Billboard 34: releases of the week

Anchorman 2

With the 70s behind him, San Diego's top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy, returns to take New York's first 24-hour news channel by storm.

American Hustle

A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld, who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that's as dangerous as it is enchanting. Jeremy Renner is Carmine Polito, the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the con-artists and Feds. Irving's unpredictable wife Rosalyn could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down. Written by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Christmas!

We wish you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! =) 

Fashion Films: The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 comedy-drama film, a screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name. It stars Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs, a college graduate who goes to New York City and gets a job as a co-assistant to powerful fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep. Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci co-star, as co-assistant Emily Charlton, and Art Director Nigel, respectively.

Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is an aspiring journalist fresh out of Northwestern University. Despite ridiculing the shallowness of the fashion industry, she lands the job "a million girls would kill for": junior personal assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the icy editor-in-chief of Runway fashion magazine. Andy puts up with Miranda's bizarre and humiliating treatment in hopes of getting a job as a reporter or writer somewhere else.

Welcome Winter!

Winter is coming and there isn't a better plan than ice skating. Every season we give you some different ideas to make plans around London. Now it's time to talk about the ice rinks around the city! Winter is cold and rainy but it can be very funny too!

Natural History Museum Ice Rink

Alfred Waterhouse's stunning Natural History Museum once again provides the backdrop for London's most enchanting ice-rink: a 1,000-metre-square outdoor affair with a Christmas tree at its centre and a smaller rink for children. Returning this year is a rinkside fairground carousel, and spectators can take in the scene with a hot chocolate or mulled wine from the balcony café bar overlooking the ice. The trees are decked with thousands of fairy lights to add to the festive atmosphere. 

Canary Wharf Ice Rink

The Canary Wharf Ice Rink returns to its spot surrounded by soaring towers. Skaters can glide across the 1,100m sq rink, down a dram in the rinkside bar or just watch the action from the viewing gallery. There's also a glittering skate path through trees lit by fairy lights. 

Eyeskate

The open-air Eyeskate rink is situated in Jubilee Gardens, in the shadow of the London Eye. You don't need to book a flight on the Eye in order to skate but various packages are on offer for those who wish to do so. 

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

The funfair factor of Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland has expanded massively for 2013 – rides are scattered across the site, with four big roller coasters, gentle kiddie rides and some spinning machines. 

We hope you enjoy it! =D

Billboard 33: releases of the week

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

After successfully crossing over (and under) the Misty Mountains, Thorin and Company must seek aid from a powerful stranger before taking on the dangers of Mirkwood Forest - without their Wizard. If they reach the human settlement of Lake-town it will be time for the hobbit Bilbo Baggins to fulfill his contract with the dwarves. The party must complete the journey to Lonely Mountain and burglar Baggins must seek out the Secret Door that will give them access to the hoard of the dragon Smaug. And, where has Gandalf got off to? And what is his secret business to the south.

Holemand

26-year-old law student Farid has to go to Algeria to try and save his father's house from demolition. In discovering Algeria, Farid is gradually won over by a host of extraordinary characters whose humor and straightforwardness go straight to his heart, among them his cousin, a quick-witted wheeler-dealer who dreams of making it to France.

Fill the Void

A devout 18-year-old Israeli is pressured to marry the husband of her late sister. Declaring her independence is not an option in Tel Aviv's ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community, where religious law, tradition and the rabbi's word are absolute.

Romeo Misses a Payment

Romeo Misses A Payment documents the complicated world of divorce and child custody through dozens of interviews with parents, attorneys, judges, and law officers on all sides of the issue. 

New section: Fashion films

Film industry and fashion industry have always been very closely connected. We could analyze the changes of fashion styles through movies during the history of the last century. And we also can find a lot of fashion outlooks that become famous thanks to some movies that used those styles. 

This blog is about fashion, but we also talk every week about film releases all around the UK. So, we believe it's time to open a new section on the blog that connects both fashion and films. Because they are two artistic currents that we enjoy very much.

On last week's billboard post, we updated the trailer of Scatter my Ashes at Begdorf's. So, we thought it was the best option to speak about this movie, about fashion, to open this section. 

Begdorf is the most mythical of all American emporiums - and the scene of many an ultimate fashion fantasy. Now audiences get a rarified chance to peek behind the backroom doors and into the reality of the fascinating inner workings and fabulous untold stories from Bergdorf Goodman's iconic history in Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's.

Directed by Matthew Miele, this documentary on the Manhattan department store will interview an array of fashion designers, style icons, and celebrities.

Style: Katherine Hepburn, the icon of the week

Last week we spoke about Audrey Hepburn and today we'd like to talk about another lady with the same surname, Katherine Hepburn.

She was an American actress of film, stage, and television. Known for her headstrong independence and spirited personality, Hepburn was a leading lady in Hollywood for more than 60 years. She appeared in a range of genres, from screwball comedy to literary drama, and received four Academy Awards for Best Actress—a record for any performer. In 1999, Hepburn was named by the American Film Institute as the greatest female star in Hollywood history. 

While Audrey Hepburn was a very feminine woman, Katherine Hepburn had a more classical and masculine style, that suited her perfectly. 

We do like women with a masculine style. They don't just look different but they also show their strong character by feeling comfortable and beautiful in looks usually appropiate for men. The famous dinner jacket of Yves Saint Laurent was one of the first steps made in fashion to encourage women to start wearing clothes that would no longer be just for men. Nowadays, thanks to women with a lot of style like Katherine Hepburn, young and old ladies have the personality to wear the garçon style.

Following Katherine Hepburn's style....

...we recommend the following products to look like her: this De Tommaso Oxford style shoe...

...and the Blenheim belt from Hardy&Parsons. 

Billboard 32: releases of the week

Scatter my Ashes at Bergdorf's

It's the most mythic of all American emporiums - and the scene of many an ultimate fashion fantasy. Now audiences get a rarified chance to peek behind the backroom doors and into the reality of the fascinating inner workings and fabulous untold stories from Bergdorf Goodman's iconic history in Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's.

Kill Your Darlings

A murder in 1944 draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.

The Patience Stone

Somewhere, in Afghanistan or elsewhere, in a country torn apart by a war... A young woman in her thirties watches over her older husband in a decrepit room. He is reduced to the state of a vegetable because of a bullet in the neck. Not only is he abandoned by his companions of the Jihad, but also by his brothers. One day, the woman decides to tell the truth to him about her feelings about their relationship to her silent husband. She talks about her childhood, her suffering, her frustrations, her loneliness, her dreams, her desires... She says things she could never have done before, even though they have been married for the past 10 years. Therefore, this paralyzed man unconsciously becomes syngue sabour, a magic stone which, according to Persian mythology, when placed in front of a person shields her from unhappiness, suffering, pains and miseries. In this wait for her husband to come back to life, the woman struggles to survive and live. She finds refuge in her aunt's place, who is...

Homefront

A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord.

New products: Choker Non Elasticated Webbing, 001, 002, 003 and 004

We have a section where we speak about Special Products, the products that we like to comment on because they have some different details that make each product unique, such as the Quick Release, the Choker or the Tantalus. 

Today, we'd like to open a new section called New Products, where we'll speak about Hardy&Parsons' new designs added to the catalogue, showing some photos and giving detailed information about them. To start with this section, we'd like to show you the Choker Non Elasticated Webbing. 

Some months ago we received new webbing in the showroom. We found it beautiful and special because it had high visibility colours on it. 

After some designs and testing we finally had the first samples...

And now, you can find the Choker Non Elasticated Webbing 001, 002, 003 and 004 on our catalogue, ready to order. We hope you like them!

Style: Audrey Hepburn, the icon of the week

When we write about style, we always talk about men. Today, we'd like to start talking about women also in this section. There are a lot of well known ladies that had and still have a beautiful and admirable style. And you know that Hardy&Parsons also has a section of products for them. That's why we couldn't wait any longer to start talking about one of the most famous ladies in the world for her style (among other qualities): Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, Hepburn was active during Hollywood's Golden Age. She was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third greatest female screen legend in the history of American cinema and has been placed in the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. She is regarded by many to be the most naturally beautiful woman of all time.

She had a truly feminine style that everybody loves. We particularly like this pictures where she uses thin belts to highlight her slender figure.

Alderton is a belt that remind us of this style, what do you think?

Billboard 31: releases of the week

Life's a Breeze

Life's A Breeze tells the story of a family as they search for a lost fortune around the streets of Dublin.

Saving Mr. Banks

When Walt Disney's daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, PL. Travers' "Mary Poppins," he made them a promise - one that he didn't realize would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up against a curmudgeonly, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the books stop selling and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to Los Angeles to hear Disney's plans for the adaptation. For those two short weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn't budge. He soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and the rights begin to move further away from his grasp. It is only when he reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the... Written by Walt Disney Pictures.

Day of the Flowers

Two young, strong-willed Scottish sisters, one a left-wing activist, the other a most-popular-girl-in-school type, take their late father's ashes to Cuba, the site of many family legends of his services to the REvolution. Arriving in Havana, the two women promptly lose the ashes and go through a series of misadventrues - both romantic and dangerous - to try to retrieve them. A colourful and wryly humourous tale of cross-cultural misunderstandings and lost illusions.

Gasland Part II

A documentary that declares the gas industry's portrayal of natural gas as a clean and safe alternative to oil is a myth, and that fracked wells inevitably leak over time, contaminating water and air, hurting families, and endangering the earth's climate with the potent greenhouse gas methane.

Dirty Wars

Dirty Wars follows investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill, author of the international bestseller Blackwater, into the hidden world of America's covert wars, from Afghanistan to Yemen, Somalia, and beyond. With a strong cinematic style, the film blurs the boundaries of documentary and fiction storytelling. Part action film and part detective story, Dirty Wars is a gripping journey into one of the most important and underreported stories of our time. What begins as a report on a deadly U.S. night raid in a remote corner of Afghanistan quickly turns into a global investigation of the secretive and powerful Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). As Scahill digs deeper into the activities of JSOC, he is pulled into a world of covert operations unknown to the public and carried out across the globe by men who do not exist on paper and will never appear before Congress. In military jargon, JSOC teams "find, fix, and finish" their targets, who are selected through a secret process. No target is off limits for the "kill list," including U.S. citizens.