We are Creatures of the Wind...

Greetings! Today is Monday. Normally that would mean fatigue, mild headache and a semi-wasted day spent doing the minimum but, since I have a week's holiday, it still means fatigue, mild headache and a completely wasted day doing nothing - other than writing this, of course. :)
Anyway, so today I have decided to present you with a collection that I was intending to present you with as far back as Thursday or Friday where I believe my commentary would have still been quite fresh. Instead, I am posting it today. Ha - I care not a jot for the limitations of time... except when I have a coursework piece to hand in and I am being threatened with detention.

"This bridge will only take you halfway there
To those mysterious lands you long to see:
Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fair
And moonlit woods where unicorns run free.
So come and walk awhile with me and share
The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known.
But this bridge will only take you halfway there -
The last few steps you'll have to walk alone."

 - Shel Silverstein

So, in contrast with my relatively reserved Giulietta post, here comes 'Creatures of the Wind'  - Autumn 2012 collection.

Shane Gabier and Chris Peters are designers with a unique, offbeat vision. Their latest collection, they explained, was inspired by The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies, a seventeenth-century book by the Scottish Episcopalian minister Robert Kirk in which he collected his parishioners' tales of the supernatural.
I do not think there was anything extraordinarily otherworldly, per se, about the clothes, but they were certainly creations with a difference. Exhibit A: a white button-down blouse embroidered with a quote from The Last Unicorn.
Also appearing was a trim blazer constructed from distressed leather and Lurex-shot striped wool with a heat transfer of multicolor Swarovski crystals on its back... and a lace skirt dipped in silver.
The overall feeling was folksy, but with a couture touch - though if I had organised the show it would have finished with morris dancing or a 'rite of spring'-alike sacrifice. We could have picked the one with red hair and the beautiful black dress (one of my favourite items in the collection) and tied her to a stone table. Alas, that may have shocked the audience slightly and I might have failed at encouraging them to join in with the maypole dancing.

"What is plucked will grow again,
What is slain lives on,
What is stolen will remain
What is gone is gone...
What is sea-born dies on land,
Soft is trod upon.
What is given burns the hand -
What is gone is gone...
Here is there, and high is low;
All may be undone.
What is true, no two men know -
What is gone is gone...
Who has choices need not choose.
We must, who have none.
We can love but what we lose -
What is gone is gone." - Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn

Probably not a recipe for surefire retail success, and I am all the more relieved for it, but Gabier and Peters might have something better: a finale gown made from tiers of pale blue chiffon and taffeta with a silver lace yoke that, should it be worn at the Oscars by the right Hollywood Star (one of the ones I have heard of) could earn them renown.          

<<< I think this is strangely gorgeous. I thought the colouring was similiar to this pre-raphaelite painting painting on the right - >>> - since I can't resist any opportunity to thrust the pre-raphaelites under my willing victim person-who-I wish-to-educate's nose. Oh, and this is the one we're going to sacrifice. (That is a Joke. I do not in any way recommend or support any form of human sacrifice or ritual killing, including having people entombed in walls, buried alive, strangling them with colourful silk scarves in the name of Kali,  building wicker figures with humans inside which are then burned, Sati/Suttee, any form of sacrifice involving an altar, headhunting or cannibalism. Unless of course, you wish to fight a war against Troy, where I would promote it.)


<<< Another beautiful dress, though less waist than I generally like. If I were a hollywood star (which I should be ;) I think I would wear it, although this sort of layering in the skirt is not normally what I opt for. It would look nice with a bun or half-ponytail, simple heels - maybe bright red - and no jewellery .

>>> Evidence of some peplum inspiration in the collection. I would have said that I would not be seen dead in that skirt, but I have a new policy of giving anything a go - apart from that strange cardigan concoction. *Shudder*

If I had the money to waste (because, never in a million years am I going to find a high street alternative) I would possibly wear the skirt with a simple black turtleneck, a high bun, some black high heels, a slick of red lipstick and a tape measure about my neck.

<<< Clashing patterns add to the Folk feeling... though I think the shoes are horrendous. If there is no figure in an outfit then, at the very least, a pair of stiletto heels should be worn. That's just the laws of common decency. ;)

<<< This one is actually really cool. I am still wholly unappreciative of the shoes, though I am sure a lot of hard work was put into creating them. On the other hand, the hat looks really sumptuous and I think that (with the possible addition of a slim belt) the clothes themselves look gorgeous too.

^^^ Absolutely gorgeous hairstyle. Maybe I can find someone to do something like this for me since (when it comes to hairstyling) I am all thumbs. ^^^

On a last note, anything slightly 'The Wicker Man' about the collection?

"All the ancient classic fairy tales have always been scary and dark." - Helena Bonham Carter

Thank you for reading my wild ramblings (I wish to stress one more time that I do not actually approve of human sacrifice, or animal sacrifice for that matter) and I encourage you to comment. I enjoy reading them, even if they are negative, just as long as they are based on a fair and informed judgement. Oh, and please follow. :)


Ciao!

A Slightly Gothic Victoriana-inspired Retrospective

Hello! Just a break away from my exploration of different Japanese Designers with my 'Slightly Gothic Victoriana-inspired Retrospective' - Sincerely. what else was I going to call it? Though in many cases 'Victoriana' would be the wrong word to use, and I should have probably dropped it in favour of neo-victorian.
Anywho, I have had an alright, if a little tiring day. Looking forward to a German Speaking Exam (if you had not noticed, there was a sarcastic ring to that) and trying to remember where I left the very detailed scene-by-scene plan for the play I am writing. *Sigh*


So, moving swiftly back to the subject at hand, my neo-victorian outfits. Alright, so the first one looks more like a costume, but the other three are what I would call Victorian Inspired day-to-day clothing. Sort of. I would wear the third one to an evening somewhere, but probably not to Town. If one dresses up all the time, then one will feel less special when dressing for special occasions.

So what is this outfit? Well, a black straw hat from Peter Bettley, an essential if one is really going for a Victorian Look. A Lady would never leave the House without a hat. Which is funny, because I have done just that in the next two upcoming outfits, but as I have already said, they are more 'inspired by' than attempting to be truly historically accurate. The Jacket I am wearing in the photo was a birthday present from my friend, Jemma. At first I was worried it was not going to fit me, but thank heavens, if worn with quite a light layer underneath, it does. This light layer was a 'Phase Eight' poet blouse in ivory with a drawstring collar. The skirt is a simple black practise skirt, and can be worn with almost everything.

This Second of my Four Outfits is completely different. More whimsical, with a cloak and no hat, could possibly be considered as even having Medieval vibes. 

I am wearing an emerald green cloak from 'Void' an alternative clothing shop in Nottingham. Not that I would go in there without my friend, Jemma. Alone, it would make me feel slightly uncomfortable... and stand out in the wrong way. Not sure where the white glove came from and I was only able to find one. The Dress is also emerald green, vintage and adopted from my Grandmother, with gold bow buttons. Lastly, the same skirt as in the first outfit, and a gold scarf around my waist.







This third outfit was an entirely velvet concotion: full-length black gown adopted from my Mother (previously seen in my red&black piece) and the new coat of which I had spoken in my last post. The detail on the sleeve of it is absolutely gorgeous, though you can unfortunately not see it in these pictures.

I am less sure of what my aim was with this one. It really is a sumptuous combo, managing to be surprisingly warm, and stylish at the same time.
Yes, I am all in black and, in some of these photos, it does make my skin look rather pale (which it is. I tend to avoid tans as far away from the Summer as the end of Autumn is)








Actually, although I did not believe it would be so beforehand, this may have been my favourite of these outfits. I also thought that the burnt orange of the tree's leaves with the dew-covered green of the glass and the completely white and empty skyline, worked well with the impression I was trying to give.

Pray, take no note of the trampoline in the background of this photo. It is far enough in the background anyway for it not to be a real issue.

This outfit has been described by a friend of mine as 'a cross between a Charles Dicken Character and something from a fairytale' and by another as, simply, 'Pirate-like' though I hardly see the latter. It has a few steampunk vibes too.

It is made up of a green jacket (intended to be worn with the green dress of two photos ago) a Laura Ashley white blouse, the same black practise skirt, a belt, a string of pearls and a Kangol Hat.



Thank you for reading. Comment. Which was your favourite outfit? Remember to check back soon.

Ciao, ciao, ciao!