And now for some Other Stories

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I am excited by the name, I have already picked out pieces to buy from the collection, all I have to do now is visit the new & Other Stories store on Regent Street which launched just two days ago. The idea of a new store only really 'wows' me when it is combined with being a new brand to discover and fall in love with.

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From the folks who bought us H&M comes a store with a more expensive price tag which appears to focus on more minimalist pieces with less emphasis on throw away fashion. Finally high street shops have realised that cheap does not always sell to the most savvy stylistas out there.

H&M will always have a special place in my heart - but only mainly for producing the modern collection in its stores. It sometimes feels like a double edged sword when I take a trip there because you feel you are getting a a great separate for a bargain but then a surge of guilt rises when you realise that you a getting a great separate for a bargain. It is like gorging on a McDonalds meal deal. A great moment followed by regret.

& Other Stories will hopefully have more cache and make feel like a less hollow individual when I walk through its doors. We will have to wait and see whether the shiny and new wrapper has longevity.

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Juergen tells it

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Photography is an integral part of the business that we call fashion. It is so glaringly obvious that even a lowly fashion writer takes a backseat. Pictorial fashion blogs are instagraming their way into the public's consciousness so fast that people forget that before the camera there was the inkwell and quill. Who am I am to disagree with this 21st century way of communicating the trends? What better way to capture an outfit or new SS collection than with a click of a button?

I was reminded of this fact when last Sunday I visited Juergen Teller: Woo at the ICA. His raw images pemeate like none other, as you turn the pages of your latest copy of Vogue the trademark Juergen Teller advertorial stands out for not being ultra slick.

The Victorial Beckham legs out of shopping bag image for the Marc Jacobs reveals another side to the normally never-seen-without sunglasses and Birkin tote brand. In a world of retouching and camera wizardry it is refreshing to come across a more 'warts and all', backstage door to the underbelly of the fashion world and gain a little bit more access to the 'VIP' area.

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His latest Vivienne Westwood campaign is no exception, with his favourite muse Kate Moss staunchily staring into the camera. At the Woo exhibition I discovered the iconic image of Moss in a wheelbarrow was the product of a nightmare trip with the model. Teller describes his legs becoming so sunburnt they swelled up and rubbed together and being woken up by huge grotesque toads making love in the middle of the night. I did wonder if this anecdote seemed fitting as there is motif of sex that reverberates through his work, the full fontal shot of Westwood as you enter the space testifies this, however I feel the naked appendages are more about uncovering the person's soul than they are about sexiness.

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Juergen Teller: Woo is on at the ICA until March 17 2013

Oh Yes O!

In fashion, at one time or another, or in January everyone is looking for the new, 'new'. What is the newest trend that is so fresh even the designers have not drawn it yet? The casting for Autumn 2012 was that black was the new black. It appears that we have tired of some fashions to the extent that they have come full circle and we are reinventing colour.

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I will be the first (and rubbernecking to the front of the queue I literally mean this) to admit I like to sniff out the latest designer or item to be seen wearing. Donning my earcuff, singing along to Destiny's Child's latest offering and leaving my house in at least one item of leather upon my person I found out about an understated yet pretty lingerie brand. It is called Oyosho. 

Just as I am beginning to fall out of love for Zara I discover I am crushing on a new bra sensation who is owned by the same company, Inditex. I am still in full honeymoon haze wanting to own everything on the website and at around £6 for a dainty black lace bra I could almost reach that goal.

Even the advertising campaign has echoes of early 90's supermodel casting, so for the moment, in effort to stay in the new, I mean now, I say:"Oh yes to Oyosho!"

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Valentino: Artist for the Aristocracy

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Know your nervature from your pagine? Unless you have been to the Valentino: Master of Couture at Somerset House recently, or you work on the designer's dresses or you are in fact Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani himself then these terms may have passed you by. 

Pagine refers to the organza specific to Valentino's couture gowns. Oraganza is used in piles to create a page effect unique to his atelier. Impressive is the intricacy of his work and the sheer amount of beading used to create one of these ostentatious one off pieces alone. But to be aware of never having the amenity to own one makes you feel that there is a point where fashion balances on the shoulders of the upper eschelons of society. 

136 dresses are exhibited on a long converbelt, purposely built to showcase the Italian's artistry to the general public. In some respects I could have been at Madame Tussaud's surveying a recent waxwork sculpture or looking upon Dante's Inferno at Tate Britain. Something sinister, awe - inspiring even, yet allowing for a certain amount of detachment. It never fully engages the onlooker. The outfits are even more lifeless when displayed on a mannequin. I truly believe woman maketh the outfit rather than the other way around. 

As I will never go to a ball or meet the Obama's or marry the next King I feel all I can do is gaze at the gowns as one does through a snow globe, peeking entry to a world that is covered in mikado silk, tulle and paillette disks- one I will never set foot in. 

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Shine bright like a diamond or other jewel

It is said that in times of austerity we become much more conscious of our appearance. Glamour and opulence come to the fore. Men wear suits and women don their finest accessories. Just look at any period of history when a recession has peaked, for example the Prohibition era. Most women would not look out of place in those times wrapped in a fur stole with diamond earrings of an evening.

It is difficult to be cautious and beautifully attired. I have tried to resist the allure of the cheaper high street store and found myself succumbing like a kid in a candy store. But with true testament to the saying: "All that glitters is not gold", I have had to learn the hard way with green fingers, holes in tops and splits in heels after only two months of wear.

For those of you looking for adding extra dazzle to any outfit which is worth the investment, then discover Lydia Courteille's handcrafted gems.

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One time designer for Dior you know you are buying something very special indeed. From skulls to roses there is a piece to suit your mood and the oversized rings will ensure you are way ahead of next season's trends.

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Alexa Won

There has been an unprecedented occurence. I am prempting it as I mean to say there will be an unprecedented occurence: featuring Alexa Cheung twice on my blog in one month. Credit where it is due she deserves an award for her versatile style. The crown has been passed (unofficially) down from Queen Kate at the British Fashion Awards as she won the Style Icon award. In this post I am going to select my favourite outfits of the chung in the last year, seeing as it is very nearly 2013.

Who would have thought a buttoned shirt with leather dress with echoes of dominatrix would work? The Chung rocks it at the Met Ball. The Fifty Shades of Grey generation of sexy secretary.

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Leopard plus fashion multiply Alexa equals a very cool holiday outfit. I wish I was reclining by a beach location in those cherry sandals and not de-thawing my toes whilst watching I'm A Celebrity.

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Who said in the summer that you cannot wear long sleeves with shorts? Just as I was about to throw out my Converse, Miss Chung gave me a reason to make them stay in the wardrobe.

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And let's face it she made and owned the androgynous look.

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She is the reason we own a leather biker jacket, a pair of loafers, trench coat, a chainmail bag and a polka dot playsuit. I cannot wait to see what she will pull out of her hat next. But one thing is for sure is a copycat of that hat will be on the shelves of every high street store in the land.

Ginsburg is still God

Two things I learnt last Friday night: Bella Freud was an assistant to Vivienne Westwood and Ginsburg is still God. This was at an evening hosted by the V&A in which Hadley Freeman, the Guardian writer interviewed Bella about her career which now spans over thirty years. It was an intimate affair and made me feel that the V&A is a tardis due to never realising there were so many rooms and lecture theatres at the back. Away from the main entrance and the throng milling in for the Hollywood Costume exhibition were a tight - knit core waiting for the youthful and sparkly - eyed fashion designer.

Kate Moss wearing 'Ginsburg is God' jumper

Freeman's interview went as far back as her childhood and growing up with having a world - renowned artist as a father, she said: "He treated it like an other professional job and worked those same long hours." When Bella told her father she wanted to pursue a career in fashion and attend art college, he replied: "But I thought you like doing nothing." This was relayed with humour as Lucien Freud designed the dog icon which can been seen on many of her knitwear pieces, showing his support for his daughter's chosen path.

Alexa Chung in 'J'taime Jane' an adage to Jane Birkin

Other anecdotes littered the conversation including Bella recalling the early burgeoning of success in the nineties with her 'Ginsburg is God' sweater. She told the audience that one day she heard a knock on her door and when opening it there was an excitable Japanese fan who could barely speak English but kept repeating: "Ginsburg is God!' Instead of being galled by this occurence Bella said she loved the fact that her fans were so determined to buy her line that they would turn up on her doorstep. Of course in the English tradition she invited the exciteable youngster in for a cup of tea.

The dog icon designed by Lucien Freud

And her fans were not just the fashion lovers in the Far East but she managed to accrue a cult following amongst the celebrity set in England. Very much a designer proud of her roots it was only right that Kate Moss should be seen with the slogan: 'Ginsburg is God' emblazoned across her chest, which by Freud's own admission created more of a buzz than any of her catwalk shows. Another time Bella recalls Jane Birkin calling her on the telephone about this design and personally congratulating her on re - focusing everyone's attention to the poetic genius. This conversation led Bella to feel she should create a phrase dedicated to Jane and hence: 'J'taime Jane' was born and worn by another well- coveted style guru, Alexa Chung.

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Bella Freud has worked with many British stalwarts in the past including Vivienne Westwood who she used to make lunch for in her flat and designed colletions for Miss Selfridge and Jaeger. Coming out of the lecture theatre I felt that Bella Freud has slightly been hidden away as an English charm and there should be a revival.  We should not be chanting 'Viva Forever' but 'Ginsburg is God.'