The Fall catalogue for TopShop has "dropped" at last, and was it worth the wait. Deriving from both the urban tramp aesthetic of recent seasons, and the trend toward looking like a crazy old bag lady, TopShop's Fall line is heavily redolent of game hunting, or olde timey homelessness, when well-dressed gents would sleep under bridges with the quaint charm only disenfranchised businessmen seem to be able to effect.
On second look, the provocative line began to stir my memory. It recalled the sentimental lawns of Kenneth Graham's "Wind in the Willows," over which strode the strappingly dressed Mr. Toad and his lesser friends during my formative years.
The bushy eyebrows in particular sparked a nostalgic longing for walking canes and monocles. Here, I thought, is a theme I can get on board with: the thick, coarse, weather-repellent hair of a polar bear, and a contrasting vest - both quite appropriate for Fall weather.
Above, Ratty and Mole take in the sights of a local pond, discussing literature, politics and the state of the human condition. Squint, and you could be looking at any two hipster pals practicing an ironic renaissance in Central Park on the rent-a-boats.
The above BBC production of "Wind in the Willows" features Matt Lucas and Bob Hoskins in a "handsome" revival. Note the overlap in fine tailoring, layering and highly textured knits between the BBC production and Britain's TopShop.
In fact, TopShop were not the first souls to identify the saliency of "Wind and the Willows" for an impressionable young audience. The girl pictured above right pulls off a winning combination of nautical style and animal or "furry" subversity - a cry to the "never grow up" crowd, and highly insightful from an anthropological standpoint.
And then there's this.
The Fall catalogue for TopShop has "dropped" at last, and was it worth the wait. Deriving from both the urban tramp aesthetic of recent seasons, and the trend toward looking like a crazy old bag lady, TopShop's Fall line is heavily redolent of game hunting, or olde timey homelessness, when well-dressed gents would sleep under bridges with the quaint charm only disenfranchised businessmen seem to be able to effect.
On second look, the provocative line began to stir my memory. It recalled the sentimental lawns of Kenneth Graham's "Wind in the Willows," over which strode the strappingly dressed Mr. Toad and his lesser friends during my formative years.
The bushy eyebrows in particular sparked a nostalgic longing for walking canes and monocles. Here, I thought, is a theme I can get on board with: the thick, coarse, weather-repellent hair of a polar bear, and a contrasting vest - both quite appropriate for Fall weather.
Above, Ratty and Mole take in the sights of a local pond, discussing literature, politics and the state of the human condition. Squint, and you could be looking at any two hipster pals practicing an ironic renaissance in Central Park on the rent-a-boats.
The above BBC production of "Wind in the Willows" features Matt Lucas and Bob Hoskins in a "handsome" revival. Note the overlap in fine tailoring, layering and highly textured knits between the BBC production and Britain's TopShop.
In fact, TopShop were not the first souls to identify the saliency of "Wind and the Willows" for an impressionable young audience. The girl pictured above right pulls off a winning combination of nautical style and animal or "furry" subversity - a cry to the "never grow up" crowd, and highly insightful from an anthropological standpoint.
And then there's this.
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