Fashion + Style Archives - Page 9 of 12

Versace Spring 2010

September 30, 2009 By Paola 5 Comments

I don’t often indulge in fashion here, mostly because I just don’t have the figure for it – no one out there is designing for short, big-boobed women of a certain age. And thanks to foot problems, it’s also years, despite a congenital passion for shoes, since I indulged in sky high heels.

However, I was blown away by these – my dears, aren’t they gorgeously, divinely, ridiculously fantastic? (Not sure about the peep toe boots though).

Would someone like to buy me the pink booties at top right? I couldn’t walk more than an inch in them, but all the cotton candy colours and graphic prints mixed with steel and plastic would fit right in here (after we’ve painted the walls) and I could display them on the mantelpiece as a piece of conceptual art or something and pat them lovingly from time to time.

And while you’re buying the shoes, the bag on the left wouldn’t go amiss either. (Oh and by the way, your eyes are not deceiving you, the soles of the shoes are indeed floating away from the heels).

Images via Project Rungay (the best blog in the world) and Obsessed With Shoes.

3-D Glasses Dress

September 24, 2009 By Paola Leave a Comment

So, if I were 20 years younger, 20cms taller and er, a heck of a lot thinner, I would SO be buying this dress (and not just for Halloween either)

Made to order by Nicole Lindner. Available here.

Separated at Birth?

September 5, 2009 By Paola 3 Comments

Or, calling a Spade a Spade

Incredibly fashionable Kate Spade Fall 2009 bag

Fantastically terrifying decoy owl

{via Making It Lovely and Whorange}

So, let’s start as we mean to go on shall we?

This bag has been doing the rounds of the blogs in the last day or so. Much as we like an owl motif or two round these parts, and much as I hate to contradict two of my favourite design bloggers, I frankly find this bag both extremely ugly and utterly, bone-chillingly, terrifying.

It reminds me of the ferocious looking plastic decoy owl which you, dear readers, encouraged us to buy, and which was perched on our roof deck for the best part of the summer in an attempt to scare the birds from our cherry tree. I think it worked with the birds – there definitely seemed to be fewer around this year, and it certainly gave me the screaming heebie-jeebies every time I glanced it out of the corner of my eye.

Oh, and if you must buy this bag (and we would encourage you not to) the bag is available here.

We’re off to visit our friends’ cabin in the mountains this Labor Day weekend (oh how painful it is to write ‘Labour’ without a ‘u’ ) so I’ll be back on Tuesday. Next week we’ll be talking about my new knitted cardigan and the new sofa. How can you stand the excitement?

Little Bo Peep

August 13, 2009 By Paola 5 Comments

Funnily enough one of the things I miss most about England is sheep. There is something so very quintessentially English and homey and comforting about a windswept hillside dotted with fluffy white blobs – a sight I don’t think I’ve ever seen in America, the land of the cow.

Lamb here is an exotic meat – tucked into a corner of the supermarket at the end of the huge counters displaying every possible cut of beef, chicken and pork, and viewed with some suspicion. It’s rarely on the menu in restaurants, I’ve never had it served by American friends in their homes, and a waiter once told me that I may not like a lamb dish because the lamb taste might be ‘too strong’.

Anyway, I like this story, because it is so very English, so very charming and so very sheepy. Vegetarians may be aghast to note that not only did sheepbreeder Louise Fairburn make her wedding dress from the fleece of her Lincoln Longwool sheep, but she served lamb from her flock to her guests.

Full article here, {via Rose-Kim Knits}

Alexander McQueen’s (Ex) East London Home

August 7, 2009 By Paola 4 Comments

As you know around here we’re rather partial to a peek at fashion designers’ houses (we’re looking at you Matthew Williamson, Betsey Johnson and Vanessa Bruno), so here for your delectation and delight are pictures of Alexander McQueen’s East London townhouse. {From the Real Estalker via the HolyMoly mailout – yes I do read it}

I don’t think it’s fair to make this a ‘Go Fug Your Room’ candidate as these photos are only estate agent’s photos and don’t fully reflect McQueen’s personal style, but it’s still interesting to snoop.

Personally I’m finding this rather boring. As you may have guessed I’m not hugely into minimalism at the best of times, but this strikes me as rather boring minimalism. My main gripe is with all the square and boxy built-ins – I prefer a few elegant curves in my rooms. And that house looks as if it dates from the 1850s? so it probably had quite a few nice original features – ceiling mouldings, fireplaces etc - which have all been summarily destroyed.

I also have to say that this house could benefit hugely from a bit of American-style home staging – some pictures, maybe a rug and a funky chair here and there would make all the difference.

I am loving the roof deck (though for me the glass skylight directly above the bed is not exactly a selling point), the pond thingy (pool?) and what we can see of the outside spaces though. Here the minimalist lines are softened by the plants, though a few flowers wouldn’t go amiss.

Anyway, if this house is for you it will only set you back 1.7 million pounds (I’ve just got a new computer and now have no idea how to find a pound sign) or around $2.8 million. Please bear in mind though, that this house is in Hackney, one of the, shall we say, edgiest areas of inner London.

Paris Hilton’s Doghouse

August 5, 2009 By Paola 9 Comments

Fun whimsy or a little bit sick?

Apparently Paris Hilton has been Tweeting about the house she’s had built for her enormous collection of chihuahuas.

The house is 300 sq. ft and two storeys, and features a clay-tile roof with copper gutters, intricate ceiling mouldings and a black crystal chandelier hanging in the bedroom complete with a closet and central air conditioning. It was designed by Paris’s interior designer Faye Resnick and is apparently furnished with faux designer doggie products from such design world luminaries as Jimmy Chew, Pawda, Sniffany & Co. and Chewy Vuitton. Oh and it has a price tag of $350,000.

Am I alone in thinking that in this day and age, this is just a tad inappropriate? I just hope those dogs like candyfloss pink.

Adventures in Knitting – Designing?

July 15, 2009 By Paola Leave a Comment

Just saving these pics of a metallic Alexander Wang cardigan (available here from Shopbop) as inspiration.

I love it, and its top down raglan construction is not dissimilar to a cardigan I’m currently working on. I’m wondering if I could adapt my current pattern to become something like this, maybe knit with this silk and stainless steel yarn. Of course I could knit it out of spun gold and it still wouldn’t reach the $495 price tag for the original.

Hey cute chick!

June 11, 2009 By Paola 2 Comments

Remember Abigail? Well, this jewellery designer extraordinaire happens to have bagged herself a boyfriend who, not only designs handbags, but also, after some instruction from Abigail, is designing jewellery as well. Ladies, would that we all had such a man about the house.

Check out all Ryan’s bags and jewellery here. It’s all great but I have absolutely fallen in love with these tiny chick ear studs. Something about the expression on their faces I think.

Adventures in Knitting – the Blue Period

May 8, 2009 By Paola 8 Comments

I’m still on my massive knitting jag, though I was amazed to find that for a couple of days after the accident my head was so all over the place that I found even that difficult.

Here’s what I’ve been working on recently.

Firstly I managed to turn the yarn barf into this. You can’t see very well, but I beaded the ends instead of adding a fringe. I’m absolutely delighted with it, and have been wearing it often

Secondly, I knitted these on the way to and from Portland. It was a revelation to me that I could knit in the car, as reading anything usually makes me very nauseous. I’m really pleased with these as well, though the Husband does start singing ‘Gotta pick a pocket or two’ every time I wear them. Ha ha. NOT.

Finally I’m working on a wrap/shawl thingy since I’m now very addicted to both Sea Silk and lace knitting after the Yarn Barf Scarf and Megan’s Garter. It’s the first time I’ve knitted anything this lacy but I’m really enjoying it. It’s knitting up quite slowly as it’s pretty dense, but my aim is to get it finished for wearing on the deck on a summer’s evening while sipping margaritas. Apparently lace looks awful until it’s pressed out and ‘blocked’ at the end of the process. The little white threads you see running through are ‘lifelines’ made of dental floss. If I make a horrible mistake I just have to rip back to the closest lifeline and not right back to the beginning of the work (and let me tell you, if you drop a stitch with Sea Silk all hell breaks lose pretty quickly.)

More details, including patterns etc., are, as usual on my Ravelry page.

Some Random Oscar Observations

February 23, 2009 By Paola 8 Comments

I love them

He loves her

– Thrilled that Slumdog won. Such an amazing film.

– When they brought the little kids on at the end I cried. Sorry.

– Thrilled also that AR Rahman won Best Score and Best Song. Seriously the soundtrack is absolutely awesome and has been playing on a loop here at mirrormirror’s intergalactic headquarters (aka my bedroom office)

– Also very glad about Sean Penn as I can’t quite manage to look at Mickey Rourke’s face.

– What am I not getting about Hugh Jackman? He leaves me stone cold.

– RDJ on the other hand was looking HAWT. Excessive drug taking is obviously good for the complexion.

Cutie pie

– Speaking of acronym people, when is SJP going to realise that she is no longer an ingenue and that people with long faces shouldn’t wear centre partings and hippie hair?

– Lots of lovely British accents on the podium tonight. How come Brits always looks so scruffy? Wouldn’t you at least get a haircut if there was a chance you were going to win an Oscar?