Fashion Limbo in “Sleepy” Mode

I’m still sick but finally recovering. A strong summer flu struck me down but I’m now in the process of defeating the nasty bug and will soon rise from it all, like a healthy Phoenix bird, or something equally fabulous and powerful. In the meantime, while I try to blow my nose with grace and attempt to get back to work slowly, some recommendations:

A film: Les Petits Mouchoirs (Little White Lies) hailed as the French film of the year, although that may be a tad exaggerated. It’s still quite entertaining to watch, the characters are well built, the setting for the film is stunning and makes me want to get my ass over to the French Riviera ASAP. I really enjoyed this movie but don’t expect an amazing story, see it more as an observation of a group of friends and their dynamics, lots of hidden feelings and untold truths.

A book: Feel by Christ Heath. It0s the second time I read it, but it makes for a fantastic summer read. The writer becomes Robbie Williams’ shadow for a few months, writing this truly fascinating look into celebrity life. Entertaining, funny, even scary at times, I love it.

A song: every single one in Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday. I’ve always liked a bit of rap here and there, but never actually enjoyed an entire album… until now. Think of it as Spice Girls in hip-hop town, it has girl power written all over it. Ultra feminist, full of fun and empowering anthems. Again, perfect for summer, with a very organic sound and tunes that will have you wiggling your bum non-stop.

A store: Zara, for having the most colourful collection in fashion right now. I’m inspired by so many pieces such as a starry jacket – very D&G; AW 2011 but also very Chanel circa 2008, how fashion savvy am I? 😉 – a fuchsia jacket, colourful chinos and these sandals below that are simply stunning. You can find them here.

So, what have you been up to? Tell me, tell me xxx

Pictures: Fashion Limbo, Zara

Outfit post- Comfy vs Sexy Part II

I have to apologise for my lack of writing, posting, basically existing! as I currently have a bad case of summer flu, and a serious nasty one. I have so much to do, but my health means I mostly vegetate in bed – thank God for Grey’s Anatomy season 3 and all it’s episodes. So, in order to keep things simple, how about an outfit post?

Some weeks ago I presented you with a selection of shoes from Spartoo. They had contacted me asking me to try their service so I had to choose a nice pair of shoes. The dilemma was whether to go for the “comfy” option or throw all reason out of the window and choose a pair of killer sexy heels. The reasonable option won this time. I really fancied a pair of easy-to-wear shoes and after spotting these Betsy mary janes/ballerinas by Fly London I loved the colour and went for them.

Dress: New Look

Belt: Vintage by T2

Shoes: Fly London courtesy of Spartoo

I even went for the free delivery and my order took less than 3 days to arrive. I tried them on and they fitted perfectly. I’m one of those pesky “half sizes” which means I hardly buy shoes online as it always involves returning them. The Spanish Spartoo site warned they did run slightly big, which meant they were ideal for me. These shoes are awfully comfortable and addictive as I have already worn them with my favourite Audrey Hepburn jeans, some shorts and a pair of rolled-up chinos.

 

Bracelet: Naughty Alice by Vivienne Westwood

 

Cameo necklace: vintage (origin unknown) 

The verdict on Spartoo? pretty good service and will probably use them again. On Fly London, I’ve always been a fan, so believe me when I say I was super-excited to find them at Spartoo.
 

As mentioned above, I don’t normally buy shoes online as I hate returning anything. Do you buy shoes online or is that one thing you leave to buy in actual physical stores?

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

What I’m Wearing – Vivienne Westwood

Hello lovely readers, just to let you know that I really can’t write much today as I’m sick. I had a wonderful weekend, as I visited the Andalusian city of Cordoba for the wedding of one of my best friends. I had a fantastic time, me and my plus one made our best efforts to look amazing for my beloved friend, and we now believe this was the best, most fun wedding ever. We enjoyed a brilliant dinner with the best company, hardly stopped laughing and danced until almost 5am. The bride looked stunning and now competes with my aunt for the “best dressed bride of all time according to Jess”.

The only downside? an old “friend” couldn’t stop repeating how awfully skinny I was, and I quote. Everyone else had lovely compliments for me, except for that one person, who also kept repeating his opinion on my physique to anyone who bothered to listen. How lovely… I guess he didn’t read this.

All in all, too much fun simply cannot be good! And I am now flirting with some flu-ish symptoms… and it’s almost June.

In other news, finally, I am wearing Vivienne Westwood… just not her clothes! I am wearing her perfume. To the humble shopper that I am, this is as a huge achievement, namely because I couldn’t find it in any local shops, nor in the big department stores. I even sent my minions to search for it at huge Spanish airports. Finally my dear aunt and cousin visiting from London brought me a bottle of pure Westwood style.

The fragrance is quite soft and easy to wear. According to the label it has notes of black rose, musk, ylang-ylang and violet. To me it smells like light vanilla, sweet yet not overpowering.

I finish with some cough syrup and a toast: here’s to wearing what anyone wants, during a SlutWalk, during a stroll by the beach, during your wedding day, and even during days of sickness when all one wants is to wear pyjamas and read Harper’s Bazaar all day… oh and here’s to sunbathing in style.

How was your weekend?

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

The Rant – Slutty Fashion

The first time I was called a slut was at the tender age of 11. The first group of boys had been admitted at the all-girl catholic school I studied at. A group of girls had decided to greet the new students with some hardly provocative ranting, calling out their names. Soon the entire class was being scourned and labelled with the term “slut”. One nun added that she “knew we all hanged around street corners wagging our handbags at horny men”

The second time I was called a slut occurred when I decided to wear an anklet. My father strongly disapproved and told me only prostitutes wore them. I carefully removed it every time I returned home but whenever I went out, I would put the anklet on. My girlfriends loved it. I was 15.

The third time I was called a slut I had pierced my belly button. My boyfriend at the time told me it was “sluttish”, I was 20.

The fourth time I was called a slut I had paired my bell bottom jeans with a pink blouse, which was see-through, and a pink bikini top underneath. I was 21.

I’m sure these are only the times I remember, or that I know about . Some people will use the term slut openly, others just throw disapproving looks. This Christmas I wore a pair of mock suspender tights, my boyfriend and closest friends thought they were a lot of fun, but I received offended stares from some old acquaintances.

A Canadian policeman has brought the adjective back to the lime-light by stating that there would be less sexual assaults if women “stopped dressing like sluts”. This remark has resulted in the now famous SlutWalk phenomenon: women are taking the streets calling for a rejection of rooted beliefs that place the blame of a rape on the actual victims.

My life has been about expressing myself, I’m extremely creative and have a lot fun with fashion. What others considered slutty, to me was being myself. As a teenager I was pushing boundaries and growing up, making my own decisions: “this is my body, I live in a country and a time where I can wear anything I want, so get your hands off me and let me live”.

 Most of us can play with fashion, have fun with it, but all joy goes out of the window when some policemen, lawyers and judges state that we are asking to be assaulted.

The Slutwalk defends the empowerment of women through clothes. However, with great power – excuse the Spiderman quote – comes great responsibility. The maturity to understand that a certain way of dressing will sometimes get an unwanted reaction. To me, the key word here being “unwanted” and, I will add, completely undeserved. Completely uncalled for.

Fashion sends out messages with every trend that hits the catwalk. It can reflect a general mood in society, or make a statement for or against something. Whatever we wear says a lot about ourselves.

Have you ever been called a slut? Do you believe a woman is “what she dresses like” and therefore anything that comes from it is actually deserved or sought after? Have you ever called anyone a slut because of the way they dress?

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

Outfit – The Maxi Dress Conundrum

Began this post listening to I’m The Best by Nicki Minaj…

Does the following happen to anyone else? When I walk into an H&M; store I am hardly excited. Why? because everything is mass-produced and that bothers me a lot. I simply hate running into someone wearing my same outfit… which is what obviously occurred.

I visited the store in my hometown, prompting me to fall in love with a maxi dress, it was cheap and I thought it would be easy to wear. Cut to a relaxed afternoon outing some days after. I get off the bus, meet my friends and only a couple of metres away from me, a girl wearing the same dress. It has now been hanging for a while in my wardrobe and while I still love it, I find myself hardly inspired to wear it. As I don’t want this purchase to be a total waste of money, I need to spice it up with some clever combinations and this is what I’ve come up with for now:


The safe yet edgy option – wearing a denim jacket, nothing too outrageous there, but how about some leopard print shoes? I love clashing prints and I think the leopard and the floral patterns go well together.

I balanced out the leopard with an accessory of the same print and I think I quite like it.
The experiment, cardie as top – I grabbed a River Island grey cardigan and wore it the other way around. I was striking one of my best poses when my little “housemate” decided he too wanted to be in the shot…

 Shoes: H&M;

And below, you can see how it looks from the back.

The comfy layered look – with a black t-shirt, a green necklace to bring some colour to the top and a pair of black sandals with a light wedge.

Top and necklace: Pull & Bear

Shoes: Sfera

Shoes: Sfera

So, which one do you like the most? Do you have any other suggestions on how to wear maxi dresses differently?

Finished this post listening to Super Bass by Nicki Minaj

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

AllSaints in need of reinvention

As I sipped my morning coffee, I let my eyes wander through The Guardian’s Business section – yes, I do that, and although it may surprise A LOT of people, I actually understand everything that’s being said… well ok, maybe not that much, but I’m getting better. Anyway, I digress. I soon came across an article about UK fashion brand AllSaints.

For months the chain of stores has been trying to avoid going into administration and now a buy-out seems possible. I couldn’t help but hope that whoever comes with the cash injection, does it so with a good business plan under their arm.

I do love this brand and would miss seeing it in our shopping streets. The trouble with AllSaints is that it’s sort of caters for a niche market. Compared to other stores in the British high streets and also at an international level – present in places like Moscow, Antwerp, Paris, Boston, New York, etc –  only a few people would shop there regularly. It’s not only the high prices, but also the style. Their colour palette is quite simple, with grey as a main element, beige, black, toned-down shades. On the other hand, the shapes of their designs are amazing, daring and quite intricate. Take for example the skirt I wear below, it’s a stunning piece, a unique fashion statement, a tad Alexander McQueen (unsure about how the Loviu top, the look ends up being a tad too busy for my liking and I did change it before going out, but this is the only picture I have wearing said skirt).

Top: Loviu

Belt: vintage

Skirt: AllSaints

Shoes: Ulanka

The men’s section is also pretty good, reminiscent perhaps of John Varvatos, masculine, rough around the edges, extremely wearable.

I believe AllSaints is in dire need of a change of perspective. With shirts costing between £65 and £165 it remains a very pricey brand and people’s pockets, while still able to shop for clothes, have become very limited. Personally, although I love what they do, I hardly can afford it and generally only shop there during the sales.

AllSaints may have to widen its influence, attract new customers. Hardly anyone outside of the UK knows anything of the brand. The above mentioned Guardian article states how the store is “known for its distinctive shopfronts full of vintage sewing machines”. If a respectable British newspaper can only describe AllSaints for the use of a certain gadget in their window fronts, then there is something very wrong about the image of the brand.

In these troubling times, reinvention has become a means of survival, a way to stay afloat and avoid drowing in a sea of economical doubt…woops may have overdone it there with the lyrical drama… but you catch my drift.
Ultimately, this is only Fashion Limbo‘s humble opinion. What other brands do you wish were reinvented, refreshed?

Pictures: Fashion Limbo