Cuddles.

Brrr! Its cold in here, there must be some..... Ahhh - BIG, no HUGE fail! To save myself from further humiliation, I'll allow you lovelies to fill in the blank. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ashamed of my love... I'll rephrase that - knowledge of stereotypical, white, middle class, teen dramas whose issues conform to the banality of suburbia, It's just that, erm... Well I don't actually have an excuse - so please, do Judge! Anywho - enough about me and my apparent lack of cinematic taste. Tis the season of thermal vests + Long Johns (Is it just me or does the later give the wearer the illusion of rickets?). Without my M&S thermal wonders, I fear the winter months would leave me cowering under duvets, cradling hot water bottles and invading personal spaces for body warmth.

Thermals or no thermals, WE SPY shall be braving the cold this winter with thanks to Jose Abellar + David Ayala, aka Gilbert & Lewis whom have hand-knitted a variety of oversized, cuddly pullovers, that I NEED not want.

Hand-knitted Chunky Wool Pullover

 Hand-knitted Chunky Wool Cardigan

Shop Online Gilbert & Lewis

Pics courtesy of Gilbert & Lewis

Jennifer, Annabel, Phillipa, Sue.

Ahh... The simple days of school - Where currency came in the form of the bits + bats in your pencil case and "Cool" was measured not by the obscure bands you pretended to know and love but by the length of your school tie. Tuna baguettes with lashings of unbranded, E-number rich - salad cream and the sticky goodness of cornflake tart, whose sugar content was pure bliss for a ferrel child. These were just a few of my favourite things. School lunches aside, the acrid smell of wood polish is a scent that re-ignites memories of my days as a pupil, a pupil desperate to please and be a member of the "Teachers pet" society - yet distraction was and still is my downfall. From the dark chocolaty parquet floors to the uneven, wooden desks etched with past pupils messages of unrequited love (hmmm, I wonder if "JS + AB 4 EVA", are living happily ever after - Pfff!), were all laced in that distinctive odour. 

My recent trip to the big smoke had me accidentally stumble across Elemental, an antiques/vintage furniture specialist whom specialise in all things bright and industrial. The sweet smell of polish stopped me in my tracks to reveal school furniture of past. Once dismissed, now glorious!

School Table

Origin - UK

Year - 1950

Remploy Chair

Origin - UK

Year - 1970

Stacking Tubular Metal School Desk

Origin - UK

Year - 1970

My Favourite

Gym Horse

Origin - Belgium

Year - 1930

Pics courtesy of Elemental

Wrong.

Learning curves... Correction - mistakes! Many I have made in my younger years, all of which had been self inflicted tears to a "Best in show" ribbon, I pinned strategically to a make-believe best dressed ego, that was cultivated and pruned to convince myself that a kaleidoscope of colours and prints, draped over my awkward frame was a-ok... how wrong I was! A uniform of  Zebra print - high tops (shiverrrrr), stabilo yellow CK T's and the nothingness of 90's (the era that fashion forgot) diluted - stone wash, straight cut denim. Are just a few of my "Dont's" that would take pride of place on the Vice wall of lame.

For fear of a relapse, I seek distraction from the garish and the laboured (Ehem - Louboutin's of the male kind). Dana Lee provides just that. She's a man's man when it comes to design, where simple trumps the overdone and attention is placed on that silly old thing, known as wearability. Lets take a looky look at Basics that are not so basic in muted shades of deliciousness.

Laundered Blazer - Palm Rice Print

Classic Shirt - Organic Muslin

Weekend Fleece - Jade Pigment Dye

Loose Chino - Guava Pigment Dye

3/4 Twill-Sleeved Henley - Plum Over Dye

Loose Chino - Slate Pigment Dye

Jean Jacket - Generic blue Stone Wash

Classic Shirt - Indigo Floral Rice Print

Classic Jeans - Generic Blue Stone Wash

Linen Shaker Knit - Smoke Blue

Linen Shaker Knit - Jute Colour

Classic Jeans - Generic Blue Stone Wash

Pics courtesy of Dana Lee

Denim blah.

Denim ey!... should in theory be the carbohydrate (a moment on the lips...) of my well balanced diet of apparel. Yet I have unintentionally cut this staple from my nutritional get up. With my wardrobe starved of essential starchy fibers, I am a man (a rather gaunt one at that) on a mission to pack on the pounds of denim goodness. Yet this synthetic material has been hard to swallow of late. I, like a depraved waif, have been frantically rummaging through perfectly aligned pillars of denim, desperately seeking nourishment of some form and yet my stomach still rumbles. Picky I am not, tis true I am yet to decide what Im hungry for... skinny, stretch skinny, vintage, loose, high rise, blah blah blah... TOO much choice - could that be the issue???

Acne, Monkey, Cheap Monday - all I have sampled and I have yet to part with my monies. However, my hungry eyes (loves me a bit of the dirty) has come across a relatively new brand, known simply as Them Atelier. Hmmm... I want to believe that their goodies are packed full of nutritional goodness, though I'm slightly put off by the overtly pretentious inclusion of the word "Atelier"(silly, I know!). I find it difficult to take any brand seriously whom go by the name of "House of" (House of Dereon - need I say anymore) or "Couture"... unless a member of the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris (whose pretentious now - POW!). Lets take a looky look...

Pics courtesy of Them Atelier

Return of the Spy.

Ello Ello Ello, how are we all? BIG BIG (scrap that) Mahoosive apologies for my recent state of hibernation, my excuse? well.... I could reel off a long list of endless, exciting adventures that repelled me from publishing my questionable tastes and daydreams for you lovely folk..... though I'm struggling to think of one!! WOW - my fear of living a distinctly average life, might just be reality. Anywho, Apart from  frantically trying to remember an hour long password for my bloggy blog (epic fail), I still work the preferred hours of Miss Dolly Parton as a buyer whilst working nights trying to sell myself to the highest bidder (How the eff do you "Explain in detail, the reason why you would be THE perfect candidate for the role in question", without verging into self indulgence and egotistical vulgarity? tis difficult, right?) and interning at www.intro-clothing.com has kept my little ole self away from trouble. 

Enough of the catch up, Its time I bore you with the good stuff. I, a devout disciple of the Oliver people's testament, found myself becoming disillusioned with their samey samey rhetoric of late, desperately seeking a new revelation from the powers that be. A revelation that oozes all the goodness and delight of the past with a generous spin of the new. All things good comes to those who wait... Wait we did and the OP church doesn't disappoint with its latest offering of varying mediums and classic shapes. Like a faithful follower of the short sighted cause, I bow with pride and joy.

Kalder - Sandalwood

Golding - Antique Gold/Cocobolo

Abrams - Buff

Pics courtesy of Oliver Peoples