Have you ever thought of an idea for a garment and then been gutted to see it materialize in somebody's work, but not as good as it looked in your ideal image, of course. Here are three items I found on ASOS's Top 100 Holiday Picks that I thought of, before I knew said items already existed in their form- I promise, but with little money at uni and no design house or designer to work with/under (as of yet) and a shortage of sewing know-how I slept on the ideas... my favorite:



Waxed Cotton and Leather Combo By Ally Capelino, Prices start at £135




The Contrast Colour turn-up... By Ringspun, available at Asos


Simple short shorts, textured and printed

By ASOS (only £22, I might have to get involved!)

A Brief History of Womens Sporting Fashion at The Wimbledon Championships

I've been meaning to post this for a while. As soon as I viewed the BBC ads for the championship coverage. Now watching a documentary on Wimbledon, and eating my Sunday diner, I felt it was the time to begin the post. Focusing on the historical change in fashion and function of the infamous white kits, of the competition held just a number of minutes from me in South West London. Interestingly the reason for all whites is not to reflect the unlikely rays of the sun, rather it is to remain demure whilst playing by hiding perspiration! We Brits really do like to manage our appearances, stiff upper lip and all that.

Beginning in 1877, this two week tournament plays host to the highest calibre of athletes of all ages from around the world. Firstly, I'd like to start with the womenswear. Initially, involved in the 1860s women wore heavy materials in the form of below-the-knee, pleated skirts and petit coats.

Maud Watson, 1884 first ever Women's singles Winner

May Sutton, 1905 Winner was the first to bear wrists! Oooo Cheeky!

Suzanne Lenglen, 1919, got the guns out in light weight fabrics with sleeveless tops. Also noticeable is the shorter skirt length.

Helen Jacobs, 1930, changed the game, forgive the pun, to the more modern look we are familiar with now, sporting flannel shirts, polo tops and generally slimmer kits.

Subsequent to skimming through almost a century of sartorial sporting succession, here are a few of my favorite female fashions and faux pas of more recent times...

Billie Jean King, 1968. Figure hugging, sleeveless dress complete with wide lapels and colored, usually baby blue details and those infamous massive specs. Legend!

Steffi Graph 1991, could this be where Nadal sought his inspiration in headgear and wild splashes of colour?!

Venus Williams, 2010 with the Tina Turner look. (LIKE!!)



Venus on the 1st day of the 2011 Championships. An athlete that designs and picks their own kit as part of their sportswear label EleVen managing to incorporate gold is a winner in my books!



Unfortunately sister Serena Williams hasn't quite got the eye like here slightly older sister Venus. This Warm up gear definitely needs to be toned down! Seen yesterday, 19th June 2011.

Unlike Wimbledon, the French and US Open through caution to the wind, disregarding Wimbledon's uniform conformity allowing players to wear, well anything. The Williams sisters have taken full advantage of this...

Venus Williams 2011, French Open,


Sereena, the super hero look


The designer of these garments must be cautioned for offending the sensibilities of millions of conservative tennis fans with these monstrosities.




From all covered up to barely covered at all tennis vogue has changed considerably, I look forward to seeing the icey-white garb gracing the manicured lawns of Wimbledon this year.

Coming soon: Wimbledon's menswear history.

So on my lunch break I stumbled across this quaint menswear shop and label just off Carnaby St. A search for the perfect white shirt, a process which men who are fastidious about their garments will inform you is, greatly frustrating, gave birth to a the Hentsch Man brand. Recognizing a classic wardrobe should be simple, stripped back and only have a few options Hentsch Man really do hit the nail on the head. Made in Spain, Portugal and Italy, these conscious designers have been focused on chic simplicity and quality since 2008. Interestingly, Hentsch Man incorporates the finer things from other brands in their store, so instead of imitating the greats, they collaborate with other designers in distribution.

Here are a few of their products.£95 Slim fitting, simple, 100% cotton, front plaquette, Oxford button down, with breast pocket. The shirt that started it all. The White Sunday Shirt

£135
Slim-fitting, flat fronted, 100% cotton seer sucker £160
100% Merino Wool
by Bobby
Tortoise shell
£140

Definitely worth stopping off there if your in town, and your bank balance is beyond healthy.

I don't know about you guys but I like my shorts above the knee. Of course this isn't always appropriate, but when fun and frolics in the sun are involved, and I've been hitting the gym or cycling, I'm all for getting the knobbly knees out. I must say, these shorts from Warriors of Radness probably should be worn when cycling, I reckon the mouse might get out of the house if you haven't got the right undies on! Madness.


Warriors of Radness, LA surfer/skater brand via oki-ni

Lacost Live via oki-ni. Best Colour for shorts I've seen so far simply because of the salmon orangey-pink coloring and short straight cut.



For tailored shorts like these and the Lacoste pair above, its always nice to get your roll on, press and maybe sew them in place so you don't have to adjust when your out and about.

ASOS own brand have done very well with the cut, composition, colour and cost of this garment. Hopefully they are easy to care for and last the summer, and the next.

p.s. for Denim shorts, only Levi's (especially 501's or 511's) will be tolerated, for guys (and dolls). American apparel acid wash (bleached punk style) are acceptable I suppose...

Lovely photography Here. Great lighting and brilliant modeling. A rare combination in Fashion, from what I have observed.


From The Ones2Watch / Photography Gordon von Steiner
 / Styling Paul Morehouse
 / Art Direction Alvaro Colom

Limoland Currency-Print Swim Shorts. Lovely little short shorts for foreign festivals and, sun seeking and sailing! I must say it is rather tempting to say the print is nice from far but far from nice. Hit or Miss, I think you'll either love it or hate it.


Jet setting is tough for fashionistos, when they are rather few stylish options for functional travel ware. Fear not, this leather and cotton canvas case can brighten up a dreary luggage conveyor belt in any airport and with dimensions of 22" by 14" and 7"deep you may be able to squeeeeze it in to hand luggage, avoiding scratches and bumps from the holds. Teeny tiny wheels make this case exceptionally useful, even the gym buffs will agree, breaking a sweat whilst on holiday from heavy lifting is a definite no. Seeing as Wilson have been making dry goods since 1890 I wouldn't worry about it falling apart.

If you've got a bean head like mine or you simply have good taste in head ware, most likely you'll like this quality Panama hat made by the consistent team at Alfred Dunhill. Interestingly, the Panama hat was made famous by President Roosevelt Theadore. Hmmmm

Quite possibly the best shoes I've seen in an impeccably long time. T + F provide a quirky twist on the derby, also referred to as the saddle, with a startling contrast in color and texture of the rubber sole and suede, or leather, upper. London husband and wife team Tim and Fiona Slack have been making shoes by hand since the 1970s, hence the great attention to the particulars in this 5-eyelet derby produced in England.

Check out their official site here


A few options are available Via Asos