THE NANA EDIT. HELLO HELLO HELLO

The NaNa Edit is dedicated to those wonderful things we come across in life that for the purpose of this blog I’ll call ‘Objects of Beauty’. I’ve always loved those pages you’ll find in magazines which find a way to link fashion trends with a painting, a doodle or postcard, a shoe or something unexpected like a building. I’ll try the same here, armed with my second-hand mac, iPhone camera, a slightly lame programme similar to MS Paint, £1 shop-bought marker pens and a couple of spare evenings a week.

If you remember this blog from my FOLLY days, hello hello hello. I hope you like.

Love

NaNa

MEN AT WORK

This blog is under construction (after a 3-year hiatus!) 

Exciting.

Stay tuned.

x

ONCE UPON A TIME IN WHITECHAPEL...

Once upon a time in Whitechapel there was a man who owned a stall selling obscure plastic sunglasses to the good folk of Liverpool.

I have always been intrigued by this random stall, which is permanently located just off Queen St. This one sells those average looking pashminas, belts and knitted hippy hats you find everywhere, but what makes it special is the array of utterly mad 80's sunglasses on sale, in the shape of everything from American footballs to swans. Have a look next time you pass by. The white spiky ones remind me of the character Hollywood Montrose from the cult 80's rom-com Mannequin (1987).

MAKE LIKE GRANDPA WITH A FAIR ISLE KNIT

Woo more lovely knitwear. I really really like this girls look. It's like grandpa chic (cosy brown fair isle jumper, beanie hat, old leather bag) but the jet black hair and over the knee boots add a bit of a harder edge to the ensemble. This outfit is why I love looking to street fashion for inspiration. I've been spending a while trying to figure out what to wrap myself up in this winter - and where the fash mags and high street shops have failed me, street style has come through! For A/W I think I might have to make like this girl and go for a nice slouchy fair isle jumper...

THIS WEEK FOLLY LOVES...DOM DICK AND HARRY 'MONO-TEES'

Layering is a necessity in this weather, but it's good to mix things up a bit. My fave clothing item at the moment is the monochrome graphic tee - think a well cut, soft cotton short sleeve top or vest with a distinctive print in black and white only. The 'Mono-Tee' works wonders peeking out of loads of cosy layers and goes from day to night like a treat (I just add the obligatory slick of bright lipstick and lots of necklaces). So I was rather chuffed when I discovered DOM DICK & HARRY, a kinda sex-and-drugs-and-rock-and-roll unisex t-shirt label founded by Leeds designer Dominic Al-Samarraie.  

I was actually properly introduced to Dom by a friend at a house party and checked out his website www.domdickandharry.co.uk the other day... he's working on new designs at the moment so keep an eye out on his blog/site, but the stuff on there already is pretty hot. Citing 'hearts, whores and crosses' as inspiration, DOM DICK & HARRY tees feature predominantly black and white, freaky friday MS Webding motifs which fit right into my current 'Mono-Tee' obsession. I'm after the 'Play-blocks' logo print vest (pictured above) to wear with black spray on jeans or a mini pleated skirt. At 25 quid it's a bargain for a one off thing lovingly made by a guy in his Leeds studio.

THIS WEEK FOLLY LOVES...HANNAH TAYLOR JUMPERS

Hot on the search for my A/W jumper at lunchtime today I stumbled across a young knitwear designer called Hannah Taylor. A fellow northerner hailing from Warrington (nestled somewhere between Liverpool and Manchester), Taylor is now studying for an MA at RCA London, following a much hyped show at London Graduate Fashion Week. After snooping around her blog i've become a bit of a superfan...her supersized jumpers with random animal motifs and mishmash textures are awesome. Athough she designs for men and takes inspiration from her old man (menswear is where it's at people), her collection reminds me of the kind of thing your adorably mad auntie would wear.

I'm a rather keen of the long fair isle specimen...naturally. 

Pics courtesy www.hanzipan.blogspot.com

DANDY WITH FETCHING QUIFF

FOLLY is a huge fan of everyday fellas with the ability to mix and match modern and vintage styles. This gents outfit nods to1970's The Stranglers-esque Punk, with Harrington jacket an black and white stripy tee, but is smartened up with black leather penny loafers and brought right up to date with ankle grazing tobacco coloured slacks and foppish hair.

FOLLY SHOPKEEPERS: RAIDERS VINTAGE | LIVERPOOL

So have you ever looked back at Xmas family photographs and wished that your mum had kept that awesome bat-wing jumper, slinky mini-dress or those flashy stilettos? I do all the time. Sadly as the decades passed and fashion fads came and went, my mothers more outlandish items of clothing slowly wriggled free from her wardrobe, destined for the local Oxfam or landfill and never to be seen again. Sob. However, if you are anything like moi, sob ye not my dears. Possibly my favourite Liverpool vintage store, Raiders Vintage, has just opened a brand new extension filled with wonderful 'my-mum-used-to-have-something-like-this' items. After visiting the new improved Raiders, I was so excited that I asked the always fabulously dressed owner of the boutique, Kelly Reid, if I could come back and take a few pictures of her and the shop for a wee FOLLY SHOPKEEPERS feature.

    

For those of you who haven't been, Raiders is a vintage fashion boutique with a cosy interior decorated with antiques and old-school props (think Victorian checker tiles, silk roses and Louis XV furniture teamed with charming retro posters, shabby chic display units and postcards), selling a purse-friendly range of fun party dresses, cosy things, handbags, accessories and booties. 

Following in the footsteps of her mum, who ran her own Merseyside vintage shop back in the day, Kelly (above) is an antiques fanatic and collector of all things old and pretty - including a personal vintage fashion collection spanning Chanel, Oscar De La Renta and Yves Saint Laurent. You can tell she has a real flair for what she does, not only from the lovely interior design of her store but from her personal style...when I popped in to take these pics she looked amazing with her mane of gorgeous boho hair, oversized 70's mohair cardi, mix of silver accessories and killer YSL-esque skyscraper heels. Ever so stylish!

LESS SKANK/MORE VAMP

My northern fashion folks, I must apologise wholeheartedly for the woeful lack of posts recently. I do have a valid excuse. I'm relocating to London. It will be like Englishman in New York, only instead of walking down Fifth Avenue I'll be walking down Brick Lane via the Falafel Hut. I've had a mad few weeks getting organised for my move away from this fair city, whilst noting the little nuggets of underground/alternative(ish) Liverpool fashion and shopping knowledge I have gathered over the past year so I can share it with y'all before I go. And I've been getting a few last street style pictures too, of course. I spotted this girl just down from the Met Quarter on a brisk but sunny Saturday afternoon.

These sexy stocking tights (Wolford? HH for Pretty Polly I wonder?) would last 5 minutes on me before getting ruined but I love the OTT-ness of them with this girls tiny dress, tatty FF collar and kinda too-red-for-daytime lips and cheeks. She looks a bit Nancy Spungen but less heroin skanky and more teenage vampy. And then there's the fact she was wandering around near the not-so-punk bus station and Weatherspoons in Whitechapel. I love that juxtaposition :)

SHEARLING BOY

Boys look good in shearling coats, it's the hardy English thing. I like this battered brown-grey version with leather buttons. Loads of character worn with traditional plaid shirt, bookish glasses, satchel and muso headphones. On the subject of leather buttons...I bought some similar ones from John Lewis a while ago to update an old blazer - try it yourself for an uber cheap way to customise a chunky cardi or last years winter coat.