Is this just a tribute?

If you follow me on Twitter (*cough* @frankiestyling *cough*), you may have seen that I treated myself to an early birthday present courtesy of the Browns sale...


Isn't she a beaut? I love how bold it is, and it also appeals to my inner-goth. Once I get used to the extra weight everything will be perfect!

This purchase inspired me to browse more McQueen jewellery online, and I stumbled across this seller on Ebay that specialises in Alexander McQueen "tribute" rings:


The seller does not try to disguise the fact that this ring isn't a real McQueen piece. In fact, he goes so far as to say, "Please note that this ring is NOT Alexander McQueen - it is a Tribute ring, but it is more or less identical to the £160 ring". This "tribute" can be purchased for the bargain price of £23.50.

I don't know what your feelings are on the subject, but personally I find this extremely insulting for a number of different reasons:

1. You can call it whatever you like - a tribute, a dedication, a homage - but at the end of the day, this is nothing but a cheap copy. A knock-off. A FAKE. And a bad one at that. To think that the genius and beauty of a McQueen piece can be recreated using cheap metal and subpar design skills is insane and, as this ring illustrates, impossible.
   
   
2. Do you really think that this monstrosity is a fitting "tribute" to Alexander McQueen's work? Really??!!? Poor Lee McQueen must be doing backflips in his grave.
   

At the end of the day, I'm all for a bargain and I know that designer jewellery can be pricey, but there is a reason for that. So much talent, skill and plain hard work goes into creating a ring as incredible as my new Alexander McQueen ring, and "tributes" such as this cheapen the whole process.

But what do you think? Is it ok to opt for the cheaper option every now and then? Are unaffordable designer pieces forcing people to go down the fake route? I'd love to hear what you think!

Jacques Townhouse

I am extremely pleased (and overly excited) to announce that I will be the in-house vintage stylist for Jacques Townhouse this year - woohoo!

Sophie Ellis-Bextor at last years event

If you didn't make it last year or don't know what I'm talking about, you have been missing out. In the words of The Guardian, Jacques Townhouse is a "pop-up hotel-cum-beauty parlour 'soirée' venue in central London that looks like Alice's Wonderland on a sugar high, all candy-floss trees and frosted pink cupcakes". This year the Townhouse will be in London (19-28 July) and Liverpool (10-19 August).

This year the Wardrobe of Wonders will feature some truly beautiful vintage and vintage-inspired pieces provided by the brilliant Rokit Vintage. You can come along and play dress-up with me and then get snapped in the Jacques photo shoot studio. There is a ton of other stuff to look at and enjoy too, so it's definitely worth a trip.

If you want tickets, all you have to do is head over to the Jacques Facebook page and request some. Not only that, but the tickets are FREE! It doesn't get much better than that, surely?! And if you do come, please come and say hi to me! In turn I promise to give you lots of pretty things to wear.

Video: the FINAL video of Ayten Gasson’s SS12 collection

Exciting news everyone! The final and complete video of Ayten Gasson’s stunning SS12 collection is now online, and it's bloody beautiful. I had such an amazing time styling this, and I think the video shows just how much fun we all had on the day. Check it.

• Video: Alex Oliver
  
• Lingerie: Ayten Gasson
• Fascinators: Hatastic
  
• Photography: Richard Bridge
  
• Models: Dani Race and Holly Hoyland
  
• Make up: Kelly Mendiola
• Hair: John Mullan
• Nails: Steph Mendiola
• Styling: Frankie Murray

I want to say a HUGE thank you to the lovely Ayten for letting me play with her underwear (oo-err), my good friend Alex Oliver for making such a stunning video and to everyone else who was involved.

Come back for more video fun soon!

Events: Fuschia PR's Summer Fete

Last week I attended the press day for Fuschia PR. Although Fuschia represent some brands that are not to my personal taste, they had some great pieces on display and I really enjoyed the whole event. It was held outside (very unusual for a press day) at The Phoenix Garden, a beautiful local community garden in central London, and there was even a tombola!









Some of my favourite pieces from the day included pretty dresses from the Sugarhill Boutique and studded wedges from Feud. To make the day even better, I also won a pair of these Native shoes!


Although they may look rather strange, they are probably the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn! They've also done a range of hiking and snow boots which are rather nuts. But the good kind of nuts. Like cashews.


Thanks for having me, Fuschia PR! Come back for more photos from events soon, won't you?