Category: Style

Jamie Beck & Ralph Lauren x

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These pictures were taken by the photographer Jamie Beck backstage at the Ralph Lauren Show.

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There’s a serenity and calm to them away from the glare of front of house.  Simple passions and gentle grace.

 

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Where the details of the clothes can sing, the glass pane of the runway removed.

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The rehearsal more telling than the stage production, capturing moments before the masks come down.

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A designer bag now so effortless, approachable and lust-worthy..

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(All photos from Jamie Beck’s Anne Street Studio Blog)

 

It helps that Jamie Beck always adds a sense of timelessness to her work, majestically catching the quality and movement of material she skilfully opens up the arteries to the pitfalls of desire…

 

I fall.

Laters, Kate x

Coachella 2014

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Coachella: A place for people to unshowily declare themselves.

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To turn up and have fun like a wild drive through the night whilst still standing in a circle of friends.

 

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To sing, play, dance and listen and put a distance from the real world.  Just for a little bit.

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Personally, it’s the Coachella Art Studios that would have my name on them – the craft themes this year are: Paper, re-cycled materials, fashion, camp improvement (!) and a banter booth!

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You can make a head wrap, get stuck into clay and even draw stranger portraits – love this: Sit down on opposite sides of an artists easel with a stranger and draw each other – get to know the other person through the process by using provided interview questions to break the ice..or just chat! The result is a portrait each and a new friend..result!

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The Afterlife is a place to go to give birth to new objects from old…a broken inner bicycle tube? It becomes a wallet. Plastic bags? material! I’d never leave..

 

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For the first time ever there’s even a Quiltchella..a communal quilt in the making..they need you Kerry and Nikki!

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(All photos by Annie powers from Style.com)

The next Festival is 18-20 April…only in my dreams will I be there….But one day, when the kids have flown the nest and I’m in my dotage I’m going to dress up in flowing purple robes and a mighty turban and laugh and dance and do it all till the sun rises again…Promise.

Laters, Kate x

Summer Dresses..

 

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The White romance embroidered maxi dress

Nothing quite beats the ease of a summer dress..it is the ultimate capsule wardrobe – throw it on and you’re out the door.  I found these gorgeous wonders  on the Free People website thanks to the Blog Katewears..Thank you Kate! I know I’ll be losing hours of my life sighing over all their offerings..how rather, very wonderful!

 

 

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Louise Dot dress

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Jenny printed dress

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Valley dress

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Buttondown dress

(Virginia/Holzfeder – Close to your ideal?..was thinking of you..)

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I’m thinking if I bought just one tiny little itty bitty dress….I could justify it by spending my whole holiday wafting in it?? Would make packing very easy…

Laters, Kate x

 

Which Length?

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Culottes by Givenchy..long, strong and structured..but too much of a cropped trouser?

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(Photo from Elle.com)

Or these (from ASOS) – the midi long, showing a bit more than just ankle..note the turn up.

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Then there’s the short style..cut just below the knee in a looser style (these are by ASOS)

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Or the structured short by Top Shop..

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Ms. Beckham offers yet another alternative…the cropped, tapered fit..

I’m confused! Which one and why?

Laters, Kate x

Bring Back Bjork!

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(All photos Huffington Post)

Who could forget? Taken in  2001…when stars were prepared to be human and dress for themselves…and give us something to truly talk about..

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1969 – Barbara Streisland

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1999 – The wackiness that is Celine Dion

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1996 – Our own Kate Winslet, still rough around the edges…

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1990 – Kim Basinger..never really got the hang of Oscar night…

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1989 – Demi Moore – striking out..sort of..

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2003 – Hilary Swank..less swank..more net..

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1986 – The indomitable Cher

We bow down to you – come back! All is forgiven!

Laters, Kate

La Dolce Vita..

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(Lara Stone, Vogue France Mar 14)

When I looked at Dolce &Gabbana SS14 for the first time I could feel the bright sun of Sicily and the shadows of a lemon tree flickering above.  There was cherry blossom. luscious gold jewellery, lazy lunches, fresh homemade pasta and carafes of wine.
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(D&G SS14 Garage UK)

So it’s always fascinating to see the magazines then take the clothes and present them to us within the spirit of their publication.

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( Fioia Italy Feb 14)

They have the resources to create another glossy world…to give us the chance to hold a physical dream in our hands.

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(Glamour Italy Mar 14)

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(Hunger UK)

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(Vanity Fair, Italy, Feb)

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(L’Officiel France Mar 14)

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(Marie Claire, Italy Mar 14)

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(Numero France Mar 14)

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(Harper’s Bazaar, UK mar 14)

(All photos from Dolce &Gabbana)

Like the Sirens on the cliffs they call us saying, just by re-mortgaging your house you too can be like me…Or…are they works of Art in their own right? Adding subtle layers of message and mystery..

It’s your call.

Laters, Kate x

Oh Joy! x

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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This coat could live in my wardrobe for decades and I’d never tire of it. That’s great design.

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Or this one.  Dress it down or dress it up, it would always turn heads.

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Oh. My. Heart….

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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.

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(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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The hardest decision is choosing what colour..

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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..

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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.

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Waiting to feel that magic touch of satisfaction.

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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.

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This I would happily waft the rest of my days in. Rolled up and poshed with kitten heels or laid back with white sneakers.

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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.

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There’s always a reference to the classics but then the heat gets turned up with unexpected references and clever tailoring.

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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

Edun Mark 2 x

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The most attractive thing is always talent.

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Danielle Sherman Creative Director of Edun is, season by season creating and expanding the visual language of this ethical label.

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Building it block by block – the inspiration Africa, the journey a clear path: Her palette is clean, simple and continuous which means that like the materials she uses, pieces can be woven together.

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Take her SS14 Collection..everything can be seamlessly added as an extra, rich layer – more shapes to play with.  More weather changes to adapt to. It’s clever, it’s thoughtful. It’s sustainable in your wardrobe.

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She answers ‘Who am I?’ before ‘What shall I buy?

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And 85% of the this Season was made in Africa.

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Unlike Karl, Danielle gets the sneaker aesthetic to perfection.

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Simple but with intelligent, creative twists – a juxtaposition here, the unexpected there.  She’s not trendy..she’s effortless.

Laters, Kate x