Pearl Power

Pearls have seen somewhat of a revival in recent seasons, discarding their somewhat fusty old image. Designers have been using pearls innovatively both in jewellery and clothing, where they are used as surface embellishment in bold decorative clusters or as subtle accents. Sarah Burton probably started it all with her pearl-heavy Fall 2013 collection at McQueen. Many diverse designers followed suit using pearls in their summer collections: Oscar De La Renta used them head to toe, from jewellery to boots; Thakoon used long strings of pearls as bag chains; Simone Rocha embroidered pearls onto socks, shoes, skirts and necklines; Thom Browne accented nearly all his looks with pearl buttons; and Jenny Packham was similarly subtle with her use of pearls, setting them into the seams of a blouse (I'm sure someone else used pearl inset seams first, I can't remember who though!). 

Jenny Packham SS14

Of course the pearl historically 'belongs' to Chanel, but Dior had a major hit on their hands last year with the Mise En Dior jewellery range, most notably the Tribal stud earring which has been seen just about everywhere. Not to be outdone, Chanel modernized their use of pearls, using large gobstopper-sized pearls for the SS14 collection, spawning many copycat design. 

Mise en Dior Tribal earring

For me though, pearls are at their best not when humongous in size, but teeny tiny and clustered in their hundreds. Seed pearl jewellery may not be making its way onto a runway anytime soon, but its use in antique jewellry captivates me, satisfying my love of all things ornate and detailed. Peaking in popularity by the 19th century, strings of seed pearls were imported from China and India, and worked into designs so detailed they can resemble lace work.

Victorian seed pearl and gold long pendant earrings (ebay seller benalf2601)

Victorian chandelier earrings
 $1200 @ Gideon Antiques 

Indian c.1810 earrings

Late Georgian seed pearl pendant
$875 @ Renate's and Gina's Antiques Shoppe

c.1820 Georgian seed pearl brooch
@ Glorious Antique Jewelry 

Early 19th C. seed pearl flower drop necklace

Victorian seed pearl necklace
$599 SOLD @ Antiquarians 

c.1885 seed pearl and citrine festoon necklace
 $2450 @ Antique Masterpieces

c.1820 floral seed pearl necklace @ V&A Museum collection 

c.1830 seed pearl parure 

I'll stop there, but you get the idea; clusters of teeny tiny pearls make for some beautiful 3D jewels. If you've enjoyed these pieces, you may want to take a look at the Pearl Carpet of Beroda, a magnificent rug constructed around 1865 featuring over a million pearls, amongst rubies, diamonds and sapphires. In 2009 it sold for nearly $5.5 million. Take a look at some detailed pictures of it here. The handiwork is incredible. 

Alexander McQueen 1969-2010

So shocked and saddened to hear of Lee McQueens passing. The void he will leave is immeasurable. I believe he had so much more to give; a beauty the world will now never get to see.

I really can't think of any other designer whose death would touch me this much. I do hope this post doesn't seem tacky, or in bad taste. I genuinely feel this is such a great loss. Of course, this is a horrible personal loss to those who knew him. He was a real person, not just a spectacular artist.... so, to his friends and family, I give my condolences.

From 1906 to 2006

Looking through a fashion magazine of mine from 1906, one of the features that struck me the most were the hats, in particular their elaborate use of bird wings. The Edwardians didn't just use bird feathers in their headpieces, but entire wings and even whole bodies too. Immediately I was reminded of the headpieces created for Alexander McQueens fall 06 collection, exactly 100 years after the print of this magazine. Obviously a lot has changed over the 100 years; wearing one of McQueens hats today would probably garner you a lot of attention, not all of it good. This type of headgear is best reserved for editorials, special events, or just those crazy eccentrics. However, I don't think any of the bird hats from 1906 would have created as strong a reaction as wearing a McQueen bird hat would nowadays. A design that seems rather extravagant today, is actually rather tame when compared to its predecessor, which would have been worn as day wear. Thats not to say everyone in 1906 was happy with the use of birds in millinery, though it certainly was accepted more than todays society would allow (in terms of both ethics and aesthics).  

catwalk images from style.com

So Excited

I get so excited when all the fashion weeks come around, and this week it all began again with menswear collections being shown in Milan. I've not yet looked through all the collections that have shown thus far, but as soon as I saw the Alexander McQueen show, I just had to write about it. As usual, McQueen has pulled off a stunning show. He always does so well, his collection is one of the ones I look forward to the most. This autumn/winter, the boys have a 19th Century aristocrat style to look forward to. I absolutely love it, and had to refrain myself from putting up more pictures. In the words of Beyonce, if I were a boy, I would definitely look like the guy on the far right above, he looks seriously epic. Fortunately, I am not a boy, so I shall have to live life vicariously through my very own bearded man doll (a.k.a my darling boyfriend). 

Grey, red and black...a colour trio I often wear, love the middle look with the striped shirt and red tie.

Cod pieces! Lets hope they don't catch on. Love the flash of what looks like a jacquard knit waistcoat underneath the olive coat on the right. Oh and the lace up boots are gorgeous.

images from style.com