Kingdom Of Style

Show me what you got...

So! one of the added extras you can find on Shop Style is the favourites/stylebook function.

Basically like an on-line scrapbook, you can gather together all the things that are tickling your fancy and even create your own lookbook pages ( I know polyvore and kaboodle do these things too, but I always found them just a bit too tricksy)

For the next four weeks, you could also win some money to spend when you play. Each week you are asked to put together a specifc look and you could win £150 to spend at John Lewis

The first challenge 'Everyday Elegance – To create a day to night look ' is online now, you can find it here

Why am I telling you this I hear you ask?  Simple, they have asked me to help pick the winners out each week.

Get playing and they'll get paying

So come on, show me what you got...

Queen Marie

x

ps - Does anyone remember The Bunty?  Every week they used to have a cut out doll with lots of outfits on the back page.  Oh how I loved them.  I spent hours and hours playing with my paper dolls. You young people today with your fancy technology, you don't know you're born....

Ladies, Start your engines...

Every so often, good manners demands that I apologise to all the lovely people who write asking us follow us on twitter, join them on facebook, bebo, myspace or one of the many fashion networking sites. It's not that we don't want to make new friends it's just that the whole 'social networking' thing passes us by.  If you have ever had the misfortune of watching me trying to write and send a text, you will understand why I keep all that new technology malarky to a minimum.

But every so often, something comes along, that is simple enough, even for me to use and get excited by. Shop Style is one such thing.

Basically it is a fashion search engine, with added extras. A kind of garment google if you will. What makes it so special, is not just the speed and simplicity of use , the fact that you can use it for women,men,houses and kids, but the breadth and scope of who they have hooked up with.  Every high street store and on-line site you love is here - All Saints, Browns, Coggles, Designers Guild, Heals, John Lewis, House of Fraser, Miss Selfridge, My-Wardrobe, MyTheresa, Net-a-porter, Urban Outiftters and even Yoox ( and that is just a tiny fraction)

I have lost hours already just doing typical Queen Marie random searches - Sequin Coats, Gold Wedges, Black Parkas, Droog.. You get the idea.  But a word of warning, only do it when your credit card is safely under lock and key, the temptation may prove too much.  Don't say I didn't warn you...

Queen Marie

The Barras, The Movie...

The Royal Vintage Dressers have always been a well kept secret, but being caring Queens, we decided it was time to share. So we thought it would be fun to film one of our favourite Royal rituals - a trip to see 'The Ladies'

As some of you had already guessed, they have a little shop at The Barras. The Barras is a Glasgow Institution. A sort of street market, come flea market, which is awash with fake handbags and pirate DVD's. Whatever you want, you can find it at the barras.  It ain't pretty, but it is fun. But when we got there, we were greeted with some surprising and sad news.  The Ladies are moving out at the end of the month to concentrate on antique and vintage fairs. Luckily for us, they told us that in future we can vist them at home.  Hooray.

Then, on the way back to the car, we took a little wander through the Homes for The Future site. Built in 1999, as part of The Year of Architecture celebrations, it transformed a largely derelict space into an international showcase of architecture and modern living. But I have to say, it does not look to be wearing too well! Which is sad.

Last time, people commented that I sounded like a school teacher or their mother and Empress Gillian even told me I sounded like Lorraine Kelly! Oh bollocks.  For some reason this time, despite feeling a bit under the weather yesterday, I sound freakishly chipper. Chipper as a chipmunk. A chipmunk on helium. I sound like a hyperactive halfwit! Microphone too near my mouth methinks...

Anyhoo! enjoy...





Queen Marie

It makes no sense...

Sometimes things make no sense!

No matter how long or how hard you look, you cannot begin to fathom what the frick is going on.

Look at the charming prints below, cheery and almost heidi like in their alpine simplicity.

Now what would you do with a print like that?

Curtains perhaps, or maybe a tablecloth...

That's what I would do.

But that's not went through the twisted mind of Peter Jensen, who used it to make thigh high boots for Top Shop . Thigh high freakin' boots, that he has the nerve to charge £195 for.

I know your evil plan Mr Jensen, you're trying to turn Heidi into a hooker!

Take it from me, it won't work...

Now move along and leave Heidi alone, or I'll set the Palace guards on you.

Consider yourself warned!!!

Queen Marie

Just follow the arrows...

Thank Goodness for Wolfgang Joop and those crazy kids over at Wunderkind, always ready and waiting to help with all the fashion issues troubling the modern urban woman.

Do you have problems remembering where your breasts are?

No problem, Wolfgang has that problem covered for Spring 2010.

Just follow the arrows people...

Or what about that other perennial problem, how to find your chocha*

Again Woolfie has it covered, with a functional directional arrow!

Fine work Sir!

Queen Marie

*chocha - Trademarked by Lady Winona of Likey

I feel pretty...

"I feel pretty,

Oh so pretty,

I feel pretty and witty and bright!

And I pity

Any girl who isn't me tonight..."

This is how I feel after a week of having my mailbox filled to overflowing with the most tempting offers.

These offers included:

1. A 'measure up bowl' to help me with portion control and loose weight

2. A voucher for an anti-aging treatment

3. Some new natural toothpaste to help me "kiss bad breath goodbye"

and perhaps my most favourite of all -

4. A new cream to ensure that I "don't spook anyone this halloween with my wrinkes"

Holy freakin' moly.  Now I have nothing against pr people.  Some of my best friends are in pr. But when you write to me, at least get my name right, tell me I look pretty or at least offer to buy me a cup of tea and a cupcake before you try to peddle your 'push up pants'  to help me "lift my sagging ass"

*shakes head in despair*

Queen Marie

x

ManBitch On: My £5

Tis a known fact in the Kingdom that neither of your Queens carry money on nights out since we don't drink nor do we pay to get into clubs. When earlier tonight Prince B and I headed off to the Subclub I said, "oh I've got £5 for tonight" to which he cheekily replied, "cool, where are we going - 1981?".

Doesn't he realise Royalty never carry money?!

Pfft cheeky.

Queen Michelle

Patch Work It Girl

Several weeks ago I received images from the latest collection from designer Lu Flux. The blurb says:

Lu graduated with a degree from Edinburgh College of Art in 2006, where her last collection won the Ocean Terminal Fashion Graduate Award. She then worked for Bernard Wilhelm in Paris as a design assistant, before she returned to London and created her own label.

Her debut was, in my opinion, wasted at Glasgow Fashion Week 2007, but thankfully Vauxhall Fashion Scout picked her up and named her as 'One to Watch'.

Generally speaking I'm not really into the whole Laura Ingalls style patchwork, unless it's on a blanket, but Lu has taken the twee elements assciated with the craft and added quirk by incorporating large arrow graphics into many of her designs. I'm not sure if it's deliberate or not but I am reminded of the old fashioned suits prisoners had to wear with the arrows on. It's clear that Lu has humour and is passionate about mixing prints.

The tiered skirt and trousers are particularly lovely and definitely a new and interesting way to wear patchwork.

Queen Michelle

Don't Call Me Cute

Cute is generally a word that makes me cringe. I associate cute with being not quite outright ugly, not remotely beautiful, possibly too childish. I actually prefer my clothes to be outright ugly rather than cute.

I do have attire I am aware of as being cute, like my cupcake dress, and I admit that when I wear that dress I just brace myself for someone calling me cute whilst wearing it. I can be called many things but cute sure ain't one of them!

Naturally a label called I Love Cutie Pie did put my vom radar on high alert! Thankfully it's a jewellery label and, possibly in spite of myself, I was quite taken with the designer Danielle Butler's minature wares. Teeny little tea cups and tea pots, little handcuffs, mini macaroons - all very cute, yet thankfully not remotely sickly.

Each piece is crafted by Danielle herself with themes such as Alice in Wonderland and afternoon tea in Paris.

I did come away with a strong hankering for a box of macaroons though...

Queen Michelle

Yo! It's Sushi Time

Last night my Prince and I attended the Yo!Sushi launch party in House of Fraser. I've never tried sushi so free sushi seemed like a good place to start. It was also, to my endless excitement, the first moment in our shared history where my Prince decided to "do fashion". Oh the deep, deep joy!

He ditched the usual baggy jeans and Adidas track top for the evening, raided my unisex garments and came away wearing All Saints drop crotch trousers, vintage checked blazer and clashing paisley tie, Horace t-shirt and his Full Circle shoes. With his newly grown out hair he looked rather dashing! 

I wore my Black Milk Liquids (natch!), DIY leg chain, Christopher Kane for Topshop body suit over a Topshop jersey dress, LaRare shoes, vintage clutch from the Urban Collection and my feathered fringe headpiece. I initially had on my vintage sequin jacket from the Urban Collection but ended up changing into my white Jean Pierre Braganza jacket at the last minute.

I LOVE this feathered fringe so much. The people on Buchanan Street however did not with a fair few snide remarks being thrown my way about it as I walked to Frasers.

Yo!Sushi in Frasers is where the shoe department used to be and they have created a lovely, cheery, bright space. I must admit that the fast moving bowls of unknown food did scare me and I ended up not eating anything. A photographer took my photo and we both knew that it was awful - he smiled awkwardly and promptly escaped to take pictures of more photogenic people who weren't a waste of his battery power.

Our dear chum Harri provided the tunes so we bopped along happily to his set.

I also met the lovely Mary McGowne, founder of The Vine PR Company, organiser of this event as well as the Scottish Style Awards, and the one who kindly invited us. She was charrning, funny and made me feel very welcome indeed. And she has great rock 'n' roll hair and a marvelously furry jacket!

Sadly we had to leave pretty early to go and let the dogs out, lest we end up with a river of pee in the house. How rock 'n' roll - home by 8.30pm! (sorry Mary we didn't say cheerio but you were deep in conversation and we didn't want to interrupt).

Overall a fun wee night was had.

Queen Michelle