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Showing 55 posts tagged accessories
Persol // Sunnies // Accessories
Wahoo! People listen to me. I was delighted to see that Mr. FedEX had delivered these beautiful Persols to my friend when he posted them on his blog.
Growing up in Dublin we often traded style advice and comments, and this seems to have continued into our thirties despite living in two seperate cities, neither of which is our home town.
Conversely my friend berated me for not including RayBans in my original post on summer shades. Guess what I ended up getting, yeah a pair of vintage RayBans.
Look what the FedEx man just delivered…and just in time for the holidays!
Menswear // Be There First // Lee Lapthorne
Lee Lapthorne has been a driving force in the London fashion scene for years having championed the talents of upcoming designers through On|Off and Doll. But he now presents his own line of superior quality mens and womens accessories. I love the use of the bird skeletons in this seasons collection.As well as the bright vivid colours used across all aspects of the collection.
Digital printing has been catapulted into high end fashion of late with use of clever placement prints. Almost impossible for the mass market of the High Street to compete with for technical reasons. I could bore you with information on fabric ratings to explain why, but that’s not the point of this post. Instead feast your eyes on the fabric, details and skill of this collection.
Lee is stocked in select stores in London, Barcelona and the Far East. If you can get your hands on these early pieces from a designer and collection that is clearly going to grow do it.
Hex Code // iPhone4 // Accessories
I’m probably rarely more than four or five feet away from my phone. My wallet and train ticket on the other hand? Well as the husband will attest these can and usually do end up anywhere in our house. This often results in much swearing and throwing back of duvets, sweeping aside of paperwork and on more than one occasion frustrated opening of the fridge in a desperate attempt to find said wallet when we’re leaving the house. I could of course be sensible and leave it in the same place all the time but where’s the fun in that? Also I swear I do but somehow it gets moved by person or persons unknown.
So this little beauty would solve all those issues, because to be honest if my phone isnt within reach I do get minor palpitations. I mean what if something amazing happens to either myself or the world and I can’t tweet about it! It just doesn’t bare thinking about.
In all seriousness this looks like a great piece of kit and am sure similar versions are available elsewhere. Anything that cuts down on the amount of crap in your pockets must be a good thing.
Gentlemen, we do not have to reapply make up (well most of us and if you do go for it!) nor do we have the seemingly endless supply of curios that dwell in a ladies handbag. When we go out we need the following phone, bank cards, cash, keys and travel cards. We do not need all our store cards, every credit card, receipts dating back to the land before time and more. Cut down on the bulk!
Thanks to Cool Hunting for this.
Victoria Beckham // Bags // Accessories
I promise I will stop with the luggage and bag posts soon. I am clearly obsessed! But look at these from Victoria Beckham. I don’t care if they are ‘officially’ ladies bags these are beautiful. Obviously it will depend on the dimensions, but I reckon the tote above could be fairly masculine in the right size, and she’s not known for sporting a tiny clutch. The highest price tag is £18,000 so I can’t say as I’ll be adding too many of these to my collection.
And as for this gym/ duffle bag. It’s lush. I have excessive wants on this.
To be honest bags whilst some are undeniably masculine or feminine are fairly unisex. Think of them as the intersex accessories of the fashion world if you will. Especially now most men are sporting a ‘manbag’. In the not so distant past (mid 90s) we all laughed at Joey from friends and his manbag. Not laughing so much anymore. Whether its to carry gym gear, clothes for a weekend away, laptops or stuff to do with actual work, men can rarely get away without a bag these days. So it’s time to shape up, invest some cash, and as such avoid looking like this man!You are a grown up, put down the school bag. (Unless its a totally cool satchel like this from Dr Marten’s)
Swear London // The10Space // Truman Brewery Party
This weeks been great, super productive in work getting ready to kick start Autumn Winter 2012. So to be honest the lack lustre weather has been helping get my brain in the right creative mood. But the highlight so far was most definitely the launch of Swear Londons 10th anniversary pop up space (shop just doesn’t feel right for this creative little place) at the Truman Brewery just off Brick Lane. Swear through collaborations and their own ingenuity have had an amazing track record over the last 10 years which is lovingly showcased here.
As well as the brands history and innovation the Spring Summer collection is of course available along with t-shirts magazines and more. I particualry loved the illustrations by Amie Howarth.
The party itself was undeinably a success, and despite arriving a smidge late (thanks to a distracting beverage with the lovely Mssrs Hugh Wright and Anders White), I arrived just in time to grab what may well have been the very last Kopperberg. It’s always a good sign when the bar runs dry, it’s clearly a succesful party. Though the bar should obviously be replenished as soon as possible. The trendy and lovely people were clearly to enamoured with the shoes and great beats from DJs Horatio and more, to care as the place was still jumping when I left.
But enough about that, check out the shoes. If I had more opportunity to distract the crowd I would’ve been tempted to liberate quite a few. Especially the blue suede and leather high tops! Gorgeous. Not to mention the white brogue/trainer lovelies.
#firstandforever // Dr Marten’s // New Advertising Campaign
Everyone remembers their first pair of Dr Marten’s, well everyone except me. You see to my shame I’ve never owned a pair. Yes, yes I know, how I’ve managed to get to 30 without owning a pair is beyond me too. Please don’t judge. I said don’t judge. When you spend the vast majority of your life either in school or mucking about on boats Dr Marten’s as fantastic as they may be aren’t so practical. That and well to be honest, I never really bought into the brand, I certainly wasn’t part of your stereotypical Dr Marten customer. This is however about to change. Dr Marten’s new campaign is all about you. Your firsts, first heartbreak, first love, first tattoo, first rave and naturally your first Dr Marten’s. #firstandforever is all about you, your friends and your memories.
The website guides you through not just your first, but everyone elses. Lets you shop online and see the brilliant new products in all their glory. It’s clearly been well thought through as its easy to navigate and to be honest quite fun to get involved with.
With Agyness Deyn and Ash as the faces of the campaign, Dr Marten’s are staying true to their status as an iconic British brand. They are someone you can trust, someone you know, and someone you can share your firsts with. It’s not just about the shoes, as wicked as they are, it’s much more.
Lucky enough to see the launch of this campaign, which happened simultaneously in New York and London, I also got to see the Autumn Winter collection. If you’ve never before bit the bullet and bought a pair of Dr Martens now is the time to change your mind and of course if you do, share your story. The traditional greats are obviously still there, but new texture’s like ponyskin and oilslick are also being introduced, and they look fantastic.
Also being launched are some fantastic accessories including these schoolboy satchels which have catapulted themselves to the top of my wishlist! They come in a huge range of colours from traditional browns, and oxbloods to white, pink and combinations of all the above.
What are my firsts? Well headover to #firstandforever and see if you can find them. I’ve so far shared my first tattoo, first gig and first festival. If you want to know more just ask. Oh and once I get my first pair of Dr Marten’s I’ll be sharing that too.
The launch itself took place in the very lovely Aubin Cinema in Shoreditch, which I will most definitely be heading back to. Cocktails and popcorn as you watch your film is possibly one of the most genius ideas I have ever heard of.
Cufflinks // Organic Silver // Trees
isaia x borrelli
(via randomitus)
Weekend Bag // Luggage // Essential
The other weekend the husband took a flight of fancy and on arriving home decided we couldn’t possibly stay in London. Brassic as per norm there wasn’t much I could do but smile. He however insisted and within little over an hour we were packed and making our way to Manchester. I love it there, and whilst we didn’t make it to the Lowry, we did make it all round the Northern Quarter and of course Oi Polloi, where my early birthday present of some Ray-Ban Signets was purchased (I think he’d had enough of my squinting into the light).
Thing is as we raced around the bedroom chucking far more clothes than we actually needed into a rather inglorious mini-wheelie suitcase, we noted we should possibly get some new luggage. Sure our his ‘n his matching luggage was indeed practical. It even passed through the ever decreasing back gauges at Stansted, but on a stylish impromptu weekend away they just weren’t pretty enough. It’s time to go shoppping.
A decent weekend back is like gold dust, it has to fit without fail at least one complete outift change than actually necessary, relevant accessories, all bathroom products, at least one pair of shoes, and my MacBook. None of this can be left behind. So far am loving the Tuk Tuk bag above. Very nice and simple, the chambray fabric should weather well, and it should be light.
I’m also loving this from Ally Capellino. The colour is strong and I’m clearly still loving the chambray fabric. The leather here is a great touch but I think it could be darker. I think the length of handles and depth of the actual bag work well though.
This from Mystery Ranch, at first glance when I saw it on Selectism I really loved it. Now am feeling its a little too studenty. I used to love and adore Crumpler when I first left Uni and would still recommend them to anyone interested, but personally I’ve moved on to Knomo. I think these bags have suffered the same fate. In fact their ‘Berlin’ bag is pretty tasty.
But in this instance I reckon we’re looking for something a little bit more casual. And then with a wee nod to the Longchamp, comes this beauty by Mulberry. Absolutely friggin perfect.
This is a definite winner. Love it! Clearly going to fit everything and anything I need it to. Now to save up some cash by possible avoiding spontaneous trips to Manchester in the future. (That’s never going to happen!) So there you have it what I’ll hopefully be slinging over my shoulder the next time the husband decides we cant possibly stay in London for the weekend.
But wait there’s more, there’s always more. There’s always some other twist or turn just around the corner waiting to be found. Like this Harris Tweed travel bag. It’s brilliant with a deep and rich colour only Harris Tweed can truly provide. It’s so amazingly British and strong. Archer Adams has brought this together with bridle leather to create a phenomenal heritage piece available in deep orange, red or purple.
And if you’re thinking of heading off for the weekend and need some new luggage you can’t really go wrong with any of these either. Slightly oversized bowling bags and modern holdalls are so much better than a ridiculous wheelie suitcase. They may even make you pack less.
Photo Credits: Selectism, Definitive Touch, & Knomo
Mens Cuff // So Mugler // Accessories
When I first saw, Nicola Formichetti’s latest Menswear collection, Brothers of Arcadia I was more than a little bit in lust. I mean the full length metal gauntlets possible aren’t the most practical for nipping out to the shops in. Then again if you’ve been to my local Asda, a full suit of armour may not to be too far out of the realms of necessity.
But thats by the by, ever one with an eye for a bit of bling, in the subtlest manner possible of course, when I saw this over on Les Garcons de Glasgow, I felt a familiar twinge. This is a high shine thing of beauty! I want it. Though like most of the more directional things I covered I would probably gaze at it longingly for an age before daring to wear it out.
There’s a burgeoning trend of ‘ethnic’ beads by the dozen on men’s wrists this summer. (It’s a step up from those rubber charity bands people had a while back I suppose. My silver grey one caused great interest, especially when others noted it was Anti-chav.) I’d say go with the trend, but only if you’ve actually been fleeced for your beads by a Moroccan market trader in Morocco or somewhere suitably genuine. Genuinely I welcome the return of some multifaceted wrist adornment. I’ve a few ideas about chunky chains and silk ribbons going round my head, when I find them I’ll post them.
In the meantime I shall dream of this cuff, and pretend I could so have been one of Nicola’s Brothers of Arcadia.
Accessories // Anchor // Bracelet
I want this.
I could be all nautical trend, blah blah, anchors, the season, breton stripes, blah blah, but the fact is this is simply cool. I like, I want, I’m off to make this happen somehow.
Sunglasses // Men // Summer
There are times, often on a Saturday or Sunday morn, that I’m sure I’m part Mogwai. Sunglasses are an essential. I’ve done expensive, a beautiful pair of Oakley T-wires.
They were pretty much perfect for my face and even if I say so I looked pretty fit in them. But they sadly met a death underfoot whilst camping at Brighton Pride. Apparently I can send them to Oakley who will fix them for free. I’ve know this for nearly two years and they still sit in their little box all forlorn and twisted out of shape.
I’ve done cheap, thank you Topman. Genuine love for last summers matt colour blocked RayBan inspired numbers. Whilst neither my red nor my blue pair lasted particularly long at £12 who am I to complain.
So it’s now June and I am without a pair, and left squinting like a newborn, unable to properly admire the hotness summer brings without looking like a bit of a perv. The security a pair of sunnies gives you to eye up randoms must never ever be underestimated. They also hide disdain better than I ever could. Which is yet another reason to invest. But I’ve tried on every cheap pair I can find and they aren’t sitting just right, so a summer of near blindness looks like a real possibility. I’m gutted. Maybe it’s time to bite the bullet again and fork out some decent cash.
But with who? Well I’m clearly in love with Glassing. So that could well be an option. Especially the green aviator style ones.
Failing that we have the following contenders…..
Persol the brand worn by Steve McQueen. Get in!
Instant vintage cool. Yes please. Especially these 2989S, thank you very much! Which are available over at Oi Polloi
Next up we have these beauts from Oliver Peoples. I’ve clearly not moved on from loving a bit of vintage framing and tortoiseshell.
Again another lovely vintage look. I’m also liking the scarf/jumper here, but feel this may be slightly less easy to pull off round LDN, than posing in a Riva. The sunnies, I’m guessing Armani, but its difficult to tell.
I could always fall back on the oul faithful of Oakley, and these Frogskins are available at Oki Ni. But as lovely as they are I’m not into the branding down the arm.
Or if I was being a bit charitable I could go for these from TOMS. Ok so they aren’t yet available on the UK site , which is quite frankly a crying shame! But I love the ideology of TOMS. For every pair of shoes or glasses in this case you buy, they donate a pair to people in the developing world. Guilt free fashion is somethign I can live with. Especially when it looks this good.
Rings // Coins // Unique
I love finding new and innovative products and whats not to love about these upcycled coins. I genuinely feel a bit dirty using that word, but these rings are fantastic. Genuinely different to most things I’ve seen of late. Made by a craftsman in Columbia, Indiana, who apparently will turn your old or rare coins into something unique just for you.
Due to the volume of utter shite on the site I tend to stay far far away from etsy.com, perhaps this is where I’m going wrong. A bit like an online TK Maxx you gotta trawl through the rubbish to find some gems. This guy most certainly is one of those. Each ring is priced at $24.95 with worldwide shipping only an extra $4.50. Not bad at all!
Click through the above Indiana ring to be taken straight to the Custom Coin Rings online store.
custom coin rings
Glassing // Wolf and Badger // Accessories
So my photos may be trapped on the MacBook for now. However I couldn’t resist a quick post about these amazing sunnies I spotted last night. Thankfully managed to hunt down some pics to show you. Glassing are set to hit the Wolf and Badger shop floor this season, and I am most definitely in love with them. They’re hand finished meaning each pair is unique. The frames range from classic to the more edgy, and having tried on a pair of stunning green aviators last night I am besotted. For a start they actually suited my face. Aviators never ever do!
Unfortunately the night was drawing to a close meaning I didnt have the time to bag them for myself. But the summer is set to be long and hot so I’m sure I’ll have time and reason to return!
More importantly this is just a taster of the loveliness I saw last night. A balmy evening in W11, Pimms and exciting fashion. I was happier than a pig in the proverbial.
Accessories // Laptop Bag // Leather
Bags, satchels, murses, whatever you want to call them men’s bags have come a long way since Joey was ridiculed for his manbag. We are still a long way from the cavernous and treacherous realms of women’s bags. Some of which have a TARDIS like quality I’m sure. Mary Poppin’s bag wasn’t magical, believe I’ve seen the contents of some friends bags!
As men carry more and more the murse is going to continue as a trend. Personally I’m a huge huge fan of knomo. Their bags are clean, very well made and not overly priced. Born out of needing a laptop bag unlike the hideous creatures sold in PC stores. I mean who on earth designs those! Yes I would love to spend a fortune on a laptop then shove it in bag which will make me look as though I got lost somewhere between physics and double accountancy. This morning I saw two gentleman in sharp(ish) suits on the tube, brandishing these monstrosities. I believe the brand is Targus. I practically wept! Besides the hideous nature of these bags they scream ‘Look at me I have a laptop! Mug me!’.
Thank everything that is Prada and lovely for knomo and the likes of above.
knomo have since branched out into covers for iPhones, Gym bags, luggage. I may soon be expanding my collection.
I find luggage particularly difficult to buy, until I can splash out on Goyard that is. So in the meantime I’m going to have to make do with hunting down the beauty above. It’s simple and easy, and I’m sure my MacBook will fit in there very snuggly indeed. Wins all round!
You know you wanna slip your Mac Book into this, blogger.
Accessories // Mateo Bijoux // Something Simple
I could ‘hammer’ out a few tired puns about this hitting the ‘nail on the head’ but I’d have to punish myself. Possibly by deliberatly standing on the left of a tube escalator during rush hour. Instead I’m feverishly googling Mateo Bijoux, providing you with the link so we can all enjoy the clean and simple works. This nail bracelet, along with an oxidised monkey wrench are definitely my favourites. Along with zipper necklaces. Brilliant, though having been boasting about my hairless back for the Raf Simon shirt, my rather hairier chest may not be so lucky.
With Menswear it’s more often the cleanest and simplest ideas that standout. Clean and simple yet naughty. Growing up I always wanted a bracelet made out of a bike chain. They looked so cool. Now I’m old enough to buy one, they clearly aren’t. Largely for reasons of authenticity I could actually buy one. I’d have to make one by hacking apart an actual bike chain, somehow putting it back together and hoping I can squeeze my fat hand through the resulting chain. Obviously that is not going to happen, my DIY skill simply wouldnt let it, and just think of the oil going everywhere.
So how handy Mateo Bijoux has come to my rescue with this collection. Not only that but the collection is available at yoox.com. The prices are more than reasonable and so long as the shipping isn’t prohibitive I may just be treating myself.
Failing hunting Mateo down on their website, or yoox, there’s always twitter
A unique accessory - a nail bracelet by Mateo Bijoux
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