Forget entertainment, that's style

There are people, for most of us, whose style we admire or emulate or just look to for inspiration. Chloe Sevigny, Kirsten Dunst, Alexa Chung, Audrey Hepburn, are all favourites, including personal favourites but its probably safe to say, that we all harbour a certain sartorial fascination for someone off the beaten track; perhaps an elderly woman in a soap opera, some strange avant garde figure you see wandering about your city, the crazy girl from some obscure indie movie or shock horror: a man. Yes, of my own style icons along the road less travelled by, in terms of people you consider ridiculously stylish, is the rather dapper Paul Weller, from his days as "The Jam" and "The Style Council" front man.

For those unfamiliar with Mr. Weller, he is best known as the lead singer and guitarist and not to mention lyricist with the punk/mod revival band "The Jam", but has enjoyed reasonable success as a solo artist and with his controversial, mid to late 80s' group, "The Style Council" also.

In his hay day, in the early 80s, Paul Weller was quite the style icon and it easy to see why. With an obsession with 60s' mod culture, Weller initially took much of his inspiration, not just musically but sartorial influence too, from that legendary era - monochrome, 'badger' winkle pickers, suits and skinny ties. Following his infamous departure from "The Jam", Weller became heavily influenced by the Italian and French, 'cafe culture' - La Monde, Italian coffee, continental - cafe nonchalance-particularly the chic, classic dress code. Throughout this time, and even to this day, Weller considers himself to be a mod and staying continually true to the mod ideal, these days he only wears Italian brands including Miu Mui and Bottega Veneta and traditional British labels like Paul Smith and Ben Sherman. Indeed, Paul has even designed his own rendition of the iconic button - up shirt for the latter. Regarding the stringent dress code of the Mod, Weller has said "That love of detail, the Mod thing, it's eternal for me. It's ingrained, I don't even think about it." and in the past has regarded his love affair with clothes to be as deep and profound and as part of him that it is almost a religion.

"The Jam" were a confusing group. Despite bursting onto the mainstream in the 'Year Zero', "The Jam" baffled their contemporaries. This was largely due to their clean - cut, 60s mod look that had no time for the unnecessary violence of rips and safety pins. Weller's obsessive attention to detail meant a structured yet ever edgy wardrobe, that looks as stylish today as it did back in 1980.
There was no denying Weller's style credentials in his second musical offering 'The Style Council". The trench was his signature look along with scarves, tailored trousers, thick wool coats and other pieces deemed continental and chic. Weller, although enjoying the playfulness of a sweater tied around his neck, never abandoned his trusty suit but rather styled it up a notch, with flamboyant details.

(Even, I had to laugh, when I saw how 'in depth' this post turned out! But in my defence, I have wanted to do this post with a long time! And heck, its a post for gents too!)

Who do you consider to be someone, whose style you admire, that's a little less obvious?

Girls really should just have fun

I have never understood why people insist on referring to the 80s as 'the decade fashion forgot'. Its no problem at all if all that opulence and glitz is just too much in this minimalist age, but for me personally, I can never get enough of pure, unapologetic 80s' fashion; lame, leggings and ridiculously big hair dos and all. Indeed, it has been mentioned a lot here, frequently in comments, about my love of 80s fashion (it says so under the 'About me' header), so it is only fitting to compile this post really. Imagine my delight though, when I was researching for my post 'Anarchy in...autumn' a while back and noticed a lot of 80s -isms - shiny material, clashing colours, big bows, puffball skirts etc, yes, someone had a smile plastered across their face. Much of Betsy Johnson's a/w show seemed in my eyes as a tribute to Debbie Harry in her Blondie days and a further look at some more shows with the 80s firmly in mind, proved my theory right - the 80s are acceptable again! These shows only reaffirm my love of 80s' style and why exactly it is that I love that era so much, but perhaps, they will also manage to encourage those previously of a negative disposition to come over to the 'ker-azy- 80s' side.

And the 80s certainly is crazy, that's why I love it so much. Compared to nowadays where fashion seems so serious - dark, edgy, moody - the majority of the time, the 80s appears to have a sense of humour and vivaciousness, two things that I consider very important regarding clothes. I adore the faux - grandeur of Dynasty - esque glamour, the playful punkiness of Madonna in her Desperately Seeking Susan Days, the slouchy-trashiness of the 80s' rock chick look, the huge hair and super - colourful spectacle that is 80's make -up. Basically, lets just all abandon 'edgy magazine editorial - cool' for a moment, and let our hair down, with a spritz of hair spray, of course..
Ease yourself into 80s' style with a spangly or leather jacket. Personally speaking though, I wouldn't be able to get enough of Kate Bush's seriously awesome purple sequinned jacket.

Frills and puffballs are pure, 80s' fashion magic! Think less 80s' prom flouncy disasters and more short 'n' flirty, youthful creations like at Marc by Marc Jacobs.

You don't get more 80s then the cave woman - asymmetrical shoulder look. It has surprisingly got quite a revival recently with shows like Balmain, showcasing a whole host of one - shouldered numbers.

The 80s was all about sparkle and glitz. Sophistication wasn't the name of the game, like it is today, but rather more is more is more. Flamboyant, luxe and completely over the top was what this decade stood for in fashion terms.

Sparkle like a star or...um...like the blonde one from 'Dynasty' in glitzy lames and shiny foils.

One of the most iconic looks of the 1980s was the Princess Diana fussy, high - collared blouse and indeed, the late princess continues to inspire today.
If all that glitter is just too damn glam, put a bow in your hair and jam on the old guitar, looking effortlessly cool in tuxedo jackets, slouchy sweaters and drainpipes.

For that mega 80s look, think frivolous, puffy shapes, big bows and sumptuous swathes of satin.

Photos of 80s supermodels and ad campaigns etc. courtesy of the Fashion Spot

Premature Greys

The colour grey occupies a large portion of my wardrobe. There are dressy grey items in there as well as more casual and layering pieces and pieces that I consider to be staples, like the grey cardigan. Grey, could be perhaps the best colour to wear. Strong statement, I know, but think about it: grey seems to pull any look together and it is far from the dull, 'school uniform colour' it might appear in theory, as these catwalk looks would certainly prove. I still feel its a bit early to be talking about 'winter wardrobes' and 'winter wools' and all that jazz (hence the title) but a good slouchy grey jumper can be worn all year around and a good winter coat? Well, that, perhaps can be appreciated all year around.

(This post is pretty self - explanatory, therefore the blatant lack of text!)

Anarchy in ...autumn

As a spear header of the punk movement of 1977, no one can do the quintessential 'punk'/'rockchick look quite like the Queen of Punk - Vivienne Westwood - herself. Her a/w collection still boasts an attitude as bold as her early collections for Sex, her legendary Kings' Road shop at the height of the punk movement. This time, its more refined with elegant military coats, prim court shoes, slouchy sweaters, sheer tights, the occasional bloom of bright pink, sophisticated trenches; overall an utterly wearable yet striking collection, that makes it startlingly obvious that Westwood no longer needs to resort to rips and studs to provide vitality and the aforementioned attitude.

The original punk look coined by Westwood and her contemporaries continues to inspire designers and this season, sees several designers maybe not exactly going down the whole 'Anarchy in the UK' route in its entirety but certainly drawing inspiration from that era in British rock history. If there is one look, I really despise, its that pseudo - punk/rock chick look ala Avril Lavigne. Skull and crossbones, pink tartan, leggings, an 'ironic' tutu, you know those plastic and rubber studded accessories you get in Claire's Accessories; downright obnoxious attire if you fit into the over twelves category. Perhaps, then, this is just me, (hopefully) providing inspiration for a more mature take on the whole punk - girl thang.

Short jackets, zips, leather trousers, shirts tucked into belted trousers; the chilled - out punk, perhaps? Leather, jumpsuits, sheer detailing, black; unleashing that inner dominatrix punk. I find Comme Des Garcons' a/w collection thoroughly 1977 punk. The ripped detailing, shredded material, plastics, cage designs, jackets and the strange deconstruction of garments are almost traditionally non - conformist and for me, seeped in punk culture. The tartan at House of Holland could have been a disaster merely because its more fun then edgy but I still quite like this look..probably because of the matching eye - patch.

picture of punk women in dresses courtesy of jennylens.com

Diamonds all over her shoes

It is laughable, the fact, that I have read on numerous occasions over the past few weeks, that flat shoes are apparently 'in' for autumn. When one reads statements like that, the only thing one can do is roll one's eyes and wonder how such ridiculous 'predictions' ever made their way into print. However, perhaps I'm being too quick ridicule the rather dubiousness of this statement as although flat ballerina slippers are a staple, that hardly need to be cited as 'on trend', there is a reinvention of the traditional take that is certainly catching my eye.

Almost all my posts of late have featured Alexander McQueen's a/w collection and indeed, it continues to provide a somewhat infinite flow of inspiration. This time, I'm talking about the flat shoes of course, that had me simultaneously imagining jesters of the royal court, Indian street markets and princesses and Dorothy of 'There's no place like home.' fame. However, it appears to be rather difficult to find a pair as enchanting as the McQueen slippers what with their almost comical medival jestor shape and richly embellished, Arabian Nights meets Russian Tsar palace exterior. Regardless, I'm admiring them anyway and will just have to settle for my childishly sparkly pair instead.