Luella Love

Finally the time as come to admit it, I am jealous of Alexa Chung.

She's breaking America without having to become a Barbie doll, has very good hair, a rock star boyfriend AND gets to wear Luella dresses still warm from the fashion show. The green-eyed monster has picked a worthy target.






In other news I am in love with the new Luella collection. The shapes are so classic and feminine, like the sort of outfits Betty Draper might wear to a fancy picnic.














The only thing that niggles me about Luella's clothing is that I think they would be shown off far better on a curvier body. The clothes have curves and the models don't, it just doesn't seem quite right. Maybe for her next collection Luella should "do a Mark Fast" and find some less bony beauties to fill out her dresses.

Take a Bow

You, my dear devoted reader, may recall my post about the delights of fascinators and simply headwear in general. I am now very happy to inform you that I appear to have pre-empted a new fashion trend. Note the very exciting hair decorations being worn by the models in Luella's Spring 2009 show, for example.


I mention Luella first because, and I do intend to boast here, just weeks before she unveiled the veils, so to speak, I invested in a UFO hairpiece and veiling. I like to think that this means that I am so cool that I am ahead of fashion, it is far more likely, however, that by pure chance my ecclectic taste has coincided with what is considered on trend. Either way I am very excited about wearing my new UFO out and about in Edinburgh.

This brings me to my question of the moment: is it possible to wear crazy headwear without looking like a prat? I ask this in all seriousness because here in Edinburgh a lot of folk do tend to be rather conservative about their atire (I use conservative with a small c but as many of the men do sport outfits somewhat similar to that of David Cameron I believe that a Conservative dress sense would be an equally apt description) When all around you are wearing bland, drab and "normal" clothing, putting something on your head and proclaiming it fashion would, on the whole, be considered mad, be it a watermelon or an oversized bow that you are balancing on your bonce.

Now, I am never one to be ashamed of my fashion, but neither do I appreciate the looks of "what on earth is that girl wearing?" so I have been trying to create low key outifts which can be given that extra punch by way of one of my headbands or scarves or the UFO. This sort of outfit is along the same sort of lines as wearing a prom dress for everyday atire - another feat which I am hoping to pull off this semester without looking totally OTT. I love fashion, but I have no wish to look like a fashion victim.


Perhaps one day I will go all out and dress Harajuku-esque...I do have a hair bow bought from that very Tokyo district...

Hubble Bubble Toil and...Chanel

It may not be anywhere near Halloween right now, but it seems to me like witchcraft and wizardary are on the way up in the fashion stakes. Chanel have just announced Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, as the new face of their Coco Mademoiselle perfume, after a long and careful consideration as to whether she has the right look. She's young, she's rich, she's beautiful - and she's a bit posh, which doesn't go amiss - obviously she was going to be perfect for Chanel. There was the minor scandal of her partying with Jonny Borrell, but let's be honest here, what 18 year old doesn't let their hair down with a slightly sleasy rock star every now and again?

Having just signed a two-year contract with Chanel worth £3million, and with the rumoured £2million she earns for each film in the Harry Potter franchise, Emma definitely has the means to go flashing the cash. Perhaps she will stick to her magical roots and drop a few thousand pounds at Luella on the Fall Collection - you know the stuff I mean, the runway show began with a model wearing a fabulous witches hat and some pumpkin-orange tights. Not entirely appropriate for day-to-day wear but such headwear would make a big splash on the red carpet - just look at the media coverage that Sarah Jessica Parker got for *that* hairpiece at the SATC premiere.

Sadly, I think Emma may be too classy and elegant to rock the witches hat, but there are tamer pieces in the collection and, really, isn't Luella a more suitable and fun designer for an 18 year old to be wearing than Chanel? With this particular collection Luella brings together a folky look with her trademark dresses and the overall effect is one
that is quirky, youthful and fun. Agyness Deyn is a big Luella fan, I reckon Miss. Watson should take a leaf out of Aggy's book and mix it up a bit - and go party with some cooler rockers, or Nick Grimshaw. I can't imagine anything better than a party with Grimmy.

So, pretty much it seems to me that we should all take some fashion tips from the magical community for autumn, not that all of us can be the face of a fabulous advertising campaign and therefore able to afford the best, but authentic witches don't go to boutiques and neither shall we.

P.S. On the subject of wizardry, I saw a photo of Daniel Radcliffe the other day. His chin is all stubbily; not a good look. He isn't even 19 yet, someone buy that boy a razor!