Quote of the day: Pierre Hardy



Pierre Hardy

“Working on the same parts of the body all the time is not frustrating. It’s like metonymy. In fashion, shoes have a very particular status. The foot is at once the most scorned part of the body – people don’t like to show their feet – and the one it’s tempting to use the most flamboyantly, and sometimes, too, in the most artificial way. There aren’t many things more remote from anatomy than a court shoe. It’s an absolute anatomical aberration.”

Former dancer and Hermès shoe designer Pierre Hardy in conversation with choreographer, Boris Charmatz, Le Monde d’Hermès magazine

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGE: Pierre Hardy
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Elevated oral care: the Quip overnight toothbrush



Annemarieke van Drimmelen

Jonathan Margolis at How To Spend It is my tech critic of choice, and it turns out he’s also become its unofficial toothbrush critic. If he says this Quip toothbrush is good, then it must be. I usually use an Oral-B or ION-Sei electric toothbrush but don’t want to carry all that bulk if I’m travelling or doing an overnight stay. So then I usually take a bog standard toothbrush but feel it’s doing a substandard job. Quip solves this problem. It’s slender and fuss-free and works with a simple AAA battery to get the required power-brushing I like, without the chargers and plugs. Buy it here*. (more…)



Gentlewoman style: the return of Bouchra Jarrar



Bouchra Jarrar spring 2020 Couture Vogue Runway

“I am doing it alone, out of my house, with external collaborators and ateliers. And I am so happy. I had 25 years of working in a big house. I learned a lot. Maybe what I learned most now is I don’t have to function like that. I don’t have to speed up a collection just because an executive tells me to speed up. Now I can be very artisanal. This is the heart of my work, my world. I am putting all my savoir-faire on the line. ”

Another designer on the go-slow train, Bouchra Jarrar is returning to fashion, at her own decelerated pace. The couturier who went to Lanvin RTW for a hot minute is following in the footsteps of other designers like Thakoon Panichgul, producing a very trim collection of signature pieces. (more…)



My favourite classic, heritage-style shoes for winter in the city



Chapter 2 Jackdaw boots

Two great footwear brands to know if you’re into the heritage workwear look. (Plus a reminder of one you probably know already.)

I love the classic Paraboot Michael shoe, but at £315 it’s an investment purchase. More affordable is another French brand, Klemen, whose unisex workwear shoes were originally made for firefighters and the military. That should give you an idea of their utilitarian credentials.

The Padror Derby is the one to go for, unchanged in style since the eighties. (more…)