5 Years Frankly

Gotye's 'Heart A Mess' is playing softly on the background as I try to sit straight up and write this post. It suits the melancholy feeling that is lingering through my thoughts. The event yesterday was the last one on my social agenda before my full attention will be pointed towards the exams. Just books, until the end of July. I can only be thankful that this last event was such a warm and classy one.

5 years of Annelies Braeckman's  'FRANKLY by AB', 10 complete collections. The Fall-Winter 2013-2014 season is a milestone in the designer's fashion career and to celebrate that, she reinterpreted her favorite pieces of the past years. Result is a remarkably strong collection. As usual, the designs are powerful though simple. The colour scheme includes mostly dark tones like black and dark blue, with a splash of bright orange and deep purple.

Thank you Annelies for the event and the warm welcome we received!

It is always a pleasure meeting you again! :)

For more info, visit the site frankly.be

Read about my visit to the FRANKLY pop-up shop here.

THX for reading!!

Foster&Son

Do you still remember the London blogger's trip I went on, a few weeks ago? My first post was about famous shirtmakers Turnbull&Asser. The second and last brand I would like to highlight in a post, is age-old shoemaker Foster&Son.

As far as the memory of many generations of British gentlemen stretches, Jermyn Street 83 only means one thing; shoes! And not just every pair of shoes, no. What we are talking about here, might very well be the best shoes in the world!

It is highly heart-warming to see that in the fast-fashion-dominated industry, there are still companies that hold on to a strong interaction between producer and costumer. For example; whenever a gentlemen orders a pair of shoes at F&S, a craftsman makes a last (or shoetree) that exactly resembles the footshape of the gentlemen. Just like they did a hundred years ago. As you can imagine this is quite a  time-consuming method. But the quality of the fitting is accordingly impeccable.

Once the correct shape is achieved, the leather of choice is applied and the shoe slowly gets it's form. Needless to say F&S only uses the best leather available. The sewing of the different pieces of leather is done by hand, as is the piercing of the brogue holes. The whole process takes about 7 months. And it all happens in a tiny tiny workplace above the shop. Which, by the way, can only be reached through a small staircase, hidden behind a mirrored wall board in the shop.

The result are shoes like these; every men's dream. 

Dream, indeed. A bespoke pair of shoes starts from £3000. But since there is a waiting list of over 5 months to get a pair, many men around the world think this a fair price. And can you blame them?

Thankfully for us, humble plebs, F&S also offers a more affordable range of ready-to-wear. All those shoes are made by manufacturers in Northampton. Like these gorgeous Martini glass loafers.

 If one would want to buy me these as a present, I wouldn't return them. ;)

Special Thanks to 

Sister PR, especially Susie for guiding us

the Fostr&Son team for the very warm welcome

Eurostar, especially Jasmien, Camille and Anne for getting us where we needed to be

Site St James: www.stjameslondon.co.uk
Site Foster&Son: http://foster.co.uk/

Press Days 16

Thursday were Press Days for fall-winter 2013! With Ibe from 'MaddemoiselleRossele' and before noon also Astrid from 'ThankGodItsFashion' we hopped from Marnix&Ally to MediaMania to Comprendo to Tosca to UPR. Plan was to be green and use public transport all day. As if. We ended up taking cabs from one pr agency to the next. Fashion crew much? ;)

Kennel & Schmenger

When I was editing the pictures I was astonished by how many innovating things we came across that day. I decided to pick my 16 favorites that will give you an idea of what to expect next season. I will highlight some of these brands later on this year in separate posts.

Sock You

O-my-bag

Bluette

LN Beanies

Marie Turnor, sold at Baroness O

Pinko

Kate & Jules

Adidas x Stella McCartney

Titi and the German Kid

Polder

Patrizia Pepe

Dolly & Daisy

Nathalie Vleeschouwer

Honoré des Prés, sold on Bio'ty Lab natural beautyshop

Filippa K

As you see, most of these pieces are accessories. Part of the reason is that 6 out of 16 pieces are from Marnix&Ally PR. They are the PRagency I connect with most lately. Their brands are mostly Belgian-based, always innovating, produced with care for nature and manufacturers. But  they mostly do accessories. 

Second reason is that this was the first time I attended the press days. I have no experience at all with this, so when I entered a show room I walked straight up to the pieces which catched my eye most. As you can see, those were accessories. Next time I will try to look more closely at clothes too.

Third reason; clothes on hangers are much harder to photograph than say a clutch or a bracelet. Plus, most showrooms are quite full of stuff. It is hard to find good backgrounds for your pictures. Agencies should provide white walls with hangers so it is easier to take pictures of the clothes. Just a tip for next season ;)

Thanks to Marnix&Ally, MediaMania, Comprendo, Tosca PR and UPR for the invites!

Thanks to Astrid and Ibe for coping with my craziness all day ;)

Turnbull&Asser

Last Saturday a bunch of bloggers were invited by Sister PR and Eurostar to discover Jermyn street in the St James' district in London. We visited tailors, shoemakers, hatters,.. as a tribute to the style of 'The Great Gatsby', Baz Luhrmann's latest movie. On this blog I will write two posts about the two brands that sparked my imagination most. You can read a complete overview of the day on the side-blog, SIDETRACKED.

The first brand I wanted to talk about, is Turnbull&Asser.

For over 140 years T&A have been making bespoke shirts for the most elegant of gentlemen. Costumors include Marc Jacobs, Pierce Brosnan, and even The Prince of Wales; this year will be the 40th year of head tailor Mr Quinn's Royal Warrantholdership. If that isn't a garantue of quality, I don't know what is. 

If you have seen the 1974 movie of The Great Gatsby by Jack Clayton, you will remember the famous scene where Jay Gatsby throws all his shirts in the air. Daisy Buchanan (played by Mia Farrow) bursts out in tears and proclaims that these are the most beautiful shirts she has ever seen. Well, those shirts were all Turnbull&Asser.

The process of making your perfect tailor-made shirt takes you through a few steps. First comes the measuring. The most professional of tailors take your measurements and then put them down in a pattern on brown paper. Those patterns and measurements are kept in the archives. So if you want to order more shirts in the future, they already have your details, and you can skip the first steps. After that you choose your fabric. T&A only uses 100% cotton made by Thomas Mason and of the highest quality available. 

After that the whole package is sent to the sewing ateliers in Gloucester. When your shirts are put together you wear and wash them once and then you go back to the store for a final fitting. Sometimes shirts alter a bit by wearing or washing them, and this way they make sure they fit just perfectly. This whole process takes about eight weeks. 

Next to shirts,Turnbull&Asser also offer a range of custom-made gloves, belts, umbrella's,.. And of course all pieces can be embroidered with your name, symbol or monogram.

The first order always consists of six shirts, which cost circa 225£ a piece. After that you can order them per one. This might seem quite an investment at first, but you really get a lot in return. First of all there is of course a shirt that fits your body like no other on this planet. But next to that, you receive a splendid service. For example; when you are tired of the collar you just bring your shirt back to the store, and they put on another one. That is something you won't find at your common Armani store. And to top it off, there is the very special feeling you get by wearing a bespoke Turnbull&Asser shirt. Or as a shop assistant put it; "When you put on a Turnbull&Asser, you become a different person."

And that is something we all want from time to time, don't we?

Special Thanks to 

Sister PR, especially Susie for guiding us

the Turnbull&Asser team for the very warm welcome

Eurostar, especially Jasmien, Camille and Anne for getting us where we needed to be

Site St James: www.stjameslondon.co.uk

Site Turnbull&Asser:  www.turnbullandasser.com

From Birth to Blog

There are certain phases a blogger goes through on his way to being a valued member of the blogosphere. Do you still remember the first time you clicked that 'POST' button? I do. I was scared, and a little ashamed. For months nobody looked at my posts. I had no readers at all. It took me over a year before I told anyone I even had a blog.

But after a while you think "Ok, this might be good for me". You start building a network on twitter, some people become regular visitors of your blog. Day after day your confidence grows. When you read something interesting, or see a special happening or visit a gorgeous expo you don't say to yourself anymore "Oh I need to tell that friend or that friend what just happened" No. You say to yourself "I need to blog this!" And that is, according to me, the mindset of a real blogger.

Time rolls on. You dare to take initiative; ask the shopowner if you could maybe take some photo's for (scary word!) 'your blog'. You do things with the sole intention of making a blog post out of it. You take on a few more social networks. Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr.. Even a facebook page. Your posts start taking a certain course, you start to build a niche between the others. And people are appreciating what you do. 

Invites for blogevents, shop openings, collection previews etc come in. At first you can't believe what is happening. "Is this for me? This must be a joke. My blog sucks compared to the others." You stress about what you are going to wear. Go shopping. Change your mind again. Shop more, and end up wearing something that has been in your closet for years, but which you feel good in. You meet fellow bloggers, 'colleagues'. With some of them you immediately feel the rivalry. Others become friends.

This is the stage I am at. And then these arrived..

And suddenly things start to get serious. Those dreams you never dared to tell anyone.. You know which I am talking about, don't you? They start getting more real every day. More real with every invite you receive, every offer from a brand, every single new follower. And your chest feels like it could burst of confidence and happiness!

But next to proudness, this can also be a time of self-reflection. Last monday in Antwerp I had a good talk with a dear friend. According to him, my posts were getting more superficial. Too much 'wow gorgeous pretty amazing all-is-good" The thing that would normally make me puke. 

This came as quite surprise. But when at home I looked at my latest posts, I understood what he meant. I have taken on the habit of only writing about things I liked. For example, when I go to an event that -in my opinion- could have been a whole lot better with a bit more effort from the brand or PR agency, I just don't write about it. Whereas the right thing to do, would have been the writing of a critical piece. And pointing out what they could do better next time. 

I have become too affraid to become persona non grata with the brands and agencies. Which is exactly what Suzy Menkes &co have been warning us about. 

Something to reflect on..