Fashion inspiration...

Can be found in the strangest of places.
It seems that from s/s09's collections largely inspired by ice cream we've taken a dive head first into a sweet shop with sweet clothing that's simply good enough to eat. From s/s to winter now and we got the darker, deeper taste of liquorice as Bertie Bassets and Laduree macaroons inspired Miu Miu and Balenciaga's collections. Yet again we seem to have a sweet inspiration for s/s11 as we've gone full circle to sacharin, E number filled neon sweets that your mother always told you to stay away from . The ones we crave due to their influence on our hyperactive tendencies. Neon was seen at Christopher Kane as the ladylike vibes were translated yet again and pencil skirts and matching jackets in neon lace graced the catwalks leaving all women envious of these painfully bright ensembles. It also featured as a strong streak in Meadham Kirchhoff as they channeled chiffon layering that really reminded me of Rodarte a/w10. The layered colours and the candy shades were reminiscent of a rebellious marie antoinette with lots of frills and grunge acid bright hair and the odd leg warmer here and there. As we know of these guys you have to be someone who braves the new styles and isn't afraid to think outside the box to don these beautiful garments and there was a definite sense of the ideal woman to wear these. She's slightly kitsch; the sort of woman with lots of flowers and strange collectors items in her home and somebody who was a bit naughty at school. The collar was also carried on and the colours in the hair matched the clothes beautifully. These neon pioneers really got me thinking about in your face combinations and beautiful ways of layers and clashing but in a working way and i'll later post my outfit that was inspired by these sweet tooth saints.
There was also a definite gothic vibe with all of that floaty fabric and grey and black mixed with the gaudy tones looked like modern day witches with their crimson lips and their washed out hair hues.
In a word these collections were a winner. And nobody's blaming you for getting a craving for Wonka's Nerds.

...

Her stomach was showing slightly and the moon's milky rays cast dancing shadows across it in the dulled cold of the room. She swore and smiled and shadows danced with the tendrels of her locks and the conversation gradually slowed to a muted bliss. He had a faint scent of cologne, sweat and cigarette smoke. The smells clung to his hair and she inhaled deeply she felt at home wrapped in the smell of affection and brute machoness.
They'd spent the entire summer hand in hand, having picnics and reading to each other in enhanced accents and serious tones. Their passion rang deeper than the words that spilled from the pages and I knew things would never be the same between us all once this thing between them had commenced. It was complicated and an ache that throbbed in the hearts and stomachs of all the teenagers that we ever encountered. We were all suddenly extremely aware of our superficiality ; or at least the mess of it that we seemed to have fallen into.

From Russia with love

I've recently, out of nowhere, become rather infatuated with russian inspired fashion. The fur hats, the layered ruffles and the blatant embrace of the beauty of when the frost bites has really got my fashion ticker going and i've been looking into ways in which i can translate this into my own wardrobe. Like the minnie mouse trend this was something that popped into my head which, when looking into the fashion archives, I realised wasn't my doing at all-it has been subconsciously planted by the fashion gods.

Kenzo for example was somebody that i went to for inspiration with their fur trim everywhere and their lengthy coats in florid detailing and bohemian prints. Yes, it's an old season and according to the fashion cliche something that is 'so last year' is strictly forbidden as fashion inspiration. However i find this ridiculous and still consult old issues of catwalk reports as though they are forgotten pages from the bible. Or i refer to my many-a-scrapbook which doesn't JUST focus on the season at hand.

I was swept away by the wonderful mixture of prints, colours, textures and fabrics that went with this trend and cannot wait to start mixing it up in my own wardrobe and trying it out for myself. Hello winter-for this i won't mind you being cold:

s/s

Once again the punk side of me will come out to play this spring as-surprise, surprise-the dripping-in-leather biker look is back. However, as predictable as it was, it's really surprised me and some of my favourite quirky micro trends of a/w have been injected in when nobody was looking.
Christopher Bailey has once again made me swoon with his wicked ways with fabric, tailoring and celebration of the female form and power. His leather clad girls really stole my interest and here's why:

it seems that miu miu's innovative and nostalgic use of bertie basset liquorice colours, (even then a dark take on s/s10's candy floss pastel pallet), have been transformed into small adornments in this series of stunning pieces. Whether it be gaudy colour combinations of yellow and green or the small mint green belts, (again translated from winter's skinny belt), Bailey has succeeded in, yet again, tantalising our fashion taste buds.

I'm more than happy that leopard print has also been carried on as i'm not quite prepared to stop donning my mad men inspired faux fur jacket in leopard print. I love how from season to season something that is theoretically exactly the same, (a print, a cut, a fabric etc), gets transformed into something new without a completely different meaning and feeling in the wearer. I particular like the idea of walking holding the shoes-this seems to speak to me a lot as a girl who doesn't often wear heels i'm rather inspired by the strength of a woman who's willing to admit maybe it's not all about the heel and perhaps this is also a clever pun about the comfort of monsieur Bailey's clothing.

I'd love to pretend it's something from this collection that i'll be saving up for but i think even if i saved for months i would not be able to afford a statement piece. Perhaps a pair of tights if i'm lucky?