Meow

Ever since I watched How To Marry A Millionaire ages ago, I've been thinking that "cat eye" glasses are quite cool.

Fortunately for me, it looks as though feline frames (yes, I'm a dork, but alliteration is good for the soul!) are set to be a bit of a trend this season; the Prada Fall 2010 collection featured a comical take on cat eyes, with brightly coloured eyebrows drawn across the top of the frames.

They were also featured in the Nina Ricci Fall collection, although as sunglasses rather than normal glasses;

images from style.com

I'm thinking that, since "Buddy Holly/geek" style glasses have already been kind of a big thing over the past couple of years, it's only a matter of time before other types of quirky glasses, such as cat eyes, become the norm.

They remind me of Marty from Grease, because she wears a sparkly pair near the beginning of the film and asks Rizzo "don't you think they make me look smarter?" before a rhinestone falls off them and into her plate of macaroni, bless her.

[These are some cheeky screen grabs I got from my Grease DVD (it's really tricky getting a good screen grab you know!). Unfortunately, I was focusing so much on Marty and her glasses, I didn't notice that Rizzo looks like she's having a stroke in the second shot, until I'd already saved it, and by then I just couldn't be bothered going back and getting another one. Sorry Rizzo. Also, what is that guy doing in the background?!]

While I do think that a spangly pair of cat eyes could look quite cute, I worry that once you start adding extreme amounts of bling to these glasses, you're stepping into Dame Edna territory, and I'm not sure any of us want to go down that path, do we?

"Hello possums!"

Anyway, Australian transvestites aside, I did a quick search on t'Internet and found a variety of cat eye glasses on vintage sites and eBay, although most of the best ones were sunglasses and I'm really looking for the kind with plain lenses. However, they are quite cheap, so I suppose if you found a pair of sunglasses with a really good frame, you could just buy them and then replace the lens? Or just remove the lens altogether? There's definitely options here, people! I did also stumble across a few variations on ASOS; the first pair below are definitely my favourites.

Solid Black Cat Eye Geeky Specs, £10 ASOS

Feline Crystal, $20 Giant Vintage

Cat Eye Glasses With Rhinestones, $7.99 Girl Props

I do actually wear glasses as I'm quite shortsighted, and it's been a while since I've had my eyes tested, so I probably need to buy a new pair. That being said, I'm not sure I could seriously wear a pair of cat eyes for work, (I can just imagine the sort of looks I'd get... sadly the people in my office just aren't down with the kids...) so I'll probably get a cheap pair (like the ASOS ones above) and then invest in a more 'serious' pair for when I need to be a sensible grown up type (blergh!). What do you think? Would you wear them? And will I look mad if I get a pair?!

Snuggly buggly

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's lips are ridiculous. In a good way. Ridiculous though.

As much as it pains me to say it, the cold weather seems to be well and truly here to stay. All that talk of an 'Indian Summer' was clearly LIES, because I've seen nothing but wind, rain and oh, what's that? More rain. I'm already recovering from my first cold of the season and it's not even October yet. BLEURGH! Fortunately, while it's cold outside, I can stay warm and toasty inside with a cup of tea, my fluffy pink dressing gown and Ian Somerhalder's strong arms the new series of Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries. However, while I'd love to pretend that I'm a squirrel and spend the next few months hibernating, I'm not sure how happy my job and social life would be with that arrangement so there will probably be occasions when I'm forced to leave the house and brave the elements. Conclusion? I'm going to be needing something significantly more snuggly to stop me from freezing to death. And my first choice is a big, chunky shearling lined jacket.

Burberry Prorsum

Mulberry, Topshop Unique and Wunderkind

ADAM, DKNY and Giles

If money was no object, I would absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, be sporting that khaki green Burberry Prorsum jacket (the middle one). I would wear it everywhere, probably even in bed. Sadly though, since I'm pretty sure that I don't have a spare £3000 lying around (I'll check down the back of the sofa, just in case, but I doubt it), I'll have to settle for a high street version instead.

Faux Sheepskin Flying Jacket, £78 Topshop

Pilot Jacket, £24.99 H&M

Quilted Shearling Aviator Jacket, £290 ASOS WHITE

Sessun Short Duffle Coat, £199 Urban Outfitters

Of all the shearling jackets I've found online at the moment (and there is A LOT - these were just a few picks), this is probably my absolute favourite - it just looks SO WARM! And it's very similar to the Burberry one. Sadly, I found this on the Topshop website a couple of weeks back but it must be out of stock at the moment because I just checked back to get the price and I can't find it on there - anyone know how much it costs? And whether it'll be back in stock?! I hope so, because I feel this might be the coat that will help me survive the next few months of coldness and misery...

Tin can at my feet, think I'll kick it down the street...

Well hello there! It's been a while hasn't it? How are you doing? Sit down, take the weight off, I'll put the kettle on and you can tell me all about what you've been up to!

...where have I been? Oh, well, that's a good question, you see I was...ummm...I had to...er...

I was being a bad blogger.

I've got no excuses really, I haven't been on holiday, or been kidnapped, my computer wasn't broken and I didn't decide to give up all my worldly possessions and become a Hare Krishna, I was simply being a big pile of rubbish when it came to the old blogging malarkey.

I don't know if anyone else ever gets like this but I've just been feeling massively uninspired recently. I keep a list of things that I want to blog about and even though the list currently has about seven trillion (no lie) things on it, none of them sounded particularly exciting and I couldn't think of anything new to talk about. So I didn't blog. And then the longer I went without blogging, the guiltier I felt, which in turn made me not even want to look at my blog because it would remind me how long it had been since my last post. I even started avoiding my Google Reader, because seeing everyone else in the Blogosphere, blogging away like merry little chipmunks, made me feel EVEN GUILTIER (is guiltier even a word? I'm looking at it and it looks ridiculous, so I doubt it, but still, who's to say what is and isn't a 'real word' anyway? Exactly). Basically, I was in a terrible guilt-shame spin cycle in the washing machine of life. If there is an image to sum up how I was feeling at that time, it would probably be this;

Yeah. I know.

I think perhaps one of the reasons why I've been so uninspired lately is because I've been in a bit of a rut with myself. Do you ever feel, when you open your wardrobe that you're just completely sick of all your clothes? I look at my clothes and just think

"urgh, I've worn you all!"

and I realise that I just wear the same few items every week. I think it's partly because I don't wear 'work clothes'. Although I do work in an office, there's no dress code and I hate traditional office attire so I just dress kind of smart/casual and end up wearing all my nice, interesting clothes for work, which makes them not seem particularly nice or interesting anymore. It's times like this I wish I worked back in my old horrible job in the sports cafe, where I had to wear a maroon polo shirt... actually, no, I really, really don't.

I suppose it's a good thing then, that Autumn is fast approaching, as it gives me an excuse to buy plenty of exciting new items. New coat, new boots, new knitwear, the opportunities are quite literally endless. Whenever I think about Autumn I get this image of me skipping down country lanes in a pair of sturdy tan knee boots, a big snuggly coat and a long chunky scarf, cheeks rosy from the wind, a bag of stale bread to feed the ducks and a song in my heart. In reality, it would probably be more a case of me stomping through puddles to get to the bus stop, only to realise that I've missed the bus and the song in my heart has become nothing more than a low, continuous droning of swear words.

Anyway, the point is, this is a very exciting time of year, the September issues of all the magazines have been out for about a month already, trends have been well and truly dictated (camel coats and shearling anyone? I think I might have heard that somewhere...) and the super organised fashionistas amongst us will have already been thinking about (if not already purchasing) their key items for the season. Of course, as Last Minute is actually my middle name (it's Swedish), my thoughts about key pieces for Autumn have so far consisted pretty much of me going "I'll probably be needing some new tights" and nothing more. However, I have decided that as I am now a proper grown up type (I'm 23 tomorrow - eeep!), I am going to be methodical and organised and make a list of what I'm going to buy for Autumn and actually stick to that list, instead of aimlessly wandering into H&M every now and then and going "ooh that's a nice dress I'll only ever wear once/shawl covered in pom poms/necklace made from twigs, gimme!"

In order to help me with my list, I'm going to try and do a lot more blog posts over the next week or so, discussing the big 'trends' for this season, how easy it is to translate them from catwalk to real life and where on the High Street we can find these 'key items' (the more I use that phrase, the wankier I sound. I feel like Trinny and Susanna. Feeling like two people when you're only one person is probably not a good thing) - your input will be muchly appreciated during this difficult time as I don't always have a very good brain.

I'm aware that this post has been very wordy, so here's a picture of some nice blue eye makeup that I scanned from the latest ASOS Magazine;

The line down the middle is the fold from the magazine, as it was a double page spread, but I didn't want to rip the pages out because it's Liv's magazine and I'm very considerate about what I do and don't rip.

Here's looking forward to a new season and a new, better, bloggier little curly girl. 23 and never been kissed (not really). To infinity and be-bloody-yond

Bloomin' lovely

I'd been so caught up in all the fabulous Resort shows that had been happening recently, that I hadn't even noticed that the Fall Couture shows had started. Silly Franki. Fortunately, my beautious friend Lauren brought this fact to my attention - thanks Lauren. (Lauren also has a blog, which can be read here, but she hasn't posted anything in a LONG time. Everyone, I think you should join me in saying "Lauren, please blog again. You are funny and the world needs funny. Do it for the good of the world!")

Of course, as soon as I heard about the Dior show, I knew I had to post about it because, as previous posts on here may suggest, I FRIKKIN LOVE DIOR!

I think part of the reason why I love Dior so much, is that the shows never fail to surprise me. When everyone else is doing dark, muted colours and subtle tailoring, John Galliano wraps the models heads up in cellophane, goes completely mental with a pair of pinking shears and then, just to make things REALLY CRAZY, comes out at the end of the show in what I can only imagine is a couture version of an Edwardian beekeeping suit. It's just so exciting!

Inspired, quite obviously, by flowers, this show was literally an explosion of colours and textures. Rather than focusing solely on floral prints, which we've been seeing everywhere since...well...since forever, Galliano actually created pieces that looked like they were made from flowers - the colours, the shapes, the textures, every garment had some kind of clear reference to a particular type of flower. I especially love the strapless white dress (third photo down) that has a splash of deep blue, which kind of fades out at the edges; it really reminds me of how lilies have the same kind of thing - really deep pink in the centre of the flower that fades out onto the petals. They also pointed out on Style.com how the cellophane headpieces and raffia belts seem to be inspired by the wrappings you get on bouquets. It was like the Chelsea Flower Show does Couture! I always say this when I post on Dior, but just go to Style.com and have a look at the full collection; I've posted a selection but you really need to seem them all!

As usual, they've also done crazy amazing hair and makeup - does anyone else find the hairstyles remind them a bit of something from Dr Seuss?!

A dress of petals!

Venus-fly-trap-tulle-dress-creation-madness

All images from Style.com

Oh beauty!

Also, can I just say thank you to everyone who commented on my last post - I'm glad I got such a positive response, was a bit worried I'd get a load of Twilight fans cursing me and burning curly haired effegies of me as a sacrifice to Edward Cullen... and quite frankly, I just don't need that...

I'm not calling you a liar... but don't lie to me

I know that the world and his wife (and their children, the dog and the nosey neighbour next door) have already blogged about this collection, but you know what they say, if you can't beat 'em, get a bigger baseball bat join 'em, so here I am, jumping on the bandwagon like a big, bandwagon-jumping maniac.

Chloë Sevigny is one of those people who can do no wrong, she is just cool. It's the kind of cool that cannot be learned or developed over time, you either just have it or you don't and she has it. By the bucketload. And the bucket is leopard print. And really cool.

This is her third collection for Opening Ceremony and it's so incredibly simple - it's all stuff we've seen before; leopard print, florals, polka dots, flippy skirts, cut off tee-shirts, standard stuff that's been very 'current' for a while now. And yet, Chloe waves her magic (cool) wand and it suddenly all looks so fresh and new and I literally want to own all of it.

I don't really need to say much more; the images speak for themselves, but

THE SHOES

THE TIGHTS (especially the floral ones)

THE SUNGLASSES

AND ALL THE DRESSES. ALL OF THEM. I WANT THEM ALL. NOW PLEASE.

images from style.com

Ooh la la

The Resort 2011 collections are upon us and I've not been particularly fussed on many of them so far. Last year, I did several posts on Resort 2010 because there just seemed to be such an amazing array of colours and prints and shapes and I had so much to say, but it feels a bit like this year, a lot of designers have done a complete one-eighty and are now in a very minimalist place. While minimalism can be great, (less is more and all that) sometimes, I just want to replace 'minimal' with 'boring'.

Fortunately, one of the labels that never fails to impress, is Dior. Oh how I love Dior. I think, out of all the fashion houses out there, Dior is probably the one I look at most and think "yeah, I LOVE this collection". John Galliano is my hero.

This collection had a 60s 'mod' theme with beehived hair, big sunglasses and lots of bright block colours with white details. There was also a French influence, with chic tailored trenches, Breton stripes and sexy little neckerchiefs and chokers. With regards to styling, there was something for everyone, with both masculine and feminine looks making their way down the catwalk; dotted amongst the super-pretty dresses was a selection of boyish blazers and trousers, topped off with fedoras (or trilbies? I never know the difference) and baker boy caps. Of course, for me, it's all about the dresses; Galliano seems to be really celebrating the female form, with lots of nipped in waists and short, figure-hugging skirts. 'Sheer' was also a theme here, with organza and chiffon playing a big part (I'm not entirely sure what would be the best kind of underwear to wear with some of this stuff). I'm also loving all the cute, girly details - Peter Pan collars, embellished roses, pleats and frills. And of course there's loads of lovely couture gowns for us all drool over - long, feminine and floaty, in ice cream colours such as mint, peach and pink. It's just a gorgeous collection - I've only posted a few pictures, but I urge, if you haven't done already, to go here and have a look for yourself!

All images from style.com

Factory Girl

I've been trying to write this post all week, but I just had too many words to say and ended up having a small breakdown. Don't worry, I'm ok now, but following on from my breakdown, I'm thinking that the best way to write about this particular topic is to break it down... (you see what I did there? I am just SO street!)

First, let's all share a moment and look at this;

I know, I know, crazy/epic/mental/ridiculous/fabulous/insane right? But what's even more exciting about this is that moments before this photo was taken, that gigantic ruff/cloak thing was actually this skirt;

How Franki? How? And why? And also what? And who? And when? But mainly how? Explain all, please, for we are so confused by these images of strange and wonderful things.

Well children, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin...

Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoering, also known as Viktor & Rolf, the crazy-cool Dutch design duo, have always been known for their whacky but wonderful approach to fashion. I've mentioned them briefly in previous posts but not really gone into great detail about them... that is UNTIL NOW, because, having been rendered completely and utterly dumbfounded by their Fall 2010 show, I have to comment.

Imagine the scene; a fashion show. The runway is completely plastered with images of cogs, gears and screws and the music is layered with the mechanical sounds of a factory. The lights dim. Kristen McMenamy (a popular face of the 90s... I've never heard of her) heads down the runway wearing a ma-hoo-sive fur and tweed cape. The designers follow her and the three of them stop on a rotating circle in the centre of the runway, where Viktor and Rolf then proceed to remove said ginourmous cape from the model, who is standing as still as an extremely still mannequin (that's VERY still). Another model appears on the runway, steps onto the magical rotating bit and the designers dress her in the cape, which, with a few minor adjustments, becomes a coat. This process is repeated again and again as it is revealed, on removal of the giant cape, that McMenamy is actually wearing several layers of coats and jackets, which are each removed in turn, transformed into another garment through the magic of drawstrings, zips and fasteners and then placed onto another model, who then carries on down the runway, while McMenamy is STILL STANDING STILL!

You want a cape or a coat? Voila! You can have both!

Once all the layers are removed and McMenamy is stripped down to nothing but a nude bodysuit, the process starts again, this time in reverse, with models wearing various dresses, which are then removed, turned into yet more coats and placed back onto McMenamy, who, believe it or not, is STILL STANDING STILL! Is she a robot? Possibly.

First it's a dress, then it's a coat. Ah, the things you can do with a drawstring.

Basically, the whole thing was insane. I don't know what I was more impressed by; Viktor and Rolf's ingenuity and precision when removing/transforming/replacing garments or Kristen McMenamy's ability to wear twelve million layers of clothes while maintaining an air of zen-like coolness.

But what was the reason for all this? Are Viktor and Rolf telling us that layering is going to be such an important aspect for the Fall season that we should just wear all our clothes at once? Were they taking tips from that video of the 1930s future fashion predictions where they thought we'd all be wearing clothes which could adapt for day and night? Or did they just want to play dress up with a life-sized Barbie doll? (Don't we all?)

No. Don't be silly, it was none of those things.

The show was entitled "Glamour Factory", the runway (I think) represented a conveyor belt and the designers were like the two little workers, busily producing new garments. They were also playing with the concept of "Ready to Wear", as the pieces were somewhat extreme but, with a few tweaks, became instantly wearable.

I'll be honest, I don't really get where McMenamy and her layer upon layer of coats came into it all, but I'd like to think she represented a big stylish onion, which could be peeled to reveal more and more lovely things.

Regardless of what it all meant, I think it was brilliant, simply because it's a nice change to see a runway show which involves something a bit more than models just walking. Even so, having read several reviews, it's clear that the spectacle and theatrics of the show managed to overshadow the actual clothes, which is a shame because they were really gorgeous;

Those circle-lens sunglasses do remind me of Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? though;

Anyway, Viktor & Rolf have to be commended for the brilliant design features which utilised a simple drawstring to conceal or reveal volume, allowing garments to transform effortlessly from one thing to another. It was never a case of "oh that coat looks a bit like a dress now"; the coat was DEFINITELY a dress.

I also think it's great to see the designers taking an active role in the show, as usually, designers don't seem keen to enter the runway at all. I'm hoping that next season, designers will take their cue from Viktor & Rolf and we'll see Karl Lagerfeld whipping out a sewing machine on the Chanel catwalk and making all the clothes from scratch, right there and then. Brilliant.

Temporary high

My general opinion of tattoos is that, while they can look quite cool, I'd never want one myself because, a) I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to pain and b) well, they're very permanent aren't they? Sure, you may love having Donald Duck on your shoulder now; it's a conversation starter if nothing else, but a few years down the line, he may just serve as a big, web-footed reminder of what a complete idiot you used to be. Saying that though, a Donald Duck tattoo may be preferable to a tattoo of say, your ex's name; after he broke up with Winona Ryder, Johnny Depp changed his "Winona Forever" tattoo to "Wino Forever" (so I guess they just crossed out the "na" part?), which, quite frankly, is just bloody stupid. And even if you don't go for someone's name or a cartoon character, even if you think your tattoo is the classiest, most sophisticated piece of artistry ever to be carved into human flesh, consider this little pearl of wisdom from my mum...

how will it look when you're wearing a wedding dress?

(I can only assume that my mum is directing this thought towards women rather than men, because, let's be honest here, if the groom comes down the aisle in a wedding dress, you've probably got more to worry about than how his tattoos look)

So all in all, tattoos are not for me. However, when I was much younger I was a big fan of the temporary kind; they always seemed to come free on pre-teen magazines like Mizz and Shout. I clearly remember sitting in my room with a wet flannel pressed against my arm, counting to thirty (because you had to count to thirty or it wouldn't work) patiently waiting for the magic to happen. Sparkly suns, flowers, rainbows; I had them all! I was practically a tattoo connoisseur! Sadly though, when I was about 13, we were in school getting changed for PE and some mean girls teased me, saying that fake tattoos were 'so immature' - kids can be so cruel. After that I stopped using them. (apart from last October at my friend's hen party when I bought a pack of My Little Pony transfers and made everyone wear one - we looked AWESOME!)

But HA! In your faces, mean girls! Thanks to Chanel, temporary tattoos are making a comeback!

(images from style.com and Elle UK)

First seen adorning the limbs and decolletages of the models at the S/S 2010 show, the limited edition Chanel tattoos, (officially named "Les Trompe L'Oeil De Chanel"...I have literally no idea what that means...) are available to buy from Selfridges and Chanel stores, though they may have already sold out. Each pack contains five sheets of transfers and they cost £49 (or $75 on the Chanel site) but I just looked on eBay and they're selling for at least twice that amount.

The packs contain a selection of intricate chains, pearls, flowers, swallows and the Chanel interlocked Cs logo, and what's quite clever is that they all fit together, so you can wear as many or as few as you want.

I haven't been able to find any really good quality images of the tattoos, but here's a video of the Chapman sisters (my absolute favourite youtube makeup artists) trying them out;

The £49 price-tag means that I won't be buying them any time soon, but they are very pretty and I can see them being a big hit with all the serious fashionistas out there. It'll be interesting to see whether Chanel has sparked a trend for temporary tattoos, I mean, most of the things we see on the catwalk do eventually trickle through to the high street and I for one would LOVE to see stores like Topshop and Urban Outfitters bring out their own versions!

The more I look at them, the more I think they're actually quite innovative. If temporary tattoos were to become a big trend, imagine how your beauty routine would change! "Foundation - check, mascara - check, lipstick - check, tattoo?" Plus, what implications would there be for accessories?! Do they replace jewellery altogether or could you wear them with necklaces and bracelets layered over? Ooooh just think of the possibilities!

What are your thoughts on these beauties? Would you wear them or do you think they're best left on the catwalk?

Candy for cuties

"Zeerust: the particular kind of datedness which afflicts things that were originally designed to look futuristic" - The Meaning of Liff, Douglas Adams & John Lloyd

Before you read the rest of this post, please, please watch the video - it's very important! And you'll enjoy it, I promise...

I could quite happily watch this all day long. I love the idea that in the 1930s, a woman's biggest concerns were bagging a man and maintaining a comfortable temperature...

While some of the predictions are completely bizarre and off the mark, a couple of them are actually more than a little bit accurate. I don't think they've ever been a massive trend (and hopefully won't ever become one), but you can buy trousers with zips on the lower legs that turn them into shorts (I think they're quite popular with outdoorsy types who go hiking and climbing etc) and, when I was little, I owned a bubble jacket with removable sleeves. It was the height of sophistication, let me tell ya! Also, the 'cantilever' heels, have actually been a trend for years; I've seen vintage 'floating heel' shoes from the 1970s for sale on eBay and more recently, after Marc Jacob's inverted heels on the Spring 2008 catwalk, a lot of designers have experimented with inverting and even removing heels altogether!

Antonio Berardi, Marc Jacobs and Nina Ricci. Does anyone own shoes like these? How do you walk in them?!

Despite a few similarities with modern-day fashions, most of the outfits in the video have (sadly) not been made a reality in the noughties. I find it interesting that the designers in the video seem to have concerned themselves more with designing clothes which performed several functions rather than trying to predict actual trends for the future, but then I suppose that's quite a difficult task; if someone asked me what I thought people would be wearing in 70 year's time, I wouldn't have a clue! Even so, when it got to the point where that woman had a big torch tied into her hair, I did get a little bit hysterical with laughter. And the man! That poor, poor man! He had a phone strapped to his chest!

It got me thinking about some of the trends that actually have made the catwalks recently and what the people of the 1930s would have thought of them. If the concept of a dress made from 'transparent net' seemed whacky, imagine their reactions to these beauties;

(for your entertainment, I've added a mildly sexist narrative to accompany the photos, imagine it being spoken with a very clipped, RP accent.)

Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2007

"This fine filly doesn't leave much to the imagination in a dress made completely from steel. Unfortunately for her husband, he may need a can-opener to get her out of it."

Viktor & Rolf Spring/Summer 2010

"The ruffles on this jacket act as an excellent muffler for even the most delicate of ears. Now you can play your Glenn Miller records as loudly as you like without having to worry about deafening the little lady!"

Gareth Pugh Fall 2008

"The fabric of this gown is both flame-retardent and water-resistant. Perfect for even the clumsiest of cooks!"

Valentino Spring Couture 2010

"Eve may not have a very good sense of direction when she's out and about but you'll be able to spot her from a mile away when she's wearing this brightly coloured ensemble. Think you may have gone a bit overboard on the makeup there, Eve. Haha, silly Eve!"

Commes des Garcons Spring/Summer 2009

"A hat that covers most of the head and face will allow Eve to spend less time fussing over her appearance and more time worrying about what's really important, like tonight's dinner."

Haha, those foolish women, when will they learn?!