this is not just another love song

Like saving my chocolate Easter Bunny til Thanksgiving (and then, finally relinquishing it only after my mom cajoled me to 'make room in the fridge for the chocolate Turkey'), I've been hoarding this shot from Somerset House since September, for the right day. It was probably before the Ashish show @ fashion week, and I didn't even ask this sweet model for her name. And today is a gift from the gods here in London, unseasonably warm and semi-sunny. As perfect an English day in late October can reasonably hope to get. There must be some compensation somewhere in the world: I bet you somewhere in the Carribean, it's raining.



I've been thinking a lot lately about 'blog power', especially in the fashion world. For example: you know I've been banging on since I started my blog, about this 'underwear as outerwear' phenomenon. Well, sure enough: this Saturday's Telegraph magazine did a whole thing about it. In fact, they used these very words:

'If you thought showing your bra straps was unslightly, prepare to be horrified by next summer's key trend: UNDERWEAR AS OUTERWEAR.'

Now, granted, I didn't copyright the phrase, and there's no way of knowing if the author, Jeremy Farr, read my blog, or if we're just on the same page. But, still.

So I'm wondering: who else out there has noticed that what they're posting is ending up in the press?

I'd love to do an experiment. What if we - as a group - made up a trend. Just a phrase or stupid word, like elephants. 'Elephant grey'. I mean, as Pearl of fashion pearls of wisdom pointed out, someone out there coined 'coatigan' and some other genius came up with 'jeggings'.

We could just make something up. And then we start using it, and, like the Emporer's New Clothes, time how long it takes for a fashion editor to print it. Bit like tracking birds in the wild.

Any suggestions? Winner gets a free Obama Underground tee shirt (click here for image, and story).

me & my BFF michelle obama

This was shot at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, up on the wall by the gates, waiting for the Obamas to arrive. For a change, I knew how it felt to be dotted: great, frankly!

And it couldn't have been more opposite to what was going on in the City on the same day. Everyone was so happy. And so quiet. A thousand or more people, and you could hear a pin drop. Waiting, having fun, being stylish and blase. Living life in peace. And when the First Couple finally arrived.. a magic moment. Just like that John Lennon song.

But life is strange, and because of an item of clothing, this photo - and others shot by photographers at the same time - have now appeared in so many papers, from the Guardian to the Telegraph to a big spread in Time Out - and now, online, with this cute thread about the 'girl' in the tee shirt. Someone from ABC News interviewed me on what we think of Michelle here in London, which was fun (answer: everyone loves her). Oh, if anyone's interested: I wore riding boots from Blue Velvet (King's Road), white jeans from the Gap, tee shirt, my own design as inspired by Karin Robinson and the London Underground. But we're much more interested in what Michelle was wearing. And she was dressed in Gap for Number Ten, so we're clearly on the same page.