Autumn Fashion Inspiration From The Catwalks

Catwalk shots from elleuk.com

Here at Minimum Mouse we're not the biggest followers of the catwalk trends, we're more about people who create their own look, treating the decades like their own personal dressing up box. But that doesn't mean that it isn't interesting, and indeed fun, to look to what the designers are doing as the stuff is very pretty to look at. And ridiculous. And downright bonkers. And way, way out of our budget.

So often we look at images from catwalk shows and think to ourselves how we have seen such similar things in our own stock or at vintage fairs: fashion constantly references what has come before, which is why looking to vintage is often a fantastic, and more affordable, way of recreating those beautiful catwalk looks. So I like to head over to Elleuk.com from time to time and see what the fash pack are getting their knickers in a twist over.

Tartan and sheer slips at Saint Laurent, classic punk styling at Versace. Images from elleuk.com

Elle's top ten trends for A/W '13 include The Rebel, which is basically a punky, grungy look heavy on the zips, studs and leather. Seen at Versace and YSL. We like the mesh dresses, oversized knits and tartan prints which seem fresher than the studded leather looks we've seen a million times before. We're not tired of the early nineties revival just yet!

Nun chic at Valentino, face mesh and Elizabethan vibes at Alexander McQueen. Images from elleuk.com

Falling neatly into the 'bonkers' category is The Church, a trend seen at Valentino, Alexander McQueen and D and G, this ecclesiastical themed trend might look great on the catwalk but waiting for the bus in a wimple is always going to be a fashion don't.

Overcoat and beret at Margaret Howell, velvet and tailoring at Emporio Armani, and borrowing your boyfriend's suit at  Richard Nicholl. Images from elleuk.com

Boy Meets Girl, a trend which sees a natty blend of masculine tailoring and feminine touches is much more wearable and so easy to draw on vintage pieces to create. A man's suit can look amazing, especially if you get some alterations done to get the perfect fit, and men's overcoats are so easy to pick up at a great price if you go for vintage.

Chic skirt suits at Prada, nostagic outerwear at Christian Dior, metallic detailing at Louis Vuitton. Images from elleuk.com

The prim, ladylike look seen at Christian Dior is an absolute gift for a vintage fan - it is vintage, just rebooted for another season. Tweed pencil skirts, pretty blouses, ladylike coats and such are vintage staples.

Ultimate eighties power dressing at Balmain, boxy monochrome at Roland Mouret, a punky twist at Haider Ackermann. Images from elleuk.com

Similarly, Elle's trend The Warrior is basically eighties power dressing. Think broad shoulders, spike heels, tailoring.

Asymmetrical embelishment at Emanuel Ungaro, textures and pattern mash up at Tom Ford and regal opulence at Dolce and Gabanna, Images from elleuk.com

Excess All Areas, the opposite of minimalism seen at Tom Ford is basically an invitation to throw on a random selection of the contents of your wardrobe. Our kind of trend!

Opulent berry toned velvet at Marios Schwab, volume and velvet at Christopher Kane

Finally, the Dark Arts = goth. We all know what that means, but whether or not you are of a gothic persuasion, sumptuous velvet is pretty irresistible at this time of year.

Pretty much every trend (excepting maybe 'The Church'!) can be created by visiting any vintage fair in the land, where you will probably be able to kit yourself out in a whole new look for well under £100. Which is why vintage rules.

All the fun of the flea!

If you're a vintage lover (and if you're reading this blog, I'm guessing you just might be!) and you live not a million miles away from the midlands, you simply must check out Malvern Flea! It's basically vintage heaven. It's a huge market that happens once a month and is a fantastic blend of vintage, antiques and oddities.

What's great about it is the fact that it isn't a full on antiques fair, so the variety of stalls means that you might find pretty much anything, and that's the fun of it. And for the odd stall that is selling nothing better than old tat, there are about twenty more selling amazing treasures. Also, Great Malvern is such a pretty little town, so you can pop in there afterwards for spot of afternoon tea, and you have the perfect day out! You can find out more here.

The Haul

We didn't actually buy all that much, we tend to buy a mix of stuff for ourselves and for Minimum Mouse, today we picked up some beautiful leather bags, a cool 1970's flight bag, a gorgeous Welsh tapestry purse and some pretty hand mirrors. I also picked up a 1930's guidebook to Glasgow and the west of Scotland, which I'm planning to give to my dad as it covers his hometown, and then, perhaps inspired by this, we spent quite a while at an amazing stall jam packed with old postcards and found a few hometown treats for ourselves - two old postcards of Aberystwyth for me (one is from 1904!) and a couple of retro 60's Birmingham postcards for James. We're going to frame them and add them to our growing collection of kitsch pictures at home.

Strange Fruits

I want to take a minute to talk about one of my favourite inspirations - Fruits Magazine. It's a Japanese fashion magazine that was started in 1997 by photographer Shoichi Aoki. You know all those 'street style' features that you get in magazines these days, where magazine staff seemingly grab people on the street and post their mugshots on pages and harp on about their original look? Well this is where it all began. And before you ask, no, I don't speak Japanese. But I don't need to - the magazine is just pictures (well, save for a little info at the bottom of the page - but the pictures say it all)! Pages upon pages of crazy kids from Harajuku in amazing, eye boggling, mind bending outfits.

Here are some examples for your viewing pleasure-

Would I dress like this? No. Do I understand why these people do? Not really. But I just love looking at the photos, wondering what inspired these people to put together such amazing ensembles, and how much time it takes them to get ready in the morning! I just love the creativity and, frankly, the barmyness of it all. (No, barmyness is not a word, but you get what I mean.)


If you've been finding fashion a little dull of late, get yourself a copy of Fruits and luxuriate in the infinate possibilities of Japanese teen culture! You can order them online direct from the website, but you can often find them on eBay too. The same company also make a magazine called Street which covers global fashions - maybe one day you could be the star?

A Visit to the Fairground Heritage Centre in Devon

This weekend we were down in the lovely county of Devon for James's dad's birthday bash, where much food was eaten and wine consumed! So, the next day we nursed our hangovers by visiting the Fairground Heritage Centre, a truly fascinating place! If you were anything like me as a child, you most probably couldn't contain your excitement when the fair rolled into town, and this place brought back all of those memories.

In Aberystwyth, where I grew up, the fair arrived in November, so going to the fair equalled putting on tights under your trousers and two jumpers to keep warm, the lights of all the rides dazzling us in the winter night and the smell of candy floss and fried onions tempting our tummies at every turn! The Fairground Heritage Centre captured the atmosphere of that and much more, acting as an archive of fairground rides, signs and games dating back to Victorian times. The intricate detail of some of the older pieces was amazing, such as thic cheeky cigar toting cat-

And the toothy grins of the carousel horses made us all giggle-

This lovely Fench organ was a bit of a gem too-

All very inspiring stuff! At the moment we only have this fairground theme piece in our collection -

But we're sure to add some more soon! If you'd like to take a visit to this fairground-tastic little place, you'll find the info here - http://www.dinglesteam.co.uk/