Kingdom Of Style

Time flies...

This charming little ceramic and feather clock at £39 would be a perfect little christmas present for the clockwatchers in your life.
It is available from the super duper snowhome.

Queen Marie

A little bit of AB...

Anthony Burrill - I like the way you think young man!!!!

"Anthony studied Graphic Design at Leeds Polytechnic before completing his MA at the Royal College of Art, London. He works as a freelance designer producing print, moving image and interactive design based on direct communication in which humour often plays a central role."

I particulalry like the posters, prints and phony shop signs he has produced for the wonderful wonderful  Concrete Hermit

Plastic Shop Signs  £10 each

Or this wonderful poster £20

Or this limited edition of 25 print, signed and numbered by AB himself £60

If they were all free, I happily find room for them all in The Kingdom.

Queen Marie

There is nothin' like a dame...

There is nothin' like a dame,
Nothin' in the world,
There is nothin' you can name
That is anythin' like a dame!

Despite my post about bedsocks, both Queen Michelle and I continue to battle against our inner pensioners. We are determined to be crazy old dames, not turn into beige old ladies..Praise the Lord, that we have dames like this to inspire us...

The 67 year old Dame Viv Westwood

On the spring/summer 09 catwalk, looking stunning, like a glittery black mermaid!


The 63 year old Dame Helen Mirren

Looking like a vixen for a Vanity Fair photo shoot
I can only hope that I look half as good  when I am that age. With my luck, my love of the sequin and my inner drag queen, I will end up looking like another great dame.

Miss Ethel Merman - The Grand Dame of the Broadway Stage

*gulp*

Queen Marie

"Cold hands, warm heart"

As my gran used to say.  

I presume the same goes for cold feet...

It is just as well, I sleep alone in the Royal Bedchamber, my feet are so cold, that were they to accidently brush against another, it would invariably trigger immediate heart failure in them.  It has been so cold in the Far East the last couple of night, that my feet have been beyond freezing.  So I was pathetically pleased when I popped into my mums last night and they had bought me these mega slumber socks from M&S.  So pink and fluffly, they could have been made of marshmallows. Oh joy...

Long story short, they kept my toes super snuggly all night. But when I woke up this morning my nose, which was poking above the covers, was like an ice block.  In a typical contrary fashion, I like to sleep in a cool room, so keep the window open all night. But when I looked at the thermometer, I almost fell out of bed with shock - '12' - Danger of Hypothermia

Holy crap!  that's cold.

My posting today may be slow until my brain defrosts...

Queen Marie

*brrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

V For Vadim

This label has been around since 2002, but was then called Vadumsrum which was rebranded VADUM in February this year. Back then the designer, Charlotte Vadum, wanted to create an entire lifestyle brand which encompassed homeware and fashion but refocused when it was renamed to now be about fashion and fashion alone.

'Lifestyle' brands always leave me feeling a bit cold as I can't imagine wanted to have someone's taste enter every element of my life - loving Rick Owens clothes would be one thing but I can't imagine a house decorated in his dark, gothic style too. Laura Ashley is a case in point. Although her clothes were hugely successful in the 70's, I think the woman who wore Laura Ashley and decorated her home in Laura Ashley was quite frankly a bit Stepford Wife. It just seems very one dimensional to take a designers' vision and incorporate it into all aesthetic aspects of ones life, especially as few people are one dimensional in real life. I much prefer concentrated creativity.

Vadum isn't one of those labels I love whole heartedly, but I see elements that I'd be very curious to have a closer look at. And whilst none of the designs are going to set the fashion world alight yet, they are 'real' - by that I mean they are clothes you could incorporate into your wardrobe and they would sit happily with everything else. I would however love a pair of feather sleeves thank you very much!

Vadum was properly launched at Copenhagen Fashion Week. I would like to see the label push their boundaries a bit more because I think they have lots more potential that hasn't yet come through. I will be watching with an eagle eye!

Queen Michelle

Get Yer Motor Running

That Hells Angel stalwart; the biker waistcoat, has made it's way into my wardrobe. It was inevitable really. I had one when I was 13 so there is no reason why I wouldn't have one again at 35. Last time it was genuine leather, this time it's a cheap PVC biker jacket from Primark which I have hacked the sleeves off.

It'll actually be very useful for toughening up any overly girly outfits, much like the traditional biker jacket does. And if I get mistaken for a Hells Angel, albeit a super puny one, then at least no-one will mess with me!  It's the alteration that keeps on giving!

Queen Michelle

Oh, and please click on any photos we include in any of our posts to bring up a bigger pop up, as Typepad makes them a bit blurry when they are this size of thumbnail.

Link Clean Up

As you may, or may not, have noticed the links on the right hand side have been reduced considerably. It was getting out of hand especially as many of the blogs were no longer in existence. To make it better for people who link from our site to other sites we will only be adding/keeping links which are updated often, so if you haven't updated in a month then I'm afraid the link won't be included. I'll will be going through the left hand side links as well and doing the same.

If I have taken your link down and you begin updating often then please drop me an email and I'll happily add it in again.

Queen Michelle

Off To Germany

Since Queen Marie is off on holiday to Berlin early next year, I thought I would do some posts on Germany based designers between now and then. I feel an affinity with Germany in some small way since my father's side of the family was of German descend, so one day too I will venture there. Sadly, in my current financial state it won't be any time soon!

Germany seems rather good at throwing up designers who are doing something a little different and I think one label which perfectly exemplifies this is Boessert/Schorn. The brainchild of Sonia Boessert and Brigitte Schorn this label was nominated for the Karstadt New Generation Award 2008 held in Berlin.

I realise it's another of those labels which often gets tagged with the word 'unisex', which seems generally to translate to 'oversized', but I think the techniques they use and the treatment of the fabrics give the clothes a solid identity, as opposed to the 'one size fits all', ambiguous approach that I find unisex labeled designers often appear to have.

Each piece is intricately worked and the usage of natural fabrics, like cotton jersey and wool, lends the loosely draped clothes a more luxurious quality even though the shapes are decidedly unobtrusive and often crumpled and disheveled in appearance.

There shredded jersey has taken on an almost lace like appearance and I love the weaving techniques used on necklines.

They place a solid emphasis on wearable clothes but without sacrificing detail and interest.

Queen Michelle

Job Shop Style #4

Today I decided to be a bit shiny for the Job Centre. Opting for my PVC leggings from charity shop, Topshop shoes, All Saints skirt and biker jacket, Onno top (customised and re-draped), vintage blouse worn underneath, a vintage broach Queen Marie bought me one birthday, Marc Jacobs sunglasses (I look very tired!) and an old hand-made coin belt. I have also decided to carry my fabulous Keira Thorley clutch. Just the right size for my signing on card, and it takes getting dressed for the Job Shop to new ridiculous levels!

My coin belt was killed for me thanks to a certain Sienna Miller and I couldn't look at it again for years after. But I am taking back the coin belt. I'm owning it!

I am wearing another favourite scent, Bulgari Blu Notte, which is terrifically masculine.

And the lightening in my close this morning was gorgeous even though it is quite dull outside.

Queen Michelle

Delicious Damir

I speak for both your Queens when I say that our collective knowledge of menswear is negligible to say the least. Whilst both of us know how we would like our menfolk to dress neither spend all that much time worrying about it if they don't.

My Prince dresses the way he's always done and if he's happy and doesn't look like a homeless guy, then I'm happy. I think if he started obsessing over the latest Dior Homme tie, or crying when Hedi Slimane left I'd want to give him a shake, a slap and tell him to pull himself together.  There's only room enough in this relationship for one of us to have fashion tantrums and, quite frankly, it's me. This is in part the reason we rarely feature menswear. Whenever we do it's because it's something we would wear. Selfish? Completely and utterly.

I do have a problem of getting menswear to fit me sadly, but if I could I would be all over the mens department in every shop in went in to. However much like Dior Homme, who do realise the clothes are as appealing to women as men, there are other mens' labels that cater for both without getting into the ubiquitous 'unisex' territory. One label which springs to mind is Damir Doma.

This Croation designer studied his art in Berlin and Munich before heading to Antwerp (of course!) to spend time under the guidence of Raf Simons and Dirk Schoenberger.

It doesn't take a genius to see Raf's infusion and influence. However Damir takes things off on a different tangent as his shapes and silhouettes are much softer and fluid with fabrics not often associated with menswear, such as chiffon.

The thing that appeals to me about Damir, in the context of wearing it myself, is that he likes to question how a garment can be interpreted and will quite happily turn shorts into a shawl or a t-shirt into trousers. It's almost as if he has an element of the DIY spirit in there, which I can really appreciate. He even has a video to teach people how to wear his clothes, so there is an intelligence there that means his designs and ideas shift dramatically within the realms of the reasonably tight boundaries of what's considered 'normal' or 'acceptable' menswear, especially as I can imagine men actually wearing them, or at least working elements into their existing wardrobes.

Damir says he wants his clothes to have serenity which in itself is rarely associated with the objectives of masculine dressing, but it's also what makes them deeply appealing to me as a woman.

I'm not sure if he's deliberately blurring the lines between male and female clothing, or whether he is just questioning why men have been forced down a specific route in how they dress and trying to re-route them, but whatever the reason he's doing it, it works. And it's doing it for me!

Queen Michelle

Me, Myself And DIY

I have been asked, more times than I can count, to make the stuff I create for my DIY's for other people. It has even been suggested on several occasions that I open an Etsy store to sell my creations. And whilst there is a part of me vaguely tempted by the notion of making some money with DIY's, the reality is that whatever I make will only ever grace my own closet. The reason for this is not a selfish one, even though it does sound like it, it's simply because I couldn't make anything for anyone else.

I make a distinction between designing clothes and making clothes, and a further distinction between making clothes and DIY - I very much occupy the DIY camp. This essentially, for me, means I guess everything. I make it up as I go along. I have no idea how it'll turn out but that's where the challenge and the fun lies. I never take one single measurement for anything I make. As a rule of thumb my measuring 'method' involves wrapping a bit of fabric around myself, marking it with chalk, followed by holding it up and squinting at it and lots of hoping for the best. It stands to reason then that I would never take that kind of risk with someones else's fabric/money.

I have made many, many things for Queen Marie over the years, but none of them clothes. I have made her spectacular necklaces, bustles and bows and all manner of wrist adornments, all of which took hours of toiling and hard work...but all of which were guessed and without planning. It's a strange thing but as soon as I have to do something 'properly' I am consumed by panic at just how 'proper' I can make it. I worry about uneven edges and poor finishing. But with my own DIY the fun comes in looking for strange fabrics/materials that other people might dismiss or deem too tricky and making them into something wearable...but wearable for me. I'd never dream of making someone a pair of my leggings because I'd be mortified when they saw my shabby overlocking, even though to them it might not be shabby at all.

DIY is at odds with my need for perfection. I finish a garment and immediately start picking holes in it, metaphorically speaking, looking at the imperfections and seeing where I went wrong. But that's the fun - because next time I know a little bit more so in theory I should get better each time.

My other problem is that I have a short attention span for these things. Yes, I can spend hours and hours making something but when I have completed it I want move on to the the next thing. I did once make something for someone, a harness for Rosie Pop, which I think turned out well, unfortunately whilst I was cutting the neckpiece I didn't realise my own was underneath the fabric and I cut mine in two! I haven't made myself another one - that ship has sailed.

I am sorry to all those people who I have to say no to. If I could I truly would. In January I am taking dress-making night classes so my attitude, and confidence, may change but until then I'm afraid it's a no.

Queen Michelle

Council Chic #3

Another day another visit to the Council. I tried to feel the cheer today, I really did, which is why I put on my bright pink bed jacket and bright leggings, but the council man, pleasant as he was, sucked all the cheer out of me. I think it's more fitting that I change into my PJ's now I'm home.

Vintage bed jacket; vintage leggings; Future Classics dress buttoned up all wrong; Aldo shoes; Gloved up gloves; Topshop sequined vest (under dress)

And I have to add this photo to prove that I really did try and muster a smile today and didn't spend the whole time looking this sullen! And, as if feeling my pain, my camera appears to have gone all soft focus for some reason.

Queen Michelle

Get more with 'Gilt'...

If like your Queens, you are a bit lacking in liquidity i.e. skint, then you know that if you want to stay shopping, you are going to have to shop smarter.

That means casting your shopping net as wide as you can.

Gilt Groupe is . was founded by longtime friends and fashion devotees, Alexis and Alexandra.

They say-" we founded Gilt Groupe to offer our members online access to the best and brightest in luxury brands, for a fraction of the price. We scour the market and hand select pieces from sought after designers like Zac Posen and  Valentino . Weekly updates feature highlights from upcoming sales."

It is a members only site but thanks to the lovely Lisa, she has created a link for us all.

www.gilt.com/thekingdom  should be all you need to get started.

Now if you will excuse me, I am off for a prowl around.

Queen Marie

Der Himmel über Berlin*...

Hopefully I shall be joining the angels on the streets of Berlin at the start of January!

Berlin has long been on my list of places to see.

Will be coming over primarily to go to the PanoramaBar...

I have heard so many good things and I can't wait to see it.

Will be there for a few days so there will be plenty of time for shopping, so any recommendations (clothes shops, records shops, must see places) would be especially welcome.

Danke.

Queen Marie

* this was the original title of one of my all time favourite films - Wim Wenders 'Wings of Desire'

Ooh! it's all gone a bit geisha...

Inspired by Queen Michelle's shots outside, I popped outside earlier to take a disco eye shot.

Sadly the sun was in the wrong place but strangely it has turned me into a geisha -  white faced and red lipped...

Gosh! A geisha gone ginger.

Queen Marie

 

Bless the Disco...

Disco Eyes and Disco toes that is!

Truth to tell, I usually look like I could be headed for a disco, day or night, especially my eyes and my toes. When it comes to make up and nail polish it has to be sparkly, glittery and shiny. My 'disco eyes' grow more exaggerated by the week.

Shiny glittery lines are best painted on with 'glam crystals' and yesterday Queen Michelle joined the glitter camp when she bought the silver stuff. She also has her eyes on the red, so expect to see some stunning results this week. I would love to try red, but I would look like I had really bad hayfever or someone had punched me.

The contents of your bag or purse reveals a lot about you, as does the contents of your fridge. My fridge is devoid of food but is home to juice, milk, holy water, nail varnishes and eye liners. Keeping them cold makes them so much easier to apply.

At only £2.99 from Boots and Superdrug, isn't it time you painted your eyes and toes happy?

Queen Marie

'You'll have Jay-z's eye out...'

Careful Beyonce love!  you'll have Jay-z's eye out with that thing.

The Hove would be none too happy if you came at him brandishing this finger bling...

Photographed at the MTV Europe Awards wearing Gareth Pugh, I can't imagine Gareth ever picured his frock taking on such coquettish/ dr evil/ one million dollars overtones!

Mr Pugh! with one million dollars we can takeover the fashion world *evil laugh*

Queen Marie

MANBITCH on Funerals and Lacroix...

So there I am yesterday, taking a quick look at the lovely Lacroix preview over at Cocosa when Mixmaster Campbell sidles over to my screen.

"'Loving this!" I say

"Oh aye" he says, "that's you aw day long"

" Look at this jacket" I coo

He nods approvingly at the screen

"that's you at a DJ's funeral"

I laughed so hard I almost dropped my tea, but strangely I knew exactly what he meant...

Queen Marie

Bingo Wings and Eyebrows...

*sigh*

Life at the Palace - style, fashion and non stop glamour?

Oh dear chums, you would like to think so, but sadly no.

Every day, I am inundated with offers of help for my "little soldier", my "killer dong", my "weapon of love" but as Queen Michelle or I continue to be sans penis , these offers of help go straight into the trash. These emails don't even register any more, but this week I received a couple of emails that filled me with despair.

I am sure that Jessica and Alexandra at KMPR in New York are lovely girls, but the things that they send me....

First up, they offered me help for my bingo wings

With the help of a thing called a FLABuLESS  (I kid you not). They call them 'compression sleeves' but basically it is a girdle for the tops of your arms. Oh joy!!!!

Next up, came my eyebrows!

In case I had overplucked them and needed surgery...

Apparently the charming people at Bosley could sort me right out.  Cheers for that...

At the risk of sounding ungrateful, leave it out girls!

I have enough problems as it is, without adding these to the pile...

Queen Marie

Feather-like Fur

Marks & Spencer have done an amazing faux fur jacket that looks like it's made from millions of tiny feathers!

I'd buy this a few sizes bigger for maximum fluffiness and ideally wear it over a feather trim waistcoat with the feathers just popping out of the bottom. Like a lux version of Big Bird.

Queen Michelle