Adam Tinworth

Fashionably Recessional

There was a small debate on Twitter this morning, possibly triggered by Glynn, about the relationship between hemlines and the economic conditions. He found this reference:

Almost anything can be an economic indicator. Back in the 1920s, the economist George Taylor conceived the hemline index, finding that skirts got longer as the economy slowed. These days, there's been talk of a haircut index, with short locks signaling a market drop.

Now, this season seems to be all about maxi dresses. And this story about stars shearing their locks short just popped up on a fashion blog.

Double dip recession anyone?

Debenhams Doesn't Want You To Advertise It

H&M lets you embed slideshows of its advertising campaigns. Yet Debenhams doesn't allow you to embed its adverts.

Opportunity: Missed.

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• Debenhams to return to TV advertising amid 11pc profits rise (telegraph.co.uk)

The Anonymous Famous Face

I saw this on the side of a bus the other day. It was striking, in a slightly Bet Lynch sort of way... 

Striking enough, in fact, that I went to the Mango site to see the rest of the images. And I discovered something I hadn't realised: the model in the image was a famous actress, one I've referred to before on this blog. Yet, when I'd looked at the image I'd had absolutely no idea it was Scarlett Johannson.

In fact, I'd noted this one in passing a few weeks before, and equally not noted its star content:

Watching Karen Millen find its blogging feet

I love watching new blogs develop. I discovered a few months back that high street fashion chain Karen Millen has started blogging last year, and I've become an avid reader. Maybe it's because I spend my working life helping people get their start in social media, but watching a young blog find its voice and style over the first year or so of its life just fascinates me.

There's something really touching about the Karen Millen blog, because there's something very slightly amateur hour about it. It's hosted on wordpress.com without a mapped domain name, and there's a very clear sense of real people writing the post, without a descent into marketing speak. Even the photography is evidently done by the posters rather than seasoned pros. Compare these two pictures, from a post about a Karen Millen dress won in a charity competition:

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The picture on the left is the original from the blog post, the one on the right a tweaked version just done in Preview.app on my Mac (I did nothing more than auto-levels). But that's cool. That feels more authentic. I get the same feeling of relationship and honesty that I do when I watch my bloggers do things like this. Good work, Karen Millen team.

Likin' the People Tree

I love People Tree far more than I should do a company I've yet to spend a single penny with for Dr. T or myself (note to self: rectify). Clothes that can salve my environmental conscience and look good? Result!

I was reminded of their existence by a post on Stylelist about their recent fashion show.

Nice to see that the company has a blog, too, written by company founder Safia Minney.

Will buy stuff and report back.

(Dress featured is called Georgina)

Ladies Love Leather (Apparently)

Now, I love a woman in a leather dress as much as the next straight man. So, the news that the above Marks & Spencer dress is flying off the shelves (it's out of stock only a week after it was launched) should be enough to put a smile on my face for weeks, or at least, for the rest of the autumn season.

The Daily Mail is busy singing its praises, and it was noticed by some bloggers weeks ago (and some commenters). 

 And yet...

Well, for one thing, I really do fail to understand the "hit dress" idea. Every woman I know has a quiet horror of turning up at a "do" in the same dress as another woman. Surely the very notion of "hit dress" should be a big, flashing neon sign warning women away?

And, is it me, or does that dress looks a bit, well, cheap? Somehow, both the M&S image on the left, and the Daily Mail one on the right make a genuine leather dress look like pleather. And that can't be good.

Summer's Coming...

...and with it some colourful fashions, according to the windows on the King's Road. About time, too…

Anti-Ginger Nuts

Gingerism: is it racism? - Styledash:

According the BBC, red-head hating is still going strong around the world, but especially in the UK. Based on anecdotal reports, nearly every natural red-head has faced at least some kind of discrimination ranging from childhood taunting, to sexual rejection to violent hate crimes. (The most extreme case of anti-red-head sentiment, of course, being the 2003 stabbing of a red-headed 20-year-old man.)

Personally, I think this is all about lingering cultural prejudice against the Celts. They were the one-time rulers of the British Isles, who eventually got pushed to the very edges of the islands, and their distinctive characteristics became undesirable, as it marked you as one of the losers. However, i have to be careful here, as my wife is very much a redhead…

Which reminds me, does anyone else think that there's something missing from this? In particular, that female redheads actually get an easier ride than male redheads? Certainly in much of the US, and the UK too, a red-headed woman is seen as an attractive proposition. Why is it cool for women to be redheads, and embarrassing for men?