Armand Basi. YES! Chinese Democracy. NO!

Just as I was starting to not give a shit about fashion, (the churned out trends, the air kissing, the fact that the londonpaper seems to think that Peaches Geldoff, Lily Allen and Kimberley Stewart are somehow style icons...) Marcus Lupfer decided to put the faith back into me.

Now, I know I'm two months behind in finding his designs for Armand Basi One s/s 2009; I've been spending most of my time sprawled out on a floor surrounded by Red Stripe cans and k-holed individuals, and when in that situation one tends not to bother doing much else..

ANYWAY, so as I was finding some inspiration for a project, I stumbled across these bad-boys: Armand Basi One Spring/Summer 2009

Armand Basi has always been one of my favorite brands and I love Marcus's mix of sheer fabrics, colour block and mish-mash-but-intricate tailoring.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I've just listened to Chinese Democracy- not happy Guns, not happy at all.

I know nothing could ever top Appetite.., Lies or the Use Your Illusion albums, and of course the new lineup sucks dick like a Soho whore. BUT I was expecting a little more than this.

Techno/industrial/alt. rock is not my thing at all- stick to what you're good at or don't bother.

I am one of the biggest fans of the original line-up; I listen to pretty much their whole back catalogue on a daily basis- Rocket Queen is my theme tune for fucks sake!

All in all, the album is a big disappointment.

 It'll still sell loads though, due to it's anticipation. I can't believe Axl spent over $12 million on the production and recording- err, where did that actually go? Down the drain, clearly.

After a very LONG holiday....

The Spyglass Team are back!

We've been a bit too slack, laying too low, not really keeping our ears and eyes open to the delights, wonders and joys of the creative world around us.

Unfortunately, being a student on a time-demanding fashion course has been sucking the life out of me. I know the guys have been ridiculously busy as well...

BUT HEY, all change from now on.

We'll be on the blog as often as possible, keeping up to date with our views on the fashion, music and art worlds, as well as our views on current social and political issues.

So hold tight and keep your eye on the Spyglass.

Love, Goldie xx

A New Mouse Life

This just pretty much proves these two need help.....



Watch and LISTEN to the whole thing- pretty self-explanatory. 

I don't even know what to write.

Pure CRACK. 

Literally.

Goldie xx

Shit.......we be livin in the ghetto!!!!

Ok.....so I'm guessing anyone who's anyone in this country knows we are currently facing a problem in our society with kids or youts pickin up guns and knives and killing at will. This isn't a new thing, violence with the youth in this country has been going on for yeeeeeeears, whether you wanna look at brixton in the nineties.......or the whole of south London for that matter or the "gunchester" era, which made Moss Side so infamous. So why is it in summer 2008, channel 4 decides to show something other than Big Brother, and dares to cross the dangerous territory of Kids with guns and knives. You'd think the reason for them doing this is to find a solution to this madness......you'd be wrong, the only thing that they've managed to acheive is the lasting feeling that every young male, usually of ethnic background, that hangs around in a group of friends is a "gang" member. Now, I'm not saying this shit doesn't happen, and I feel for all the parents that have lost their kids to this sort of thing, I really do.....But if this isn't media hype I don't know what is. Once again the olders are pointing acussing fingers at the youngers when this problem clearly lies with the government not giving these kids any sense of worth, and nothing to do in their communinty. You can police London 24/7, with 500,000 more officers on duty, but it ain't gonna solve the problem, it just creates more problems, more unrest in the community, and puts the police in a bad light by families saying their kids are being targeted because of their appearance.

After watching this program I've realised I tick every box for a potential gun or knife carrier.............. I'm young, Mixed Race, I've lived on an council estate for 13 years, I'm from a single parent family, I went to a state school, and I hang around in a group that does the er....."urban" thing. Why didn't I pick up a knife or a gun or get into that side of life when I was younger? Well when I got home from school, I either had sport to play, a martial art to learn, or drama to perform, all of which were run by the council, so they were either free or dirt cheap per session. Maybe if kids had more shit like that to occupy them, we wouldn't be in this situation............although don't always believe the hype you read in the papers!

If your interested in this shit, channel 4 are carrying on this season, and feel free to watch Cherie Blair (or is it Cherie Booth now?) waffling on about how much she cares.........sigh

Peace......Kons

Mickey & The Suicidal Tendencies

Last night i stumbled across these pages of gold amongst the numerous online comics you can view.It shows an early Walt Disney version Mickey Mouse becoming Suicidal after Minnie has left him! Each Strip shows various ways in which mickey tries to take his own life..but is never successful, ranging from shooting himself with a rifle, jumping off a bridge and trying to gas himself!I found these images rather funny to be honest! its a shame theres not more of these pages scattered across the net to flick threw..!

Tuskah

Lillies In Bloom....

With everyone jumping on the "I'm a t-shirt designer" bandwagon recently, it's hard to actually find something special among the current mass-produced, mass-worn mediocre pieces:

The fantastic Kesh has moved to America; Cassette Playa is becoming just slightly too JC/DC, and Katherine Hamnett is a legend too often imitated.

Which is why Lillies of the Alley is so appealing. The brainchild of Nathalie McDonnell was conceived almost four years ago and has been slowly growing ever since.

It all started with friends and passers-by complimenting her customised t-shirts; Nat simply wanted to make designs that no-one else wore, and pieces she couldn't find on the high-street, bringing an element of her families Rock N' Roll, music industry background and, in short, putting it on her chest!

Original and oh so cool, the pieces are one-off exclusives- rendered by hand, they have a much more personal feel. The Ts caught the eye of a Topshop buyer, giving Nathalie the chance to showcase five of her design pieces under the Lollipop boutique name. Working with Topshop/Arcadia gave Nathalie a platform for expanding her designs from t-shirts to a brand status- watch out for the hoodies, jumpers and even baby-grows!

Nat says: "I knew this could be something really special when Debbie Harry (of Blondie, possibly the coolest woman on the planet) wore a t-shirt I had made her, pretty much throughout her tour. Seeing my idol in one of my own designs was definitely a small taste of success.."

We expect a lot more...

Lillies of the Alley

Goldie xx

ATQC Headline Rock The Bells 2008!

A Tribe called Quest are set to headline Americas 'Rock The Bells' this July and August!

Personally I'm quite pissed that i wont be able to attend any of these events!Due to the fact that its a US exclusive tour...However looking at the headline act compared to last years its clear which one i would have gone to! Its a shame that many of these artists will most probably never all tour under the same flag in any other country but there own...Still... its good to see that some of the 'old skool greats' are down for doing big jams..Especially with 'the new scene' acts such as Spankrock and The Cool Kids!

Tuskah

Nike Air Jordan Spiz'ike

I saw these Nike Air Jordan Spiz'ike in the sale at Size the other day...indeed the colours are banging..but way to much going on for me mate! Maybe mashing 5 shoes designs together was being just a bit cheeky...I'm pretty sure other Air Jordan fans would have preferred a totally new shoe..or better still one that's made without the Frankenstein mentality!

Tuskah