Monthly Archives: November 2009

…On the subject of Brighton

Posted in Vintage by


I am a huge fan of vintage clothes, (as can probably be seen by my blog) and undoubtedly one of the shops which has fueled this obsession is Hope and Harlequin in Brighton. I purchased my first three proper vintage garments from there nearly three years ago and haven’t stopped returning since. On the last tally between things i have bought myself there and things my Mum has bought for me I’ve spent about about £1400 in there…oh dear. The thing with Hope and Harlequin is that it is a matter of quality,every time you go in there you want to buy something, partly because the shop is so beautifully arranged and partly to do with how wonderful the stock is. Everytime you put on one of the garments in the shop you start to feel the history taking over and are transported back to when each garment was worn Yes, often it needs repairs and is falling apart, but the clothes sold there often have a history behind them and show a craftmanship of a previous age which i feel is forgotten in everything but couture these days. One of the other main reasons you can’t help but spend money is due to Louise who owns the shop, everytime i go in there she picks out items for me (which inevitably i end up buying) and she seems to know the personal story of all of her customers. She has also been incredibly helpful in terms of getting clothes altered to fit, most of the vintage i have has needed slight alterations and she has had this all sorted out for me with out a problem.
So, if you are ever in Brighton head down to Sydney street and take a peek at Hope and Harlequin, you won’t be disappointed.
I am just going to upload a few example of clothing i have from Hope and Harlequin for now, but i will add some more soon.
Green and white print 50’s circle dress- appears to be handmade- with original metal zip.
Mexican printed 1950’s circle skirt- Hook and eye closure
The shoes at the top, unfortunately don’t belong to me and are property of the shop, from the very first time i visited Hope and Harlequin i have been trying to persuade Louise to part with these stunning original 1940’s platforms with no avail, they are truly an iconic piece and as beautiful in real life as they appear in the picture (these shoes also appear in the Thames and Hudson dictionary of fashion)


Brighton project

Posted in My Work by

For my digital design project we were asked to pick an inspirational theme and design a collection of prints and garment shapes for the theme. I picked Brighton as my theme, simply because it is one of my favourite places in the U.K. to visit and i could take so much inspiration from my numerous visits there. These are some of my original prints, although i think they are a little bit wrong for the project they were rather fun to do! I got my inspiration from a number of things in and around Brighton, for example i used the motifs seen on the horses on the main carousel as my key inspiration point taking elements such as the repeating bow design and floral sections from this source. Other sources of inspiration included the pavillion and the amusements on the pier.




Fab fab prints

Posted in Great young talent by


Whilst wandering aimlessly across the internet today i discover something quite exciting, the design work of a Graduate fashion Week winner Charlotte Simpson. FAB STUFF.
I absolutely adore her use of bold patterns “inspired by turkish architecture” that have this futuristic warped, almost mechanical look to them. This is really taking something old and turning it into something new at its best. she also uses a really great variety of fabrics using “leather, suede and brightly coloured silks”. This young textile designer really has a skill for putting juxtaposing elements together in a harmonious clash, the various elements of he designs are so eye popping yo almost feel as if they shouldn’t work but somehow they just scream excitement. Her work has a look of Manoush Arora only much more wearable.
Take a looksie at some of her designs here: http://www.ftape.com/rt/_designers/_charlottesimpson/