Fashion Flashback

As one does over the weekend of the 4th of July, we visited a thrift shop somewhere on our road trip in Connecticut. Purely a coincidence.

It takes a little bit the attention away from the colourful blue-red-white striped picnics and bbqs on the beach and in the park. No pressure.
We walked into Mrs Thrift Shop’s living room, dining area and up the stairs to the bedrooms.
At first, it felt a bit strange, like looking into somebody’s private memorablia…
Furniture and personal belongings were put aside so we easily could browse the racks full of clothes nicely separated by ‘theme’.
And ‘ bingo ‘, the Boys  did find a real ‘ fashion treasure ‘ :
A jacket style jumper from Pierre Cardin for 4$ and a checked shirt from Ralph Lauren for 2$.
That was double luck  to find a typical French designer and a well known American one!!
We rounded it up with a bright yellow Nautica bomber rain jacket for 5$.
That is what we all like about a thrift shop : to buy a precious designer piece at a bargain.
It’s a very satisfying feeling of Mission Accomplished !
We went of course back to the beach to have our typical hotdog and cool local beer  while our necks were longing for the  festive fireworks .

The perfect scenario for the Fourth of July weekend, topped up with a fashion find.

To be continued
TeDe

I disappeared for a while, went hiking in the Pyrenees.Back to nature!
As I was preparing my luggage, with a focus on lightweight to avoid a too heavy backpack, I realised there’s not a ‘fashion wow ‘when it comes to mountain clothes…Or is there ?!
I decided to have a look, to be a Fashion Observer while we did our ‘ tour de refuges’ during that week.
How would we and the other colleague hikers dress (up)?!

The first and most important part of your outfit are of course the mountain shoes:
Called trail-, approach -, or stiff mountain boots.
I’m sure you’re familiar with brands like Merrell, Columbia, Scarpa, North Face and Kathmandu, even if you only climbed stairs so far in your life.
They come in categories from A to D.

The rest of your ‘ hiking garderobe ‘ can’t be more then 2in1 short trousers, Merino wool sweat and smell reducing(?) shirts, blister free socks, a fleece and 1 Hydrodown jacket.
Lingerie anyone ? Forget it, a Shock Absorber sportsbra and Nike shorts will do.
You can add as accessories only a pair of cool dark Julbo sunglasses and the never to be missed multi-usage Buff to protect hair and head.
You would find these items in the collections (?) of Paramo, Berghaus, Mammut, Montane, RAB,etc…
They all have ‘ moisture management ‘ high in their ranks !
Maybe they replace the Fashion Fitness Monograms like Moncler and Canada Goose in the hiking clothing business , because I never came across them.
Though a high street brand as H & M has found a counterpart in the mountains; Decathlon is everywhere !
We were not the only ones wearing them during our stay.
They even make an effort this season to add some vibrant and cool prints , so it doesn’t look like as if we were all members of the same mountaineering club in black and khaki repetitive camouflage colours.

To round it all up, Fashion is not really part of the deal when you reach for the summit, but textile technologies as eVent, Nevoshell, and Hydrophobic down are given the highest attention.

It’s another side of Athleisure.
And it suits me fine!

To Be Continued.
TeDe

I saw JP Gaultier’s exhibition today, in its final weeks at the Barbican Till the 25 th of Aug 2014.Almost like an end of summer treat to do and see.

When I think of him,it’s like a film of roller coaster images that spin through my visual memory : his ever repeating striped sailors T-shirts from Breton,his eccentric corset creativity,extreme body exposure,extravagant yet approachable SM,his subtle hints at bondage and a colourful variety of races and cultures.

One thing is for sure; this man lives with his eyes wide open !The way he observes the world with a personal interpretation in his collections is very original ,strong and enjoyable .It can be quite ‘in your face’when it’s presented but it’s more like he taps you gently on the shoulder reminding you,’what you see is what you get’ .It is his way of sharing  and communicating . Combine this with his nostalgic  memories of his grand-mere,the films noirs he can’t forget,his Paris forever associated with Folies Bergeres and Crazy Horse voyeurisme , the punk and Mc Laren of 70s London and his teddybear Nana and Gaultier has given us some amazing ,surprising shows for the last 30 years ( or more)!

Walking through the exh and enjoying all of his themed catwalk shows in the eighties and nineties ,whether his pret-a-porter  or haute couture ,it struck me that certain pieces are very ‘IN’ like the ripped jeans,the corset cropped tops,skinny jumpsuits and leather pieces…

Therefore there’s is only conclusion from his first retrospective : Jean-Paul Gaultier will never go out of Fashion!

To be continued.
TeDe.

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