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.