Tuesday, 9 September 2008
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Because you can't have depths without surfaces.
Linda Grant, thinking about clothes, books and other matters.
Linda Grant, thinking about clothes, books and other matters.
About me
Linda Grant is a novelist and journalist. She won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2000 and the Lettre Ulysses Prize for Literary Reportage in 2006. She writes for the Guardian, Telegraph and Vogue. Her latest novel, The Clothes on Their Backs was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize. For further information including upcoming literary festivals bookstore readings etc see her website at www.lindagrant.co.uk
My other blog
Buchmendel - some words from books
Books by Linda Grant
- The Thoughtful Dresser Non-Fiction 2009)
- For further information see www.linda.grant.co.uk
- The Clothes on Their Backs (Fiction 2008)
- The People on the Street (Winner of the Lettre Ulysses Prize for Literary Reportage 2006)
- Still Here (Fiction 2002)
- When I Lived in Modern Times (Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction 2000)
- Remind Me Who I Am Again (Non-fiction 1998)
- The Cast Iron Shore (Fiction 1996)
- Sexing the Millenium (Non-Fiction 1993)
This blog believes
'A good handbag makes the outfit.'
'Only the rich can afford cheap shoes'
'The only thing worse than being skint is looking as if you're skint.'
'A new dress is a great help in all circumstances.' (Noel Streatfeild)
'The only true and lasting meaning of the struggle for life lies in the individual, in his modest peculiarities and his right to these peculiarities.' (Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate.)
'Only the rich can afford cheap shoes'
'The only thing worse than being skint is looking as if you're skint.'
'A new dress is a great help in all circumstances.' (Noel Streatfeild)
'The only true and lasting meaning of the struggle for life lies in the individual, in his modest peculiarities and his right to these peculiarities.' (Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate.)
Followers
Other sites: Fashion, Literature, Politics etc
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6 comments:
Absolutley, M&S = WTF.I applaud the thinking behind the collection, but I have a feeling the wrong outlet picked up the gauntlet here.
Mrs Beckham wins by a mile. I appreciate she must have had help despite her denials but even so that dress is beautiful, and I hope to see more.
In our house, we love Vicky Beckham's frocks. They're stunningly elegant. Affording them, alas, is another matter.
At the other end of the scale, not even all the money in this universe should ever convince a size 20 woman to wear a red, spotted, halter neck mini dress.
Donate this misdemeanour to The Large Hadron Collider, the giant particle generator about to start its atom-smashing activities.
If the atom smashing goes wrong, the Earth may become a mass of grey goo and get swallowed up in black holes, say the doomsday predictions. The Hadron creators are hoping to recreate conditions similar to the Big Bang.
So let the physicists practice on size 20 red-spotted halter-neck dresses, flinging them through the Collider at the speed of light. A teeny weeny black hole would be a blessing.
Either that or donate the entire M&S collection to Taiwan's last existing brothel. Oh damn, can't do that. The 87-year-old pimp died today and the two remaining sex workers, aged 40 and 50, are now jobless because the Taiwanese government outlawed whorehouses and won't renew the business permit.
Thank you for being so patient, you may now talk among yourselves
I'd shorten the VB dress--the proportion looks off to me--but I love the colors and simple style.
I was quite interested to see Victoria Beckham's statement at style.com that she designed her dresses to be timeless. They're all that mid-calf length - surely a little long for timelessness?
Otherwise, they're very chic.
I see them very much as dresses she would wear herself which, in my mind, does not constitute a designer. I've no doubt she has great knowledge of the insides of couture dresses, she's been wearing them for long enough. The collection is quite pretty but nothing really special. It's the sort of thing I would expect from a first year fashion degree student before they've loosened up and really investigated their potential and built up their experience through making mistakes and learning from their peers.
If Stella McCartney, who was an excellent fashion student, has to hire in graduates for ideas and inspiration, then what hope has VB of sustaining a label? I would want to ask her many questions. What is her design ethos? What inspires her? What global issues concern her? The list would be endless.
And my last thought - in fashion there is no such thing as timeless. The only thing that is timeless is style which you cannot buy on a hanger at any price.
Is this being touted as Victoria's debut collection? I've seen cocktail/evening/red carpet dresses with her label on them, for several months now, in a Sydney boutique close to where I live.
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