Icon #5

“From the moment I was six I felt sexy. And let me tell you it was hell, sheer hell, waiting to do something about it. ” – Bette Davis [American with Welsh roots]

Slave to good marketing: Dior Addict Lipstick

So, it turns out I am a slave to good marketing. I actually started writing this particular post back in May when I first bought my beyoo-tiful Dior Addict lipstick, after seeing the sexy, sexy Kate Moss advert [see above]. I stumbled across this lonely draft, realised I haven’t done any reviews for CardiffCouture and thought this might just be the perfect time to start reviewing [‘the perfect time’, as in I am doing anything and everything to avoid revision. erk.]

Anyway, the lovely French/Irish [not sure accent-wise, so best to cover all bases] man on the Dior counter at John Lewis Cardiff helped me find the perfect shade; the exact one Mossy is wearing in the short, obvs- DiorKiss 578. He then proceeded to do my entire face a la Moss – thick black cat-eye flicks of liquid liner at the corner of each eye and a subtle sheen on the cheekbones. I think he must have been bored. Actually he was really lovely; he complimented my hair and gave me a little goody bag of Dior postcards with samples of the Dior Addict range, plus a little Miss Dior Cherie diary with pictures of the equally fragrant Natalie Portman, but I digress…

The key point of this rather rambling post is texture. The texture of the Dior Addict range is drastically different to other lipsticks by Dior – for instance, to wear my everyday Dior Rouge [in Hollywood Pink], I usually have to apply lip-balm before the lipstick itself as it tends to dry my lips out very quickly.  However, the new Dior Addict range comes with a whole new formula containing less wax and more gel, making it feel lightweight, smooth and moisturising. Or, as the official line puts it, the range ‘contains a completely new sensorial formula providing vibrant colour and shine’ which is ‘a pleasure to apply’.

And what a pleasure it is! With 44 shades to choose from, the colour spectrum available contains strong, bold colours in every shade possible. While admittedly not the cheapest lipstick on the market [it will set you back around £22], it is literally the best lipstick I have ever owned – versatile, glossy and more than a little bit glamorous. Plus the packaging is almost as gorgeous as the contents:

Oh, and if you’re interested in getting Le Moss’s look, she is wearing 804 Perfecto Dior Vernis nail varnish with Dior Rock Coat and her cat eyes are courtesy of  Style Liner in 094 Black. And with that,à bientôt mon petit chous!

Icon #4

” In the past we have had a little smoke, the odd toke. I didn’t inhale though. Howard still has a smoke. Everyone has a little smoke once in a while, you know. It’s one of life’s little pleasures.” – Rhys Ifans

Will you choose vintage or the high street for your party outfit this Christmas?

Vintage reworked white dress, from the Oxfam Boutique Cardiff

    It’s that perennial problem: what to wear to the work, university or course Christmas party. I refuse to believe  as soon as ‘Jingle Bells’ becomes the regular accompaniment to any sort of expeditions outside the house, good taste must disappear. Yet go into any high street or large department store once Christmas has been declared [like a war and by the appearance of the Coca-Cola advert on TV, naturally] and lo and behold, clothes that were once the height of chic and well thought-out design have now been replaced with green, red and black be-sequined monstrosities.

    Why high street designers appear to think women want nothing more than to look like a portly elf in an unflatteringly cut, sparkly dress which would look better on a four year old angel in the nativity play, I am not entirely sure. I am also unsure as to why any semblance of a varied and sophisticated colour palette goes out of the window as clothes are reduced to these three bold and frankly, quite scary colours. I would like to meet the woman who looks good in elfin green, rare beast that she is. But in order to avoid looking like an explosion in a bad taste factory, where else can you shop?

Vintage reworked halter dress, from the Oxfam Boutique Cardiff

   One alternative to these festive horrors can be found in rejecting the high street for vintage party wear. Whilst almost always cheaper, it also guarantees no one else will turn up wearing the same dress as you. Cardiff  offers a veritable smorgasbord of vintage boutiques and markets, with highlights including Hobo’s and an Oxfam boutique on St Mary’s St. The first Oxfam Boutique to open outside London, the Cardiff boutique boasts a huge variety of vintage and reworked vintage items. The clothes are handpicked to appeal to fashionistas with a conscience and consumers who care about the impact of their clothes on people and the environment. So whilst you gain a beautiful new dress or handbag, you are also safe in the knowledge your money is helping to  fight poverty around the world.

   If, in the rare event vintage clothes shopping should fail you, why not pick up a vintage dress pattern and material and try making your own instead? Obviously you will need to leave time to prepare and create, but the rewards will definitely be reaped when you are wearing a dress you can say you made yourself.

Vintage dress patterns from Jacob's Antiques Market

    Libby Thomas  loves vintage in all its incarnations, and swears by Hobo’s in Cardiff and Manchester’s Northern Quarter for her vintage habit. Hear my interview with her about her love for vintage clothing during the party season here:

   Jacob’s Antique Centre on West Canal Wharf recently held a vintage market with more than 50 dealers selling clothes, shoes and antiques. They had hundreds of beautiful, one-of-a-kind dresses and skirts, from a variety of sellers from across Wales. Some of the highlights included these perfect little party pieces:

   And whilst not particularly Christmassy, I even found an immaculate 1970s Aquascutum tweed coat for just £20, despite the fact an Aquascutum coat usually retails for several hundred pounds.

  The case for vintage is a strong one, particularly in the current economic climate. Shopping in charity shops such as the Oxfam boutique is far cheaper than picking up something new from the high street. A friend recently found a beautiful, mint condition Topshop playsuit for just £8 in British Heart Foundation shop in Swansea. At Christmas we all spend huge amounts of money, from going out to buying Christmas presents, so why not save some pennies and buy a second-hand (or as I like to think of it, ‘pre-loved’) item?

    And finally: For the love of all that is good in the world, do not ruin your beautiful vintage outfit by teaming it with ‘novelty’ costume jewellery in the form of Christmas-carol singing brooches or nasty flashing dangly earrings shaped like snowmen. However, on a more positive note, a red felt hat trimmed with white fur perched at a jaunty angle is allowed. I’m not sure why, it just is. Season’s greetings!

Julien MacDonald SS 2012 at LDN Fashion Week

Welsh designer Julien MacDonald once again impressed with his Spring/Summer 2012 collection, featuring strong, structured shapes accented with panels of leather mesh and skinny metallic belts.

MacDonald’s use of laser cut leathers, bonded jersey and plasticised wool showcased his couturier skill and craftsmanship.

The collection featured nude chiffon dresses embroidered with Chinese dragons in silver and black beads. MacDonald told Vogue one of these intricately embroidered dresses took more than 60 people to create. Contrasting with the sequins and studs were soft, flowing silk handkerchief dresses embellished with beading and tiny yellow flowers.

Macdonald has a reputation for high octane glamour, and this collection certainly didn’t disappoint.

‘Tis The Season

‘Tis The Season by keiligh

Yves Saint Laurent – Rouge Pure Shine Sheer Lipstick in No. 22 Cherry Sorbet, £10, www.ebay.co.uk
Manolo Blahnik Hangisi Flat, £591, www.manoloblahnik.com
Yves Saint Laurent Arty Glass Ring, £115, www.net-a-porter.com
Prada Raso Gathered Clutch, £506, www.Barneys.com
Phillipe Audibert Manchette gold-plated cuff, £318, www.net-a-porter.com
Louis Vuitton Beauty Pump in Velvet, £869, www.louisvuitton.com
Max Factor Colour X-Pert, £3.99 each, www.superdrug.com
Burberry Prorsum Coat, £5,982, www.colette.fr
Vivienne Westwood Red Label Bow Pants, £332, www.farfetch.com
Vince Sequinned Crepe T-Shirt, £184, www.net-a-porter.com
Rosamosario La Fata Babydoll silk-crepe and lace chemise, £440, www.net-a-porter.com
Karen Millen Statement Frill Dress, £180, www.karenmillen.com
Alexander McQueen Floral Queen Skull Clutch, £997, www.alexandermcqueen.cm
Yves Saint Laurent Dress, £1,154, www.mytheresa.com

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‘The devil likes to make my heart a double bed. And sometimes he likes to come and rest his little head.’  -Marina Diamandis

Designer Spotlight: Jayne Pierson

Welsh designer Jayne Pierson graduated from the University of Glamorgan with a First in Fashion Design, combining several of her units with modules at Central St Martins. The Llanelli based designer then went on to win the London Graduate Fashion Week Ecological Fashion Award. She then interned at Alexander McQueen, Galliano and Vivienne Westwood before launching her own label with her début SS 2010 collection being shown at London Fashion Week in September 2009. This debut collection garnered so much interest Vogue Italia named her as one of Britain’s freshest new talents in 2009 and 2010.

Pierson’s latest collection, her fifth, for SS 2012 featured the Royal Ballet’s principal dancers gliding down the catwalk at London Fashion week. The collection were designed in collaboration with fellow designer Derek Lawlor  and the pair named their collection “Pierson Lawlor”.

The collection used leather and silk in a soft palette of taupe and sand with the occasional burst of metallic burnt orange.  Tassles and fringing further emphasised the contrast between the  fluid, flowing silk and the rigidity and strongly structured shapes formed by the leather. This juxtaposition was further  accentuated through the use of the dancers rather than models, with the clothes reflecting  both the vulnerability and strength of the dancers.

Pierson said this use of fabric in the collection was “An intercultural world, organic structures and morphing textures.”

Pierson said: “I love the idea of breaking down conceptions,”

“Recreating conceptions of textiles, like leather which is often associated with fetish, and wool which has old-fashioned connotations. This is something completely new and I’m so excited!”

Pictures courtesy of The Style PA http://www.flickr.com/people/thestylepa/

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It’s a hard task to follow Shirley Bassey in the Welsh fashion icon stakes, but someone has to do it and Mary Quant is the obvious contender. Born of Welsh parents in 1934, Quant was the first designer to take the growing street trend of increasingly short skirts and create the iconic sixties mini-skirt. She single-handedly revolutionised the way women dressed at a time of revolutionary change, and for that, I salute her.

“I love vulgarity, good taste is death, vulgarity is life”
―Mary Quant

Vintage Vision Vintage Fair 2011

This morning I popped along to Vintage Vision’s vintage fair in Abergavenny market hall. Vintage Vision is a social enterprise and its shops are owned and run by the women who volunteer there. Any profit they make goes back into supporting the shops, which allows them to run free sewing and re-styling classes in store.

Vintage Vision has 2 stores in Abergavenny and Blaenavon respectively, stocking a range of good quality vintage clothes and accessories. The fair, which is the third they have thrown this year, was a particularly good one as it was well organised, which it needs to be: too often vintage rummaging descends into handbags at dawn (I speak from experience). There was also vintage themed tea & cake on offer, which was served  on gorgeous vintage tableware.  The general atmosphere was enhanced by a musician who casually played some jazz flute in the background. Brilliant.

I was also massively impressed with the quality of the goods, which included a genuine 1980s Burberry trench at just £65 and a checked Barbour scarf in excellent condition. Best of all, it was free entry which is unusual for this sort of event, so I picked up this rather dashing weekend bag which just so happens to be perfect for my visit to Manchester next week:

Also, I met this lovely woman named Rosie and had to take her picture. How beautiful is her outfit?