Emerging Fervour

Oleg used to work with the girls and I at our old design agency. A bit of a ladies man, he charmed his way through us ladies and managed to win our hearts along the way. Never one to shy away from experimentation, Oleg’s style is definitely his own…now check out his favourite outfits…

Oleg: I saw these trousers on a guy at a bus stop and loved them immediately. Actually I loved them so much, I asked him where he got them from, and I generally don’t talk to strangers. The belt was a present from my girlfriend, and that’s the finest leather I ever had in my life. For the last year or so I’ve been having an affair with checked shirts, and I always buy them from one place – Esprit, they just feel right there. Great for casual wearing or work.

Or what’s in your suitcase as I’ve been in Hamburg the last 2 weeks and due to the bloody weight restriction, I was only allowed to travel with 15kg. 15kg for 4 weeks?!?! On top of that I was told, pack for rain, snow, laid back and lots of walking… mh that sounded to me like 4 different wardrobes. So after going though mine several times I packed things to mix and match and having now spend over 2 weeks interchanging I feel I go the balance right. There is a lot of blue in there though….

This is my favourite dress, it’s vintage from the 50ties and I found it on eBay for a fiver. It can be dressed up or down depending on shoes and/or cardigan. My Marc Jacobs boots (I salivated over them for months on end but patiently waited for the big Sale and got lucky!! I love them so so much!!) and my lovely Clements bag (Secret Diary of a Handbag Designer) complete the look. This outfit makes me feel happy no matter what mood I was in before and will come with me wherever I go.

Ah the lovely Anna. The reason I got into Zara again was because of Anna and her amazing finds there. She used to work at my old design agency with me; a really quirky graphic designer, Anna also does a bit of fashion design on the side – check out her site www.annaparellada.com

I’ve always adored her style and the way she effortlessly pulls off all of her outfits so I just had to ask her to be my next wardrobe feature. Here is the lovely Anna and looks from her wardrobe.

WAISTCOAT

Anna: I love this outfit because it makes me feel so ¨Spanish¨. I wear it all the time in summer nights near the beach or in the city, is so easy to combine as it can be worn with flat gladiators during the day or with wedges at night. I just feel so me in it!

WAISTCOAT

Answer: Lot’s of things with studs!

Recently I’ve been giving my credit card a bit of a bashing with all the beautiful crap I’ve been buying. I thought I’d share my top buy with you…my stud jacket. 

JACKET

So it’s no secret that I like studs, on everything, belts, shoes, dresses and to complete my collection, this jacket caught my wandering eye. Studs make such a statement and this jacket almost forces me to exhude confidence. Shifting from military and into warrior is the way I’m heading into 2010…

What we found

1. Skirt £70: Zola skirt from French Connection 2. Boots £160: Salvador from Kurt Geiger 3. Metal cuff £264: Marie Seguy at farfetch.com

Zara – www.zara.com 
Blank: www.blanknyc.com
Maria Pino: www.mariapino.com

I met Olli one bizarre work-drinks Friday (she’s an ex-colleagues girlfriend) and couldn’t help but perv on her amazing style for the whole night. Luckily she didn’t get too freaked and agreed to help me kick start our new feature that looks inside the wardrobes of non-famous but super trendy people. We know, sounds amazing…and it is, so here is Olli Leivers rocking five different outfits:

SEQUIN DRESS

Olli says: “I love this dress. I think the high street has become a little TOO inundated with sequins recently. They can be a little lairy/tacky at times. I personally love them when they’re used subtly like this. I feel all aquatic and magical in it. Although, I’ll usually dirty up a look that’s too girly – hence the jacket and whopping great big platforms.”

If you like the style and after something slightly different, then check out our suggestions throughout this piece.

What we found

1. Dress £363: Antik Batik from farfetch.com 2. Jacket £519: Preen from fatfetch.com 3. Shoes £140: Ethel by KG at Kurt Geiger

We all know the world and fashion goes round and round. I’ve stumbled across a video about the military trends in 1994 and you could easily wear quite a few of the outfits and fit right into the military trend. Oh and spot a young Naomi and Kate Moss in there!!

I do prefer the 2009 version though as it’s become much more edgy.

Check out these fabulous coats and shoes that bring any wardrobe up to date.

Firetrap £170 (at Coogles.com)

Sammie Jacket £350  (French Connection)

Tempest Jacket £115 (French Connection)

Religion victorian jacket £100 (at Coogles.com)

Villa blazer £45 (at Coogles.com)

Jamie boot £200 (French Connection)

Vivienne Westwood Pirata boots £350 (at Coogles.com)

KG Sevita boots £195 (at Kurt Geiger)

Ok, I’m having an obsession at the moment with the whole Bohemian Luxe/Foho thing that has been a showstopper for Gucci’s A/W 2008/2009 collection for both men and women.

There is so much choice out there for this look, how can anyone shy away from having a go?

Women’s key items to this look are:

• folk inspired leather pieces
• luxe fur or fur trimmed pieces
• peasant shirts
• embroidery and paisley prints
• charm / coin belts and jewellery
• fringed long skinny scarves
• fringed boots or shoes

Wear this look with bed hair and smoky eye make up to get the most out of it. Match it up with long flowing hair for the ultimate Esmerelda meets sex-goddess look.

For those of us working on a budget, high street stores such as French Connection have really gone for it with Foho – in fact their collections seem to be getting better and better lately.