Category: Fashion
Something in the air..
Photo by Joel Robinson
The winds of change are a blowin’….
Anna and I have been thinking hard and we’ve made the decision to split MasonBentley into our distinctive fortes. I’ll carry on the Blog which will subtly change to Maison Bentley Style, whilst Anna will continue with her label under the name ‘Anna Mason’ and when we need to support each other, we will…think of us as the wrinklier versions of Rosie Assoulin and Leandra Medine…
This does mean there will be changes to the Blog – I’m hoping these won’t take long or be too complicated but the upheaval does mean the perfect excuse for another Blog Party to celebrate a re-launch. Watch this space for more info.
We’ll also be using this time to write a letter to ourselves for the future at FutureMe.org – you are always your best mentor and champion and sometimes, just sometimes we need that extra something to grow bigger and better wings..write yourself a letter now, saying where you want to be in a years time…and see if it comes true..
Laters, Kate x
A special day x
Today is my daughter Bella’s seventh birthday. She was my IVF baby, born after six years of heartache, seven miscarriages and 2 years of no pregnancies (which I am sure was psychological..but it really didn’t help). With her birth on this day all those years ago I finally became a Mummy.
I still carry the scar tissue..infertility is a time I wouldn’t wish on anyone – you beat yourself up for the futility of hoping, nose permanently pressed against the glass, it becomes personal. A retina searing pain that makes you disappear under the burden of inner reflection..the only person to blame being you. Something so simple, so natural…so unachievable.
We literally threw everything we had at it..and we were oh so lucky. The tides finally turned and she arrived..the most beautiful baby I had ever seen..a fairy child. And she remains the most beautiful inside and out child to this day…the rarest and most delicate of gifts. I celebrate.
Laters, Kate x
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.
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
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
The Weekend x
I often think what a strange beast Blogging is, even when people ask me what I do I rarely say ‘I Blog’ because it seems so nebulous and unexplainable. But I still love the feeling that there is this hidden river of energy surging on a creative current running between all of us, between all countries that all our posts filter into. I wonder if I dipped my finger into it would I see sparks?
On Saturday I was so lucky that, by pure fluke, I actually managed to ride the cyber-wave and meet up unexpectedly at the South Bank’s Vintage Car Boot Fair with two fellow bloggers that are close to my heart.
The lovely Kaori at Twist and Turn (click here for her post on the day). An artisan knitter who, if you can believe it, knits with her fingers. How cool is that? – this I HAVE to see.
And the wonderfully creative Vintage Attitude who up-cycles and re-invents everything to do with material – I’ve already given her a commission to find a new life for a beautiful embroidered tea cosy that just sits in my drawer. I Hope we get longer to talk next time.
It was such a lovely day..a shopping event without the obviousness of a mainstream megahit.
Where red London buses were converted to bars. I’ll catch the new number 6 any day of the week..
And where even a Rolls joined the car booty fun..
The spirit of the day was totally embraced.
There were little Caravans converted into dainty cake stalls.
And larger vans converted to cook pizzas on open stoves – check that fire. Some even sold lobster!
Out of that weird power of the internet we made a connection. The intangible became real.
And now I have new friends. How special is that?
Laters, Kate x
Blue Day x
This is where vintage shines..finding the different, the now-unique, knowing it can be yours forever and best of all, no-one else will have it..which is why I am heading to the South Bank today for their Vintage Classic Car Boot Fair..and hopefully a cream cake with a large latte by the Thames. Fingers crossed I’ll meet a friend or two (Vintage Attitude!).
Autumn had hit with a vengeance yesterday – lashing rain, driving winds to blow off hats and turn umbrellas inside-out. Today? Cobalt skies and the odd friendly fluffy cloud..the Gods are truly smiling..but it’s no wonder we Brits are obsessed with the weather..
Laters, Kate x
Quaker Style..
Notice the new style it bags lining the pavements of fashion week?
Petite, cross body, slung under jackets? Casual nonchalance at it’s best. But to copy? Hmmm..Just feels too sheeple…and besides, I think there’s a step beyond…
The pictures made me think about the ugliest, most useful bag I have..an old black bumbag that’s proved it’s weight in gold when the kids were tiny and I was in the land of buggies..easy to slip on and off the handles or, when the buggy was parked, clip round waist and have vital use of arms to stop World War Three and wandering toddlers. And the brucie bonus? I never lost my keys. Or purse. Or baby wipes. Or children..damn it.
But it didn’t exactly have a street edge. So I’ve re-discovered my paints (which I’ve been meaning to do for a long time) and drawn the bag of my dreams..the one I could multitask with everyday life but also take on holiday safe in the knowledge everything was unlosable.
Except I didn’t need to – This site: www.hipstersforsisters (the gorgeous picture above and those below are theirs) is dedicated to stylish belt bags. A far better name don’t you think? They are based in the States but thankfully do International shipping.
Which means it’s now on the top of my Christmas list. Sigh. Particularly as they masquerade as a crossbody and clutch as well.
Form and function? Utter joy!
Laters, Kate x
Be my Valentino x
The dinner gong has sounded with Valentino’s succulent SS14 Collection.
It’s captivating thoughts turned into visual chocolate.
The details are like the feathers of a humming bird.
But…
And there is a but…
Would you wear this on a hot summers day?…Or even a spring one?
Do the colours sing beach, sunshine and easy living?
No? So who is the Emperor in his new clothes?
The punters? The magazines?..or the out of date fashion industry?
Laters, Kate x
That video! x
A big thank you to the hugely professional Alex Willis-Bray – enjoy!
Laters, Kate x
Every little bit..
A photo taken by Man Repeller’s Leandra Medine to demonstrate the chaos that is Fashion Week. But what catches your eye? The shoes? The placky bags? Or that Isabel Marant invitation dripping in fairy dust?
Sometimes it’s the little things that maketh the magic..the bits we mortals don’t ever see like the Fashion Week invitations we’d love to prop up on our heaving mantlepieces…so I tracked a few down..
Check out the name in lights..
Just waiting to see WHAT will arrive seems to be half the joy. And do you think people keep them?…One day Rodders, one day..
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 