Three days ago McQueen’s mother and best friend died.  It is unknown whether this tragic event played a role in his death. 

 Three years prior to McQueen’s death his long time friend and mentor Isabella Blow took her life.   His 2008 spring collection was dedicated to Blow.

 Blow was a fashion Icon and writer who discovered Lee McQueen (McQueen’s real name) and bartered the deal between him and Gucci. 

 McQueen was known for his surrealist approach to haute couture and it quickly earned him legendary status along with four British designer of the year awards. 

After experiencing a double loss his family has not made any statements to the press but has left this comment at McQueen’s site:

 On behalf of Lee McQueen’s family, Alexander McQueen today announces the  tragic news that Lee McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen brand has been found dead at his home. At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee’s family.Lee’s family has asked for privacy in order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media will respect this.

McQueen will always be known as one of the few designers who have rapidly and successfully changed fashion. 

 

I finished reading The Towering World of Jimmy Choo about a week ago and it was definitely not what I expected – which is a great thing. 

The book chronicles the making of the brand and focuses a lot on the business side of the company which I found refreshing. 

It’s definitely not a book for someone who is looking to read a “cute” story about shoes or Jimmy Choo’s celebrity following.

 It explains how a luxury brand is formed and maintained as well as giving a great view of fashion as a business.

 The book reads like a drama as it gives you enough gossip and glamour to keep you hooked in addition to the great business insight.

I truly hate pj’s. 

I’m not upset at those who get their mail in a robe, pj’s or other sleep/lounge wear but at the people who leave the house in pajamas.

The argument that is always made (for every form of sloppy dressing) is that “it’s comfortable” which speaks volumes about more serious issues we have as a society.  Being comfortable equates to a lot of things none of which are positive. 

Comfort is only good at two times in life – sleeping and dying – and some don’t have this luxury.  Despite this even if comfort is your aim there are plenty of other viable dressing options that don’t involve the sleepwear department.

In fact the most “comfortable” garment I own is a wrap dress.  It takes five minutes to pull the whole look together and can be worn in many ways.  On side B, jeans are extremely uncomfortable.

Jeans are as American as cheeseburgers (or veggie burgers for vegetarians) but become boring fast.  This is true of anything worn everyday but jeans can be an uncreative and mindless garment (which a lot of people enjoy) but if your options are pj’s or jeans then jeans should always win.   

Why would you want to expose the same clothes you sleep in to the germs, dirt, etc. in the atmosphere?    It’s just lazy and mindless behavior. 

Ultimately it isn’t about what someone else thinks about you, it’s about how you feel about yourself.   If you’re care meter is at zero then you should invest in self improvement.  Nine times out of ten how you dress is a direct reflection of what is going on inside(of course there are exceptions).

Most people feel best about themselves when they are dressed “up” or better than normal.  Is feeling good about ourselves an inconceivable concept?