Cocktail hour...

I asked myself before I started this post whether it was too early in the week for cocktail hour, but then I thought, silly, its never too early for cocktail hour. Inspired by this fab how-to video from Etsy's youtube channel (below). 

So now that we have the decor sufficiently themed we must deck ourselves out

To me the cocktail dress will always have some serious flare to it. Thats just the way it is, whether you go for the classic,

black vintage Christian Dior 1955

or the not so classic...

animal print Christian Dior

These I love just for the patterns

To sip from...

 Never to be found in my kitchen cupboard I'm afraid this Le Maison Desny set from the 1930's. Very little is known about the French modernist design firm save that their pieces fetch a pretty penny at auction.

Keeping the standards high, to accessorise...

from Etsy store Sunny Day Vintage

and just in case you forget how to make your favourite cocktail grab one of these from NotOnTheHighStreet seller Betsy Jarvis

 Bottoms up

A Bucket full of clever

How cleverly clever is this collapsible bucket from NotOnTheHighStreet seller Liberty Bee.Very, I'd say.

Because even gardeners run out of space sometimes.

For all those old fire hoses out there...

 Elvis and Kresse love old fire hoses. In fact they love them so much that they made this versatile material the backbone of their product range. Heres what they came up with...

Reclaimed fire hose wallet 

Slider unisex belt

 Phone Holder 

Wash bag, the lining of which is made from high visibility waste parachute silk.

 And my favourite has to be the Messenger bag...

I love the faint traces you can see on the front flap of the marking that would have been on the fire hose. 

If these picks haven't wet your appetite you can check out the rest of their range on their notonthehighstreet page here. And If you are still on the fence check this out, 50% of all profits from the Fire Hose range goes to the Fire Fighters Charity. I really want that bag. Pretty sure I know someone else who wants it too...

Friday visits...a handmade nation

With a lot of high fashion the price tag has a lot to do with the name above it. You pay for the brand. But what people often forget is everything else that you are paying for. I'm not talking about the pieces that are stitched together for a couple of cents and sold on for far beyond their actual worth. I'm referring to the age old art of Haute Couture.  

Here, while the rest of the world turned to mass production, the skills and knowledge needed to create these unique pieces was nurtured. It had often been mooted, in the years since its birth in Paris, that Haute couture would not survive long. Today this is more prevalent than ever. Haute Couture often costs more than a years salary and even if you can afford it there is an exclusivity to owning a piece that money cannot always procure. And if John Galliano's Spring-Summer for Christian Dior last year was anything to go by maybe the fashion world thought we needed to be reminded of its worth. 

Galliano's dresses are turned inside out, revealing, and indeed revelling in the detail and beauty of the construction of these pieces. Rather like a magician showing you his box of tricks you realise that the magic is in fact that there is no magic at all but instead a tireless dedication to perfection.

This appreciation for the hand made has not in fact died off with the recession as many have feared. Rather, there is an ever growing appreciation for the uniqueness that it offers us. Just look at the success of such companies like not on the high street.com or the ever growing membership of craft websites like Etsy if you need proof. And I for one can't wait to see what 2010 has in store. The idea of a 'hand crafted' future definitely tickles my fancy. I mean if Rage against the machine can get a Christmas number 1 over the X factor (however misguided a choice it may have been) then anythings possible right?