Somerset House is currently host to Return of the Rudeboy, an exhibition exploring what it takes to be a Rudeboy by photographing 60 men who fit the modern-bill, playing their chosen signature playlists and showcasing their customised shoes. From 13th June – 25th August 2014, this fashion orientated experience invites you to dip into a history before coming right up-to-date, in a well thought out presentation of sharp and terribly inviting looks! …read more
Initially, this piece was easy. Just choose from the latest menswear a/w 2014 shows, roughly five collections I would wear and five collections I wouldn’t, if I were a man. Then give reasons why I liked or didn’t like them. It wasn’t so simple. …read more
Depending on how much you like beer and pies, the waistline should be the narrowest part of your torso, officially positioned horizontally between the hips and ribs. Not many people know this because there are so many design lines calling themselves a waistline. This would be totally fine, except who knows how to wear any of them? …read more
The fashion industry is a machine that until recently was solely driven by the people who work from within. They’ve been channelling their thoughts on fashion, into one looooooooooong carefully orchestrated PR line. We were blinkered, easily led by whatever diamante-encrusted carrot was being dangled in front of us; probably by Vogue in the days I could bare to look at a copy …read more
Cool people, like fashionable people are rare. Cool is a state of being. You can’t fake it or it will appear contrived. It’s an attitude that can’t be bought. You can buy cool things or take part in cool activities, but they are nothing if you don’t ooze the cool juice from your very own core. Like you and your clothes, cool is three-dimensional. It is not enough to strike a pose in front of the mirror you need to have the cool with you at all times, visible from every angle, in motion, and even when you are asleep. …read more
Private Eye’s killer observational headline “WOMAN HAS BABY”, responded to the royal birth of Prince George Alexander Louis, as matter of fact. No unnecessary glitz (or excessive coverage), a baby has been born and now its parents need to take care of it. Nationally, the numbers of births in the UK are rising, 22% since 2001 in England and Wales alone, as many more women, have babies. …read more
If you’ve studied fashion at undergraduate level in the UK, most likely you applied through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). I searched ‘Fashion’ on the UCAS site, 105 relevant schools came up. Some offer one fashion course like the Arts University Bournemouth, others, anything up to 48, as with the University of the Arts London, collective of schools. There are 326 courses for fashion in the UK alone …read more
Walking through Dalston in East London, I saw this book sitting in the window of Oxfam charity shop. Eagerly, I took it from the sales assistant as he climbed out of the window display. Scanning through, I asked “Is this some kind of joke?”, the same response I’ve had from other people I’ve shown it to since. Next to my new declaration “This book belongs to: Grace Eagle”, the welcome letter, from joint authors Judith Wilske and …read more
When I was very small my favourite outfit for playing outside was an Native American style dress. A loose fitting 1970s reproduction for British children, made in brown cheque cotton with upholstery tassel fringing hanging from under the arms. The tassels were silky like nothing I had touched before, swooshing in sync as I waved. Best of all, putting the dress on gave me permission to canter around the garden, jumping over logs on my …read more
I would say, probably not. Not that you can’t look good in jeans, but look around, many of us (including me) are messing it up. After years without them, I braved my fear of the denim trouser, and went to the Levi Store in West London. I bought myself two pairs, one size 28 Slight Curve, Classic Rise, Slim in jet black and the other size 28 High Rise, Skinny in blue-black. Arriving home, the jeans and I looked at each other for some time, weeks in fact. Occasionally I would hold …read more
With the intention of researching British clothing manufacture since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (yes I know, that small topic!), I decided to go to Derbyshire in England, for a few days. Numerous conversations with my Gran and two booked train tickets later (one for me and one for Gran), I was fascinated, excited and already overwhelmed. We went straight to the birth place of the two first water powered cotton …read more
Before my relationships with wedding dresses began, I hadn’t given much attention to them as a garment. I was working as a trend researcher, at the time (2007) when a close friend was getting married and I agreed to go to the National Wedding Show at Earls Court, London, taking my questioning mind with me. Intrigued by dresses people spent thousands on, I put the supportive friend act to good use …read more
