The End of a Dynasty

I don't mind confessing that I am of an age which means I can quite clearly remember the 80's and all the wonderful crazy, overblown fashions that the decade produced...

Women and men alike were into dressing to the max, and the bolder the colour and crazier the pattern the better.

Even at a young age I was aware that this was a time of high glamour and glitz, and nothing was more of the time than cult American t.v show Dynasty.

Set in Denver Colorado, Dynasty was the tale of two families at war: the Colby's and the Carrington's. The Stars of the show for me and many others were Joan Collins who played super bitch Alexis Colby and Linda Evans who played Crystal Carrington, and boy did these ladies like to have a cat fight! lol

It was shoulder pads at dawn on many an occasion, and the Manolo's were always super high, just to make the point that these women were super rich and super powerful!

The shows chief designer Nolan Miller, has sadly recently passed away, but leaves a legacy that will be never forgotten and which designers will continue to draw inspiration from.

Nolan's weekly budget for the shows wardrobe is said to have been $35,000!!! and it is said that the shows creator Aaron Spelling told Nolan that ‘I never want to see them wear the same thing twice’ and that his brief for the series was to design for ‘a fantasy of a lifestyle – if you were rich, rich, rich this is how you would live’.....

I still aspire to live the 'Dynasty lifestyle' and I'm sure that many other women who can remember, are of the same thinking!!!

Image courtesy of Blogspot

Fiona x

CDFA Awards

A couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of what Marc Jacobs wore to the Met ball. It was a very questionable look.

So, you can imagine my horror when I was looking at photos from the CDFA Awards and saw that Seth Meyers, the evening's host was wearing the very same outfit! I am hoping that this was a joke and isn't the start of a new trend amongst men. The Olsen twins won the event's most prestigious award, the Womenswear designer of the year award. Johnny Depp scooped up the prize for Fashion Icon of the year.

Images courtesy of the Telegraph

Stephanie Laird cashmere knitwear

Yes the first delivery of Stephanie Laird's cashmere knits have arrived in store.

Two beautiful knitted coats, one in pale grey the other deep navy which you would just live in for years and years.

A little navy jumper in a fabulous swing shape, a cream cable knit to die for. We are the only stockists in Scotland of this luxury brand of handknitted cashmere and are very excited about the response. Stephanie has designed for Pringle Stella and Mulberry to name a few and I am sure you will love them as much as I do.

Images courtesy of Stephanie Laird

Mandy x

A Rather Royal Affair!

Ok, so I'm not gonna lie but I was getting a little bit bored of the whole Jubilee bombardment.
But, there was something so endearing and patriotic about last night's Jubilee concert that I am a reformed soul and hunting down a pair of those Union Jack sunglasses...Anyone??? 

 There were so many high and surreal moments...shall we discuss Grace Jones and her hula-hoop skills? The woman is amazing! Or perhaps Rolf Harris and his impromptu sing-along session?





However, my favourite was (surprisingly to me?!?) Alfie Boe and Renee Flemming singing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. It utterly blew me away, and yes I did applaud in my empty sitting room!

Sir Paul McCartney held his own pretty well also, as you would imagine. But I did have to draw the line at Sir Cliff Richards and his hideous grand-dad dancing. My head was screaming turn this over now, yet somehow I ended up watching the whole thing!

 It left me with a fuzzy patriotic glow and wondering wether or not we will all be sporting Queenie Chic this time next year...watch this space!

Image courtesy of ITV 

Love,


Nikki

She's A Killer Queen....

I took advantage of my free time at the weekend and went to watch Snow White and the Huntsman...

Overall, I thought it was a good retelling of the fairytale with some amazing special effects, but the star performance was not Kristen Stewart's Snow White, but Charlize Theron as Ravenna, the Wicked Queen.

 Not only did she look flawless in every scene (even when she was made up to look older!), she had the most amazing costumes and she carried off the pure evil/amazingly beautiful thing with amazing class.

 Go and see it, but be warned, you are sure to fall under her spell!

Images courtesy of Zap2It

 Fiona x

Jubilee Celebrations

Following on from yesterdays post, we are full of excitement over the Jubilee in store today.

We have Pimm's and cakes and enough bunting to cover Buckingham Palace!

 Although the Great British weather is being unpredictable as usual, we are glad to hear that people all over the city are celebrating in the gardens and on the streets.

 If you would like to join our jubilations, we would be happy to see you.... Pimm's all round!

Fiona x

Style Queen

As we charge our glasses to celebrate The Queen's Jubilee, we have decided to decorate the store with some fabulous images of Her Majesty.

 It has to be said, over here sixty years as Queen there have been some really wonderful ensembles in every colour imaginable, and always topped off with a fabulous hat.

 The most famous designers to be honoured with dressing Her Majesty include: Norman Hartnell and Hardy Aimes in the 50' and 60's, and Edinburgh College of Art trained, Stewart Parvin, who has been designing for her since 2000.

 We are looking forward to seeing what The Queen will be wearing during the weekends events, and I am sure she will continue to dress to impress us for many years to come.

 Enjoy you weekend however you choose to celebrate.

Love, 

Fiona x