Just in case anyone's reading this in time: I'm heading to Oxford Street to meet Orla Kiely at UNIQLO for an exclusive interview. I'm the only blogger doing this apparently - got friends in from California, trying to keep things simple while juggling everyone's schedules - it's all good.
Typing this in haste but I wanted to give you a head's up: you can meet her from 12:30 - 1:00, UNIQLO, flagship shop, 311 Oxford Street: customers will receive a posy of flowers when they buy two items from the collection. Which comes packaged in limited edition Orla Kiely tote bags. I can't wait: I'm a huge fan.
I caught this shot of her the first time I met her - LFW Sept 2009. Enough chit chat, sorry, must dash.
Okay: first of all, do you have any idea how hard it was to find this song on youtube? Try typing in 'merry merry merry Christmas,' which was the only part of the lyrics I remembered at first, and then 'Christmas is here'. I'll save you the trouble: you'll just have to trust me, you can come up with a hell of a lot.
Thursday night, I ventured out with the bug I had been trying to nip in the bud, via bus then on foot, in the rain, because my friend Veronika, who is a knitwear designer, was part of a catwalk show at the London College of Fashion. I was walking down Oxford Street and finally admitted to her by phone that I just couldn't do it. She was totally understanding, because she's lovely, and gave me her blessing to go back home, and as I turned to do the reverse journey home and pick up noodle soup at Wasabi along the way, suddenly I was hit with a flash of memory: the lights on Oxford Street, the taxis in the rain, and, suddenly, my heart swelled with something absolutely MAGIC, deep, mystical memory, and my head started playing this song:
Hark how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, throw cares away, Christmas is here, bringing good cheer, to young and old, meek and the bold, Oh how they pound, raising the sound, o'er hill and dale, telling their tale, Gaily they ring, while people sing songs of good cheer, Christmas is here, Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas, Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas, On on they send , on without end, their joyful tone to every home Dong Ding dong ding, dong Bong
Weirdly, on the comments, someone wrote this: "This is the song that plays in my head when I'm epic-ly shopping for Christmas presents."
So sick as I was feeling, I pulled out my camera and started shooting, in a trance.
Sartorically, what I'm craving now - what I feel like wearing, all of a sudden - is dark, black, navy, midnight, shiny shiny shiny sparkles, velvet and sequins and for the day, denim and black jumpers and gold and silvery jewelry.
This is the first of my new series of juxtapositions: instead of giving you two separate shots, I'm mixing images together now. The catwalk shot is from Corrie Nielsen's show last February: her A/W 2011 show, ('corrie, corrie'), the show that had intrigued me because she was from Florida, studied at Central Saint Martin, was influenced by Vivienne Westwood, and, having never seen her work before, she had said her inspiration came from the both the Elizabethan period, and 1940s and 1950s French haute couture. THAT juxtaposition caught my curiosity.
I will continue this series - mixing Corrie's and other designers' work with Oxford Street Christmas lights, and want to remind you about next weekend's VIP weekend: Oxford/Regent Streets, traffic closed to the public, really magic Old English themes going on, for kids, adults, carols: I really hope I"m well enough to go. Oh and anything you spend in the West End, American Express will donate £1 to Kids Company, so bring your AmEx card!
This is taking street style photography into a new realm for me.. it's more like street stalking.
How scary am I: literally laid in wait outside Mango for this stunning woman to emerge (she's got a great back but looked fabulous from the front, too). If I were a man, they'd have arrested me by now. By the way, I'm seeing Panama hats everywhere this summer. The best ones, at a good price AND ethically sourced, can be found at Pachacuti.
This just in: my new hot pink plastic celebrity sandals. Last week, my HPPCS broke for the 2nd time, and the Gorilla Glue wasn't holding. You might remember - if you've been reading my little bloggette as far back as early May, that when I was in Palm Beach women were going gaga for my cheap plastic sandals that I've been wearing for years. (story here). Well - call it divine intervention - last Thursday, when I was on a streetstyle shooting deadline (don't ask) and freezing, I stopped in for warmth, on a whim, to Next, on Oxford Street. There they were! About a dozen pair! My new ones are slightly different than their first incarnation: they've got a sparkly real diamond buckle and a kind of buckling effect on the soles which actually help the grip - so they're new & improved. I was tempted to buy them all but told myself: no, Jill, only one per customer. EIGHT QUID. They're not online, or at least weren't when I checked. You might have to hoof it over to your local branch. Today's only Wednesday, there's a chance there's a pair left, in your size. Provided, of course, your karma is good.
Anastasia, left, from Russia, and her friend, Anastasia, right, also from Russia, dotted near LIberty, off Oxford Street in Soho. I love their attitude: they look quite serious but found it hilarious that they're both (truly) named Anastasia. Actually, since I'm posting two shots, that's technically FOUR Anastasias, all from Russia. What are the odds?
RoadTrip23 is the natural evolution from StreetStyle London, which is still here, and has been since 2009. Because there's more to the world than fashion, and there's more to the world than London. Lovely as London is.
I'll still be posting street style, if something really grabs me, but have expanded into other areas of interest, primarily travel, the arts, culture. Whatever I feel is beautiful or interesting: either man made, or a natural wonder.
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