Fashion Voyeur

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Categories: The Fashion Closet

What I Wore: Gunne Sax Prairie Dress

When it comes to searching for vintage clothing you most likely have your favourite eras.  Whether it’s the swinging sixties, the flamboyant eighties or the prohibition era – there’s something out there that makes everyones heart flutter.  For me it’s the prairie dress.  Obviously you know this already because I’m always swanning around in them but there are a few different houses and designers who were particularly fantastic at creating the perfect prairie dress.  Roberta and Gunne Sax were two of them who set the bar for the likes of Batsheva and The Vampire’s Wife in 2018 and 19.

Recently I asked a vintage seller I know to help me find an original Gunne Sax dress, a pre-McClintock Gunne Sax with a billowing, layered skirt and a high neck.  Thinking this was an impossible task – she came up trumps with the most beautiful dusky pink dress from the archives.  Ever.  How she managed to track it down I’ll never know.

Gunne Sax is expensive.  For vintage.  It’s not as expensive as regular old high street and it’s still a sustainable option.  They’re very hard to come by and the sizing is tricky to get the hang of as it works from 1-11 rather than 0-whatever and it’s loosely based on the US sizing system.  Gunne Sax sizes are real small but once you find your groove with them they’re absolute keepers.

This one is better than anything I ever could have imagined from a commission, when you ask someone to find something for you you never know what might turn up but this is like something that got up and waltzed off the set of a period drama straight into my wardrobe.

The high street might have jumped on the prairie dress trend, but damn, they really don’t make ’em like this any more!

Pixie

Categories: The Fashion Closet

What I Wore: Styling the Vintage Prairie Dress

When it comes to trends there’s one that’s been building momentum for some time now.  It started with the resurgence of vintage dresses from a particular era as far back as seven years ago and the emergence of new brands like Batsheva and The Vampire’s Wife who have dedicated themselves to creating modern versions of Gunnies and the prairie dresses we scour vintage rails for.  Now designers like Bora Aksu are reinventing the prairie dress for a new audience to great effect.

I do own a Batsheva frock and two Vampire’s Wife dresses and I do feel amazing in them, but it has to be said, there’s nothing quite like an original vintage prairie dress.  The thrill of finding one, especially when it fits and it’s the perfect length and composition – well, that’s just unbeatable.  So, what exactly is a prairie dress?  Well, let’s get that clear first off…

A true prairie dress has three main features (and a lot of vintage sellers will list any old maxi dress with a few ruffles and call it a prairie dress which is absolutely not the case), so what should you be looking for?

1. a high, stand up collar

2. a feature waist – either elasticated, belted or ribboned, but not empire line

3. a flounce – that’s the detail which appears in the bottom third of the dress

Anything in addition to this is a lovely bonus.  If it has an empire line it’s a different type of dress from the same, or a similar era and your vintage seller is cashing in on your lack of knowledge, or maybe even theirs.  The rules are simple though, if you like the dress, buy it, if you’re definitely and resolutely looking to buy a prairie dress, then stick to the protocol.

Here’s my current favourite (subject to change literally daily) and the one I wore to the VIP launch of The Cosy Club at Durham’s Riverwalk complex.  It’s a full length navy blue true vintage dress, fully lined and covered in tiny polka dots, bought right here in the North East from an expert vintage curater and re-seller called The Pansy Garden.  It’s a dream to wear because it’s so light and flowy and not at all heavy meaning that when it’s warm outside you don’t get all hot and bothered in it.  I’m wearing it with a Topshop leather and chainmail belt which I bought a few years ago, you can find a similar one here, a Western style works well.  Chuck on a pair of cowboy boots (again mine are Topshop) and a fedora (out of shot because the wind picked up), and that’s one fast, easy, and pretty damn sustainable outfit.

Pixie

Categories: The Fashion Closet

What I Wore: The Perfect Summer Dress

I know I’m usually all about vintage and preloved fashion, but there are times when I just can’t resist buying new.  The majority of my purchases these days are vintage and they’re getting more and more outlandish, in fact, the last few have been some pretty crazy bridesmaid dresses from the 80’s which make me look like a super cool Little Bo Peep, but we’re not here to talk about that right now.

Blogger Pixie Tenenbaum wears a gingham maxi dress with navy blue embroidery from Marks and Spencers Summer 2019 range

This one is about a simple wardrobe staple; The Summer Dress.  I’ve found a pretty simple solution from high street legend Marks and Spencer and it’s from their new sustainable cotton range so it has decent credentials too.  I bought this right before it went into sale so I paid full whack to make sure I got my size (£59.99) but if you’re on the ball you’ll find it in stores now for £39.99 or failing that, it’s on eBay.

It’s got chunky straps unlike some Summer style dresses and the front is straight – all of these things mean you can wear most bra styles underneath and you won’t see it either over the front, or at the sides.  Winning.  Despite being maxi in length, it’s light on fabric and draughty so you stay cool.  It’s gingham pattern is an obvious choice for Summer but what sets it apart from other high street offerings is the vintage style flounce and the embroidered detailing, I think this is why it caught my eye, because it still has that throwback feel and of course Marks and Spencer are refreshingly transparent about their endeavours to be more sustainable when it comes to the production of their fashion garments.

A Summer dress, as if you needed to be told, is the perfect garment because it’s one thing.  Easy to pack, easy to store, easy to wear and no need for co-ordinating items – except for shoes.  I’m pretty much always in some kind of boot, with this one it’s the Vionic Kanela suede boot which is a slouchy pirate style boot.  I was gifted a shoe of my choice by Vionic and I chose this one which I’ve worn time and time again because it’s so comfortable.  One of the best things about this particular shoe and this brand in general is that all of their suede is completely and fully waterproof – no joke, it truly is.  Vionic shoes also come with an insole that realigns the foot to its most ‘correct’ position for posture too meaning that it’s a better all round choice.  (FYI I haven’t been asked to write a post by them, this is my genuine opinion and my genuine choice to wear them)

When September rolls around, I’ll be able to slip a white tee under this dress for cooler days and even throw an arran jumper over it for a fisherman’s wife vibe into Fall.  The darker embroidery gives it a trans-seasonal edge that makes it super easy to style.  If you manage to get your hands on one, tag me and show me how you style it!  @pixietenenbaum

Pixie

Categories: The Fashion Closet

Amy Thomson FW19 Loved And Lost

Whenever my London Fashion Week schedule is finalised I always check it for my favourites.  No we all know that fashion is fickle and whilst designers and their PRs move increase their audience and range with each new season, there’s always the case that some designers don’t make it back on to the schedule for whatever reason too.  This season my beloved Starsica left a crucifix shaped hole in the schedule without any explanation, and another designer I was devastated to see missing was Amy Thomson.  You might remember I covered her fabulously kitsch pink presentation at Fashion Scout last season which just screamed Barbara Cartland in the most fashion way possible, I mean I almost threw my credit card at the girl it was so fabulous.  I wanted everything.  This season I was excited, but it wasn’t meant to be.  Or so I thought.

I arrived home from London, a little later than planned, to find an email from Amy, explaining that she wouldn’t be showing this season, however that she was still around and had indeed produced a small collection for FW19 entitled Loved And Lost.  I mean I love it already, the title, the personal contact, – I’ve failed to mention that Amy is an illustrator so the email is filled with hand drawn pink and red hearts so I’m already feeling a connection…..

Amy Thomson Loved And Lost FW19 Copy for Fashion Voyeur by Pixie Tenenbaum

So, basically with each collection that Amy Thomson produces, there’s a story.  With this one it’s a playful, childhood romance remembering treasured memories, emotions and relationships.  This feminine filled love affair explores characters from the overwhelming love of your first crush to your first end of the world falling out with your BFF.  Loved And Lost is inspired by romance, by relationships with objects and people at different stages of your life from a child’s perspective.  Thomson has a real talent for asking the viewer questions that take them back to their youth and ask them to reimagine and re-examine, in this case it’s remembering your first overwhelming love.  Maybe it’s a first pet, a toy, or even a first sweater that you’d wear over and over.  Amy Thomson is asking us to remember, reimagine and to fall in love all over again.

Red is obviously a key tone throughout the collection for FW19 and it’s tonally matched with hues of precious pink, powerful purple and even a hint of teasing turquoise.  Romance is a strong vibe and the use of texture conveys that well with faux fur outerwear complimenting the exaggerated full frill silk garments that hooked me in last season.  Foiled leathers add in further sparkle and there’s an added element of hand embroidery this season.

Thomson has ditched the large scale illustrations this season and instead focuses on illustrative playful motifs that are built up using text and slogans like ‘crushin on you’ and ‘teenage love shrine’ to further narrate the collective prints.  This season brings with it a collaboration with Sassy Freak and some super freaky jewellery to further illustrate the narrative around this collection.  Clip on earrings – very 1980’s hot mamma and one hell of a pair of glam-ma glasses with a pearl chain so glam-ma doesn’t lose ’em.

Group model shot for the Amy Thomson x Sassy Freak campaign for FW19 Fashion Voyeur Blog by Pixie Tenenbaum

What’s really cool though, are the campaign images, shot by Georgie Fen at Poodle and Blonde Location House, they’re everything you might expect from the description above, and a little bit of insider information about Amy Thomson and her design style.  Powerful, feminine and empowering, now how do I get hold of that first pink dress?

Pixie

Categories: The Fashion Closet

Chanel Joan Elkayam FW19 at London Fashion Week

On the final day of London Fashion Week, usually the pace slows a little, you can start to relax, maybe even venture outside of the BFC and shop a little.  Definitely not the case for the past two seasons, in fact these past two seasons I think the final day has been one of my favourites.  I’ve been in great company, seen some awesome shows with some powerful messages, and had fun.  See in the past London Fashion Week was frantic, it lost the fun, and in the last two seasons, it got a little bit of that fun vibe back.

So often when it gets to final day you’ve overdone what’s known as the ‘treadmill’, it’s when you schlep in and out of the BFC via the same entrance and exit on a loop over and over again for shows.  There’s only so much time you can spend in the showrooms, on Day 1 they’re shiny and new and everything is amazing, but by Day 3 you know it all off by heart.  So, when the opportunity arises to go offsite, quite often you just grab it, regardless of what it is, because you want off that damn treadmill.

Day 5 provided me with such an opportunity, a fashion designer and I guess, sort of a friend of mine, Chanel Joan Elkayam was holding an on schedule, but off site runway show in Camden on a February day that could have easily been mistaken for June.  Counting Victoria Beckham and Cheryl Tweedy amongst her personal Fash Pack despite her mere 21 years, I was intrigued.

Wide shot of the models on the stage with designer Chanel Joan Elkayam after the FW19 show at London Fashion Week. Fashion Voyeur blog by Pixie Tenenbaum

There’s so much to observe about this particular show and designer and none of it is about the clothes.  First of all the show ran so late, we sat on the front row waiting for an hour for the show to start and in that time we watched as we waited, Chanel is a really interesting character.  Yes she’s a fashion designer and a huge amount of money and preparation went into what was undeniably a huge show for her, her first on schedule show at London Fashion Week and rounding off the big four for her making her the youngest ever designer to show on schedule at New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks – a huge achievement for a woman of her age.  But here’s the thing, she wants you to notice the woman, not necessarily the clothes, and that’s unlike any fashion designer I have ever come across, ever.  I mean sure, they might say it, but this one means it.

Trust me, we had the time to watch, to observe and to listen to what was going on around us in that unintentionally long break before the show.  Chanel Joan Elkayam as a brand has always been about female empowerment, from her first collection La Sola Rosa, through to this I Don’t Follow I Lead collection.  Elkayam believes in the power of an independent woman with a sovereign mind, her press statement reads that she believes strongly in the empowerment of women, that the Chanel Joan Elkayam woman is fearless and unstoppable, powerful and completely comfortable within her own body.

It’s not often you get the chance to play sleuth at a show, or really dig into exactly what the message or methodology is when it comes to fashion because designers are so very different and relatively inaccessible.  With Chanel, you get the impression that the message is the driving force, not the collection, rather that the collection is the tool in which to deliver the message.  Her campaign for FW19, I Don’t Follow I Lead, is borne out of a need to shed conformation and constraint and to lead, as we were meant to.  Listening and watching, I genuinely get the impression that Chanel Joan Elkayam wants the world to sit up and take notice of women; all women, no matter what colour, shape, size or origin story.

Her choice of models for the show is inspired and reads like a roster for representation and diversity; transgender model and activist Munroe Bergdorf opened the show, followed by Kate Grant and a full line up of black, Asian and white models including a child model paired up in a matching outfit for the final walk.  There were older models represented on the Chanel Joan Elkayam runway and it definitely felt that representation was the strongest message of all.  Could this be a pivotal moment for London Fashion Week?  Probably not, but something tells me that this woman knows that her message is every bit as important as her product, maybe even more so in this particular case, and that’s exactly her point here.

Pixie

Pixie Tenenbaum Editor's signature with fashion illustration graphic