Vivienne Westwood hot picks for Christmas 2014

I’ve always been a fan of Vivienne Westwood with their quirky edge to all of the lines from the more affordable Anglomania and the collaboration with Lee to the higher end Vivienne Westwood Man and Gold Label lines.

I mainly do most of my clothes shopping online due to the lack of any decent fashion shops in Cardiff over the past few years since the closer of my favourite store The Wardrobe and the Chessman shops too but Cardiff is starting to pick up again over the past year. St Davids 2 has slowly been tempting in not only some good fashion retailers but my other passion food is also on the up with the recently opened Wahaca and the immanent grant opening of Burger and Lobster so I’ve had a few trips into the capitol for a browse recently instead of relying on online retailers such as John Anthony, Selfridges and Harvey Nicholls.

One of my pet hates of shopping online is finding something to fit as my body is constantly fluctuating in shape and weight with me hitting Crossfit hard some months then having a bit of a break to rest the muscles. I find it a nightmare to find something to fit me in both length being the short arse I am and on my arms and shoulders especially shirts and polos as the shorter the top the smaller they are on the arms and around the chest. There’s nothing worse than feeling uncomfortable the later on in to the night when you have more to drink and the belly starts to bloat!

One thing i really hate is when you can never guess what size your going to be in the same brand of clothing as i can be anywhere between a small and a large in some brands, which is ridiculous when you have to pay every time you want something delivered, again to send it back and a third time if you want a different size.

Vivienne Westwood being my favourite brand at the moment have made my life a bit easier with the opening of the store in St Davids 2. Even though I like to shop around to get a good deal on my clothes it is handy to try things on in store then try to find the best price online for it if they don’t have it on sale that day in the Cardiff Vivienne Westwood store.

I’ve got about 4 or 5 of the standard Vivienne Westwood polo’s now so trying to find something different to wear as i’m sick of being seen in the same look for the past year.   I’ve also put a bit of bulk on around the shoulders and chest so my current purchases are looking a bit snug in a medium and think i need to upgrade to a a large for future purchases.

vivienne-westwood-sea-creatures-print-t-shirt-black-p102823-46454_zoomMy most recent purchase and one which i had wanted for some time but wasn’t willing to pay full price was the Vivienne Westwood Sea Creatures Graphic Tee. I managed to find it on sale online and decided to get to take with me on my recent trip to Amsterdam, as i thought it was rather fitting with the psychedelic colouring and floating jellyfish. Vivienne Westwood have used the sea creatures graphics on a number of items this season including the graphic tee, denim jacket, jeans and hoodie. You can get the sea creatures tee on Flannels at the moment.

I took a trip to the Vivienne Westwood store in Cardiff last week tovivienne westwood man aqua blue and yellow stripped shirt see any new arrivals and tried on a really nice Vivienne Westwood MAN Delhi Stripe Fitted Krall Shirt in Aqua/Yellow. I tried a medium on, which i really liked the close fitting all around but there wasn’t much room in the chest and didn’t leave much give for over Christmas as I managed to put half a stone in weight on last year. I tried the large on, which did look nice but didn’t feel as fitted everywhere else like the medium. The shirt was around £280 in store so even thought it was a really nice shirt i was putting that back on the shelf until a sale starts just before or after Christmas. You can get it online at the moment at Garment Quarter, one of my favourite stores in Bristol who also happen to own the Vivienne Westwood Cardiff store.

I’ve never been too keen on the Vivienne Westwood Pirate boots to be honest but noticed the trainers when i was in the Cardiff store and thought they didn’t look to bad. I’m on the hunt for a new pair of trainers as my Puma Alexander Mcqueen high tops have seen better days so i’ve been scouting out reasonable price for them online since i got home. The low profile trainers seem to be around the £270 mark and around £320 for the high tops with both sizes available in black or brown. The current price is a bit over my usual budget for trainers so again i will be waiting to see how much they go down to in the Christmas and January sales. You can find both the low and high top Vivienne Westwood trainers in black or brown on the Triads website.

vivienne westwood high top trainers in brown        vivienne westwood low trainers in black

 

 

 

 

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This is not clothing collection II/II graphic tee

This is not clothing brand is aims to celebrate and and reinvent artwork through exhibition on wearable canvases. The brand is founded by Jam Sutton who is a photographer, artists and music video director whose work is inspired by pop culture, art and music. This is stands to reason why he’s worked with the likes of Will.I.AM, N.E.R.D and Steve Aoki on videos and album artwork.

The This is not clothing tees feature artwork from some of Jam Suttons limited edition prints and is exclusive to Harvey Nichols in the UK but you can purchase them on the brand website in Euros.

I first came across the This is not clothing brand on the Harvey Nichols website back in December 2012 where i bought my first graphic tee from the collection I, which was the “The Madonna of Port Lligat”. I was instantly drawn to all the tees as soon as I saw the collection and knew I wanted one but was torn between which one to get but this one stood out for me. The first collection was heavily influenced by pop culture and Marilyn Monroe features in most of the art works.

my this is not clothing graphic tee picThe This is not clothing collection II featuring heaving with skulls and skeletons in half of the art works and graphic tees, which was inspired by the Dutch art movement of 17th Century. The other half of the collection was inspired by Catalan muralist Josep Maria Sert who was well know for his Grisaille pieces often in gold and black.

This is not clothing collection II/II went one step further and using the pieces from the collection II by using all over colours not just the standard blank white canvas of the previous two collections, lots of blacks and featuring the gold frames famed by Josep Maria Sert who inspired the original pieces.

this is not clothing liberty II front graphic tee

this is not clothing momento 2

 

 

 

 

 

The first two collections of graphic tees for This is not clothing retail for around £80 and only available in Harvey Nichols in the UK and around the same in Euros on the This is not clothing website but make allowance for exchange rate differences.

As the collection II features more colours with artwork and graphics on the back of the tees and the gold frames around the sleaves and neck instead of just a canvas on the front of a white tee from the first two they are more expensive and come in at  €130 and are only available directly on the This is not clothing website.

Shop the whole collection of This is not clothing graphic tees.

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Alexander McQueen x Puma Street Climb Mid III Moonless Night Trainers

I’ve been a lover of the collaboration between Alexander McQueen and Puma with their trainers for about 4 years now and bought about 6 pairs myself over that time. My favourite trainers for the Puma Mcqueen collection have been the street climb with options of low with standard trainer size and the mid with high top ankle support.

The Alexander McQueen by Puma AW13 collection has been out for bit now but was handing on till Christmas to see if there were any sales on to get a bit of a discount but none as of yet. My pick from the Puma McQueen AW13 collection has to be the Street Climb Mid III Moonless Night Trainers with black leather, purple contrasting suede detailing and soles with white rubber outsole currently available for £175.00.

The main difference between the Street Climb Mid II and the Street Climb Mid III is the hook and loop staner with the branded Puma McQueen logo but the finish on the leather has contrasting textures such as the puma logo on the side that is normally smooth in texture but now has more natural appearance.

Not only do the Puma McQueens look the part they are so comfy on your feet too so not only ultra stylish with practical too. I’ve teamed my Puma Mcqueen Street Climb Mid II trainers with jeans on a night out but you can also dress them down and I’ve taken them on a few music festivals with shorts like Ultra in Miami back in March.

View the rest of the Alexander Mcqueen X Puma AW13 collection at Hervia.

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