Looking to One Side

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Just as I discovered that fripe places were popping up all over the place in Paris, I came back to London to find vintage in the most unlikely places.  Ok, maybe not THAT unlikely but definitely surprising for a mid-range label that is still sort of finding its feet – Bolongaro Trevor, the brand that's reminiscent of what All Saints used to be (the designers founded and designed for All Saints) before they went all Rick Owens/Ann D-esque.  Attached to their new flagship store on Broadwick Street off Carnaby Street is Bolongaro Trevo Resurrection which is a store selling the designers Kait Bolongaro and Stuart Trevor's archive of vintage clothing from the past fifteen years, clearly all reference pieces for their All Saints/Bolongaro Trevor designs.  Seriously old pieces feature as well as antique curiosities and a ton of taxidermy.  The focus is on Napoleonic jackets, Victorian blouses, boddices and shirts as well as a few latter 20th century pieces.  Pearl Lowe has also collaborated with the store by selling her vintage pieces too.          

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Oneside1 Sadly I didn't have the moolah for the beautiful Victorian jackets and frock coats but came away with this black brocade one shouldered 70s' dress that persuaded me with ONE sleeve alone – its puffiness, volume and shape has .  I somehow didn't know I had stumbled onto an A/W09 trend because had both sleeves had that amount of puffiness, I still would have bought it.  That the dress is uni-sleeve means that I got the opportunity to play around with it Michael van der Ham style, who presented a jigsaw puzzle collection of pieced-together dresses for the Central Saint Martins MA show.  Somehow, 50s, 60s and 70s' elements, with all their different fabrications and shapes come together yet it seems like van der Ham is purposely trying to clash the different components.
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So with my uni-puffy-sleeve dress, I started attaching other bits and bobs to it, namely with the help of belts, straps and corsets to water down what van der Ham has done with his breakout collection.

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(Lace tights worn as sleeve, vintage slip dress, Urban Outfitters belt, Dries Van Noten shoes)

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(Vintage pink t-shirt, Urban Outfitters belt, ASOS pink leopard print skirt, Norwegian Wood floral cage skirt, Miu Miu shoes)

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(Lazy Ones blue print dress, Bordelle elastic corset, Topshop Unique shoes, vintage blue straw hat)

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(Topshop Unique metallic pink dress, Outsapop zipper collar, patent skinny belt, Topshop Unique grey shoes)

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(Panelled lace skirt, monochrome sleeve blouse, Anthony Vaccarello necklace/headpiece, Marni shoes)

51 comments

  1. nowaynowaynowaynoway
    This is the best thing I’ve seen in a long time. I don’t even understand exactly how it works but OMG awesommmmmeee.

  2. So cool that you can do so many things with one piece of clothing like van der Ham. That was probably one of my favourite Central Saint Martins collections and all of your experiments with the puzzle-like quality of the collection are AWESOME.
    Ugh I’ve been eying that Bordelle corset for the longest time. Really need to find something reasonably similar.

  3. You are so talented! The mix of the clothes, all of them with a new face, just amazing!
    I loved the pink shoes and the last one!
    I read your blog everyday and you give me many inspirations, congrats girl!
    xxxxxx

  4. I’m in love with every outfit combo you’ve posted. What a brilliant idea with “jigsawing” it all together, I will have to try this at home, even if I don’t have the help of that awesome asymmetrical dress.
    xxx,
    Tiffany

  9. Ay caramba. Grabby hands at your Marni platforms. I have the same in all black. Always feel like i need 999 on speed-dial when i wear them, though, LOL thx for headsup on Bolongaro Trevor :-})

  10. the michael van der ham collection is AMAZING, so much better than alot of MA ones, cant wait to see what he does next!!!!

  11. oh my, you are SO CREATIVE! 😀 My favourite one is the one with the hat, very funky, I love it!

  12. Good god girl, you’ve blown me away with this post! You open my eyes to the multiple possibilities of all those things hanging in my closet 😉

  13. Oh gosh, this is gorgeous; it’s incredibly interesting how diverse the outfits are yet they’re all based around the same dress.

  17. This is astounding; you’re forever inspiring me to re-examine the pieces in my closet, never taking them at face value. I’m especially drawn to the fuchsia and black look, with its hip flounce balancing out the single sleeve. Lovely as always…

  19. your miu miu shoes … i am crying tears of envy , they are so beautiful .
    and, you are pretty much GENIUS . you rework clothes like no other .
    it’s very very very admirable .

  20. Wow! This is my favourite post of the week, I like seeing how you’ve pulled together so many items in different ways. Nice work!

  21. That store looks seriously freaky/ amazing. And the you bought is so pleasingly dramatic. All the looks you styled with it are ingenious.

  23. You are a styling genius!
    The dress is absolutely fab just as it comes but you’ve shown that with a pinch of creative input one dress can serve up many diverse & pretty looks!
    I love the ‘Outsapop’ styling, awesome!

  25. Was that Tavi inspiration with the folding garments in half to wear?

  26. oh maaan…c*cktails & then i see this…i’m so confused! where, how..why…what’s happening here…focusssssss yeee…i agree with what he said, no she…creative.

  29. holy frick.
    susie bubble you are above and beyond. ABOVE AND FUCKING BEYOND.

  30. Oh you look so gorgeous in all those outfits.But i specially love the fourth and the last outfit that you wore..;D And all your shoes are so fab on you..;D

  32. I love the Bordello corset and the third look in general. Very Agent Provocateur meets southern bell….. which surprisingly makes a very good combination.

  35. ugh these are unbelievably amazing!! if i hadn’t READ the post, i would’ve thought all of these were individual dresses! my favourite is likely the last, though the blue is a very close contender! oh really.. who can decide??

  37. Woah. I have never loved one sleeved shirts and dresses, in fact I always have something against it but this is just genius. I have never seen this before! The tights-as-a-sleeve-thing is amazing and even though you might have not come up with it, you apply it so darnn well.

  38. Woop! I see you’re back in heels!!! Yay!
    Wow, the term ‘uni-sleeve’ makes the one-shouldered thing sound even more awesome, and me even more depressed that I really can’t do that strapless bra thing. I’ll just have to live vicariously through you.

  39. Thanks everyone – I was thinking uni-sleeve might be hard to work with but actually it works with my cupboard of cut up tights and pieces that are meant for layering under/over the dress…
    Susie: Tavi does work into my subconscious every now and again and now more so than ever with her glasses, fringe tee…

  40. amazing ! you’re an inspiration for me <3 in august I ll going to visit London , do you have some good adresses for doing shopping please?

  43. I’ve never seen this before! I did my last university project I did kind of the same thing but with Jackets, my inspiration came from drawing people on the street and adding all my favourite bits of an outfit to make one amazing multi dimensional jacket.
    I really like this is a whole collection!

  44. susie you’re too GOOD at this. I love the pink outfit, and the one with the zipper collar. I’d look like such a spoon if i tried to layer that much, you look magnificent though. x

  45. SUSIE YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!!!
    you have the best damn style
    you are gorgeous to look at!!!

  47. What a great dress! You had me at one-shouldered ;D
    I love it when I see different pieces mish-mashed together like this, reminds me of what Tavi does sometimes with skirst and stuff. I love what you’ve done here, NOT waterdown at all in my opinion! The 2nd outfit’s my fav
    <3<3<3

  51. Hi SB,
    Just recently came across your cute blog and i’m loving it so far 🙂 These ensembles are creative and look really great. I love the pink one and the last one in the set. Have you considered making it into an actual outfit.

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