Lockdown fashion & getting dressy at home, the how-to

I know the high-street is suffering, because we can't afford it, we cant get outside. However summer is fast approaching and I feel so deflated having no-where to wear anything nice. It might be considered a first world problem, but with feelings of isolation and loneliness at the forefront of our lives these days, I've been thinking about how our body image has been affected. Call it capitalism but buying myself a new shirt or even a dress can make you feel good.

But, back to the small issue of money, we're either furloughed, stuck on an endless wheel of zoom meetings or pub quizzes, and then some of us are downright unemployed. So, if I was buying stuff, what would I buy? With this little virtual shopping trip, and countless hours looking at clothes I can’t afford (a regular task even when employed), I was inspired to look at my own wardrobe properly. This then lead me down the path of thinking: why am I living in my joggers? I love being comfy, and luxe comfort-wear is very chic and can look fab. But get out of the daily pyjamas, and plan your outfits, even the night before. It might seem pointless, but I think it works and definitely made me feel motivated to do something with the day. I actually have longed in recent weeks, for the days of working 8-8, planning my outfits the night before, and then having no time to clean my room.

So... I intend to sit outside and wear my largest, most sparkly earrings and a very impractical dress.

The 30's are a' calling

I’m taking inspiration from the golden age of Hollywood, I’ve been watching some old classic movies of late, so I wanted to draw on this, and our 30’s fashion revival I’m seeing on the high-street. I know we cant all be Carole Lombard or Bette Davis, and dying my hair isn't an option right now sadly, but, I’m dressing up to go no-where. Apart from slip-dresses and bias cut wedding dresses which are very on-trend, the thirties really are making a silhouetted come-back, I’ve seen some fab pieces on Arket, (a satin skirt is £70, the kind of price that means because it’s a fabulous green colour, you naturally ignore the fact its made of polyester - that kind of price) some impractically coloured but a breath of fresh air in this climate. Arket is exactly what we need right now, boxy, bright, and feminine, but also, like COS, does loungewear in a very versatile way. They have some excellent bias skirts, emulating the 1930’s, a trend that’s very hot right now. We’re talking hot pink, grass green, lavenders & hot corals for spring, but it’s all very clean and chic.

I’m here for it, but I don’t know how wearable hot pink really is? The shapes are great however and I want every piece, the sale even has tie dye scarves which are gorgeous for our every changing weather. And we’re all cooped up inside! Perfect right.

Another beautiful discovery is the slip dresses that are doing the rounds, I saw a gorgeous one in Primark, an off grey slip dress with cream lace at the neck for £13. Secondary to this, Primark (before lockdown in London) were selling some very wearable fine knitted, ribbed dresses, sleeveless with belts, mostly cream and greys. There were a few styles and these were so grey as transitional pieces for the season.

Lets talk oversized shirts, I wasn’t sure if they suited me, but of late I’ve found a new love for the oversized boxy look and Uniqlo do an incredible Linen blend shirt. It’s pretty long and an XS size goes a long way, but the shape is so flattering! I’ve dressed this shirt up with a pair of wide leg Armani silk trousers (I've found lots of these wide leg trousers in charity shops.

This little outfit planning and decisions over what to wear, alone, just for me has really been lifting my mood. Now I’m not saying it’s all got to be dressy dressy, but wear some stuff that makes you feel good. I know we can’t all be Bette Davis or Carol Lombard flocking around a mansion in full glam, (I mean maybe if you're a Kardashian) however, the aesthetic lives on.

I’ve read a lot about mental health in this current era of Covid-19 lockdown, and it can be really hard to focus on a positive future when all seems so uncertain. But control the smaller things that bring you joy. Personally mine is a good outfit and a short morning walk or jog to set the tone of the day right, and maybe run off the wine and pizza.

I would focus on the positive things that you have now, bring it right down to the base level of your happiness and purpose. We have all lost a little of this, worry about our employment, money & housing be that mortgages or rent, it can feel so overwhelming.

I wrote this in the hopes you’ll take a minute of self care and light day-dreaming like I did, at all the clothes and £100 shoes I don’t need but might bring me joy to print a picture of for me room. Maybe even watch one of these films, there’s a few great ones on Sky, Netflix & Amazon that will help you get in the glam, carefree mood and maybe take you somewhere else for an hour or so. Match your outfit to the mood, and get your self care vibe going.

Some brands to check out in lockdown for summer essentials: Sezane & Charles & Keith

Sezane

Sezane

Some other brands I looked at for this piece were Sezane - beautiful minimal French brand, they had small court shoes in a gorgeous dusty rose, parti-coloured and quite 30’s in shape. I think their shirts & spring cotton jackets are where they excel in both print and quality. Particularly the Nila Jacket in suede, and the blue print Wila Jacket, which has a classic shape and gorgeous french inspired print .

Charles and Keith are such a great, minimalist accessories brand, their shoes and bag collections are fresh and modern with class silhouettes, they've done some fabulous sling back sandals and cool toned boots. I loved the textures and clean prints, they do a lot of colour blocking and layered textures, often playing with leather and PVC. It's also brilliantly priced, you pay for the quality but its not extortionate.

KIMONO: Kyoto to Catwalk at the V&A Rating: 6/10

• A note: Since publishing this article we have gone into lockdown, however the exhibition has been launched as a virtual tour event on the V&A website!

Images taken by myself, see my instagram for full slideshow. @theelizabethanbookclub

I was so excited to see this exhibition, not least because I love historical clothing, but the V&A has never done such a large retrospective of their oriental collection. I spent my youth as a Londoner going to the V&A on multiple school trips, so I'm spoilt in the sense I find the collections slightly tired. Also, the current pieces in the Japan section of the museum are impressive, but you don’t get to learn so much about the symbolism of the Kimono or its construction, not to mention the extensive collection in the archives that isn't shown to public all year round. This exhibition collates all the histories of the Kimono, and its affect around the world, and, how it has transcended into western fashion but also creating a mutual cultural exchange. Short answer to rating this exhibition reasonably low: the collection is impressive, the show starts very strong in the first historical section, then lacks in information and flow further on, interestingly lacking in information especially in the mid-20th century war years.

So… to break it down, the exhibition has clear sections, beginning with the origin of the Kimono and its history and symbolism. Secondary to this, is the affect of the Kimono on the wider western world and its transcendence into western fashion. Thirdly, we see the Kimono toward the 20th century, and the development of print and contemporary design using the traditional cut of the Kimono. Finally the show opens out into a wider space, showing the Kimono’s affect on the wider fashion industry in the 21st century, and further, within film/popular culture.

HISTORY— 8/10

The first section of this show details the history and composition of the Kimono, showing beautiful pieces, showing the symbolism and use of the Kimono in Japanese culture. This was gorgeous, but I did long for a bit more information. My issue was with the curation, there’s a Japanese interior element running through each space, with bamboo and pine separating the larger spaces. This, in a large exhibition with hype and massive overselling of tickets means everyone is pushed into one corner of each room to look at each piece, again, all too closely packed together. However, the pieces are stunning and anyone can appreciate the sheer craftsmanship and interesting methods of dying and embroidering in this period.

THE FASHION— 8/10

The secondary and most interesting section of the exhibition is when we get to see Japans influence on the 19th & 20th century, when the references become more subtle, it’s more about the designers choice of cut, as apposed to an obvious print or embroidery that we see in the earlier centuries. This fabulous to see dresses from collections of the 1900’s - 20’s where the cut is suddenly so clearly Japanese Kimono influenced. It really opened my eyes to how this shape and layers had collided with the western fashion. Biggest highlight were some of the 19th century garments, a fantastic blend of Japanese fabric layered onto a bustle silhouette. I took a picture as shown above, but this is a much nicer shiny one from the V&A website...

COUTURE— 5/10

Bit weak. If you’ve seen the Dior exhibition, the large curved layout of the room is recycled from this show. Okay, they put coloured stones around each section… But otherwise, pretty similar. We see [John] Galliano’s Kimono inspired Dior collection, some key pieces of Japanese couture bringing the Kimono into the 21st century and touching on its relevance within the Japanese clothing market. Theres some impressive pieces, its couture, but it didn’t excite me. I found it sad, actually that Japanese design was shown in quite a flat, obvious way. Yes, there were some unique pieces, but I didn’t get a sense of how the Kimono has developed and the designers that have explored its asymmetry and cut. I would argue that the wider discussion of “Neo-Japonism”, isn’t explored enough, we see some key pieces, but the information here doesn’t explain Japanese designers own exploration into what the Kimono is. I did love the inclusion of Hiroko Takahashi’s work, and the trends and fashion movements in Japan, but again, I felt like too much of this room was given to things we’ve seen before that don’t teach us enough about this subject. We see a lot of Galliano, and not enough information or Japanese designers within the Japan.

For one, Yhoji Yamamoto, especially the 1980’s collections, uses the Kimono to explore suiting and western formalwear. I would look at the work of Yamamoto, Issey Miyake to name two, for further research as it’s so interesting to see how the Kimono, and Japanese culture has influenced their work.

THE COSTUME— 4/10

BIGGEST downfall of this show was the lack of costume. There was some pieces from Memoirs of a Geisha, a couple of pieces from Star Wars, again I would argue there was so much more to be said about Japanese cinema and its aesthetic influence on western film making. There was a projector showing a montage of some films that featured Kimonos, again if you do your research, this little soundbite will speak for itself. But otherwise, I don’t think it’s strong. The Kimono in popular culture showed Freddie Mercury’s Kimono, Madonna’s show costume and Bjork’s infamous album cover Kimono. The Evening Standard’s review includes a statement about the Kimono’s symbolism to Mercury “who was drawn to the garment for its ability to challenge ideas surrounding gender and sexuality norms”, (ES online, Dacre 2020) This was included with David Bowie’s photograph wearing Kimono costume pieces, no physical artefact however. I just found this part slightly empty, like they’re pointing out pop culture and leaving it in a corner. There wasn’t a key discussion of Japan opening up to Rock & Punk culture in the 1970’s, and again, the mirrored affect on musicians when they visited Japan.

FINAL THOUGHT & FURTHER READING

All in all? Well worth a look! So many objects, such a great early collection and archive costume, however I do think it misses the mark in its fluidity, and what’s a completely fascinating insight into how this piece of Japanese costume has infiltrated our clothing even today.

—— Check out some further reading as this is such an extensive discussion which I appreciate one exhibition can’t do. Theres an incredible documentary on the V&A's archives which does include elements from their recent exhibitions!

Articles & Shows to check out:

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/courtesan-kimono

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000f1xt/secrets-of-the-museum

https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/exhibitions/kimono-kyoto-to-catwalk-review-va-museum-a4371921.html

Key text:

The Kyoto Costume Institute By Tascen.

Designers to check out!

I've included some key contemporary Japanese Couture which I think is relevant - check them out!

In order -

Embroidered Coat:

Tsumori Chisato

Samurai'esque Grey suit Yoshio Kubo 2020 collection

Grey/Lime dress & Mauve Coat Hanae Mori by Yu Amatsu