AN OASIS FOR THE REFINED MASCULINITY- ALFRED DUNHILL LUXURY MENS RETAILER

Today I realized that Christmas is less than 5 weeks away and I'm sure many of you, my readers, are already in panic in what to buy for our male relatives. Yes, finding the right present for grand dad, your father or your loved brother does not seem always the obvious choice. Living in London, the birth place of high class men's fashion I thought I would like to introduce you this time to one of the great gentlemen's heritage labels this beautiful city which has even a whole street dedicated to men's luxury fashion has created- Dunhill.

Like so many great companies Alfted Dunhill Ltd developed around 1900 ( to be precise 1893) by Alfred Dunhill who took over his father's saddlery business and seeing the the time of the horse was approaching his end he developed a line of accessories called 'Dunhill's Motorities'. The first collection included car horns and lamps, leather over coats, goggles, picnic sets and timepieces.

From this beginning there was no stopping for the company. Dunhill created a series of retail emporiums for men.

Dunhill AW 12 add campaign- Dunhill Voice- featuring real men of different ages and backgrounds. On the Dunhill website you can here each distinguished men talking and wearing Dunhill AW12 

Dunhill look book AW12- Dunhill is one of the few luxury companies left who exclusively just sell products for men! 

The Homes of Dunhill aim to represent the experience of luxury, allowing the customer to live, feel and breath the brand. This special retail space is separated in a range of services- which include bespoke tailoring, barber's shop, fine wine cellars, bar or restaurant, screening room and spa. The homes are in London, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

The London home of Dunhill- Bourdon House in Mayfair- is situated in a beautifully elegant Georgian mansion. The retail space is disguised as a gentleman's town house yet is a consummate retreat for men- the finest Dunhill collections surrounded by such services as Barber, Spa, Screening Room, Bar Lounge, Humidor and bespoke leather & menswear.

Bourdon House- formerly the town house of the Duke of Westminster- now on of Alfred Dunhill's Homes- a retail heaven for the refined masculinity 

A heaven of elegance- Dunhill's Bourdon House

The ground floor- here you can find the traditional Dunhill off-the-beg and tailored ranges including leather goods like holdalls and tote bags.

One way to get the inimitable Dunhill luxury into your everyday live or the live of other men is acquiring the wonderful pens and lighters made famous by none the less but James Bond. But a more affordable way to taste the gentlemen's live is by getting or giving away a Dunhill fragrance. This is still the most affordable way off adding an exclusive touch to a men's outfit. Dunhill perfumes was founded 1995 and right now offers  very successful fragrances to the modern stylish man. Three of them I would like to introduce to you as an inspiration to spoil yourself or your loved ones:

First you can discover the brand through Dunhill London: the signature fragrance:

dunhill London- a charismatic modern fragrance 

dunhill London stands for the sophisticated masculine British attitude of London. It is a powerful, masculine, luxurious fragrance and has that fruity scent that will keep you fresh all time. 

As second choice for you is dunhill Pursuit: the fragrance of adventure 

dunhill Pursuit- a fragrance that inspires adventure 

dunhill Pursuit delivers and uncompromising masculinity and re-creates images of wild unknown landscapes and great adventures. It is a peppery scent with citrus and warm spices- sensual and seductive.

And as a third option you can find dunhill Black: the fragrance for the gentleman 

dunhill Black-  an unashamedly masculine fragrance 

dunhill Black plays with sensual and emotional contrasts. It is elegant yet rugged- soft yet strong. It is a woody aromatic fragrance yet interspersed with nettle which gives it a refreshing and up-lifting note.

Alfred Dunhill is just the company which caters for all the satorial needs and more the modern gentleman expects from a true global and modern yet traditional luxury brand

70'S BEARDS AND WILD FURS- THE EVERLASTING ALLURE OF TOM FORD EYE WEAR FOR MEN

Ahh, I will never forget Tom Fords first show for Gucci 1995. Those velvet pants, 70's style skinny satin shirts erotically unbuttoned to show off your immaculate belly button, Kate Moss and Amber Valetta strutting under an indigo blue light & then Madonna at the VHI awards in the outfit, hot of the catwalk and then the 1996 fashion show with the amazing white sheath Halston- style dresses slashed to the naval...

This outfit changed the style of the whole Generation X- Madonna at the VH1 1995 Music Awards from top to toe in Gucci by Tom Ford

The iconic 1995 fall collection shot by Mario Testino

You still could wear it- Gucci by Tom Ford AW 1996

In 2004 after 15 years with Gucci and a stint as creative director at YSL he was powered out and in regards to problems with company who owned Gucci and YSL he left. The fashion world was shocked yet Tom Ford could not resist a long abstinence from fashion even with a promising film career starting with his direction of the highly acclaimed film A Single Man. Slowly but persistently he started  building his own brand Tom Ford. He first started with sunglasses later than expanding into very exclusive menswear and for a couple of years he is pack with women wear, perfume and cosmetics.

And exactly the sunglasses are one of my favorites  It just can not get cooler as with a pair of Tom Ford aviator sunglasses. For Fall Winter 2012-212, the designer presents seven new sunglasses frames and twenty one optical frames. The collection signifies just the best in eyeglasses craftsmanship and luxury with the typical super- trendy and super sexy Tom Ford seventies influences.

70's beards and furs yet so 2012- Tom Ford Eyewear add campaign AW 2012

I had a look around for you, my readers, and I found the e-retailer and independent gents boutique Jonathan Trumbull and Hatters from Norwich, UK who are offering great Tom Ford eye wear to excellent prices. I prefer these small retailers to the big ones since they very often sell great brands less expensive and you can even snatch items from the currents collection already up to 50% reduced ( just as a tip from a shopaholic). My choice from the Tom Ford AW 2012 eye wear collection from Jonathan Trumbull and Hatters is as followed:

Tom Ford Tortoise Shell Frame Silvano Sunglasses from a selection by Jonathan Trumbull and Hatters 

Tom Ford Black Charles Sunglasses from a selection by Jonathan Trumbull and Hatters

Tom Ford Silver Charles Sunglasses from a selection by Jonathan Trumbull and Hatters

Jonathan Trumbull and Hatters does not only offer Tom Ford eye wear for men- they also sell other great brands like Hackett, Armani, C.P. company and many more. They just know what the modern fashionable men wants- have a look!

WHAT DO YOU WEAR WHEN THE THE ICE CAPS ARE MELTING? - VIVIENNE WESTWOOD MEN A/W 2012 OF COURSE!

Once again I have just been flicking through all my fashion magazines and been browsing the internet's style websites in search of sartorial inspiration. This time I stopped at Vivienne Westwood- the crazy yet immensely creative ' Grand Dame of Punk'. Although (meanwhile even knighted) Dame Westwood started at some point of her career to scarily resemble her most hated adversary during the Punk heydays of the 1970's: UK's controversial ' Iron Lady' MP Margaret Thatcher, she stayed true to her unconventional and mega liberal  attitude towards politics, environment and of course her amazing design work.

Although I really admire her and I know that her collection reached cult status especially in Japan. Fashion's 'beautifuls' are spending enormous amounts of money for vintage pieces which are treated almost like religious icons and I think, there are even special collector's magazines out which just deal with vintage Westwood- just amazing for a fashion brand!

Yet the label was always a bit to much for my taste. Brilliantly designed but some times I think there is too much drama going on, especially in regards to her men's fashion. But not this time- not for AW 2012. For this winter season Westwood created a collection which really is very much wearable yet still showing all the designers love for intricate patterns, asymmetry and fascinating& suprising ways of pattern cutting. Yet she managed this time to skin down her ideas to the essentials although still keeping a wide variety of VW staples from suits to jeans knits.

Vivienne Westwood AW 2012- wearable yet quirky and stylish as Westwood should be! 

Vivienne Westwood AW2012- asymmetric cuts on formal suit jackets is very much Westwood's design language  

Vivienne Westwood AW 2012- street style influences are obvious and lightening up the collection which is, although a lot of formal wear and suits were shown, definitely not a historical collection. 

The collection might be much more wearable then many earlier collections, yet always count on Dame Viv's eccentricity and surprise factor. The collection was inspired by David Attenboroughs series 'Frozen Planet'. The models strutted down the catwalk with frozen blue lips and and icicles dangling down their beards reminding us that Westwood's further thoughts lead her to all those amazing 19th century gentleman explorers who some even wore tweed in order to fight off - 50 degrees Celsius with sometimes unfortunate deadly consequences....

Vivienne Westwood AW2012- frost bitten lips and iced beards- Westwood's style suggestion for the fashionistos going to explore stylish Norway or Greenland?

I hope I might have started an interest in you for Vivienne Westwood's AW12 collection, and as usual, I had a look around for you to find some of my favorite pieces from the collection from a good e- retailer. In my experience well edited independent boutiques like Jules B which also sell on the internet, are an excellent alternative in regards to the selection and very often to the price of the big department stores.  So here we go- my selection is as followed:

Vivienne Westwood AW12-  Blue Feather Print T-Shirt ( from a selection by Jules B  online )

Vivienne Westwood AW12- Brown Kaban Wax Utility Jacket ( from a selection by Jules B  online )

Vivienne Westwood AW12- Blue Logo Sweat Pants ( from a selection by Jules B  online )

Vivienne Westwood AW12- Red Merino Wool Double V-Neck Jumper ( from a selection by Jules B  online )

Vivienne Westwood AW12- White Striped Orb Shirt ( from a selection by Jules B  online )

Vivienne Westwood AW12- Grey Wool Check Blazer ( from a selection by Jules B  online )

I always try to give you, my readers, inspiration, yet of course, feel free have a look yourselves at Jules B brilliant selection of Vievienne Westwood AW12 items on their Westwood page. ...and discover also the other uber- chic contemporary brands Jules B has to offer.

OLYMPIC FEVER- FUTURE DESIGN TECHNOLOGY BY LUXURY LEISURE WEAR LABEL 'STONE ISLAND'

The London Olympics just finished and my brother constantly complaining that I do not feature more 'sporty' but still good designed clothes on my website I  find myself very much drawn to the realm of utility clothes and sports wear right now. Still I find it a bit easier to get good designed sportswear for women an area recently revolutionized by designer Stella McCartney for addidas.

For men I have found myself always intrigued by the design of the company Stone Island. Not only there add campaigns are brilliant with a very modern stylish edge. What I love about them is their way of always developing brilliant high tech fabric and making them into very wearable and most important stylish leisure and sport wear for the design conscious men.

Stone Island add campaign AW 2012- does not come minimalist artist Mondrian to your mind? 

The casual clothing brand Stone Island was founded 1982 and ever since it stands for extreme research into fabric and fibers combined with a new interpretation of uniforms and work wear. This constant striving for improvement led to developing of fabrics and production methods never before used in the fashion industry.

Jackets constructed in nylon monfilament, derived from technology of water filtration or thermosensitive fabrics which change color with the changes of the temperature and rayon light weight, vacuum coated with a film of stainless steel, used formerly in the aviation technology are just some examples how innovative Stone Island's approaches it design philosophy.

Both pictures: Stone Island AW 2011

If I got you interested now I found on the website of Repertoire, one of the best and largest online retailer of formal and casual designer fashion right now.  Here now my favorite pieces:

A sucker for hooded jumpers I just love this jumper-  the Blue Overhead Sweat Jumper 

Repertoire just offers a brilliant choice of basic Stone Island pieces on a very reasonable price scale. But is there a price for innovative & excellent fabrics and design?

The Blue Garment Dyed Lamy Nylon Hooded Jacket 

Stone Island does not only offer great outer wear or sweatshirts, it is also best known for exciting and brilliantly designed knitwear!

Blur Knitted Hooded Top 

If you liked what I chose please have a look on Repertoires Stone Island page. There a many more items for stocking up you stylish casual and sports wardrobe with amazing Stone Island pieces since a true 'Stylisto' is always ready to look stylish if at a fashion show or on a football field!

All items are from Repertoire Online

THE FASHION PHILOSOPHER AS FASHION STYLIST- 50'S INSPIRED SHOOT FOR YML AT ALL STAR LANES BRICKLANE

Two weeks ago I eventually had my first possibility to work as fashion styling assistant for stylist Nina Sobers on a 50's inspired fashion at the Bowling All Star Lanes off Brick Lane London for the publishing company Your Media London/ YML. I was so excited and it was so much fun working with Nina and the team at the shoot. Although I was the assistant, Nina just very much encouraged me to make my mark and lucky us, we got on very quickly and I had the feeling I got very quickly what Nina was looking for and she trusted me. Here now the pics:

Photographer  Daniele Melgiovanni
Stylist: Nina Sobers / Nina Sobers
Make Up:  Tatiana Zarubova/ Tatiana Zarubova 
Styling Assistant: Rajmund Bednorz/ Rajmund Bednorz 

Dresses: Paule Ka 
Coat: Dans- La- Vie through Blow PR 
Gloves: The Shop/ Brick Lane
Jewellery: Anton Heunis through Maggie Owen London
Shoes: Joanne Stoker 

A SKULL IN THE SUMMER CLOSET- ALEXANDER MCQUEEN SKULL SCARFS FOREVER!

There are few fashion items which I consider a must-have for every 'arbiter of fashion'. As you might know, I' am a sucker for shawls& scarfs and there is one which has not yet found its way into my scarf collection- the iconic Alexander McQueen Skull Scarf

The print became instantly famous as Kate Moss modeled the original skull print on a dress at the American Express Black Show and London's Earl's Court venue in 2004.

Kate Moss- stunning as ever wearing Alexander McQueen's signature skull print, which became an instant hit in  2004

The print has ever since been reworked across his collections and accessories lines yet the scarves have become a cult must-have after Moss took to wearing hers almost religiously to many of her admired outfits.

Scarfs are just so perfectly adaptable as you can see here -  Mrs Moss wears her favorite  Alexander McQueen  Skull  Print Scarf around the waist as a belt.... 

I just love this scarf because it can transform an outfit instantly from 'boring' to 'edgy' and it can be worn by both sexes. Considering the price of the scarf ( from around £ 100-£ 450)- it is a brilliant sartorial investment for a couple because both of you can wear it so it sort of halves the expenditure (and if you buy one for her as a birthday present, you have actually bought yourself one, too!). Just love it!

What can you say, ladies? McQueen scarf and sexy  Johnny Depp- the shawl is the perfect unisex accessory, isn't it?

The scarf's getting New York's royal fashion approval- Mary- Kate Olsen, the  ' goth'   part of the Olsen  Sisters, just loves her black and white version of the shawl...

Adored and loved ( maybe also as token of remembrance to the genius that was the late Alexander McQueen)  by the fashion blogger folk- here in yellow and black ...

...and here simple yet amazingly stylish- in blue& white. Do you understand now? The Alexander McQueen Skull  Print Scarf can make an outfit! 

The scarf is just brilliant for men who usually keep a simple wardrobe yet want to ' spice up' the look in an easy yet effective way now and then. The only problem with the scarf is the fact that it comes in a 'zillion' different print styles, colours and fabrics. Every season the creatives at McQueen think new ways to up-date their signature print. 

So, I had a look around and  I would suggest you two styles ( it does not matter if you are girl or a boy) which I found on one of my favourite fashion e-retailers and boutique Cruise Fashion - a brilliant independent luxury retailer from Edinburgh.

The first one is a red and black version of the print whereby the skulls are interrupted with a leopard print- how cool is that! Perfect for the summer month since made from silk and therefore beautifully light to wear. The black and red colour mix is dramatic best worn with just a plain tank top, a pair of tight drain pipe jeans and great stylish sandals or espandrilles. Makes an instant impression especially for going partying all night long.

The up-dated skull print version mixed wit a super trendy leopard print- just genius!

The Alexander McQueen Leopard& Skull Print Red Silk Scarf  as seen at Cruise/ Edinburgh-  it doesn't matter if you are a boy or a girl- this scarf adds glamour to every outfit!

The second suggestion is a black and white version. This model is maybe better if you are looking for a scarf which you can wear all day long. Yet again, although a bit moderate it gives the immediate impression that you one of the people who are ' in the know'- a true 'taste' person who just knows what you are putting around the your neck.
This makes me think- I never buy anything just because of the brand name only, honestly. I think the idea behind an item of fashion, the design and/or the fabric and the skill who created the item, are much more important than a brand name. But sometimes, very rarely though, I think to wear the right brand is necessary. This is the case with this skull print scarf- the print is just so iconic and it just belongs to Alexander McQueen! Therefore I would only wear the scarf made by McQueen and never a fake version. Is that the case, and you have the original, than it does not matter what brands you wear the scarf with.
As I said the black and white colour mix goes just with everything. I can see it perfectly well with a military green parka or camouflage jacket, a white t-shirt and jeans shorts together with a pair of Dr Marten's boots. A perfect outfit for a summer music festival! 

Alexander McQueen Skull Print White& Black Scarf- again seen at Cruise/ Edinburgh- the iconic  print by McQueen. You will wear it for many years, I promise, and you can share it with your partner! The skull print scarf, with its unisex appeal,  can be enjoyed by both- men and women!!

But as mentioned in the text above the scarf is being re-invented every season by the use of different colours,  print techniques and different fabrics. Furthermore the motif of the skull is very important to the McQueen brand. The skull it used to adorn jewelry, hand bags, dresses, high heels... and... and...and... the list goes on and on. Again, here Cruise Fashion offers a very well edited selection of Alexander McQueen 'skull accessories definitely worth checking out, just click here.