STYLE// Ann Demeulemeester combines her Womenswear and Menswear Shows

Haven't blogged for a while because I've been super busy with Uni deadlines etc. the usual boring stuff but I just read about the Ann Demeulemeester and had to blog INSTANTLY about it.

This is something I feel strongly about, so strongly that I plan to write my Cultural Studies for Fashion Essay about, this term, at Uni.

If there's one thing I hate about the Fashion Industry it's that Men's fashion is treated like the unloved middle child; ignored between all the achievements of Women's Fashion Week and the Couture Shows. After all that the little bit of limelight Men's fashion does get, is restricted by the cultural paradigm of  ' the rules of men's fashion' that irritate me more than probably anything else.

Whilst London Collections: Men is going from strength to strength and gaining stronger footing year on year, it's still nothing compared to the huge spectacle of Fashion Week.

Which is why the Ann Demeulemeester show inspired me this season. She made the (what should be, but is) risky statement of combining both her Menswear and women's show as one. A stroke of brilliance in my eyes as it brought Menswear to the forefront of the fashion industry by force.

STYLE// New Purchase

Photos of my new black trainers that will replace my old ones, the pictures are new trainers, new vs old trainers and collection (never ever wear my jeremy scotts)

STYLE// Current Style Inspiration

LIFE// "OUT OF STOCK"

I've been keeping an eye out for the perfect backpack for what feels like months now, they're nearly impossible to find amongst the sea of "man-bags" available which for some reason I've never been a fan of. But at last I found one that I thought was perfect, it was black, not canvas, plain but with something a little extra. So Imagine my thoughts when I read the words "out of stock", it's painful.

It's probably my fault for neglecting asos so much but if anybody knows where I can get one of these ASOS x PUMA backpacks PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

OUTFITS// Brutalist Blue

Collar Tip Shirt // Topman // Old

Squared Neck Jumper //  COS // £69

Wool Bike Jacket // COS // No longer for Sale

510s // Levi's // £80

Elites // Nike // £45

What I love about this outfit are it's subtle nuances, like the different shades of blue, or the different ways the jacket can be worn, taking it from peacoat to biker jacket, or the way the collar tips align perfectly with the squared neck on the jumper.

OUTFITS// Spring is Coming

Spring is right around the corner and England has actually warmed up a little (but hardly at all) which was cause enough for Ray-Bans in my humble opinion. I'll be posting a spring inspiration board in the next few days so keep coming back!

Most of these items aren't new so I can't remember prices, plus I got the Sweater in New York which was a while ago so I don't know if it's available in England at all.

OUTFITS// Scandinavian Winter

Coat // Cheap Monday // £15 (so lucky in the summer sales)

Shirt // DIY [here] // N/A

Turtleneck // Cos // £18

Skinny Trousers // Topman // Old

Shoes // Nike Elites // £45

Watch // Hugo Boss // £135

Normally at this point of the year, people my age are praying for snow every night and groaning every morning because we have another college day, but nevertheless, this year we've experienced a scandinavian winter because of something to do with the North Atlantic Jet Stream (I have no idea if I'm honest), making for some nice winter outfit photos and six day long weekend.

OUTFITS// Aquamarine + Quilted

So I decided to brave the street directly outside my house for my outfit photo today, felt a little weird and embarrassing but life is hard for a fashion blogger.

I think my new lens really makes the photos better

STYLE// Stampd' LA

Stampd' LA is already one of my favourite brands and I found it 5 minutes ago...

Granted I might be a little swayed by the amazing photography they use but still the clothes are great too, a combination of minimalism, street style and a big americana west coast vibe, it works really well.

I just found the brand by accident whilst having a rare visit to Tumblr, I found this blog and loved it, it was really similar to my own tumblr except it was about a million times better. 

I did a little research (googling) and by the look of it Chris Stamp is the creative force behind Stampd' LA, I couldn't really find much out about the brand because their about page was purely this:

which has me intrigued.

STYLE// Winter Wishlist

I really don't know what draws me to the first item, but I just am so it's a bit of an indulgence really, I'll probably never wear it. The other items are pretty much within my usual aesthetic, I've been after a decent pair of leather boots for a while, my bargain suede H&M one's are barely holding together at this point although for the price they've lasted surprisingly well. I'm often drawn to blues and blacks at this time of the year and am really loving the Matte & Sheen trend for Winter 2012 which is why I like the two Jumpers. The black jeans have been a long time coming, I have a pair already but they fit awfully, have faded slightly, are just overall bad quality, I wouldn't recommend them, they are stretch skinny ones from Topman, the ones I want that are pictured above are Cheap Monday, so should hopefully fare better.

LIFE// What Felt Like 5 Minutes in New York

View from the top of the Rockefeller Centre

I personally felt that the view from the top of the Rockefeller Centre is better for taking photos because the fence is glass so it's less of an obstruction.

Me and my friends in Grand Central Station. Lets play spot the moody friend.  

This was taken just after we landed, we went straight to grand central station, I'm not sure why. You can see my airport outfit here (but not really) I forgot to take any outfit photos on the trip. I'm wearing a Black Topman Shirt, a Black Zara Jumper, Black Skinny Jeans, a Black Suede and shearling lined jacket and Black Nike Air Max 1s. 

The Clothes I bought

It was really an accident that I came across the MMM Collection at H&M, I only went there to waste time whilst some of my friends shopped for make-up and there it was, surprisingly well stocked and devoid of shoppers, I tried on the Jacket that was in my Top 3 picks post but they didn't have my size and most of money was spent at this point anyway, unfortunately they didn't have the Satin Top but I managed to snag the Confetti Shirt. The three jumpers are from American Apparel which is much cheaper in America for obvious reasons, I had needed a new fisherman's pullover after I accidentally tumble-dried my grey one and the red/orange (I may be color blind) one reminds me of a jumper I had admired from Acne and the jacket is from Levi's and reminds me of some of the jackets from T by Alexander Wang.

I just yesterday returned from a long anticipated trip to New York, I had originally meant to have gone roughly a month ago but was delayed along with thousands of others by Hurricane Sandy. Strangely despite the fact that the hurricane landed such a short time ago it's effects were nearly entirely unnoticeable, other than one part of the subway being out of use. 

Without sounding ungrateful I was a little too busy with all the touristy parts of going to New York to get much shopping done which is why you might think that six items Isn't much for five days in what many consider the shopping capital of the world, but if you've been before you might understand why. I didn't even get much chance to take photos, it was THAT busy, the trip was 5 days long but was over before I knew it

TRENDS // Monochromatic Matte & Sheen

Jil Sander Autumn Winter 2012

Jil Sander Autumn Winter 2012

T By Alexander Wang Fall 2012

Louis Vuitton Footwear Autumn Winter 2012

A lot of designers take A/W as their opportunity to use a monochromatic colour scheme, this pattern can make things feel a little repetitive, so it's interesting to see how different designers make it feel new and also make it their own. This is usually done using some combination of textures and this season is no exception, I've noticed a lot of designers using Matte and Sheen (whether sheen be a treated fabric, leather or some form of plastic) to create the feeling of variety that's needed in a monochromatic collection and I think I kinda like it and it really reminds me of a recent purchase I made (more on that later).

Nike Air Force 1 Deconstruct

The Nike Air Force 1 has been released in its black colour way and i might have to consider getting myself a pair at some point.

For me the major concern when buying AF1s was how clumpy they make my feet look, which is a special concern for those of us with larger feet, these however eliminate that problem and provide you with a great pair of shoes.

Check out the slimline version below: