LFW: Day 2

It was strangely warm on the Saturday of fashion week so my well-worn denim shorts got to have one last outing, while my faithful winter crombie had it's first outing of the season and managed to keep the short shorts September-appropriate. The Pierre Balmain shirt was also something of a last outing.  I've since washed it only to find all the indigo dye in the print had run, meaning it now has blue pockets, collars and cuffs. Definitely one of my more painful washing machine disasters....

 I love it too much to relegate it to the back of my wardrobe, but it ain't quite the same (sob sob).

Wearing Pierre Balmain shirt, vintage Levis cut-offs, Zara wedge boots, Urban Outfitters bag, Mango coat and Raybans. 

Style.com/Telegraph.co.uk

London Looks

 While I loved the likes of Jonathan Saunders, Mary Katranzou and Peter Pilotto, the above are a few of my favourite London looks whose wearability immediately resonated with my existing wishlist. S/S 2013's transeasonal vibe along with my impatience means I would, and want to wear most of this right away too...

One show that pleasantly surprised in terms of how much I liked it was Marques Almeida. Last season's offering was cool, but seeing the S/S 2013 collection up-close and on the runway made me really fall for their signature ripped denim which had a sort of elegance while still being inherently grungy.

From top to bottom: 

Christopher Kane/Preen/Preen/Ashish/JW Anderson/Ashish/Preen/Topshop Unique/Topshop Unique/Marques Almeida/Acne/Eudon Choi/Dion Lee/Dion Lee/ Simone Rocha

LFW Day One

Just found this snap of what I wore for day 1 of London Fashion Week.  First outing for my new favourite Zara boots which have prompted a number of people to ask the dreaded 'how many pairs of black ankle boots do you need' question. What can I say. This particular Achilles heel of mine is showing no signs of waning....

Worn here with Whistles leather jacket, Somewhere Else shirt from Urban Outfitters (also seen here), Zara skirt and Celine bag.  To all those who have been asking about the style name of the bag, I'm afraid it was a gift so I can't help with exact details but I'm sure some Google investigating could shed some light on it. 

NYFW: Proenza and Philip

Proenza Schouler

 Proenza Schouler just keeps getting better and better.

Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez managed to up their game yet again with a super-cool S/S 2013 collection offering the kind of modern, sexy silhouettes I for one am already coveting. The shoulder exposing high-neck top, the A-line leather skirt and the boxy, sleeveless biker jacket are just a few of the key pieces I'm making a mental note of already. The fact they had something of the 1990s about them probably had something to do with this instant appreciation on my behalf. Ever a sucker for anything reminiscent of my formative years spent glued to Heartbreak High.

 The patchwork snakeskin and printed chiffon dresses had a kind of Rock n' Roll Bohemia that's never a bad thing in my books, while all that leather in Crayola colours with low-slung belts had that laid back attitude the duo do so well.  Kudos to Proneza for succeeding in making those knee-high gladiator heels look not only cool, but wearable too.

3.1 Philip Lim

I always look forward to 3.1 Philip Lim shows, normally with some of kind of preconceived idea in my head as to the looks going to be offered up. So it was a pleasant surprise to get an entirely different collection to that which I might have predicted, made even more pleasant through the nineties serving as Lim's main point of inspiration. 

I loved how pieces synonymous with grunge like the ditsy floral tea dress were taken apart and put back together again for a grown-up spin on the 1990s. The haphazard way the patchwork denim, leopard-print knits and sheer tartan overlays were thrown together immediately made me want to tie a beaten-up plaid shirt around my waist and throw on a backwards cap.

All images from Style.com

The Blouse

There's something going on with me and the seventies right now.  And by seventies, I mean Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides rather than Studio 54 in its disco heyday (I reckon Instagram's retro-hues are somewhat to blame for this boho resurgence). Subsequently, I've currently got a bit of thing for those sheer, embroidered tops (just can't bring myself to use the word blouses despite that being exactly the right way to describe them) that are so pretty they almost verge on twee.

Case in point, this one from Zara reminds me of the sorts of things I used to pull out of my granny's dressing up box, but it's made just about doable when teamed with a leather jacket and some faithful denim. 

Top from Zara

All images by James Wright

NYFW S/S 2013: A Few Favourites So Far....

Rag & Bone

Cool and covetable as ever, Rag & Bone's slightly-disheveled take on tailoring felt both grown-up and low-key all at once. Relaxed and slightly undone, the entire collection was super wearable and instantly resonated with my preference for haphazard, layered silhouettes. Little touches like glimpses of lace at hemlines and shirts unbuttoned almost to the navel gave that extra edge of detail that makes all the difference.

Alexander Wang 

 

Some seriously impressive craftsmanship clearly went into Alexander Wang's otherworldly collection making for some stunning pieces that had an almost alien-beauty to them. The invisible, floating embroidery between the panels of fabric made the dresses appear to be hovering in pieces over the body, while Wang's signature take on urban sportswear provided those wait-list worthy pieces that will no doubt be snapped on the streets by next season. Awesome sci-fi beauty with the metallic tape on the central partings too.

Helmut Lang

Lots of different textures and layers with black accents and sharp lines made for some favourite looks at Helmut Lang.  Retro 1970s curtains sprang to mind when looking at those floral, lurex shorts and yet somehow they worked to a really modern result, and the short sleeve blazer and summer coats are already getting me excited in terms of next summer's outerwear (slightly pre-emptive perhaps). Clean, laid-back and with a definite sense of nonchalance, there's not too many pieces from the collection I wouldn't want to throw on tomorrow for the last semblance of summer.

All photos from Style.com