Loopy for Lou

I've decided I must have an affinity with many Louise or Louisa's  My sister's name is Louisa so there's natural/biological affinity.  Then there are my many fashion love affairs with various other Louise's… Louise Markey aka LF Markey, a label which is sadly no more, Louise Amstrup, whose show I must stop missing despite the fact that she persists with great collections, Louise Goldin, who may have decamped to New York but I'll still be stalking her work and of course Louise Gray, the Louise you may have seen mentioned on this blog more than a multiple of times. 

I keep saying that I may have exhausted everything there is to say about her work and really, I should just let this label, which is stitched onto my beautiful S/S 11 print shirt, do all the talking…

'Get some stuff' was the name of her S/S 11 collection but to me is a dressing philosophy that promotes 'more is more' as well as discovering joy in your clothes which is exactly what Louise Gray's collections make me do.  The polka dots on the label also gave a clue to the A/W 11-12 collection seen today, entitled 'Up Your Look', again another big of sagely advice when it comes to dressing that can be read in various ways.  Sure you can 'up' your look through prescribed modes of good taste that's so well dictated across the board but then again, you 'up' it by amping it up through a spot/stripe/check trio powered combo that runs throughout the collection.  I'm kicking myself for not having ventured into the triple pattern combo before but then again, it's down to people like Gray who kicks my arse into gear and expresses what a joy it is to clash a check, a stripe and a dot.  I'm probably leaning towards the pieces where the plaids and tartains show through, concurring with my love of other plaid instances seen at shows like Y-3, Thakoon and Rag & Bone.  Likewise, Marc Jacobs has the monpoly on the dot for now but does he have blue and yellow puffa polka dots inverted and decorating a puffa jacket and apron skirt?  Does it matter that the inflatable crop top straps as well as the puffy elements have a ball pond cushion quality to them?  Nope because it's precisely the conjuring of things like ball ponds, Fun House and party balloons that make this collection such a bundle of happiness to look at. Fuck upping your look with the modes of 'good' taste that everyone nods meekly at, afraid to question any hint of banality.  I'm off to up my look with the almighty pattern trio that Gray has magically woven together in her collection in a riot of textures.