Tagged: retro

Paper Bag Pants..

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Sometimes you need something in your wardrobe with a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll on the dashboard.

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How about a pair of tie-up trousers? A real shout from the eighties when they were attractively called paper bag trousers…

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There’s something about them..cut short..

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Or with a big belt..

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(All pics from Pinterest)

You can feel the force.  Throw up or throw back, does this mean high wasiters are really coming back?

Laters, Kate x

Patullo-Jo Copeland x

 

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This wasn’t the post for today..but there’s a gremlin in my computer that won’t allow me to upload new photos – one of the burdens of working by yourself is there’s no IT department to demand help from.  The internet is also proving cranky..there’s a storm brewing outside and I’ve noticed when the air gets thick, so does the wi-fi.   And it was a Bank holiday in the UK yesterday so everything’s a bit upside down..Charlie’s school bag never made it into school and I’m convinced today is Monday…which I’ll probably be grateful for when Friday comes..

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These are photos of the work of designer Jo Copeland, working under the label of Pattullo-Jo Copeland.  She worked in New York from the 1916 all the way through the major fashion decades till she closed her label in 1970 and for me, is one of fashions forgotten heroines.

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She had an impeccable eye for detail and effortlessly understood the female form, knowing exactly what to exaggerate..and what to skim.  These shoulders are a sculptural delight..
45e9d0b682e261a442496a4cba57fc04and make that waist look tiny.

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She proves that good design stands the test of time even when the fickle finger of fame passes on..

Laters, Kate x

Badge of Honour..

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When something is highlighted as a major trend is it already too late to embrace it as true fashion condemned a follower rather than an adventurer?..

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Does the fact something is popular reduce it currency, making it smaller, grubbier..repetitive?

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Can it become overused..or liberated?

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With stripes there’s a reason it nags away at you, an appeal, an intrinsic quality passed down through nature and the centuries..

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Like it?

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Then take it and turn it into a world a possibilities with courageous style.

ace98a15d412661e0c4966b945bee759(All photos from Pinterest)

Because there’s always room to negotiate a different way…

Laters, Kate x

Swedish Hasbeens x

ss11_3sI was aware of fashion from a very early age …rolling down my hated knee socks in primary school in longing of cute ankle ones – and lusting over those nearly not there socks with the pom-pom at the back? Sigh.  And there was the utter object of my desire..navy blue clogs.  I’d watch those lucky girls nonchalantly flick them off to do cartwheels on the grass..before sliding them back on and jauntily walking off with that bone dry rhythm. I knew it was wrong to be fiddling with a buckle.

Time has made a difference..and I just got me some new summer shoes…CLOGS! A long held desire has been appeased and a wrong has finally been righted..Do you know the brand Swedish Hasbeens? They have a lovely story..(although it has given me visions of Anita lighting up a four-legged beast from the desert)..

The story
Her name was Anita and she was the hottest mum in all of southern Sweden in the 1970’s. While smoking Camel she screamed at her kids until her curlers fell out and just looked fabulous in her white high-heeled clogs.One summer day in 2006 we found the shoes she wore (300 pairs of red, white and black beautiful clogs from the 70’s) in the basement of an old clog factory in the neighboring village and brought them to Stockholm. So for all these people that shared our love for Anita’s wooden shoes and for ourselves we started Swedish Hasbeens.Our ambition is to continue to release more incoherent and fun shoes and stuff inspired by Hasbeens that once ruled the planet.The Hasbeens toffels, bags and belts are based on original 70’s models and are made of ecologically prepared natural grain leather since it’s the most beautiful and the highest quality at the same time as it’s environmentally friendly.They are still handmade with respect for people and the environment in the old traditional way, and in small factories that have made shoes for decades. Our production methods and material are kind to nature and people. Happy toffels make happy people.

The designs are delicious…

inspire9_s inspire3_s inspire8_sinspire10_s 333_t_bar_sandal_cognac_webb-b409202b.jpg.thumb_339x254 A clunky shoe that’s elegant..want this one.440_new_green_webb-b38c7b0a.jpg.thumb_339x254 Love this colour – they also do in canary yellow!440_heart_sandal_webb-8be9341d.jpg.thumb_339x254 832_black_nature_webb-e57f6eb4-bdfa1685.jpg.thumb_339x254 470_black_webb-238ea507.jpg.thumb_339x254Want these. And some more retro style ads from their website:

ss11_1s ss11_2sI went for simplicity and a lower heel – I’ve never worn Hasbeens before and I suspect a wooden sole takes a bit of getting used to, also I was ordering off the internet…and truth be told –  I’m not too good on really high heels and I want these as regular day shoes..the colour is divine…not white, but a soft, buttermilk.. they’ll go with everything..

IMG_1950But if they suit…and they become my best-ever-summer-shoe-purchase-since-the-arrival-of-flatforms..guess where they’ve opened their first UK shop? Only in Hanbury street in Spitalfields…I hear a siren call..

Laters, Kate x

P.S. Tip from Anna, the half-Swedish girl who knows..to wear them in (the leather is good n strong) start wearing them in the house with extra thick socks!