The London Frock Exchange

How To Have Summer Fun Vintage Style by Caroline Cox

2011-06-15T11:53:00.014+01:00

I have a motto when it comes to a holiday - No-Frills equals No-Thrills. The days of Inter-railing across Europe, sleeping on the roof of a Greek pension company or camping in a sodden shit-filled field in the lakes are long gone for me. Now I want a holiday with glam glam glamour or i'd rather stay at home, watch re-runs of Dynasty and channel Alexis Colby. Jackie O loved a vacation, seeing it as the chance to experience something new and culturally authentic - as she put it "I know that to visit Seville and not ride horseback at the fair is equal to not coming at all". And in 1968 whilst at the Yucatan peninsula, her travel companion noted that "she wasn't content just to see the Mayan ruins by daytime - she also insisted on seeing them by moonlight, on horseback to get the feeling of the way it was the day before yesterday. And once she tossed herself into a pool near the ruins with all her clothes on.' (I have to confess that Jackie's approach is not necessarily my own and the closest I have been to horseback riding on my hols is the donkey ride from Santorini port up to my boutique hotel).

It shouldn't be all work, work, work for us grown-up girls and now and again we need to re-charge our batteries on a suitably glamorous break - as Marlene Dietrich said, "If you can manage to have ice-cold Dom Perignon in a beautiful glass on the terrace of a Paris restaurant looking onto trees in a midday autumn sun you will feel like the most luxurious grown-up in the world."

Here's a suggestion for a getaway with glamour.

Why not try Los Angeles - Kim Novak style

Kim Novak was a hat-check girl turned model from Chicago who hung out in the City of Angels after touring the country as a Deepfreeze to publicise a refrigerator company. In the early fifties she was signed up by Columbia's Harry Coen as a Marilyn Monroe type and by 1957 was a major box-office star featured on the cover of Time magazine. She had a haunting, melancholic quality that drew men to her with a siren's call including Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and African-American entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. Fearing a public backlash over this last particular relationship racist boss Harry Coen got in the Mafia hit men who forced Sammy into a shotgun marriage with a Vegas showgirl. Today Novak is nearly 80 and spends her time painting on a ranch in California.

So from Las Vegas to Hollywood - In LaLa Land you will find that you have to get a cab everywhere! The city is huge, humid and sprawling with no discernible centre and nobody walks - the residents will stare at you with curiosity if you do. If you've never been here before you MUST go to Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard which opened in 1927 - fights broke out as fans tried to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars - also see the Art Deco L.A Union Station.

For the full fifties experience start with lunch in Canter's deli at 491 Faifax Avenue, reputedly a favourite haunt of Kim's as well as odd couple Marilyn Monroe and playwright Arther Miller. Have a Hot Pastrami sandwhich or Chicken Matzoth ball soup. Or drive to Pink's Hotdog Stand on 709 North La Brea Ave and munch on a chilli Dog. Pink's proximity to Paramount Pictures has made it legendary in Hollywood and harks back to the days when kids with dreams used to hang their head-shots and phone numbers on its walls in the hopes of being discovered. Actor and director Orson Welles still holds the record for eating the most hot dogs in one sitting - 18! Also the spot where Sean Penn proposed to Madonna and Bruce Willis to Demi Moore........

For pre-dinner drinks try Boardner's Bar (1652 N. Cherokee Ave) - a snug voluptuously curving bar, neon lit and steeped in Hollywood history or the Formosa (7156 Santa Monica Blvd) which opened in 1934 and is festooned with faded and autographed photos of its star-studded patrons. Then eat enchiladas tapatias and check the ambience at Lucy's El Adobe Mexican restaurant at 5536 Melrose Ave, an old school studio hang-out, or El Coyote (7312 Beverly Boulevard) purveyor of Mexican food to the stars since 1930 including Loretta Young, John Wayne, Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco. If you don't like Hot Tamales and Margaritas (what's WRONG with you?) try the classic Italian Miceli's restaurant at 1646 las Palmas Avenue. And if you're a fan of Mad Men (and who isn't. Can't believe we have to wait a whole nother year for the next series) you must go to Musso & Frank's at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard which starred in season 1, Episode 7. Open since 1919, this dimly lit film noresque restaurant (Raymond Chandler wrote The Big Sleep here) has served Greta Garbo, Claudette Colbert and Bette Davis. The walls are wood paneled, the booths upholstered in leather in the same shade of the waiter's jackets and you can get shrimp cocktails and oyster pie as well as a standard steak.

Stay at the Sunset Tower Hotel, a beautiful example of Art Deco architecture on the fabled Sunset Boulevard that was originally a block of luxury apartments. residents included garbo, Mae West, Carole Lombard and John Wayne who kept a pet cow on his balcony so that guests could have fresh milk with their coffee. Eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes housed several of his mistresses here and a snap-brimmed Sinatra had a bachelor pad where he proposed to Ava Gardner as she drunkenly hung over his balcony. In the seventies Iggy Pop used to from his apartment window straight into the pool - his drug use was so prodigious he used to miss a couple of times a month and end up being rushed to hospital. The tower fell into disrepair in the 1980s until converted into a lovely luxury hotel (8358 Sunset Boulevard, Double rooms around £200 www.sunsettowerhotel.com).

Here's some suggestions for a getaway wardrobe with glamour:

Click here for more glamourous frocks that would suit the Hollywood Hills.

For Armchair travellers:

Watch: Strangers When We Meet (1960) Kim Novak and Kirk Douglas in an amazing study of suburban infidelity filmed on location in Brentwood, Malibu and Beverly Hills.

read: The Day of The Locust by Nathanial west (1939), an ironic depression-era novel examining a motly group of Hollywood hangers-on.

Vidal Sassoon: The Movie by Caroline Cox

2011-05-17T21:24:00.017+01:00

Stepping out in one of LFE's finest frocks, I had a fabulous night last night at the British premiere of Vidal Sassoon: The Movie at the Westfield Centre in London - the first documentary to showcase the pioneering work of the world's best known hairdresser.

Vidal made an appearance alongside Kate Moss' stylist James Brown plus Nicky Clarke, Trevor Sorbie and other assorted hair celebs. The movie by ex-head of Bumble and Bumble Michael Gordon celebrated Vidal's life and the cutting edge hair designs he developed in the 1960s including the 5 point cut, the Nancy Kwan A line bob and Mary Quant's signature bob that she still wears today (she has it cut at Sassoon's Sloane Square salon). We saw that Sassoon made hair swing like the sixties itself - he was one of the first hairdresser's to treat hair as hair, as organic material rather than stuff that had to be rigidly set and hair-sprayed into a heavy helmet. Geometry and precision were his watchwords matching the Chelsea girl look that was being bought in the boutiques of London and seen on Carnaby Street. Hair was revolutionised and women were liberated from the twice weekly visit to the salon for a shampoo and set.

Most disconcertingly for me, I had a key role in the movie talking about Vidal's importance in hair and fashion and found it most off-putting to see my face projected onto the huge screen. I found myself burying my head into the shoulder of my good friend Jos Gibson, Principal of Sassoon in Knightsbridge and a fantastic barbering talent. One mustn't think that Sassoon is only sixties though - I work alongside International Creative Director Mark Hayes helping develop ideas for their ground-breaking hair collections and the company, under his direction, is as dynamic and exciting as ever. Check out the new Sassoon collection Tribe 1 (below) and if you love hair and its history I have written two books on the subject Good Hair Days: A History of British Hairstyling (Quartet Books) and Hair and Fashion (V&A).

A Right Royal Frock Watch

2011-04-30T19:01:00.024+01:00

What a fashion feast for the eyes the Royal Wedding was. A momentous occasion made all the more by the show stopping frocks worn by the glitterati and of course Catherine herself - WOW!! The lace, the pleats, the embroidery. Well done Sarah Burton. It may have been a bank holiday but we at LFE HQ were on frock watch as always. We oooh'd and aaah'd at most of the frocks and grimaced at some. What did Tara and Beatrice have on their heads? Our vote for best dressed goes to Posh and Camilla. Hopefully they will be sending their frocks in to LFE shortly. Also our vote for most gorgeous goes to Harry and Becks. Watching Prince Harry swagger down the aisle in that uniform was worthy of a few re-winds. We must mention how gorgeous London looked too. What a great looking city we live in.

We thoroughly enjoyed the nations Royal Wedding day. Our day started with Champagne and canapes and ended boogying to the live band at the street party. There was bunting and flag waving and a sense of being part of something wonderful. Call me an old romantic but I love a good wedding and I don't think there was a dry eye in our house.

Congratulations William and Catherine we wish you all the happiness in the world forever. Thanks for a great day.

Happy 75th Birthday Charnos by Professor Cox

2011-03-28T21:38:00.007+01:00

This month I feel we should celebrate one of Britain's heritage companies - Charnos whose fab 75th anniversary party I attended at the Natural History Museum in London on 16th March. The company have been making hosiery since 1936 and Charnos' fully fashioned stockings with a hallmark seam running down the back were considered both deluxe and the height of technology. What's especially cool about Charnos is that they used the amazing fashion illustrator Rene Gruau (left) for their fifties advertising - he did many of the images for the

iconic Dior ads in that decade.

The company also collaborated with maverick fashion genius Ossie Clark whose work is avidly collected by vintage enthusiasts (including Kate Moss) today. His witty Ladders design used a motif up the side of the calves that played on a woman's worst nightmare - the laddering of her stockings - but was also a rather racy play on the delights that could be found if one climbed up the leg!

It was a great evening and the new collections were showcased to erotic effect as the models posed on a moving escalator. Champers flowed - so congrats to Charnos on your services to perfect pins!

Interview With Global Cool

2011-03-09T14:54:00.006Z

Calling all Swishers - LFE's interview with our eco pals Global Cool has been posted on their website. Take a look, leave a comment and tell all your friends on Facebook. Help us to grow the biggest most glamorous wardrobe in the world. Join the shopping revolution and swap till you drop!

Here I am (right) posing with my good friend and business partner Sarah. I had a good long chat with Emily Rycroft, Global Cool's roaming fashion reporter. Click here to find out what we talked about and what she thinks of London Frock Exchange.

Happy swapping Swishers..................

LFE's Sustainable Fashion Week by Charlotte Davies

2011-02-25T17:13:00.009Z

As London Fashion Week hands over the baton to Milan and John Galliano is booted out of Dior, we at LFE reflect on the week. What a fashion week it has been! Our lovely Professor Cox waxed lyrical on the radio, we Swished in London & New York, we Twished, I was interviewd by our fellow greenies at Global Cool, we organised a collaboration with the fashion students of Stafford College and finalised details to Swish at the Dubai Frock Exchange - Phew! Let me tell you more:

Kicking off LFE's London Fashion Week Professor Caroline Cox, author of How To Be Adored and Grown Up Glamour, was interviewed on Woman's Hour and was asked would Boardwalk Empire have the same impact on fashion as Mad Men? To find out what she said click here. That same day Caroline reported from LFE HQ and talked handbags live with Jeremy Vine.

Saturday we attended a big swish at the V&A, as reported earlier this week and ended with a Swish in New York City. Our roaming LFE advocate Anna, hit the NYC party scene and gathered all her girls for a last minute fun swish last night (above & left). They drank cocktails, ate cake and swapped LBD's for tea frocks and vice versa. A good time was had by all.

The rest of our week was spent organising a frock customisation competition for the up & coming young British designers of Stafford College. This project will begin A/W 2011 through to S/S 2012. We will take some of the frocks that have been sent in to us that need updating & repair and give them a cutting edge new lease of life. We will blog their progress for hot tips on customising an item. The runners up and winner will be showcased here.

So whats in this season? Block acid brights and petit florals of which www.londonfrockexchange.com has lots of. London Fashion Week has been all a twitter of the late great Yves Saint Laurant - his legacy of clashing block bright colour and clean masculine lines fills the catwalks this season. Check out London Frock Exchange's collection which includes authentic Yves and for a swap price of just £30!

London Fashion Week has been busy and fun but sustainable fashion doesn't stop there. Coming soon is our interview with those fine fellows Global Cool. Also reporting from Dubai next month we will be Swishing gowns and LBDs in sunny style. Our flights are booked and our excitement levels are high.

LFE, V&A, LFW, NYC, SJP and Dubai! by Charlotte Davies

2011-02-20T09:52:00.004Z

The Swishing world started London Fashion Week with a big Swish at the V&A. Organised by the good folks of Futerra and attended by yours truly. A throng of Swishers stripped rails in minutes and the global shopping revolution continues. As we speak, an LFE representative is in New York putting out a big shout to all our NYC girlfriends, to gather for some swishing fun this weekend Downtown. We shall let you know how it goes. Also we will be swishing in Dubai next month. SJP eat your heart out.

If you're thinking of hosting your own swishing event here are some top tips for happy swishers: Quality control is key - Those of good will, who bring quality items to an event, need to be encouraged. For swapping to spread and make a real difference to the environment give Karma a helping hand and categorise items for a fair swap.

Or simply go to www.londonfrockexchange.com where all the hard work is done for you.

Hope you are all enjoying the to-ing and fro-ing that is London Fashion Week? We are. Happy Swapping fellow Swishers!

Valentines - It's Marmite by Charlotte Davies

2011-02-14T13:50:00.005Z

It's Valentine's Day - love it or hate it's an annual event that is impossible to ignore. Single or not it's always been a day i've embraced. In my single days myself and a group of girlfriends dressed top to toe in red and painted the town red. We had great fun. Equally as fabulous, these days it's cosy nights in with hubby and our baby girl. Either way i will never pass up an opportunity to wear a fab frock. Tonight i might opt for the 1950s suburban housewife look with frilly pinny and everything. Coq au vin anyone..............

Whether you have a date for tonight or not have a love affair with a fabulous frock. Take this racey red number pictured here with flirty ruffles and pussy bow. 100% silk - It's vintage dahling!

Wherever you are and whoever you are with LFE wishes you love and happiness.

Turn Up The Style - Turn Down The Heat

2010-12-16T13:27:00.009Z

HAPPY NEW YEAR! LFE are proud to announce our new friends Global Cool! They are a charity organisation that helps you to live a greener lifestyle whilst having lots of fun. Their current campaign, Turn Up The Style - Turn Down The Heat, encourages you to love thy jumper. In the coming cold months, snuggle up with your favourite woolly not your radiator - and use less energy at home.

Like LFE, Global Cool love to customise and re-vamp items in the wardrobe. Following on from their 18 degrees of inspiration campaign last year, this winter Global Cool have a whole host of tips and ideas on how to refashion your favourite jumper and stay warm this winter, without needing to crank up the radiator to compensate for the fact that you're dressed like you're on a beach in Barbados, when you're actually in your living room in Birmingham. Not only will this have you looking great, it will also save you money on heating bills and help your skin stay hydrated and glowing this winter.

We are looking forward to a year of new friends and swappers and fab frocks. So join the new wave and swap last year's Christmas and New Year's party frocks for this year's spring stunners. Coming on-line soon we have in store fabulous gowns, Pucci, more DVF and some gorgeous High Street numbers to name a few. Already added this year are Marc Jacobs, Missoni (below) and Jaeger. Keep watching for the latest additions and get your wardrobe sorted for this season's hottest events - What's everyone doing for Valentine's?

In Praise Of Grown Up-Glamour

2010-12-14T21:56:00.004Z

I believe the secret to looking stylish at any age isn't about slavishly copying the latest trends, but investing in classic, sophisticated pieces and pulling them off with panache. Get it right and you will sizzle well into your 60s. My new book Grown-Up Glamour (a great little stocking filler) is a follow up to my bestseller How To Be Adored. I believe that every generation of grown-up girls has a myth to contend with. Today's new myth of invisibility suggests that the older a woman becomes, the more disposable she gets - her attractiveness is proportionate to her fertility. As women fade into the background, their reproductive years trailing behind them, men remain sharply in focus - they stay fertile and automatically sexier, too. But hold on a minute - that makes Anna Wintour less compelling than Arsene Wenger, Ben Elton more magnetic than Nastassja Kinski and Sigourney Weaver's fanciability factor nothing compared to the animal pull of Robin Gibb? Riiight ...

Women are only invisible if they choose to be - and let's face it, some days you want to be and thats fine. But there are many of us who refuse to be defined by such garbage. A compelling, sophisticated and alluring woman will remain so whatever her age - think Cate Blanchett, helen Mirren, Julie Christie. So if you fear you may be losing your touch when confronted with Lindsay Lohan's trout poutor Lady Gaga's knickers don't take solace in inertia - READ MY BOOK!!!! As Katharine Hepburn said, "If you don't paddle your own canoe, you don't move."

Vogue Fashion's Night Out by Charlotte Davies

2010-09-09T22:09:00.005+01:00

How cool is London! LFE was out and about for the Vogue Fashion's Night Out last night and we took great pleasure being amongst the throng of London's coolest set as they enjoyed what London had to offer at it's best. One of the very many glamorous parties taking place in W1 was Professor Cox's latest book launch, hosted at John Smedley W1. Caroline's book "Vintage Jewellery" sold like hot cakes. We all got a sneak preview of Caroline's latest seller. It doesn't actually go on general release until October 14th but you can pre-order your copy at Amazon now. Or visit John Smedley on Brook St W1 where Caroline's book will be on sale for the next two weeks.

Vintage at Goodwood by Khalid Siddiqui & Charlotte Davies

2010-09-03T16:01:00.009+01:00

Khalid Siddiqui our guest blogger and cool retro DJ funkster donned his well loved vintage apparel to join the throng of festival goers at this summers Vintage Goodwood. Here he reports on Mods v Rockers, organic Ale and Glamping:

In 1964 the highly publicised Mods v Rockers fight in Brighton was sprawled across the tabloids of the day as a frenzied insight into the deranged youth that Britain had to endure. I once worked with someone who was there; "there was a lot of shouting, then someone threw a chair" was his only recollection.

Thankfully, equally as tame but probably just as fun the Mods and Rockers clashed again at Goodwood in a display of revved Mopeds and extremely cool garb. Wearing all things 60s they cut a dashing portrait of a bygone era that fashion will never forget. Their attention to detail was exquisite and if you're thinking of going next year check out what London Frock Exchange has to offer in the way of fab vintage frocks!

So I ventured further into the festival itself. Unlike the many other retro events Vintage Goodwood combined snapshots of British culture from 1940-1980s in one place. It was also publicised well beyond the niche press of the retro market, great for spreading the vintage and sustainable fashion word. Not all youth subcultures were present. No doubt the Goths were kept underground and the Crusties were made to stay in the trees, but it was an impressive gathering none the less of people dressed in various sub-cultural allegiances. The best dressed were the 1930s and 40s crowd - perfect attention to detail. The vast majority of festival goers were dressed vintage style. Unfortunately the afro and Vegas jumpsuit man sticks in my mind

My day was spent enjoying all the usual fun of the fair; two music stages, The Wall of Death, a massive fair ground, roller disco, skate boarding, a Butlin's tent, cinema and many street performers. There was a hippy alternative taking place in the woods. I absorbed all while downing the local organic produce and whilst very fine (in-particular the local Ale) it certainly wasn't sold at yesteryear's prices. Different periods throughout the 20th Century were represented by sets created for the fashionable to hang out. For example the 1940s lot had an army camp and a splendid ballroom with full big band stage and the 1960s gang had a space age leisure lounge to lounge in. Also on offer were market stalls, shops and beauty parlours and much more.

Also lets not forget the fantastic collection of vintage bikes, scooters, cars and caravans that were out in the open for everyone to climb over - a petrol heads dream.

So time for bed and me being a city lad I head for the Glam-ping site. A wonderfully spooky area set in the woods of Tee-pees, old style Gypsy caravans and exclusive bar.

All in all a great fun family adventure for vintage lovers who crave the good life. If you went why not swap your vintage frocks here for next year. You certainly won't look out of place in this little 60s number. Go to www.londonfrockexchange.com and plan your Goodwood wardrobe.

August - Fifties Fabulousness

2010-08-01T08:59:00.005+01:00

The craze for vintage is reaching new heights, clearly in response to the recession. Why buy new when we're trembling on the edge of global economic collapse?! It's no time for fast fashion either, it's non-sustainable and lets face it, badly made and about as likely to last through a weekend as a cheese sandwich. We've done sixties and eighties, now it seems we love the 1950s - that's the era to be channeling this season. Think Mad Men, domestic goddesses (it fits with the cupcake craze) and prints by Lucienne Day. For this reason I highly recommend going to see the new exhibition at the Fashion and Textiles Museum in London (www. www.ftmlondon.org/) on Horrockses Fashions.

Check out LFE's fab fifties frocks and we even have a little Horrockses number.

Horrockses Fashions Limited was the manufacturer of one of the most respected ready-to-wear labels of the 1940s and 1950s and is best known for its full-skirted dresses that were sought after by women everywhere and were even worn by Queen Elizabeth II.

This new exhibition at the FTM draws together fashion photography, archive material, personal stories and some beautiful dresses from private and public collections to tell the story of the company, its role in post-war British fashion and the link between couture and ready-to-wear clothes over these two decades.

The prints are spectacular – brilliant colours and perfect for summer – in fact Prada are showing exactly this look at the moment. Highlights include print dresses with fabrics designed by Pat Albeck, Graham Sutherland and Alistair Morton and the most glamorous housecoats in crisp cotton – I think the housecoat revival should start right here!

Christine Boydell, curator of the exhibition says: 'The success of Horrockses
Fashions was due to a significant marriage of traditional know-how and
fashionable innovation. The concept for the label demanded careful management of the balance between the practicalities of the ready-to-wear business and the creativity of the designers who would provide the up-market fashion upon which the brand was promoted. Something they pulled off with great success.'

Check out my review of the exhibition for Radio 3’s Night Waves www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00swqs0

And read a new book that’s just being launched by the wonderful Marnie Fogg on 1950s Fashion Prints

www.amazon.co.uk/1950s-Fashion-Prints-Marnie-Fogg/dp/1906388881/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279117934&sr=8-5

June by Caroline Cox

2010-06-11T16:15:00.007+01:00

As the summer season approaches and we dream about our forthcoming hols, my newsletter this month tackles the subject of vacations in foreign climes. As Marlene Dietrich put it, ‘To lose your prejudices, you must travel’ and movie stars knew how to travel in style. Ava Gardner used to run off to Madrid at the drop of a matador’s hat; Brigitte Bardot was never out of her gingham bikini in St Tropez and Liz Taylor had to be prized from Portofino to get on set. OK, so they had oodles of cash to make their travel plans come true but you can give the impression that you too are a glamorous gal to be reckoned with!

You may not have the money to rent a room in the most sumptuous of surroundings but you can always order coffee! The trick is to find out what’s available to non-residents – most fancy hotels have a bar or a coffee shop where you can pose and have your photo taken. Book a cheap flight and a motel room then swan into the swankier parts of town looking adorable. At the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio, the rooms may be out of bounds to most of us but sipping a caiprinha in the Piano bar isn’t. (copacabanapalace.com.br).
Claridge’s of London is right in the heart of Mayfair, two minutes from all the chi-chi boutiques in Bond Street and has its own Champagne Bar with a discreet entrance on Davies Street. Here you can luxuriate in its Art Deco interior over a bottle of house bubbly – as long as you’re dressed up and looking adorable. If you see photographers outside the front door (which is a common occurrence), stick around, you don’t know who you might spot being papped! (claridges.co.uk)
Many swish hotels have a sister hotel which is cheaper but you can still use many of the facilities of the more expensive one. This goes for the Hotel Spendido in Portofino, for instance, where Liz Taylor and Richard Burton used to hang out. The sister hotel, the Splendido Mare (hotelsplendido.com) is not only cheaper, but much less scarily snooty.
And finally, the greatest travel tip of all comes from Ernest Hemingway: ‘Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.’

May by Caroline Cox

2010-05-01T16:37:00.010+01:00

Aloha, Joan Crawford could be speaking for many of us today when she commented, 'bags and shoes are my weakness.' In her day a girl wouldn’t leave the house until she was perfectly ‘put together’ with a matching bag and heels, hat, gloves and costume jewellery. Accessorising was a female art form passed down from mother to daughter with advice gleaned from fan magazines and beauty books. Today accessories have never been more fashion forward but we seem to have lost the glamour-puss art of wearing them with élan. Over-designed and over-sized designer handbags swamp many girls who think, a little inaccurately, that a huge Prada tote will make them look slimmer and that spike heeled mules go perfectly with a pastel pink Juicy Couture jogging suit. Glamour-pusses of the past knew that a sassy pair of heels and a cute crocodile clutch could lift an ordinary outfit into fashion’s stratosphere and create a frisson of anticipation in any red blooded male. Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Doris Day knew that the right accessory marked a girl out from the rest of the crowd as someone with an individual sense of style, sex appeal and exquisite taste. So in Doris’ words, ‘Why not gild the lily? Why not use accessories, jewellery, perfume - anything to help make you more attractive to the opposite sex?’ For me, the preoccupation is glasses. A good pair of specs can make you look the height of fabulousness – get it wrong and you’re a social and sexual outcast. I was at a social function the other night (pub quiz in Crouch End) and a potential swain remarked how much I looked like a TV celeb. Preening myself I asked, ‘Pray Who?’ ‘Alan Carr’, he replied. I think it’s time to change my face furniture.

I have tried several pairs out but the greatest transformation came courtesy of Oliver Peoples – before discovering their latest range I was in a slough of despond – after… well, look at the results! Transformed into a vision of fashion by the pale pink Pierson. Check ‘em out!

www.oliverpeoples.com And you know I can never leave you without a few words of advice gleaned from my book, How To Be Adored – this time the glamorous songbird and glasses wearing Petula Clark. Boys Do Make Passes at Girls who wear Glasses by Petula Clark' Dorothy Parker could not have been more wrong when she made that by now famous remark about gents not making passes at girls who wear glasses. Despite the spectacles on my nose I've never had any trouble getting dates. My spectacles certainly never worried any of my boyfriends! I wear glasses almost everywhere, except when I'm acting on the set or taking a shower! And I've never been a wallflower at parties or dances. I've had as many wolf-calls as most girls, specs or no specs! Why hide them when you've got to wear them? That's impractical vanity, and only leads to a near-sighted girl smacking her nose against a door because she can't see where she's going. Glasses can improve your appearance. They can appear to shorten your nose. Or they can make your face look narrow or wide according to the shape of the frame! A girl can make them a very fetching part of her make-up. Even if they make you look the “intellectual type” - is that bad? Besides you can always prove to a man that you're not!'

Want to know more? Read How To Be Adored by Caroline Cox

Wedding Fever by Charlotte Davies

2010-04-05T18:29:00.009+01:00

Spring is in the air and the wedding season has started. I love a good wedding don't you? An excuse to buy a new frock and look fabulous for the day. I have just been to my very good friend's wedding and found great joy in admiring all the pretty attire. How many weddings have you got lined up this year? Sadly I have just two. One year a friend of mine had 17!! At least this year The London Frock Exchange was born so no need to stress about having to re-accessorise the same frock over and over, just swap it in for another and then another and then another. Just think invest in just one fabulous frock and it could last you a life time without worrying that you might ever get bored of it. Now that's what i call "investment shopping". Not only could that one frock serve you for countless weddings you could continually swap for every event: The Summer Ball, Ascot, Wimbledon, Tea with the Queen, Christmas parties, valentines. The list is endless. And at LFE we accept wedding gowns too……..

Check out "I Do...100 years of Wedding Fashion" by our lovely Professor, Caroline Cox. Heres a sneaky peak of some of it's content:

"The white wedding dress embodies all our dreams of perfect love, a sartorial symbol of love and happiness - 'till death do us part,' or as in the ghostly Miss Havisham's case, a grotesque reminder of what might have been. In global culture the wedding dress has become the ultimate spectacle. It is the most expensive piece of clothing most women will ever buy ensuring an enraptured gaze from an invited audience in a scared setting. Wedding fashion makes all kinds of sartorial statements and the spectacle of the white wedding has completely permeated global culture.

Victorian Britain gave us the white wedding dress. Up to that era, brides had not always worn white. Roman brides wore yellow, and the dress was of lesser importance than the veil, girdle and sandals. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries pale green was a popular choice because of its associations with fertility, but usually brides wore their best clothes whatever the colour. The wedding of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg Gotha firmly set the fashion for white, although the actual 'whiteness' is relative compared to contemporary wedding dresses. Most 'white' wedding dresses in the nineteenth century were actually cream. Victoria wore a gown of creamy satin with a long pointed bodice and elbow-length, double-puffed sleeves and a full skirt with a train that was edged with sprays of orange blossom - this ritualised version of the wedding dress won through".

From 'I Do... 100 Years of Wedding Fashion by Caroline Cox

April by Professor Cox

2010-04-04T13:03:00.009+01:00

In my capacity as the LFE’s style commentator I feel I need to tell you of any fabulousness that comes to pass and this month you need to take heed of two words; The Coterie. This is a private members club based in London which as been set up to facilitate creative and intellectual interaction between the movers and shakers of the hair and fashion scene. I was invited to an event (held at The Driver, a fab bar in Kings Cross) which had fashion and beauty blogging as its theme and the speakers included Krista Madden of Beauty and the Dirt (www.beautyandthedirt.com) who I love already because she did an interview with me about my bestseller, How to Be Adored (Quadrille £12.99) and Adam Reed who regaled us with his life as a celebrity hairdresser to the stars including Madonna. It was a great evening hobnobbing with Edward Darley, UK Colour Director at Sassoon, International session stylist Gianni Scumaci, Annamarie Solowij of Vogue and the charming Catherine Handcock of Creative Head. Here I am pictured with the very erudite session stylist Jimo Salako who has worked with Bjork, Claudia Schiffer and Jennifer Lopez amongst hoards of other stars. It was cold outside so I’m wearing Barbour! Check it out at www.the-coterie.net/

Mingling Tips

It can be a little tricky being invited to events where you know few people (not at The Coterie I might add – they’re a lovely bunch). I have a tip that will make it easy to target those with the potential for fun. I have always thought that if you look at the expression of a person when they are in repose and unawares you will be able to determine their natural mood, and hence, this should give you some indication of their innate personality. Note the furrowed brow of a friend experiencing divorce, the relaxed smile of one about to embark on a long sabbatical, and the calm assured expression of a nun. If you have are introduced to anyone who’s face at rest resembles that of one leaving a Ghost Train or being chased by the Grim Reaper himself – make like a banana and SPLIT!

Spring Fever

As Spring is in the air this month and many of you are young (ish) free and single I felt it important this month to give a few tips on spotting the men to avoid. What is the point of gussying yourself up with the finest frock from LFE if the recipient of your affections turns out to be not worth the fuss.

These are the Types to Avoid

1. The Last Man Standing

You know the sort, girls. It's last dance at the OK Corrall disco, the slow dance that establishes incipient couple-dom, the final chance to pull before the last bus home, the moment you prove beyond a doubt that you are not the social leper your friends whisper about behind their expensively manicured hands. And here he comes, shuffling slowly towards you before he's escorted by Matron into the Wallace Arnold coach – the last man standing. We've all done it at some point in our lives, fearful of being branded a loser in love, but you should never ever pull an unattached man after midnight. If it’s just you and he left, above all keep your dignity – GO HOME!

If not, your first date will be on a London tour bus with both of you wearing plastic rain-hats.

2. The Dink with a Kink

Let's face it, we girls like a bit of extra special naughtiness now and again - the click, click, click of killer heels, the kiss of the lash, tears before bedtime. Once in a while it all adds a bit of spice but a full-time fetishist is hard work as a boyfriend. If he takes an unhealthy interest in horse-riding and fastens his bike to the fence with handcuffs BEWARE! And when he suggests water sports he doesn’t mean a spot of scuba diving! He will also get uncomfortably over-familiar with your Manolos.

Your first date will start with tearing off in his Triumph Spitfire for a picnic in the Malverns and end up in a municipal car park for a dogging session.

3. The Much Older Man

Grown-up girls should not rule out the older man. Men over sixty five have many benefits; wit, charm, sophistication and courteous manners - some of the time. Very old men can also be pig-headed gummers who think a woman's place is by the Aga. OK, I hear you ask, 'What about sexual incompatability. Don't oldsters have problems in the sack?’ We say 'Come on girls! This is the twenty-first century - get him some pharmaceuticals!' Viagra can transform a vintage todger into a veritable tool of love, you just have to persuade him to take it. Just make sure his signature is dry on the new will and you have a ring on your finger. And we're not talking Ernest Jones here. Quick driver, take me to Tiffany's!

Your first date will be a trip to a stately home to visit its exquisite gardens. Try to avoid Chatsworth House though, as the Emperor fountain will set off his prostate.

4. The Furry Freak

When a man tells us he enjoys a ‘good blow’ it could mean anything from sinus problems, bugle playing, to a straight-forward sexual act. How does one tell if he’s got reefer madness? There’s nothing wrong with the odd spliff at the Notting Hill Carnival but smoking jazz cigarettes too regularly makes a man perfectly beatific but utterly boring. We don't care if it makes you see the universe in orange – and stop wearing those ‘amusing’ Tibetan hats!

Your first date will consist of you sitting on a collapsing sofa in his creepy bedsit watching him char his eyelashes and slowly curl up into a foetal position whilst laughing softly to himself.

5. The Slash Slash Man

When you ask them what they do they say ‘I’m a DJ / actor / model’ and when they say ‘slash’ they make a little swat in the air with their hand. This is a man who has been chasing celebrity for so long he has not had time to develop a little je ne sais quoi. He will think coq au vin is porn; his idea of gourmet food is having a Filet of Fish instead of a Bag Mac and his mate Charlie is always in the toilet. Unfortunately his over textured hair has more highlights than Match of the Day

Your first date will be sharing a mixed kebab on the Holloway Road. 'D'you want chilli sauce on that Luv?'

You’ve now been warned! TTFN!

March by Professor Cox

2010-03-08T19:19:00.006Z

Welcome to March's edition of the LFE Blog. I've been very busy since I last saw you dashing here and dashing there to various glamorous events. Highs include the All Walks Beyond the Catwalk launch, a much needed campaign to get more realistically shaped models on the fashion runway - and with that I can only agree wholeheartedly, the lowest has to be Katie Price’s book launch at Selfridges where she kept the crowd waiting three hours before she appeared with her tanned transvestite friends.

At Price’s launch, there was no glamour just an air of cheap tawdriness. If she would only read my book How To Be Adored (Quadrille £12.99) she could do no worse than turning to the section pithily entitled: Don’t Look Like a Celebrity, Look Like a Star!

She would find that I believe that the difference between a celebrity and a star is obvious. A true star doesn't need to look as if she’s tried too much (even if hours have been spent to achieve that effect). Paris Hilton is a celebrity, Kim Novak is a star. Pricey should follow these basic rules:

• Never show cleavage and legs at the same time. If a hint of breast is on display, your legs should be covered. Pamela Anderson always shows both and she is clearly a celebrity as a result.
• Just one word, tanorexia. Having day-glo orange skin is never glamorous. You should remain as God intended or go for a Californian sun-kissed look like Grace Kelly.
• No hair extensions.
• Never go out without wearing panties. The only person who can get away with this is Marilyn Monroe.
• Don’t swig out of a bottle or a can – your drink should always be in a glass, hopefully with an olive. Do not over-indulge, that is for glamour model wannabes on cheap package holidays to Playa de las Americas. It is also not glamorous to eat the Tequila worm.
• Don’t be caught smoking on camera unless the cigarette is in a holder (see Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s).
• No open-mouthed kissing in public.
• Only smooch other girls if you mean it.
• A lady never kisses n’ tells.
• Never date a footballer, they may be as rich as Croesus but they will make you look cheap.

At all do’s I meet lots of celebs and here's a tip - they encounter so many people every day that they can't remember faces. Go up to 'em, put out your hand, smile brightly and say, 'Kate / Erin / Brad, it's so lovely to see you again!' They will automatically greet you like a long lost friend!' I played this trick on Stuart Rose, boss of Marks and Sparks at the All Walks party and he entered into a conversation with me with practiced charm. It also worked with supermodel Erin O'Connor, Georgia Jagger (just been voted Model of the Year) and Michelle Ryan, who is stunningly beautiful in reality.

Keep ‘em peeled and happy swapping!
Caroline

Fashion Week, The Oscars and More by Rani Ghosh-Curling

2010-03-08T18:52:00.010Z

This month every Fashionista has Fashion Week on their lips - The trends, The Parties, The news...
It’s been one hell of a month!

This year’s New York Fashion Week was numbed by the news of legendary designer Alexander McQueen's sudden death. It left the fashion world sombre and made Fashion Week across the globe more challenging for viewers and designers alike. Click here to hear the effects first hand in an interview by LFE’s Professor Cox for the Today Programme on Radio 4, just hours after the incident.

One thing is for sure Alexander McQueen would want women to carry on his legacy by wearing beautiful, bold, fabulous frocks!... And so we shall!

With London Fashion Week earlier this month, the designer everyone is talking about is Khalid Al Qasimi. He has dressed the likes of Paloma Faith for the Alice in Wonderland premier and Florence Welch in a gown made up of layers of soft cream chiffons. The Oscars had their own catwalk show last night AKA The Red Carpet. Julia Roberts wore Vintage Yves Saint Laurent & Colin Firth's wife Livia Giuggioli championed the Green fashion cause by wearing a frock of ethical and sustainable design.

Vogue dubs this seasons floor sweeping trend as the ‘Red Carpet Style’ as seen at Christian Dior and here at LFE! Check out our Rene Lezard gown in layers of divine silks and soft chiffons. Or our Amanda Wakeley gown (right) in nude cream silk chiffons.

‘We can’t wear glamourous gowns every day!’...I hear you say. So, here are your key frocks to trend set your way into this Spring/Summer 2010.
Nudity in its finest! Wear our pastel grey DKNY frock in sheer silk. Get the ‘Inside out’ look and wear with a lace chemise or if you’re feeling daring dig out your fanciest lingerie!

Long Hem lines are back! A lady who lunches? Wear our Jean Muir frock of the week in nude beige for effortless elegance! Wear with either killer heels and this season’s foot wear of choice - ankle socks, or girl about town in kitten heels.

And of course there was the launch of the London Frock Exchange this month. It’s the awards season and with Paris Fashion Week coming up, what would you do without us! It’s been exhausting and ‘emotional’. Still, let’s hope next month is as exciting!

Happy swapping.

Alexander McQueen R.I.P

2010-03-08T11:42:00.009Z

London Frock Exchange pays tribute to Alexander McQueen.

Click here to listen to Professor Cox talk to the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme about McQueen's legacy to the fashion world.

Roberto Cavalli by Charlotte Davies

2010-02-25T14:19:00.003Z

"Femininity is my great source of inspiration. I adore a woman's body……. A dress can change a woman's life and even lead to love……I have gone on to create clothes to make a woman dream and see beyond the ordinary."

Roberto Cavalli

With Fashion Week on the lips of fashionistas this week Roberto Cavalli is highlighted as a celebrated designer. His designs adorn some of the most beautiful and talked about women in the world including Alicia Keyes, Jennifer Lopez and Victoria Beckham. With luxurious fabrics the feminine form is glamourised with sophistication. Cavalli continues to maintain his status as one of the top international designers at Milan Fashion Week. His latest Autumn/Winter 2010 leather designs showcase his attention to detail and finishing touches with stud embellishments. His clothes include that little bit extra. A flourish to catch the eye. check out our Cavalli as Frock Of The Week as a prime example:

http://www.londonfrockexchange.com/frocks/frock/Roberto-Cavalli-Silk-Frock/

February by Professor Cox

2010-02-01T21:19:00.002Z

Dear Readers,

I am here to inform you of the dawning of a new era. It's time to reclaim pink from Paris Hilton and killer heels from Katie Price. Glamour means much much more than a dodgy model with the face moulded from Playdoh and a pair of over- oiled inflatable mammary glands. Fashion is not about having the body of a battery chicken and the face of an eighteen month old baby (I'm naming no names Victoria and Madonna). It's time to be creative and recession calls for new ways of consuming fashion. There's no need to root through Primark's bargain bins or create your own personal credit crisis in the luxury concessions of Selfridges. Be fashion friendly and get your new looks (not from New Look) but here! www.londonfrockexchange.com For this new website is the ultimate in savvy sustainability. Be creative! Be experimental! Unwrap a new you!

Now I know that many of you, quite rightly, fear fashion and who can blame you. If all we have to look up to is yet another smock top and leggings combo and even Jennifer Ellison is wearing Louboutin ankle boots we need to be a little more individual in our fashion choices. But I am here to save you. Just take hints from my new style guide, How to be Adored published by Quadrille. I was inspired by this anecdote of blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe. She was with her friend Susan Strasberg in a New York street dressed down in casual clothes with no make-up on. Everyone ignored her until she whispered to Strasberg, ‘Watch this.’ Her body language changed, her hips swiveled – Marilyn had ‘switched on’ and the crowds suddenly clamoured for her autograph.

A true glamour-puss has just this brand of female sorcery, a form of fashion witchcraft that has the power to enchant and beguile. A woman of glamour has a magnetism few men can resist, yet all of us can attain it – even those without classically natural beauty. Many of the most beautiful women in the world lack glamour and conversely some have it by the bucket-load. And I am here to show you how. Just watch this space!!!

Click here to read some of my top tips as featured in the Daily Mail on the 8th of August