[THREAD LUSTINGS ] Holst + Lee

i{Thread Lust} Holst + Lee by wandering-threads on polyvore.com

(Top left to right) 1. Holst + Lee Four Strand Necklace 3. Holst + Lee Double Tiered Necklace  7. Holst + Lee Plate Necklace

Whilst I'm sunning myself on the beaches on Vietnam, back in the UK you must all be snuggling up to the fire, wrapped up in your woolens or maybe even splashing about in your wellies (sorry, did I go to far)? OK so enough of the gloating, I just wanted to give you all a mental picture and cast your minds forward to the myriad of style possibilities awaiting us in SS'2012. Take these Holst + Lee beauties for example, what more could and ethnic style junkie want of a summer accessory than vividly coloured, oversized, tribal-inspired statement jewellery? Can't think of a thing.

Hailing from the beautiful south (of the USA that is), designers Natalie Holst and Rochelle Lee met whilst working in the NY nightclub scene, of all places. Naturally the pair are flaunting their jewellery line all over New York right now, having accessorised runway collections for designers Yigal Azrouel and Mara Hoffman. I'll definitely be adding these to my SS'2012 wishlist (emphasis on the plural). 

BLOGLOVIN' - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - TUMBLR - PINTEREST- POLYVORE 

[LE AFRIQUE C'EST CHIC ] Australian Vogue December 2011

Whilst combing the shelves of an English language bookstore in Vientiane, Laos, a few weeks ago, my eyes were immediately drawn to the colourific, tribal-centric December issue of Australian Vogue. On its cover, the beautiful Isabel Lucas festooned with brightly beaded tribal inspired jewellery, her head overtyped with a somewhat unusually ethnic-patterned 'VOGUE'. Evidently, I snapped it up and being pleasantly surprised by the plethora of sunshine ready apparel and summery shades (reminding me that yes, back home you are all suffering through -2°C while, thankfully, the rest of the world is not), I have promised myself that from now on I shall endeavor to purchase an Australian Vogue through the bleak and dreary English winters.

 

So, in aid of my timely discovery and its coincidentally ethnic theme I thought I'd share some of these blazingly colour saturated shots from my favorite editorial of the issue, the African inspired Le Afrique C'est Chic. Shot by Max Doyle and starring model Kate Fogarty, stylist Naomi Smith fuses vivid graphic prints and dazzling statement jewellery from the likes of Diane von Furstenburg, Emilio Pucci and Burberry Prorsum to create this eclectic blend of tribal chic. My favorite - the artfully styled printed silk head wraps! I could use one of those to tame this unruly hair of mine! 

BLOGLOVIN' - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - TUMBLR - PINTEREST- POLYVORE

[ FORBIDDEN INTERIORS ] Beijing

Though I am currently in Vietnam, as promised, here's a little token of my very first day in China. Starting, naturally, with the capital city of Beijing, I thought it only right to make my first visit a trip to Beijing's legendary  Forbidden City, home to 24 emperers during the Ming and Qing dynasties . I could show you the exteriors of the somewhat repetitively symmetrical Taoist buildings within the 74 hectare complex, but you've probably seen images of them a thousand and one times (if you haven't you should watch Yimou Zhang's epic Curse of the Golden Flower). So here are some of examples of the opulent intricacies and  grandeur interiors of Beijing's Imperial Palace.

 

Notice the recurrence of the two principal colours: yellow and red. Each carries symbolic significance: yellow, an auspicious colour associated with the earth was used extensively and exclusively by the Ming and Qing emperors who were regarded as the Sons of Heaven and supreme rulers of humanity. Red, on the other hand was symbolic of solemnity, happiness, wealth and honour, another auspicious colour that is to this day traditionally associated with China. 

 
BLOGLOVIN' - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - TUMBLR - PINTEREST- POLYVORE 

[ THREAD LUST ] Mary Katrantzou AW 2011

{Thread Lustings} Mary Katrantzou AW 2011 by wandering-threads

Mary Katrantzou silk evening dress, $675, Mary Katrantzou print dress, £795, Mary Katrantzou printed silk shirt, £674, Mary Katrantzou floral jacket, $1,305,
Mary Katrantzou | Jewel Tree appliquéd velvet dress | NET-A-PORTER.COM, £6,917, Mary katrantzou, $1,485

This is one designer I can honestly say I fell in love at first sight with. Back in 2008, during a stint interning for London fashion PR RelativeMO, I was lucky enough to witness the birth of this designer's career at her Central Saint Martins MA Graduate Show. Three years on and she's still going strong. Ladies and gentlemen: Mary Katrantzou.

Having just spent almost two months bombarded by traditional, oriental Chinese printed silks, my desire for some kind of modern, fashionable alternative was making itself quite apparent. Luckily Mary came to the rescue, with images of her AW 2011 collection being plastered around the web. As you can probably imagine, by the nature and content of this blog, I would give my right arm to get hold of one of these supremely ornate, digitally printed beauties. Anyone want to lend me 1.5 grand?

BLOGLOVIN' - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - TUMBLR - PINTEREST- POLYVORE 

[ BACK TO DECEMBER ] WT Changes

In case some of you may have noticed, I have indeed been absent from Wandering Threads for October and November whilst roaming around China (and a quick stint in LAOS). I would just like to say a massive SORRY to everyone who started along the journey with me back in India in May and have been following me ever since. Unfortunately me, my mac and I were caught up in the Great Chinese Firewall and thus had no access to, well, anything. Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Google...you name it, they blocked it. Thanks China!

So, now I'm back with a vengeance and with so much content to add that, well, quite frankly I'm going to have to change my methods. So from now on Wandering Threads will continue to bring you wondrous finds from around the globe but with a somewhat more eclectic and culturally sporadic feel (i.e I won't be blogging a whole country as I go, I'll be weaving in content from my various travels along with current content). For all you stalkers out there, have no fear, you can still find out my whereabouts and keep up to speed on my daily antics on the WT twitter and facebook pages. Remember you can also see more images from adventures around Asia on my flickr page, as well as a wider source of image inspirations from Wandering Threads and around the net on the tumblr mini site. Oh, and don't forget to sign up for all the new updates by following WT on bloglovin!

BLOGLOVIN' - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - TUMBLR - PINTEREST- POLYVORE