bag viewer

Ouch. Well, I dig the 1950s/’60s square look — and even think the too-short-sleeves-and-pants-and-no-socks look he’s got going on works for him. But even if you don’t immediately love this particular look, small (rich) men should welcome this trend. Because what’s really interesting is that while his suits look very idiosyncratic (many would say bad) on Thom, his super-tall models, or even men of average height, those same suits look absolutely proportional on small men.

Is it just me or is there a shout-out to scrawny men everywhere hidden in the subtext of this spooky video on the TB site which portrays a funeral for an extremely tall male model?

The Fit: Not “normal” in the sense of your contemporary Men’s Wearhouse-type, Middle American boxy business fit — they’re just too cool not to stand out and raise a few eyebrows. You should be thoroughly familiar with all the “rules” of proper fit and timeless fashion before deciding to shell out for something as of-the-moment as one of these suits. That said, they are beautifully proportional for folks like us. It’s almost as if Browne completely reimagined the suit for the small man and then built it from the ground up. Although he never intended this, it’s the secret truth to his cut: There ain’t no Pee-Wee effect on someone of our height and build.

Which is exactly what Flusser comes round to saying in this New York Times profile of TB in October, 2006:

“Maybe if you’re 5-foot-6 and 140 pounds, you can pull it off,” said the men’s wear designer Alan Flusser.

Fluss’ fustiness aside, the article goes on to suggest that Browne’s distinctive silhouette is becoming something of a widespread trend. Let’s hope so — for all of us out there scanning the racks that are “5-foot-6 and 140 pounds.”

The only downside to the Thom Browne suit? They run about $3,000 to $4,000. Yep. Not a typo. I didn’t see the pricetag until after I tried on the jacket and I almost teared up. Staggering, I know (unless you bought a 2007 Honda hybrid last year). For that amount of money, you could just have one (or two or three) more traditional suits custom made (a great investment which I’ll talk about in future posts). But if you have the dough and you know what you’re getting into, fashionwise, it’s gotta feel exhilarating to be able to pick up a cutting-edge designer suit off the rack and have it fit.

The suits and jackets are available at Thom Browne’s new, appointment-recommended boutique in Tribeca and at Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, etc. For info on how you can score a cut-rate TB, check back here in a few days for Part Two of this post.

OK, this one’s for the hedge funders. I’m going to tell you about the one (and only) suit that fit me perfectly right off the rack. This thing felt like it was made for me. From scratch. Completely bespoke. Like someone sprayed little flecks of worsted wool onto my naked body and let it dry. Okay, it wasn’t that tight or anything, but it did fit perfectly. It was an unexpectedly religious experience. One that made me keenly aware that snaring the perfect fit is far too rare an experience for guys under 5-foot-7.

The suit was made by Thom Browne, an NYC-based designer who’s generated a lot of buzz over the past few years with his “shrunken suit” look. But he’s also roused almost as much anger. Alan Flusser speaking on The Sartorialist a year ago berated Browne’s line:

Those are the most irresponsible clothes I’ve ever seen in my 30 years in fashion. To charge that much money for a coat that is deliberately short . . . the whole thing is like, childlike.

An underlying trend for some years has been that of soft peach blush pink an expensive colour tone in the near neutrals range. One of the strong micro trends this year is the fashion look ‘underwear as outwear’ pieces. Black, white, blush, cream and charcoal are all used in these underwear outerwear fashion designs. 

Whatever the colour/pattern scheme all these hues are often found artfully placed in the natural construction sections of dresses.

Some micro fashion trends float past unnoticed by the majority.  Other looks catch the imagination of fashion followers and hang on for years. .

Monochrome 

is one of these looks. Now after being cocooned in black and grey for far too many years, new generations are rediscovering bright and lively colour combinations as earlier vibrant examples show.

Bold fashion colours are just that BOLD – they are foiled by everyday sensibility and monochrome black/white, neutral grey, taupe and cream.  Neutral fashion pieces are never very far away from any fashion story this season.

Pantone’s top 10 spring 2010 fashion colours for women are:- Turquoise, Tomato Puree, Fusion Coral, Violet, Tuscany, Aurora, Amparo Blue, Pink Champagne, Dried Herb and Eucalyptus.  For more details of the actual Pantone colour numbers for 2010.

Envisage sherbet colours, dresses, silk lace camisoles, pretty scallop edges, satin, lace, flounces, ribbons, bows and soft tones of shell pink.  Black set against pink blush all helps create see through lacy bra and corset effects and must-have underwear outerwear fashion looks.
Right – Pretty Romantic Designer Dress from Ralph Lauren – Available at select stores USA.

Picture champagne tones, diaphanous floating dresses, washed parachute silk and pretty girlish looks.  Think of Plisse fabrics, chiffon, cloque, and Chantilly lace. Every material can help create fairytale frocks with frothy frills, frou frou ruffles and flounces.

Sweetshop pastels, candy floss, sugar fondant, sorbet ice and cupcake colours, are all part of the new pretty.  But cute is not always edgy, so you may need to harden this look a little by bringing it back down to earth with utility touches for the modern world.  Studded accessories help harden up peachy looks.

Far Left – Republic SS10 Miso Collection – Pink Draped Dress – Republic Spring Summer 2010 Miso.
Centre Left – Rare Spring Summer 2010 – Three Colour Ruched Tube Dress REF:DG-RY22 at RARE.
Centre – Cream Dress with Decorative Bodice by Marks & Spencer – No details.
Centre Right – River Island Pink Dress – No details.
Far Right – Matalan – Et Vous Lace Detail Dress £25 – Matalan SS10 – Key Shapes. Stockist Tel. 0845 330 3330.

The dress – is clearly still with us and Mad Men sheath dresses in Betty Draper & Christina Hendricks styles now abound. But body con hugging fabrics and body con cuts dress use a multitude of fabrics that pull and push the figure into hour glass shapes.

If you want a rest from all the nipped in waist then cover up in style with a blouson casual or smock top. Pregnant women, the pleasantly plump and plus sizes will also be delighted with this blouse smock look. The line between blouse, smock, tunic and dress will often be hard to fathom. But this is a pretty look and will suit many women who long for the alternative comfort of a loose top over their midriff. Loose smock and blouson tops like these are especially comfortable on warm balmy days. They stretch your wardrobe by enabling mix and match combinations that can go from day into evening.

Above Left – Royal Blue/Sapphire Bloused Top from Religion.
Centre Left – Bloused Planet Digital Print Ruched Silk Blouse, Blue – £99. Available at John Lewis.
Centre Right – Matalan SS10 – Be Beau Print Halter Top £14 – Stockist Tel. 0845 330 3330
Far Right – Matalan Spring Summer 2010 Clothing – Et Vous Citrus Block Print Blouse £18.

Blouses and tunics drop past the waist to the hip, with some blousing to just above knee. Plenty of dresses are above the knee, but just as many below it.  Tunics have never looked more likely to morph into a dress.  You will ask yourself more than once this 2010, ‘Is it a dress or a tunic I am buying?’

Left – Evans – Aztel Printed Top- Available in Plus Sizes £27/€42 – Evans Spring Summer 2010 Clothing.
Centre – Monsoon Fusion Spring Summer 2010 – Multi Posie Dress £50/€85 Eire.
Right – Republic Spring Summer 2010 Clothing – Womenswear Miso Collection.

Care of your bag is a very personal concept.  I contacted the John Lobb company direct to enquire about caring for both my Dolce and Floto bags. 

For any cleaning you undertake, I suggest an assortment of quality soft non-abrasive cleaning dusters, plus a roll of quality soft, non-scratchy quilted kitchen paper.

Some people do nothing more than wipe their handbag with a damp cloth, whilst others pre-treat with anti stain and waterproof sprays such as Scotch Guard.  Many bag owners also suggest using products such as John Lobb Lotion.

Always apply leather conditioners to a cloth rather than directly onto the leather.  Only use the rain repellent after firstly conditioning the bag. Then apply the repellent in smooth continuous sweeping motions to avoid concentrated areas of product, which if uneven could stain a bag.

You may also like the restoration handbag services provided at Lovinmybags.com. Lovinmybags – specializes in handbag leather aftercare. They have developed their products for the delicate handbag leathers and they offer full handbag restoration services. They say they are seeing a lot of repairs needed because people have been using car leather polishes. Car leather polish has too high a pH and it strips off the finish on some leather bags. Anything to do with car or furniture care is not the best for today’s handbag leathers. Years ago it might not have been such an issue.

If you constantly change handbags consider buying a handbag liner made especially for the job.  Purpose made handbag liners such as these shown right enable you to change your handbag contents quickly moving everything in one go.  You can shift essential items such as keys and mobile phone in one smooth operation.  This is a good way to tackle contents if your designer bag has a special lining that you wish to protect from make up and other lotions. Each range is in several colours. 

Bag liners can be especially useful when on holiday.  The version of a special holiday bag liner, is designed to enable ease of access to extra items such as sun lotions.  Since the original banasoup.com site that gave me these images is no longer online I suggest you search Google for VIP hand bag liners. You will quickly find a bag website selling them at around £22 and £25.

There cannot be a woman who has not had a spillage of some kind in her handbag in her lifetime.  I used to have a spillage of some type small or large and ruinous about once a year.  I have become more careful in the past decade as it just became annoying.   Now I have got into the routine of using small easy view make up style bags within my bags to compartmentalise my must have items.  I have to say I do have my eye on one or two of these bag liners above as they do look perfect for the job.

However, don’t be obsessive with your designer bag.  It cost you a lot of hard earned money so use your bag and enjoy it.  If it cost you £400 and you use it everyday for a year that is good value compared to buying a special event dress that costs £400 that you wear no more than once or twice.

Likewise buy a top end bag because you like it, not simply because it is the latest ‘it’ bag.  Why pay £700+ for a bag style everyone else seems to have fake or real?   Just choose a bag you personally like and if you buy at the start of a trend or when a trend like studs is in full swing like now, you should at least get 2 seasons use out of it.

 
The season continues thick high-heeled shoes, fashion shoes stage sweeping changes create fashionable style, make more steps between sways. High-heeled shoes, let a woman of love and hate, she is really beautiful, not wearing habits, but also feel like walking on stilts, need some really kongfu, can let oneself beauty standout, In order to increase the comfort of foot thick soles, high heels before the design, high after walking without too strenuous and beautification of leg ministry line, thus gradually launched a new spring and summer in the thick thick soles high heels, generally with or thick soles wedge and California.
Especially rural wind fever, fashion, package money all big blow rural amorous feelings, the shoe is walked on return most representative California style, pure thick soles in relaxed modelling, bright face the wonderful time.

 
Summer comes, sandals are beautiful MM needed each sheet is tasted. Select the sandals, many girls think, as long as the trend is certain to tight can buy good sandals, wear a fashionable style, actually this idea is wrong! Only recognize that his foot, which is most suitable for this foot sandals, both to the current trend direction, can make their feet in this one season is more attractive by bloom!

Below are a few of the common problems, namely, ankle stout foot wide type, large, toes flush type, namely bone and flesh metatarsal in manipulation, which belongs to see you.

Flush on tiptoe
Strictly speaking, namely description: this foot is not defects, many MM has this foot, in addition to the delicate woman taste a bit awkward attempt cusp shoe, other styles are very good. What is worth mentioning, Lou peep-toe heels and a high degree of MM matching type. Tips: fish choose sandal shoes is most suitable for smooth mouth to deduce the lovely MM toe design, show the sandal of three toes design is just right, the mouth is too small or too metropolitan fish to the front feet wide, and destruction is double sufficient aesthetic feeling.

Voluptuous type,
Description: this namely a foot and wide feet ZuGu actually quite small, and are usually pretty white feet, but the problem lies in the flesh is more, look chubby baby fat have similar. Always can lovely girls want to change the route bipedal image will feel a little more difficult.
Tips: select sandals of popular experienced this season sandal perfectly segmentation, make double feet in visual small lot. The simple model T sandals with simple design, also suitable for fat, make your feet MM appears more and more elegant.

The skeletal foot type in
Namely description: this is a very common and the most frightening namely. Double foot inside near the big toe of big, two bones in an instant is destroyed the shape of the shoe, also ruin perfect dignified and delicate image, really annoying.
Tips: select sandals in the belly of feet, never say die MM is the administration of Victoria, is not a member of the squad as well as fashionable have impeccable! With this one season sandal, bipedal purchase plan on both sides of the tight design, package, mesh with brunet bud silk material such as first choice, metallic rivet, for flowers on a three-dimensional outspread feeling extremely, restore ancient ways to bind the material to disable the details of the eye, outstanding ZuGu hidden in the shoes of not too smart.

Bone type,

Description: in this namely with thin for beauty, with fine thin foot is not a perfect thing? What relation with problems foot? Actually anything acme will backfire. Too thin foot, blueveined outstanding, looming just phalanges, this also is a terrible condition.
Tips: select sandals feet too thin MM strong bones are often backfire, make the person produces uncomfortable feeling. Hide the blood vessels and phalanges become necessary, satin shoes and flower kink drape, vivid style of volume and rich flower pattern attracts sight, but also can make double foot looks more plentiful.

How to make myself look sexy and beautiful, but also does not suffer, ladies concern “subject”. Heel unfavorable exceed 4 centimeters to choose appropriate high-heeled shoes to ensure that they really comfortable shoes. High-heeled shoes, but in the hands or feet in such a heel pressure, reduce soft mat feet under pressure, The high-heeled shoes heeled height is unfavorable and exorbitant, had better not exceed 4 centimeters. Heel shoulds not be too small, or could not stable support, and a loose, shoes appropriate to the foot and toes.

Warm water to soak the foot: evening with warm water, can improve the bubble foot foot blood circulation. Usually, the strengthening exercises to strengthen ankle joint sprains should promptly to the hospital for treatment.

Note: the girl wear high heels. Women aged 15-16 foot bone age to mature, premature wear high-heeled shoes will make foot bone deformities happen, even in the pelvis, pelvis and mouth narrow adult delivery.