Category: Art

October 18, 2013

So Good x

THE MANIFESTO AS WRITTEN BY TOOGOOD

WHEREAS for too long we have witnessed the honest clothing of working people being stolen and arrogated in the name  of so-called utility wear and industrial chic;

WHEREAS in an age of digital reproduction the individual  is beset on all sides by the bastions of mercantilism and  commerce, those false profiteers who prescribe with one  hand and proscribe with the other, while forcing allcomers  into constrictive sartorial templates;

WHEREAS the entrenched power bases of couture houses and multinationals mete and dole grotesque sumptuary laws to  a compliant populace in the form of biannual ‘seasons’, weaving obsolescence into the very fabric of their garments;

WE HEREBY reject and reprehend the cruel diktats of the discredited fashionista treadmill: the voracious cycle  in which spring/summer is devoured by autumn/winter, and  autumn/winter is in turn devoured by spring/summer. Let  them be rendered obsolete by the very inconstancy they thrive upon — we want it to happen! We will create only  when we choose to create. Never again shall free thinkers  be in thrall to the caprices of chainstore buyers or of marketing consultants!

OUR AIMS are simple, our methods straightforward. We shall sweep aside the crumbling detritus of plutocrat designers and clear the way for a new aesthetic rooted in individuality and honesty, a liberating mode that is available to all, male and female, old and young. We celebrate the craft and the toil of the workers — not faceless serfs running up disposable fads in farflung sweatshops, but named artisans with pride in their labour.

WE SHALL harness the techniques and forms of this mechanised age and return them to the people. The inherent worth of  any object lies not in the pronouncements of the self-appointed arbiters of collective taste, but in provenance and the craftsmanship of manufacture.

TOOGOOD

6a00e5508e95a98833019affdb4f97970c-700wi The Beekeeper

The Road sweeper

The Oilrigger.

The Courier

The Chemist

The Mechanic

Each coat is groundly based in the the workwear of a specific trade – authentic and pactical. There is no gender bias instead they are available in 6 sizes to enhance or disguise individual frames.

Unique labels inside each garment celebrate the workmanship and craft of each process and layer of creativity: The buyer, the seller, the manufacturer right back to the designer and pattern cutter. A simple, clear badge of pride.

Integrity, style, class and…excitement.

Laters, Kate x

October 16, 2013

The Cut x

It’s that time again when a visit to the hairdresser can be put off no longer. Not quite the same as a trip to the dentist on drill noise alone – or the of humiliation of an eye test: ‘Read what?’ – Thank God for lazering is all I can say hashtag BEST money EVER spent, hashtag why did it take me so long? (even if you do smell your eyeballs burn..)

But the hairdressers?..it’s meant to rank as a pampering treat, except every time I go the mirror clouds up with a thick layer of emotion. The first thing they do is release my hair from whatever grips and slides are currently holding it in place slash up. Then they brush, talk, wash, cut, snip, roll and bouffant. And by the end, I do my best to grin it up..but I’m always waiting for those elusive, unicorn words..

‘Would you like me to – or would you like to put your hair grips back in/hair up again?’

Any combination of the above would be great..but in all my years of trips to salons, large and small..not one person has said it..instead I scrabble around to find the shrapnel of my previous existence and wait till I’m out the door..is it weird to want just a trim and leave as me rather than a full blown transformation each visit?

Laters, Kate x

September 30, 2013

I wish..

As a child I had a fascination with everything in miniature from the smallest tea-set to knives and forks for fairies. Maybe that’s why this piece of jewellery appeals so much.

Sheherazade Goldsmith and Laura Bailey have combined forces to create Loquet, a delicate, ingenious take on the charm bracelet. Their lockets, either heart-shaped or circular and made of crystal, open to store your own choice of keepsake charms.

I love jewellery with meaning, especially when it makes simple objects obtain talismanic status..the gem of a birthstone, an initial of a loved one, a golden ring all worn together next to your heart. This is not a cheap option..but then somethings in life should be special: Treasures to be treasured…and a girl’s gotta dream..

Laters, Kate x

September 27, 2013

A Fash..

A fashion mash..who woulda thought it? But South African Blogger Diana Moss has the bangers. Inspired by Madrid-based Delposo’s SS14 collection – which was originally inspired by a painting by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot – Diana, in turn has grasped each creative thought like a huge crayon and created these wonderful pictures with a spirit of their own.

J’adore.

Laters, Kate x

August 27, 2013

Heel the Love..

Tantalising autumn shoe in to-die-for oxblood by the indomitable Isabel Marant

Somtimes it can just be the little things that make the mark between a good shoe and a great shoe like the perfect colour or the way they’ve been stitched. But invariably I find there’s a gap between the shoes I see in my head and the reality of what’s available.

Take this Burberry boot..

Mouth-watering in design, colour and texture. I want this shape to wear with pencil skirts, 3/4 length trousers..but for every day?

Even my ankles would get vertigo. I need 24 hour shoes I can run in.

Why is it the more expensive the brand the higher the heel? Is it a subtle comment to say the women who can afford these shoes don’t need to ~~work~~ walk?, or are they hell-bent on proving that comfort and height costs special engineering and therefore more money? Except I believe that after a certain height every shoe becomes a taxi-shoe and only good for extra pain.

This autumn I want shoes with character that tell a story…a 1940s vibe mixed with a bit of 70s with a splash of growing up gentley modern elegance..I want a desert boot with a wedge heel to wear with jeans…a really masculine type with lots of stitching..

And a black pair with a brogue tassel for dresses and skirts..

I’ve found these conker coloured vintage 70s shoes that I love…

But these other two have a place reserved in my wardrobe..

And ALL the heels are 2.5 inches..

So if you know where to get any of these or similar please say..otherwise I’ll have to keep on dreaming..

Laters, Kate x

August 23, 2013

Bernadette Pascua x

Amazing eh? Bernadette Pascua is a Fashion Illustrator living the dream in Brooklyn, New York, with partner, the Photographer, Andrew Stimson and their adopted furry dog son, Rocky. I was only talking to a friend the other day about choosing outfits by silhouette..and this shape is divine…the shrapnel of experience tells me how hard it is to paint like this.

The simplicity is deceptive.

You sense the rest.

She has a breath-taking Blog at www.decadediary.com

A serendipidy that winks.

Seeing beauty in the ordinary..

(Photo by Andrew Stimson, http://www.sousstyle.com)

It helps that she is extraordinary.

Laters, Kate x

August 18, 2013

Aesthetic Merit x

We Sit Staring Amidst our Gold (2013) by Jeremy Deller

The painting represents William Morris, renown Victorian thinker and Designer returning from the dead to destroy Roman Abramovich’s yacht.

Laters, Kate x

August 10, 2013

Maybe-time Style..

( Caroline Siebar in Paris, photo from http://www.glamour.com)

It’s unusual by any standard to wear night clothes as day wear. But I love it. The length of this jacket and the sleeves are perfection. As are the trousers and the subtle white edging, cunningly avoided on the sleeves to dilute the pure pyjama look. Finished with ideal almost-there shoes. Not just cool for summer in the City, but Super Cool full stop.

(photo by Catherine at Treadmill.com)

An oh-so-simple short version demonstrating an innovative way of re-defining classics as a rich alternative to the insipid mass-market conveyer belt: Let personality speak.

Loose, sophisticated and effortlessly hip. But note to self: They have to have pockets in the trousers as well to truly work. Just wasted in a bedroom.

(Photo by Ari Seth Cohen)

Hats off to the infamous Tziporah Salamon of Advanced Style fame radiating a high degree of self-understanding intoxicatingly mixed with inspired wit in a 1930’s three piece Japanese silk set combined with dainty embroidered ballerina pumps and those totes amaze sunnies.

I may never get dressed again.

Laters, Kate xxx