JEFFREY CAMPBELL SUMMER LOOKBOOK 2012

I have to be honest, I expected more from the Jeffrey Campbell summer 2012 look book "Hot Child in the City." The name conjures up a kind of 70s, glamorous New York vibe, a little bit Studio 54, a little bit sweaty grunge and definitely very sexy... Instead these shots are lacklustre at best, and although the shoes in the collection look fabulous (we knew they would) I don't think they're being shown to the best of their potential by half-assed styling and lack of coherent inspiration...

See what I mean? There's too many random things going on - snakeskin, neon, tie dye - combined with downright BAD (and cheap?) styling and no actual vibe or theme to speak of. In some of the shots you can't even see the shoes when, OBVIOUSLY, they should be the main feature?!

Perhaps it's unfair to judge this lookbook too harshly since Jeffrey Campbell are, after all, a shoe brand, but in that case why waste time and effort on something so mediocre when they could have let the shoes speak for themselves as they often do. They're established enough to know better. It's a shame.

What do you think, do you guys agree or disagree?

WHISTLES SUMMER 12 LOOKBOOK

Totally classy, totally gorgeous.

I think there's still a High Summer campaign to come out, but for the time being this SS12 lookbook from Whistles is ticking all the right boxes for me. Whaddya reckon?

Serious brow/red lip envy going on in that last shot. Swoon!

ASOS CONTRO!

Dramz, dramz, dramz!

ASOS posted a few pics on their Facebook from their AW Trends collection, claiming these were the pieces that had been receiving the most hype for next season.

But oh dear, some folk REALLY did not like their offerings.

Case number one:

This look received less-than-enthusiastic comments like:

"I am not a fan of fur coats (fake or otherwise) they just look tacky! Give me a pretty leather one, or a wool military one. Fur looks nice on dogs and cats, but coats... noooo thank you! What exactly is the trend here? I'm just seeing random items?"

"A maxi dress and a fur coat? Not for autumn/winter in England... You'd have to be brave to wear a maxi with our weather :/"

"It's fashion victim material."

I felt compelled to comment. I mean, I don't LOVE this look more than life, but I do like it. I'm a sucker for a faux-fur coat and this one's divine. Plus, I defo expect to see a plethora of fur coats thrown on over maxi dresses and skirts for winter, especially in Glasgow. We do love a fur coat up here! So I chucked in my twopence:

"Some of the comments on these photos are hilarious! It's called fashion, people! Love this look, NEED that coat in my life. Snaps for ASOS :) xx"

Perhaps slightly condescending, but ASOS 'liked' it! Maybe more understandable once you see the mountain of abuse THIS pic got!

"Ha she looks like she has a deformed droopy boob out!!"

"What on earth is going on in this photo! everything is just so wrong!"

" It's like a cheap Christmas decoration, and I agree with Rhonda, does not inspire purchase at all! The photo is just wrong - she looks either drunk or stoned, the dress is awful, it doesn't look good with red socks and scarf, and it really ...does look like her boob has melted and fell into the dress... What is stylish about it? What is pretty about it? I've no idea why it would be in the most wanted! I totally do not like it. Give me something with shape, that has less glitter about it!"

"DISGUSTING! seriously LOVE fashion but why would I want to dress myself in this disgusting attire.. fashion is also about looking good.. why would I want to dress myself as a half gone old granny."

LOLZ!

Again, even although I wasn't massively in love with the shot, it was clear to me lots of folk commenting were missing the point? I had to stick up for ASOS here:

"It's an EDITORIAL shot - obviously not massively wearable in reality styled up like this. But it's selling a look, a theme, an aesthetic! I get the vibe that she's just come home after a mental night partying till dawn, hence the dishevelled hair and boots etc. The dress itself is stunning and props for styling it up a bit more rock n roll. A risk (clearly, given the comments!) but personally I think it works. Xx"

Finally, this look also caused somewhat of a divide:

"Very mediocre! Incompatible with leopard and pink powder. skirt all but ruin. "

"Oh no jacket in theory yes yes yes but that look's cheap and nasty...frufru tutu dress yes please and jacket also if it ever gets to be made looking less like a primark bargain..(not that there's anything wrong with that of course)"

And of course, the uber eloquent, "Omg vile."

By this point I was thoroughly hacked off and beginning to feel like an alien from the plant Terrible Style, since again I actually LIKED this look. I couldn't be bothered to comment my opposing opinion again...

So anyway, am I mental? What do you guys think of these looks/shots? Please tell me I'm not alone!

Although, maybe there really is no hope for me, since today I almost bought (and might actually still buy) THIS gorgeous piece of god-awful/amazing tack, because I mean who DOESN'T love a bit of inappropriate religious iconography? I KNOW I DO!

Tasteless much? I bloody love it!

BACKPACK DILEMA

I confess, I have mixed feeling about backpacks.

Having worn an assortment of heinous variations throughout primary school and the first five years of secondary (sixth year I was only in for 2 hours a day and pretty much just carried a pen and notepad in the infinite depths of my blazer when I absolutely HAD to), I've never had one on my back since then.

What I remember most about them was, as a petite teenager (read SHORT-ARSE), the backpacks I carried were always stupidly massive and had to be slung as low as possible round my bum in that typical moshery way... Cool kid.

But they were also insanely practical! I could carry my entire makeup bag, all my jotters and books, pencil cases (multiple), diary, phone and STILL have room for an ample packed lunch and maybe even my battered copy of The Bell Jar for reading round the back of the bin sheds when I was feeling particularly misunderstood. Which was often... Anyway, practicality WIN!

So now that I see they're enjoying somewhat of a fashion resurgence, part of me is like HELL YEAH, perfect excuse for me to dig out my brown cord H&M badboy with the hand-sewen coloured beads all and Nirvana patches all over it, and head out to the skate park to get my mosh on!

...But then I give myself a shake and think, dude, that is most uncool. You are 23, this will not do. Added to my Angela Chase centre-parted bob, acid-wash Levis denim jacket and creepers, I'm afraid I might be pushing the boundaries of my 90s obsession A TAD TOO FAR.

What do you guys think - the modern backpack - rad or lame?

Cool bag, but Uggs? Naw mate.

pics from Lookbook and Google.

WARNING: Backpack porn:

Alexander Wang Marti leather backpack. Uuuhhhft. NEED!

If I bought a vintage black leather backpack (and promise not to write angsty lyrics and quotes all over it in glitter glue) would you guys still talk to me?

TWENTY8TWELVE SS11 LOOKBOOK

Twenty8Twelve is the womenswear brand of London actress-come-it-girl(woman?) Sienna Miller and her designer sister Savannah. I've been aware of it since its launch in 2007, but I have to confess to not really taking much notice. So far I've always felt the clothes seemed to embody the fact that Sienna Miller's just a bit BLAH isn't she?

Nothing personal man, but I HATED Factory Girl so much that I think maybe part of my can't really forgive her for the heinous monstrosity - even though she is pure gorgeous.

Anyway, with Twenty8Twelve I always felt there was never enough DRAMA involved. Too boho, casual relaxi-wear for me, I'm afraid.

However, I *THINK* my mind might have been at least partly changed after seeing some of the shots from their latest SS11 lookbook.

Apparently the line was inspired by Navajo and vintage 40s prints the sisters found in English thrift stores and antique fairs. Hmmmmm....

I dunno, I can't really decide what I think about this:

Loving that gilet. As for the rest? Nah, not so much.

Is that like some sort of red apron thing over the top of the dress? Whatever the hell it is, it's adding weight to that tiny model's hips, so God help the rest of us. Pretty much TAKE IT OFF and you've improved it tenfold.

Bleached denim = win, Short shorts = win, Swagger = win. Basically an overall win.

More bleached denim is a good thing, I reckon it's going to be everywhere this summer, but what's with the skirt? No, no, no, no, no.

Love this dress, love the length and love the contrast with the open-toed chunky black shoes, but it looks very All Saints, no? Extremely similar to the famous Aztec dress of Lourdes-at-the-Oscars fame.

Beautiful. Beautiful model, styling and choice of background. BUT does anyone else think look like it could have been lifted from the Topshop website? Just me?

Hate to say it, but it looks cheap and nasty. Don't like the strappy shoes in this context either. Not to sound like a pretentious knob but this dress and the earlier skirt of the same print make me feel like I don't understand the concept of the line - I just don't get it. Feels REALLY out of place? I mean, I guess it kind of looks a bit like 40s underwear sort of, if you squint, but the styling (hair and shoes) is kinda grungy and laidback which clashes, and not in a good way. It's a fail for me.

Yawn. I'm not even looking at the jacket or the skirt because I am so preoccupied with Sienna's roots and weirdly deformed left knee... Never a good sign for the clothes...

Ah, now THIS I like. Loving her swag, the shirt and gilet, and even the shoes here work fairly well, though I'd have liked to have seen more imagination and maybe some fringing on the gilet? Still, this is a banging look overall.

It's a shame these photos aren't the best quality because I'd have liked to have seen the print up-close, but from far away it looks gorgeous whatever it is. Can't make out for sure, but this looks like a playsuit and if so BOTH THUMBS UP! Love it. Would have perhaps given the model a brighter lip, but I like that her hair is up and again the shoes contrast really well with the pastel softness of the garment.

Love the top, but not sure about the shorts. And the first thing I'd be doing here is taking that belt off - it feels unnecessary and the colour is all wrong. And there's that weird knee again...

HMMM bit of a mixed bag, no? I definitely DO love some of these looks/pieces, but others look like they could be straight out of All Saints, and the studio shots against a block-coloured background - while I think they work in some shots - are almost IDENTICAL to the Topshop SS11 lookbook (dare-I-say-it, perhaps even not as good or as polished).

So, overall I think they've overshot the mark here. The plain coloured backgrounds and enclosed-studio shoot means that the models have to work much harder to convey the theme, and with an alledgedly vintage/Navajo Indian inspiration meant to be communicated via the clothes, I think a location shoot with props or a lazy meadow at dusk would have worked much better. Perhaps that kind of thing was too obvious, but in this case the pieces are individually too weak to really pack as much of a punch as they should within the lacklustre setting.

Ultimately though, It's a wearable collection with a nice chilled vibe, perfect for the highstreet this summer, and easily replicated.
Agree?


WOW that all got a bit ABSTRACT, MAN, didn't it? Jeeze, wish I could turn this much contemplation and analysis to my advanced reporting and writing assignment...