Dream covers

I get the feeling that if there was a DiscoNap magazine, A would be the Anna Wintour figure and I would be more your Grace Coddington, right-hand woman type. I don’t have any particular skill in styling, unlike the great Cod, but I do have strong opinions on covers. There’s been some pretty ropey covers on some of my favourite magazines this year and Elle in particular seems to have lost the plot, recycling the same cover stars within a year. I cannot tolerate another Kate Hudson or Lily Allen cover in the foreseeable future – it’s occurred to me that I’d rather see Goldie Hawn on a magazine cover if we have to have one from the family.

My suggestions follow. I would dress:

Rachel Bilson in…Cacharel. Everyone still loves her and apparently she will be back on TV soon. I’m hoping for something as game-changing as True Blood was for Anna Paquin.

I like Anna Paquin’s spirit and I also love True Blood. She has quite an edgy, sex-kittenish look but I’d like to see her in something clean and balletic like…Chloe.

Or, if we just can’t help ourselves (or we have a September Issue moment and it’s just not working, a la Sienna’s hair) we’ll put her in Lanvin:

Christina Hendricks in…Versus. I love this collection in its entirety. I would also really like to see some UK covers for the actresses from Mad Men. I adore the show and the women in it are beautiful and part of something special.

Christina will just have to wear two dresses because I can’t choose.

Therefore I’d also like to see January Jones in…Christopher Kane. And with big messy hair.

I think DiscoNap magazine would try and feature British cover stars where possible. I would put Gemma Arterton in…Erdem. Oh yeah.

Never Let Me Go is about to come out so we’ll almost certainly be seeing Keira on the front of magazines again. I want to see her in Rodarte.

I’ve chosen all celebrities because both Vogue and Elle, arguably the only titles in the UK that walk the line between being women’s magazines (Glamour, Marie Claire) and fashion magazines (Tank, Purple), tend to go with actors rather than professional models – it’s the Anna Wintour touch. I do like model covers when they do something interesting with them – often it’s a choice between your standard Kate Moss Vogue cover or the Terry Richardson-dominated school of iD, Dazed etc. I hate editorials where you can’t even see the clothes.

xx S Coddington

Wardrobe carnage

See by Chloe £305

After yet another round of wardrobe destruction, A is rather better off in the wardrobe department and I want to see her styling up some of her inherited items in some outfit posts. I have relatively little left in my wardrobe compared to six months ago but purging it all feels really good.

Okay so I have no money and for some reason am puffed up like a pufferfish so not in the mood for clothes shopping, but clicking around online is still a lot of fun. In my dreams, here is what I would buy from all the shiny new items knocking about on NaP. I am after glowing colours, pufferfish-concealing shapes and a little bit of rock n roll edge with black sequins buckles and things. I am very over dressing like a student and when I throw off my pufferfish-induced gloom, I am going to be wearing all the colours and shapes I can find. For now: jeggings and old t-shirt from brother. :(

Sonia Rykiel, £530

Donna Karan £930!

I can’t say biker boots are an urgent need in this weather but man do I want these Chloe ones. They look like they could be well-copied by any high street shoe outlet and I so fervently hope they are, soon. My hig heeled Kurt Geiger boots do not get many outings and now that I have sustained foot damage, every day shoes need to be flat. My flat black boots are falling apart and some buckly boots for wearing over my jeggings and looking a bit dodgy in would be just the thing to take their place – a little bit of heel won’t hurt.

S

If money were no object…

I am already bored of hearing about how I could buy some stuff super-cheap and want to indulge in some old-fashioned fantasy shopping. This collection is what I would buy if I had, say, a £3000 Net-a-Porter gift voucher and wanted to buy things that were supremely comfortable to get as much joy from my purchases as possible, as opposed to an Alexander McQueen corset dress.

I am a convert to the harem pants cause – several bloggers have shown how they can be worn in a directional rather than sloppy, way. This jumper from Adam (which I’d never heard of before) is absolutely beautiful. It’s a sort of cloudy blue lace layered thing which I can see myself wearing for infinity. I chose a peachy-coloured linen top to go underneath for colour layering, a severe-looking Chloe handbag for putting books and papers in (I wouldn’t dare put Look magazine in there, it would spit it out) and low-heeled cloudy blue sandals to make it look less like my pyjamas.

S

House of Fraser

I generally do not go in House of Fraser unless it is to seek out the Benefit counter, partly due to a brief but traumatic experience working there. I was vaguely aware it sold brands and I think I went into the one on Oxford Street looking for Elle McPherson lingerie a while ago but in the main I give very little thought to HoF.

But with some time on my hands yesterday before meeting friends I went and had a look around the one at Bank and Monument and it turned out to be awesome! It must be new because it is small but perfectly formed, with a sort of art deco vibe. I scooted round the beauty hall and will have to come back for some supplies that ran out while I was jobless, but the best bit was a really excellent clothes department, which basically comprised the obvious Coast and Oasis sections as well as designer bags from Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Anya Hindmarch and Mulberry, and then a D&G, See by Chloe, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Day Birger and Mikkelson section. Joy! Just my level, especially if they have a sale… Shoes came courtesy of Kurt Geiger and French Connection.

I now have a little shopping list of things that I shall enjoy buying in this mini-HoF, which was the perfect amount of busy, i.e. just enough people to distract the perfume ladies but not heaving.

• Benefit Coralista blusher
• Lancome Adaptive foundation
• Black bow sandals from KG
• Yellow ultra-padded wooden heels from French Connection (I need a manicure before I can enjoy wearing either of these new sets of shoes)
• And this perfect white summer dress from Day Birger, which fulfils all my frolicking in the pastures dreams. When you see it in real life, it is that perfect white cotton dress.

S

p.s. I have not been able to find a picture of the bow sandals so this is my MS Paint interpretation for you.

 

Shoe Thursday

I’m moving house so you’ll forgive the slight tardiness of Shoe Thursday. In terms of footwear, I’m currently wearing practical ‘I don’t mind if these get ruined’ slipper shoes but really, I’d like to be wearing any of the shoes from yesterday’s Chloe show in Paris. I know, we’re bored of posts with runway pics but the new details feature at Style.com is too good to be missed.

 

I wish I was packing boxes wearing these

 

Before slipping these on and heading out for a sophisticated night out

 

And tomorrow, I could nurse my hangover in these

 

Before deciding to wear these...

 

...especially when I see the cute shoelace bow on the back.

All photos courtesy of Style.com

A

More Outnet details

I’m fairly excited about the imminent arrival of the Net-a-Porter sale website Outnet.com. Now it’s been revealed that designers like

• Christian Louboutin
• DvF
• Herve Leger
• Chloe
• Temperley

will be stocked on the website with discounts of around 40-60%. As it often takes me a while to really get used to a new trend and of course to save up the money for beloved pieces, shopping for past seasons actually really suits me, and at these kinds of reductions I would really consider investing in some class Louboutins for example.

The website opens in April when I will have been paid so I will try and get on to do some shopping and report back!

S

Fashion nouveaux

Chloe Fall 2004, courtesy Style.com

1) Phoebe Philo coming back. Hadley Freeman over at the Guardian interviews her on her new gig designing for French house Celine. As pointed out in the article, it’s worth being excited about a Philo return even for those of us who can’t afford or have no inclination to buy designer clothes. Someone has to influence the highstreet and for most of the 2000s it was Philo. I loved Chloe under her, really desired her designs, and the styles made a definite impact on what was available to buy on the high street. I think shops like H&M in particular are crying out for something new and interesting to rip off because I never even go in there anymore.

It sounds like she will be catering to a slightly older demographic than the Chloe girl of the early 00s, which was all fresh faces and pretty spring frocks. She says, “There is absolutely a gap in the market for thirtysomething women and, the more I look at it, the more I feel there needs to be a sense of ease and choice. My favourite eras for styles are still the 70s and 40s, and there will be a few iconic pieces to build the wardrobe around, like there were at Chloé, but I want there to be a feel of mix-and-match. I don’t believe in making fashion difficult.” 

2) Teen Vogue PARIS! I love Teen Vogue US and as I think I’ve already mentioned elsewhere, I find American magazines incredibly materialist and stifling, as if young American girls have hardly moved on from the stereotype of the cheerleader and the preppy rich girl, which I’m sure doesn’t apply so strictly in real life. So based on complex fashion mathematics, a Teen Vogue Paris is going be a really satisfying guilty please. I hope they don’t make it too moody. French Vogue tends to feature a lot of simple black outfits. Come on Teen Vogue UK!

Courtesy popsugar.com

3) Speaking of Vogue and teenagers, London girl Pixie Geldof is on the cover of this month’s Vogue Italia, pictured left. Blogger reactions so far range from dismay to outrage.

S

Shoe Thursday – See by Chloe

Here’s a mini-homage to my latest favourite Spring Shoes. This homage may seem ridiculous to some, especially anyone in London who is experiencing rain & snow, but I’m a shoe optimist.

These sandals are a striking colour, wonderful detailing and have that look about them that says “I probably won’t rub your feet raw the first time you wear me”. These all count as good qualities in my book.

A

Scallops

I love the mini-trend of scalloped edges, it’s so cute and retro, especially in gradiated colours. Hopefully the high street will pick up this trend from Chloe and Christopher Kane. Look at those shorts!