What is cool?




Although Grazia is my fave, fave, fave magazine there is another mag that has the power to make me leap out of bed Christmas Day-style and forgo my sacred Sunday lie-in. Observer Woman is a monthly supplement that comes with The Observer and, oh my God, it’s so me I can’t stand it. This month’s issue is called The Cool Issue and is just full of stuff I love. Page 4 mentions the 3-city Nokia Skate Almighty event from July 11th – rollerskating, cool bands and high fashion (Preen have designed some skates – rad!), could life get any better? Page 7 showcases a punktastic Filippa K frock from Urban Outfitters that vexatiously, isn’t yet on the UO site yet – tsk. Page 8 has an interview with Barbara Hulanicki – still being cool at the age of 71, ‘When I was 14 I used to wear twinsets the wrong way round, with the buttons at the back,’ while the regular What I Know About Men section is written by Judy Blume – swoon! Their Top 50 ‘who’s cool now‘ feature flags up the likes of Alexa Chung, Miranda July, Facehunter, Matt Irwin, Nicola Formichetti, Noel Clarke (Kidulthood, Adulthood) and Lou Doillon/Charlotte Gainsbourg as this summer’s names-to-know. Page 22 has a big article on Katie Grand*. Annoying as she is, I am quite fascinated by this plain Jane, so I’m saving this bit for my bedtime reading. Finally, page 34 brings us an interview with my current fashion heroine (and the best thing on telly) Mary Portas, ‘People might think I am mutton. They might! And sometimes I have to think before I go to the school: Take the shoes off, Mary. There’s a place. Context. You know, you turn up and think: Oops. No. This is not good.’

There are no main fashion shoots in OW so more pages for features which is fine by me as generally I don’t love the fashion in supplements. However, if you need a fix of shopping candy there are loads of product pages featuring bags, shoes, make-up and homesy bits at the back. What I really like about Observer Woman is its irreverant tone. It knows high fashion in the same way as Grazia (and has a lot of Grazia contributors) but talks about it in an almost Smash Hits kind of not-too-serious way. Deputy editor Polly Vernon is one of its key writers and she is tres sharp and witty. OK, enough gushing. Now I’ve calmed down I will sit quietly and read it properly. PS, no, I don’t work for them. (Wish I did though.)

*Apologies for the teeny picture, it’s all I could find…

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Fashion-ation





This just landed in my in-box. I think I’ve found a new addiction…

“Welcome to fashionation, an alternative fashion universe where fashionistas, photographers and creatives can get their weekly fix of the best fashion editorial from around world, brought to you by the founder of online coolhunting site thecoolhunter.net. Never before has the world’s hottest fashion photography from the best fashion and pop culture magazines converged in one central hub. You’ll also find the coolest offerings from fashion week events around the world, plus the best of the web’s street style blogs. Fashionation – the only fashion destination online.”

[Pics: Pop magazine/www.fashion-nation.net]

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The rise of unisexual dressing



The runways have been dismantled, the skinny boys have packed themselves off on their gap year and the photographers have migrated to Couture week. Mens fashion week has finished and I found myself keeping tabs on the proceedings with great interest. Because I don’t know about you but I do find this whole ‘high street copies designers’ game a bit predictable and samey. So why not ‘high street copies the mens collections’? I caught myself looking at the mens shows and thinking ‘how would I wear that?’ For example I really liked Burberry’s new jacket proportions and I reckon they would translate very easily to the womens market, can’t you just imagine one of these shrugged on over a stripy T-shirt dress with heeled ankle boots? I can! Gucci got me with their bags and shoes – a juicy turquoise tote, snazzy embroidered lace-up and a multi-colored loafer which I can easily see working in a tri-tone of red, pink and orange with an anklebone-grazing cigarette pant. Over at YSL, suits, shirts and blouson jackets were configured in fine womenswear silk gazars, organzas and voiles but I must admit, I was more taken with the fabby styling, I would quite happily rip this gold suit look off head to toe, perhaps switching the tie for some sort of silk scarf arrangement. Newcomer Richard Chai’s preppy-punk mash-up was gorgeously executed, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see an appropriation in Topman sometime soon, ditto Maison Margiela’s wear-everyday trench jacket.

There’s been a lot of ruminating in the press over the merging of menswear and womenswear but in this day and age it’s not that surprising – why can’t we wear each other’s gender’s stuff? The more savvy high street stores are already on to this with the likes of Uniqlo and TopMan becoming popular with lateral-thinking girls because sizes run small and prices are keen, plus the clincher – there’s little chance of running into your arch fashion rival rocking the same jacket (unless ‘she’ of course, is a he).







Pics: Men.style.com
Top to bottom:
Burberry
Burberry
Gucci
Gucci
Gucci
YSL
Richard Chai
Maison Margiela

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