Lace, Love and Louis de Gama
February 25, 2009
A long time ago, I heard about someone who was making dresses out of old lace curtains. Yesterday, I found Louis de Gama’s shop on Cheshire Street in London. Jackpot.
There’s four simple words I’d use to describe these dresses: I. Want. Them. All.
Made from soft flowing silk in nude shades, black satins, leather and the most incredible pieces of vintage lace adorning them, I have found my new home in the heart of the east end. If someone said, “what brand embodies you?”, in a bat of an eyelash i would reply Louis de Gama. With it’s nude pallette, vintage lace and draping shapes it quite simply, couldn’t be more me.
The brand was established in 2000 (I can’t quite believe I’ve been missing out for so long) and the very same year, the entire first collection was bought by Browns on South Molton Street. Although price may be not on a par with the likes of top designers (as yet), LDG designs still don’t come cheap. They start at about £60 and range to about £350 for a piece that was almost too precious to wear and would probably have demanded a frame on the wall. There was one dress, in an almost skin colour with patched lace that was love at first sight for me and quickly put my fleshy coloured, lace trimmed Notting-Hill find to embarrassing shame. It was actually from the SS08 collection according to their website. However, at £185, my portobello dress (resembling not much more than a nightie), will have to fill the Louis de Gama dress’s shoes and the hole in my heart for the foreseeable future.
If you haven’t heard of Louis de Gama as yet, you should definitely check the boutique out. For now, I will be plotting and planning ways to scrape together £185 for a dress that simply ought to have pride of place in my vintage-stuffed wardrobe.
I don’t really need any more convincing to be a bigger fan of The Live Lounge, but Radio One and their guests just keep churning out more outstanding tracks. The Fray’s cover of Kanye West’s Heartless being one of them.
Kaye West appears to be a popular choice to cover too. Soon to be super group, White Lies have recorded their version of the awesome track Love Lockdown, Tonedeff created an alternative version, Kanye himself has reinvented it with the help of R.Kelly and Tiesto ruined, sorry, remixed it. If that’s not enough, there’s also a mash-up version of Radiohead’s Reckoner, (a big favourite of mine) called Reckoner Lockdown of which, the last minute or so is by far the best bit.
Luckily for me, Radio One normally include just about all of their Live Lounge sessions on their CD releases. And, if the third version is anything to go by, I can’t wait for the next. For the moment, with so many covers and mixes, it’s only fair I should leave you with the really rather brilliant and original Love Lockdown. Watch out for the cool, couldn’t be more ‘on trend’ neon body paint too…
It’s not that he’s not into you, It’s just not that good a film.
February 12, 2009
I was reading the book almost four years ago at a time when i was in the midst meeting someone that really was that into me – according to ‘The Book’. So, when I heard there was a film being released with a star studded cast including Jennifer Anniston, Ben Affleck, Scarlet Johansson, Kevin Connolly, Jennifer Connelly and Drew Barrymore, I was keen to see if He’s Just Not That Into You the movie was any good. So last night, as in similar form with Sex And The City the movie, myself and a gaggle of girls went to watch it.
Despite heavy Americanisms, the book itself holds a truth that every girl seems to constantly avoid when dating. If he’s not calling, if he’s not sleeping with you, If he’s not marrying you – he’s really just is not that into you. It’s that simple and it’s a motto that all girls should seriously adopt and pronto. Stop checking your phone for missed calls and messages six billion times, clinging onto the hope he’s going to call (whether your care to admit it or not, we’ve all done it). If he liked you, he’d have called.
The movie focuses on three couples at common relationship stages and one womans quest (Ginnifer Goodwin) to find love. Jennifer Connelly and Bradley Cooper (of Yes Man fame) are married in the film. Scarlet Johansson and Kevin Connolly are friends ‘with benefits’ and Jennifer Anniston and Ben Affleck’s characters are childhood sweethearts. Drew Barrymore’s quest for love seems to be an almost secondary story to the film. The characters all follow a journey to find out whether they follow ‘The Rule’ or are ‘The Exception’ to it. Without giving too much away, there are some very funny, some utterly truthful and some heavily unrealistic scenes (but we all need a happy ending to make a good film right?).
Essentially, I was heavily disappointed with the film version of He’s Just Not That Into You which I suppose, as a horror fan as opposed to rom com, isn’t too surprising. Whilst the advice simply couldn’t be more true, if you haven’t read the book, my advice is to buy it now, skip the film (unless you really aren’t getting the message) and hold true to the advice offered from both.
Crazy Cousinz feat Kyla – Do You Mind
February 11, 2009
Between job hunting and writing my next installment for eZine Zani, I’ve taken five minutes out to lapse back into one of my biggest passions; music.
If you haven’t already, you’ll be hearing Do You Mind by Crazy Cousinz featuring Kyla all over radio stations and clubs over the next couple of weeks. I’ve resisted the temptation to blog about it so far based on exactly that and although it really is a cool little track, I’m pretty sure the ever so slightly off-beat, synthesised piano could become very annoying, very quickly. Not yet though. I’m still very much enjoying this simple but catchy little dance floor number that’s not too dissimilar to 2008′s huge The Cure and The Cause by Fish Go Deep.
Two very good little tracks and two very good reasons for distraction to all those out there procrastinating. Enjoy.
London grinds to a snowy halt
February 2, 2009
There’s seven inches of crisp, cold snow outside my bedroom window. So what does that mean? London grinds to a halt.
Apparently, there are no buses, few tubes running and the majority of trains cancelled. But I wouldn’t know. Frankly, I’m still my pjs taking a couple of pictures of the beautiful, peaceful snow from my window – but can you spot the difference?
