Bailey's Lost Matchstick Man?

The title of this post is somewhat optimistic but you have to aim high right? There is no doubt that the Burberry Prorsums AW 08 collection was one of the stand out collections way back at the beginning of the year and as this year draws to a close it is about time that I present to you my own interpretation...using the fruits of my DIY challenge and dlittlegarden's handywork!

To reach my Burberry knock off look, the DIY Cardigan is worn with grey shirt from bstore, vintage bow tie from Marks&Spencer, grey trousers from peoplesmarket, patent shoes by swear and winter warming accessories from dlittlegarden.

This little tribute look was a long time coming but I'm glad that I've finally done it. I can now move on from my little obsession...I wonder what the next one will be...

DIY - Cardigan Reborn

EJ certainly raised the bar with her wonderfully executed and amusing Tache Gloves (these would make a great, inexpensive Christmas Gift). For my DIY Project I wanted to create a double layered cardigan because I have been crazing one ever since I saw them strut down the LS Lowry inspired Burberry AW 08 runway but could not find a more affordable version anywhere. The colour palette that Bailey used in that show made me want to rush out and play in imaginery piles of crispy red and brown leaves...and I wanted to achieve something similar. Then I remembered about my well worn Reiss cardigan which was lying somewhat unloved at the bottom of one of my drawers. Susie actually featured this cardigan on her blog long before we started going out and it was the first time that I took notice of style and fashion blog...more importantly it was the first real opportunity for me to speak to her at work (for those of who don't know we used to work at the same office) and of course great things have later blossomed. Therefore, this Reiss cardigan deserved a much better life than the one it had found itself in. So under the guise of the Men Represent DIY Challenge, I just had to breathe fresh life into this special piece of knitwear.

What you will need...

- Two cardigans, preferably battered and old. I actually decided to treat myself to an extra fine Merino Wool Cardigan from Uniqlo in a complimentary shade because my deep aubergine Reiss Cardigan deserved a fine companion.
- Needle & thread
- Pins
- A steady hand and patience...neither of which I have!

What I did...

1) It seemed that the bottom drawer had not been too kind on the Reiss Cardigan and a repair job was needed on a few rips, tears and loose buttons, so out came the needle and thread to make some fat fingered amends.


2) Following the repair job, I carefully cut along the seams of the sleeves to create a sweater vest out of the Uniqlo cardigan. To maximise my thrifty-ness I kept hold of the sleeves because these could quickly be turned into arm warmers.

3) I've really never seen the appeal of sweater vests so continued to cut until all I was left with were the two front panels.

4) Now came the fun part. The joining of the two. I overlapped each panel and played around with it until I was happy with the appearance of the overlap (two inches at the bottom, thinning out to the top) and pinned the garments in place. All that was left now was to sew where the two seams met and the cardigans were now entwined.

Apologies for the brightness in this shot. I will post styled pictures of the cardigans later today...

I'm ashamed to say that this was the first time that I've held a needle and thread since Primary School (we took basic textiles classes in Year Four) and my technique certainly improved as the morning developed. Now that I have awoken my crafty side, I have taken the needle and thread to add leather buttons to my Angels find. Over the course of a few hours, I had breathed fresh life into two garments and hopefully this inspires you to at least think about doing the same.

Advent - Day Ten

Christmas can be an emotional time. We all eat and drink too much whilst spending so much time with our loved ones that at times you just want to escape the clutches (and lips) of that over friendly grandma and find that perfect sanctuary...it is an emotional time where we all wear our hearts on your sleeves...so why not accessorise accordingly....

Twenty year old twins Dee and Ricky have been busy this year multi tasking their way into the Marc Jacobs show, making music, creating art and getting photographed by The Sartorialist. The highlight of all that work is of course the Lego heart brooch which you might have seen gracing the chest of Kanye West during the promotion of 808s and Heartbreaks. As well as red, the heart also comes in black or multi-coloured and at $65 (or £40) it is a bit pricey (as it is Lego after all) but it is Christmas and it is awesome so it makes a great gift for yourself...or if you are feeling generous you can always wrap it up for that special someone.

The package which saved winter

The package from Daphne has saved me from the cold!

Over the course of the last month or so I have wasted a great many hours wandering the desperate stores on the High Street (30% Off Sales Signs have become a regular feature) in the hope of finding an assortment of accessories which will keep me warm this winter. Last year Topman gave me my black ribbed arm warmers (I don't think I took them off between Christmas and the end of February) and a few other bits but this year this usually reliable source just didn't offer good quality, chunky knitted goods and neither did the others. My feet were tired and my eyes ached from the ridiculously brightly lit stores and just when I could not take any more punishment up stepped etsy seller, dlittlegarden to fill the gap in the market! Whilst I was bemoaning the lack of options on the High Street, the lovely Daphne (who as well as knits has a great blog) has been busy working on the men's knitted pieces for her etsy store and was kind enough to send a few of the items across for me to try out and model. The items she sent me were the...

"Brawl on Bowery" mitts - these are chunky knit fingerless gloves and exactly what I've been looking for over the last month. My fringers hands can now be nice and toasty!
"Christopher Street" Cowl - this is the first time that I've ever worn a cowl and I Love it. This chunky knit ribbed cowl scarf is dressed with brown leather buttons and is my favourite piece because it is so unexpected.
"Triangle Below Canal" Cap -I've recently described how I'd like more men to wear hats and in weather like this a chunky knit cable cap like this is the only answer.

My essentials to combat the cold - Knitted accessories by dlittlegarden worn with long sleeve Heatech tshirt by Uniqlo.

All of her hand knits are made out of a soft, squishy, pure wool/alpaca blend yarn that feels great against the skin and works perfectly to combat the cold. I have had great fun wearing these pieces over the course of the last week and below are my two favourite looks...

Don't be fooled by the bright sunshine. It was damn cold...not that I felt it!

The Angels Sale find was given a new lease of life by teaming it up with dlittlegarden's accesories and a HeatTech t shrit by Uniqlo. I am really enjoying mixing different shades of grey at the moment and think that it works perfectly for a winter warming look. The outfit was finished off with a Tokyo print pocket square by Muji and a Tote bought from Hurwendeki.

My second favourite look involves the current favourite items in my possession. A large purple checked pea coat from Uniqlo (I managed to find the only small in all of London!) and dlittlegarden's "Christopher Street" Cowl. If I could wear these items all day everyday I would be a happy man indeed.

The winter saving package arrived last week and it certainly made my day...in fact it made my week because I'm not sure that I could have coped with the recent cold London weather if it wasn't for her beautiful, knitted creations. From my experience, there is definitely a gap in the market for good quality, well priced knitted accessories and even though the High Street has proved fruitless for me this season, there is rich pickings on etsy thanks to crafty folk like dlittlegarden.

Advent - Day Nine

Happy Christmas spelt out in socks by Happy Socks

Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without at least one new pair of socks... at least, it isn't for me. My family have been fully informed of this fact after one terrible year where I didn't get a single pair. Oh god, the memories are coming back! Nooo!

So yes, here's my selection of socks for this Noel...

This classic sock gift set from Tabio covers a few bases.

Yes these are sort of novelty socks, but the aviator shades just merge to create a more abstract pattern from a distance.

You may remember that we wrote about Happy Socks back at the end of October. So where would this list be without a couple of pairs from them? I'm aware that these bad boys are extremely pink, but it's flashes of colour that just might help keep your spirits bright while playing yet another game of charades... and I like this pair as they have a slightly seventies feel.

I love this pair from Paul Smith because for some reason they remind me of Tron in a very good way.

But please, Santa, can I have Joker socks? Please?

UPDATE: The folks at Happy Socks want to make it a Happy Christmas for one of you! They have offered to reward one lucky reader with their preferred choice of four pairs of socks. All you have to do is drop us a comment with your email address and we will enter your name into the Style Salvage prize draw.

EDIT: thanks for all your entries! The competition is now closed!

From the archives...

There is something quite New York about this guy... I love his plaid scarf.



I love this girl's look. She is vintage and she is modern at the same time. She was wearing a vintage headphone, and the way she wears her hair is cool. Her makeup is fun too, with the huge eyelashes.

DIY tash

When I saw the Jack Spade for Gap for Colette x Gap moustache gloves my first thought was 'dude, those are so sweet' (yes, I turn into an American teenager when excited). My second thought was 'I could do that'. So, for my DIY/men represent project, I did.

What you will need:
- Gloves
- Felt
- Needle & thread
- Tailors chalk
- Scissors
- Pen & paper

...and it helps to have a mirror.

(I think you know what a mirror looks like)

To start with, I drew roughly the shape of the desired tash onto my felt using tailor's chalk. I had decided to use black felt with grey gloves. The tailor's chalk didn't work brilliantly but it was enough to get the general idea. I then cut out the shape.

As you can see, it turned out a little wonky.

Wonkers!

Take two. I figured folding the felt in half, then cutting out half a moustache shape would produce something a little more even. This worked, but was a bit too small.

Small and sweet.

Take three. I had drawn out a half mustache shape on paper and used it as a guide to ensure that the tash was big enough.

Please excuse my freaky fingers.

This time the porridge was just right... um, I mean, this worked. Finally a shape and size that I was happy with!

From top to bottom: wonkers, mini and just right.

Then I put on the glove and put the moustache into position. Because it was felt on wool the tash stuck enough by itself for me to be able to let go and get a real idea of how it looked before fastening it on properly. (this is where a mirror comes in handy. I stupidly kept running into the bathroom to look until I remembered my portable mirror).

Once you're happy with the positioning, it's time to start sewing. I suppose you could use a small amount of glue to stick it on, but I wasn't convinced that this would hold. I just used a few small cross stitches in the middle of the tash- a maximum of 5 minutes sewing (I'm really cack handed and had to keep checking that it was on straight) and then I was done!

Cue idiotic picture:

This time you'll have to excuse both my freaky fingers AND my freaky face. I'm not used to taking photos of myself for the blog. And I was trying to hide my excitement about moustache gloves! Focus on the GLOVES people!

An experience with Angels

On Saturday morning Susie dragged me out of bed at ridiculously early o'clock (6:30 am GMT) and before I even had time to wipe the sleep from my eyes, I found myself on a busy train to North Wembley, with the Angels sale being our destination. Susie has already covered the event in great detail and even created a video which shows you just how many people hauled themselves out of bed just like us (there were literally thousands upon thousands) in the hope of filling a plastic bag or five full of costumes and unique vintage pieces from the archives of BBC and Angels.

I must admit that I went there as support for Susie more than anything else, primarily my aim was to stop her from filling too many bags with items that our bedroom just doesn't have room for, or if that failed I would be her chief bag carrier, there was no strong desire to find pieces for myself. Rummaging through cardboard box after cardboard box whilst fending off the reach of others is not my ideal way to practice the art of shopping. I prefer to shop in stores which have beautifully arranged displays, friendly helpful staff and very few fellow customers who just ultimately get in the way of my experience and annoy me. On the most part I wandered the vast but cramped space, sidestepping boxes and crazed women of all ages. However, I did enjoy a few bursts of energy which saw me rummage with the best of them. I found a number of great jackets, including a wonderful navy sailor jacket with brass buttons (veeery similar to this chaps) but it like most of my finds smelt so bad that I gagged a number of times (no amount of Febreeze or dry cleaning would appease that wretched stench!). All was not lost though...

The Angels Sale Jacket is worn with a Tokyo street map pocket square by Muji, check bow tie bought from Hurwendeki, check shirt by COS, purple merino wool jumper from Uniqlo, grey wool wrap trousers by Unconditonal and silver hi tops from bstore.

I did however unearth a two button grey wool blazer which for some time has been something that I've been in search for to add to my winter wardrobe. Fortunately it fits well and has a pleasant odour...all it needs is replacement buttons (which I picked up today - black leather buttons from MacCulloch and Wallis). Upon leaving the sale, we encountered a number of broken bodies surrounded by plastic bags and an even larger queue of anxious looking people waiting to get rummage...after reaching the fresh, cold morning air we heard someone scream behind us, "We're alive and we only have chlamydia." It summed up a strange but fruitful Saturday morning.

Advent - Day Eight

Video time again. This time it's Fred and Ginger in the snow singing 'a Fine Romance'. Boys, take note of Fred's winter dressing; he looks wonderful in his bowler hat and black, fur trimmed coat (though please go faux if you want to copy this bit!) complement by pale gloves and scarf. Enjoy!

Advent - Day Seven

The eventful year of 2008 has certainly been a year of the collaboration (the highlights for me being Acne x Lanvin and Raf Simons x Fred Perry) and there is certainly time to squeeze a few more in before the year ends. I stumbled across my first three way on hypebeast yesterday and the below image permeated the thick cobwebs surrounding my brain and gave it a wake up slap.

New York-based contemporary brand Band of Outsiders, United Arrows’ Beauty & Youth and Japanese online magazine honeyee.com have worked together to create a bowtie and necktie. This certainly sounds like a lot of hands to create two relatively simple accessories but the resulting bow tie and in particular, how it has been styled in this shot (it reminds me of Christmas morning for some reason) is worthy of applause and I would be happy to receive this in my stocking!