CA4LA- arguably the best hat shop in London

Last weekend I paid a visit to my favourite hat shop in Hoxton. Situated among rows of book shops and eateries on Pitfield Street, CA4LA (pronounced Ka-shi-la in Japanese) is a hidden London gem only to be found by those who truly seek it.Headed by Japanese hat company Weave Toshi, the shop features an array of mostly Japanese made hats, fascinators, hattinators (a combination of Hat and Fascinator) and hair bands. Their website claims that seventy percent of their hats are made in Japan by Japanese designers but sometimes they also collaborate with overseas milliners. CA4LA is their first shop outside of Japan and unsurprisingly it attracts a largely Japanese crowd. 

I was first taken there by my Japanese friend who had found out about the place through her Japanese connections in the UK. Described by London Time Out as ‘Rustic’ the shop has an uber cool warehouse-turned-art-gallery feel. The hats are arranged throughout the shop. Formal hats with lace overlay can be seen arranged on the window sill, fascinators and hairbands are scattered around one of the dressing table inspired shelves and bowler hats are stood on hat stands which in turn are arranged in what looks like vintage furniture.

Wooden floors, brick walls and black chandeliers enhance the arcadian atmosphere of the place. The shop assistants are all Japanese, incredibly helpful and polite. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any occasion to buy hats in this trip (I know, I know you never need an excuse to buy hats) but I did get to take pictures of the place with the managements permission. 

If you like slightly unusual and quirky hats then definitely pay CA4LA a visit. Don’t expect them have a large selection of headgear for formal wear. They are more the go to place for casual and chic pieces. Expect to pay between £40-£80 pounds for a piece depending on the type of hat. And if you do go please don’t forget to let me know what you think of the place by commenting on this post. 

Vogue Fashion Festival 2013- Alber Elbaz and Donatella Versace

Those of you that have read my previous posts will know that I promised to review the festival after I had been. So the following is my take on this very fashionable event.

On a slightly cloudy, gloomy Sunday afternoon I made my way to the 2013 Vogue Fashion Festival. Wearing a Giambattista Valli white skirt with sheer tulle panel paired with a flowery Zara blouse and my trusted Louboutins I felt pretty confident that I looked fashionable enough for Vogue.
My misguided notion of being well dressed only lasted until I walked in through the doors of the venue and literally crashed into the fashion brigade. They were definitely out in full force to support Vogue UK hosting the festival for a second year. Groomed to an inch of their life these women and (few) men looked like a sea of beautiful swans swimming in the elegantly transformed Queen Elizabeth Hall of the Southbank Centre.

As usual my attention went straight to the footwear. Everyone without exception wore beautiful shoes; it is unfortunate that I could not photograph them all without looking like quite the stalker. There were beautiful Chanel bags all around, so much so that I am afraid to say I got slightly put off by it all. Capes have definitely made a comeback as I saw several people sporting one.

There was an exhibition of sorts outside the hall for people to wonder around at their own pleasure. I had tickets for both Alber Elbaz and Donatella Versace which were one hour apart. I had also arrived slightly early therefore had time to have a good look at the stalls and exhibitions that were set up before and after my sessions. There was a Vogue beauty parlour set up where you could get you hair braided in different styles and have your make-up done. You could then proceed to the Vogue cover shoot stall where you could have your own Vogue cover shoot. They had all the accessories for you to borrow and I have to say I was tempted to have my own Vogue cover holding the Chanel's new Hula Hoop bag. In addition they were doing 'Vogue photoshop' on your cover shoot as well. It was a win win situation. But alas there were long queues and I didn't have the time nor patience to wait.

One of the walls of the exhibition was dedicated to past and present Vogue covers giving it a red carpet feel. Many people were getting their pictures taken with the covers as background. There were two cafe's on site, both very busy. The adjoining Vogue shop were selling the usual memorabilia sold at festivals (festival mugs, t-shirts as well as books by speakers).I bought a Versace black and golden t-shirt which turned out to be one of my best buys as Donatella signed it later in the evening!

First up for the sessions was Alber Elbaz. From YSL to Lanvin, I have always loved his work. After listening to him on sunday I became an admirer of him as well. Elbaz was just the right amount of funny and self-depricating during his hour long session. He was being interviewed by Alexandra Shulman, editor of Vogue UK who asked him questions  ranging from his experiences in the Israeli army to being the creative director of Lanvin for the past 10 years. Elbaz explained that his passion for fashion was 'never about clothes, it was women'. His aim is to design clothes for women that 'feel and look good on women'. It was refreshing to see a fashion designer talk about food quite as much as he did; at one point he referred to his new book as 'short and fat, just like me'. He also went onto admit that the only people he were jealous of were those 'that could eat forever and not get fat'. He was all praises for Victoria Beckham. Apparently Elbaz has always wanted to sing but due to being shy has never quite managed to take it up. He saw Victoria recently and told her 'Victoria if you can do fashion I can sing'.

On a more serious note he talked about how high fashion was moving into board rooms and meetings. In his words designers were now 'googling Africa rather than going to Africa' to be inspired. He left us with the words 'fashion is not about second skin, it's a fantasy. The fantasy of a dress'. Well his words sure made me fantasise about working with him (hey everyone should have a pipe dream!).

I did not envy Donatella Versace's task of following Elbaz after his incredible session. However, she surprised me. I expected her to be 'plastic-fantastic' but she turned out to be more 'fantastic-fantastic'. She was very funny and engaging with the audience. I had always dismissed her as a fashion designer who was more flash that fashion but she certainly proved me wrong.

Starting from her very close bond with her brother, to her first line for Versace, to loosing her beloved brother in tragic circumstances, she came across as a genuine, strong and very brave woman.  It must have been a very daunting task to take helm of Versace when she was still grieving. She explained that most of her arguments with her brother was regarding the lengths of skirts as she always wanted them to be 'shorter and tighter'. Unsurprisingly when asked what she favoured as her personal style she explained 'tight and figure hugging'. Really Donatella? We would have never guessed. She also seemed like an avid advocate for new designers. She had great things to say about both Christopher Kane and J W Anderson; both of whom worked for Versace. Incidentally they were also present during her session and sitting five rows ahead of me. How I held back my stalker self from going to ask for pictures I do not know. After her session was over she signed some of our Versace t-shirts; my only complaint was that though the queue wasn't very long she only signed t-shirts for the first 10-12 people. I understand that she has to go and get her private plane back to Milan as she is very busy but surely another ten-fifteen minutes wouldn't have killed her. But hey if Miuccia Prada is one of her close friends she must be doing something right.

Anyway, overall a very enjoyable day, I thoroughly recommend going next year. Just remember definitely dress to impress- these voguettes (is that a word?) take their fashion rather seriously.

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All hail the Great Gatsby

As I’m sure you all would have heard by now, Baz Luhrmann’s Great Gatsby will have its UK theatrical release in UK on the 16^th of May 2013. There has been so much anticipation over this film and not just because it is a movie version of Scott F Fitzgerald’s literary classic. If you haven’t read the book I highly recommend you do so (preferably before the movie version is released). It is very easy to read, highly entertaining and I promise you that you will fall in love with Gatsby’s devotion to the undeserving Daisy Buchanan- one of the most selfish heroines ever created in the history of literature (my sole opinion of course)!

However, as great as the book is I do not want to discuss its literary merits; I am far more interested in the buzz the movie is creating in the fashion world. This month, the cast of the movie have appeared in numerous fashion magazines (Carey Mulligan in Vogue USA, Leonardo Dicaprio in Esquire and the whole cast in Vogue Australia) who have taken the fashion of the film and combined it with the 1920’s era of glitz, glamour and jazz. Some photos from the shoots are attached throughout the post.

Catherine Martin, the film's costume designer, who incidentally happens to be Luhrmann’s wife, collaborated with Muccia Prada on costumes in the film. They created over 40 looks for the film inspired by archives from Miu Miu and Prada. The Brooks brothers worked with her on the men’s costumes. This does not come as a surprise as the brand was the go-to-place for men’s clothing in the 1920’s. Added to this Fitzgerald himself was a patron of the brand. And you will agree, I am sure, from the picture attached that they have done a fabulous job of bringing the 1920’s American gentlemen on screen.

In addition to the fashion of the movie, the movie has also inspired high fashion and high street designers alike to bring the 1920’s back in vogue.  Have a look around your favourite retail stores and you won’t be able to take two steps without seeing fringed dresses, 1920’s head bands or pearls. Given that Gatsby is a giant sartorial gift wrapped with Luhrmann magic, it is safe to say that I will be buying my ticket in advance to go see the first show!

Vogue Fashion Festival 2013

I am very excited to announce that my tickets for the Vogue Festival 2013 have just arrived! Vogue in association with the Southbank centre is running its 2nd annual festival in London this weekend (27-28th of April). The idea is that leading designers, photographers, celebrities, models and fashion editors will be giving audiences a unique insight into their lives and work through interviews, panel discussions and talks.Unfortunately, I cannot attend both days of the festival as I am out of london for most of the weekend but I have managed to get tickets for Alber Elbaz and Donatella Versace on the Sunday. I am so excited! If you are keen to go I suggest you log onto the official Vogue festival website on

( http://www.vogue.co.uk/special-events/vogue-festival-2013) and see if tickets are still available. Tickets cost around £40.00 pounds each plus processing fees.If on the other hand you can't go then watch this space as I will post a review of my experience next week.

History and Influence of trousers/pants on Fashion

I recall being rather surprised when a friend informed me that it was only during the early 1900’s that wearing trousers in European cultures became acceptable. My surprise was partly due to the fact that Chinese and Middle Eastern cultures (Harem pants anyone?) have long been following this trend.  So why did it take so long for Europe to come round and how did trousers become our most essential wardrobe staple? Ok so maybe this is not the case for all of you but I certainly cannot live without my jeans and black trousers.

Looking into this issue I came across an early 20^th century French designer by the name of Paul Poiret who is cited as being one of the first people in Europe to design trousers for women. Inspired by costumes he had seen on the Opera Sheherazade which is based on a famous collection of short stories from the Middle East called 1001 Arabian nights, he created wide-legged and loose fitting trousers for women thus introducing Europeans to Harem pants. I’m sure his designs must have created some outrage at the time.

It is often said that Gabriel Coco Chanel loved her harem pants and we all know (only too well) that what Coco loves we love too. Chanel was into designing clothes for active working women. She made sure her clothes were practical so that women felt relaxed in the clothes that they wore. Therefore, trousers instead of corsets took a centre stage in her collections. She was rumoured to have famously worn her boyfriends’ suits and designed riding trousers for women, a novelty in the 1930's as women usually rode wearing heavy skirts forcing them to ride, rather uncomfortably I assume, side saddle. 

People continued to be equally fascinated and horrified by the idea of women wearing trousers throughout the 30's and onto the early 40's. It did help the cause though that Hollywood actresses such as Katharine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich had started to wear trousers regularly. Even at the beginning of her career Marlene was known to single out masculine clothes to wear and garnered a reputation for having an androgynous quality. At the same time some people believe that Hepburn’s rebellion against wearing what was considered to be the norm at her time changed the perception of how women should dress.  

1950’s unfortunately dictated that women wear dresses rather trousers as trousers made them less ‘feminine’. Fortunately this trail of thought did not last very long and 1966 saw Yves-Saint-Laurent introduce Le Smoking tuxedo suits for women. Yves-Saint-Laurent was seen by many as having empowered women by giving them the option to wear clothes that were normally worn by men with influence and power. However, even so until the 1990’s trouser suits or pansuits were considered inappropriately masculine. In fact until the 1990’s women were not allowed to wear pansuits in the United States Senate.

Since the 1990’s though we have not looked back. Whether you are wearing jeans, pantsuits, shorts or jumpsuits I am sure you will all agree that we are ‘wearing the trousers’ more often than not. I find there is something liberating about wearing trousers in the 21^st century knowing that about 5 generations ago this would not have been considered appropriate. How do you feel about trousers? Do you find it empowering or do you think that only dresses and skirts doth a lady make? 

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Legalisation of gay marriage in the Western world- But when will the rest of the world catch up?

If you haven't been keeping up with current affairs recently, there is a huge debate going on in different parts of the world about legalising gay marriage. Some countries around the world and some states in USA allow LGBT individuals to have civil partnerships but many do not recognise marriage legally. Marriage is considered to be a social and legal union between two people which recognises their rights and obligations as well their commitment to each other. The countries that deny the rights of LGBT's to get married are essentially saying that this is only allowed if you are a male and female couple wanting to enter into 'holy' matrimony. Well actually it no longer needs to be 'holy' as civil weddings are also legal in most countries so really you need to be male and female in order to get married. I don't know about you but I find this to be a gross human rights violation. The fact that as a straight woman I am allowed to get married as I chose whereas my friend Robert in the states has to be content with a civil partnership to his partner of 10 years I find very unfair. What gives us the right to proclaim a heterosexual relationship better than a homosexual one? I know many heterosexual couple very unhappy in their marriage and know many gay couples very very happy in their relationship. And don't you dare give me the religion angle- not all of us believe EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of the holy books.  Also, there is no 'cure' for homosexuality, REALLY!

I was raised (at least for the first 8-9 years of my life) in a city called Dhaka in Bangladesh (google it if you don't know where it is!). Bangladesh is predominately a muslim country which though not overtly conservative (we are not made to wear head scarfs etc), still has similar values to most conservative religious countries. I grew up not knowing anything about the LGBT community; the idea that a man and a man or a woman and a woman could be in love and want to get married was alien to me. My first exposure to homosexuality came when I was in boarding schools in Kenya and the United Kingdom. Both of the schools were Church of England schools and considered homosexuality to be an abomination. Throughout my school life we were taught that marriage is for men and women, abortion is a sin, no sex before marriage, believing in God was my only salvation etc etc, I'm sure you get the picture. I have been horrified and ashamed by some of the Facebook status that came up on my feed during the UK same sex marriage debate- unsurprisingly almost exclusively from some of my old school friends.  It would be easy to blame a religious institution of breeding this kind of hate from a young age in young impressionable individuals but the truth is many conservatives around the world hold the same kind of belief regardless of their religious or cultural beliefs. 

Change is always difficult for people to understand and accept but ultimately it does happen. Take for example the end of slavery, the fall of the British Empire and now the shift in perception of gay marriage. Two hundred years ago if you told someone there would be a black president in the United States surely they would have laughed at you (best case scenario!); a hundred years ago if you told the British Raj that there would be an Indian revolution in a few decades they would have mocked you. However, it did happen and sooner or later gay marriage will be legalised along all of the western world. UK recently passed the gay marriage law and the United States is currently debating the issue in the supreme court with many people coming out on the streets to show support. 

The question is how long will it take the rest of the world to catch up? In a world where homosexuality is still punishable by death in some parts of the world, when will we see a major shift in perception and acceptance of all regardless of their colour, gender, creed and sexual orientation? I recently read an article published in Bangladesh where for the first time gay individuals anonymously spoke up about their experiences of being gay in a muslim country. Most of them felt hopeless and spoke about their plans of moving to a country where they are accepted for who they are and given the option of pursuing a relationship with someone publicly. I have also read in the past that in the Middle East lesbians are marrying gays with full knowledge of their sexual orientation to stay in the closet. Once married they are free to pursue same sex relationships as in the eye of the world they stay a 'respectable' conventional couple. The same can apparently be said about China. It is sad and unfair that people have to go to these lengths to hide such an important part of them but it also gives me hope that people in countries like mine have started a dialogue about such issues. I doubt I will get to see it in my time but maybe our grandchildren can build a world where secularism and acceptance triumphs over religious extremism and right wing conservative ideology. Pipe dream you say? Well go figure!

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In life and death-Margaret Thatcher

As my work day came to an end today I found out that the life of someone I have admired growing up has also come to an end. Baroness Margaret Thatcher passed away today from a stroke which was confirmed by her spokesperson Lord Bell at 12:52 (BST).

You may also ask how does someone growing up on the opposite part of the world to Thatcher become such an ardent admirer of her. To tell you the truth I am not entirely sure about how and when it happened. My earliest memory of speaking about Margaret Thatcher was when a very exasperated 5 year old me demanded that given that we invite so many people to dine at our house why do we never invite Baroness Thatcher? I’m not sure how my father got round that one but I do know that from an early age I have been attracted to strong, independent, successful women leaders. I can only assume that is how I ended up respecting and admiring this rather controversial politician.

Margaret Thatcher was nicknamed the Iron Lady as it was often thought that she ‘ruled’ Britain with an iron fist. From her refusal to back down during the year long miner’s strike in Britain to her ferociously defending the Falklands islands she has seldom shown weakness. I am not particularly fond of the name iron lady nor of some of her other nicknames as they seem deeply rooted in sexism to me. It is simply because she is a woman that people have chosen to label her ‘Attila the Hen’ and ‘The Great She-Elephant’.  I also very much doubt if she were male anyone would have paid this much attention to her appearance or her sartorial sense. Saying that, as a fashion lover, I would hate to write this article without giving a nod to her style. Her signature black leather handbags (one Asprey handbag was auctioned for £25,000 at Christie’s in 2011), her conservative but well tailored suits and of course those pearls have defined Maggie’s style. The word ‘handbagging’ was coined from a mixture of Thatcher’s abrasive style of dealing with individuals who had upset her as well and her fondness for her handbags.

As a very liberal, very left wing individual I do not agree with many of Baroness Thatcher’s policy and politics. But not for a moment does that take away the respect I feel for her for rising from a lower middle class background with no family connections to going to Oxford, becoming an MP and eventually ending up as the first and only female prime minister of United Kingdom. Say what you want about her and her politics but achieving what she has, as a woman during the 60’s and 70’s, must have been no easy feat. Therefore, I mourn the loss of this incredible woman. It is the end of an era for British politics but I hope that women in politics can look at her example and be inspired by her. Thatcher has paved the way for all women, regardless of their professional ambitions, to make us realise that if you are willing to work hard you can achieve anything. RIP Baroness Thatcher- you will be missed!

Balmain anyone? A look at Olivier Rousteing as creative director of the brand

I have to say I think Olivier Rousteing is doing a fabulous job after taking over the Balmain fashion house from Christophe Decarnin in 2011.















For those of you that are not up to date with your Balmainpedia, Balmain is a French fashion house created by Pierre Balmain in the 1940's. Balmain along with Christian Dior and Cristobel Balenciaga has been credited in bringing couture back to fashion after the second world war. The brand became rather famous following the war with devotees of the brand including Ava Gardiner and Brigitte Bardot. Under Pierre Balmain the brand got a reputation for being classic, luxurious and elegant- a traditional that was upheld during the tenure of Erik Mortensen (1982-1993) and Oscar de la Renta (1993-2002). A major shift in Balmain came when it was under the helm of Christophe Decarnin (2002-2011). He while staying true to the brand, made it much more modern and avant grade. Suddenly Balmain was everywhere, every magazine wanted to feature Balmain and every fashionista wanted to be featured wearing Balmain.

However, before people could get over crediting Decarnin over breathing fresh life into the brand he surprised the fashion world by announcing his plans to leave. Reasons for why he was leaving went from artistic differences with M Alein Hivelin (owner of the company) to rumours about severe depression.

Either way the fashion world waited in anticipation to see Olivier Rousteing being named creative director of Balmain. It was an internal promotion as Rousteing was already working for Balmain. Since taking up the post ( an unenviable task given the name and reputation of his predecessors) he has managed to put his own mark without taking away from all that is Balmain. If you look at his recent S/S 2013 collection, it is modern (printed jumpsuits, leather pants and Balmain belts) but also classic (beautiful embroidered dresses and jackets).


Contrastingly, his S/S 2013 collection was rather understated compared to his A/W 2013 collection, which was considered by some critics to be too over the top. Rousteing explained that with this collection he wanted to 'imagine 70's in the future'. This meant lots of embellishment and draping; bright, bold and metallic colours. Harem pants plus silver and gold jumpsuits made a comeback. Think Joan Collins in the sixties with a 2013 twist! It worked for me but if you prefer simple, elegant and understated this was definitely not the collection for you. You would not go to afternoon tea wearing Balmain A/W 2013, you would however go to the most happening club wearing it. It is easy to forget sometimes that Rousteig is still a twenty-something. So to his critics I say he is still young and doing a fabulous job. I am sure his skills will develop as he matures. As he develops within the fashion industry so will his craft. If you are a fan of Balmain please let me know what your thoughts are on the brand as well as its relatively new creative director!

Guy Bourdin- Story of a troubled but genius fashion photographer

I first came across Guy Bourdin's photography when I was preparing my portfolio for A'level art. I was attracted to his photography because he was a fashion photographer and my project was on fashion but more so because his photographs were so unique for his time. For those of you that are familiar with his work, you will I'm sure agree with me when I say that his images pushed the boundary of what would have been conventional at the time.

Bourdin was born in Paris in 1928 and sadly abandoned by his mother the year after. He was brought up by his father's parents and received his first photography training as a cadet in the French Air Force. He was an established photographer by the time his first fashion images were published in French Vogue in 1955. He went onto have a long and mutually fruitful relationship with the magazine which lasted for many years.

So what set Bourdin apart from his peers? I guess that depends on who you ask. If you speak to a fashion conservative they might say his photography defined everything that was perverse, shocking and disturbing. I suppose they maybe right. His photographs encompassed all that was misogynistic, erotic and sinister. However, if you asked a fan they may say those are the exact qualities that made him the best in his field and created his reputation as a revolutionary fashion photographer. I have to admit I am one of those fans. I am a fan of his more darker, shock inducing, surrealist photographs. I assure you the mood of his more sinister work does not in anyway reflect my own, I simply admire his work and find his images breathtaking. I was lucky enough to see his exhibition at the V&A in 2003; it took a very harassed friend and the lure of persian food to drag me away!

What do I find so mesmerising about his work? Take for example his habit of portraying women who appear dead in his images. It makes you think, it tells a story. It says yes these are beautiful images, the women are wearing beautiful clothes, jewellery and make-up but why do they appear to be dead? What is the story behind this image? It is this curiosity to know that makes you return to his photos over and over again; that and of course the glamour which can be found in abundance throughout his work. It also made me question what caused him to create the work that he did.

It could maybe be traced back to his relationship with women. It is thought that he never recovered from being abandoned by his mother and any women that he had a relationship with in his adult life were eventually trapped in both the relationship (mentally) and in his apartment (literally), not allowed to communicate with anyone in the outside world. Two of his lovers committed suicide, with one of them found hanging from the ceiling by his 13 year old son.

His wife Solange Geze died from what was thought to be an overdose. Did his troubled relationship with women define his relationship with photography? Possibly; he was well known for being very demanding on fashion shoots and was infamous for driving his models to distraction. Is my feminist self horrified that he treated women so abominably? Yes absolutely. Does that take away from his creative genius? No not at all. If at all possible it makes him even more beguiling and intriguing. Contrastingly, his friend Manolo Blahnik claims that Guy 'loved' and 'adored women'. He also apparently never thought of himself as a mysogynist but more as a 'poete damne'. I guess we will never know what exactly his relationship with the women in his life was and to what extent that affected/inspired his work.

He was never great at keeping a portfolio of his work thereby showing a disregard for fame and fortune. He was well known for not letting his pictures be used without context of a magazine,   he refused exhibitions and once turned down a handsome some of money as a reward from the french government. He was never interested in getting books published of his work. The first published book of his work came out after his death. Manolo Blahnik goes on to claim Bourdin to be so unique and brilliant that according to him no one can fill his shoes. I fear Blahnik maybe right; it maybe unlikely that there will be another photographer who has the same ability to shock and inspire quite the same way as Guy Bourdin.

I believe that he was so driven by his own demons and appetite for sexual perversion that it resulted in his being a photographic genius.  Whether that is true I guess I shall never find out. Bourdin once claimed that his photographs were 'just accidents', I so wish more of us were able to create 'accidents' like his.

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