All for the Love of Lulu

                                                      

For my 19th birthday I was given a pair of Lulu Guinness black satin court shoes that had the most glorious crystal fan affixed the front of shoe.  I can't quite describe what happened but it was love at first sight.  However, despite my adoration for these shoes, my equal love affair for ruining my favourite pairs of shoes has meant that I have only worn them twice, this has by no means curbed my love for the designer as I happily spend every last penny on more delicate and whimsical treasures for me to hoard and delight in.

Since Lulu designed her first handbag in 1989 which was sold at Liberty's and Joseph, she has created a beautiful signature style that encompasses the changing trends of the catwalk with a wonderful traditional elegance, each piece making you want to immediately red lipstick and take to the town.  

Her signature rose basket hand bag has blossomed in yellow this month to celebrate Selfridges 100th birthday, which has followed Lulu's own 20th anniversary celebrations.  

From umbrellas to beach totes, each piece is often gloriously adorned with vintage-esque sketches and cheeky phrases. 

 However, her collections are not simply vintage remakes but more like a reference to glorious designs that made the perfectly feminine outfits of the 1950's complete.  Her designs may not follow the trends of catwalk but they remain popular around the world, with stores in New York and a new collaboration with Itochu Corporation for an exclusive collection in Japan, the popularity of her quirky traditionalism clearly is not waning. Sometimes though it is lovely to be able to put on a tea dress and pick up an accessory that makes you feel ultimately feminine.  I personally love it whenever it rains simply because I can open my fabulous Lulu umbrella and hide from the downpour under a delightful hand drawn image of London.

Never without red lipstick on, and her hair perfectly set Lulu herself is the walking advertisement for her label, a constant reference to back to Yves Saint Laurent's words that 'fashion's fade, style is eternal.'  Style is something that Lulu Guinness has a lot of.  Even the ever neon Super Super magazine took to the English Country Garden to display Lulu's red flower hand bags as you can see below.

       

  

To see Lulu's new current collection go to www.luluguinness.co.uk or pop to the cosy store in Ellis St to see the designs for yourself.

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A Retrospective of a Retrospective

Apologies for delay in posting this.  As I must remind myself of more often: Too much time drinking tea and eating cake will make the dresses tighter and postings late.  

It's rather nice, though, as the exhibition is in its final weeks to look back to its opening day amidst the bustle of fashion week.

                          

It was very interesting to watch the many women sporting little fascinators and whimsical head pieces as they wander around the Victoria and Albert Museum.  Of course, it is the perfect marrying of exhibitions.  Having escaped the from the couture cattle market that is London Fashion Week at the Natural History Museum, Stephen Jones' Hats: an Anthology was the perfect retreat from the madness, set in a magical box hedged Baroque Garden.  The retrospective was a homage of sorts to Cecil Beaton's 1971 show Fashion: an Anthology which successfully raised the profile of fashion and put the museum firmly on the map.  Jones' intention was to do the same for the beloved hat.  As he says "I simply live my life and put it into a hat" and proclaims that for London "the hat is, and always has been embedded in the city's culture."  

As you walk around the exhibition you discover how true this is, from the beefeater to the bowler, British classic style has truly been exemplified by hat.  Yet, the hat occupies an odd niche area within fashion, departing from the traditional necessity for a woman, as Jones highlights 

"Did you know that during the Second World War, everything was rationed apart from hats and lipstick? The Government said it would be too demoralising for women to go without them. They were absolutely right."

In modern culture the hat makes a statement, whether you are on the grass at Ascot or sat in St. James' Park in a straw boater they bring a new dimension to any outfit.

Jones' creations almost fall into the postmodern simulacrum idea in that they have become so iconic that seeing them in reality is on odd feeling.  Every piece in the show is displayed like a work of art and in so many ways this is exactly what they are.  From the rabbit ears for Comme des Garcons to the glorious Pac-Man helmuts for the Giles S/S 09, Jones' has created a legacy for himself with a ever-strengthening relationship with the designer and celebrity.  His pieces are combined with a whole host of hats with Schiaperelli's elegant yet eccentric Stiletto hat placed opposite to a 2007 plastic Disney Princess tiara.  It seems the desire for the exhibition is not just to display hats of detail, historical significance or personal importance but to create something that highlights the plethora of ideas the tiny three letter word 'hat' actually encompasses.

"Hats are for everyone – old and young alike," said Jones. "They are complete eye candy, and in times of recession, they are more important than ever because they are so optimistic and frivolous when everything else is so serious and gloomy."   

This exhibition not is not only a wonderful retrospective and historical display but it really does inspire you, whether it's a beret or a breton the hat is the piece to invest in.  

Hats: An Anthology is open until the 31st May