Jean Muir Exhibition

I visited the Jean Muir Exhibition which is on at the National Museum of Scotland in Chambers St Edinburgh until March this year. The collection is stunning and well worth a visit for anyone with an interest in clothing. There are about 40 outfits on display, for me the most outstanding were the dark crepe dresses which unfortunately do not photograph well, but standing next to one the quality of the fabric and the drape and purity of line are breath-taking. My favourite pieces are a navy dress from 1972, with buttons at the front and pin-tucks which was just lovely. I was also very taken by a floor-length belted dress with contrast stiching at the neck.
It was poignant to see records of requisitions for fabric from mills in Scotland, long since gone and samples of the fabric dyes used in her clothes.
Miss Muir also was highly influential as knitwear designer and although some of the examples in the exhibition are 80's intarsia and thus on the far horizon of what is currently popular the quality of the workmanship is still admirable. I also loved the small selection of designs she produced for the Jane and Jane label in the 1960s including a Paisley Print dress trimmed with feather boa which is a design I've actually dreamed about before,pure B-52s glamour.
I'm happy to report that the exhibition also features something for us aliens too. A navy crepe cape tied with a pussy bow is captioned with the info that "Miss Muir designed for all shapes and sizes" I'd be very happy to wear this or just about anything else from the collection.

Alien Icons -part 2

Adele is a young, pretty singer-songwriter whom I think dresses very well. Clearly she is larger than the norm for girly pop stars but it that does not seem to be such a big deal for her or most anyone who likes her. This a novelty in itself when Cheryl Cole and Amy Winehouse both seem ready to snap under the weight of their own hair. Adele tends to wear dark colours, a lot of layers and knitted items. A lot like the way I and a lot of fat girls dress, but also there is quality of playfulness in her clothes and grooming that I admire. I particularly like the way she upsweeps her hair in a sideways bun and wears a nice even line of black eyeliner which is a creates an uncluttered look which is just retro enough to suit her music.

Alien Icons

I haven't bought much over Christmas and New Year. Mostly my splurging has been on yarn, most notably a Perl Gray kit to make this lovely bucket hat bought in the sale from Purlescence which has lots of gorgeous things, many currently on sale.

So in this spending lull I've been thinking about whose style I really admire and who actually influences the way that I dress.

One of my other Christmas Treats was a box set of the 4th series of Boston Legal. For the unintiated this is a marvellously anarchic and witty US prime time legal series starring two long-time heroes William Shatner and James Spader who spar beautifully in their leading roles. However as the series went on I realised that one of the things I looked forward to the most was to see what Candice Bergen, who plays Senior Partner Shirley Schmidt, was wearing in each scene. Bergen is a beautiful woman and as she eases into her sixties she has developed a distinctive style which is based around wearing dark suits with a high open neck and the most wonderful multi-stranded chunky necklaces. There is plenty of variation in this look which can look smart and business-like and still nod towards exoticism.
So this has inspired a style resolution for me to get chunky. Further fuel for this has come from a new Bead Company Shop which has opened in Glasgow's west end and has an exceptional range of the most gorgeous beads and stones imaginable.

Christmas Night out

The Christmas night out column is a staple piece in the fashion journalist's repetoire, ususally focusing on the dilemma of whether to go for timeless verstile lbd which can be accessorised for the season (this also applies now to black trouser suits) or to go frothy, promy and lacey. I have never yet read a recommendation for a Christmas night out outfit that offers advice on how to keep warm while drinking on the move through the streets of Glasgow which is really what I need to know most.
There is also the other issue; gauging just how "dressed up" to be. Spending the night with colleagues you want to look as if you have definitely made a bit of an effort, but go overboard and they will treat you like the certifiably insane freak they think you look like.
So this year I'm working on a look that combines safe daywear in muted colours (a grey marl jersey cowl neck) with a skirt which is a bit more dressy (a midnight blue M&S a-line cutie with embroidery round the hem) and black patent shoe-boots which I love from Clarks. All a bit safe, but stuff in which I will feel comfortable and girly and be able to stagger towards the taxi-rank come closing time.
And I have my first ever bona-fide fashion tip to share. All big bosomed girls will no doubt be aware of the Gok-commandment that thou shall not strangle thy breasts in an unflattering polo-neck. All very true; but I have practiced draping sheer scarves and chunky long necklaces to create a kind of virtual v-neck which I think works very well and which adds weight to the top if you have a large undercarriage as I have. So I will be wearing plenty of interest around my neck in a kind of pile em high type

20% off day at M&S

Well I was driving into work last Thursday and a news segment came on BBC Radio Scotland saying that there was a 20% sale off at Marks & Spencer, hmmm, there are inponderables there already, but I'll skip over them and say that I was mildy excited about the prospect of some retail therapy. Great, I thought I could skip over in my lunchbreak and stock up on opaque tights.

IF ONLY. When I got to the Braehead branch there was a line of cars stretching out the car park near enough to the M8. I managed to park several miles away from the branch and when I got there was faced by the prospect of queues in the clothing areas that would take at least an hour to work through. In front of me there were people with shopping trolleys piled high with jumpers, pyjamas and childrens games.

What does this tell me? That people are insane to put themselves through this sort of panic buying for nothing, that an incredibly simple sales ploy like this can work wonders for M&S who must have sold ten times their normal daily stock on Thursday and that there will be plenty of fluffy slippers under the tree in the Renfrewshire area come Christmas.

I did manage to grab some knickers and a few pairs of tights and paid for them with some sandwiches at one of the much less busy food area tills. I did also strike me that even with the overwhelming demand they still did have stock available in my size and with plenty of choice. Good old M&S

Ulla Popken

Ulla Popken

is a German label who have a couple of High Street stores in the UK in Sailsbury and Walton on Thames. They also have an online presence and mail-order business. Sizes available are generally 16-34 and some trousers are available in a petite length. In terms of pricing and where they are targeting sales I'd say they are somewhere in that elusive gap between cheap and cheerful Evans and pricey and fusty Elvi. Some of the items in the catalogue are covetable with plenty of good jackets, trousers and sweatshirts. Knits are ususally in a cotton/acrylic blend. Not everything is great so you'd have to do a lot of editing, but you could find a good bit of kit from here if you were sick of trawling the high street for wearable clothes. The company also offers a monthly newsletter with special offers and online only collections.

Boden-my luxury sleepwear

Whilst idling on the internet I bought these on impulse from Boden. £25 for a pair of pyjama bottoms! But I really am happy with them and thus can't begrudge the cost. Its also a good way to test Boden sizing,the 20 fits me well as they are comfy round the waist and hang well. I may try some clothes that I can wear outdoors. The fabric is gorgeous and cozy and the print is cute. They are like the wynciette pyjamas I remember from childhood, just a bit more stylish. Perfect to change into after a day in a business suit.