wore her purple version to the opera - so looks like i'd have to be mingling in some higher society to merit the wearing of this wonderful carin wester piece...basically, if i ever find some way to travel into my television and become the latest incarnation of blair on gossip girl, after she has undergone some major plastic surgery, then, between chuck bass and a carin wester, i'm sorted.

and isn't nike's hair the best? such a chop is tempting...what do you say, 'just do it'? (hoho)

urban outfitters, dear nike, platform,

ps. competition time soon! lets just say it involves sequins...

swedish hasbeens

forget abba or sven goran eriksson...these swedish hasbeens are in fact a snazzy shoe brand that create lovingly crafted 70s style shoes and boots. inspired by 'the hottest mum in all of southern Sweden in the 1970s' and her '300 pairs of red, white and black wooden shoes', i think their range of clogs, boots and shoes are entirely covetable and far from being 'hasbeens' at all...

of course, outside scandinavia the queens of an underground clog return have been the (ever-courageous) olsen twins


swedish hasbeens themselves are in fact now stocked at urban outfitters it seems, or otherwise the official site handily ships all over the world. so if you think you can brave the teetering return of the clog...wap out those flares and channel the inner scandinavian stay-at-home 70s mum in you. brilliant.

ps. thanks so much to all followers of the blog. if there's anything you particularly like or want to see more of, don't hesitate to holla. and i am of course always happy to see comments!

hot 2 swap

and no, not the late 70s childrens tv show that boasted a younger (saner) noel edmonds as frontman...

but rather, online 'swap shops.' which, much like turning off your tv to help the environment, i've always felt represented something that could really work as an idea...so long as lots of people came together to do it properly.
covertcandy vintage is one of the latest contenders to try an ebay-style swap shop, but with a focus on getting jazzy vintage clothing in exchange for your old unwanted items. with an apparently easy-to-use credit system, i think sites like covertcandy are on the money. and, with a mantra of 'you don't have to pay for clothes!' working in this online environ in a way it never, ever could in real life, its all pretty crazy stuff. crazy-good stuff.


fantastic items i would happily sell my own, unwanted crap vintage delights for...

ps. if credits, swapping and 'not paying' confuses you, i also found they have an online vintage store for all your normal dosh needs ;)

pps. that was my 200th post!

original idea on a tuesday #3: shoes with socks

glitter! leopard! sparkles!

sunshine! yellow! books!

designer! brilliance! inspired!


yes, that's right. it may feel a little bit 70s, or, indeed, a little bit 7 year-old. but socks are having their moment, whether it be with sandals or brogues, stacked platforms or flats - on a smiley sophie ingrid schram, or all over the spring/summer '10 catwalks. alexander wang showed tasselled clogs teamed with grey with great aplomb, and marni brashly defied the no sandals with socks rule: clearly bendable, much like 'black and blue never do', as opposed to absolute taboo the likes of 'LEGGINGS ARE NOT TROUSERS' (!)

and louise goldin in the middle even showed us that socks and tights can soften up some tuff heels without seeming too 'fame.' which is pretty darn important for those of us who are facing winter's cruel wrath.

now i never thought i'd want new socks for christmas, but then again...

stylesightings, fabsugar, backyard bill