THE JITROIS 'ROY' DRESSES

It was, and is still, a huge honour that I had my name dedicated to not one but FIVE of the pieces from the Jitrois Spring/Summer 2012 collection. The four ROY dresses and the IMOGEN green suede skirt have done pretty well in the press too, suggesting that a little of the attention-seeking nature of their namesake rubbed off on them. The 'Imogen' skirt was hastily conceived when I walked into the final fitting with Jean Claude Jitrois and the Creative Director the day before our presentation. I was wearing my €1 yellow pleated skirt from Freep'star and it was literally grabbed off me and taken to the atelier to be 'Jitrois'd' up. The green suede looks absolutely sensational. If I say how much it costs your eyes will pop out of your head and into your Earl Grey, so I'll keep mum. 

Above: Jitrois ROY V dress in black in Vogue Germany's March issue; Below model Sarah Marshall wears the dress at the Prix Mont Blanc awards in Berlin, pictured with Teri Hatcher; The dress in the SS12 lookbook.

Above: ROY BRODERIE dress in LOVE magazine's March issue. Below: On Arizona Muse in January's Vogue Paris; and in the SS12 lookbook

Above: Imogen suede skirt in L'Officiel March, below in the SS11 lookbook. Below right: The shortsleeved ROY crochet dress in the SS12 lookbook, also available in black.

Below: Jean Claude Jitrois poses with a model wearing the Imogen skirt for Jewel magazine.

HERITAGE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KATE WOODS

All props and Union Jack blazer, Kate's own.

After my Granny recently brought out some photos of my great-grandparents, whom I had never seen before, and Kate unearthed her Grandpa's RAF uniform, it got me thinking about heritage, in particular British heritage.  Shooting in the glen of the River Almond in Perthshire, wearing Michael Godwin's uniform and a petticoat my Mum wore as a bridesmaid, Kate and I tramped up and down in the mud, carrying fishing rods, teddy bears and all manner of 'British' stuff we've inherited from our families, talking about Brideshead Revisited and the Royal Wedding. Kate's Grandpa's uniform was so beautifully made, it made me wish my own grandparents had kept more of their own things and their parent's things to hand down. I'll have to be content with the photographs, and the few but incredible stories my Granny can tell of my great-grandparents, May and James, and their lives spent between Inverness, the Falkland Islands, Honduras and Uruguay, and the long ship journeys that took them as far as Ceylon and China. 

'It's not about looking back, it's about looking forward' is what we're always told. But without looking back, and far enough, how can we know where we came from? I never had the chance to meet my great-grandparents, but I can look at them and not only see my own image, but also recognize perhaps my taste for exotic travel and in particular theatrical dressing. My interest in fashion and costume had always seemed like it had come out of nowhere, until I saw this picture of my great-granny dressed as a Turkish page in the 1930s. So, that's heritage. If only she'd kept the turban...

EIGHT + FRASSY : WHAT WE WORE

I have become a guest at Frassy HQ in Paris over the next week, and there is a lot of spontaneous overflowing of fashion going on (which basically translates as me borrowing a lot  of Audrey's clothes). We are wearing all vintage, apart from the beloved, bashed-up designer bags.

Yesterday in Paris was beautiful, one of those perfectly crisp, sunny days which hint that spring may be just round the corner. The city was full of music; we were serenaded with opera singing on the metro, later two trumpet players were playing a duet whilst walking on opposite sides of Rue St.Honoré and then we found ourselves in the midst of a choir flashmmob at an intersection. All these voices rising up from the busy street in harmony - spontaneous overflow of song, it seems, too. 

I have my eyes and ears wide open, drinking it all in. I'm moving here in late summer, and I feel at home already.

All photos by Maria Mcmenemy. This fabulous girl is an incredibly talented future voice in photography and film, you'll see her handiwork in the recent Frassy videos and on her blog:
WHIPLASH

LFW : DAY TWO OUTFIT

 Pictured with the charming Candice Lake by on Park&Cube

Pictures via Shini/ Stockholm Streetstyle/ Kit / Sandra

'When I am old I shall wear purple' goes a rhyme my Granny has shared with me on several occasions. 'When I am hungover I shall wear purple' was more the rhyme that inspired this outfit, or the fact that what with the grey rainy sky and the grey setting of Somerset House I thought I'd do everyone a favour and blind them with my outfit. Does it work for you?

DANCING IN THE STREET

Photographs by Alice of HARLEY WOOD

Yeti fur from Zara

Blue mesh slip and Doc Martens from a charity shop

Black mesh dress American Apparel

Feather headdress and jewel pendant, Alice's.

Apologies for the photo overload. I had far too much fun doing this. Let's call this look The Craft x Janis Joplin x Where the Wild Things Are. 

KATE WOODS PHOTOGRAPHY

More from Kate Woods's shoot in Leeds last month when the first of the snow fell. This last shot is an absolute slammer, and testimony to Kate's incredible eye for a shot. Capturing shadows and light is one of her signature talents; in the trio of standing poses, I look positively holy. I can also credit her entirely with getting a massively underqualified model like myself to warm to the camera.  Both Scottish girls studying at Leeds, hopefully Kate and I can grow together in artistic talent, but I fear she'll always be one step ahead of me.


KATE WOODS PHOTOGRAPHY

LFW S/S 11: WE WERE TOO BUSY DANCING

Last photo courtesy of Yvan Rodic, all other photos my own

Just to prove I didn't spend every night of LFW hunched over my laptop like a hermit; behold, The infallable 'FashPack' reunited.

Michael/Audrey/Nadia/Hassan/Frances/Guy/Koray/ ... Daniel Lismore?

And do note, if you're ever heading to Maddox for an ultracoolfashionweekpartaay, do make time to visit the Crachaan pub nearby. They do lovely organic cider.