Unpublished Gucci Spring Summer 2004 campaign image. Photographed by Mario Testino, and styled by Carine Roitfeld.

I recently heard about a new school that opened up in London, called The London College of Style, which offers a fashion styling course. I remember several years ago, when “styling” became a recognized job in the fashion industry, my friends and I always used to be shocked that there were courses about styling. “How can you teach styling?” was the question we would ask. It is like trying to teach someone style. Has any of the well-known stylists, taken a course in styling? I don’t think so.

Today, a lot of fashion students want to be stylists (maybe they are starting to get turned off being a buyer, because you have to have math skills), but I am not sure an education in styling alone is going to get you anywhere. Sure, you could learn how to call in clothes, organize a photoshoot, how a fashion show works, etc…, but can you teach someone the ability to put a look together, beautifully? That involved creativity and taste, which aren’t usually on the agenda at a styling school.

Vogue Italia shoot by Steven Meisel, styled by Edward Enninful, one of the top fashion stylists of our day.

I’ve worked with a lot of crappy stylists in my time, and a few very good ones. In my opinion, being a good photo stylist involves the ability to understand the purpose of the shoot (are we selling clothes, are we making pretty pictures, are we previewing the fall collections, are we trying to sell the collection to US buyers?) and come up with a creative concept that results in beautiful images that fulfill the purpose. So it requires a bit of marketing savvy and a lot of creativity, which is why it is usually people trained in fashion design end up being stylists. That’s not to say you need to have a degree in fashion design to be a stylists, but some creative training will help. Like design, coming up with a styling concept requires research and development (yes, newsflash people, fashion designers do not just have “ideas in their head”) and it helps to a creative background.

My concern about all of these styling courses (aside from the fact that the London College of Style doesn’t have enough well-recognized people on their team, compared to the short styling courses at Central Saint Martins) is that there aren’t really very many styling jobs. Thanks to Rachel Zoe and Patricia Field, the job has been glamorized, but really it isn’t all that. Sure, it can be great, if you are excellent at what you can do. But it takes a lot to get there, and part 1 involves working for free. For a very long time.

My friend Julia (Von Boehm) is a fairly successful stylist, working between Paris and New York, mostly for Vogue Paris, Teen Vogue, Vogue Nippon, and Vogue China. She studied fashion design at school, and was offered an internship with a well-known stylist at the time, Carine Roitfeld. Here is where luck came into play, Julia had an apartment in Paris that her parents owned, so she didn’t have to pay rent, she had enough money to work for free for 2 years, and it was pure luck that the first assistant was also German. Two years later, and she landed a job at Vogue Paris (when Carine became editor), and ten years later, she is doing very well, working for a lot of the great brands and publications. Had she not had the means to work for free for two years, she would have had to work much harder to get where she is (that’s not to say she isn’t a great stylist, that helped too.)

Demi Moore on the cover of Vogue Paris

So all of you aspiring stylists out there, think twice before you assume it is all about buying clothes for Carrie Bradshaw or dressing Demi Moore for the cover of Vogue. And if you are determined, my best suggestion is to get some unpaid assisting work with a great stylist so you have on-the-job experience, rather than attending a styling school.

Julia, if you are reading this, have a fantastic wedding this weekend and I am sorry I can’t be in Germany to share this special day with you.

And sorry for the repeat of content, but for those of you who didn’t read my A Fashionable Attitude post last week:

I am considering putting together a little guide for students, prospective students, and anyone trying to get into the fashion industry. It will include some of the following sections:

• A couple of rules and tips about behaviour (like the above, but in more detail)
• Tips on fashion portfolios and the type of experience fashion employers are looking for
• A directory of some fashion schools in Europe and North America
• A directory of most key fashion brands and other fashion-related businesses
• A list of the brands that offer good graduate training programs
• How to prepare and behave during an internship or first fashion job
• Recruitment agencies and where to find good fashion job listings
• Tips from industry insiders

I’d like to hear from my readers whether this is something you’d be interested in, and whether you’d be willing to pay $10-$15 USD for this, as an ebook. Also, if you have any other suggestions for the ebook, feel free to send them over.

If you think you are interested, and want to be on the mailing list for updates about the ebook (that’s it, you won’t be on any other mailing lists), then send me an email to searching4style@gmail.com with the subject line “interested.” If you have any feedback, leave it as a comment or email it to me.

Gucci campaign image from The Fashion Spot.
Vogue Italia image source.

Last time I visited Avshalom Gur’s studio, it was to borrow some accessories for my outfit for the Christian Dior Fall WInter 2007/08 Haute Couture collections party at Versailles. It was the 60th anniversary of the Christian Dior brand, and the ten year anniversary of John Galliano at Dior. Avshalom lent me some jewelry and foxes to be worn as shawls (which ended up being the most important part of the outfit, since the part took place in the Orangerie at the Chateau de Versailles, outdoors, and it wasn’t the warm July evening that they predicted.)

A trip to Avshalom’s studio always involves tea, catching up, and then trying on beautiful clothes. Avshalom has an incredible background, and has worked for Donna Karan, Roberto Cavalli, Chloe, and most recently as creative director of Ossie Clark, as well as having his own collection. This time Bora Aksu (whose studio is next door) joined us for tea, and we chatted about life, the business, and the forthcoming closure of the famous Central Saint Martins campus on Charing Cross Road. All of the Central Saint Martins Campus’ are moving to a purpose-built building near Kings Cross, so there’s obviously a bit of sadness when discussing the closure of the building where we studied/worked/cried together during our time as students on the fashion design MA.

Some photos of Avshalom's studio.

So much colour.

Works in progress.

The sample sale rack, full of Ossie Clark and Avshalom Gur dresses.

The sofa where we drink tea and chat.

Here's a skirt from the Spring Summer 2010 collection.

The beading is beautiful.

Avshalom has collaborated with some of the most talented jewelry designers for his collections.

Birds are a reoccurring theme in his work.

Here is a hand carved jade bird.

More of the jade birds, which were used as necklaces or belt buckles.

Avshalom Gur in his studio.

I bought some of his easy jersey t-shirt dresses. Here are some photos from his Spring Summer 2010 collection. I love the 60’s feel to the photos, and the colour looks great on the black backgrounds.

Photographer David Roemer and Stylist Kate Ruth.

I know Bora Aksu because we studied in the same year at Central Saint Martins. To say he is one of the most genuinely nice people in the world is probably an understatement. He also makes beautiful clothes, which tend to be incredibly handcrafted and usually feature a play on stiff, constructed materials mixed with very light, flowing fabrics. The designs have evolved but the style is consistent.

I Love…

signature Bora Aksu: distressed fabrics, golden tones, and unique shapes with rough edges.

the design of this blouse.

the softness of the dress contrasted with the rough leggings. The dress detailing looks beautiful.

I Loathe…

the shiny black trousers. They are loud and unflattering.

the confusion of this dress. The lines are beautiful, but I feel the design has been overdone.

Images from Vogue.co.uk.

A typical "Nu-Rave" ensemble. Disgusting.

Every now and then a fashion trend comes into existence that is so bad, so tragic, and so hilarious, that the only thing you can do is make fun of it and hope that it goes away. Nu Rave was one of those trends, one of the worst trends I have ever seen. EVER. This premise of Nu Rave, which was very 2007 in London, was that it was a revival of the 90s rave scene. Now, I hate to admit it, but I was part of that 90s rave scene, and I can assure you I never wore the disgusting clothes that the Nu-Rave trend regurgitated.

Cassette Playa menswear from Spring Summer 2007. Note: this was NOT a joke.

The worst Nu Rave brand of all was Cassette Playa, designed by the worst dressed woman in London, Carri Mundane.

Carri Mundane. The outfit says it all.

Another really bad brand was KTZ, which was created by the founders of the Nu Rave fashion store on Greek Street, Kokon Tozai. I used ot go into Kokon Tozai with my friends Daniel and Dean just to laugh at the clothes. Seriously. They were so hideous, and so over priced. I mean, a $250 cashmere baby rattle from Hermes seemed good value compared to this stuff. I once asked the sales assistant at Kokon Tozai, what person actually bought the hideous $300 Cassette Playa t-shirts, which were basically an XXL Hanes tee printed with a three colour screen print motif. He said “Fashion students at Saint Martins.” No fashion student at Saint Martins will spend $300 on a shitty, ugly t-shirt that they can whip up on their own in the print room in about half an hour (I know, I WAS a fashion student at Saint Martins.) This stuff was a joke, and I am so glad the brands have sort of disapperaed…well, sort of.

A £215 Cassette Playa t-shirt. That's over $400CDN. Nope, this is still not a joke.

The reason why I brought this up is because my friend Michelle emailed me today and asked me whether this was KTZ for Topshop dress was serious. I had to tell her that unfortunately yes, it was serious. She couldn’t understand why anyone would pay $400 for this hideous monstrosity. I can’t understand either. It is just gross.

Pearl Dot Priss Dress by KTZ for Topshop. This dress sells for £200. That's a lot to pay for a dress that will make you look fat and ugly.

However, I’l take this moment to say that despite this disgusting dress, Topshop is usually pretty amazing, and I’l be dropping a lot of cash when I go there next month while I am in London. Can’t wait!

Cassette Playa images from their website. Carri Mundane image from here. Topshop image from their website.

I really like Peter Jensen’s work (and the man himself, he was one of our tutors at CSM and he was VERY nice and helpful), his combination of fashion and sport works so well together. There aren’t enough designers doing this sort of thing properly, and I am surprised he has not teamed up with a big sportswear brand to design a collection to compete with Adidas by Stella McCartney. This collection was a lot more womenswear than sportswear, but he showed some really great pieces, although I wasn’t a fan of the styling, or lack thereof.

I Love…

everything about this amazing shirt.

the knotted hood on this jacket.

the matching jacket and top, could we call this nouveau school girl?

I Loathe…

any outfit that makes you look overweight, or like a Sesame Street character.

this all-over print. Its too much.

All images from Style.com.

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.

I’ve had some very good and some very bad shopping experiences this week in Vancouver. You can read about my bad ones here and here. But yesterday I had the pleasure of discovering some very cool retailers for a Vancouver shopping guide I am doing for my friend’s London website, Urban Junkies. I’ll be mentioning a lot of them over the next few weeks, but today I’d like to show you some photos of a really cool store on Main and 8th called Lark.

The concept is heritage brands and classic clothing, but with an edge. It seems they get a lot of people coming in to buy the traditional French Saint James nautical sweaters and tees, but they also carry really beautiful european brands like Bruuns Bazaar, by Malene Birger, Frank Leder (who was in my gradaute class at Saint Martins), Barbour, and Mackintosh. They also sell Chimala jeans and Yoshi Kondo.

I bought this Bruuns Bazaar top at Lark yesterday, I am trying to get more colour into my wardrobe at the moment.

Bruuns Bazaar is a Danish brand. I have a minor obsession with clothing that makes neat geometric shapes when they are flat.

Part of the shopping trip also involved a trip to Gastown, and I bought this diamond ring napkin ring from Parliament. I am going to wear it as a pendant. They do the usual modern furniture and homewares, which you find a lot of in Gastown, but their selection is very affordable, which makes a nice contrast to somewhere like Inform across the street (which, by the way, has extremly cold and uninterested sales people.) Parliament also has a very beautiful and soft shop dog. It is taking me a while to get used to the concept of going into a shop and meeting a dog, but I love it.

I wouldn’t normally report on Dunhill, but in many ways, it is sort of a brand to follow, since Kim Jones became the Creative Director. I went to university with Kim, he was in the year above us, and he wasn’t very liked by many of the other MA students at Saint Martins. But I liked him, he was interesting, and although he wasn’t inccredibly talented, he was a genius at selling himself. He was also very good at delegating, before he was doing anything major, he already had three interns doing research and running errands for him, which is probably why he was able to achieve so much in the past few years. He got appointed Creative Director at Dunhill quite recently, and he has stopped designing his own collection. Dunhill is a tough one, it is so classic, it probably doesn’t actually make much money from the clothing, and the Dunhill people probably don’t care. But I am quite confused about what Kim is doing for them. He was more of a sportswear designer, and i thought he was going to bring an edge to Dunhill. But he isn’t, he has just taken very boring classic clothing, and styled it. Either he lost his spark when he went to Dunhill, or the Dunhill Powers-that-be are not letting him get creative.

I Adore…

this classic coat. Great shape, great colour, and made effortless by rolling up the sleeve.

this casual look, which is the only way that trousers tucked into hiking boots is going to look good.

I Loathe…

that this guy looks super-ultra classic (that is REALLY classic) but the trousers tucked into the boots look like a wardrobe malfunction, not a cool way of styling the outfit.

trousers tucked into socks, and more cinched waists. (Is the cinched waist inevitable for next winter? So many designers are belting their coats so tight, it looks like it is going to be "all about the waist" for next season.)

contrived styling at its worst. The colour contrasts are amazing, but with the best, bag, socks, and hiking boots, it is just not happening.

this poor re-invention of the Barbour coat. Leave that to Barbour.

All images from GQ.com.

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.

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.