April 28, 2014

How NOT to Wear a Boring Festival Outfit. #RiverIsland Festival Fashion Junkie.

Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

In the last few weeks we have been flooded with pictures of celebrities and bloggers outfits in Coachella and we've seen lots of the same.
The festival season has started, and I'm not talking only music here, and even REAL people now are conscious that if they are attending an open air event , they need functional and trendy clothes. Just the other day I had two regular customers asking me what to wear for a music festival they are going to in July in Portugal and said they'd check my blog for advice :-) 
Quick digression: the best part of my job is often talking to people/customers and develop a 'relationship' based on the shared passion for fashion and shopping.

So here my suggestions what to wear for your festival BUT with the added bonus that the following outfits work really well also for a week end away or just a day out.
As my two customers shop in River Island, I picked up items from this label, but mind you this is NOT a sponsored post.





OUTFIT RUN THROUGH

- Layering a floral jumpsuit under a black kimono with silver trims means that you outfit will easily take you from day to night.




- The Green Mini Satchel not only is a practical bag to have on you, across the shoulder, but as the sandals, it picks up the colours of the jumpusuit, and ties the whole outfit together.


- Last but not least, the black visor with the animal print trim, gives you just a Hepburn/bohoo-chic touch!








April 26, 2014

Fashion Mini-Me.Style and Charity: Born Free x ShopBop.


Madre e figlia/filglio vestiti coordinati? Non e' una novita'! Coordinati con abiti ed accessori di designer brand e il cui ricavato andra' al 100% in beneficenza? Questo si che ci piace!
Mercoledi' 23 aprile ShopBop ha lanciato la seconda campagna di beneficenza a favore di Born Free, ONG che ha come scopo quello di combattere la trasmissione dell'HIV madre-figlio, tramite la somministrazione tempestiva di terapie retrovirali, che spesso consistono solo di 1 pillola al giorno, ma che richiedono investimenti cosiderevoli.
Da Prada a Victoria Beckam, passando per Isabel Marant, Versace, Ferretti e Chloe' - tra i tanti che partecipano -, sono in vendita online, sia outfit coordinati madre-bimbo/bimba, che adorabili accessori come bavaglini e tutine, con la collaborazione dell'artista africanoWangechi Mutu che ha creato le stanpe ed i pattern dei capi. Qui sotto la campagna stampa, scattata da Demarchelier e poi una selezione dei miei capi preferiti.
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Mother and son/daughter wearing matching outfits? Nothing new! Matching with designers items and accessories and whose profit is going 100% to charity? I like that!
Wednesday Aprile the 23rd, ShopBop launched their second charity campaign in favour of Born Free, an ONG that fights the transmission of HIV from mother to child, with the quick somministration of retroviral drugs therapy, that usually consists of just 1 pill a day, but needs lots of investement.
From Prada to Victoria Beckham, through names like Isabel Marant, Versace, Ferretti and Chloe' - among many more-, you can buy online both matching outfits that adorable accessories like bibs and baby onesies, with the collaboration of the African artist Wangechi Mutu who created the prints and the patterns of the items. Below the adv campaign shot by Demarchelier and a selection of my favourite items.












Victoria Beckham

 Chloe'

 Isabel Marant

 Alberta Ferretti

 Prada
 
  Versace


April 21, 2014

#NDM: It's Beckham Week: Brooklyn, David&Victoria.


Eccoci di nuovo con la rubrica ( saltuaria) NDM - News D'oltre Manica - lanciata nel Novembre del 2013 su questo blog e che ritorna per degli aggiornamenti flash su cio' che accade qui in Inghilterra.
Sara' coincidenza o un calcolato piano di PR ma la settimana appena passata ha visto la famiglia Beckham sui quotidiani, mensili e siti online 'letteralmente ogni giorno. Prima la notizia che Brooklyn, il figlio 15, nonche' il maggiore, era sulla copertina del semesterale 'Man About Town', e in uno shooting scattato da Alasdair McLellan. Scatti perfetti per il viso giovane e fresco di Brooklin.
(N.d.R. Visto il magazine in stazione un paio di giorni fa l'ho acquistato spinto dalla curiosita')
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The (occasional) column NDM is back - News Beyond the English Channel in Italian - launched in November 2013 on this blog to review some quick facts about what's happening here in England.
Be it just a coincidence or a calculated PR plan, but last week the Beckham family was all over newspapers, magazines and online 'literally' all week. First the news that Brooklyn, the 15 y/o, and the eldest son, was on the cover of the menswear magazine 'Man About Town', and in a shooting by Alasdair McLellan. Perfect shots for a young and fresh face like Brooklyn.
(N.o.E. I saw the magazine on a newstand in a station and pushed by curiosity I bough it)










A seguire David, che a breve lancera'un brand di whisky, Haig Club, ed infine i 40 anni di Victoria festeggiati a LA, oltre alla partecipazione al progetto Born Free, per l'omonima associazione di beneficenza con la creazione di outfit coordinati madre- figlio/figlia in vendita dal 23 aprile.
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Then David, who will soon launch a new whisky brand, Haig Club, and finally the 40th birthday of Victoria, who celebrated it in LA and her involvement to the project Born Free, for the namesake charity with the creation of a matching outfits for mother/son/daughter available online from April the 23.








April 14, 2014

Alexander Wang x H&M. Predictions and analysis.


Ancora non si sa molto della nuova collaborazione tra Alexander Wang ed H&M che sara'nei negozi tra 7 mesi, il 6 novembre 2014, ma anche questa e' stata l'ennesima 'breaking news' e gia' si prova ad immaginare cosa troveremo nei negozi. Anche 'The Stylist Den' fa il suo pronostico, basato sulle passate collezioni, ma prima di tutti una rapida analisi su questa collaborazione 'stategica' per H&M.
N.d.R. Devo ammettere che ho sempre osservato Wang 'di striscio', nominandolo qua e la' nel blog, e solo con il suo ruolo di direttore creativo da Balenciaga da Dicembre 2012, ho cominciato a seguirlo con piu' attenzione.
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We still don't know much about the latest collaboration between Alexander Wang and H&M that will hot the stores in 7 months, on November the 6th, but yesterday it was the (fashion) 'breaking news of the day and people are already guessing what we will be able to buy. 'The Stylist Den' too is going to make its prediction, based on past collections, but first of all a quick analysis on this 'strategic' collaboration by H&M.
E.N. I have to admit that I've always looked at Wang with the corner of my 'fashion eye', featuring him just here and there on the blog, and that only after his appointment as Creative Director for Balenciaga in December 2012, I started to follow him more closely.



L'ANALISI 
La scelta di Alexander Wang da parte di H&M sembra essere una mossa strategica ben calcolata per conquistare quote di mercato negli Stati Uniti ed in Cina, paese in cui recentemente H&M ha avviato una serie di nuove aperture.
Alexander Wang, infatti, come anche nella press release di H&M, e' il primo designer americano a collaborare con loro, e, aggiungo io, anche un brand 'giovane' - lanciato nel 2007 e velocemente cresciuto grazie alla spinta della Wintour e del Vogue/CFDA Fashion Found.
Inoltre le origini cinesi di Wang ( famiglia emigrata negli Stati Uniti e poi ritornata in Cina dove risiede tutt'ora), e il suo ruolo da Balenciaga, lo rendono un designer 'globalizzato', il cui nome risuona negli Sati Uniti, Europa ed in Cina. 
H&M ha preso 3 piccioni con una fava.

THE ANALYSIS
The choice of Alexander Wang by H&M seems to be a strategic move well thought of in order to improve its market share in the US and China, a country where H&M has recently opened new branches.
In fact, Alexander Wang, as stated in the H&M press release too, is the first American designer to work with them, and, I add, a relatively 'young' brand too - launched in 2007 and grown quickly thanks to the push of Anna Wintour and the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Found.
Then, Wang's Chinese origins ( his family emigrated to the US and now back in China), and its role at Balenciaga, make him a 'global' designer, whose name resonates in the US, in Europe and in China.
H&M has clearly hit 3 birds with one stone.


Guardando le ultime 2 collezioni di Wang - FW14-15 e SS14 - nonche' la sua prima collezione - FW 2007 - giochiamo ad indovinare cosa fara' parte della collezione Alexander Wang x H&M.
Capi di maglieria con motivi geometrici, 3D e 'total look', giacche dalla silhouette boxy, gonne skater, pantaloni scivolati e short, oltre che scarpe e borse dalle linee sporty e 'ugly'. Chissa', ma speriamo, che vengano fatti anchi alcuni capi menswear :-) visto che dal 2011 Wang e' anche abbigliamento uomo.
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Looking at the past two Wang's collections - FW14-15 and SS14 - and to his first ever collection too - FW 2007 - let's play to guess what will be included in the Alexander Wang X H&M collaboration.
Knitwear with geometric patterns, in 3D and 'total look, boxy jackets, skater skirts, slouchy trousers and short, plus shoes and bags with sporty and 'ugly' lines. I wonder, but I hope, that they'll include some menswear items too :-) as, from 2011, Wang has been designing for men too.