A very nice friend who’s family have a house near Puerta Banus (think BIG yachts, premier league footballers, little dogs, lots of gold everywhere) invited me as a means of escape from methodology hades. During an evening wandering the cobbled streets of the old town in near by Marbella we came across the most heavenly vintage and designer clothing shop Dèjà Vu on Calle Pedraza, 8, Old Town Marbella 29601.

facebook.com/dejavumarbella

This isn’t your average seller of secondhand, instead the store has a careful selection of pieces from classic to sartorial arranged in what feels like a chic salon full of curiosities and yummy nic-nack-ery. A visit will make any fashionista swoon I guarantee. Not only that, with such a good selection of important labels and key designers from the last century it’s a bite size lesson in the cultural history of ladies-wear as good as any V&A exhibit. Check out this Chanel suit in the first picture below!

This Emilio Pucci dress is my favourite. Perfect for drinks in Portafino or BBQs in Long Island… I wish.

The owner Richard is super-knowledgable about his stock and charming too.
Find the shop on facebook or www.dejavumarbella.com

When I heard about The Savage Beauty exhibition a while back, I thought to myself what a shame it’s being held in The States and not in The U.K. I would not get to see it – money, time, and work blah blah. But I made it happen. I simply made up my mind it was not to be missed and to go. So now I’m in NYC – for various other reasons nothing to do with the exhibition – but good reasons and the best part I got to see the McQueen. I might knock up some quick self-helpy manifest your life manual in a minute! Watch out Deepak.

Absolute highlights are: the black duck feather & lace dress from a/w 2009 , really has to be seen up close to be understood. A stunning corset of lilac and silk, appliquéd with black lace. Of course the famous Kate Moss holograph set to the theme from Schindlers List by John Williams which I watched about 5Xs. But for me the exquisite cream silk tulle lace gown with resin antlers from the a/w Widows of Culloden collection blew me away. The gown is such a work or art it actually made me tearful. It sounds trite, but Alexander McQueen wasn’t just a designer, he was an artist, an inspiration, and a good East-End boy. He was a genius.

The exhibition is beautifully curated. The pieces are set in dark, atmospheric rooms, dressed in baroque cases and gilt frames. There are film installations from the catwalk shows on the ceilings and Handel’s Sarabande makes up part of the heartrending classical soundtrack in the background as one moves around the rooms.

I’m sorry there aren’t any more snaps but photography wasn’t allowed, so (ahem) I’ve noooo idea how I ended up with this image.

Colour Blocked Two Button Placket Shirt

I’ve been a Fred Perry wearer ever since I can remember & I love the fact that the brand has evolved to incorporate capsule collections for the slightly more sophisticated customer working with a designer as elegant as Nicoll. If I could, I would buy/wear almost every piece of clothing in the range. I especially love the delicate twin sets and shift dress too.

One of the things I admire about Fred Perry as a brand is that it is so inherently cool. It does such a good and clever job with it’s social media strategy working with and promoting the notion of subculture. particularly around music. The tell us your story strategy is also very clever.

I suppose all this has got me thinking about the notion of cool and also prosumers and online co-creation, all of which I discuss in my thesis. If you’re interested in reading thought provoking text on cool, I recommend the work of Poutain and Robbins’ (2001), which claims that the origins of cool lay with the cultural evolution and assimilation of Afro-American culture into the American counterculture of the 1960s, which was absorbed by the advertising industry.

‘Cool’ does not simply mean something is good though; ‘… ‘cool’ always carries an extra, often barely perceived, connotation: describing something (a record, a movie, a soft drink) as ‘cool’ rather than ‘swell’ or ‘dandy’ makes the statement, in however small a way, that the person who utters it is cool and not a nerd or a conformist’ (Poutain and Robbins 2001 p31).

And as Heath and Potter say in explaining their rebel sell thesis, ‘Cool has become the central ideology for consumer Capitalism. Think back to the last time you bought something… Why did you buy it? Probably because it was really cool’ (Heath and Potter. 2005 p193).

Anyway, I dig my top.

This is me spinning around to Minnie Riperton in the garden of earthly delights after too much fizzy stuff during one of those glorious balmy evenings we’d a few weeks ago. The skirt is one I’ve owned for years and the fabric is from the Laura Ashley archives circa 1970. I believe it’s stitched for spinning.

Will somebody wear me to the fair? Will a lady pin me in her hair? Will a child find me by a stream? Kiss my petals and weave me through a dream.

The Chris Cunningham Gucci advert is another worship of mine. It’s Cunningham at his most haunting and other worldly. I could watch it over and over.

Flora for Gucci by Chris Cunningham (youtube version)v I know Cunningham has done commercial work for Orange before, but whoever came up with the Gucci collaboration is a genius. On first analysis the idea of placing Gucci a fashion house that shouts establishment, tradition, classic design with Cunningham’s jittery cyber punk status is more than juxtaposition, but it works wonderfully.
And if I was a person who could spend money on new clothes then I’d be going berserk on maxi skirts at Freepeople this season. I’ve said this before, but I love the photography used by this label.

Freepeople tired maxi-skirt

A great fashion blog can be found here with a post all about maxi-skirts. Lots of nice photographs of women in their maxis. All hail.

The maxi-skirt silhouette constructs a romantic and traditional image of femininity, but an outmoded one. The covering up of the female form and the relationship of this with past eras that were much more repressive for women isn’t exactly appealing for a lot of people. But, this could be countered with an argument about the liberating possibilities of covering up the female form in an age where even female children are encourage to wear mini-skirts and invite a sexual gaze by wearing skimpy clothing.

Ultimately for me, the maxi-skirt is all about shallow aesthetics I’m afraid. It ends with the fact that the indulgence of so much fabric and dreamy shapes and outlines is well-lovely.

Urban Outfitters opened in Brighton back in November taking over the old Borders bookshop (R.I.P) space in Churchill Square. I’ve managed to avoid thus far as that particular entry point to Churchill always makes me feel like a salmon swimming up stream, but with such a big retail space and hoards of people coming out clutching bags I couldn’t avoid having a peek and seeing a) what they’d done with the interior and b) what lines they’re carrying.

My UO days date back to the 90s visiting the stores in NYC, particularly the one in Seaport. I would describe it’s early incarnations as a sort of trendy Ikea with clothes. A place for college students to get discount candles, throws etc and inexpensive vintage looking T-Shirts and cool sugary pink Korean pop-culture nic-nacs. When the brand came to the UK and I lived in London, I found myself drifting into the one in Covent Garden and Oxford Street  for a window shop. I understood the market for the stock, but didn’t want to be charged the  inflated U.K prices  for things I’d pick up myself in charity shops and on holiday.  TBH I was staggered at the price hike and rebrand into a self consciously hip fully signed up member of the high street. #avoid.

The company also now own the more sophisticated Anthropologie of which we’ve only one in the UK on Regent Street. The home ware is gorgeous, although the clothes are a tad conservative for my taste, think Boden on acid, Laura Ashley on speed. They also own the clothing label FreePeople which produces divine L.A hippy /West Coast-chic stuff. I think ASOS stock a bit and I like a lot. I’m especially fond of the catalogue photography and aesthetic but have never bought anything as it’s a tad over priced.

But what’s going on with the designer lines in Brighton’s U.O? I saw A.P.C Madras (worship!), Chloe , Vanessa Bruno, t.b.a and Vivienne Westwood on the rails. These are v grown up brands and stocked else where in the city in smaller boutiques in the lanes. Paradoxically the OU Brighton store was totally chokka with under-25s. In fact, on the day I went in I’d say the average age of shopper was 19. Are people getting a lot more pocket money these days?

If want A.P.C I don’t want to buy it from a shop full of local teenagers and be served by yoot with a dreadful A-symmetrical haircut in treggins who know nada about grown-ups fashion. I want to go to the nice small boutique and feel I’m buying a piece that half the student population of Brighton isn’t wearing. What are A.P.C thinking? What are U.O thinking?

I’m sure the store overall will do well as it presents an accessible  and neatly packaged version of the vintage second hand aesthetic that was so popular last year. The trend has truly filtered to the high-street and for the brand, I guess it’s a case of right time right place, but I for one, am very confused about who Urban Outfitters is.

Central to the story is  the ‘cemetery of lost books’, described as

a mysterious labyrinthine repository of books in the underground heart of old Barcelona – watched over by the gruff guardian Isaac
Read more at Suite101: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books of Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I can’t say much more than that with out doing a spoiler.

The other day my love of The Shadow of the Wind lead me to an online conversation in October with 2 friends who live abroad. One of my friends runs a beautiful book shop in Athens, so one thing lead to another and we were soon arranging to meet up in her city this Novemeber.

Think fashion capital, think Athens? Probably not, but let me tell you it’s phenomenal for designer bargains, flash sales and 2nd hand  stuff.

And, and, and, I was so excited to be taken through the winding streets of Plaka, because, under the shadow of the Acropolis, hidden in a narrow cobbled street, there is a shop which I christened the cemetery of forgotten Italian shoes. A tiny door takes you through to a labyrinth of joining rooms filled with end of line, and from a few seasons ago – it’s magic. I have been. I have chosen.

I’m wondering if there is potential market for a gothic/chick lit hybrid novel?

The next day I dragged a friend in to a branch to show her and we both came out with a pair of these (£25).

Cue facebook update to spread the word, followed by derision and scoffing by my following that M&S are not trendy; I’m just getting older.

M&S have done so well building a myth of sensuality around their food product line and as for the clothing, have enjoyed the Twiggy effect. They now have a new million pound campaign with Mylene Klass, VV Brown, Danni Minogue and Lisa Butcher. The message is glamorous and glossy, yet with connotations of bland Saturday night family entertainment and a Daily Mail readership it’s confusing to me. It’s not fashion. They traverse all demographics offending no one with their middle ground signification; not exactly edgy and definitely not style. And yet M&S have collaborated with the likes of fashionista favourite Patricia Field in the past ( 2008 I think?) and attempted brand synergy through their association with Vogues Fashion night out in September. I do wonder about this? What do regular M&S shoppers make of it all and is the brand mediating confusing mixed messages?

I had a quick scan on the interweb of dreams and found folk think of M&S as the grande dame of the high street. It carries connotations of heritage, britishness, value and quality. All good. However, Per Una is loathed by stylists. I read a few scathing comments about how in the wake of the Madonna effect on the 50+ market M&S should just do away with it. “Oh look there’s Twiggy, aww love her” can’t sustain the brand forever and one camel coloured leather skirt does not a new myth make.

As for me, am I get older? Of course. Less stylish, mais non!  And as Coco Channel once said “style never goes out of fashion”.

Orange Nike Dunks ?

A non verbal feminist resistance to the onset of old age?

Me. [thinks] I will rock these with a Twentyeighttwelve dress I’ve just bought. But are they inappropriate for the 30+?

Now my daily bread comes from posing difficult questions. Sometimes the Qs are in my head so it’s just me answering, but usually those Qs go out to large groups of students or marketingy creative folks. Normally I ask things like “ Discuss the limits of Habermas’s The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere using a case study of a new/ digital technology of your choice”.

As we were flicking through some old mags, my friend also in her 30s recently commented that she liked Alexa Chung’s style . “Hmmm” I said then thinking about Chung’s penchant for a patent loafa and side slung small handbag, ”but she’s a young woman, why be 30 when you’re 20?” You see I’m like the opposite of Alexa Chung. If I buy these sneaks am I one step a way from being the  old lady with colbalt blue-hair and crazy leggings?  (this statement is not directed at  Zandra Rhodes I like her.)

Fans of Glee might say WWMD? But me,  well it’s more likey to be  ”What would Fiske  the famous popular cultural theorist argue?” Bit much for an acronym  isn’t it.

The problem I’ve with these shoes is to do with codes. These shoes operate as a symbolic ‘sign’ and my cultural capital allows me to make certain readings and draw on other referents in popular culture.  Mainly that I associate with yoot & I am not yoot.

However in these shoes will I be committing a defiant act? Hegemony through footwear? In your face gender/ 30 + clothes nazis (such as Boden) ?

Follow and Tweet MPs and Parliamentary Candidates, and use the power of Twitter to track UK politics, make your voice heard and conversations more open. You can take a back seat… or you can tweet.

I must say I really like the concept, despite it being a little utopian. A couple of weeks ago I facilitated a 2 hour seminar with 1styear students on Habermas and the concept of the public sphere, and the media. It was very interesting to hear students views on where they feel social media sits with political engagement. The message from the students was “I don’t understand politics”. Whereas I think tweetminster is a hopeful and positive idea, I wonder who it’s audience is at the moment? I fear it may be engaging the already engaged and wonder how it will tackle the disconnect between those it should be targeting and technological adoption rates. It raises all sorts of interesting questions about digital divides, technology and social inclusion.

I also came across?politics and the city?a website that aims to make politics stylish, founded by C4 presenter June Sarpong.

The site places political issues along side more light entertainment news, fashion, lifestyle, and celebrity gossip in order to try and capture it’s audience, young women. The site looks lovely, swish and sleek – but I struggled to find spaces of actual engagement.

From the time I began my own research in 2005 this is one of the most engaging titles I’ve read, perhaps since Health and Potters Rebel Sell. I’ve found it very useful in considering the responses to the consumer interviews I conducted and the practice of what I’m calling double distinction, drawing on Bourdieu’s seminal theory. I’m looking at how participants justify their consumption through individual lifestyle practices, and through passing judgement and distancing themselves from other peoples consumption. More of this one day, but lets wait for a successful viva, before I spill.

Not really to do with my research, but I found the discussion of ethical consumption, worthiness and moralizing particularly interesting and loved the case study ?of US clothing label American Apparrel in the book. I’ve been a tentative fan of American Apparel for some time, but being in my 30s I find some of the lines a little bit too nu rave /juvenile for my own taste. However my boyf who I shall refer to as The Italian here on in in this blog is 5 years older than me and he declared it his new favourite shop the other day. American Apparel use non-model models in their campaigns and the images are often sexual in a readers wives, 70 soft porn kind of way. This allows for an ironic consumptionvia the brand, and for them to move away from the stuffy connotations of worthiness and yogurt weaver fashion slow mo remit of most ethical labels. Really interesting to me as I’m often moaning to my fashion friends that most ethical fashion I’ve come across, offends my style sensibilities.

As I’m on a fashion tip today I wanted to share this beautiful print on my new Echo scarf. I was out scouring with my fashion friend The Forbes, last Saturday and we came across a load of gorgeous scarves in local boutique Sirene. Echo are a family company based in NY, and these prints are from their archives from the 1920s.

Accessories are brilliant for updating an outfit without spending very much money, so it’s no surprise given the current climate that scarves are going to be a big thing. Not everyone can afford an Hermes so a find like this ‘lovely’ from Echo makes my day.