Keeping up with the trends: The Statement Knit

At Celtic Sheepskin we find top magazines a great source of inspiration for the current trends. Not one to favour one magazine over another because it’s very much a personal choice, this week we thought we’d draw from Red Magazine’s September issue to talk about the Autumn Winter 2010 trend that is “The Statement Knit”. To epitomise this trend, Red Magazine features a model wearing a cable knit dress and a long chunky scarf. Well, at Celtic Sheepskin we can certainly match that!

Let’s take our Statement Scarf (image above). At £140 it’s no light purchase, but is so chunky and warm you’ll find it often replaces a jacket and is totally on trend this winter. Then of course there’s out own Knitted Cable Dress £69 (below), which very adaptable when it comes to layering and the occasion you may find to wear it.

Getting past their initial trend round up, if you continue to browse the big pages of Red Magazine you’ll soon get to their main fashion shoot, entitled “The Long Weekend” which features lots of knitted jumpers and cardigans with much layering - in fact one cardigan reminds us of our Cashmere Amelie Cardigan, which we featured on the cover of last winter’s Celtic Sheepskin catalogue! As that’s no longer available, we’ll draw from from Prada’s Wool Jumper that can be spotted in countless magazines now (at £625 you notice this knit easily!). In Red Magazine they style it with a thin belt and woollen skirt, so let’s see what we can do with Celtic clothing…

The point of the above is that you’re making a statement with woollens. It’s a very relaxed outfit, mainly because we’ve styled it with a pair of slouchy woollen leggings, but you could so easily put the jumper with a knee-length woollen skirt. You just need to be bold with knits!

So with that in mind we’ll leave you with our Chunky Cable Knit, £75. A jumper that looks like a cardigan and can be styled in so many different combinations that we’ll even dare to suggest that if you only buy one piece for this season’s knit trend, you should seriously consider this jumper as being “the one”!

The Bespoke Riding Boots

I am so sorry to anyone who clicked to view the latest from the world of Celtic Sheepskin yesterday, because I didn’t get a blog post up in time. My excuse? We’re busy, busy, busy! Meetings, phone calls etc etc. But I am still very sorry.

So, getting something interesting to read up quickly, and I thought I’d dedicate today’s blog to our Bespoke Riding Boots that have just been launched on our website this week – and the opinions on Facebook make an interesting read in themselves! The price has thrown a great many of you, and we can completely understand why. At £695 they don’t tick the impulse purchase box. So why SO expensive? It all boils down to that first word in their name… bespoke.
If you click onto their product page on our website, you’ll see that we take 5 measurements from you when crafting the pair individually for you. Yes, that’s right, they definitely aren’t off the peg! Five measurements plus of course your usual shoe size – but as there’s nothing bespoke about giving your shoe size I’m sure you can understand why that measurement isn’t discussed CLICK HERE to view this page

And what about the comfort/fit factor I hear you cry. It’s all very well having a pair made especially for you, but what will they feel like? Well, lets start with the technical response;

• They have the highest-grade waterproof nubuck leather. In other words they’re going to last a long time, and your tootsies won’t get wet.
  


• They have anti-slip weatherproof soles, which have been tried and tested for the stable.
  Leather laces. This means they stay done up! Hooray!
  


• Sheepskin lined foot. Quite a unique feature, wouldn’t you say?
  


• Supplied with boot tree. They’re of genuine quality after all, so I’m sure you would want to look after them.
  


• Stirrup balance system; this is the best bit! The basic principle is that the flattest part of the boot (on the ball of your foot) is balanced not only so you can walk correctly in them, but also that you can put your feet in the stirrup at a right angle without your heel pushing up. Ultimately the boot allows you to have more control over your horse. That’s pretty impressive!

Of course the technical info is great to read about, and for some it will hopefully give justification to the price. However the ultimate test will be when you’re wearing your bespoke pair of boots, and we can think of no reason why once you have them on your feet, you will never want to take them off ever again. Go on, treat yourself!

Why shouldn’t we read about ethical clothing?

Did you know that we get more people reading this blog when I talk about styling, dogs or reduced items, than when I write about the ethical side of our clothing? It’s interesting that what’s grabbing the attention of the majority of fashion blog readers is exactly what the big companies such as Primark and Matalan are cashing in on –exciting items that are popular and even better if they are discounted or cheap from day one! I’m not getting at you all; I’m the same. If I’m looking to purchase for myself I will be drawn to pretty colours and fabulous prices. Perhaps the obviously cheap fabrics would put me off, but some are very well disguised. If I think about it, I’d probably be more swayed towards an ethical garment in a shop than on the Internet, as I’d have the opportunity to rub a delicate organic bamboo top against my cheek!

But the World Wide Web is such a rich resource of information, that we should be embracing it as the perfect chance to shop responsibly. Rather than going on aesthetics alone, we now have the opportunity to search for a garment that is perhaps similar to the cheap item you noticed in your supermarket as you ran in for milk, and instead search for the cousin that has had more attention given to it at childhood. You can so easily search for the alternative that has A. been made from a fabric that has harmed the environment as little as possible and B. will last longer than 1 month!

Buying organic clothing is not about whether you wear open toe sandals and live in the middle of nowhere without running water. It doesn’t even have to be about standing up against the evil giants who make ugly, cheap clothing without a care for human, plant or beast. When it comes down to it we all need to wear clothes and by choosing to wear organic clothing, or perhaps just a garment that has been made from natural fabrics rather than man-made synthetic fibres, we are saying to ourselves - and others if you like – that clothes are functional, fashionable and fair. We’ve paid a fair price to the people who have made them, we have been fair to the environment that has given us the clothing and we have made a fair decision to wear these clothes for a good amount of time.

There are a number of companies out there that offer natural and/or organic clothing, and Celtic Sheepskin is proud to be amongst the crowd. Our latest grading for sustainable clothing has come with the standard Zque. A Zque fibre combines natural performance wool with an accreditation program that ensures environmental, social and economic sustainability, animal welfare (non-mulesed) and traceability back to the source. Quite an achievement don’t you think! The Zque standard is applied to some of our fine merino wool pieces and so I will leave you now with images of these items for you to decide just how alluring going green on the internet can be …

Charlotte Cole

31.08.10

Wish you were here! Carbis Bay, Cornwall

It’s the Thursday before August bank holiday, a weekend when many will travel north, east, south or west to take a well-earned break. And so we should! Living in Cornwall we’re lucky enough to find sanctuary amongst our local surroundings, so whether you’re thinking of a trip to this part of the UK or you already live here, I thought I’d dedicate today’s blog to a place of natural beauty and harmony. An area that’s popular for tourists and locals alike; Carbis Bay.

The image above shows Carbis Bay as many know it well, but for our Autumn Winter shoot we decided to take an area with less sand and even more open space – the moorland southwest of the town. And what a beautiful area it is! The most stunning shot of the day had to be the Hooded Toscana Coat where our model Nicole stood on a tor of granite boulders, and posed for an image that almost reminds me of the Scottish Widows advert, but of course an image that has a more jaw-dropping coat!

Carbis Bay is located close to St Ives, a fishing town widely known for its draw to artists, hosting its very own Tate gallery. You could look only at the colours of our images taken on our shoot to see why artists from around the world head to St Ives to create their masterpieces. So it’s with that thought in mind that I leave you with some more beautiful images taken on the day we headed southwest of Carbis Bay…

- And may I recommend if you’re in the area either this bank holiday weekend or another you take a walk around the moorland. It’s truly breathtaking

It’s a dog’s life

You may or may not have read already about the Celtic Sheepskin’s mascot;our Brittany Spaniel Alfie Whitworth, who is the beloved pet of director’s Nick and Kath. It wasn’t too long ago however that their much-loved dog Todd held this title. He sadly passed away before the summer, but it wasn’t long ago that he was keeping everyone on his or her toes at the Autumn Winter shoot - the catalogue that has just been launched. (You can view a tribute to Todd on the blog by clicking here

I’m sure he’d not want us to dwell on the past (do dogs ever dwell on things?), and with the saying “it’s a dogs life” in mind, I thought I’d share a few pics from the catalogue shoot that didn’t make it into print. The image above in fact is the only staring role that Todd had on paper, but he did so much more. I think the best is his shoot with the Classic Boots…

…Hilarious!

A couple of other dogs came in to offer their assistance to Todd on the shoot. Sadly we didn’t take down their names as they were meant to be taking their humans out for a walk at the time, so much too busy for photos with autographs. So any owners who want to come forward and name their dogs are welcome!

This last shot shows that it’s all not that simple to be a dog and model; but wouldn’t it be fun! We’ll soon be shooting for the spring catalogue (yes we know spring is far away, but you have to be prepared) so let’s see if Alfie takes the “lead”? I guess we’ll just have to wait for the behind the scenes shots to be released

Two is better than one.

Styling is about putting items together that weren’t necessarily meant for one another, but approaching it with enough flair and balance that an outfit is transformed. It sounds simple right? Our stylist does an excellent and seemingly effortless job with putting items together from our catalogue and adding a few from her own little “magic box” to help you and I picture how we could wear it. But there’s so much more you can do with our pieces than just “option A”. Take the Cashmere Dress in the image above for instance, what a transformation with very little change! The celebrity stylist Gok Wan goes to great lengths to encourage a “capsule” wardrobe, where he brings a small selection of good pieces together in a variety of ways, and the results are impressive.

With no Gok on the TV to guide us at the moment and the lack of free personal stylists (I’m not suggesting they should be free, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if they were!), we have only glossy magazines and TV to guide us along. I personally find that the best place to begin is with your favourite piece and then any current trend knowledge you may have gleamed. There are other routes of course, but this seems to work for me.

With that in mind, I’ve played with a few alternative “duet” combinations from our new autumn winter catalogue, to help you picture wearing the item another way to the image in the catalogue.

First I’ve pulled out the Sheer Knit Cowl Jumper Dress, in rather the same way that the Cashmere Dress is transformed in the main image above. Without the belt the dress has a loose, slouchy fit then add the Buckled Obi Belt and it’s much more fitted. Have you heard about the minimalist trend this season? Well this hits that trend bang on the head! Just keep accessories “minimal” and you’ll be good to walk with the elite.

I like the above picture because it’s a way of working the thigh high boot trend, without the expense of thigh-high boots. Our Over The Knee Socks can be pulled fairly high, and then all you need do is to team with a pair of knee boots or just a simple ankle boot and you’ll pull off a favourite footwear craze for autumn.

The above combination has come from the mix of chunky knitwear that was very heavily featured on the autumn winter catwalks. Magazines are pulling out cable knit jumpers everywhere, and this Cable Dress is perfect. By adding a pair of knitted Boot Warmers, you’re exaggerating the trend and bringing attention to the fact that knitwear is fashionable again. Be bold!

To finish with I’ve reverted to Harpers Bazaar (it’s made quite an impression on me this month!). In their “Aviator Chic” feature, Katherine Hepburn gave them inspiration for styling around the current flying-gear trend. It’s about the overstated sheepskin embellishments, and so I’ve teamed our Black Merino Coat with a black Diesel Trapper Hat, to show off the aviator trend in all it’s glory!


… so there should be nothing stopping you from having a go for yourself now!

Sexy is back…

“Sexy is back” are the words of Harpers Bazaar editor Lucy Yeomans, in her Editors Letter for September’s magazine. What an exiting season we’ve got in store for us then Lucy! In fact if I’m honest, it wasn’t originally these words have drawn me to write about Harpers Bazaar in this week’s blog, rather the sultry fashion feature spreading across 14 pages entitled “Woodland Spirit”. Not quite the woodland scenes we’ve featured in our new Autumn Winter catalogue, and if you’ve not seen it then imagine our models in the same location, same hair & make up, same shearling jackets and then nothing else –totally nude, or a simple pair of lacy knickers! The photos are truly enchanting, and definitely worth a peek.

So after my eye grabbing moment, I re-traced my steps to the editor’s letter and at that point became inspired for the subject of today’s blog post. After Harpers Bazaar had gone to so much effort to take the Celtic Sheepskin catalogue and make a sexy woodland shoot, I thought I’d take this September’s Harpers Bazaar and make it, well, purchasable!

In her letter, Lucy explains that Marc Jacobs heralded the return of the curve at the Autumn Winter catwalk for Louis Vuitton, featuring the nipped-in, fifties style silhouette. Well, whatever the designers can do us mortals can follow. So I’ve been rummaging in the wardrobe that is www.celtic-sheepskin.co.uk (virtual wardrobes are so much easier to find things with their special search engine helps!), and I’ve pulled out a few pieces with Marc Jacobs’ theme in mind.

Thinking 1950s, you imagine a lot of tailoring, and as Lucy put it “nipped in waists” and this is not such an obvious style for Celtic Sheepskin - but you’d be surprised what I’ve found! A coat that first jumped into my head was our Heritage Fit & Flare, but also the Hazelwood Waxed Jacket has gorgeous high waist detailing. And what 1950s tiny waist would be without a Polo Neck for winter? This autumn we’ve got polo necks coming out of our ears!

Then I began considering our Short Cape Jacket, which was another style credited to the 1950s and one that can help the many ladies who aren’t blessed with a jaw dropping hourglass figure. And subsequently my imagination began leaping miles ahead, as I pictured sophisticated ladies of the 50s with berets and long gloves – in fact Marc Jacobs featured elbow length gloves in his collection, to the same length as our Long Cashmere Gloves. Then adding that all important sheepskin detail (billed to be HUGE this season) I thought of our fabulous Fluffy Handmuff – so very 1950s!