Fashion from the left field

Thursday, 3 July 2014

40 top picks for the bag lady and the shoe-gal

I am forever trying to crack the code to looking cool. And now by the watch it’s been more than 36 hours of shoe and bag patrolling on possibly all existing fashion websites.

You can bet that a handbag needs to suit your somewhat, well, exceptional lifestyle whether you live one of a stylist, writer, buyer, financer or just enjoy the occasional indulgence. We also know that a girl can never have too many shoes. And the combination of the two essentials is oh-so-crucial to ones style statement. Nothing is more turning on than someone who knows just the right formula. And in our eyes the right bag paired with right shoes is seen to be beautifully lethal.

After years of beautiful-bag and shoes research, product trial-and-error and a whole lot of styling I’ve come to the conclusion that there is way to crack this. The perfect accessories do exist. Comic prints; heavy-metal trims; chain detailing; sharply bolted; studded details; peculiar cuts; leather fringes are virtues that we stalk in every handbag. These codes have never failed us. (other than the faux fur and snake skins of course). Jeremy Scott for Moschino has taken my heart away and Celine shapes are still sharp, classic and evergreen. The love story clutch by Olympia Le Tan is one find I cannot wait to get my hands on and Charlotte Olympia’s quirky prints seem to flirt with every fashion lover. For fashion's biggest fans and by biggest we mean number of zeros in their bank accounts and height on the magazine masthead, shoes are not just for walking. A few of our favourites include; the thigh-high-pretty-woman-boots, strappy boho-gladiators, work-mules (not just for work anymore), chunky platforms (for the I-am-taller-than-my-boyfriend height) and silver metal shoes that just never seem to go out of style.

It turns out that nothing really rivals great style. And I along with a million other girls have a slight thing for the sometime admittedly crazy fashion aesthetic which makes it all worth it. We all use the cliché on how style is personal and not something you learn but know. It is said for a reason. So we’re kicking off July with our top 20 shoes and bags that we know are individual statements but also make us drool when put together.

Scroll through our best picks of bags and shoes for a tad bit of accessory inspiration you need before you really indulge!

Click Here to buy the bag

Click here to buy the shoes

Click Here to buy the bag

Click Here to buy the shoes

Click Here to buy the Shoes

Click Here to buy the Bag

Click Here to buy the Boots

Click Here to buy the Bag

Click Here to buy the Boots

Click Here to buy the Shoes

Click Here to buy the Bag

Click Here to buy the Shoes

Click Here to buy the Bag

Click Here to buy the Shoes

Click Here to buy the Bag

Click Here to buy the Shoes

Click Here to buy the Bag

Click Here to buy the Shoes

Click Here to buy the Kenzo

Click Here to buy the Bag

Click Here to buy the Shoes

Click Here to buy the Bag

Click Here to buy the Clutch

Click Here to buy the Shoes

Click Here to buy the Bag

Click Here to buy the Shoes

Click Here to buy the Bag

Click Here to buy the Shoes (silver)

Click Here to buy the Shoes (black)

Click Here to buy the Moschino

Click Here to buy the Alexander McQueen

Friday, 20 June 2014

Editorials we LOVE!

I am a magazine nerd, and if there was a scholarship offered on the basis of number of magazines I’ve read, I’d win it. Lusting over fashion is just getting worse with age and especially after you have worked for a fashion magazine. What is most fun now is noticing every detail that is put in producing a shoot to make it look like the way it does. Right from conceptualising a mood-board to the kind of looks it needs (clothing references), hair and makeup and the location are imperative to the making of a good fashion shoot. Each element is important even if it is only contouring the cheeks, pulling out lashes or adding glitter under the eyes. Great aesthetic implemented on an ingenious concept along with sharp styling and mind blowing editing are the little things that make for fabulous editorial work.

Some of our favourite examples include Grace Coddington’s imagination having no boundaries whilst Carine’s styling concepts with wild animals making our knees weak. We love Hedi Silmane’s minimalist concept where Angelina Jolie needs no detail (ELLE US) and classic styling by Zac Posen for the America’s sweetheart Jennifer Anniston (Harper’s Bazaar). These stalwarts are known for creating everything from scratch (even an eye-lash). And yes, one day we would like to see the world through Mario Testino’s eyes who has shot nearly every best fashion shoot, whether they are archival or trending right now!

Glamourous covers, quirky styling, swimsuit issues and the art inspired versions throw a huge spectrum for categorizing magazine styling. Along with beautiful people, a niche in vision and detailing is what we notice when we scroll through some of our favourite editorial work. Clean spaces with combinations of colour-contrasts, razor-sharp lighting and out of the box styling coupled with the sensuous chemistry of two or more beautiful people are accessories that add that stark finish to great work.

We love to see the endless ways of creating fashion by the most known fashion artists and we browse through some of our favourite ones that have certainly turned heads. Flipping through magazines is not only to know about the most trending celebrity or what to wear now, but evoke a tingling fashion inspiration for fresh aesthetic and style.

Wednesday, 11 June 2014

Summer Love: Our top 20 picks

No matter how much I try I cannot stop lusting over Kate Moss’s collection for Top Shop. It almost combines the roaring twenties with the daring rodeos and a shy hint of rebel, defining an interesting trend for the summer season.

Whether you love kissing the sun or beating it away, there are always perfect summer staples that help you do as you please. We want to twist a fresh spin on the classic summer fashion to beat the heat wave away. Acid washed denims, asymmetrical hemlines and sharply cut playsuits add that dose of much needed fun to heat. We love to see how the trending clunky block heals and stellar shoulder bags add as perfect details for dainty silhouettes and tiny-tight dresses. Leather skimpy bikinis, fringe benefits and tuxedo jumpsuits are making hearts stop on the runways so we feel free to take complete advantage.

Here’s a curation of our top 20 picks for the month to get you started on a serious shopping spree. And for step two pack your bags and make way for the glamorous globetrotter this June.

(1) Fringe Benefits. Kate Moss x Top Shop