Keep Calm Ladies its only a Christian Louboutin collection

Sorry for the lack of posting last week, but the new issue of Vogue and a very tricky 1940's knitting pattern needed my full attention. I have also been oogling over the lovely clothes from Upstairs Downstairs and the hunky men in tuxedos, well what can I say I'm only human.

Over the past few years the 'Keep Calm and Carry on' slogan has been everywhere, from iPad cases to scrapbooks. It is a revived saying to help us all get through the economic crisis, supposedly. Of course companies have taken advantage of this and there are now as many derivations of the slogan as there are shoes in my room and believe me Ladies and Gentlemen that is a lot. 

You can get key rings that say 'Keep Calm and Buy Shoes' and posters that say 'Keep Calm and Drink Tea', which if you are English this has been etched on your brain since birth. When anything goes wrong in England, tea seems to always solve it, that or the Asos sale. 

Brave people have even got it tattooed on their bodies, but the cynicism in me thinks that a lot of the 'younger' generation (god I feel old) doesn't really know where it originates from and think its just a clever marketing scheme thought up by some blokes in a pub over a pint and a chip butty. Sadly there isn't any sign of a meerkat though.

So if you have no idea where this saying comes from, I will enrich your mind with the background behind it. Now keep calm and read on. See what I did there? 

Thousands of posters with 'Keep Calm and Carry on', 'Your courage, your resourcefulness and your resolution will bring us victory' and 'Freedom is in your peril, defend it with all your might' were distributed in 1940's to help people keep calm if the Germans invaded. 

I can see why the 'Keep Calm' one is more popular then the others, you try remembering the other ones after a few beers. It was thought and feared that any minute the German's would invade Britain with their 'Operation Sea Lion' plan. But due to them being defeated in the Battle of Britain the operation was not carried out, which meant the posters were useless and binned.

But on Sunday night whilst sitting down with a hot chocolate and a purring Jasper watching the Antiques Roadshow, some original posters re-appeared. I think you are all probably more shocked about the fact that I watch the Antiques Roadshow and that I have admitted it, it did take some courage. 

A lovely women called Mrs Turnball hitched up with fifteen of the original posters, some in mint condition. 

Her father Mr Turnball was a member of the Royal Observer Corps and was issued a cluster of posters to distribute around where he lived in shop windows and bus stops. Well its better then Lurex adverts and graffiti. 

However, by the time he received him the threat of the German invasion had diminisshed, bad form Royal Mail. He kept them rolled up with a plastic band at his home and has now passed them onto his daughter. Maybe he was one of those people that says 'this will be worth something one day' and keeps it in storage on the off chance that they can get a few beers out of it and a nice holiday. For most people and I'm talking about your here Daddy Second Hand Rose, the things normally end up to only be worth about a fiver. 

However, Mr Turnball has handed his daughter the 'Monopoly'. And before you ask she doesn't have to collect £200 when she passes go. The lovely expert in his dashing tweed jacket Paul Atterbury informed her that she was 'probably sitting on the world's only stock' of the famous posters and they were worth several thousand pounds, even some of the good ones being a £1000 each. Is anyone else very tempted to hunt her down and beg her for one so they can buy some Jimmy Choo's, or is that just me? 

Mrs Turnball was told not that long ago that the posters were worthless, so it proves that you should always go on tv, have a chinwag with Fiona Bruce and get your items valued by a man in a tweed jacket. 

The second snippet of news I wanted to share with you all is that one of the true master of shoes Christian Louboutin has designed a capsule collection which contains some of the most beautiful shoes, which will make you go into a fit of hysteria, not that I have.

 He has designed the collection to celebrate the 20 successful years he has had as the king of the red sole. The collection includes twenty of his most recognisable designs that have helped secure him in the hearts of women all over the world. 

Lots of celebrities are seen in them from Nicole Kidman to Sarah Jessica Parker and the Duchess of Cambridge is a fan. Over the past few years you constantly see the TOWIE girls strutting their stuff in them, along with the Kardashians. Louboutin has made one-off shoes especially for films, fashion shows and celebrities. Who can forget VB's huge platform six inch heels at the Royal Wedding.

My desire to own a pair, well seventy really is no secret and I have spent many hours gasping over some of his amazing designs. If you got a pair of Christian Louboutin's would you wear them though? Sadly we are not all like celebrity's and can afford to get them dirty and scraped. I wouldn't want to get a scrap of dirt on them, so would most possibly end up tip-toeing with them on. Either that or get Mr. Boyfriend to carry me everywhere. So I think if I got a pair they would mostly end up being the centre piece in my room for me to dream over, whilst having a hot chocolate and a choccy biscuit. A girl can still dream though and believe me I do.

Louboutin's are now an international brand and shops are even being opened up in India, Vietnam and Turkey. Just think while your man goes off to find some English bar to go and watch the footy you can go shoe shopping and put it down as a holiday spend, I've got it all worked out. 

This capsule collection is gorgeous and yesterday along with it being Daddy SHR's birthday a pop-up shop was opened in Selfridge's where the shoes are going to be sold, before they are avaliable in Louboutin stores from March. 

Each style included in this collection is rich with history, full of life and carries it with a unique story of creation and inspiration. The collection contains an array of designs, colours and styles from zips, spikes and fringes. But the cherry on top of the Louboutin cake is that the collection also contains six stunning bags which will just make you want to get the first train to Selfridges. 

Amazing drawings of the collection have also been released and a book commemorating his 20th anniversary is now available, which I'm determind to get my hands on, even though it is around £85-£55. 

You can find it here at WHSmith, just make sure you save one for me. You may think its expensive and you'd rather spend your money on biscuits, but this book isn't just any old book. It has a leather imitation cover, with glossy photos and even pop ups, including an interview with the dapper man himself.

However, due to Christian Louboutin being so sought after, there are many fake websites out there selling them for around £150. Some admit they are copies, but a lot reel you in with the promise of having a piece of the Louboutin world, but at a fraction of the normal price. This is the same for many designers, along with Vivienne Westwood with them selling fake jewellery and bags. Thankfully Louboutin is hot on the trail of these websites and there is a long long list of the ones that are counterfeit, which you can find here. If you are splurging on a pair the best place to get them are from the official websites and legal established ones like Matches and Net-A-Porter.

This goes for all other designers, but if you are not sure whether a website is real or not, just e-mail the official website for the designer and ask them. I'll be on Watchdog next.

Christian Louboutin has played a huge role in the history 21st century shoes and has won the hearts and feet of millions. If you're reading Mr Louboutin and on the off chance have a pair going spare, could you possibly send them to me? I'd be very grateful and if needed I will happily bribe you with cake.

Second Hand Rose

XxxX

My big hello to the world

Hey everyone,
I am officially saying hello to you all. *waves* I was meant to start this blog as a new years resolution for 2010. Oh and 2011. Then it was in every month that followed and now its September! As you can see I'm not very hot on the whole resolution side of things. I also vowed to stop eating chocolate cake and yeah that hasn't really worked out either. So I have officially decided to metaphorically give myself a kick up the arse and properly start my hopefully new addiction that is my blog. I hope to write about the latest news in fashion, the best deals I've found and what I'd buy if I could,fashion history, interesting info about designers,sewing tutorials, what I've made/ tried out, make up and hair try outs/disasters and I will do a LOT of reminiscing about the golden years, that I sadly was not even thought about when they happened. I will try not to harp on about the amazing Kinks too much or the gorgeous Rock Hudson and what I would do to have my own VW Beetle or Nissan Figaro.


Sadly I have nothing to blog about what I have bought this week because I have no money to buy any new clothes. I know people say that but I literally do mean it. I have savings of course but if I spent that all on clothes and shoes like I'm sure I will eventually do, I don't think my parents or my bank would be too pleased. On the other hand Asos would be and I would advise anyone to buy shares in Asos when I eventually do succumb to my shopping needs because believe me their share prices will rocket!
I am sure one day that I will eventually become a lady who lives in her shoes. I will have lovely clothes and gorgeous shoes but probably nowhere to live.Oh well, at least I will be a fashionable homeless person!I have a serious addiction to shoes. I do sometimes wonder if I am actually adopted and in fact am a secret lovechild of Imelda Marcos. But sadly, inheriting my Dad's wonky ears has proved otherwise. 


So for a while I will be blogging about lovely clothes that I want but am not buying, well at least until I can afford something that isn't resembling a £1 Asda drastically thin you can see people's boobs top. Dear old Hotmail is not helping me in my quest to not spend any of my savings. Every day it sends me lovely emails from Boohoo, Asos and many many others telling me all about there fabulous deals and how amazing I could look in a a some leopard and zebra print polazzo trousers that clearly I would not look like Kat Slater but with chilly legs in. Vivienne Westwood, Kurt Geiger and Net a Porter are the worst and the most tempting. If only I could afford something from Net a Porter,but I live in hope. I try not to buy too many clothes but somehow I end up clicking the confirm order button and then remember that I probably actually don’t need another block colour dress. 
I find waiting for it can also be the fun bit. Except when you have been waiting for it for 10 days, even though you got a lovely email from them telling you it will be with you in less than three. I love getting the knock at the door, its like having Christmas every week. Sadly sometimes it’s the nice double  glazing man being very concerned about our windows and safety, even though they are already double glazed. But when you open the door and see the delivery man standing there with a big box (they are always big when I buy. Hey if you are gonna do it, you should do it properly.) and you jump up and down, well I do anyway, like a kid in a couture candy store while the delivery guy is looking at you just a little strangely. As soon as he is gone you try to tear open the box, hell you use your teeth if you have to and there enclosed are your clothes. Not anyone else’s. Yours. So you try them on. Sadly sometimes they can be a total disaster either making you look like you are wearing something resembling your Grandma’s carpet or you could be mistaken for a whale, which is definitely not a good look. But when they look good, its like being in heaven for 5 minutes. You get that little excitement inside as you look in the mirror trying to see how your bum looks in it and doing the usual catwalk model poses that you were born to do in THAT dress.


See, every piece of clothing can be justified, somehow. Winter is approaching which is an ideal time for us clothesaholics to convince people that infact we do need those two rails of clothes and more. Its cold so you need nice new jumpers and cardigans or a new woolen dress. You need either new leggings to wear with them and you can’t wear your usual tights with them, well not unless you want to get blue legs. Not a good look either. So you need thicker versions of the ones you already have and you definitely need those mosaic pattern £10 ones that you have been eyeing up since July. You need new skirts or trousers to go with your old or new jumpers. You need nice warm tops to wear under the jumpers. You don’t want the tops to be too warm though, because after you have put on the jumper,a long sleeve top and that thermal vest that your mum insists you wear, a scarf and a hat you tend to get a bit red in the face. You need nice tops underneath so if it does get warmer you can take the jumper off and still have a good outfit on. You need a new coat. Everyone needs a coat don’t they,it’s a necessity. So you need new scarves to go with that new coat. I’m afraid that bobbly one your Grandma gave you six Christmas’s ago just won’t do. So that means you need new gloves to go with the scarf and coat and if you are one of those people who can pull off a hat in winter without looking like you should belong in the Alps, you need a new hat. Now shoes, everyone needs them. And you cant really wear pencil thin heels in 4inches of snow, even though I’m sure Victoria Beckham somehow manages to. Everything can be justified.

So as of late I have been online window shopping. Its when you go through the whole website and put in your bag everything you want. When you see the hefty price that gets calculated, it doesn’t matter because it is only in your virtual basket. You can smugly think about all that money that you are saving but it can be hard not to resist the ‘continue to checkout’ button. I have spent many hours just hovering over that button. What I have also been doing once I’ve seen the sum of the items, is go through it again and take off anything that I don’t think I really really need.This usually ends up totaling one item though. What is also great is taking off the most expensive things and seeing the money go down. I have no idea why this feels good when its only online but it has provided me with hours of entertainment and self praise that I have actually resisted those £20 leggings. Well for now anyway.

Second Hand Rose

XxxX