That's Not My Age would travel anywhere to see a wall of bags - even over to Wapping. Which is where I was on Thursday night for the Ally Capellino retrospective. Capellino is queen of under-stated style, her work is both retro and modern at the same time - vintage without being vintage - and that's what makes it eternally appealing. Here's Ally (Alison Lloyd) in an old issue of Marie Claire:
Well known for her gorgeous bags and accessories, back in the eighties and nineties there was an Ally Capellino clothing line too - with shops in Soho and Sloane Avenue. That's Not My Age has an old navy tweed jacket which I still wear today. Timeless, it is. And j'adore my new canvas rucksack (you can see me wearing it in the post below). Anyway, enough about me, I asked AC if she'd ever thought of going back into fashion design, 'I'd love to if someone would like to get involved in the production and financing of it. I don't really want to do it on my own.' Are you listening Bernard Arnault?
That's Not My Age bumped into the lovely Emily Chalmers from Caravan. Emily, her husband Chris Richmond and their Ally Capellino bags were in one of the photos commissioned to go with the exhibition:
One thing that really struck me was the sheer abundance of very stylish people of a certain age. Not Botoxed or scary or trying to stay young, just doing their own thing and looking fabulous. DJ and milliner, Thelma Speirs was rocking the warehouse with some banging tunes - That's Not My Age loved hearing Cilla Black and Mary Hopkins again - and wearing a gorgeous Peter Jensen jacket.
Carol Waters, 51, runs a haberdashery and linens shop, Lloyd Waters, in Essex, which That's Not My Age will be visiting soon.
As Ally Capellino says, 'It's important to keep an open mind about what you wear. I'm at the stage now where I'm not very comfortable in anything too revealing, but I'll still wear a bikini this summer. People with confidence in what they wear are attractive.'
And can someone send that wall of bags round to my house when the exhibition's over please?
AC 30
The Wapping Project
Wapping Hydraulic Power Station
Wapping Wall
London, E1W 3ST
23 April - 6 June
Ally Capellino confidence quote from The Observer
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