Tag Archives: Balenciaga
Buy it now: Autumn drops
Sad but true: I have the heating on in July. Retailers are taking advantage by pumping out their early fall merchandise – jumpers, jackets and coats – to compensate for the lack of summer pick-up. You can’t blame them, winterwear makes more money than summer because knits cost thrice as much as tees. Ah well, here’s my early fall fantasy shopping list…
ABOVE LEFT TO RIGHT:
TOP: J W Anderson top, £360; Maison Martin Margiela jacket, £599; Christian Louboutin shoes, £495
MIDDLE: Chloe sweater, £575; Balenciaga skirt, £419; Acne jacket, £850
BOTTOM: A.P.C. blouse, £165; Chloe boots, £743; Isabel Marant sweater, £265
*NOTE: this post uses cookies in affiliate links*
Balenciaga launches ecommerce site: “It’s almost like a daily magazine now: it has to be really alive”
Ever since reading WWD’s article earlier in the week, I have been checking and rechecking the Balenciaga website. It has now relaunched. Working with Wednesday-London, Balenciaga has created a site that marries a high spec retail experience* with engaging brand history, including archive images and (soon to come) video. Continue reading
Swayed by suede, a cautionary tale
Thinking of buying a suede bag? Perhaps YSL‘s mock-croc print number or 3.1 Phillip Lim‘s reversible tote? Well take my advice, don’t do it. Unless you have a full-time driver or live somewhere with extremely agreeable weather. I lusted after Baleciaga’s cherry-red suede slouch bag for, oh months, before I finally came face to face with it in a boutique and did the classic ‘if I don’t buy it now it won’t be here next time’ panic splurge. It first gave me come-hither glances from the back page of US Vogue which I subsequently tore out and carried around with me. I fantasised about what I’d wear it with – a bit Frankie Rayder I fancied, in gently faded Levis and a just-fitted-enough white tee – and what it would smell like (I have an unhealthy obsession with sniffing leather and suede). When you see something like that in the flesh after investing so much time and energy in the fantasy, your real-life logic doesn’t stand a chance. I gave it a cursory try-on in the shop before the adrenalin got the better of me and seconds later it was in the carrier bag and in my hand.
A few years down the line and I can count the number of times I’ve used it on three fingers. The simple fact is a suede bag and unpredictable London weather do not a good combination make. Time after time I’ve rediscovered it, tenderly unpacked it from its dustbag, given it a gentle stroke and a sniff and vowed to use it the very next day. Come the next morning, sensing a hint of darkness in the sky and the threat of a downpour it’s back to the PVC Marc shopper and boring reliability.
We all know that the fashion industry is based on fantasy and this example goes to prove it. Every time I see the poor bag it’s an expensive reminder of that seductive back-page-of-Vogue photo and the promise that it would change my life. Sucker! So what now? The bag has been unpacked for the very last time and tomorrow it makes its way to Rellik, the queen bee of vintage stores. It’s not an It bag and it’s not strictly vintage but it’s Balenciaga so Stephen Rellik has hinted he might be up for a swapsies consultation. We can but wait and see.
