Kingdom Of Style

Smart? she sure is...

Be More Fancy is the wonderful blog by the intriguing Ms Smart.

With posts that read like poems, her words draw you into her world.

Be smart. 

Be fancy.

Visit her today...

Queen Marie

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She casts a long shadow...

Some creative people cast a long shadow. 

So it is with artist Verena Paloma Jabs 

'Shadow' A1 print £45.00

Not content with just fine art, her interest in fashion and music sees her creating leotards, animal headpieces and jewellery as well as designing playful band merchandise and stage-outfits for London/ Berlin-based electronic punkettes Robots in Disguise. She has also created Coco Career Boutique  a London based online concept store, conceived as a hybrid inter-disciplinary platform for fashion, music, art and design. On top of all that, she turns out to be kind and thoughtful.  Holy Crap Verena! enough already.

She wrote me a lovely letter introducing me to the work of  japanese kagami shinohara , kindly saying that some of her pieces made her think of me. 

Candy headband complete with original drawing £35.00

I need to get me some pink hair to go with the candy and my vintage gucci glasses

Thank you Verena for my gifts. You made an old Queen feel very lazy but happy...

Queen Marie

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The wonder of wings...

Elbow wings?

Who knew I needed them in my life!

Damm your eyes Rick Owens...

Wings don't come cheap, the ones above will set you back €1599 from luisaviaroma.com

Perhaps first I should buy this darling dogeared silver wing necklace £27, from  my-wardrobe

and make a wish upon it, to win the lottery, then I could afford the leather wings...

*sigh*

Queen Marie

Break out the bunting...

Nothing says summer to me like fluttering bunting.

I work in a small rural village and every year just before Gala Day, the whole town is bedecked in coloured bunting. It is so cheerful, I am always sad when they take it down.

It got me to thinking that perhaps I should buy me some bunting for The Palace to replace my stars for the summer...

It's always time for tea! so this bunting from aspace  (£15) would be a perfect start...

More is more, so I would add this delicious bunting from Strawberry Fool (£14.99)

And for special occasions, I would pop up this loveliness from Coastline  ($19.99)

How could you not feel happier with this above your head?

Queen Marie

Don't do it Daryl...

So the 'pillow faces' continue to pop up everywhere, joining Madonna and Kylie.

Those rounded rosy little chipmunk cheeks aint natural, they are the result of the latest trend  for non invasive cosmetic surgery and fat implants.

Given the age old choice of 'your face or your arse', these greedy celebrities want both. They want to keep their size zero ass and the plumped up faces of youth, with their new, youthful glow seeming to suggest they may have had fat implants in their cheeks, causing the pillow face effect...

I always say live and let live. If you have the money and the inclination to tuck, lift or fill, feel free to crack on, but try to remember that with 'procedures' as with everything else in life try to practice moderation. Does anyone ever try to tell any of these women to stop before they take it too far.

Hopefully Daryl Hannah does, because if she doesn't stop soon, this poor girl is going top start looking like a duck billed platypus rather than a hollywood star.

Come on now Daryl, step away from the filler...

Queen Marie

Where did all the glue go?

The more I think about it, the more I think maybe poor old TB is not to blame for the lack of glue holding his shoes together.

I think Chantal Biya, The First Lady of Cameroon, has had all the glue in the free world shipped over to the Cameroons to hold her hair up.  How else could she explain these gravity defying edifices atop her head...

Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to do my hair. Pass me that glue gun...

Queen Marie

Fun Feathers For A Friday

My tryst with Tristan might not have ended so happily but it doesn't mean my support for Aussie designers will wane.

So onto more feathers. I can rely on feathers. Feathers will look great no matter what.

Australian label Yes Vincent creates the most fantastical feathered collars, cuffs and headbands I think I have ever seen. One day I shall procure myself a feather collar - infact it shall be the first thing I buy to reward mysef when I find a new job. I shall appear at my new work place, wherever that may be, sporting a plumage around my neck big enough to make Big Bird feel inadequate.

Rose, the designer behind the label, take various feathers and manages to bring out the beauty in them by arranging them into fantastical coloured arrangement. They actually stop looking like feathers and look more like flowers or fringes.

Glorious!

Queen Michelle

The Trouble With Tristan....

...is that he knows what a good shoe should look like. But where to get good glue? Not so much.

I was most delighted when my Tristan Blair wedges arrived. Remember these beauties?

After waiting so long to get them, when they arrived it was like christmas! I put them on and took photos and when I took them off to put them back in the box...I noticed to my horror that one of the wedges was starting to come away from the upper. I was obviously disappointed but when It comes to getting the one dodgy pair of shoes in a batch I'm the girl who'll get them, so I'm used to having to send things back. I emailed Amelie's Boutique that Saturday afternoon and was delighted to get a reply. The were exceptionally helpful telling me to send them back and they'd send me a new pair and refund my postage.

The new pair arrived yesterday and I decided to wear them today. I got as far as the bus stop and BOTH wedges started to come off! I am very mad indeed. When I drop almost £300 on footwear I expect quality. Yes, I could have bought 3 pairs of Topshop shoes, but I made a promise to myself I'd try and buy quality over quantity but it seems that that doesn't guarantee good quality finishing either.

It also made me wonder that because they are made in Indonesia (I had actual been hoping they were made in Australia), are they made in the same factory that creates high street shoes and in actual fact you are NOT buying better quality, merely paying for a logo and a leather sole? It has often been the statement of people who buy cheap shoes - that those who drop lots of money on labels are simply buying into a brand for it's exclusivity and I have always confidently countered the arguement by sharing my experiences in the difference in fit and finish. Now, I'm not so sure. Of course, I then look at my shoes from Givenchy, LaRare, Chloe etc and see that they are all impeccibly made and show no sign of falling apart.

Maybe I was just very unlucky and got two pairs for a dodgy batch. I hope so as I really do love and appreciate his designs...but my confidence in the quality has certainly been lost and wouldn't accept a replacement.

I will say that the customer service at Amelie's Boutique is second to none. They are always on hand to answers emails and are extremely efficient and helpful. I will be shopping there again - just not for Tristan Blair.

Queen Michelle

Will Work For Fashion

Exciting things are happening for Angie over at Norwegian Wood. It's been amazing see her go from creating log cushions to these amazing harnesses and cage skirts. It's been like watching a butterfly emerge from it's cocoon.

I was delighted to have the chance to give her brand a whole new look. With all the exciting things happening for her (which I can't reveal but she will on her own blog in due course), it was only right she have a shiny new logo for her fresh start.

Like Black Milk, I just knew the right logo for Angie. I offered her a few but there was really only one in my head. The rounded letterforms I felt reflected Angie's approach to design both as a designer and a person - it's modern but approachable and open. She really loves the colour mustard so I teamed it with grey.

The marque was designed to be used a seperate element. She will be getting these made up as charms in various materials - the first one being wood! As always no money exchanged hands but rather the fashion bartering system: graphic design in exchange for fashion design!

Aaaaages ago, and we are talking months and months and months ago (maybe even last year actually), I came to Angie with an idea for a dress I wanted. I explained as best I could what I wanted and she new exactly what I meant so she sketched some ideas and added recommendations for finishes and fabrics. Designs have gone back and forth and my dress will be commencing next month. I don't think people realise how involved the Alchemy process is - it's a constant dialogue between designer and client as everything must be executed perfectly. It's a lengthy process because every detail must be considered right down to the zip. But it's worth the wait.

Initially it was a straight forward Alchemy request but when we worked on the branding it became payment. She also sent me two little goodies in the meantime, which I'll write about next week.

Queen Michelle

Etsy Curators

A while ago your Queens were asked to be Guest Curators for Etsy so we have been collating images and lists of our favourite shops that sell the slightly more unusual pieces.

I think sometimes it's easy to forget that Etsy sells much more than just ceramics and cushions - there is a wealth of different kinds of creativity out there just waiting for you to explore. Many of the shops you'll have seen us post about on here but we when it comes to the more avant-garde, in terms of Etsy, these picks represent what we feel are the best. Enjoy!