Political T-Shirts

(photo from digital gravel)

I love t-shirts, I cannot get enough of them. My question is, is fashion good when it is political? are political t-shirts like the one above a faux-pas? I like messages and the art of conveying messages through using clothes is interesting because it can have an impact but it wholly depends on what the message is. It can border on pretentious but I think that depends on who is wearing the clothes.

Famous People .... Runways?

Prince showed up at the Matthew Williamson show a while back & gained a lot of attention for the show. Conversely, Rihanna opened the DSquared show in Milan and closed it too.

Does celebrity belong in fashion? Or should the models just be models? I think they mesh whether fashion purists like it or not because fame sells clothes and clothes need fame in order to gain exposure. I don't mind the celebrity in fashion but what I do mind is the over-exposure of celebrity in fashion. Case in point: that kate moss perfume. Kate Moss has been all over the place, and that is not necessarily a bad thing but does she have to embody every aspect of fashion? No and I don't believe she should because it is not monolithic.

High-waisted--necessarily high-brow?

And the craze is now in full swing...Please make way fort he new must have item, the high waisted trousers. Be it with button detailed front, like a gorgeous grey pair from H&M or even the French Coonection plain black one, these trousers are going to be hot stuff in the weeks--nay--months to come.

But can we all wear them and not feel like:
i)an oversized ballon;
ii)drowning under depths of fabric;
iii) a total idiot that just looks like a 90s geek that has just got a wedgie....


I am not a fully fledged member of the lengthening-of-my-legs-and-bum clan. Indeed, i find myself thinking that these may just be for the Keira Knightley's of the world. Discussing this with my hippie-esque friend over a non organic cup of coffee, we agreed to disagree ont his new craze. She believes that they will give you never-ending bum syndrome, whilst I tend to think that they will merely give a shapeless bum, well, more shape.

th debate has been open for quite some time, and skinnies are still crawling the streets of London, be it either in style mecca extraordinaire Croydon(thanks, Kate) or the posh avenues in Hampstead Heath....Can we really go from one extreme to the other?

Where do leggings fit in?

Is this the 'chubbier' girl's version of ludicrously tight denim?

Is this taking the mick out of my hard earned and well spent cash on last season's attire?

But most importantly, are they WEARABLE? Well, trial and error seems to be striking my heartstrings here. They can look good, but with a secretarial blouse and preferably Mary-Janes.

I think what shocks me most here is the blatant 360 o turn fashion designers have made, literally from one season to the next. Fashion has been known to be fickle at the best of times, but this is going to be one painfully expensive style ride...And will they ever make it into Chantelle's wardrobe?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to raid mum's closet for those 70s swingers.

Mr Tambourine man and his slap

Since seeing American rapper Eve's new video and its blatant endorsement of MAC beauty products, I got thinking of the state of affairs when it came to selling a product.

Throughout the x-convict's video, make up seemed to be omnipresent, coyly being zoomed in on at various intervals and making its guest appearances at every second beat. However, let us not shoot the gun—Eve is hardly the first nor the last artist to sell her soul to a particular brand.

It seems everybody is doing it—age has caught up with the best of them, and according to L'Oreal, Jane Fonda is the face to have when clocking up those seventy years. Tiger Woods and his old faithful watch, the Tag Heuer, seem to have kept his swing punctual for those crucial golf tournament semi-finals; whilst David Beckham shies away from the paparazzi flashes with his Police sunwear and wifey Vic (oh Vicky) decided that she should sport the same, as a his 'n' hers duo.

So why did I step back from Ee-Vee-Ee's video with such newfound skepticism? Because the lady that once kept it 'real' and believed in flashing her pawed baps to the world has finally done what all celebs inevitably do—come back and brought back a brand with her. I guess I for one thought you had to be in the limelight to do so, not come back from the twilight.

The argument is like the chicken and egg story; one seems inevitably linked to the other these days. The fact that proceeds go towards AIDS research does soften the marketing however...

L.A.M.B for dinner anyone?

And Volte Is Back...

It has been a while since the last post since I didn't feel like I was good at fashion writing but now, I hope the ball will truly roll! Here is a bag by Luella and i just need it to materialise and be part of my arm, instead of being on net-a-porter.com

Price -- 617pounds on net-a-porter. The question is, should I save for a car so that I won't hurt my feet whilst running around Bristol or should I be part of the Luella sack army?

British Magazines love Beth Ditto from the Gossip. She was in ELLE and Glamour's latest issues. The above scan is from the latter. What do you think of her? Is she a step forward for showing diversity in fashion? In the article she comes across very astute and clever. She also appears witty when she asked if she will have babies one day - she says no and then responds with "I call kids 'art thieves' because as soon as your favourite band/author/artist has a baby, then all they do is sing or write about or draw their baby, and it's like dude, nobody cares about your baby but you"

She sounds funny as hell! That made me laugh out loud when I read it. I like that she is getting mainstream press attention. She represents an image of women scorned by the mainstream fashion + beauty press. If you would like me to scan the whole article, just ask and I will send you the scans.

Amerie - Gotta Work

It's time for a fashion analysis of music videos. What is your verdict about the garment and accessories? I think Amerie never changes her look. I like the song and I like her as an artist yet she never changes from the shorts thing. We know you have great legs, Amerie but keep us interested with new looks! The boots at the beginning are great - she looks really great in black. I just feel like her look is just an extension of "1 Thing".