Better than a stiffy - we're invited to Patty & Hills' birthday dinner

Good friends Patty and Hills, who - to the best of my knowledge - have always seen the leotard as the staple of any stylista's wardrobe, are marking their birthday with a celebratory TV dinner at Faulkners Fish & Chip Restaurant.

I'm still not sold on the crotch region as erogenous zone, but Lady Gaga can't be wrong, so I'm watching them for style notes. No doubt their birthday suits will be spectacular.

Not only is Faulkners slapbang in the middle of my old stomping ground, Kingsland Road, home to the Kingsland Waste Market, it's also a stone's throw from the uber-cool Dalston Superstore, hang-out of fashionistas-galore. So, fish, chips and mushy peas, with a spangly cocktail for afters? Sold.

Patternity case

Truffling through the global hyperweb... Checked out Rubbish website, which is pals with Patternity - a London design studio which seems to be inspired by anything from high octane (eg. supermodels) to the mundane (as in this pic of stacked baskets). I just like it.

Miuccia Prada renounces feminism?

Vogue.com today reports that Miuccia Prada has renounced her renowned feminist status, believing that there is no longer such a thing. I can't agree with her entirely, and suspect that she is deliberately sparking debate among the all-too frequently apolitical masses - or the fashion crowd at the very least.

Widely respected for both her intellect and influence on the meta-trends, Prada commented 'When I used to be a feminist, I never dreamed that parameters of female beauty would actually get narrower'. Acutely observed. Women's role models are becoming all-too homogenous; we are increasingly presented with identikit, generationless females whose brainpower is only permitted for use in driving businesswoman/celebrity lifestyles, a la Cheryl Cole or Katie Price.

In striving for women's social, political and economic independence and equality with men, where, and at what point in the last 20 years, did we lose our way? Why are women still valued for their appearance above everything else they are able to offer to society?

Mummy fashionista hits London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week has hit the Big Smoke - the perfect excuse to hop back on the fashion gravy train for the first time since the arrival of our beautiful baby boys, Freddie and Bert, in April 2009.

Being mum certainly rocks more than anything else I've ever done, but there's always room for a dash o' fashion in my life, plus being accosted by several handfuls of 'street style' snappers does wonders for a mummy's fashsteem (fashion self-esteem).

My last post I was celebrating the growing trend for make-it-yourself fashion, unaware of the Bean and Pea growing inside me. Fast forward 18 months, with my hard-earned creative space transferred to the temporary ownership of my two matching boys, and the hardcore, 24/7 schedule of mumhood, I haven't had much time to haul out the sewing machine. Miraculously, I did run up a bridesmaid dress when the boys were two months old - perhaps I was delirious? - and plan on getting back on the case in the very near future.

For now though, I'm drinking in LFW's best like a thirsty infant. I've made a mental note to self to seriously consider the ubiquitous shoeboot as one to invest in, although I'm not sure what my abdominals think about that... so I've also made a note to self to actually do the exercises that will mean I can wear skyscraper heels without causing long-term postural issues.

There lies the crux of the issue: I still want to wear the very same looks that I might've done BP (before pregnancy), but having gone through pregnancy and now being a mother, my criteria for selection and excitement is shifted somewhat. Always one to consider the ethics of a purchase, its provenance, its longterm relevance to my wardrobe, my checklist now has a lot of points before I'll make the commitment: Can I breastfeed in that look? Will milk/sick/food/snot show up on that pattern? Is it washable? I can happily report that the style switch is still flipped on, and there's no requirement to resort to ropey mum-specific brands to be, well, a practical but stylish mummy.

photo: at London Fashion Week. Beret and cape (handy when I was pregnant!), vintage. Make-up, MAC.

Trumpeting the cause of haberdashery...

PHOTO: Paul Grover, Sunday Telegraph.
Unbeknown to me at the time, last week saw the the House of Lords discuss the apparent wastefulness of women's approach to fashion, as manifested - as they saw it - in their lust for the latest must-haves and the buy 'em cheap, pile 'em high attitude which, until recently, overran purchasing habits like a plague of rats.
Talk about last season. The tide has turned, my Lords, and if people aren't always picking up the most ethical label possible - yet - it does feel to me that, where they can afford to, people thinking more about the provenance of their purchases and the need for them before slapping down the credit card.
While I can see where the initial spark of appeal can lie in the rooting out of a bargain, it is a flame that flickers and dies almost instantly. For me, the burning question is always - how can it be possible to buy a pair of jeans for £3 - surely that cannot be sustainable? No way does that get to the shop counter without exploitation at some point along the way - so no way does it make it into by shopping bag. Maybe it is the control freak in me, but I find it hard to part with the cold hard reddies without a fair idea where my money is going. For this reason, I have found myself truffling through second hand shops more and more, and - since I now finally have 'A Room of One's Own' - making more of my own clothes.
It transpires that I am not alone in this shift away fom straight up clothes buying and a return back to the 'make do and mend' mentality of granny's time - on Thursday I had a call from someone who recalled that I'd sewn up by own dress for a mutual friend's wedding, asking if I'd be interviewed by fashion writer Clare Coulson for a Sunday Telegraph news review feature on the very subject of making and customising clothes.
The article makes interesting reading, highlighting the very real shift towards handcrafts, sewing clothes from scratch and customising old garments - sales of sewing machines at John Lewis are reportedly up an amazing 46% on this time last year, with sales of buttons and haberdashery also significantly improving - it seems that the handcraft trend is not just for the catwalk.
Making your own clothes, or even dabbling in a little bit of cut and customising can give second-hand or old favourites a completely new appeal. It is an opportunity to engage with a straightforward and satisfying process, with a start, middle and definitive end - so rare in the hectic schedule of most of our modern lives (mine included!). Most importantly, it means that rather than letting shops dictate the trends that you should be wearing, and how you'll wear them, you choose exactly how you choose to present yourself to the world.
So, I am now officially famous -well at least for the next week while the article remains online! - and will keep you updated on my seamstress exploits!

PS. The dresses in the photos were both made using Vogue patterns bought at under-the-radar, independent south London haberdashery mecca Wimbledon Sewing Machine Company at 292/312 Balham High Road (near Tooting Bec LUL) - Tel: 0208 767 4724. Stocks everything that you need for every type of craft - sewing machines, fabric, card making, embroidery, knitting - you name it. Fantastic.

The fabric for the maxidress (a Liberty print lawn cotton) was from the fabulous, family-run Borovick Fabrics on Berwick Street, Soho (I love these guys) and, at £10 p/m, half the price of buying it up the road at the department store itself. The fabric for the shorter, 50s-style number was scooped up at Sovereign Textiles at 113 Mitcham Road (near Tooting Broadway LUL), which specialises in Dutch wax print cottons for West Africa, for a bargainous £10 for six metres.

PPS. The blackwood bangles were sourced by a family friend directly from the producer at a Mozambique local market.

Liberty promises stellar Christmas experience

Luxury emporium Liberty in which, in my fantasies, I would happily shop for eternity, revealed a gorgeous 'advent calendar' concept for its Christmas campaign, which will - scarily - be in store in a matter of months, with the glitter and bauble-laden Christmas shop opening later this month.

A six foot high mock up of the store replete with giant advent calendar windows and scenes behind, in a room strewn with fairy lights, set the Christmas anticipation flowing, even if it is a little premature. I particularly loved a dining scene featuring a languorous hostess in a ochre silk dress draped across her finest china. Will be trying a new approach to entertaining at this year's seasonal drinks party.

Needless to say the quest for perfect birthday gift continues, and in one of the tableaux spied this gobstopper of a ring by Mawi - an eau de nil crystal set on a gold ring, which may jostle for a position on the wishlist. Also noted these rather luscious teal stilettos by Nicholas Kirkwood, a name buzzing on the lips of every shoe aficionado in the know, and really can see why.

Fantasy eyelashes courtesy of Shu Uemura and Viktor & Rolf

Gratuitous for a Tuesday lunchtime, perhaps, but there's nothing like a pair of Swarovski-embellished false eyelashes to pep up a work-a-day face. I nipped into Liberty to peruse their Christmas fantasies and came out sporting some fab Shu Uemura falsies, lustrous black with a strip of silver glitter and mini diamante at the root, slick eyeliner-style. Added vim an otherwise pedestrian outfit of black shirt dress and flesh tone heels, and made returning to the office altogether more exciting. I was very disappointed when the sheer quantity of slap applied in the morning meant they were soon working their way of my eyelid - before I could get a pic too - boo! Upside is that they last up to 10 wears, so next time a pic will materialise!
That said, the these lashes were great, but Shu Uemura's collaboration with fashion's Viktor & Rolf trumped them hands down - three ultra-ultra glamourous false eyelashes which sang from the Dutch duo's design songsheet - looped black lashes, princess cut gold metal numbers, plus an exaggerated, elongated option like a bird's wing in flight,all presented on a white mask like demi-face in a white presentation box. You'd never want to wear them, but they are something to covet, plus they are oh so timely, given the current House of Viktor and Rolf showcase at the Barbican.
Only marginally less showtastic were the Shu Uemura black lace falsies and teal marabou option, again, my sparklies were pale in comparison to these beauties.
It sounds like Shu Uemura has a fair few exciting tricks up its sleeve, product-wise, in the near future, so watch this space as I have been promised early heads up!