The hair, the dress, the blazer

A lovely ensemble. The floral dress and blazer, and the great hair!

Gareth Pugh To Showcase Menswear in Paris

This afternoon Vogue.co.uk (closely followed by Brandish) posted some news that made me choke on the leftover garlic naan bread I was nibbling on for my lunch (which was probably a good thing because stale naan is never good!). Known for his imaginatively dramatic designs, Gareth Pugh's first menswear collection will be showcased as part of the upcoming Paris menswear shows in January and is scheduled to take place on Sunday 25 at the Palais de Tokyo (which is one of my favourite places in Paris and where the designer presented his Parisian debut collection back in September and can be seen here). On the release of the news Gareth remarked..."It just feels like an organic progression and yes, I am going to be very busy working over Christmas!"

His solid, architectural aesthetic melds progressively with the Gothic, the futuristic, the treacherous, and the peculiar, all of which are things men's fashion has been crying out for! Whatever you think about his designs (I for one dream of wearing the Elizabethan Stormtrooper look he presented in Paris last time round and I was a little surprised to read that Marilyn Manson is also a fan), Pugh never fails to put on a great show whilst creating much discussion and this is just what menswear needs right now because it has to be said that not many menswear designers have managed to charter new territory in recent presentations...in fact I can only think of Thom Browne as the only menswear designer who brings a little theatre to the runway. Following two seasons of mediocre fashion weeks with little to talk about it is about time something came along and mixed things up a little bit. As Gareth Pugh has a busy Christmas (as I will no doubt put on a few pounds eating an excessive amount of roast potatoes...I guess you could call that busy) I just can't wait for Fashion Week...which is something I didn't think that I would type given the yawn inducing previous two seasons.

I will certainly return to this piece of news in a future post but I just have to digest the information and that naan bread a little more, plus I wanted to spread the news. What do you make of the news that the Dark Prince is venturing into menswear?

Advent - Day 16

As we are in the final stages of twilight in 2008 it makes sense to look forward to the coming year. A recent feature in Wallpaper gives us reason to be hopeful in the form of the wind of change sweeping through a number of fashion houses with the influx of new creative directors who are sure to bring a welcome infusion of energy and invention. My favourite appointment has been Kim Jones who has taken the creative reigns at Dunhill which is why he is under box number sixteen on the Style Salvage Advent Calender.

OK, so Kim Jones has been at the helm of this British luxury goods label since March so is this not old news? No. His first offering was a range of leather accessories for Spring/Summer 09 but we have to wait until January until we see his first full menswear collection. The piece in Wallpaper teases me with a brief interview, my favourite Q&A being...

How difficult is it to balance the rich heritage of the brand with bringing it into the 21st century?
If you really look at the Dunhill heritage you will see that there is nothing ‘old’ about it, in fact it is wonderfully modern. Alfred Dunhill himself was obsessed with innovation and new technology, which means that there are pieces in the archive that are just as relevant today as anything I design.

I'm excited to see where Kim Jones who has such a cult following for his refined, casual clothing will take this luxury goods company.

Visions of President Obama

Even though US President-elect Barack Obama will be donning a Hart Schaffner Marx single-button, notch-lapel tuxedo for the evening festivities on Inauguration Day, WWD have asked a number of leading menswear designers to create a day and evening look for this historic day and the pick of their designs can be seen here...

Obama has a lean, toned 6 ft 2 inches tall physique and Rag & Bones's vision for Obama is one which extenuates his sleek silhouette with a well cut suit for day and full on tuxedo with tails to wow his admirers in the evening.

My own personal favourite day/evening look for the US President Elect comes from GQ's Designer of the Year Thom Browne. From these wonderful sketches I envision Obama as being as dancing Fred Astaire like all the way through his swearing in ceremony.

After appearing on the covers of GQ, Esquire, Men's Vogue and Men's Health there can be little doubt that Obama will become a style icon for many. Despite his guaranteed style icon status it is extremely unlikely that I'll ever see a President wearing a sequined jacket as per Richard James' vision for Obama...I can't decide whether this is a good or bad thing...

What would you wear as President of this struggling Superpower?

Advent - Day Fifteen

I'm back in good ol' Blighty after having a lovely (but oh sooo cold) long weekend in Paris and it is nice to be sitting opposite my Christmas Tree once again...if Paris wasn't so expensive (damn the strong Euro!) the tree would be accompanied with a few more presents. Whilst away, EJ sent me a link to a beautiful pair of bauble like Hi-top trainers by Alejandro Ingelmo that would like look great on or under my tree....

Alejandro Ingelmo has very few stockists (which is why I've not come across his work before, even though he has been designing men's accessories since 2006) but fortunately he is stocked at Oki-Ni and these futuristic beauties can be purchased here. If I owned these shoes I would certainly think twice about hurling them towards the deservedly downtrodden soon-to-be ex-President of the United States...they would more than likely shatter into a thousand pieces and they are just too pretty for such a fate.

The early morning Eurostar has made me sleepy so I think I'll switch on the Christmas lights and curl up on the sofa watching trashy TV...normal blogging service will resume shortly.

Advent - Day Fourteen

If you're fed up of all the jingle bells and twinkly lights of Christmas, today's advent offering might be a little more appealing. I love the styling of this video, particularly the alternative Father Christmas. The song itself is great and I love the chance to big up a local band.

Advent - Day Thirteen

'ello Guvnor! Today is Dick Van Dyke day. Today is also the day when Style Salvage's partners share a birthday with this loveable but ultimately terrible cockney...Happy Birthday to Rob, Susie and Dick, we love you all!

Here is the man of the moment (back in 1965) on the cover of Showtime after they made him their man of the month following his awesome leading man performance in Mary Poppins.

You beat me to it! Very happy birthday wishes to one and all... and also to Steve Buscemi and Malta. What an auspicious day!

Fun fake fur

I love her blue nails...

Advent - Day Twelve

Bonjour from Paris. Apologies for not unveiling box number twelve on the Style Salvage Advent Calender but I have been nursing the big daddy of hangovers in my hotel room and I just could not face typing on the worlds smallest keyboards. In the true spirit of Christmas (As a child I remember watching my parents trying to set up my Scaletrix set following a boozy Christmas Eve) I have worked through the pain and present this image from Oily Boy as shown by the Sartorialist and mentioned on Tyler Brule's recent FT.com column...

Advent - Day Eleven

Along with socks, ties are a regular fixture wrapped up under the tree, they are perceived to be the safe option or at least they used to be...

Who not ruffle some feathers (I am hilarious) with one from Lanvin's AW accessories range? Yes they're over the top (everything at Christmas is), yes they're somewhat ridiculous, and, yes, they are completely impractical (just how would you tie it without destroying those fine feathers?). I'm not sure what my Uncle would say after unwrapping one of these but I would love to find out. Ever since I fell in love with a black feathered belt by Blaak (seen at the Old Curiosity Shop), I just want to experiment by incorporating feathered accessories to add texture and a little extravagance to an outfit.