This post is just Things That I Was Looking At When I Was Sick, nice huh? The no 6 clogs are totally winter inappropriate, but that’s exactly why I love them. The Mawi for Asos necklace is a no-brainer, instant posh-eriser for your everyday outfits. Frothy lace is another winter inappropriate or inattendu fabric, and [...]]]>

This post is just Things That I Was Looking At When I Was Sick, nice huh? The no 6 clogs are totally winter inappropriate, but that’s exactly why I love them. The Mawi for Asos necklace is a no-brainer, instant posh-eriser for your everyday outfits. Frothy lace is another winter inappropriate or inattendu fabric, and I’m imagining it with the clogs and some ribbed grey tights. In fact with my new fake fur coat I scored from the charity shop I’ll be set for a biddyesque winter. Maybe it’s a return to my old lady vintage times, a little last burst of nostalgia before I accept my adulthood.

No6 pink clog: $245, Creatures of Comfort. Mawi for Asos gunmetal & gold necklace: £65. Reiss Sweetness dress in Cream: £245.

Ducie invited me to their studio in Kensal Rise, Ducie (the person) is a total expert at storytelling, I initially only wanted to spend an hour but stayed for much longer listening to the story of the label over cups of tea. Nothing like a good yarn! Ducie and her partner Dan in Portobello, started [...]]]>

Ducie invited me to their studio in Kensal Rise, Ducie (the person) is a total expert at storytelling, I initially only wanted to spend an hour but stayed for much longer listening to the story of the label over cups of tea. Nothing like a good yarn! Ducie and her partner Dan in Portobello, started off selling jewelled slippers like hotcakes in 2004, around the time when boho chic and Sienna Miller were at their zenith.

But it all really starts miles away in India, when Ducie & Dan went travelling to escape their hectic MTV jobs and find a bit of relaxation. In Goa they met a man they called the Guru, because of his god-like character and Bhudda-esque proportions. A man who made his fortune in import/export and lived in a stunning pastel mansion, with cats perched atop its towers; the Guru wanted someone to pass on his knowledge to, and without any children he took Ducie & Dan under his wing.

Ducie explains that they would sit, chatting and drinking tea till the wee hours, when suddenly their guru would erupt with a stream of the things they needed to do to set up their business. Out comes the notepad and pen, taking notes to try and make the most of his experience. He told them to go to Delhi and called them everyday; he told them which factories to go to and off they went. Ducie says: ‘Everywhere we stayed I made sure we had Fashion TV’ this helped them keep a perspective on what was going on outside the sub-continent.

Back in London they soon started to get attention, Ducie says “I phoned everyone I could think of, we went to Modus, we went to Topshop. Lucinda Chambers featured us in Vogue, it was great.” The label has grown organically, without any big PR push, and has been one of the biggest sellers at London Fashion Weekend.

What was the worst thing that hapenned, setting up the business?
I has asked my sister in law to send over some of my old clothes, mum’s vintage stuff and various other pieces we wanted to use for inspiration, and she posted it through work. Seeing the package had come from MTV in the UK, customs decided to whack a massive import duty on it, leaving us with a £600 bill and no way of paying it!

Another horrible setback was having a collection ready to go, with a stack of great stockists lined up. We sent out the clothes and they nearly all came back with quality issues. I’ve cried over things like this, but thankfully now we have a great relationship with our factories. They know it’s better for them in the long run to produce quality pieces for labels like us than to be churning out cheap stuff.

What advice would you give to fashion businesses starting out?
Stick with your look, and tweak it each season. Just keep refining your signature style and listen to your customers. Portobello was a great starting point for us because we could get first-hand feedback from our customers, and we got to know them really well. It’s the kind of market research large retailers pay a fortune for!

Where do you get your inspiration?
In the night, when I’m running and one of the biggest inspirations is when I’m looking at magazines, it really helps to get ideas started. I hate stress but when I’ve got a deadline is when it really comes to fruition creatively.

What is your style like?
My style is really quite simple, I like jersey, I like sporty cuts and details but when I go out I always wear my clothes. I like pastels and soft muted colours. As for labels I love Net a Porter, love A.P.C., Isabel Marant I also love, I can afford Etoile! Cynthia Vincent also, Vince, a US jersey label, and Aimé on Ledbury Rd. Topshop is great when you want something new, to treat yourself. I don’t buy much vintage anymore although I do love vintage fur hats.

Who is your customer?
We get all sorts. Our clothes are really popular with City women, who want something simple for a special occasion. We also get hippy girls, the festival crowd, who love to wear our stuff but they style it differently, with belts, headresses and vintage jewels. That’s why we keep our clothes simple, so you can wear our pieces exactly how you want and adapt them to your look.

Ducie is one of the labels at London Fashion Weekend, which is happening from the 23rd to 26th September, visit the website to find out more.

Sam kindly accompanied me to the Stolen Girlfriends Club event at Liberty last weekend, as I love me a bit of STC and I had half an eye on one of the pieces. The heart shape mesh dress is every bit as good in the flesh, so I decided to try it on. Take a look [...]]]>

Sam kindly accompanied me to the Stolen Girlfriends Club event at Liberty last weekend, as I love me a bit of STC and I had half an eye on one of the pieces. The heart shape mesh dress is every bit as good in the flesh, so I decided to try it on.
Take a look at the expressions on my stupid little face face, it’s all “hmm, I’m not sure about this, I mean err…” Basically if you’re 28 and a slight bit of a prude this dress is a no-go. Shame, will have to rethink my STC strategy for something a little more underwear friendly…watch this space.

I waffled on about long skirts yesterday but I’m far from done! I came across this image at work and this might well be my first non-homemade bit of long skirt. As much as I love sunny cheerful clothes it can get a bit boring, hippyish and ever so slightly Shipwrecked in the warmer months, [...]]]>

I waffled on about long skirts yesterday but I’m far from done! I came across this image at work and this might well be my first non-homemade bit of long skirt. As much as I love sunny cheerful clothes it can get a bit boring, hippyish and ever so slightly Shipwrecked in the warmer months, this dress is a perfect antidote to summer sloppiness. The print is a really great take on Alexander McQueen’s dizzying industrial print from last season and has an added African feel. It’s got a real ’90s vibe, and the column-like shape is as far removed from WAG festival frocks as poss. I reckon I’d wear it with my H&M cream wedges from last year (that are ever so slightly Opening Ceremonyish) and a slouchy Uniqlo mens cardie. Head to toe high street, who’d a thunk it?! Also, it really needs Magenta Devine style sunglasses and maybe even a mini rucksack, ha.

Just bought this amazing dress from the charity shop, can’t wait to wear it out, it reminds me of one of my favourites, Endora from Bewitched. The dirty green colour really clashes with the neon paillettes, it’s amazing! I’ve been thinking how to wear it, and I want to bring out the dirty green and [...]]]>

Just bought this amazing dress from the charity shop, can’t wait to wear it out, it reminds me of one of my favourites, Endora from Bewitched. The dirty green colour really clashes with the neon paillettes, it’s amazing! I’ve been thinking how to wear it, and I want to bring out the dirty green and clash it up some more. Black is out of the question, I’ve got a nude colour belt so maybe with some sugary pink tights to bring out the dirtiness of the green. Stolen Girlfriend’s Club nude mesh leggings from Pixie Market (where else?) with the neon zipper would be actually be perfect, the zips would make it not so vintage-y and I like the triangle tab detail.

Oh and if you want to know what happened to Omri Katz it’s after the jump, I’m consoling myself by watching old episodes of Eerie Indiana.