the god of ordinary things

For the past hour or so, I have been quietly sitting with my laptop, lost in the world of photo images. My husband saw me quietly working away and said 'Enjoy it while you can.' You might recall I was leaving for the dentist on Monday. Well when I got there turns out altho said husband was sure my appointment was for 3:25, it was really 2;25, and I had to reschedule. Yes, I'm walking back in the snow today, for 5:15.

While I'm sure no one has died from two shots of novacaine - have they? - in case this is my last post, I want it to be about Toby Jones, whose work is shown here. He lives and works in Sydney, Australia, which immediately has captured my imagination, as my musician brother has been there many times and believes I would love to live there, because of the swimming and everything.





I love the way he has taken the most ordinary household objects - a band aid, the little plastic fish that the soya sauce comes in with take away sushi - and cast them into the most unique pieces of jewellry. (And while we're at it, how DO you spell jewelry? Neither word is right).









Photographed these at the Robinson Pfeffer press day. I loved the way they presented everything on a light box: these images remind me of Man Ray photograms. Oh! And my friend Stephanie, of Style Odyssey, had just tweeted a day or so before that she believed she was a knight in a past life 'because of my obsession with chain mail'. That struck a chord with me. I remember my grandmother, Anna, from Russia - who I never met, she died right after I was born - she had the most beautiful chain mail purse, which I hope I have tucked away safely somewhere here in London. I'm fascinated with chain mail and I love this bracelet and fingerless glove.

You can buy some of Toby Jones' pieces at OKI-NI, altho much of it is sold out. Hopefully, he's in Sydney as we speak, making more. Or if you get really stuck, check with the lovely folk @ Robinson Pfeffer.



I could spend hours lost in his website: and ironically, I was going to frame all these photos in black, as I've done here - before I realised that was the design of his site.

Now off to get some more metal in my mouth. It costs extra for white fillings, so I shall be wearing my jewels in my teeth this holiday season.

geneva

In keeping with my black, white and camel/tan series: I've been meaning for ages to do a post on Geneva, of the relatively new yet fabulous blog called (I love this name) A Pair and a Spare. Besides being clean and focused and well designed, it really is a practical guide to DIY fashion, just like it says on the tin.

Case in point, shown here: when I started asking where she got things she was all 'it's nothing expensive, I DIY'd the shorts..' Hang on: what do you mean? 'Oh, they were from a charity shop, much longer, I just chopped them off, hemmed them..' and she demonstrated her stitches.. just made it seem so effortless.



Geneva was one of the first people I spotted and dotted in the first few minutes of the first day of fashion week. I hadn't seen her before and she's got such a great look, and is really nice. I was surprised later when I saw her blog that she doesn't do more of her own self style on it. She said she will, now that she's getting more positive feedback. I'm hoping to do more shots of her soon.




When I took this shot - and, mind you, this is within literally two minutes of meeting her - I started adjusting the way her shirt was open - the shape of what looks like a black leather bustier underneath didn't seem right. 'Normally they'd buy me a cocktail first', she said, and it took me a moment to realise what she said. Total deadpan delivery. Totally my sense of humour. Instant new friend.

I almost called this post The Geneva UnConvention but that is so lame. Why am I even telling you this?

three little birds

Yesterday when I was on the street in Knightsbridge, I had to pee and went into Starbucks. There was a little queue for the downstairs loo so went upstairs, where there was a notice that it was broken, sorry, and to try the one downstairs. After a while I gave up and went to Wasabi, where I had lovely sushi, but while I was queuing at Starbucks, Bob Marley was singing: Three Little Birds. And it's been playing in my head ever since.






Just spoke with the delightful Will at the British Fashion Council and he confirmed: it's not too late. It really is a more the merrier thing. Just go to the LFW site, click on REGISTER, apply for a press pass here. Don't be put off by the need for accreditation, the LINK TO WEBSITE is your own blog. He said there's even a special blogger's press pass with a bloggers' bar.. you really are welcome. I know everyone got a bit freaked about the Tavigate thing, and a few snide pieces by a few disgruntled old hacks but really, long as we don't eat ALL the free pastries - hell, even if we DO end up eating all the free pastries.. your collective passion, your enthusiasm, your time and professionalism and energy, are really an important part of the industry.

Really, what are you waiting for, a written invitation? : )



Some more street shots from yesterday. I was really into the self portrait thing. Everywhere I went, I kept seeing me, me, me.



Oh and something else Will said: I know the first time, I didn't quite trust that I was actually registered. But you'll be amazed when you get there, it's really easy. Just bring some ID. If you've got any kind of business cards, that's great to have in general especially if you're going to take photos of people (I get my cards printed by GOODPRINT: they're great value, quick turnaround and very user friendly).







(Oh and for what it's worth: once you're in, you won't necessarily receive a confirmation. Don't worry about that either. Just show up. And don't worry about what you're going to wear, just be comfortable. I'm including these shows to show that no matter what we wear.. well let's just say we're not going to look good at every angle. The secret to fashion week, like life in general, is to not take any of it too seriously).






Truly: don't worry about a thing. Cause every little thing's gonna be alright. You'll see.

got your back

The first time I remember hearing the phrase - or seeing it in print - was in an article on Angelina Jolie, possibly Vanity Fair. She was being all coy about how she and Brad were 'just good friends' but how, on the set of of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, they 'had each others' backs.' (And, as we soon discovered but really knew all along: they had more than just each others' backs.)



It's a great expression, tho. It means more than loyalty, or not betraying one's partner - or friend, or colleague. It's about actually looking out for one another. Being MINDFUL of one another. Or, to use a more quaint phrase: beholdent. That word doesn't pass spell check, and I also see it as 'beholden', but I could swear I heard Martin Sheen as President Bartlett use that phrase in West Wing several times in an episode.

Anyway: this dress. This look. I love it. Ran after the girl but lost her. It's funny, the Hay Festival is a lot like fashion week with respect there's this mad dash to queue for events, same as with catwalks, but the rest is oh so chilled.

Anyone know who made that dress? I want one!!!

on nudity (no offense)

File it under G (for 'Oh for Goodness Sake'), or F, for What the F?

Or, where the real blame lies: under N for Nude, this season's must have colour. If you're in the States, this news is probably as old as yesterday's fish and chips wrapper, but I just read in the Telegraph that Michelle Obama's 'nude' dress by Naeem Khan, has offended some people because - catch this - it's not HER shade of nude. AND to pour salt on the wound, the designer himself, of Indian nationality and born in Mumbai has had the affront to call his own dress 'streling-silver sequin, abstract floral, NUDE strapless gown.' (the context being, he's not 'nude' coloured, either): article here.

It reminded me of a running commentary Pearl and I have held over the true 'griege' (beige and grey) which has emerged this spring via Chanel, but which I first read about as a colour Jackie Kennedy was partial to while in the White House (which, come to think of it: is the White House really, technically, white? I mean, is anything White White anymore. Or, these days, is it a bit more.. cream? Off-white? Magnolia?)




I shot this at Uniqlo's Press Day not that long ago. I especially loved a new line commissioned from the creative duo from NY, COSTELLO TAGLIAPIETRA. The company is named after their grandmother's surnames: both women taught them tailoring, and worked for Norman Norell in the 1960s.




I love this stuff. I mean, look at this gorgeous, drapey number in palest lilac. (sorry: I mean lavender. Or do I mean heather? Or is it more of a greyish pink?)

My theory about the Nude thing is, peach is so passe,. As a colour word, I mean. (As a fruit, ripe in the summer, it's divine, especially with yogurt, or in a pie. Except of course in England, where peaches are always disappointing.)

Besides, real peaches are too orange, too bright to describe the colour nude. It's not quite 'ballet pink'. Seashell pink, perhaps, but real sea shells are anywhere from dirty white to the blue black of mussels, and rarely pink. And beige is so.. beige. I don't know why the word Nude has captured our imagination, but maybe it's because the 'underwear as outerwear' trend is so potent right now. (And I know Mr. Dot is so tired of hearing me say this, but every time I see those three words in print, I wish I was getting royalties because I'm sure I've coined the phrase, and will cling to that belief til the day I die: hopefully, clad in elegant lingerie, in the open air, so they can say in my obituary 'she was wearing underwear as..')




Anyway, doncha just love this pretty blue dress? It's kind of a steel grey blue.. a bit indigo, actually. You couldn't call it sky blue. Well, you could... it's the blue of a summer sky just before a tropical storm. It's the colour of the sea on a choppy day. Not a tranquil, Carribean sea, which is really more like aqua, or turquoise. Or, in Chanel-speak, VAGUE. Ironic, as the colour is anything but.

Richard E. Grant did a great show recently for the BBC, on the history of the safari, in his continent of birth, Africa. He was talking with a group of Massai, who had a beautiful safari lodge, about how they felt when their first White guests came to visit. Apparently it upset the staff at first: they were a bit afraid of the 'Pink People'.

I don't know what colour I am: I swim so much, that in warm weather, I'm kind of latte coloured. Double shot, that is. Between holidays, my skin has a slightly olive hue. So I guess you could call me Green. As my dad would say, 'You can call me anything you want, just don't call me late for dinner.'

Loathe to post anything on top of yesterday's shots of Roz. But that's the nature of a blog: time must move on, and if you want to see them, you'll just have to scroll down. It's worth the effort. I can't take any credit for the beauty of that post: shooting Roz is like shooting fish.

roz, on primrose hill, sunday morning in spring

Sunday morning: while the rest of London slept, Mr. Dot and I made our way in our lovely old car to Primrose HIll, to meet Roz, of Clothes, Cameras and Coffee, and her very cool, yet very warm, mum. (She doesn't name her in her blog so I won't either).

While Mr. Dot waited in the car, reading the paper, I scooted up the hill, breathless, a few minutes late. They were already there. And they are absolutely delightful: even more wonderfully wonderful than I had imagined. We'd actually tried a previous weekend, and couldn't get a plan, but this one fell together easily.



Roz is just extraordinary to photograph: she brings something to the moment that feels so quintessentially English: she is Alice in Wonderland, she's grown up, sophisticated and brilliant, yet with that sense of childish wonder that I hope to feel forever. It was just a brief visit - half an hour, maybe a bit more - then we all went on our way. We met a friend in Primrose Hill (the town) and I just felt so buzzed by the meeting - as I sense they did, too. I'm sure- I certainly hope - that we'll hang out again, either here or the countryside. We're just all so on the same page.



The wonderful thing about Roz's style is it is so uniquely, creatively, her own. And her 'sourcing' never actually involves anything you can find online. In fact, her descriptions of her outfits on her blog are probably the most wonderfully whimsical prose I've come across, so that's what I'm giving you, my gift from Roz, today. Her image, and her words:

'The dusky pink 'dress' is actually a pleated skirt from a charity shop that I just pulled up and pinned. Tied around it is a sash my grandma gave me. The trench coat was also from a charity shop - I'd like to say it's Burberry, but unfortunately it's not. Oh well, I live in hope! The top underneath is from Next and the necklace was also given to me by my grandma. I'm wearing my old favourite loafers (charity shopped!) and I 'appropriated' the leather bag from my mum.'



There was something about Primrose HIll on a Sunday morning, the air still cool, fresh, spring like, people arriving, dogs, children, the city below.. from that lofty place.. it feels like in Athens, at the Acropolis: you could almost believe you're dancing among the Gods. That anything is possible.

peaches and cream

There's so much I want to say about my lovely friend Hedvig, who's Norwegian. I can't believe we only met last February, in the twilight of the last night of London Fashion Week. I will say this, tho: her skin is porcelain, she always looks impeccable, and while I'm sure she's well groomed, she is so low maintenance as a friend. Just mellow, easy going.

Case in point: Covent Garden, last Thursday. We were meeting @ a new fab branch of Le Pain Quotidien (great space upstairs, especially when it's too cold for Ella's outside). Sod's law, the Picadilly line was closed, and I had to switch a few trains. Texted her when it surfaced and her quick reply was 'don't stress'. So I didn't. Friends like that are, in my book, a treasure.

I love Hedvig's style and, like another great friend, Natayla of Treasures of a Ladybug, each time we meet I photograph her as part of our goodbye ritual. Talk about style icons! Both women throw together original outfits with such ease, using the same item in different ways.



Hedvig's boots are new ones from Acne (she'd just come back from Oslo), who also made the gorgeous putty coloured, fine cashmere/silk jumper. Her peachy jacket, which added some warmth to a very cold, grey day, looks expensive but it's H&M.

As for the rest? In her own words: "The jeans I'm wearing are a swedish brand called Cheap Monday, very cheap jeans, their principle is to sell jeans at the lowest price possible, my bag is my new "baby" from Longchamp, it took a while before I received it in my post but it was worth the waiting."

mystery fashionista: hoofing it

Somehow, @ London's fashion week last September, I forgot to post this shot. With all my attention on the new silhouette from the platform booties, her shoes - and thus her look - looked a bit quaint. Now, with spring just around the corner, I'm realising that she was just rather fashion forward.




Saw this Mystery Fashionista outside Dover Street Market, smoking a quick fag & then dashing back inside (in winter, if it wasn't for the smoking ban, I wonder if I'd get ANY style shots). I didn't even get to see his or her face. I'm assuming it's a her: I've yet to see guys wearing these bad boys.

It's all about the shoes right now, isn't it? I feel like, if I were in a total shopping shutdown, I could survive on what's in my closet. But what makes this season unlike any before is the silhouette created by these wacky bovine-inspired cloven hoofs. Which leads me to...



More on the Fairy Godmother Shoe Game. Someone calling herself Ms. Scotch is in love with the Decoltissimo 85 by Louboutin, which - I swear! - was in the next batch I wanted to talk about (top left & middle, £340). Jimmy Choo is doing a similar one, the Izzy, for a mere £315 (funny how after a while with this game, that starts to seem cheap). Is it just me, or do you find it weird that Jimmy Choo isn't even designing the shoes any more? It seems a bit.. unfair.

I'm so glad that girly heels are coming back (not that they ever really left) cause I can shop my closet!



I was almost feeling that Christian Louboutin was losing his way.. I mean, some of these, it's just all a bit too much (can you imagine shelling out £1095 - about $1700 USD - for a pair of shoes & realising they don't go with ANYTHING?), but if you look through his collection, there really is something for everyone. I'm still feeling that he's one of the most prolific, creative shoe designer around.



Altho, Proenza Schouler are certainly giving him a run for his money (shown above).



Probably my biggest problem with Loubs - apart from the price, obviously - is that the brilliant, iconic thing that he's done (and patented) - making the soles red so we can tell at a distance who's got the real deal (you can actually get sued if you make shoes with red soles! How cool is that) is that now, he's kinda stuck with a colour that's not that easy to match. I'm not a big fan of red to start, and some, like the pink and purple baby on the left, look great with red. But then you get these beautiful green suede shoes, and have to ruin them because all I can think is: Christmas. And yellow & red... no thanks.

Coming up, I'm going to post some of the shoes you've suggested (esp, smitten with the Bess Rollover surplus army boots) but Mr. Dot is back - with three new custom white area rugs (designed by yours truly) & I'm going go to my lovely friend's baby shower @ Guy Richie's pub, then hoofing it to Dover Street Market. So if you see me there, give a shout out. I'll shoot you. ; )

fashion forward

Got my London Fashion Week registration sorted while in Miami, and now I'm musing: what will the big trends be?

Looking back while looking forward.. I just can't imagine that anything could live up to my first Fashion Week last September. For starts, it was so hot & sunny, and fashionistas were melting in their furs & boots, so we had to get creative & mix little frocks and bear legs with great shoes (not me: I was running around in ballet flats: it's the only way I can shoot). I had such a fabulous time. I just hope the weather is good, as I'm shooting people in the outdoor courtyard. Fingers crossed.



I wonder if we'll see much of the underwear as outerwear trend off the catwalk.

Speaking of.. it's funny, I'm still finding that phrase everywhere in the UK. Magazines, newspapers.. I know I said it before and someone chastised me that I couldn't have possibly invented the trend - which I SO did not - but I'm pretty sure I coined the phrase. @ least, I thought I did! I might have subconsciously picked it up, but I can't find any evidence of the phrase before I posted it last spring. Alas, if only one received royalties for phrases.



After flying in from Miami, I was hanging out @ home in my new purchase: cream coloured men's thermal underwear (top & bottom) from Target. I was going to go out in it - accessorising with boots & bracelets, of course - when my husband, Mr. Dot, said I can't because I'd get 'arrested'. Apparently they're arresting women for wearing pyjamas to Tesco. What next? Will they start incarcerating girls sporting satin bustiers at PR events? Or silky slips @ art launches?



What do you think will be big this spring? Do you think the peep toe bootie/big wedge silhouette will still reign supreme?

Shown here from top to bottom: KTZ catwalk, All Saints window in Spitalfields, boots @ Somerset House, September.

a hard day's night

It was Friday at rush hour, and Camden High Street was transforming in the twilight: couples heading out for the night, or, in the case of these two, just meandering thru shops together. I had had a long and very lucrative day street shooting, and, realising I didn't have time to stop home & change before we went out, and not wanting to wear my naturally distressed jeans, I popped into an American Apparel & bought my best investment this fall: black thermal leggings: my current uniform (see motel rocks, I'm wearing them there).



On the way out, I saw this lovely woman, on her way home from work at MTV. (In my NYC days, I worked with a wonderfully creative & charismatic - & sytlish! - animator, Eli Noyes, Jr, doing MTV animation & music videos). As exhausted as we both were, she still patiently posed for shot after shot, holding still as she could. In the darkening twilight, I just couldn't get a shot that wasn't blurry. In fact, knowing how it drives Mr. Dot mental.. well, I"m posting the blurriest of the bunch & calling it art!



Then I dragged her into the shop for one last attempt at a sharp shot. Posting these shots together to show two variations on the black jacket, which is so hot this season, it's cool. (In fact, black leather motorcycle jackets, especially with studs are pretty much in the classic category by now, and a definite wardrobe staple).

Thank you for your comments on the fur real debate. And I hope it's sharp enough for you to see what I love about this look, the studs on her belt, jacket, grey suede cuban heel booties, and the print on her dress & fabulous texture to that great big gorgeous hand bag. All from 'nowhere special' which, to her, means shops like River Island and Russell & Bromley. Not too shabby, as my friend Daniel would say.



Then less than 5 minutes later, inside the tube, I met this girl with her brother. Another great look with a black leather jacket, making it three in under an hourl

Leaving you with one little treat, from me to you. Worth hitting play, even if only for the first chord, which has become an iconic and nearly impossible to recreate element of rock and roll. The Beatles, by the way, before Brian Epstein got them into matching suits & their iconic Fab Four, were totally black leather motorcycle jackets, pompadours and winkle pickers, in their early Berlin days. And with that, I'm signing off.

totally rad maddy

I don't know about the rest of the world, but the ubiquitous leopard print phenomenon is spreading faster than swine flu. (Hey: it's December. Weren't we all meant to be dead by October?) My Great Motel Rocks Challenge is coming to an end: they were really kind about loaning it to me, but I've held onto it way too long, mostly because it's rained so much. So Mr. Dot & I are off to the V&A today for one last Challenge, and then, sadly, it's goodbye to The Coat that has become a warm and cherished cuddly friend.



Here is Maddy Ford, who rose to the challenge. We were in Green & Stone & I was choosing coloured pencils when suddenly Mr. Dot pulled me out of the store to meet someone 'perfect for you.' I'm wondering if our marriage is getting a bit weird if my husband is now scouting out beautiful blondes. Maddy is a Celebrity Fashion Stylist, as it says on her card, and altho as you know I only post people's first names, I'm including her surname because it's got such a great sound - Maddy Ford - and this way, if you're a celebrity, you'll know how to find her. She's totally rad. And very, very sweet.



She wasn't sure The Coat would work with her outfit (note: the polka dots on her leggings are evenly spaced sequins, and her blackberry has a matching silver sequin covered case) but that's the point of my experiment: I've yet to find a look that doesn't work with this coat. And yet, come tomorrow, it's goodbye. I just hope the next lucky girl loves it as much as I have.

Maddy's tee by McQueen, bag by Louis Vuitton, but jacket 'only Zara'. Leopard print coat, stylist's own.

everything but the glitter

It really doesn't take much to amuse me.. my latest game with myself is finding how many different ways women are wearing the ubiquitous leopard print this season. Tell me when you want me to stop, please, otherwise I'm gonna bore you to tears.

Also present in this shot: red lips, black leather biker chic (this time, in the form of her bag - the other girl's jacket is cropped out), gold studs, & white tee. We've got everything but the glitter.



Of course, I could resist posting another version of a look I've already showed you, because it's so my style I could be shooting a self-portrait. I have almost the same shoes (from NY: Barneys) & have been wearing them for over ten years, lately with black over the knee socks. I even tried finding a coat just like this and ended up going home from Portobello Road with a fabulous faux chocolate jacket, barely worn, from the 50s, or early 60s, instead. But more about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.



Oh, okay, just one more: no leopard this time, just a bit of biker chic & boyfriends jackets. Preening before a party.