Luella's Guide to English Style by Luella Bartley

Being English is not about being obvious or sexy - it is about being interesting and illogically brilliant.

Luella Bartley, 2010

After a good few years of collecting style books I have finally grown weary of them, I mean there is only so much you can gain from reading about how to be chic isn't there?  Last year I kept hearing that hip designer, Luella Bartley was writing a book on English style which intrigued me as I am an admirer of her work but then it went all quiet. Last week while having my weekly browse through amazon I came across Luella's book which is called Luella's Guide to English Style so I snapped it up. Luella actually started off working in fashion journalism before she launched her collection so I was actually expecting the book to be along the lines of The Meaning of Sunglasses which is written by popular fashion journalist, Hadley Freeman which is an A to Z of fashion. In contrary, Luella's book is comprehensive and historic look at English style.

The book is divided into 10 sections which include a lengthy introduction on what English style is. According to Luella the English rose is a "multi- faceted dresser with an unrivalled eye for irony and English grannys for their quirky and batty style. She refers to them as fillies and gives a shout out to Agatha Christie, the fictional Miss Marple, Vivienne Westwood, The Queen and Maggie Thatcher. Luella takes us through her years at Central St Martins and onto her beginnings in the fashion industry where she was assistant at ES magazine to Lowri Turner. She also talks about landing a column at Vogue and eventually following her dream of launching her own fashion label. Then we are moved onto the seven stages of women which explores how the English lady gains her sense of style from her early years and then we move onto the great British Bosom. The next section delves into Birds of Britain where Luella talks about her favourite British birds (stylish brit women) who she defines as possessing all the traditional Brit qualities but are also inspirational. The birds include Princess Anne, punk icon, Poly Styrene, Marianne Faithful, Melanie Ward, Kate Bush, Justine Frischmann (lead singer of Elastica), the Duchess of Devonshire, Vivienne Westwood, Paula Yates, Vita Sackville-West, PJ Harvey, Mary Quant and Lily Allen. The next chapter, Love, Sex and Tomboys looks at the way the English figures deal with intimate things such as underwear, puberty and sex. This takes us to Tribes of Britannia and their different looks and cultures; punk, grime, Teddy Boys, New Romantics, post-punk as well as Hoxtonians where she gives us a fascinating look into the birth of Hoxtonian coolness. We are treated to a directory of English garb which is the lowdown on pieces of the English wardrobe from tea dresses to parkas to duffel coats and much more. Pretty in Pink talks about how iconic the colour pink has been in English fashion from punk, Thomas Pink, preppy pink and princess pink. Luella also looks at the sub cultures in England such as the creatives from art colleges, graduates of street style and the users of taste and irony. Last but not least is a list of iconic shops all over England.

Reading this book makes you realise exactly how well embedded and connected Luella is to various arms of brit creatives. Katie Grand and Giles Deacon were her class mates at Central St Martins and Justine Frischmanm used to be her landlady. These people are some of the most important figures in pop culture in the UK. Well connected or not there is no doubting Luella's knowledge on English style. Her philosophy is interesting; that any decent English fashionista cannot find their real self in a chic department store like Harvey Nicks unless they have served their apprenticeship in markets, high street, charity shops and jumble shops. She raises some really great points such as that young women pick the wrong icons to follow as oppose to following independent and original ones. At last someone who is not afraid to speak up against the invasion of the plastic princesses. There have been complaints that this book is too London centric but I think that is a bit unfair as Luella is London based. Luella's Guide to English Style is a fantastic gem of  a book that covers nuts and bolts in English style as well as the innovators and shapers that lead the way. The look of the book is very clever and is designed in an olde English style with a slightly distressed golden brown cover, there are gorgeous illustration of various English fashion icons but the image I like the best is of a country pile with a St Georges flag raised. The back of the book has words of David Bowie "They'll never clone ya." Which I think says it all.

Luella"s Guide to English Style is available to buy on amazon.

Shopping for Vintage by Funmi Odulate

"Vintage, schmintage - it's not the concept that bothers, it"s the snooty-faced justifications behind its recent election to the top of the fashion pyramid. Ever since people (aka Kate Moss) popularized vintage clothes about a decade ago her followers have come up with some rum old justifications for this trend."

Hadley Freeman, The Meaning of Sunglasses.

I have always been perplexed by the term 'vintage' and the way it has been placed onto every piece of clothing that ranges from 30 years old to just a few years. I appreciate that there are some amazing collectors items out there that are irreplaceable and to quote Rachel Zoe - to die for. However I fail to see how a shop can charge £100 for an old t-shirt that would have going for a mere 50p before vintage became hip. Well thank god for Shopping for Vintage: The Definitive Guide to Vintage Fashion which is written by journalist, Funmi Odulate. This gorgeous book gives the down low on vintage and tells you how to separate vintage clothing from that which is antique, retro or simply secondhand. With contributions from the likes of Hilary Alexander to Miuccia Prada, this book also contains hints and tips on what to look for and how to haggle when you find a great vintage piece. I caught up with Funmi to find out how life was treating her on and off the vintage track.

What was the idea behind Shopping For Vintage?
My initial inspiration behind this book was purely selfish. I wanted a book that would tell me where to find vintage shops and markets worldwide. I couldn't’t find one so I thought I would create one and that’s basically how it began.

There has been a lot of ambiguity about what 'vintage' actually is. Can you tell me how you define it?
Vintage is really anything older than a quarter of a century.

How much research went into compiling the list of shops together?
More research than you would believe! It took years. This included travelling around many cities to actually check them out.


How did you go about getting your book deal? Did you pitch it to Quadrille Publishing?
I sent my idea to an agent, they rang me up the next day and they clinched the deal with Quadrille.

We all know that vintage is the new Black but people like yourself have been on the ball for years. Do you think that there are a lot of fake vintage lovers out there?
Gosh I don’t know if I can be pompous enough to label someone a ‘fake vintage lover’. Yes I’ve loved vintage way before I knew what ‘vintage’ was. Back then it was just secondhand clothes. But hey. You like what you like. If someone likes something and it happens to be vintage then all power to them.

You have worked for all the top end glossy magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar - how did you start out as a journalist?
I basically started out by doing work experience at Elle Magazine and worked my way through that route. That is just about the only way to do it.

Tell me whose style you admire?
It varies – lots of people from Julia Restoin-Roitfeld to Dot Cotton to Ebony Bones to Michelle Obama to Chrissie Hynde to Kelis to Kanye West to Nigella Lawson. All for very different reasons. To be honest most of the people’s styles I admire are not even famous.

What is the fashion item that you would just die for?
Die is such a strong word hahaha! However, I am loving this jacket from Balmain right now. I also love Marni’s new collection for autumn winter , Lanvin and Chanel are super gorgeous and vintage Yves Saint Laurent and vintage Bulgari jewellery do it for me every time. I’d also like a vintage Rolex. Okay this list could get VERY long.

Describe your own personal style.
I always find this quite a tough question. It’s a real mix; the best way to describe it would be in terms of designer’s styles. For day time it is very Marni meets Bottega meets vintage and for evening its Yves Saint Laurent meets Lanvin.

Describe a day in the life of Funmi Odulate.
At the moment I am the Editor of the Browns website so everyday is different. A mix of meetings, working on editorial, choosing pictures from a mammoth fashion shoot my stylists have shot etc etc. It really does vary.

What are you working on at the moment?
As well as Browns I write fashion, arts and beauty features for other publications and am currently working on a literary novel.

Shopping for Vintage is available to buy from amazon.

Win a FREE copy of The Meaning of Sunglasses by Hadley Freeman

Hadley Freeman is the diminutive Deputy Fashion Editor of The Guardian whose witty observations have won her the hearts of young fashionistas all over the world. Every fashion desk has their bright spark - you know the person who holds the end up and brings in all the punters. With The Telegraph it is Hilary Alexander, The New York Times have Cathy Horyn, the International Herald Tribune with Suzy Menkes and the shiny towers at Farringdon, London have the New York born Freeman. In her spare time she contributes pieces to Vogue and also penned a book about the psychology of fashion. The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to (Almost) All Things Fashionable has been described as "an A-Z fashion for women who love clothes but don't take the fashionista world too seriously." The book will be released in paperback this week and to celebrate this those lovely people at Penguin are giving away copies to five lucky readers. How do you get one? Just send me an email to ondolady@googlemail.com and we will send the book out to you.

The Meaning of Sunglasses is released on Thursday 5th February.

Kate Moss: Style

Over the last few years style trends such as knee length boots, skinny jeans, flat ballet pumps, the cape and Mary Jane shoes have been seen on all and sundry and they have one person to thank - Kate Moss. The sight of the famous supermodel wearing these items has played a big part in their popularity. Part bio and part style book – Kate Moss: Style delves into the wardrobe of one of the most iconic woman in the world. We are given the stories behind Kate’s wonderful outfits, where she really shops for her clothes, who her inspirations are and what exactly her input is to her line at Topshop. As you can imagine a whole range of fashionistas have contributed quotes to this books; stylistas such as Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld, Matthew Williamson, Alexander McQueen, Britt Ekland, Katie Grand and many more all add in their two pence worth.

Fashion journo, Angela Buttolph has been buzzing around on the scene for a long while – her stints have included the Evening Standard, i-D, Vogue and Grazia. She is one of those faces that pops up on TV now and again offering her opinion on fashion culture but she has never really made an impression on me unlike other fashion peeps such as The Telegraph’s Hilary Alexander or The Guardian’s Hadley Freeman. Well that is all in the past now because I am truly smitten with Angela and her delicious book. As far as I am concerned she has taken a really tricky task of creating a riveting book on Kate Moss based on quotes from past interviews in various publications with gusto. Ms Moss is so famous that there are very few people out there who do not know the ins and outs of her personal and public life but Angela manages to present the Moss story in a way that is refreshing and compelling. Weighing in at a massive 198 pages, Kate Moss: Style did look like a very daunting read but I was hooked from the very first line. The writing, which is sharp and crunchy, is a product of fantastic research into Kate’s early years in South London, onto her life as a supermodel and then her evolution as a designer. The book also has wonderful typography, great captions and captivating images that are to die for. Kate Moss: Style maybe a celebration of the model’s life in fashion but it is also a wonderful celebration of fashion journalism.

Kate Moss: Style is available in all good book stores.

You can check out Angela Buttolph’s chic website here.

The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable

Ok, brace yourself because this is a heavyweight of a style book. Fashionista journo, Hadley Freeman's writing debut is on the ethos of fashion industry and all other elements. The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to Almost all Things Fashionable is an A to Z of fashion with a twist. It does not cover the all and sundry of fashion but topics and subjects that the author finds intruiging. This approach results in a very funny, witty and very well researched book. As an officiando of The Guardian and ultimate style mag, Vogue, Ms Freeman certainly knows her stuff. However, unlike other fashion journos, she posseses a look on the industry that is cynical and analytical. Freeman like her books teaches you how to embrace the fun in fashion and not to take it too seriously. I mean it is only clothes right? Ok as well as shoes, handbags etc. Every echelon in the style stakes is covered here; vintage, music, film, fashion designers and even a certain Kate Moss. Normally I do not care for blurbs on press releases but the statement issued from the PRO that this title 'shucks off its imposing mystique of fashion and makes it relevant to people beyond the usual Vogue readership' is true to its word. Hadley takes fashion from the snooty elevators and brings it right down to grass roots level with her delightful entries.

The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable is published by Viking and out in February.

Life Style: How to Pin Down the Pin-up Within You

Ok I find this book very confusing. Glamour girl cum TV presenter cum Actress, Kelly Brook has penned a new book simply called, Life Style: How to Pin Down the Pin-up Within You. First of all I am getting a tad bit bored of all these super long titles that dominate style books. We have Victoria Beckham's, That Extra Half Inch: High Heels and Everything in Between, fashion journo, Hadley Freeman's, The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to Almost All Fashionable and countless others. What's up with that?! Can't style writers just conjure up a simple title that sells the book? Anyway back to Kelly, Life Style tells us all about her life and displays all the influences that has played a part on her childhood and career. The book is divided into two sections; Part one is Life and Part two is Style. The first part depicts her experience at stage school, Italia Conti, her short stint at The Big Breakfast and her entry into Hollywood. The style aspect comes in shape of features on Kelly's Hollywood heroines such as Sophia Loren, Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe. None of the names here are surprising as they are all buxom beauties like Kelly herself.

This book seems to be a bit of a jack of all trades but master of none. It can't seem to make up it's mind as to whether it is an auto biography or a style book. In the initial part we have Kelly harping on about being demonised by the press on The Big Breakfast and then she is talking about her outfits on Celebrity Love Island. I think the main problem is that Kelly, as popular and pretty as she is has not quite had the sort of career that warrents a riveting bio but at the same time she is not up in the style echelons to be taken seriously in the fashion stakes.

As noted in the press release it is pointed out that the book is 'packed with stunning, never-before-seen photographs.' Hmm well that is indeed true, although I cannot comment on the 'never seen before' aspect as I do not follow Kelly's career much. Rest assured that the publicist is true to her word about the photography, most of it is amazing and contains a lot of pictures of Kelly posing in skimpy attire. However while reading the book these images did make me feel like a bit of predator. No doubt there are plenty of males who would give their right arm to swap places with me. I think this book would make a great Xmas pressie for someone who is a huge Kelly Brook fan and I mean huge!!

The Meaning of Sunglasses and a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable

Not content with doing the ghost writing thing for people such as Victoria Beckham, uber fashionista, Hadley Freeman has gone and written her own book. The Meaning of Sunglasses and a Guide to Almost All Things Fashionable is a book that covers the humour, eccentricity and joy of fashion. Freeman who is The Guardian’s deputy fashion editor co-wrote Ms Beckham's style book, That Extra Half an Inch, High Heels and Everything in Between. In her own book she goes beneath the mystique of fashion and the cliquey culture and more or less brings it to the masses. However, take note, The Meaning of Sunglasses is not meant to be an A-Z of fashion or a guide to wearing clothes. Its USP is its irreverence. So there you go, another one to add to my long list. Boy is that coffee table is getting heavy. Hadley’s book is expected to hit the stores next February and is published by Viking.