Style

Eliza Wyke / Style
August 24, 2020
in Fashion History & Exhibitions, Occasion Dressing, Style

One positive (and believe me I'm continuing to focus on the positives right now) from the lockdown is that it has given me the opportunity to reflect and be retrospective.  The months leading up to the lockdown had been frantic, with many last minute orders to fulfill, leaving me leaping from one project to the next with no time to breathe.  Last December during a trip to London, I had the opportunity to visit Zandra Rhodes's Fashion Museum.  The special exhibition was to celebrate 50 years in the business (of...

March 9, 2020
in Fashion History & Exhibitions, Style

Last month I had the opportunity to visit Liverpool and see an intriguing exhibition.  In contrast to usual fashion exhibitions which have a theme or highlight a design house, this exhibition contained a snapshot of a collection from one woman's wardrobe; Mrs Emily Tinne.  Indeed the entire collection, comprising more than 700 items, is the "largest collection of one person's clothes in a British Museum" and was donated to the National Museum Liverpool by Emily's youngest daughter.   This exhibition covered 1900 to 1940 - the years in which Emily married (into...

January 30, 2020
in Style, Tailoring

Late last year I had the privilege to bring to life a bride’s extraordinary vision.  She presented me with a rough sketch of her design and several bags of remnant / scraps of materials, beads, braiding and chiffon flowers.  From a large mound of fabrics (my cutting table overflowed!), I created a boned bodice, circular skirt (although for that we did buy extra fabric!), and a splendid train.  The bride, an artist, had amassed this collection of trims and fabrics over a number of years and from various trips abroad,...

June 17, 2019
in Fashion History & Exhibitions, Occasion Dressing, Style, Tailoring

Last week during a trip to Milan, I had the good fortune to find time to visit the Armani / Silos permanent exhibition.  The exhibition opened in 2015 to mark the 40th anniversary of Mr Armani’s designs.  Two floors of permanent exhibiting space house the designer’s creations over the 40-year period, curated into three themes:  Androgynous, Ethnicities and Stars.  The first floor explores the themes of Androgyny.  In which he identifies the jacket as an everyday must-have item, which indeed it is, and this space pairs menswear and womenswear together. ...

July 6, 2018
in Style, Tailoring

Staying stylish during a heatwave can be problematic.  Here in Blightly we're simply not used to the temperatures.  For most of us, if we're fortunate, a week in the sun each year means shorts and vest tops, worn year after year, and which simply aren't suitable for working life at home.  Whilst I'm fortunate enough to work for myself, meaning that jeans make up the cornerstone of my wardrobe, sometimes even I concede they have to take a back seat.  This prolonged heatwave being a case in point; it's simply...