Swagger jumper

Well, given that we’re now just hours away from being legally able to listen to Mariah’s “All I want for Christmas” on repeat for 25 days solid, I feel it is only appropriate to do a little round up of Christmas jumpers for 2011. To many, the Christmas jumper, is just a polyester novelty item suitable only for a cheap laugh and to retain one’s Christmas turkey meat sweats like some ill-conceived human boil in the bag experiment gone fatally arwy.

 To others, like me, however, the Christmas jumper is an investment piece, a visual signifier that the festive season has begun, and an indication that we are soon to be playing Nat King Cole records, digging in to Fortnum & Mason’s hampers, and letting no wine go un-mulled. The Christmas jumper, Hanukkah sweater, Festive gilet, Crimbo knit... call it what you will is a key piece for December, and it seems the fash pack think similarly.

The reigning visionary auteur of the CJ is Ralph Lauren. Each year, their deep-pile chunky knit offering grows more complex. For 2011, Ralph steps into the realm of the Gothic, with a cheeky nod to Damien Hirst and Donnie Darko. Sultry and controversial. Love it.

Next up, a newcomer to the scene, Marcus Lupfer presents us with a kitsch stitch that wouldn’t look out of place on YouTube. Puppies, kittens and sequins, oh my!

Now, two CJ’s for the Mad Aunt in us all. Ideal attire for the annual sherry-fuelled family argument and a great kick-start to the Boxing Day migraine. Sonia Rykiel and Proenza Schouler.

And finally, if you insist on being the only hipster in the village, arriving home laden with Whole Foods bags, and little lovely things from Aesop, then this CJ will serve you well. Inspired by Nordic sea heroes, woven in Japan and native to Hoxton, it’s the clothing equivalent of a flat white.

Please send other super Christmas Jumper spots to me @CamillaStore. These aren’t just jumpers. These are Christmas jumpers.

Christmas 2010 update

Following yesterday's post, two friends got in touch with these beauties.

First a jew-tastic LV menorah... oy vay!



And secondly, for the staunch Christmas jumper fanatics, I present this roll-neck, deep knit Ralph Lauren number. Amazing.



Thanks to @celialikesbooks and Bantin - still at the cutting edge of fashion even from Afghanistan!

Christmas 2010

With the Spotify Christmas tune list growing larger each day, it seems only appropriate to post my top three festively themed items spotted so far...

First up, I'm loving this Christmas jumper inspired tee. Perfect for avoiding the meat sweats after a large lunch.



Then, as a bacon-sarnie munching, Christmas loving, only-in-it-for-the-chicken-soup jewish princess, this tree feels so right, even when it's a little bit wrong.



And finally, as an accessory to my "countryside" fantasy where I'm striding through snow-flecked woods clad in silver Hunters and a black patent Barbour (one day the Country Alliance will catch up with fashion!), this Porsche sledge. Eat your heart out Rosebud!

Holidays are coming.

So nearly there now, just another few days and we can collectively collapse onto our respective sofas and start drunkenly demanding Ferrero Rocher for breakfast and being thoroughly unreasonable about practically everything. And so, it may be that this little find has come too late for us to send on to our misguided loved ones, but perhaps bookmark it ready for next year, thus avoiding the inevitable Christmas morning tantrums.

Vital Stats Cheat Sheets from Cookie (who, I think, I may have just fallen into deep, graphic design related, love with).

Happy Holidays!

So freakin' Christmas

I've seen the Holidays are Coming coca cola ad, I've started a Spotify xmas playlist, I've punched a tourist on Oxford Street, and I've made mincemeat part of my 5 a day. One could say Christmas '09 has arrived. But it wasn't made properly official until my friend unveiled his Ralph Lauren Xmas Jumper in an unsuspecting pub in Highgate. You could have heard a bauble drop off the tree when he threw open his Aquascutum trench to reveal the wonder that is a £200 xmas sweater. The heavy knit, the square cut, the obligatory reindeer... it ticked all the boxes. Christmas has begun. Now, when does the pre-lunch mulled wine drinking begin?

WIth less than a week to Christmas the countdown has begun. The christmas tree has been decorated to within an inch of its life, I've watched as much Nigella, Jamie, and Gordon as to make my housemates abandon the sitting room altogether, and 4 months dedicated to jam consumption has finally paid off in the form empty jars littering every surface of the kitchen in readiness for my homemade delicacies.



It is certainly a welcome diversion from the usual 'spend, spend, spend' mentality of this time of year, but 'thriftiness' has its own set-backs. Inconspicuous consumption is a bit of a brand in itself, as it's no good proffering a few burnt gingerbread men wrapped in last week's London Paper. We must, as Nigella insists, be Christmas Domestic Goddesses - fusing treacle, star anise and xmas leftovers as if there was no tomorrow. As I leaf through a mountain of cookery books, I can't help but wonder: wouldn't it just be easier to buy them?



Speaking of 'thriftiness', it seems the Christmas card is dead. Long live the e-card. I once read somewhere that, over Xmas, Londoners waste enough paper to make a rather excellent game of pass-the-parcel out of Trafalgar Square. And, while it is certainly a little depressing not to have the usual hoards of cards festooning the top of the piano, I have seen some excellent e-cards doing the rounds instead.



E-cards from top:
www.jacquielawson.com
http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/
www.someecards.com

Gift ideas for the alcoholic in your life...

Special edition Veuve Clicquot presentation box


Gilbert & George inspired earrings from Tatty Devine


Polished off with a wine tasting tour at Vinopolis down on the southbank.

The Camilla's Store freakin' obvious gift guide!

"Oldies but goodies", "it's the thought that counts", "you can never have too many..." - the British are a polite nation, maintaining a stiff upper lip while, inside, we're throwing the mother of all tantrums. But the truth is that no matter what good intentions we start the Christmas season with, by the time we've done battle with the crowds, frozen half to death, and spent most of our paychecks, we're generally clean out of fresh ideas for presents. So, if you are going to plump for the obvious, at least try and do it in style.

1. The Mug
Personally, I love a good bit of mug, but it can all go so wrong - as an ex-boyfriend of mine once discovered after proudly presenting me with a Disney-esque one some years back. It wasn't the sole reason for our break-up but certainly didn't help matters! These Pantone ones, however, are mug-ilicious, being just the right size, infinitely collectable and totally cool!



2. Socks
Once the recipient has got over the initial disappointment of finding yet another pair of socks under the Christmas tree, they will discover that a killer pair like these cashmere ones from Paul Smith quickly become the most treasured thing in their wardrobe.



3. Slutty Underwear
Apparently Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. On Mars, it is commonly understood that women spend their days pillowfighting in prozzie-Red crotchless thongs. In reality, Venusians are much happier on the sofa with a bar of Galaxy while wearing cream silk granny knickers beneath fur-lined velour tracksuits. So what happens when these two worlds collide? A compromise must be reached. The girls at Agent Provocateur and Myla are well-versed mediators.



4. The Merry-go-Round bath products
By merry-go-round, I mean that box of 'smellies' that re-appears each and every Christmas and is passed on to the next unsuspecting recipient like some kind of evil-scented chain mail. With each December I am consumed by an overwhelming fear of the whiff of a Body Shop dewberry gift set. Break the chain with this set from Cowshed, which reeks of glamourous mini-breaks, rather than mouldy bathroom cupboards.



5. The Book
If you do insist on verging towards the educational when it comes to gift giving at least make some effort to blow their tiny minds. Pick a book packed full of sex, drugs and gratuitous violence and that has ideally been banned at some point in its history. Include an inscription along the lines of 'this book was an inspiration to me' and ensure that your relatives fear for your mental well-being to the point of letting you pick the Xmas tv-watching schedule. Result!

Holidays are coming... holidays are coming.

You know it's Christmas when an impossibly red-cheeked Santa starts necking Coca Cola, when Mariah Carey starts insisting that she doesn't want too many presents this year, and when usually stylish stores start selling things like this...

Holidays jumper from Comme des Garcons at Dover Street Market.


And weird and wonderful tree decorations from The Conran Shop.


Keep checking back next week for a selection of Christmas shopping guides you won't be finding anywhere else!