Category: Coats
They Came Out to Play…
Sarah Burton. Her time is now. Producing the eye-searing clothes that would’ve had Isabella Blow dragging on her ash-dripping ciggie with uncontained pleasure..
A femininity of drama without being frilly with the power to take us on flights of fancy away from grey pavements and cramped tube carriages.
Blurring the lines between couture and ready to wear, the workmanship is sensational – like elves and fairies have been at work.
Pushing the boundaries, McQueen’s never been ordinary or suburban. In a unique niche, it always has to be more. More than the High Street with the power to defy industry molds.
A bird of paradise brought to life in the urban jungle. You just want to stroke it’s gentle plumes and calm it’s beating heart.
The perfect Oscar dress?
Cate Blanchett?
And all this from the woman with one year old twins?…I doff my vermillion ostrich feathered Tracey to her..but I also want to give her a cuddle…and a nice cup of tea with a biccie on the side..
Laters, Kate x
Dying for Dries..
Dries Van Noten AW14. The Clothes you know Blondie would wear. No more to be said…
Laters, Kate x
The Star Stella Jean.. x
Here we go! The vibrant, eclectic, charismatic Collection from Stella Jean AW14..
Full of bohemian chic, Stella Jean draws her inspiration from her two diametrically opposite cultures.
The Wax material represents her maternal roots – her Creole heritage from Haiti, the first independent black republic in the world.
The stripes stand for her father, Italy, Turin and convention.
More than a simple apology on behalf of competing factions, she sucks the marrow from both to create a diversity that is utterly thrilling as it weaves and wefts together.
She dances away from the Dinner party generality that has rather bled our souls of colour.
Till the cold tug of winter has been burnt away.
So elegantly put together..it’s about embracing what you love and living life to the full.
Laters, Kate x
Oh Joy! x
The thing I ask myself when looking at a Collection for the first time is ‘what is the intrinsic quality that makes my heart beat faster’? For Peter Pilotto AW14 it’s all wrapped up like a beautiful multi-layered present, a waterfall of ideas whose soul is dedicated to colour, texture and verve. Pour yourself a large glass and just revel in the visual delight of a show that sings and delights at every turn.
The colour choices are unexpected..as if my daughter has reached into her dressing up box and paint box at the same time whilst wearing a blindfold..but the patterns of dominance and submission, empathy and detachment are all so smoothly integrated that they appear utterly cohesive and complete.
The colours, patterns and proportions are perfectly balanced so the right spotlight falls on the best accent to compliment the silhouette and the feeling of movement.
When the unexpected is brought together there’s a special magic – ideas that should repel instead harmonise in union. It’s true mastery and workmanship.
This coat could live in my wardrobe for decades and I’d never tire of it. That’s great design.
Or this one. Dress it down or dress it up, it would always turn heads.
Oh. My. Heart….
There’s hardly time to breathe as the wonder just keeps coming…we should be suffocating under a sea of colour clash and texture overload. Except it feels refreshing, desirable and exciting.
(All photos from Style.com)
When I dream, these clothes are there….an now I’m off to buy a winning lottery ticket..
Laters, Kate x
The Wear-Anywhere-Coat x
Taste is shaped by an assortment of interconnected influences one of which has to be nostalgia and that warm, inner glow of special memories. Which was the burning catalyst that drove Alexander Stutterheim to design his first rain coat: He wanted to capture the essence of his Grandfather, an incredible man who not only managed a big theatre in Stockholm and wrote poetry in his spare time, but who would go to sea, defying the worst weather conditions mother nature could throw at him to catch fish (or life, as he said). When Alexander found one of his Grandfather’s old fishing coats in a out-building he was compelled to resurrect it as a personal homage to his memory.
Rainwear as an individual concept has long been swallowed up by giants of sportswear with most of the production now based at big factories far away. But that’s not what Alexander wanted, instead he took his prototype to the last standing textile factory in Sweden in the small town of Boras to Johan Kall, the manager and his seamstresses for their skill, craftsmanship and individual attention to detail.
The coats are a fabulous design – discreet, classic timeless cuts, the seams are all taped and sealed and each coat is signed and numbered by the seamstress who made it as a mark of honour and integrity.
They are coats to wear in the country, in stormy weather, at sea..or even in the City. And still be well dressed. Coats that are made to live and last a lifetime.
The hardest decision is choosing what colour..
It’s the husbands birthday coming up and I think it could be the perfect present: Made to stand both the test of time and weather all storms with passion, authenticity and love. Sometimes it’s not just about what you want to wear but also who you want to be.
And sometimes something comes along that ticks all the boxes. Just like him really.
Laters, Kate x
Coming up Roses..
I am a speck of dust hanging gently in the air as I breathe in the expectation of this Collection: Rosie Assoulin AW14, eager to get close to the flame.
Waiting to feel that magic touch of satisfaction.
She doesn’t disappoint: She has a knack of designing wearable hyper-potent scene stealing pieces that ooze cool glamour like a smoking tea infused cocktail.
This I would happily waft the rest of my days in. Rolled up and poshed with kitten heels or laid back with white sneakers.
There are more pieces in this Collection than SS14 and (as Julius Caesar flashes neon in my mind) it’s not all perfect, but I tell myself: Don’t linger on the negatives…and I love the trousers.
There’s always a reference to the classics but then the heat gets turned up with unexpected references and clever tailoring.
Until I find myself dancing in a light and sun-drenched land, where puddles are figments of the imagination and umbrellas are objects of curiosity…
Laters, Kate x
Relaxed Rachel x
If Rachel Comey and I met we’d be BFs. Seriously.
Her latest AW14 Collection is full of laid back loucheness that manages to sing of both ease and statement.
Neoprene? No. Let’s beautifully quilt everything that moves.
The masculine elements lured away, replaced by feminine curves.
(NB: Wearing brogues without socks is an art form..get it wrong and an unfortunate sucking sound echoes with you down the street frightening small furry animals….just saying)
The colours..
The coat..
It takes nerve to be so every day, but this Collection packs a punch and leaves a powerful sense of self.
Laters, Kate x
Anything Goes..
There’s no getting away from it – part of the breathless anticipation of any Fashion Week are the Street Style photos of the good, the bad and the fabulous pretending they’re unaware they’re the players in their own performance.
An unfortunate accident? Or the latest accessory?
Because ultimately, even with this small number of elite beings, they’ll only be a select few who can really tick the boxes and dress the way you want to feel.
But they still all know to carry themselves with extreme confidence, no matter what they feel like inside..and as perception becomes more important than truth it makes these some of the most interesting, schizophrenic moments to secretly observe.
We’re no longer in the land of princesses. What we wear, even to posh events is becoming more generalised, more ‘every day’. Which is why these flashes of inspiration are so important – they’re within our grasp.
But innovative and desirable is still the holy grail.
(All photos by Tommy Ton from Style.com)
The pictures tell us: To change our spots, all we need to do is change our skins. Essentially, they give us hope.
Laters, Kate x
Springing Ahead..
Spotted! – The first Snowdrops.
Let’s be honest, haute couture is something we observe and aspire to but more often than not it’s the High Street where we spend our money. Thankfully in the UK the two are virtually joined at the hip, fused together in taste, habits, socks and everything else, meaning that many of the clothes available to us mere mortals are just as sleek and lush as their designer relatives. Take these from the quintessentially British Jigsaw: Following the trends and perfect for Spring…the blue diffused silk flower top and the purple digital print floral scarf.
Combined together they sing the song of bold pattern and colour clashes. Add the precision cut Melton coat and a classic satchel..
Plus a pair of 3/4 length, loose boyfriend jeans and pair of emerald green kitten heels…
And it’s a rich thread of satisfaction…
Laters, Kate x
Allelujah!
The Row have presented their Pre-fall 2014 Collection using Linda Roden as one of their models which is utterly refreshing – it’s about time sophistication was used to sell to the sophisticated.
In the larger scheme of things it represents a pee in the Pacific. But it’s something.
Just a shame the Collection itself is so harmless and she has so little to work with – it doesn’t shout, doesn’t dance, doesn’t impress with ingenue and life. There’s no seduction or provocation.
The best thing is this leather skirt.
But the whole thing could be a Marks and Spencers commercial.
So different to the Karen Walker campaign above and below. Style and colour is so much more attractive.
Which shows it’s not youth that makes an impression, but good design.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 