Advent - Day Twenty

Sergei Sviatchenko's Close Up and Private is an on going project which looks to capture the spirit of modern style, as seen through the subtle shades of the individual. We have long been admirers and love the project celebrates classic details alongside contemporary looks through a unique form of photographic documentary and film. It has been a real highlight of 2010. Here we find out what's on Sviatchenko's Christmas list...

__________

THENEWNO2'S YOU ARE HERE

"I came across Thenewno2 a while ago and loved the band immediately. I have asked my two sons to buy me the album" You are here" as a Christmas present. In my opinion Dhani Harrison, who started this band is a very promising personality within this genre of music. He has style, great music abilities and he is a very charismatic person. Furthermore, I read that he graduated from Brown University in the courses Physics and Industrial Design and this impresses me too."

A shot inspired by the logo of the band in Close Up And Private style

PS: He has just launch a new group with Ben Harper and Joseph Arthur named Fistful of Mercy, with the album name "As I Call You Down" - highly recommended."

__________

A first look at Fred Perry AW10

Fred Perry's AW10 Look Book.

Another round of AW10 collections to slap in my tired face to snap me back in to a state of sartorial alertness was Fred Perry. Having only just celebrated its one hundredth birthday last year, this is an iconic brand that is far from resting on its laurels (pun intended, ha!). The brand continues to retain and develop its unique roots in the British history of street fashion and music. Its products have consistently been adopted as part of the uniform of choice for elements of our subculture. From Mods, Suedeheads, Ska/Two Tone, Punk, New Wave, Casuals/Perry Boys, Britpop, Electronic/Rave and the latest Indie revival - the Laurel has been ever present. Passed from generation as an understated timeless and collectible true classic. The press day gave me the opportunity to investigate the AW10 Laurel collection and the chance to sneak a peak at the next stage of the successful collaborations with Raf Simons and Stussy. First up, I thought I'd share the first look at the Laurel look book...

These two images showcase my favourite looks. Such simple layering but oh so effective. Left; Long sleeve indigo shirt. Right; Long sleeve indigo shirt worn with knitted blazer and pleated trousers.

I have been a fan of the Laurel Wreath collection for some time now because not only does it showcase the purity of the more heritage pieces but also offers a more contemporary look and feel based on authentic values. Below are a few of my favourite looks...

Long sleeve multi button collar shirt.

Long sleeve striped print shirt in liquorice (left) and ash (right)

In addition to offering reworked Fred Perry classics, the Laurel collection is branching out for AW10 and beyond by working with a number of British brands to create a number of key wardrobe staples. First up the duffle coat. Fashions come and go, but the duffle coat remains a staple in many a stylish wardrobe and Fred Perry have recognised this by working with one of the best makers around, Gloverall. Gloverall have been producing their famous duffle coats for over 50 years, starting in a London factory close to St Paul's Cathedral and still made in England to this day, the name Gloverall has always been synonymous with the duffle coat and it is great to see a brand like Fred Perry tap in to their expertise.

Twin tipped raglan shirt and Gloverall duffle coat.

As well as working with true British heritage brands in the coming months, the Laurel collection sees the brand use a number of truly British fabrics. Most excitingly, Harris Tweed. For AW10, they use the fabric for Harrington jackets, ties and weekend bags. It is the most iconic of all tweeds, woven by hand, and adored for decades the world over. Or it was. For such a burly and utilitarian fabric, Harris Tweed evokes an a great deal of romantically nostalgic feelings and this series certainly captures this. The reason being is that the tweed is still woven by pedal-powered looms in the homes of Scottish sheep herders on the outermost fringe of the British Isles, just as it has been since 1846. 2010 is make or break time for the tweed and it is great to see brands like Fred Perry use it throughout their collection.

Raf Simons' successful collaboration with Fred Perry continues into AW10. The collaboration started off positively and it has only gone from strength to strength.Again, the collection is strongly made up of Simons' own interpretation of the iconic polo shirt, the use of fine knits and great cuts working extremely well with the legendary brand and logo. Each season sees Simons rework the classic laurel logo and here he creates a boy scout badge. As ever, Simons has taken inspiration from the fabrics and textures of classic Fred Perry sportswear but has created a more complete offering with a number of interesting and colourful pieces. A great deal caught my eye as I wandered around the room but key piece that captured my attention was the the long sleeved polo knit (below centre). It is the item that I can't stop thinking about, I just love the knitted sleeve detailing and have never seen anything quite like it.

Raf Simons x Fred Perry Aw10 - I was particularly taken by the use of colour throughout the impressive and diverse offering.

In addition to being able to gaze in to the future season, the press day afforded my first opportunity to inspect the recently launched (and soon to be available to purchase) Blank Canvas collection. This collaboration sees two quintessentially British institutions join forces on a classic four piece range for Fred Perry. The series sees two iconic Liberty of London prints, 'Mark' (paisley) and 'Edenham' (floral) and sees reworked classic pique shirts, a black Harrington jacket, polo shirts and plimsolls. Now that the sun is out I just can't help myself from wanting to dabble with Liberty of London prints...

A closer look at the Blank Canvas collection.

//Lykke Li//

I bought Lykke Li's cd ages ago and I used to play it over and over for weeks and weeks. This photo reminds me that I need to get listening to it again because it really is brilliant. The whole woman is brilliant!

refinery 29

Picture postcard: Stand and Deliver!

Dear Steve

Not so much a picture postcard as a video one this time around. The skies are grey here in Manchester and my February of no work is quickly coming to a close. It has taken a bit of classic 80s pop to shake me out of my sleepy state, berating me with lyrics likening me to a pensioner. Cheers Adam!

But really though, I've been lingering over thoughts of 'serious' fashion for too long... It's time to break free of the safe and the easy, if just in my own home for the rest of the week. I'll be twittering in eveningwear tomorrow! It's time for you to do the same. No, not the eveningwear but no more buying blue for at least 3 months! And make actually wear those feathers you bought in Liverpool. Hop to it!

In the meantime, enjoy Adam's literal and rather funny intrepretations of the lyrics. Stand and deliver!

EJ

x

This post is a look into the future...all postcards will be video messages! I assure that I will wear my feathers this week, I've already had a play around with them and am actually excited by the prospect of fashioning a pretty lapel accessory.

Picture Postcard: I want my own entourage

Source

Dearest Eliza

When can I have my own entourage like Mr West? I came across this image on the simply wonderful every day is fashion week blog that is Jak & Jill. I doubt that my entourage would look quite like this but nevertheless I want one. As my birthday is coming up, maybe you could rustle me up a dandy butch of gents to follow me around and do my bidding however I see fit...

Speaking of Kanye, after my headache (induced by catching up on all of the shows that I missed) subsided I ventured on to Kanye's blog and was confronted with this strange video of the newly titled Martin Louis The King Jnr talking from his hotel room in Paris....strange viewing indeed.

I wait for the assembly of my entourage...

Thanks

Steve

Hey Steve!

And here was me thinking that you were scared of clowns... Ok, so that's a little mean. I have been bemoaning the lack of colour on the catwalks so this is definitely a breath of fresh air... but ever so slightly overwhelming when all viewed together.

Taken individually, I generally like what each of them is wearing (with the exception of the chap in the green jacket... does... not... compute...) and it is fantastic to see men having such fun with their clothing and not being afraid to wear bright primary colours. I'm seriously considering yellow trainers now, not that I need an excuse to buy more trainers.

Not sure why they're carrying round their luggage though. I would've thought that they'd have valets to do that sort of thing for them...

EJ

P.S. I'll begin assembling your entourage when I'm down in London in a couple of weeks. Applications to the usual email address please...

Advent - Day Twenty Two

Now that Susie has gone to work I can undertake secret present wrapping and what better way to set the Christmas mood than this version of Little Drummer Boy performed by David Bowie and Bing Crosby (which of course was requested by Ian Brown...the acting quality might be a little questionable but the voices are wonderful.

Advent - Day Twenty

Apologies for the late unveiling of box number twenty but I had last minute Christmas shopping to do (which almost killed me) and EJ is at a wedding. To celebrate the fact that my Christmas shopping is now complete, I just had to share one of my favourite Christmas song and video with you all...

Wham's Last Christmas was released in the same year as my birth so I have a special bond with it, unfortunately the song never quite made it to the Christmas number one spot all because of Bob Geldof's project Band Aid. The video and styling is so 80s, I am always mesmerised by George Michael's bouncing mullet. A large part of me wants to re-enact this ski lodge scene with my own friends...maybe next year.

Best DIY Project Ever!?!

I was fortunate enough to watch Daft Punk play the 02 festival two summers ago in Hyde Park and was blown away by their performance and of course I left the park wanting my own robot leathers outfit complete with LED Helmet. During my daily visit to Kanye's blog where I gaze over the plethora of links which he has managed to amass that particular day, I came across the best piece of DIY I have ever seen. If Casey Pugh entered this video into The Sunday Best's contest he would surely have a chance of walking away with the prize...

My Daft Punk helmet from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.

This makes me lose heart in the quality of my own entry to the contest but inspires to spend some of my Christmas holiday with a screwdriver and many, many LEDs. If I don't return from my Christmas break you will know why...

Advent - Day Fourteen

If you're fed up of all the jingle bells and twinkly lights of Christmas, today's advent offering might be a little more appealing. I love the styling of this video, particularly the alternative Father Christmas. The song itself is great and I love the chance to big up a local band.

Advent - Day Eight

Video time again. This time it's Fred and Ginger in the snow singing 'a Fine Romance'. Boys, take note of Fred's winter dressing; he looks wonderful in his bowler hat and black, fur trimmed coat (though please go faux if you want to copy this bit!) complement by pale gloves and scarf. Enjoy!

Picture Postcard: Kanye West and Patrick Bateman

Dearest EJ

Have you heard any tracks off Kanye's new album?

There are a number of Kanye West fans out there who are somewhat puzzled by his latest musical offerings which by now are all over the internet before the album's (808s and Heartbreak) release date at the end of the month. His new muse is loneliness and the songs that I've heard are full of introspection, frosty synths and autotune. I only recently read about another one of his recent inspirations. MTV News reported earlier this month that Kanye was inspired by the movie version of American Psycho. “On this album, I kind of embody Patrick Bateman from ‘American Psycho. You know at the end of the movie [that] he didn’t really kill anyone. [I just liked] the clean aesthetic and the way he was all about labels. I wanted to express all of that in the video.” Despite only watching the film, Kanye was able to decipher the main moral of the piece...there's more to life than buying stuff, even cool Japanese stuff you can post on your blog. Kanye then added, "I had all these ideas and I just needed to get it out as an artistic vision. I don't have a rapper's name, (but) I have really good taste and anyone who likes it probably has really good taste too."

So even though West might have been inpsired by a shallow ’80s banker with an antisocial personality disorder and homicidal tendencies...it has to beat the generic inspirations and codes that most rappers live by. Whatever you think about the man and the music, you have to appreciate his sense of style and that he doesn't fit into the genre's stereotypes. Just look at him in the above press shot!

Kanye's Pastelle Vision

Despite being out for almost a month now, only yesterday was I able to pick up the latest issue of VMan...but it is well worth the wait and it has well and truly wet my appetite for the coming season. The sun might be shining in London and it's so hot in my living room that I'm just wearing shorts as I type this (did you want that mental image on a Saturday afternoon? Perhaps not, but I've said it... there's no going back now) but all I want to think about is Autumn (more to come on this later this weekend). As the weather is against me on my quest for all things autumn, I thought it best to put my autumnal oohing and aaahing on hold for a day or so, so let's talk about Kanye's clothing line, Pastelle which was featured in VMan (despite Kanye's reported cold feet on showing the shots). I have been eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of Kanye’s (with the help of Kim Jones) design aesthetic. The preview showcased in VMan has as a star studded cast including Rihanna and Lupe Fiasco modelling pieces of the collection...there just aren't enough shots though! However, from the three looks shown, you can definitely see the influence of Kim Jones on the collection.

Kanye recently gave an interview with Complex magazine where he spoke about the line:

"Just getting the right designs. It’s a gift and a curse. You’ve got all eyes on you, so if you deliver something great, it’s gonna get held as, “Oh, it’s supposed to be great.” And even if it’s good or it’s OK or something, it’s gonna get bashed. There were phases where I could just do the bear on a Polo and it would’ve made $100 million. At a certain point. But I always say I was a designer before I was a rapper, and I really wanted to get into design. So then, trying to start designing and goin’ with my girl down to the fashion district and stuff, and looking at fabrics and stuff like that, I’m like, “Oh, shit. This is real.” I’ve learned so much about materials and fabrics and applications and sequence and shiny fabrics and fits and all type of shit…"

The line should be in stores by November and from what I've seen of it, it's going to be a solid first collection which will no doubt make Mr West a lot of money. It is certainly going to be much more than just putting a bear on a polo shirt and slapping an extortionate price tag on it.

The welcome death of Indie (both music and style) as we know it

Mixtape Necklace seen on Craftlog

Two events have sparked my desire to write on the subject of indie music and its relationship with style in recent years: firstly reading a Bethan Cole article in 10 Magazine and watching the ineresting Pitchfork documentary - A Classic Under Review, on The Smiths' The Queen Is Dead (one of the very best albums of the 1980s). During the mid 80's whe the band were in their prime, indie referred to a tangible musical genre or atleast a collection of sub-genres, a distinct sensibility, an opposition to mainstream pop. Indie was naive, retro and obsessed with authenticity. Indie kids felt like they were members of a secret cult, a world away from the mainstream of Rick Astley and Stock Aitken and Waterman. In recent years indie (as it is loosely termed today) IS the mainstream and the style is on sale at every high street store imaginable. Look around you and spot how many guys are wearing checked or plaid shirts, skinny jeans and cardigans. With this in mind we should all declare the era od faux indie truly dead and celebrate something new. Music is beginning to break out of the faux indie bubble it has been in throughout the 00's, with the likes of These New Puritans, Vampire Weekend, Maps and Santogold leaving the faux indie bands like the Pigeon Detectives and Joe Lean & the Jung Jang Jong sounding lame and unconvincing. What should certainly be left behind is the faux indie skinny silhouettes for men. Put down the waistcoast and skinny jeans and try something different. Diversity and difference make for an exciting music and fashion scape.

I miss my beautiful friend

A little while ago Steve expressed his surprise that I hadn't written about Jeff Buckley sooner. I think part of the reason is because I'm such a fan that I worry that I'll just end up rambling... I'll try to restrain myself.

I think in a lot of pictures and videos that I've seen of him, Mr Buckley manages to capture a lot of my favourite looks all at once, and he has probably had more of an

Tousled, touchable hair? Check:

The perfect white shirt (in t shirt form, at least)? Check!

And copious amounts of plaid? (God, I forgot how brilliant some parts of the 90s were) Check!

Jeff buckley - Last Goodbye from Roesje on Vimeo.

I may just have to make Jeff my Autumn style inspiration.

Unlikely style icons - Michael Stipe

I've never been able to make my mind up about Michael Stipe. There can be no denying that he does get around a bit though, mixing in a number of circles and experimenting with a number of different mediums. This is not a discussion about his music, his films or anything other than a brief exploration of his style. I'm keen to get you involved, help me out...is he a style icon? He certainly has always been distinctively dressed, at times he gets it very right and at others...well less so. The man himself said in a recent interview with HE magazine that "I don't think I'm particularly stylish. I do have access to and am aware of people who are doing really cool stuff." It certainly helps having access to an amazing array of designers but Stipe's eye for detailing proves to me that he is a stylish chap.

As shown on Kempt, here is Stipe wearing a handmade chalk-striped three-piece suit from Freemans Sporting Club, a checked shirt by Thom Browne, a plain black tie from Druthers Appointments, and a scholarly pair of specs.

Unfortunately, aside from the above, there aren't that many easy to find images to support my musings so I've had to take matters into my own hands and steal them from HE, I love the mix of colour and classic tailoring - something I will be trying very soon. Below he is wearing Jacket and Jeans by Junya Watanabe, V neck and shirt by Acne Considered Classics - Apologies for the blurry image....it is the best I could get.

I will leave you with a quote from Stipe where his honesty about clothes is refreshing. "For me dressing is all about confidence. I have body issues like everyone does. If something I wear makes me feel taller, stronger, more handsome, more confident, more able to complete my sentences when I walk out of the house in the morning, then it's done a great job for me that day." I think most of us would agree with that.

Limited Justice

It is a collaboration which has been well documented in blog land but now the results are finally available (even online). Parisian label Surface 2 Air and Justice first got together when Surface 2 Air directed the video 'We are your friends' but now Justice have returned the favour designing a small capsule collection. The result is a a limited edition series of 3 jackets (150 pieces), and 2 jeans, conceived and designed by Parisian duo for Surface 2 Air.

My favourite piece is the Xavier Leather jacket above as I just love the contrasting detailing...so much so that the zip detail is worth a closer look.

I have to admit though...I wanted to prefer Xavier's solely because I was hoping that I wore it it might empower me to grow a moustache as cool as his. I agree with The Sunday Best that the jeans are better value but there is a certain something which makes all men want to own a kick ass leather jacket (which currently I don't have) and it might just hark all the way back to Brando in 'The Wild One'.

The next collaboration which I'm looking forward to is Topman's Black Trouser Project...moving on from the White Shirt Project a new set of designers are tasked with tackling the menswear staple which is the black trouser... most notably Aitor Throup.

Happy Birthday Kanye

Happy birthday to Kanye West who is 31 today... Long may you keep up your interest in fashion. Mostly this is just an excuse to post a picture of this hair cut though (better but less smiley view of it below).

The French do it best... again

If you're anything like me, you spent last night watching the joy that is Eurovision. Let's not go in to the voting, but needless to say France were robbed. Oh well, just enjoy Sebastien Teller rocking a serious beard and sharp white suit.






Almost as good as last year's entry. Who ever thought wearing a cat sewn onto your collar could look so good? (warning: this song is ridiculously catchy)

I'm no where near as big a Eurovision fan as EJ but I watched the contest on Saturday, severely hungover from the previous night's exploits...and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The acts were in the most parts enjoyable, I was however surprised by the number who sang in English despite their poor grasp of the language...and the judging was as bad as ever. Tellier was suberb even though his delivery borrowed a great deal from Jarvis Cocker...he rocked the white suit and he had the best entrance ever on a golf cart! I'm now a Eurovision convert

ol blue eyes anniversary

It is 10 years to the day since Frank Sinatra died. It is time to reach for one of his records, (posibly pour yourself a scotch - depending on what time of the day it is) think back and marvel at how stylish he was.

Oh my gosh, this makes me feel so old, I can't believe it's been a decade. Some links to help emulate the man himself:

- An article concerning Sinatra's hair

- ...And pictures of the different ways he wore it

- Swinger style

- How to talk like Frank Sinatra (this one might just tip over from emulating to just plain copying though!)

Picture Postcard: Dear Dev

Dear Dev

I have been a fan of you for sometime, you first caught my attention when you were one third of the 'joke band turned quite good' that was Test Icicles, I even bought one of your t shirts. I liked the fact that on the band's split you were honest enough to say "we were never, ever that keen on the music. I understand that people liked it, but we personally, er, didn't." There was something about you that I liked, you were definitely the only person in the band who could actually sing but you also had stage presence and a great style. I think I first saw you in the pages of Dazed & Confused in a shoot within the doors of Bardens Bourdoir and you instantly captured my attention and imagination.

Now you are Lightspeed Champion and have a fans in both myself and EJ (who is going to see you tonight!). We would love to run an interview with you and go through your style references. There can be little doubt that you are heavily influenced by Weezer in your music but who influences your personal style, where do you shop? Stop posing in photos for the Facehunter (although it does brighten up the site from the usual dullness of under dressed, underage girls) and come do an interview with us at Style Salvage!

For those of you unfamiliar with Dev and his present musical guise Lightspeed Champion, check out the below performance where he is sporting an awesome combination of plaid, puffa and fur hat.

Steve