Category: Fashion
A little bit of lace…
I’ve got lace on the mind..I see it where ever I look, what ever I do…admittedly we are in the throes of producing our own broidery anglais dresses and shirts which have been gentley loved into existence (divine – I should have photos, but I got swept away in the moment and forgot to take any. Doh…laters, laters) but I do have these inspiration shots:
My cuff
Pic from Valentino…how gorgeous??
Pic from Stella McCartney…I die…(though interesting underwear dilemma for us mere mortals..)
Pic from River Island………..£45.00. WTF! ^(*$%%^%$!
Definitely would need to see, feel and touch to confirm one could stand in the same room/house/large municipal building as a naked flame…
Laters, Kate x
What do you see?
Last night I was waiting for my daughter’s gym session to finish when I looked down.
And then I realised that all week I had been taking pictures of nothings yet somethings.
The steps at Victoria Station..
The pavements lined with gold.
A well-aged parquet floor. Which got me thinking about marble chip floors…..except I never see them in this country…I looked down in Sainsburys..
And the floor in Anna’s toilet!
The floor in our ensuite.
Our bathroom floor.
Because where ever you are, there is beauty in the ordinary.
Laters, Kate x
Thing of Beauty 2
Baby it’s cold outside – but there’s always a little bit of summer in my house…
This is the statement light in our hallway which also creates the most amazing natural wallpaper..
Now for the truly amazing bit…I made it myself. Blush…well, not entirely myself…it started life as this :
The Makros pendant from Ikea…which I love, but then everyone knows it’s from Ikea..and it was screaming out for a tweak…and to be honest, I have a fascination for silk flowers..
Which actually start life as these:
Those terrible plastic imitation wannabees you walk straight past in the pound shop…
But pull them to bits and the magic happens…ta-daa!
(Little tip: Exceptionally useful and essential arsenal when wrapping presents…dip them in glitter for a Christmas variation..)
The middle bit of the flowers on the light? Those glass beads that come in plastic string bags and catch your eye in a devious way because you strangely want to like them but you know they have absolutely no use unless you want them as algae gatherers in a large vase….until now.
The glass beads and flower petals were stuck onto the saucer shape at the end of the long prongs with a HOT glue gun (as supposed to a cold one with is less powerful) – I left some of the prongs with just beads to increase the light and add variety. I also used a selection of flower types as I was in an experimental mood and thoughts of summer meadow fields were running rampant..but the choices are really endless..single colour flowers, single colour beads, single colour with multiple varieties…your imagination is your limit…
And now their moment to shine comes every time I turn on the light!
Laters, Kate x
Liberty’s, lushness and London x
I am a great believer in feeding the visual mind so I make little forays into London whenever I can, which lets face it, isn’t exactly a hardship…one of my favourite haunts is the lovely Liberty’s…
A temptation trove of delights and beautiful displays.
Love these candles – you lift up the domes and smell the scent caught in the tops of the glass. J’adore the whole styling/everything – like something out of Hogwarts…
Check out the fabulous names and descriptions..
Clever mind-confusing scent??…brilliant!
Interested to see this label as they blazed a trail for us – they started with just 8 silk shirts. Now look.
Very simple, very elegant, easy to dress up or down. Timeless.
Liberty’s – everything we aspire to be – beautiful inside and out.
When in London always look up.
A couple of minutes walk away through Soho is Beyond Vintage..well worth a browse.
Finished off with a well deserved coffee in one of the many boutique coffee shops
And a final browse round the market stalls..
Bliss.
Laters, kate x
A blast from the past…
Do I detect a whiff of spring in the air? A frisson of change? Better bloody hope so…I’m starting to lose the plot with tights (blurgh) socks/balaclavas/the-general-togged-up-michelin-look..I want to have bare legs, bare feet and feel the breeze on my sun-starved skin without dying of hyperthermia. But which shoes are best for that tricky transition into summer? After seeing this picture:
I feel the pull of the loafer again – there are certain things that are designed to a point of perfection – the tube map, Laduree packaging..the horse bit on a Gucci loafer. Having said that, this is a pic of a mans loafer which definitely has an edge: more chunk n gravitas. Anyways, I was discussing this man/woman design conundrum with Anna last night, over a herbal tea and a dress pattern when she remembered writing a post about her loafer obsession in the 90s. And then, as if there was fashion magic in the air, I turned on my computer to see Amanda Brook’s post about Loafers…wooooah – this is all too much! – like Harry Potter is living in my hard drive…But odd things happen, sometimes for a reason and this has compelled me to re-find this lovely post from our archives….unfortunately the edit gremlins won’t allow me to space it properly, but hey, sometimes we have to suffer for our art…
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| At the risk of reminiscing I’m going to tell you a bitter sweet fabulous fashion moment. Picture the scene: I was a fashion student at the Royal College of Art and I’d won an internship at Karl Lagerfeld in Paris.OOH! what to wear? Every day was a massive ordeal to concoct an outfit. And OH! how I lusted after these Gucci stilettos. I even had a picture of them on the wall of my Paris attic apartment. For 3 months, everyday, I scrupulously composed outfit after outfit from my vintage finery. I strived that each look would achieve just the right mix of style, insouciance and fashion forecasting, and that whilst wearing it I’d be being able to perform the tasks of a fashion design intern without falling over, sweating to death or (the worst!) looking DULL! One day preshow Liz Tilberis came into the studio to preview the catwalk looks. She was then Editor of Vogue. I had only just got over my daily awe of Karl and now had Liz Tilberis standing right there in the black version of my object of desire-these shoes. After my initial’ hello, how do you do?’, imagine my surprise as I heard myself launch into a stream of concsiousness ”I love your shoes, I’m saving up to buy them, they are my favourites, I love the new look Gucci, blah blah blah… I continued , as LT incredulously looked on at me!Eventually, my diatribe faded as Karl said something like ”So, Ve look at the clothes,no?!” and I sat, uncomfortably, down, silenced, staring at my rather lacking footwear. Anyway I HAD been saving and I bought the shoes ( in tan- although I still wish I had them in black!!) and as you can see I wore them just the other day again for the first time since those days of youth and crippling embarrassment. Now I’m only crippled by the shoes! They just look right again… I’m wearing them with a vintage fur jacket( type unknown) and my current favourite jumper a gold knt from Zara topshop Baxter skinnies   |
So Amanda, if you are reading – what about a mans loafter instead – or even better, a vintage stiletto?
Laters, Kate (and Anna) xxx
It’s Nuts..
But I rather love it…skirt and plumbing by Christopher Kane.
Laters, Kate x
Saw. Loved. Posted.
I was doing a bit of research into online boutiquey clothes shops when I came across the label ‘Mother of Pearl’ and their collection for AW 2013. My heart did a little flip and then a simple sigh of pure pleasure…I am a huge fan of anyone who has the ability to use multiple contrasting patterns and still create synchronising harmony whether it is for clothes or interiors…..and the combination of sports/everyday wear and lux? Perfect to a tee…look and die..
I wanted to find out a bit more so did a search – the creative director of the label is Maia Norman, a Californian. Each season she looks for inspiration from a different artist – in this case it was Polly Morgan…a taxidermy specialist!..I have a secret love of taxidermy, victoriana and dusty glass domes so I was spellbound by her work..though I freely accept it is not to everyones tastes..
All my information on Mother of Pearl was quite hard to dredge up – Google Maia’s name and all you will come up with is the fact that she was the partner for twenty years of the infamous Damien Hirst..(re-look the taxidermy)..and three children later, she left him for another man. It wasn’t so much the amount of coverage that disturbed me – that’s to be expected – he is the most successful living artist in the world…but hey guys, there’s a bigger story here than how can she do this to him? doesn’t she know what side her bread is buttered? How can she leave him when he’s so successful?
A little bit of interest about her personality, professional identity and obvious talents wouldn’t have gone amiss…
laters, Kate x
Fashion Edibles x
Last night Anna and I put on our glad-rags and tottered off to the bright lights of Regent Street to see the collection launch of Hoss Intropia’s Spring/Summer Collection hosted by Nicola Rose, Creative Director of Red and Emily Johnston, the wonderful Blogger at Fashion Foie Gras.
Remember this article in March Vogue?…that’s what this was about… a real treat for anyone born with a fashion-shaped soul in their belly…
Particularly loved these metallic skinnies and shoes – great every day wear..little bit of lust..the ankle strap just works and the colours…peachy with anything. Love, love, love.
In fact, all the shoes were pretty awesome – these are the best Valentino ‘homages’ I have seen!…and check out the studs..they’re round! subtly differently lovely.
Also infatuated with these suede and calfskin wedge sandals – remind me of the Langchamps wedges I covet, but probably a dash more realistic.
Et tres élégant non? Bring on the summer sunshine…heeled sandal with studs. I eat.
Want to push the boat out? Heeled studded sandals – Fab colour… I’m after a pair of heeled gladiator sandals to wear with loose ankle cropped trousers…but which colour??
Emily and Nicola at work on the stairs, commentating and drawing the ideas together.
The belt shone out on this full length number – a simple but graceful dress with a charming back.
This dress had the most unusual flower detailing – it was long, beige, delicately pleated – and as suggested by our pros, would make a beautiful and different bridesmaids dress…
This was my favourite dress…the cheeky dropped waist gave a salacious curve to the backside in the most wonderful, carefree manner..the two pockets at the front were a top finishing touch. Fab stripes/material combo – it really worked.
Anna with the lovely Emily..we don’t know how this girl manages to do all that she does with such grace and such charm…hats off to her – we love you x
Laters, Kate x
Ice Ice Baby
Beautiful Bracelets x
Spotted this whilst riding the computer waves. There was no re-bog button – but all credit goes to Erica at ‘Honestly WTF’ with a link to the original blog post here. Sometimes one just has to create – and it helps if it is something beautiful…. Enjoy x
DIY Macrame Bracelet
Posted by Erica on May 1st, 2012
You’ll need:
- 4 yards of 0.5mm chinese knotting cord
- a connector or charm
- an embroidery needle
- a pair of scissors
- flat nose pliers (optional)
- a lighter (optional)
Start by cutting the knotting cord into two 30 inch, two 20 inch and one 10 inch lengths. Fold the 20 inch piece in half, pull the loop through the ring, fold it over the ring, and pull the rest of the cord through the loop. Repeat the step on the other side of the ring. These strands will be anchored and remain stationary.
Center the 30 inch cord under the two middle strands. Fold the right cord over the middle strands and under the left cord. Pull the left cord under the right and middle strands and through the loop on the right side.
Pull tightly and slide the knot up to the top.
Finish the 2nd half of the square knot by folding the left cord over the middle strands and under the right cord. Pull the right cord under the left and middle strands and through the loop on the left side.
Pull tightly and repeat the steps – left, right, left, right . . . Continue knotting until the desired length is reached. Keep in mind that the clasp will take up approximately half an inch.
To finish the knots, thread one of the cords onto a needle and sew up the center of 3-4 knots along the backside. Pliers will help pull the needle through the tight knots.
Repeat the same step on the other cord.
After sewing up both knotting cords, trim away any excess. Save the scraps and melt the tips with a lighter to seal it for extra hold. Repeat the same exact step on the second half of the bracelet.
To make a sliding closure, shape the bracelet into a circle and overlap the middle strands. Use scraps to temporarily tie the cords together at each end.
Take the 10 inch cord and center it under the strands. Start tying square knots exactly the same way the bracelet was executed.
Stop at about half an inch and sew the knotting cords into the backside of the closure. Remove the temporary ties.
The two sets of middle strands are now the adjustable ties of the bracelet. Adjust to fit the wrist and tie each end into knots. Trim away any excess.
Your adjustable knotted bracelets are finished!! xx
(HonestlyWTF DIY bracelets & Tai pink crystal bracelet; Mr. Kate & Catbird rings; all images by HonestlyWTF)
Maison Bentley Style 
