MARY QUEEN OF FROCKS: GET SOME ARMERY IN YOUR LIFE

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

Some behind the scenes pictures from Melanie and Mary's shoot for The Guardian. The location is the shop in House of Fraser, as it was a few weeks before opening!

If any of you have been watching Mary Queen of Frocks then you will be well aware that that our very own FashEd a.k.a Melanie Rickey, has played a crucial role in helping the fabulous Mary to create her first shop concept and clothing collection. This weekend, Mel and Mary did their first ever interview together in which they discuss how they came up with the essential elements of the collection.

AN EXCERPT FROM JESS CARTNER MORLEY'S INTERVIEW:
''How would Mary, the collection, have been different if Mel hadn't been involved? "It goes further back than that. Melanie has had a huge impact on how I dress. Early on in our relationship, we went shopping in Harvey Nicks. Boho was in – all those big puffy sleeves, and it all looked beyond dreadful on me, I was dying in the changing room, so we left and went home and Mel edited my wardrobe. She was brilliant. Essentially, she created the signature look I've had ever since." In that look was the germ of an idea, for a collection that would rescue other Marys out there from changing-room hell. When it came to pinning down the concept for the range, they sat down "and tried to figure out: what makes the perfect outfit?" says Mel. The result is the Pret a Portas cocktail (the fingerprints of Mel's Grazia background are all over the communication of the brand) which goes: one part simple chic, one part edge, then decorate. "That's how Kate Moss does it," says Melanie. "That's how I do it," adds Mary''

The FashEd models her big idea

Another of Melanie's big ideas was ARMERY- this is best described as tights for arms and engineered so that anybody a bit conscious of the upper arm area can still wear a sleeveless dress without ruining the look with cardis and shrugs. And it seems they're going down a storm. Charnos, who collaborated on the armery, have told us today that  'the complete first batch has sold out, and a second wave had to be rushed throught the factory'. Hurrah for Mary, Charnos and Melanie!

We'd love to know if any of you have tried out armery and what you thought.  It has already been a huge hit at the store, demand was so huge there was a waiting list of six pages which has just been cleared, and stock is back in now. Click the below link to get a good look at the product.

ARMERY costs £17.50 from House of Fraser.