Half Price Clothing Sale

There's now a special running over at Larkin & Catcher -- with all items of All Mighty Clothing at half of the original price.

The Willoughby Top -- was £49.00, now £24.50

Happy Rain T-shirt -- was £20.00, now £10.00

The Battery Blue Jacket -- was £55.00, now £27.50

The Mercer Top -- was £30.00, now £15.00

Skybelts

Skybelts are real funky belts made from aircraft seat belt buckles -- my favourite is this Pop Cities belt from the Summer Getaway collection.



Pop Cities Skybelt with pink buckle (£38.95)

Revolting Pensioners!

This is the kind of thing we could be seeing in the streets of the United Kingdom, unless the government spreads some love to the Golden Oldies (that old guy on the right is looking well happy -- those two women in the front might be his idea of Hot Totty).

Hollywood Greats: Lana Turner

"I like the boys and the boys like me"

It's probably pretty obvious by now that I've got a bit of a fascination with the Golden Age of Hollywood and the life and times of the old style Hollywood Greats. I know it was a manufactured dream world, without much in the way of reality about it -- glamour was the central focus and they did glamour so much better in those days.

Lana Turner was one of the most glamorous and the most beautiful of them all. While some actresses at the time had an air of remoteness about them -- unattainable goddesses -- Turner's on-screen persona (in the early years, at least) was a mix of cute girl next door and good-time girl; a combination of vulnerability and availability. Seemingly, she wasn't too different to this in her personal life either and her choice of men was abysmal a lot of the time.

She also taught petite but curvy girls a good fashion lesson: if you want a guaranteed way of getting instant male attention, just pour your best assets into a sweater a couple of sizes too small. It works every single time.

Here's the first of a series of You Tube videos about Turner's Life. I think there's about ten in all and they last around ten minutes each -- there seems to be a 'gap' and some lost years between parts 7 and 8, though.

Dumpling Dynasty -- cuter than a whole truckload of puppies

... and then some! The Dumpling Dynasty series includes retro-look 'kits' in beautifully decorated tins; sweet little coin purses, wallets and shopper bags, tea sets and more. All featuring the stylishly nostalgic and superbly kitsch artwork of the much admired illustrator Fiona Hewitt. The kits, in particular, make excellent, slightly quirky and unusual gifts -- in addition to being useful and practical household keepsakes.

We've been selling other items featuring Fiona Hewitt's illustrations in the Larkin and Catcher store but we're only just added the Dumpling Dynasty collection to our list of goodies.

Dumpling Dynasty Shoe Shine Kit

Dumpling Dynasty Pigtail Kit -- my very favouite

Dumpling Dynasty Cookie Wallet -- although I'm also really loving this

Dumpling Dynasty Coin Purse

Dumpling Dynasty Sewing Kit

Dumpling Dynasty Shopper Bag

Best Blogs: No Signposts in the Sea

I'm reviving my Best Blogs category from my old every little thing blog at 2planets -- big excitement for you there then (I can hear the whoopee doos from here). Most of the blogs will be related to fashion/style, art, design, crafts, etc but anything really goes in terms of what I like. I know I spend far too much time reading blogs but it's all enjoyment and learning.

I found the No signposts in the Sea blog today and I just know I'm going to like it. Not only does this blogger have a nice gentle writing style but she also has a lovely quirky taste in fashion -- and she shares my love of hunting out treasures in *flea markets. I loved her post on what you do when your long-term boyfriend walks out (the cad!). I get what she means about the young Paul Newman too -- if you ever get a chance to see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof you'll see what we're getting at.

*My love of flea markets is frustrated by the fact that there's none around here, so I have to wait until I'm somewhere else to get my fix. I'm off to Paris pretty soon and the flea markets are one thing (among about a thousand) I really love about that city. The only down side is that I'll have to limit myself to what I can carry home on the plane -- so cute chairs are out...

Mixko

I've just been checking out the ultra cool design studio Mixko and it sure looks interesting. I guess their ceramic rings will be getting a good deal of attention (and rightly so) but I've also got my eye on their furniture and homewares -- love their 'Funkey' range.

Mixko 'Barby' Ceramic Ring (£20.00)

Mixko 'Cindie' Ceramic Ring (£20.00)

Mixko Ceramic 'Love' Ring (£20.00)

'Message' Stool (£150.00) This is actually a full-sized piece of furniture, as opposed to just being a little-old keyboard part.

LP Hearts

Some really lovely silver jewellery from young British designers -- available at LP Hearts.

3 Hearts ring (£35.00) Designer: Angelica Garcia

Loop Heart Necklace (£60.00) Designer: Linda MacDonald

And for the man in your life -- as if just knowing your fair self were not gift enough -- some hearts he can wear on this cuff:

Heart in a Circle Cufflinks (£45.00) Designer: Mary Farrel

Bad Girls Wear the Best Clothes

An interesting piece by Charlotte Cripps in The Independent online on why the bad girls in films are always the best dressed. The article also mentioned the film Mannequin in Red by the Swedish director Arne Masttisson, which is now showing around London at the Fashion in Film festival.

The film's combined attractions of being set in a fashion house and having been directed by the 'Swedish Hitchcock' got me interested enough to want to check out Mannequin in Red. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to the film festival and there's not even a clip of the film on You Tube -- but this brief except from Masttisson's 1965 film Morianerna was enough to put 'Mannequin' on my must-see-at-some-point list.

The Tailor and the Cobbler

You Tube video of the refreshingly unpretentious designer and Saville Row trained tailor, Tom Baker. Pretty long but I found it interesting.




And here's another video -- this time of Baker's designs at London fashion week. Love the whole Dandy-with-attitude look. The footwear is from the shoe designer -- and another breath of fresh air -- Terry de Havilland. There's a great interview with de Havilland on FUK -- and you can see his men's shoe collection at Archies Eyebrows.

Sunday with Balenciaga

What better way to spend the odd half hour on a Sunday morning than trawling through the Balenciaga department at Browns, trying to see if there's anything I'll ever be able to afford in this lifetime. Not much, as it turns out. And absolutely nothing at this point in time.

Floral Print Dress with foam skirt (£2,270) -- a mere snip compared to the much talked-about Water Lili dress, which comes in somewhere around four and a half grand.

Zebra & Flower Print Skirt (£775.00) I really like this skirt and if I don't eat for the next six months or so, I'll be able to purchase it without too much financial pain -- with the added bonus of being able to fit into one of the available sizes.

Patent Bag with Stingray Clasp (£1.140.00) Something else from Balenciaga which I'm rather taken with -- I've got a bit of a soft spot for a mix of patent and chunky hardwear. Pretty smitten with that 'Stingray' clasp too.

Once I sated my Balenciaga urges, I headed over to the gift section to see if there was anything I could actually afford. Camilla Morton's book A Girl for All Seasons caught my eye -- and only a trifling £16.99. But I couldn't work out if I've already read it, or whether it was her other book that I had somehow acquired. Probably not a good sign.