Friday 30 December 2011

FASHION RESOLUTION 1: EMBRACE PRINT AND COLOUR

I'm back! I hope you had a fabulous, peaceful Christmas like mine. Now it's time to look ahead to the new year, and with the dawn of each new year comes the inevitable list of over-optimistic resolutions to detox, diet, work-out and generally deny oneself life's many pleasures. Which is why I prefer to think about my fashion resolutions, which I define as 'subtle ways to enhance and improve my style and wardrobe' (...much more optimistic since they often can be fulfilled through my favourite hobby; shopping!)

My first fashion resolution? To embrace the huge S/S12 trend for glorious prints and vibrant colours, often artfully clashed. My style comfort blanket is undoubtedly neutral colours (black, grey and beige reign supreme in my wardrobe) but bright colours really work against my pale skintone and are instant mood-enhancers too! So what better place to look for inspiration than the S/S12 catwalks...

All images courtesy of style.com.

Friday 23 December 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Image courtesy of  fashionillustrationgallery.com

I'm taking a few days off from Lafashionfolie blogspot over Christmas to eat, drink, be merry and listen to Last Christmas by Wham! on repeat (best song of the season, hands down).

So I just want to take this opportunity to wish all my lovely readers a very merry Christmas; and what better way to say it than with this beautiful vintage Jaeger Christmas advert drawn by one of my all-time favourite fashion illustrators RenĂ© Gruau? So have a wonderful, peaceful holiday and I shall be back before the New Year!

Sophie x

Tuesday 20 December 2011

BEETLEJUICE CHIC

Let your accessories glimmer this winter with the latest trend for all-things iridescent. There's something deeply appealing about pearlescent accessories that reflect multi-tonal shades, inspired by the beautiful wings of a beetle. If you're feeling flash, splash out on a Marc by Marc Jacobs or Comme Des Garcons clutch to update your party outfit. And you're feeling the pre-Christmas pinch then add a slick of Models Own Beetlejuice nail varnish to your talons to tap into the trend on the cheap.

 1. Marc by Marc Jacobs Classic Mini Hillier bag, Selfridges.com, £235.00. 2. Beetlejuice nail varnishes, Models Own, £5 each. 3. Comme Des Garcons iridescent metallic leather pouch, net-a-porter.com, £120. 4. Marc by Marc Jacobs Karlie Classic Q pouch, Selfridges.com, £220.00. 5. Marc by Marc Jacobs Class Q vertical wallet, Selfridges.com, £75.00.

Sunday 18 December 2011

HOLLY WILLOUGHBY'S NEW COLLECTION FOR VERY

Wow! How gorgeous does Holly Willoughby look in this photoshoot for her latest collection for Very? Well the answer is very! Ouch, sorry for the bad pun but I couldn't resist.


What I like about This Morning presenter Holly is that she has her own distinctive sense of style that suits her hourglass figure perfectly. She takes inspiration from vintage 1940's and 1950's shapes when designing her collections because the tea dresses and full-skirted styles from both decades look great on curvier girls. The styling for this shoot is spot-on too, the Marilyn Monroe inspired hair do really suits Holly, she looks like an old school Hollywood screen siren.

All images are courtesy of the Daily Mail.co.uk.
Holly Willoughby's latest collection is available now at Very.co.uk.

PYJAMA PARTY

The must-have item that every girl should have in her wardrobe this Christmas? The festive knit? A sequin party dress? A fur-trim coat? No, no and nope. The one item that Lafashionfolie advocates every girl must have is a fabulous pair pyjamas. Because after all, if your Christmas holidays are anything like mine, you will find it hard to change out of them before 12pm most days. So make sure your PJ's are up to scratch and pick a spanking brand new pair from the lovely selection available on the high street at the moment. 

Go for a sophisticated oriental feel as seen in this pretty Topshop set below ( number 5.) or luxurious silk like J. Crew's star print pair (numbers 1. and 2.) And if you are a taller lady like myself (I'm 5 ft10) I can't recommend Long Tall Sally's nightwear enough, finally I have found pyjama bottoms that are long enough in the leg (numbers 3. and 4.). And don't forget the accessories, for the cutest slippers head to Topshop or splash out on Marc by Marc Jacobs' adorable velvet mouse slippers. Lounging around has never been so stylish!



1. J.Crew star print silk pyjama top , net-a-porter.com, £130. 2. J.Crew star print pyjama bottoms, net-a-porter.com, £110. 3. Long-sleeve jersey top, Long Tall Sally, £20.00. 4. Rose PJ bottoms, Long Tall Sally, £25.00. 5. Oriental floral pyjamas, Topshop,  £28.00. 6. ELLE eyelash suedette slippers, Topshop, £16.00. 7. Marc by Marc Jacobs velvet mouse slippers, net-a-porter.com, £200. 8. ELLE suedette heart slippers, Topshop, £16.00.

Thursday 15 December 2011

NEON ON THE HIGH STREET

Following my recent post on next season's neon trend dropping at Net-a-porter.com,  I was inspired by a comment left by Amanda of Dress Down Demeanor to put together a fluro look on a high street budget. Here's what I came up with....


1. Speckle t-shirt midi dress, Topshop, £34.00. 2. Mars loafer shoes, ASOS, £15.00. 3. Fluro belt, ASOS, £8.00. 4. Snake and fluro shopper, ASOS, £25.00.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

X FACTOR'S LITTLE MIX ROCK PERSONALISED JUMPERS

I had serious sweater envy when I spotted X Factor winners Little Mix in these personalised dipdye sweaters.


Good news is, we too can steal the cute-as-a-button Little Mix look, because the girls picked up their jumpers from high street giant Topshop (minus the jewelled name tags). 
I personally would wear the jumpers minus the sequin details, but I'm sure DIY fashion fans will testify it would be easy enough to add your own name tags with the help of some fabric glue and sequins for the authentic Little Mix look.

Angora dipdye jumper, Topshop.com, £65.00.

Monday 12 December 2011

HAVE YOU DISCOVERED STYLIST PICK YET?

I fear I may be slightly slow on the uptake with this one, but I've only just discovered the new online shopping destination stylistpick.com. The concept is very interesting, unlike conventional shopping websites, Stylistpick invites members to take a style quiz and then celebrity stylists handpick pieces they think suit your tastes.

The catch? Well it's not exactly a catch, but you have to become a member of stylistpick for a £39.95 monthly subscription fee, but for that fee you can pick one accessory from the site per month (£39.95 for a pair of high-fashion shoes is a bit of a bargain if you ask me). Perhaps my only criticism would be that the selection of shoes and accessories on the site is a bit limited at the moment, but hopefully that will change with time.

However, with collection designed by celeb shoeaholic Cheryl Cole and leading stylists Grace Woodward (last year's X Factor stylist) and Louise Rowe (TV presenter and former ELLE magazine fashion journalist) on board it's looks like Stylistpick has all the necessary ingredients for a style success. Still not convinced? Take a look at some of Lafashionfolie's favourite shoes from the site...

1. Daphine black cut out wedge, £39.95. 2. Cheryl Cole's Glam Slam disco ball sandals, £79.90. 3. Selma platform shoe boot, £39.95.

Sunday 11 December 2011

OSCAR DE LA RENTA'S FABULOUS PRE-FALL12 COLLECTION

Whilst we've all been agonizing about what to wear to this year's office Christmas party, some of fashion's leading designers have been busy deciding what we will be wearing to next year's soirees in their pre-fall collections (that's pre autumn/winter 12- yikes!). Pre-fall collections are launched inbetween the spring/summer and autumn/winter seasons and hit stores in May time to satisfy fashion-hungry consumers unable to wait for the new season collections to get their style fix!


And for fashion press and fashion bloggers like myself, Style.com's coverage of the pre-fall collections is a welcome source of fresh inspiration inbetween seasons. I've spent my afternoon drooling over some beautiful looks on Style.com, with the Burberry, Calvin Klein and Jason Wu collections proving to be my favourites. But it was Oscar De la Renta's pre-fall offering that really caught me eye. The 59 look collection comprised of a beautiful selection of sequin-embellished, luxurious silk and pretty print party dresses in a varied colour palette of rich purple, maroon red, classic black and pale gold.


The frothy, delicate pale-peach dress cinched at the waist (below, centre) was my standout dress of the collection, I could see a young starlet like Halee Steinfeld rocking this on the red carpet.


And for lovers of the LBD, Oscar de la Renta's came in all shapes and guises with lace, embellishment and feather details- no-one could accuse these LBD's of being boring.

All images courtesy of style.com.


What do you make of Oscar de la Renta's pre-fall collection? And which was your favourite?

Friday 9 December 2011

THE FUTURE'S BRIGHT, THE FUTURE'S NEON!

The S/S12 collections are filtering through to net-a-porter.com, and the good news is, the future looks very bright. Acid bright neon reigns supreme, rainbow coloured jewels twinkle and Christopher Kane's ultra-bright t-shirts capture the mood of the season perfectly.

If I had £215 to spare, I would invest in Tom Binns' 'Passive Attack' (amazing name!) rhodium and pearl earrings (no 5.), a unique design that will add a stylish pop of neon to casual and formal outfits. In fact if I had any pennies to spare, I'd be splashing my cash on these...



1. Oversized tweed jacket, Diane Von Furstenberg, £545. 2. Neon lucite and diamante crystal earrings, Erickson Beamon, £345. 3. Cashmere cardigan, J. Crew, £200. 4. Razor wool-blend pants, Preen, £655. 5. Passive Attack rhodium and pearl earrings, Tom Binns, £215. 6. Printed silk-georgette dress, Giambattista Valli, £2,105. 7. Floral print modal t-shirt, Christopher Kane, £180. 8. Leitmotiv Miami brass crystal necklace, Shourouk, £105.

Tuesday 6 December 2011

MY OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY OUTFIT

Those of you that read my recent post about office Christmas party fashion may be interested to see the look I decided on for my office do held last Friday. To help us prepare, we had a mobile hairdresser in the office all day which I absolutely loved because I'm hopeless at styling my own locks. I showed my hair stylist this photo of Adele for inspiration because in my opinion she has the most beautiful, goddess-like mane of hair in showbiz. The result as you can see was big, bouffant 60s-inspired hair that I loved- when it comes to hair the bigger the better!



Outfit-wise I decided to be economical and recycled my favourite sequin-embellished party top; probably my best charity shop find of all time costing me just £5! The trousers are Zara, the shoes are Office and my suave companion is our Visual Merchandising Manager, Paris.  A smart trouser + glitzy statement top combination makes an economical outfit choice for the festive season because you can mix and match the pieces seperately to create different looks for all your social engagements. If you don't have a charity shop sequinned number to hand, here are some great glitzy top alternatives available online now:


Sunday 4 December 2011

FESTIVE FASHION

Poor old Colin Firth. I wonder if he realised when accepting the role of Mr. Darcy in Bridget Jones' Diary that he was destined to become the poster boy for the novelty Christmas jumper? I've noticed that the film still of Firth in the infamous, hideous reindeer-motif knit is dug out each December to illustrate newspaper and magazine features on the pitfalls of festive fashion.


Unlike Mr. Darcy, it is possible to add a festive feel to your wardrobe without sacrificing your style credentials. The key to the look is opulent fabrics; tactile velvet, rich brocade and shimmering metallics all have the celebratory air that Christmas demands. I've put together some outfits below that I think would be perfect for the upcoming festive period, and not a reindeer jumper in sight...