I have posted a reading list on my homepage, so my readers can see some of the blogs I read. There is nothing that revolutionary on there… so I would be happy for anyone to recommend any really amazing blogs I should be reading. The list is short, and will grow, but I didn’t want to just put every single blog I think is good on there (that would be thousands), I wanted to put the ones that are very important to me (OK, I have just lost credibility because Go Fug Yourself is on there. But it is SO funny.) These are ones I read on a daily or at least twice-weekly basis. I am currently testing some more. By testing I mean, I subscribe to the RSS feed and if I’m not excited to read at least 50% of the blog posts, I cancel my subscription, and just visit them occasionally.

Feel free to send over recommendations…

See the Searching for Style Reading List on the right side of the homepage.

Image source.

Before I start this post, I just want to say that I am devastated about the death of Lee Alexander McQueen. I have decided to wait a few days to write a post about it, as I’d like to hear a bit more about the circumstances and the reactions, before I write.  I’ll post something in the next week or so. R.I.P. Lee Alexander McQueen.

It is hard now to go on and talk about fun fashion things, but I feel I am long overdue for a post about the Sonia Rykiel collections for H&M. I never wrote anything about the lingerie (I had a draft written for ages, and then it was too late,) so I definitely need to comment on that, and the knitwear coming out next week.

This body suit is pretty cool.

Not exactly a t-shirt bra, but very cute.

One of my students asked me if I was going to buy anything from the upcoming collection, and, unless I get the opportunity to do so with the least amount of effort, the answer is no. It is not because I don’t like the collection, on the contrary, it looks great but I have a lot of the real thing, so I don’t intend on buying the cheaper version.

But it looks pretty cool!

I had a look in my closet to see if I could show you all some of my fantastic Sonia Rykiel collection, and I realised that my collection consists of bags, shoes, and jewelry, I barely have any clothing at all. My Sonia Rykiel shoe collection is PHENOMENAL, with a lot of pieces that were never commercialised or that were produced in very limited quantities. My bags are mighty cool too. And the costume jewelry is fantastic. There is way too much of it to photograph tonight, so here are a few good bits.

Rhinestones, or "strass" as its called in French, are one of the key elements in all of Sonia Rykiel's collections.

My time at Sonia Rykiel was amazing, and I know I was fortunate to have worked with one of the fashion greats. She is a pretty amazing woman, and she was very invovled in all of the collections, which was rare because she was in her early seventies at the time. I can’t possibly describe the entire experience in one, or several, blog posts, but here are a few short stories that might make you smile.

My beautiful ribbon sandals.

One day Sonia took the design team to lunch at the Cafe Flore, which was across the street from the flagship store and the offices. She is known for being a bit of a swinger, and let’s just say, her love life certainly hadn’t caught up to her age. We were sitting upstairs, and a man came over to the table, which was filled with young fashion designers, good looking gays and girls, eating lunch, and right away he started chatting up Sonia. She didn’t even seem surprised. I was pretty impressed, and hope that I will still be receiving fancy pick up lines when I am 70.

These don't look like much, but the trim is real fur. And I love real fur.

If you work for Sonia Rykiel, and your name is Sonia or Nathalie, you need to adopt a new name while you are working in the company. They don’t want anyone to have the same name as the founder or her daughter. The even weirder thing was that our studio director was named Antoinette, but Sonia hated that name, so she was referred to as Louise while she worked there. Louise wasn’t her middle name or anything, it was a name assigned to her, because Sonia “liked” it.

Sonia Rykiel was not the most generous of brands when it came to giving freebies, particularly to the models. We always told the dressers to make sure that the models didn’t steal the clothing. At one show, I was helping someone dress Alek Wek, and she said she loved the shoes (I think those were the ribbon sandals shown above.) One of the senior designers said to me, “Give her the shoes! Give her the shoes!” We gave her the shoes, and what happened? A few weeks later she is photographed wearing them out, and of course they become one of the “shoes of the season.”

Yes, these ankle boots are amazing...

but even more amazing when you fold down the top and expose the pink lining. Notice the "strass" all down the side.

My favourite one-on-one Sonia Rykiel moment was when she called me in to help her tidy up the studio. I had just started there, so I felt pretty intimidated by her. Our fur supplier had dropped off some colour samples and they needed to be tidied. Now, this didn’t mean they dropped off a few bits of dyed fur, this meant we had about thirty top grade fox skins, dyed in the most beautiful colours (which, once lined with satin, sold as scarves for about $2,000 each.) She was shoving them into garage bags, and asked me to help her with it. She said they were in the way. Here I was, 20 years old, a little Vancouver girl, shoving $40,000 dollars worth of fox skins into a garbage bag with one of the most famous French fashion designers. Welcome to Paris.

My "Glam Star" strass pins.

All Sonia Rykiel for H&M images courtesy of H&M.

I definitely think that North Americans are a little less generous than the British when it comes to using the F word. I agree its vulgar and rude, but at the same time, its effective and straight to the point. I know I say it too much, but after living in London for ten years, it becomes a part of your day-to-day vocabulary. One of the biggest challenges here in Vancouver is NOT to say it in work situations, with clients or in front of students.

I suppose I became desensitized to the F word when I studied at Central Saint Martins, under the tutelage of Professor Louise Wilson OBE. Louise is the MA Fashion Course Director at Central Saint Martins, and, after my mother, is probably the person who has had the most impact on me as a person, and whom I credit for shaping me into the person I am today.

I remember during the last week of my MA, while we were finishing off our collections, I said to my friend Richard (Nicoll, a fantastic designer) that we would remember our times at Central Saint Martins as the best times in our lives. He told me that I was crazy, and he was dying to get out of there. Only a few months later, he said that I had been right.

I’ve decided to talk about Louise today because there is a fantastic article in the Guardian about her and the MA at Central Saint Martins. The article makes her sound terrifying but portrays her as one of the most influential people in the fashion world. I think when she describes her students as “lazy fuckers” she is being quite kind. She used to call us the “tragic cunts.” (Sorry, I know that is a very, very bad word, but it is a quote.) I’ve also been told my work is “shit”, I should lose weight, and that we were all hopeless. She told me I was going to fail the course so many times, that I had planned to give up fashion become a surf bum in Cape Town.

Richard Nicoll Spring Summer 2010

But this hasn’t stopped me from admiring and loving Louise. The hell she put us through prepared us for an even worse hell: the real world. I remember my first interview after my MA course at CSM was with Christopher Bailey at Burberry. He laughed at my work. Most people would have run off sobbing, but I didn’t really care. I was used to much worse. (On that note, Burberry did hire for a project me shortly after…)

What the article doesn’t fully explain, and what Louise doesn’t fully prepare us for, is the fact the 18 months in the MA studios is a holiday compared to the upwards battle you have to fight to be successful in the fashion world. I had already worked for Sonia Rykiel by the time I was at CSM, so I knew what the industry is like (and Sonia Rykiel is pretty easy compared to some brands who do everything at the absolute last minute.) We graduated at a pretty bad time, right after 9/11, so jobs were scarce, and there weren’t many options. Almost everyone started their own business, or opted to take a more quiet route in fashion. After the Burberry project, I started on my own business, and then when that wasn’t making me millions, I too opted for the quiet route.

When I look at the other graduates from my year, and other ex-colleagues from the industry, I see that nearly everyone is either a slave to the industry, or has chosen to have a life, which means a much more modest profession in fashion.

Illustration by Miss Marc by Marc Jacobs, by Will Broome.

I chose the latter, and here I am in Vancouver, not having done a twelve hour shift in several years, and having time to watch TV, walk my friend’s dog, maintain a healthy relationship with my husband, and get eight hours of sleep a night. Then there’s Neil, who left his designer job and is now teaching fashion illustration classes in New York, something he loves to do (check it out, Harbor at Dawn.) Jens (Laugesen) started his own business, and was a slave to it for many years. The only thing I have heard people say about him since he gave up his business is “he looks amazing.” Will Broome, an incredible illustrator, is still doing his own work, but judging by the amount of time he spends on Facebook, I think he too has prioritized a personal life and time with his daughter. Oonagh writes books and teaches and does projects when she wants. Dean teaches and has his own collection, but its low key and he still finds time to have a drink at the pub.

Jonathon Saunders Spring Summer 2010

On the other side, there’s Jonathon, who has been working like crazy over the past few years, first to build and then to maintain his business, and I cant even begin to imagine how he must be feeling right now, as the brand is at that stage where it will become a major player, or fade away. Bora and Miki who got a lot of attention after graduation, but then had to compete with the many new brands being launched every year. Kim, now at Dunhill, who is facing some tough criticism from the press at the moment. Another example is Susanna who is senior designer at Dior. Yes, she gets nine weeks holiday, yes she can afford amazing 5 star hotels, but she hasn’t maintained a normal social life in years. Last time I was supposed to see her, we had booked a trip to the Swiss Alps, and she had to cancel the day before because John wanted to do fittings. Did I mention her boss Steven died at a the age of 38, from a heart attack after many years of complete and total dedication to John Galliano and his work. I am sure I was not alone in thinking “that could be me if I continue to work like this…”

L'Wren Scott Spring Summer 2010

My friend Julia who started as Carine Roitfeld’s assistant, and then moved on to be a successful stylist at French, US, Japanese, and Chinese Vogues, is quite a sad story in my eyes. She was one of my best friends, but I gave up on her when she was too busy to RSVP to my wedding invitation. Florence used to sleep under her desk when she works at Alaia and now she has a job she enjoys with L’Wren Scott (Mick Jagger’s girlfriend), but it’s a small company and she works extrememly hard (I definitely didn’t complain when we walked down the red carpet with the Rolling Stones at their Shine A Light premiere in London, but I can assure you that there’s a new degree of stress when you’re not only trying to run a fashion business but also being surrounded by some of the most famous people in the world.) Avshalom, who did a short spate as creative director of the relaunched Ossie Clark brand, only to have it shut down shortly after. His own line still exists, and although he has two young children, he still has a bed set up in his office.

The higher you are, the harder the fall.

So, as much as I respect Louise and credit her for preparing us for the world of fashion, no one can prepare you for the real world, which is in many ways far more terrifying than being called a “tragic cunt”, or a “lazy fucker”. And I am sorry to all those fashion hopefuls out there thinking that the industry is all about glamour and fun. Yes, those things are definitely involved, but the industry gives a new definition to the term “slave to fashion.”

On that note, I am now going to have dinner and lie in front of the TV for a few hours. I’ll get up at 8am tomorrow, do a one and a half hour yoga class, go home and make myself lunch, and then do a bit of work and attend a meeting in the afternoon. The only deadline I have in the near future is the next blog post, which is not very stressful at all. Maybe I’ll get bored of this soon, but it is so nice, for once, not to be tired all the time.

I am sure most of the people mentioned in this article will agree that our time as fashion students were some of the best times of our lives. Students who are reading this, take note, and enjoy it while you can.

I was going to change names in this article, but then I would have had to change brands, and that would have defeated the whole purpose. I hope I haven’t offended any of my old classmates and friends, good luck to those of you still slaving away.

Images: Hello Kitty source, and all catwalk images from Style.com. Will Broome illustration from his website.

Clueless was on TV this weekend (actually, its been on TV quite a lot lately.) Sometimes people give me a funny face when they ask me about my favorite film, and I say Clueless. (I’m too embarrassed to say Lord of the Rings. But really, its a tie between the two.) Since I know all the words to the movie, and can recite Cher’s speeches by heart, when I see the film now, I tend to focus on the outfits. The outfits are simply amazing, and, its been long enough now that they are actually back in fashion. Here’s a couple of great outfits from the movie, and some quotes. I know most of these off by heart, but I also found this very handy website of great Clueless quotes.

I love Amber's outfits, she was definitely one of the best-dressed characters in the film.

Amber: “Was I the only one listening?I thought it reeked.”

Cher: “No I believe that’s your designer imposter perfume.”

I love Dionne's sweater with the oversized cuff and collars sticking out.

Josh: “Ooh, getting Marky Mark to take time out of his busy pants-dropping schedule to plant trees.”

The movie was filmed at the same high school as the original Beverly Hills 90210 was filmed.

Cher: “I’m surfing the crimson wave, I had to haul ass to the ladies.”

Mini skirts galore!

Dionne’s boyfriend, describing gays: “Disco-dancing, Oscar-Wilde reading, Streisand-ticket-holding, friend of Dorothy.”

I love that Dionne coordinates her hats to her outfits.

Heather: It’s just like Hamlet said, “To thine own self be true.”
Cher: Hamlet didn’t say that.
Heather: I think I remember Hamlet accurately.
Cher: Well, I remember Mel Gibson accurately, and he didn’t say that. That Polonius guy did.

The famous Alaia dress that got ruined when Cher was mugged. Thanks to Clueless I discovered Alaia.

Josh: You look like Pippi Longstocking.
Cher: Well you look like Forrest Gump. Who’s Pippi Longstocking?
Josh: Someone Mel Gibson never played.

I love the mini-skirts suits with tees and cardigans.

Cher: Do you prefer “fashion victim” or “ensembly challenged”?

The best-dressed gym class EVER.

Amber: Ms. Stoeger, my plastic surgeon doesn’t want me doing any activity where balls fly at my nose.
Dionne: Well, there goes your social life.

Cher's "prim" look.

Dionne: Hello? There was a stop sign.
Cher: I totally paused.

I used to have a fluffy pen like that too. Inspired by Cher, of course.

Josh: You know maybe Marky Mark wants to use his popularity for a good cause, make a contribution. In case you’ve never heard of that, a contribution is…
Cher: Excuse me, but I have donated many expensive Italian outfits to Lucy, and as soon I get my license, I fully intend to brake for animals, and I have contributed many hours to helping two lonely teachers find romance.
Josh: Which I’ll bet serves your interests more than theirs. You know, If I ever saw you do anything that wasn’t ninety percent selfish, I’d die of shock.
Cher: Oh, that’d be reason enough for me.

Who wouldn't kill for her closet?

Cher: Let’s do a lap before we commit to a location.

If Clueless had been released in this day and age, the costume director or stylist would probably have become a celebrity too.

Today and tomorrow will have a lot of shoe porn, which is probably my favourite after tropical-holiday-villa porn. Tomorrow we are going to learn a bit about the inventor of the stiletto, but today, I want to talk about the most important shoe designer of the 20th century, Salvatore Ferragamo.

An amazing Ferragamo wedge shoe.

Here is a great biography of Ferragamo, from the Museo Ferragamo website, but I’ll give you a summary.

Salvatore Ferragamo apprenticed as a shoe maker in his home country of Italy, before moving to the US to join his brother, who was working in the footwear industry there. While he was “shoemaker to the stars”, he studied human anatomy, in order to fully understand the human foot and how to make the perfect shoe. After the depression he moved back to Italy and opend his own studio. There, he began to experiment with new materials, because economic sanctions agains Italy during Mussolini’s rule meant that some materials were scarce. That was when Ferragamo made shoes from cork, metal wire, raffia, wood, and synthetic resin. The Ferragamo company turned in a fashion empire, and he died in 1960, but his wife continues to run his company. Oh yeah, and the man was a total genius.

He invented the platform shoe.

This Ferragamo shoe has interchangeable socks so you can match your shoe to your outfit.

More amazing Ferragamo shoes. He was SO ahead of his time.

This brass cage heel sandal was made in 1955.

Ferragamo invented the "invisible" shoe, using clear plastic.

A 1930 patchwork shoe.

A 1967 raffia sandal.

So, the reason why we are talking about Ferragamo is because a few years ago they launched a range called Creations, which was a re-release on many of Ferragamo’s classic shoes. The collection was originally exclusive to the Florence flagship, and in Dover Street Market (London.) I am not a huge fan of Ferragamo, aside from the classic shoes, because I have a handbag from there that fell apart after six months, and the evil shop assistant tried to make me pay for a repair. I shouted at her that if I had wanted a bag that was going to fall apart after six months, I would have bought a fake. Thankfully there was someone in the store buying a very similar bag to my broken one, so the shop lady smartened up and fixed mine for free, before I made more of a fuss in front of potential customers.

Anyway, when I heard about the Creations collection a few years ago, I ran to Dover Street Market on the first day of the launch, hoping to find a very particular shoe, which unfortunately was not in the collection. But here are a few of the ones they had:

The America Sandal, with Ferragamo's patented F-Shaped heel, originally launched in 1947.

The Carmen sandal, originally made for Carmen Miranda.

The Norma shoe, created for Marilyn Monroe.

Patchwork wedge shoe, created in 1942.

I found out yesterday that the Creations collection is available in the Ferragamo store on Robson street for the Olympics. I took a chance and called them, to see if they had my “dream shoe” in stock. It was good news, and bad news. The good news was they had it. The bad news was it was $2700. The good news was, I didn’t have to drain my life savings, since they only had two pairs, and neither was in my size. The bad news was, they said they might be able to order it. This shoe is the ultimate shoe, designed for Judy Garland in 1938. 1938!!!!!!!!! Ferragamo was so ahead of his time. I would cry if I could own this shoe, but I am afraid to go in, in case they CAN get me a pair in my size, and then what? Can I spend $2700 on a pair of shoes? Maybe, for these ones. I’m dubbing them The Most Incredible Shoe. Here they are:

Made in 1938!!!!

I think I might pop into the store just to caress them. They are truly incredible.

All images from the Salvatore Ferragamo website and the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo website.

If you thought Alexander McQueen couldn’t get any better than the extravaganza Plato’s Atlantis show he put on for Spring Summer 2010, and THE shoes in that collection, then think again. Here is an image from the campaign for that collection, shot by Nick Knight with model Raquel Zimmermann.I hope Lady Gaga somehow emulates this scene in one of her next videos.

This is truly amazing.

Image from the Alexander McQueen website.

Sometimes I read news about the fashion industry that truly send shivers down my spine… and today was another one of these moments. I thought of waiting until later to hear if these rumors were denied, but then I thought it would give me the opportunity to discuss one of my favourite brands ever, and one of my least-favourite TV shows, which I want to feature anyway, so here I go.

Womens Wear Daily, and The Cut have both announced rumors that Sarah Jessica Parker may take on an advising role at Halston, similar to the role that Lindsey Lohan took at Ungaro. Now, considering the utter and complete failure that was the first collection by Lohan at Ungaro, wouldn’t brands hesitate about repeating this “celebrity” advisor concept? Plus, SJP at Halston???? She wears fluffy skirts, not fabulous, streamlined jersey dresses, she has big curly hair, not slicked-back buns, she wears girly, overdone shoes, not statement, strong accessories. She is so wrong for that brand.

A little background on Halston…

Roy Halston was a American designer who came to fame in the late fifties and early sixties, starting as a miliner and then becoming famous for his minimal, jersey dresses. Here are a few photos from one of my Halston books.

Halston, like Helmut Newton, are one of my first reference points for creative research when I am designing. I love his work.

He is known for dressing women like Jacqueline Kennedy, Bianca Jagger, Elizabeth Taylor, and Liza Minnelli. He was also a regular at the famous Studio 54 nightclub, and would be known to turn up with a gaggle of women looking fabulous and wearing Halston. These women were referred to as the Halstonettes, and he was one of the first designers to openly use the concept of a brand ambassador, which is now something used by many large fashion brands (Daslu, the famous luxury store in Sao Paolo uses Dasluzettes to promote their store, they are beautiful Brazilian women who go to all the good parties wearing Daslu clothing. If you want to read more about the best luxury store in Brazil, scroll down to the bottom of this article.)

Remember this famous Gucci dress by Tom Ford? Inspired by Halston. Image source.

Anyway, Halston was relaunched for the umpteenth time a few seasons ago, but this time with a “super team” behind it, that included the smarts of Tamara Mellon from Jimmy Choo, the cash from film mogul Harvey Weinstein, and the, uhhh, ideas (?) of stylist Rachel Zoe. The collection did not do very well, neither did the second one, so they got rid of Rachel and the head designer, did one collection with their in-house design team, and hired Marios Schwab to come in as the new creative director. We are all awaiting Marios’ first Halston collection, to be presented in February, with feverish anticipation…He is an Austrian-Greek St Martins graduate young designer based in London that makes pretty beautiful dresses.

Halstons first relaunched collection that didn’t do so well…

Images from Style.com

Some of Marios Schwab’s designs:

Images from Style.com.

Now, why, when you have the fashion world at the edge of their seat anticipating the first Halston by Marios Schwab collection, would you then try and throw Sarah Jessica Parker into the mix? Why? It sounds ridiculous, she isn’t very Halston, she certainly isn’t very Marios Schwab, and she is not a fashion designer of any sort.

I am going to save my Sex and the City rant for another day, since they are releasing their next movie in the summer, and I am sure I will have a lot to say about that. I personally found the series a bit predictable, the characters were annoying, and I just wasn’t a fan (sorry…I know its about fashion and Manolos, but it just didn’t do it for me.) I did enjoy some of the conversations between the four women, and I think their outfits were worth checking out, but I find SJP to be pretty irritating. But I am not wasting energy saying mean things about her, its not worth it. She looks good for her age, wears some pretty interesting clothing, and his quite respectable, so good for her. But she isn’t worthy of Halston.

How can this

work with this.

Sarah Jessica Parker images source.

It can’t. Please god let this be a rumour that doesn’t come true, for Marios’ sake (it must feel pretty crap if you just got a new job, and before you even proved yourself, they hire someone to “help you”),  for Sarah’s sake (she is bound to make a fool of herself, and you need to be really tall, thin, and angular to pull off Halston jersey dresses) and for Halston’s sake. I have every confidence that Marios can do Halston, but its gonna be a lot of work, and he needs our support. But not  Sarah Jessica’s Parker’s help. She should stick to flouncy skirts and pretty colours and curly hair…

—- UPDATE —-

The rumors are true (according to WWD), SJP is taking on an “advisory” role for Halston Heritage. This is a very bad start to the day.

—- SECOND UPDATE —-

It seems to be confirmed that SJP will be involved in the Halston Heritage collection, which is the Halston diffusion line focused on re-launching some pieces form the Halston archives. She won’t have anything to do with the line  Marios is working on, but still. It is wrong.

Today was definitely a day for interesting conversation, and it started this morning when I had coffee with Imran Amed, the founder of the Business of Fashion blog. Afterwards I had lunch at Jericho Tennis Club with an old friend and business partner from London, Emma, who now edits a series of magazines. Both are back in town for the holidays. It seems like too many of the interesting Canadians are living outside of Canada, but it is great to hear about the amazing work they are doing. And hopefully they will follow my lead and move back sometime soon…

I have mentioned Business of Fashion before, but since I am on the subject of great blogs, I thought I would give you a short list of my favourite blogs. I am not going to pretend I am off the beaten track with my choice of top blogs, there is nothing on this list that is very unpredictable, so if anyone has anything fantastic to recommend, please do. I am always looking for new blogs to read, and am trial running many at the moment. I need to enjoy a blog for at least one month before I commit, and I need to want to read at least 70 percent of the content to make me a subscriber.

Business of Fashion is the one to read if you are working in the fashion industry (or trying to break into it.) There are two main components, the first is interesting, insightful articles, writing by Imran and some of his contributors, about the business surrounding the fashion industry. The second part is the Daily Digest, which is a short list, with links, of the 4-6 most interesting fashion-related articles posted on the web that day. Basically, Imran and his team have saved you the trouble of having to trawl through all the websites, they give you the best bits in one hit. But don’t expect celebrity gossip and consumer fashion trends, the BoF Daily Digest will link to reputable information sources like Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Women’s Wear Daily, New York Times, Reuters, International Herald Tribune, and The Independent. This is my fashion information bible.

An illustration of Diane Pernet by Jesus Sandoval, from A Shaded View on Fashion

A Shaded View on Fashion by Diane Pernet is a diary style blog that documents her travels and projects, and she also has loads of great contributors. Read this blog if you are interested in the avant-garde side of fashion, photography, and the arts. Diane, a American living in Paris, shows us what the unusual brands and people are doing, so don’t expect coverage of the latest red carpet event, you are more likely to see photos from a crazy art party in Vienna.

On the Runway is the blog by Cathy Horyn, the New York Times fashion critic. Those of you who know Cathy’s work know that she is called a critic, and not just a journalist, for a reason. She knows pretty much everyone in the fashion industry (everyone that counts), is not afraid to give her opinion, and generally the opinion of the people commenting on her blog is equally interesting. The one main criticism I would have about her blog is that it is sporadic and she doesn’t post often enough, at least for my liking.

A photo of Susie Bubble from Style Bubble

Style Bubble is a blog by Susie Bubble, who is now also an editor at Dazed Digital, the Dazed and Confused website. When she started the blog, she wasn’t working in the industry, and I loved her enthusiastic, un-jaded approach to fashion and her thirst for the new. Even though she is now working in the industry, she is relentless in her pursuit of new and cool brands, and also has very eclectic personal taste.

The Cut and Fashionista are my sources for the “gossipy” side of fashion, which is sometimes important when you are in the industry. And speaking of celebrities, when I need a good laugh, Go Fug Yourself is the place to go to for hilarious celebrity outfit disses. (is disses a word?)

The sort of image you'll see on Dezeen

Dezeen is one of the best design blogs, so if you are interested in architecture, interiors, and furniture, Dezeen is the one for you.

A typical Tommy Ton photo, the photographer behind Jak and Jil

The Sartorialist and Jak and Jil are the blogs to go to for beautiful pictures of people that look damn good.

A Todd Selby photo, from The Selby, a blog of photographs of very cool homes.

I am also a fan and subscriber of The David Report Blog (mostly design and architecture), Style Rookie (Tavi, the 13 year old fashion blogger), Retail Refugees (cool retail spaces), Cool Hunting (everything cool), Vandelay Design Blog (graphic and internet design), Y Pulse (tween and teen marketing trends), Trendland (more cool stuff), and The Selby (cool people’s houses.)

The only personal collection that rivals my shoe collection is probably my books. I guess I spent most of my disposable income in the past 15 years on shoes, clothing, and books. Definitely not enough spent on traveling.

(warning Blackberry people, this post is very image heavy, no point trying to read it without the pictures!)

As a teenager I used to collect fashion books, but then I started to branch out into photography, art, music, and whatever was beautiful.

My most precious books definitely include the following.

Helmut Newton’s Sleepless Nights. I have already write about how much I love Helmut Newton, and I have many of his books, but this one if definitely the most precious. It is out of print and quite difficult to get ahold of. My friend Chris found this copy for me, before that I used to borrow the one in St Martins College library and curse the asshole who had ripped pages out of it (and at the same time admired the pages that were left.) By the way, if you are the type of person who rips pages out of books in a library you are a TOTAL ASSHOLE.

Cover of Sleepless Nights

I love the colour in these photos.

He always used the most amazing locations for his shoots.

Michael Cooper’s You Are Here. I bought this at the beginning of my studies and immediately became obsessed with this photographer (there is more on him below.) He was the unofficial photographer of the Rolling Stones in the early years, and I am still mesmerized with some of his photos. Mick and Keith looked so amazing when they were young, and I really respect that they haven’t lost their credibility after all of these years (unlike some people…Paul McCartney.) My husband was doing the inventory for our insurance when we shipped our stuff back from England, and it turns out that this book is also worth quite a bit of money because it too is out of print and hard to find. So it traveled hand luggage with me, along with Sleepless Nights, all my Hermes, and several pairs of shoes.

Mick Jagger looks so cute here. What a babe.

Mick and Keith are definitely the coolest music "duo" ever.

Michael Cooper is best known for shooting the cover of this Rolling Stones album, Their Satanic Majesties Request

The Clash. Photographs by Bob Gruen. This is another great music book, in an amazing sleeve. I like The Clash, but they are not in my top ten, however these photos are fantastic. You can really see the influence they had on modern mens dress, the skinny jeans, the whole “cool”guy” thing. And The Clash were really a band that stood for something, in a time where there were a lot of issues going on in Britain, and it is great to see the atmosphere and mood going on during their shows.

This is the sleeve for the book.

Here's what it looks like from the side.

And this is the actual book.

I'll bet a Jonas Brothers concert doesn't get like this.

Petit Pattern Books. I love these little Japanese pattern books. They each have a theme, and tons of drawings, and it comes with a CD of digital files of all the prints (they are royalty free.) The texture of the paper and the graphics are so cute. I know they are a copy of Pepin Press‘ concept, and Pepin Press is a far superior publisher (you’ll hear more about Pepin in coming months) but these books are fun anyhow.

They look delicious on the book shelf.

I love the graphics and the cover parts.

This book is full of free icons.

This book is full of checks.

And this one if full of flowers and fruits.

OK, so now I can get to the main subject of this post, which is fabulous luxury books that I desperately want and are out of my price range. It feels sad that there are books out there I really want and can’t have. I can accept that I’ll never have a wardrobe of Birkin bags, but for some reason I feel as though I am entitled to own a copy of the Helmut Newton Sumo Book.

There are many wonderful, fabulous, and ridiculously expensive books out there, and I am going to show you three that I desperately want. The first one has been released very recently, and is what inspired me to write this post.

The Life and Times of Hugh M. Hefner
An illustrated autobiography with highlights from Playboy ’s first 25 years

I know that most people associate Playboy with “something I don’t buy and certainly don’t want to look at.” But there is no denying that a book, or six books, about the first 25 years of Playboy is going to contain some amazing photos. Yes, there are naked women, but for some reason porn mags from the sixties look a hell of a lot cooler than ones from last year (I am guessing this, since I don’t often buy porn mags.) In fact, I have been meaning for some time to start collecting Playboy from the 60s and 70s, but of course that is another thing on the “list of things to buy.”

Here’s some images from the book and some blurbs about it, all from the Taschen website.

Hugh M. Hefner presents an illustrated autobiography with chronological highlights from Playboy’s first 25 years. His personal life and career—from cartoon-drawing childhood to astonishing success with Playboy—are revealed in the most intimate portrait ever.

Limited Edition of 1,500 numbered copies signed by Hefner, in a Plexiglas case. Includes a facsimile edition of Playboy #1 from 1953—featuring the iconic Monroe cover and first nude shots—and a 7 x 7 cm piece of Hef’s famous silk pajamas, worn by the great man himself.

This sumptuous six-volume anthology celebrates the decadence, sophistication and wit of the original men’s magazine and its creator. Hugh Hefner’s Playboy highlights the extraordinary years from 1953 to 1979, with a selection of each era’s spiciest centerfolds and writing by literary icons Gore Vidal, Norman Mailer, Jack Kerouac and Ray Bradbury, as well as some of the most important Playboy Interviews, including Martin Luther King, John Lennon, Richard Nixon, and Roman Polanski.

Here is another one that is also out of my price range but definitely on my wish list. Blurb and images also from the Taschen website. Helmut Newton’s SUMO.

It is so big it actually comes with its own table!

The biggest and most expensive book production in the 20th century
Limited edition of 10,000 copies worldwide, each signed and numbered by Helmut Newton!

Probably Helmut Newton's most famous fashion images, these are of Yves Saint Laurent's "Le Smoking", which means tuxedo, one of the first pantsuits for women.

SUMO is a titanic book in every respect: it is a tribute to the twentieth century’s most influential, intriguing and controversial photographer. Measuring 50 x 70 cm (20 x 27.5 inches) and weighing approx. 30 kg (66 lb.), the book contains 464 pages, breaking any previous record. SUMO is a truly unique publication.

SUMO, edited by June Newton, features a wide selection of over 400 pictures, most of which are published for the first time, covering every aspect of Newton’s outstanding career in photography: from his stunning fashion photographs, which pointed the way for generations of photographers, to his nudes and celebrity portaits.

My last book today is Blinds and Shutters by Michael Cooper. This is the same photographer I mentioned above, but this is his very very special book. Here’s some images (I couldn’t find very many) and a blurb from the Snap Galleries website.

Blinds & Shutters is a journey through the 1960s, and has been internationally acclaimed as the definitive cult chronicle of that decade. Each volume has a variety of thirteen different contributors signatures which means, no two copies are ever the same. Copies signed by Ringo Starr are the most desirable.

Photographer Michael Cooper worked with leading musicians including, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Marianne Faithfull, Eric Clapton, artists such as Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Peter Blake and David Hockney and writers like William Burroughs, Jean Genet and Allen Ginsberg. He was never without his 35mm camera and captured some of the most intimate and confortable images with a vast collection of different legends from the 60s. Blinds and Shutters is limited to 5,000 copies.

Forgot to include prices above, in case you are feeling flush, here they are (in USD): Playboy book: around $1000, Helmut Newton Sumo Book, around $15,000, and Michael Cooper’s Blinds and Shutters, $4000.

Everyone seems to be getting excited about the upcoming Spring Summer 2010 advertising campaigns. I guess in fashion terms that is something to get excited about, however I rarely get worked up about an advertising campaign unless there is something amazing going on.

I have always been obsessed with these Versace campaigns shot by Steven Meisel. The models are Amber Valleta and Georgina Grenville, and it was for Autumn Winter 2000. I am also very excited that I found the entire series today on this Russian photography site, they are quite large versions, and I like to have a record of great fashion things like this.

This campaign was turned into a small exhibition, and there are a few reasons why it was so well received. The models, although young and beautiful, are styled to look old, which is very unusual in fashion. The way they sit, their hair, makeup, everything, makes them look much older than they are. Also, they are staring straight into the camera, which is a bit eerie. The Beverly Hills mansion where these photos were taken must have been a locations scout’s dream, it is so perfect for the clothing. Someone pointed out to me that in nearly all the photos the models were smoking cigarettes, which were then airbrushed out. Take a look, you can see their fingers are in the right position. If you spend a few seconds looking into each photo, you can appreciate how amazing theses shots are, they are a bit weird, but fabulous. This is definitely my favourite fashion advertising campaign ever.

Here are some of the Spring Summer 2010 campaigns, which will start to come out in the January magazines, and make a full appearance by March. I got all the images from Refinery 29, except the Dolce and Gabbana ones, which were published in Italian Vogue.

Here’s Lara Stone for Louis Vuitton. She is the model of the moment, and has just replaced Madonna, who starred in the campaigns last season. I am looking forward to seeing this in more detail.

Louis Vuitton Spring Summer 2010: Lara Stone shot by Steven Meisel

Everyone was surprised by this Akris campaign with Daphne Guinness. The heiress is known for her amazing, eclectic style and her haute couture collection, and she is loved by so many designers. It was a surprise that she chose to work with Akris, a little-known brand.

Akris Spring Summer 2010: Daphne Guinness shot by Steven Klein

This Gucci ad looks amazing and I want to be next to that swimming pool right now.

Gucci Spring Summer 2010: Natasha Poly and Ryan Kennedy shot by Mert & Marcus

Marc Jacobs’ campaigns, always shot by Juergen Teller, are often slightly unusual. He is the only designer whose campaign involves taking five $1500 handbags, throwing them in the dirt, and then putting Sofia Coppola next to them. So it is no surprise that his next campaign has a model with her foot in a toilet.

Marc Jacobs Spring Summer 2010: Jamie Bouchert shot by Juergen Teller

The Lanvin campaign looks pretty cool, as does everything from the Lanvin label at the moment.

Lanvin Spring Summer 2010: Jamie Bouchert shot by Steven Meisel

I think this Dolce & Gabbana ad, featuring Madonna washing the dishes and doing other very “Italian Mamma” looking things, looks great. I am surprised how many times she can be reinvented.

Dolce & Gabbana Spring Summer 2010: Madonna shot by Steven Meisel