Links à la Mode, Round 2

My recent post on Emily Howse has been picked as one of the Top 20 posts of the week from IFB members' blogs. Hurray! Check out the other wonderful links below...

Thrifty Chic

Edited by Retro Chick

There’s a thrifty feel abound in this weeks Links á la Mode. Maybe we’re all saving money for Christmas, or perhaps we’re all those recessionistas I hear so much about. Oranges and Apples spends a week living out of a capsule wardrobe to prove it can be done, Further Ado tells us why “Investment Dressing” is just another way that Fashion Magazines try and part us from our cash, Style Symmetry shows us 3 ways to work the same plaid blazer and Fashion is my Crush saves money by making her own studded vest (that’s a waistcoat if you’re British…)

As the end of October creeps closer and the nights draw in this weeks Links á la Mode also, inevitably, includes some Halloween inspiration from The New Wave and Style Amor along with the usual amazing mix of give-aways, interviews and reviews that we’ve come to expect.

Of course, if you need more tips and tricks remember to check out all the submissions for this week in the Links á la Mode thread.

Links à la Mode : October 22nd

• A Typical Atypical – Make me a… 1940’s wartime woman
• Awakened Aesthetic – Men need sexy shoes too! Awakened Aesthetic searches for the best men’s dress shoes…and all of them are vegan.
• Bobbins and Bombshells – Sharin Foo of The Raveonettes. A modern Hitchcock Blonde with a guitar.
• Fashion in my eyes – Revlon fantasy eyelashes review and giveaway
• Fashion is My Crush – DIY Embellished Vest: make your own hardware strewn vest with some beads, studs & chains.
• Fasshonaburu – Alyssa & Vyque go to the local Shecky’s Girl’s Night Out
• ferOHHHsh – Blatant Designer Knockoffs - Not just in the back of vans anymore.
• Further Ado – Investment dressing – is it a real investment, or another women’s magazine catch-phrase used to encourage us to buy, buy, buy?
• Idiosyncratic Style – Q & A with amazing photographer Dana Brushette
• kaKofonie Of si(gh)lenS – Emily Howse: A look at an up-and-coming fashion graduate with a taste for ethical production, architectural inspired pieces, and plenty of ruffles.
• Little Miss Makeup – Brown is the new gray! Learn how to do a smoky eye for daytime.
• Oranges and Apples – The Capsule Wardrobe Challenge: Roundup and Reflections
• Prom Mafia – 80s Done Right: How to Rock the 80s Fashion Trend
• Retro Chick – Win an organic cotton jumper, worth £70 from Urban Buzz
• slsvgg Fashion – Lily Allen’s jewellery line has finally been released in Selfridges
• Style Amor – Need Costume inspiration with a bad ass fashionable twist?
• Style Symmetry – Three Ways to Wear a Plaid Blazer This Season!
• Styletastic – A roundup of SS2010 runway shoes – what will we all be wanting to wear on our feet next summer? (Or not as the case may be)
• The Coveted – Behind the Scenes at Christian Francis Roth
• The New Wave – DIY Halloween inspiration from the S/S 2010 runway shows
• The Working Wardrobe – Something to Remember: Your Work Attire Not Only Represents You, It Represents Your Workplace. Think Before You Dress.

Sofia Järnefelt

Excuse me for talking with food in my mouth, but I'm absolutely ravenous from my never-ending day, and I felt the urgent need to inform you of a spectacular designer. That is, if you didn't read your daily helping of The door in my wardrobe yesterday (which you should have!). Perhaps it's simply because Jaana of The door is Finnish herself, and thus introduces me to many Finnish designers I have not heard of, but it seems like Finland is a magical place where amazing art (and music) is born. And now I have one more name to support this thesis: Sofia Järnefelt. The piece posted by Jaana (and pictured above) especially caught my eye. Sadly, after contacting Sofia, I discovered that this "rope thingie/upper body jewellery" is already sold out. Nonetheless, my interest is piqued, and so I will wait patiently to see what new wonders are created for Sofia's next collection, which will be out in May 2010. Sigh. And perhaps I now have another DiY project to add to the lengthening list (perhaps I could make a rope thingie with shoelaces?).

Oh, and this vest/back cage piece (which looks increasingly awesome the more and more I look at it) is still available, so email Sofia if you're interested.

Now that was some good Mongolian with Tofu Wok Box...

complexgeometries, S/S 10

So excited to have found out about this gorgeous video of complexgeometries' S/S 10 collection (Facebook is useful!). I truly believe short films are the way of the future rather than full on runway shows. Congrats to cg for their video being voted as one of the Top 10 Fashion Films of the Season by The Business of Fashion! I will now commence biting my nails until some still pictures are posted on the complexgeometries website. And I do believe my desire to grow out my hair has been renewed. Sigh.

PERPETUAL LEISURE from JASON LAST on Vimeo.

Emily Howse

Whilst browsing the deep recesses of Not Just a Label one fine evening, I came across one of the lovely backless pieces I have ever seen (above). My opinion might be slightly skewed as a result of my recent addiction to ruffles, and my hunt for the perfect holiday companion for my new-to-me Vivienne Westwood pants. Nonetheless, with only a couple of tantalizing photos offered on the NJAL page of a collection entitled "The passing of Alice", I had to know more about the creator of such stunning pieces.

I discovered that the designer is a lovely graduate by the name of Emily Howse, who I was very happy to hear adheres to a couple of my fashion musts, namely ethical and minimal waste production, and architectural designs. She also has a passion for "deconstruct re-construct projects."

You want to know more about Emily too now, don't you? Well, here's what she says about the ideas and influences behind her work:

"My biggest influence for most of my collections is Japanese pattern cutting. I’ll practice a technique that I’ve researched and try to work it into my own patterns. I love working with large pattern pieces and get a real buzz out of trying to create garments from only one or two pieces of fabric. I’m big on structure and use very little print within my work. At present, I’m designing a collection using circles as my only point of manipulation and using circles to create garments from scratch.

Design wise, I draw inspiration from designers such as Hussein Chalayan, Comme des Garcon, Yohji Yamamoto, Maison Martin Margiela and so on. I love anything that has a strong architectural influence - “Skin and Bones, Parallel Practices in Architecture and Fashion” has to be one of the best books I’ve read and exhibition I’ve been to! However, I do love the classics, so I never discount Dior and the like when it comes to research.

Most of my visual inspiration comes from the female form, and I strive to create clothing that allows the body to express itself, depicting elements of the body that I find beautiful, such as the neck line."

Speaking of, I must say I'm just as taken with the neckline on this piece as the back of the top piece. Has a delicious Jane Austen vibe. Sigh.

Emily is currently researching and applying for internships with Fashion Houses in London. Afterwards, she plans on entering an MA program in Paris. Emily's overall goal is to have her own label, a show at London Fashion week, and eventually a company to collaborate with other designers to specialize in one-off, ethically influenced pieces. You better keep an eye on this one. I know I will. And now I'm off to check out that book...

MothLove

I'm totally in love with MothLove's current collection. All of it. So it's no surprise that it's made of bamboo jersey, AND the designer is based in Portland. Sigh.

Check out the MothLove Etsy shop and website for more gorgeous images.

About me

It seems that quite a few new readers have been joining us lately, so I thought I'd compile a list of little things about me to perhaps make some posts make more sense. You are of course welcome to read through the blog in its entirety from the beginning (May 2009) if you wish. In fact, I do recommend it.

1) I'm a 26-year-old Canadian who has never been outside of North America. This has directly influenced the fact that I have never been in a city that hosts a major Fashion Week, or even in a high-end label store. Hence why I never really developed a huge interest (so far) in high-end/well known designers. Except for Vivienne Westwood.

2) I became obsessed with Vivienne Westwood after the Sex and the City movie, and have the best present ever to prove it.

3) I hold two Bachelors degrees, one in Biological Sciences, and one in Classical Languages (Ancient Greek and Latin). I am using neither of them.

4) I think I became interested in fashion largely because I've tended to gravitate towards jobs which require my workwear to be scrubs. And so I relish the idea of 'dressing up' as soon as I get home, for no reason at all.

5) My love of handmade clothing came from my obsession with searching for 'DiY' clothing on eBay, which stemmed from the wish to not look like every other undergrad. When most of my favorite sellers moved to Etsy, I moved as well and discovered a whole new world. I now purchase at least 90% of my clothing from the very people who created the garments.

6) I wore the most beautiful green Victorian-inspired chiffon and satin dress for my wedding. I fell in love with it and bought it before I was even engaged.

7) I got legally married in a black hoody, and have since become obsessed with replacing said hoody (as I have loved it to pieces). I believe I have finally found the answer in Alexandra Groover's 5-hooded hoody, now known as The Hoody.

8) My blog name, kaKofonie Of si(gh)lenS is from a band name my man made up, which I subsequently stole. It consists only of letters from my name, has my initials in uppercase, and slyly contains a Latin word (silens). I also sigh a lot in my posts.

9) My dream job is to be Björk's personal designer.

10) If I could only listen to one band for the rest of my life, it would be Sigur Rós.

11) The one piece of clothing I wear the most is my ArtLab Andromache's Deconstruction Noir dress.

12) I absolutely hate my picture being taken, which works well since I don't want this to become a 'my daily outfit' blog.

Any questions?

I do indeed heart Norwegian Wood

I cannot wait to see this piece in its entirety. This is the new 'Jersey Fringe Jacket' by Norwegian Wood, which will be available in November. Where? I'm not sure. Are the black ropes underneath part of the jacket? Don't know that either. (Edit: The answer to this one is 'no' - the ropes are a top styled with the jacket for the shoot.) Whatever/wherever it ends up being, I'm sure it'll be yet another gorgeous work from Angie.

(Photo via the Norwegian Wood blog)

My evening, in pictures

I was feeling a bit like a Bird Girl...

so I went and got a drink, which turned into Spilled Coffee...

which made me wish I had something Seamless to change into.

(Gorgeous fashion art prints by Jerry Seguin of Redheather.)

((And, yes, I'm slightly bored.))