Posts with tag britain

London's Beefeaters -- guards at the Tower of London in England, who in theory look after the Tower's prisoners and safeguard the British crown jewels, but in reality serve as tour guides -- are undergoing a makeover of sorts: The Design Museum has helped commission fashion students to reinterpret the uniform of London's elite Yeoman Warders, aka, Beefeaters.

Wow your friends with these fun facts:

• There are only 35 Beefeaters, all of whom protect the Tower of London.

• A Yeoman Warder must first serve at least 22 years in Britain's armed services before being considered.

• The first female Beefeater was appointed in 2007 (hence the female Beefeater uniform interpretation above).

• Some believe the nickname "Beefeater" came about when the guards were paid partially in meat. How's that for a bonus?

Some people like to mix it up, get some high style points while still looking young and rebellious -- we get it. If that sounds like you, you may want to check out the product of team effort put forward by British soccer shoe company Gola and designer Christian Lacroix. The goal of this team was to bring a sense of couture to the usually sporty and utilitarian look of Gola footwear -- and to sell sneakers for $400. If you think they look kinda fugly, you're not alone.

While we applaud the adventurous spirit, we think these sneaks look like a pair of Golas had a lovechild with a BeDazzler. To us, the whole concept of 'couture sneakers' just seems a bit asinine. Either you go with the toned-down look of sneakers, or you for a more formal shoe. We make no bones about the fact that we love sneakers and think they can be very fashionable -- but they just can't do everything.

The couture sneakers trend kinda reminds us of the tuxedo t-shirt -- but in a bad way (if that's possible). These kicks kinda lack that sense of fashion irony.

[via Fashionista]

In a move that's sure to make anti-fur activists giddy, Britain's Ministry of Defence is currently searching for synthetic material to outfit those stonefaced iconic guards at Buckingham Palace. Today, the MoD is meeting with Peta representatives to find a reasonable substitute for those funky black bearskin hats. Yes, they're really made of Canadian black bear fur, and what's more -- it takes an entire bear to make just one hat. So, the MoD's switch to synthetic isn't purely symbolic.

Government officials have pondered the idea of finding a substitute before, but apparently they haven't like any of their options. Now Peta's bringing out the big guns. They've got anti-fur designers Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney working on the case.

Since these guards are one of the foremost icons of British military tradition, the standards are set understandably high. In other words, cheap rugs aren't going to cut it. If you're an aspiring headgear designer, the Telegraph is accepting submissions for an alternative helmet design.

[via Fashionista]

Celebrity spokesmodels have long been used to help stores and brands gain recognition and fans. Normally, the celebrities are people we want to emulate, like Kate Moss or Angelina Jolie. However, British department store Harvey Nichols is trying a slightly different type of model -- specifically, the claymation duo Wallace and Gromit.

Despite the fact that men prefer size 10, the idea that skinny models = tons of women with body image issues has been a hot topic for crusading do-gooders for decades. But with all the outrage over the supposedly sickly-looking models, nobody's ever been able to put a stop to the anorexic reign of size zeros. Even now, the UK's best chance at banning "unhealthy" models in the looks like it's wilting away.

The British government has been eyeing new regulations that would require catwalk models to pay for a £500 ($933) health exam and certificate before they could do any work on the runway. While we think that seems kinda steep, it actually gathered a lot of support. Now, without similar bans in major fashion cities like New York or Milan, London is worried about all kinds of negative fallout -- especially at London Fashion Week.

Other, less-severe measures are being put in place to protect the health of British models, like promoting a drug and alcohol free backstage environment. Why alcohol-free?

[via Jezebel]

Liberty prints are everywhere. We've seen them on Kate Moss. We've seen them on Keira Knightly. Even on British socialite Peaches Gelfdoff. And if you haven't guessed Captain Obvious, these prints are as English garden as they come.

Designers are tapping in and bringing these charming prints across the pond via floaty, bohemian tops, simple sundresses, summer scarves, chunky shoes and of course, sweet English style tea dresses. Mixing Americana with English rose has never looked so good!

A new BBC show is ready to challenge the fashion world's notions about marketable beauty. Britain's Missing Top Model, like American's Next Top Model and the ilk, brings together several beauties and puts them through a series of competitions where they have to use real life modeling "skills." The winner is awarded with an exclusive photo spread in Marie Claire, and presumably lasting fame and fortune.

The twist? These models all have some form of disability.

Gah. As much as we hate Heather Mills and would rather stick pins in our eyes than give her credit, perhaps all of her gawking around on Dancing With The Stars did some good.

As Kyle recently pointed out, Brits somehow rule when it comes to pulling off the ol' headgear. Perhaps it's centuries of tradition, or the fact that they don't limit their choices to ball caps -- probably a combination of both. Still, whatever the reason, it seems that citizens in Yorkshire might soon have to fight for their right to wear hats (in bars).

Yes, as stupid as it sounds, Yorkshire police are asking barkeeps to make their customers remove their hats in order to make sure that security cameras can get a good look at them. Apparently, the local cops just want to make sure that they can identify the perpetrators if any funny business goes down. To us here at Styledash, that sounds like a hard pill to swallow. You give up your hats and then what's next? Jackets? Boots? We believe the right to wear a hat, however tasteful or hideous, shall not be infringed.

[via HauteConcept]

Tom Ford is certainly not the first designer to try to blur the line between porn and fashion advertising -- not by a long shot. But, unlike many others, Ford seems to think his scandalous ads filled with soft-core and Eyes Wide Shut-esque scenes are above reproach. To be specific, Ford feels that he's battling against an unfair double standard -- he says that when it comes to fashion photography, male nudity is getting the shaft.

Penises! There, I said it. Tom Ford wants to showcase the one-eyed trouser snake to help him sell suits, eyewear, and a bunch of other non-penis related fashion items. Ford's latest campaign features his raciest set of ads yet, partly because they feature full-frontal male nudity. Accompanying the new campaign, he penned an essay in this month's GQ Style where he outlined his passionate quest to force the public accept the presence of artfully-lit dongs in fashion advertising.

We've never made use of one of those personal shoppers that most department stores have on hand. Despite their assurances that anyone can use one, we can't help feeling they would be a bit disappointed to serve us -- who would ideally like a whole wardrobe for $200 -- as opposed to some flash fashion goddess with more like $200,000 to spend.

But news of a new personal shopper at Selfridges in London could encourage us to pluck up our courage and at least venture into the posh department store. You see, Princess Beatrice (aka: Sarah Ferguson's oldest daughter and the Queen's granddaughter) is spending a month as an intern in the personal shopping department of the posh shop.

So you've heard all the jokes about Britain's unfortunate teeth, lackluster sex lives, and all around mopey attitudes. But those are jokes, right? Americans aren't actually more attractive.

Or are they?



If you believe a front page article in today's London Times, American women are more alluring than their British counterparts -- not because they're inherently better looking, but because they bother to groom themselves (where as, at least according to the Times' author, British ladies do not).



The article starts out by saying:

"I am a massive fan of British women. UK girls, in my opinion, are the greatest natural beauties in the world . . . when they're 17 or 18 years old."

But then comes back with a resounding slap in the face to all British women:

"I then went away to Philadelphia for university. Four years later, I came back and wondered: 'What the hell happened to all the beautiful girls I knew?' My first assumption was that one half of them had eaten the other half and washed them down with a crate of lager."

Ouch! As you might suspect, the story has incurred some serious backlash from UK bloggers, who call the column "misogynistic" and "disgusting."

What do you think? Is the column out of line? Are American women really more attractive than women from the UK?

How do you make friends when you move to a new place? Personally, I like to tell everyone I meet that my old friends were more stylish. I think people find it really endearing.

Or not. Surprisingly, that's the way Posh Spice has chosen to befriend the women of Los Angeles, the city she recently adopted with her husband David Beckham. In recent interview, she not only said that Brits dress better than Americans, but also that "the UK has the most stylish women in the world."

Um...has she ever been to New York? Never mind Tokyo, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Stockholm and all the other world-class cities that routinely make waves on the international scene? I used to live in the UK, and let me tell you, Posh is either confused, or just lying. There's plenty of fashionable women, by there's no way it's 'the most stylish country in the world" -- not by the long shot.

If you're like me, and everything you know about the British legal system comes to you through the lens of A Fish Called Wanda then you already aware of the anachronistic lawyer tradition -- barrister tradition -- of wearing a hopelessly foppish, curly wig to argue before the court.

Believe it or not, the horse-hair wigs have been a requirement for lawyers and judges since the 17th century. However, after a recent decision by The Lord Chief Justice the good old days of the court room coiffure might well be numbered.

The Lord Chief Justice determined that lawyers in civil and family law cases would no longer be required to wear the white curly wigs (criminal cases stay the same). Wing collars and bands will also disappear from the official uniform as well as the mandatory wardrobe of colorful judge gowns.

Given that these wigs are terribly itchy (so I hear) and cost anywhere between £400-1500, I can understand why someone might want to get rid of the tradition. But not all lawyers are happy about giving up their wigs. The dissenting side says that the wigs gave them "authority" as well as "anonymity".

Uh, right. Like a man with a Cocker Spaniel on his head has any "authority" or "anonymity" to lose in the first place.

In the grand tradition of all things British, officials at Wimbledon -- the world-famous tennis tournament at the height of sartorial pretension -- recently spent an inordinate amount of time fretting over the decency of a player's outfit.

But it's not like someone was trying to wear an offensive t-shirt, or advertise for their sponsor by plastering logos all over their tennis gear. In fact, you could say the problem is a case of a few stodgy old people getting their undies in a bunch.

Tatiana Golovin wanted to wear red underwear -- she felt it would make her "strong and confident." Normally people get to wear whatever undies they want and no one is the wiser -- but since it's tennis, and all that running around makes the players' miniskirts fairly pointless, their skivies are usually on public display.

Golovin knew that the Wimbledon dress code stipulates that players wear "predominately white" outfits, so she asked in advance if her deviant knickers would get her trouble. After much deliberation, judges finally ruled that because the garment stopped "above the hemline," that they are "underwear and not shorts," which means they can't be officially regulated by the tournament (presumably because it'd be inappropriate for stodgy old English people to even think about, let alone regulate a lady's nether-garments).

Phew. For a moment there, I thought hundreds of years of tradition was about to come crashing down. Good save, Wimbledon. Good save.

It's not like they're competing in jousting tournaments or anything, but people still routinely get knighted in in the UK. (Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Dame Judy Dench, etc.) It's apparently a great honor (though, to be honest, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about).

These days, most people receive a knighthood or ladyship if they've made a significant contribution to British culture and society, but sometimes they get picked just because the Prime Minister has a big fat crush on them. This was the case with the most recent appointment to ladyshiphoodness: Victoria Beckham.

Unless you spent yesterday in a cave, you probably know that Tony Blair has now officially left office as Britain's Prime Minister. In keeping with tradition, he got to nominate whoever he wanted for knighthoods and ladyships on his way out (sort of like presidential pardons in the US) -- and, much to everyone's surprise, Victoria Beckham made the list.

Technically, the Queen could veto the appointment, but that never happens, so -- short of some unforeseen catastrophe -- your favorite fashion icon will now be Lady Victoria. Or Lady Posh. Or Lady Becks. Or something.

Just in case she wasn't already full of herself.