This Week I'm Mostly Liking....

Clockwise from l-r Penfield Parka, YMC Hunting sweater both - My Wardrobe, Carolyn Massey Beige Chinos - Topman Lens, Grey Suede Brogues - ASOS, Turquiose Socks - Tabio, Hobo Daypack - Oki-Ni

I've told myself I'm not going to buy anything for the rest of the month, so these items are strictly out of bounds(and also because I clearly can't afford them, socks and shoes excluded). I reckon with this outfit I would be fit to do my daily errands, go for a pint and even go for a leisurely hike in the country side, I'd change my shoes before I started the climb of course!

Something else I'm looking forward to is Carolyn Massey's collaboration with sock experts, Tabio. Thanks to Style Salvage for sharing the good news. On the last count I own 60ish pairs of socks, they are my vice.

What tickles your fancy this week?

London Fashion Week - Menswear Round Up

I recently wrote a mini review of day 6 at London Fashion Week for Manchester Fashion Network, so I though I may as well share it on here:

The day I've had marked on my calender for months has finally arrived, it's Menswear. It all takes place at Somerset House and tickets to these shows were the hottest in town. The room was literally bursting with new talent.


Carolyn Massey

What a start to the day with the much talked about RCA graduate Carolyn Massey, up first. Using military details as inspiration but creating a very different aesthetic, the models were a wash with a unexpected palette of soft pinks, greys and nudes, set on a base of deep reds, khakis, navys and blacks. Styles came in the form of asymmetrical blazers, long wool coats, boxy leather tunics and panelled knitwear, wide sleeved shirts and a grey jump suit was a key peice. Accessories were strong as always in menswear with oversized scarfs, long socks via Tabio and knitwear was fastened with brooches. This is why I love menswear.

JW Anderson

Anderson set a totally different mood, showing garments which were a mixture of punk and traditional countryside, creating a unique twist. Tartan blanket jackets were teamed with wool trousers and studded gold belts, sheepskin jackets went with heavily embellished stonewashed denim and chunky cable knits worn with turned up chinos. A flurry of colours including vivid yellows and reds, along with cream, dusty pink and camel tones. Chokers, backpacks, earrings and heavy hiking boots were all on display. Topped off with bunches of flowers, coming out of every possible compartment. Shall we call it Nu-Rural?

Christopher Shannon

The key to menswear is not to take it too seriously, queue the king of experimental sportswear, Christopher Shannon. Highlights included nylon outerwear worn with matching trousers, layers of sheer tshirts, panelled shirts in a mixture of sheepskin and shiny fabrics, chunky layered hoodies and sweats. All suuped up in ice greys, navy, whites and vibrant pinks and purples. I'm predicting be things for Shannon's sportswear in the future.

James Long

Interesting textured were created by mixing various fabrics including heavy corduroy, faux-fur and mohair on cardigans and outerwear. All outerwear was belted in tight at the waist to create a all round looser silhouette. Cropped leather biker jackets in black and red were again layered with longer coats. Going away from the skinny trousers and experimenting with all-in-one boiler suits was another great success. The only print came in the way of what looked like a bleached print, which created its own tie-dye effect but on a much subtler scale. The James Long show was by far my favourite.

TOPMAN Design

The great outdoors was the theme with a rural, practical look and colour palette. Paperbag style trousers were a welcomed edition to this seasons menswear, which were well executed, together with heavy duty parkas with oversized hoods and MORE sheepskin trims. This is the first season TM Design have gone it alone, as they usually show in the MAN show along with other new designers. This collection felt like TM Design's strongest to date, with a polished identity. An unexpected twist came in the shape of tree branch print t-shirts and jumpers, which carried on the outdoors theme and the injection of oranges and bright blues. Layers upon layers of browns, greens, charcoals and beige in various shades moulded the collection together along with hints of purples and whites and reds. Other new edition on the trouser front were pocketed long johns and patchwork jeans paired with patterned cardigans and padded bomber jackets. Hightlights: red belted mac, multi coloured cardigan, tree patterned white shirt and of course, the paperbag.

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I didn't manage to cover the other shows that went on within the day, like the MAN show featuring  one of my personal favourites, Katie Eary. There was also a handful of presentations including H by Harris, Mr Hare and Lou Dalton, which all looked great and I'm just frustrated that I couldn't attend. Remember to click the images to enlarge.

So what do you guys think of the menswear day and London Fashion Week in general? If you didn't managed to see any of the coverage, what do you think of my top picks?

All images from LFW

Topman LENS S/S 10

As always, I'm super excited about this S/S seasons offering of Topman LENS collection. Designers involved this time round are Carolyn Massey, Mjolk, Dexter Wong and Kasper Harup-Hansen, who are joined by LENS newcomers Christopher Shannon and Dusty.

This is one collection in the high street diary I always have firmly marked in BIG letters.. LENS drops 18th Feb.

Images via The Fashionisto

London Fashion Week

Now, like most people in the fashion world, I have been totally obsessed with all what's been going on, on the catwalk's over the past few week. Especially London Fashion Week, at the MAN shows. Twitter has been going mad and the morning of the MAN show I was over ridden by all the tweeting going on by fellow bloggers, Cillian Male Mode, Steve Style Salvage, Ian ASOS Tweets, Elliot and Steve Buckstyle and even Topman had Steve from Style Salvage tweeting on their behave. I'm going to leave the review of the shows down to the expect this time, because I don't think I can do them justice, may favourite coverage came from Fashion165, they were reviewing each show as it happened on their blog, even the much smaller shows. They were pulling off some great coverage of the street style that was going on too.

I do feel like I'm missing out being so far up north but it was weird, I felt so close to it at the same time because of twitter. The world really is getting smaller. Still well gutted I didn't get to see the MAN show, Carolyn Massey's show look superb.

One thing that caught me eye was some of the more avant garde shows like Ziad Ghanem’s collection, in collaboration with Firetrap, entitled "Maiden Britain’.

Not for the faint of heart, this collection at first glance is mostly unwearable, but when you break it down it really isn't that insane. Ok some of it is a bit wacky but some of the details are really inspiring, like the also jodhpur/ plus 4 esque jeans, sleeveless sheer shirts, union jack totes, 80s style patterned work-out pants and spike denim accessories (see more close up images at Vogue UK ). All looks weren't complete without Creepers, the crepe soled, stacked shoes, which were all courtesy of T.U.K. All the ones you would expect features, including leopard print, black and white and the tres style hi-shine all black ones.

A pair of creepers is still a high priory on my wish list, Susie Bubble sure is getting a lot of wear out of her. Crepe soles seem to be big business the a/w with offerings from Emma Cook at Topshop and Alexander Wang all doing the rounds at the moment. Are you going crepe the a/w?

Images T.U.K's blog