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

dear santa claus

for the attention of: santy. st. nick. the big f-chrizzle, if you will.


...
please? yes i know its the 9th of november. but what with postal strikes...possibilities of bad weather conditions...bad reindeer morale?...i thought it would be sensible to work out some sort of pre-order system for this lanvin beauty.

yeah? cheers. just a cool £1405, but i've been good this year...

love claire x

ps. if alber elbaz could deliver this to me directly, that would be fab. i want to give that teddy bear a hug.

ssh...fashion confidential

demonstrating a kind of unstoppable force akin to jedward caught up in a philip green-sponsored hurricane, the internet fashion revolution has shown no signs of waning in the latter half of '09. and, as the lines between fashion blogs, online shops, magazines and video content become ever more blurred, i was interested to see the new ideas going on at fashionconfidential.co.uk.

as well as combining golden dust information on sample sales, previews of collections and selling the latest and greatest designer fashion, fashion confidential have recently launched a magazine section that i think is neatly consistent with the site's general look and aim. obviously as you all know i am certainly not a designer label clotheshorse (as much as i am holding out for a benevolent donator to assist this cause) and so i enjoyed the magazine's focus on a kind of 'new economy' i.e. investments that stand the test of time and can suit multiple budgets.

and yes, the investment piece is hardly a new idea - but its always nice to see the concept of camel coats for winter and a white shirt for the workplace neither shoved down one's proverbial throat, nor presented in a patronising, 'uh, duh' fashion.

i also enjoyed the cute 'day-to-night' ideas, and the 'need to know' section for november served to remind me that i need to book to go ice-skating at somerset house soon! all in all what i'm getting at here is the idea that traditional magazine formats, with the traditional, comforting content formulas, can work within a fashion website's environment to produce a refreshing port of call for the discerning fashion lover. and for me, it is a concept well-represented by the guys at fashion confidential. what's more, i am certain it is something we will see becoming increasingly popular in the months to come...

the fashion world - online, and feelin' fiiiine.

copy cat chloe

oh, hello.

so there was always something about this autumn/winter chloe blouse that fascinated me a little bit. the floppy bows, the slightly disgusting colour, the pleats and of course the general swashbuckling highwayman vibes, all contributed to my sense of confusion. but oh, how it was a happy confusion - all nuzzled among peachy satin layers and fields of golden corn...

so asos (read: ace-os) have clearly upped their ante this year, and why wouldn't they - being pretty much the only store to be booming (and beaming, no doubt) through the rough recession times. the 'black' range is awesome, the outlet store houses some diamonds in the rough, and now they have sufficiently translated this very chloe blouse, with a slightly more bedsheet-like colour and a certain...baggy appeal.

is it a little bit more questionable? yes.
but... is it a lot more cheapy cheap? ye-ess.

go, asos, go!