topman design s/s

/via dazed/

just checked the recent topman design offerings in for summer, pretty impressed with the selection. the few bold colours and playful prints are a refreshing change from the usual beige/khaki/brown they offer. granted the colours are still heavy on earth tones, but the few pops of bold colours are a fresh and fun contrast.

a few fairisles are given a brighter update also, would be nice to see if i wasn't partly sick of seeing fairilse everywhere this winter..

here are a few of my faveroute picks from the selection;

nice soft pastel bomber, the colour blocks keep this interesting

retro looking knitwear techniques

red highlights keep this from being too dull. nice fit an all

styled with relaxed cargo shorts

nice colours aswell as the high waisted look.. like the styling throughout these shots

one of my fave pieces, this fox print shirt has a beautiful dark deep burgandy colour to it.. i'm into prints at the moment and especially like the camo feel to this with the super slim cut

cool revision of the hunting gilet, very unique fastening across the front. leather patches are on trend also

more styling, not so much liking the bag here though. looks like it's been shrunken, or he is holding his mum's back or something. bad man bag

these pop jumpers are my definate faveroutes. the retro pixel style print on these bold colours sum nostalgia and feelings of comfort, definatly want to get this red one!
the retro jumpers remind me of Lucien Pellat Finet's fine cashmere pieces.. pure underated luxe and in an entirely out of world price bracket. even on sale, who has a grand to splash on a jumper?


some dapper chap rocking the fox jumper (left) on fashion156.com

check out all of topman design's spring collection here

deja vu

Ayaka Nishi and Le Blob Bone Rings

151 and 75 respectivly

bone and skull jewelry is pretty popular at the moment, both rings are a similiar design, although i prefere the shape of the one on the right, but the texture and colour of the left.. is it worth double the cash though?

versace prints

i am not usually a huge follower of versace, it brings up mental images of their toned town jeans range.. plain logo t-shirts popular worn too tight by muscled men, and any other garment with a label slapped on.

imo, this is a slight problem with brands "over extending" their clothing over more casual lines, the average person will only relate to what the see of the brand, which would be the generic logo tosh you would see on the streets.

alas, many brands as we know make a large proportion of their income through these toned down lines, so there is not much to be done. i guess it also gives more of an exclusive luxury to the runway collections, but i think it's a little shame that a lot of a labels rich design, history and heritage can be overshadowed by the narrowed perception of the public.

not everyone would think this of course it's just me being overly critical, a large amount of people would be indifferent to what you are wearing anyway, natter aside, the real post is dedicated to versace's fall menswear.. the styling.. the textures... the pop of colours... the leather inserts... the prints..

it's all about the prints..

love the bondage-eske belt

luxurious looking materials, contrasting patterns work so well

super cool pixelated style print, i liked the smaller pops of colour used

camel was teamed with leather inserts for a portion of the show, also note the thicker soled formal shoes used, a style that was very prominent across the shows..

finishing on my favorite looks, the darker palette suits with the leather looked pretty dapper. the proportions are exciting here, especially the final cropped embossed leather over the belted db blazer. very sharp

prints weren't quite as trippy or funked up as were in the s/s collection here

this print from the s/s needs to get in my wardrobe though

/all images via thefashionisto/

raf for ysl?

so just read this (rumour) from the ever informative fashionista,

that this seasons ysl collection will be stefano pilati's last! the prospective replacements could be raf simons (yeah!) or hedi slimane. i am a big fan of everything raf, and i think he would make a huge contribution to the label.. although i did like stefano's fall '11 menswear, although not anything i would really go for myself i thought it was slightly stronger than some of his previous collections.

/Raf/

as for slimane, i have kind of missed out on his work for dior.. i was only just getting into fashion during his last year or two at dior so a lot of his hype is lost for me. looking back at his work i can see how he elevated dior to such heights with his slim young silhouette.

/Hedi Slimane/

as much as i would love to see even more raf out there, it would be exciting for myself to see slimane's work from a more current perspective. re-introducing ysl to a younger audience again would be interesting stuff..

home in mcqueen

one of my favourite items i have ever owned, i bought this amazing alexander mcqueen scarf back last summer. i recently did some searching on where it came from and was amazed to find mine was one of 200 only ever made! (vogue)



the scarf was a tie-in to the 2009 movie "home" with all profits going to goodplanet.org



the 100% organic cotton features a print of a planet formed into a skull, with beautiful vivid space hues surrounding the planet. i really really love this and so glad i snapped it up on the day, the colours look great when simply wrapped around the neck


you can still purchase the 2 year old design on ebay here. i must say i am abit surprised that they still have 10+ in stock brand new, and for less than the original rrp! i would have thought they would of sold out in an instant, especially for their exclusivity..

you can watch the film "home" on youtube aswell here. it's an inspired view on sustainable living and focuses on some of the most amazing natural wonders of the world thanks to aeriel footage. makes you appreciate the world enough to turn off those plug sockets!

/images via guardian.co.uk/

the pictures really don't do the scarf any justice, it's definitely going in an expensive frame on the wall when i have a house (whenever that is..)



one of mcqueens most beautiful scarf prints, makes you wonder how much more he could have given if he was still with us.. makes you cherish though



stunning stuff

mr. owens

ricks owens interview by Nabil Azadi during paris fashion week

"I think I’ve always had drive, and a kind of inner-aggression that you have to have. You have to have an aggression and an ego because a lot of time you’re almost forcing people to do what you want"

more words of wisdom from his ironicly named "rules of style"

"whenever someone talks about rules, I just want to break them. I recoil from the whole idea of rules"

amen to that.

andrew davis styling

these little styling shots are from oki-ni, andrew davis is the newest addition to the series with his looks from s/s 2011 stock.

the amazing kane print makes an appearance, along with the jil sander pop trousers which seem to be everywhere. most are too colourful for me, i'll just stick to black and brown hah..




john mcarty and harris elliott's series are my firm favourites.

the wearability and individual pieces pulled together with darker accents, but mainly becuase they both featured 2 patent shoes that i have lusted after a long time.




i tried the acne pilot boots on in selfridges and they are uber comfy. sold out everywhere now though :(

the oki-ni styled series can be viewed here. worth checking out

'appy affection day

hope everyone got what they wanted, here is a list of things that i think would make good gifts, they would be fine for me aswell if anyone is wondering what to get me.. :)

/J.W. Anderson shirt and horn ring/

/Toby Jones heart lock pendant necklace/

/Jil Sander s/s floral scarf/

and what is more special that something one of a kind? abit more individual than the general tat in supermarkets, these pricey antiques from the amazing Erican Weiner are another way to express your love, dating back over 100 (!) years

/1906 Almanac Book Locket/

/Cameo and Seed Pearl Ring/

much love x