the age old debate rages on....

mysterious mask wearing (mega chic) terrorist

vs. wholsome geeky heath ledger look-alike

 guys of the grove, get the look here:

http://www.zegna.com/en/north-america/ermenegildozegna/fashion-show-aw12/looks/656

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/mens-fashion/preppy-clothes-for-men-2012

book release spec-tacular!

the release of J’s follow up book to ‘how to be a successful business woman’, entitled ‘how to be an EVEN more successful business woman’ is looming.  

http://thegrove-w210.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/how-to-become-efficient-business-woman.html

i’ve just had a sneak peak at some shots from a recent promotional photo-shoot and am, quite frankly, inspired.

*spoiler alert* One of J’s tips is to wear glasses as they make you appear more credible and intelligent. naturally i wanted to show my support so i immediately rushed to an optometrist for an eye test. (popular misconception: i am smarter than i look and i think glasses will help) unfortunately my eyes are absolutely fine so i had to settle for a fake pair. my friend/acquaintance (its complicated), ZW told me where to find these, and THAT is why i’ve been spotted around town sporting these babies. i am currently practicing my handshake technique and creating graphs in excel.

trend alert

here at the grove we're always spotting / reporting the latest trends.... most recently a few w210 regulars (including DW our very own michael eavis; Ms BigHair aka accessories extraordinaire; Bob the property tycoon)  have been seen around west london sporting a particular snazzy little unisex hairstyle. i can see this one catching on. Mega Chic.

London Fashion Week Roundup- all the trends Here!

so london fashion week is over today (today is menswear day so doesn’t count…although this time last year that’s where we were obvs: http://thegrove-w210.blogspot.com/2010/09/youve-got-male.html )


so the question you're all asking is what’s hot for autumn/winter 12/13? ?


i’ve made various lists/been working on mood boards but I think the below correspondence (bottom to top) pretty much sums it up.

So there you have it fashionistas and normal people alike. its leaves.

Leaves Hastag Chic To The Next Lev

keeping up with the kooples

being a couple is so hot right now...apparently.

in completely unrelated news J has lost the weight (from the weight gain milkshake powder K had been spiking her drinks with) and is currently jet setting around the world promoting her new book. (http://thegrove-w210.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-become-efficient-business-woman.html) first stop canadia. apparently she has quite a large fan base there

knit happens

earmuffs are so last year.... (http://thegrove-w210.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-we-will-miss-winter.html )

we cant wait for winter.

the 80's are so hot right now

" Experts say the riots in Britain were probably trigged by nostalgia. “The 1980s are so hot right now,” said one. “We’ve got a big British royal wedding, famine in the horn of Africa, Madonna singing badly…. It’s totally 1985! Radical!”
According to sociologist and historian, Asbo Gunviolenz, working class British youth feel alienated by not having stuff they see in advertisements, and long for “a simpler time, long long ago, before technology, like the 1980s”.

“The mid-80s were a golden age of social upheaval,” explained Gunviolenz. “You just had to throw a brick through a window and you were hailed as a freedom fighter for literally hundreds of causes, whether it be saving the whales, ending apartheid, or ending whale apartheid.”

But, he said, global nostalgia for the Lamest Decade had seen a dramatic upswing in 80s-related trends.

“Is it significant that while Britain endures the biggest riots since 1985 we endure the biggest hair and shoulder-pads since 1985? I think not.”

He hailed the current remake of ‘Dallas’ as a major step backwards, but begged the Japanese government to stop trying to emulate the Chernobyl disaster with the policy of “reckless nuclear nostalgia”.

Meanwhile Bob Geldof has welcomed the return of the 1980s, saying he is thrilled at the prospect of “getting the old band back together to provide a soundtrack to misery in the Third World”.

“We’re already spitballing some lyrics,” he said, “although we’re battling to find something that rhymes with ‘Somalia’. ‘Ethiopia’ was way easier. Like, you know, ‘Let’s give Ethiopia some hope, yah?’ But Somalia’s a bastard.” "

http://www.hayibo.com/uk-riot-nostalgia-marks-return-to-1980s-golden-age-of-global-panic/  

summer fashion crimes...

here in the grove we love summer. nothing quite beats those few glorious hours of sunshine the great british weather provides. not only does this give us the opportunity to top up our tans (that originated in the med of course) we also get to show off our favourite summery ensembles...
as is the case with most things in life there is always that handful that ruin it for the rest of us- and by ruin i mean burning a hole through my retina and upsetting the atheistically pleasing balance i prefer. below is a handy guide of what not to do!
 
 

 
and as much as we love you iggy im not entirely sure this is appropriate...
 
 

if you would like to share your fashion faux pas with us, or that of others (or simply wish to send us fan mail) drop us a line at w210.thegrove@gmail.com

birds are so hot right now...

....... http://fashism.com/looks/how-cute-is-this-little-bird-on-my-friend-tas

(check out the rest of AJG's REEM* website: http://fashism.com/ )

*- Reem – Joining vajazzle, ohshatuuuup and jel in the Essex dictionary, we now have the word reem. Invented inside the mysterious empty void that is Joey Essex’s brain, we’re not entirely clear what the term means, but apparently it’s a phrase of endearment. It may seem idiotic right now (and it is), but trust us, you’ll all be saying it in a couple of months’ time. As Joey Essex so poetically put on his Twitter account today, “Look reem… smell reem… be reem… Reem.”

w210 bumper african edition

in wedding news:

mil & tom (aka james) tied the knot this weekend, particularly exciting as tom (james) is no longer at risk of being deported.

the bridemaids, including J & T attended the ceremony via skype.

in movie news....

Blood Sugar - the movie
Following on from the hit movie franchise blood diamond, comes something that has been many years in the making. telling the story of indian slaves that were shipped to natal, south africa to work in the sugar cane fields in the late 1800's...my old friend AM was inspired to tell this story as we were driving up the north coast to a mutual friends bbq one summer evening. AM, durban born and of indian decent began telling me of his peoples struggle and history. he also decided to include a character with diabetes, a disease that crosses gender and race. like AM and i, we believe many people will identify with this story. although i have no indian blood in me (many are fooled by how easily i tan) i have a family member with diabetes and i enjoy bollywood movies.

directed by m. night shyamalan, soundtrack by A.R Rahman (of slumdog millionaire fame).

in fashion news...

african correspondant Z (paparazzo & modeliser) got these snaps of london local agynes deyn attending a fashion event in durban, sa. Z claims that he "sat front row and agy commented on his shoes". agy's people have not denied these allegations.

the problem with pleather

just like so many things in life, synthetic leather pants seem like a brilliant idea on paper. not only do they look like leather, but they are also a fraction of the price. it’s a no brainer really…

however, your mother was right - you really do get what you pay for. there is no small print/ or handle with care instructions on these puppies… so here are two thoughts for your consideration;

they are not easy to put on; they take an average of 4 to 5 minutes to squeeze into. this process might get faster given time, but cannot be guaranteed. so, try not to have too many cups of coffee/ tea. this will only lead to you spending more time in the work toilet cubical.. which just looks weird to colleagues - who do not know the challenges of pleather and the complexity that is life
also, there is a very high possibility that you will in fact get stuck to other leather look or real leather upholstery. luckily when i got stuck to the high chair i was sitting on for 40 min, i was having lunch with KW, a close friend, who was able to laugh with me about this most mortifying experience

under pressure

in 2009, there were 267 babies born every minute in the world (earth)

as of 2009, the average birth rate for the world (earth) is 21.4 per year per 1000 total population. so with the world's (earth) population at c6.6 billion, that comes to 141 million babies per year

as expected, there were 365 days in 2009, each day consisting of 24 hours and 60 minutes per hour, so 365 x 24 x 60= 525600 minutes per year

as stated above (third sentence) in 2009 there were c. 141 000 000 babies born per year, divided by 525 600 minutes per year = 267 babies born every minute

...but, the question is; what happens when mums to be are surrounded by brilliantly competent mums? and their generally cool babies?

example 1. indy is an inspiring model (he likes T and the work she does)… his passion is more for jewellery and fashion. it’s a new love that he is fully embracing. but this is an ambitious boy – recently, he’s also been singing and dancing to nirvana

M (his mum) is happy to be raising the next big thing in teenage angst singing genious

example 2. Jake. beautiful – no effort required from D (his mum)

..this pressure can be overwhelming (refer to jedward rendition of ice ice baby) and is enough to drive some into question their parenting skills

our ever increasing stardom has meant that we occasionally get the odd free mcqueen and balmain outfits, but to be offered a baby (even if it's ugly) is the best recognition of our good looks we've had to date

despite the below, T and i are not baby people and quite frankly were surprised the mums let us hold their little ones. but years of modelling has taught us a trick or two

what's your style?

we have devised a fun and informative quiz for you to find out what your personal style is in order for you to dress accordingly ... because in this day and age its important to fit into a pigeon hole category so as to not confuse people

1. pick a number between 1-20:
a) you chose a number between 1-5
b) you chose a number between 6-10
c) you chose a number between 11-15
d) you chose a number between 16-20


2. you gave someone your number, when do you think they will call you?
a) never...as usual
b) in a day or two
c) dont know, but i will be right next to the phone waiting
d) later that night


3. i see myself as someone who has a forgiving nature:
a) strongly disagree
b) disagree
c) agree
d) strongly agree


4. two ducks and two dogs have a total of fourteen legs:
a) true
b) false
c) i dont know
d) i love lamp

the results are in...

if you chose mostly a's you are:
classic

if you chose mostly b's you are:

boho

if you chose mostly c's you are:

sporty

if you chose mostly d's you are:

rock'n'roll

also, we like venn diagrams

venns are brilliant, because not only do they illustrate the level of overlap between campaign elements (tv, print, instore etc)*, and therefore their effectiveness and efficiencies, or lack there-of, but they are also a good way of grouping "everyday" people

*although this is not dissimilar to circles of trust, in all honesty, it's a slightly different concept

most (more than half) of our friends who live in w210 fit into the above
there aren't many deaf people, which is why it's a smaller circle

below are statemetns some deaf people have made:
how many times is it appropirate to say "what?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realise (due to your deafness) you're wrong - this also has the potential to apply to non deaf people too

others (who aren't deaf) have asked:
what would happen if you ran over a ninja?
how are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
what do i do, when after meeting a new person, i accidentally mention something they haven't told me, but i have learned from some light internet stalking?

biker jackets

bob is in property, and has been likened to a modern day donald trump ... whose hobbies include golfing with handicaps (!!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
... but there is more to bob, for as we discovered, he was once asked to be a musketeer and/ or the guitarist for "take that" - the boy band
also, he seems to be a big deal in the fashion industry - he was our ticket to lfw this year
below is a snipped/ slice of life/ conversation (between bob and T) that further demonstrates the above claims

bob: T you are ahead of the game – it seems your biker look has inspired Burberry?

T: brilliant! the boys in my team mock me about it all the time and think they are funny. i think they are jealous of my fashion forward ways.

bob: the cynics would say even a stopped clock is right twice daily. thousands of hells angels would disagree

you've got male

J (aka +1) and i ("rob fay" - my pre surgery name) headed down to leicester square last night for for the closing show of london fashion week- ozwald boeteng, which included 100 male models. it was a good collection (www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/100922-menswear-day-opens.aspx) all the beautiful people turned out including vanessa feltz jo woods. to be honest, not that many beaufitul people turned out...

our reluctant new friend "christian"* (http://www.stylesage.co.uk/) was on hand to take photos (pics coming soon!)

*although initially lying to us about his real name, we discovered "christian" is studying tax law, is an undercover toff (he left his pinky ring at home) although we can confirm he does not have a double barrell surname, has a hot 70 year old step father who is very rich, an only child (although has a few step brothers and sisters), was born in 1988, making him approximately 12, lives in WC2
(we trust we haven't left any other important information out... unless he was lying to us)

what's your body shape?

a hot topic at the moment as summer is upon us. due to popular demand we have compiled an easy to use guide to identify your own body shape, with real life examples...