Clutching Up

So LFW is over. Gosh, didn't it go quick! My six days of running around co-ordinating a team of over 20 people for Notion Magazine was knackering and exceptional fun in equal measures. There's nothing quite like getting dressed up at 8am, chucking an envelope-full of tickets in your bag and hailing a cab to Somerset House to make your day be that bit special. Existing on a diet of randomly-obtained cakes, bottles of sparkling water and the occasional espresso shot was somewhat precarious, but for all my complaining, I love the excitement of LFW. It's utter madness and I needed 2 days off work to recover, but it's so inspiring seeing the catwalks, presentations and tho be honest, the punters; anyone looking for a good people-watching venue would, I think, find it near-impossible to better Somerset House's cafes over LFW. Anyway, my fashion reports are all over at PlanetNotion, so take a look there. Two shout-outs though: JW Anderson & Matthew Miller. Utterly fantastic menswear with a twist, and whose collections I want to wear EVERY piece of (chance'd be a fine thing!). Anyway, this blg is about real life (erm-ish), so it's time to reveal the ASOS clutch bag that I ummed and ahhed over for so long, and which accompanied me to every show that I attended (apparently there were over 20). It was surprisingly practical, for a largish satchel with no handles; the main advantage being that it restricted the amount of crap I could carry about, forcing me to be ruthless with my shit, as well as frequently without a beverage. This did however mean that I didn't have a hernia after this season's Fashion Week, or the remains of cupcakes smeared across my notebooks. It creates a neat, businesslike look that I felt was appropriate to LFW, and didn't interfere with the contours or lines of my outfit. Also the slightly ridiculous orangey-brown leather gradually softened and became less garish as the week continued, and I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of people double-taking (outside of Somerset House, at least) on a man carrying a large women's clutch bag. I was even more pleasantly surprised by a few women I saw at LFW carrying the black version of this, who commented that they'd wanted to buy this one but played it safe with monochrome. So, all in all, a good purchase (though not as bargainous as my recent Vivienne Westwood black crewneck jumper on a sale rail at Selfs, £179 down to £29), which was widely admired - and yes, style-snapped; see here - and practical. I saw quite a few guys around LFW toting document wallets/clucthes of a similar type, so I reckon that makes it a Staple. Definitely one to give a try...amongst other Staples this week:
Navy YMC canvas lace-ups
Delia Smith's recipe for cheese scones
Shine 2009's Associates EP
Patterned Paul Smith socks
An entirely booze-free February
Twitter LFW madness (@sebulous and @NotionMagazine)
'Sup Magazine

PS: The photo above is not, I admit, particularly brilliant. And I don't really DO outfit posts. For a nice shot of what I wore to menswear day, take a look at The London Journal of Style (Navy APC trench, red Carolyn Massey tiefront cashmere jumper, Filippa K chinos, brown plaited leather belt from Turkey, patterned Paul Smith socks, navy YMC lace-ups, grey silk All Saints Union Jack scarf, grey cashmere wristwarmers from Brora, brown clutch from ASOS).