Arabella- founder of Love-Worn.com

Name: Arabella Gubay
Age: 25
Occupation: Freelance writer and founder of www.love-worn.com
Hometown: have lived in Shoreditch, East London for the last five years

1. How would you describe your style? What are you wearing today?
Firstly: eclectic. I love vintage but am not a purist so am happy to wear a sixties silk jacket with a Breton stripe top, some cigarette pants and a seventies gold-tone pendant or one of my Nana’s old YSL pencil skirts with an American Apparel t-shirt and a Vanessa Bruno wrap around coat.

That said, I am a fabric purist and avoid anything synthetic like the plague. I believe in buying the very best fabrics you can afford - silk, cashmere, wool, cotton - as they wear better, feel nicer, and look more expensive.

Today I wore a deep purple merino wool sweater dress from Uniqlo, a wool/cashmere coat by Vanessa Bruno, 60 denier opaques, some patent leather Topshop ballet pumps, a black tote with gold hardware by NYC designer Aleya and some vintage wayfarer style sunglasses by Linda Farrow.

2. Where do usually shop for clothes? Favourite Place/ Store?
Portobello Market, Blondie, Absolute Vintage and The Vintage Fashion Fair for vintage; on the high street, Cos, Topshop and Uniqlo; and in the rare instance that I buy designer, Vanessa Bruno, Dries Van Noten or the great dame herself, Vivienne Westwood.

3. What will you be wearing next season? Or believe is going to be a big trend?
I usually try to avoid trends, as I prefer classic pieces that don’t date so will be investing in good basics - silk jersey tees, well cut jeans, a good black blazer, beautiful leather sandals - and mixing these up with vintage accessories.
Right now I’m on the lookout for the perfect solid silver Victorian cuff and some Victorian gold pendant earrings as well as an embroidered Art Deco silk jacket. But then, I’ve been looking for one of those for years…

4. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Hobbies?
Photographing, writing and scouring car boot sales for antiques. I’m just about to move house and am finding myself drawn to interiors, trying to reconcile my slightly eclectic taste with the practicalities of decorating a home.
I’m also trying to find a way to mix vintage/antique pieces - interiors wise - with modern items like I do in the way I dress. I don’t know why but I find this fascinating. I suppose I’m a bit of a bricoleur!

5. What is your Favourite film?
Fashion wise? Breakfast at Tiffany’s - just beautiful!

6. What is your Favourite music?
Ooh, tricky. I’m totally indiscriminate when it comes to music. Bjork, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Cat Power, the usual suspects I suppose. And I love pop music, you can’t beat a bit of Girls Aloud or Justin Timberlake at the gym!

7. Any tips, quotes or advice you believe in or live by?
Be yourself and be nice. I think that about sums it up.

www.Love-Worn.com is an online vintage boutique which puts an end to early mornings spent scouring markets for exquisite vintage accessories and brings beautifully edited collection of love-worn pieces quite literally to your fingertips. Go check it out!

Daily Top Tip: no. 9

Button Up

Buttons- I must admit I am a bit of addict (some may put it as an obsessive) when it comes to them I have plenty all in variations of colours sizes and shapes (I nearly jumped for joy when a neighbour recently gave me a whole tin full of them!) Although buttons have there practical purposes I love how large sailor buttons placed in a double breasted arrangement on a blue knit can totally transform an otherwise plain dull item. Best places to source your buttons are markets, haberdasheries and John Lewis of course. Prices vary but a special ornate button can really make an expensive item look like its worth thousands, it's small finishing touches that make the difference. If you have updated some of your old disregarded pieces by using buttons I'd love to see any pictures of them!

Girls on Top- More blog coverage

The lovely Lisa at The Sassy minx recently did a blog post including detail of the What Katie Did a/w 09 Lingerie range (josephine below- grrrrougeous!) And check out the fantastic interview with the delightful Katie (yes there is actually a Katie behind the What Katie Did). I'm planing to have a little Q&A session with the lady herself also so if there is anything you would like to know or have any burning questions please let me know and i'll put them to her!

Here is the blog post from the sassy minx- check out there Über glamourous retro site www.sassyminx.com

I am doing star-jumps of joy (in my undies, natch) as I scored a li’l face time with the queen of faux vintage lingerie and hoisery, Miss Katie Halford, the tres fabu lady behind What Katie Did.

Not only is the prettilicious What Katie Did collection available online, www.whatkatiedid.com, it can be purchased at their flagship boutique in the heart of London’s Portobello Road – damn, it’s a pretty shop! It’s like a really old fashioned corsetorium where you’ll be fitted correctly and advised by knowledgeable staff – if, like us, you’re totes retro-hearted and love, love, love pretty lingerie go visit – tell ‘em Sassy Minx sent you!

Describe the lady behind the label in 5 words?
determined, stubborn, fair, glamorous, reserved



What is it you do exactly, Katie?
I’m the designer for What Katie Did lingerie but as we’re a small company that covers lots of areas from paying the wages to keeping the website up to date. People don’t realise exactly how small we are as we’re always getting cv’s from people wanting to work in our ‘press department’ or as part of our ‘design team’. 50% of the job is quite mundane and boring (when we get bigger I’ll get someone else to do the boring stuff!) and there never seems to be enough time to focus on the ‘fun’ elements – but I guess that applies to most jobs.

Away from work I have a 4 year old daughter and live with my boyfriend Richard (who also works for What Katie Did). As well as being into vintage fashion we’re also into vintage decor and cars.



When did you discover you had an awesome talent for designing bee-you-tiful things?
I became a designer out of necessity. We started by retailing other labels and when a couple of them closed and I couldn’t find alternatives then I didn’t have much choice! To begin with our designs were simply re-creations of vintage pieces and we spent a few years working on a good range of basics. It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve had the opportunity to design new items from scratch. It’s been a steep learning curve and often the most difficult thing is explaining the image in my head!

What’s your most favourite thing that you’ve created?
My favourite item for the last 6 months is the Harlow underwired bra. It’s not the showiest of our products, but it is the one I wear most often. It’s made from a sheer peach tulle so combines innocence with sauciness which is always a good combination! Funnily enough, my favourite thing isn’t actually wearing it, but watching it dry hanging up by the window as it’s perfectly finished both inside and out whilst being nearly transaparent so it looks beautiful hanging where light can catch it.



Can you share a li’l bit about your creative process please, Katie?
I don’t have a specific design time so as soon as a collection is complete then I start looking for inspiration for the next one. Inspiration might come from books and magazines, fashion exhibitions or films, both vintage and modern. Quite often one of our factories will come up with a swatch of fabric or an idea that starts the ball rolling.

A month or so down the line I’ll have a vague idea in my head what I’d like to do. It’s then that I have to think about fabrics, trims and costings. At What Katie Did we try to keep things affordable whilst ensuring that our products are made ethically so often we have to compromise on a fabric or trim.

It’s often only at the end, once everything’s been photographed when I look back and realise where the inspiration came from (an example is this year’s Showgirl corset range which was influenced by Sophia Coppola’s imagery in her Marie Antoinette film).



What do you love about being a woman in the world?
I love being able to have it all (although it is bloody hard work!) Women’s lives have changed unrecognisably over the last 100 years and there are still areas that women are under-represented I really feel that it is up to women themselves to take control of their lives and careers.



What’s your secret to success?
Hard work and determination. I’m a good all-rounder but not particularly talented in any area which is good for running a small business. Often fashion businesses have a super talented designer who has no business-sense at all and although I always used to admire such people I’ve watched them come and go so am happy being normal!

Who are your style icons and inspir-o girls?
Vintage style inspirations include Louise Brooks, Bettie Page, Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe & Bridget Bardot. Modern day inspirations include Madonna (both her style and her business sense), Lady Gaga and Dita Von Teese. For fashion inspiration I’m pretty obsessed with the Christian Dior Decade (1947 to 1957).



What are your five-must have life items?
red lipstick, red wine, a good book, family and love.



Who and what makes you jump in the air happy?
The simplest things, driving on a summer’s day in an open top car, heavy frost on a winter’s morning. It’s normally something to do with nature, and a feeling that springs on you unexpectedly.



What’s your motto for life?
Just do it! People always seem to be waiting for the right moment – but there is never a right moment.



The WKDN Sassy List…What’s your favourite:

Website/blog: twitter.com as your friends point you to anything interesting

Book: Pretty Things by Liz Goldwyn

Must-have beauty item: Besame lipstick in Besame red

Movie: Some Like It Hot

Shop: Liberty of London

City: London

Hangout: my back garden on Sunday afternoons



What does the term Sassy Minx mean to you, Miss Katy?
Sassy Minx describes me and my team (13 girls and only 1 boy) perfectly. Modern women who live their lives to the full and aren’t scared of taking chances.

Has the Recession Resulted to a cut in quality?

Recently it seems that retailers across the board are struggling to find a secure balance between Price and quality- while one may heading up it seems the other dominator is slowly dipping. This has been a rife discussion among friends whom have also noticed this down turn in standards from food chains reducing the size of portions (and in some cases quality of products used) yet upping there prices noticeably. The previously low end (low cost) high street retailers that are not necessarily renown for great quality garments but the prices were attractive have also seemed to be taking a different stance with a significant price hike on their current lines. An ex-employee of Agent Provocateur commented recently that she began to notice this downward spiral with the quality declining yet the prices being marked up.

Some how to me this seems to a slight predicament on their part surely quality control going out the window will only see the customers do the same and retailers are pretty much shooting themselves in the foot in the long term. Personally I have cut down on expenditure over the past year although this is debatable whether this has more to do with my change of circumstances (becoming a student) rather than feeling the effects of the credit crunch. Either way it has been a while since I last indulged on a high street shopping spree yet the other day I decided my wardrobe needed an injection of some new A/W looks. During this trip I was questioning myself just how long I had been avoiding the shops not to notice this current trend sweeping across the stores. Heading to till points I was underestimating every purchase total, taking a deep gulp every-time I was confronted by the refreshed digital display, I even exclaimed to one sales assistant that the prices have increased which I received a slight giggle to shrug it off.

Have the scales tipped- Is it hard to strike the correct balance given the economic climate?

This got me thinking surely these retailers, struggling as they may be, they need and want to encourage us to spend and increase our frequency through their doors however I cannot see this happening if after a few weeks the top we just brought is then fraying at the seams and discolouring in the wash. Encouraging they are not.... deterring they are.

While on this shopping trip not only was I scrummaging for the price tag before considering any item, my main reason for this detour into the town centre was that i was taking back such example or shoes that had not last more than 10 wears!!! Well these shoes in question where small plaited grey pumps that in the first instance were more than i would spend usually on a pair of pumps but as i liked them I decided to pay the extra expecting the ideology that you pay for what you get therefore the more spent should equal a better long lasting product should it not? Well how wrong could I be, A friend had pointed out the first time I outed my new shoes that although they are nice she had got the same pair and that all the front toe piece was now gapping. Disregarding this comment as that she may have over worn hers when I donned them for the second time it was raining and water was just pouring through the soles, i might as well have gone bare feet!!! Well this resulted in the shoes from then on deteriorating more, the lining came out the sides were wearing and the front began to gape. So annoyed at the rate of deterioration in relation to the amount of wear i actually passionately approached a stranger who I noticed trying on the said shoes and recommended she should reconsider them explaining what had happened to my pair, she was grateful of my advice, if only i had someone do the same when i brought mine!

Well back to the shoes in question and my recent shopping trip, the end state of the pumps made it more than embarrassing to show the shop assistant as they had looked like a dog had been at them. Concerned that they may not believe that these had been worn only on about a maximum of 10 occasions to end up in such a mess I began to explain that i was disappointed at the quality of these shoes I was then unsurprisingly passed over to explain to the manager. Strangely she asked how they come to be like this and when was I last wearing them, which I replied I was at work when my feet actually then popped out the sides (a colleague remarked that they were like the footwear you would associate with a stereotypical tramp) . The Manager could not get her head round it- nor could I to be fair and I recalled all the past situations of wear including the waterproof incident, where I for some reason assumed shoes should at least be waterproof-especially in this country! well apparently they are not an everyday shoe she told me! Everyday couldn't of worn them everyday even if i tried and since when was it acceptable for shoes to only be classed as occasional wear for the fact that the quality of them is so poor. I apologise and i am slightly aware that this has lead into a personal rant but it just confirms my main point that quality is diminishing and during this recession we can not expect that we are getting what we pay for! At this rate the light at the end of this recession tunnel seems to be fading into the distance as we continue to just circulate.

The Sartorialist Effect

These are just some of the images from the pull out advert for Hermes which fell out of my new issue of Elle. These images have more than a hint of sartorialist in my mind, what do you think? This homage is for the promotion of there silk ties and scarves range which can be found on www.Hermes.com.

p.s finally recieved my copy of The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman and i have not been able to stop looking at it since so inspiring to see various blend of a wide range of characters with unique look & style to match. The photography is just beautiful with nice narratives behind some of Schuman's favourite images. Great book that is not only a beautiful source of aspiration, inspiration, history and art to own it is also a great conversational piece which everyone is sure to have plenty of opinions and mixed emotions on.

V is for Veruschka- classic beauty!

scene from the 1966 film Blow-Up, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wygqlfUoJEs

Veruschka in Yves Saint Laurent safari jacket (vogue photo 1968 by Franco Rubartelli

Veruschka, wrap by Giorgio di Sant' Angelo- Richard Avedon at his New York studio in March 1972

The original image of Veruschka, wrap appeared in American Vogue: May, 1972, p.146-7. Richard Avedon the photographer who was commissioned to produce this piece, was not adverse to controversy, often his work being debated on whether it is a fashion image or documental, Weiley was of the opinion that it was, 'fashion not art' (Barrett 2006:21). Vogue a fashion forward publication reveled in the attention Avedon would bring. Rankin also a significantly successful fashion photographer commented that, 'great fashion photographs are about capturing peoples attention as well as the moment'- (Seven Photographs that changed fashion 2009).

Clemency Cooke The Educational Outreach Manager at The Richard Avedon Foundation(www.avedonfoundation.org) informed me that the image has additionally been published in the following publications; Avedon's book The Sixties (p.187) and Avedon Photographs: 1947-1977 (p.115). With The sixties book in particular the image is scaled to fill the entire double page spread 26 x 20.4 inches it is quite dramatic and compiles different feeling, the image is completely dominating and now at a disproportionate size it leaves the viewer feeling slightly insignificant to the might of Veruschka and her natural beauty.

Veruschka a famous model of the time was shot by many great photographers including David Bailey. The Seventies is often referenced to producing the cult of the celebrity model and the roles began to reverse and the models became more famous than the designers themselves ' the person in the picture is more important than the clothes' - Peter Lindbergh (Sherwood 1998:99)

Daily Top Tip: no. 8

Happy Feet

KG Lalita

£49.00

This is probably the best tip I have ever heard and I use it still up to today (well maybe not in the rain!). Summer over.... sorry what summer?... so that means we will be due our up-down weather and will get a heat wave in mid September so if we do remember this when you put on your 'summer' sandals... to stop any rubbing in the heat on a long day rub Vaseline into your feet before you put them on and it really does work!!

Quick Competition- Ka 'no illusion are you looking for me?'

Sorry this is short notice however the lovely people at 'We Are Social' are allowing me to host a quick competition for you all.... deadline is tomorrow but there is still time to enter this great competition....

In celebration of the launch of the brand new Ford Ka on the 3rd September 2009 a real life treasure hunt of the Ka silver miniatures will take place, The miniatures will be hidden in the Bankside JoY store (just behind the Tate Modern). On this exclusive evening you will amazingly be able to redeem the miniatures against £60!!! worth of JoY vouchers, and also indulge in a bit of private shopping and meet fellow fashionistas.

For you chance to win and to attend this fantastic event all you have to do is simply tell me how many silver miniature Ka's you can spot in this picture.... (there is also a bonus one out there) so happy hunting!!!

also check out the you tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dq8th-Cobs

Please leave answers as comments or simply email your answers to me! Good luck and closing date is Wednesday 2nd at 8pm!!

Daily Top Tip: no. 7

If like me you are hearing todays headlines of another fuel hike (wishing I filled up my tank a few days earlier) there is a great site, www.petrolprices.com which you can sign up for free to find the lowest prices in your area. With the prospect of fuel going up at the end of this year with the VAT increase you may as well try to save a few pennies as it really does make a difference. The site also offers a handy little email alert option and is great to quickly keep updated and your can add as many destinations (or areas) you wish.