THE LONDON LOOK

On the Rimmel London adverts, Kate Moss and now Georgia May Jagger tell us to buy Rimmel to achieve 'The London Look'. But what exactly is the London look? As a newcomer to the city, I am starting to get a sense of what gaining this coveted badge of honour involves; London girls carry daring trends off with aplomb but without the high gloss polish international fashionistas exude; for example scuffed shoes & unbrushed hair are no style sin.

Here's my attempt at the London girl look:

I'm wearing alot of Primark; both the maxi dress and pleather jacket are Primarni, accessorized with an Urban Outfitters pouch bag, charity shop belt and a Pret soya milk latte- yum!

OH BOY!

Whilst I can't profess to knowing much about male fashion; I do have a very stylish boyfriend who is educating me on the sartorial dos and don't for the heterosexual man. He has a very unique sense of style, dressing in the occasional bit of Urban Outfitters, American Apparel and Topman, cleverly avoiding looking like a Topman clone by combining these high street picks with charity shop and TK Maxx designer finds. If I had the budget, I would love to buy him a bit of designer though, although he probably wouldn't approve of my choices.

Here are my top picks of menswear designer pieces that seperate the boys from the men:

1. Belstaff Rally Master 350 Jacket in Perl Black, £350 available from Pockets.co.uk here.

£350 may seem steep, but this Belstaff jacket is a design classic that will never go out of fashion. From a practical point of view it's also a jacket for men unafraid to brave the elements and go out in the worst of weathers; Belstaff make this jacket from their specialist hydrophillic nylon that combats even the hardiest storm conditions.

2. Hackett Classic British Duffle Coat, £485 available from Pockets.co.uk here.

Pick number two is also a coat: I must have coats on the brain, but you can hardly blame me with the awful week of weather we're experiencing. This is a duffle coat however, and not the sort you see on trainspotters, but a fabulous Hackett Classic British Duffle Coat in a wool and cashmere blend. There's something frightfully British about the duffle coat, possibly because Paddington Bear became synonymous with the style. But the English Heritage look is now the height of style for chic gents, and the duffle nails the look in one.

3. Alastair Brogues, £290 available from church-footwear.com here.

Finally, an item I'd love to gift to my boyfriend is a pair of brogues from the classic British brand, Churchs.Founded in 1873, this heritage brand produces the highest quality footwear; each pair of shoes takes a staggering eight weeks to manufacture. But the result is a fabulous, timeless pair of brogues that will last decades.

NICOLA ROBERTS & DREW BARRYMORE'S FASHION HITS

..I'm back up and blogging again! To explain my absence for those of you that don't know, I've relocated to London to work in the head office of an international luxury jewellery brand, and things have been pretty hectic since! Not to mention the fact I haven't had internet for ages. But I'm back and plan to blog regularly, totally inspired by all the amazing fashion I am seeing in London.

Talking of amazing fashion, two gorgeous fashion icons, Nicola Roberts from Girls Aloud and Hollywood A-lister, Drew Barrymore, have been out and about looking fabulous this week. First up, Nicola hit Harrods department store to launch her make-up range designed especially for pale-skinned girls, Dainty Doll. Nicola's quirky outfit combined an on-trend nude maxi skirt pared with a casual grey marl tee and a super-cute bow necklace. Nicola's known for pushing the boundaries when it comes to fashion, and I think this unusual ensemble looks fresh and modern.

Proving you can still be quirky and polished at the same time, Drew Barrymore was photographed looking stunning in this metallic strapless gown at the premiere of her new film, 'Going the Distance' held in LA last night. Drew pared her show-stopping dress with grey platform courts and glamorous gold accessories. But her bang-on-trend grown out blonde highlights ensured the look didn't look too perfect, oozing that ever-present sense of cool we've come to expect from Drew.
What did you think of their looks? Let me know! X

MAXIMUM IMPACT

No longer just a summer staple, the maxidress looks set to continue as a major trend for A/W 2010. And the 'winter maxi' is a look that I can't wait to try out, mainly because I hate being cold in winter and plan to slip on thermal tights underneath- who cares when you can't see them?! For a more glam take on the trend, ASOS have styled the look with suede platform ankle booties and Autumn's must-have: an aviator jacket. Buy the complete look here.

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

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 .

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.

Open publication - Free publishing - More weekly

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 .