Getting fruity for spring

Did we imagine we would be wearing  strawberries, butterflies and what look like tiny cupcakes on our teeny dresses, shorts and bikinis in spring? Are we Katy Perry? I think we have answered our question.

And yet … this ‘cruise’ collection by Versace for H&M (out next week) makes us think we might change our mind. Even though we never imagined ourselves wearing a ‘cruise’ collection either. Who cruises?

But we are won over by the lilacness of the belt, the awesomeness of the bracelet and the cuteness of pretty much everything. We think that Donatella Versace is a lot cleverer than her choice of hairstyle (long, straight, almost silver, you know the one) suggests. And it’s, like, H&M, not some designer store where the lowest price is more money than we can imagine earning in a human lifetime.

Nonie says yay. What do you think?

Four Girls and a Handbag

Would I like a cover for Threads that looked like this Moschino handbag?

Would I like to see my four girls looking a bit too cool for school, but totally together?

Well yes, yes I would.

As Carrie Bradshaw would say (in the One with the Catwalk): ‘Me likey.’

Today’s yay – Elle

When I grow up I want to be in a shoot for Teen Vogue, wearing cute dresses and holding up a letter from my OWN NAME.

As you do.

If you’re Elle Fanning.

Sigh.

(Oh, and did I mention she just did a film with Matt Damon?

She did.

Sigh.)

The perfect picture

Sequins Stars & Spotlights features many wedding dress designs (I’ve lost count now), and careful readers might imagine that it’s because I’m obsessed with wedding dresses. They’d be right. I am.

Not the traditional off-the-shoulder, big-skirt ones, but the interesting ones. The ones that tell a story about the bride, and her tastes, and the relationship. Which is why I’m loving this ‘New York, New York’ wedding photograph of Joanna Hillman of Harper’s Bazaar. (Thanks, as usual, to Fashionista for pointing it out.)

Favourite bits: the flowers and the taxi. Plus, they both look so pleased with each other. Aw.

Fashionista rocks … again

Wanna take a look back at all the important stuff that happened in 2011?

Well, not the wars and rebellions and financial meltdowns obviously. People got hurt in those – lots of them.  No, I mean the important fashion stuff that happened in 2011. Nobody got seriously hurt – apart from maybe John Galliano and you could argue that was kind of his own fault. There were some juicy scandals (Fox News becoming incandescent with rage because a boy was pictured having his toenails painted pink?) The pictures were amazing. And it’s all summed up here and beautifully illustrated, as always, by the ever-amazing Fashionista.

Loving that blog. And the way she tells 2011, I’ll miss it.

The Swan

Want to see the Swan dress? (From book 1).

This one is by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Crow was at the show, obviously. And something about this dress looked vaguely familiar …. (Has Sarah been reading about us recently? A girl has to wonder.)

Anyway, it was an incredible show. From the woman who designed The Wedding Dress. (You know.) Inspired by Gaia and the sea …

David Meowie

It has a kitten. It has David Bowie. I discovered it on the Inside Fashionista Tumblr. It is perfect.

Competition

At last! For those of you who haven’t found out via Twitter or Facebook or elsewhere … there is a new competition on the Threadsthebook website. It’s to write a short story, or the start of a book, or do a book cover illustration, or make a trailer. SO MANY CHOICES!

All the details are on www.threadsthebook.com – and go to the Competition page.

Enjoy! I hope you like it! You’ve got until 28 November to get your entry in to me.

sophia xxx

Rookie

Nonie says Thank God Tavi, where have you BEEN?

Tavi Gevinson (the uber-cool teen blogger from Chicago who knows EVERYTHING about fashion and writes like a GODDESS) has finally launched her online mag, Rookie.

It is here: http://rookiemag.com/

Read it and thank me. Now you know you are not alone.

Meanwhile, Nonie needs to thank Keris Stainton (author of Della Says OMG and Jessie Hearts NYC), who thanked Anna Carey on Twitter for her blog post on GirlsHeartBooks today (it’s complicated … stick with me …), in which Anna pointed out that Rookie was launched at last.

Oh, and while I’m in thanking mood, I need to thank Iffath at LoveReadingX for pointing out – also on Twitter – that the first images from the movie of the Hunger Games are out. Ooh! Want to see Katniss in the forest? Click here.

(Oh, OK, here’s a sneak preview.)

Now you can thank me again.

xxx

Sew beautiful …

My New York editor (oh, how I love those words), Siobhan, sent me this wonderful link to a short segment from an American radio show. It’s all about the ‘petites mains’ – the women who work on lace and embroidery for haute couture dresses at the House of Lesage in Paris.

I love the idea of these amazing people still working at their craft, like something out of the nineteenth century. For a long time, I’ve wanted to write a rom-com about one of them, who takes a piece of lace to LA and ends up creating a famous dress for the Oscars. Except, of course, I did a bit of that already in Threads. And I wrote about them some more in Beads Boys & Bangles.

Anyway, if you want to hear them actually talk, you can do it here. And if you go on the link, you can also see a piece about someone who quilts Heavy Metal bedspreads. Yes, really. They look astonishing. The things people do …