These are a few of my favourite things

If I was to list the top 3 things I miss most about the mother land it would look something like this:

1.Soft Water (apparently this exists)

2.Vitamin D (the natural type)

3.MIMCO

I’m a huge advocate of finishing off a look with some type of hair/head accessory. Hat, scarf, ribbon, feather, hell I’ll put a basket of flowers on my head if I think it pulls the outfit together, however, I tend to continually search unsuccessfully for pretty, on trend, special hair attire here in the UK.

MIMCO undoubtedly shines as Australia's leading fashion accessories brand and sits sweetly in an exclusive position between luxury designer and high street brands. There is simply no comparison on product design and exclusivity here in the UK. A plastic head band from Claire’s for example, is a bit like a lucky dip, you never know what you're going to get. Generally their £2 bands are so tight and rough around the edges that they leave you with a behind the ears headache and a nasty “I was wearing a head band earlier” line indented in your do - an issue that one doesn’t have to worry about when purchasing an ergonomically designed MIMCO hair accessory. Price of course will double even triple with the purchase of MIMCO over Claire’s, provoking the question – do we only get what we pay for?

Accessorize is a cheap and sometimes nasty version of MIMCO but once again it’s a lucky a dip. I have a lovely beaded clutch I’ve used for years from Accessorize but have found every pair of own brand tights to have laddered in the first 5 minutes or tend to bunch, giving me a bad case of elephant ankles, not great considering height at 165cm is clearly an issue here. I have never been disappointed with a MIMCO product (bag, scarf or hair product) and have always got more than my monies worth out of their high use. What Im chasing now is an answer to this accessory heaven here in London.

At one point I heard a rumour that this retail dream was moving into high profile locations across the UK and Ireland, the first due to open around September 2007, hhhmmmm I strongly believe I have my finger on the London fashion pulse and I'm yet to hear about any MIMCO stand alone boutiques, concession spaces or wholesale relationships here in London, have you?

2 of life's little luxuries - boyfriends and MIMCO hair decoration

Blow Out

A fifth member of the SATC team seemed to steal the thunder from our 4 favourite New Yorkers last night. It wasn’t BIG or do we now have a license to call him ‘John’ nor was it the ridiculous, out this world hotness of Samatha’s toy boy Smith or do we call him Gerard? more to the point were they even there?

For me, the star by far of last nights red carpet moment was a stunning lime green flora and fauna creation that sat firmly on the side of the ever lovely SJP’s head. Ugliest women alive – I think not. Yet again, artisan Philip Treacy steals the lime light (another outstanding play on words by yours truly) from his client and basks in the glory of his millinery brilliance.

Let's take this moment to view a few of his previous works paying special attention to the late Isabella Blow. Blow, the worlds most eccentric and slightly peculiar fashion director was Treacy's most stanch supporter – even renting out her basement flat to the hat maker for 3 years keeping him on hand to create outlandish and surreal creations at a minutes notice.

• Butler Check


• Driver Check


• Personal Milliner hat making in the basement Check

She is truly missed, however, still manages to steal the show from beyond, quite a fashionable and extravagant achievement really and today we thank her for that – enjoy.

...and so the hunt continues

The weekend saw me experimenting with 2 more sunglass options. I'm not quite sure if they were hit or miss (I'm leaning more towards miss) but here's the evidence. You be the judge.

Article number 1: Saturday - Bricklane on a fruitless adventure to the very overcrowded and steaming hot Absolute Vintage, usually a pleasure but this week I just couldn't cope.

I give to you the £2 Primark oversized plastic numbers. I unfortunately felt like a bad version of the already bad Mrs Victoria 'you cant see my face for my glasses' Beckham. I'm giving them a solid 5 of 10. This surprisingly high average is due simply to the fact that the lens reflects a lovely shade of chocolate over all I see, I imagine this is how Willy of the Wonker Factory fame views his magical world of singing little people and sugar coated goodness. That's what dreams are made of.

Article 2: Desperate to shade the eyes from the scorching sun while blogging & researching at my local beer haunt (so very British), I trialled a ridiculously over priced pair of Chanel wrap arounds with garish mother of pearl CC's on the arms. A truly terrible move and almost WAGGY which we all know is my worst nightmare. I'm giving them a sound 3.5.....however teaming them with those lovely Jeager pearls could have just pushed them up to a clear 4.

.....and so my friends the search continues, when and where it will end we don't know. Daily I dream of summer eye wear utopia and a land where plastic and lens come together in perfect pupil protection harmony. When I finally reach this destination of hope I will no doubt inform you all of where to found this land of promise. Till then we will continue with this tedious trial and error approach. The pain, the pain....

R.I.P. PC

Dear All,

I would like to inform you that as of today May 11 2008 'Petra the PC' has sadly resigned from MOMTD and is moving on to newer pastures. 

We would like to thank her for all her hard work and especially highlight her integral involvement, hours of hard work and late nights during the launching of MOMTD and wish her all the best with her future endeavours.

We have spent the good part of the last 6 weeks debating the PC Vs Mac theories here in the head offices of MOMTD. We've road tested, hung out at PC world, attended free lectures at Apple Regent Street and as a result would like to welcome 'MacBeth' to our team and hope she will enjoy her time with us and look forward to her contributions and successors.

Kindest Regards,
Francis Girard
Mud On My Tea Dress
Editor in Chief

Negative Ghost-Rider... the pattern is full

Due to the pure awesomeness of the weather here in London this week I have begun the summer search for the perfect sunglasses. Quite similar to the winter coat hunt really, considering it becomes quite a high use seasonal item you really do have to be super happy with your choice, bearing in mind that in 6 months you will detest the item due to its everyday requirement and general over use.

I believe eye wear choice can tell you a lot about a person. Glasses belong in the same category as belts, wallets and shoes, a quick glance south of the shins and I can generally pin personality type, job description and post code – so much for living in a classless society.

There are 2 categories of sunglasses:
1) Cheap, on trend, breakable and easy to replace
2) Prescription ergo expensive ergo break your heart when you sit on them

I unfortunately belong to the latter of the 2 groups and therefore spend a good month (generally May) contemplating size, shape, colour (lens & frame) and price. I’m not fussy when it comes to label however tend to shy away from massive D&G style branding & sparkle on the arms. Eeek.

Due to my prescription requirement I’m limited when it comes to frame and style. The outer rim must be strong and the manufacturing sturdy to hold the thicker than usual lens and the shape can not be too rounded or “wrapped” or my optometrist will refuse to fit the lens. This unfortunately was my problem in the summer of 2007 leaving me with my tortoise shell, over sized, pre baby, Nicole Richie themed sunglasses. The Rachel Zoe days were so yesterday.

I’m just dying (how very dramatic & not at all accurate) to find the perfect pair of aviators (aren't we all?) and was advised yesterday that the best place to find them is in the kids range of Ray Ban. Apparently they are smaller, catering for children’s faces and sturdier catering for children’s clumsiness – perfect. Only problem is aviators are impossible to fit prescription lenses to (rim too thin and shape too tricky) – not so perfect, considering I’d prefer to see the approaching bus, giving me time to step out of its way before it actually hits me.

Yesterday saw me donning my mates vintage R.B aviators circa 1987, complete with warranty and classic old school case, love love love them, the only problem being I can’t see a bloody thing when I wear them – quite a big problem really. I could opt for contact lenses all in the name of fashion but tend to get a severe case of ‘red eye’ after a few hours of wear, prompting parental questions such as “are you smoking pot?” “should we be worried about you Francis?” – also quite a problem. I could simply let the aviator dream go and continue the search for the perfect summer accessory; however, its just such a drag, try on, take off, try on, take off etc etc and so forth…..

Maybe I’ll take a gamble and buy online this year, it’s a risky purchase considering glasses are such a personal statement but considering the sun seems to only make guest appearances here in the UK, a bad, expensive sunglass purchase has nothing on wearing an unfortunate non returnable winter coat for 7 long, cold months.

Reduce Your Carbon Jimmy Choo

In the guerrilla market of retail it seems of late the small voices of Ethical Fashion Groups have finally begun to break through and industry professionals are slowly becoming a little more aware. The big guns seem to be taking time out to think about waste and the negative effects that throw away fashion seems to be bringing to our environment. Honestly, up until recent times I too was entirely ignorant to this greater environmental problem. I'll admit I have an all consuming over indulgent love affair with fabrics and layering and up until this point had never bothered to take any steps towards improving the big picture.

This brings me to the introduction of Miss Mia Nisbet (a friend of a friend) who has taken all of the above into her own creative hands and developed a collection purely based on old clothing that has been recycled, twisted, remade and recreated into her ‘Reclaim To Wear’ collection. Due to her recent success in the ‘Make Your Mark In Fashion’ comp she will show the collection under the label ‘MIAWI’ at Fashion Week here in London. How exciting.

On a recent trip to Malawi, Nisbet was overwhelmed by the ridiculous amount of surplus second hand clothing that had been imported from the states and sold in street markets hence giving her the idea of fusing these ‘left overs’ with traditional Malawi dress in the theme of recycling and designing. She proposes to fuse together these hand me downs with “African Clothes, fabrics and prints of Malawi” and show them here in September. Brilliant.

I love the messiness mixed with structure and the hints of the original garment that are still visible in the final product. Due to the recreative (made up word) process that each piece has gone through it seems that each article of clothing has a story, a past, where did the fabric for that bustle come from? Who slept in on a cold Sunday morning in that hoodie before it became a statement piece on the catwalk at LFW?

I am by no means an environmental angel and most certainly a victim of 21st century consumerism. Yes, I have been privy to the odd Battersea car boot sale (3 in total), I have lots of pretty stars next to my name on ebay and have be known to send garbage bags home to be passed off on my younger cousins. I must admit though, of late, I have been taking a little more notice of ethical fashion groups and the awareness they are trying to raise. What I don’t understand is why we don’t think twice about ensuring we turn off the tap when we brush our teeth, turn off our PC at the wall before we go to bed, take care and recycle only the correct materials, yet these ethical groups/labels still have to work so extraordinarily hard just to be noticed?…... Superficiality I fear.

Aphrodite

The Met Costume Institute Ball brought us quite an array of glamour this year, there was a slight nod to theme of superheroes, however; generally we saw meters and meters of soft draped fabrics in silk, satin and chiffon. I’m just loving the way folds and pleats are falling with this popular Grecian draped trend, it's giving me an excuse to wrap up and cover all those winter curves.

We also saw numerous one shouldered neck lines (also a Greek influence) bronzed skins and hem lines bunching on the floor, just beautiful for those gifted with height and Mediterranean blood.

Considering I meant to post this yesterday (my day job seems to be getting in the way) I won’t keep you and simply post a visual of my favourites.

Hot off the bakerloo line

In keeping with my "everyday london discoveries" byline (is that what its called?) I discovered a 5 pound discount in the LondonLite this afternoon. I was; however, slightly disappointed that the small print disclosed that the discount was for menswear only but with current trends screaming boyfriend blazers, boyfriend trousers, boyfriend blar blar blar* why not let your fingers do the walking and log onto asos enter LITE08 as the discount code at checkout and until 4pm tomorrow 5 pounds off applies to all menswear orders placed over 50 quid.

If you don't fancy a boyfriend blazer for yourself why not splash out on your very hip and cool dad or your 'needs a stylist real bad' brother, spoil your best male mate or the hot guy you fancy from accounts (so cliche) but have never had courage to talk too - actually that may be a bit weird.

Just thought I would share today's London discovery and spread the online retail joy that is asos.com.

* p.s.what happens if you're feeling a little down and out because you currently don't have a boyfriend? I bet the copy writers down at arcadia group don't give a flying saucepan about that do they? Insensitive really.

Wrap It Up

Head scarves are a bit like hats – it takes stack of confidence and a really bad hair day to walk out of the house donning one.

I'm quite a fan and over the years I have acquired lots.... many, hundreds even. Silk, cotton, striped, patterned, spotted. Ridiculous I know. They currently live in the top drawer of my bedside table and only get out and about now and then, but when they do they always seem to have the most fabulous time.

The correct shape is super important and separates the high use scarves from the sad, back of the drawer scarves. The old school square shape (very popular in thrift shops and markets - never pay more than £1 for these) are just too difficult to scrunch and tie. I much prefer the long rectangular shape that are made specifically for head or waist wrapping.

Another problem can be width, too much fabric and they become too heavy and the scrunching too wide. Ive done a bit if research and the perfect width when spread out flat should be approx 11cm (head size relevance is also important here). I tend to like them long, I favour the tails hanging out from underneath it gives me that “I have really long hair” even though I don’t feeling.

Now with a bucket full of self assurance and a killer kick ass attitude pull your hair back, shake off your shyness and take a step towards joining the head scarf brigade. Its totally hot right now (apparently).

Clutch It

It just never dies. Our mums carried them, our grandmas carried them, their grandmas grandmas carried them - they are legendary and classic and I have quite the collection lining my top drawer. I’ve over heard and read a lot of late that the clutch is very ‘ON’ trend this season but between you and me I don’t think we ever got over this chic under arm handbag; therefore, I'm not quite sure how we can all of a sudden be ‘on’ it again.

Over time the size may have differed slightly and the shape sometimes twists to give us a more up to date silhouette; however, generally the clutch remains rectangle and closes with a clasp, magnetic button (often used with the envelope style) or as seen with the more modern versions the use of the zipper seems quite popular (quite like a pencil case really).

I do, however, struggle with space limitations and the piling/pulling of fabric underneath the arm (especially when the dress fabric is delicate and the clutch fabric beaded or raw i.e snake skin’s a killer). For best results always carry the clutch in your hand when your dress is made of sheer or fine fabric and where possible get yourself a handsome, well dressed date, there are multiple hidden pockets within the suit jacket even if they always tell you they are full. They are lying. Always limit clutch contents to the bare essentials – nothing screams WAG more than an over packed clutch.

Let there be sun

Mother Nature (aka Nasty Pastie) is telling me that it's going to be 19 degrees on Saturday.

I therefore plan on looking like this

If it's not 19 degrees and I therefore don't look like this, Mother Nature and I will no longer have any type of relationship. We will officially fall out. It will be over. Period.

An apple a day

They’re back. Easton Pearson returned to the runway at SAFW after quite sometime off (terribly busy and important in Paris it seems) with the most magical collaboration I’ve seen in quite some time.

With a nod to the hand painted fabric obsession we have seen so much of in Europe this year these BRISBANE girls brought us a mystical, rainbow palate of colour and extravagance. Layers of jewel coloured silks, satins, dipped feathers and hand sewn embroidery accessorized with the most extraordinarily head pieces of flowers, fruit and fernery. Some might say just too extreme and some what fancy dress (ah la Carmen Miranda), I say, simply stunning and let's raid grandmas fake fruit bowl (have I lost the plot? Possibly yes).

The highlight for me was the bouffant, pink, bubbled hemmed organza gown with the prettiest soft, printed black sheer overlay (above) – Get Thee To The Ball…….