Grass is Greener

>> I generally dislike the designated style magazine list constructs of Hot/Not, In/Out and Steal/Splurge. The first two for the obvious reasons that they’re arbitrary page fillers that are designed to make whatever you have in possession in the Not or Out categories deemed inadequate or uncool.  The last because inevitably the Steal option is so inferior or dissimilar to the Splurge that again feelings of inadequacy kick in again.  Boo to that.  However on this occasion, I turn to the oft-used Steal vs. Splurge device because I’ve been called to task by one particular commenter, regarding recent posts mainly focusing on unattainable and inaccessible fashion when I reviewed the Louis Vuitton cruise show.  I thank Alex Fury for a) coming to my defense and b) bringing up the point that accessibility is a relative thing.  What is designer after all doesn’t necessarily mean it’s prohibitive price wise, based on our respective bargain hunting experiences.

That said, I take into consideration all sound criticism.  As long as it doesn’t skew into “You’re so ugly/fat” territory.  Ain’t nothing I can do about those attributes.  When I replied to the original commenter, I said that there had to be an interesting or aesthetically pleasing aspect about the high street to compel me to write about it and that simply writing about fashion as pure product just didn’t excite me.  And so a curious terrarium of orchids constructed by Grace & Thorn, turned up last week hash-tagged with #ASOSSalon.  I’m increasingly green-fingered now that my patch of garden is due a much-needed reboot so the jar was definitely appreciated on one level.  On another, having had a quick browse of ASOS Salon’s latest collection and I was definitely delighted.  Floral magic.  Faded rose prints on organza bomber jackets and transparent layered shift dresses.  Simone Rocha-esque neon florals, if you missed out her last SS13 collection.  Cleverly spliced florals that avoid flower power cliches.  Erdem-lite florals abound for the fantasy garden parties that play out in our heads as summer comes to fruition.  Dreamer girls who have a penchant for rose bud head dresses are in severe danger here.  ASOS Salon have done some ace things in the past, collaborating with the likes of Molly Goddard for instance and this one, designed by their in-house team follows suit.  What’s great is the amount of detailing packed into the £80 or so pricing in every piece (ok, not bottom of the barrel cheap but you get what you pay for).  The dress I fell for was a lilac cutwork lace number printed with patchy florals like fading wallpaper.  It just looks and feels more expensive than it actually is.  That’s where the high street can excel if it so chooses.

Not necessarily super similar but in the same garden party vein, I also “splurged” (taking advantage of a Dover Street Market London sale preview) on a Comme des Garcons floral dress made out of Tyvek.  Incidentally, the ASOS Salon dress has a similar paper-esque feel to it just to assert the whole Steal vs. Splurge thing.  I could have gone momentarily mad on poof sleeves and ruffles galore.  There was also a more understated floral print option.  But the pink slip with a tiered hem prevailed.  I mean I really grin grin grin when I put this on.  And not to be all mumsy but the Tyvek material makes it crease proof and suitcase-friendly.

So let’s take some prices to calculation.  The Comme dress (after discount) is about 4 times as expensive as the ASOS Salon.  In a label vs. label toss up between the steal and the splurge, Comme of course throws its weight around.  The Tyvek material contributes to a unique texture and will forever more be connected to the seminal stuffed teddy bear dress from the same collection.  In an aesthetic toss-up, is the Comme number four times as “nice” or as fun to wear?  That’s more of difficult question to answer.  It can swing either way.

What’s interesting is that the four times price differential in the ASOS Salon dress and the Comme dress is not as big a gulf as one might imagine between the high street and high end, which brings me back to Fury’s comment that accessibility is a relative thing.  Designer fashion doesn’t have to be super prohibitive depending on where/when/how we buy them and what we perceive to be low end isn’t necessarily dirt cheap either.  In other words, in an ever expanding fashion market, flooded with product, product, product and a higher pressure to sell, sell, sell, anything goes.  It’s all about choices and lots of them at that.  And what we buy shouldn’t be read just on face value.

Oh, and whilst I was thinking how nice pink looked against overgrown grass and weeds, I realise that I like glitter and pink.  A lot.

Miu Miu sunglasses, Meadham Kirchhoff x Nicholas Kirkwood shoes (finally mine after some hefty discounting at his recent sample sale), Christopher Kane belt, notebook from Seoul, Versus bag