Kingdom Of Style

"i will not wear any more boring rings"

 

It seems Queen Michelle are sharing a brain today, showing you lovely shiny things.

But today it's very special shiny things.

The first time I came across a Kattri ring, my mouth actually fell open. I've honestly never seen gemstones like this. The oblique cuts,  the asymetric lines and planes mean your eye is constatly moving, settling only for a split second before moving on to appreciate how it looks from another angle.

As you can see, they are anything but boring!

At Kattri, they play with form questing to create richness and beuty by combining simple lines and pure shapes. They understand the environmental and social challenges of mining and strive to use ethically sourced and mined metals and gemstopnes.They use the newest technology available to push the boundries of traditional jewellery manufacturing to create daring designs and gemstone cuts.

They work with many of my favourite stones and while I would struggle to choose a favourite, I think I would settle on the rutilated quartz. I remember , when I was much younger, I heard it described as the stone that had captured angels hair within it. Since then, it has always has that enchanted magical look to me!!!

 

 

 

 

These rings are investment pieces or a gift from a generous loved one, or maybe even a gift from Santa if you have behaving yourself all year...

Queen Marie

Socially Responsible Silver

I was recently contacted by a Canadian jewellery label called Pontus and Hawke, run by Davida Goldenberg and his sister. Their aim is to "deliver products to consumers that are edgy yet socially and environmentally responsible", and have already been featured in Style at Home Magazine and The Coveteur.

As well using rose, green, white and yellow gold, they also use sustainable Argentium silver, which is a recycled silver purer than Sterling and is also brighter than normal silver and platinum. Not only that, because most of the copper is replaced with metalloid germanium, it won't tarnish and is hypoallergenic.

Of course, such beauty and responsibility comes with a suitably hefty price tag, with the bullet earrings starting at a whopping $400 for the silver! Yikes!

The stackable rings are perhaps my favourite pieces, but I imagine you would want to collect them all. Time to break into a bank methinks!

They also utilise weaponry as a motif, such as a 40's revolver and a sword, yet each piece is rendered so perfectly they look classic and understated. Everything is created using a technique known as 'lost wax casting', which is used not only for jewellery but also for the likes of sculpture.

Queen Michelle

short, sweet and very very long...

Dear Santa

I'll keep this short and sweet.

I'd like a long scarf this year please. A very long scarf!

Yes, I know I could buy and sell them. No, I don't want to choose something else instead.

I'd like the one below.

Thank You

Marie

x

ps _ I've been a good girl this year

 

This glorious glorious scarf is the work of the very talented Gemma Shepard and is an impresive 215cm long. Made of Geelong lambswool it belongs wrapped snuggly around my neck

Obviously it works in all the colourways but it is the red (down and geranium) that has my heart racing!

Gemma founded her eponymous label Shepherd England in 2005. Taking inspiration from the visual language of popular culture, both past and present. Shepherd England employs meticulous production techniques to create pieces that are both striking, and luxuriously comfortable to wear.

 Not designed exclusively as functional objects,these much sought after scarves and gloves are intended to make bold statements; expressing equally the driving forces behind every design: pattern and colour.

 Made from superfine Geelong Lambswool* and the finest butter soft leathers, all Shepherd England products are designed and made in the United Kingdom with many of the pieces hand made and individually finished in-house. This hands-on approach is seen as intrinsic to the ethos of the Shepherd England brand.

 

 

No it's not cheap at £160 but I predict I will wear it forever...

Queen Marie

x 

 

Check Yo'self

Aside from obsessing over the perfect biker boots, also high on my list is the perfect checked/tartan bottoms, either trousers or skirts.

It's a tricky old business being a Scottish person in tartan because it can so easily fall into national dress/costume/cliche territory - you half expect Donald Where's Your Troosers accompanying you as you walk down the street. But tartan is a beautiful fabric and comes in so many wonderful variants and when it's done well, it looks luxurious and classic. My JNXKOS coat will be released in a tartan soon too, which will lend the whole design a new dimension entirely.

However lately, it's skirts and trousers I've been looking for but not just in tartan, in more standard checks too. I sorely lack checks and tartan in my wardrobe, which is odd as they are the perfect graphic patterns to clash with other geometrics and florals. I hope to rectify this soon.

Looking around t-internet, these are my favourite checks and tartans I've found so far...

ASOS / Farfetch / Topshop / Barneys

The mid length ASOS skirt is possibly my favourite of the bunch but, if money were no object, the Marni skirt would be making it's way into my closet without hesitation. A classic check which could be clashed beautifully with florals and paisley. 

Coming soon though will be a new JNXKOS sweater in oversized dogstooth. Set to hopefully fill a check free gap in my wardrobe. For now.

Queen Michelle

spring fever...

I know it's still only November but I have Spring Fever.

But it's a very specific fever.

Prada Wedge Fever.

 The minute I realised Miuccia had gone a bit geisha for Spring 2013, I was a goner.

As Queen Michelle will testify, over the years (through economic necessity) I have learned to resist most things but when it comes to Prada or Miu Miu wedges, I am helpless. Helpless against the desire and the obsession that takes over my brain.

 I. Just. Can't. Help. Myself.

Obviously I have no idea how much these things will retail at, but i suspect it's going to be a bit sore. If anyone has any idea, do tell. Also any ideas on best place to pre-order them, would be useful too!

 I'm in 2 minds about the leather sock part.  I know the separated toe thing can freak people out a little, but having worn Margiela Tabi shoes and boots over the years, that doesn't bother me at all.

I just need to decide which ones I love most. 

Of course it goes without saying, that  they are totally impractical and slightly ludicrous and I will mostly just wearing them in the house to totter around, but what a happy house it will be...

Queen Marie

x

Have Yourself A Metal Little Christmas

Whilst I don't bother with a Christmas tree anymore, there are times when you see something that is enough to make you want to change your mind.

I could never decide on how I wanted my Christmas tree to look - what baubles I wanted; to tinsel or not to tinsel; multi-coloured lights or single coloured lights - just too many choices to make. Part of me loves an overly decorated, gaudy, full to the brim tree whilst the other part of loves a minimal, starkly decorated tree.  But then Sarah from La La Land posted something on her Facebook page that made me want to go down an entirely different route.

The heavy metal Christmas tree. You can now decorate your tree with baubles featuring some of your favourite metal bands.

For example; the Slayer tree bauble. The holy grail of tree decorations! It's absolutely genius and, even better, it's official Slayer merchandise - never say thrash bands don't have a sense of humour! There is also Metallica and Motorhead baubles and a Motorhead Santa sock. All you need is a black christmas tree and some gifts wrapped in black paper and you'd have yourself a perfect black christmas. Death metal approved.

And to top it all, when you're sitting around your death metal tree, you can be wearing your Slayer Christmas jumper.

All the ingredients for the perfect Christmas I think.

Queen Michelle

for ice queens everywhere...

 

 

 

It's no secret how much I love Scandanvian style. I've lost count of the number of posts I've done over the years . Which is why I actually surprised myself, when I realised, I had never done a post about Swedish designer Gudrun Sjödén. 

Founded in 1976, her  fashion and home textiles are inspiring, individual Scandanavian designs using only the most natural materials.

To say she has a bit of a thing for colour and pattern is a massive understatement! 

She has stores all over Scandanavia and Germany and although her mail order catalogue and website have been available in the UK for many years, she only has one stand alone store here, which opened up earlier this year on Monmouth Street in Covent Garden.

With her floral and folk-inspired designs clearly rooted in nature, Gudrun is known for having championed organic cotton and natural fabrics ahead of the curve. “We print most of our fabrics in India, and all our dhurries are woven by hand in Rajasthan. Where we do not use organic cotton, we use man-made natural fibres, including silk, bamboo, viscose etc. People are still focusing on buying things at a cheap price but I think we are slowly realising that it is better to have fewer things that are made sustainably and which support traditional artisan methods. I think it is more important than ever to keep these crafts alive, and we currently work with a design school in Gujarat to this end”.

Amen to that!

 

It goes without saying, I'd like one of everything please Santa.

Thank You.

Queen Marie

x

Bitching Studs

I received an excellent surprise parcel from my bitches at Bitching & Junkfood recently containing, amongst other things, an absolutely amazing studded skirt. I know, it's a cliche - a heavy metal chick being into studs - but I just can't help myself. It's a love affair which has spanned over 20 years and shows no sign of ever letting up.

At first, I assumed it was shorts but when I put it on I realised it was actually a skirt, which had been made from a recycled pair of jeans. The front is entirely studded, which alone basically makes it the best skirt in the world, and the ends pleasingly frayed to perfection.

I knew immediately what it's job would be be to begin with - to make my Simon Preen dress adaptable for winter. I pulled it over the top and could see it was a marriage made in heaven.

Wearing it with Ksubi sunglasses, vintage scarf and Underground England shoes

It's also an ideal skirt to run errands in, worn simply with tights and an oversized jumper.

Be prepared to see this skirt on here a lot...

The rest of package contained these side studded shorts and gorgeous devore shirt. The shorts are possibly a little bit high cut for a lady of my, ahem, advanced years, but I feel when paired with black opaque tights they are made much for suitable for me. I'll be sharing those with you next week.

Queen Michelle

you looking at me?

There can be no question.

Yes.  These t-shirts are looking at you.

Right at you!

I'll be honest I'm not sure if children would love or be slightly freaked out by these 'Big Face' animal t-shirts.

Designed by artist Vincent Hie  and printed utilising 3-D printing technology, each oversized image is amazingly realistic. 

If I'm honest I find them a little scary.  I'm not even sure why, is it the intense direct stare of the animals or is it a question of scale? Whatever it is, they just seem 'too real'

Luckily little people are made of much sterner stuff than me, so if they love animals, then they may indeed love these.

There is a a whole heap of creatures to choose from and they come in big people sizes too.

But let's be honest, if any man in your life, comes towards you wearing one of these, run far, run fast...

Big Face T-Shirts      £14.99  for children up to 12 years    £19.99 for adults.

Although in a strange way, I don't mind the black lab one so much, he has got such a gentle expression on his face, like he just wants to be your friend.

You can never have enough friends....

Queen Marie

 

Prom Queen

French Connection recently asked me to style up a piece from their party dresses collection. My first reaction was "as you sure you want to let me loose on your party frocks?"

I have a wee soft spot for the shop as I used to buy the party dresses from there. I have had some of my most memorable nights out whilst wearing a French Connection dress. My first ever DJ gig I was wearing a French Connection skirt.

I haven't been in the shop for many, many years, but I curious enough to have a look and see what kind of things they were doing now. I recall the shop being  a little more directional than it is now, but there was one dress which stood out - a full length sequin gown.

I knew exactly how I wanted to style it; like me in the 1990's, if someone had made me go to a prom.

When it arrived I was suprised to find it was actually a green shade rather than silver, so not quite as bright as I expected, but for my purposes it would still work.

If someone had dragged me to a prom in the 90's this is pretty much how I would approached it...

I teamed it with; vintage Metallica baseball tee, Uniqlo plaid shirt, biker boots, Lazy Oaf beanie and Prince B's mittens.

If anyone can suck the party right of a party dress, it's me.

Queen Michelle