Monday 26 July 2010

POLO FASHION

Cartier's International Polo day, held at the Guards Polo Club in Berkshire yesterday, was attended by a plethora of celebs, all out to impress in the style stakes. Here's my thoughts on the style winners and losers of the day.

Operatic star Katherine Jenkins cleverly opted to wear hessian wedge sandals, avoiding the classic stiletto-stuck-in-the-mud-scenario that so many women fall foul of at grass-based events. Although this was a good choice, I'm not convinced her dress works with the hessian shoe and raffia bag combo, the dress demands luxe accessories in my opinion; perhaps a nice metallic wedge would have worked better.

Next up was Geri Halliwell in an eye-poppingly tight Herve Leger dress paired with a blingtastic Louis Vuitton holdall and metallic platform court shoes. There's no denying Geri has the figure to wear this dress, she's in fantastic shape. However, once again I feel it's the accessories that let the look down; the LV monogrammed bag is far to large, a neat clutch would have looked less ostentacious. And the gold sheen of the shoes clashes with the metallic pewter of the bag.

In comparision to Katherine and Geri, TV presenter Cat Deeley looked positively dressed-down in relaxed printed maxi dress with a distinct 70s vibe. I think the look is sweet and pretty, but perhaps a little un-exciting. She's lacking some of the LA glamour that I've come to expect from Cat recently.

So whose look did you like best? Let me know! x



Thursday 8 July 2010

TIME FOR TEA


There's no bigger treat than afternoon tea in my opinion; this year for my birthday my sister treated me to a sumptious afternoon of tea in the fabulous Bar 190, located in the Gore Hotel in London, where I ate the most delicious roasted vegetable sandwiches (with the crusts cut off, naturally) I have ever consumed. I can't think of a better way to celebrate my love for the British past time of taking tea than to wear this fabulous 'Margaret' leather cuff, complete with adorable teapot charm, fresh out of Mulberry's A/W 10 collection. Priced at £85, this charm allows mere mortals like myself to buy into a bit of that Mulberry magic when an Alexa bag is completely out of the question.

Buy your 'Margaret' (named after another British treasure, Princess Margaret) here .

Wednesday 7 July 2010

SEAMLESS MAGAZINE

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's a copy of my online magazine, 'Seamless' that I made for my final major project. I'm still very proud of it, it was so much fun to make and edit.



Cover shoot by Hannah Congrave. Find her flickr plus extra pics from our photoshoot here . Graphic design by Lawrence Vincent Quinn, find his blogspot here

Monday 5 July 2010

MAGIC FLORAL MOMENTS




Just looking at some of images from John Galliano's couture show for Christian Dior that took place in Paris today and to be honest, I'm lost for words; no superlatives can describe just how much I rate this collection. Galliano told press at the show he was 'having a floral moment', but unlike the floral printed fashions flooding the high street this summer, Galliano's dresses literally took the form of upturned wildflowers in bloom, with giant 'petals' and carnation-inspired ruffles. Some of the outfits were accessorized by celephone head pieces designed by milliner Stephen Jones, evoking visions of celephone wrapped bouquets fresh from the florist (although they also had a hint of the quality street about them too!) Fittingly, Galliano was inspired by the beautiful blooms found in the garden at Christian Dior's childhood home in Les Rhumbs, Normandy, when designing the collection.

For me, Galliano's show once again proves that haute couture has a place to play in today's fashion industry; who could fail to be inspired by such a vibrant vision of beauty? If I'm not dressed as a human tulip next S/S, I will be severely dissapointed!

Sunday 4 July 2010

LULA LOVES


...Has anyone heard of Lula magazine before? I have to admit I haven't, but I've just stumbled across the title after spotting a collaboration between Harvey Nichols and the aforementioned on harveynichols.com. Anyway, the partnership is nothing short of a match made in heaven; to put it simply this has to possibly be the most beautiful collection of fashion and accessories I have ever seen in my life! Highlights of the range include dresses designed by Erdem, Sonia Rykiel and Rodarte; eye-boggling, bedazzling, sparkly shoes by Miu Miu, and a seriously covetable, delicious plum velvet skirt (pictured above) by a new designer to me, Rachel Antonoff.

Alongside pieces that ooze sheer femininity sit super-cool Rodarte logo tees and sweaters in casual grey marl. Everything in the range has been selected by the Lula magazine team to enable Harvey Nichols' customers to buy into the Lula look, which I gage to be an exciting combination of overtly feminine pieces, (that wouldn't look out of place in a episode of mad men) pared with the odd quirky logo tee in an un-expected, delightful twist. The shapes too, are very current, a-line flared mini skirts and 50s style shift dresses in skater shapes look so fresh and youthful. Investigate the collection for yourself here, and prepare to fall under Lula's spell...

Thursday 1 July 2010

RED ALERT

It's about this time of year, just as summer is peaking and the weather is hotting up, that I start to crave new trends and get excited about a/w fashion. Backwards, I know. Truth is, I am a winter dresser at heart, I much prefer snuggly scarfs, boots and cosy layers to skimpy summer dresses and sandals.

Anyway, I'm super excited for this autumn winter, because the new trends look so exciting and fresh. One trend currently being touted by Vogue and modelled by fashion-forward celebs that I can't wait to give a try is the calf length skirt/ dress. Calf or 'midi' length skirts, as Vogue likes to call them, emerged as a big trend on the pre-fall catwalks. Artfully paired with ankle boots, chunky socks and sleek knitwear on the Bottega Veneta runway, the calf length is big news.

Even more exciting for me is the return of the colour red to the height of fashion; mark my words, come September red will be everywhere. It was seen on the catwalks of Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent and in the pre-fall Valentino collection, notably the first airing of the label's signature colour since Valentino himself left the label five seasons ago, handing design control over to Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Pablo Piccoli (what amazing names!). Pairing red dresses with red shoes and red tights, the label's message couldn't be any stronger: red is back, and it's here to stay.