Double Denim

It’s one of those trends that divides opinions but from the Catwalks to Street Style, it’s evident that double denim has taken the sartorial world by storm. I live in denim. When I’m not wearing my denim jacket over a little sun dress, I’m usually in my skinny jeans but I’ve never been tempted to double up on my denim. I feel the time has come to give it a whirl.

The first time you wear denim head to toe, chances are you'll feel like you're doing something wrong. the key is to wear different washes with the darker wash on the bottom. We all remember the Britney and Justin denim disaster of 2001. Let’s not repeat that. Also, try to break up all the blue with some feminine accessories like a long delicate necklace, a great cocktail ring or an unstructured shoulder bag. Most importantly, have fun with it and make it your own. Its versatility is one of the reasons why we all love denim so much. Alexa Chung was recently pictured in Vogue working the look to perfection as usual.

Photo: Danny Martindale/WireImage

To celebrate the trend, Bambah vintage Boutique is hosting an in store Denim on Denim event on Tuesday the 22nd March. The boutique will be transformed into a vintage denim haven for the day. Get stuck into racks upon racks of unique skirts, jackets, waistcoats and jeans (of course). If you’re new to vintage, Denim is a great way to start. You’ll get the thrill of owning a one off piece coupled with the benefit that it’ll easily slot into your wardrobe.

See you there!

Double Denim

Can You Separate Art from the Artist?

Earlier this week a very concerned reader wrote in to Hadley Freeman from the style section of the Guardian asking if it was ok to buy Dior. She was obviously worried about being branded a Galliano sympathiser in light of his Antisemitic tirade and subsequent firing. For Freeman the answer was a simple ‘no’, going on to say that ‘the fancy term in fashion land for wearing a designer's clothes is "showing support", eg: "Tom Ford's such a dear friend so I always try to show support for him." Ergo, perhaps now is not the time to "show support" for Galliano’.

Image via designscene.net

I personally can’t relate to this particular dilemma as there isn’t much Dior in my wardrobe. However, it did get me thinking…

-Roman Polanski sexually assaulted a 13 year old girl in the 70s but he went on to direct great films like ‘The Pianist’

-Christian Bale just won an Oscar despite the fact that he launched an expletive filled tirade against a crew member on set a couple of years ago

-Chris Brown still has a music career despite the highly publicised physical abuse that he inflicted on Rihanna.

Yes, they all initially suffered some backlash but their scandals didn’t spell the end of their careers. I suppose a distinction is made when comments or actions are racially charged. Just look at Mel Gibson. Once one of Hollywood’s biggest players, his numerous racist rants have all but ended his career. His latest film release 'The Beaver' has been pushed back six weeks in order to distance the project from his latest scandal. If the film doesn't do well it's unlikely that his career will ever recover.

Although John Galliano has disgraced himself, he does (with the exception of Nicole Kidman’s Oscars dress) make beautiful and supremely well-tailored clothes. We were reminded of his artistry at last week’s Dior show at Paris fashion week. Is this the last we’ll see of him? I doubt it. Fellow designers, high ranking fashion insiders and celebrity clients have continued to stand by him and excuse his behaviour. Who knows? After rehab, repentance and some time, it might once again become acceptable to ‘show support’ for Galliano.

Can You Separate Art from the Artist?

The Results Are In

With Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosting the Oscars this year, expectations were high. As they came on stage we were told that this was supposed to be the ‘hip and cool’ Oscars. I’m sorry Anne Hathaway but when you say that about something you’re doing, it immediately becomes the opposite. I wasn’t impressed with their hosting efforts. It was awkward from start to finish. I mostly blame Franco, which is hard for me to say because I’m a fan of his. He just didn’t seem quite with it and Anne tried really hard to compensate by being extra goofy. Anne got a chance to shine when she did a little musical number but that was it. Anne, you’re at the Academy Awards. Don’t do a shimmy to show off the tassels on your dress, don’t reference drinking games and don’t get changed into loads of ugly dresses. Anyway, the Academy Awards are about movies and the people who make them.

The winners of the big categories are as follows:

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, The Fighter

Best Supporting Actress

Melissa Leo, The Fighter

Best Actor

Colin Firth, The King's Speech

Best Actress

Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Picture

The King's Speech

All in all I think the winners were deserved. I’m especially happy about ‘The King’s Speech’ winning Best because it shows how invaluable the now defunct UK Film Council is/was. If the producers had waited another year I doubt we would have seen Colin Firth up on stage last night.

Highlights:

-Colin Firth and Christian Bale’s acceptance speeches. Their eyes got a bit sweaty. Aww…

-Kirk Douglas being a legend

-Florence Welch singing

-Mellissa Leo saying the F swear. She’s the first person to use it an Oscars acceptance speech.

-Halle Berry in Marchesa. Stunning.

Lowlights:

-James Franco. Great actor, bad bad Oscar host

-Nicole Kidman wearing a Dior monstrosity. I’ll dream about it tonight and wake up in a cold sweat.

-Natalie Portman saying that ‘her love’ had given her the best role of her life. Really? Is she sure it wasn’t her role in ‘Leon’? That was pretty good.

-Gwyneth Paltrow ‘singing’

-No nomination for the brilliant ‘Waiting for Superman’ documentary. The PS 22 kids singing at the end of the show just served to make the omission glaringly obvious.

Until next year…

The Results Are In

The Good Designer, the Bad Behavior and the Ugly Bag

Over the weekend John Galliano’s mouth got him into a spot of trouble. Well, a lot of trouble. Galliano was arrested on Thursday night after getting into an altercation with a couple seated near him at a Paris nightspot. Galliano (allegedly) used a racially charged language towards the couple in question and made scathing remarks about the woman’s boots and handbag. The House of Dior reacted by suspending the designer while the incident is being investigated. The couple have decided to press charges and Galliano in turn has filed a defamation suit.

Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters

The fashion community is divided with some saying that he was on his own time when the incident happened and others saying that his actions, regardless of where or when they take place reflect on the Dior brand. Regardless of whether or not the couple in question were provoking him, it’s totally inexcusable to use racist slurs.

As for the future of the House of Dior without Galliano? We’ll have to wait and see. With a show scheduled for this Friday, the design team must be scrambling to ensure that everything goes off without a hitch. The fact is, until the investigation is concluded, all we can do is speculate. If the allegations are true, I agree with Franca Sozzani, editor of Italian Vogue who says this is a problem that goes beyond fashion. Galliano is an extremely influential figure in a highly coveted position. This isn’t the type of behavior we want young people to look up to and certainly not what we expect from someone who heads a brand like Dior.

At least he’s still designing Kate Moss’ wedding dress. She knows all about personal scandals and rehabilitating her public image. Maybe she can give some tips…

The Good Designer, the Bad Behavior and the Ugly Bag